Chapter 7: Chapter 7: Familiar Faces

A month ago, in the "Previous World"

I closed my eyes as I listened to the sound of the waves crashing on the beach. I was too distracted to hear the footsteps approaching me from behind and got startled when I felt a hand touch my shoulder.

"Oh, it's you. Scared the shit out of me."

The person that had approached me was my best - And possibly only - friend. He sat down next to me in silence for a moment.

"Hey, man. Don't worry, alright? You'll bounce back from this. You always do."

"Yeah, it's just... I'm really tired. That's the third job I lose this year, each a time different damn reason."

"I'll help you find another one." He put his hand on my shoulder. "We'll get you something stable in no time, I promise you." 

"Thanks, Carter." I let out a nervous chuckle. "You know, even though I don't have much... I'm glad you're always here for me."

"Of course!" He blushed lightly and looked up at the sky. "I'm gonna stick by you through thick and thin, man. You can mark those words."

For a long time after that short talk we just sat in silence, looking at the stars. There was nothing we could say that hadn't already been said by the stars, so we just enjoyed our time together.

---

I didn't realise that I was holding my breath until the pain finally stopped. I let out a loud grunt - almost a bark - out of frustration. I tried to not let it get to me too much, so I could pay attention to the matter at hand.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" Once I realised how aggressive that was, I tried to tone it down. "I'm sorry. The pain got to me somewhat. How did you get here, though?"

"I'm... Not sure. I don't even know where I am." He looked around worriedly. "Or... Why I called you Naomi."

"I'll catch you up to speed sometime. But to make a long story short, magic exists, we're in a different world, my name is Naomi, and we have stats."

"Oh." He looked at me for a couple of seconds, expressionless. "Alright, I think that made things a little bit worse. I'll try to digest all of that. Look, what happened down there... I wasn't in control! I remember going to bed one day, like two weeks after you disappeared, only to wake up in a forest. After that it all went black, and all of a sudden I was... Down there, fighting you."

"Two weeks? I've only been here for a couple of days." 

"Time works differently here." Robin coldly said from the shadows. "Keep him talking."

"Do you remember anything from right after you woke up? Or before you fell asleep? Any details at all?"

"Well..." He said uncomfortably. "I did hear a voice. A woman's voice, more specifically. I don't remember a word she said, but I do remember that horrible laughter."

"A woman's voice..." I turned around to Robin and gestured in Carter's direction. "Look, I know him from the other world. I don't know why or how he's here, but I might have a theory. I need to speak to Heather."

"You're supposed to speak to the queen now. I can call Heather up as well if you behave." Her words were coated with annoyance and a hint of bitterness.

"Fine." I blurted out in frustration. "I'll be back soon, pal. I can give you a better explanation once this is done."

We left the interrogation room, locking the door behind us. Robin orders two other guards to watch over the room as we walk to a part of the castle I hadn't been to before. The hall was filled with wizards, warriors with many different weapons like bows and great axes, magic-wielding musicians and many other things I just didn't understand. It was a very large area, one that had seen a lot of use. It wasn't too adorned other than some paintings on the walls as to make space for the merchants that had set up shop there.

We walked through the crowd and made it to a huge double door guarded by three royal knights. Two stood on each side of the doors, and one right in front of it, blocking the lock and handles. 

"The queen has requested our presence within the royal chambers." Robin said with authority in her voice. After a second of hesitation, the knight opened the door and let us through.

The royal hall was quite a sight. The floor was black and white marble, with a path of scarlet carpets leading from the door to the blue crystal throne. To the right of it was a stained-glass door leading to a balcony. Close to the walls were potted plants that went up to the ceiling, and a few paintings of people I hadn't seen before, save for one. Close to the throne was a portrait of Robin, clad in shining, platinum armor. She had a great sword in one hand and a helmet in the other.

