Sara | Chapter 3: Cores and Colosseums (Patreon)

Kyritus stared at Sara with wide eyes, thunderstruck and speechless. “W-What?”

She stared back, gazing into his ordinary brown eyes. “I said marry me.”

He opened and closed his mouth.

“I also said that there wasn’t much time. So please give me your answer.”

Kyritus looked like someone who just got his skull cracked open during the battle of Troy and still had enough motor function to regret his life before dropping to his knees. “I… Who even are you?”

Sara gave him a twisted smile cut with pain. ‘He really doesn’t remember….’ That made her heart well with rage, but she kept her cool. “Someone who intends to marry you,” she said. “Maybe not today, next week, or next year. But I won’t stop until you marry me. So please do it now.”

His lips pursed into a straight line, and his eyes trembled. “Listen…. While I’m humbled, I can’t. You see, I’m caring for my sister and don’t have time.”

“I see….” Sara said, standing up and pulling a leather satchel to her front, opening it, and pulling out a large jar. Once he saw it, his eyes trembled and welled with tears. 

“Is that….” 

2

Aelia looked at the massive clock tower in the distance, tapping her foot. “The time’s up,” she said. “But…. No one just finds a Silvermoon Bloom. That prophecy skill will be invaluable to the kingdom, and getting on her bad side….”

She shuddered.

“I’ll wait five more minutes.”

However, she couldn’t wait for five minutes because customers started stomping out of the tavern in droves. It had started as a trickle, but now it was becoming a flood.

“I’m her guard!” Aelia cried, pulling her hood tightly over her head. Then she burst into the door and found a long line of customers complaining to the balding shop keep. “What’s going on?”

With a quick divination spell, she scanned for magical presence and found a conspicuous flower in the barkeep’s pocket. The minute she saw it—and didn’t see or sense Aelia—she strode to the front of the crowd.

“HEY, WAIT IN LINE!” a man yelled.

However, a crushing wave of magical pressure dropped the man to his knees, holding his breath like everyone else there. The barkeep shuddered as the cloaked woman walked up to him.

“Where is she?!” Aelia demanded.

The man stammered. “W-Who?”

“What do you mean, who?” she growled. “The girl. Where?”

“S-She’s in the back, but you mustn’t go in there,” he said. “She’s having stomach problems and is…. Look, you can have the flower. Just don’t kill me!”

Aelia put up her hand hastily. “Don’t you dare show that in public, you fool!” she growled. “Now as Sycount Twilix of the Escaran Royal Guard, I order you to shut the hell up and lead me to the bathroom.”

3

“It’s a silvermoon bloom,” Sara said, putting it on the table with a note. “And the recipe for the medicine that will cure Tyexis."

Kyritus opened his mouth and held his breath. "This… I….”

"Don't misunderstand. My desire to help Tiber and my intention to marry you are two different things—never insult me by assuming otherwise.”

“I disclosed my intentions to ensure you don’t feel indebted to me later for helping your sister.” The doorbells jingled, and a hairy man with a bowl hat walked through the door. “It’s 5 p.m., so you better serve Scarle his reska without locks. We both know he won’t accept anything else.”

“Wait!” Kyritus yelled, capturing the attention of the whole tavern. “You never told me who you are.”

Sara turned to him with a complex gaze and then turned back, unable to look at him. “Your future wife,” she said, walking out the door.

4

Aelia strode through the hallway. “Please be okay!” she cried, picking up speed. However, when she turned the corner and saw the door open, her heart rattled like a caged animal, and she shot forward. “Sara!”

The guard nearly tore the door off its hinges but froze when she looked inside.

Right there, in front of her, was a teenager with a shocked expression. “W-W-What?” Sara replied with a shocked expression, visibly shaken. 

“I….”

Sara looked at her. “You didn’t scare the patron, did you? He’s a skittish man who might not follow through now….”

Aelia stood, mouth agape with shame deeply embedded in her eyes.

“Give me five minutes,” Sara said. “I’m sure running late, so I won’t blame you. Just let me speak to the man.”

“Sure….”

They walked back into a dining room that was half empty and dead silent.

“Just wait by the door.”

Aelius nodded and walked by the door as Sara walked up to the man, cowering as if awaiting a death sentence. “My apologies for her rudeness.”

“N-No, it’s fine! Really!” he stammered but frowned under the weight of her mocking gaze. “I’m just a bit scared, is all.”

“As you should be,” Sara replied. “I should’ve explained this before, but that plant is very, very rare. So only sell it to an auctioneer. When you do, tell them you wish to remain anonymous and want to set the starting bid at 50 thousand gold.”

“F-Fifty thousand?!”

