Defying The Goddess Of Light 6-10

Updates will continue November 4, 2021.

Chapter 6

Kail was standing by a pond that was fed by a small waterfall. There was a mist that covered the land and wove around the tall pine trees that oozed a strange dark substance. Upon closer inspection, he discovered it was blood.

Even the water of the pond was blood. A strange light pierced dimly through the treetops, illuminating everything with little light. Footsteps reached his ears and he turned around to see a young man walking towards him.

He had long red hair and red eyes. A scar was across his nose. He wore a simple black tunic and pants. He wore buckled boots that seemed to be unaffected by the muddy forest floor.

Kail could sense an immense amount of power from the man. The air was pierced by the caws of ravens as the man walked closer. Their cries died down when the man reached him.

“Who are you?” Kail asked.

“I am the God of Death,” the man replied.

Kail’s eyes widened from his shock. “But everyone thinks you’re dead!”

“No. I am locked away in this place with my husband. The Goddess of Light has locked us away to prevent us from trying to stop her. She failed to realize that I see the world through the eyes of the ravens,” the god said before sighing.

“If you can use ravens to see what is going on, why didn’t you contact Izabella?”

The god frowned at Kail’s question. “My power is limited. I can only see what they see. It shames me to know that I was overpowered by my sister. Now I’m stuck here till someone frees me and my husband.”

Kail felt the rage towards the Goddess of Light begin to burn brighter. “How were you able to contact me? How can I free you?”

“I am able to contact you through your dreams thanks to your element. I have a raven sitting outside your home, watching you. As for how to free me, you must return to the place where the great battle between my husband and the warrior of light took place.” The god raised his hand.

The mist began to twist and change colors. An image quickly formed. It was of a yellow grass plain. Rather, it used to be a plain. Several massive holes that looked to be formed by craters and long lines that looked like they had been made by claws littered the plain.

“The battle took place where the first castle of your kingdom once stood. They call it the Plain of Demons. The living have created a false legend, saying that it was destroyed by demonic beings having a territorial battle. Use this information to find it,” the god explained.

“What do I do when I get there?” Kail asked as the image dispersed with a wave of the god’s hand.

“That I do not know. Make sure Izabella is with you. She knows our cruel sister’s magic better than I. Perhaps she can give you the power to break the spell that keeps entraps my husband and me.” The god then smiled.

“I waited a long time for a darkness element to show up. I’m glad that you appeared and have hate for the cruel Goddess of Light. Make sure you get stronger. She will do everything in her power to stop you. Be wary of more warriors. She will most likely create an army to stop you,” the God of Death warned.

Kail nodded, determination blazing in his eyes. The scene around him began to fade.

“I will follow you on your journey with my ravens. Call to them if you wish to meet me in your dreams.” The god’s voice sounded far away as he disappeared along with the forest.

As soon as everything faded, Kail woke up. He sat up and yawned before hearing a caw outside his window. He looked out the window and saw a raven perched on the outer sill, peering into his room.

Kail was mystified by the dream he had as he gazed at the raven. He nodded towards the raven before getting up and preparing for the day. He mulled over the information the God of Death had given him as he got ready with the help of his nanny who had arrived just after he had woken up.

With it, he would be able to learn more about the past with better results. Perhaps there was information on the legend in the library. Or maybe he could use his relationship with the prince to get access to the royal library for better sources.

The idea made him smile. If they wanted to shackle him with the arranged marriage, that was fine. He would use the benefits of it to prepare for the future.

Kail was still lost in thought even at the table. He ignored his family as they talked about this and that. Storm noticed Kail wasn’t paying attention and a sly smile came to his face. Bastard is probably trying to figure out how to get stronger now that he’s been tied down by marriage. Go ahead and try to fight the destiny you were given. You’ll never win.

Kail had zoned into the conversation at that point and noticed the look on Storm’s face. Kail briefly glared at him before focusing on his mother who was trying to get his attention.

“Kail, dear, we’ll be going to visit the palace again in a week. Teacher James will teach you proper etiquette till then. You’ll be attending a dinner in honor of the arranged marriage between the Phoenix and Skye families,” she said once she saw that he was paying attention.

“Yes, Mother,” Kail replied politely. He made a mental note to ask about visiting the library when they went to the palace.

“Please focus on your studies and don’t lock yourself in the library!” she said sternly.

