The Second Trial (Job, Solo, Private)

"Mages come in all shapes and sizes. Where one may falter at something, another may excel."

Confusion, Sadness, Anger, and many more negative emotions had overtaken Samira ever since she had concluded her task in destroying the source of the dark magic that was corrupting the nature country Seven. She had originally gone there to meet with An Dagda to complete a spirit trial in order to prove she was worthy enough to be able to call upon him whenever she desired. However, upon arriving it was obvious something was wrong with the land and the spirit had to change his original plans around. Her trial had been changed to eliminating the source so he could use his own magic to restore the land and the creatures within it. Samira had succeeded in her given mission and passed the suddenly changed trial. Now the spirit incarnation of the Good God An Dagda was hers to command. It should have been something she was to remain proud of. Her victory there meant she could move on to the next trial given by another Pantheon leader spirit. With An Dagda’s concluded only four more remained. It was not meant to be. Something in the lines of fate and messed up destiny made another sudden change for her. One that had no explanation and came out of no where. Unplanned, unforeseen, unpredicted.

After her trial had come to an end, An Dagda had put her to sleep to rest. He had not known what had occurred or he may have warned the other spirits of it. Instead, all he had thought about was ensuring she was prepared for the next trial when the time came for her to take it. With Anhur he left Samira, and it was then that the lion spirit had returned to Midi and to the village they had been residing in for weeks while Samira trained. The village that was home to a clan of warriors and ninja of which a woman named Kaori Leraci was the leader of. She had become someone that was close to Samira, and were well past the point of being considered as just normal friends. With more time, perhaps even more than they currently were. Samira and her spirits had been on many adventures and experienced many things with those on Team Kaori. Some of them she wished had never come to pass at all. Yet given the opportunity she would not change how things happened or their order. She had one such time to act on such a selfish desire before but knew better than to mess with such things. The experiences and mistakes of the past just had to be learned from so she could further move forward. That was why she had agreed to let Kaori train her in the first place.

She wanted to get stronger and not require the aid of her other allies or even of her spirits. It was troubling always being a constant burden, and even more depressing and disturbing whenever she thought about how often she felt inferior in comparison. That was supposed to have changed. She was supposed to be a better ally for Kaori so she would not be considered a weakness for her. Samira had known for a long time how the clan leader felt about her, and had even seen how she reacted whenever she was in danger or harmed. Eventually there would come a time when she would either be used as some sort of leverage, or even a time when Kaori would go berserk and be uncontrollable. She was positive the probability of those two occurring could be decreased dramatically if she just became someone that was stronger. There was even the fear of complete abandonment if she were to be considered as too much of a burden and weak. Samira had expressed those fears before, and had been ensured such a thing would never come to pass. The face of reality hit hard as she soon realized that she had been lied to.

When she awoke she was lying on her bed within the western styled bedroom Kaori had added just so she could feel a little more at home instead of being forced to immediately adapt to Midi styled furnishings. At first nothing seemed strange or out of the norm. Her memory of the trial came back to her a few seconds after openings her eyes and sitting up, and she recalled how exhausted she was after the fact. Falling asleep was not out of the realm of possibility. She also concluded on her own that Anhur or another of her spirits had found her and returned her to the Midi village. Then there was a slight sense of concern that passed through her and she let out a small sigh. There was little doubt that she would have to listen to a few words of her taking off without saying anything. Most likely she would also have to see Kaori cry again for not being trusted with the information on where she was going or what she was doing. For someone as strong as she was the ninja leader was a sensitive soul. Samira mentally prepared herself for that conversation she expected to come to pass and left the bed.

If there was any luck with her, her spirits had already done some of the explaining. It had been their idea and their request for her not to say anything to Kaori or anyone else related to her, after all. She was already surprised that she had been allowed to leave a note back at the cave of trials before departing for Seven and the first trial earlier as it was. At the very least, once the awkward conversation and explanations were out of the way she knew she would be forgiven. Never had she not been. An arrogant and conceited thought perhaps, but it was true. Her importance to Kaori had even made others close to her envious and somehow lose sight of their own importance. Samira didn’t exactly approve of that sort of thinking, but she would at least take advantage with the minor aspects of her rank in the ninja leader’s life. Being forgiven easily was a nice perk to have at times such as the current one.

"Mages come in all shapes and sizes. Where one may falter at something, another may excel."

That day, Samira recalled how she opened the door to exit her room and found Anhur standing beside it on the other side with his arms crossed over his chest. He looked at her silently before turning his head to face the wall on the other side of the hallway once more. ”You are not going to like this,”  he stated calmly, closing his eyes as the words left his mouth.

Samira blinked her verdant colored eyes, confused by his words at first, but after a couple of seconds she processed them and cringed. ”She is not that upset is she?” Obviously she had taken his words to mean that she was right with her worry on Team Kaori being angry that she had taken off and not at all amused that no trust had been placed on them whatsoever despite how much they had all gone through together. So much for her spirits making the drama any less so.

”…” Anhur stood there still, silent. He had no idea how to even answer the question. Lying was not a trait he had, and there was no point in avoiding the question entirely. ”I do not know.” His pride took a hit at admitting he was ignorant to the answer of such a simple and basic question. It wasn’t his fault for not knowing for how could he if the clan leader wasn’t even there? No one was. It disturbed him. Samira had been resting for days, and not one person had returned. There were not even any clues. If it was some sort of cruel joke to get back at Samira for taking off without a word even he had to agree it was too much. She was gone for only hours. They were all gone for days, the normal villagers included. Although, he honestly wished it was some poor practical joke. His instincts and his time with all of them told him they would never consider doing something like a mass disappearance with not even leaving so much as a letter. He and some of the other spirits in Samira’s collection had searched around for one.

Another blink from the summoner. ”I do not understand. Surely you are capable of measuring her levels of anger and concern. You had to of seen her at least once while I was out. She always tends to visit me whenever I am passed out like that. If not her then a spirit she trusts enough to take her place.”

Anhur said nothing towards those comments. He didn’t even take a moment to shake his head as a non-vocal reply. ”Anhur?” Samira’s face was now even more concerned, taking his silence and refusal to be more direct to mean something more serious than she originally imagined had happened while she was asleep. She reached out and gently touched his arm and tilted her head. ”What are you not telling me?”

Finally the lion spirit in a near humanoid form sighed. His eyes opened as he uncrossed his arms and began walking away from the door and down the hall. ”Lets go,” he told her without any emotion in his voice as he passed her. He decided he could not be the one to inform Samira of anything. She would already be crushed as it was, and his way of handling things would have made it worse. He wasn’t… soft enough when it came to emotions and other people. A more gentler touch at breaking the news was required. That actually meant several of her spirits were out of the equation as well. No doubt they would all lose their patience eventually with her. He could already predict she would fall into a severe form of depression. This time, he would just leave her alone and remain silent until she got over it. No matter how long it took.

”Anhur?” Samira watched him walk away and move down the hall. What on Earthland was going on? He was a spirit that kept to himself normally, but he was never one to be so quiet and vague. He was much like Susano when it came to being blunt and honest, especially if she showed any amount of ignorance or naivete. ”Wait!” She cried out right before going after him to catch up and follow.

As they walked along, Samira began to take notice that there were no other sounds being made. Not of people talking, interacting, doing tasks. The silence became more obvious when they got outside. No one could be seen doing their daily routines or work, nor did she see or hear anyone training. The place appeared to be completely empty. That… did not make any sense. At all. ”Where is everyone?” Samira inquired further. The thought that everyone had left the village was there, in the very back of her mind. Surely that was not the case though. There must have been some sort of gathering or event she was unaware of. She was still not aware of much of their customs or even their main language really. So, the theory that was at the very front of her mind was very possible. It was the one she hoped was the case, and the one she kept telling herself that had to be it.

Anhur still did not answer and kept moving on. How he wished the young woman would stop pestering him about it. He was trying to be considerate of her feelings, and yet he could only feel himself get more annoyed with the questions. He understood why they were asked, but that still did not make it any less of an annoyance that was bothering him greatly. ”The others should be a bit further ahead. I think they are still searching around for clues. I’ll let them explain to you what has happened. Not that there is much to explain. We are nearly as ignorant and left in the dark as you.”

That was weeks ago. Samira recalled running into the gathering of spirits that had all met at the center of the village. Each one had searched a different part of the village as well as the surrounding land for clues or signs of anything or anyone. They had all turned up empty handed. The summoner did not take the explanation well and had even run off  in a fit of hysteria to find something herself. Through the village, through the secret tunnels, she had even checked the room that had a lone cherry tree inside it where she had met the spirit of Kaori’s childhood friend that had died long ago. Nothing. Not even the spirit had returned. She had passed out there from the overwhelming emotions taking control. One of her worst fears had come to pass. Kaori had abandoned her. With no explanation at all or even a warning. It made no sense at all. They had just got done training so she could be stronger. She was, wasn’t she? There was no hinting at her failure before then. It also did not make sense for the whole village to be gone as well. Did the rest of those affiliated with the ninja and her spirits disappear too? Did those within Lamia Scale even know? Samira knew Kaori owed the guild master much, but if even she was not made aware of the plans then it was doubtful the bunny shaped elemental even knew.

