Chapter 5
1072 Words
The beginning of time.
She stopped in her tracks on the way to her usual secret spot where she practiced the skills she needed to avenge her parents’ deaths. She knew Keymaster was aware of her secret practices, but he was turning a blind eye to what she was doing. That seemed to be his approach when confronted with things he knew he couldn’t help her with. She had outgrown his resources and knowledge. She needed much more than he could provide. He knew this and stayed clear, giving her the space to do her own thing.
SShe threw a dart at a shadow behind a large tree at the entrance of the woods. The dart sailed through a small gap between two tree branches.
She heard a chuckle and saw movement. She pulled out her dagger. “I’m more dangerous than I look. You don’t want to test my skills.”
“I mean you no harm,” said a woman’s voice. From behind the tree, a middle-aged woman stepped out. She had an angelic face and beautiful dark eyes. Her hair was long and white as a cloud. She opened her arms wide to show that she was unarmed. “I don’t look dangerous, do I?”
“Creatures in the woods, especially those from the dark magic clan, are often in disguise.”
The woman smiled. “You’re right, but no creature can disguise its heart and soul. Practice enough, and you will be able to see through anyone’s heart and soul.”
She raised her dagger higher, her eyes teary. “That’s what Teacher always said. What did you do to him?”
The woman looked at her with gentle eyes. “I am your teacher.”
amShe backed away, brandishing the dagger. “But he died. He told me if he didn’t come back to the hut, that meant he had been killed by his enemy, and I should seek revenge for him. That was years ago.”
“Didn’t I say my enemy is Amaraq?”
“Liar! Who are you?”
“You are the only one I told my secrets, Thunder. I asked you to help me kill my enemy’s children. But you refused to kill innocents.”
“Shut up. You’re tricking me.” She wiped away a tear rolling down her face.
“They killed me, but they couldn’t kill my soul. It took me a long time to find this woman’s body, a shell capable of holding my damaged soul.”
“A shell? Did you kill this woman for her body, Teacher?”
“Now you recognize me. No, I didn’t kill her. She was royal. They traded her soul, and her body was going to ruin. I took it before that.”
“Who are they?”
“Her enemy, whoever that is. They were soul traders. That much I know.”
“Who will seek revenge for her?”
“That’s not my problem. It’s not your problem, either. I didn’t know her and didn’t owe her anything.”
“So what do you want from me?”
“How old are you now?”
“Sixteen.”
“And your master is still trying to make the Scorpio key?”
“That’s none of your business!”
“If he has been using the potion I taught you to make to keep the stone in shape, then it’s my business. I hope you didn’t forget that I was the one who taught you how to make the potion to harvest and carve the bloodstone.”
“You’re after profit now?”
The woman laughed. “No, there’s nothing for me to profit from an old Keymaster and a teenage Thunder. I returned to save you.” Her eyebrow arched, and she continued. “There’s a prophecy I heard when I was on my way to a new magical land. The prophecy suggests that if the Scorpio key is successfully made, you will die.”
“Me?”
“Yes.”
“I have nothing to do with the key business.”
“Child, the prophecy says that when the Scorpio key is made, when the bloodstone is awakened, Thunder will die. Do you think I made that up and traveled all the way to this mountain just to have a leisurely conversation with you that has no basis in fact?”
“But why me?”
“Ask yourself … Ask your Keymaster. I’ve done what I needed to do here. Now I leave it to you.” The woman turned and walked away.
“You can’t just point out an impending disaster and walk away without giving me a solution!”
“I can. And for your information, I do have a solution. But it will cost you. Do you want to hear it?”
She hesitated.
The woman smiled. “It won’t cost you anything just to know what I have to offer. It will only cost you when you act on it. What do you say?”
She nodded. “Only on the condition that you will do no harm to the Keymaster and won’t make me do anything immoral.”
The Teacher laughed. “Morality is subjective and quite overpriced, child. There are other prophecies I heard from the magical land. There was one that seemed interesting. It said that where humans live, there will be an uprising that will overturn the grounds of morality, and it will wipe out their civilization.”
“You mean the humans will all be dead?”
“You know of them? I thought your master wouldn’t want you to go out into the multiverse and meet different kinds of creatures.”
“He just wanted to protect me.”
The Teacher nodded. “Yes, he wanted to protect you—within his capability. You have outgrown the boundaries he set for you, haven’t you? But don’t worry. I’m not going to take advantage of you or the Keymaster’s situation. I will tell you about the prophecy—the one that is relevant to you—and I’ll give you my solution. You will have to do nothing immoral. But I’m sure what you’ll have to do is not entirely virtuous, either. Would you like to hear it?”
She looked at the beautiful woman whose form her Teacher had taken, and she nodded.
- Writer
