Petra slowly climbed the stairs.
Her small feet felt especially tired as she climbed the seemingly endless steps.
As she walked, the surrounding light began to fade.
She climbed for what felt like minutes, far longer than the stairs to the third floor.
Each step echoed through the silent hall.
Soon, the light had disappeared, leaving Petra in darkness.
After an unknown amount of time, Petra spotted a light in the distance.
She walked towards the light, thinking that the whole thing was kind of ridiculous. You know spatial magic, you old fool, what the hell's up with all the theatrics!
When Petra stepped into the light, the room opened up, and Petra found herself standing in a large cylindrical library.
Looking back, there were no stairs or doorways. The room was sealed.
The woman in black stood there silently, watching from behind with an indifferent gaze. If the gnome were here, he probably would have given an explanation right around now.
Petra's lip twitched.
Why couldn't she have done this during the day?
She felt like any explanations would be completely skipped by the ghost-like woman.
Petra looked around.
The surrounding walls were filled with books, extending all the way to the ceiling. As for the ceiling, there was only an infinite expanse of fog, seemingly endless.
In the room, the only thing of real value was the large desk that sat in the center of the room.
Petra approached, looking for whatever fate wanted to force upon her.
On the desk was a long and thin, tightly wrapped staff. The reason Petra could tell that it was a staff was because, despite being wrapped tightly in bandages, the light from the staff shown through, projecting its silhouette through the bandages.
Petra frowned.
She looked back for the woman, only to realise that she had disappeared.
Petra sighed.
Reaching out, Petra grabbed the staff, hoping to start whatever cutscene had been prepared for her.
When her hand touched the staff, light bloomed, and Petra was pushed backwards. The bandages binding the staff were undone, and the pitch-black staff floated silently in the air.
Petra pursed her lips.
She really didn't want to play this game.
She reached out, trying to grab the staff once again.
When her hand touched the staff, light bloomed, and Petra was pushed back.
Petra felt her temple throb.
Why did she feel like that one was slightly more provocative?
Petra was sucked into a black void.
Where the staff floated, the surrounding space was filled with colourful clouds that intertwined into a complicated sea of stars. The cosmic light circled around the staff, creating currents of energy that both resonated with the world, and somehow seemed to exceed it.
Petra was actually stunned this time.
She felt like this was the kind of thing that couldn't be missed.
From the staff came a vibration.
It wasn't a voice, nor was it a language, but it somehow conveyed a message.
'Inheritor, since you can come here, then we are alike.'
Petra frowned.
She felt like she knew this script.
'This room has transformed into a small universe.'
'If you haven't been torn to shreds or driven mad, then it can only mean you're an outsider, like me.'
'Hmmm? Outsider?'
'We are lost souls, drifting through the cosmos, unbound to any single world.'
'Without strength, this is like a curse. We can be drawn in, used as pawns by the strong.'
Petra nodded. This made sense.
'I offer you an exchange. Take care of my daughter and I will give you my legacy. She is unlike us, she is bound to the world, unable to control her own fate. If she were to leave the library, then I fear she will become an unwilling tool.'
Petra pursed her lips.
'We are different. I am no longer here, but you have appeared in my absence. When we move, fate cannot contain us.'
'I have always hated the concept of 'Fate', but after countless years, I believe that fate is not to be despised.'
'Fate is like the flow of all things, it is no different than daily life. What should be hated is not 'fate', but those who manipulate it!'
At this time, his voice seemed to split the cosmos.
'Some things have been tied so tightly that even the idea of free will is just a joke! When the world has become a play, then what's the point of dancing?'
'I digress... on the desk is a book containing all of my knowledge. This is a trade, not a demand.'
'I hope I can trouble you. If you're anything like me, then it's already a lot to ask.'
'And if the one who has appeared here is my old friend... then I have prepared a small gift. On the desk is a small box. If you are indeed my old friend, then you won't have a problem opening it. Thank you, and I wish you luck in the future.'
Following the old man's last words, the light around the staff became very chaotic. It spun faster and faster until it started to glitch. Something was torn through space, and Petra returned to the fourth floor.
Petra looked around to discover the staff had disappeared.
She approached the desk and found the 'book containing the old man's knowledge'.
Petra looked at the single book and thought the old man was full of shit. Then she remembered that he was a master of spatial magic, so she took a closer look.
Petra flipped through the book one page at a time.
After a while, she realised that the book had not changed, no matter how many pages she flipped through.
She stopped and slid the black leather book into her satchel.
She then turned her attention to the small black box on the table.
Although she didn't know who the old man's 'old friend' was, since he mentioned it, then it was probably her from the future. That's how nonsense like this usually worked, right?
Petra picked up the box and looked at it.
The moment she touched it, the box shone with a purple light.
"F*ck!"
Petra cursed.
She watched the box crack open and revealed two green tassels. Although she wasn't one to accept free gifts, Petra instantly fell in love with the two green tassels.
Her little heart fluttered, and she snatched them from the box.
Petra instinctively tied them to the left and right of her hood. They hung down over her chest, adding some extra color to her monotonous black robe.
With a satisfied nod, Petra only had one thing left to do. She tilted her head, wondering who the old man's daughter was.
