Levy giggled. "Your mother sent me! Hahaha!"
"Impossible!" Petra cried, her mind spinning.
After the tragedy in her past life, Petra had already concluded that Levy was just a figment of her imagination, something that she had created to cope with her madness. Levy represented a connection, a hope, and a way to find the family she never had, the family that she had longed for.
Petra felt the warmth in Levy's hands.
On earth, where metaphysics were frowned upon, Petra could never be sure, but now, here, touching her hands, Petra was sure, she was sure that Levy was real!
Petra's eyes reddened.
It had been a long time since she cried.
She lowered her head and asked, the words coming out as a whisper. 'Where did you go...?'
It was a question, but also a lost obsession.
She didn't really care.
She had long lost hope.
She had already cut off all her emotional connections to Earth.
But this person, who had been both a sister and a mentor, always seemed to exist as the final flicker of sanity in the darkness that would eventually consume Petra. While she was hunted down, as she lost her mind, and even after she lost her life, only the echo of Levy's shadow remained in her heart.
Perhaps it would never be known, but if Levy had not appeared, the King's Hand would have become an existence far more terrifying than it was today.
Levy snorted, her face showing undisguised disdain.
"Hump, I didn't want to leave, it's that stupid guy who's neither ghost nor god, that weirdo that's pretending to be a normal person, He, he came personally to kick me out!" Levy clicked her tongue.
Petra sniffed. "Ha?"
Levy stuck out her tongue. "Spoilers, you want to go back one day, right? You'll find that Earth is a more interesting place than you can imagine~!"
Petra just looked at her, her big eyes watering under the sun.
It was clearly not enough.
Levy scratched her cheek. "Ok ok ok, how about this, I'll tell you a bit about your mother, then will you forgive me?"
Petra paused.
She thought for a moment.
She had already forgiven Levy anyway.
After a moment, she nodded.
Levy grinned, then took the girls to a cafe before beginning her story.
"Heh heh, ok ok, listen up, your mother is a super big shot! Like a big big deal!" Levy nodded, as if to emphasise something. She continued. "Not only is she a big shot, but she's really busy too! Like the kind of busy where you just give up and run away!"
Levy cupped her chin and narrowed her eyes. "That should run in the family, right?"
Petra's lips pressed flat, but she wouldn't admit it.
"You know that situation, uh, the one where two top aristocratic families get married and have a son, then find out that that son is monstrously talented and argue which family he'll inherit?"
Petra nodded, hating that cliche.
"Well... Your grandmother was like that."
Petra nodded again, but suddenly had a very bad feeling.
"Aaaand... Your 'grandfather' was like that... too."
Petra nodded again, slightly slower.
"So your mother is the heir to four of the largest Witch families!"
Petra didn't nod again.
She just waited silently, her eyes unblinking.
Levy continued. "Not only that, but your mother ran away from home to find you a 'father'."
Petra: "..."
Levy chuckled, suddenly realizing that this probably wasn't the best story to tell.
"A-any ways... Your 'father' also came from a special bloodline... Aaaaaand, as it would later turn out, they both ran away from home at the same time, then met and fell in love! Ha ha!"
Petra: "..."
"But there's a problem you see! When you reach the level of your mother, having a child is even more difficult! Not only that, but your parents both had bloodlines that raised this unlikeliness to a near impossibility! Ha ha, so what does your crazy mother do, she gives it a try anyways!"
Petra: "..."
"When your mother tried, she realized that that 'near impossibility' was actually a real 'impossibility'. The origins that were rooted deep within your parents bloodlines were also extremely Incompatible!"
Levy grinned.
"But my master, your mother, is no slave to reason! So, she found a way to cheat, and big time too!"
Petra thought, 'This does seem to match the mother in my imagination.'
Levy hummed while rocking her body back and forth. She mumbled, 'spoilers, spoilers, spoilers...'
"Ah, so, here comes the magic of the 'Human Cradle'! Humans from that place have a unique trait, and that is, when a person reincarnates as a human, they become human! I don't mean physically, I mean that their soul becomes a human soul!"
Petra: "...?"
"Skipping ahead a bit, you lived your life as a human and allowed your soul to become complete, and boom, your mother succeeded in the impossible!"
Petra furrowed her brows.
"You mean I was only 'born' after my death on Earth?" Petra asked.
Levy shook her head.
"If only it were that easy! The current you is like a fetus, no, an egg that has just been fertilized. Now your mother needs to let you grow."
The strange hollow-like woman behind Levy suddenly asked. "You mean that her Body and Concept are incomplete?"
Petra didn't understand, but Levy nodded.
"That's right, her mother is currently focused on forging the crucible needed for creating a body."
Petra tilted her head. "But I already have a body?"
