Who Am I?

𝘗𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘬...

𝘗𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘬..

𝘗𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘬...

Droplets of water fell from the ceiling. Each drop fell into a puddle, creating a simple echo inside a dark, gray dim room.

The air was humid; stale. As though nothing has been in here for a long time, for not even the smallest strand of air made it here.

In such a dim room, there was a woman.

At its center, she sat on a chair. A sturdy, wooden chair that helps chains. Chains made up of some material that bound her wrists and ankles.

A chained prisoner, chained for a reason unbeknownst to many.

Perhaps she could've done such a horrid crime that made her imprisoned? A crime worthy of being chained to the point of not being able to move?

Then, as another drop of water fell into a puddle, the woman slowly opened her gray eyes.

In front of her eyes, mere feets away, was a door.

Although the room was dim, there was a hint of a lighter gray tone that tainted the door, and so giving it a slightly more unique look in the dark.

But her eyes were never on the door. Not the color of it, nor the doorknob, but what was above the center of it.

Above the center of the door was a symbol.

Delicately crafted, the symbol that wasn't easily discerned nor described if looked upon by mortal eyes.

Alas, the woman was not one of those with mortal eyes.

With her eyes, what she saw was a spire-like structure.

A structure that demands-no, produces a natural aura that grabs one's interest, for it is holy in nature and creation.

As she gazed upon it, she blinked.

'From a wonderful dream, I came to be here, chained...'

Her head sank until her chin rested on her chest.

Needless and bothersome.

...

𝙀𝙖𝙧𝙡𝙞𝙚𝙧...

The sun shone brightly in the morning. The birds were tweeting, and the cicadas and other bugs were chirping.

Blue butterflies fluttered here and there amongst the plants and flowers, and the warm wind breeze ruffled the flora.

A perfect day to be inside the house.

Sadly, a certain child in a small yellow dress was not.

'What an incredibly realistic, lovely dream this is,' she had thought when she stretched her hand to the sun, and she felt warmth on her pale skin.

Even the annoying tiny flies would fly over her head and ears, creating annoying buzzing noises. Only when she waved her hand around will they fly somewhere else.

Only to come buzzing back.

An authentic experience this dream was indeed.

But the girl never focused on that.

Instead, she looked at something else.

By her side, she kept glancing and looking at an old man.

Now, he was wearing a simple white T-shirt and gray pants. In the next, he wore a sweater and shorts.

The flora around them somehow grew brighter, the day grew warmer, and the sky brighter.

Things change constantly and inconsistently, but the core remains the same.

Perhaps that's what a dream is.

Something to enjoy, and not to understand.

So the girl drank in that like drinking water during a hot day, drinking to the utmost maximum amount.

Then she broke the limit of that amount and continued to raise the gauge.

Higher and higher she raised it, for there may not be a time where she can no longer bear witness to such a miracle.

She cannot understand the words her grandpa spoke. Sometimes she did, and sometimes she couldn't.

Even now and then, the girl could barely see the old man's defined face. Sometimes clear and sometimes frustratingly blurry, just like a mirage.

It was also like being underwater. She felt her movements limited and resisted, and her mind blurry and vague.

Then sometimes she became sober, her mind clear, her movements free.

The girl drank and drank the miracle.

Time passed, neither linear nor countable.

Dangling her short legs from the porch, the girl talked to the old man with passion.

Sometimes she talked with gusto, some sadly, sometimes embarrassingly, and the rest happily.

She felt like she was a child again, carefree and relying on a tall tree that protects her from the cold winds of reality.

She talked endlessly about random things, needed things, and more random things.

Along the way, she sometimes giggled, other times laughed, and many times…cried.

The girl-no, Anna didn't want to believe it was fake. Can't she just believe it was reality?

So many times she prayed for something like this to happen.

The girl kept going on and on.

She let it flow from her heart and soul, showing her thoughts laid bare out to him. So sometimes, she talked to him in a calm manner, sometimes in a panic, sometimes happily, and sometimes sadly.

Then the time came to part ways.

Things faded, colors diluted to a dull and gray shade, and the sun no longer warm and bright.

Trees and plants, full of green and life, shriveled away. The breeze, once warm and gentle, became more cold and fearsome.

The girl felt herself disappearing.

She felt herself being pulled away, just like the dark waters she was suspended in, with the surface above her so far away.

