Somewhere, a little blonde girl slowly opened her eyes A bandage was wrapped around her head She rubbed her sleepy eyes and looked around It was not her house it looked like an old wooden hut, yet the room felt strangely warm A soft bed cradled her small body, and simple furniture filled the room A cabinet by the wall, a small table near the bed, and little decorations neatly arranged around the corners Suddenly the door creaked open, an old lady stepped inside, carrying a plate of food on her hand “Oh my, you are awake”
The little girl immediately pulled the blanket over herself The old lady paused for a moment before slowly walking closer and sitting at the edge of the bed “It’s alright, dear.
you don’t need to be scared” She placed the plate gently on her lap “here I brought some food for you, you must be hungry after sleeping for so long”
The old lady tried to persuade her, but it no use, the little girl remained hidden beneath the blanket, trembling The old lady smiled softly “It’s fresh from the farm.
I picked the vegetables myself this morning”
But again, it was no use, the little girl kept hid and shook faintly The old lady gently patted the small lump beneath it “That’s alright.
I’ll leave it here for you.
You can eat whenever you feel ready”
She carefully placed the plate on the table and stood Before leaving, she gave the blanket one last gentle pat then quietly left the room Outside, an old man was waiting “So how was she?” he asked “She’s awake, but she looks terrified.
Poor thing wouldn’t even say a word”
“Did she eat?”
“Not yet”
The old man frowned
“Where exactly did you find her again?” The old lady asked “In the forest, she was unconscious, with that wound on her head”
“And you found no one around?”
He shook his head
“Yes, I’ve checked around several times but I found no one”
The old lady glanced toward the door
“What kind of child ends up alone in a forest like that?”
The old man sighed
“I don’t know, maybe she came from one of the nearby villages, I’ll go ask around” The old man suggested “Yeah, you better hurry”
Inside the room, the little girl slowly peeked out from under the blanket Her stomach growled loudly Grrwwwlll….
She was hungry and looked at the salad on the table Her tiny hands gripped the blanket tightly At first, she hesitated to eat it She looked toward the door The back at the food, then at the door again After several nervous glances, hunger finally won She carefully crawled out and reached for the plate She ate cautiously at first, then quickly Soon, the plate was empty She stared at it for a moment before quietly placing it back Then her eyes drifted toward the door Slowly she stepped closer and tried peeking from the key hole But the key hole was too high She stretched on her toes, still too high Then Creak…
The door slowly opened, the little girl froze But nothing happened The she peeked at the gap between the door, she saw no one inside the hut After a moment of hesitation, she pushed the door wider and stepped outside Her eyes widened The inside of the hut looked incredible Simple wooden shelves, framed cloth decorations, a proper dining table, chairs, a woven carpet, nothing luxurious Yet to her, it felt like another world She slowly wandered around, staring at everything in wonder Then she heard something, it was from outside She looked at the front door At first, she thought to peek at the door but after what just happened, she looked around the hut Then she dragged the dining chair quietly toward the window, tried to not make a sound She climbed the chair and peek outside from the window It was a farm She looked at the old lady working there, harvesting the farm She stared at her for a while and then remembered something Without another thought, she climbed down She looked around the hut and found the back door She immediately ran toward back door Gently opened it and then she sneaked out from the hut She ran through the forest Turning instinctively through narrow paths as though her feet already knew the way Then she found a way out She found a village, her village But something was wrong It was silent, too silent She walked through the empty streets, looking for something, or someone “Mama…” she called But nothing, the village was really quiet She kept searched through the village, but nothing What she saw was a broken building lined the path, scattered clothes and weapons lying on the ground “Mama…” she called louder Nothing, no answer As the sun began to lower, she slowly turned back toward the forest The little girl walked back to the hut Her head hung low as she wandered through the trees Before she could leave the forest, she heard something “Little girl…”
It was the old lady
“Little girl, where are you?”
Then the old lady spotted her and hurried over “Little girl, there you are”
The little girl instinctively stepped back, fear filled her eyes But instead of grabbing her roughly, the old lady gently wrapped her in a warm embrace “I was so worried”
The little girl stiffened
This feeling… it was unfamiliar
Tears slowly rolled down her cheeks
“It’s fine, I’m here for you”
The old lady gently stroked her hair
The little girl began to cry
The old lady held her closer
“Let’s go back to my house, ok.
You must be hungry right?
