Chapter 17: I DIDN'T SIGN FOR THIS.
Pov
Trish
She did not know how she knew this old woman who was closing her eyes and hugging her was her mother.
All she knew was the ache in her very being, like every single atom was screaming the same thing: "Mom, danger.".
Her mind went blank for just a moment. An errant memory caused her to have a panic attack, with cold sweat dripping from her brow and her breath caught in her throat.
It felt like the warning she got that day her mother tried to hit her last...
A sudden confusion enraptured her visage. Yanking her back from the cusp.
A single thought streaked across her mind. "Wait, Mom never hit me."
A ragged breath shook her from her thoughts.
She looked at the woman who was in her arms once more and saw that she was dying.
Despair filled her spirit.
Tears flowing, she bawled, "MOM, NO DONT DIE ON ME!"!
The woman was dying in her arms, and she couldn't do anything again.
"Mom please…"
"Please don't leave me."
"I can't do this alone!"
"PLEASE DON'T DIE!"
"NO! MOM NO! DON'T LEAVE, PLEASE DON'T LEAVE!"
The despair dominated her senses.
Her mother's eyes finally closed, and peace seemed to overtake her.
"MOM!"
She let out a heart-wrenching scream that shredded her throat. A copper taste filled her mouth, but she didn't even notice as she covered her mother in blood and tears.
Her mother, whom she was now holding in her arms, released her last breath.
Her daughter is still pelting her with tears, sobbing, and screaming for her not to go.
"NO, I WON'T LET YOU!"
Her hands started glowing, and the ever-changing chaotic mana she wielded coalesced on her palms.
The mana expanded, taking next to no time at all. She pushed the mana into her mother.
She chanted in an ancient language she didn't realize she knew. "δεν πρόκειται να φύγεις ποτέ, σε δεσμεύω μαζί μου μαμά."
The energy started to pulse and coalesce toward her mother's head.
She continued chanting for a few minutes, her mana being drained expeditiously. Her mother's eyes, even when closed, glowed a ghastly green that grew brighter with every passing second.
Just as she ran out of mana, she went through the portal. The last thing Trish saw was her mother's body turning to dust as her corpse slammed into the portal like a wall.
Ghastly sea-green energy was ejected, rushing toward her.
The energy slammed into Trish, coalesced, and disappeared in the seal her mother had placed before her death.
"Mother!" She tried to shout but managed nothing but a murmur.
Then darkness consumed her.
After she lost consciousness, a familiar voice spoke once again.
"Obtained passive skills. A Mother's Sacrifice LVL N/A Soulbound, Spell Creation LVL 1, Chaos random effect + Lvl 1".
"I don't know why I even try." The voice scoffs in annoyance.
The voice sounded more annoyed than ever scoffed. "It looks like you gather spirits like you gather trauma... violently."
Pov
Lea
"FUCK"
"This is bullshit!"
"Those disgusting creatures will never see Annwn and they will forever lie in darkness!"
Grumbling under her breath, Lea wasn't paying attention to her surroundings; if she had, she would have seen the ten pairs of eyes glaring at her from the shadows of the trees.
She had regained consciousness only a few minutes ago; she did not even know six months had passed.
Her entire focus was on the status screen in front of her.
Name: Lea Daley
Gender: F
Sex: F
Race: Mixed ¼ Irish, ¼ Samoan, ½ Jamaican
Age 19
Lvl 60 (15) stat points were used to heal.
Class: Tinetaua Samedi Swordswoman
Title: Sign of Belenus
Skill:
Active: Siva Afi, One with the Blade, Gearradair Rionnag, and Belenanua Samedi.
Passives: Costly Regen
Magic: Ignite
Health: 30
Mana: 70
Stam: 90
Str: 70
Agi:70
Int: 22
Wis: 15
Luck 5
Perc: 65
A semi-translucent small screen appeared in front of her, asking a question.
Lvl Reset?
Yes or No.
Glancing at it, she chose no.
Another few screens appear.
Are you sure? Yes or No
Warning: You can keep current stats and skills at the cost of HP and mana being reduced by 59%.
1% was removed for every level gained until reaching the current lvl 60. You will be able to obtain all the skill points lost due to the skill: costly regen that took 6 months to heal in full.
"Wait, I was unconscious for 6 months!"
"Shit! Fuck!"
"I have failed my classmates again!"
She tries to steady her breath and control the feeling of worthlessness that always overwhelms
her at times when she didn't fail one-thousandth as badly as now.
Violently shaking her head as if to clear it to think clearly. "It's too late to return to the battlefield. I need to find a way to get back to that place and rescue the captives."
The notification box was blinking enthusiastically.
She rested her eyes back on the notification window and hit No.
LVL reset Yes or No
Yes. "Lvl has been reset to Lvl 1 by applying the "lvl reset curse" to Lea."
Her bones felt like they were cracking, and her stomach was churning as the curse ravaged her body. Blood leaked from her eyes and mouth. Falling to her knees, the pain caused her to weep tears of blood as the emotions she was trying to hold at bay consumed her.
Minutes pass as she tries to gather herself and wipes the tears of blood.
CRACK!
The loud sound reverberated in the forest; the origin was directly where Lea had come from.
A magic ball was jettisoned out of a portal.
BOOM!
It had slammed into the ground and started to turn towards Lea, then all at once it accelerated straight towards Lea. The magic was homing in on her location over one thousand kilometers away.
Lea barely managed to get to her feet, having had less than a second before the magic ball reached her.
Mere seconds passed, and the ball of magic stopped right in front of Lea, having decimated everything in its path to reach her.
Millions of trees, one mountain, and hundreds of creatures were eviscerated and pulverized as if a meteor had skidded across the land all in less than a half second.
Lea readied her blade and walked toward the ball just as it burst and its contents fell to the ground.