Cannon Fodder To Villainess

🏮39. Meeting the Sage

The tip of Amber's finger just broke the surface of the glowing bubble around the man, when his eyes flashed open suddenly.

Amber was startled when their eyes instantly met. She had never seen such focused and intelligent eyes. It felt like she could see into the deepest parts of her being. Those parts of your inner self that you never tell others about. It felt like he instantly knew everything that she kept to herself. Then after a moment, it felt like he saw deeper into the hidden parts that she wouldn't even face. She felt raw and bleeding just from looking into his eyes.

Then after just moments, that somehow felt like hours, he lifted his palm towards her and she felt the strongest tug yet. She was ripped towards the man, screaming, but no sound came out. Just as she ripped free of the clouds and felt she would collide into him, he twisted his hand once more. With the twist of his hand, he slowed until she found herself slowly floating down to the cliff face he was sitting on.

She slipped into the bubble around the man and instantly felt the power of gravity once more. A large part of her felt relieved, but a small part of her felt weary. She didn't know this man in the slightest, but not only could he see her, he could also affect her so strongly. She was undoubtedly completely at his mercy. That was not a comfortable feeling.

She swallowed nervously and glanced into his eyes once more before quickly looking away. Those eyes reminded her of her grandfather from her previous life. She likely had only seen him smile a handful of times in her lifetime. Each time it was a surprise and only one of those smiles had been directed at her. They were so incredibly small that you likely wouldn't be able to notice. The one time he smiled at her, her whole world felt like it was glowing. It was just a small upturn of the lips and only lasted a moment, but it was significantly burned into her mind.

After feeling her feet planted firmly on the cliff landing, she looked over sideways to avoid his probing eyes. From this side of the clouds, she could see how impossibly high up they were. She made the mistake of looking past the edge of the landing and quickly stepped back, tripping over her own feet.

The elderly man effortlessly stood up from his crossed leg sitting position and walked towards her with such grace that it almost appeared as if he were gliding. He loomed over her with mostly indifference, but a slight frown line appeared between his eyes. Her face was shockingly without many wrinkles, only his eyes and hair gave away his age. Regardless of his lack of wrinkles, he looked like he may be inhumanly ancient.

"These are the private grounds of my Sapientia Sect. The penalty for trespassing is imprisonment and torture. You also interrupted my cultivation which could be considered an attempt on my life. I am Sage Fidus, the head of the Sapientia sect. As a leader of one of the four major sects, I am an internationally protected person and it is considered treasonous in many countries to attack my person. So I ask you, what are you doing here?"

Amber's eyes widened in horror as their eyes met once more. She opened her mouth and a small squeak escaped. Her body felt like fire was washing it while her hands shook at her sides and her knees rattled. She wrapped her arms around her treacherous knees while looking up at his towering figure. She hated herself for these spikes of fear shooting through her. She had promised herself that she would be strong in this life. Strong! Yet here she was curled into a little ball quaking in fear, like prey. Humiliation followed the fear and then disappointment in herself.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath as the strong emotions began to choke her. So many memories she'd pushed down within herself, until there was this tense ball that threatened to rip her apart. This too, she shoved down to add to the rest of it. She would be strong, even if it killed her. As she felt these emotions becoming a part of the rest of the suppressed ball, the shaking in her body instantly stopped. She stood up confidently and dusted herself off as if she had no other cares.