One month early

  Vanessa

  “Come see this shit.” With a bright childish smile, Tarion escorted me with his large hands into the opening obsidian door. I felt nervousness on his fingers. Bright light made me cover my eyes; ears could hear the wind among the trees.

  “Amazing, isn’t it, young lady?” A kind mage's voice spoke upon a tree stump to fashion a smaller crystal. I look at the grass around him. The most beautiful flowers grew like weeds on a very large field. A rainbow bow of colours waved in the sweeping wind. Above the dancing trees, a sky almost too scenic graces us with sunlight.

  “What… What is this?” I asked.

  Out of nowhere, a flickering image flashed in front of me. I gave a left jab in shock at the face of a Liuen I had seen before.

  “Woah! Good reaction.” Yuran gave a thumbs-up to Tarion.

  Another being appeared beside him, looking like a mirrored version of me. Haru was dressed in ceremonial clothes for priestesses, while her partner wore the blackest liuen robes. “Hello,” she said with a small smile. “Didn’t know we would meet so soon.”

  I tried to hold her flickering hand that phased in and out of existence. “No more running away, you owe me stories.” I winked and

  “And to your question…” He looked to the tower master for an answer.

  “We are subspace, a few kilometres in diameter. Possibly a concave world, but the daylight operates in a similar way to our world.”

  “A subspace?”

  “A term we mages use for dimensions between ours and many others. They are cracks in reality that numerous spells, like teleportation and inventory use. Some cracks can be smaller than axi. Some are as big as our world.”

  “Inventory uses a lot of mana to create and to use, so that even with my large basin, I try to never use it recklessly. To make a subspace this big…” Tarion picked up a pebble from the ground. “It would need so much mana that the mountain behind you wouldn’t make a percentage.”

  “Mountain?” I looked behind, and my new normal that I had been trying to get used to exploded. What should cover a mountain that massive and that tall should be snow, not the brightest crystal I have ever seen. “What the fuck is that…?”

  “My family’s inheritance, I think.” Tarion turned to the flickering duo. “Is it still?”

  Yuran walked to his left. Hand behind his back, he gestured with his head to follow him on an overgrown cobblestone pathway.

  “Smart boy. Think. In Star Scripture, who created the saint?”

  “The designer.” Tarion immediately remembered. “The weakest of the angels, he brought shape to the beast on our lands.”

  “Some say he made us all in his image, as he did with the saint,” I added.

  “That's debatable.” The elder mage spoke. “The elves, maybe, but us? No, we are too limited.”

  “The designer is what we on Mesial call him.” As we all walked along the path, trees grew taller on the sides. “What title did the other angels give him?” Still walking the long, winding path, Tarion thought with his hands on his waist.

  “Rulebreaker… That mean he…and us…”

  With Haru taking flowers on the side of the walkway, Yuran nodded. “When my eye closed for the last time, a being of pure ether met my soul before its passage to the next world. Without words, he proposed an opportunity. I felt his urgency, his desperation. He had expected the jails to break and had prepared a lineage of people who would possess the power to seal the jails. But did not expect a previous break in the rules to bite him this badly.

  Tarion’s eyes widened as he looked at his hands. “The Dragon”.

  Our benefactor is a curious being. What studious person wouldn’t want to research the curse that had plague his side for so long?

  “It’s tempting… That knowledge.” The mage softly whispered as his wistful eyes gazed far in thought.

  “Indeed.” Yuran agreed with a knowing smile. “So in learning, he moulds and shapes as a designer does, and the dragon was born.

  “He found a human working alongside the betrayers,” I interjected. “One with a heavy grudge against his masters and places the dragon within him.”

  “To the designer, it was his biggest blunder,” Yuran said as the path branched, it widened to a large square made of stone, with pews like in a colosseum circling around. Yuran gestures to keep moving.

  “After their last battle, the dragon was said to have disappeared after the saint was taken back to the land above. But as you can see with me and Tarion, it was the case.”

  “After thousands of years, two lineages were made. A holy one and a cursed one. Leading to Jianling…”

  “I wouldn’t fault him for it,” I said. “We can’t blame him for the actions of a single evil man.”

  “Yes, we can, " The mage’s voice turned rough.

  “The designer felt this guilt, and he broke the rules again, sending me and Haru back.” Yuran walked the path nervously, once in a while looking at Tarion with eyes of shame. “Committing the biggest of taboos, time was rewritten with Haru and me – humans that have acquired the purest energy, ether – as the only mortals with our memories.”

  “To think that our world is that malleable. How did it feel when the world turned back?” asked the studying elder.

  “Like, a great wave consuming a sandcastle made by the greatest of artists. Nothing to mourn. Only memories are left.”

  “Worse,” Haru muttered. “Worse than any death. Because at least you know there's a future for life to go on.”

