Codename: Blaze of an Emerald Twilight

Blaze, AKA Samantha Barrei, found herself within an empty realm of light.

"Where... where am I?" She muttered to herself.

When suddenly, images aplenty appeared before her very eyes. Looking like a collage of videos.

Blaze looked closer and discovered that these images each depicted a memory.

No... She scrutinized each one with a gleam in her eyes. She saw more than just her 'memories.'

"I... I don't even remember some of these anymore..."

A complete documentation of her life through her eyes— this was what these images depicted. Just by looking at these images, she relived her time as a child in the world of Lariva. Frolicking around in vast flowery plains and dancing in the snow.

Then she saw day the Otherworld Trials came. The giant pillars that fell from the sky, embedding themselves into the surface of their world. It was an apocalypse she never expected to see.

The pain she had to endure as her parents simply disappeared from her side returned to her. She missed them so much. She did not know how a child like her had survived even longer than capable adults like her parents.

She watched as her 13-year-old self went through Trial after Trial, always on the precipice of death.

She saw everything.

Including the time she discovered that her parents had been enslaved by a necromancer. The hate she felt was an open wound that never healed.

That necromancer was still alive. Somewhere.

Such was the reason the Emerald Twilight approached her.

They discovered her in the clutches of undeath, just moments away from eternal enslavement without a way out.

They helped her.

And then she became a part of them despite her meagre abilities.

Thus, instead of aiding her fellow Larivalings in exploring the continent they won for themselves, she set her eyes elsewhere. She ended up throwing away all opportunities for rapid growth: All the personal Trials that might've landed upon her shoulders if she did otherwise.

"Was it worth it? Throwing away all that power just to pursue something with a one-track mind?" A familiar voice rang in Blaze's ears at this moment.

Blaze looked past the images that littered her vision and spotted a teenager with orange hair floating before her.

"I have no regrets." Blaze replied. "You are free to look down on me, but that's what my heart told me to do."

Magnus shook his head, "I never expected that you were, in fact, stuck at 2.9-stars. The number of artefacts you have collected… You had me fooled by your strength."

"I had to make up for my weakness somehow." Blaze smiled wryly, "Why? Have your plans been ruined?"

Blaze squinted as memories that were not hers appeared before her. It seemed Magnus allowed her to have a read.

Magnus' many secrets, the existence of Klaris, Restiel, Rie, the many deaths that they had experienced together, and many more. All of these things appeared before her.

"You!" Blaze's mouth hung agape. "T-the [Gatemaker]… the Spark of the Apocalypse… Klaris of Thawsore… Fated to the Undead… Soul Devourer…"

Every red flag in Blaze's book, Magnus held it in his hands with pride.

"Surprised, Blaze?" Magnus chuckled. His cyan gaze locked onto Blaze's form, giving her chills.

"So you were the cause of it all…" Blaze felt her worldview crash.

All that she had been stressing over. All of that which she hated. That was Magnus.

But now, after becoming a part of the Hivemind, she could not bring those emotions forward.

In that short moment, she had lived Magnus' life as he lived hers. Klaris' life was there too, waiting to be opened.

"My life is a lot more pitiful when compared to you two…" Klaris suddenly appeared at that moment.

He was a native of Thare, and thus it was a lot harder for him to grow in strength.

Otherworlders had the bonus of having the Trials push their strength forward.

While he, like every other native, had to struggle just to earn a Trial. Factions and other Otherworlders were their only chances to get Trials.

Blaze saw this, and her expression softened. Experiencing someone else's life in such detail brought about a certain bond.

They understood each other more than anyone else could.

"We are one." Blaze couldn't help but sigh in resignation.

She looked at Magnus. "You really are quite the evil little thing. Taking advantage of my kindness as a fellow Otherworlder… How devious of you."

Magnus laughed, "I'm sorry, but I had to. There was a Trial to complete."

Klaris spoke up at that moment, "Right! About that!"

He flicked his fingers as the perspective of his clone popped up.

"Hiding Rats II has been completed. I have the One-Time Physique Enhancement Scroll. Who should we use it on?"

Magnus thought for a moment, "We can use it on Javelin... Wait no, he's no longer around..."

"How about you use it, Klaris?" Magnus said after another second of deliberation, "You need it for Mirror World Thief, after all.

Magnus turned to Blaze, "What do you think?"

"Your reasoning is sound." Blaze nodded, a bit jealous of such an easy power-up.

She had been stuck at a bottleneck for gods knows how long. Paperwork and doing errands for the Emerald Twilight had taken much of her time.