A tall woman entered the room from the balcony. She wore a long, dark blue dress that matched the silver crystal tiara on her head. Her white hair was long and wavy, nearly reaching her waist. She stared at me from a distance, her light blue eyes judging my every movement. Her face was young and gentle, but very difficult to read. 

"Lady Robin." She said, approaching us with heavy steps. "How was the interrogation?"

"My lady!" The fighter knelt in front of the queen for a few seconds before speaking further. "The suspect is clearly connected to the new recruit, I fear both of them might somehow be involved."

"With all due respect, knight, I will be the one to decide." She looked at my face with a weird expression, almost like she was trying to figure something out. "Hm. Come, recruit. There is a lot we must talk about."

"Uh... Yes, My lady." I awkwardly replied, not knowing how to address her.

"This will be quite a simple talk, so don't fret, Naomi. For the being, feel free to call me Sky. Follow."

"W-wait! I need to talk to Heather after this. Please. About the... suspect downstairs."

"Robin, tell Heather to come as soon as possible, and await our return here."

"Yes, My lady." She swiftly turned around and walked out of the room.

I followed the queen out into the balcony, which overlooked an incredible expansive garden. It had an incredible variety of trees, flowers, hedges, and even a few fountains and statues around, marking benches and leaving shade on the perfect resting area.

"Is this place familiar to you, by any chance?" She asked me gesturing to the garden below.

"Not really. It's beautiful, though." 

She walked down some stairs on the other side of the balcony and looked back at me, gesturing me to follow along.

"I imagine you have many questions about how this world works. I'd be glad to answer as many as I can."

"Well alright. How about... First give me a run down of who you are and what this place is. Please."

"I am, as you know, the queen of Lumalight Kingdom, the very realm you are in at this moment. It was founded just over a thousand years ago, and has been growing ever since. The world it resides in goes by many names among those that live within it. Here, we simply call it Luma."

"Alright. And... why did I show up here all of a sudden?"

"Because this is your home. Everyone you see here has been called for a particular purpose. Your soul is tied to Luma, and you have great things to accomplish here. Of course, their nature will vary from person to person, it can be simply running a quaint little coffee shop down at the markets, or fighting for the safety of their loved ones."

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"Huh. What would mine be?"

"That's for you to figure, of course."

We walked through the garden in silence for a few seconds, and I took in the sweet aroma of the flower bed that we approached.

"So, I kinda understand the stats now. And I imagine the perks and skills are just... Things I can learn to do, or something."

"Basically that, yes."

"But what about the magic prowess? Is 15 a good number? It's my highest stat."

"Spell casters and other magically inclined folk usually have a base Magic Prowess of 100. You're a martial fighter, so don't worry about it being low. You can always train to increase it of course. Simply talk to Heather and she will provide the means for that. In fact, you have spoken to her already, haven't you? Eager to go on adventures already?"

"I... I was just scared of how I looked. I've come to terms with it now, but I was willing to out looking for a solution before."

"Interesting. And by the looks of it you're quite the skilled swordswoman for someone who has never picked up a sword before."

"Well, I... I just thought it was because of my stats."

"Perhaps it was." She paused for a few seconds and stopped moving. Then she looked at me with a serious look on her face. "When you woke up, you were within the castle's borders. Not in the garden, but just inside the walls. That's unusual. People tend to appear right outside the kingdom's gates, that's very common. Inside the castle? Just a select few."

I did not know how to respond, so I just stood there in silence. As I stared in confusion, she grabbed my arm and ran her finger through the back of my hand. Her expression remained unchanged as she stared at it in silence.

"But for some reason..." She continued. "For some reason you were not in the gardens. See, sometimes those related to royalty are still in the Other World, and only when they die do they show up here. While anyone else would appear outside the walls, people like me, Robin, Heather and even Fate would emerge from the flower bed we stand upon. You appeared within the walls, but not within the garden."

"I'm... Sorry? I don't know what to say, I'm-"

"No, don't worry. There's no need to be sorry. I have an idea of who you are, but there is no way to know for certain. Not currently, anyway."

