GREY

The Mystery Of Grey

“My real name is Adelaire. I was born the first child of Witch Empress Feonna. It is said that she seduced an angel, but since Feonna was an infernal, she would die upon giving me birth. She used the angel’s soul instead of hers to deliver me into this world, thus I was born with a heavenly blessing, nature’s aura. This power can manipulate nature and time, and it could have been useful to the witch queen had I been born a female. Feonna loathes men. She only requires their services for sacrifices. I was no exception. She could have killed me upon discovering my gender, but she branded me with her witch-mark and dumped me in a forest.

“No one touches an object branded with a witch’s mark, more so if that mark belongs to the Witch Empress. Nature took care of me since I was an infant, and I grew up living in the wild until an infernal woman found me at the age of six. She did not mind the witch-mark. She took me to her village and adopted me. That was where I discovered how difficult it was for infernals to survive in this world. If they were not slaughtered by holy fanatics, they were constantly hunted by people who sought to make profit by selling them as high-priced slaves due to their affinity to the elementals.

“I could not do anything, of course. We kept moving further and further from the heart of Egnir and closer to the boundaries of Gethor. Due to my power, I volunteered to become our village guardian. I could weave nature barriers and hide our homestead from any hostile eyes. For a while things were fine, but when King Reid Leistar came to power, he declared war on the infernals. He started the Holy Conquest to purify Egnir, but I only realized that his purification was something else when it was already too late.

“Infernal villages banded together and formed small armies to retaliate the holy knights. We had a champion who led us to believe that we could win. He challenged Reid, the Holy Sentry, to a duel. If he won, the king would leave the infernals to their peace. The champion lost, and the knights continued to m******e our villages. It was only a matter of time before they stumbled upon ours.

“I was twenty-six when it happened. I had grown considerably stronger, but I had never used my power to do any harm. I tried my best to hide the village, but it was no use. In the end all I could do was escape with the young ones through a secret underground tunnel. Somehow, these tunnels never work. I had twenty children below the age of five — three of which were still feeding from their mothers — and two guards. The knights found our tunnel and followed.

“We were caught in the valley where the tunnel exited. The children ran. I chose to buy them time to escape. I faced the Holy Sentry. Nature’s aura was no match for him, even with the help of time traction. The power he manifested was not pure, it was corrupt. It broke through my defenses and I was cut down, left to cling on to my life desperately by a thread. The Sentry and his knights caught all the children, but one escaped. They were burnt alive on a pyre of fire, along with the babies. That moment, as I died, was when I first experienced hate.

“I was led to the void by a harbinger. There is a being there, one who controls death and everything associated with it. He’s called the Sentient. The Sentient asked me if I wished to return to the living plane. I had only one reason to exist. I wanted to end Leistar’s lineage and stop the horrors they intended to inflict upon Egnir. In exchange for my return, I’d serve the Sentient until the day I killed the last Leistar.

“To become a harbinger, one needs to be powerful and immovable. That power is not given, it is earned. One is subjected to a parallel existence, where they spend decades or centuries evolving into the ultimate tool for death. You get to face death in all ways imaginable, and you keep dying over and over again until death loses all meaning. If your soul is weak, it breaks and ceases to exist. If you are lucky you survive the ordeals. But there is only one type of harbinger who can both kill and reap. To become a death harbinger, you have to defeat the death lycan in the parallel existence. The lycan is a form that represents final destruction. It is strong and ruthless, its power unmatched. I lost to it for three hundred years before I became strong enough to defeat it. Once I succeeded, I became the death lycan. I was granted passage back into the living plane, and only a couple of years had elapsed since my demise.

“I hunted down all Leistars in Egnir and saved the royals for last. I took the joy of ending them on Edelweiss, a day they used to celebrate the birth of a crown child by slaughtering my kin. I killed the Holy Sentry and the queen, but I could not kill their newborn child. That human whom I revived is Reign Leistar’s daughter, the rightful heir to the throne of Egnir. The only way I can earn my rest is killing her. But things have changed. I have a new contract. I’ll make good on my promise to you both, and you will never hear from me again.”

The weight of Grey’s words gathered an ominous air over the encampment. At least the mystery of why Grey never lost was revealed. s***h had learnt a lot from Grey. He had taught her how to weaponize her own body instead of relying on a sword. He had helped her sharpen her reflexes, and though she was the self-acclaimed master of combat, she had never landed a single blow on Grey when they sparred. s***h had so many questions to ask, but she knew that Grey would either reply her with riddles or other questions.

“So are we immortal like you now?” s***h asked.

Grey chuckled. “Not in the least. But you may find out that you will be more difficult to kill this time around.”

“What do you mean?” Sight questioned, lifting her head.

“Oh, you’ll find out soon enough. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to rest. Giving life is more tiresome than taking it.”

“Do you even sleep?” s***h asked with a scowl.

“I like to think I can,” Grey replied, then rolled over in his cloak.

“I hate you Grey,” s***h mumbled.

“You confuse this ‘hate’ with something else. And that is the single reason why you haven’t managed to land a single blow on me. It makes you weak, Thalia.”

Slash’s heart skipped a bit. Grey had never called her by name before. She placed her hand on her chest and looked at Grey’s form suspiciously. The old man was making a mockery out of her. He had probably heard her heart beating like a drum.

The old man had heard her indeed. He drifted off into a peaceful slumber, a wry smile spread across his face.

***

There was blinding light all around her. Slowly, the light took shape. It warped into different hues and formed some petals, stalks and blades of glass. The light diminished until it was focused on a single piercing point high above. Its rays were splayed all over the landscape, and they were warm. She moved in the field of red and white roses, her gossamer dress trailing in the gentle breeze. The air was so cool and crisp, its scent rich with the abundance of life. She enjoyed the sensation.

“You like it here?” a voice asked.

She turned around and saw a tall woman walking towards her. She had seen her once before. The woman smiled warmly, and she returned the gesture in kind. She liked the woman. She nodded her head, not certain what it meant.

“Good,” the woman said.

She traced the woman’s movement and followed her as she walked past her. The woman plucked a red rose and planted it in her hair. Her bright hazel eyes looked deeply in hers with affection. She felt her cheeks flooding with heat.

“How about we give you a name,” the woman said, placing her hands on her cheeks. She nodded.

“You are a special child,” the woman said. “You defied death, and here you stand. Tall, strong and beautiful. I shall name you… Miracle.”

“Mother,” another voice interrupted.

The woman looked past Miracle, and her smile faded into cold indifference.

“What is it, Alleria?”

“The infernals have arrived. The head of the Mage’s Cult wanted to discuss the terms of extracting their power and disposing of them on Edelweiss. And… there has been an anomaly in the villages beyond the citadel.”

“Explain,” the woman prompted.

“Some unregistered witch is turning people into puppets. Some holy knights attempted to stop her, but I hear that she turned them to her cause. Word has it that she wants to seek an audience with you.”

“Is it now?” the woman asked, not in the least moved. “How bold.”

“Shall I eliminate her?” Alleria asked.

“Do you think I am threatened, Alleria?” the woman asked.

“No, but she is causing unrest among the commoners.”

“Let her have fun. She doesn’t know what’s coming. On the contrary, I want you to save her. Bring her back here, in one piece if possible.”

“I shall carry out the Empress’s wish.”

Alleria withdrew from the flower garden, leaving Feonna and Miracle to their peace. The Witch Empress smiled once more.

“Now, Miracle, I want to teach you how to make flowers bloom.”