  ****

  The road widened again, dropping onto a sandy beach on a lake. We waited on the small hill, taking in the gorgeous scene of blue waves in the distance and of the shiny waters.

  Yuran sighed, his fist tightening; he turned to Tarion. “I am not sure you will be able to handle it.” Yuran's eyes dart away from Tarion's questioning stare. Tarion saw me, shoulders relaxed.

  “Tell me.”

  “Okay…” Yuran pointed at me and Haru. “They are of the same soul. But different futures, but identical in the most important ways. If they wanted, they could unite at any time and face no repercussions from it. Whereas I and Tarion…”

  “We are not the same soul…” I saw Tarion stare far into the distance and rushed under his arm to help him find a rock bench to sit on.

  Yuran continued. “Time was rewound, and it was time for my soul to merge with my old body. However, Jianling did the impossible and followed us to the past, arriving early to make sure my body couldn’t be used any longer. Floating above my dead body as Zhi wailed over me, I was completely lost. Despair fell upon me as I saw the man I thought of as a brother slaughtering our family one by one.

  Haru stood by Yuran's side, comforting him as he watched the lake below.

  “Madness and grief nearly took me until I felt his presence once more. Before the designer's knees, I begged and pleaded to reverse time. He told me no more can be done. He was already stretching the limits of his power. To use more would awaken those who would make Mesial disappear.”

  “Disappear?” I asked,

  “‘Deleted’” was the exact term. ” The Mage seemed captivated by the notion. Tarion just sighed.

  “I asked with irritation what he could do. He said to find a vessel. And we did. In a split second that felt like hours, we visited hundreds to thousands of men. All are capable of great skills. But not enough to defeat the enemies coming. Then, I asked the designer for a stronger, healthier body. A body I could fully explore the limits of my techniques. He found one quite easily. Tall, long-limbed. A body with amazing potential, and it was a descendant of the dragon.

  My old body. I cheered. Of course, why didn’t I think of it? A descendant? I never knew, but that made it even better. But a corpse was not what I was expecting, nor how I remember my body looking. Skinny, pale. It had been an hour since it last breathed. With my knowledge of poisons, I saw Kuwei – enough poison to kill a dozen elephants – fill the corpse meridians and blacken veins. ‘If I could restore it…’ I thought. Then I took a closer look. In my old body’s heart, mana hummed softly.

  Tarion looked up at Yuran. “Me?”

  Yuran glanced away. “When Jianling killed the past me, he took my soul. In its absence, you came to fill the void.”

  “Which should be impossible without a deity’s help.” The mage said. Enthralled in the story, he scanned Tarion with glowing eyes.

  “The designer had no clue how this happened. He sensed no other constellation. Thus, the designer reached down beyond the limits to take the soul out, but was repelled away. The soul and the body were so attached that they were almost one. The designer had never seen such a case. It was a human soul. No more special than others, but a will so strong it repulsed a god's touch. If the designer couldn’t force it out, he could learn about it. Like a thousand paintings, its memories were stretched out for us to see.”

  “Everything…?” Tarion bounced his feet. His hands covered his expression of shame.

  “Everything”, Yuran repeated, flickering still. “You lived quite a life. In different circumstances, I would be worrying about you instead of my brother.” Tarion curled like a ball; I soothed him the best I could. “Therefore, to make the best of it, we planned. We saw the love of books and games you shared with your brother and made the system. We would give you the allotment window to give a sense of control while I would gain control of the system in the background, making the body stronger while I cut the connection between your soul and my old body.”

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  Tarion rubbed his eyes and face, struggling to come to terms with what he was hearing. I found it hard to believe it as well. Did Tarion go through this the entire time? What is a system?

  “With no more time to lose, the designer merged us. The system was in place. With the last of my qi, I helped you heal your broken circle and gave you the strength to start collecting the right ingredients to fix our body. However, any time I would try to cut you away. I was caged away like an invader. I had to rip past multiple defences just to say a few words. I had to change my approach. What I couldn’t force, I could encourage.”

  “Wait,” Tarion whispered.

  “A mission-oriented man like you would love to be given a righteous purpose. Especially a purpose that would make you feel forgiven.”

  “STOP!” Birds flew from trees. The wind blew in the silence.

  “Let's keep walking.” Yuran nodded down the path, not giving a care about the struggling Tarion

  “My memories… Slowly, a standing Tarion treaded towards a confident Yuran. “Are they… fake?”

  Yuran paused. “No. They just aren’t yours.” Guilt-ridden eyes watched Tarion like a pensive snake ready to strike. “I shared-”

  Qi exploded from Tarion's body, becoming a storm in the sunny biome.

  “Everything I did…” Tarion looked at his hands with disgust.

  “Tarion…” I held his shaking hand. Noticing my worry, his qi quieted in an instant. His face was as stiff as Kurt's.