Kail nodded. “Yes, Mother.”

She sighed and turned her attention back to her breakfast. Kail mentally called out to the Goddess of Darkness but she did not respond. He had hoped to gather more information about the God of Death from her. It seemed that she was still busy though.

Disappointed, he finished his breakfast before excusing himself and hurrying off to the library. He had a few hours before Teacher James arrived. He would use that time to find information on the Battle of Demons.

A week flew by. During that time, Kail was busy with his lessons and digging through the library for any information about the ancient times. His search came up empty and he decided his only option was the royal library.

The day of the dinner arrived and he was dressed up more extravagantly than usual. This was something he would not miss, he decided. Kail enjoyed getting dressed up but the process took too long for his liking.

Kail soon found himself walking through the royal garden with Diacus. The garden was massive and full of flowers he had never seen before. A few of them resembled the ones from his first life but their names were no doubt different.

The scene was quite beautiful though. The only thing he didn’t like about this moment was walking with Diacus. Diacus kept looking at him with judging eyes and talking to him like he was lower than him.

Of course, it was true that Kail was a class below him but he didn’t think that was a reason to be disrespectful. How could a child be so condescending? This question came to mind the longer he walked with Diacus.

But it wasn’t all bad. He learned some curious information about Diacus. He was named after an owl for their shared color and Diacus hoped that he would have the ice branch of the water element. This revealed to Kail that the elements were more complex than he originally thought.

As soon as Diacus stopped speaking about why he wanted to have the ice branch, Kail seized the chance to ask about the royal library. “Can I visit the royal library at any time?” Kail asked, jumping straight to the point.

Diacus was surprised by his question and shrugged. “I don’t know,” he answered. “I’m not allowed in the library myself because the books in there are precious. I will be allowed to visit when I’m ten. The same might go for you.”

Kail was disheartened by his answer. He had hoped to learn as much as he could as quickly as possible so that he could figure out a way to rescue the God of Death and his husband. Who knew what would happen in the five years that he had to wait?

But if it was a rule enforced by the royal family to protect the knowledge within the library, there was nothing he could do. Kail understood completely but it didn’t make it any less disappointing.

“Why do you want to visit the library?” Diacus asked. “All those books are way above our reading level.”

Kail was reminded once again that Diacus was a simple child unlike himself. He sighed.

Chapter 7

Kail asked Teacher James about the branches of the elements the following afternoon. Teacher James pulled a sheet of paper from his bag and a pencil. He began writing down each element and their branches as he spoke.

The water element had three branches: ice, fog, and ocean. The ice branch covered those who could create snow, ice, and freezing water. Fog covered those who could create fogs, mists, steam and water of varying temperatures. Ocean covered those who could only use regular water of warm or higher temperatures. They had the ability to create rain, tsunamis, and even water spouts.

The fire element had four branches: lightning, liquid, white, and spectrum. Lightning covered those who could create lightning and fire. Liquid, one of the stronger of the four, covered those who could create liquid fire. White covered those who create white flames, the hottest type of fire. Spectrum covered those who create flames of temperatures up to the purple color, just below white. Each branch could use flames to create firenadoes, walls of fire, and even fire storms.

The earth element had four branches: lava, mineral, rock, and metal. Lava covered those who could create or control lava. Mineral covered those who could use existing minerals to do what they desire. Rock covered those who could manipulate dirt, sand, rock, and other aspects of earth. Metal covered those who could manipulate metals regardless of purity.

The sky element had two branches: air and weather. Air covered those who could create and manipulate air of varying temperatures. Weather covered those who could manipulate the weather to their will. Most could only manipulate weather to a small degree but a rare few managed to become strong enough to completely take over the weather and even create it.

The blood element had three branches: healing, attack, and puppeteer. Healing covered the majority of those with this element. They used their element to eradicate disease and illness. Attack covered those who manipulated blood to harm others. This branch was extremely rare. Puppeteer, like the attack branch, was also extremely rare. This branch covered those who could take control of life itself. No one knew exactly how it worked.

The light element had five branches: peace, warmth, life, blessing and purification. Peace covered those who used their element to calm others. Warmth covered those who used their ability to give a peaceful death to the dying. Life covered those who used their element to revive and heal horrible wounds such as the regrowth of a lost limb.