"Who would that be?"

"Our royal knight. The most skilled swordswoman we ever had in this kingdom, she was blessed with a form of immortality by the very first queen of Lumalight. Whenever she was killed, she would simply emerge a few years later from the flower bed. A new form with a few constants. Always a woman, always with that mark on the back of her hand, always with the same name." She looked down at the flowers and crouched to hold one of the roses. "She had looked like all sorts of people, in all sorts of ways. But her mind was never changing. Her memories, skill, personality and even that confident smile were always the same. To make a long story short, however, one day that mark got erased. When she died, we all nervously waited for her return. It has been over 20 years, and we are still waiting."

She let go of the rose, one of her fingers bleeding slightly due to the thorns. She held it tightly with her other hand, and once she let go it was like it never happened. The cut was gone and so was the blood.

"In any case, I got what I wanted out of the interaction. And you seem to be going back to your usual feline self. We should return to the castle so you can speak to Heather."

We went back to the hall and the Robin was waiting with the wizard, both talking to one another until they us arrive. 

"My lady!" Robin gestured at Heather. "As you requested."

"Thank you, my guardian. I did get what I wanted, it was a very short but productive talk. You can escort miss Naomi back to her quarters once she is done talking to the suspect and our dear Royal Wizard."

"Are you sure we should trust her?"

"Yes, I do believe she is trustworthy. She did capture the man in the interrogation room after all, and got injured while doing so. I want you to keep training her, and give her the test of the Royal Knight when you deem appropriate."

"What?!" Robin started shouting, taking a step toward the queen. "You can't be serious! Are we really going to... replace her? And with a rookie?"

"Robin. I am not replacing anyone. And she won't be a rookie if you train her for long enough, dear. Besides... I suspect there might be a chance that Naomi is her."

"Bullshit." The knight said with contempt. "She doesn't have the skill! Hell, she doesn't even have the same drive! Her fighting style is completely different-"

"Just like it was with every new body. This isn't new. As I said, it's only a suspicion. And she would need to be trained regardless." She raised her voice for the first time, and it echoed through the hall.

"But I-" She closed her eyes and clenched her teeth for only a moment, then returned to her previous, more respectful tone. "Yes, My lady. It shall be done."

Once the queen left the room, Robin refused to even look at me. She turned her back and while walking to the exit simply said:

"Training room, tomorrow, noon."

"Damn, what got into her?" Heather spoke with a sly smile. "Aaaanywho, before you start yapping about whatever it is ya wanna yap about, I got you a map to something that might fit what you asked me, it's-"

"Oh, uh... No thanks. I don't need it anymore."

"I see." She paused for a bit and sighed. "That's okay, it's fine. Not like it took time out of my day or anything like that. What's the new thing, then?"

"Look. Is it normal to hear a voice in your head as you go from the Other World to here?"

"Not really, no." She stared at me strangely. "Not normal to hear anything after you die. Was it not when you woke up?"

"No. I remember having a terrible headache, then hearing a woman's voice laughing. She said something too, but I couldn't understand it. I've been hearing it now as well, like down at the interrogation room. She mocked me, said she would take over my mind and... This is something related to magic, right? I'm not crazy?"

"A woman's voice?" Her eyes widened and her face went pale. She then mumbled under her breath. "And... You don't remember dying? By the lords... She's back..." 

"What? Who's back?"

"D-don't worry about it, that's between the queen and I. Go do some guard stuff, alright?" She quickly ran after the queen while muttering every obscenity I knew and a few I had never heard.

I looked back at the paintings in the room before also taking my leave. A few of these were bundled together next to Robin. For some reason, I could swear I had seen them before. I shook my head and tried not to think about most of what the queen told me. I would talk further with Carver and then go back to my room and rest. It was a long day already and I didn't want to add to the stress. But even so...

I just couldn't get that laugh out of my mind.

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