The girl resisted it, pushing against it.

She reached out her hands to the old man, as though asking him for one last hug.

But the natural forces that made this land did not wish it so, and it forced her away.

Just as the world in her eyes disappeared, just as darkness engulfed everything else, she said she soundlessly called out her goodbyes.

And the dream ended there.

Like all good dreams, they only last for such little time.

Before she fell into its depths, a small familiar blue light appeared, and it swept her away to a place farther from reality.

As she was being swept away, the girl remembered the familiar feeling of intense hatred and disgust boiling in her heart.

Just like when it did so long, long ago.

It had never left.

…

The butterfly carried the unconscious girl through the dark ocean's waters.

He had continued to do so at the beginning, even during the blissful dream he created, and even now.

Where there was no light, and yet no true darkness.

A place between the two, a place to travel through.

The water resisted yet embraced him; it pushed yet pulled him.

Like a dentist sticking their disgusting fingers into the victim's throat for some dumb reason, and the victim is trying not to gag and retch.

But he still pushed on, for something else helped him.

From the depths, a strange hand appeared. Barely outlined against the dark blue ocean water's color, it reached up to him.

The blue butterfly kept flying on, even as the water's currents pushed harder against him.

Just as the hand reached him, it hovered over him, like a human simply 'clapping' a small bug that 's glowing out of existence.

Even then, he continued flying on.

The hand never fell. Instead, it glowed, its outline becoming more pronounced.

As it became more pronounced, with tiny stars glittering inside it, most of the ocean's terrible currents, which were growing even stronger in strength, weakened.

Nevertheless the blue butterfly continued flying on, with the poor girl still being strung along behind him.

Deeper and deeper he went into the 𝗢𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗢𝗰𝗲𝗮𝗻'𝘀 waters, and the large hand, now so small from so far away, slowly began falling apart into blue particles of mana, which were then dissolved into the water.

'Thanks,' the blue butterfly thought as the hand finally disappeared into the ocean's dark depths.

Looks like they're already awake.

…

Much time had passed, and Anna still only saw the darkness.

She still knows she's still in the ocean's water, for she still felt its cool water brushing against her entire body, her hair waved all over the place, and her legs and arms dangled like a ragdoll.

The pressure on her chest from being unable to breathe didn't lessen nor grow.

Consistent and painful.

The poor girl just let whatever was taking her…take her.

'Why can't I wake up now,' she languidly thought.

After saying goodbye to a person she longed to see, she didn't have either the motivation to move nor think of what is currently happening.

Minutes passed, and as she kept thinking, she realized something.

Although it appeared as if something was wrong, she seems to feel just fine. As steady as pond of water, only changing when a water droplet fell from the sky, impacting onto the surface, making ripples-

All of a sudden, pain racked her head.

There it is.

Just before she could even flinch, just before she even had a thought to just thrash and struggle, something appeared before her face.

The poor girl's eyes widened.

In front of her was a very familiar, blue, transparent screen.

Not like the status screen, no, but a blank slate and more rectangular shape.

At the sight of it, Anna felt the pain ebbed and flowed away, becoming a forgotten memory.

It was the exact same, or extremely similar, blue transparent screen thing from the 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗺 𝗼𝗳 𝗗𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗺𝘀.

'Why is it here? No, what does this mean?'

She pondered and pondered.

The pondering never stops.

Even as she began a lengthy pondering, words began forming onto the screen.

===============================

. . .

Analyzing...

. . .

Calculating...

. . .

Analysis complete.

. . .

One of the fae who has been born naturally in a true paradise has placed her magic over a simple girl. In an ingenious way, the fae has made magical formations, wards of protection, and magic placed over other magic. It gradually gives the girl pieces of the fae each time the girl dreams, or rather, 'recall.'

===============================

'The fae...? No, is it...'

Anna's eyes were led towards the new words that formed on the screen.

===============================

. . .

The situation the girl named Anna faces is...

. . .

Source of problem...

. . .

Calculating…

. . .

Calculation completed.

A variable appeared, causing the magic to break, unloading almost everything into the girl named Anna's brain.

The spell was already breaking, but it was self-repairable, as the cracks that formed could've healed over time.

However, even the smallest cog in a machine can break, even if the machine is much larger than the small cog.