"Mages come in all shapes and sizes. Where one may falter at something, another may excel."

Again, that was weeks ago. Weeks. Her spirits had found her collapsed near the cherry tree that day, and when she awoke she was in her room within the Pandora branch of Lamia Scale. At first she had company and healing mages come in to check on her well being due to her collapse. He Bo already knew his summoner did not require any sort of healing, and if she did he would have taken care of it himself long before she woke up. The company though of her fellow guild mates he thought she needed. It did not seem to work. Samira shut down. Eventually she forced everyone away and would not even come to the door. Her mind was pretty much gone, lost in her emotions and memories. The more time that passed, and the more time she thought about it, the more her care and love for her friend had twisted and turned into anger and hatred. A certain dark serpent spirit knew to take advantage of the summoner’s weak mental state, and had begun to warp and darken her thoughts. He kept speaking to her, shutting all the other spirits out in the process. They no longer had any power over him. None of the normal ones, nor of those of the light. Their strength depended on Samira’s as well as her alignment. Her weak state and negative emotions made it so easy for them all to lose their power over him. The ninja’s disappearing act that led to no return thus far confused even him. She had been so angry towards him for everything he had done to the poor summoner before. Was he to assume it was an act? Or was she really just the fickle sort? Well, no matter. In the end her vanishing act had wounded Samira so deeply in a way that even he could not have done himself. It opened up such a great opportunity to darken the girls heart and soul, give him strength, and allow him to leave his prison permanently. It was all so neatly gift wrapped for him.

As the dark serpent whispered and put thoughts into Samira’s head, her magic grew out of control. She couldn’t even hear her other spirits anymore. Their links were turned off, and even if she wanted to she could not reconnect. They were currently lost as the serpent’s soul constricted around her own. Her energy became dark and chaotic, and it leaked outside her room. It harmed those that came near the hallway of her room, and it continued spreading along the walls and floor as if it were a corruption. Currently the stronger mages and even the guild master were not present. The weaker mages were at a loss on what they were supposed to do since their magic was too weak to cleanse it or even burst through the room to deal with the source. For now, they left that section of the guild hall. The dark energy was spreading, but it was moving slowly. It would take more time before it overtook the building entirely.

Inside the room it was dark with no lights turned on to illuminate the surrounding walls. Samira herself was sitting down in an empty corner of her room, hugging her legs to her chest and resting her head on her knees. She hadn’t eaten in days. She hadn’t even slept. The strongest spirit she had would not allow her to, not that she even desired those things in the first place. The rest of the room was a mess. Most of the furniture was in pieces and had fallen over thanks to the toxic energy corroding it all. Smaller items were thrown all over the place. Nearly everything relating to Team Kaori was destroyed or carelessly thrown out of sight. The book she had been given while she was in Iceberg was burned, all of her journal entries torn and ripped to shreds, the Hibiscus necklace ripped off her neck and thrown in some random location in the room. Everything needed to be gone. The only thing she did not throw around or wish to disappear altogether was the crystal pendent her grandfather had given her. The same pendent that a very young Kaori had mistakenly given him. After finding out the connection, Samira was glad for it. It was as if they were destined to have met and be friends. Now the pendent was tainted. She couldn’t even look at it anymore. Not even to remember her grandfather. It was ruined in nearly every way with the memory of her friend attached to it.

"Mages come in all shapes and sizes. Where one may falter at something, another may excel."

Somewhere in the Celestial Realm:

With the first trial completed, An Dagda had become a spirit that Samira could call upon whenever she desired. His power was hers just like any other spirit, and just like any other spirit in her collection there were other effects. For one, his link and connection with her had strengthened to match those of his brethren. Her thoughts were mingled with his, and he could feel as she did. It was bothersome. He was normally a carefree spirit that was used to being happy and cheerful. Ever since the day of the trial he had been unable to be so. Samira’s negative emotions were affecting him on levels he did not enjoy experiencing. Now that he was also one of her spirits officially, he cared not for her to suffer in that way either. Something had to be done to snap her out of her current shutdown, or else she would surely die. Although, not before causing trouble for those around her. It had gotten too serious to be ignored now.

The nature spirit materialized in a section of the celestial world that belonged to another of his kind: Vishnu. A spirit who’s original had several avatars of himself and, much like the original, the spirit version could also take on those forms. He was the second on the list of five spirits that were connected with Samira’s bloodline. The trials would follow in that order, making his trial also the second she was to do. The blue skinned spirit was not making any moves to start it though. Something An Dagda thought to be curious and a little disappointing. The green haired summoner’s condition aside, there was not much time before the seal holding the dark serpent at bay broke. They all needed to act now rather than sitting around waiting until the last minute to put her to the test.

“Is meditating all you really do these days?”An Dagda asked with small smile when he found the other spirit sitting in a meditative position.

“Is there something more important I must give my time to?” Vishnu did not react much towards the other spirit’s presence. He remained seated and passive. The only thing that moved was his mouth in order to form the words needed to reply. Even his eyes remained closed.

“Well I was going to come here and make a comment about your laziness, but I guess not.”

“Laziness? Are you quite sure that you are not confusing my demeanor with your own? I am not lazy; I am patient.”

“Patient? Hmmm.” An Dagda tilted his head slightly and then nodded, acknowledging that to be true when it came to his fellow spirit. There was no arguing or denying it. “Very well. You are patient. You are also passive. Tell me, when are you going to act?”

Still no movement, not even to take offense towards the comment or the directness of the question. “I assume you are referring to the summoner we saw previously? I heard she passed your trial. If that is what it could be called.”

An Dagda just waved the comment away. He could gather that it wasn‘t a sufficient enough trial in the eyes of the others. It was pretty much changed on the spot to suit what was happening in the country of Seven. He needed assistance, and it just made more sense to make it the actual trial. There was some disappointment within him that the others looked down on it. The young woman had not only defeated the spirit of Fenrir, but had also put a stop to the satyr that was corrupting the mystical forest. It was not an accomplishment to mock. Any other mage could have been defeated by the massive wolf spirit alone in his opinion. Not to mention it was his trial anyway. He had free reign to do as he pleased with it just like they did with their own. “I am not much for planning. You know that. Having her fix the forest problem killed two birds with one stone as they say.”

“So they do.”

“So they do…” An Dagda repeated with a blank stare. My, oh my. He really was going to have to nag and poke Vishnu a few times, and by poke that meant whack him over the head with his club weapon. Saying he would strike him just sounded too violent for him. Yes, they were harmless pokes. There was nothing to stop him so he stepped forward and raised his weapon. A swing later and the blue skinned spirit disappeared entirely, allowing An Dagda to only meet air with his swing. “What the… How did you know? I thought you were too busy meditating?!”

“You have interrupted my session before with that tactic.” Vishnu replied calmly as he reappeared beside the larger spirit. His eyes were now open and he was standing fully with a serious expression on his face. “Now tell me, why are you here? Should you not be watching over the one that now controls you?”

“Technically I am.” An Dagda lifted his weapon again and rested it upon his right shoulder. “Your trial is next. Start it now.”

“Now? Why be in such a hurry for it? I have also heard that she is not well. Doing the trial now could kill her.”

“If you wait any longer then there will be no summoner left to even take the trial.”

“Her health and control of her magic is degrading then? That is not a good sign for those of us she is supposed to impress. One person leaves and she breaks down mentally. Conducting a trial is hardly worth the effort.”

“It was not just ONE person. It was everyone connected with that one person. Anyone would be affected if someone of such importance disappeared without a trace or any word. I figured out of all of us you could show some understanding.” An Dagda’s eyes narrowed as he spoke, and his tone had shifted from friendly to annoyed.

“Indeed. The fact still remains that if she could break down so easily I do not see the point.”

“Were you not the one before that said we were brought to that cave because of its magic being linked to destiny? Are you going to ignore that now?”

“My reconsideration is also a part of destiny. There are-”

“Oh bother…” An Dagda interrupted Vishnu and rubbed the back of his own neck. “I did not come to discuss the theories of destiny and fate and whatever other enlightenment nonsense you have to say! You at one point thought her destiny was connected with you! With all of us! I am now tied to her as proof of that. Now get your blue ass over there and start it! Did you forget we’ll have a huge mess to clean up if she falls further? At least if she dies during the trials things will be put on hold for a while longer, and we can cover up our unwillingness to do anything until now.”

“Death is possible, yes. However, if she were to pass there is a chance her mental state will be affected on a grand scale.”

