Chapter 9

Chapter 9: /Zephyrine’s pov/ I’ve been walking around for over 10 minutes. Normally it wouldn’t have been a problem if i wasn’t so freaking HUNGRYYYY. [Incoming message from: AXEL.] {There was nothing out of the ordinary in the coordinates you sent, aside from the usual royal entanglement. Frey’s vitals are low, I'm going to check on him. Be safe.} [End of transmission] At first I didn't think much of it, Axel must have had a run in with a royal, meaning Tharion since Selene wasn’t hiding the fact that she hated me, But Frey's vitals were reading normal on my interface unless… “SHIT!” I said as I realized too late, a containment barrier was already in effect. But I didn't notice it being cast, meaning the area of effect was of a wider range. “Master, it has to be,” I thought. The output was seamless, the range was wide and I'm not sure if anyone aside from the elders were skilled enough to pull this off, or so I thought. The voice was entrancing, the air was getting thicker and my body was feeling heavier. Before I could tell what was going on, I felt my body hit the ground hard. [Vitality dropping, fight the draining or suffer irreversible damage to your core] [Estimated time to completion: 27 minutes, 25 seconds] Sometimes I feel I got placed with an outdated system and sometimes it just feels like I was just cursed. “Such a pretty girl, wouldn’t want anything happening to your face”. Very soothing, why does it sound like she’s trying to kill me? “Oh shit” I used a combustion trick that Frey taught me to push my body off the ground. Almost immediately, a spear made of black ice shattered right beside me, inches from my weird face. Any person in their right mind would have ran the moment they saw an opportunity, well, I’m not in my right mind. “Who are you and why does it look like you’re trying to kill me?” I asked, politely. And she replied back like I stole her boyfriend. “How dare you speak to me, with a blood as tainted as yours?” In a moment of pure stupidity I thought to myself ‘what would Frey do in this situation’. To this day, that was the dumbest thing I had ever tried. /boom/ It happened so fast I couldn't believe it. She had a spear in my back before my brain could register the change in pressure. I could feel my blood drip down the spear. It was funny because I wasn’t in any kind of pain, just a weird chill. ”Sorry child, I don’t want you dead, I just need your blood, even if it is impure,” she said, sounding very honest. I was paralyzed for almost 20 minutes, kept busy by my wild thoughts and the beautiful waves the runes produced each time mana pulsed through them. Then something caught my eye, the timer was still counting down. “I thought she left and the danger was averted, why is it still active?” “feel it child” “Who said that?” I yelled. The hall was filled with vibrant colours, but I was the only one there. “can’t you feel it, Zephirine. This is not your plane. These colours, that energy, my voice. None of it belongs to you, yet.” The voice resounded again. It was deep, calm, and aged. “Who are you though?” “That's irrelevant for now, we are bound to meet again” then I saw him, tall, grey, surprisingly not bald, his eyes were…purple? That can’t be right….. that would mean… With the warmest smile a person could forge, he pushed me. “come back when you’re stronger young one, I’ll wait” Viewer pov With 6 minutes left on the countdown, Zephirine was almost drained of all her vitality. She had been put in a trance, neurotoxins of this level were forbidden and rare and escaping was even rarer. ‘your enchantment has been broken m’lady’ a whisper echoed as the witches circle binding Zephirine cracked and shattered. “Hanaan, is this how you treat a fellow vessel?” she said, the voice belonging to something unnatural. The water grandlord had been identified as Hannan by something that took control of Zephirine's body, which visibly irritated her. In the blink of an eye Hannan was in motion, she launched a barge of 3 inch ice darts, all dealing zero damage as they were paused mid air, millimeters from Zephirine's face. “You have no idea what you've gotten yourself into, this isn't your fight child” the being said as it released the projectile killing all momentum. ‘Advance level kinetic control? I was told this kid is a nature born. That voice…this has gotten out of hand, at least i’ve gotten enough of her mana to use as a beacon.’ Hannan had already realized she would lose if this confrontation dragged on, whatever was controlling Zephirine was definitely a GRANDLORD. The question was how did it take control of her. “You can leave, not much damage was done to this child. Go before I forget your position” it commanded. Although Hannan had doubts, a wave of red aura washed over the hall, causing a heatwave that boiled her blood, literally. As Hannan left Zephirine’s body dropped, as her lifeless body was about to hit the ground, the aura surrounding the room gathered to form a man that caught her inches from the ground. “That was close” the man said in a stoic voice before chuckling at the display he had just pulled. short neatly trimmed white hair, a white beard that had streaks of red. As he stood carrying her in his arms like a child, his attire resembled a man that belonged to the higher class, a red and black long coat embroidered with golden symbols. His neck had a burn scar from something unnatural. “Seems i was on time” he sighed in relief as he flooded her body with his mana, trying to reduce the impact of the draining spell. As he sat beside her as she recovered, he heard footsteps coming in fast. As an orange streak dashed at him he smiled knowing what the boy was feeling was only natural. “Seems you’re fully recovered son, mind telling me why you left the hall?” he said calmly as Frey retracted his sword. “Dad? What are you doing here? What happened to her? What was that thing that tried to kill me? Why are so calm!!???" Frey launched a barrage of questions at his father as he tried to grasp the situation. He answered ever so calmly, a striking contrast to his son. “Yo. I'm here to save your dumb ass. Draining spell. Err, she’s a nut case. Because I'm cool? Oh hi Axel, sorry you’re getting dragged into this.” “Cough, cough. Why can’t you wake me up with a buffet or sum, always yelling. Frey, I had a weird dream.” she uttered weakly, trying to get up. “Why don’t i get you kids something to eat then i’ll explain what’s really going on” “Sounds like a good idea sir”