A New Beginning

[PROCESSING. ACCEPTING…. ERROR CONFIRMED. LOCATION IDENTIFIED.]

[The lost girl is acknowledged. Showing the way. Confirming, no living signs traced from the body.]

It was Al who first informed me about this girl in bandages and led me to her.

I didn’t know what brought upon it, but Al acted on its own. And after a long time, I was able to hear it talk in a voice not so distant or robotic… and now that I do. His last words leave us in a huge predicament.

Well, I can’t really complain after all it is a part of myself only.

I too observed with my mystic eyes ⸺’ALL SEEING EYES OF THE GODS’ into the soul realm of the lost girl and it was non-existent. I could trace no energy radiating from inside her soul realm which was unlike any normal living beings around me. A hollow black void resided in its place instead.

It was more than an abnormality. An impossibility, to be precise. Much like that of a non-living being called ⸺homunculus.

Coming close to an existence like Flora, whom I made and left to take care of my mother and father in my absence back in the Tathya Labyrinth.

But unlike an artificial being like Flora made of magitite, my World-Severing Webs, and magic. This girl’s body was that of real flesh and blood.

Conclusively these changes in her body were enforced by someone. And that too must have been a long process dating back to the true birth of this girl when she used to be a normal human. For now, she was much like a doll with no emotions.

So, there is a magical genius like me out there who could precisely control and study evolution. But the bad condition in which the girl is and seeing that she is without care, they might not be as good as me.

Leaving my magical genius superiority aside, now that I finally found the girl…

What should I do since the bad guys had been searching for her for a while?

How she got here was entirely another mystery, but the bandages were covered in mud, sand, and some wild grass that could only be found deep in the forest.

Underneath the girl’s body there were actually no true marks of any physical abuse but rather the spiritual constraints she had been put through had left her completely empty. But what conditions could have brought upon such changes in her soul realm to dissolve itself was unknown to me as well. All that I could think was of the unthinkable.

The real reason that I couldn’t wrap my mind around, was that the girl should have been lifeless and despite that, she had asked for our help.

But before I could think any further, Regis’s ceaseless questions won’t stop jarring my eardrums if I didn’t do something quick.

“Regis, shouldn’t we get ourselves something to eat. Aren’t you hungry after all this search business?” I held her hands closer to myself as I asked, adding a bit of force to my request.

“Okay. But what about…” Regis blushes and then uncomfortably looks at the lost girl.

The mysterious girl was now trying to stand up on her own and the bandages were slowly getting loose too. And without those bandages wrapped around her body, she would appear completely naked.

“Then let’s go. And the girl should come with us.” For now, I had decided not to tell what I had discovered about the girl to Regis. I needed to know more before I could have answered all her questions or else make things complicated otherwise. It would be much worthwhile to sit down and connect dots, no matter how small.

Regis then looks at the girl’s appearance and was not convinced that it would be appropriate to walk out like this without getting any unnecessary attention.

Well, she would have probably caught a cold if she remained in such an uncanny attire.

I waved my fingers round in the air and waves of my mystic webs started churning around her body until it settled to weave in itself into fine magical cloth. Her untidy hair was washed through a wave of evaporating water and fixed neatly.

The lost girl had chin-length brown bob hairs with Birkin bangs and yellow eyes. Her outfit was monochrome, consisting of an unbuttoned grey jacket, clasped at the top with a white bow. A black blouse underneath; and a grey skirt with ruffled fabric and a lace draping over it. Wearing black tights held together by a simple belt around her slender waist.

In design, it was much similar to that of Flora’s dress. Because that was all on my mind for now.

“Good. This dress should do. But I still would like to know how you found her?” Regis looked straight into my eyes without backing down.

“I think my navigation skills have improved a lot from the travels,” I said most innocently and triumphally scratching my cheeks.

“If that’s how you are going to play it, at least do not make an impossible excuse. But I too don’t want us to miss breakfast. And I just happen to know the right shop I discovered on my way here. I can’t wait to try the new food item there.” Regis soon cheered up because now she gets to enjoy a new dish with me.

As for the lost girl she didn’t even react to a single thing we discussed. She had been quiet and did whatever we said without a word. Carefully observing our actions and how we spoke.

Surprisingly now she got up on her own and gazes at me and Regis. Looking closely, she might have been younger than us only by a few years and she had a round, cherubic face.

Her outfit closely resembles a goth lolita aesthetic.

“Come with me.” I grab the lost girl’s hand and felt it was better to discuss about her over a table than in a dingy small street.

Turns out the place Regis wanted to try the food served crispy smoked salmon and waffles. Most probably the smell in the air had brought not only Regis but all the passers-by from outside into the dining hall.

⸺And morning seafood should have been a given for a sea-side town.

“The waffles look savory.”

“It’s tasty.” Well, I too couldn’t have denied that it was an exceptional breakfast combination I would only come to regret later for not trying it out.