“That is a risk I am willing to take.”

“And what of the other spirits?”

“They have no say in this at all. We act outside of the normal rules of celestial spirits. We do as we please, and do what we must. I need no permission from them.”

“Cold, but true. Very well. I will take that way of thinking and apply it. I do not guarantee her survival. Do keep that in mind.”

“I wasn’t asking for it.”

“Also do not interfere.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it.”

“Good.”

“Fantastic.”

“You can leave now.”

“I don’t see you leaving.”

Vishnu sighed softly. “My trial will be mental. I have no intention on appearing before her in my actual form. From what I understand, her magic is leaking all around her and would be quite lethal towards me. I’m a spirit, not a saint that is willing to harm myself to aid her. I will appear in her mind and the trial will take place there. Do make sure the others do not pop in to interrupt. It could be damaging and she could be lost forever in her thoughts.”

“Sounds too complicated. Why can’t you just have her fight something like I did?”

“You underestimate my mental trials. She will be fighting more than you ever thought to give her in your own trial.”

“Huh. Really? Well okay then. Have fun!” An Dagda then dismissed himself and returned to the others of the mindspace to keep them contained to prevent any bad side effects from happening should they interfere. Vishnu just shook his head. Fun. Yes. That was what he was nagged into doing. The spirit took a seat once more and closed his eyes to focus. His surroundings had regained the silence that was there before An Dagda showed up, and Vishnu could feel his energy rise and his mind and soul leave his body. From there he focused on locating his natural connection with Samira and went towards her. His mind would connect with her own, and so the two would meet, and the trial would begin.

"Mages come in all shapes and sizes. Where one may falter at something, another may excel."

Back in the Mortal World:

Vishnu’s attempt to connect with Samira’s mind was successful, although she did not realize herself that it had happened. The world she was in had shifted slightly, but was still the same in most ways. She was still in her room, and much of it was still a mess. The magic that was radiating within it was gone though, and it had gone quiet. Still she paid no mind to it as she continued to sit there and remain in her mode of depression and self pity. Then she heard something land on the floor softly in front of her. For a few seconds it went ignored, although she was very much aware of what she had heard. Then she looked up and took notice of what the object was. A mask the fallen object was, and one she had not thought to see again. It was the very mask her friend used to wear. The one that had shattered that day. The day that seemed to pass so long ago, but was still relatively recent. Yes, it had only been about a year or a little more since then. The mask was still broken to reflect what had happened that day. Although, she was positive it had been reformed some time after the fact when she had helped reclaim those broken pieces so that her friend could become whole once more. Why was it once again broken?

“That mask serves as a conduit for parts of your past. The ones that contain the memory of this friend of yours.” A voice spoke calmly, almost too calm to a point that it was relaxing to listen to. Samira looked around for the source for she did not recognize the voice at all. The fact that all the energy in the room was gone remained unrecognized. Still she had not known that she was in a false version of the world, and in her mind.  ”Who are you?” A standard question typically asked of those that were unknown and unwelcome. The question came out unfriendly and was quite demanding. Two traits she was not typically known for even on her worst days.

“I wonder if that is of any importance. Should you not be wondering who you are instead? You are not the same summoner I witnessed passing the cave trials all those weeks ago.”

Samira arched a questioning eyebrow at first as she heard those words. Then her eyes narrowed as she understood and put the pieces together. The cave trials, an unknown presence, how it even knew of her friend to begin with. It was one of those leader spirits that had watched the final portion of the Leraci Cave Trials. The portion where she had taken the stone of humility and had to stand against one of her own spirits that had been mind controlled to go against her. A preliminary judging for them if it could be labeled as anything. “You are one of those spirits? One connected to An Dagda?”

“Indeed, although I would not say I am ‘connected’ with him. We both serve the same purpose, but that is all.” The blue skinned and multi armed spirit materialized in the room, but he was at a distance still and was focused more on poking the objects around the room rather than completely focusing on her. The green eyes of the summoner stared as she remained silent for a moment to analyze him. In a way, his appearance resembled that of her spirit Kali. That was enough to assume they both reigned from the same line of origins, but he did not seem to have her level of wrath and rage. ”You did not come this way to view my things…” She commented, finally growing tired of him wandering about curiously and not getting to the point of his arrival. Samira wanted to be left alone, and he was meddling with that goal.

“In a rush, are you? I had heard that you were the patient sort much like myself. Rumors are often wrong, I suppose.” Still he continued with his method of entertaining himself. ”I have my limits…”

“So you do.“ Vishnu then ceased his curious fun and turned so he could sternly stare at her. “Young summoner, do not misunderstand my reason for being here. I was content to let you remain as you were and eventually die from your remorse and depressive state.”

”Why did you come then?”

“You passed your first trial. The spirit that allowed you to move on convinced me to proceed with the next, and so here I am. Your right to take part in mine was earned.”

”You do not sound all too thrilled about it. Either way, I pass. I am not interested in such things anymore.”

“Yes, it seems all you wish to do these days is remain there sulking. Your bloodline really has fallen into a pathetic state, hasn’t it?”

Samira didn’t even make a comment towards it. She went on to ignore him and looked away so she could go back to being lost and hopefully one day forgotten.

“I am the spirit incarnation of the deity some of this world would call Vishnu, Samira. You can ignore me all you like, but your trial will begin whether you acknowledge me or not. I am here, and so you no longer have a choice. Your memories of one that has become of great importance in your life is destroying you. You see the loss of this person negatively and rather than look into why it happened, you are drowning yourself in emotions such as anger, sadness, and hate. These memories are not to be viewed in such a way, and at this rate they will consume you. For my trial, you will be facing them. Try not to lose yourself in the process.” The broken mask that was on the floor then glowed, and its intensity rose until it covered the entire room. Samira had to close her eyes to prevent from being blinded, and when she felt it safe to open them, the green orbs realized she was now standing near the entrance of the guild hall of Lamia Scale’s Hargeon branch. They widened slightly, taking in the familiar scene of a group of people standing around and had even seen a past version of herself in the crowd.

"Mages come in all shapes and sizes. Where one may falter at something, another may excel."

“This is where it all began, correct? The day you met this person of importance, and the day your once calm and peaceful life took a turn. It had been one adventure right after the other. Most of them less than pleasant. This was the very first one.”

Indeed it was. It had been the day where Samira first met a certain woman that always wore a cat-like mask back then, the same mask she had seen before the sort of blast from the past vision started. Although back then it was completely whole and unbroken. The current Samira watched as the scene unfolded, the scene she already knew the entire script to. The masked white haired woman had placed her hands on her hips and shouted loudly, "Lady Ceostra needs someone to come with me to the desert. We'll probably die, but there's a chance of finding something valuable. Any volunteers?" Two people from the crowd had stepped forward that day: a man that looked to be combat experienced and much more of a viable ally for the mission, and herself, who was anything but powerful back then and lacked all basic experience. Well, unless making a few deliveries and stopping rampaging gingerbread men counted as real mage experience.

Out of the two, she had been chosen that day. "A lack of experience isn't equal to a lack of ability, and it certainly doesn't mean you're useless." Those were words that had been said to her by Kaori that day. The importance of them were something she valued back then, but seemed to have been forgotten many times throughout their journeys. She always thought she was useless by comparison, and as more and more allies were met and added to what would be known as Team Kaori, she felt her value wane. They were all powerful in their own right, and showed such experience. It was easy to forget her own power and usefulness. That part of the vision ended, with the surroundings turning dark and black as it reached the point of where the woman she had just met hugged her. It was an action she had thought to be inappropriate back then, given they had just met. Now looking back she wished she could receive a hug once more.

Samira looked down at the ground, almost sadly from the forced flashback, but they raised as the black surroundings transitioned to the next part of how that mission went. Much like back then, she was on a magic ship that was capable of sailing through the sands rather than water. There was a difference between the original flashback and the current one though. The past images of Kaori and herself were not present. Instead it was just her, and the desert pirates from back then all had eyes on her as if they could see her clearly. The group went in for an attack, and out of the defensive instinct she had been trained with she did not hesitate to take action against it. She took on the powers of Ra, a fire spirit that used the flames and heat of the sun itself, and as her clothes changed to reflect the typical summoner and spirit fusion flames burst forward all around her and incinerated them all. She had no fear of actually injuring or killing them. It was an illusion of sorts and she knew it. If the flashback from a moment ago was not enough indication, it was hard enough to trick her with such magic regardless.

”What is this? Why am I having to fight visions of the past?”

“It is these memories that haunt you and keep you in your unstable state. You must face them.”

”I am not as weak as I was back then. This is a waste of time.” Yes, the desert pirates were from her very first mission with Kaori. If her weak self could live through the rather problematic mission then it should have been obvious her much stronger self could handle them all without even breaking a sweat.

