Thrill to Madness

"WHHAAAT THE HEELL IS THATT"

Two figures could be made out running through a densily lit forest, one being of a woman and the other being the figure of a beast.

Trees would fall and luscious forest groves would be trampled by the beast, none shall stand in the way of its prey.

"COULDN'T THERE BE ANY EASIER TASKS?!?!?!" Her voice was overshadowed by the bellowing growl of the ferocious beast that was following close behind. 

They had been running for a few minutes now, with no end to the chase in sight. Her legs were giving out, her breath becoming unsteady.

Upon looking through all the jobs and tasks available at the board one thing became clear, she was severely underprepared. 

- Hunt a Sifmor -

- Investigate the Forbidden Forest -

- Take down the Crooked -

- Map out the Beyond -

Everything on the board would put her life in jeopardy.

'Hunt a sifmor? Not unless I have some sort of mental defense. Investigate the Forbidden Forest? I don't have a death wish! Take down the crooked? With my current powers, I'd be crooke meat, and not even good meat! Map out the beyond? Almost none make it back from the beyond, and even if they did, they wouldn't be able to tell the tale or so I've heard.'

Looking through the board, countless thoughts began to race in her mind, 'what if I'm not good enough? Was coming here a mistake? Would I be considered a failure if I were to walk out of here now?'

Before long, she had gone through most of the requests. She skimmed through the last of the requests before her attention was caught on a particular one. It sounded easy enough and so she went to the back desk to register it under her name.

Upon seeing the request, Ruth's face seemed pale. Nervously, she would stamp the paperwork and Akira would sign her alias.

'It was a simple request, who wouldn't take this. The reward is quite generous as well,' she thought to herself as she left the tavern that evening.

After stocking up on rations and a dagger she went on her merry way. this couldn't be too hard, right?

- Boar Subjugation ⋆ ACCEPTED -

Akira would soon realise the mistake that she had made for there was a reason it was left on the board with all the other intimidating requests.

"HOW DO YOU EVEN BEAT SOMETHING LIKE THAT WITH A DAGGER!!!" She shouted on the top of lungs, no longer caring for conserving her breath under all this pressure she was in.

[...]

"HEELLPPPP MEEEE" Akira began to cry out as tears began to stream down her face but they were quickly shaken off by the high speed chase that was happening at the same time.

[..Alright I'm back, just got my tea. What happene- WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!??!!]

As those words echoed through her mind, Akira couldn't help but feel a sense of relief. Ever since the beginning, no, even before the beginning of this encounter she had tried to contact her God but to no avail. Now she had finally returned, with a cup of tea? The comfort her God's presence gave her was so great that her legs began to give in, even with the ever present danger faring not too far behind.

'oh please, oh great pantheon. NOT NOW-' before she could even finish that thought, her body tumbled to the ground with a thud. Her legs had given up on her, she had reached her limit. There was no more running from the beast tailing her, she was done for. Tears began streaming down her face as her life flashed before her eyes, all those times she was locked away for the smallest of things, the time she had spent with Dolian, her recent encounter with her God. It had all amounted to nothing..

[Are you not a scholar or whatnot? Act like it.]

Those words resonated within her, they steeled her. She was not just anyone, she was born with a predestined path to greatness. Her life was hers and hers alone, she wouldn't let a boar do as it pleased with it. Born into power, with power, with the power to wield that which gods had touched and wielded themselves. Born with a great mind, one without limits, one that could absorb knowledge like no other, one that could comprehend that in which was uttered by the gods. her lineage lined with great scholars, all who came before her had risen to the top, she would be no exception.

"a boar like you should know its place," she spoke softly to herself.

Her resolve was great, her determination to live, even greater. She slowly lifted herself and stood facing the incoming beast. At that moment, a calmness rushed over her, a tranquillity like none she had known before. It was like standing in a field of flowers, only listening to the rustling of the leaves, seeing the swaying of the grass. Everything was simply perfect in that very moment. Before she could even think another thought, her mouth opened.

[Ur Ist, glazir munstra cria os-]

{-xul, losp reh oft!}

Arcana filled the air, it bent itself to it's master's will, reforming, shaping, changing. The temperature dropped and the beast boar slowed itself as a thin sheet of ice formed and wrapped itself around its hide. Light soon blinded all with its brilliance and binded the beast's hooves and before long, the boar was incapacitated. 

