I wrote this chapter while procrastinating on my final papers. Enjoy.
In YGGDRASIL, when players were resurrected the process was instantaneous but came with the price of losing five levels. In this world, evoking the seventh-tier faith magic spell from the [Resurrection Wand] resulted in a white glow enveloping Aron's body as I focused the spell on him.
The white light quickly faded and the results of the healing magic became apparent. His bruises faded. His skin lost some of its deathly pallor. Most importantly of all, I was able to see the weak rise and fall of his chest.
He was breathing!
"Yes!"
Unconsciously I shouted aloud, excitement growing as I put the resurrection wand away. He was alive. I... brought him back to life. I brought someone back to life!
Aron's revival confirmed that this world was one where bringing the dead back to life was possible.
A world where…. I had the power and body of my YGGDRASIL avatar. A world where I had the ability to go where I wanted when I wanted, have the luxury of eating real food, and experience what it was like to live and breathe on a planet where humanity wasn't a step away from extinction due to mass pollution and war.
The excitement I felt from the resurrection's success quickly dwindled.
Why was I sent here and not back to Earth when the game ended? What happened to my real body?
Why did I end up with the power to bring back the dead now and not before? If I had the power to do so back in the past then it would have been possible to bring back-
Plop.
The feeling of wetness landing on my face drew me out of my thoughts.
Rain?
I looked at the sky. Sparse clouds were overhead and growing denser as more faint droplets of rain followed the first.
The sky was clear when I left the inn earlier and even after coming across Alba and Aron it remained clear.
If the clouds were forming this quickly then it had to be an item or some kind of magic causing the sudden change in weather.
Perhaps Fodlan had demonic beasts capable of using [Control Weather]?
I shifted my hold on Aron before I reached into my [Inventory] to take out a scroll that was imbued with the spell [Locate Magic Source]. If I focused on the forming rainclouds then the scroll would point me towards the source of the magic.
Unfurling the scroll I focused on the rain as the spell's target, before standing up with Aron in my arms as the spell cast.
The scroll scattered into particles of light which quickly reformed into an arrow that spun wildly, before slowing its momentum to point directly at…. me.
Quickly, I turned around to face the Adel River and the potential enemy that was behind me. If they intended to fight me, then their biggest mistake was doing so in the rain.
However, the river behind us was absent of any enemies and the light arrow from the magic locating spell had shifted with my movements.
It was pointing at me.
I was the source of the rain?
But how? I haven't casted any weather control spells since coming to this world and even my weather-related passive skills are only activated in pre-existing weather conditions.
Whether I was the source of the rain or not, now wasn't the time for musing. Although I was sure that I would be fine with my cold resistance, Aron wouldn't benefit from prolonged exposure.
"[Control Weather] Clear Skies." Immediately after I invoked the sixth tier spell, the rain quickly began to clear up.
I shifted Aron in my arms to get a better look at his condition. The rise and fall of his chest was weak but steady. He also hasn't shown any signs of awakening in the time since I revived him.
I placed my hand on his forehead before casting [Restore].
As the white glow faded from my palm, I took off my cloak and covered Aron with it in the process recasting [Morph] to return to my human appearance. He still showed no signs of awakening, but I'll assess his condition further after reuniting with Alba.
I was sure that she was waiting for us.
"ARON!" Alba exclaimed in joy as soon as she saw me slow my descent to the ground with her brother in my arms. She rushed over to me, Nix silently gliding behind her before quickly quieting after seeing that her brother was unconscious.
"Ms. Libelle, is he okay?"
Even though I cast [Restore] on him earlier, Aron still showed no signs of awakening. While the effect of the [Resurrection Wand] in-game was instantaneous with players being able to move moments after being resurrected, it seemed like its effects may have changed in this world to make the process more delayed. Regardless, [Restore] should have removed any negative status effects from him, so I was sure that he would be eventually fine.
"I used healing magic on him so he should be fine with some more rest."
I folded my cloak before using it as a headrest for Aron, laying him on the ground beside his sister. Alba kneeled beside him and clutched his hand, tearing up in relief.
I beckoned Nix over as I stepped away from the two children.
The summon glided to my side in a heartbeat. The water that formed its body rippled rapidly as it bowed its body before straightening up. On the lower half of its face, some of the water parted before the sound of a modulated voice reached my ears.
