I stared at Aleah Jeffers for several monts, before an idea ca to mind. She invaded my dream, my soul. Perhaps she knew about my current condition. If so, maybe she knew how to… I don't know. Hide it? Change it? It didn't matter as long as it stopped being a problem.
"Excuse ," I said. "I need to speak with Captain Aleah about sothing."
Everyone, aside from Anna, looked at in confusion. Before they could say anything, I marched over to Aleah Jeffers.
"Captain Aleah, may I have a mont of your ti?" I asked in a polite tone.
She nodded. On the surface, she acted polite. However, I noticed the twinkle of amusent in her eyes.
The two of us walked out of the training area and entered a storage room nearby. Aleah Jeffers, or the Wandering Witch rather, chuckled the mont I closed the door behind us.
"Oh, that was too amusing," the Wandering Witch said. "The looks on their faces when they saw your appearance."
I tore the wooden mask off and glared at her.
"So you were behind this!" I said.
The Wandering Witch snorted.
"I'm not the scheming, manipulative mastermind you seem to think I am, Gabriel," she said. "Nor are you the sole focus of my attention. You're important to , yes. However, you're not the center of my life."
"Then how do you explain this?" I asked, pointing to my face.
The Wandering Witch sighed.
"If I help you with this little problem of yours, will you treat with less hostility?" she asked. "Yes, you have good reason to hate , but it does get tireso. When we start our lessons, I don't want to have to put up with your attitude the entire ti."
I rolled my eyes at her.
"I'm sorry that my hatred for you is such a burden," I said in a sarcastic tone.
"I accept your apology," the Wandering Witch said with complete sincerity.
I opened my mouth to respond, before I shut it and shook my head. So battles weren't worth fighting.
"I promise to be… civil," I said through gritted teeth. "Don't expect more from ."
The Wandering Witch smiled.
"That's all I ask," she said. "To answer your earlier question, you look like this because of the new cultivation technique you're practicing."
I narrowed my eyes at her. This wasn't new information. I had already figured out that much.
"Did you have sothing to do with that?" I asked.
The Wandering Witch made a so-so gesture.
"A little," she said. "I ca across the transmigrator who created it. He wanted to return to his forr peak by changing his body to match his soul by cultivating soul magic. I found the idea intriguing, so I offered him so advice.
"However, I never expected it to end up in your hands. I wanted you to start cultivating your soul at a later ti, but you skipped ahead." She grinned at . "I'm so proud of you, my little prodigy."
A shiver ran down my spine and I opened my mouth to retort. However, I rembered my promise in ti and closed it. The Wandering Witch smirked, as if she read my thoughts.
"So why did it make look like this?" I asked. "It didn't have this effect on my great grandmother."
"Of course not," the Wandering Witch said. "You're different. Unlike her, you have a severed fate. It is one of the requirents for achieving godhood."
I stared at her in shock.
"Are you saying that I'm becoming a god?" I asked.
The Wandering Witch laughed.
"Oh no," she said. "Not if I have anything to say about it. Divinity is not the only path to Ascension."
A part of wanted to scoff and mock the Wandering Witch for her delusions of grandeur. However, another part of feared that she wasn't being delusional at all.
"Gabriel, what do you think divinity and Holy magic is?" the Wandering Witch asked.
I frowned.
"The power of a god?" I said, turning it into a question.
The Wandering Witch gave a disappointed look.
"What a shallow answer," she said. "You have all the knowledge required, yet you still haven't figured it out. How disappointing." She looked thoughtful for a mont. "I'll give you another chance. If you say the correct answer, I'll reward you."
I wanted to throttle her, but I reined in my anger and frustration. If I wanted the Wandering Witch's help, I needed to play her ga. Otherwise, I'd be stuck with a face that could cause a war.
After I took a deep breath to clear my mind, I thought back on our conversation. Soul magic and divinity. How were those two related?
Then an absurd idea ca to mind.
"Are… Are divinity and soul magic the sa thing?" I asked.
The Wandering Witch's eyes lit up.
"Correct!" she said. "Divinity is the power of a god's soul. Holy magic is a manifestation of that. This is why Holy magic is so diverse. Its powers depend on the domain of the god in question." She gestured to . "Your appearance is a physical manifestation of your soul magic." She wore a disgusted look. "Your nascent divinity, if you want to call it that. I'll tell you the proper term after Mirkvale Forest, once we begin your education in earnest."
I stood there, trying to co to terms with what I just learned.
"So, am I so kind of demigod?" I asked.
The Wandering Witch shrugged.
"In a manner of speaking, yes," she said. "A weak one though."
"Wouldn't that just make an even bigger target than I already am?"
The Wandering Witch nodded.
"Yes!" she said with alarming enthusiasm. "There are many demons who would find your soul particularly delicious."
A thread of despair wrapped around my heart.
"How do I hide this?" I asked.
The Wandering Witch gave a chill-inducing smile.
"I could teach you," she said. "But why should I?"
I blinked at her in surprise.
"Because I'm important to you and you want sothing from ?" I said.
