Grimoires are the primary source of power in Julgram, something only a few can acquire in their entire life. Each reside in a remote place of the world, protected by a series of trial. It is said that whoever manage to get their hand on one of these treasures have the potential to reshape the world to their will.
For Saki, it sounds like wishful thinking. In all her twenty-five years, she has never encountered a single of these famed Grimoire-user, and according to the Tower, she is destined to be one. Of course, she is skeptical, she has always been incapable of magic, despite a demon—a race known for their violent and destructive magic. It never bothered her, because she had the strength to make for that weakness.
She shakes her head, pushing these thoughts aside as she heads deeper in the strange cave. Though it is an underground cave, it is as bright as the surface at noon, yet cold as if it is night.
"What is that place?" The young woman can't help but ask. She has been walking for almost ten minutes in the barren cave, unable to find anything remarkable. Just as she is about to continue, a sudden noise stops her.
"Grumble..."
It is her stomach, which perplexes her. "Huh? It's barely been a quarter of an hour..." Though she finds it weird, she doesn't think too much about it. "This entire place is so strange... My sense of direction is messed up."
With a sigh, she brings a small leather bag on her lap and grabs a loaf of bread and an apple. A simple meal, but good enough to make sure she can keep going. The bread gets closer to her mouth, and right before she can take a nibble, something snatches it out of her hand, leaving her confused and distressed.
She jumps to her feet, reaching out to the longsword she has on her back, only to find it has disappeared as well. "Oh... Well, back to old reliable!" She sighs, bringing her fists up, ready to punch her way through monsters and assailants alike.
"Meow."
Saki raises an eyebrow in surprise, "a... Cat? As big as a fully grown dog!"
The black and violet animal wags its tails, while looking at the woman. In its mouth is the longsword Saki had on her until a moment ago. It lifts its head to ceiling, prompting the young woman to do the same.
Saki slowly raises, only to see a bat of white and gold devouring her loaf of bread. The instant the bat finishes, it leaves the ceiling and divebomb toward Saki. Although caught off guard by the sudden maneuver, the young woman raises her hand, firmly grasping the diving bat—or so she thought.
The bat phases through her hand and hit her square in the left eye. "FUUUUUCK!" Saki screams, clutching her eye.
The impact by itself doesn't hurt, demons can take far worse in term of injury. What made the woman scream is the holy power—something lethal to weaker demon. Fortunately, Saki is not on that side. Still, it is an irritating feeling. "AND IT HAD TO BE IN THE EYE TOO, FOR FUCK'S SAKE!"
Minutes or maybe an hour pass, Saki can't tell at this point. She blinks a few times, surprised by a new feeling—calm. "What?" She breathes, confusion evident on her face. Why is she feeling calm after being attacked in such a weird way? But more importantly, why is the holy power not acting?
"Even if it's weak, it should be at least disturbing my sight..." Yet she remains completely fine, in fact better than before. The woman sees better than she ever did. She scans her surroundings in astonishment, until she finds a red thread floating harmlessly in the air.
"Eh?" Saki extends her hands, trying to catch the thread, but it vanishes and reappear further. She tries again, but same result. The thread suddenly wraps itself on her wrist, and before she can process, drags her at an absurd speed to God-knows-where.
Saki plants her feet into the ground, trying to stop but the thread keeps going, until it arrives in front of a gigantic tornado of fire, so high it covers the cave's ceiling, and spanning over thousands of kilometers. "What the fuck...!?" Saki exclaims, rubbing her sore wrist.
What is she supposed to do here? Her instincts tell her not to advance any further, that she will be annihilated if she touches that phenomenon. The woman backs off slowly, ready to turn and run. Fear is gripping her heart, which she had not felt in a very long time.
A fear she buried deep inside of her psyche, her fear of fire.