The next day came—or should I say night? Either way, I crouched low, hiding myself in the shadows. The small lamp in my hand cast only a faint glow as I watched the village from a hilltop. Dusk had fallen, and I used the dim light to my advantage.
From where I stood, I could see the people going about their lives. Some were heading home from work, others argued over market prices, while a few walked in cheerful groups, laughing as they went.
Moving swiftly and silently through the trees, I searched until I found her. A smile crept onto my face. My favorite sight.
Isha.
She was training with the other mages in an open field. She'd grown even more beautiful over the last two years, always here, pushing herself to get stronger. I admired that about her—and she was getting better. Her movements were more fluid now, sharper, more confident.
I watched for twenty minutes, until she finally stopped. Magic, after all, takes its toll.
Just like any other fantasy world, magic has rules and levels. Everyone born with mana is limited to three magical abilities, except for two people: the Golden Heart and the Soul Demon—Isha and Elaine. Every generation always had a Golden Heart and a Soul Demon since thousands of years. And they both have the most powerful and dangerous magic ever known, as stated in the prophecy. It was called the elemental attribute; a blend of the most powerful and dangerous forces, including the power of light and dark which was said to be the most dangerous powers of all.
Golden Hearts are blessed from birth with the power of light, usually seen as a gift from the gods. Soul Demons, on the other hand, are cursed with darkness. A curse born of El-horn's ancient mistake, so long ago that no one remembers what happened.
This is a planet called Asteria. A world where eighty percent of the world's populations has mana, which is divided into ten levels, and each level has ten stages:
• Red
• Orange
• Yellow
• Green
• Blue
• Purple
• Violet
• Silver
• Gold
• Epic
With Red being the lowest and Epic akin to gods. Each of them have ten stages. The entry level, mostly considered as novice level are the Red-tier. To advance, one must go through rigorous trainings and mana increase, as well as having numerous skills and techniques.
Most soldiers and mages rank between Yellow and Green. Blue-level mages often hold noble or official positions. The current highest ranking level known is the King of Tahalis, Rexton, whose mana level stands at Silver, stage 8. Only one man in the whole history had ever reached Epic, and that was five centuries ago.
For the past couple of years, I've been taking missions for the sorceress. I hated every second of it. But I needed to stay close, to learn her weaknesses, bearing most of it with thoughts of Isha. Most assignments involved keeping watch over the four kingdoms of the continent—Aspen.
Tahalis, in the north, ruled by the ruthless King Rexton—a warmonger through and through. Always troublesome and waging war on others. I was lucky to escape that place alive.
Veragon, the opposite. A quiet kingdom ruled by a reclusive queen. No one's ever seen her face. With her reign, the kingdom grew to be the most peaceful and harmonious. Except for the disappearance of the Lost Princess.
Every kingdom knows that story. According to the drunkards in every tavern, the Queen was once lively and full of warmth—a ruler who smiled easily and loved her people. But that changed two years ago, the day her daughter vanished.
Since then, the Queen has withdrawn from the world, rarely appearing at royal meetings or public events. Search parties scoured every corner of the continent, and a great reward was promised to anyone who could bring the princess home.
But no one ever did.
And as the years passed, the hope of finding her alive began to fade—until all that remained was a tale whispered in sorrow and wine-soaked voices: The story of the Lost Princess.
Next was Cirada, the kingdom of merchants—rich, cunning, dangerous. It was believed that they invented all the tricks in business. History has it that their king, Ruhan, was once a slave who clawed his way to the throne, drenched in blood. Hence the saying; never to gamble with a Ciradian unless you're ready to lose your life. Although they are not as ruthless as Tahalis, they're known to be very calculative but equally arrogant.
Then there's D'arhan. King Alaster's realm. An upright king who always seeks nothing but the truth, and won't spill blood unless necessary. It's actually my favorite place—peaceful, full of music and celebration. And gods, the food there is divine.
The last kingdom… El-horn. The dark one. I've never set foot there—and I don't plan to. Elaine never sent me on missions that far, and I never volunteered. It's the birthplace of all Soul Demons—creatures cursed to destroy the world. They are deeply hated and feared.
