Turning back time a bit…
We return to the day after the Ice Demons attacked, when the stampede of crystal bones and frostbitten flesh that had besieged the city was quelled, and the First Calamity came to a close. The Curse of Winter was dispelled, and the sky that hung grey finally cleared.
The city had entered the first stage of a very long and very chaotic period of consolidation. City soldiers were sent down the wall to clean up what remained of the ice demons, while skilled workers were dispatched to begin the long process of repairing the city wall.
At this point, Dorthy had found herself standing at a very important crossroads. With the chaos in Sevensen slowly subsiding, her window of escape had begun to close.
If she remained idle, she would be taken back to the east by Teacher Fell and Albert, but if she ran away, she would become the most wanted woman in the world.
One path led to eternal servitude, while the other led to an uncertain freedom.
She knew that even if she did manage to escape, that would be far from enough. She wouldn't obtain her true freedom for a very long time. She was too weak and too young. She lacked the skills needed to be Independent in this vast world. Without a backer, she would be left as a hollow wanderer, one with no place to go.
Regardless, she knew that this was her only opportunity. If she didn't take it, then her future would be bleak.
Dorthy made her decision.
To escape the supervision of the Eastern Region, she would need to do more than simply run away. She would need to scatter her identity, destroy her tracks, and erase her existence. Dorthy Quella would need to die.
To do this, Dorthy would need the help of some very powerful people. The kind that wouldn't be influenced by the Storm Tower, and didn't have to worry about being implicated.
The first step would be finding her way to the Black Market.
Not the Black Market that everyone was familiar with, no, she needed to find something much deeper. She needed to find the shadow hidden beneath the shadows, that which was whispered about but never seen, the one whispered about deep in the alleys and long into the night.
Dorthy used what remained of the chaos in Sevensen, shaking off the few guards that constantly followed her around. They were like prison wardens, powerful warriors that had followed her silently ever since she stepped out of the Eastern Region.
She dashed away on the wind, wrapping herself in illusions. She hid within the shadows and warped herself with the surrounding landscape, concealing her escape.
The moment Dorthy disappeared, everything changed.
They had already been prepared.
In an instant, the world seemed to come alive. The sky became an observer, and the Earth became a listener. Magic that had been concealed intertwined with the surrounding world, creating a vast observation network, one that pulsed with an unimaginable amount of mana. It stretched across Sevensen, attempting to lock onto the runaway Heavens Chosen.
Within minutes of Dorthy's disappearance, everything she knew seemed to shift in an imperceptible way. The unseen eye, the one that was constantly following her, the one that would never allow her to escape, slowly opened.
Pedestrians stood up as eastern guards, shadows twisted into hidden assassins, and magically concealed mages appeared from the void. Within mere moments, hundreds of people appeared from nowhere.
The unseen preparations that Dorthy had long suspected were in place, all activated at once.
As she continued sneaking through the city, even Dorthy was shocked by the lengths those people had gone to prevent her from running away. For the first time, fear flickered in the back of her mind. She had underestimated the lengths that the Eastern Region was willing to go just to shackle her.
Dorthy hardened her determination, quickly disappearing into one of the many hidden entrances that led down into the Black Market.
There was no time for doubt.
Dorthy had never visited the 'real' Black Market, so she had no idea what to expect. She could only rush headfirst into the unknown.
She could feel dozens of gazes drilling into her as she disappeared beneath a hidden wall. Some of these gazes were filled with worry, while others held an unimaginable greed.
Dorthy felt like she had opened the floodgates for her own demise. The ferocity of her pursuers did not match her expectations. She believed, no, she suspected, that she had somehow fulfilled some kind of unspoken condition, broken a restriction, and allowed them to no longer hold back.
Dorthy pushed through the muddy tunnel, spilling out in an inelegant display, emerging in the underground bazaar.
She frantically looked around, stumbling as she did, her heart beating heavily in her chest.
Her gaze locked before running towards the Black Arch.
