10 Volume 1.9 Sunken Heart

It had been two days following the horrible event. The once-jovial West Witch's mansion was now deafeningly quiet. None of the curtains were raised, making the whole place sunken deep in an agonizing ambience.

In the middle of this situation, there was just one area that was fairly bustling and alive with hushed crackling noises. And two people could be heard talking.

"Frayah, how are the children?"

Frayah spun around to find the old gardener standing at the door's entrance. His green eyes glistened as he moved his gaze to the large ceramic pot in which Frayah was mixing.

"Ares, so you still showed up yourself. It makes one wonder why aren't you there when I chase after that insolent wench?"

"I'm in the back garden's shed. The storm was so loud that night that I didn't hear anything going on outside."

"I see," Frayah said, narrowing her gaze as she shifted her focus to the massive pot of black liquid. "It doesn't really matter now." She constantly mixed it with her dark spatula.

"How will the young master get to the ceremony now that they've lost their mother?" Ares inquired once more. "In his submerged state, he won't be able to do anything right now."

"You don't have to worry about that," Frayah cackled, appearing content with what she was mixing. "Now that the unnecessary Rebecca is gone, I will become their new mother. I will make sure that they will stand above the rest, and we will become, together with my beloved, a prosperous and powerful family that no one could overtake on this land." Frayah's cackle grew sinister as she began to pour the black liquid over the two bowls.

She sliced a small cut on her thumb. And let the blood dropped into the two bowls of black liquid. It glowed with crimson color briefly.

"My children must be hungry now. It's time for them to eat so they can forget everything and we can start anew as one real family."

"Then I wish you good will, new madame of the house," Ares said as he bowed.

Frayah simply walked past him. "If I call you once again, make sure you arrive the next time. Or I'm afraid some necessary consequences will be given."

"I will keep that in mind, Madame Frayah."

***

The story of Chaos Arise.

It all began with Akio Hideaki, a lone university student summoned to the world of Saztrel to become a hero. From there, his adventures in a magical world began against the race of demons and the demon lord.

Demons were the archetypal race that wreaked havoc and ruin on everything in their path. And the demon king had just one objective in mind: to rule the world as the strongest. The hero's task was to prevent this at all costs.

That was the gist of Myrene's recollection of the story. With her head nestled between her knees, she struggled to recall every aspect of the story she could recall. But it wasn't like it would be simple to recall anything you read in your previous life, or even something you read while you were in your adolescence. To be honest, unless you have a photographic memory or are the author of the book, you will not recall anything you read unless you read it repeatedly or it really brought an impact to you.

But Chaos Arise was none of that to Myrene. It was the same and typical all over the generic summoning of a hero from another world and saving everyone from the demon lord theme story. Even the title was not well thought of.

Aside from the major details that appeared repeatedly in the story, there was nothing much to remember from it.

Myrene raised her head. The room she was presently residing in was absolutely barren of any other belongings, aside from a single bed, a table, and a single torch on the right side of the wall that lit up the whole place. She gazed at her right foot, which was bound by a metal chain.

Myrene could feel a knot growing in her throat as tears threatened to flow from her eyes once more. Everything was still surreal to her. As though she were in a nightmare. Her mother falling over the magma and their constant wails were the last thing she recalled. Then everything became utterly dark.

When she awoke, she was in this dark chamber, shackled as she was. She had no idea how long she had been in this place. And none of the gifts given to her by the Angel of Life Death could be used to escape here. Her eldest brother was also nowhere to be seen, which made her even more anxious.

There was a heavy feeling inside her, as if dense dark clouds were looming over her. She looked over at the table beside her; there were three sets of objects on it. A plate with a meal that was not consumed and a pitcher filled with water.

[Appraisal skill: Poison]

With her appraisal skill, this kept appearing when she looked at the food. Only the water she was able to drink from time to time. And if not for the foods that she hid in her space ring, she had been long starved to death. The third item was a book that had a thick and crimson red hardcover. The Appraisal Skill doesn't show anything strange about the book.

Myrene had already read it. The book was titled the Blood Witch.

It told the story of a girl named Rose. She was born from the union of a demon and a human. As a result, the lady inherited his demon father's blood-control power. When the locals discovered her terrible magic, they stoned her mother to death, and the little daughter escaped due to her father sacrificing his life to save her. When the girl grew up, she turned into the Blood Witch and annihilated the entire village that killed her parents. And since then, the Blood Witch disappeared.

Myrene already read it more times since that was the only thing she could do to pass the time. And it was the only thing where she could forget the pain she was feeling right now. However, no matter how Myrene could see the story, it was only more on how the Witch grew evil due to the cruelty of the world.

But when she finished reading the book, her mother's face as she fell from the cave would come back to her mind.

'Why did I even come here?'

'I said I'd support my mother, but what is this?'

"She-she died again." Myrene clutched her chest, feeling the rapid beats of her once again sunken heart.