Chapter 1
Unfamiliar Acquaintances
There were no clouds to block the vaporizing rays of the merciless early summer sun, and yet Tokiya Hara was rigorously working in the fields of his farm. He didn't seem to mind the sun. In fact, he didn't seem to even notice it.
He was so consumed in his work that the sweat that dripped down his white shirt and drenched his face didn't faze him. His usually jet-black wild hair became a bit shiny due to his intense perspiration.
His well defined muscles flexed hard as he carried a heavy basket filled with crops he had just collected. His trained strength allowed him to effortlessly carry the basket.
On his left arm was his most notable feature, a black tattoo of a thorn covered vine that covered the whole arm. Except, it wasn't really a tattoo, rather a birthmark that he didn't quite care for. When he was younger, his father had reached out to many doctors to come to their small town to examine it. Sometimes it cost more money than they could afford which only made the gesture even more appreciated. However, nothing ever came from these examinations, and ever since then his birthmark had just become a simple fact of life.
Tokiya carried the basket through the field until he reached his small house. It was a small red house with a white roof that was only big enough for two people. However, it was his home, and he cherished it. Anything that showed as much love as his house did to someone like him deserved it.
He arrived at the porch and looked out on the field filled with various crops. He was proud of his work and somewhat impressed that it all came from one person let alone him. His crops would soon make their way to his nearby town and fill the stomachs of its people. It was his use to the townspeople that fueled Tokiya each day and allowed him to be somewhat satisfied with himself. However, despite his pride in his work, he felt a sense of emptiness somewhere inside of him. He couldn't quite locate this void or tell what caused it.
"Feeling empty?"
An eerie voice spoke to Tokiya. It was a gentle, feminine voice. However, the seemingly kind nature of the disembodied voice frightened Tokiya.
"Who's there?"
Tokiya looked all around him.
Nothing.
He began to think he was hearing things. Doubting himself, even his own hearing, was something that Tokiya wasn't new to. So, he continued his normal activities.
Suddenly, the world around him was overtaken by a deep blue void. He finally noticed the sun, not because it was shining, but because it was now gone. Everything was gone.
There he stood in the dark blue void that ran on endlessly. The basket he once held was gone. He was alone in the ocean of empty space, drowning in the unknown. He looked around frantically trying to find a break in the endless void, but he could not.
His panic was interrupted by a bellowing gong. Directly beneath him, light blue symbols forming a clock lit up. As if directly on cue with the gong, a storm of dark feathers harassed Tokiya. He tried to swat away the seemingly infinite number of feathers. As he swatted, his hand landed on something soft behind him.
He turned around and realized that what he had hit was the soft chest of a woman. She was a tall, young woman with long dark purple hair and long purple coat to go along with it. Tokiya jumped back in a mix of embarrassment and fear, falling to the floor. At first sight of her, he felt a slight ache in his head. The woman smiled at him with her bright yellow eyes piercing his soul.
"Feeling a little bold today, are we?"
The woman's question was so innocent and playful, and yet it carried such a frightening tone. Tokiya stared into her sharp bird-like eyes. He certainly would've gotten lost in them if it weren't for the panic that was taking over his body.
"Who are you? What's going on here?"
The woman clasped her hands together. What was he supposed to think of that? What was he supposed to think of this woman?
"You must be so confused. I feel bad for surprising you in such a way. However, there just simply wasn't any other way to introduce myself."
The woman's now remorseful tone eased Tokiya a bit, but he still took a defensive position and tone. It took more than a pretty face and soothing tone to win over the hardened heart of Tokiya Hara!
"That didn't answer my questions. I want to know who you are and where we are!"
The woman's bright yellow eyes lit up.
"We have so much to talk about! Where should I even start? I guess I should begin with my name."
Tokiya frowned at her. She spoke as if she had been waiting for this moment for ages. Unfortunately for him, her attitude towards the situation only made it more confusing. The woman performed a small bow.
