Chapter 11 : Mistress of Mysteries

  In the dark mansion-like structure, Anira didn't care much about anything else. Her eyes focused solely on one human in the pce—her master, rad Valor.

  He was a handsome fellow with o-blue eyes and dark hair bearing chestnut patterns. People often praised his beautiful face.

  Anira didn't care much about the physical aspects of human beings. She had lived long enough to see all kinds of faces and structures. No bination possible could spark any feeling inside her. Only a handful of people could see her thoughts passing through eras.

  She didn't know her in; the only thing she uood was that she had been alohroughout the ages. Even when some people could see her, none could uand the deep loneliness inside her. Her heart was frozen in time itself, covered by mist that couldn't be seen through.

  Her beauty had appeared in tless wars throughout world history and cultures, but none had truly appreciated her. Frankly, she didn't care. As time passed, she sloted her unique being through madness, pain, and dark loneliness. She wahrough pces and tis, witnessing the rise and fall of empires. Monarchy, theocracy, democracy, the rise of people's greed, lust, and evil inside everyohe radiance of good seen in every er of history. Hidderayals in every epoch. She had seen it all with her owhere were times she wao interfere, but she never could.

  The ever-ging history of the world passed through seven whole epochs, yet not a single moment had she felt any tou her pale snow-white skin.

  But somethi her from going i was a vision of something calling to destiny. Some people might immediately refuse to obey the course set by fate itself, like some hero fighting against greater powers, but Anira had nothing. She didn't want to fight. She just wanted something, anything, maybe just to keep her sane. She found her greatest joy whenever she dreamed of certain blue eyes looking at her throughout all these years; only those visions and dreams were her sole panions.

  When she first met the boy she had seen tless times in her vision, she couldn't hold back her tears. She felt her life had met its destination. What was her purpose? She didn't know. What did this meeting, that had waited histories to happen, have in store for her? She didn't know. But she made an oath to never be left alone. She knew she had someone in this world who shared her destiny—her lord. Her sole purpose was to protect him even if the world came crumbling down.

  Standing alone in the darkness, she watched the young man. He suddenly had sharp eyes as he summoned a bright light at the tip of his fingers. Brahman manipution could do that, but it usually took at least a year of practice for any average practitioner with guidance.

  She couldn't help but feel proud of her master. Suddenly her seriggered—as tier 7: minor space-time maniputor, she already had very high sensitivity to the space around her. But before she could react, a tall figure appeared. It was made of pure corres stemming from natural disorder. She hadn't fought many battles herself as she never o, but she knew what this entity represented very well: a dangerous Oddity. Every fiber of her being gave her a danger signal. A chill ran through her spine. She shouted with all her might; she had never shouted in her life.

  "My lor—" Before she pleted her call, her voice was cut off.

  Huh ? A Space distortion—a space-oriented ability?

  Ability: Mist Teleportation

  Didn't work? What is the rule set here?

  She started to analyze her own script of the ability itself and came to a quick clusion.

  Dimension separation or maybe new dimension altogether. What should I do? My lord is in trouble. No, I 't let it happen. Even if it costs me my life.

  Anira's mind raced as it never had before. She tried all the binations of abilities in her head. Despair fell upon her. In just a few seds, the veteran Essentia Anira went from calm to losing her posure.

  What should I do? I o protect my lord...

  What should I do? I o protect my lord...

  What should I do? I o protect him at any cost...

  Suddenly a thought came to her like a tiny light iernal darkness.

  My lord's gift. But I don't know if it will work in a separate space. Even my teleportation is being blocked. But I have to try it... otherwise...

  Anira calmed herself down and without hesitation began to recite:

  "By mine lord's will,

  A world that none should ken.

  A world cloaked in nameless mist,

  A woverned by The Eye,

  A world yclept Are Veil."

  rad found himself in a familiar pce. His mind instantly calmed. In a pce where in seemed to lose its meaning, where infinity aernity seemed small, a pce that held secrets unknown to the world—Anira stood there alone.

  rad looked into her crimsohere was a numbness in those eyes colored by the blood of some unknown being. Maybe there was something like a tear, but rad wasn't sure.

  "Ani—" Before he finished, Anira disappeared from his sight and appeared in his arms. rad was surprised but didn't say anything. They stayed quiet for some unknown time.

  rad's haed on Anira's head. She wasn't much shorter than rad himself, but for some reason, he felt like she was much smaller.

  Anira's eyes were closed, her head resting against the man she called 'Lord,' for reasons unknowo her. After a while, they separated.

  "Anira, are you alright?" rad asked hesitantly, surprised by her sudden behavior.

  "Yes, my lord..." she paused. "Are you hurt? Is your mind alright? you feel your Brahman?..." she tinued.

  "Anira... calm down..." rad held her shoulders and looked directly at her. "I am fine."

  rad took a deep breath. "Let's analyze the situation at hand."

  "Anira, do you have any idea what that was and how we should deal with it?"

  "That was definitely an Oddity, it felt like some woman's separated corruption. My Primary Domain isn't specialized on logical thinking; I 't dis much, but that's my best hypothesis..."

  Hypothesis... in this world even a veteran like Anira is unsure of certain things... I o be a little stroo protect her...

  Protect...? But why should I...?

  rad's thoughts went in multiple dires. Looking at Anira, he got this odd feeling ihat he should protect her at any cost.

  "Anira, do we really have to fight it? 't it just disappear with time? As the principle of Brahman is servation, nothing should be perma, right?"