Levy chuckled. "You have a mortal body, but that's far from what you'll need. Even if you cultivate to an Immortal, that still won't be enough. I can't emphasise this enough, you come from a really big family~!"
Petra pursed her lips, feeling like this was something that she should return to after 500 Chapters.
Levy grinned a wicked grin, her crafty eyes setting off something that had been long forgotten in Petra's subconscious. "But I have a different job!"
Levy slammed a pile of books on the table.
"From today onwards, we'll be following you around to make sure you keep up on your studies!" She gestured to herself and the hollow-like woman behind her.
Petra's face turned pale.
These weren't reading materials, they were hundreds of thousands of practical examples!
She wanted to run, no, she did run....
Petra jumped up from her seat and blinked away, leaving only a flickering black light in her seat. Unfortunately, Levy was even more unfathomable in this life.
Levy smirked.
"I like this small version of you better, he he he he~"
Petra reappeared in Levy's arms.
Petra's face turned green.
The PTSD that she had painstakingly convinced herself was just a small figment of her imagination... reaawoke on that day.
* * *
Later that night
The sun had set and the chilly night crept in.
Petra sat on the bed with her knees crossed, a flickering candle to her side. The chirping of crickets and the dulled voices of distant pedestrians formed a calming ambience.
On her lap was a thick book, only a few pages deep.
Levy was not joking, she did intend to continue teaching Petra. Unlike on Earth, the curriculum that she had designed this time was far larger than before, covering both the physical and metaphysical sciences.
Petra flipped the page, skimming its content.
While reading, she found herself lost in thought. She had never regretted what she did back on Earth, but Petra wondered how much Levy knew about what had happened after she left. Petra would never bring it up, and Levy would never ask, so even if she did know, it didn't matter.
Fortunately, it didn't look like Levy knew about it.
Her life back then was too dark, too cruel. Petra wouldn't mention what she had done or what she had created. These secrets would be buried with her back on Earth.
Petra flipped to the next page, returning to the present.
Petra's studies were split into two parts, a 'General Curriculum' taught by Levy, and 'Runesmithing', taught by the hollow-like girl, Elli. As Petra began reading through her first lesson, she quickly realized that these lessons were all taught under the assumption that she had opened her Inner Library. That meant that the capacity of the brain wasn't put into consideration, only her personal comprehension.
When she asked Levy about the seed that opened her Inner Library, Levy just shrugged her shoulders. She was told to come find Petra, and that Petra would be ready when she did.
This frustrated Petra, but there was nothing she could do.
If this was intended by someone, then didn't that mean that the seed the ants had found on the road was placed there by someone? Her mother perhaps? Or an unknown entity?
Petra shook her head.
She didn't have time to think about this.
Turning her head back to the textbook, Petra began reading the first practical exam.
For now, Petra just read through the lesson plan, completely unaware of the hellish future awaiting her.
-
Night deepened and Nebula returned.
Shortly after Petra closed her book and prepared to go to sleep, her little ears suddenly twitched.
She frowned.
The window creaked and let in a cold wind. The candlelight flickered, casting an abnormal shadow across the wall.
Nebula's brow furrowed.
The two girls looked at the same place at the same time. A silver streak of light twisted through the air as a blade clad in dense runes flickered with a serpentine spirit.
It flew, carving through the air like a shadowy spear.
It anticlimactically clinked against Petra's mental barrier, falling to the ground a moment later.
The assassin moved, his body hung low as he swept across the ground like a raging tide. He drew a second dagger, driving it forward with an unpredictable curve.
Nebula reached for a weapon, but Petra was a step quicker.
With a flicker of green light, an ethereal box formed around the assassin. This was a technique Petra had improved. The box was filled with a dense energy, like a forcefully filled fish tank. The air was so heavy that it became hard to move, while mental energy crushed down and paralyzed the trapped target's thoughts.
With a flick of the mind, the assassin was caught in an instant.
Petra's eyes sparkled at her new toy.
Even Nebula had to admit that this skill was quite impressive.
Unlike last time, Petra was careful to strip this man of everything he had. After a thorough investigation of his mind and body, she handed him over to the ants for another layer of Interrogation.
Slightly under an hour later, the ants returned with a detailed report.
This man was from the Gray Snake, a branch of the Mercenary Alliance. He had come here on a mission to kill Petra. His employer was a servant of the city Lord's mansion, and it was as simple as that.
She learned from the interrogation that the local branch of the Gray Snake was located in the black market. It was deeply rooted and had existed here for a long time. Sevensen had accepted the influence of five of the Mercenary Alliance's branch forces, the Silver Shield (Army), the Silver Eye (Intelligence), the Black Lion (Auction House), the Black Chain (Black Market), and the Grey Snake (Assassination).
Petra felt a headache.
Since Levy had suggested that Petra take a trip to the Black Market, this made her plans for tomorrow a lot easier.