The Wandering Witch nodded.
"True, but even if you die, I can always start over with another soul."
I stared at her, not sure what to make of her words. She put all this effort into… I didn't even know how to describe what she did to . Shape? Yes, that seed fitting.
She put all this effort into shaping , but was willing to let die? I didn't believe it. However, the expression on her face made doubt myself.
"Then what do you want from ?!" I asked, confused and exasperated.
The Wandering Witch stepped forward until we were less than a foot apart. I stood taller than her. However, with her presence, she seed to tower over . I resisted the urge to step back.
Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.
Sotis I forgot that the Wandering Witch was old, powerful, and dangerous. However, she found ways to remind .
"Simple," the Wandering Witch said. "Give in and accept as your master."
Everything within rebelled against that idea.
"I will never be your servant!" I snarled.
The Wandering Witch let out a mirthless chuckle.
"Not that kind of master," she said. "I don't want you to beco my servant. I want you to beco my apprentice. My disciple. My student."
I blinked at her in surprise.
"I already have a teacher," I said.
"In martial arts, yes. However, not in soul magic." The Wandering Witch shrugged. "Besides, a person may have more than one teacher in their lifeti."
"Why do you even need my acknowledgnt?" I asked. "You're going to do what you want anyway."
The Wandering Witch made a conceding gesture.
"True," she said. "However, there is a world of difference between teaching a favorite and an apprentice. Accepting the latter cos with more obligations and duties for both parties involved. That is what I want between us. A formal master/apprentice relationship."
She was right. According to Teacher, the relationship between a teacher and their student, or a master and their apprentice in this case, was akin between that of a parent and their child. Even if the two ended up severing their relationship later on, that bond would always remain.
I loathed the very idea of having that sort of relationship, that sort of connection, with the Wandering Witch. However, I didn't know if I had much choice.
Yes, I could hide my face using disguise rings, but there were ways to circumvent them. Not only that, but if a demon or so other being discovered that I was a nascent god, then things wouldn't end well for .
"You hate this, don't you?" the Wandering Witch asked, smirking at .
I glared at her.
"You're enjoying this, aren't you?" I asked through gritted teeth.
The Wandering Witch gave a sadistic smile.
"Of course. This mont makes enduring all your whining and complaining worth it."
I clenched my fists and resisted the urge to punch her in the face. It wouldn't work, but it would feel satisfying in the mont. However, only for a mont.
After an internal struggle that lasted for several minutes, I made my decision.
"Fine," I spat out.
A wide smile spread across the Wandering Witch's face.
"Excellent," she said. "We don't have ti for an elaborate ceremony, so we'll keep it simple for now."
I grimaced.
"Do we have to?" I asked.
"Yes," the Wandering Witch said, a serious expression on her face. "This isn't a re formality. This is a mystical act that will bind us together for the rest of our existences."
I sighed.
"Fine," I said. "Let's get this over with."
"Indeed. Repeat these words to ."
The Wandering Witch leaned over and whispered in my ear. Hmm, sounded simple enough.
"Do you accept , Gabriel Sturm, as your apprentice?" I asked.
The mont I finished speaking, I felt sothing strange. A vague presence started to form. It felt similar to the bond I shared with Aurora, when we first made our contract. However, this one felt incomplete.
"I do," the Wandering Witch said in a formal tone.
The bond between us grew clearer and stronger. A part of feared what would happen when it beca complete, but there was no backing out now. I was already in too deep.
"Do you accept , Nox, as your master?" the Wandering Witch asked.
Nox? That sounded like the na of a goddess, one of night, but there was no such goddess. At least, I had never heard of one.
Who was the Wandering Witch?
I opened my mouth to ask, but stopped. My intuition warned not to interrupt this particular ceremony. I would regret it if I did.
"I do," I said instead.
With that, the bond between us ford. It wasn't as intimate as the one I shared with Aurora, but it felt far stronger. Whether or not this bond was a lifeline, or a noose around my neck, remained to be seen.
"Who are you?" I asked the Wandering Witch, all my anger and hatred forgotten for the mont.
The Wandering Witch, or Nox rather, gave a mysterious smile.
"I'm rely soone searching for a suitable successor to my legacy," she said. "With luck, you're that person. We'll see what the future brings."
Maybe it was the bond between us, but my intuition told that this was a lie. Rather, her answer wasn't the complete truth. However, I kept this to myself. Now that we were master and apprentice, we would be spending more ti together. I would figure out her motives sooner or later.
"Now then, to hide your current appearance," Nox said. "Well, you know how you rge with your familiar to achieve full unity?"
At this point, I wasn't surprised that she knew about that. I just nodded.
"Do that, but with your own soul. Pull it back, so to speak. Use the bond between us as reference. That will help find the edge of your soul."
I opened my mouth to ask more, but she spoke up first.
"Now then, Lord Gabriel," Nox said, putting on her public persona once more. "We will reach Mirkvale Forest in a few days. How do you want to approach it?"
I studied her for several long monts. Nox, as Aleah Jeffers, looked back at with a calm expression on her face. I considered trying to force the issue, but decided against it for now.
