Chapter 1
First Encounter

Charlotte Wilson never dreamt of spending her hard-earned day-off from her elementalist duties strolling through an unfamiliar, dark and freezing place without a companion and a staff.

Harsh and cold winds blew and she involuntarily shivered. The moon was shining brightly, casting its borrowed light on the streets of Manhattan. She must had been in a pretty secluded place for things were quiet... too quiet. There was a feeling at the pit of her stomach to turn back but she ignored it. She had been walking for so long she already lost track of time and too exhausted to even think straight. Sighing, Charlotte wished she brought a watch or something.

She then gazed at her surroundings. Dark brown eyes were narrowed under gray-framed glasses. And for the nth time that night, she whispered a curse under her breath.

Another breeze blew and once again, she shivered. Putting a stray strand of black hair behind her ear, she hugged herself. Even if she wore a white jacket and dark blue jeans, it was just so freaking cold.

"I should have listened to Amos," she muttered. "I should definitely not have gone here."

Amos was the head of the House of Life. And he had rules that you absolutely must obey. One of them was the exact thing she was doing right now - going to Manhattan when you are an Egyptian magician. When asked why such a rule existed, he stated about gods different from theirs and other things she didn't pay any attention to for her mind was wrapped up with the former.

"Other gods, huh?" She thought at that time with an expression pure of wonder. "Fantastic!"

Not.

Charlotte, because of curiosity and reckless courage which shouldn't be imitated, went there to discover those other gods Amos spoke of. It would be nice to meet other powerful deities that were different from the ones she was accustomed to. Maybe they wouldn't be half-animal and would be completely human-like.

Oh wow. That would be so cool.

Without hesitating and with these thoughts serving as her fuel, she travelled towards Manhattan.

And that was how she ended up here, all alone, freezing to death, not knowing if she was going the right way or not, and with only thirty percent of magic left. Darn. She should have prepared beforehand and definitely not forgetting about everything with only dangerous adventure in mind. She sighed, cursing her lack of foresight. At this rate, Anubis will visit her sooner than she wanted.

The sounds of her rasped breathing and heavy footsteps echoed through that supposed-to-be silent night. She continued walking and came into a realization. Tefnut was silent. The Egyptian goddess of rain must had been tired from reprimanding her throughout the journey, ordering her to turn back and return to the mansion at once. But her stubborn spirit wanted to check it out. It was unexplainable but she genuinely felt like Manhattan was calling for her. Weird.

She continued her stride through the strange place, trying to appreciate everything around her, though she could barely see anything with the moonlight as her light. It was her first time to be in this place and to be honest, even though there were a lot of unfortunate circumstances, the excitement in her heart tells her that it was all worth it.

Her stomach grumbled for the nth time that night. She sighed. Scratch that. Everything that was related to the words "worth it" and "adventure" should be scratched out. It wasn't worth it. She wanted to eat! She wanted to sleep! She wanted to go home!

"Darn it!" she muttered to herself again. "Curse my curiosity! Curse my recklessness! I was supposed to be in my room, sleeping soundly in my bed! And definitely not traveling aimlessly onto foreign grounds with no food to eat and no bed to sleep! By the name of Ra, what was I thinking?!"

She just sighed. There was no way her complaints will turn back time and make her magically appear in her room. Though that would be really appreciated right now.

Thinking of various ways how this night could get any worser, she suddenly felt a breeze which smelled different from the ones she encountered earlier. She breathed it in and salty but refreshing scent filled her body. Instantly, she could tell there was a sea nearby. Yes! This night just became slightly better.

Ever since she was young, she had always loved water. It meant everything to her even though she didn't have any slightest idea why she felt that way towards it. Maybe because it always calms her nerves? That must be it.

She followed the scent of the breeze and caught sight of the sea. If the map she just memorized was right, that beach must be the Long Island Beach. Wait… Long Island Beach?! Shouldn't she be in Manhattan now?

. . .

She's lost!

She looked around the unfamiliar surroundings and sighed. Well, Manhattan needs to wait. She needs to find her way back to Brooklyn first. And this time, she would prepare extensively for this journey. Secretly, of course. She would be in so much trouble if Amos learned of her rebellious plan.

She stopped walking and admired the beach. She closed her eyes and listened at the soft lullaby of the waves as it hugged the shore and pulled back from the embrace; and back to its home in an endless cycle. Ahhh, so relaxing.

