"What?" Maria tilted her head.

"I want you to kill me." The other replied calmly, stating the same thing again.

"No-I heard you the first instance." Maria furrowed her brows as she struggled to find the right words, "It's just that...I..."

"Why?" She finally pinpointed her choice and stared into the gray eyes before her.

True, she did remember the end of her last life. A silver blade slitting her own throat. However, still, why did this person want to kill herself as such? Wasn't she living right now, shouldn't she cherish it for this moment.

"Grab my hand." Her counterpart stretched her right hand forward.

Maria frowned, hesitantly held her hand forwards for a moment, yet, she still grabbed that hand with her own.

At the moment their grasps touched, she felt an energy draining out of her and at the same time her body began to limply fall.

****

She opened her eyes to a splitting ache resounding from her bloodied head. The brown ground beneath was drenched within the same red hue as the white blouse of dress that stuck to her body and her blackened hair illuminated by the crimson liquid.

The earth quaked beneath her feet and her body began to shiver in an automatic response. Swerving her head to look amidst the broken and mangled strew of corpses and brown patches of once entitled homes, her gray eyes immediately widened in horror.

An entity converted in blackened scales, its four legs stamping across the land and moving ever so fast towards her as it thundered against the ground, its teeth sharpened with bits and pieces of broken bones and mangled skin. Those desolate slits of eyes that looked like the boundless night sky mixed with a crimson iris stared directly into her own, she felt as if it looked at her as nothing more than pure food.

Something that could satiate its hunger for even a moment. It seemed to have a bottomless thirst for food, as if it had starved itself purposely for this moment. Having devoured over half of the nearly 250 people that lived within the village governed by her father, the village of Shellon, it still wanted more.

Her body shuddered.

She tried to stand as quickly as her rushed breaths of fear allowed her, yet, amidst a single step into the pool of blood that covered the entire landscape, a wince of pain echoed into her body and she immediately crunched back down.

Her body fell amidst the blood-stained streets.

She looked down onto her right leg and saw it mawed with teeth marks and almost certainly strained muscles or broken veins that spilled blood, her shoes far removed from what she assumed to be caused by the chaos.

However, still, she heard the crunch of wood beneath an overpowering force and the ground quaked into her ears.

She struggled with gritted teeth to stand, but to no avail.

At that moment, the loud roar of the beast shook her soul to the very depths.

Finally, there was an endless ringing in her head as she began to crawl amidst the streets like a broken puppet.

'I don't want to die! I don't want to die! I don't want to die! I don't want to die! I don't want to die! I don't want to die! I don't want to die! I don't want to die! I don't want to die! I don't want to die! I don't want to die! I don't want to die! I don't want to die! I don't want to die! I don't want to die! I don't want to die! I don't want to die! I don't want to die! I don't want to die! I don't want to die! I don't want to die! I don't want to die! I don't want to die! I don't want to die! I don't want to die! I don't want to die! I don't want to die! I don't want to die! I don't want to die! I don't want to die! I don't want to die! I don't want to die! I don't want to die! I don't want to die! I don't want to die! I don't want to die! I don't want to die! I don't want to die! I don't want to die! I don't want to die! I don't want to die! I don't want to die! I don't want to die! I don't want to die! I don't want to die! I don't want to die! I don't want to die! I don't want to die! I don't want to die! I don't want to die!'

Like torrented waves, that single thought continuously crashed against her mind; her will.

"I don't want to die!" She yelled out as her head looked into the boundless night sky above and the glimmer of the full moon illuminating her young face covered in blood.

Tears had stained her eyes already and her vision had already grown blurry. She could neither feel her legs nor her heart. Demise seemed ever crawling closer with each pound of earth that resounded within her ears.

Within that sleave of a moment, she only prayed towards whatever higher being was atop the sky. As a seven year old that had lost everything that had been dear to her, this was her only wish.

She feared death, she feared the thought of the unknown, she feared demise.

"I don't want to die." She limply spoke one last hope of dry surgence.

Then, as if answering to her wish, a figure overshadowed her.

"Take my hand, accept my contract, and I will allow for your life at my side." Those calm words shifted a warm breeze over her mind.

Her mind was already to the point of breaking.

She saw nothing more than a black robe, a staff of gold, silver-white hair that fell to his back, a transparently crystal white staff held in his left grasp, and an outstretched hand.