Unfortunately, the fae had overestimated what the human mind can take.

Although she, a magical genius, had calculated almost, if not all the possible variables, she has apparently forgotten that the girl named Anna is a species that much differs from hers.

Or perhaps…it was intended?

===============================

Anna stared blankly at the glowing screen.

'...I understand, and yet I don't.'

This whole time, most of everything that has happened was because of…𝘩𝘦𝘳?

She urged it to give a simpler explanation to completely understand it, and the screen complied like it always did.

Almost always.

===============================

. . .

A normal human brain cannot withstand a flood of knowledge. It is like glass, brittle and easily crackable. Like a dam breaking, the water that was held back flooded over the land, producing inevitable damage onto the environment unless properly contained.

It must be slow, yet consistently given, like slowly pouring milk into a cup, not dumping it all out at the same time.

If a person pours milk into a cup, the person can easily control the output of milk being poured into the cup. If the person in question simply just dumps it, it would overflow the cup.

===============================

'...is there a safe, yet guaranteed solution that can fix my problem?' Anna 'asked' it.

===============================

. . .

. . .

Calculating...

. . .

Difficult.

Although difficult, there is a guaranteed way to mend such a problem. Peacefully waiting till an answer comes is not an option.

Action must be taken to make a difference.

. . .

Safety and guaranteed do not correlate in the endeavor to heal. There is only one simple guaranteed option.

===============================

'...how long must I wait? Will time pass in this world longer than in reality?'

===============================

. . .

As this is a dream, time dilation differs between the imagination and reality. The current time dilation is...

. . .

Calculating...

. . .

Unknown.

. . .

Unknown.

. . .

Unable to answer. Answer unable to be found.

Time dilation fluctuates in the trial the girl named Anna will arrive at if she chooses the most guaranteed option.

===============================

It seems even it is unable to obtain results.

How worthless.

'Will I go hungry?' she then 'asked' it.

But she already knew the answer deep down, and 'it' complied.

===============================

. . .

Unlike in the 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗺 𝗼𝗳 𝗗𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗺𝘀, the individual named Anna would not experience the natural feeling of hunger and thirst. The body of the girl named Anna has long surpassed the confounds of a mortal being due to ??? and being in an environment such as this.

The only true problem is those who travel on this path shall feel endless ????

. . .

Error detected.

Rephrasing…

. . .

Thee who wish to saunter onto this path shall face agony and torment.

===============================

As the drops of water continued to fall from the ceiling from who knows where, Anna stared at the screen.

Much staring at the blue transparent screen she did.

Sometimes a blink here and there, sometimes a shrug and jerk to get the body to be somewhat awake, but otherwise her eyes wouldn't leave the words.

Several minutes later she finally decided. She would go with the guaranteed option to help her be...'healed.'

For it looks like it was the only option.

The problem was…was it trustworthy enough?

To put her path, her life in its hands?

Although, since it 'kind of' assisted her in the 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗺 𝗼𝗳 𝗗𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗺𝘀, Anna is willing to give it the benefit of the doubt.

But before all that, before almost everything else…she wanted to know.

No, she 𝘩𝘢𝘥 to know.

Many thoughts and feelings were in turmoil, boiling to the point where she felt as though her body trembled, even though it wasn't.

Anna with almost complete confidence could say that she didn't hear neither the chair nor the chains shaking.

So it was just her.

Her as in the pan of crackling, boiling oil. Each drop of oil held the need to simply jump out of the pan and burn those around herself.

Oh woe is she.

She who holds so many things in her hands, many of unimportance, and many of…importance.

Whatever was in her grasp, whatever that she holds now, it falls through her fingers like grains of sand, flowing without stop.

So many questions, so many left unanswered-there was so much.

So, so much.

But among those questions, only two rose higher than all the rest.

Anna felt the unconscious urge to raise her hand and press her palm against her forehead, only for the shackles to clang and clink, serving as a reminder.

Even after that, she kept thinking.

Pondering.

'What exactly was the magic placed over me? Who…am I?'

For too long did Anna ignore it.

No, she didn't exactly ignore it, for the thought always lingers in her head every spare moment. She just pushes it into the farthest reaches of her mind each time it reappears.

She wasn't that ignorant.

At least that's what she believed.