"I am at your service, Supreme One."
Ah, it speaks now. Yet another change to be noted down in my journal. The title it called me was also new.
"Supreme One?"
"You are this one's creator. It is the title most fitting for you and your strength."
I glanced at Alba who kneeled over her brother not too far off from us. "Call me Libelle. Especially when we are in the presence of other people."
The water on Nix's face quickly warped in a panicked expression and its voice pitched, "This one couldn't possibly address you in such an informal manner!" Nix rebuked, quivering as it bowed its body. "Please allow this one to address you with a title benefiting your station."
I crossed my arms. Nix's insistence on weird titles would raise questions if others overheard.
Summons in-game always adhered to simple orders such as attacking, defending, or using a skill. Nix was clearly capable of following such orders in this world without question, such as when I ordered it to protect Alba. However, when it came to orders that fell outside of the settings that existed in Yggdrasil, Nix would become more emotive. Although it didn't outrightly reject my order, it expressed its own opinion showing that summons in this world had a conscience.
Could it be that summons now have a sense of reason as well?
There was only one way to find out.
"Nix, do you know where we are?"
Nix raised its head in confusion before denying my question. "This one was under the impression that we were in a realm of YGGDRASIL, but this location feels quite unfamiliar."
"The unfamiliarity you feel is likely because we aren't in YGGDRASIL." The water around Nix's face pulsated before calming. "We're in an entirely different world. One where there are too many unknown factors and variables. Therefore we need to be careful in what we say around those who don't know about YGGDRASIL."
"T-this one understands!"
After Nix nodded in understanding I continued.
"However, I'm not unwilling to compromise. If you're uncomfortable with calling me Libelle then call me something simpler than Supreme Being."
"Will this one be allowed to call you Mistress?"
My right eye twitched at the suggestion. It was better than Supreme Being, but there wasn't any more time for us to continue this conversation. Alba was looking at us.
"You can call me that for now. Stay here and keep watch."
"Yes Mistress." the summon bowed in acquiescence.
I walked back over to Alba, crouching next to her and Aron's prone body. Now that I had reunited her with her brother I had to figure out where we would go from here. Leaving the two children in the middle of the wilderness to fend for themselves was out of the question.
"Alba- " I began before pausing. How exactly should I go about this? From the carriage wreckage, it was clear that the carriage itself was knocked down the cliffside and its contents strewn onto the riverbank and into the river itself. The experience itself must have been terrifying, but if I were to reunite the children with their guardians then I needed more information.
I looked at Aron before meeting Alba's curious gaze and continued, "What do you remember happening before you ended up in the river with your brother? You can start as far back as you're comfortable with."
She shivered before tightening her grip on Aron's hand as she started to speak, "Yesterday, Sir Bart woke up me and Aron really early. He took us to Father and Father said that… that he was sending us to live with Ms. Olive for a little bit."
She sniffled before continuing.
"So Sir Bart helped us pack our things and then Sir Stephan and Mr. John helped us into the carriage after Mr. John brought us breakfast. I was sleepy so I fell asleep after eating, but when I woke up we were outside of the castle and it was raining so hard and Sir Bart and Sir Stephan were arguing."
"Arguing?" I raised an eyebrow.
"Sir Bart wanted to wait for the rain to stop before continuing but Sir Stephan thought it would be better to keep going because we couldn't go back. Mr. John agreed with Sir Stephan so they tried to move the carriage but we were stuck. So Mr. John and Sir Stephan went out to try to dig out the wheel but then there was a loud noise and-"
Her voice stuttered. "T-the carriage top part of the carriage crumpled! I remember yelling and hugging Aron. Then everything went dark. Then I remember being really cold and wet."
She paused again.
"A-aron and I were in the river and he had a rope. He was trying to tie me to the branches and kept telling me to not let go of them, b-but then the branch he was holding onto snapped and he went under!"
The tears she tried so hard to hold back began to flow down her cheeks and she dove forward clutching Aron as she continued to cry.
I sighed before patting her back to comfort her.
The information she gave me was enough to conclude that besides the first Knight I found, two other people accompanied the children in the carriage.
