Tiny Savior?

(A/N: Any plot holes you notice regarding the original Ravenns backstory, from Aria, to how he survived and ended up in Atlas ARE INTENTIONAL, please let me cook ;-;)

My eyes fluttered open, the world around me a blur. I could feel something beneath me, the coolness of stone or dirt, but my mind was too slow to piece it all together. My body felt... heavy as if I had been asleep for far too long, a dull throb pulsing in my head.

'Where am I?'

I blinked several times, and my vision started to focus. The world was dim, almost like something had swallowed the sun. My fingers twitched, and I noticed the sensation in them—the warmth of my skin, the pulse of life still flowing through me.

Something wasn't right. I didn't remember falling asleep here. Didn't remember anything except—

The Shade. The panther-like creature, its claws coming close to ending my new life in record times. That battle had been real, hadn't it? I could still taste the fear in my mouth, the rush of adrenaline in my veins. I had fought back. I had fought hard. I... won.

The thought lingered in my head. I had won. I had awakened in the heat of running awa- I mean in the heat of battle, and I had managed to kill the beast.

'But wait... more important than that...where am I?'

Looking around more closely, I saw I was in a small hut. It seemed hastily built, the roof, a meter high at most.

Moving towards the door I slowly pushed it open, just enough for me to peer outside. It was daytime, green and gold leaves shifting on the trees around the hut.

'Gold? From what I remember, gold leaves only appear in...' my eyes widened involuntarily.

This was either very good for me, or a death sentence. Gold leaves in Natura could mean any number of things ranging from the presence of a high-ranked Faerie of some kind, a high Vis concentration, or sacred grounds, usually the burial places of esteemed figures or major events, or in some cases just private land.

I hoped deeply that it wasn't the last option. No matter how diplomatic at this time, Elves did not take kindly to people encroaching on their sacred grounds.

Whoever brought me here didn't harbor ill intent, or at least that's what I assumed. They had healed any injuries I had, sheltered me, and well... I wasn't dead.

That much gave whoever it was some modicum of my trust, but I had to be careful regardless, I—Ravenn I mean— was living proof of that need to be cautious of those you surround yourself with. 

At my time of death, we still had no idea why Aria had set Ravenn up as she had. Ravenn just seemed like the ordinary pompous noble child. Maybe exaggerated in his cruelty, but nothing more. It made even less sense why I had been reborn as him as well, it was all completely random.

There was never even a proper explanation of how Ravenn survived the execution in the first place. A point-blank blast of Vis from a Twilight warrior should have atomized an unawakened at the very least. Even if his father had held back, that drop to the sea should have killed him, but to not only survive but also end up several thousand miles away in an underwater city? It was suspicious.

Alas, I had no time for these thoughts. Opening the door, I took a tentative step forward, and what I saw... was the strangest thing I had come across yet.

"Ahh you're awake I see, I hope you rested well child," a gentle, calming voice called out, while at the same time...

"WHAT TOOK YOU SO LONG TO GET UP HUH?? DAYLIGHTS BURNING," a second, angrier voice yelled.

It was a fairy, that I knew without a doubt... the problem was...

The fairy turned to face me, giving me a full view of the front of it, my eyes widening as I processed what I was seeing.

The fairy was small, maybe 7 or 8 inches tall at most.

What caught my attention, was the strange contrast between its two halves. The left side of the fairy's body was surprisingly muscular—its torso rippling with unnaturally well-defined muscles, its abs sculpted like a warrior's. There was an intensity to the form that made it clear this side had seen combat. The green and brown wings sprouting from this side looked strong, built for power, and the energy radiating from it was raw and untamed.

The right side, however, was in sharp contrast. This side was delicate, almost fragile, with an elegance that looked like it belonged to a noble or an ethereal being. The wings were a soft hue of purple and blue, shimmering with a regal quality that spoke of nobility. The slender limbs, the soft curve of its figure—everything about this side whispered of beauty, grace, and a quiet, almost fragile strength. It was as if the very essence of gentleness was captured here.

But it wasn't just the body that was mismatched. No, it was the face.

