Chapter 5

Dzive

She was sleeping in a warm embrace. Her head was softly resting against a voluminous chest, and she could feel her body going up and down at the pace of a slow breathing. Her arms were firmly wrapped around her mother’s neck with its skin softer than silk, finding its maternal fragrance more than reassuring and, rocked by those sensations, she went back to sleep. Unconsciously, she tightened the grasp of her little arms.

Élet

Through the window, leaves were casting dancing rays of sunlight over Élet’s face. Hhhm… let me… sleep… a bit more… ...mattress… comfortable… mattress…? Eyes still closed, the young woman frowned. Her mind still stuck in sleep’s molasses, she still managed to open her eyelids in an effort of will. I don’t recognize this ceiling… She started laughing as soon as she understood what she just thought. My god, what a cliché Isekai sentence. That’s when she finally noticed the tiny arms tightly wrapped around her neck. Awakened by the laugh, the girl batted her eyes as she was stretching a bit. In a sweet and soft voice, still full of sleep’s remnants, she talked as she was yawning.

“Huaaaaa… Mom… ?” When her eyes crossed with the young woman’s, her sleepy disposition was successively replaced by interrogation, fear, surprise and finally relief. She extricated herself from the young woman’s arms and sat cross-legged on the bed, hands on her knees, giving her an acute sense of cuteness.

“You’re the… the goddess that descended to answer my call, right?”

“Goddess?” Answered Élet in surprize, tilting her head.

“Yes, I’m sure you’re! Legends say that if you go to the forest Shrine and make a Wish with all your resolve, a divine would hear your request and step down from its heavenly palace if they agree to the prayer’s request! My parents told me that and, as far as I know, they’re always right! They were famous adventurer you know?” She said with excitement, and excitement that, however, disappeared quickly and giving way to gnawing anxiety.

“My parents… my mom…” She glanced at her with a mix of hope and anxiety. “You’ve saved them… right?” In front of the girl’s emotions, Élet was lost.

“I-I don’t know…” She gave her a negative nod. “...no… I don’t think so…”

The changes took a will to appear on the young girl’s face, as if she had difficulties processing an idea to foreign. Her wide eyes started brimming with tears who then rolled like waterfall along her cheeks, and she started crying silently, collapsing like a puppet whose threads had been cut. Surprised, the young woman caught the young girl on the fly, taking her in her arms to try and soothe this overwhelming grief, lost in front of so much sorrow.

“Hush… hush…” She didn’t dare to say that everything was alright, fearing to lie to the girl.

“Dad… Mom,sob, were are you… Mom!”

“Hush, hush, me, I’m right here, hush hush.” Reacting to her words, the young girl nestled on Élet and buried her head in the young woman’s chest, sobbing softly. They stayed like that a long time, the little one weeping as the young woman tried to reassure her, lovingly caressing her hair. He didn’t lie to me… that’s unlike any other game I’ve ever played, I’ll really have difficulties keeping my emotions in check… Well, that’s not so bad, emotional commitment is a good way to live interesting things after all.

***

“Oh, seem’s like yeh’re awake lass!” An old man had softly pointed the tip of his nose through the half-closed door, only to open it fully when he had seen that the young woman was awake. She was sitting cross-legged on the bed, back against a wall, leaning next to the window. Her hand that was, so far, gently caressing the hair of the young girl, rose toward her mouth to make a sign to the elderly man to be quiet. Her eyes went back down. The old man followed her gaze and saw that the little one was still sleeping. Whispering, Élet said:

“She fell asleep crying in my arms, I think she really needs to rest. For her… her parents… do you know if they’re still alive?” About this point, she was clueless. In the same voice, the old man answered.

“Ah well lil’ miss, we were waiting for your awakening in hope yeh would be able to explain what’d happened, yeh’see? What’s yeh’re name again?”

“Élet.” He used the name multiple time while stroking his nose.”Let’s see… Élet Élet Élet, Élet … Nah, no idea. Yeh’re not from around here, don’t yeh?”

“I don’t even know where here is.” She answered with a vexed frown.

“Hhmm…” Even if the talking was done in whispers it still seemed to disturb the little one. She moved a bit to find again a comfy posture and her breathing settled down once more. Her face was slightly contorted as if she was going through a nightmare.

“Hush, hush, I’m here…” Said the young woman with a tender face. The old man waited two more minutes, to be sure that the girl was once again in a deep sleep, before he answered the implied question of the young woman. “

Yeh’re in Clarity, lil’miss, the only village two days away in every direction.” He paused one second then followed with another sentence.

“What’yeh thing about putting this kiddo in the bed and coming with me to talk a bit, eh?” She answered with a soft laugh quickly repressed.

“I say that if you’re able to remove her from my neck, you’re a true wizard.”

“Bah, then take her with you. I’m an alchemist, not a wizard, and my old bones aren’t made to stand for nothing.” He nodded at her, inviting her to follow him, what she did while taking the girl with her. The little one grumbled a bit while changing posture, but that was all.

***

Soon enough they were sitting in the living room. A high number of shelves were covering the walls from top to bottom, full of jars, bottles, books, stones and devices of all kinds. Élet was trying to look at everything at the same, attempting to understand what each object did, to see the content of each jar.

“Yeh’re a curious one neih? Never seen the workshop of a pharmacist-alchemist?”

“As a matter of fact, no, I’ve never seen one.” She answered while scratching her head.”

“Oh? Well, later, if you’ve the time, yeh could maybe come and talk to this old husk of an alchemist. I love curious ones, and company. The little one yeh’ve in your arms is one of them, actually, she comes her all the time when she’s not bothering her parents…” He paused for one second, a pained expression on his face. “So, what happened?”

And so the young woman explained how she had been awaiting a worthy summoner in her own world, and how she finally saved the girl in her arms by accident.

