Water!

Thanks, guys, for the comments!

@d_a: I think I'll go back to the earlier chapters and change all the Ahrimans to Angra Mainyu, since I think my girl!Ahriman now has a sob backstory and other things to separate him from being a generic villain - so much that I don't think she's that close to the original Ahriman anymore, so it shouldn't be a big deal to change her name as well.

I've also put up a poll asking people what kind of "ending" they'd like. I won't necessarily go with the one with the highest votes, but I'll start swinging pairings towards a direction which people generally like so far.

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Chapter 5
To Freedom

"What?" was all Renn could blurt out, lamely, at the sight of the elegantly-robed man and woman at the door. A single glance at them could tell that they were accomplished magic wielders - the man in green, with long, blond hair and a shimmering staff appeared to be a rather effeminate-looking sorceror, with a sassy redhead of a swordswoman at his side. Both of them were sharing a light smile, one that made Renn feel like a fool. He gave a quick sideways glance towards Lara, and saw that she was bright red from anger and humiliation.

"W-Who told you to barge into my house without knocking?!" she yelled, puffing her cheeks out. "This is no business of yours, strangers-"

"Hmm," the red-haired swordswoman said, one hand tapping her chin and the other holding the broken wooden ruler on the floor. "This is odd indeed. Do you sense magic, Gerald?"

Gerald looked Renn up and down, then at the ruler, then back at Renn. "Not at all, Loraine. Do you think he may be a sword singer?"

"Hey, don't ignore me!" Lara cried, and Renn, as confused as he was, felt a smug sense of satisfaction at the know-it-all brat not getting the attention she's oh-so-used to.

"Oh, are you Lara?" said the red-haired woman named Loraine, with a light smirk on her face. "Mistress Hera said that we could easily recognize you by your lovely temper. Nice to meet you. I am Loraine, and this is Gerald - we're the dignitaries here to bring you to Shadwood, Lara."

Lara's already red face ripened like a tomato as she struggled to form words, eventually looking away, utterly embarrassed at how terribly she's made a fool of herself. The sudden change of events made Renn dizzy - but he knew that if these two were magic wielders, there should be some kind of explanation for the eccentric events which he's apparently single-handedly performed earlier. Renn immediately jumped at the chance.

"I'm sorry, sir, madam - you must be really knowledgeable, so I was wondering if you knew anything about what just happ-"

"Slaves don't speak before their masters!" With a sharp thwack, a wooden ruler impacted the top of Renn's head. As he doubled over, groaning, he shot Lara a disgusted glare. Even so, there was no talking back - as far as the legal contract stated, he was a slave to the Tenobor family, and outsiders had no reason to interfere with their family matters. Unless-

"Lara," Gerald said, a sweet smile on his face, "that's illegal."

Lara's grin faded away as quickly as it had come. "Huh? What? But he's mine, so I get to do whatever I want!"

"I'm sorry, Lara, but that's only if he is your slave. According to Section 177B of the Slavery Act of Veldarah, all slaves with exceptional gifts are to be freed at once, to be placed in possession of the Empress."

Lara looked utterly bewildered. Loraine checked her pocket watch, and turned to Renn.

"It was odd, but I can definitely feel it. You're a sword singer, Renn, and an exceptionally powerful one. We from Shadwood Academy are willing to free you and offer you a place - given that you accept, that is."

Renn could hardly breathe. It was like a dream come true - so good that it felt unreal. "You're... not pulling my leg, are you? A choice between slavery and going to the best magic academy in the isles... what do you think I'll choose?"

Loraine winked at him. "Of course. Well then, we'll be setting off to Shadwood with Lara here tomorrow morning. You are free to join us, and we'll get you registered together."

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Loraine took Renn out of the house for a nice question-and-answer session regarding sword magic that lasted for several hours. Renn had so many questions to ask, and so many things about his future he wanted answered - so much that he lost track of time. Before he noticed, the sun had set.

"Ah, you better go to bed. It's a big day tomorrow," said Loraine. "I'm going to look for Gerald. He was with Lara in the garden earlier, but that was quite some time ago, so I'd better set off to the inn. He should be there. Well then, see you, Renn. You better catch some sleep."

"Alright, thank you," Renn said. Still giddy, he absent-mindedly sprung back to the Tenobor house. The gate had been left open. In the garden, a small girl sat on a bench near the pond, her head leaning on the ledge of the chair.




"Hey, Lara-"

"Shut up," Lara muttered, her head down. Then she looked up, staring at him right in the eye. "Shut up, shut up, shut up! If you're here to gloat, I'm having none of it. Today's supposed to be my big day, not yours! Mark my words, I'm going to make your life miserable at the academy. Oh, and you're not welcome to stay here. Since you're free and all, you should be able to find your own place to sleep. "

With a huff, she stalked off.

Renn felt a little sorry for her, watching her go - but then she remembered how miserable she's made his life for the past few months, and left feeling nothing but giddy happiness.

Hey, Dayna, he thought. I promise I'll return to Clearwater one day, and when I do, I'll be a great swordsman. I'll protect you forever, so... Please be alright.

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He had no money to sleep at the inn.

Having been a slave for so long, Renn had no coin with him - only the clothes on his back, and those were brown, tattered and bedraggled. He considered asking for Loraine and Gerald to pay for his lodging, but his own silly attempt at dignity did not want to make things difficult for the two who pretty much saved his life. Still wild with happiness, he feared that by displeasing them in any way, he might cause them to change their minds and leave him behind.