On the left side of the body, there was the head of a man, scarred and hardened by age. His features were sharp, his eyes piercing, disciplined, and steeled. A thick, grizzled beard framed his face, and his expression was as stern as a general's. His eyes bore into me as if evaluating my every move, his gaze not one of kindness but of cold calculation.

On the right side, however, lay a completely different head, this one a completely different story. This was a woman's face—young, with an expression of care. Her lips were slightly upturned, as if always ready to smile, and her eyes twinkled with a warmth and kindness that contrasted starkly with the man's cold judgment.

The only thing the two heads shared were the faint traces of authority in their gazes.

For a moment, I could only stare. My mind had yet to recover from the absurdity of the situation, yet the fairy's expectant gazes—both of them—bore into me as if waiting for a response.

The woman's face softened further, tilting her head ever so slightly. "Oh dear, are you alright, child? You seem quite dazed."

"Dazed? He's standing there gawking like a stunned hatchling! Get it together, brat! We don't have time for you to be standing around with your mouth open!" the bearded man barked, his voice like thunder compressed into a tiny form.

My mouth closed. Then opened. Then closed again. I blinked.

"I… I—" I cleared my throat. "Who… what—who are you?"

The woman smiled, a gentle, knowing thing. "We are Seraphis young human, who are you?"

"Ravenn Vaedr-"I started, almost as if on instinct, before pausing. "Just Ravenn" I finished.

Seraphis, the female side, giggled. "We have heard of you young Vaedricourt exile, but you are different than the rumors say. We have heard of and seen awakenings fundamentally changing people," she said, waving her hands at the other head, "But this is different somehow..."

"We have seen your gift, and it is strange, even among Paradox gifts. Could you perhaps shed some light on this matter for us?"

My eyes widened as I listened to her. I knew this world was strange, but I didn't exactly feel comfortable telling them that they were currently in a book I had read in my spare time. They knew my gift was Paradox rank which meant they were strong enough to distinguish between it and weaker gifts, so completely lying wasn't exactly in the cards either.

"I-" pausing for a second, my thoughts wandered back to my gift. Echoes of Order...

It was strange, not completely straightforward in its mechanics, but in essence, it was the power of Echoes. It granted me an immense aptitude for sound-based magic, but that was only a small bit of its power. 

"My gift... can see the Echo of this world," I started, scanning their faces as they watched me.

Seraphis' two faces watched me closely, their expressions unreadable. I swallowed. Even speaking those words aloud felt strange, as if I was solidifying something I wasn't ready to accept.

"I don't know the full extent of it yet," I continued slowly, testing the weight of my explanation. "But I can feel it—Echoes. Not just of sound, not just of voices carried on the wind, but of something deeper. Like remnants of what was and what could have been."

The woman's eyes gleamed with intrigue. "How fascinating… an Echo that exists beyond the constraints of time then?"

The man scoffed, arms crossed. "Hmph. Flowery words. What does that actually mean?"

I hesitated, looking down at my hands. "It means… I exist where I shouldn't. Ravenn died. His story is over. And yet, I remain—an Echo of what he was, but not quite the same. Not quite him. What he could have been."

Seraphis was silent for a moment. Then the man let out a sharp exhale. "Tch. Complicated nonsense. But if what you say is true, then that makes your existence even more precarious."

The woman, however, seemed almost delighted. "A being unshackled from fate's design… oh, child, do you understand what a rare thing you are?"

I shook my head, smiling nervously. "Not really."

"Then you will." She smiled, tilting her head. "But more than just your existence, your magic itself… these Echoes you speak of—are they just memories of the world and the things in it?" It seemed she understood my gift more deeply than I thought, or at least had an idea of it with such a precise question.

I clenched my fists, feeling the faint hum of power thrumming within me as I spun my tale. "They're more than memories, it's the resonance of things that once were, and have not been yet. A voice lost to time, a note that was never played, a step that was never taken. And I can make those echoes real," the words making more and more sense to me the more I spoke. I wasn't trying to sound cryptic or anything either, but this was the way I understood my gift.