And I had a pretty good idea on where they were at. I looked up at the cliffside where I jumped down from. The pile of dirt, rocks, and trees that blocked the road above were likely where the other occupants of the carriage were.
As Alba's sobs quieted, she slowly sat back up again wiping her nose on her sleeve.
"Thank you for sharing that with me, Alba. But there's one more question I have for you." A question that grew louder and louder in the back of my mind as she told her story and mentioned yesterday's downpour.
She shakily nodded.
"Is weather like the rain that happened yesterday common in Aberdeen or the Gaspard territory?"
She shook her head no and my stomach sank further as she continued to speak.
"N-no. Normally it only rains hard during the rainy season, which ended last month."
My stomach sank as her words solidified my conjecture. Just like how I caused it to temporarily rain earlier after reviving Aron… I likely caused the downpour that suddenly started yesterday as I was arguing with the priest. Which would also mean that I was the cause of the landslide that hit Alba's carriage and killed-
My breath hitched and I forced myself to calm down as I saw the ground around us darkening. I didn't need to look up to tell that it was about to rain.
I quickly stood and distanced myself from Alba, before silent casting [Weather Control] to make the rain stop. Although it remained cloudy, the rain that was about to fall stopped.
I-I needed to calm myself.
I looked back at Alba who looked at me in confusion before forcing out a smile.
"I'm going to go find Sir Bart, Sir Stephan, and Mr. John, ok? Nix will protect you while I'm gone." I gave Nix a pointed look and the summon nodded signifying that it understood my order. I did my best to give Alba a reassuring smile before casting [Fly] to go back over to the carriage wreckage site.
I…I had to make things right with them.
The body of the first Knight was located in the carriage wreckage where I left him earlier. The strength of my new body allowed me to carry him away from the wreckage and to a more clear section of the riverbank not too far from where Alba and Nix were located.
Finding the second Knight and Mr. John, Alba mentioned, took longer. As I didn't know any Earth-based spells that would allow me to manipulate the dirt from the landslide site, I had to get creative.
Using [Water Manipulation] I soaked the pile of dirt thoroughly to the point where there was enough water in it present that I was able to move the water and in turn the dirt away from the pile. It didn't take long for me to find the bodies of both men, one young and the other middle-aged.
This time I used a [Telekinesis] spell to carry their bodies to join their comrade.
Once I had their bodies lined up, I was able to take a closer look at them. From Alba's description of the events that happened, the young knight who I found in the landslide must've been Sir Stephan while the older Knight I found on the river bank was Sir Bart. That leaves the last man who I found with Sir Stephan to be John.
Sir Bart was the oldest of the three, his dark hair and beard mixed with streaks of grey. The features of his two comrades were harder to tell as they were covered in dirt.
I shook my head and decided to focus on the task at hand. Although I wasn't far from Alba and Nix's location, it would be best to return to the two as soon as possible in case Alba became anxious.
I took out the resurrection stave I used on Aaron. It had four uses left, which was enough for these three.
I focused the [Resurrection] spells within the wand on the three men before me. First reviving Sir Stephan, then John, and finally Sir Bart. An unpleasant cracking sound accompanied the white light that surrounded the final recipient of the spell. As the light faded it became clear that the source of the noise was the spell fixing his broken legs.
It didn't take long for the light of all three resurrection spells to dim around the three men.
From the short distance I stood from them I was able to tell that Sir Bart and John were breathing. I walked closer to Sir Stephan to confirm his situation.
Perhaps the spell was taking a little longer on him?
I reached towards his throat to check if he had a pulse.
Before I could touch his throat, a mud-streaked gauntleted hand attempted to grab my own.
I cursed in shock. Dodging the man's grasp with ease and readying a silent cast of [Mist Fang] that led to mist forming around my left hand.
I met his bleary blue eyes and quickly canceled the spell.
I wasn't expecting the spell to revive and wake him so quickly, especially in comparison to his comrades and Aron who were still unconscious.
He quickly started to cough and dry heave so I turned him onto his side looking away as he emptied his stomach.
When he finished, he tried sitting up and I helped him do so.
"W-who?" His attempt at speaking was interrupted by a coughing fit.
I reached into my [Inventory] to take out a [Pitcher of Endless Water], handing it to him.