Golden Hearts have appeared in every kingdom except El-horn. The demons, those I've met in the forests so far, are blood-crazed lunatics. Murderers. Maybe that's what the curse does to them, as a result of an ancient mistake. El-horn's mistake. It was so long ago that no one even remembers what they did.
This made me think of Elaine. She isn't like them. She's calm. Composed. Almost civilized. Sometimes I wonder if she's even from El-horn at all.
There are rumors, though—rumors of the existence of a sixth kingdom, lost to history.
Elaine knew sending me on missions without magic was risky. She wanted me alive, so she trained me herself. Combat, stealth, weapons—you name it. Those months were hell. Even without her magic, she's nearly unstoppable. No human could ever defeat her.
But I didn't want to rely solely on her teachings. So I trained alone, fought magical beasts, studied every spellbook I could find. I wasn't doing it to learn history or magic—I was searching for something else entirely.
A way to break the bond.
Elaine once said that for the bond to be broken, one of us had to die. So, naturally, I tried everything—ambushes, poison, sleepless nights spent planning her downfall. None of it worked. She shrugged it all off, even seemed… amused. It drove me insane.
I thought the servants might help, but they're silent—always silent. Too afraid or too loyal to defy her. Eventually, I gave up and turned to research, combing through every library and archive in all four kingdoms. Still, nothing. No record of resurrection magic.
So who the hell is Elaine?
She brought me back from the dead. People fear her. That means she's at least Purple—maybe even Violet. But resurrection? That breaks every known law of magic. It shouldn't be possible.
I shook my head, clearing my thoughts. Now wasn't the time to dwell on it.
I turned my gaze back to Isha, just as she began channeling her mana with the other mages. She must've been advancing to Green—or maybe she was already there. That's fast. Most people spend years climbing from one level to the next. The more higher the mana level is, the more harder it'll be to advance to it. But Isha… she was born gifted. An Orange at birth, Yellow at eighteen, and now, at twenty, Green.
I couldn't help but smile.
She moved with grace, the water swirling around her in a beautiful, dance-like rhythm—push, pull, release, return.
"She's gotten better," a voice murmured behind, startling me.
My reflexes acted faster as I spun instantly, dagger in hand, pressing it against a throat. She looked at me with mild amusement, unfazed.
Elaine.
"Of course it's you," I muttered, lowering the blade.
"So," she said, smirking, hands behind her as usual, "how's the hunt?"
"You followed me." I sighed.
"I wanted to see how you spend your free time," she shrugged. "Turns out it's the lady in distress."
"Isha," I corrected. "Her name is Isha."
She arched a brow, amused. "And what makes you think I care?"
I sighed and crouched back down. I really, really, needed to break this bond. I can't stand her for even one second.
For a while, silence hung between us. Then she exhaled softly, almost wistfully. "Everything still looks the same."
I paused and turned to her slightly. She seems to be deep in thought. For a brief moment, her expression softened. She looked… human. Beautiful, even.
"Why do you terrorize them so much?" I finally asked.
She chuckled. "Not every story they tell you is true."
And with that, she turned to leave. I sighed, temporarily regretting what I'm about to do.
"So what's your story?" I asked suddenly. "There's something between you and this village, isn't there?"
Honestly, it didn't take me long to realize there was a history between her and the village. Something that goes deeper than what is shown on the surface. The reason she's their personal villain.
She froze for just a heartbeat before straightening again, making me raise an eyebrow. This is the first time I've seen her express something similar to an emotion, other than nonchalance or amusement—which further proves my previous point.
Slowly, she relaxed and turned back, her usual smirk in place.
"Why so curious?" she teased. "Don't tell me you're starting to warm up to me."
"You wish," I scoffed.
"Careful, Kira," she said, her tone a whisper of danger and amusement. "Don't blur the lines, or I might get confused."
I rolled my eyes, eventually regretting why I even asked. She just steps on my nerves at every chance she gets. And she enjoys it. "Go back to your castle, evil sorceress."
She chuckled. "Don't miss dinner."
Then she vanished into her dark smoke, leaving no trace behind. I turned back toward Isha one last time and sighed.
Great. She'd ruined my mood again.