Her race was changing to some strange thing, she cannot truly feel hunger or thirst like a normal person, her emotions somehow easily dulled, she became much more of a strategist to plan many plans.

Anna did not remember this.

She was a true master at procrastination, how could she be such a strategist?

…perhaps knowing how to procrastinate made her thought process more intricate and detail-oriented, comparable to a strategist?

Even after so many thoughts, she could not come to a provable and most probable conclusion.

Anna didn't know why, and perhaps this is the reason why the blue screen precisely appeared before her.

So it can answer her.

Just like it mostly did.

Therefore, she stared intently at the screen before her eyes.

Waiting for its secrets to unfold, like what a computer does.

No, like what a dependable computer should do.

===============================

. . .

. . .

No answers were found.

===============================

"..."

Absolutely worthless.

…

𝘗𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘬...

𝘗𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘬…

𝘗𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘬...

Anna simply sat there.

Many minutes passed, and the splashes from the droplets of water entered her ears every few seconds or so.

Ever since she came to be in this room, she did not take a single step.

She could not take a single step.

𝘗𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘬...

𝘗𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘬..

𝘗𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘬…

The consistent pattern of raindrops, the chains made of strange metal, gleaming slightly in the dark without light, shackled her-

She was not in the slightest bit pleased.

They tightly bound her wrists and ankles to a chair, a wooden chair in which she was seated on

She knows it is wooden because she's sitting on it.

But that is fine for the most part. Being chained was not what made her truly annoyed, however.

It was that she was seated in an uncomfortable position. The chains that bound her made her feel itchy, and it digs into her skin mercilessly.

The dusty, stale air that permeates around her, the drops of water that never breaks its rhythm from the corner of the room-

It truly did annoy her.

Oh, also the fact that this blue screen up and vanished.

𝘗𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘬...

𝘗𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘬..

𝘗𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘬...

Anna looked around again.

Well, as best she can, for the chains still held.

Other than the door and the puddle with drops of water dripping into it, there was nothing else.

While her thoughts brewed like a volcano, spewing dark-gray smoke, waiting to erupt, a certain blue screen finally appeared before her once again.

===============================

Calculating…

. . .

Making instructions more suitable for the girl named Anna...

. . .

Adopting characteristics that would be more comprehensible for the girl named Anna...

. . .

Completed.

===============================

Anna didn't wait long for an answer to her silent question, as a different format from the once paragraph by paragraph essay became-

===============================

𝐐𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭: ???

𝘛𝘢𝘴𝘬: Follow the butterfly.

-The butterfly will guide your way. The way to the spire at the center of this realm, this dream. There, you will awaken a new power. A power mankind desperately needs, for the branch of power long ago has yet to be awakened.

Along this small, or long, boring or eventful journey, your mind shall be healed.

Your heart, still in pain, shall not be cured, but instead strengthened.

So always follow it. Always move forward.

Always look forward.

===============================

'Is this not the quest thing from before? Is this...a questline?'

She was reminded of a very similar type of format that popped up back when she was in 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗺 𝗼𝗳 𝗗𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗺𝘀.

When she first woke up on a hill, surrounded by a golden sea of wheat.

When she first saw such a beautiful forest.

When she first met Ab-

Anna closed her eyes.

Then, she took a deep, slow, long breath.

Finally she opened her eyes.

Once again, she eyed the strange RPG quest format dialogue, and her eyes eventually fell towards the dialogue at the end.

How can she look forward, when all she has is what's behind her?

Then, like a calming light in the night fog, a familiar blue light emerged from the darkness.

Seemingly appearing out of thin, the blue light barely lit the dark room from her peripheral vision.

From the light, a small butterfly made itself known. From within the darkness, it began fluttering around her.

Anna's bond felt strengthened once more, reestablished.

No, not reestablished.

Strengthened.

'Amor?' she thought, and she reached out to him 'mentally.'

The familiar mental nudge came back, something akin to an invisible confirmation.

A warm and pleasing feeling.

As it came, the butterfly just fluttered around her.

Anna knew he would come to her, especially in a dream. It was just a matter of time, but…

She shook her head.

It's time to get out of these chains.

She gripped her hands, and with the mana flowing within her, she pushed against the chains. At the same time, she felt the shackles strained against her.

So, Anna simply mustered even more mana and instilled them into her arms-

𝘊𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘬!