The surrounding onlookers all look to her with a mixture of emotions.
Those who didn't know who she was all felt that it was somewhat funny, but those who did suddenly felt a sense of urgency. They moved one at a time, gaining momentum as one person after another began to leave. The inhabitants of the underground bazaar began to desperately run, one after another, almost like their lives depended on it.
They could all feel that something was coming.
Soon, Dorthy's pursuers had arrived.
They slaughtered their way through anything that blocked their paths, massacring the inhabitants of the underground bazaar. They followed Dorthy down into the darkness, disappearing into the underground labyrinth shortly behind her.
-
Dorthy ran without pause.
She ran with purpose, not stopping to retrieve her fallen money pouch, not stopping to pick up her lost staff, and not stopping to fix her clothes which had started to tear apart. She only had one chance, one opportunity, to her, everything came down to the next few minutes.
She ran through the winding maze in twisting halls. She never slowed, not even for a moment. She didn't stop when she found herself returning to where she had once been, nor when she lost track of the path ahead. Didn't stop when the darkness engulfed the way forward, nor did she stop when the world came to an end. It was a display of determination that was difficult to put into words.
After an unknown amount of time, she broke into a large room.
This was a large cavern with a pool in the center. It was located within the labyrinthine structure of the maze, yet this room seemed to be different.
Dorthy squinted her eyes, her glasses long broken.
Crouching within the center of the pool was a tall man. He was hunched with a bulging upper torso. His legs were thin, but his arms were thick. His physique was not like a warrior's, instead, it seemed a little bit like an obese man standing on his hands.
Dorthy froze, suddenly feeling something.
The man held a shovel in one hand and a claw in the other. Loose gray robes draped over his body, and a large sack hung from his back. Behind him dragged three dilapidated grey streamers, appearing to be ancient battle flags that had been worn as a cape. They were torn and decrepit, seemingly having been decayed by the ravages of time.
It was a worst case scenario.
Dorthy had met one of the unspeakable existences that dwelled in the labyrinth.
He turned at her approach.
His eyes were hidden beneath the hood, yet when he slowly looked over, something seemed to flash in the unseen world.
Dorthy felt her soul ripple violently as something pierced through her body and inspected her soul.
The existence grinned with a mouth full of crooked yellow teeth.
Dorthy shivers, something exploding in her mind.
The world darkened, and she lost consciousness.
* * *
Over the next few hours, Dorthy faded in and out of consciousness. The hunched figure dragged her violently across the ground and down into the bowels of the underground labyrinth.
Dorthy remembered being taken somewhere, then sold.
When her consciousness finally stabilized, she found herself stripped naked, dressed in crude cloth, and locked in an iron cage. Her head pulsed with waves of pain, and her body shook with an imperceptible chill. Her belongings had been taken, her magic had been sealed, and her fate was no longer in her own hands.
In her delirious state, her mind shifted between countless thoughts. It didn't take long for Dorthy to discover that she had been sold as a slave to the black market.
Days passed, and countless unknown faces came and went.
For the first time in her life, Dorthy realised what it meant to be treated as an object. Her delusions of freedom and entrapment were just a joke in the face of a true loss of freedom.
Those from the eastern region never came, but that didn't matter much.
She sat in the cold cage, alone and helpless.
The emotions that had long built up finally collapsed, and tears streamed down her small face.
Dorthy was a strong-willed person, but ever since she was crowned the Eastern Region's Heavens Chosen, the stress that had accumulated was unimaginable. She was forced to fulfill the role of a hero, a slave to the people, her future was stripped from her and forcefully rewritten. She had become someone else's toy, someone else's doll. She was a puppet meant to enact an unknown play.
Everything was dark, and Dorthy finally felt like she could see the dead end.
The only hope was that distant star, the flicker of green that lay beyond the starscape. It bore into the back of Dorthy's mind like a long nail, forcing her to hold on to the last semblance of her rationality.
Locked in the small cage, the days seemed to pass slowly.
