Did I… fail?
The third trial of my Augury had ended, and as I woke from the visions that had been imposed upon me by magic and drugs, I felt exhausted, as tired as if I had fought a long and intense battle.
If I failed this trial, does that mean I didn't pass m-my Augury? I thought sluggishly before realizing how my family was putting away all the utensils and unchaining me. Yes, that's it, I didn't succeed, that's why no one is saying anything.
Once everything was cleared, Kadian stood in front of me, and noticing my distant gaze, he cleared his throat, a sound similar to a cough.
"Drake, listen carefully." He said, managing to catch my attention. "In 3 hours, we will proceed to the fourth trial of your Augury, so you must rest and prepare until then."
What? Fourth trial? I thought in surprise at my father's words. That means my Augury isn't over yet, but… I feel like I'll fail anyway. After all, I don't feel well enough to continue with all of this.
Feeling dejected, I lowered my head, not feeling ready to go on, until Zoe's voice was heard beside me, making me turn to look at her.
"That's not fair! His body just went through a difficult moment! If you want him to continue, at least let him rest for a longer time." Zoe protested before her voice broke. "After all… he was convulsing for several minutes."
W-what is she talking about? Was I really in such bad shape?
Kadian, after hearing his eldest daughter's complaints, let out a long sigh before speaking again. "Alright, Zoe, you're right. His trial will begin at dawn, near the river on the way to Mork and Ness."
Zoe, upon hearing our father's response, calmed down before lowering her head slightly. "Thank you, Father, we'll be there."
Once my father agreed to give me more time to rest, he took my mother's hand to tell her something in a low voice, something that only Zoe and I barely managed to hear.
"We'll make some changes to his trial." Were his words before they walked far enough into the forest to be out of earshot.
"Thank you, sister." I whispered, trying to stand up before feeling a slight dizziness that forced me to sit back down. Do I really feel that weak?
"It's best if you stay seated for a while until the mana in your body stabilizes, and you can meditate to recover your energy." Zoe commented, sitting on the wooden benches inside the gazebo.
Nodding, I relaxed as I observed the dark forest surrounding us, illuminated only by two lamps inside the wooden gazebo.
"By the way, Drake, do you remember what you saw in your visions? Because you got really agitated half an hour before we woke you up." My sister asked after we had been silent for a few minutes.
Do I remember? Of course, I do… I remember every moment, every sensation, every pain I felt when I lost everything. I thought, lowering my gaze as I felt a lump start to form in my throat.
"Drake?" She asked again, bringing me back to reality.
"Sorry, I was trying to remember, but the truth is I don't recall much of what I saw, only that I remember losing my family or something similar, and that caused me great sadness." I replied, trying to show a smile to hide the anxiety that was invading me.
Zoe, upon hearing that response, smiled a little before telling me that everything would be fine while giving me a few gentle pats on the head, managing to calm me down somewhat before giving me a hint for my next trial.
"By the way, Drake, if you can move now, it would be best for you to start meditating, because the next trial will be a battle, one where you will demonstrate all your combat skills." Zoe commented upon seeing me more at ease.
"Yes, you're right." I responded, nodding before standing up with some difficulty and then sitting on the grass outside.
She's right in saying that everything will be fine. After all, the things my past self said were only meant to hurt me, because the mistakes people make are meant to be learned from, not to make them give up.
With a calmer and clearer mind, I began meditating, absorbing the mana around me and then purifying it with my draconic core.
I had a feeling that one of the trials would be a battle, but I didn't expect it to be the fourth, so I suppose the fifth will be even more difficult than fighting Kadian. I thought again before focusing on my meditation.
After meditating for more than three hours, I managed to recover a large percentage of my mana, allowing me to relax, and letting my thoughts drift until they settled on the future.
Even though my past self said several things that didn't make much sense, I can't ignore his words when he mentioned that he didn't know this world… and I think he's right. When my Augury is over and my parents leave for the kingdom of Clifland, I will embark on a long journey, one that will start in the city of Skipton, trying to find answers to the visions I had ten years ago. And besides, with this journey, I hope to find that woman who knew who I really was.
Feeling regretful for not seriously thinking about the future until after the visions I had a few hours ago, I began planning my journey, with a solid hope of proving to my past self that I had made the right decision by accepting Bernal's deal.
More confident in myself, I continued meditating until finally, the sky began to change, prompting me to stand up and tell Zoe, who had been waiting inside the gazebo for me to finish meditating, that we should get going.
I didn't manage to recover all my mana due to being distracted, but I think what I have will be enough for whatever comes next. I thought, glancing at Belarus, my faithful sword resting at my side.
…
Zoe and I were about to reach the location. The sun had yet to rise over the mountains, there were few clouds, and the wind was slow, signaling that it would be a peaceful day for nature.
With a much clearer sky, we finally arrived at the open field along the road to Mork and Ness, near the river. There, our parents were waiting for us to arrive.
"We're here, Father." Zoe said once we were close.
"Very well, now we move on to the fourth trial of your Augury, Drake. This will consist of a battle against Irisha, your mother." My father said, pointing at her with one of his hands. "The objective of the battle will be to inflict at least one visible wound on her while enduring and dodging her attacks, finding a way to get close to her."
What? The battle will be against Irisha?
"By the way, feel free to give it your all because we have three Liberto fruits with us, which will heal any visible wounds you sustain." He continued before signaling Zoe that they should move away from where we were.
Wait, wait, this is too sudden. I thought I'd be fighting Kadian, not my mother.
Seeing me remain still, Irisha turned her back and walked away in silence, putting distance between us to make me understand that this was serious.