We had ordered three plates and the only one who wasn’t eating was the girl I had found. Regis and I tried several ways to get her speak her name but after asking us to save her she hadn’t spoken for once.

She continued to notice me and Regis and finally, when we were halfway through our dish she started eating her own in the same fashion as I did.

She was almost like a baby trying to copy what the people around her did.

“What are you planning to do with her?” Regis asked me making sure I hadn’t forgotten the objective of our visit to this city.

The same question too had been eating over me for a while now. But I knew the danger around the girl was palpable and more greedy men could come to attack her if she is left alone or unattended.

Maybe we should try going to a police box. Right, they don’t exist in this world.

“T-a-s-t-y...”

Regis and I looked back at the figure that was quickly gnawing over the food like a rabbit on her breakfast table. She ate with the same proper etiquette as we did but started taking quick bites until the strong umami flavor of the salmon made her powerless to hold herself back and gulp down the whole food.

It seemed she had her own share of struggles and maybe because she hadn’t eaten in a while.

“Do you want some more?” I asked.

“Tasty.” The girl replies with the same contorted voice as she placed an empty plate on the table.

I flashed a smile at Regis and signaled her.

“I know. I know. If we can get her to speak with this then it works.”

Regis then orders more food while we get back to discussing tracing back to who the girl is.

“Can you tell us your name?”

“…” A lost expression appeared on the girl's face.

“Do you know where you live?”

“…”

Regis’s interrogation went on for a while but we were at the same place from where we began all of this until a new question popped up.

“Do you know who your parents are?”

“P-parents…!?” the girl’s lost expression changed into that of wonder as she turned to me. Her facial expression was almost picturesque.

“Yes, they are the people who care about you the most,” I replied vaguely but that was the gist of it I made.

“I… not know.” The girl replied a bit anxious now.

“I see. Do you remember how you got to the place where we found you?” This time I was the one who questioned.

The girl moves her head in negation. But after a few moments passes many different kinds of information start getting mixed in with the clutter of her mind.

“Huhhh… it's useless she is a complete blank.” Regis sulks and slumps back in her seat.

But I felt there was still the need for this one last question to be answered.

“By any chance do you remember where you were before you came here?”

“Dark... And it's empty. Nobody speaks to me... Nobody smiles. Nobody knows who I am. I know nobody either. I am closed…” There was a sudden change in the girl’s demeanor as her body starts shaking. Looking at her with concern until she goes into shock and screams.

“…It hurts. It hurts a lot. It hurts even now….WAhhhhh…”

Before we could have attracted attention I had quickly cast my strongest healing spell ⸺[DIVINE HEAL]. And thankfully it was remedy to all kinds of pain as the girl suddenly grows out of her outburst and stops shivering in pain.

“Alicia we need to do something.” As though trying to interrupt the girl, Regis voiced out melancholically. Even she was sympathetic to the girl’s pain and such a thing could not be faked.

I was of the same mind. But at the same time, it’s also dangerous to dig so deeper knowing so little. For now, all I wanted to do was not leave the girl alone after what she had described to us. In the start, it felt comparable to my own self but I knew the only difference was that inside she was unaware of who she truly was and I was afraid that would end up breaking her.

“How about we continue exploring the city. Look for signs for our previous mission and also if any of these places trigger a memory for her just like now.” I offered some salvation. Better to take action than sit around.

And that's how our search trip continued in the port town of Gilde.

I was no detective and it was no time trying to play or pretend to be one when the situation was so delicate. It's not that I was totally against the thought, but I do remember applying myself for the detective club back at school.

But they rejected my application form just because I expressed how I wanted to save this world from a secret evil organisation that was planning to turn everyone into their military puppets and take over the school.

But they instead recommended me to the magic girls club, but I really doubt anything like that would exist in our school in the first place.

“So where should we look first?” Regis asked agreeing to the proposal.

“Since it's my idea I will lead.” I was pretty confident in myself after I had found a lost child on my own and she was my responsibility now.

“Are you sure?” Regis asked with uncertainty in her voice.

“I think by this time roads have become my good friends. just leave everything to me.” I said with confidence.

[Practicality zero. Requests re-assessment.]

It was Al and it was being mean to me but I decided not to heed its call this time.

Overwhelmed by my enthusiasm, Regis started following me even if it was with some difficulty. She took charge of the girl and decided to keep an eye on her.

“Do you recognize going to this place?” I asked as we stood in the middle of a busy marketplace.

It was rather a good start but the girl shakes her head again in a no.

.

Despite being a trading town there were a lot of places for sightseeing that could develop strong visual responses in memory.

So we decided to head there next.

“Is this…” we were outside a big church now and in a very good condition than the one in the Plum town.

The girl's response was still lacking any meaning as she denied the place. We ask the priestesses and those of the cloth but they did not recognize the girl.

At the town’s notice board we checked for any missing poster with the girl’s face. But there was no such case except that the board was filled with reports and missing pamphlets of small children in the town. the only problem was none of these children were ever found.

