My World To Live

He leapt at Essairyn with a sphere of dark magic, and she swiftly cancelled it out with a sphere of her own. Sparks of magic and light emanated from the collision of the two spheres. The demon sprung out from behind the collision, using the momentary mist from the clashing magic to surprise Essairyn.

She barely had time to form a barrier blocking his strike, an arch of flaming black magic that almost sliced through her shield. While she didn't get injured, the force knocked her backwards, making her stagger as she strove to stay on her feet.

However, she kept her eyes fixed on the demon, anticipating his second strike. When he lunged at her with another wave, she was ready.

Pushing the dark magic back with a barrier on one hand, she used the other hand to materialize a sword. The demon's eyes widened in disbelief when he saw the sword forming in her palm.

"A sword?! But how can you-?!" he sputtered, reflexively taking a step back. He angled his head downwards, "Then I better finish you now," he growled, his eyes turning a lurid red.

But Essairyn was already done. While creating the sword in her right hand, she had suffused her left with magic to block any further blows. She wouldn't be caught off guard again.

The demon bombarded Essairyn with a flurry of strikes from a distance, but they were ineffectual against the barrier she kept reinforcing.

She noticed, however, that his blows were stronger than before. He had undergone a transformation similar to the demon bear from earlier.

But she didn't have time to ponder this, so she gathered some force into her feet and leapt over the magic barrage toward him. His eyes again flashed with surprise, but he dodged before Essairyn could reach him.

However, Essairyn knew his quickness by now and anticipated the dodge. She spun airborne on her step; the demon had no time to adjust, and her blade sunk heavily into his shoulder as Essairyn landed.

The demon howled out in agony, and he reached up to grab the blade. But upon contact, his hands burned. He retracted his charred hands instantly, staring at them incredulously.

"You…" he began slowly, "elemental magic…? From a human? How can—" He paused, looking up at Essairyn with sullen, sunken eyes, "Who are you?"

At the sight of his lightless, carmine eyes up close, Essairyn briefly started back in horror before regaining her composure. Tightening her grip on the sword handle, she teared it out from the demon's shoulder, cutting a large gash out to his arm and eliciting another scream from the man.

"You—" he started.

Essairyn swung the blade back into the gash, slashing the demon nearly in half. He gave another garish scream, the sound turning liquid as he struggled to finish his words.

"Monster."

The demon laid still in a pool of blood; pitch black orbs peered out into nothingness. Essairyn stared back vacantly; blood dripped from her blade.

After a second of silence, the man's body burst into a shower of black dust glinting with red. The dust dissipated as it rose, and the body and blood soon disappeared as if nothing had ever happened.

Essairyn just stared at the empty space. Her sword dropped from her hand, vanishing in a puff of lavender. Her knees felt shaky. She drew in a sharp breath and released it tremulously.

"So," a voice jolted Essairyn back. It was the fox.

"You know magic. I suppose that was how you defeated that beast demon," the small animal conjectured, revealing herself from behind a bush.

Essairyn looked at the fox, deadpan. "Yeah. And I suppose you left me again to your pursuers."

The fox smiled tersely, "Well you were stronger than them anyway."

A corner of Essairyn's mouth twitched up fleetingly on her impassive face. "I don't suppose you also left me for dead too; although, I suppose you came back this time."

"Ouch, touché," the fox winced, "It's not like I know you or anything…"

"Huh, but if you knew me, would you still leave me like one of your 'friends'?" Essairyn snapped sarcastically.

The fox's eyes widened momentarily before she turned her head away. "I don't have friends… anymore." The last word came as a whisper as the fox's face turned dark. There was a hint of sadness in her voice and on her face. At this response, Essairyn wondered just what was the story behind the man's words from earlier.

"Besides, what are you even doing in this forest?" the fox queried, evading Essairyn's questioning look.

The girl gazed at the fox cautiously. "You haven't told me why both of those demons were after you. And how do I know you're not a demon too? Seeing as I saved you twice, I think I ought to know."

The little creature sighed, her white-tipped ears bending downwards in exasperation. "Look, I'm not a demon; I'm a spirit. I know that demon's words didn't give you the best impression of me…or that I had left my problems with you twice..but I assure you, I'm not going to hurt you or leave you again."

"Right…" Essairyn breathed dismissively with a sidelong glance. "So.. the Spirit and Demon Forest."

The small fox perked her ears up and got up on all fours. She scampered over to Essairyn and started circling and sniffing her.

"Wha…" Essairyn started questioningly, picking up her foot to move away from the fox's nose.

The fox lifted her snout towards the girl. Her hazel eyes were bright as she exclaimed, "You're not from around here, are you? Are you a traveler, perhaps?"

"A traveler..?" Essairyn repeated.

"Yeah! Travelers are people who come from another world! That would explain why you're wearing such unsuitable clothes for a forest," the fox resolved, sitting down on it haunches with pricked ears.

Essairyn had to admit, the fox was rather cute. And the way it looked triumphantly up at her was adorable.

But still, she couldn't be sure how safe this little animal was until she learned more about spirits.

She was glad, however, to learn about travelers. If the fox wasn't dangerous after all, perhaps she could help Essairyn learn more about this world since it seemed her sudden arrival wasn't unordinary.

The girl turned her eyes toward the expectant fox. "Look, despite our doubtful start, I need to learn more about this world. I'm probably one of those travelers you described. So, if you can teach me about how this world works and the sort of creatures or whatever that exists here, I can possibly help you with your pursuers," Essairyn bargained.

The fox's eyes lit up. "Well," she began thoughtfully, "I suppose until I regain most of my former power back, I could use some protection…" The fox huffed in annoyance at her predicament before continuing, "But what are you planning to do now? Stay in the forest or..?"

"Travel," Essairyn immediately answered. "I want to explore this world," she grinned brightly.

"So you're an adventurer too, huh?" The fox's eyes twinkled.

"Yes, would you like to travel with me?" the girl asked.

"Of course! I love adventures," the fox beamed. "By the way, my name is Akari, the greatest spirit god in Sol'h'meyr!" she touted proudly, puffing her chest.

Essairyn raised a doubtful brow at Akari's declaration. "The greatest spirit god..? But you can barely defend yourself; not to mention, you're covered in injuries right now," she pointed out.

Akari huffed, "Even the strongest gods are weak right after reincarnation. And I'll heal up after some rest."

"Ah I see," Essairyn mused, "And this world..is called Soul..heh-mir?"

"Yes, Sol'h'meyr. The literal translation is the soul-heart mirror," Akari explained, receiving a "huh" look from Essairyn before she continued, "It means the soul-heart world."

"Soul-heart world..?" Essairyn reiterated blankly.

Akari hummed in quick contemplation. "I guess you haven't been here for that long if you don't even know what the name of the world means," she stated.

"No, I just arrived today," Essairyn confirmed and then added, "But I did make a treehouse after that beast demon."

"A treehouse? In that short span of time?" Akari replied, impressed, "You move quickly, settling into this world. I guess you're going back there now? "

Essairyn nodded, remarking, "The magic in this world is so exciting and efficient. I'm amazed by what you can do here."

She gestured for the fox to follow her to the treehouse. On the way back, the girl shared a little about herself on Earth. She was an only child, a college junior, and a part-time intern. Her life was mostly ordinary except for an illness she developed several years ago that had left her physically weak.

The fox shared that she was reincarnating after three thousand years. Once she regained her former powers, she planned to punish those who killed her. But, she didn't elaborate on the details of her death or current pursuers. Essairyn figured she'd eventually find out considering how quickly Akari ran into trouble.