Her eyes filled with wrath. This man was beyond stupid. “Yes. Now shut up and go to the auctioneer. The sooner you get it off your hands, the better. But whatever you do, don’t open it. It’ll die immediately.”

“O-Okay….” he stammered. Then he turned to the people in the dining room. “Everyone leave! You can come back for a refund later. NOW!”

A royal guard’s protectee gave him a glowing flower, and he would believe it! As of that day, he would close down his shop! At least, that’s what the man’s eyes said as they glittered, contrasting with his deep breaths.

“Have a good day.”

With those words, she walked up to Aelia. “Let’s return. Will you help me establish a core on the way?

Aelia gulped and nodded. “That’s what I was planning on doing.”

“Good. Let's go.” 

The two got back on their trusty mutant steeds, something that made Sara wince in pain.

“Drink this,” Aelia said, handing her a red bottle. “It’ll heal the chaffing.”

“Oh, God. I hoped you had something like this.”

“God?”

“Never mind,” Sara replied, popping the cork and knocking it back and exhaled as if it were a double shot of Jack and threw it in her bag.

“You’re not very lady-like,” Aelia frowned.

“And you’re too honest,” Sara taunted. “I can’t wait until there’s an investigation into you, me, and that poor barkeep after you tell people I gave him that flower. All because you didn’t say you found a flower. You know, like they expected.”

Aelia smiled wryly. “Let’s go.”

The two roads for ten hours before setting up camp. By that point, it was already dark, and the large red moon was already peering down on them, illuminating their way. 

As soon as the tents were up, Aelia lit a fire, put down rugs, and beckoned Sara over. “Come. We’ll establish your core. You can upgrade it at the capital.”

Cores are one-part engine and one-part battery. The larger the core is, the more mana it can hold, the faster it restores, and the larger the area someone could affect. Tonight, they would establish a core worthy of a royal guard member—a really good one—and then she’d “upgrade” it at the capital. In truth, they were about equal, and the “heroes” wouldn’t get stronger ones unless they proved themselves. However, by that point, they’d be as corrupted as the people who lived there, and they couldn’t reach their true potential.

However, Sara would reach her true potential. There was no way she’d corrupt her core with trash, even for a moment. So she smiled and sat down, playing the grateful student. “I’m ready.”

“Okay, repeat after me. Once we’ve done it correctly enough, you’ll want to listen to your heartbeat while thinking it over and over. “Aelia explained. “Do you understand?”

“Yes.”

“Okay. Let’s get started. Antícho procháro…”

“Antícho procháro….”

Aelia was shocked she pronounced the words correctly. However, she nodded, slowly accepting this teenager was a genius. “Télos tis hélion….”

“Télos tis hélion….” 

“Efade ston mythikó ouranó….”

This continued for five minutes. And, to the woman’s amazement, Sara got it right repeatedly (accent and all) without her prompting.

“Okay. Start thinking it. I’ll watch over you.”

Sara nodded and closed her eyes and connected to her heartbeat, feeling minor waves of mana flowing through it. ‘Kataléxi mía alitalía, spóndeos silviai temnérosa,’ she began. ‘Ekónero tróchaio, virópoli dairónes vaganti, dista léxera di kuríous ónira.’ 

Aelia’s eyes widened in shock when an ambient gray light, similar to that of the Silvermoon Bloom, radiated from the teen’s chest. If she looked closer, she’d see that it was duller, and there was a light beige tint that gave her body an ambient glow. However, she was convinced—absolutely convinced!—that somehow the prophecy, the pulse of mana, and finding the Silvermoon Bloom were somehow connected. 

Sara Reece was the chosen one!

As for Sara, she was in a deep trance that stole her senses. Pathímeno il ventóras mélisma, échi infernali kaleíto thalássai,’ she chanted in a black void. ‘Dante, periphoría di astáthme, ékrito: 'O, kairós di perdicióna, ti dikaiósi sta orá.'

A golden swirl in her mind blended with a silver one, creating something that felt touchable to her, but so far away. So she tried to beckon it closer by repeating. ‘Kataléxi mía alitalía, spóndeos silviai temnérosa. Ekónero tróchaio, virópoli dairónes vaganti, dista léxera di kuríous ónira!’ 

Energy pulsed through her body, pulling the energy closer and closer.

Meanwhile, on the outside, Aelia was shocked when the light got brighter, and the atmosphere shifted, causing the wind to rustle leaves and currents to pull in pockets of warm air toward the teen’s chest. Her clothing ruffled in the breeze, but she was unconcerned.

