66 The sleeping mage

"What the hell???"

After Evlin finished her conversation with the goddess of the east, the last thing she remembers was watching her body fade away as she gave her a final goodbye.

"What's going on!!?? What's the meaning of this???"

She was ready to open her eyes after her short sleep and return to the real world so she could reunite with Ashley and her friends.

"Xadi!!! Marcus!!! Show yourselves, you cowards!!!"

Sadly that did not happen, for despite her being sure she was about to leave the white void, before she realized, she simply saw herself still waiting inside of it once again.

"Hey!!! I know you're in there!!! Heeeeey!!!"

Only this time East wasn't there waiting with her. This time Evlin was once again alone in the void with nowhere to run to and nothing to see.

"Leeeeeeet meeeeee oooooooout!!!!!"

"I can't believe you fell for that..."

"Huh!!??"

She turned around and saw a small girl with black hair standing behind her. The girl was floating in mid-air and wearing a beautiful white dress.

"West...??"

"What are you doing here??? You were supposed to be making the south god indebted to me!! How could you let them trick you like that??"

"Trick me...? W- What are you talking about? What's going on? Why am I still in the white void??"

"Oh for the love of... They set you up, you idiot!!"

"Eh...??"

"The mage that uses the tracking spell... He received a boost in power thanks to your gauntlets... He entrapped you in here!!"

"E- Entrapped me?? I'm stuck in the white void??"

"Yes!! Ugh!!! I can't believe I placed all my hopes in you!! I'm such an idiot!!"

"W- Wait a minute... Hold on... What does this mean?? I'm stuck in here forever?"

"Might as well be... They will keep you in here until they arrive in the kingdom."

"You mean that... Ugh!! Xadi!! That piece of trash!!! He's trying to take me down while I'm asleep!!! Aaaaagh!!! I'm going to kill him!!! These guys are a bunch of cheaters!!!"

"Of course they are... And they just managed to get rid of their biggest threat. It's honestly a really clever move..."

"No, no, no!! I can't be here!! We are literally in the front gates of the kingdom!! My friends need me!!"

"I know!!! ... I know... But there is nothing that can be done... All we can do is wait."

"Eh... Is there nothing that can be done?"

"The spell will stay active until the mage dies or loses his power... If you want to get out of here, one of your friends will need to defeat him..."

"Seriously?? You mean I'm benched??"

"I don't know what that means but... Sure..."

"You gotta help me West!! I can't stay here while our biggest fight starts!!"

"I can't do anything about it... This was your fault!"

"Me?? What did I do? Was I supposed to never fall asleep again?"

"No, you moron, its because you exhausted your magic power!"

"Wha...?"

"Your magic was protecting you from other magical attacks like this... But because you kept using it against the demons like a maniac you had nothing left to protect yourself. What were you thinking??"

"I was trying to save my sister! What do you want from me?"

"Your sister...? The one who is a plant demon right now? She was never in danger."

"... What...?"

"Your sister was not in danger! She was right behind you the whole time!"

"... What are you talking about...? She told us she was about to enter the city..."

"She lied."

"...??? Wh- Why would she lie about that?"

"Not sure... But this doesn't matter right now... We need to get you out of here!"

"..."

"Evlin!!!"

"Huh!? Oh!! Right! Out, out, gotta get me out..."

Evlin couldn't stop thinking about what West said. Ashley lied to her? Her sister lied about being in danger? Why would she do that? Was West trying to trick her? Maybe West was just as evil as the other gods. But if she wasn't, and Ashley did lie to her, what did that mean exactly?

"Evlin!! Focus!!!"

"Ah, sorry!"

"We need to warn your friends to defeat the tracking mage. It's the only way to free you!"

"My friends...? Defeat Xadi? When he is using my gauntlets??"

"Yes!! ... C- Can they do it...? Please tell me they can do it!! I placed all my bets on your group!! If you fall now I'll have nothing!!"

West looked like she was about to burst into tears as she kept grabbing Evlin's shoulders. She was looking less like a divine being and more like a toddler who just remembered she left her school lunch at home.

"P- Probably... I think... Maybe..."

She tried to cheer her up but West could see the indecision on her face.

"... I'm doomed... It's over... All my effort, all my dreams... Gone because I was stupid enough to trust in a pack of useless humans..."

"Hey!!"

"East is going to win the competition... She will become the next almighty being and will destroy me!! I'm doomed!!"

"Calm down!! Maybe they can do this without me..."

"You don't understand!!! It needs to be you!! You are the only one who can help me with my goal! That's why I trusted you with the secret to kill a god!!"

"Right... That... Wait... Why did it have to be me?"

"You remember the secret right?"

"Yeah..."

Evlin flashed back to her birthday. The night when Marcus attacked them and she barely escaped with her life. Before the night was over, West whispered something inside her ear.