When she opened her eyes, she saw something. She squinted and aligned her glasses properly, hoping to get a clearer view.

There was a man in late twenties with salt and pepper hair. Grayish hair? Was it dyed or was he way older than he looked? Charlotte shook her thoughts away and focused. He was jogging around the beach in nylon running shorts and a New York City Marathon T-shirt. He was tall and fit. He held a smartphone on his ear and it looked like he was talking to someone. The girl was too far away from him to hear anything and she didn't care anyway.

She was about to turn away when she noticed an antenna (now that isn't very common among smartphones) and saw two snakes intertwined with each other.

. . .

What?!

She blinked in surprise and reconfirmed what she saw. It might just be a pigment of her imagination. But after awhile of blinking, she realized it was still there.

She must be going crazy. That or something unexplainable was going on here.

Oh well. She had a lot of things to do and musing about that strange object wasn't included in the list.

She continued walking and stopped in front of a hill. A tall tree was standing majestically at its top with a wool (Is that gold?!) draped on one of its branches and... a dragon?! Charlotte blinked hard. Here we go again. She seriously needs to stop reading fiction and manga.

Deeming everything was just because of pure exhaustion, she just stood there, admiring the tree, golden wool and the sleeping dragon. Even if it wasn't real, she should watch it closely for future references. She then wondered how it got there and what was its purpose when out of nowhere, something almost tackled her. Her reflexes kicked in just in time for she was able to dodge it.

When she looked at her attacker, a bull-like creature was there, looking at her with hostility and hunger. Oh and not to mention its sharp teeth and saliva that dripped on the sides of its mouth. Gross.

She examined the unknown creature even further and realized that it looked familiar. She remembered reading about it in a book before.

"Whoa!" Charlotte exclaimed in amazement. "A hellhound! Lucky~" She always dreamed of seeing one in real life, after all. But doesn't this indicate something?

"Oh my Ra!" She uttered. "Does this mean Greek mythology is real?!"

While she was busy pondering, the hellhound kept on attacking her. Thanks to her ADHD, even though she wasn't aware of what was happening, she was still able to dodge.

"Okay," she muttered. "Egyptian Mythology definitely exists. I mean I'm a definite proof." Completely unaware of the hellhound's useless attempts to kill her, she continued. "And now, Greek Mythology also exists. I just saw a hellhound and a golden wool after all. Wait! Does that mean other mythologies in this world might also be true?!"

She danced around in excitement. Her knowledge as a self-proclaimed mythologist would be put into good use!

The hellhound was getting bored now with a low growl. No matter how much it tried, the girl just kept on muttering things and miraculously dodging its attacks. There was no way it could get to eat dinner if this continued.

The monster growled once again. And this time, it brought her back to reality.

"Oh!" She exclaimed as she looked at its ferocious form. "It's a hellhound."

. . .

Realization finally sank in.

"A hellhound!" She exclaimed, this time, completely alarmed. She finally realized how dire her situation was and this time, ran. While running, she was searching for something through her things, throwing a bunch of chocolate bars around.

"Where is it? Where is it?" She repeated under her breath while running for her life.

Wait, didn't she forget it back at the mansion? She remembered leaving it on her bed while she was packing snacks into her backpack.

That made her stop on her tracks and face palmed.

"Idiot!" She exclaimed. "How the heck am I supposed to fight for my life without my staff?" String of curses came out of her mouth next, calling upon the names of various Egyptian deities in the process.

She tried calling for the Egyptian goddess that was currently hosting her but once again, she was met with silence. Oh great. She was completely alone with no weapon or goddess to help her. Great.

She turned her back and saw her pursuer was raging mad. Smoke emerged from his nose like a bull.

. . .

A hellhound was similar to a bull!

Charlotte got an idea. It was crazy - truly and outrageously mad. But she needed to try. She had seen it in a show before and didn't have any idea what was the proper way to do it. Oh well. There was no harm in trying. She focused and brought out a red cape from the Duat. Then, she tried (and failed miserably) to imitate a bull master in Mexico.

"Toro toro," she said awkwardly as she waved the cloth around. The hellhound rushed towards her direction and in a split second, Charlotte tied the red cape on its eyes. Fortunately, it went directly towards a nearby tree and its horns got stuck. As it desperately tried to free itself, she didn't give it anymore opportunity for she casted, "Ha-di". Purple hieroglyphs shone on the creature and it burst into flames before eventually turning into dust.

