>>Amber

Impossible

I shook my head

Impossible, this can't be happening. Me? Holy Power, No. I can't have Holy power. Impossible. It's something that's completely and utterly impossible!!

I couldn't stop shaking my head as I moved back towards the exit door while dread began to consume me.

This can't be true. If I had Holy Power, I would have discovered it long ago. I would have felt it in me. This can't be. This power can't just come out of nowhere!!

I felt nauseous. My head spun

This can't be true.

So many things crossed my mind.

How? How did this happen? My heart palpitations increased. It felt like a huge bomb had been thrown on me.

"Miss," May noticed me going pale, "Are you alright?" She reached out to me but I panicked even more.

Swatting her hand away, I turned around and made my way to the door in a hurry. Nothing else mattered to me but the worry of having this power in me was consuming all of my mind.

I opened the door, which wasn't locked thankfully and I ran out. I didn't run down though, I had no idea how much time that would take, so I simply ran back up.

I felt like I couldn't breathe and I wanted to get to that balcony again. The room was spacious, it was full of life and I needed air.

Every step I took felt like a race against time, a desperate bid to outrun the encroaching shadows that threatened to swallow me whole.

Finally reaching the top room, I threw open the door and stumbled out onto the balcony, my chest heaving with exertion. The world spun around me as I clung to the railing for support, my breath coming in ragged gasps as I struggled to regain my composure.

But even as I tried to steady myself, a sense of dread washed over me like a tidal wave, chilling me to the bone.

Holy Power?

No,

It had to be a nightmare. Having a power like that would throw me in the spotlight. Everything I've built, all the things I ran away from, all the freedom I finally gained after years of misery. All of it would be gone!

NO! That can't happen! No...

Trying to catch my breath, I kept my eyes towards the sky.

I took deep breaths

In

Out

In

Out

The serene blue sky with white clouds actually helped calm me down, but then I heard the sound of footsteps in the room.

I sensed his approach long before I actually saw him. The air seemed to crackle with an electric energy, sending shivers down my spine as I turned to glance back into the room.

His silver-gray eyes bore into mine, piercing through the veil of my defenses with a gaze that held both curiosity and resolve.

For a moment, we stood there in silence, the weight of unspoken words hanging heavy in the air between us. But, the more I looked at him, the worse I felt. The more I looked at him, the more things started to make sense in my mind.

It wasn't me

"Hael..." I looked at him in horror, "What did you do?" He stood in the middle of the room. The breeze fluttered the net curtains, veilling it between us but we didn't break eye contact.

"Me?" He pointed at himself innocently, "Nothing really."

I was facing him, but I still kept my hands on the railing, gripping it strongly for moral support, "Don't lie to me," I shook my head, my anxiety coming up again, "It can only be you." I said

"Why?" He asked

"That chocolate brownie," I gulped, "What was in it?"

It's not possible for it to be me. There are some things one person is born with, or is gifted by God. Power can't just come out of nowhere. But as far as I know, a normal person can't get it.

So what is happening?

The wind stopped and the curtain drew to a still at one side, giving us a clear cut view of each other.

"What about the brownie?" He didn't admit it.

"Don't do this to me Hael," I shook my head at him, "Just tell me, what was in that brownie," My voice trembled, "What did you give me?"

"..." He chose not to speak.

My eyes softened in worry, "After I ate it, I felt like my stomach was on fire," I paused. I recalled something. Bits and pieces. My eyes wandered off, "All of me was on fire..." I said softly as flashes of myself being torn and remade crossed my mind, "There-" My voice cracked.

I frowned as hazy images ran through my mind.

I couldn't recall all of it

I don't think my mind would allow me to remember such gruesome torture. But I think I was in agony.

I looked at Hael again, and he was looking back at me with a blank expression, "I felt like my soul was being ripped apart," A tear rolled down my cheek, "I felt-" I couldn't define what I couldn't even remember right. My head began to throb, "There-" My breathing started to get ragged again, "I-" I swallowed hard, my throat dry as sandpaper, as I struggled to find the words to say, "I was dying..."

