Chapter 153: Hero
Following my acceptance of her declaration, Elise settled back and continued her story.
"As for the engagement, do you remember Prince Jarrod of the Brithlite Kingdom? He’s one of the Three Titan Fists, here at the university. Our families have known each other for a long time, but because of the curse, his parents forbade him from speaking with me. But now that I’m free, he received permission to propose! It’s technically an arranged marriage for political gains between our kingdoms, but..." she giggled, a cute blush darkening her cheeks. "It’s something I’ve dreamed about for a long time. When he finally confessed, I was so shocked I couldn’t reply!"
"That’s wonderful," I murmured, bathed in the radiance of her smile. For the briefest moment, the dark haze hovering over me dissipated, parted by the pure joy of her smile.
"You know," she said, "There’s one more thing I’m grateful to you for, but it might be hard to explain. See, I think...I think I died."
I nodded expectantly, which seemed to catch her off guard. That was the final moment I remembered clearly, the moment where, perhaps, I broke.
Regaining her composure, Elise cleared her throat and continued. "I knew I was going to die when the demon cast its spell. I remember praying, pleading for someone to answer and help, but nothing happened."
"It’s not so simple to move the gods," I said. After all, they were busy playing their games. What cared they for a simple mortal on a faraway planet?
"But then everything went dark, and I heard a voice. A woman appeared, radiating more power and glory than I can describe. I was scared at first, but when she looked at me, her eyes were just like yours, holding all the stars of the night sky. At least, that’s what they looked like to me," Elise said, scratching her cheek. "But anyway, the woman claimed to be a goddess, and that she heard my prayer. The next part’s a little blurry, but she taught me a fifth-circle spell. At fourth level, I was too weak to cast it, so she explained a method I could use to get more power."
I gasped, the tip of my tail flicking back and forth. "She told you to burn your soul? But that would kill you!"