Northern Region, Sevensen, Sewers.
The Ice demon fell to the ground, its bones shattering like glass.
Dorthy put away her wand.
She cleaned her glasses while rubbing her nose. The Ice demons had invaded Sevensen far deeper than the city lord originally reported.
Although Dorthy had suspected it, when she actually investigated, she found that the situation was far worse than she expected.
If they hadn't appeared, with the criminally high neglect of the city lord, it was possible that the city would have fallen, corrupted from the inside. This would have resulted in the loss of the majority of the northern region's population. It was a disaster far above what the other regions were facing.
Dorthy's face was dark.
Over the past few days, she had discovered many secrets that made her feel increasingly annoyed. Each discovery made her more and more concerned for the future of the city. These were fundamental problems with the city, not things caused by the calamity.
She didn't know if it was because there was no Mage Tower overseeing the northern region, but the darkness hidden beneath the surface was like a dense net. Crime and corruption were rampant, and moral boundaries were distorted. Inhuman experiments were frequent, and slavery was far more prominent here than in other regions. All of this was made possible by the silent acquisition of the city lord.
Dorthy walked through the sewers, crushing a crystal Skull as she moved.
The tension in the city had only gotten worse, breeding paranoia and unease throughout the population. At this rate, an attack from outside might just be the final nail in the coffin. With the collapse of order, the largest city in the north would turn into hell on earth, implicating up to ninety percent of the regional population.
She left the sewers and walked through a burning street. This was just one of many that had turned into a large-scale battlefield after an outbreak of Ice Demons.
Around her were countless soldiers.
These men were either clearing the streets or helping the injured.
When she first arrived, Dorthy appreciated the hardworking guardsmen. But after a while, she seemed to sense something. There was an undercurrent, a strange atmosphere that seemed to tilt towards indifference. Dorthy felt like the guardsmen cared very little about the common people.
She remembered Teacher Fell's theory...
Was it possible that the majority of the guardsmen in Sevensen had already joined the Mercenary Alliance? No, it should be called the Silver Shield, the Mercenary Army under the Mercenary Alliance. After the calamity, would Sevensen be abandoned?
These thoughts worried Dorthy...
At least, they worried Dorthy almost as much as another problem.
Over the past few days, Dorthy could feel an ominous aura condensing outside the city.
To her, this was a telltale sign of a massive attack.
Unfortunately, her senses were too sharp. This impending attack was dismissed by the city lord. He was too confident in the city walls of Sevensen.
In all fairness, the city walls were indeed a treasure. The outer defenses of Sevensen were left behind by the high elves. The inner city was built after humanity came to the continent, within the last thousand years. These walls were almost impenetrable. If he had known that a high elf was behind the calamity, then perhaps he would have taken it a bit more seriously. Unfortunately, excluding a few of the higher ups from the top forces and some old monsters, this theory was almost non-existent. Even Dorothy only knew a few rumors.
Dorthy found herself stopping before a burnt down library.
This was a place called Owlheads Books & Pens Library. It was a famous bookstore that had existed for a long time. Some people even claimed that it was here before the founding of Sevensen. Unfortunately, it suffered from a sudden fire not too long ago.
Dorthy looked over.
She found a scholarly gnome slowly rebuilding the fallen building.
She shook her head.
Seeing the fall of history always made her feel sad.
Dorthy was a sucker for history. If she could, she would become a historian and retire.
As she walked away, she didn't notice the sharp gaze of the little gnome.
'So that's her, huh?'
A small grin crept up his silly face.
-
Dorthy spent the rest of the day hunting Ice demons within the city.
At some point, she met up with Albert. The duo continued to clean up the stragglers.
After a long day, Dorthy, Albert, Teacher Fell, and the two guards from the Lonton Castle regrouped at the Inn. They discussed the current situation and realized that things were not improving. Not only were they not improving, but they were also slowly moving towards the worst case scenario.
"Tomorrow, that's when I believe the attack will come." Stated Fell.
Albert agreed. "If that's the case, then it's too late to leave. Since we have to fight, we might as well prepare."
"The city lord is unreliable, it's best to look for local mages and adventurers." Teacher Fell added.
Dorthy listened to the suggestions, slightly surprised by the bravery and initiative of these two. Why did she remember Albert being a coward? Also, Teacher Fell wasn't even from the north. Why was he so set on protecting the city? Dorthy felt like this wasn't the usual behaviour of a tower disciple.
Putting her suspicions of a conspiracy behind her, she turned her attention back to the city.
One must remember that, although Sevensen was housing the majority of the northern region's population, that didn't mean that there were no ice demons outside the city. Instead, it made them the perfect piece of meat.
The Ice demon transformation would spread through the fallen beasts in the forest.
Their numbers were likely no less than those of the West.
Tomorrow, it was likely to be a battle to the death.
Dorthy sighed.
She returned to her room, exhausted.
Over the past three days, the constant fighting had taken a real toll on her mind and body.
She hated this life, and she knew that it was only going to get worse.
