48 Chapter 13: Harvest Day 3 (1/2)

After scanning through them, I came across the books that says the Priestess is usually seventeen years of age when she will be summoned, same with the chosen Familiar. So I naturally assumed before that if her chosen Familiar would be Aeron, then I can use that to estimate the time I have left.

I counted with my fingers.

I'm twelve now so...

I should have around five years left before she arrives.

But what if it's not Aeron?

What if it's someone else?

If I go with that kind of thinking then estimating her time of arrival would be unsure.

In the first place, none of the books mentioned if the Priestess would be summoned before the destined Fallen one realizes her fate or during.

It's safer to say that it's the latter.

But that's more unsettling on my part because it means —I would have began losing control of myself even before she arrives...

That seems more of a plausible as a reason why she would be sent out to hunt down and kill the Fallen one with her chosen Familiar accompanying her.

Foolish Aerra! I have been such a fool!!!

I ran my hand across my face in dismay.

Again, I scanned another book.

This one contains the poem:

She seeks to be noticed as she had been before. Oh she watches in envy. Stolen she claims and soon she wishes the priestess away, all might think it's just petty. But as men around the priestess grow in number, hate consumes the Fallen more. For all those men that adorned the priestess were all hers once before.'

I have long been dwelling on this one poem that talks about the Priestess being surrounded by men that has once adorned the Fallen one.

I flipped another page and realized it says 'Anonymously created by some commonfolks to immortalise the legend and in reverence to all the priestesses.'

I stared blankly at the opened book before me, jaw dropped. This poem was biasedly created for the priestess.

How did I ever overlooked this?!

It might even be a song for all I know! A hyperbole or a mocking sentiment of the people about the Fallen, perhaps just to emphasize the contrasting side of how the Priestess is well loved while the Fallen is not; depicting it as a figure of a fallen maiden, forgotten by mankind.

Oh god! How stupid can I be!?!

For all these years—!!!

For all these years I believed the men that I will meet in my life will be somewhat stolen by the Priestess and that it will cause my downfall or something apt to it.

—STUPID?!

I dropped the book down and began to repeatedly slam my head vehemently against the hard surface of my desk.

Stupid Aerra. Stupid!!

Leon barged in and saw me going at it.

”MiLady?!?!” he anxiously called out in shock.

I stopped and turned to him. ”I'm alright. Please leave me alone” I grumbled.

He seemed reluctant but stepped out the room.

I wasted years of believing about a foolish reason how I might become the fallen.

Good thing I decided to review these books.

I went on scanning everything else that contain texts about the prophecy and the legend but found no other helpful information.

I planted my cheeks down on the reading desk and stared blankly at the stack of books I was able to compile beside me.

I realigned my thoughts and reviewed the information I know now.

In this world, magic is a vital thing that overruled the existence of science unlike from my previous life.

A ritual of summoning for the centennial Priestess will be done with the septal church deciding it when to hold that aforementioned ceremony.

So until then I have no way knowing when it will happen.

My only lead is that the Priestess is commonly around the age of seventeen based on all the records. And a Chosen one with the ability to transform into a weapon will become her Familiar. It seems they usually have the same age.

Also according to the texts, dark magic comes as a concomitant effect from summoning of Light magic for the Priestess to posses. But if basing from my morning lecture today, the dark elements have long been in this realm with or without the ritual of the summoning.

Somehow that's contradicting each other!

There's this book that mentioned that dark elements will eventually linger and possess that one person with a corrupted heart where strong magic resides. Someone who has two memories: the old and the new. That would become the Fallen one.

So if dark element in its very nature is invasive, as my governess said, and a shift in balance can tip the entire equilibrium then I wonder... if that notion is applicable only to the entire realm or to a single individual alone.

Still...

Something is missing.

Alright, time to study the elements next!

I sprung up and returned all the books.

This time, I went to stroll the shelves about books that contain the origin of elements.

But after almost an hour passed of searching, none provide the exact information I needed.

Oh wait—!

There's that one book— the one Syreon gave me.

I went back to the shelves and searched for books about the four different writing systems in this land. Most especially the set of the third and the fourth.

I already know the first and the second set.

I'm familiar with the third but I need a guide just to read the characters since one character can depict many different meanings depending on the accompanying words that surrounds it.

it's that complicated.

I hurried back to my room and took the book Syreon gave me. Scanning through the pages, I was able to discern a chapter that talks about Elements. I sighed in relief to realize the first three set of alphabet was only used in the aforementioned chapter.

I stormed out of my room. Leon seemed puzzled but he kept following behind me in silence.

I hurried back to the library almost running but then paused when Leon was about to follow me in. I blocked his path, with a foot by the door, halfway closing it before him. ”I still need to be alone. Don't allow anyone to come in... please?”

He bows his head, ”Understood”

With that, I closed the door behind me and strode across the library and towards the table where I left a pile of books.

I sat down, opened the book Syreon gave me and began to extensively decipher what I could.

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((A/N: Now I need to show pictures I made in relation to this scene but webnovel doesn't allow pictures yet. I'm really in a pickle! So let me just share the links. This really sucks! Anyway, here they are:

Tell me if the link won't work!))

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I scanned my eyes through what I was able to gather and just reviewed it.

So the Null is a part of the Dark magic after all...