This was turning out to be a rather difficult undertaking but I decided not to lose hope and started jumping to different places.

Whether it was traveling on a boat in the water canals made inside the city for easy transport of goods.

At one point we were being chased by some suspicious men and we outran them.

“Is this the place,” I asked as we were on the top of the clock tower.

Tring…Tring…

The loud voice of the ringing bell of the afternoon hour almost crashed our ears as we ran away in a hurry.

.

“Is this the one?” I asked as we three climbed on the roof of the tallest building in the town.

“No.” The girl replied.

“Alicia, how do we get down? This does not make sense any longer.” Regis screams as the wind at this height was strong and it was difficult to hear anything properly.

In the middle of this search mission, I was worried about one fact I caught on to. The girl was least interested in finding a way back to her own place from where she came.

For her, it was like taking her first flight in this unknown world. And also because she was deciding everything was right or wrong by watching me.

it was much similar to my case and I had help. And so I couldn't just leave the girl in someone else's care.

Just as I turned on my heel to head back to the ground⸺

Amidst the strong wind, there was an unusual change in the flow as I felt the magic particles surge in the surrounding…

“FOUND YOU.” A voice laughs bitterly and disappears.

A voice that belonged neither to Regis, nor the girl and absolutely not from me.

Because it was a man’s voice as I felt their gazes from far and there was no one around us at this height.

I looked back and while Regis appeared to be neutral the girl stood there with a shocked expression. Her brain hurt and she tightly clutched her hands close to her chest in pain.

‘A telepathic messag…’

Most probably I was able to intercept because of Al's strong perceptive reception of magic, but it was meant for the lost girl.

Before I could complete my thoughts, light shines under the girl’s feet, several magic circles appear and the place begins to warp. My eyes meet that of Regis and her fading presence.

“Regis get awa…” I shouted but within a fraction of a second, the light had engulfed both the lost girl and Regis who was close to her at that time.

As the light vanished Regis and the girl was nowhere to be found.

“…” Within that dark realization that I was alone, the sound of something dark and abyssal approached, it grew louder.

[Teleportation magic cause detected. Flying unidentified enemy approaching. Identical magic construct to the last case confirmed.]

The strong winds raged into a storm as I turned to look behind me. My eyes with a burning feeling trace back to a hideous stringlike creature as it twisted and descend below the clouds.

“Gwaghhhhhh…..” the flying monster scorned looking at me with its golden eyes as they were forming another spatial rift to teleport itself too. Its size far too large for any human to battle.

“It would seem I have found you too.” I spoke to myself aloud as Al confirmed that the magic signature of the monster we fought in the Plum town shared the same magic structure as this creature. Most probably the two were created from the same golden serum injection and were now taking orders from that man whose voice I heard.

I didn’t look much fazed by the unusual sight as I waved my wind fan like a conductor’s baton.

[WIND CUTTER]

Another flash of wind came slicing through the storm and quailed the airstreams. Severing the entire creature’s body in half before it could attack me with its claws and teleport.

The area directly above it suffered a rain of decaying flesh and blood. The halves of body parts fell on each side and I could already see them starting to regenerate by connecting the withering flesh the same way as the previous creature did.

[BLACK FLARE]

Another black firestorm raged in the sky as it tried to eat away the entire being of the creature at once and before it could completely regenerate to attack me again.

I looked around only to find this small farce had caught attention of many however I remained hidden above the roof.

No one was hurt, but a throng of people had quickly gathered to see what was happening. The knights guarding the area flew into a panic, running around trying to find the vanished monster. All they could do was gape in disbelief.

For the time being, I felt disappointed on being separated from Regis but I had prepared myself for this situation in advance. A tracing spell had been already casted on Regis in case I could get back to her if I got lost.

But it works in emergencies like this too.

“Al, take me to Regis now,” I said not realizing my voice had a hint of rage. I could not rest until I had found Regis again or before someone tries to hurt her.

Space warps around me as I instantly find myself in a fog surrounded place. Forest grew nearby and a tall fortress stood in front of me. A bridge connecting to the castle's gate.

“Al why have I teleported outside the castle and not where Regis is.”

[Strong teleportation barrier detected, spatial error.]

“I see. So, I will just have to reach there myself. I would have preferred to raise the fort to the ground with my gravitational magic and be done with it, but Regis might get hurt.”

I always thought bad guys wanted to hide in creepy warehouses. But a castle... Maybe the villain has got a big budget or something.

[That’s probably what only you think.]

“Al have you started talking a lot only recently.”

[That’s probably what only you think.]

[MANY UNKNOWN HOSTILE ENEMIES DETECTED IN THE VICINITY.]

On hearing Al’s warning, I started walking towards the castle gate preparing myself for combat with several black flare balls suspended in the sky, that appeared like hundreds of paused rain droplets.

And also, because I knew I was going to need a lot of them to exterminate these new creatures and if need be even…

***

{ Next Chapter }

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