“Yes, I had planned on you not being able to use magic at all during this, but your mind is too closely linked with the rest of my brethren. Even if they are not here, you are still capable of using their powers. Intriguing. I suppose limiting you to the powers you had back then will have to suffice.”

Right after Vishnu had said those words Samira felt pain course through her. It wasn’t the sort of pain that indicated she had been wounded severely. It was more of an ache all over, and she quickly felt her power drain. The magic clothing she had been wearing burst into particles, leaving her normal attire in its place. “That spirit you did not have back then. From here, you are limited to those you were contracted with at the time, or took part in the memories.”

The pain then switched to true pain as she was grabbed and then stabbed, the blade of the one who did it going through her back and piercing through her stomach to show on the other side. She could say nothing, but she recognized the voice that spoke after the attack had been made. The pirate captain of that ship. The very man that had made her dirty her own hands and add a kill to her name. It had been in self defense of course, and if not for taking that action she would have found herself without much of a head. There had been no guilt back then, and there was none even now. Still, somehow, in a weird sort of interactive flashback he had been able to kill her in a different way. The surroundings went black again and she turned into particles.

Samira had not truly died. The death was just a representation of what was happening to her real body; it was dying. Her mental version reformed and was now standing in the ruins of the desert temple, the main destination of that mission before they had been intercepted by desert pirates. ”What was that?!” She shouted, furious that her power had been drained when she needed it and had been left to pretty much die.

“It was what you wanted. Your inner self truly desires death rather than living with knowing that you were abandoned by the one you cared for most. Your mind is playing to accommodate that wish. If you had wanted to live, he would not have appeared at all while you were in a defenseless state. Nor would my power overrule your own. You act angry, but I wonder if it’s because you are not actually dead rather than because I allowed it to happen in the first place.”

”That is nonsense.” Her eye’s narrowed as she said those words in a tone as cold as ice. Whatever was in store for her with the trial she was already getting sick of it.

“A matter of opinion.” Vishnu then vanished, leaving Samira to deal with the multiple enemies that she had already fought in the past. Giant scorpions, a chimera, and even a group of ninja assassins that had been sent to eliminate Kaori at the time. To make it worse, she was left with the spirits she had during the time the mission took place. That left very few. Back then, she was what most would label as a C rank mage, and while she currently had many spirits of that category, her past self only had access to a few of them in comparison.

The key that belonged to Kali had been unhooked from her key ring, but as she called for the spirit nothing happened at all. Well, maybe she should have expected as much. It had been said that they themselves were not present but their powers were. They couldn’t aid her even when being called. The only thing she could do was use their magic energy for herself. She did so, and just like the spirit would have done, the enemies that appeared throughout the ruined halls were eliminated and split into pieces. How fortunate that the weapons that laid around the decorative skeleton corpses were interactive in the flashback and could be used. With being forced to be scaled down to her past ability, she could not summon any normal weapons from the spirit armory her present self had access to.

The enemies were all defeated it seemed. Nothing had appeared after the giant chimera creature had been taken out. Only a couple of ninja. Then it dawned on her. Back then there was one she herself had not dealt with at all. He was one that had been the leader of the group and was handled entirely by her friend back then. That one had yet to appear. Just as she realized the missing enemy, the high ranking ninja with the platinum wristband to indicate his rank appeared and took her out easily. Once again she was nothing more than particles.

It was only the second death and the first mission flashback, and already Samira was getting irritated from it. Any wounds she had from them were gone the moment she reformed, but their presence still lingered. She could feel them even though they weren’t there. Not so much in a pain form, but just that their existence was made more aware. A result from her mind most likely, and it gave her reason to put some thought into what Vishnu had mentioned, how she did want to die rather than face the world without a certain someone. She hated change, and that was one too large to fully take on. How many more “deaths” she could take she didn’t know. As far as flashbacks went, it was only just the beginning.

"Mages come in all shapes and sizes. Where one may falter at something, another may excel."

Like before, she materialized in another part of her memories. It was another set of ruins, the second mission to be exact. Back then a messenger of Kaori’s had given her information on where to meet the ninja, and as luck would have it, it was in another set of ruins. The Ancient Ruins to be exact, the set that had a story to tell of some powerful artifacts being hidden away by ancient members of the Magic Council. Unlike the first mission in the desert, the woman that would soon become a friend to her had shown how weak and fragile even she could be despite being able to kill enemies, even human ones, quickly and with no regret. With no regret… That mission also showed Samira how her friend operated.

The very beginning of how that mission went was passed over and instead skipped ahead to where four mercenary men were gathered and basically held hostage. She herself had wounded them and knocked them out so her mission partner and herself could proceed further. They were forcefully awakened by Kaori, and threatened to give information or else die, using one of their own shotguns to deliver the killing blows. Samira did not think much of it at the time. Threatening and pretending to be that heartless was usually a method that worked. However, the first man was given no time to really answer at all before being blown away. He was mainly used as an example for the others. She herself did not stop it, and probably could have. It was killing that was not needed whatsoever. Moments before that took place, Kaori had told her of some of her powers, and information gathering was one of them. Using it invaded privacy rules though. Killing was preferable to using that ability. In the end, three of the men were dead, and one had been allowed to leave. It was a time when she was rather cold herself, but still disapproved of what happened even if she did not stop it.

"I understand you have had to live through a kill or be killed sort of life, but I do not approve of what just happened. They were hardly a threat, and you could have obtained that information easily even without your ability."

Those were her own words said to the ninja just before they moved on ahead and proceeded further into the ruins. They were words that seemed to do more than she had thought. Originally, she had assumed they did nothing. However, now that she could see the events play out as a witness, Samira noticed that the past Kaori looked sad and conflicted. Her head hung low as she walked behind the past version of Samira, and she fidgeted. She had just been about to reach out for her when her past self spoke of something else entirely. That memory faded.

“You showed disapproval. I am surprised you let it go that far to begin with.”

”I did not care about my enemy back then. I still do not in a way. Back then, I did try to spare them myself, but I was not one to stand up and stop the actions of another. That is different now slightly.” Her time and career as an actual mage led her to experience many things and shape her. Before, she was cold and too passive. She did not care about what others did so long as she did not do them herself, no matter how terrible those actions were. Now, she would end senseless killing if she could. Only senseless, though. A mage within a legal guild she may be, but if it came down to surviving or protecting others then she would end lives. It never happened much though, of which she was grateful for. Still, there were other things that she would do if required that could have been even worse than death. The summoner was just never pushed to that point except for once. In that very mission where she had left someone to die slowly. It was his own fault for getting into that trap and not her own after all. He was saved though, but she had to wonder if he had been left there to wither and die if there would have been any regrets for her action. Either way, the next vision did not go there.

The surroundings shimmered once more and changed to focus on the section of memory where Samira recalled being injured. A portal had been opened using her spirit Janus. The goal was to be simple and easy; use the portal to go through a wall that blocked their way. Unfortunately, such a benefit and convenient method of travel had its downfalls. Enemies could go through it just as easily. The ninja had allowed Samira to go through first, but upon trying she got stabbed in the process as a mercenary attacked through it. The result was her ninja companion flashing back to her own memories. Words had been said that did not make sense to Samira until a time long after that mission. A friend of Kaori’s had been lost in much the same way in her past, and she had lost herself in those memories as a similar scenario took place before she could react. Her friend had blamed herself both times. That was also the first time Samira had seen her use her actual healing magic, a sort of power that drained nearly everything she had. The rest of the mission had to be done with just herself and one of Kaori’s spirits due to that factor. The woman had not even awoken at the end, and yet somehow after that mission there was already a bond there that Samira had not even thought possible.

There was no time to ponder more about the realities of the flashback and how it connected to further points in her life. The scene changed again to the main battle of that mission. Her opponent back then was a mage known as Harper Goldenshine, who was also the boss of the mercenary treasure hunters. She had defeated him and his crystal make magic before, and that time she knew very well what to expect. The sword weapons she had claimed from the last mission were still with her, having materialized when she did. Kali’s magic was not there, however. Her mobility suffered because of it, but she knew what to expect. Large crystal animals and weapons that attacked in midair and without a wielder had formed, of which she did what she could to block and evade the attacks. The first chance she got, the power of Nox resonated within her, and darkness took over the room. The candlelight of the spirit was something only she could see as the powers of the spirit guided her and led her to her main target. The memory version of Goldenshine was put to an end as she appeared behind him and cut him down. Now he was nothing more than fading particles.

That left one other enemy she had only seen once. He was part of the memory, so he had to of been there: Kaori’s brother. Originally he had been dealt with by the ninja’s strongest spirit at the time. There was no sort of help of that nature now. In the candlelight she saw a flicker. The movements were silent, but the person was there and purposely being made obvious. Samira watched, waited, and prepared herself. She wasn’t planning to die that time. When the expected attack came she raised the blade she held to parry it, but something went wrong. It went right through it and cut her down anyway. Particles once more.