Blessing covered those who used their element to break curses. Purification covered those who could dispel darkness attacks and remnants of the element. This was the strongest in terms of defense. Those with this element had little chance of losing to someone of the darkness element.

The darkness element had no branches. The element could be used to do a variety of things by anyone born with it. They could use the element to turn into shadows, cover an area in darkness darker than a moonless night, use demonic arts, and even become ethereal so that attacks passed through them harmlessly.

Kail tilted his head a bit, his eyebrow arched. If he thought about it, darkness was the strongest in terms of variety of abilities. There was no known restriction for each ability. His blue-gray eyes scanned the paper as a question came to mind. “Wait. Who created the attack and puppeteer branches of the blood element?”

One individual came to mind. The Bloody Claw. He created the attack branch. But who created the puppeteer branch?

Teacher James frowned. “I do not know who created the two branches. That information has been lost to history. The only reason we know of it is because it was written down by scholars who managed to save the information before their memories were wiped clean of the creators.”

“Wiped clean?” Kail knew the answer but he had to satisfy his teacher by pretending he didn’t.

“Yes. When the scholars who wrote the information down discovered their work about the two branches, they realized they could not remember who created them nor how they knew about the branches. Only the gods and goddesses would know the answers we seek. But they stay silent whenever they are asked,” Teacher James explained.

Kail looked up at him. “That’s because more than likely a great calamity happened when those two branches were discovered.”

Teacher James nodded. “My pupil is quite smart. That’s the conclusion of the scholars. Us living beings may never know the answer till death.”

Kail found it a bit amusing that people had figured out the truth despite having their memories blocked and erased. “Do you think there’s information hidden from the public?”

Teacher James hummed. “Yes. There is theory that there is more information being withheld by the royal families across the continent. But no one has been successful in obtaining it or even discovering it.”

Kail bit the inner corner of his lip to stop a smile from forming. If he could use the shadow ability of his element, he could slip in and out of the royal archives. He would be the first to find that information without obstacles. He wondered if he could use that ability now.

He rested his gaze back on the paper and looked at the light element. “What branch do you think Storm has?”

“That is a good question. I believe he might have the purification branch. Given his personality, it suits him,” Teacher James replied.

Storm was a good person only when it came to benefits. Kail couldn’t see how James thought purification would suit him based on personality. It was true that they once shared a bond and that Storm was nice to those he cared about but that time was gone. Kail only saw his brother as an enemy now.

Yet it would make sense for him to have the purification branch. It would explain his confidence towards defeating Kail. It would also be a damaging blow from the Goddess of Light. Kail could only try to figure out a way past that overpowered defense of the purification branch.

He would need to battle someone with it to help in discovering a breakthrough attack. He cursed the lack of both the light and darkness elements. It made things far more difficult than it needed to be. For now, he could only hope that his brother had a different branch and that he wouldn’t have to meet someone with the purification branch later on.

But his luck never seemed to really hold out when it came to the Goddess of Light. At dinner that evening, Storm announced Kail’s fear. “I discovered I have the purification branch!” he exclaimed happily.

Kail felt his blood run cold. With that announcement, he could already see a tough fight between them. He hoped that the Goddess of Darkness would show up tonight or soon with his new teacher. He wanted to get straight to training to prepare for that difficult battle looming over him like a shadow.

Then an idea came to him. What if he killed his brother before then? Not through powers but through other means. Killing someone was nothing new to him. In his first life, he had worked for different gangs to survive. He had plenty of knowledge about how to take someone’s life.

As a child, that would prove difficult. The best option he could think of would be to poison Storm. He just had to hope that the purification branch didn’t include dispelling poison.

But where would I get poison? Kail noticed the elven dark spirit, who had been hovering in the corner of the room across from Kail, was glaring at Storm. That gave him an idea. If he couldn’t get ahold of the poison himself, he could use the dead for help. He would have to talk to the spirit as soon as dinner was over.

Kail felt like dinner lasted forever and let out a sigh when it finally ended. He took his time finishing his dessert and spoke to the spirit when everyone else had eventually left.

“Hey, dark spirit. What is your name?”

The spirit floated over to him, a smile lighting up his face. “My name is Spider.”

“Spider?” Kail echoed in surprise.

“Yes. It is a strange name, I know. It was given to me because of a birthmark on my shoulder. I ended up living up to my name with my abilities as well,” he laughed. “I was known for my spider web ability. I could even control spiders. The darkness element truly is fascinating, is it not?”