While Aelia was initially awed by the situation, her excitement turned to fear and anxiety as the hours passed and the moons fell over the horizon, giving birth to the morning. Then the morning passed into the afternoon, and the deadline to make it back in time for the tournament would just about pass. Even if they left right then, they might be slightly late!

However, to her chagrin, Sara was still in a state of enlightenment that didn’t seem to end, and she couldn’t—under any circumstances—interrupt a core formation, lest she corrupt the teen’s core and kill her in the process.

And so she waited for an hour, and then another, and a third.

“Please wake up….” Aelia cringed.

Just when the woman had lost hope, Sara opened her eyes, flashing with a twilight glow. “Wait… why is it sunny outside?” she looked at her clothing, drenched in sweat. It was sticking to her skin. “What’s going on?!”

Feigning panic, she asked the woman what happened.

“You’ve been out for half a day! We must level. We’re going to be late!”

Sara looked at the sun and realized that she was indeed late—something she hadn’t planned on. When Mary did it it only took five hours! She must’ve been out for at least fourteen! “Let’s go!” she exclaimed, genuinely panicked, picking up her backpack and jumping onto her steed.

“W-Wait. Do you want to change?!”

But the teen was already gone, pushing her trusty mutant horse to the limit. 

“Wait!”

The next thing Aelia knew, she was chasing after the teen who she thought had “slightly impressive riding skills for her day” at full speed, using acceleration spells on her horse and barely keeping up.

Perhaps Sara Reece was even more special than she thought—something she didn’t think was possible.

5

It was a hot day in Jaston, the month that determined the summer solstice. The males stood around with well-fitting tunics that they had cut the sleeves off. The females requested tight-fitting leather armor that they were now regretting.

Below them was a heap of sand, surrounded by a Roman-style colosseum filled with nobles robed in multicolored robes. While it was hot for the students, the king and queen, as well as the other nobles, were standing beside mages who neatly kept their skyboxes to the perfect temperature.

Whether a person was a student or an aristocrat, they had scowls on their faces. While it was indeed true that the Golden Trial wouldn’t start until the sun hit its highest point, waiting for Sara and Aelia was wearing on everyone’s nerves.

Especially the sponsors, who were already decidedly against sponsoring anyone who kept them waiting after going on a fool’s quest.

“Where is she,” Jason growled, looking at the gates.  “If she doesn’t show….”

This was Jason’s day. The day that he’d show his ex-girlfriend a how to shoot a fireball (something no one else could do) and prove he was better than her. And if she wasn’t impressed? He’d shame her and shame her and shame her during every trial, praying to GOD that she made it to the final mock duel so he could HUMILIATE her before these aristocrats.

He was done. There was no chance he’d accept her back. Not after what she had done. He might lead her on. Yeah, that might be good. Allow her to humiliate herself, too. That might be enough to quell his indignation. 

But probably not. Sara Reece was a sociopath. She didn’t care about people’s feelings, what they went through, or their reputations, and she needed a taste of her own medicine.

Not because he was hurt. No, for the future victims that she would leave broken.

After all, few men were as strong as him, and none had the same tenacity. 

That’s right. Sara would pay.

So where the fuck was she?!

“Bro, calm down.”

“I am calm, you idiot,” Jason snapped.

“Alright….” Raul said, rolling his eyes.

“Chill out, Raul. Sara’s being a bitch. Don’t blame Jason,” Mary growled.

“Doesn’t mean he has to be an asshole.”

“Did you say something?” Jason asked.

“Nah, bro,” Raul chuckled. “I didn’t say anything.”

Just as the situation threatened to get out of hand, King Escar stood up. “Thank you for coming!” he boomed. “While we’re still missing—”

A sudden voice amplified in the distance. “Let us in!”

“We’ve been ordered not to let anyone in! Stop amplifying this conversation, or I’ll see you hang!”

Electricity pulsed through the crowd when the students heard it, and they were all saying boiled down to the same thing: “That guard’s so fucked.”

Moreover, when they heard Sara say, “I’m a summoned hero, and you’re keeping the king and prestigious sponsors waiting!” and saw the aristocrats suddenly shift their perspective on the teen, a wave of excitement bolted through the crowd like lightning, increasing the anticipation.

Ten minutes, two oohs, and a round of barking aristocrats later, the gates to the colosseum’s floors opened up, and a haggard teen wearing a shirt dripping with sweat walked into the area. Yet, despite her appearance, she didn’t seem the least bit tired as she bowed to aristocrats.

“Forgive my tardiness,” Sara said. “We had difficulty getting in. I hope that you’ll accept a wonderful showing here today as compensation for your lost time.”

The aristocrats chuckled in delight, the students gasped in confusion, and Sara grinned while bowing toward the ground. It was time for the real showing to begin.