The alchemist paused, the ladle hovering above the cauldron. She had been about to pour some stew into a bowl. She looked over at the two, her eyes wide. "What did you say?" she asked, wondering if she had heard Spider correctly.
"Kail has had his powers since birth. I discovered this when I first saw him as a baby. He could see me and he could even understand me. He is a unique person," Spider answered. "It is why he is able to make contracts and use his powers."
Nova nodded when the alchemist looked to him for confirmation. "I've only known Kail for a shorter time but it is clear that he is going to be very powerful. The Goddess of Darkness has made him her warrior. I think he is exactly what this world needs."
The alchemist finally poured the ladle of stew into the bowl before handed it to Nova. She pondered over their words as she walked over to a small chest next to her shelf of dishes on the wall. She opened it and inside was an assortment of tableware. She picked out two spoons and closed the chest, which was small enough to fit perfectly on the small table she had near the fire pit.
She gave one spoon to Nova before pouring herself a bowl of stew. Once she was sitting down and had taken a bite, she looked over at the two. "Does that mean the reemergence of the darkness element is finally coming?"
Spider smiled. "Yes, I believe so."
The alchemist smiled. "My father will be happy to hear that. I would suggest the two meet but he is still a vengeful spirit. I fear that if they meet, he will try and control Kail using possession."
Possession happened only when a spirit had powerful emotions such as regret or anger. They could possess someone and force them to do whatever they wanted. If one wanted to free the possessed, they would need someone of the Light element under the Blessing branch.
Nova shook his head with a sigh. "I have told your father time and time again that making a move against the kingdom will only result in the destruction of everyone of the Darkness element. Our numbers are already small. It would be like swatting a fly to the kingdom."
She chuckled. "You know how my old man is. Once he's made up his mind, he's impossible to stop."
"Well, he needs to be in this case," Nova said with a huff.
Spider listened quietly, confused but curious.
The alchemist sighed. "Yes but can you blame him after the way he was killed?"
She could still clearly remember the day like it had happened only yesterday. Someone had ratted out her father, who was of the Darkness element. Her father had healed that person but it cost her father his life.
As a result of that person ratting him out, a small army from the kingdom arrived on their doorstep. Her father had been dragged out of the hut, fighting as hard as he could. But with the lack of training, he could only do so much to fight them off.
He was beheaded in the middle of the village for all to see. One of the soldiers forced her to watch. After that, his headless body was left in the middle of the village and the soldiers marched out of the village. The village buried his body, holding a funeral for him for three days.
Soon after, his spirit returned, full of anger, hate, and desire for revenge. He was currently trapped in a knot, a circle made using blessed white paint. He could not get out unless someone destroyed the circle.
"No, I can't blame him. The anger he feels after dying in such a way is understandable. Yet it shouldn't blind him to the reality of things. If he tries to take on the kingdom, he will officially annihilate our element," Nova said with a grim expression. "Attacking them will only make them work harder to search for us."
Kail opened his eyes when the early morning brought an ear splitting scream. Startled, he sat up quickly. He was bewildered by the unfamiliar room as a chorus of shouts and screams began to fill the air.
One stood out to him.
"Undead!" someone screamed. "They've broken through the barrier!"
That was all that needed to be said for Kail to bolt out of bed and out of the room. He saw Nova and Spider rushing into the herb-scented hut as people outside were panicking. Without a word, Nova picked Kail up and put him on his back.
A short woman entered and began gathering herbs and strange bottles along with an assortment of other things. All of it was disappearing into a space gem.
When Nova carried Kail out into the chaotic street, he saw people gathering things and packing their horses with whatever could fit. Some people were taking off with little packed. Kail had no time to ask questions as a screech out of a nightmare filled the air.
It sent a chill through Kail's body and his heart raced. He looked in the direction it had come from. Standing a small hill in the dirt road, staring at the rushing villagers, was an undead.
Its body was rotting away. Bits of bone were visible, skin was hanging off, different liquids oozed and dripped. Yet the rotting body did nothing to hinder it when it started sprinting towards the village.
"Go...go!" Kail shouted. "Everyone, run!"
At his words, people started moving again, having frozen from the screech. Nova sprinted away as Kail clung onto him. He looked behind him and saw that Spider carried the woman as he ran.
A poor soul was grabbed by the undead as more began to appear on the hill. The woman had been too slow. The undead got to work on biting into her face, blood quickly gushing out and dripping onto the ground.
Her screaming was soon silenced as another joined and tore into her neck after shoving the first one away. Her body went limp. Kail looked away in horror. His body felt cold as he buried his face in Nova's shoulder.
He would never forget that awful sight. He had been unable to look away and now it was burned into his memory.
Kail raised his head when they finally stopped to rest some time later. The sun was high in the sky now and everyone was gathering, checking each other over. The short woman got to work on checking on each individual as soon as Spider set her down.
Nova set Kail down and turned to him. He frowned at Kail's still horrified expression. "Glace, he needs something to calm him down," Nova called to the short woman.
After giving a woman an herb, she hurried over to them. She held out her hand and small bottle of glowing pink liquid appeared. She pulled the cork free and gave it to Kail. "Drink this. This will help you relax."
Kail nodded numbly and took the intricate glass bottle. He eyed the strange liquid before deciding to just try it. He downed it, the taste surprisingly sweet, making it easy to drink.
The effects hit almost immediately. His mind calmed as his body relaxed. Glace smiled. "There. Better?" she asked gently.
Kail nodded. "Thanks."
"Anytime, Young Warrior." She ruffled his hair before going to check on the others.
Kail was confused by her words. "Young Warrior?" he echoed. "Does she know I'm Izabella's chosen warrior?"
Nova nodded. "We told her last night while you slept. She can be trusted, don't worry."
Kail didn't like that they so easily gave away his situation but nothing could be done about it now. If Nova said she could be trusted, then he would just have to trust she would keep quiet.
"How long before we have to run again?" he asked.
"Probably a few hours. Maybe even longer. There's no way to be certain," Spider said as he joined the two. "As much as I hate to say it, that woman they killed provided us some time to get away. We should have been able to lose them."
"Let's just hope there's no more of the bastards in the area," Kail said as he sat down.
The two elves looked at him, startled by his cussing.
Kail looked back at them. "What?"
Spider shook his head and laughed a bit as he sat down. Nova sighed and sat down as well. "I never thought it would sound so oddly natural for you to cuss," Nova said. "Perhaps because I know just how different you are to everyone else."
Spider grinned. "Cuss to your heart's content, Kail. It will throw everyone off."
Kail couldn't help but laugh. "Do you want me to tell you how much I really know?"
Nova stared at him in disbelief. "Did you learn all of it from your family?"
"Nope. I learned it from my previous life," Kail said, lowering his voice as he spoke. "That life gives me an advantage."
"Previous life? You're a reincarnation?" Nova spluttered, unable to hide his shock.
Kail nodded. "Yes. It's thanks to the Goddess of Darkness that I'm here." He glanced around, making sure no one was paying attention, before lowering his voice more. "I was already blessed by a demon king from my first world. That is why I had powers from birth."
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