Kail felt like he had hit the jackpot. The spirit’s abilities would definitely come in handy. “Can you use those abilities as a spirit?”

“Yes but only if a contract has been made,” Spider responded happily. “I will gladly make one with you!”

“Contract?”

Spider nodded. “I see that Teacher James has not taught you about the contract aspect of the spirit world. Contracts can be made between the living and spirits for a variety of reasons. They are essential for spirits because they allow us to use our abilities again.”

Chapter 8

Spider leaned against the table. “Contracts are made normally through giving the spirit an offering. If the spirit likes the offering, they will make a contract with the living. But there are those who will force a spirit into a contract. Though that method has been locked away.”

“What is the method?” Kail asked.

“It’s a spell. The spells binds the spirit with a magic collar. It’s more like slavery than a contract,” Spider explained. “I once went through it myself when I died. My people couldn’t let me go and forced me to serve them till I was freed by a Phoenix family member. That’s why I’m here.”

“Why would your people do that to you? And I had been wondering why an elf spirit was here.”

“I had been the guard against the Giant Night Spiders. They terrorized my clan for a long time. But as I grew up, it was discovered that I could control the spiders. They used me to keep them away and even to the point where we used them for purposes like battle.” Spider sighed sadly.

“I wish things had been different. I was foolish and let myself be blinded by their showers of material objects and affection. Only when I was killed did I discover the truth.” He looked down at Kail. “There is one more method of contract. If the living and the spirit form a bond, they can make a contract with a simple oath.”

“Really? What’s the oath?” Kail was finding this contract stuff interesting.

“Before I tell you, would you like to make a contract with me? I willingly offer you my powers so that you may walk the path of darkness unhindered.” Spider smiled as he spoke. “I sense you will bring the darkness element back from the brink of extinction.”

Kail smiled and nodded. “Yes, I would like to make a contract. I will do my best to save our element.”

Spider held out his hand. “Place your hand in mine and repeat after me.”

Kail stood and placed his hand on Spider’s. He felt anticipation and nervousness spreading through his body as a hum filled the air. The air around them began to shimmer beautifully with many colors.

“When I say ‘living,’ you say ‘death.’”

Kail nodded and Spider closed his eyes.

“Child of living.”

“Child of death.”

“This bond between us is pure.”

“This bond between us is pure.”

“I gift my powers to this child of living.”

“I gift my powers to this child of death.”

“I will not harm this child of living.”

“I will not harm this child of death.”

“I willingly intertwine my life with this child of living.”

“I willingly intertwine my life with this child of death.”

“I hereby announce my commitment to this child of living.”

“I hereby announce my commitment to this child of death.”

The shimmering colors suddenly shot towards their hands. The colors combined together to form a band around their wrists. Power shot through their bodies and Kail felt his strength surging.

He watched as the band turned black and Spider’s body solidified as if he were alive again. The black mana that once formed his body was gone. Kail was mystified by that event.

Spider opened his eyes and chuckled. “It is always a strange feeling to walk among the living again.”

“Wait. So does this mean other people can now see you?”

“Yes.” He lifted his hand and pointed at the band. “This will tell you what my element is as well. Anytime that you see this band on someone, it is an indicator that they are in a spirit contract.”

“What if someone makes it a tattoo?”

“They can’t. The divine casted a spell a long time ago to prevent that. Anytime someone thinks of making a band as a tattoo around their wrist, they will be shocked. It isn’t strong enough to kill them or gravely injure them though.”

“I see.” Kail found it odd but if they wanted to keep it clear who was in a spirit contract and who wasn’t, then measures needed to be taken to prevent confusion.

Spider snapped his fingers and black webs formed around his hand. “It is great to use my magic again.”

Kail found it cool that he could use webs like an actual spider. “That’s amazing!”

Spider went quiet for a moment as a dazed look took over his face. It was gone quickly. “You’re from another world?” he asked in complete shock.

Kail was surprised to hear that question. “How did you know?”

“When a contract is made, the memories of the living are passed to the spirits. Not all of them but enough to where we can figure out exactly who we’re serving. Your first life was so tragic. The world you lived in is so different from this one. How are buildings that tall and made of glass?”