  “Go on, Yuran,” Tarion said sternly as he walked down the path with Yuran, who gave a small smirk.

  “Heh, still the enduring soldier.”

  “This obelisk,” the dark-skinned mage spoke from the back of the roaming group. “Your ‘bodies’?”

  “Ah… yes, let's skip months ahead to today in the tent. In my desperation, I took control of Tarion’s arm and made contact with Haru. In the flash of holy light, I met him again.”

  “We met him again,” Haru finally spoke, walking close to Yuran like a little pet. “Much less polite than during the ceremony, my ‘creator’ gave us an order: ‘Send the soldier to the obelisk. Give him the Dragon's gift.’

  “So once again he ‘encouraged’ me,” Tarion responded.

  I was starting to get angry. “You mean lied,” I said, staring down the liuen as he chuckled.

  “But it worked. Your mind relaxed. No longer on edge against a foreign soul, I used the last sliver of ether I had collected to hide us deeper, where your mind could feel us. More luck struck, or maybe another design of the rule breaker, as our soul felt a connection to the obelisk. After a long time of convincing Haru, we took a leap of faith and our faith was rewarded.”

  “What does it feel like?” The mage's eyes scanned the faded couple.

  “Like I am made of air.” Haru spun around, jumping around. “As if I am everywhere and nowhere at the same time.”

  “Holograms”. Looking to the sky, Tarion sighed, his crimson eye watching the clear with an empty gaze. “You were backed up in the system of this mini world.”

  “I hoped you would understand. I wasn’t the tech nerd type in our world.” Haru smiled. Tarion ignored her.

  I had had enough. “You could have told.” I stepped in front of Yuran, which staggered him from his arrogant posture. “It's enough that you gave him responsibility he didn’t ask for and forced a life on him that was his. Despite all his success, you still lied to his face!?”

  “Vanessa…” Haru pleaded. “He had to make sure things-”

  “And you too!” I poked the flickering saint on the shoulder, feeling the weight in the touch. “You just let Yuran lie to him!”

  Tarion shook his head, pulling my hand. “It's okay. Leave it be.” His anguished eyes twisted my heart into knots. “What is done is done.”

  “Bullshit.” I trekked up to Yuran. “The manipulation, the coercion. Is there any difference between you and that brother you loathe?”

  The air shifted. On a calm face, red eyes lit up. “There is a line.”

  A large sword coated with qi appears on the hologram's neck. “Mine is threatening my wife.”

  Yuran breathed in, and a blink brought his eyes back to normal. “Sorry… Comparing me…” Yuran backed away from Tarion’s greatsword to sit on a little tuft of grass. “You must understand, Vanessa, like your husband does. Giving my trust to such a man would make me a fool. I saw everything! Every dirty deed this sordid man did.”

  Greatsword back into his inventory, Tarion hung his head, defeated.

  “It disgusts me that he uses my body, my damn name. It sickened me that he lies beside you. And what upsets me more is that he was the right man for the job. He succeeded in everything my old body would have wanted… A vibrant Osberg. My people with full bellies. Corruption was wiped from the map. The love and respect I tried so hard to find in the cult seemed contrived compared to the way they revered you. My parents' killers, the annexing of Vioden.”

  Yuran stood again and kicked stones away in frustration. “I didn’t even have the balls to get out of my bed… I knew you did it all for some vain, selfishness and glory. Despite that, you thrived. So I thought to myself. ‘One more little lie – what's the harm? If he can succeed yet again. I would say the whole truth.”

  “A test?” I said

  Yuran made a toothy grin “And he passed with flying colours. I have accepted the way it has to be… for this world to be saved.”

  Yuran’s words grazed over Tarion like a cold breeze. “What do you need from me?”

  “Nothing but your full effort. You can keep that body. Keep that life you built as long as you live for this world. Want to repent? Be his greatest soldier.”

  “Under…stood,” Tarion affirmed somberly.

  My anger kept rising. Yuran's every word felt designed to worm deep into Tarion's mind. Even now, he was getting used. What else is this slick mouth liuen planning?

  My ring hummed.

  Patience…

  “What is next?” Asked Tarion.

  “For you to accept your gift.” Yuran clicked his fingers, and a door opened beside him. “Mmm. It worked. Follow me.”

  ****

  One by one, everyone entered the mysterious glowing door. “Tower master!” I called out to the kind mage before he stepped through. “You didn’t say how you are involved.”

  “Hoho! I forgot. The story was too engaging. I am not entangled at all! Strange things happen around your husband, and my daughter saw you going back below.”

  “You were spying on me…?” Tarion wondered.

  “Of course, I was. Best decision I have ever made.” And the cheerful mage jumped through the door.

  Tarion wiped his face, “Jesus Christ… I guess it's us next.

  “Dear”, I said, holding him. “No matter what… I chose you. You have me, wholly and forever.”

