Chương 16: [BL] 16. The Bright Light [3]

Time passed by. The training was pleasant. True to Mera's words, Willow did not feel tired; her bruise healed quickly, and it did not hurt. On the first day, Mera got the better of her in every single bout. She explained what Willow did wrong, such as her stance and swing. Sparring under three watching stars in a world of darkness, they kept going, sometimes stopping for a chat that extended to hours until Mera slapped her own forehead, saying they took too much time, so they went sparring again.

By the second day, Willow got some lucky wins, perhaps one in twenty bouts. She lasted more than ten seconds, which did not seem like much of an improvement, but it actually was, considering Mera had trained since her childhood. Soon, they lost track of time. Mera lunged in with a precise jab toward Willow's throat. She saw that move plenty; it was Mera's favourite.

Willow pivoted her feet first, and her body followed suit in a whirl, dodging the thrust in perfect timing as her sword whistled through the air and she got it up just in case Mera changed her attack into a swing. A brief, satisfactory grin passed over Mera's face, and she still twisted away and sent a sweep to Willow. She was fast. But not fast enough. Willow block. Mera launched a barrage of swings.

Every swing Willow parried descended back at her again in a fraction of a second, forcing her to retreat, and she kept warding off blow after blow. Mera tried the same tactic as Raven. She sent countless weak attacks so she would not get parried away and kept her opponent busy. Biding her time, Willow recalled Mera's instructions on how to face such a tactic. Willow gathered a breath, and she advanced, locking her sword to Mera's and pushing.

The other girl found herself on the back foot, trying to escape the swordlock, but Willow had none of it. She angled her sword handle down, pushing it a bit upward, and in one swoop swept Mera's sword out of her grip. The purple sword flew beyond the cliff and disappeared into darkness where the starlight did not reach. Mera stared at her for a brief moment before breaking into a grin.

"Yes!" Willow cheered, hopping up and down.

"I got you. Oh my god—for f—" She shook her head and coughed, blushing a bit.

"Now make sure you do that to Raven next," Mera said, her smile sad.

"Seriously, beat her for me."

"I will," Willow promised. Mera, who had been energetic, had turned solemn for the last ten hours or so. It did not take a genius to figure out why.

"It's time?"

"Maybe two hours?" She said, looking at the glaring stars upward.

"I can just feel it. It's coming to an end for me. Now, come on, you still need to work on your stance." Willow's focus now was no longer on training but on her newfound friend.

"Mera, where will you go? What will happen to you?" She lowered the sword she'd just summoned.

"When a life ends, the soul continues. I'll be reborn. But I'll not carry my memory with me. I don't know if I'm still me or not."

"Is that common knowledge?" Willow asked, reaching for the other girl's hand. By the end of day one, they could communicate normally without touching.

"It is widely believed. After entering this world as Spirit, I just felt it, y'know. My drifting life force is being rebuilt wholly again. In the end, I will live again, so don't cry, Willow."

"Am not." Willow tried to battle her sniffle. Too late, she'd already did as she felt the moistness under her eyes down to her cheek. Mera gave her a soft laugh and pulled her close, and they stayed like that for a couple of minutes.

"I don't want you to live under my shadow," Mera said against her hair.

"Others, especially my loved ones, probably will not accept it, but live your own life. You're you, not me. It will be awkward, maybe, but they will understand. My father—he, I think, he'll help you. My mother too. I did not get along well with her, but she is a kind woman. And my sister… she will have a hard time, so please give her some grace."

"I will." Mera softly pushed Willow on both shoulders and tugged her hands.

"Let's go for a walk."

"A walk?" She sniffed. Mera snapped her fingers. The cliff softened into a gentle slope, and a downcliff of soft purple grass swayed in the cold wind that tossed their hair. A plane of grass spread to the far horizon. She pulled Willow, and they descended. Each step on the grass felt soft and ticklish. The air was warm despite the wind. Suddenly, Mera began running, still clutching Willow's hand, and Willow followed. They kept going, as tiredness was not a factor for them. How long did she run before they stopped?

Willow had no idea, and she didn't care. They stopped in the middle of the endless plain, and she was sure they could keep running forever, and honestly, she didn't mind. Mera patted her shoulder, and they sat down, hugging their own legs to their chests and tipping their heads up.

"It's starting." Mera nudged her shoulder. Her voice was eager and infectious. A tailed light began to streak the dark sky, passing between the three stars high above, connecting them like a string of white veil. Spark shone its path like a gem. The stars blitzed through the space and into the far horizon.

"That's a soul?" Willow pointed.

"Yep, an outworlder like you with their Bright Rune and also…" Three stars began to cut through the night; their radiance lit up the dark space into countless gleaming stars. Soon, five, then ten, then hundreds roamed the endless sky. Their light shone upon Willow and Mera as they passed by; they left a blur of white and dark past their bodies. This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

"I heard a story," Mera said in a soft voice. Willow glanced at her, and a small tear rolled down her chin when the star's light passed above.

"Those outworlders are souls who seek grand adventure. Is that so for you?"

"Seek grand adventure? I'd never think about it, but maybe?"

"Hm, I'm jealous."