The feeling that followed was indescribable. The closest I could get to explaining it was being abandoned in a snowstorm, with no help, no support and nothing in sight. With hope slowly crushing away and me falling to my eventual doom.

Part of me wanted to flee, to retreat further but I was already at an edge, with nowhere else to go, "And out of nowhere I have Holy Power?" I couldn't stop shaking my head in denial, "That doesn't make any sense."

Hael stared back at me, then he let out a soft sigh, "That's right." He decided to answer me, "I gave you that power."

The news made my heart fall to the pit of my stomach, which in turn churned in stress.

"You gave me holy power?" It was something no one had ever heard of, "Is that even possible?" My grip on the railing tightened.

"Well, you have it." He replied, "How else do you want me to prove it?"

"How-" I choked, "How is it possible?" I couldn't understand it, "A mere brownie can't give me powers."

"Of course, it can't," He folded his arms,

"What did you put in it?" I asked

"I don't think that matters, you can't undo it," He said and I felt miserable. It can't be undone... The question hadn't even crossed my mind and he already gave me the answer to it.

"Then, what does matter?" I asked, looking at him like I was looking at a villain.

"What matters is that you lived." He said and a sudden realization came to me once again.

Right, I was dying, but someone- something- I don't know what, but I was being saved.

"What is that supposed to mean?" I asked,

"Well, normally you'd be dead, what you consumed should have killed you, like it will any other person who will consume it or anything similar,"

"I'm surprised I didn't,... Or did I?" I looked at Hael, "You-" I frowned, "You did something," I don't know what was happening, but in the agony, I can recall a tiny piece of someone trying to keep me safe.

To keep me alive

I put pressure on my brain, my eyes wandered off to the ground. My head began to hurt more but I couldn't recall what I had gone through.

"I did," He said, "I exhausted all of my mana, took potions after potions, just to keep you alive." I looked at him. But there was no way I could ever feel thankful to him. After all, he was the one who put me in that situation.

"What have you done Hael..." I couldn't believe it. It felt like I was still dreaming, "What have you done to me?!"

"You already know," He pointed at me with his index finger, "Now you can serve a bigger purpose, doesn't that make you happy?" He smiled, "Unlike mages, there's only one saint, but you can come to par with that woman,"

Anger boiled in me,

"NO!!" I yelled, "What part of, I was happy in my cafe, did you not understand?"

"..." His eyes wandered around before landing back on me again, "None of it actually,"

"Hael..." I was at a loss for words, then I looked down and took a deep breath, "I don't need power to be happy."

"And I don't see how that could be true, if you don't have power, you have nothing." He replied

"Hael-"

"And," He cut me off, "You'll have to come with me."

"I'm not going!" I replied. I don't know what he meant by that. But I wasn't going anywhere with him. I was simply too frustrated.

"You can't refuse, My lady." His sly cunning eyes looked back into mine which was shocked

"Why not?" I asked and he walked towards me. Light from outside shone on his skin as he approached me.

"Because we're under the order of the king. Anyone chosen to go into this team, may it be my me or any of the other arch mages, also directly fall under the king's order."

"What are you saying?" I frowned as he came and stood in front of me.

Wind blew past us again. The curtains fluttered him but I kept my grip on the railing as I glared at him. My hair got ruffled by the wind as well but I paid it no heed.

"If you refuse, the king's court will summon you." My heart dropped, "I'm sure everyone there will recognise you." He grabbed a lock of my hair, softly pulling it towards himself, "Your stupid little disguise won't matter." He chuckled, "Not that you have it anymore,"

His words got me furious. I felt so mad, I wanted to slap him right across the face.

He was driving me into a corner and I hated it.

"I want to go back to the cafe," I looked away, "Take me there,"

"..." He didn't reply so I let go of the railing and placed my hands on his chest to push him away with all my might.

"Now!" I yelled as I pushed him back into the room, "I don't want to be near you," I glared at him.