Chapter 24

"..id. Oi kid. OI" a female voice filled with authority forced me awake.

The world spun as sand grit against the back of head. Assaulting pain struck my head causing me to grip my head with my right hand.

"If you stay there, you'll be dead before night fall" the voice rang out. There was no empathy in that voice. It was an ice cold statement, as if the death of others couldn't affect her in the slightest. Not that I could blame her.

"Maybe it's better off that way.." I replied in a melancholic tone. I screwed up, big time.

"Hmmm? How disappointing. Giving up already, oh well if that's what you wish for." the woman responded, her boots ground against the sand as she started walking away.

"What would you know, and even if you did, what would you do in my situation!" I shouted through gritted teeth.

Balling my hand up into a fist, I thumped it against the burning sand to emphasize my anger. She was right too, I am pathetic. Even now, I was asking for an answer.

"I would fuck up the people who screwed my life over. Doesn't that sound better than wallowing in your own self pity? You fix things with your own hands. Grasp your life with your own power." She continued as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. The pathetic part is that it was. This fire of wrath burning within me, I'll use it. They'll reap what they sew.

"And you? Will you give me that power?" I asked "You don't seem like the type to take pity on someone without a reason." I continued

"You'll work for that power, and take it. What's your name kid?" she responded, and although she still had her back turned to me, I could hear the smirk in her voice.

"I don't have the right to use that name. I'll take back that right when I rectify the situation. Call me what you will" I responded in a monotone cadence, all the while placing on the mask I had been clinging to with my left hand. I muttered the key phrase under my breath. It attached itself to my face and fit perfectly without any straps or attachment. The mask was an ivory white with black paint depicting multiple storm clouds in a random arrangement.

"Then I'll call you Ikki. It means 'two' in some far off and long dead language. I assume that is satisfactory" The only response she got from me was a nod, as I was finally getting up out of the sand. There were no gaps for the eyes but I didn't need it. I could see using the surroundings as my eyes. Using only half of my concentration I could keep my eye level focused on where my head would be. Even still using this I had a larger field of view, and better clarity than with just my eyes.

Finally on my feat I dusted myself off and walked to the woman's side, and we started moving. To where I don't know yet. Nor did I care. As long as I get stronger here and now, I don't care where I end up. So long as I can make it back and destroy them, I don't care what happens to me.

I later learned I had arrived in the beast planes. Meaning I wasn't unconscious for that long or I got extremely lucky. She wouldn't be able to teach me proper spells, but according to her "people like us" don't need them, and only need a little creativity and skill. Whatever that was supposed to mean.

Her main plan of "teaching" me was quite literally get strong or die trying. And by that I would be fighting any mana beast we came across, unless it was something that would crush me without a sweat. The idea that there were beasts, so powerful, roaming around here forced me to shiver. whether that was in excitement or fear, I couldn't determine the answer.

Hours blended into days. Days into weeks, and weeks into months. Even still she never asked questions. She was a woman of a particular quality. Strong, intelligent and stoic. I noticed one day during meditation, that those seed like stones each had a crack in them. The crack elongated more and more as days went by. And as it did, a pulsating feeling would emit from them.

Oddly enough, that pulsating resonated with my mysterious mentor. Although hers was many times stronger, yet only came in beats of one. My pulsating had 2 beats.

One day, we came back to a particular cave. There was a large cat like creature there, protecting what seemed to be its cub. It's hiss persisted until my mentor came into view, as that hiss melted into a meow of excitement followed by contented purring as my mentor embraced the large creature.

"Hello Aria, the pregnancy went well it seems." to which the cat meowed in confirmation.

It would seem I neglected to paint an accurate picture of my mentor, so I shall do so now. She was a woman with light green eyes and long blonde hair. Her eyes symbolised noble birth to one of the families that possessed wind as their attribute. The Satyr family, coming from the humans, or the Harpie family, originating from the elves. I could not distinguish her complete origins due to her hair hiding her ears. She stood taller than the average height at 5 and a half feet tall, and was on more of the modest side when it came to her well proportioned figure. She had a straight but small nose and thin lips, she was also slightly tanned.

Seeing her like this, was quite the sight to behold compared to her usual stoic expression, as she smiled softly like seeing and old friend for the first time in a while.