  Anira looked at rad with fusion.

  "My lord, it's not always the case... you take mine and your case. It just doesn't obey the w known by research."

  rad became more fused. "Our cases? What do you mean?"

  "My lord, you are immortal like me. We age but will remain in our youth forever. Age itself has no meaning for us..."

  rad was shocked to his core. His fear reached its maximum.

  What are you saying? Are you lying to me? Wait, why didn't you say so before? It's impossible?

  rad's mind was in turmoil, as if he would colpse from this new revetion. It felt like some divine punishment.

  Wait, let me calm down.

  Breathe... yes... let's think it through...

  "Anira, are you sure?"

  "Yes, my lord. I feel it—you are the same as me. I ot prove it, but I am sure of it."

  Maybe she is wrong; that is a possibility. Let's not focus on this.

  "But my lord, we die. We are not invincible. It's just that we don't die by old age, and that's it."

  rad rubbed his temple slightly. Then he crossed his arms and started to tap his fingers.

  "Let's focus on the Oddity. So you're saying we 't be sure if it die naturally or not?"

  "Yes, my lord."

  Anira hesitated for a moment then asked, "My lord, may I request something from you?"

  Well, that's new.

  "Go ahead..." rad hesitated but said it anyway.

  "May I have my sword back?"

  "Oh, I fot about the sword. Yes, take it. I think it's better if you have it. Holy, I'm not a swordsman, and I was even uo react while the Oddity..."

  As rad spoke, Anira's mind focused on other thoughts:

  I am going to kill you. Your existence will be erased by my hands. How dare you y your filthy sight on my lord. I am going to rip you apart.

  "Anira, are you listening...?" rad frowned slightly at her unfocused eyes.

  "Yes...? Yes, my lord. Thank you."

  "We pretty much don't have any clues on how to fight it. So let's just go there and fight that thing."

  "My lord, while fighting Oddities, it's good to fight with strategy, but overly plicated pns fail as they take time and there are many more variables involved. Oddities don't follow any logical approach to stay alive as their survival instinct does; they act purely on instinct," she tinued.

  "Remember, my lord, 'figure out as you go' is the best approach."

  Thank you for the lessons, Sensei Anira.

  rad made a joke inwardly. He g Anira but noticed his partner's eyes were unusually focused.

  As Anira released her powers, they returo the physical world. But strangely, there was no Oddity in sight. Not even a hint of its presence.

  "Huh... so it's pying mind games with us?" rad said half-jokingly. But he remained on guard, his Brahman on full alert, sensing any energy sign or supernatural phenomena around him. His eyes were much sharper now. As a martial artist, he took a low guard and high offeance. He was a great fighter with the ability to switch between Southpaw and Orthodox. He didn't care much about the position; he switched with each turn of his surroundings.

  As they looked around in the dark room, rad's eyes fell on a door numbered 312. He didn't sense anything, but there was a vague intuition inside him that told him to go there.

  "Anira... let's check that room."

  "My lord, please hold onto my hands..."

  What? What are you saying? I know it's not what you meant, but still, it's embarrassing. I don't have a girlfriend, you know... well, it was the same in my previous life also.

  rad made jokes inwardly but didn't say anything out loud.

  "..."

  He held Anira's soft, slender hands.

  You really are soft. Well, it's hard to trol myself when you're being this defenseless. But I know better. You slice my head off without me blinking. Hahaha.

  Anira looked at rad as if she heard his thoughts. rad gave her an awkward ugh.

  As they entered room 312, they were both on high alert. The Mist sword Yoru circled around them, floating in midair as if it were a se being. Each rou a mist-like line around them.

  Creak!

  With a sound usually heard in dipidated houses, the door opened. A closed window that had some cracks on it, a gray wall that felt like it didn't belong to the manor-like house and a muable ced in the er. Overall, the room was minimalist with a small table, a wooden chair, a small bed, and an old fridge that was still funal. It gave rad and Anira no sense of danger. What really caught their attention was a single red notebook of some kind oable.

  The duo approached the table with caution. Opening the book, rad read:

  Kendrick Feud's Personal Diary:

  "January 5th—

  I will definitely propose to her. She is just too perfee. I 't live without her. I want her as my wife. I have prepared a ring. I know she is busy with her writing work; she might not notice, but I love her more than anyone in this world. I don't want ao take her from me."

  [...]

  "February 1st—

  We got married. I am so happy I could die right now. She said she wao visit some isnds for their local cuisine. Well, holy, she loves to eat hings. I feel like she may love eatihings more thahat's fine by me as long as she is focused on food and work. I don't care. I love her as much as I want."

  [...]

  “Mard—

  It was the happiest moment of my life—our honeymoon. The night ure passion, a memory I'll cherish forever…”

  [...]

  "March 6th—

  I feel like this isnd is a little weird. These people are too quiet. I don't like their eyes that keep staring at me. Anna seems happy though. So I am happy for her."

  [...]

  "March 12th—

  I 't believe Anna hurt herself like that. There were some cuts on her hands, but I put some medie on them."

  [...]

  "July 5th—

  She has been ag very suspicious. Holy, I am a little afraid of her. At night she sneaks around the house without turning on the lights. Sometimes she just sits there beside me without waking me up. I am getting really worried. I should call some doctor to che her."

  There were no more entries. July 5th was the st one.

  As rad finished reading the entries, he heard ahereal voice that put him o.

  "My lord, stay behind me!"

  Ability: Mist Barrier (Coordinate)