The tired girl fell on her knees, breathing hard. Thank the gods. She was still alive... but also weak. Using magic costs a lot of energy which explains why they use a staff.

She slowly walked away, hoping to get back to Brooklyn as soon as possible. But the gods do love playing with her. Why she thought of that? Because another hellhound blocked her path. She was about to try to cast another spell when more of its friends joined the party, making her stop and start cursing (which means calling on the names of the deities from various myths). Oh great. Just freaking great. Her luck was getting better and better.

"Okay." Charlotte sighed and wished that somehow a miracle would happen and she didn't have to fight them. "I don't have any more energy to play with you guys." She wouldn't stand a chance against eight hellhounds. Not to mention her magic power was depleting too fast whenever she use magic. It was only thanks to her extensive training at the mansion for four years that up till now, she was still conscious and alive.

One of them snorted.

"Maybe another time?" she asked, hopeful as she slowly backed away. Now she truly wished she was an animal charmer. She could easily charm them to make way for her and she could just go back. Or better, she could ask one of them to give her a ride to Brooklyn. That would be nice.

But she wasn't an animal charmer. She was an elementalist.

The eight hellhounds growled. Charlotte counted up to three seconds, preparing for a grand exit and when the monsters started to attack, she ran as fast as she could. She started wishing for anything to help her.

Hoping Tefnut could hear her, she prayed, "Just let me get to the beach, please!"

Maybe in that place, she could have her last stand, casting the remaining power she had and... die. Oh well. It didn't matter. At least her last moments were near the sea. Though she would miss a lot of her friends back at the mansion and she wouldn't be able to thank Neil for everything he did for her. She wouldn't be able to tell him that she had a crush on him either. And most of all, she would miss her mom.

Oh dear Ra. She was so tired. She should really start watching her weight and make sure all of those unnecessary fats were burned off. But food is delicious! She could never give it up!

She stopped to catch her breath which proved to be a huge mistake. Suddenly, a hellhound was able to catch up to her and bit her left arm. She screamed in pain and managed, somehow, to push the hellhound away. She ran again, trying her best to gain distance from her pursuers while gripping her arm tightly, hoping the blood would stop dripping to the ground.

With only adrenaline and the strange call from the sea pushing her, she finally reached the beach.

"Thank the gods!" She praised and while walking/running, felt the rough texture of sand dancing over her feet. She was quite far away from the waves but she could hear them clearly. The sound was truly peaceful and eased her tensed nerves despite knowing that she was going to die.

She stood straighter and even though pain bolted throughout her body, she ignored it and casted a spell. She controlled the seawater and directed it towards the hellhounds who were already at the entrance. But it didn't do much damage and just merely made the hellhounds wet and angrier.

Gods. She didn't have any energy left to properly cast a strong spell. She clearly overestimated the magic power she had left. Her body fell on the sandy shore. All of her strength, both physical and emotional, was gone.

How pathetic. She thought as she take a look at the dark sky lighted by nothing but the moon. The last stand she was aiming for was to control the waves and kill all of the hellhounds with the magic power she had left and then she could die peacefully. But what happened instead? She just drenched them and any time now, she'd be dinner.

Was there no hope left for her? Was there no one around her? Please. Help her. There are so many things she still want to do. She still wants to live. She still wants to continue pursuing the path of Tefnut, host the goddess once more and become a stronger elementalist.

As if though someone has heard her wishes, she could hear footsteps growing louder and louder. She turned her head and saw the jogging man once again. Not caring whether he may be an enemy, she tried to shout for help. But a weak croak came out instead. "...Help."

The man approached her and now, Charlotte could clearly see him. He looked young, around eighteen and had curly black hair. His sky blue eyes looked down at her in wonder. And she realized that this man had weird taste in clothes for he wore what messengers did during the Ancient Greek times, complete with the creamy white tunic, dark colored belt and brown leather pouch.

But... This is strange. Earlier, she swore she saw him with modern clothes and he looked old. But now, he looked so young. Around eighteen.

She must be dreaming.

"I'll help you..." He boomed in a quite deep voice. "... Demigod or should I say, Egyptian magician?"

Her dark brown eyes widened in shock. How did this guy know what she was? And demigod? Is that what she thinks it mean? However, before she could ask him, she closed her eyes. The last things she saw were the blinding light and the monsters turning to dust.