The metal chains that bound her fell against the ground with a loud noise, like a coin dropping onto a hard floor.

She slowly stood up and rubbed her wrists. She also wouldn't admit her legs trembled, as though she hadn't moved them in so long.

Anna looked upwards, and seeing the dark ceiling, she took a very deep breath.

Slowly inhaling through the nose.

Hold.

Slowly exhaling from the mouth. Rinse and repeat.

Then, as if she had firsthand experience from long ago, Anna simply extended her left arm, and then opened her hand.

The same staff that has always been with her manifested into her hand out of nowhere.

The staff was just like before, pitch black with blue markings.

However, it was much, much longer.

'...hmm?'

Taking a slow furtive look around, only spotting the butterfly fluttering around her, she frowned.

Anna commanded the staff to return, and the staff dissipated.

Then, she commanded the staff to return, and it appeared right in her hands once again.

She made an unnoticeable slight frown.

The staff dissipated again.

Then returned.

Then it disappeared.

Then brought forth.

Then brought back.

Again and again, she repeatedly continued to summon and unsummon the staff.

After at least a minute, when the staff manifested in her hand once more, her eyebrows raised.

'Ah, so this is it,' she thought as she raised her hand.

Covered by a thin black glove, her left hand, covered by a thin cloth black glove, didn't seem to be anything special, but she had felt the slight anomaly.

Dissipating the staff, Anna took the black glove of her left handf. She then raised it closer to her face and squinted her eyes.

What she saw on the top of her hand was not just pale skin, but a single, strange symbol.

It was blurred, and even with the bit of light she had, it was as if an eraser barely finished erasing a pencil mark.

It was still there, but unidentifiable-ish.

Even then, the mark was small, at least the size of an inch or two.

'How could such a thing be placed on me without my notice?'

The only ones who could do that were…

While she was examining it, rotating her hand left and right, the same blue screen appeared again in front of her eyes.

===============================

𝗘𝗺𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺 𝗼𝗳 𝗚𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗲

The 𝗘𝗺𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺 𝗼𝗳 𝗚𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗲, an unknown mystery. An entirely different branch of power from the normal status screen that was once so abundant and widespread a millenia ago.

Its mysteries looked as though it would be able to sprout, grow, and bloom, containing new possibilities.

A foreign path, made by ???

"Only in this world, those who are destined can be blessed."

"Only in this world, those who are fated will be professed."

===============================

'𝗘𝗺𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺 𝗼𝗳 𝗚𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗲?'

An emblem…but with grace?

Whose grace?

Such a thing never came up in 𝘩𝘦𝘳 memories.

Eventually, thereupon which was as series of continuous pondering, Anna had come to the realization that even 𝘴𝘩𝘦 did not know what these 'emblems' are.

An entirely new branch of power, different from the once normal branch of power that is the status screen.

'Who could make such a thing? The only one who can is...'

She shook her head rapidly.

Perhaps something was going on, something beyond her understanding.

That did not step away from the fact that she felt something.

For the second time in what seems to be just an hour, Anna felt a feeling inside of her. It was a strange feeling. Almost foreign to the her of now, and to 𝘩𝘦𝘳.

Was this…excitement?

Why would she though? Anna had a feeling she knew the answer, but she ignored it and probed the screen for more information.

===============================

. . .

Although 𝗘𝗺𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺 𝗼𝗳 𝗚𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗲 is another branch of power, all magic traces its roots to genesis.

When an individual enters the 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗹, he or she must make their way towards the spire that lays at the center of this realm in order to gain an 𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘮 𝘰𝘧 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘦. Upon reaching it, one will be baptized; embraced by ???, therefore awakening their emblem.

Every emblem has already been chosen at the moment of an individual's birth, dictated by ???

It is a magical symbol that stores varieties of possibilities. With such an emblem, one can explore many paths.

When one is blessed with the branch of power, an emblem is magically grafted onto the person's left hand. It begins in the form of a black symbol.

There are many varieties of emblems, and anyone can be marked with one so long as they are blessed.

So long as they are 𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘥.

. . .

To see the status of the emblem, direct your mana into the mark, and it shall activate.

===============================

Anna trickled some bit of mana into the emblem.

Flowing down her hand, her mana, like a tiny invisible stream, reached the 'emblem.'

As soon as it made contact, there was an instant reaction, albeit one of dullness for it only slightly glowed.

