During the darkest of nights, a hand brandished and a soft sound reverberated from an abandoned, diabolical castle.

[BLACK FLARE]

A second later, in the obscurity of the tunnel that connected the inside of the castle to the huge front gate, a pea-sized bead of flame streaks from the figure’s finger towards the charging creatures.

The strange-looking creatures lacking any form or figure, plunge forward without paying any regard to the wee light. But the moment the first creature in the row made contact with the miniature flame, it erupted into a giant conflagration.

On impact with the leading creature, the spark turned into a blazing storm, quickly incinerating all others who got caught in the blast.

The small figure was a girl, that continued walking on the path. Dilapidated tiles rusted and characteristics of this castle covered the entire ground. Originally she seemed to be apathetic to the creatures being devoured by her flames and her own mystic webs.

What made these creatures special was their amorphic bodies, and their weird ability to regenerate their form without any skill or irrespective of the passage of time even when cut in half.

The sight of them being continuously devoured and burnt by the flames at the same time regenerating, their pain was eternal. But the force of the flames outdid their ability and completely swallowed them in the void.

The smell in the corridor was that of week-old carcasses and the girl wanted to quickly get out of the place.

“Can you find her?”

[Negative. Time space information… ERR.]

“I see. I also cannot destroy the space barrier if I cannot find the source of it. That just means I have to find Regis on my own now.”

“Grruaaagggh…”

Another group of creatures approached the girl as she sighed. As she glanced at them, one more burst of black flames looking like a thundercloud of noxious fumes engulfed them.

“…And these flames are the only thing that can kill these new kinds of monsters. Otherwise, they keep coming back to life.”

The whole place was crawling with these unidentified creatures. The four corridors that connected to the girl’s location, from the top of the walls and sometimes even from underground breaking through the soil. They were everywhere.

But the girl was already aware of each of their presence and incinerated them all with her magic. The place continues to illuminate and fade as the girl kept on walking straight to the center of the place.

Even from the inside, the castle was empty. But following the trail of magical energy leaking and that too a lot of it she reached a basement opening underground by following it.

And from that point, the feel of the entire place changed like walking straight into a science fiction tower filled with great knowledge, unseen magi-engineering machinery, and wonders of magical science nowhere to be found in the world.

***

ALICIA ASCALON ASHBORN

Just looking at this newfound place filled me with excitement. I had landed in the most unexpected place and found these new devices, a huge library of books on magical circuits, the anatomy of almost every organism in this world, and research papers including those about the creatures I am fighting.

And a complete section dealing with the foundation of magic and the world order and System. For a moment I thought I could find something about the lost girl in these files. Unfortunately, there was nothing like that in the library.

My eyes wandered around the place and devices that I had never seen before or know their use caught my fancy. The place was filled with vast knowledge that could have overwhelmed anyone.

“That’s a Spirit Calculation Engine, and this must be a Cryonic Pod. Amazing.”

Walking further I find other strange machinery which I had no idea how to use.

“Wow just look at this evil invention… a conscious overriding gizmo.”

The walls too were not behind in their advancement and were made of fortified magitite glass. I made sure of its durability by knocking on the walls.

“This is such a cool place, and I can practice magic here without destroying anything much better than the above ruins…” I chuckled.

[Warning. Building Foundation. Damaged Reached Critical. Collapse.]

As Al ended his message abruptly, a cacophony of breaking sounds of walls and ceilings catastrophically collapsing above the ground filled the place ending with an earthquake. The violent tremors almost made all the books fall from the shelves.

“…Huh. I am sure Regis won’t be up there… Right, I remember. I have to find her. It’s not like I forgot… or anything.”

“Uh-huh. Right, this was just a small informative detour to know more about the enemy and their expertise.”

But how I should proceed next was a big question. Wandering around aimlessly will get me nowhere, except for distractions.

The perfect plan that would keep me on the right track was to follow the path that was filled with monsters. A simple gaming rule to clear any game level in my previous life gaming experience.

“That’s my ultimate trick I learned from my four-year experience in the labyrinth and gaming in my previous life and I have never found myself lost again after using it.”

