Chapter 607: A Witch's Story

Gala opened her eyes after awakening memories that she had never had before. As a spiritual living being, the memories she received were vivid to minor details, which meant they also contained her emotions.

"What is the matter?" asked the man sitting next to her. Gala flinched as she turned to the man she trusted the most, who was wearing a cloak and mask to cover his face. "It looks as if you have seen a ghost."

"I," hesitated Gala, "had a bad dream before answering truthfully. I was someone else in that dream, and for some reason, I had different feelings than now."

"Dreams can affect us, and epiphanies are not uncommon," said the masked man as he reached out and held her hand tightly. "However, you have to understand that not everything we see is real. Those dreams can be someone manipulating us."

Gala nodded, but she was unconvinced at heart. The memories she received belonged to no other than her, and if someone was faking them, they knew her more than she knew herself. And as her master said, epiphanies were not uncommon in the current period.

The world was thrown into mayhems as people with knowledge about the future appeared, and they mainly were Verniz. But, as her master explained it, these people were from the other world, which received epiphanies about the events that would transpire in Alka.

This began the rise of the Verniz Empire, which mainly consisted of otherworlders who knew the future. This made her master, known as the prophet, lose his advantage in negotiations. The black hair he once had has turned gray as he moved from one place to the other, from era to another, trying to make secret deals with rulers and framers alike.

In the memories that she partially received earlier, her master was more influential. However, within the memories that she received, a portion hated her master. It did not belong to her but to a man that she had never met.

"Why do these memories carry such hatred?" muttered Gala while following her master along with the mountain range. "More than hatred, there is pain."

Her heart throbbed with pain as it was transmitted to her. What Gala did not understand was why she saw the future of Alka and why there was a portion of memories that she received belonging to someone she had never met.

A name appeared in her mind repeatedly, but her voice kept repeating it. A different kind of emotion flooded her heart than the ones she carried toward her master.

"We arrived at," her master stopped walking as he looked upward at the mountain range. "The Ice Spirits should be here, and so is their princess."

"Are you going to guide her too, master?" asked Gala with a frown while hugging her coat. "We should be careful because this clan respects no king and receives no messenger."

"There is no need to worry because the princess should find us before we find her," her master said with confidence, and Gala knew that her master had already seen the future. "Ask your spirits to isolate us the moment that she does."

"As you wish, master," said Gala as she raised her hand. A black sphere of light appeared beside her finger before circling her. However, the spirit dodged her master as if he were a plague, which has always been the case. "Don't be rude, Seth," reprimanded Gala, fearing that her master would get angry.

This scene triggered a different memory that she had awakened, bringing it forth. It was about Seth befriending another human and treating him with more affection than he treated Gala herself. Yet, even in the memory, Gala compared her spirits' attitude toward the man with the one they gave her master.

'In this memory... Seth is a lot older than he is now,' frowned Gala. 'Does that mean I am also older there?' as she tried to retrieve more of those memories, they waited for the princess.

Gala had a different life without her master in the memories she received from the future. In that life, her master left her for hundreds of years without taking her with him. Nevertheless, Gala kept pursuing him until she met someone that reminded her of him.

'There is an ice spirit in this memory,' frowned Gala while staring at the ground. 'Furthermore, it seems that she is related to this man somehow. Does that mean we are in a time that is close to these memories?'

Gala was starting to lose her mind. The existence of the ice spirit told her that the time of these memories could not be different from the current one because the man who looked like her master was there as well. However, in that memory, she was a lot older.

'These memories belong to a different Gala,' realized the witch. 'It belongs to a version of me that my master abandoned. However, why is it different from my memories now?'

The only answer would be that her master also received an epiphany that made her worthwhile for his plans. The boiling rage within her burned toward her master, but it belonged to the man she met in these memories.

'Who am I?' the question was asked, but no answer was found. Then, Gala began to lose her sense of self when a figure landed in the sky. Seth created a barrier to hide the four of them, and the princess did not seem to mind.

"Who dares trespass our lands?" asked the ice spirit in a low voice, her ice sword pointing at her master. "Unmask your face and state your aims!"

"I am a prophet," her master introduced himself while taking off his mask. "I come here to bring peace to this kingdom, and that can only be achieved with your help, wise princess."

"Many dare name themselves prophets, but many more meet the fate of a dog," glared the princess with suspicion. "I shan't trust a man who seeks me, nor a man who hides his identity."

  "A prophet has many enemies. My name is Seref, Seref Silvera," introduced Master Seref with a smile. "I bring great news to the princess of ice."

"What news are they?"

"A plan to end the war that tormented Alva and Freda for hundreds of years," her master grandly spread his arms. "We can end the war that killed millions, and this plan only needs your approval to succeed."

"...a plan to end the war?" glared the ice princess before lowering her sword. "This is the first time a prophet promises not riches or eternal life, but peace to my people."

"Because I know what kind of person you are, wise princess," Seref gave her a wide smile. "You are the cold killer who would bleed for the weak without hesitation. However, I know that if guided, then you will choose to sacrifice what is necessary."

"No need for flattery, suspicious prophet," said the princess as she sheathed her sword. "Follow me into the mountain, and we can discuss your plan. I will judge how feasible it is and how honest."

"A discussion is more than this one deserves," bowed Seref with his arm over his chest. "Please, lead the way."

Until the end of the conversation, Gala was staring at the ice princess with shock. If not for slight differences in hair and eye color, she would have assumed this was the ice spirit in her memory.

The uncanny resemblance can only mean that the two ice spirits were related. Her memories proved to be related to reality, but their relationship was still unclear to her. However, the more her mind adjusts to the memories, she can learn about the future and why she awakened.

The two followed the ice princess into the mountain range, and the guards allowed them entry after the princess commanded them. After going around the ice palace, they reached a small pavilion where they were seated.

"I am not used to being a host, so this is the best I can offer," said the ice princess as she sat in front of them. "Before you tell me your plan, I want to know what you want in return."

"I want nothing," Seref shook his head. "I am doing this for the sake of the future. This plan can save these kingdoms from a terrible fate, and your approval is the greatest payment I can receive."

"You are a pacific prophet," the princess raised a brow. "I cannot agree to a plan that I don't know. But, you can go ahead and tell me, and I will give you an answer."

Gala watched as Seref nodded and began to tell her his plan. Her eyes widened with every sentence of the short but somehow unethical method. A witch was not a good creature, but Gala always considered herself somehow ethical.

"You want me to marry a man for the sole sake of creating a hybrid?" frowned the ice princess. "Even if that child will live a life of suffering because of the conflicting powers?"

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