As it glowed, as though making up for its mundane response, something new appeared on the top of her hand.

A small, transparent screen, similar to when she opens the status screen.

===============================

??? (Black)

Status: Unawakened

0/100

===============================

Anna merely gazed upon the fascinating phenomenon that is 'emblems.'

So many questions, so many possibilities.

This feeling that boils in the chest, a feeling that felt so weirdly nostalgic, cannot possibly be contained unless she knew.

She must know.

'Can one have multiple emblems? What are these numbers? Why is it 'unawakened?''

The transparent blue screen appeared.

===============================

. . .

Additional emblems are emblems that can be acquired in addition to the main emblem, but each one may differ in terms of requirements. When one gains an emblem, it is said to be extraordinarily difficult to gain another unless fate dictates it so.

Even then, many emblems cannot be connected together, for it creates a dissonance, a lack of harmony that gives rise to one's emblem to be uncontrollable, therefore harming the individual.

Balance and harmony must be maintained for further, safer growth.

. . .

The number below the status of the emblem is the amount of mana needed to rank up the emblem. Every point of mana embedded into the emblem permanently increases its skills and abilities.

The color of the emblem represents the amount of mana one has put into it. Once one reaches the limit of the emblem, it can rank up to the next color, increasing the emblem's potential of skill and capacity of mana.

Every emblem starts out as black, the lowest rank in color.

From black, next comes gray, white, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and finally purple.

Every time an emblem ranks up a color, it is much harder to tread forward. However, every rank of color increases one's potential and capacity for further growth.

. . .

In order for it to be emblem to be awakened, to be 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘥, one must make their way to 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗹. Before that, when one enters this realm, they will first be given a task to complete.

A quest.

A trial.

Once accomplished, they will make their way to 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗹, and the being with an unawakened 𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘮 𝘰𝘧 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘦 shall awakened it.

===============================

Anna pursed her lips.

…so that was why she was given a quest.

She glared at the emblem on her left hand. It remained blurred, and its faint light disappeared due to the mana no longer flowing into it.

'The Citadel; where is it?' she asked.

===============================

Walk forward.

===============================

She looked forward, and the door was still there in its awe-inspiring mundane gray appearance.

"..."

Even though Anna did not feel her facial expressions change; neither her mouth curved or her nose wrinkled, that did not stop the excitement that was brewing in her.

The thought that this branch of power could possibly coexist with the branch of power long ago, the status screen, is monumental.

She only shook her head then.

Now is not the time to think, but to act.

Anna resummoned the staff into her hand.

With it, she created the magic.

In an ocean of water, with a slate below her, she built upon it.

Thin colorless lines formed from mana, crossing and overlapping. Elongating farther and farther, they braided together, connected, and fell apart, only to join together once again.

The process repeated many a times until an image formed in her mind, unlike anything that could be described nor understood.

Then, it spilt forth from her mind in the form of mana.

In an almost instantaneous manner, as not a second had passed, she lightly tapped the staff on the ground, and an invisible force spread from the bottom of her staff.

From the bottom of her staff, a shockwave spread out around her, reaching towards every inch of the room.

From the ground to the corners, to the walls, and to the ceiling.

"..."

Then, it traveled backwards.

Back from the ceiling, the walls, the corners, the ground, and finally to the bottom of her staff.

From it, flowed up her staff and into her body.

Her mind immediately registered the information given to her, and she-

Anna rubbed her temples.

As she did so, her legs trembled. She placed more weight onto her staff, almost leaning onto it.

Just as quickly as the sudden pain came, it quickly began abating.

'A simple scanning spell, and I get recoiled by the backlash?' she thought, shaking her head.

It was a simple scanning spell from her memories, nothing of this sort ever happened.

But when she used it at the time, her head wasn't in shambles.

Right?

'No…it was me, right?' Anna thought.

'No, it's 𝘩𝘦𝘳 magic.'

She shook her head again.

Something really is wrong with her. No great therapist could ever fix this problem.

So, she pushed it to the fact that the scanning spell was tailored and made with maximum efficiency for the creator herself.

Because only the person herself could know herself so well.

To construct a type of magic from the ground up that determines various factors that surround her, like the quantity and quality of mana, the potential for enemies, the materials of this wall, if there are secret rooms…

She truly was a monstrously magical genius.