"I am Karasu, but you can call me by any nickname you like. We are friends now after all."
"Friends? Sorry, but I just met you. No way we can be friends."
The woman, now revealed to be named Karasu, pouted. For someone so initially mysterious and creepy, Tokiya found her to be very expressive. However, she promptly regained her composure.
"Humph, very well then. You will soon become very fond of me, Tokiya, I can see it now."
Tokiya quickly raised an eyebrow.
"How do you know my name?"
"It's quite simple really. I've been watching you your whole life, so it's only natural that I'd remember something as simple as your name."
She said this so casually that it was hard for Tokiya to see if she was joking or not. He blankly stared at her for a few seconds before shouting.
"Did you just say my whole life? Like you've been watching me ever since I was a baby. What kind of creep are you?"
While it was clear that she was older than Tokiya, she only appeared to be about five years older. So, if he was 19, she had to be about 24. This did not make any sense because then she would have had to have known him ever since she was 5.
"Wait! Why am I playing into whatever she says? I'm not going to trust some random woman! Although, I'm certainly at no advantage in this situation, so I should probably play along for now. That's what Gremory would tell me to do."
Tokiya examined Karasu curiously.
"How old are you?"
Karasu jolted back defensively.
"How dare you! Don't you know it's rude to ask for a woman's age! You were raised better than this."
"How would you know anything about how I was raised?"
Karasu began to speak but realized what a waste of time this banter was. She cleared her throat.
"As much as I'd love to continue the friendly conversation, I must change the topic to more serious matters. After all, I didn't just now reveal myself for a friendly exchange."
Karasu's expression grew cold and serious. The sudden change in the atmosphere made Tokiya gulp. Now he certainly didn't know how to feel about Karasu. Tokiya couldn't tell whether she was purposely putting on different personas or if this was just how she was. Either way, her new expression was not making this situation any easier.
Tokiya was still sitting on the floor in front of Karasu after his fall which made the tall, looming Karasu look even more intimidating. Luckily for him, she crouched down to his level. What was not so lucky was what she told him next.
"Tokiya, you're going to die."
He stared at her with a blank expression. When Tokiya didn't respond Karasu decided to continue to further drive her point home.
"You are fated to die. I don't mean it in the sense that everyone will eventually die. You will die an early death very soon."
Tokiya's eyes widened as Karasu's words finally began to sink in. Her now cold voice made her warning, true or false, sink into his soul. Now that the conversation had taken a more serious tone, Tokiya felt like he could no longer simply play along with Karasu.
"What the hell are you talking about? You really expect me to believe that crap?"
Karasu's bright eyes remained intensely fixed on Tokiya. She pointed at his left arm.
It was his birthmark.
"If you don't believe me, then let's talk about this instead."
Her voice was deadly serious, and she was a completely different person from before.
"My birthmark? That's what you want to talk about?"
"Yes, this mark is my whole reason for me still existing. It's the whole reason our lives are bound together. However, it is also because of this mark that you will die."
Karasu's hand gently touched Tokiya's arm. Her touch was so graceful and kind that Tokiya didn't flinch like he should have.
"Stop saying that I'm going to die. And my birthmark has nothing to do with this. It means nothing. I established that a long time ago."
Karasu nodded and recalled her hand. She stood up and motioned for Tokiya to do the same. Once he did, she began her explanation.
"You're familiar with the World Tree, right?"
Tokiya frowned at Karasu, for she was completely ignoring his distress in order to convince him of her delusions. However, the thought occurred to him that Karasu could be telling the truth. After all, what would she even gain out of making him think he was going to die?
"I'll go along with her to find out her motives."
And once again, Tokiya found himself playing along.
He had never personally seen the tree, he had heard of it many times. The World Tree was a gigantic tree rooted in the center of the country of Oravell. It was so tall that it reached to the heavens, and some people believed it even reached other worlds. However, most things pertaining to it were just urban legends and nothing more.