"You told me that the only way to harm a divine diety was by combining the three strongest powers that rule this world... The power of magic that is ruled by humans... The power of curses that is ruled by demons... And the power of blessings that is ruled by gods."

"Exactly! And you are the only one who can use all three at once... That guy Marceus and his candidate Daren got really close to doing it, but they lacked the power of magic."

"Right... But, doesn't that mean that I'll need to get cursed and get blessed?"

"Not necessarily... Because of your unique skill, you can find an alternate way."

"Alternate way...?"

"You are the magician of recreation right? All you need to do is build a weapon that combines all three types of energy in one!"

"How will I do that...?"

"Oh, for the love of... Your stupid crossbow!!!"

"Oh... Ohhhhh!"

Evlin thought about her crossbow, her most trusted item, her very first weapon that she created when she first obtained the power of magic after passing the final exam to obtain a root of the channeling tree. She had been using it for so long that she almost felt like it was part of her by this point.

She ended up losing her crossbow after transforming it into a gauntlet and letting it be stolen by the demon-slayers. However, she managed to make a new smaller one by finding a door made from the same material.

"So I just need to combine my crossbow with blessed and cursed energy..."

"Exactly! You already have blessed energy thanks to all that silver metal you always carry around."

"Which means... Now I just need a cursed weapon..."

"Correct! If you combine all three into a superweapon, you will be able to kill basically any being and will be able to use it against East so you can beat her! But you can't do that while stuck in here!!!"

"I know... I know... But you are free right? Can't you send a message to my friends?"

"Gods can only interact with humans when they are looking for potential champion candidates... Or to domesticate them..."

"Domesticate?"

"Yes. If a champion starts to revolt against his god, that same god is permitted to interact with him to reassure his obedience."

"Ah... So that's why East could turn Marceus's friends into statues... He was disobeying her by not trying to find a partner."

Evlin just realized East was lying to her when she said she would get Marcus off her back since she can't speak to him because of this condition unless he starts disobeying her. She was glad she rejected that offer after all.

"Correct... But in my case... Your friends are showing no act of betrayal towards me... So I have no right to interact with them..."

"But... You are interacting with me right now..."

"The white void is a place free of rules... No one can be harmed in here... So things like this are allowed to happen... Think of it as a safe zone..."

"I see... You know, for such powerful creatures, you guys sure do have a lot of limitations... Then... How can I warn my friends...?"

"Mmm... Let me see..."

"Ah! What about the south god? Does he have a champion?"

"Not that I know of... He's so far behind in the game that he probably just gave up by this point..."

"Can you talk to him? Ask him to go see my friends as possible candidates to be his champion!"

"Hey!! Are you planning on two-timing me?? Your group should be my followers!"

"We just need him to deliver a message to them! Let them know that they need to beat Xadi to wake me up!"

"Mmm... I see... That might work... But can they even beat that mage without you? Your face just now didn't scream much confidence..."

"They will if they know they can save me by doing that... My family would never abandon me!"

"Well... I hope you're right... I'll pass the message for the South god then..."

"Wait! What exactly are you going to tell him?"

"What's there to tell? Ask your friends to find the mage and stomp him so you can wake up."

"Huh... Can't you put it in a more poetic way...? Maybe... "Your dearest friend finds herself trapped in the clutches of evil, and only you possess the power to rescue her!", or something like that...?"

"..."

"... You know... So that I won't look like some idiot that just got herself captured due to her carelessness..."

"..."

"Or maybe not... I guess... Just ask them to stomp Xadi is fine too..."

"..."

"..."

"I'm going to miss you when you're gone..."

"Eh... Thanks West..."

"Just don't forget, as soon as you wake up, try to search for a cursed weapon. This is the demon kingdom, there has to be one of those in there somewhere..."

"Don't worry..."

"Well, I'm off then..."

"Wait! West!"

"What??"

"After you're done..."

"...?"

"Could you come back and keep me company...?"

"...???"

"I... I'm not good with being alone..."

"... You can't be serious..."

"I don't know how long I will stay in here!! If I just keep staring at this white void all day without anyone to talk to I'll go insane!!"

"Ughhhhh, humans are such a paaaaain... Fiiiiine... I'll keep you company after I deliver the message..."

"Thank you..."

"Want me to hold your hand too...?"

"Don't need to mock me..."

"Well... I'll see you soon I guess..."

"Thanks West..."

West proceeded to vanish and left Evlin alone inside the white void. Without anyone to talk to and nothing to do she was simply lost in her thoughts. She actually had a lot to think about right now.

Marcus and his friends were coming to attack her, her group was finally entering the demon kingdom, she needed to find a cursed weapon to merge with her crossbow, befriending the south god. Many things that she needed to deal with after waking up.

But one thing was topping all of these worries above the rest.

"Why did Ashley lie to me...?"