Chapter 3: Labyrinth of Memories

 

“Sorry. I’ll be taking this. And this as well.” 

Ann scoured the lifeless bodies. Daggers, swords, cloaks, containers, twigs, her hands were grabbing faster than her brain was working. She was a squirrel gathering whatever material was available to build a nest for winter. It was pure instinct, as she would have put it. 

The cool moist breeze swept the strands of long straight hair that had been partially obstructing her vision along with the rusty odor that lingered in the deceased air. She tossed everything onto the ground and shredded the cloaks into long rectangular strips. Ann leaned over and peeled the black hood off the man’s head. His face was nearly as white as a sheet of paper and his lips were painted a bluish-grey tint, marked by crevices that lined the bottom lip. Although Ann had elevated his legs and laid him down to slow down the shock progression before she began her search, it was practically impossible for him to hold on much longer. She stripped his armor off and cut the tight black suit underneath in half. Cuts riddled his upper body, concentrating around the chest and back. Ann narrowed her eyes and gnawed on her lips.  

‘I’m such an idiot. How did I not notice this earlier? But even if I…’

Ann tightly pressed the ripped cloth against the puncture on the outer chest. 

‘Magic. Right! I can use magic here! But then, what about my mana? Evelyn never had a tremendous amount of mana like our overpowered protagonist.’

While mumbling to herself, she recalled the content of the novel. There was a line in the novel that she vividly remembered reading at the beginning chapters of the story: ‘As long as the power of one’s mind was strong enough, the capability of magic was unlimited. Even the most common spirits, which every Athilian could summon, had the possibility of achieving extraordinary feats if one could utilize its power properly.’ 

Her face broke into a crooked grin. She stretched out both of her arms and interlocked her hands with her thumbs pointing forward. 

“Oh Monarch of the Spirits, please heed my request and lend me your children, Glus. I call for the Glus of Water, Air, and Fire.”

She barely held herself back from wincing in embarrassment. Soon enough, the air was sprinkled with bright warm glitter. From the mystic light, three miniature creatures popped up. Each of them had a distinctive color: one was deep blue, the other was orange-red, similar to that of a ripe persimmon, and the final one was the color of a pearl. Their bodies plopped up and down like pieces of jello towards Ann as their tentacles swirled in the air.

“What do you need us to do?” Their speeches were synchronous though each of their tones slightly differed. 

“Please light a fire here.” She looked at the bundle of twigs near her. “Water, please make me this.” She raised her index finger and closed her eyes.

‘The author had revealed at her first fan meeting that the power of the mind can be interpreted in a variety of ways. The first of which was mental power and the other one was imagination. Though I’m not sure about Evelyn’s mental power, one thing I’m sure of is…’ 

As the blue jellyfish-like tentacles touched her finger, Ann recalled the formula of the saline solution: 0.9% sodium chloride saline. She visualized it from the smell and the molecular formula to the sensation of it on her hand. 

A pale blue light emitted from the blob as it spewed out a solution from the hole that opened at the center of its body. The solution formed a large bubble floating above her head. Ann yanked the few pieces of jagged cloth from the pile and placed them beneath the bubble. 

“Could you soak these pieces in the solution?” She asked before turning to the air spirit. “Air, can you detect the airflow in this body ?” 

“Of course!” The spirit grinned, its eyes curved into two long lines. 

Images fleeted across her eyes, breaking and reshaping continuously until a cohesive X-ray-like image was formed. There were moving clumps of white on top of a black human silhouette. Ann narrowed down on the upper chest and as she had feared, the lung was collapsing from the puncture. 

‘The air spirit isn’t just the manipulation of air to create wind or transform it into mist and clouds of fog. There was one more important use that the protagonist utilized.’ 

“Can you extract air from this specific part? I’ll guide you.” She eyed the curious-looking figure that was circling her. Even if common spirits by nature are more immature than the rest, she never expected such a child-like vigor from these shapeless creatures. 

