Chapter 41: @#*&%!

(Jahi PoV)

As we all made our way towards the stairs, I looked around, blanching at the sight of the torn apart bodies.

Shivering, I turned back towards the front, trying to ignore the heavy tang of iron in the air.

Slowly descending into the basement, I noticed that there was little noise. Concentrating again, I tried to strengthen the tether between Kat and I, and it only took a few minutes.

"Left."

Hearing me, everyone nodded before moving towards the left.

Looking around, I saw that most of the walls were made from wood, which was engraved with various runes. The area was empty and covered in dust.

Slowly making our way through the various rooms, I was growing slightly worried by the silence and empty space.

Taking deep breaths, I continued focusing on the tether, before smiling when I noticed that it led, and stopped, in the room in front of us.

"She's in there!"

Julie opened the door, looking around, before moving in. Following behind her, I saw that there were various crates and tables strewn about, but like the other rooms, it was empty.

Looking towards the center, we saw Kat bound to a chair. Her clothes were ruffled, but otherwise she looked fine.

Relief flooded my system, and I grinned widely. I was about to move forwards when I saw a flash of blue from Julie. Looking at her, I watched as she used water magic to cleanse herself of the blood, before running forwards and kneeling in front of Kat.

Shaking, she gently raised her hand to Kat's forehead, moving a strand of hair out of the way.

Moments continued to pass, and Kat showed no sign of movement.

We all moved closer, examining her.

"Ah..."

Hearing the Sultana, we all looked at her, and she pointed to a small prick on Kat's neck.

"They used a mixture of... nightshade, lavendoria, and Acheron seeds. We should bring her back to the house; she won't be waking up anytime soon..."

Hearing her, Julie nodded, gently lifting Kat up.

Holding her close, she burrowed her face into Kat's neck, her eyes flickering between hazel and deep blue.

~~~

(Kat PoV)

I was drifting in a black river, the sky a deep grey.

Looking around, I couldn't see anything. No waves, no light, nothing. Just calm, black water for as long as the eye could see.

Raising an arm, I watched in fascination as the water rose off my arm, floating towards the sky.

Submerging my arm again, I noticed that the water was the same temperature as me, and was dense. Moving forwards, I watched as the water rippled, but I noticed that there was no sound.

"Hello?"

Hearing my voice, I sighed in relief. At least I had that going for me, I guess.

'System? You there?'

I waited, and yet nothing responded, both in this world of water and in my mind.

Frowning, I continued moving, hoping to maybe find... something.

As I waded through the chest deep water, I recounted what happened.

I remembered waking up in a dark room, before a scarred man approached me. After talking and beating another man, he approached me and...

Shuddering, I realized that I was most likely poisoned by something. Unless I died for a second time, and instead of a void I got a river this time?

Chasing that out of my mind, I continued wading through this black sea, observing both the water and sky.

I don't know how long it was, but eventually I found a small island. Moving towards it, I noticed that it was just a few feet long and wide, but at least I would no longer be in the water.

Dragging myself onto the grey sand, I sighed in relief. My muscles ached...

Thinking that, I looked down, noticing that I was back in my original body. Frowning, I looked around.

"Looking for something?"

Jumping in fright, I turned around.

Standing on the water in front of me... was me.

Yet, it wasn't. We shared the same body, the same face, but where I had a warm, lazy look, the woman standing in front of me was cold and sharp. Her eyes were a ghastly blue, and she had a few runes etched onto her bare arms, which were much more muscular than mine.

Sighing, she looked at me before pursing her lips.

"Looks like your quite jumpy, huh? Well, we don't have much time. So, listen first before asking anything. Understood?"

Nodding, I stayed quiet, curious about what was happening.

"So, let's start with who I am. Obviously, I'm you, but I am the you from... a long time in the future? Anyways, listen, I have a few things to tell you.

One, start training both your body and your mind. It takes a while, and I don't remember when, but when I was young... shit happened. I can't go to in depth, lest I attract it's attention.

Two, you should stockpile as many skill points as possible. Try to earn everything yourself before using them. Build a foundation. I learned the hard way that skipping the foundation was the wrong play.

Three, never trust @#*&%!... damn."

Growling, she turned around, looking towards the sky.

"Looks like I said too much and overstayed my welcome. Look, just... get strong, okay? You have probably a decade and a half or so before it... happens. Enjoy the peace, but train. Train as hard as you can. You'll need it. Now, looks like I have to go before it finds me... Good luck, young me."

Saying so, she flickered away, leaving me in silence.

I was, to say the least, completely and utterly confused.

Was that actually me? From the future? Why didn't she have the dog ears?

Maybe that was how my... our soul looked like? Just our original body? Was that our soul?

Hearing a faint rumbling, I looked around. The water was rippling, and the sky started getting darker.

A loud rip came from behind me, and when I turned I saw a gigantic eye staring at me.

The sclera was a deep crimson, and the iris was a swirling mixture of yellow and green. The pupil was a horizontal slit, the same crimson as the sclera.

Pure malice and hatred was radiated from the eye, and I was shaking hard.

I looked away, unable to withstand the gaze. I turned and ran, trying to get as far as I could.

The rumbling continued, and the hatred kept washing over my body in waves.

I ran, ran, and ran. I was panting, my body screaming at me, yet I continued to run. I couldn't bring myself to stop. I felt that if I stopped... I died.

It felt like an eternity, but eventually the rumblings calmed down before stopping altogether.

I kept running until I didn't feel the gaze on me. Looking over my shoulder, I sighed in relief when I saw just an empty sky.

Collapsing to the ground, I drew in air as quickly as I could, before I froze. Looking down, I screamed when I saw the eye was repeating infinitely below me, creating a landscape. Looking up, I saw the same thing, before I was flying down a spiral, the eyes all around me.