In the end, he laid himself outside on the grass, feeling the cool breeze and listening to the crickets chirp. Above him, the sky swarmed with stars, like a fairy-tale land. His heartbeats kept him from falling asleep. His vision blurred, however - and soon, he was not too sure if what he was about to see was the truth, or a mere dream.

A dark land, an eldritch castle, a woman cloaked in darkness and all the evils of the world.

In came a young woman, her robes glistening gold, her brown hair slung over her shoulders - alien in this dark world, yet so very fitting.

"The slave trader captured the wrong man. A boy, actually," she spoke, a little regretfully.

The cloaked figure - Angra Mainyu - did not speak.

"She paid dearly for her mistake, I made sure of it," the Sun Priestess continued.

"... I know," whispered Angra Mainyu, her voice laced with hatred. "What kind of abominable fool could be so utterly moronic? I cannot even begin to fathom - that dastardly-"

"But we'll be able to capture him soon," the priestess continued. "The Priest of Dreams - I do recognize him, and if you let me do the deed-"

"Stop," Angra Mainyu heaved. The prietess fell to silence. "Forget the Priest. It's too late, and I can't sense her. She's escaped somewhere where we can't find her, and out of everyone that foolish slave trader could've captured, it had to be Renn Darzon?"

"Renn Darzon? What about him?"

Angra Mainyu did not reply her. "Why did the slave trader capture Renn Darzon, Priestess?"

"The Priest gave his ring to Darzon, my lady. That was the confusing part. A priest never takes off his guardian ring, not for anything."

"So Renn Darzon is special, after all, huh?" Angra Mainyu said again, quietly. "Call in the daevas, priestess, and be quick. I have to make sure."

The priestess gave a little bow, and walked off. A few minutes later, she returned with the group of elite demons under Angra Mainyu's command.

Indra the prophet stepped forwards immediately, knowing that he was needed. The priestess put into his hand a lock of blue hair, upon which Indra scrutinized. A few minutes passed in complete silence.

"He will destroy you," Indra said, with a sense of finality.

"Yeah, I knew that ever since a decade ago, demon," said Angra Mainyu dryly. "Tell me something I don't already know - like how I can get around that. Do I have to kill him?"

Indra pursed his lips. "That, I'm not too sure. But I suppose, my lady, that it seems like the most reasonable choice."

"And have someone else take the mantelpiece of 'chosen one' to come after me?" scoffed Angra Mainyu. "Indra, I'm asking you seriously - will everything end if I kill Renn Darzon with my own hands?"

Indra paused for a moment, hesitant.

"Renn Darzon cannot be killed by you," he finally said. "Killing him is not the answer. I can't tell the exact reason, but all I can say is that you can no longer kill him."

"'No longer'?" Angra Mainyu questioned, darkly.

"That is to say that..." Indra paused again, looking around, before continuing. "... had you killed Renn Darzon before his powers have begun to show, my lady, it would have succeeded. However, it's probably too late now.You cannot kill Renn Darzon, and none of us - your subordinates - can kill Renn Darzon under your orders. "

Silence permeated the dark field. The daevas were looking at one another with shock etched on their faces. Angra Mainyu's face could not be seen, however, and she betrayed no sign of fear. Instead, she whispered, a little emptily, "If Petra, that little moron, had not so stupidly stolen the baker's daughter Dayna's watch, then none of this would've happened."

"I am sorry, Mistress," said the daeva Saurva, ashamed. "But I will do my best to make up for my wrongdoings."

Everyone else was rather bemused by Angra Mainyu's strange choice of monologue, but they kept their mouths shut. Eventually, the priestess stepped forward.

"My lady, I have a suggestion. I think it is likely that the Priest, Talio Maurva, would now try to get into contact with Renn Darzon and get him to summon the Sword of Shadows. The Sword of Shadows cannot be released without the help of all the druids, so the daevas should set off at once to remove them. In the meantime, I must return to the Sun Shrine, but this may be of help. I will try to get into contact with Renn Darzon himself, and if we can swing him over to our side, then all hope it not lost."

A murmur of approval spread across the daeva crowd. The priestess beamed to herself. Indra nodded, "I agree. From what I can see, Renn Darzon will only try to defeat you if he's against you. If the Sun Priestess can sway him, then certainly you will be safe, my lady."

"Alright. So be it," said Angra Mainyu. "Rise, daevas. Let's show this paltry world what we can do."

The daevas left the scene, gleeful at the thought of the upcoming task of defeating the Druids. With the Sun Priestess left, she turned to her mistress, a little concerned. She could've sworn she caught Angra Mainyu give a defeated smile, looking at the black sky.




"I suppose it's all come to this, huh, Renn Darzon?"

I am so looking forward to playing this game. It will be my first one! I've only played demos of the games, but this one spoke to me when I seen it on Facebook, so I preordered it.

A commission:

Yep, I'm Chinese. I may be working on the next chapter of the genderbend fiction today~ Of course, I'm going to draw tons of Lara because she's moe.

979

978

Fire!

*hugs*

I don't think so...

Poo again! you cannot defeat poo!

okay,*now hugs*

*slaps again*

Dry cleaning!

Can you even dry clean shoes?

Poo! a whole load of POO!

*Bites again!*

Yeah, now getting to that and figuring the puzzle out after that is also very tricky!

*slaps*

Shoes!

bites!

tickles!