She was fed and cleaned in ways that would break many. She had become a product, an item.
Her face had been scarred by magic, making her unrecognizable. This would last for a while, but by no means forever.
When time ran out, she would be found.
When she was found, she would be sent back.
When she was sent back, she would become a puppet.
Dorthy could imagine the kind of horrible things that the Storm Tower would do to her body. The Inhuman experimentation that was secretly conducted by The Four Towers was no secret to her.
-
As time passed, things began to change.
At some point, the cage containing Dorthy had been changed, and she had been moved, left in an inconspicuous corner by herself. She did not recognize the man who had rearranged the floor, nor was she expected to. It was not uncommon for the slaves to be moved around.
At first, Dorthy did not think much of it, but as time passed, she realized that something was wrong.
People started to ignore her.
As the days passed, even her daily meals had stopped.
This quickly became a problem.
Her voice had been sealed with a magic collar, preventing her from calling for help. As time flowed, her hunger became a piercing pain that ravaged her body.
Dorthy began to lose weight.
She became weaker with each passing day.
Helplessness bubbled up from the bottom of her heart.
She understood that she was going to die.
She couldn't imagine what she looked like right now.
She didn't understand what had happened, but she suspected that this was her retribution. Defying the Gods, abandoning one's duty, such a thing would naturally attract divine punishment.
She could feel death's embrace.
Her head drooped, her body exhausted.
Yet, despite her despair, there was a phase that continued to echo in her mind.
'As for you, you're quite lucky.'
These words were like an anchor that bound her to consciousness.
'...…'
'...'
'…'
When the abyss finally came to claim her, there was a flicker of green light that cut through the encroaching darkness. This flash of unruly hair was like the brightest star, resonating with a forgotten dream.
Dorthy was unsure at first, but she realized that her consciousness had not yet faded. She exhausted the last of her strength to raise her head.
Her vision was blurry and her mind was unclear, but when she saw Petra for the first time, something stirred deep within. A connection that shouldn't exist seems to ring like a storm, shaking her soul awake.
Perhaps it was just her death-bound delusion, but the imaginary chains that bound her spirit seemed to quiver before this small child.
Something in her seemed to snap, and she collapsed.
* * *
Petra followed closely behind Wind, using her as a voice.
Petra flipped through a 'catalogue' similar to the one she had used before.
This small pamphlet contained information about all the 'items' on sale, and after scanning through the list, Petra was pleased with her options.
Unlike the 'stock' at the bazaar, those that were on this list were more useful.
Instead of the extremely generalized background characters from before, these slaves each had unique skills that could be used to identify them in further chapters.
Because Petra had already picked up twelve humans, she decided to focus on the non-humans. Diversity is very important, and it had nothing to do with Petra's obsession with fluffy beast girls...
You believe that, right?
While humming to herself, Petra marked a few names off the list. She bought one Cockatiel Beastmen to work as her personal Alchemist. She ticked off two dwarven sisters who she could train to be their craftsmen. Petra picked three Green Elves to maintain the garden, and four busty bunnies to just stand around and be beautiful. After that, Petra picked eight Dimi-Humans for general maintenance, a Dog, Racoon, Fox, Mouse, Deer, Cat, Owl, and Squirrel. All of whom were girls, of course.
As she scanned through the long catalog one last time, Petra was about to put it away right before Levy pointed at a name.
Petra looked down, then her brows furrowed.
Her eyes scanned through the information and found that something was wrong. Aside from the profile not matching up with the number, there was another problem.
Why didn't you see this person the first time she looked through the catalog?
Petra looked over at Levy, confused and looking for answers.
Levy explained, much like a teacher. "She was afflicted by a special spell. Her 'existence' has become thin. This is a lesson for far into the future, but for now, you can think of it as 'anything related to her' will be ignored, almost like it doesn't exist."
Petra tilted her head. "Then why can you see through it?"
Even Nebula looked over.