I felt proud of myself and also because I did not have to worry about finding the enemy myself since they now came crawling from a single path now. The only thing left to do was keep going on that path till I unite with Regis and also find that girl too.

“⸺Grrraaagggghhh.”

Now, without holding back I conjured a storm of black flames that rounded up everything including the new laser sci-fi canons that appeared out of nowhere from the ceiling.

I had always waited for a long time to encounter those but the labyrinth never gave me that satisfaction. And maybe one day I will even find a Self-destructoinator or invent one myself. The possibilities that came with using magic were limitless and I could fulfill all wishes with it.

BOOM.

“That’s… I am sure it was Regis.” I could now feel Regis’s magic in action in my surrounding. She too must be fighting against something and I could find her forgiveness for leaving her by lending her a helping hand.

By my analysis, Regis should have been four floors beneath me. I held my wind fan and opened its blades casting wind magic to cut through the four floors of ground.

Shhhh….

Breaking through four floors at once, I skipped directly to the place where Regis was.

[The lost girl acknowledged. &%#... Confirming. IMP??R??L SYS???]

Feeling a glitch in Al’s message again and the change in transition in its manner of speech I felt something wrong was happening down there. I had already prepared to unleash my magical attack in case things were dire.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

The four floors came crashing down and I followed straight down.

***

THE LABORATORY

In that small pod chamber filled with a green aqueous liquid, the figure inside could neither breathe fresh air nor see anything. And now those shining eyes were hollow as long as they were immersed in darkness like precious gems kept closed in a vault, locked away.

⸺What do you wish for?

I don’t want to stop wishing to live.

That’s the answer the lost girl had found for herself, as she remembered the words of the Doctor that she was not a living being.

No matter how many times her consciousness had been dented, erased, and overwritten that small fragment remained undeleted.

Like an indelible code etched into her non-existent soul.

She had realized it much earlier herself that she was just a doll made out of magic and has no real soul except for a fabricated one that will never belong to her.

A psyche deprived of its freedom and yet it yearned for something that she could value more than herself.

Time remained frozen in that container and all her instable thoughts and emotions halted and were soon being replaced by commands.

The will of the Doctor –the one that obligated her to become the most superior being of all.

She was the raw product of his decades of search for the perfect organism that surpassed the fundamental and natural laws that made this world.

‘… That is who I am. That is what I am meant to do.’

And without a choice, her golden eyes now awaken to that call. Her brain was calm and her emotions negligible. The world appeared to move slowly around her. She did not think anymore.

She need not need anything anymore.

She was now someone who should be free from the bounds of the world.

That is what she was meant to be. And anyone who denied her existence or her perfect reality was her ⸺Enemy.

No matter how many times she was hurt, bled, or cut into pieces. She could revive herself irrespective of any level of damage and cheat death.

...And yet the time of the final trial came and once again the person who had first held her hand was now again smiling back at her with a heart of ice.

***

ALICIA ASCALON ASHBORN

Almost breaking through the final wall, I sensed a deep killing intent and a strenuous flow of magic nearing the place where Regis possibly was.

Without thinking twice I prepared my lethal magic and launched it at the figure before it could get any closer to Regis.

Then later realizing after the carnage that I had been a tad late, and the thing I was most concerned about had already come to pass.

The girl was an irregular existence and a typical product of this mad place and the crazy brain behind this genomic evolution project.

Fortunately, she had awakened to her new abnormal skill which even I hadn’t figured out completely. But seeing the girl come back to life and all healed from my attack, at least made it clear that she would not be dying that easily.

In the next moment, the girl lunged at an abnormal height and leaped out at me. But the lifeless look on her face was clear that she did not use to be the same girl they knew anymore.

I grabbed the girl’s attacking arm between my hand and while twisting on my high kneel I threw her away with full force.

She came crashing on the magitite wall, leaving only a deep dent and she still survived with more than half of her body bones fractured and an upside-turned body.

Unlike an ordinary healing magic principle to channel magic in the victim’s body and heal the wounds by accelerating the innate biological healing process. The girl’s magic allowed her body to go back to a specific state before she sustained the injury and it activated almost instantly under the effects of some calculated advanced order.