She forced her head above the ground to look up and see the face of the man her parents had told her to never trust, the uncle of her's that her father had continuously warned of, the uncle of hers that had become crazed for the taste of magic, the uncle of her's that had wanted to reach the pinnacle of strength; the one that had once supposed to become the village lord instead of her father.

His gray eyes stared into her own unwavering, a calm smile plastered upon his thirty-something odd years of features and thinly built figure.

His outstretched hand revolving with blackened mana.

Fearfully so, she tried to resist, she tried to remove herself from him, she tried to listen to her dead parents, she bitterly tried to escape fate.

However, unknown to her, she didn't realize when her right hand had grasped his. Her gray gem of eyes widened with realization.

It was cold.

"With this, the soul contract of slavery shall become full; my dear nephew."

A wince of pain shot through her as a single drop of blood left her thumb from its depths and melded into his palm.

The world began to shake around her.

The space all around her crackled to reveal black voids, the strength of this man before her was leaking.

He stretched his hand to her back as an energy blasted forth.

She didn't have to see...she knew what happened.

The beast that had rampaged this town was now nothing more than a bisected lump of meat that held a spacial crack between it's slowly splitting body.

It fell to the floor in a duo of blood riddled and mangled mess.

As she began to lose her strength and her body began to fall.

She remembered.

This was her uncle.

A magus of Space.

Wielder of one of the six lost magic of; Time, Space, Reality, Illusion, Transformation, and Lightning.

The last words she heard...

"You shall become both my blade and my shield, you shall become my knight. With my command, you will slay every being that hinders my path towards the pinnacle."

"Human, Demon, Elf, Fairy, Vampire, Dragon, and mere Beasts; you will draw their blood."

She felt an embrace of coldness as her body began to lift from the floor.

"Become my eyes, my ears, my hands, my legs, my crow, and my shadow," The sweet words of the devil himself whispered into her ears.

There was a good reason her parents had told her to fear this man.

"This world is a cage."

"This world is beautiful because of all the mysteries it holds. This world shines in luster due to the dangers that creep onto you. This world is held so dare due to the chaos it brings. In the end, everyone suffers for this beautiful world."

"And so will you,"

"Maria Springfield."

The next her she opened her eyes would begin the rise of one of the most dangerous figures within the annals of history in the world known as Estia.

Yet, her legend may remain unknown by the masses.

"In fate, one step at a time." His final parting echoed her to sleep.

***

Her heart pounded with force as her eyes shot open. Her world revolved and spun in a blurry field. Her lungs felt as if they were compressed by an unknown force, she struggled to breathe in even a sliver of air as a coughing fit ensued.

Finally, she felt a full force of pain shoot through her cheek, her world instantly focused back to one.

Maria's pinkish eyes immediately burned into glares.

"What was that for?" She turned to her side to see the face of her brother.

His expression was deadly serious mixed with a hint of confusion, waving the hand he had just used to smack her, he visibly asked with a frown, "why are you crying? This is the second time I've ever seen you cry."

"Huh?" Maria replied limply as she finally felt the dampness on her cheeks and the two streams of trails of tears that flowed down from her pinkish gem-like eyes.

"I don't know," She had a glazed outlook as she finally turned to take in where they were.

A towering structure of a cobblestoned wall of gray engulfed her frontal vision, leaking a faint trace of mana, most likely born from the magic circles that she assumed to be embedded within as a defensive front. A silver gate plastered amidst it's middle; and hindered by guards on both sides, wearing the black and mixed white armor of the army. Two at each side, each holding at their waist a sheath with a blackened handle sticking out. Though, all this was only faintly so under the gleam of the moonlight.

The group of four; Ais, Arthur, Ashe, and Maria were currently walking towards the gate and just a few moments from it's reaches.

Then, it dawned on her...

"How did I get here?" She questioned with a furrowed gaze, the tears dropping from her eyes as she swerved her head to look at the area.

Her clothing was still a bit charred and unchanged, so it definitely hadn't been long. Yet, the memory of the time between falling asleep and waking up to a slap eluded her in entirety.

"What?" Arthur's frown deepened, "Don't tell me you forgot riding within the Duke's carriage?"

"Huh?"

"Don't tell me you forgot agreeing to talk to mother once we reached the castle? Or uncle?" He asked once more.

"You forgot....?"