Levy grinned. "It's because I'm stronger than the person who cast the curse."
Petra nodded, feeling that it made sense...
"Then, will we attract the caster if we take her?"
Levy thought for a moment, then, with a hum, she explained, "We will, but you don't have to worry. Even if they do come, I'll deal with them myself."
Petra nodded.
She ticked off the extra name and then bought the girls.
Unlike before, where Petra had only bought three slaves, this time she bought 18, not including the anomalous one. She grumbled about her dwindling pocket change, barely having enough money.
After the deal was made, it came time to pick them up. A staff member took the party around to pick up each girl, then ran to the back to retrieve the 'slave spell contracts'.
After receiving the slave contracts, Petra did what she did with the other girls and quietly destroyed them. Even if Petra was the kind of person who needed a way to control a person, she had better ways of doing it.
Even after everything was collected and done, Petra still forgot about the last girl. It would seem that a 'thinned presence' wasn't such a simple thing after all.
Before she could point it out to the staff, Levy stopped her by pressing down on her head. She lowered her head and whispered into Petra's ear. "We'll just pick her up on the way out."
Petra nodded, grumbling about head touching.
-
The girls then left.
On their way out, they passed by the inconspicuous cage from before. This cage was desolate and old, seemingly radiating an abnormal chill. Alone and isolated from the others, the girl who was locked within held no presence. She was thin and bony, with dirty and tangled hair. Her eyes were hollow and lifeless, making one question if she was even conscious.
Petra narrowed her eyes.
She actually felt something.
For the first time, she could 'physically feel' the lack of presence. It was a strange aura that stuck to the cage like oil, and was surprisingly difficult to miss once you knew what you were looking for.
She looked at Levy
Petra found Levy rubbing her chin, seemingly distracted. She mumbled to herself, "It's not the girl that was cursed, it's the cage. Hmm, a fate trap? Ah, it would seem like those people really aren't willing to let her go. Interesting, this cage seems to have spirituality too, what a treasure." She looked over at Petra. "Let's take the cage too."
Petra tilted her head. "Is this ok? Will the Black Market come after us?"
Levy shrugged. "Maybe...?"
She didn't really care.
Petra turned her head towards the girl in the cage.
This young girl was in bad shape. She had been starved and neglected. Her body was bruised, her eyes were dull, and a chain of magic was suppressing her body. It was cruel, even compared to the rest of the slaves.
"She's lucky to be alive," Petra mumbled.
Bop!
Levy chopped her on the head. "Listen up, this is a quick lesson! You can teleport, right? Try to take her out with teleportation."
Petra's brows furrowed while rubbing her head. Why did her head chops hurt more than Elena's? What did little old Petra do to deserve two head-chopping big sisters!
She cursed the teacher, then stepped forward, preparing to quickly teleport herself and the unnamed girl to the Tower Spider.
When she pressed through space, Petra suddenly felt like her arm was tearing. She flickered with black light, but remained where she was. It was almost as if she were holding a weight that was way too heavy for her tiny body.
After another try, she gave up.
Rubbing her sore arm, she gritted her teeth and looked to Levy for an answer. Why couldn't she teleport with this bag of bones?
Levy chuckled at Petra's aggrieved expression.
She smirked, then explained. "When moving through space, one's weight is important to know. This 'weight' doesn't mean physical weight. What I mean is that things like magic power, fate, knowledge, and consciousness all add to a person's 'conceptual weight'. This is what's moved when teleported using the method you use. It's a very advanced method, by the way~"
"So, why is she so fat?" Petra spat irritatedly.
Levy leaned down and whispered to Petra.
"It's because she's the missing Heavens Chosen, Dorthy Quella, the Chosen Hero of the Water Goddess."
Petra's eyes widened, her greed flaring up.
"Heh?"
Those words were like a trigger, causing something in the unseen world to snap. An unheard cry resonated throughout the void with an earth-shattering momentum.
The small claws of chaos tore through yet another 'Thread of Fate'.