”Now I really do not understand! I did not want to lose that time!” Samira had reformed, and was less than pleased with what had happened. She cared not for her new surroundings of Hosenka and instead glared at the blue skinned spirit that stood beside her.

“You didn’t want to lose only because you didn’t want to die here. There is a difference. Although, it does not matter in the end. That battle was not yours. You were not meant to win.”

”Then why did it exist in the first place?”

“Who knows? That particular enemy served as a major goal for your friend. Perhaps the memory of him was strongly kept because of it. You were anticipating the day she would finally meet him in battle and settle things once and for all. A battle it seems that you will actually never witness.”

Samira held back her words at that remark. They appeared to be true enough, and certainly would be if Kaori never came back. The battle between her and her brother was one that Samira had been worried about as time passed and more knowledge of the situation presented itself. She was unsure on how it would all play out, but she was certain it would have destroyed the ninja leader completely. The brother had been a cause for much of her pain and suffering, and to face him would bring all of that back. Kaori could be heartless at times, that much Samira knew, but when it came to certain people and actions she was weak and fragile. There was no possible way for the summoner to accurately predict what would happen, and now she may never know.

"Mages come in all shapes and sizes. Where one may falter at something, another may excel."

Back to focusing on her own flashbacks, Samira finally took notice of her environment and arched an eyebrow when she realized it was the spa town of Hosenka. There were only two times she appeared in that place. The first being during her B rank exam when her guild master sent her to deal with a giant snake that was causing a ruckus. The second was so far ahead in her memory she doubted it was that. Upon seeing her past self arrive in the city with a large hound-like dragon creature, she concluded which of the two occasions it was. ”Why is this one being shown to me? All of my visions so far have revolved around Kaori. This one she isn’t even present for.”

“No, she isn’t. Although she was the reason you did not die here. She sent someone to help. That creature there, who served as an ally to her. To you as well if I heard correctly.”

Samira grimaced at those words. Ally? Perhaps at first. More like someone that caused her pain while she unintentionally caused him the same after accomplishing goals that he had thought he would complete himself. During the Hosenka mission though, she was unaware of his existence as Kaori’s servant and most trusted ally. To her at that time, he was some random creature that joined her for some reason. He didn’t try to eat her, in fact, the creature seemed to like her. How things quickly turned after that. ”We tolerated each other. Nothing more.” A few key details were left out with those words, but those details meant nothing. In the end, they were just two beings that lived in the same world and cared for the same person.

"Is that so?" He said nothing more on the topic and moved on. A large titanoboa materialized from nothing and became the next opponent as every other person in the vision of the past faded. The same one she had defeated long ago, only currently she did not have access to the two spirits that had helped her before nor the chakrams she had back then but had neglected to keep equipped on her more recent ventures. Even the sword she had in the last two visions was no more as far as she could tell. It had not materialized with her in the new location of her memories.


The serpent released some sort of poisonous smog from its opened jaws. Samira raised a hand to cover her mouth as she glared at the beast. No fear was within her even with her defenseless state. The creature had been defeated before and as part of a monster hunting guild she had defeated others even more powerful than it. The fact it was actually her first slain monster coming back for another round was irrelevant. Even as the poison from the thick toxic fog covered her and began to burn her skin as if it were some sort of acidic substance her mind was clear. Well, as clear as it could be given the circumstances and the fact all of it was taking place in her head to begin with.


‘Poison?‘ She thought as her surroundings and herself disappeared within the fog. Of course it would have been an obvious ability to assume the creature had, but back then it never bothered to try. Not that it mattered much in the end. The family line she reigned from had always had a high natural resistant towards poisons. Even to be considered sick was rare and generally only happened by magical means. The burning sensation was still annoying though, and she still required breathing. Why that mattered when she was a mental version of herself she wasn't sure, but the longer she tried holding her breath the more her lungs pained. Maybe her actual self had also stopped breathing.


Her powers switched to another spirit that was hers to call even back then. Cernunnos’ power coursed through her, and flowers began to grow and bloom all around her. As the buds from the flowers opened, a green ethereal mist was released. The power was strong enough to overcome the toxicity of the fog, and the magic mist mixed and spread through it and even around the snake. The sleep effects of the magic was working it seemed as Samira saw the creature begin to sway and move in a sluggish manner. She took the opportunity of the snake's slow thoughts and movements and began to charge up more power of the spirit in order to make a move. The unfortunate side effect was that she had to remain still to do so. It was risky, but she had grown over confident lately, and it showed with how she dealt with an old foe and took little caution.

The large boa seemed to snap out of its sleep state and violently shook. Its tail moved around in a sudden rapid movement, and the summoner’s eyes grew wide as it slapped her and sent her flying towards one of the nearby buildings. An attack that happened even back then. Although, that made her remember that was also the same day she had obtained even more spirits. As she slid down from the wall she hit and met the ground, she noticed that the snake moved at a slow pace that should have been impossible. The only thing that made sense was that it had slowed, and as Vishnu spoke again she knew that it was his doing.

“You are not here only because of the memory of a past ally, or because it represents you understanding more of the goals of your guild. This also marks the day you grew in power. More of the spirits connected with your fate and destiny joined you this day.”

The voice echoed around her and through the poisonous cloud. He was correct. That day, when the boa had slapped her with its tail and sent her flying towards a building she had been knocked out upon collision. A dream had started, the first in a sequence of happenings that took place each and every time more spirits joined her as she grew in power. Susano, a wind spirit, had been the one to control it. That made her remember that she had access to more spirits than she thought. He and a few others were also unlocked for the fight.

Time picked back up again, and the boa that was in mid-lunge moved once again. Samira scrambled to her feet as the snake smacked its head against the wall of the building, making a large hole through the wall in the process and causing it to crumble. She took off in a run as the snake followed her, switching spirit powers once more and taking that of the first wind spirit she obtained. Her speed grew, and much like him she could feel the wind around her and even the air beneath her feet. The snake was still closing in though and had almost caught up if not for a pair of small round discs flying towards it and then slicing it along its scales as soon as they reached it. The snake hissed angrily and turned, but missed the discs as they continued their travels towards the summoner and stopping when she turned and gripped them. The chakrams she had used back then had made their appearance. How she didn’t rightly know, and wasn’t about to question it right then. Using their power along with Susano’s, a powerful tempest was created, blowing away the poisonous cloud that had overtaken the mental representation of Hosenka. The chakrams were then thrown into the winds and towards the snake, their aim being completely accurate due to its magic. With the weapons combined with the sharp and harsh winds, the snake’s body was cut repeatedly as its scaly armor was destroyed. What remained of the body fell and split into dark particles.

”No death this time?” Samira asked, almost sarcastically. Her personality didn’t allow her to fully show such an attitude, and considering the last visions it was unexpected to remain standing. Of course, there was ever only one foe back then and no more. Or, so she thought. The hound-like creature that had helped her back then had returned, although it was no longer a part of the vision. It was something that had appeared suddenly as a new foe, and one she was not expected to defeat. The once past ally called forth onyx colored flames that spread as far as she could see before they burned and destroyed her.

Her body materialized in darkness on her knees, the pain she had felt from the flames still existing. For a few moments, it was difficult to move or even breath. The pain receded shortly after, and she was able to function once more. ”What was that?! That is not how that happened! The only enemy at the time of that memory was the monster that I defeated!” Samira called out, angry at having died once again and still stuck in the whole mess. The other deaths had made sense. They may not have played out exactly the same way since in actuality she had won those battles and overcame those challenges, but the enemies that had killed her were opponents back then as well. The replay of her memory concerning the snake had cheated and made up an opponent that did not exist.

“Are you sure? It was the flames of hatred that destroyed you. What seemed to be an ally even back then secretly had a growing anger and jealousy towards you. From those came hate that was far from dying, and still continued to grow even right before your friend and everyone else around her vanished. Am I wrong on this?”

Samira clenched her teeth and her hands balled into fists as she slowly stood up. In a technical sense, those words were actually true. She just didn‘t know of that hate until much later. A shame really. If she had been made aware of it a lot sooner it would have saved herself and everyone else from the pain that came from it. ”No. I suppose you are not as unfortunate as that fact may be.” Many details concerning that individual were still left out, and the spirit made no effort to bring them up even though he knew of them. Perhaps he would later if he felt it necessary. For now, he expected the climax of the mental journey to hit well before it reached that part of her memory.

"Mages come in all shapes and sizes. Where one may falter at something, another may excel."