With every question he asked, Maria's view of things began to line up and change. She had definitely been awake and active this entire time, and if not her, her body had at the very least been. However, she herself, her mind, her soul, was not the one in control and she held no memory of the things her brother mentioned. Slowly, her mind spun as she worked to find the answer, certainly, it was molded into one final outcome before a realization naturally set in...

[I took your body for a moment.] A voice suddenly rang within her mind.

Maria wasn't stupid, she knew exactly who it was.

"You could speak with me this entire time?" She asked aloud.

Arthur tilted his head at her front?

[No, only now. By giving you a part of my memory, of our memory; our connection with each other has deepened.]

[Likewise, if you wish to speak to me, there is no need to say your words aloud.]

'You look no older than 14, maybe 15, why do you sound so...'

[Experienced? Wise?] The dried and tired voice deadpanly finished for her.

[Delve into my memory, of our memory, one by one, and you will know.]

'Can't you simply give it all to me at once?' Maria's brows creased.

[No, your mind is weak.] Was the blunt reply given to her.

[You will crumble down and fall if I were to do so.]

[After all, there was a reason that old man decided to leave you with mere fragments.]

'God?'

[Yes, the man that has reached the highest strength possible.]

'Yet he removed most of my memories?' She puzzledly thought, what was the point?

More so, why had he chosen to reincarnate her in the first place? Was she in this world for something? Or did he simply take pity on her?

'Am I even the same while still missing almost all the memory of my past life?'

[You are. After all, you are me, reborn. In a way, you could be said to be nothing more than the other half of myself.]

[Just like now, I'll slowly impart you memory after memory until my soul melds back into you.]

Memory after memory...

That memory...Maria frowned and touched the stain of tears that traced her face.

With just a hand grasp. The beginning of her tragedy had been revealed in full. Why would the remnant soul show her that scene? What did it have to do with why she wanted to die? She was a bit apprehensive, to say the least.

And more so, that man sent shivers down her spine. The moment she gazed at him, she wanted nothing more than to flee away from him, more so than the beast. However, it was a memory. She could only watch, not change. No matter what she thought, it had already been set in stone.

As badly as she had ordered her body to move, it wouldn't. As badly as she wanted to turn to look more about the area, it wouldn't.

However, she could still feel within that memory.

She could taste the blood dripping down her face. She could hear the roars of the beast, and she could feel the ache at her head and leg. She could feel the thirst for survival amidst the chaos. And more so, faintly, she could feel the thirst for strength.

[The moment I deem your mind stronger I will introduce another memory. This will continue until you have it all.]

[It is, after all, why he placed me here.] Her voice narrowed until it disappeared.

"Hey!" A yell drilled her attention back.

"What is going on with you?" His eyes gazed directly into her own, "Are you okay?"

Maria finally noticed the bulk of the group stopping to stare at her, swerving her head around, she also noticed another fact.

"I'm fine."

"Where's Rain?"

The boy with the pair of mystifying eyes was nowhere to be found, his calm yet airheaded at times nature was missing.

Arthur frowned and placed his palm on Maria's forehead.

"Are you sure you're fine? You forgot that he was dragged back by his parents?"

"Hmm," Maria imagined that scenario in her head and couldn't help but pull a slight smile.

"I guess I did," She said as she began to walk forwards, "anyway, let's go."

Ashe suddenly stopped for a moment and stared interestingly at Maria's figure with scrunched brows.

[That girl, I can feel it, she has a remnant soul like myself within her.] The dreadful voice of Ain rang into her head.

[And I am sure the remnant soul has also noticed my presence.]

[Afterall, she had suddenly taken quite an interest to our situation within the carriage.]

It would seem, Ashe imagined, remnant souls could somehow or another feel the presence of another. And just the same, she couldn't help a frown from crossing her face. She wasn't apt on the idea of another being becoming aware of her situation. Nor was she with the idea of wholesomely revealing herself.

She decided right then and there, she would simply say nothing and continue her goal. First was the destruction of Crow's Nest, and naturally, the next was the confirmation; of the movement's of this kingdom's army. Currently, 2 days would elapse and 28 days would remain. Any more time spent frolicking about would be time wasted.

There was a fist grasp, there was a small statutory taste of iron dried blood, a bit of hasty breathing.

