Yvinne

LVL ??? Goddess

[ Patron Goddess of Xael ] [ Great Hero ] [ Eternally Bereaved ] Status Sealed

The intricate summoning circle, which had been etched into the conservatory’s stone floor, was now glowing a brilliant white. It was identical to the sketch in the grimoire that was now nestled under the crook of my left arm, and so was identical to the circle used by every Patron Deity to summon Heroes when required.

I still remember waking up in the center of one of these circles. That light was reddish, though. I wonder if the color has some sort of significance…? The book doesn’t say. Maybe I’ll ask at the next Conference…

The time had finally come to finish the ritual, so I gently placed the book back on its lectern and took up instead a small silver knife, plain but elegant in shape and weight. Called an , so named because it was invented by the Gods to be the only sort of weapon capable of hurting said Gods, this tool would allow me to finish the spell and seal the Contract.

“To reincarnate the soul into one’s world rather than its origin, with the intention of elevating that soul to Hero status, one must forcibly bind the wayward soul to the ley line network of the new world, overwriting their existing ley connections. One forms a Contract with the Hero upon successful summoning, sealed by sacrifice and necessity, granting that Hero the required power they must have in order to become the catalyst for change they are meant to.”

Or, at least, that’s what’s written in this book. Honestly, I don’t understand most of it, but I think I grasped enough of the important parts to know what to do next.

…Theoretically.

I was once again standing in front of the summoning circle, looking down at the soft silverish light that bathed my boots and the hem of my gown. The air had become impossibly still around me, like the world was afraid to breathe. It felt like something was coalescing, concentrating itself here, and the hairs on the back of my arms were standing straight up like just before a lightning strike.

I suppose this is sort of like a lightning strike. Let’s see what the storm brings!

I held out the lithe knife in my right hand lifted my left up to meet it. One quick flick of the wrist laid open my left forearm and blood quickly began to well up. I bit back a low gasp from the pain, the first pain I’d felt in hundreds of years, and pushed it aside. There’s no time to waste relishing lost sensations right now.

But damn it, that hurt more than it should have! This knife isn’t messing around, is it? Better put it back into hiding after I’m done here. Wouldn’t want this getting into the wrong hands, now would we?

Blood, warm and red and looking very much like human blood, trickled down my wrist. It was quite slow at first, but quickened after only a moment. Without a deep breath, I thrust my forearm into the summoning circle. My fingers felt like they were passing through a thin sheen of ice-cold water as the white light engulfed my hand and arm up to my elbow. Fat droplets of blood splatted on the stone floor, but I knew that wouldn’t be nearly enough. I needed to feed it enough blood to satisfy the Balance, to bribe the universal power between worlds into letting me to snatch up a soul from death and guide it here, to me.

More. I clenched my fist and willed the blood to pour. It came like a river.

It felt as if the circle were drinking it in, somehow…pulling it towards its center eagerly, like the stone was famished and couldn’t get enough. I started to feel the effects of losing this much blood so quickly almost immediately…the room tilted and my head swam. I was not going to stop now, though. I could do this, as hard as it was. I have to do this.

It didn’t take much time for my offering to fill the central ring of the circle, flowing much more smoothly and precisely than blood should. It would have unsettled me if I hadn’t done things like this in my past life as a Hero.

When the floor area encircled by the ring had been completely obscured by crimson, that glass-like something in the air shattered.

My ears rang from the cracking sound and a wind raged out of no where, whipping my dress around my ankles and pushing me backwards, away from the circle. I yanked my arm back, holding it close to my chest, and panted loudly; the wound had already begun to heal, but I was still light-headed and nauseated by the blood loss and sudden magical activity. I refused to collapse, though, or even sit down or kneel.

Absolutely not; I will not introduce myself to my Hero as a damsel in distress or any such nonsense…no. I may still be myself, but I am also a Goddess now. A fucking Goddess! I will act like one and greet them standing or not at all.