Okay... okay... if I'm going to fight her, I need to review what I know about Irisha. I thought, trying to recall her abilities or spells, but finding almost nothing. Then I remembered that Irisha once told me she was also at Semi-God rank, just like my father, and that she controlled all eight elements of nature. This made me nervous, realizing that this wouldn't be any easier than a battle against Kadian.
Damn it, I hardly know anything about her, and all because I turned down the few times she invited me to train together.
"Relax, son." Irisha said loudly, snapping me back to reality.
"Before a battle, you must always calm yourself, or you'll never be able to give one hundred percent." She continued, materializing a strange metallic cube while separating her hands from bottom to top, causing several sparks in the process.
B-But how am I supposed to stay calm when you do something like that? I thought nervously, watching as she made an object appear out of nowhere, something I had never seen before.
The cube my mother held was golden, with several black designs and embedded magical stones. But what caught my attention the most were two runes similar to the ones that appear on people.
Wait! H-How is it possible for the cube to have that kind of runes? Weren't they something exclusive to living beings? I thought, even more confused.
Using something like that seems somewhat unfair to me, since even though Belarus, my sword, has three runes, they only grant it durability, sharpness, and better mana handling. Unlike the runes on her cube, which surely grant it strange abilities.
I-I need to calm down. I can't let her intimidate me with something like that. I thought, watching as Irisha tossed the cube into the air, and it began to levitate.
"..."
"I-It's fine, thanks for the advice, Mom." I responded, breaking the silence that had formed while I was lost in thought about the opponent I was about to face.
"Very well, Drake. Before we begin, I'd like you to know that you have one chance to pass this trial because I will limit myself to using only two of my runes and will not use Semi-God level spells." Irisha stated as she positioned herself to attack. "With that said, let's begin!"
With a simple movement of her right hand, she made her strange weapon move, putting me on alert as I saw that it wasn't slow at all.
Wrapping my body in mana, I quickly crouched so that upon touching the ground, a large stone spike would shoot up to stop her weapon.
Thinking that would stop it, I set about figuring out a way to get close to her. But when my stone pillar struck the cube, I began to feel a bit of fear because, upon impact, my spell shattered easily.
How hard is that thing? I thought before raising a massive cloud of dust to conceal my position while I moved, hiding my presence.
After advancing only a few steps, the dust that covered me was fiercely blown away by a massive tornado that appeared beside the cube, revealing my current location.
What? That cube can also cast spells? I asked myself as I increased my speed to get closer to my target—my mother. That cube is similar to Zoe's ability, where she also cast spells from different directions. I have to be cautious.
Taking advantage of the fact that I had distanced myself from the cube with my previous spells, I launched five limestone cannons, which I created with magic, in such a way that they collided in front of my mother, obscuring both her vision and mine.
Yes, they exploded just as I wanted. I thought, watching as, before they detonated, Irisha covered her face with both arms.
Realizing I wouldn't have enough time to get close to her and land a hit, I decided to launch a powerful yet thin fireball from my mouth.
By focusing my spell on a single point, I achieved greater range than usual. I did it!
With flames on the ground, the dust cloud began to clear, revealing my mother's cubic weapon, filling me with doubts about what had just happened.
Wait, what just happened? Those were my thoughts before I quickly turned to look at the cube's previous position, managing to see, for just an instant, my mother standing there before she switched places with the cube again.
WTF?
Confused, I refocused on the battle when I heard a peculiar sound behind me. But when I turned, it was already too late—a massive water spell in the shape of a whale struck me hard, sending me flying straight into the river beside us.
That hurt.
In pain, I tried to swim to the surface, but before I could reach it, I was enveloped by a different kind of water—much denser—trapping me as if I were a fish.
With little energy left to escape that watery prison, I started to panic as the water persistently forced its way into my mouth and nose, as if it had a will of its own.
While struggling to break free, I saw a flash coming from the cube's direction—one that made me think fast.
Shit, I have to do something. And I have to do it fast! I thought frantically, seeing my mother's cube preparing a powerful electric spell.
With few options left, I focused on the riverbed, which, luckily, wasn't too deep. So, with a movement of my left hand, I made a stone spike rise from beneath the river, hitting me hard enough to launch me out of the water.
Injured by my own spell, I saw from the air how the electric discharge brutally struck the water, electrocuting everything in its path.
I have to move. I thought quickly before propelling myself with a strong gust of wind to the other side of the river.
Damn it, this fight is more intense than I expected. I have to end it as soon as possible, or I'll run out of mana. Those were the words running through my mind as I drew Belarus, the weapon given to me by the demon I was now facing.
I need to find a way to get close and land just one hit. If I manage that, I'll pass this trial. But… how can I do that? She's incredibly versatile with her spells, plus she has that strange weapon that lets her switch places and cast spells.
Not knowing exactly what to do next, I stood there watching her, trying to figure out a way to pass this trial while gripping Belarus tightly in frustration.
On Irisha's side, seeing that I wasn't moving or doing anything, she slowly raised both arms toward the sky and closed her eyes.
Wait, what is she doing now? I thought, confused, before feeling the atmosphere change drastically. W-Wait, what's happening!?
The place we were in started to darken, forcing me to look up to see what was going on.
T-This has to be a joke. Looking up, I saw massive, dense clouds forming out of nowhere, making me feel small.
The transformation continued for a few more seconds until I heard Irisha's voice in the distance, making it clear what was coming next.
"Legendary-level magic: Tempest." My mother declared before I heard multiple thunderbolts strike not far from us.
"I'm so dead." I muttered under my breath, smiling as I watched the dark sky that had just formed.
.
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Joshua_Goose: "Hello everyone! I just wanted to let you know that I'll start uploading weekly chapters now instead of every two weeks like I had been doing. To make that happen, I'll have to shorten each chapter's content, but without reducing quality.
See you next Thursday! :D"