The empty space she stood in shifted again as it had many times before. She was now standing in Kaori’s room on her large ship the Arc of Destiny. Samira could pinpoint that moment exactly on the timeline, mainly due to the shock of it, but not in the way many would expect. The summoner had been invited to stay there, but she had assumed it was business oriented. A mission maybe, or a lengthy discussion and meeting concerning the guild or something dangerous. Instead, the purpose was for a common teenage girl sleepover. What made things even more awkward was the ninja she had thought to be nothing more than a serious clan leader that killed any and all enemies that stood in her path had another side to her entirely. She owned plushies, she adored cute things, and there were absolutely no corpses hiding under the bed or closet. It was a mind blowing moment for Samira and the spirits she had at the time for how little sense it made compared to what they had already known about the woman. It was also the first time the ninja had left the mask behind and allowed her face to show on purpose, although it was unknown at the time that even that face was a disguise.

”The rest of this memory serves little importance where Kaori is concerned,” Samira stated bluntly and refused to pay attention to it any further, her gaze shifting to the side to stare at a wall rather than the replay. It wasn’t a lie or an exaggeration either. During the sleepover, some sort of portal had opened up and they were all transported to a heaven reality suddenly. Why or how that happened was either a mystery or some sort of accident. She had forgotten that little detail entirely. The most she remembered was she, her spirits, Kaori, and the masked servant of the ninja all had to fight in some arena against angels in order to get back to their own reality.

“That is true. I could go on to say how there is one major highlight within this memory, but your way of ignoring it entirely makes me assume that you would rather forget about it. Very well.” Vishnu had materialized beside her, watching the replay, but at the end of his words he raised his hand and had been about to perform the magic to shift the memories once more. ”Wait,” the woman’s voice broke his concentration momentarily. Not for the fact she spoke at all, but because it had changed its tone. No longer did she sound demanding, angered, or even annoyed. Her voice was hesitant, reluctant, and contained an amount of fear within it. He stared at her with a blank expression, waiting for her to continue, but she did not. “You ask for me to wait but have provided no reason for it.”

Samira’s gaze lowered to the ground, and she held her arm with the other nervously. If all of the memories being visited and replayed concerned her ninja friend, then it was safe to say which ones would come next. Even to the current day those memories still haunted her mind. The last thing she wanted was to re-visit and experience them for real. ”I do not want to go back to that time. Please.”

Vishnu continued staring at her, but said nothing. He had almost considered taking that plea seriously. From what he understood of her and from what he had been told, the summoner was a prideful girl that would rarely ever lower herself to such a state. She despised appearing weak, both physically and mentally. Masking her worries, fears, and suffering was preferable to having others judge her harshly and labeling her as useless or a burden. Never did he assume that she would back out of his trial in the middle of it. What stopped him from placing the mark of failure upon her was that he no longer had control. The mental space they were in began to shake as if an earthquake were happening, and the memory replay itself began to crack and tear. It was reacting to her state of worry and fear, and the fact her health, both physically and mentally, were deteriorating further. There was no stopping it now. If she had asked earlier then it would have been possible to do so. However, they had reached one of the largest memories that left deep wounds within her mental state that still had not entirely healed and likely never would. They had reached a point of no return.

“A request that I will have to ignore. We have gone too far to exit now. You will be forced to face these memories once more. If you come out rather than be lost, you will have passed my trial. I suggest not losing yourself when you have already come this far.” His magic then combined with her memories once more and they were taken to a new scene. Or rather, several. The mind earthquake continued and grew more violent and uncontrollable, as did her own panic and fear. The scenes may have differed, but they all marked the same exact day, from early morning all the way to the end of nightfall in one repeated rapidly moving cycle that cracked and tore further.

The events at the ice phoenix shrine in Kosetsu, the Bloodfire shrine within Shinku, the soul phoenix of Kyoka, the shadow of Nazo, the light of Terasu, the events that happened as soon as she returned to the guild hall. Over and over.

"Sammy!" Said when the ninja had given her the nickname, categorizing her as a friend that was actually a rarity for the ninja back then.

"It's so soft, and cute, and OOOOHHH IT'S STILL A BABY!" The excited statement and giggles when Kaori had snuggled the ice Phoenix into submission.

"We should find all of them!" The suggestion that came after the phoenix dispersed into snowy particles, refusing to remain to befriend the ninja. That day, Samira had only asked for help to see one of the phoenix shrines. Looking into anything of legend and artifacts had always interested her, and with it being a free day for her she had wanted to go to Kosetsu and track it down and see if the legend was real. Now that she knew everything that would happen afterwards and was being forced to witness it again, her current self wish she had refused the suggestion and demanded to instead go back to Fiore. That would have solved so many problems by preventing them from happening in the first place.

"Mages come in all shapes and sizes. Where one may falter at something, another may excel."

The events continued passing repeatedly in their looping cycle, but eventually slowed down. The Bloodfire shrine events passed and the sequence came to a stop as it settled on the memory of the Kyoka shrine; the one that had started it all and caused her life, as well as those that were there, to go into a downward spiral. The phoenix for the Soulsmoke shrine had tore into Kaori’s psyche and had tried to find her weakness and use it against her. Illusions had been formed, taking a piece from her past where she had to slaughter many of her own clan. It had done nothing against her as she again cut them down. There was one she would never cut down though, and phoenix had realized that during their fight.

Samira had been on the sidelines that day, doing as she did with the other shrines; watching and writing notes in her journal while the fight took place. Kaori had seemed to forgotten that, and stopped her attacks against the great bird as an illusionary Samira stood in its path to protect it. Naturally, it had been a trick, and the current Samira that was watching the replay did just as her original self had done back then; nothing. Her past self was in a stunned state, feeling the same betrayal as her friend did when the illusion of herself had stabbed her and went onto to say things she would never say, yet Kaori had believed. The real Samira watching the replay just stared with wide eyes as she was forced to hear and watch it happen all over again.

"Sammy... Why?" The vision Kaori had asked after having been stabbed by the black blade the fake version of her self created by the phoenix had held. The real Samira closed her eyes and clenched her teeth, preparing herself to hear the false words that had been said that day. They were vile and so untrue, and she couldn’t watch as her past self grew angry at her friend for believing them rather than try everything in her power to break through and help the wounded ninja.

"You thought I was your friend?" It stung just to hear her voice ask such a question even though it had been her second time hearing it. "No... you're my bodyguard- that's all you'll ever amount to! You're a half assed, sorry excuse of a wizard and an even worse clan leader.” It had continued with the false version going into more lies on how everyone around the ninja would abandon her, and only stuck around because they had something to gain, all the while the mental stability of the ninja was breaking with each word as she thought she was being talked down to by the one she trusted most. In the end, Kaori had overcome the phoenix’s tricks and defeated it, but she could not defeat the darkness that had grew from that stability break and remained within her. Even the false version of herself had continued existing in the ninja’s mind and followed her to break her even more as she left the shrines. Samira had to do the last two on her own, along with the ninja’s servant. Although, it was only the phoenix of shadow that was important, and that was next in line for the visions.

Another scene shift to the planet of Nazo, the home of the shadow phoenix shrine. No battle had taken place for the last vision since that fight was not her own. The current one was meant to be hers even back then, but she had failed it and another had to take over. Her light had been too weak to go against it, and so the magic bird had overpowered her before the fight had truly begun. Not this time.

“So the phoenix has spoken of the things it had found in your heart that it thought to be darkness. He had even gone so far as to say you are much like a shadow yourself, at least back then. How you were always submissive and simply followed behind others that were more powerful than yourself, unable to accomplish anything of value or importance. A bit insulting.” Vishnu's voice spoke from nowhere.

”Those were hardly the insults that affected me back then honestly.” The current real Samira stated bluntly as her eyes opened and waited for the real insults that got to her to be said. Already the scene of the past had replayed past the point of her being taken inside the dark barrier, as well as her conversation with the shadow phoenix. She watched as the barrier dispersed in a wave of energy and her past self was sent flying backwards in the air until she collided with a nearby pillar. That was when the other had taken over, but not before insulting her further.

"You're absolutely right, you know... She's nothing more than a human, and a stupid one at that." Insult one that made even her current self want to slap the servant.
"She's an abysmal wizard even compared to lady Lareci…” The slap wanting to be transformed into an all out repeated assault.
"The darkness in her is of pride, fear, anger, and betrayal... her light is weak because it is dim.“ That one he had to be given credit for being correct on.

“You tolerated such words?”

”There was not much I could do really. My own mental stability was being affected, and I was not one to lash out in a ridiculous way. Besides,” Her voice trailed off as the people in the vision disappeared and only the shadow phoenix remained. ”He was right. To this very day I still live with all of those traits. He did forget a couple of things, however. I am also selfish, and I grow easily jealous towards others that can do things that I cannot if I find it of value. I never did get rid of any of these or even tried. They mostly stayed hidden. Although, I no longer have a reason to do so.” They had all remained dormant aside from jealousy and pride because she had no need to feel anger, fear, or even be selfish. She had what had been considered a best friend to make her feel protected, and aside from the day at the phoenix shrines Samira could never get angry with her or be selfish because she was normally thinking about her friend instead of herself. No one really knew of her jealous nature since those feelings remained inside and she never acted on it, and her pride everyone knew about. With the reason to keep everything hidden away gone, she could show and act on them as she pleased, and right now she had a shadow phoenix that needed to be taught a lesson she couldn’t give it before.