Kail smiled a bit. “They’re called skyscrapers and they have a metal frame hidden behind the walls and windows.”

“How curious! What are those moving large objects on wheels? They’re like metal carriages but in such strange designs.”

“They’re called cars. It’s actually short for carriage.”

“You had the darkness element even in that life?”

“Apparently the demon king blessed me with it.”

“Wait...you’re a warrior selected by the Goddess of Darkness?!”

Kail couldn’t help but laugh at the bombardment of questions. Spider seemed like a kid right now. “Yes. She is the reason why I’m here.”

“Amazing! I really lucked out on a contractor.” Spider shook his head in disbelief. “I knew you were special but I had no idea you were this special. To think the Goddess of Light put you through so much tragedy in your first life.”

Spider let out a hum. “I did find it odd that Storm had suddenly changed to the light element and the Purification branch. Originally he was supposed to be of the fire element and the spectrum branch.”

“I knew it had to be possible to change someone’s element!” Kail complained.

Spider nodded. “It is very possible but it’s rare. It only happens when a divine being chooses a warrior or if someone uses unorthodox methods to force the change.”

“Unorthodox methods?” Kail echoed.

“Yes but I don’t know much about them other than that they exist and that it can cause the death of those who use them.”

“You would need some serious ambition and will to put your life at risk to change your element,” Kail said as he came up with an idea. “What if someone were to force the element change on someone else? Is there a method for that?”

“Perhaps. We would have to explore old ruins to find it. It would stop Storm from being your enemy. There is also a way to take his element away from him completely and leave him forever powerless. That is also an unorthodox method.”

“Ha! This world is truly amazing the more I learn about it.” Thanks to Spider, a plethora of possibilities to win against the goddess had been given to him. “I just hate that I’m stuck in a child’s body.”

“Even with my abilities, it will be quite difficult to poison Storm,” Spider added. “You will have to go to the black market to obtain some without leaving a trail.”

Kail was disappointed to hear that. “I figured as much. Where do I go to get some poison then? Do you know anyone who is part of the black market business?”

“Unfortunately no. Though I do know that most dealings are hidden within taverns and bars. I was in a few dealings myself but those people are long gone and those locations are far from here.”

Kail felt like the door to cheating a victory against Storm was closing. “There wouldn’t happen to be a spell that can make me into an adult temporarily, would there?”

Spider grinned. “Why, yes, there is. It’s a lucrative spell that can be learned by anyone with the will. You’ll have to spend quite a bit of money to obtain it though. Perhaps one of the spell shops will have it. If not, we can always see if we can find it in the palace.”

“You and I are going to get along just fine,” Kail said with a smile, liking how he was thinking.

After their talk, Kail went to his room. Spider used one of his spirit abilities to hide himself from the others at the request of Kail. Kail didn’t want to be discovered so soon about his contract with a dark spirit.

If anyone found out, it could put a damper on his plans. Kail still did not hear the Goddess of Darkness as he sat in bed that night. The God of Death’s raven was back at his window, asleep this time. It had even made a nest.

Kail envied its ability to fly freely wherever it wanted. He wished he could come and go so easily. But those days are far in the future. One day, I’ll be able to sit down and relax without worry. He had always wanted to be able to live simply and happily without wondering how soon the next horrible event would occur.

Now that he had magic, he didn’t doubt that he would finally be able to obtain that dream.

Chapter 9

The next morning, Kail and Spider sat together in Kail’s room. Spider was looking over a map that Kail had taken from his father’s office.

“Here. This is where my clan used to live. We should make a stop there when we leave. There’s spells and artifacts that I’m sure you would find useful for your journey.” Spider’s finger was on the middle of a mountain range known as Ametrine Range.

It was named as such for the ametrine minerals that could be found there. The beautiful purple and yellow gem was popular among Fire Mages. Ametrine was perfect for those who wanted a boost in their magic’s strength. It only boosted the fire element so mostly Fire Mages purchased the inexpensive gem. There were currently four mines where ametrine could be found.

“What is the name of your clan?” Kail inquired as he circled the spot with a red marker.

“U-na-tsi. It literally translates to snow. My people are snow elves. Typically we have the ice branch of the water element. There are a few rare exceptions like myself. We were probably the first to discover the use of ametrine. We would use the rough gems to cook, create weapons and those who did not have the ice branch would use them to keep warm,” Spider explained.