"Look on the bright side: you'll be born in the middle of the Apocalypse."

"Hilarious. But yes, I guess I will. Reach your hand up, Willow, and call on one of the stars." Mera thrust her hand forward as if she were also trying to call a star. More bright stars shoot through the darkness. Now the world breathed. They grow curious as minor stars emerge, painting the night sky with lustrous, vivid light. Slowly, Willow reached her hand forward. Her breath was taken away as the arcane sight unfolded, bathing everything in its striking, grandiose wonder. All of them have a soul like hers.

Was every single one of them someone who sought adventure? Willow closed her fist and muttered a small bit of prayer so they wouldn't be too confused once they arrived and set out on the right path. As she did, one patch of light lit in the distant sky. The gazeless eyes began to fill with light. At first, it was dim; then it grew with resplendent light, blessing the darkness with radiance. But it was still not complete, unlike the other two. Willow could touch the stars. She could adorn it with the Bright light.

The light gathered as a halo, beginning from one line and circling to connect. The halo shone, and inside it, a vibrant glimmer came to life. The world basked in white light as the stars came alive. She shuddered. Cold stung her shoulder down, and something hot heated her veins. The star was now filled with bright light, but it was not complete. It was lacking something.

"It's lacking a class," Mera said. Willow glanced at her and briefly had to shield her eyes. In Mera's hand was a golden, warm light. A kind light that gave Willow a small peace from the sudden cold she was having.

"I thought I could never… I guess being connected to your soul means I could draw it too," Mera said with a small smile.

"It's yours, Willow, your rune." She let the orb of light go, and it glided upward toward one of the three stars. It flew straight into the leftmost—the [Guard] class. When the star welcomed the light, it took in its orange light and basked like a sunset. Class: [Guard—Level 2] Rune: [Fireflies 3/3] Beside her, Mera's body slowly dissolved. A small orb took away part of her hand, drifting away into the endless sky filled with stars.

Ignoring what was happening to her body, Mera gathered a strangled breath to explain.

"You have the Bright Rune now. The chill you're feeling is it trying to find a home—a limitation. When you get back, you need to find a class stone for it. I—" Willow pulled her close. Time passed, and Mera's body was gradually dispersed by the light—like fireflies; eventually, the other girl sobbed, burying her face in Willow's neck—her limbs were no more, only her stomach and head sniffling against Willow's neck.

"I'll help with the village defense. I promise you. If I can help it, I will not see it fall."

"Thank you," she choked.

"But be part of it, Willow; don't just see it as duty. It's your home now." Willow was sure Mera still wanted to talk more, but the light glowed on her face, taking it away. She stayed still and held Mera's body close to her until they glided upward in warm, small orbs of orange. Willow stood, trying to reach them, but they were long gone. She stood alone on the rolling purple grass, the expansive sky filled with stars above, each busy reaching its destination.

"Goodbye," Willow whispered, and she closed her eyes. — It hurts. The moment Willow woke up, her head bumped into something hard. A chunk of wood groaned under her. When she opened her eyes, night greeted her—a different night from the world of mana. Blue sapphire leaves shone. One petal falls on Willow's forehead, yet its light pales to hers. Her body glowed with intense white, and cries rose around her. Willow tried to push herself up.

She got herself upright and was about to fall back down until a kindly hand helped her, steadying her.

"Willow? Willow!" Josha called. He shielded his eyes from Willow's light.

"Where…"

"Hold on. Shera! We need a healer!" The commotion went on, and Willow barely registered it. The cold crept around her body, and it stung her like a ghost choking her with a cold, icy hand.

"I can't heal her!" A voice said.

"It might be a curse; we need to draw a circle—""Class stone!" Willow shouted weakly.

"Bring me Class stones." Her vision blurred into pure light again. It was worse than darkness, since everything was so bright that she screamed. She hardly heard Josha and Shera cry for her to calm down. All she had was an intense need to limit this power. To put it inside a cage. She sensed three cages. And Willow wasted no time and braved her vision to see three Class Stones laid next to her.

[Rider Class Stone] Strength: C Dexterity: B Vitality: C Constitution: B Sense: B Arcanic: E A class that shared strength with riding bonds to unlock greater power. [Druid Class Stone] Strength: E Dexterity: E Vitality: B Constitution: B Sense: B Arcanic: A A class that taps into the power of nature, earning its wisdom and its purpose and shaping it into power.

[Hunter Class Stone] Strength: C Dexterity: A Vitality: C Constitution: C Sense: A Arcanic: C A class that excels in taking down foes for the sole purpose of elimination. Gathering her breath in her lungs, Willow managed to speak.

"Josha! Explain! It's for the Bright Rune, which I should take?"

"Bright Rune?" He muttered and looked around.

"Choose any you feel right, Willow. Bright Rune is an Instinct rune of heroes. Sure, it's not called Heroes' Rune, but it's what it's known for. Which class reaches you when you sense them? Which call to you? Forget what we need; go for what you think suits you."

"Are you sure about that?" An unrecognisable voice asked.

"Josha, with everything that happened, it would be nice if we had a—" Willow reached forward. One of the class called to her, and she did not hesitate.