Instead, I gave her instructions before I put on the wooden mask and left the storage room to et up with the others.
After leaving the storage room, I t up with the others to touch base and tell them about my plan to approach Mirkvale Forest. None of them objected to my idea. Rather, they still seed a bit too dazed. It appeared that my nascent divinity had a stronger effect than I realized.
This emphasized the importance of hiding it. The fewer people who saw my current appearance, the better.
I finished touching base with the others, before I returned to the cabin I shared with Anna. There, I spent the next several hours practicing "pulling" my soul back, to make my nascent divinity stop leaking through.
This proved much more difficult than I expected. Pulling on my bond with Aurora was easy, since I could feel it. However, pulling back my own soul felt like trying to grasp nothingness.
Thankfully, I had two bonds to use for reference: the one I shared with Aurora, and the one I shared with Nox, the Wandering Witch. According to the latter, these would help find the edge of my soul.
Aurora also offered help and guidance. We shared a bond, but she was her own independent being, one that could explore my body and soul. The two of us worked together to find the edge of my soul. After countless failures, we succeeded.
The edge of my soul felt like… Well, no words could fully describe it. If my soul was the sum of my entire being, everything that I was, then the edge of my soul was the boundary between my being and the rest of the world. Not just in a physical sense, but a spiritual one.
I was both part of the world, yet also separate from it. It was in that distinction, that nonexistent line distinguishing and the rest of the world, where I found the edge of my soul. It was like an epheral liminal space that marked the boundary of my existence.
Of course, finding the edge of my soul was just the first step. Pulling it back proved even more difficult. After a while, I gave up. There was no need to hurry. I already made so progress. I could figure out the rest in the coming days. And if we arrived at Mirkvale Forest before then… Well, I'd figure sothing out.
When I looked out the window, I saw that it was late afternoon. I had spent the entire day in my cabin, and ended up skipping lunch. Maybe even dinner too.
That wouldn't do.
I decided to get up and fetch so food for myself. However, before I reached the door to my cabin, it burst open and all of my companions entered.
Anna ca in first, followed by Cally and Leroy. Priest Jai and Priestess Natille brought up the rear.
The cabin I shared with Anna was ant for two people. It felt very cramped with six people in it. I looked between my companions, confused. Thankfully, I was wearing the wooden mask, so my appearance didn't affect any of them.
"What is going on between you and Aleah Jeffers?" Cally demanded.
I blinked at her in surprise, caught off guard.
"What are you talking about?" I asked, feigning ignorance.
Cally snorted, before gesturing to Anna.
"This one refuses to tell us, but we know sothing is going on. We're not blind."
I glanced at Anna, who gave an apologetic look.
"And before you try to deny it," Cally said. "Rember that I'm the one who told you about what Aleah Jeffers did in the first place."
Oh, right. I had forgotten about that. Cally was the one who told that Aleah Jeffers, and a few others within House Sturm, had plotted to kill . Of course, at the ti, I hadn't known that everything had been an elaborate plot orchestrated by Nox.
"So, why do you keep eting with her in private?" Cally asked.
I glanced at Priest Jai and Priestess Natille. Neither of them expressed surprise or confusion at Cally's words. I narrowed my eyes at her.
"Did you tell them about what happened?" I asked, gesturing to my two newest companions.
Cally shrugged.
"I told them that she was behind your Incident, as you like to call it," she said. "They put the rest together themselves."
"That wasn't your secret to share," I said in a heated tone. "You had no right to do that!"
Cally pointed a finger at .
"You gave that right when you started acting strange and erratic," she said. "We're supposed to be a team. Everyone has the right to their own secrets. However, when those secrets start affecting our mission, the rest of us need to know." She leaned forward. "And yes, your recent actions count."
I looked at the others. They all nodded, including Anna.
"You too?" I asked, surprised.
"Yes," Anna said. "I know you like to keep things to yourself, but I think it's best if you tell the others."
I studied her for a mont, before I looked at Cally.
"And you want to include Priest Jai and Priestess Natille?" I asked. "Weren't you the one who said that they were sent by the Church of the Sun to spy on us?"
Cally snorted.
"That was before I t them," she said. "Besides, your little display earlier made an impact on them."
I looked at Priest Jai and Priestess Natille. Now that I took a closer look, I realized that they looked at with awe and reverence in their eyes. It gave goosebumps.
"I apologize for my rude attitude towards you, Lord Gabriel," Priest Jai said. "And I ask for your forgiveness. I looked down upon you because the gods hadn't blessed you, or so I thought. However, now I know how wrong I had been."
Priestess Natille nodded, a fervent expression on her face.
"It's clear that the gods didn't grant you their divinity because you have your own," she said. "You're a god in the making, aren't you?"
Cally smirked. It was clear that she didn't believe Priestess Natille's claims. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
"Fine," I said. "I planned on telling you guys the truth at so point anyway. Why not now?" I looked at all of my companions. "Aleah Jeffers is the Wandering Witch."
Reviews
All reviews (0)