The same mocking laugh of the shadow phoenix could be heard. Even if it was not the real one from that day it still had the personality from her memories. It had tried to talk her down again, trying to force her to become weak as she had back then. It didn’t work. She was already angry from having to hear those words of her false version, and of hearing Kaori once again believe them. She was again angry from hearing the insults of the servant, and she was even angered more at having to deal with the entire thing to begin with.

Taking to the air, the shadow phoenix flapped its wings and a shadowy mist had formed before solidifying into sharp projectiles that shot out towards Samira. At the time, she did not have enough spirits to fuel the barrier that her real self had around it for protection, and her mental self reflected it. There was nothing to stop them as they pierced through and wounded her even as she tried to evade them all. Her hand went to her shoulder where one had pierced, but there were several more on her. The spirits she had at the time went through her head as she thought about which one would do the most damage as well as be the best course of action to take when dealing with the bird. Her mind had thought about Amaterasu, a perfect counter for the shadow phoenix. However, she did not obtain that spirit until later on in the day. The point after the last shrine and during a different battle entirely. What surprised the summoner though was that as she thought about the spirit, her clothes began to glow and form into a different outfit entirely, the one she normally wore when using Ama’s power. That should not have been possible given the sequence of events, and for the fact she had not even called on her to begin with.

Vishnu also took notice of it and his voice echoed into the scene, seeming displeased. “You should not have access to that spirit’s powers. I have forbidden you from using them out of sequence.”

”I suppose even your power is not enough to turn off the bond I have with them for long,” Samira replied with a slight smirk as she fully took on Ama’s powers. The wounds she had received were forgotten about as the surge of energy took over and a brilliant light emitted from her and took over the space completely. The phoenix screeched from the light, blinded and seeming to also get burned by it as well. That was the least amount of damage it would receive. During its blindness, she regained the chakrams from before as they appeared in her hands and she made full use of them as well as her spirit’s powers. Samira teleported up to the phoenix in a flash of light, and her weapons began to glow as their power was amplified. In rapid succession she attacked the bird, moving so quickly that the bird could not even react to it. As a final hit, she felt the energy of all of her spirits fuel her from their keys and released that power through her chakrams, sending the bird down all the way to the ground harshly and with great force.

Samira then began to descend from her place in the air. Nearing the ground, she teleported once more to save herself from injury and be safely on the ground that way rather than continue her fall. The vision phoenix began to turn into dispersing ash before its entire body faded away into particles completely. ”Do not be too angry,” she began to say calmly towards the blue skinned spirit that started the whole trial. ”I hardly call this cheating. I probably only had access to her power because technically I obtained her power this same day. I know what comes next. You still intend on me going through with it, am I right to assume this?”

“Indeed. The battle between you and your friend, as it happened that day so long ago. Are you ready?”

"Mages come in all shapes and sizes. Where one may falter at something, another may excel."

”No.” An honest reply that went ignored. The next scene quickly passed over the events of the final shrine within Terasu and came to a stop at Lamia Scale’s guild hall. Much of what happened had been skipped. Kaori’s spirit Iron Fist striking her after misunderstanding what had happened, Kaori defeating her own spirits that tried to stop her from going berserk, her fighting her servant and ally. All of it skipped and left to sit at the point where her past version was fighting the dark Kaori. Back then one of the ninja’s spirits had also threatened to drown the entire guild hall with ocean water if it meant it would stop her in the process. It had been a part of his unique contract to kill her if it came to that point. The clock was ticking as the waters rose, and he barely gave enough time for a battle to take place. Nevertheless, she had been stopped that day, but only because her dark self had been satisfied with the fight, not because she had actually been defeated. Samira was weak then in comparison even after obtaining more spirits and a new level of power just as much as she was currently. It had always bothered her, and still did.

The two vision versions disappeared, as did every other person, and all that was left were the surroundings and rushing water. A new dark Kaori appeared as an opponent for her current self, and with Amaterasu’s powers still coursing through her, Samira locked eyes on it as it came towards her in an attack with its black blade. It had been blocked and moved aside by one of her chakrams as she moved the other for her own attack. The dark Kaori said a word that was all too familiar though and a small explosion happened, creating distance as both moved out of its way to avoid being harmed from the burst of magic. As the dark and fake Kaori made clones, so did she with light variants. They all continued to clash, but just like before Samira was being overwhelmed. Even the light spirit’s most powerful attack that resulted in a fatal pillar of light energy descending from the sky had not been enough to end the fight. One thing was though, and it was something she did not fully consider doing back then.

On the ground had been a blade that had been summoned and used against her earlier. Samira took advantage of it and wielded it for her own use, but not to block or parry the one coming for her. As the dark Kaori teleported to be in front of her and take a swing, Samira grabbed her and jammed the pointed end of the weapon through her stomach. The false version seemed surprised by the action, and even more so as tears fell from the eyes and slid down the cheeks as Samira jammed the weapon even further again. There was no trying to “save” her that time. There was only destruction. The dark Kaori fell, and soon the corpse turned into particles.

“You killed her?” Vishnu asked as he materialized, astonished by the summoner’s actions.

”There is a fundamental difference between Kaori and myself,” Samira replied as she tossed the weapon away. While she did not outwardly show it, having to take such an action did effect her. All of it did, which was why she wanted to avoid having to go down memory lane to begin with. Her head turned to then stare at the bewildered spirit. ”I can tell the difference between an illusion and the real one. She apparently could not despite knowing me and what I would and would not do if past experiences are anything to go by. Her mind should have remembered where I was that day, she should have remembered that I would never say such horrible things, there were many things she should have known. I forgave her for it a long time ago. You annoy me by having me go back and remember how I felt back then, and for assuming I would have the same weakness as her. Sharing a face does not make me forget that this is not real.”

“Is this why the chaos serpent is so strongly connected with you? I did not think you had darkness within you.”

Samira sighed softly. ”Even back then I was told of it, not just by the shadow phoenix or her servant. The vision of me that corrupted her then also told me of it. But you know…” Her words trailed off, and she gave a moment of pause as she tried to recall something else she heard that day in the past. "There is no darkness without light, and there is no light without darkness. There is no equilibrium between the two, only the purpose for which you have them."

“And your purpose for having them?”

”Who really knows? I never thought about those words until now after hearing them a second time. The first time I was too shaken to pay attention or care.” Another sigh as she took the time to relax, thinking it was over. ”You have not started the next memory. I would have thought there would have been more. This was hardly the last important memory. Are we done?”

Another earthquake would be her answer, and the building of the guild hall collapsed as water began to pour in and rise in a large amount, covering everything. Her mental self was covered by the powerful force and drowned. Before it happened, Vishnu had vanished and had replied in her mind. “No. Your desire to die is still overpowering. Until you choose life this will continue.”

The mental space began to tear and continue its violent shaking. Even Vishnu was growing concerned as he had no power to stop it. The next memory would not even play. Rather, all of them began to rush rapidly in the background as the ones of the shrines had, only this time they did not stop. Over and over they continued as if they were a movie in the fast forward setting.

"Mages come in all shapes and sizes. Where one may falter at something, another may excel."

Her journeys through the countries of Iceberg, Minstrel, and the Pergrande Kingdom while Kaori was missing passed over. The ninja’s return and how their first mission since led them to a hidden facility that cloned spirits. The mission that led them to an ancient desert city where her own spirit Anhur was hidden away, and how back then Samira realized something was wrong with her friend as she slaughtered the citizens in ways she never would have before, and had nearly killed a man that had proven to be an ally. The mission in Bosco where they took down a cloned Celestial King. The memory of taking on the cloned version of her most powerful spirit, and how it destroyed entire armies as it paved its way from country to country. How she found out that they had a link between each other that existed ever since childhood without them knowing. The first time they were in Pandora and fought a few giant monsters, including a beast of darkness to show that the other woman attracted such creatures to her. The steps it took to reclaim the pieces of Kaori’s heart that had been left in others, leaving her broken and messed up before they had been recollected. The time when Samira allowed her to visit the village she had lived for part of her life and how it later turned into a battle for the both of them against more spirits and those that cloned them. Then finally the cave trials and the days of Kaori training her. All of it looped in an endless cycle beyond anyone’s control except for Samira’s, who could not fully process how to do so.