'Echoes across time... across worlds? Could this actually be why? But then... did magic exist in my old world too?'

"Except, it only works on me, at least for now. And how it helped me survive when I wasn't awakened yet is beyond me, but somethings telling me it's a one-off," I continued quickly.

The man huffed. "Hmph. You speak like a philosopher, but I see potential."

Seraphis—the woman—smiled again, but something was knowing in her gaze. "An Echo, then. One who should not be yet is. One who can call upon what was and bend it into what will be."

She leaned forward slightly, floating up to my level, eyes twinkling. "Tell me, child… if you are an Echo of the past, what future do you plan to create?"

I didn't have an answer. Not yet. But I knew one thing for certain.

I refused to follow the path Ravenn was meant to take.

"I think- no... I want a second chance," I said, burning with conviction.

"I don't know what happened before... how I turned out to be such a stuck-up spoiled child. I also don't know where the charges against me came from, or why no one, not even the Vaedricourt head investigated. But it's a sham," I continued, fist clenched.

"And it all falls back to her." Aria. The Lust Demon, a small adversary to Riven, but a major point in Ravenns life. Something didn't sit right with me. For all her power in the novel, all her manipulation, for her to only be a small recurring character facing off against the protagonist... it wasn't just a plot hole. Something told me it would be different this time. She would be more than just a thorn in Rivens and my side.

The man's eyes burned into me. "You, runt, do you know how long you've been unconscious?"

I hesitated. "A few hours…?"

"Two days," he corrected, shaking his head in exasperation. "Two! Days! You have already wasted enough time as it is. We should be training, not wasting breath on pleasantries!"

"Wait, training?" I asked confused.

The woman sighed, resting a delicate hand on her cheek. "Now, now, there is no need to be so harsh. The child has been through quite an ordeal."

"He survived, didn't he?"

"But that does not mean he has recovered."

The two heads turned slightly toward each other, their expressions at odds—one sharp and irritated, the other calm and serene. It was an unnerving sight.

The man clicked his tongue. "Fine. Let's make this quick then." He turned back to me with the look of a war general about to hand out orders. "You're weak."

I blinked. "Excuse me?"

"Weak," he repeated, blunt as a falling rock. "But you survived a Shade. Which means you have potential. Maybe. Probably. We'll see."

The woman chuckled. "What my counterpart means to say is that we have been watching over you, child. And we believe you may be worth guiding."

I exhaled slowly. "Guiding?"

"Yes," she nodded. "We shall be your mentors."

"I shall be his mentor," the man corrected, jabbing a thumb toward his chest. "You'll just coddle him if I let you."

"And you would break him if I let you," she countered smoothly, eyes twinkling.

The man grunted, muttering something under his breath, but said nothing more.

I stared at them both, my mind still struggling to keep up. Two voices. Two personalities. One body. And somehow, they had just declared themselves my mentors.

"If you want your second chance, there's no room for weakness. You're newly awakened, with a Paradox-ranked gift, you're practically a baby bird in an empty nest with a... hungry Raven circling overhead," the man said, nodding as if amused by his own joke.

He was right, but the words hit hard. I needed to get stronger, much stronger, and these two were the perfect start. Along with that, I had two gifts that I had barely even acknowledged yet, a lead on how I had ended up in this world, and maybe why the author had written Ravenns story as he had.

I exhaled. "This is going to be a long day, isn't it?" I muttered quietly. 

The woman giggled. "Oh, my dear child, you have no idea."

The man smirked. "Hope you like pain, brat. Training starts now."

I had a truly long way to go. The main cast were probably all leagues ahead of me by now, establishing their places as a new generation of geniuses. But I was an anomaly. I knew my potential, and if I play my cards right...

Screw standing right below them, nipping at their heels as they lived on to be legends. I could be them. I could be a genius too, a powerhouse of humanity.

And so I set my goal. Beyond just my second chance, beyond standing beside the heroes.

I would get strong. I would save this world.

And then I would figure out why that damned author had made such a crappy world to begin with.