“Ametrine produces its own heat?” Kail had figured it would be a simple gem with just a strengthening feature.

Spider nodded. “We would use our ice abilities to control what temperature of heat was produced. This prevented accidents for the most part. Apprentice mages typically struggled the most with it so most times the accidents involved an apprentice or two.”

“How curious,” Kail mused.

“Did you have ametrine in your world?”

“Yes but it was a simple gem. It did not have the powers that you know of but it did look the same. It was cheap too. Just like it is here.” Kail had been surprised to have found a similarity between the two worlds when he read about the mountain range during one of his days in the family library.

“It still boggles my mind that there is a place with no magic.”

Kail smiled. “It shocked me when I learned there was magic here.” He looked back at the encircled location. “Is there a chance that the U-na-tsi clan survived after all these years?”

“Yes but it’s a slim chance. The Giant Night Spiders were a menace to my clan. They reproduced faster than we could kill them. They could have been annihilated by the creatures.”

Kail lost himself in thought. “If I try to send someone to investigate, I would be questioned about my intentions,” he thought out loud. “It’s too far to investigate myself. My absence would be noticed shortly after we leave.”

“Has the shadowy goddess not spoken to you yet? She might know.”

Kail shook his head. “I haven’t heard a word from her in a while. She might still be looking for someone to teach me.”

“She may end up recruiting a Night elf. Their natural element is darkness. They’re very difficult to track down though because they stay hidden from the world to protect themselves.” Spider’s words made Kail look up.

“There’s people who naturally have the darkness element? Are there other elves like the Night and Snow elves?” Kail asked.

Spider nodded as he placed his finger in the middle of a massive forest known as Star Forest. There was a red border outlining the forest. The center resembled that of a five-point star. There was the marking of a mine that had been crossed out with a red ‘X’.

Kail only knew the name and nothing about this forest. “Why is it in red?”

“Star Forest is a forbidden zone. This is because it is a place that radiates dark mana. The forest was once a haven for those of the darkness element. You used to be able to find hundreds of Dark Mages in the forest every day, absorbing the mana for a variety of reasons. Mostly to get stronger.”

“What about the mine?”

“You could find star diopside there. It’s a unique gem that’s black with four to six-ray white stars. The gems are somewhat rare which is why there is only one mine. Typically the stars are made during the cutting process after the rough mineral has been obtained from the mine. These gems were essential for Dark Mages. They had a healing ability that was sought after by Dark Mages throughout the years.”

“I’m guessing that’s because Light Mages cannot heal Dark Mages in terms of grievous wounds. They’re natural in opposition. Blood Mages can’t heal Dark Mages either?” Kail had not expected such information. That would mean he would need to be careful with his body during his journey.

“No, they can’t. It is unclear why the darkness element rejects the blood element in terms of healing. But thanks to the star diopside, Dark Mages were able to solve that problem. Absorbing dark mana also helps with the healing process. If one could not obtain a star diopside, they would seek out dark mana,” Spider explained.

Kail listened closely.

“The Star Forest was also once home to a city of Night elves. But when the war between light and darkness was at its peak, that city was destroyed.” Spider went quiet for a moment, sadness written on his face. “That day was a massacre. I lost my life that day. I had gone there to help fight to protect the city. But the Goddess of Light had created far more Light Mages than we realized.

“The army she sent to destroy the city was massive. According to records, there were about a hundred thousand Light Mages. The Dark Mages numbered fifty thousand strong in the city. At first, we were winning because of the strategies we used. Then her warrior showed up and changed the flow of battle. That insanely powerful bastard was able to kill a hundred Dark Mages with one swing of his sword.”

“That’s incredible,” Kail breathed. That showed just how much the Goddess of Light hated the darkness element.

“I don’t know where the bastard came from,” Spider continued. “He just showed up one day. For about ten years, he was legendary among the people. It was said he stopped the fight between demons in the Plain of Demons.”

Kail’s eyes widened at his words.

“What was his name?” Kail demanded.

Spider arched an eyebrow. “For some reason, I do not remember.” He furrowed his brows in thought. “I should know his name. I know information about him but not his name.”

“That’s because a spell was placed on you to block out your memories of him. The Light Warrior’s name was Oppor,” Kail said as he circled the Plain of Demons on the map. “I already have plans to go to the plain for my own reasons but now we will go there as a way to unlock your memories.”

