The Villain, The Hero, And A Deal (UNDER MAJOR REVISION)

EP 1 - A Deal Done

"Kill the hero?" I repeated the deity's words.

"Yes, you've met him. The one who defeated you, the savior of your kingdom." They circled playfully around me.

"That's all?"

They shook their heads, "I'm not asking for more."

I kept my silence and my gaze toward the deity. The words I don't trust you are probably plastered on my face.

"What? What part of it that bothers you?" the deity replied annoyingly accordingly to my expression.

"I am curious. What would you get from killing the hero using me?" I crossed my arms as I looked down at their short stature with wary eyes but the corner of their lips only curved upwards into a smirk.

"You never run out of questions, do you?", they briefly chuckled. They playfully tapped their chin with the pad of their index finger, "Hmm let's see...Honestly, it's for the sake of entertainment." 

"Entertainment?"  

"Yes, I thought it would be fun. You lost to him in the battle, right? He brought you to justice and consequently led you to death. Well, can you do it? Will you be able to kill him this time?" there's a wide smile on their face and eyes flashed with excitement. "What do you think? I think it's exciting." they giggled.

"You are really something, you know. I can't believe you're a deity." I commented towards their behavior, dropping my arms in my side. What an eccentric deity. But for entertainment, they said. That could be somewhat true but I also feel that there must be something more than this. 

"Did you seriously believe deities are all benevolent, noble, and such?" they hurled back. "Anyway, that is all I ask from this deal. I will grant you second life so you can fulfill your wish, in exchange you will kill the hero." I eyed at their right as they extended it. 

"Well, if that's the case. I guess you already know my answer."

--

It was still early in the morning when I woke up seeing the light outside haven't much penetrated the room. I sit up from my bed and tried to move my body. I cupped my head, feeling a little lightheaded, better than the first time that I woke up here.

I have faint memories.

After I sealed the deal with that petite deity, they said that they will send back my consciousness to a certain time. There, I could start changing my fate and fulfill my wish. But as soon as that deity's powers enveloped me, I didn't expect the process to be dreadful. What I experienced was that my whole body was being whipped back in a lightning speed, after that it felt like I hit a wall before sinking and eventually merging with it, it was probably my body and consciousness from two different times colliding. But it doesn't end there.

Shortly after my mind and body merged, I suffered a crippling pain, the kind where it felt like waves of small lightning creeped throughout my whole body. The rest of my memories are hazy, I could only recall blurry images of them surrounding me and some muffled sounds coming from me and them. But it was something that I have experienced before. In fact, it's a common phenomenon, we call it mana fluctuations. As the name suggests, the mana inside the body goes unstable and frays for several reasons, commonly experienced by ages below 21 years old.

I never had any mana fluctuations ever since I passed the age of 21 but this time, it's different. I am back in my 17 year old body. My mind who've seen and experienced the end of my days in the future was sent back to the past. And as my consciousness was being transferred with the power of the ever-benevolent deity, it must have triggered the fluctuations and almost made every muscle of my body to burst out due to the enormous amount of mana which comes with it. Fortunately, there's a solution on how to extract the overflowing mana in my body.

I'm not sure how worse my fluctuation was yesterday as my consciousness keeps slipping back and on. I still feel a lingering pain but it's manageable.

A knock from my door broke my little trance and the door swung open before I could answer any words and entered a lady in maid's uniform, her usual braided, hazel hair hangs in her left shoulder. It's Ebiene, one of my retainers who mostly tends to household tasks. There's a slight surprised in her eyes when she saw me awake and sitting up in my bed. "Your Highness, you've awoke early." She greeted as she walked towards me with a tray of wet towels. "We've expected you'd be sleeping till midday considering the intensity of your mana fluctuations yesterday." I failed to notice that I went silent and only my eyes are following her movements, it's like seeing a stranger. "Something matter, Your Highness? Do you feel a light-headed?" she asked concernedly. Snapping back, I shook my head.

"I feel better now. Fetch me my morning tea instead and prepare my bath. I'll have breakfast shortly after that." I said as I brushed back my hair. Ebiene answered affirmatively to my orders, bowing her head before promptly exiting my room to prepare my tea.

--

I flinched as I dressed myself in a comfortable tunic after immersing my body on a medicinal bath that Ebiene prepared. Dragging myself out of the room, I head towards the dining hall while trying to look like not in pain and got there without breaking my act until I sat down in my seat. Ebiene shortly arrived with my breakfast, I looked at the food that she had prepared.

Corn cream soup...

Quite nostalgic. It's been a long time since I had a taste of this dish. It's a simple dish but she only makes this every time I had a fit, and before I could even notice it became the food I secretly look forward. Remembering it, I tried to suppress a smile from drawing into my lips.

I picked up a spoonful of the dish and brought it to my mouth. And there it is, the same old feeling came rushing to me. Why did I not ask her to make this dish even after I stopped having my episodes?

I was enjoying my food when suddenly, the huge door of the dining hall swung open with force, a man with silver hair and armor then emerged from it, his sharp eyes immediately land towards me. My eyes narrowed after meeting his like a reflex.

And there goes my moment of peace.

"Look who's finally awake." He said and sat on the other end of the long table, facing me. His arm extended to reach out a small cluster of grapes on the table and then popping it in his mouth. "How are you feeling?" he asked. "Feeling much better," I responded casually and even added a smile.

Not until you arrived.

"Liar." I didn't expect for him to push the table forward with force, before I could react, the other end of the table already hit my torso. The soup was spilled in the process and some of it almost came back out of my mouth. The pain immediately made me curl up on my seat, my fist clenching the table cloth.

"Fuck you." I cursed weakly, the stinging pain throughout my body stealing my voice.

From the corner of my eye, Ebiene is pinching the bridge of her nose.

"WHY THE HELL ARE YOU EVEN UP IN YOUR BED THIS EARLY?! ARE YOU EVEN AWARE HOW WORSE YOUR CONDITION WAS YESTERDAY?! YOU WERE BLEEDING FROM EVERY HOLE IN YOUR BODY BECAUSE OF YOUR DAMN FLUCTUATION!" his voice rang throughout the hall.

"And you think hitting him would make him better?" Ebiene spat from the corner paired with a glare. I heard Daniel said something back but the pain made it a little hard to discern. I lost count of how many times Daniel kept on giving me reasons to get rid of him. Some parts of it turned to regret that I trusted him to be by my side. Couldn't he act just like a normal retainer?

Oddly enough, despite the commotion this early in the morning and the pain inflicted by my outstanding bodyguard, something light stirred within me. It was like a sense of comfort and relief ironically brought by the pain. In a sense, I know that everything that is happening right now is not a dream. I can sure feel the pain, I can sense their mana signatures and their loud bickering.

I am truly back.