~~~

(Jahi PoV)

I looked down at Kat's pale, blanched face. Sweat poured from her brow, and I gently wiped it off. She was shivering, her eyes flitting everywhere below her eyelids.

Sighing, I leaned back in my chair, holding her warm hand. For three days she had been asleep. For three days I sat beside her, along with Julie, watching over her.

Looking up, I saw Julie resting her head on the side of the bed. She had managed to stay awake for the entire time, before passing out a few hours ago.

We had tried everything, from haling magics to herbs and medicines. However, that led to an unsettling revelation.

It was no longer a matter of curing a simple poison; instead, we had to wait. Whatever was happening to Kat, it was something only she could overcome.

Even with the bond I could only sense her physical presence, no longer able to feel surface level emotions.

The bandits used a mixture of things. The lavendoria was a plant that's extract made for a potent knock out drug, while the nightshade induced hallucinations. However, the real problem was Acheron Seed. It forced a person into their mind, to relive or recall various things. It was also something people knew little about, as it was not only rare but varied. Sometimes it was weak, showing someone basic memories, like what they had for dinner last night. Other times, it showed people a warped version of their memories, usually adding parts that weren't present during the actual events.

Sighing, I looked down at Kat, wiping more sweat off her brow. Pulling the blanket up, I continued to hold her hand. Feeling her grip tighten, I looked towards her eyes.

They flickered open slightly, before looking towards me.

Seeing the ghastly blue, I shivered at how cold her eyes were.

---

So...

Yeah...

Alright, we are going to discuss this, just a bit. Like the strange person said, if they are to be trusted, major, crazy stuff won't happen for a while. Like a while while. So, don't worry about that. We still have, according to this other Kat, ~15ish years. That means that most of the stuff in the near future will still be tame-ish. Y'know, character development, training, fights, eventually smut... the normal stuff. I just kinda went with the chapter, an eventually all this will com full circle? We shall see if I am (hopefully) still writing then.

Treat this chapter as... something that may or may not happen. I don't plan on rushing towards crazy town. Like I said, I want to get all the other tame stuff done first before we get into that stuff. Additionally, if the reason you like this novel is for the tame stuff, I don't ever plan on getting rid of it. Kat will always be a maid and so on. It's just... eventually I want to write about Jahi and Kat doing crazy stuff.

Well, I should probably stop rambling...

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