Although his brows furrowed in confusion seeing the crystalline pitcher suddenly appear, he took it from me drinking heartily.
After drinking his fill, he breathed harshly before finally voicing the question on his mind.
"Who are you? No, more importantly, where are the children!"
"Aron and Alba are nearby and so are your comrades." I gestured to the two unconscious men lying nearby.
Seeing his comrades alive and nearby minutely relaxed him, but from how tense he appeared I could tell that he wouldn't be at ease until he saw the two children with his own eyes.
"Can you stand?" I stood and offered my hand to him, taking and putting the [Pitcher of Endless Water] away in the process.
He accepted my offered hand and I pulled him to his feet easily. He stumbled a bit but quickly steadied himself.
"If you still feel unwell I can cast [Restore] on you before we head over. Alba and Aron are right around this bend of the river bank."
He furrowed his brows before rejecting my offer and starting his albeit slow but steady walk over to Alba and Aron. I quickly followed before remembering that Nix was with the two children.
Shit.
I had no idea how the people of this world viewed summons or if they were even common. If I were unlucky, Sir Stephan may mistake Nix for a monster and try to attack the creature.
My thoughts raced, but a solution soon came to mind. In the game, the [Message] function allowed players to not only communicate with each other but also command distant summons and NPCs.
Silent casting the [Message] spell I quickly told Nix to go hide in the river and make its way to the section John and Sir Bart were located in.
As I followed Sir Stephan to Aron and Alba's location, I saw Alba looking confusedly at the river before shouting in joy as she saw Sir Stephan round the corner of the bank. She quickly stood and ran over to the two of us, smiling happily at seeing a familiar face.
Fortunately, it seems that my message spell worked and Nix was able to hide in time. Stephan sighed in relief at seeing Alba unharmed but frowned when he saw Aron's unconscious body lying on the ground atop my cloak.
He made a beeline for the boy, grasping Alba's hand in the process before kneeling to ascertain the child's condition.
"He nearly drowned in the river. I was able to save him and cast healing magic on him like I did with you and your comrades but he hasn't woken up yet." I explained to the knight. I didn't mention the resurrection magic to the man. I had no idea if he would believe me nor did I have any information on the most common types of healing magic in this world.
The knight nodded in response, before turning to face me. To my surprise, he crossed his right hand over his chest and bowed sincerely before raising his body.
"Thank you for saving the lives of these children. Although I had sworn to protect them I failed to do so. Although my memories are slightly hazy, I do remember seeing the column of debris rush towards our carriage before I lost consciousness." He paused before continuing. "If it had the force to make me lose consciousness then I can't imagine what the children went through."
"Thank you for saving and healing us." He bowed again.
"There's no need to thank me." I frowned and didn't elaborate on why.
After all, I'm the reason all of them ended up in this situation in the first place.
I glanced back in the direction of where the carriage fell before continuing, "Unfortunately while I was able to save your lives, the carriage all of you were in is a lost cause… along with the horses. Half of it was buried beneath that big pile of dirt on the cliff road and the other half of it was strewn across the bank that way." I pointed to the direction we came from.
I crossed my arms before asking the knight another question that came to mind. "So what now? Alba told me that all of you were on a journey but with the road blocked and so many of you injured it's likely to be extremely dangerous. Especially if your party runs into demonic beasts."
He grimaced before nodding. "I haven't given it much thought yet. The best course of action, for now, would be to wait until my partner Bartholomew wakes up and then consult him. Additionally, we would also have to see what supplies we can salvage from the wreckage. With the road blocked it's more than likely that we will have to return to Lord Lonato's castle."
"Lord Lonato?" I questioned.
He looked at me in confusion so I elaborated. "This is my first time in the Kingdom and the Gaspard territory."
At my acquisition, he nodded and answered my question. "Lord Lonato is the Lord of this territory and the two children you saved are his children." He gestured to Alba who listened curiously beside us and to her brother who was next to us.
Oh.
I blinked in surprise as the knight continued.
"For this reason, I'll have to ask that should we choose to return to Lord Lonato's castle that you come with us. Neither Bartholomew nor John nor I know healing magic and if our medical supplies were destroyed in the wreckage then having a healer on hand will be helpful to us. Additionally, Lord Lonato is a fair and just Lord who will reward you for your assistance and saving of our lives."