[Calm down, we need your bloodlust saved for fighting. Not mindless rambling. More so, for it all to be released at once to burn the base down.] The beast was surprisingly calmer than the human. Ain's tone sounded as should an Emperor Grade demonic beast sound as. It was rough around the edges and there were instinctive growls mixed within, yet, the message was still clearly stated as per it's his intelligence.

'I kn-!?'

At that moment, Maria suddenly turned around from a calling within her and the two's eyes met.

For a few seconds, the dauntlessly crimson eyes and the pinkish gems stared in a deadlock.

Then, naturally, Maria noticed a clearly visible scar at Ashe's neck.

With how long it took to get to healing her, it was no wonder a scar would remain. did have some limitations after all, Maria assumed that if she took too long to get to the person that needed to be healed, a scar would inevitably remain.

The two nodded at each other to the confusion of Ais and Arthur and Maria turned back to walking.

Amidst that, Maria couldn't help but ask.

'What should I call you? I do not believe I can go around calling you by my own name.'

This was one of the things that had been on her mind since she had met this remnant soul. It had already been made a fact that the two were one and the same. It had already been quite clear that the remnant soul was a part of her, most likely a part she had forgotten or made to forget. That is to say, the remnant soul was, in a way, also Maria Springfield. Yet, the current Maria was very much not willing to give her name to someone else.

[You may call me by whatever you wish.]

"Hmm?" Maria thought quite stringently for a moment.

'I will call you Mar. A simple bit of my first name.'

[So be it.]

"Also, next time you want to take over my body. Could you be so kind as to ask for permission?" Maria stated suddenly as the thought struck her.

[You do not trust me?] Mar replied.

"No, you are me after all, I trust you. I simply do not want to find myself suddenly losing consciousness and then awakening to a blank memory."

The guards stationed at the gates were extremely perplexed at this group currently walking towards them. However, quite so, they didn't dare to show it. Seeing the expressionless face of the golden-haired guard and the clothing of a royal guard on her figure, why would they say anything? Did they want to get into trouble for holding up a member or acquaintance of the royal family? Did they want to lose their jobs?

The answer was no, so they simply opened up the large gates and bothered not to check the group over or keep them waiting any longer than they needed to.

Furthermore, it wasn't just that. The guards, being members of the capital city of Albion, could clearly recognize two of the members of this party before them.

'Isn't that the princess and her elder brother the crown prince?' They croaked their heads and turned towards each other as they watched the group pass by.

'No no, I must be seeing things. After all, why would they be walking instead of riding in a luxurious carriage like the nobles? Even more, why are they ruffled and dirtied?' Each shook their head with this same thought.

It was quite impossible for this guards to think the highest nobles of the land to have gotten into a scuffle or much dread, a fight.

All in all, these guards were truly confused as to this group.

'I need a break.' They signed in unison.

'Maybe some Ale after will help.'

Ah, ignorance was bliss.

"Home sweet home," Arthur breathed in the air of the capital city of Alcoa as he stepped unhurriedly forwards.

The first noticeable thing was the houses and shops that lined both sides of the cobblestones streets, leading into the innards of the kingdom. And much more so, the castle at the dead center of the kingdom that reached high into the sky; made plainly of mostly a white seamless smooth stone exterior. Hung at the top of the single pole like tower that shot up for no apparent reason was a dutifully waving rectangular white flag-with a lined blue edge-and the imprint of an azure phoenix shining at its center--Though, all this was amidst the shine of the silver moonlight.

However...

"Get out of the way!!!" A yell stopped him in his tracks as he removed himself from the main road.

There was a small curse as Arthur watched the carriage pass by in a swift motion and exit through the gates. Exiting was simple, entering was the only one that required a check.

Swerving his head, he noticed the rest of the group had already began taking the sidewalk area at the left. The area mostly devoid of people thanks in part to the nightly time.

Shrugging lightly, he decided to join them as he made a short jog.

"Are we going to the castle first or...?" Arthur asked.

'Castle?' Ashe thought within her mind, clearly, she still wasn't quite aware of the people she was currently hanging around with.

"No, if we go to the castle like this, mother would be quite angry." Maria shook her head.

'Castle? Don't tell me...?' Ashe finally began to piece together some clues.

The luxurious carriage, the overly kind guild master, the manor she had awakened at, the guards, the golden-haired sword-wielding protector...

[This two are definitely part of the royal family.] Ain finished her thought for her.

'Hmm.' Ashe answered with something that seemed both a nod and a sneer.