Steeling myself, I cradled my healing arm gently and didn’t notice the feeling of warm blood staining the front of my dress. The circle held every bit of my attention, now. It had begun to spin, somehow, blurring the runes etched in along its edges until they were unreadable. The motion of it made my head pound and bile rise in my throat, but I would not let any of that show on my face.

Soon, now… I wonder what sort of Hero I’ll get? A mage, maybe? A fighting type would be nice, too, or a healer. Or…

I was suddenly blinded by an immense flash of light, making me instinctively cover my eyes with my good arm. After an instant, a single peel of thunder, so massive that the tower shook precariously under my feet, startled me and I nearly lost my composure. But as quickly as they had come, the wind, sound, and light all vanished instantly, at the same time. Excited and nervous, I lowered my arm slowly, peering over it, and laid my eyes on the now-inert summoning circle, ready to greet the Hero who would save my world.

I threw my arms wide and lifted my chin proudly to introduce myself, in my best Goddess-like voice, “Greetings, Hero from another world! I welc…ome…” but my voice died on my lips. I stood there dumbfounded and stared, my eyes disbelieving the reality in front of me.

The room was empty. The ritual had ended, and where there should have been a Hero was…nothing. No one. I was alone here.

“B..but what is this? Where the hell is my goddamn Hero?!”

* * * * *

Zachary King

LVL 1 Human Villager Age: 19

Location: Uknown

EXP: 0 / 100% to LVL 2

HP: 100% | MP: 100% Error: Status cannot be displayed.

I really didn’t have a clue what was going on or where I was, but I couldn’t just stand here in an unknown forest questioning the nature of reality forever. If this really was a dream, then I figured I’d wake up eventually and it won’t matter anyways.

But if this is not a dream…then I really don’t want to stick around to see what species of bear comes to eat my face off. Hmm, so then…which way do I go…?

I glanced around again, but the trees all looked the same no matter which way I looked. I felt a stab of fear pierce through my chest… What if I pick a direction that leads me nowhere, or worse, into danger? What if I get farther away from civilization instead of closer?! I only have enough food fo…

Wait. What’s that sound?

I stood perfectly still to see if my ears could catch it again. Where is it…? Did I imagine it? But then far off to my right, the northeast, I could just barely make out the soft gurgle of trickling water. That meant moving water, like a stream or river, and if I were to follow that stream or river… Then I have the highest chance of finding people!

I felt much better now that I had a direction and goal in mind that didn’t seem so impossible. I struck out towards the sound and after only a few minutes of walking, I broke through a thin tree line to find a narrow stream that was big enough for fishing, but not for boats or rafts. I could even see the faint glint of fish scales under the water’s surface out of the corner of my eye.

Excellent! This means I have a source of food and water, if I need it. I wonder what kind of fish live here? It must be fresh water, by the looks of the area…bass? Trout? Catfi…?

One of those fish flitted up close enough to the surface so that I could make out its scales clearly. I expected brown, gray, silver, maybe even blue or white, but when the fish leapt out of the water to catch a passing bug, I saw that its scales were bright green with black stripes, with long black fins that looked razor-sharp at the edges. It did not look like any species of fish I’d ever seen before. Not by a long shot.

You know what? I’m just not going to think about how weird it is. Being constantly freaked out isn’t going to help me, and honestly, it’s kind of cool.

The morning sun grew brighter as I picked my way along the stream’s western bank, and for a long while, nothing else of note happened. The morning birdsong was alien to me but still really pretty, and the air grew warm but not hot as the sun climbed higher. I did manage to catch sight between three trunks of what looked like… deer, maybe? But they had black fur, not brown, and instead of two separate horns, they had one horn that split half-way up like a gnarled tree. They’re skittish creatures, though. I couldn’t get very near to them to get a better look, but they also didn’t try to kill me, so that’s a plus.

I stopped for a short break once the sun was perched over my head, sat atop a large rock next to the stream so I could dangle my feet in the cool water. The clothing and boots I woke up in were surprisingly comfortable; I had expected to have at least once blister or sore, but I didn’t seem to have any. I wasn’t exactly an athlete in high school, and I haven’t been hiking in years. This should probably feel at least a little tougher than it does. Eh, it is what it is.