  Tarion exhaled, squeezing his eyes tight. “I know…” he paused, “But you chose Tarion. Not the real me. Swallowed by so much happiness, I forgot myself… Just like the Luien, I am a deft liar… Maybe the divorce wasn’t–” Tarion tried to pull away, and my mana-assisted strength pulled him back to me.

  “I don’t care about the past! I care about you and only you! I love YOU. Please believe me, please!”

  Pursing his lips, he gave me a deep hug. “Thank you.” I could see tears pooling at the corners of his sweet eyes. His slowing heartbeat reverberated on my cheek. “When I first came to this world, lost and purposeless, you saved me. I would hate to burden you with my grief.”

  I gave him a kiss to last a lifetime, yet I needed more. “Burden me all you want. I have got really good at healing.”

  Tarion's laugh echoed in the wood as tears splashed from cheek-crested eyes.

  ****

  From the door that opens out of the air. We stepped into a paradise of overflowing vegetation. Trees almost blocked the sky with their large leave on tall trunks. In the middle of a stone patio, a golden fog settled.

  I squinted my eyes. “Holy power?”

  “It stinks to high heaven!” Tarion said as he plugged his nose. His eye widened with shock. “No, it can’t be…”

  “It is. Don’t look at me like that. I had no clue. The designer did not stop working. Look here. He left a message for you.” Yuran clicked his fingers.

  Plonk.

  My methods to capture the seven had failed and failed. However, your triumphs have burned a furnace in me.

  “Great…” Tarion sighed. “All a God needed was a bit of motivation to actually fix shit.”

  In finding new ways to aid you. I remembered a gift I gave to my precious dragon. A world of his own. Totally self-sufficient. With this, he could have been the king of the world. But my once lonesome dragon found love and chose to live among the humans rather than be alone in paradise. He luckily left the obelisk for his descendants to inherit.

  “Not the cult… but a dukal family?” Yuran whispered. “So much pride the cult has over his lineage. Yet a random diluted branch of his blood had his greatest treasure, haha.”

  Using inspiration from your memories, I worked tirelessly on this dimension, making it the best place for your growth. Gravity can be controlled; atmospheric pressure increased. The weather is fully controllable. Months in here could be days outside. Crystals grow back after weeks, and training areas can restore themselves completely after destruction. And lastly, a training dummy.

  “Are you fucking kidding me?”

  “What’s wrong with a training dummy?” I asked like a dummy.

  “That isn’t any training! It's a fallen angel's jail! The real deal!”

  Plonk

  Jailed here is my dear dragon’s nemesis. A being that had brought him so much pain and grief. A perfect gift, I would say. But an even better way to train. Place your hand on the console.

  A blue screen blinked in front of Tarion.

  The system…

  Tarion looked at me. I answered with a shrug.

  “Fuck it.” His hand pressed on the screen, and I covered my ears, expecting an explosion. But nothing but the wind blew on the tall trees.

  “Tarion…?” I turned aside and jolted back at the sight of his irises convulsing around his eye socket. All of a sudden, Tarion’s absent eyes disappeared as he fell on the floor. “Tarion! Are you okay!?”

  Giving him a hand up, I healed him with holy power. He seemed completely fine. “What a bastard…”

  Plonk

  Present day. One month later.

  After the slaying of goblins. Inside the Wolfburn Castle.

  Vanessa.

  Flowing royal blue dress curving around me, I felt my husband kiss.

  “Beautiful. You truly are. I should go to more parties just to see you like this.” Tarion said with his eyes on my displayed bosom.

  “Not the jealous type?” We locked arms, greeting Vioden guards along the way.

  “Of course I am. A woman like you makes it impossible not to be. Doesn’t mean you shouldn’t look splendid.”

  “Then why do you still stare down men who come to speak to me?” A turn of the corner, we hear the chatter grow in loudness.

  “To keep these young soldiers on their tiptoes. Dangers always lurking.”

  “Haha.” The crowd also laughed from the other side of the wall. “Your brother sure is working the audience. They seem to love him.”

  “Of course, they love him. The only heir to the old regime. They are hedging their bets. Play nice with him; they can enter my circle. And if they succeed in my fall, they ‘picked’ the right horse.”

  I sighed. “Politics… You think he will make an appearance.”

  “It’s certain.”

  “Good, maybe I can give him a piece of my mind again.” Just in front of the throne room, as we waited for them to call our names, I leaned on his thick shoulder.

  “Happy birthday.”

  The boyish smile I loved returned.

  “ENTERING…DUKE AND DUCHESS GREYSTONE. RULERS OF THE NEW UNITED DUCHY OF OSBERG AND VIODEN!”

  A wave of his hand forced the door open to the ear-deafening cheer of many drunk men, and Tarion gave me a wink.

  “Let’s have fun, everyone! The best wine is on the birthday boy, haha!”