I thought about the situation at hand. I was going to find some way to convince the knight to allow me to come along with them anyway. Although the Knight didn't know that I was the cause of their accident, I didn't feel comfortable leaving the children and the knights in the state that they're in. Thus, it was good that his line of reasoning aligned with what I had in mind.
Although searching for Sothis was my current priority, I'm sure that she would understand why I took this detour. Besides, being a Lord, Aron and Alba's father likely had more information about Fodlan which could be helpful to my search for Sothis. In the process, I would also aid the group with my healing as much as possible and at the very least ensure their safety until their return to the Lord's castle.
I knew what I had to do.
"Very well." I nodded in agreement with the knight's proposal. "Should you choose to return to Lord Lonato's castle, I will accompany you and the rest of your party."
The knight smiled faintly before exclaiming in realization. "I just realized that I haven't introduced myself. My name is Stephan Moore, a knight serving under Lord Lonato."
"My name is Libelle." I paused before deciding to share my full in-game name with him. "Libelle Theldred Aquanis."
He raised an eyebrow, "A middle name? Are you a noble?"
First Earnest, now him.
"No." I denied, before changing the subject. Yet another detail which I'll have to keep note of on what not to mention. "I'm just a mage on a journey. Should we make camp somewhere? It's going to be dark soon."
I gestured to the sun setting in the distance.
He nodded this time, bending down to pick up Aron before speaking to me, "We should move John and Bartholomew first."
He then turned to speak gently to Alba "Come along."
The young girl nodded. With the presence of familiar faces, it seems that she had calmed down greatly although I could see her peeking at me from time to time.
I smiled at her before focusing my attention on the condition of the two men Stephan and I left behind earlier. They were still unconscious like Aron and remained so as Stephan and I went through the motions of setting up a camp. Although it was mostly Stephan directing me on how to use some of the camping supplies I bought from the red-haired merchant in Aberdeen.
Fortunately, we were able to finish quickly and after sharing some of the rations I bought with Alba and Stephan around the campfire it wasn't long before Alba fell asleep from exhaustion leaving the knight and I awake.
Shortly after setting up camp, he had also taken some time to clean himself of the dirt that covered him from the landslide in the river revealing his surprisingly red hair. I couldn't tell at all earlier.
"I can take first watch Ms. Libelle." He offered.
I shook my head in disagreement. "No, you and the others already went through an ordeal. You should get more rest now. I can tell that you're exhausted" I saw that he was about to protest.
"How about we compromise. I can take the first watch and you can take the second. Additionally, I also have a magic item that can cast a temporary barrier around the camp. If anything happens we'll both be alerted."
His eyes widened in surprise after I mentioned the item. Reaching into my bag I pulled out a wand that stored the spell [Greater Barrier]. Focusing on the campsite around us I cast the spell resulting in a translucent gold dome spreading around us. I smiled at the knight as the spell finished.
"See?"
His eyes widened in shock. "T-that's amazing! I'm no mage but I'm sure that wand must have cost a fortune! Are you sure that it was alright to use it?"
"It's fine. Besides, don't you feel more at ease now?" He stood up and walked to one of the barrier edges before tentatively touching the barrier with his hand out of curiosity. He blinked in surprise as his hand phased through it.
"The [Barrier] spell is meant to protect against attacks with malicious intent," I explained while putting the wand away. It should still have 2 more uses. "This one is capable of resisting a decent amount of physical and magical attack damage."
I looked up to see Stephan focused on phasing his hand in and out of the barrier. After a few tries, he stopped and then gave his try at slapping the barrier. I looked away to hide my smile and ignored the low hiss of pain my ears picked up.
Although he looked like the serious type, it seemed like he had a silly side as well.
He walked back over to the campfire. Fortunately for him, the orange light cast by the flames was enough to hide most of the light blush dusting his cheeks.
"Very well then." He coughed, "How about I take the second and fourth watch and then you take the first and third."
"Sure."
As always, thank you for reading my story!
Kitsune Obsessed Freak, she did [Morph] back! It was meant to occur in the transition between the first and second scene but I added a line making it make explicit in the first scene. Thanks for the review :).