Sometimes, she just wanted to run away.
Her eyes looked through the window.
The shocking storm that covered the Green Wind Forest was in full view.
She thought back to that 'divination'.
She remembered what she was told.
'Am I really that lucky?'
Dorthy didn't know what to do.
Her mind was exhausted, and her tired body was reaching its limit for today.
She collapsed on the bed, not even changing out of her dirty clothes.
She fell asleep.
-
That night, Dorthy had a dream.
It had been a long time since she had a dream, but for some reason, one found its way to her tonight. For mages, their minds were usually protected. It was only when they were weak and exhausted that their bodies would have a rare moment of pause, opening their minds to a dream.
Dorthy found herself in an open room.
Her body felt heavy, almost like it was locked in place. Threads like silk ran through her body, tying her up, binding her limbs, and pulling her slowly towards opposite directions.
A strange anxiety fluttered around in her chest.
She was confused and uneasy.
Above her, two large figures loomed.
Their height was unfathomable, looking like two rising suns on the horizon. Their towering forms gave off an irresistible authority, radiating an unseen pressure.
Their faces were expressionless, like two statues.
They had no form, only maintaining a vague silhouette.
They held out their hands, palms open, almost welcoming her.
Dorthy was confused, not understanding their purpose.
Suddenly, the darkness around her constricted. The floor turned black, bubbling with an unknown taint. It slowly pulled her down, dragging her away from the light. She felt like the abyss was calling to her.
Taking the hand of one of the luminous idols was the only way forward, the only way to avoid the pull of the abyss.
She reached out, wanting to find support, only to stop.
She didn't understand, but she felt like this was wrong.
She didn't want this.
One stood beneath the sea of stars like a God of Light, and the other stood beneath the sea of stars like a God of Shadows. 'Righteousness' or 'Evil', was that the choice she was given?
No!
Something's not right!
No!
Why must I pick!
Her eyes shone with a fanatical flicker of resistance.
The abyss dragged her down further, like a thousand hands slowly pulling at its prey.
No!
I'd rather die than bow my head!
'You're lucky'
These words echoed in the void.
They came from nowhere, but they held a power that seemed to suppress time and space.
Dorthy felt the dream pause.
No… She felt 'something' pause, but it wasn't the dream.
Above the divine idols, something flashed. A distant star, a green light, beyond the horizon, beyond the sky, beyond the sea of stars, and in a place even further than the imagination could reach.
No…
She was wrong.
These giants did not blot out the sky... they were prisoners of it, just like her.
Dorthy was pulled even deeper, leaving only her head above the darkness.
In the deepest part of the sea of stars, a green light flashed like a speck of dust.
Compared to the two titans, it couldn't even be called a light.
For the first time, the two titans moved. Caution, apprehension, fear, hatred, irritation, reluctance, and fury, a mixture of emotions all flickered across their expressionless faces.
Dorthy was pulled deeper.
Only an eye remained, her body had already sunk into the abyss.
Dorthy's mind began to turn dark.
The world was disappearing.
The light of the two idols became dim, soon disappearing completely.
In the sky, in the darkness, in the void, only a small flicker of green light remained.
Dorthy, a weak and wilful young girl, would rather die than be forced to follow. Dorthy valued her freedom above all else. She would rather disappear into the abyss than take the hands of those two idols. And perhaps… that was her original fate.
Regardless of what she believed, perhaps she was originally meant to come here, have this dream, and bind her path.
But…
She gritted her teeth, thrusting up her hand before the abyss completely devoured her. She reached for what was not offered, seeking the path she herself chose.
Dorthy's light disappeared.
She could not see, she could not hear, she could not feel.
To her, only eternal darkness was left.
She was dragged into the [Abyss].
-
The next day.
"Ah!" Dorthy woke up with a fright.
Cold sweat ran down her forehead, and her dizzy mind spun with the ferocity of a storm. Her stomach felt unwell, and she was overwhelmed by nausea.
She felt confused.
'What was that?'
'A dream? I can still dream??'
Dorthy calmed her rapidly beating heart.
She covered her mouth with her hand, forcing back the contents of her stomach.
Her face was deathly pale.
"Why do I feel... like, that was very important to me...?"
Dorthy grabbed her thigh with her free hand, shaking slightly. She applied pressure, trying to distract herself from her churning stomach.
"What did that mean?"
She thought back to the dream.
'Was that a sign?'
'Was that the crossroads?'
'Was I too slow?'
Her gaze drooped. "Did it mean, I have to decide soon, my future path?"
She thought back to the mysterious person in the divination.
"Is it like that? Was that green light what you meant by 'lucky'?"
Dorthy bit her lip.
She didn't know.
She didn't have enough information.
She forced it to the back of her mind.
Today was going to be a very busy day. She didn't have time to guess about the unpredictable.
Get dressed, wash up.
Dorthy met up with the party a few hours later.
She didn't know, or perhaps she didn't want to acknowledge, that a certain green star had already burrowed its way deep into the back of her mind, like a candle flickering in the darkness.