Perhaps just like herself as an unknown variable, the unawakened emblem would most likely be a part of the problem, for it is a true magical mystery.

Comparing herself as the controlled variable, what she has and is now is the experimental variable.

…more adjustments are needed to provide maintenance of fixing the cogs in the wheel. Perhaps she could 'oil' some here and there.

Then, she could find a way to fuse the two branches of power, or at least-

Anna shook her head again.

She digressed.

All in all, it wasn't a 'simple' spell she made it out to be.

The twinge of pain was now only a distant memory.

'I'll need to readjust the spell...' she thought, and she 'read' the information given to her.

The magic 'notified' her that there wasn't really anything that is considered a danger nearby.

If you consider a danger in which there was a small chance to fall onto the hard stone floor with your head without flinching, then there really isn't danger.

The materials that make up this room were strange, and the mana density, both quality and quantity, are about the same as a thousand years ago.

Or perhaps even greater.

Is it a coincidence? She thinks not.

As she continued to quickly sift through it, her eyebrows raised.

Anna slowly, but surely, began patting herself.

Something changed.

There was something much, much different this time, not just when she became a little girl in her dream earlier.

She was taller.

Her arms and legs were longer.

She wore strangely familiar clothes, not to mention the thin black cloth gloves.

As she reached up and touched where her face should be she found a very, very familiar veil draped over it.

'I see,' Anna thought.

'So that's how it is.'

It wasn't just her body that changed, it was her perception of herself that changed.

They were so unnoticeable, she thought it was simply the norm in which she was used to.

If it was not for the magic, she would most likely never notice.

𝘏𝘦𝘳 magic.

𝘏𝘦𝘳 body.

𝗛𝗲𝗿 mind.

Anna looked at where the drops of water ended up. At the corner of the room, there was a puddle.

Dark, murky, and shallow, it was all the puddle was.

And that was all it would ever be if the drops of water from who knows where stops dripping down onto it.

She shook her head as she walked towards it.

Each step made a small 𝘵𝘩𝘶𝘥, a 𝘵𝘢𝘱, and a strange echo. Despite being in such a small room, which she measured to be quite small, she could hear the echoes vibrating loudly in her ears.

In a matter of seconds, she stood over the puddle.

Leaning over it, the tip of her staff glowed a deep blue color, illuminating her surroundings, thus allowing her to see the reflection in the puddle.

The first thing she noticed was a black-dark gray veil covering her face, and then the long gray-white hair tied in a ponytail.

Her hair, her height, her black with small blue patterned clothing…

Anne shook her head.

This is the confirmation that she needed.

Evidently as seen in the percentage of how human she was at a certain percentage, was this why she could easily use magic, despite learning for just a week or so?

Was that why she confidently entered the ocean, learned its mysterie, and not stumbling through things like what people who're new to such things without a second thought?

She really was slowly becoming…𝘩𝘦𝘳.The forgotten blue butterfly merely fluttered around her as Anna stared at 𝘩𝘦𝘳 reflection.

No, at her own reflection.

…

How many minutes has it been since Amor had fluttered around Anna?

The butterfly prepared everything just for her.

He only watched as his granddaughter, whose appearance had changed, stood over the puddle. The dark veil shrouded and covered her face, and he cannot possibly tell just by her body movements.

But he could with their bond.

It was like wading through muddy, murky water in the dark.

They don't know where to go, obstacles are resisting against them, pushing them away from their destination.

There are moments when a person needs to pause in order to recollect their thoughts. To make a path to their goal, where each step leads them to it.

And there are moments where they must start walking that path with naught but a single step.

That is what his beloved granddaughter did, for after a while of standing did she finally move.

With a swish of the end of her dress, her veil, and her long hair, Anna looked at the door.

With slow, yet unusually swift steps, she walked up to the door.

Amor simply fluttered around her.

Standing at the door, her gloved hand caressed the symbol on it. At a closer glance, it looked like a thin spike growing thinner as it grew taller.

As she did so, suddenly, she silently flinched and nearly keeled over.

Then, the dark blue glow around the butterfly lightened a tad bit.

'𝘞𝘢𝘴𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺, 𝘱𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘵 𝘣𝘢𝘺.'