As the adrenaline died down, so did her legs give out. Slowly regaining her stamina, she couldn't help but stare in wonder at the power she had just displayed. Having had to call upon the power of gods, the aftermath was better than Akira had imagined. The air still carried an unusual amount of arcana that if left unchecked could lead to more crooked but otherwise, not much was decimated in the attack, which was expected of such a weak incantation.

After quickly recovering, she headed towards the boar. It lied there with such stillness, Akira couldn't help but feel pity for the creature before her. Never before had she taken the life of a creature before, nevertheless of a beast. It was said that beasts carried such intelligence that they may even be sentient, such thoughts clouded her mind as she stared down on the poor creature before her. Yes it had tried to kill her immediately after laying eyes on her, yes it seemed extremely mindless and relied only on instincts but the studies she had read and heard about said otherwise.

She raised her dagger above the beast's head, steeling her resolve to end this creature's life. Looking into its jet-black eyes, something stirred within her. Memories of her childhood companion rose up, the way it seemed ecstatic as she found it lying alone on the streets and the way its saddened eyes burned themselves into her memory as it was taken away to be put down not long after.

[Why are you hesitating, this creature tried to kill you. How are you supposed to exact your revenge if you can't even get rid of a KILLER BOAR.]

Akira sat there for a moment, her nerves were getting to her. She closed her eyes and struck down as hard as she could and twisted. 

"It is dead.."

The feeling of blood on her hands, the sensation of seeing its life drain from its eyes, the act of taking a lie. It was all recorded within her mind. Everything was taken in, the feelings, the rush, the guilt, everything was now forever engraved in her mind, in her memories. Akira knew this wouldn't be the end, she knew that much more, much worse would happen. She was prepared for this but being in the moment of it gave her clarity, it made her feel all these emotions but one of them came through a bit more strongly than the others. Excitement, the thrill of the kill, the ecstasy of a hunt. She relished upon these feelings, longing, needing more. Her mind replayed these events over and over and over and over and over, until-

[-ira, SNAP OUT OF IT]

The voice of her God barely reached her within the world she had created for herself. Following the excitement, another feeling crept at the back of her mind. Fear, she feared herself and what she would become if she were to follow this path she was treading on. What would she find at the end of the journey?

With this event she knew, she truly was a devil.

She quickly cleared her head, she did not need these thoughts as she got to butchering the boar. With the guidance of her God, much to her dismay [A holy and godly, 'everpresent' being such as myself, reduced to a butcher], she quickly and somewhat skillfully separated the different parts of the boar.

As sunset came upon her, she started a fire. She gathered nearby sticks and placed them in a pile, under the advice of her God, she practised the most basic of spells and incantations, the first being starting a fire.

{Firka?}

Nothing

{Firka}

Even more nothing

{FIRKA}

The silence was deafening

"ARE YOU NOT GOING TO HELP ME?? TEACH ME???"

[I wouldn't be qualified, to us gods, arcana comes naturally. How would I teach you how to wield it if even I don't know how to?]

"How come I was able to use more advanced incantations earlier then?"

[You could say raw talent, the will to live, adrenaline and so on. The truth of the matter is that you have me. I used you as a medium to exact my will to the world, I basically did the hard work and you just had to sit back and watch. Notice how you didn't even mean to chant but began without even thinking about it?]

'That would explain some things' she thought to herself, completely aware that everything she thinks could be heard by the nosy Goddess.

After trying 23 times, she gave up, rather resorting to a good old lighter. After starting the fire, she began to cook the meat she had gained from the ferocious beast. The meat was very gamey and it tasted very bland, with a hint of sweet and nutty sprinkled in there. It wasn't that good of a meal but the achievement that was her catching and cooking her own meal kept her full, and rather fulfilled.

Lying beneath the glistening moon, Akira had nothing but her thoughts to keep her company. There was no long calls through the night or tv-series bingeing. How lonely her path was finally dawned on her. 

She reached towards the star filled night sky, trying to grasp the freedom they had. To be shining with no interference, living to their fullest and going out with a big bang.

Soon her fatigue would catch up to her and her drowsiness came upon her like a tsunami. Closing her eyes, she could only wonder what she would do from here.