If I had not stopped her she would have surely hurt Regis. Her intentions currently did not align with us. She had been brainwashed and it must be the mind-erasing equipment I saw above a few moments ago.

Her memories of us were wiped entirely clean from her.

Her soul bleached and my healing magic won’t work to fix something that does not exist primarily.

“Alicia, what’s the meaning of this? Why is she attacking us?” Confused Regis stood gape as she could not witness the girl she was supposed to help and care for were now fighting to the death.

“Regis what stands in front of you is not a human. She is a homunculi.” I revealed the truth to her. Hiding the truth from before had only made this a little complicated to fully explain to her right now.

“I don’t know what’s that supposed to mean. But there shouldn’t be a need to fight. We don’t need to hurt her, let’s try talking to her again. I am sure we will get to her this time and also find her home.” Regis pleaded. She too was slowly understanding the situation we were in and the two could now not be on the same side.

But Regis still wanted a truce.

“Believe me Regis I would have liked nothing more. But she has been brainwashed and this is her home. The place she was made and came from.” I was adamant about my decision.

For now, all I could think of was to find the real culprit and also make sure to keep Regis safe.

Regis’s mind, which had nearly gone numb, started to churn again. The doubts she had slowly been building up during the events of the past days began to click into place, one after another.

“Alicia you knew this was going to happen from the start and who she really was!? Didn’t you…” Regis’s voice was filled with sorrow after all I hid things from her she would be greatly upset with it.

“Regis... I am sor…”

“It’s alright. It’s something you must have decided would be best for us. So, I won’t go back on my word either. I will find the person who did this to her, beat him up, and make him return her back to us. Exactly how innocent and child-like she used to be.”

Regis walked and now came and stood in front. Exactly between the homunculi girl and me.

“To become the sole ultimate being the previous needs to be destroyed and surpassed.” An almost mechanical voice came from behind Regis as we both looked in that direction from where it came.

During our conversation, the homunculi girl had healed herself again and declared her true intention.

But I knew it was something forced upon her by that man and his objective, whose voice I had previously heard through Al.

With an inhumane speed difficult to catch up she made another huge pounce this time on Regis.

Regis being unprepared could not knock and aim an arrow at the same time while making sure not to hurt the girl.

But before her hands could reach Regis several thin spider-like black webs had taken hold of her body.

Regis looked briefly at the formation of webs, while the girl could only retaliate by moving her arms and legs trapped like an insect on a cob-web.

“That dress…. You gave it to her…” The thought of me being able to do such a thing made Regis gulp.

“When did I say I was ever going to hurt her.” While speaking I went past Regis as her stance loosened up and she took a sigh of relief with a breath of surprise at my declaration.

“So, is there a way to help her?” Regis held her hands to her chin thinking of a way.

“Yes, but that is for her to decide what she wishes for. Remember I too made a promise to her….”

For some reason, I couldn’t help myself from smiling under my mask.

‘Is this how being on adventure feels like? Is this how mother felt too on her adventures…I am so happy.’

Contrary to my sedentary lifestyle in my previous world, now I could do whatever I want and collect experience.

And this time I was not alone… and neither will she be.

If only I could let her feel the same way as I do… then maybe I will be able to bring her back to normal.

I thought looking at the homunculi girl. Black threads sprouted from her back and the laces tied to her dress expanded to fix to the wall. After all the dress was made of the same mystic webs. She pushes her hand and kicks in the air but was not able to break free of them.

“It’s okay you can trust us. It’s just that you were a little lost so we wanted to see if we could help you. That’s all I wanted to let you know that you are free to choose whatever you want.”

The homunculi girl suddenly stopped resisting and focused on me.

Was she still able to hear me…

Creaakkkk….

The giant doors on the other side reopen again and a pitch-black room with a sci-fi biological laboratory setup appears behind a man in a white lab coat.

The evil scientist and the brain behind all this.

“This is an unforeseen element of the project that goes beyond what my tolerance allows. Why do humans always want to avoid the course of fate that is chosen for them.”

***

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