'𝘈𝘴 𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘭𝘶𝘦 𝘰𝘤𝘦𝘢𝘯'𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘣𝘣𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘢𝘴 𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘭𝘶𝘦 𝘴𝘬𝘺'𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨.

'"𝘚𝘭𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮," 𝘐 𝘴𝘢𝘺, 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘶𝘱 𝘵𝘰 𝘢 𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘥𝘢𝘺.'

Then, as though she was told to, Anna's hand fell to her side.

Just like that, as though it had never happened in the first place.

'It would take time,' Amor thought as Anna began inspecting the door.

'For her to become well adjusted to this figure.'

The last time she wore such an 'attire,' she placed the magic over herself. It was more akin to an illusion, or rather wearing a costume over her body.

Now, Anna would as though she was in her actual body. That this was her skin, her clothes, and even her thoughts.

At least that's what Amor silently wishes for.

He only prayed to the Lord for a miracle.

…

As she stared at the door, Anna felt warmth gently pushing into her mind.

She felt the pain slowly ebbing away, like a soft stream of water leaving a hole in the bucket, then being sealed shut to absorb the warmth. The pain slowly became a distant memory that would come back inevitably.

Facing the door, she grabbed the doorknob. WIth just but a simple twist the door 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘢𝘬'ed as it slowly opened outwards.

Raising her staff-with the highest tip glowing a soft dark blue glow, she peered into the darkness.

A hallway greeted her.

It was dim, not completely dark, just like the room she was in. However, if one were to squint their eyes, they would not even be able to see a meter or so in front of them.

Then a familiar butterfly fluttered through the air from behind her and into the darkness of the hallway.

Soon, it became a small dot, a tiny star in the sea of darkness.

Tapping on the ground with her staff, magic was created, and it bloomed outwards.

In a matter of seconds, the magic came back, at speed akin to a vehicle driving head on at her.

The pain came at full throttle as expected, but this time it wasn't as bad. She prepared herself for it, and the warmth was still there inside her 'head.'

As the pain ebbed, she looked at the information that came with the magic.

There was nothing to note but another door at the end of the hallway.

A long hallway.

A hallway with no tripwires, open holes where arrows can shoot out, pits with spears or spikes sharpened and pointing upwards...

There were no traps, ordinary or magical.

Although that was what the spell told her, she kept an open mind as she made her way forward, each step forward with tapping sounds accompanying her..

…

𝘛𝘢𝘱.

𝘛𝘢𝘱.

𝘛𝘢𝘱.

At least ten minutes passed when Anna started steadily walking through the gray, dark hallway.

𝘛𝘢𝘱.

𝘛𝘢𝘱.

𝘛𝘢𝘱.

Echoes akin to 'tapping' arose with each step against the stone floor as she walked forward.

All around her was only stone, stone, and even more stone. It was not patterned nor decorated at all, but instead more akin to it naturally forming.

A naturally formed rectangular hallway that is polished so that all sides are flat.

Was it possibly manmade?

Possibly.

Tilting her staff slightly forward, and with Amor, who was fluttering just a stone's throw away, both shined light meters ahead of her.

As a few minutes passed, one time she looked back, and she could not see the room where she left.

Only the familiar darkness that surrounds her gave her a greeting.

Still, she looked forward and moved forward once again.

It was fortunate that minutes later, Anna made it to the end of the hallway, as per given notice by her magic.

And as she saw through her magic, at the end, there was another door.

A very similar door with the exact same symbol-a thin cone pointing upwards sharply-embedded on it.

The blue butterfly flew ahead of her, unperturbed.

Anna followed him, walking across the strangely smooth stone floor.

Tapping her staff, her magic spread once more.

Ignoring the same twinge of pain, she reached the door. Looking at it for a while, she stretched her right hand and grabbed the doorknob.

It felt like minutes when it was only seconds as she twisted the doorknob, and 𝘱𝘶𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥.

With a minute 𝘤𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘬, the door slowly opened outwardly, creaking.

𝘊𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘦𝘦𝘦𝘢𝘬...

Gray light shined in through the door, barely brightening up the darkness behind her, welcoming Anna to a new world.

…

From over her shoulders, Amor watched Anna step into the dim light.

As she slowly disappeared through its faint light, he had a thought.

'...the Lord Almighty God did plan everything out, did he?'

The blue butterfly fluttered after his granddaughter.

A new trial awaits.