Vola The Task Master

Mari was stuck in place, or rather she had lost all the power to move.

The desert wind blew harshly and the dry air that swarmed through the terrain was getting to her. She was dehydrated and had begun to spill blood from her nose. This was because of the small grains of sand that she would inhale as she pushed forward another step.

"This must be the grave that was dug for me. This is where I die." Mari thought.

She had worked up the idea that the goddess of the undead must want her to become one of the undead in order to take full control of her. She even reasoned that she was stuck in some sort of illusion and was meant to die here.

"Can I really do nothing?" Mari said.

The wind was rough and the sun was the same, but in the midst of the fire like aura that was surrounding her was a dim book that she held in her right hand.

"There's nothing I can do besides rely on you." She thought.

Was this the plan of the goddess? Was she planning to deprive Mari of everything so that she can be reborn as a devote follower?

These same questions raced around in the head of Mari for some time now. She was in the middle of the desert and had not been able to move for some time now, it was only a matter of time before she raised these questions.

"You know- I do. I planned to follow you before because of the same feeling I had while following the way of the sword felt the same as receiving your blessings. I know that you will have the best for me in your hands." Mari thought.

She was officially talking to her inner self again. She didn't expect much of a response but she was surprised to hear a voice echo at the back of her head.

"Good. You are almost there." Said the voice.

This sudden response in Mari's inner thoughts was surprising and made her believe she was on the brink of losing her mind.

"I'm not crazy. I'm not crazy. I can't be. I have this countries strongest will. I can't be crazy." Mari thought.

She just heard someone else's voice echo at the back of her head. This is where there should only be here voice but there was another talking back to her.

"Stay at ease child. This is from the gift you have been using. You can now receive tasks directly from the task masters. I am Vola, the task master for all candidates." The voice echoed.

The voice was that of a lady. It was smooth and calm. It was very noticeable that Vola cared deeply about keeping a calm tone because each syllable in her sentences were each like strings to a harp.

"Vola, I'm happy I'm not alone but why is the goddess of the undead putting me in this dire situation?" Mari responded to the voice in her head.

Mari on the other hand was not so calm at this moment. Her inner voice was weak and slowed down so that she can regather the will power to think and respond.

"Child, although the goddess has no rules against questioning her, I recommend you learn to trust in her divine being." Said Vola.

"I can't. My husband and I are split up and we were told to fight each other. I miss him and every time I try to move forward in my task I get nowhere. I'm just trying to see my damn husband again!"

Although she was incredibly fatigued, Mari held dearly her beloved husband and would force herself to push further for the both of them. Although, Mari is still running on fumes and is incredibly close to collapsing from her fatigue.

"I understand, child. It's very unfortunate you won't heed my advice. This trial your foregoing will not be easy. My last words of warning, don't go down in slumber. If you rest you will never wake up." Said Vola.

Vola took a step back from speaking with Mari as she had no other words to say, not to someone that has something in front of her to worry about

Mari nodded her head left to right to try to shake the voice of Vola out of it. She was irritated and standing on her two feet with the last shred of willpower she had.

"How can I not rest when my entire body is tired?" She said.

There was no response from Vola. The ancient book Mari was holding started to slowly grow in brightness. It lightened up and sparkled brilliantly.

"I can't." Said Mari.

She was close to giving up and wanted to put aside everything so she can go look for Kai, her husband.

The book seemed to respond from Mari and her feelings of escape and began to float towards the sky while flipping pages.

"I guess the task master didn't get the chance to tell me that feeling like escaping would trigger something like this." Said Mari.

The book reached its limit and was nearly touching the clouds above Mari. It was far into the sky but close enough to Mari so that it was clear view.

"The trials start now." Said Vola.

Vola was listening to everything that was happening to Mari but kept quiet because unlike her, she has experienced many blessings from the goddess and truly follows from the bottom of her heart.

"As your task master I will inform you but not solve the problems you are presented with. Once the book falls you will enter another field of illusion. You must stay awake and never grab your sword. If you wield your sword at any time your heart will freeze and your husband will die. If you fall asleep you will also die, but this time you will become a mindless undead servant. This of course goes for you and your husband." Said Vola.

Vola finished informing Mari and disappeared. To Mari she could sense that Vola had gone away for certain this time. It was as if she had just finished completing her sentence and put the pen down.

It was now up to Mari to endure the trial of illusions.