A voice?
I looked around to see who was sounding it.
A bright light, differ from that of the sun, shined over my eyes.
The rays came down from the heavens above, penetrating the growing darkness over the continent.
From within the mysterious light that even more peculiar voice emerged.
[Well then? What say you, Serafina Magda Zeref?]
It knew me.
I did not know to whom the voice belonged to. But I was certain it was not some ordinary being.
There were layers to the voice. As if two people were speaking at the same time.
But their voices were almost identical that it could be perceived as simple echo.
"Who are you?"
I asked with slight curiosity, keeping the mysterious existence as one person, wondering why it had appeared to me in this pathetic moment.
[Who I am is insignificant. It is your resolve which matters at the moment.]
"My resolve?"
The voice previously asked me whether what I said about what I was willing to do to achieve victory was the truth or just some empty words I came up with after tasting bitter defeat.
[There is a way to achieve what you desire.]
Those words lit a bit of sparks of life within the dying me.
"Is there? Is there truly a way to claim victory in this lost war?"
[There is. But to gain it, you must offer something in return.]
Considering the fact that I had lost everything, I wondered what the voice wanted from me.
"What is it that I need to give?"
[Yourself.]
I frowned with confusion upon the answer.
"I must surrender myself to you?"
[Commit yourself to a master and join their army of heroes in a new forged land.
{Obey their will and overcome every trial they set you upon.
{Only then you would attain what you desire.]
Master? Army of heroes? Forged land? Trial?
What interested me was the fact that the voice did not refer itself as the master.
To think a being as enigmatic as this voice was seemingly working as a proxy for another entity.
Who could they all possibly be?
I began inquiring about the terms the mysterious voice spoke to me.
"Who is this master?"
I raised the question.
[They are one who could guide you to what you desire.]
As expected, the answer was cryptic.
"And where is this forged land where I'd be serving this master?"
[It is a realm like nothing you've ever seen.
[A place governed by different laws from this world.
[A land where one could gain powers through human sacrifice.
[An absolute method called 'synthesis.']
A realm with different laws from ours?
A method of gaining greater powers by sacrificing others, synthesis?
As a magic researcher who studied the world's laws of nature, I could not help but feel curious about all of these.
That being said, I could not help but feel suspicious about this offer.
Everything seemed too good to be true.
"How can I know you're telling the truth? How can I trust you?"
[You can't. But do you perhaps have other ways to gain what you desire?]
I chuckled.
The voice was basically saying this was the best deal I could get since I literally had no other choice.
I sighed at the state I was in and looked up to the light once again.
"Will I truly get what I want if I obey this master and overcome every trials?"
[Yes. But only by taking what you swore earlier to heart that you would be able to accomplish this feat.]
'I'd do anything to win. I'd work myself till I bleed from my eyes and only bones were left of me. I'd fight till the end!'
Those words rang in my mind once more.
[I shall ask again. What will you do, Serafina Magda Zeref? Do you accept this contract or do you refuse?]
I turned my head to the surroundings.
I witnessed monsters running rampage all over. Darkness engulfing the world. Corpses strewn around as far as the eyes could see.
I reflected on what these sights made me feel. What they made me want to do.
I came with one answer in mind.
"I'll do it."
Fighting the terrible ache and pain from my body and limbs, I rose to my knees and looked straight to the otherworldly light in the sky.
"I will obey the master in the new forged land and overcome every trials they give me. I accept the contract!"
Suddenly I was enveloped in blinding blue light.
An odd sensation rushed through my body and caused me to black out once more.
The moment I reopened my eyes again, I found myself standing in an empty-yet-grand circular room with a large magic circle carved on the marble floor.
All my wounds and injuries had mysteriously healed. My black and white magic dress ruined from the crash-landing had reverted to its perfect state.
I was not sure what exactly happened to me after I accepted the voice's offer. But I knew I was transported to an entirely unfamiliar place.
Teleportation? However, I did not sense the trace of mana usage commonly found after a teleportation spell was casted.
The great door of the circular room gently swung open, inviting me to pass through the threshold.
I walked through the door and found myself in a square.
On the square, other than the circular building I came out of, another circular building was located across me.
But what caught my interest was what-seemed-to-be a giant stone gate depicting a magnificent carving of two winged-maidens embracing each other.
The symbol of the Twin Goddesses.
I was definitely curious as to what significance they could have over this place.
Though I was eager to look for the answer, I prioritized on investigating the entire place I was transported to.
I shifted my gaze beyond the square and found several old and small run-down buildings scattered all over.
Their poor state was an opposite to the grandness of the large stone gate and the two circular buildings at the square.
Beyond the pathetic-looking buildings was an empty courtyard. The place was poorly maintained as wild grasses were growing everywhere.
Surrounding the square, all these buildings, and the courtyard were giant stone walls, towering even the large stone gate by the square.
They were so tall that I could not see what was over them.
There were no gates on the walls whatsoever either, enclosing this area entirely.
I looked up and found a hazy sky as if a perfect cloud screen was covering the entire expanse.
It was like nothing from the skies I had seen back in Dunia.
The entire ceiling softly glowed in rainbow-ish hue.
For unknown reasons, I sensed something happening in that sky. But I could not tell what.
The voice was not kidding.
From the first few minutes of me seeing this place, I was convinced this realm was not working under the same law as my world's.
Clack.
Suddenly the knob on the door of one of the run-down buildings turned. It was from the largest building of them all.
"Another person?"
A gentle low voice came from inside.
Coming out through the door was a man, looking both worried and confused.
I raised my eyebrows while remembering what the voice said to me.
'Army of Heroes.'
Turned out I was not alone in this place.