Chapter 1

I sat up and found myself in a dark void. I wasn't sure how I could see when there was no light, but nonetheless, I could. It was like I was a match in a pitch-black forest. Once I finally got past the whole void thing, I began to question where precisely this void was. Something about this place was really giving me a bad feeling because the only time I hear of people ending up in a sea of nothing is when they're dead. I'm too young to be dead, right?

"What the hell is going on!?" I screamed out into the darkness.

My scream echoed in the nothingness somehow, and right when it faded out, a tiny speck of light shone in the distance. If it weren't for the fact everything else was so dark, I would've missed the small amount. Sighing and unsure what else I should do, I sat down. I rested my head in my hands, thinking about what my next course of action should be. The only conclusion I kept coming back to would be to talk to God. If anyone could get me out of this, he could, and maybe I could return to my normal life.

"At the least, I would like to get out of this abyss.", I whispered to myself.

With those words, the small speck of light grew brighter and more prominent. I had to shield my eyes as it came towards me, illuminating the dark.

"Is that truly what you want?" A voice called out from the light.

"Yes, it's what I want! Let me out of this place!" I cried out.

The light began to fade out, and now the glowing figure of a female remained. Her long blonde hair fell neatly around her exposed, slender shoulders as she came to stand in front of me. She gave me a warm smile that touched her turquoise eyes. The comfort they brought was something out of a dream.

I wasn't sure why, but the way the blue and green mixed left me speechless. Finally, my eyes shifted away from her gorgeous face when she reached a hand out to me. I wasn't sure how to respond to this, but I took her hand anyways. When our skin made contact, the darkness began to swirl; within seconds, we were in a luxurious room. She beckoned me over to two chairs in front of an intricately designed marble fireplace. She sat down and crossed her legs before motioning for me to do the same.

"Please sit, Aric.", she said in a soothing tone.

And just when I got lost in the beauty of the being in front of me, she set off my red flags.

I took a small step back, eyeing her, "Who are you, and how do you know my name?"

She was shocked for a moment before she began to giggle, "Oh silly me, I'm Alfina, and I am a goddess."

I was dumbstruck, "You're a goddess. There's no way; this has to be some prank."

Her eyes shifted to a more mischievous look, "You do not believe my words?"

"Absolutely not. There is no way in hell that you're a goddess. They aren't real.", I said as I pointed at her.

"Even after the small demonstration, I did to pull you out of the in-between? Not to mention, weren't you the one who thought about asking God to help you?" she questioned.

"For one, that was a joke and I'm not even sure how you knew I thought about that, and two, this has to be some elaborate prank.", I said as my mind raced and I began to feel impatient with her games.

She held a finger up, waving at me, "Tsk, tsk, Mr. Crimson. If you don't want to believe me, that's fine. I can put you back..."

A wave of nausea overcame me as I fell back into the seat, a nervous smile beginning to creep on my face.

"So, uh, a goddess, huh? What can a human like me do for you?" I cut her off with a nervous laugh.

Her face shifted back to the soft, soothing smile before she spoke, "That's better. Now to answer your question, I want to give you a chance at a new life."

I perked up at this, "Okay, I'm listening."

She tilted her head to the side and propped it up with one of her hands, which for some reason, I found very cute.

"With this new life, you'll be free to roam and do as you please. You will also be gifted a magical skill set of your choosing."

"I take it I'm not going back to where I came from?" I asked her.

She nodded, "You'd be correct."

"Okay, is that all?" I wanted to know what strings could be attached to this deal.

She lifted her free hand and waved it in front of me, and six images appeared between us. Three females and three males.

"These are my brothers and sisters. The only job I have for you to earn your right to live again is for you to hunt each of them down and kill them.", she said, her voice devoid of any emotion as she glared at the images with a murderous stare.

My heart stopped, "Say what now? You want me to kill other gods and not just one, but six?"

The images faded, and she smiled at me, "Mhm. Don't worry; I'll be there to guide you on your travels and to help you however I can, except with the killing of my siblings."

"Why would you help me with everything except the hardest part of my new life?" I asked.

"Because of a pact made by us all. It binds us from bringing harm to one another. This is why I need you, so do you accept my offer?", Her demeanor shifted to a serious one.

I looked down at my hands, mulling everything over. I don't know what happens if I say no, and I don't want to go back to the in-between. This new life will probably bring so much pain and suffering, more than I can handle, most likely, but I do want to live again, so I guess I have only one option. I can't shy away from this.

I sighed, "Even though I'm probably going die again, I do accept your offer."

"Excellent. I promise to do my best to train you to survive the coming hardships. Now time to choose your skillset.", she said gleefully as she waved her hand again.

This time somewhere around thirty or so icons appeared. Alfina stood up and worked her way around to stand at my side.

"Each of these icons represents a unique skill set. You, my faithful champion, may pick whichever one you want. If you have questions about them, you may ask, and I implore you to take your time to choose wisely.", she said.

I nodded as I began to scan the icons. Some were pretty easy to understand the theme of and some were beyond me. I wasn't finding any of these that appealing. It wasn't till I reached the last symbol that I found an interest. This one was a red magic circle with a droplet in the center.

Pointing at it, I asked Alfina, "What is this one?"

"Oh, that one I wouldn't pay no mind to. No one who has been given this offer by my siblings and myself would ever pick that.", she said, brushing the question off.

"It's my decision, so please answer my question.", I said with a little more authority.

She lowered her head, "It's the skill set of a blood mage. This magic allows the wielder to use their own or their foes' blood to cast magic. Over the entire existence of Lorna, the number of blood mages to walk its plains has remained at zero."

The fact that there have been zero blood mages ever was a worrisome issue, but something about it called out to me. To ensure I wasn't crazy, I glanced over the icons again. Nothing else stood out to me, so I bit the bullet.

"I choose the blood mage.", I said confidently.

Alfina cringed as she held her hand up, placing her index finger on my forehead, "As you wish, my champion. Do understand this is permanent."

"I understand.", I said.

She nodded and began to chant in another language. There was a bright light as a red circle appeared underneath us, and before I knew it, I was falling from the sky.