As if to answer her question, Petra suddenly realised that the black clothed woman was standing right behind her.
A chill ran down her spine, and she almost expelled all the poison in her body at once. Then, she realised something...
"Crap, you're his daughter, aren't you?"
The silent, grim reaper-like woman nodded.
Petra was suddenly very sad.
Would this woman wear a maid's outfit?
Probably not...
Shaking her head, Petra turned to her. "Do you have a name?"
"Nebula."
Petra nodded. She felt like that was a good name.
"You're going to follow me?"
Nebula nodded again.
"Do you need to inform your colleague?"
Nebula shook her head.
"Then let's go, I've pretty much finished reading everything I wanted to. It's almost time to go home."
Petra found the stairs to the third floor.
After that, she returned to the inn, Nebula in tow.
* * *
Somewhere in the void, an enormous cosmic being was floating aimlessly, following the currents of the void sea, completely unperturbed by the state of the cosmos.
When looked at from afar, he was the personification of countless Stars, Planets, Stellar Remnants, Interstellar Gas, Dust, Spatial Fragments and Dark Matter, bound together by Gravity and shaped like a frail old man.
His endless drift was interrupted by the sudden and extremely violent fracture in the void.
From the purple crack came a pitch-black staff.
The staff flew into his 'hand' before distorting and reappearing as the same staff, just made of the same stuff as him.
The old man opened a pair of ancient and primordial eyes.
The two 'sun-like' spheres spun with interest, as if listening to the staff's silent story.
The 'void' cracked into a smile.
"It seems like my daughter has finally found a good guardian."
His voice was not a voice, and his speech was not a language. Unlike with Petra, his silent echo reached no one.
The old man looked towards an unknown star.
"I don't have to worry about her now. It would seem like the 'Green Witch' didn't lie."
His 'smile' cracked even further.
"What a naughty girl. She sent her to her past self. I hope my daughter can really learn a thing or two."
Something like a chuckle echoed throughout the void, reaching countless stars, but was forever undeciphered.
* * *
The next day, Petra woke up bright and early.
The lazy little girl got dressed, then went for a walk through the early morning streets.
The stone road was still cold, and the lively streets were sparsely packed. Petra was followed by Nebula and Rose, while Mell and Wind were busy buying the few remaining things Petra needed before they left Sevensen.
Petra found one of the few food stalls that opened early in the morning.
She nibbled on the egg roll, her little feet skipping through the streets in happiness.
Although Nebu was a little scary, after you got used to her, she was kinda like a shadow.
Petra had asked about her backstory, but because of Nebu's quiet nature, Petra could get very little from her.
-
A little later in the morning, Petra was sitting at a coffee shop, reading the local newspaper and drinking hot chocolate. Although this was a medieval style city with swords and magic, technology never fell behind.
At least, many of the modern-day conveniences appeared in the more advanced areas of the world. As for things like cars and planes, what was the point? The strong could fly, and the enlightened rarely left home. As for the mortals, they had different priorities.
The north was the most backwards of the five regions, but it still had things like newspapers.
Of course, as a fantasy world, these newspapers had to be delivered by majestic flying beasts. Something small and fast, preferably with a racing stripe.
Petra peeked at the obese pigeon to her left.
'Could this thing even fly?'
The obese pigeon, seemingly sensing her disdain, stopped combing its wings and quacked at her.
Petra pursed her lips.
'Was that a quack..?
Even Nebu felt it was a bit funny.
Petra read through the newspaper and learned about the most popular happenings around the Cross Continent.
'Ice castle discovered in the south!'
'The Heros have appeared!?'
'Failed insurrection in the Hellion Empire!'
'Massacre in the Green Wind Forest!'
'Son of Northern Castle Missing!'
Petra read through the titles like an uninterested little child.
The only thing she took the time to look at was the article labeled 'The Heros have Appeared?!'
Petra looked through it and discovered that it wasn't actually talking about Elena. Over the past month, three incredible geniuses had appeared out of nowhere. The south had 'Kilemin Thorn', a monstrous cultivator who sought to spread his reputation. The east had 'Dorothy Quella', a genius mage who had an endless pool of mana and seemed to be able to master all types of magic. The west had 'Arthur Godwin', an optical sorcerer who was said to be able to see through all things. Aside from the northern region, which was somewhat desolate, even the central mountain range had rumors of a legendary genius.
Petra pursed her lips.
She felt like the legendary genius of the central region might be Elena. If that was so, then the one from the north was...
Petra kicked her little feet, knocking away a large rock.
Snapping the newspaper closed, Petra hopped off the chair and stood up.
"Time to go home!"
-
The three maids, now four, all followed the little green haired lolita towards the city gates.
Mell had made the arrangements the day before, so now all that was left was to leave.
When the five girls reached the city gates, the convoy was already prepared. There were seven large carriages, all filled to the brim with various things.
Petra sat on top of the frontmost carriage, while Mell sat in front, steering the convoy.
The remaining six carriages were all driven by staff that was hired beforehand from the carriage company. Petra had paid them enough money to drive the carriages about half a day's journey into the forest. After that, Petra would deal with the rest.
Although the four girls were a bit skeptical, they weren't in a position to complain.