“I need you to extract the air from this area.” She closed her eyes and with utmost concentration, began sucking the air from the cavity. As a nurse, she had always observed the doctors performing this procedure on patients. Never would she imagine a day when she could do it herself. Theoretically, she knew how the procedure was performed, but she had never been to medical school or practiced this herself. She inhaled and exhaled deeply, ignoring the beads of sweat trickling down the sides of her forehead.

‘The amount of air left should be around this thickness.’ She sucked in the last bit of air and collapsed onto her knees. 

‘Really, the author wasn’t joking when she mentioned mental energy.’ She laughed at herself internally for underestimating how draining this would be. ‘Right, I should cover the wound quickly and move on.’ 

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In a swift motion, she wrapped a long piece of cloth around his chest and tightened the bandage. The abdomen wound on the other man was a breeze. She disinfected the wound with the soaked cloth from earlier and secured the dressing in place. Unfortunately, there was nothing more she could do other than simple first aid. Some of the wounds were too shallow. The best she could do was clean it and monitor them for infections. Of course, she could summon a healing spirit but she was unsure how much mana it would consume. 

‘Damn system. I can’t even check my stats right now!’

Ann kicked the conveniently flat rock into the pile of equipment she hoarded earlier. She rolled her sleeves up and pulled her collar outwards to inspect her chest. 

‘Nothing here and nothing on my arms either. No scars, wounds, or any lesions.’ She closed her eyes and skimmed through the chapters of the novel in her head. 

‘If I’m not wrong, there isn’t any mention of Evelyn being in the forest. But since she doesn’t have that scar yet, this must mean she hasn’t reached the climax of the school arc.'

Ann let out an exasperated sigh. Despite being a devoted fan of the series, requiring her to remember every single detail of this 400-chapter novel would be as ridiculous as requiring her to memorize every word of her nursing textbooks. 

‘It’s fine. I’ll update my information as soon as I get out of here. For now, let’s clean these bodies.’

While wiping down the dead bodies, she hummed to herself her favorite pop songs. Even if she was in a horrible predicament, all she should do was focus on what she could do. This was the first rule of her M.M.M - Misery Management Method, that she developed in high school. She encased the bodies in the cloak before dragging these hundred-pound sacks across the sloppy ground soaked in blood. 

Finally, the bags were lined up away from the campfire.

“Fire, please burn these bodies for me.” She huffed and puffed as if she had just completed a 30-minute cardio routine. 

‘The old me could have easily lifted 150 pounds. Evelyn doesn’t train her body! People here rely on magic way too much!'

As the spirit exhaled, a fire ripped through the bodies, its radiant flames fuelled by an unpleasant cold wind that seeped through her skin. The blazing bodies were soon reduced into black ash, insignificant particles of dust in this universe. Again, Ann was reminded that she was no longer Ann Kim but Evelyn Ashe, the person whose fate will end similarly to those that were burnt. A villainess who was nothing but a pebble in the way of the brilliant protagonist this world centered around. Even when she was supposed to achieve her happiness, the author decided to use her as a convenient tool to end the story. 

Ann slumped down beside the campfire. The exhaustion had won over her body and shortly after, she fell into a deep slumber. 

When she opened her eyes, the scenery had changed. This time her surroundings were pure white. It was neither bright nor dark but the perfect amount of light that allowed her to see everything but also simultaneously nothing. 

“Greetings, my lady," a voice sprang out. It was a gentle feminine voice that had a strange warmth to it. 

“Who are you?" Ann's eyes darted around for signs of human life.

“I am you.” 

A slender girlish figure was approaching her. She had shoulder-length straight hair with a color that resembled a glacier, striking amber eyes that glowed a truly golden shimmer, and a mole under her right eye. Her features contained a softness typical of children, though the way she conducted herself was beyond her age. She wore a black lace turtle-neck dress that reached her ankles.  

“Young Evelyn?” Ann blurted out. For some reason, she was unable to stop her thoughts from leaking out of her mouth. 

The little girl nodded and gave her a little curtsy. 

“Welcome to the labyrinth of memories.”

***