“Our time grows short. This will be the last battle.” The spirit did not materialize as she had, but instead another version of herself had. It resembled her of course, but was a darker version and had black eyes and aura to match. ”Remember me?” The other version of herself had asked with an eerie and arrogant smirk. From what Samira could assume, it was the same version of her that had appeared in her head before during that day in the past. It had never resurfaced due to her banishing it once she had made the contract with Amaterasu, but somehow it was now standing before her once more.

”You should know that answer for yourself. You are a part of me, or are you just another pointless creation from my mind?” Samira’s tone was bitter and annoyed. Fighting that thing was wanted even less than fighting the fake version of Kaori. Amaterasu’s power was still on her, having followed her to that point, but it would not last for much longer. She could feel the power waning as she watched the carefree movements of her darker half.

”Who knows? It could be both! Lets not have so much attitude with our words though. We are the same person really, just with some differences.”

”No fighting with words, but still fighting in general. For what purpose? There was barely even a fight the last time.”

”For control, of course. You have neglected me in favor of that your kind and light hearted self. You need to remember that I exist. Not just as some personality traits such as anger and jealousy, but as an actual part of you that you will acknowledge.”

Samira arched a eyebrow at those words. She highly disagreed with them. There was plenty of negative traits within her without having to allow even more in. ”I have no need for you. Lets pretend this conversation did not come to pass. It has wasted my time, and I prefer not thinking about it.” Her attention went on to focus on trying to stop the random memories from flashing as well as the mind earthquakes. The other Samira she did not assume would attack given she did not do so even the last time. She was wrong with that line of thinking. As she turned and began to ignore the darker version, she found herself lifted from the ground and slammed back down. Up again and then down. Up, and then tossed away.

When she had regained her senses and was able to sit up, Samira noticed a darker version of her earth spirit known as Geb. A large spirit normally that resembled a mountain due to being made of rock, and one that she used very infrequently. From there, other dark versions of her spirits were called upon and made to attack. Using Ama’s powers, she was able to defeat some of them after she had regained her footing and had avoided some entirely, but she was beginning to be overwhelmed, and as the dark version of herself joined in the battle herself, Samira was pushed into a corner. It had forced the life flashing before her eyes effect, much as the entire trial had been only in a smaller portion. Then her thoughts settled on one quote spoken to her friend. The same quote that had been said during that day when she had to fight her. "I know you're not the strongest fighter but believe in the power of your heart and your body will inherit that power." It was advice that was given back during their very first mission. Two times those words had helped her have more confidence in herself and somehow manage victory. Although, she felt ashamed as she realized she seemed to always forget those words right after hearing them. Perhaps they would stick for once, as sort of cliché sounding as they were.

Her darker self had come in for an attack, one that was like her own where the power of all spirits came together for a new source of power. Samira raised her hands as if that offered any form of protection. Her eyes closed as she prepared to feel the incoming attack land, but at the same time she felt her power surge from the earlier voice replay. Just like the previous two times she had heard them. She heard the attack colliding against something, but it was not on her. The green eyes revealed themselves as she dared opened them to see what had happened. Surrounding her was a magic barrier of sorts. One that resembled the one her spirits gave her with their power passively, except it was different. She had created it herself, or at least, that was what she can assume since her actual spirits were not there to do it.

”What is this?! You do not have that power!” The darker half shouted angrily, being just as confused by the barrier’s sudden appearance.

Samira just blinked innocently and tilted her head with a nervous smile. ”Umm, sorry?”

“Remind me again why you’re apologizing? Good grief, can’t even win a fight inside your own damn head. That’s pretty sad, Samira,” she heard the voice of Susano, one of her spirits, echo through the space.

”It is very disappointing.”

”What the?! Since when do you show disappointment? I half expected you to make some dumb comment or ask some obvious question like why there are two of her.”

”Well, why are there two of her?”

”Now you know why I chose not to do so. Serqet had that handled.”

Samira fought the urge to face palm at the comments. One by one more of her spirits returned, her link with them having reconnected and allowing them to enter her mind space once again. As each one appeared, she felt her own strength grow as their power coursed through her. Within seconds she realized it was stronger than any other prior to that point. A new level of power had awakened and been unlocked for her to use. A new highlight in her mage timeline and growth of ability and magical prowess. A magic aura of sorts radiated from her and spread to envelope the darker self, and that half became weaker as a result. That mattered little to the more stubborn dark half that had just as much pride as she did. The battle continued.

"Mages come in all shapes and sizes. Where one may falter at something, another may excel."

As the two halves fought, it became clear that it was no longer a playing field where the real Samira was inferior. The other half proved to be weaker with the new powers that the real version had at her disposal that itself lacked. Several new abilities had done their work in damage, and their effects lingered to damage the enemy further. When the dark half attacked, she was able to use her new barrier to block or even avoid normal attacks entirely by fading slightly from the mental space. Even a battle of spirits had gone wrong for the dark half. Samira was able to open the Gate of the Avatar and keep it open. Every spirit at the summoner’s disposal was able to come out as they chose and vanish after landing an attack. No longer did Samira even have to call their names out for them to permanently remain, unlike the dark half that was stuck in a different timeline and state of power.

”You… will not… get rid of… me,” the dark half said between breaths and the pain she felt coursing through her from the combined multiple effects of the spells used on her. The dark eyes glared at the summoner, expecting her to finish it there.

Samira‘s eyes narrowed at those words as she approached, pausing right in front of the fake dark version of herself. ”No, I suppose not.” The words were stated calmly yet they were also cold. A khopesh formed in each hand, having regained another new ability. The weapons surged and crackled with dark red and purple colored energy, and the blades themselves were black in color. There was only one spirit who could bring about such energy, and he had allowed her to make use of his power again. He had his fun toying with her mental state again, and now because of it she was closer to where he needed her to be than before. The dark serpent certainly did not want her to die, so it was time to allow her to put an end to it all rather than interfere with her coming out of her shut down.

”But I am not trying to get rid of you. I am going to have to accept your existence, just as I am going to have to accept his. Did you not hear me repeat the words once said in my presence earlier? There is no darkness without light, and there is no light without darkness. There is no equilibrium between the two, only the purpose for which you have them." The weapons she held began to glow red and it passed onto herself as her power increased further. ”I grow tired of this battle, and of being here in general. I would say farewell, but you will still be with me. The parting word is a bit pointless.” From the weapons a dark energy was released as she swung them, having no need to actually hit or cut her opponent. The attack made impact and sent the dark version quite a distance right before another attack joined it to end the battle once and for all. The power of all of her spirits that were with her was released in full, and the combined energies and elements struck the dark version and obliterated her form entirely.

The voices of her spirits were then loud at first with their comments, but then they begun to fade. Vishnu spoke no more, and the background memories ceased to be as they too faded, and the world around her turned dark. The next thing she noticed were her eyes opening. Almost immediately she felt weakened and drained, and she hurt all over, especially her head where a very large migraine made it feel as if it were about to explode and scatter her brain along the walls. The walls… right. Samira looked around with squinted eyes as she tried to see clearly. From what she could tell she was back in the real world, still huddled in a corner of her room. The room was still torn apart of course, but the magical energy that had been causing trouble was gone. A sort of relief. Even more so that she was actually alive considering the entire time in her head she was being told that she was dying.

As if reading her thoughts, a certain blue-skinned and multi-armed spirit spoke from his seat on her bed. “Remain as weak as you are, and you will be. You will require nourishment and likely the aid of those with healing abilities, but you will survive.” He continued looking at her, tapping his cheek with the index finger of one of his hands in thought while doing so. “I can honestly say that my assumption is that you only live and broke free of your mind because your spirits somehow managed to get to you, and from their bond you were able to grow again in power.”

”Does that mean I fail?” By that point, the summoner did not care either way. It would have been unfortunate to go through all of that just to fail, but passing just meant she had another one of those trials that she did not care about whatsoever.

“Good question. I do not recall stating how you should escape from your memories. In a very technical sense, everything you did was allowed. I must also say that the power increase and abilities intrigue me. While most other mages of your kind seem to just grow in power for no real reason other than natural development, yours is always halted until you are forced into it. I wonder where the next level goes and how you will acquire it.”

”So you will pass me for simple curiosity.” A statement rather than a question after scoffing at his words.

“As good of a reason as any other. My curiosity cannot be sated if I were allow you to fail and halt your progression. Three trials after my own still remain, however. I may never get my answer either way. At least with passing you there is a small chance.” Vishnu then looked at the mask that was still lying on the floor. “I recall in one of your memories that you said you lived to find answers to some mysteries concerning those in your past. Is the disappearance of your friend another one?”

The question had caught her off guard slightly, and her annoyance had evaporated as her gaze fell onto the mask lying in front of her. She did not recall the memory of the time where she had made that statement playing fully. That had been part of the mission within Iceberg, which had been a part of the looping memory cycle that had been in the background. Well, she supposed how he knew about it was irrelevant. He probably knew everything before the trial had even begun. ”A mystery that will likely never be solved.”