Spider was confused. “But how do you know that my memories are blocked? Why the Plain of Demons?”

“The Goddess of Darkness told me. The spell was powerful enough to affect everyone alive during the time it was cast. I don’t think she is able to get rid of it though because it most likely has to do with the Goddess of Light.”

Kail was excited at the prospect of learning forgotten knowledge through Spider. “The Plain of Demons was where the battle between the Light Warrior and a person known as The Bloody Claw took place. It had nothing to do with the demonic race,” he went on.

“If we go to the scene of the great battle, we might be able to unlock your memories by interacting with the God of Death there.”

Upon hearing Kail’s words, Spider frowned. “But the God of Death is dead. No one has replaced him. How do you expect to meet him?”

“He’s not dead. He visited me in my dreams and watches over me with his ravens,” Kail said as he got up from the chair he was sitting on. The two had been at his desk. Kail went over to his bed and got on his knees.

He reached under the bed and pulled out a leather journal. He hurried back over to the desk and opened the journal. Inside were entries of his time in this life and a to-do list. He grabbed a pen from one of the drawers and added to the list a small description of unlocking Spider’s memories.

Spider laughed a bit as he watched. “What a turn of events. I had no idea that I would have memories locked away. I am quite curious to remember this missing information.”

“We’ll head to the plain first when we leave,” Kail said as he wrote down the learned information in a new entry. “I made a promise to help the God of Death as soon as possible.”

“We might also learn why a replacement God of Death has not been found while we’re there,” Spider said as he looked back at the map. “There are too many reports of the undead wreaking havoc across the world.”

Chapter 10

The Undead Pandemic. All around the world, areas had been overrun by the dead rising up from their point of death as soon as the final breath left their bodies. Hordes could be found mostly in areas of high death rates.

Teams were created as exterminators. They would be sent out to deal with any problematic hordes. These teams often eliminated the smaller hordes to prevent more large hordes from forming.

They did not go to take on the large hordes. Even when all one hundred of the six-man teams were combined, they did not number enough to take the large hordes on. The many attempts to eliminate the large hordes had always ended up in failure. The attempts included calling in help from the military and the strongest civilians.

Yet the large hordes, numbering at over five million in the two largest hordes, were able to keep their numbers due to a strange phenomenon. Upon being killed, the undead would be covered in a brief golden light and get right back up, ‘alive’ again.

The golden light was that of the light element but no one knew which branch it could be. None of the known spells could heal the undead. Researchers attempted to figure it out but to no avail.

To keep the large hordes contained, powerful barrier spells were cast around them, preventing them from leaving the area.

While there were numerous teams of exterminators, there was still only so much they could do. With the slowly spreading revival phenomenon reaching the other areas of undead, it was becoming more difficult to do their job. Several towns, villages, and even some cities were slaughtered because of this fact.

There was a newer phenomenon that had popped up in more recent reports on the matter. The undead now had a minor barrier protecting each individual. The barrier could be broken after ten powerful hits but it quickly depleted the mana stores of items and exterminators.

Little by little, civilization was forced into smaller and smaller areas. In some places, different races were living together, forced to intermingle.

Kail mulled over the information of the Undead Pandemic in his mind. “If the God of Death was a Blood Mage, then certainly someone like him should be able to take care of the problem somewhat easily, right?”

Spider hummed in thought. “That does make sense. But that’s only if the God of Death was a Blood Mage in his lifetime. No one knows what his element was. Too much information has been lost to time.”

“He’s a Blood Mage. He had red hair and eyes when we met,” Kail confirmed. “I think he might be the puppeteer branch but that’s just my guess.” He paused in his writing information in the journal.

“Wait. It might be a completely unknown branch. I need to ask him more about his abilities. If I’m correct, I think he was able to use the blood element to keep spirits detached from their bodies and from going on a rampage. It sounds like something from the light element but yet blood element’s strange abilities makes it the perfect element to control the dead.”

Spider listened closely, his mind opening up to new possibilities as Kail spoke. Kail tapped his pen on the edge of the page idly as he continued to speak.

“A branch that’s a combination of light and blood. A branch so powerful that only one person has been known to use it. If such a branch exists, then that means there’s a chance that the other divine are also users of forgotten branches. It explains why the Goddess of Light is being such a problem.”

