The Runic Alchemist

Chapter 491: Land or Water ? Part - 3

Chapter 491: Land or Water ? Part - 3

[Reize's POV]

Her earliest memories were of the sea—a vast, endless expanse of dark blue water. Whether it was real or not, she couldn't tell. It felt like a dream, something fleeting and uncertain.

But the memories that weighed heaviest on her, crushing those brief, pleasant moments, were of her prison. A dark, smelly, stifling room—just a little over 15 meters on each side. Two of its walls had small, iron-barred windows that let in just enough light and air to remind her of the world outside. That was her life, most of her life.

Her only source of light, her only glimpse of freedom, was that small barred window, beyond which lay an endless expanse of barren land and an unforgivingly bright sky. Nothing ever moved out there. But when something did, it was an event—something she and Yomi clung to like a lifeline.

Day after day, Reize spent her time caring for her baby sister, imparting to her the little knowledge she had gathered in her short life. She was nine then, and Yomi was three. There was nothing else to do. Their mother.. She was always being called away to serve the man who owned them. Something about them was different, normal humans did not have horns coming out of their heads. Her mother didn't, just Reize and Yomi did. Her mother called it a blessing of the heavens, but she always had doubts about that.

Everything changed, however, the day their mother returned with a book. Reize had no idea where she had found it—if she had stolen it or not—but it had to belong to him. That book became their world. For days, they pored over it, even though it contained nothing but strange knowledge about enchantments and runic symbols. When she could, their mother taught Reize how to read. She told them stories of great heroes and noble knights who saved princesses and helpless people.

But those were stories of the past. Those people no longer existed.

Then the day came when she, too, was summoned alongside her mother. They gave her a shiny stone, forced her through what they called an "Ascension," and she became an enchanter. She had always been good at memorization, and the trial had only required her to repeat what she had read in that book. It was easy.

But when she returned, the man was furious. Her mother paid the price for it. And so they were thrown back into that same room.

Yet, with the help of that book, Reize mastered the entire process of enchantment. She experimented, practicing on whatever scraps of material she could get her hands on. Sometimes, she enchanted rocks or small objects that flew in through the window. Yomi loved it—her laughter made every moment worthwhile.