"Then where are we going?" Arthur asked.

Maria turned her head leftward to look at his puzzled face and couldn't help but reveal a calm smile.

"A friend, well, two actually."

"Oh? Since when did you have--!?" The young king was in the midst of his sentence but stopped shortly after looking at his sister's icy cold pinkish eyes.

"Ais, let's hurry. I need sleep."

It was a singular shack of a building.

Crudely wooden and cuboidal in nature. Brown in its entirety and the two-story structure only outlined by the gleaming silver rays of the moon. Stuck between the many other buildings that surrounded it's two sides, it was inconspicuous save for the square sign hung atop the door.

"Oooh, this is what you meant." Arthur exaggeratedly nodded with fold as he looked at the sign that read 'Colt's Inn'.

"Though, I have only came here a few time before." He finished his words.

However, Maria expertly ignored him as she looked at the sign that read 'open'. So, likewise, she walked to push the door so.

The door creaked open.

The first noticeable feature inside of the inn would be the stranded circular tables and chairs in front of the counter. And naturally, the second noticeable thing would be the two people that had just stopped their cleaning and currently stared at the entrance.

The first was a 26-year-old woman with blackened hair that reached her hips and hazel eyes like ember. She wore a green apron atop a simple dress with a white blouse and long black skirt that reached to her legs. Her facial features were still quite young and still highlighted her beauty. She was currently holding the mop in her hand.

However, in a split moment, she narrowed her gaze to the side and shot her companion a look.

"You forgot to turn the sign and lock the door again, didn't you, Adam!?" She accused sharply with icy eyes.

The man that was currently scratching his head of brown crude chestnut hair laughed lightly and used his pale emerald eyes amidst his ruffled facial features to stare at the group. He wore an outfit composed of a cotton white shirt and brown pants that did little to hide his robust and fit figure of a 28-year-old male.

"Oh come on Mash, don't you see that the princess has paid us a visit once more?" He replied as his right hand stretched out to slowly pat the head of the woman.

"Oh!" Mash suddenly turned towards the entrance as her eyes widened slightly.

"Princess!" She spoke in slight disbelief, "what are you doing here at this time of day?"

"And," She squinted her eyes,

"Why are you so ruffled up and dirtied?" Her tone shifted from surprise and disbelief to one of questioning mixed with a slight anger.

Even as she was being questioned, Maria smiled brightly.

"Mash, Adam; it's good to see you two again."

Walking into the Inn, Ashe noticed a quite apparent feature of the man right away.

He was missing his left arm from the shoulder downwards. Nothing at all but the dangling end of his cotton shirt.

Though, the rest didn't seem to bother as they shrouded in. Likely so, this seemed overly familiar to them.

***

Rain's usually calm and composed facial features were currently met with a frown.

"Do I have to?" He turned towards his father and asked that question for the umpteenth time.

"Indeed, you'll be sparring and learning from me starting from now on and going demonic beast hunting in your spare time."

"But I don't want to." He replied calmly.

"Don't care." Lambert simply replied with crossed arms and closed eyes.

At that moment, Claire Clover, who sat in front of them, echoed out a small laughter.

"Well now," Her blackened eyes stared at her husband's features, "this reminds me of what happened to you when you were younger. Your father pulling you back from adventure to enter a rigorous training schedule."

"The Clover family did use to be one of the great swordsmanship households when the empire was still around. It's only right that each generation births a new male to inherit the teachings." Lambert replied quite so.

"What teachings?" Rain asked puzzledly.

"Oh, well of course-the Counter Flow sword style." Lambert smiled.

"You can see it as an artificially made skill of sorts that the Sacred Text cannot govern over or you can simply see it as using your minuscule mana to make some use."

For some reason, although he was going to learn something that could strengthen his battle prowess, Rain did not like that smile of his father.

More so, how can his F- ranked earth elemental mana boost his overall strength? Even more suspicious was the name of the sword style. Certainly, didn't Counter Flow sound like something that would involve water or at least the water element?

At that moment, the words of his father reached his ears.

"Your first training will be under a heavily falling waterfall."

"There might be some boulders and such here and there, but"

He felt a pat on his back.

"Son, I'm sure you can do it." His father smiled brightly.

Today, Rain learned to trust his intuition.

"To learn the true art of Counter Flow, one must go against the current and reverse its flow!"