Kail frowned as soon as he mentioned her. “She’s taking advantage of her unique branch to take control. She’s trapped the God of Death because no doubt he kept her powers in check. They need each other to keep the world from becoming the way it is now. Since the God of Death is trapped, the undead rampage and she protects them.”

It was a theory that probably no one had ever thought of before. The pen stopped moving as a dark and murderous expression took over his young face. “She’s using the undead to eliminate the living and create a new world that will solely worship her.”

Spider’s eyes went wide. “What?”

Kail shook his head. “Tch! I don’t understand why she’s so obsessed with power and control. If she doesn’t release the God of Death soon, she may lose control of the undead and kill everyone off before she can achieve her goal. She’ll need to leave some people alive if she wants to make sure people worship only her.”

Spider was horrified at his revelation. “Civilization is heading towards extinction....just like the days of old.”

Kail looked over at him. “We’ll need to add solving the Undead Pandemic to our list. Hopefully we can save the God of Death quickly.”

Spider nodded in agreement, a grim expression on his pale face. “I just wish it wouldn’t take you so long to grow up enough to do so.”

Kail sighed in frustration. He shared his thoughts. There was nothing he could do about it and it bugged him to no end whenever it came to mind. I really wish I had been transmigrated into someone else’s body instead of being reborn. There is so much I could do immediately if I had been put into an adult body.

A tap at the window gained their attention. It was the raven. Kail walked over to the window and opened it. The raven flew to his shoulder. Kail smiled and hesitantly reached out to it. He gently rubbed the top of its head with a finger.

The raven closed its eyes, enjoying the feeling.

“Perhaps the God of Death will visit me again tonight,” Kail said as he continued to pet the large black bird. “I’ll see if I can learn more about him then.”

Spider stood from his chair, looking towards the door. Invisible to the naked eye, webs were spread throughout the house. The webs were all connected to Spider. Whenever someone passed through them, he felt the vibrations and a variety of information was given to him thanks to the webs being made of his mana.

“Well, I’ll be damned. You’ve got a special guest. I believe your teacher has arrived,” he said with a smile. “You’re one lucky kid. The Goddess of Darkness did not disappoint with her selection.”

“Who is it?” Kail asked as he looked towards the door.

“A Night Elf,” Spider answered. A bit of excitement could be heard in his voice.

Kail was now even more eager to get started with his lessons. “Where are they now?”

“He’s making his way to your room. He’s in his ethereal form. No one but us knows he’s here,” Spider described.

Kail nodded. The two watched the door with anticipation and soon a robed thin figure appeared in front of them. The deep hood of the black robe covered the elf’s face. The elf reached up and pulled the hood back, revealing pitch black hair, skin and piercing gray eyes.

His skin and hair had shimmering white, silver and gold specks that varied in size. They twinkled like stars in the night sky. It was safe to say the elf was beautiful.

Kail was awed by his unique look. It reminded him once again that the world he was in was straight out of a fairytale or epic fantasy. He wondered what the other races looked like in person.

The elf smiled warmly. His facial features had a pale silver outline. “Hello, Young Master Kail. It is nice to finally meet you.” He bowed deeply, his right fist against his left palm. “Anyone made a warrior by the great Goddess of Darkness has my deepest respect. Especially someone as young as you.”

He straightened as Kail smiled, feeling a bit awkward to have an elf bow to him. “Welcome and thank you for coming all this way. I am eager to learn from you. May I ask your name?”

“My name is Nova Pierce.” His eyes went to Spider, full of curiosity. “You have already created a spirit contract?”

Spider bowed deeply with respect, his right hand over his heart. “My name is Spider. It is an honor to meet you.”

“Likewise, young Snow Elf.” Nova returned his gaze to Kail. “A spirit contract at the age of five. It’s unheard of.”

Kail was surprised to hear this. “Really?” He knew spirit contracts were special but he had no idea that they were that unique.

“Yes. Like the development of powers, spirit contracts can only be performed with those of age fifteen and up. Yet you have no problem breaking that rule. Tell me: did any side effects happen when you made the contract?” Nova inquired.

“No. Everything has been fine,” Kail answered. He looked at Spider. “You never told me there was an age limit.”

Spider shrugged his shoulders. “I did not know,” he admitted. “I only learned about the spirit contract from the few other spirits I met and my own experiences.”