-
Early in the morning, Dorthy was walking through the city streets of Sevensen.
Although not exact, the time of the impending attack was not far off.
She focused on patrolling areas with fewer people, the kind of places where claims of crime would often be overlooked. When she found an ice demon, she would kill it. When she found a corpse, she would destroy it.
Time was running out.
Dorthy stopped, taking a stroll through the Black Market.
This was a place that embedded itself in an entire street. The Black Market was a dark market where many unethical or illegal things could be sold. Combined with the Underground Auction House, these two branches of the Mercenary Alliance could be found in most cities.
The difference between the common black markets and the one in Sevensen was that the black market in Sevensen was completely open, not hiding at all. This, of course, was allowed by the silent acquisition of the city lord.
In Sevensen, it was just treated as another street.
Dorthy walked through the black market, looking at some of the things on sale. This place was similar to an open bazaar, with dozens, if not hundreds, of small stalls each selling different things. This was only what was displayed on the surface. Behind the orderly and rule abiding exterior, was the hidden darkness that reached its hand into any number of illegal things, no matter how unethical.
Unlike the small tent where Petra had bought the three girls, the slave market had now transformed into a fully fledged slave market, many times larger than the tent where Petra had been. This change came a few months after Petra had left, sparked by something that happened in the west.
This was also when Rose, Wind, and Mell were supposed to originally start their stories.
Dorthy passed through, frowning slightly.
The few slaves on display were all in skimpy clothing.
It seemed like, because the slave market was located on the black-market street, they could be less subtle with their advertising.
If Petra were here, not only would she recognise the woman working in the store, but she would also realize that it gave off a completely different feeling than before. The reason that the woman who sold the girls to Petra was still alive and well, was because the death of Bellan Blacklion, Bouer Blacklion's son, was never traced back to her.
Part of the reason for this was Bouers' involvement.
His focus was completely on catching Petra, not finding out why his son had chased her.
Although Bouer was sure that the little bitch that murdered his son was the Heavens Chosen that everybody was looking for, it didn't change the fact that he wanted revenge!
He would wait, wait until she appeared, and kill her.
He had looked for her in the forest but failed to find even a strand of her hair. He was also one of the people who were adding fuel to the fire, spreading more rumours about her in the daily newspaper. After that, he realised that even with half the Region looking, she still couldn't be found. He decided to set a trap and wait.
Dorthy continued, walking to a stall that was selling old books.
On this table were many things, but what Dorothy found the most interesting was the large book displayed directly in the center.
This was a white snakeskin leather book with a snake eating its own tail on the cover. The man behind the table was wearing a black robe with a white interlining. On his glabella was the same circular snake shaped symbol that was on the book. His ancient and decrepit eyes seemed to carry a hint of history as he sat there silently, unmoving.
Dorthy almost felt like he was waiting.
When she approached, he frowned in confusion.
Dorthy picked up the book and flipped through it. She found that it was some kind of scripture, but the writing was too difficult for her to decipher.
Before she could ask the price, the man took back the book from her hands. He mumbled something, then his frown deepened.
"What's wrong?" She asked, slightly annoyed.
He shook his head. "I'm sorry, this isn't for you."
Dorthy pursed her lips.
"Then why is it on display?"
The man rolled his eyes. "Fate!"
Dorthy's face darkened. If he didn't want to sell it to her, he could just say so.
With a shake of her head, she moved on.
The man at the table watched her leave.
He tapped his finger on the book in confusion. "How odd, how odd, why is she here? Shouldn't she have gone to the southern Region after the east was cut off? Hmm, the Sect Leader was right, something did happen to the Cross Continent..."
The man continued to mumble, his voice too low to hear.
Not long after, a young man approached.
The youth had short silver hair and elegant black armour. Two pointy ears poked out from the side of his head. On his back was a massive great sword.
The man tapping his finger smiled.
"Ah, welcome customer, can I interest you in a book?"
The silver haired elf reached for the white snake skinned book.
* * *
Some time later, Dorthy found herself standing on the northern city wall.
Because of her special status, she was unimpeded.
Around her were many guards. They were doing their duty and guarding the wall. To these men, the City of Sevensen would never fall, at least, not any time soon.
In the history of the humans, at least on the Cross Continent, Sevensen had never been attacked on a large scale.
Unfortunately, that was going to change soon.
it wasn't only Dorthy that could feel it now.
Dorthy combed through her hair with her fingers.
She could feel it.
The slightly frosty air carried an untraceable chill. She instinctively understood that something was approaching. Today, that sense of 'impending doom' was even more palpable. Even those commoners could feel it, not to mention the guardsmen.
They could tell...
They could all tell…
Dorthy looked into the forest, seemingly able to feel something.
Not long after, it came...
A wave of thousands… no, tens of thousands, of Ice Demons flooded out like a tidal wave from the forest. They wore the skins of the forest, approaching with countless different beast like visages.
* * *