"Well, you see, that mark on your arm is very closely linked to the World Tree. In fact, it is a Divine Blessing directly from it."
"A Divine Blessing?"
Karasu's voice was very understanding while she spoke, as if she had prepared herself for Tokiya's lack of knowledge.
"A Divine Blessing is a mystical power that is given to one from a being of great power. They are something that every mage dreams of, but only a handful exist in the world. In your case, you possess the Divine Root Blessing."
Tokiya nodded as he began to put everything Karasu was saying together. She saw his understanding and continued.
"To put it simply, that mark is a symbol of your Divine Blessing. If I'm being honest, you have the most powerful one that I know of."
Tokiya nodded again.
"Ok, I understand. You're saying that this mark gives me immense power. What kind of power exactly?"
"Oh, just the power to control timelines."
"WHAT! Stop saying such big things so casually!"
Karasu laughed at him, and it annoyed Tokiya how much she seemed to enjoy his over the top reaction. He frowned and pointed an accusatory finger at her.
"So, you're over here telling me that I have some great power, but you haven't given me any reason to believe you. You did kidnap me. That doesn't make you very trust worthy now does it?"
Karasu pouted and took on a defensive tone.
"I did not kidnap you! This is just a result of my temporal magic. We are simply in a space that I created which exists in between two points in time."
"Temporal magic? There's no way."
Although Tokiya's knowledge of magic was very small as demonstrated by him not knowing about Divine Blessings, he still knew enough to know that temporal magic was incredibly hard to learn. It was impossible for someone as young as Karasu to be able to perform such an advanced technique.
"You better believe it, Tokiya! I'm one of the greatest mages in Oravell!"
"Then how come I've never heard of you?"
Karasu frowned.
"That's because I like to work in secrecy. Anyways, there's more I want to tell you, so stop distracting me."
"You still haven't given me any reason to trust you."
She pouted once again. Karasu was either bipolar or an extremely good actor because Tokiya refused to believe the woman he was looking at now was the same cold and serious one from earlier.
"I don't really care if you believe me or not."
Tokiya saw right through Karasu's terrible facade.
"You care enough to give me this warning."
He thought carefully of his next words. There was still nothing to make him believe Karasu, but there was also nothing that directly made her words untrue. By the way things were going currently, he would never be able to figure Karasu out.
"So, let's say what you're telling me is true. Why are you telling me this? Also, how do I stop this impending death?"
Karasu slightly blushed as she began to twiddle her fingers.
"Well, my relationship with you is a little complicated, so all you have to know is that I promised someone that I'd protect you."
She stuttered, a bit nervous after her confession.
"And in terms of how to avoid your early death. You must simply master your Divine Blessing."
Tokiya responded with his voice dripping with sarcasm.
"Who might this person you made a promise to be? And exactly how do I master this power? Unless you didn't get that far in your plan of deception."
Karasu looked down, clearly holding herself back in some way. Her current expression showed hints of regret and shame.
"Sorry, I can't tell you these things. It's not that I don't want to. I'm just...under a contract."
Tokiya scoffed.
"How convenient."
Suddenly, his slight headache from before returned. It lingered as it continued to grow in pain, and eventually, It felt like a bomb was detonated inside his head.
"Ack!"
He fell to his knees and held his head in his hands. Karasu immediately knelt down beside him. She placed her hands on his back. Her concern felt odd to Tokiya. It seemed like caring for him was natural for her, but being that he just met her, it came across as creepy to Tokiya.
"Tokiya, what's happening?"
The pulsing in his head continued, and Karasu's voice grew fainter and fainter until everything went black.
The headache subsided. He was at peace. Tokiya felt himself lying on what felt like a field of grass. He also smelled smoke. He meant to open his eyes to take in his surroundings. However, he was greeted with another mysterious voice.
Unlike Karasu's, this one was rough and unforgiving.
"Pathetic."