Once again, I decided not to question it at that moment, and instead nibbled on some of the cheese and bread from the waxed cloth in my pack. Both were tough and hard to bite, but their flavor was actually pretty good. The cheese was sharp and salty, and tasted similarly to white cheddar from back home. The bread was dense and tasty, too, and had been flavored with some herb I couldn’t recognize. I didn’t have to eat much to feel full, which was a nice change. A few bites of each, and I felt like I’d had a full dinner. Maybe even a little more rested, too.

Once I finished, I knelt down by the river bank and leaned down to cup my hands full of water. Part of me was terrified that I’d see some other person’s reflection instead of my own, but thank god, at least something stayed normal and it was still my own face looking back. After a few sips of water, I slipped on the black boots again and continued on.

Several hours and a second snack break later, I was nearing a wide bend in the stream, which had steadily been becoming more of a river the farther I went. It was then that the sound of voices, barely audible, came to me on a breeze.

People! Ha, I made it! I did a happy little dance in my imagination and followed the voices. This is great, maybe they can tell me where to find an Inn somewhere or … Shit, would you listen to me? One afternoon in the woods wearing a weirdo outfit and suddenly I’m expecting an Inn. I don’t…

My words just kind of dropped away as I cleared the bend in the river. In the distance, I saw what could only have been a medieval wooden wall with a gate set into it, surrounding… perhaps a small town or village? And a dirt road leading to up it with only a few travelers, both on foot and horseback, all leaving with no one entering.

That’s going to feel a little awkward, me being the only one trying to get in. At least these people appear to be normal humans, so I won’t get run out with pitchforks. Eh, nothing for it. Let’s go.

Shifting my pack onto both arms, I dusted myself off a bit and headed toward the gated wall and the road running to it.

As I got closer, I could see that the wall was pretty rough in terms of construction, with most of the logs having been put in place without being sanded or otherwise finished. Around the base were more logs, with one end lodged into the ground and the other sharpened to a mean point, was facing out toward hypothetical intruders. I could hear more clearly, too, the telltale sounds of hammers and saws coming from within the walls.

Ah, that’s why the wall is so rough and the path is barely worn in - this is a new settlement. It’s still being built! Maybe this is a blessing. Everyone will be new here, so strangers would be expected.

My feet took me up the path, the stream at my back. I kept walking with my head up, confidently, like I knew exactly where I was and had every right to be there. If you act like you belong, maybe no one will ask hard questions…

A few other people passed me on the road, leaving as I was arriving. They were all pretty similarly dressed in plain clothing, edged with dust, and every one of them seemed like they walked out of a fantasy movie or game. None of them looked at me twice, thankfully, and I walked right up to one of the guards at the gate without incident.

Well, I assumed he was a guard, anyway, because he was standing there looking at me as I approached, with a rusty spear in one hand, like he expected me to talk to him. So I did.

“Afternoon, stranger,” he said, his face devoid of emotion. “What ya here for?”

“Afternoon,” I said back, trying not to sound awkward. “Er, actually, I was hoping to find an Inn or something for the night…” I peered into the village behind him where it appeared only some of the buildings had been completed. I gave the guard a half-smile and a shrug, “Assuming there is one.”

The man returned my half-smile, which made me breathe a sigh of relief, and gestured past the gate. “Ah yeah, you’re a lucky sumbitch, you know, Maude just finished setting up ‘er Inn yesterday. She might be ready t’ take a fellow in.”

“That sounds great! Where can I find this Maude?”

The guy ended up being pretty friendly. I found out that his name is Jensan, and he’s not really a trained soldier, just a temporary until some real guards from the nearest city could be brought over. Jensan took down my name on a sheet of paper with a pencil, added to the bottom of a short list of other names, and gave me some simple directions on where to find Maude’s brand new inn, though he didn’t know if it had a name, yet.

Thanking him one last time, I turned and strode inside. This had been a pretty fun experience so far. If this is a dream, man, don’t let me wake up now!