I’ll make food for you”
They came back to the couple’s hut and the old lady prepared another meal The little girl sat quietly at the dining table, her small legs swinging awkwardly above the floor When the plate was placed before her, she immediately started eating Then the front door opened, it was the old man “Oh dear, you came back, did you find anything?” the old lady asked The old man sighed “Yes, one village said they’re missing a little girl”
The old lady’s eyes brightened
“Really?”
“But they described her differently.
They said the child have a black hair”
The old lady frowned
“Did they give you her name?”
“Yes, it’s Liz”
Then the old lady slowly approached the little girl She bent down and asked her “Dear… can you answer something for us?”
The little girl didn’t answer, but then she nodded a little bit “Is your name Liz?”
She shook her head
The old couple exchanged glances before asking another question The old lady smiled gently “So, what’s your name?”
The little girl lowered her head
“E… rin”
Another part of the world, deep inside the forest, Auel and Rikka Right behind them Sihr stood still and wore a wide grin They both froze as someone could appeared behind them without them even notice Auel’s chest tightened I didn’t feel anything at all, how?
“So, you guys killed the nightmare, that’s amazing” Sihr said casually His grin widened “And you know what surprised me?” His eyes gleamed “No one of you were dead”
In an instant Rikka pulled his blade and thrusted toward him But his blade stopped in the air Something was blocking it, an invisible barrier Rikka pulled his blade and stood up He ignited his blade and strike again But Sihr lazily raised his hand and pointed his finger toward Rikka BAM!
A violent force pushed Rikka across the forest He slammed into a tree and collapsed unconscious “Geez~” Sihr sighed “I really hate hot blooded men; they are really hard to communicate”
His glance shifted to Auel
“But you look different, how about we-”
“Shut up”
Auel put his stance while blood kept dripping from his wounds “Shut the hell up”
“Hey~, language, what a rude?”
“Why do I need to stay polite in front of a fucking Batara”
A big grin appeared across his face and started to laugh “Wow, you’re really something, I thought you’re just an ordinary smart guy but I think I’m totally wrong”
“So yeah, what if I’m a Batara, the problem here is you”
Auel gripped his blade
“Isn’t this strange, how could an adventure know about god magic, even if someone heard the rumors about god magic, nobody would recognize that mark instantly”
“But you, somehow you could guess that the mark is from god magic, or should I say~ you remembered”
Auel bite his lips
“I really want to know more about you, you already know that I’m a Batara, but I don’t know who are you, even your friends seem didn’t know, am I right?”
“Just what the hell do you want from us?”
“Well~, nothing” Sihr’s eyes drifted elsewhere “But I think you need something with her”
A smile slowly spread across his face
“What are you talking-” Auel eyes followed
Then he froze instantly
Right in front of him a girl appeared
A pale skin
Long brown hair veiled her face
Her dress fully torn up with a lot of burn mark on the dress even on her body Auel dropped on his knees, his chest tightened violently His breath shattered into ragged gasps Cold sweat poured down his face Sihr just gave him a little small “I’ll let you two have a talk while I’m going to take care these two”
He picked Erin and Rikka’s body and walked out the forest, leaving Auel behind Auel remained frozen Then the girl walked closer to him Each step made his body tremble harder His vision blurred His head pounded She stopped before him, then slowly crouched Slowly her lips moved “Liar”
The word pierced him
A sharp pain exploded through his chest
His stomach twisted violently
His throat burned
His breath hitched
His vision spun
Then, he vomited, everything inside him came rushing out His body convulsed as he clutched his chest, gasping desperately for air His head throbbed like it would split apart When he looked up, she was gone, only silence remained Aule staggered to his feet, barely able to stand He gripped his blade and walked out of the forest By the morning, Erin opened her eyes It was Sihr hut, he wasn’t there at this time She was sleeping on his couch Across her couch, Rikka was sleeping She slowly looked to the side, Auel sat quietly, stared at her “Ah… Auel did you-”
She looked at his condition
His skin was pale, and bandage covered all of his body “I-I’m sorry, I-I-” her voice trembled “It’s fine, you’re the one who almost die here” His voice was flat Auel kept staring at her A long silence “So, what are you?”
“W-what do you mean?” Erin stiffened
“Are you also Batara?”
“N-no I’m not, I-I’m just-” Her voice shook
Auel’s stare sharpened
“So how come you could use the god magic?”
Erin shocked and slowly turned her gaze away from him “I-I-”