“Welp, that’s more or less what the tracks we’ve found were telling us. So, yeh’re a summoned, right? Never heard of that.”

“...What? For real?” She was surprised. Summoners and summoned were common knowledge in this world, if what her Uncle told her was right.

“Well, not about summoned exactly. Legends talk about how, in ancient time, you would be able to summon an angel or even a minor deity and how you would sign a contract with them, but it never occurred around her. However, I think you should be what those legends were talking about, after all you’ve the bracelet to prove it.”

“The bracelet?”

“You’ve not noticed yet? Look at your wrist, lass.” She looked at her wrist and there it was, like the old man told it. Its design was very simple, it was a coal-black metallic chain. I don’t even feel it against my skin… Uncle told me about this, but it’s still surprising. the way she had arrived in this world had confused her a bit. Unlike other normal games, she wasn’t relying on her gathered knowledge to move forward, since this place was way too realistic for her. She was just acting normally, as if it was real and not a game. The little one changed posture, letting go of Élet’s neck.

“And look at the Dzive, she has the same, on her other wrist. Oh? Dzive’s her name? Pretty.

“Oh yes, they told me about that before I came here, it’s the icon of our pact.” She thought all aloud.

“Seems about right with the legends. She gives yeh the ability to exist here and, in exchange, yeh must help her reach her goal, or something like that?”

“Yes, exactly what I’ve been taught. It’s the first time I do this so I’m a bit lost.” She smiled apologetically.

“No problem, I can see yeh’re pretty young, too. Well, at least your body is.”

“Ah yes, no, I am pretty young for the standard of my race.” He nodded, thinking.

“So… what are the goal of this pact?”

“Wait a second, let me look at it.” She answered reflexively. Ok, first time opening a menu window, let’s see how it work. And just as she was thinking that, semi-translucent text appeared in front of her.

Tutorial.

To open the menu window, touch your bracelet, say “open menu” or think it.

Oh, interesting. This window disappeared, replaced by another when she touched her bracelet.

Character sheet

Inventory

Contract

Options

Deconnexion

Nice! “What did you want to know, again?” “Goals of your contract?” He answered with a raised eyebrow. “Copy.” So how do I interact with the menu? Once again, as if answering her thought, a sentence appeared.

Menu can be interacted with vocal command, by touch or by mental command. -

Mental command? So if I think about my Contract…

Answering her thought, the Contract menu opened, making the other windows disappear. This menu was like a triptych, with the left panel displaying an image of Dzive with a short physical description. She is thirteen? No way, she so tiny. Under this part lay a column called -Contract Abilities-, where you could find two of them for now, Recall and All-consuming Gaol. The same was true for the right panel, with the difference that is was Élet’s and that another Ability lay there, Absolute Safeguard. Ah, there it is. The middle panels were displaying multiple interesting information, like the power of her Contract Link, or its harmony, respectively at one hundred and zero. And, of course…

“Found it. If what I read is right, the goal of our contract is to avenge her parents, protect the village, become the strongest and to take care of her. Well, seems like I’ve found an ambitious summoner, ah.” Become the strongest, am I in a shonen? She scoffed a bit at her own joke. The old man thought a second before answering.

“Indeed. She must have been traumatized by her parents’ death... but it’s a good contract, yeh must be happy.”

“A good contract?”

“Well, yes. I mean, the longer the contract, the longer you can stay here, right? Is your goal to be here, after all? Or you wouldn’t have answered her call.”

“That's… quite accurate, in fact.” She said, agreeing with him. That the time Dzive choose to wake up for the second time

Dzive

She slowly opened her eyes and the first thing she saw was the old man.

“Greypa? Huaaaa…” She stretched while yawning. Her face, however, lost pretty quickly the light-heartedness of sleep. When she spoke again, it was with eyes serious like Death.

“My Dad and my Mom, they’re dead, aren’t they?” Greypa could only nod affirmatively with a pained expression. I thought too. They were already dead when the goddess saved me. But still… I hoped… She, however, put herself together quite quickly. Her gaze was once again filled with resolve.

“Greypa, do you know where the goddess is right no? I would like to thank her for saving me.” To this request, the old man made a peculiar expression, half-confusion half-fascination.

“Hey, little one, I’m here you know?” The voice was familiar to the girl, as if from her mother. Dzive was startled and turned around, realizing she was sitting on said goddess. She even still caressing her hair! W-what? Why didn’t I realize that directly?! She jumped, no, rushed really out of the gorgeous woman’s embrace before making a curtsy.

“A thousand thanks to you for saving me, goddess. Without your timely action I would be dead by now, I’m forever indebted to you. To gorgeous woman measured Dzive with a pensive smirk, before in turned into a smile.

“You know, Dzive, I’ve a name. For now on, can you call me Élet, please? It would make me happy.” She fondled Dzive’s hair a bit while saying that. “I can really call you that?

“Of course, no need to be all uptight around me, girl, I’m here for you after all, we’re linked.” And she pointed at their bracelet. Linked? She lowered her gaze and saw her own bracelet around her wrist.

“What? What’s that?”

“You don’t remember? You prayed so fervently for someone to save you, you’re the one that called me to you…” Remember remember remember… oh, yes!

“After you appeared at the Wishes’ Shrine, I heard a voice asking me if I wanted to sign a contract with you. That’s it?”

“Indeed, but don’t worry, I was asked the same question and answered yes too, I wasn’t forced or anything.” Even if Dzive’s worry was subconscious, fearing that she had inadvertently chained a goddess to herself, she noticeably relaxed. However, confused, she asked another question.

“But what does this contract mean, exactly?” The young woman chuckled softly before putting her eyes at the same height than Dzive’s.

“That means that starting now, I’m here to help you, little one.” And she fondled her hair once more.