"I will take it then," Klaris nodded to himself as he had his clone summon his main body to tear the Scroll.

Meanwhile, Magnus locked eyes with Blaze.

"Returning to the Emerald Twilight will be hard given our Curse." He said, reading her thoughts, "I can give you what you want, though, no problem. In fact, we can look for that necromancer right now."

Blaze's eyes shimmered, but ultimately she kept calm.

"Through Rie?" She asked.

"Yep." Magnus nodded, "Through Rie."

A message was then sent through the Hivemind, reaching Rie in an instant.

[ I'll give it a try, ] Rie's voice echoed out in the empty space.

In reality, Blaze appeared together with Magnus who had regained his body thanks to Klaris. They stood behind Rie who was seated at a desk.

"I am she who is greater than life.

The one who sees all,

The one who hears all,

And the one who knows all.

Show me what secrets lay within your existence."

In the next moment, a surge of Spirit Energy swirled within the Hivemind. A torrent of information flowed straight through. The sheer amount of it had Blaze shocked, experiencing for herself what it meant to bear the brunt of omniscience.

"So this is what State of Higher Existence can do..." She muttered in awe.

Sorting through so much information to look for a single person would be nigh-impossible for a simple human mind. Blaze strained her senses and mind just to search for the entity that chained her parents to eternal slavery.

Only the Hivemind could bear such weight and accurately pick something out with precision.

This state lasted for a mere moment.

And afterwards, Blaze was exhausted. She had blinked, and then all her mental power had disappeared from her. It felt as if her brain was about to turn into nothing but liquid.

Unfortunately, despite their efforts, they got nothing in return.

"Even Rie's full invocation couldn't gain anything... It seems like this necromancer has anti-divination abilities..." Magnus surmised. "That, or today's simply not a good day."

Blaze was disappointed. If even divination could do nothing, she could only sigh.

"Don't fret, Blaze." Magnus patted her shoulder, "Perhaps when Rie's Blessing is further strengthened, we may have a chance. Besides, if the Emerald Twilight could not defeat this necromancer, that would mean that they are a formidable foe... Although I like thrills, I would not find it pleasant to have my soul enslaved."

"Hah," Blaze's irises turned dull as she sighed one more time, "Alright, Magnus. What do we do now?"

"I want to get to know your Blessing a bit more. Also your Curse. Although I've glimpsed a bit of it when I watched your life, I don't have the full details." Magnus smiled, "I'm going to have a look, and we're going to do a few tests."

Magnus closed his eyes and accessed the Hivemind.

He looked into what Blaze knew about her own Blessing,

{=[ Focal Point Inferno ]=}

- Gifts the owner with Pyrokinesis that increases exponentially in strength when used in an increasingly small area.

Invocation:

"I am the cause of wailing souls,

A master of draconic breath,

The arsonist of Hell,"

{=[=o=o=o=o=]=}

Then the Curse,

{=[ Vow of the Bloodletter ]=}

- Requires one to sacrifice blood on a regular basis through a special ritual.

Verses:

"Your blood is a treasure that many seek.

Sacrifice it to wield the flames you need and love.

For to you, blood is both your way to death and life."

{=[=o=o=o=o=]=}

"Vow of the Bloodletter, huh" Magnus rubbed his chin in thought, "No wonder, no wonder."

There had been multiple instances where Magnus had watched Blaze set up some sort of eerie altar. There were also memories of how to create the altar, and it was something that seemed to have appeared straight from the Curse in Blaze's wrist.

The altar was very specific.

Wax candles with certain scents, four talismans, eight runes, and some kind of hieroglyphics-like language. A small square table of white marble was needed, as well as a few brass instruments such as bells, spoons, and sticks.

In short, it was a complex ritual with singing and chants.

Magnus got goosebumps just watching Blaze do it.

It was as if some lingering secret could be found if he dug just a bit deeper in the right places.

But Magnus was not interested in such a secret right now.

Thus, shaking his head Magnus glanced at Blaze and said,

"Wear this." He handed her a cloak, "Your... figure is very eye-catching."

"Thank you for the compliment." Blaze chuckled, "Where are you sending me?"

"Back to the Zone of Undead. There's a Trial I want to complete and a battle I want to join through you." Magnus replied with a masochistic grin.

Blaze shuddered as she recalled what Magnus did in his fights inside the Gate of Tyrm.

"Am I... going to die...?"

She worried for her body.

"Again and again..?"