Canaan: My World To Live

Today's NEW (to WN) Chapter is:

Chapter Seven - 6 || Start from Scratch

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Copy and pasted explanation from the previous chapter:

If you are confused by this chapter, then please read the new auxiliary chapter titled "[New!] IMPORTANT Notice before you read..." which explains what happened and why I'm re-uploading updated chapters.

I strongly encourage old readers to read the new version of the rewritten chapters before reading the completely new to chapters. Additionally, it's a good way to refresh the memories of the story as well as gain new insight.

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DON'T read the below. :P Don't say I didn't warn you! I just cut and pasted to rearrange the order of the words. xD You can never be too careful with these sly bots! O_O

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"You—" he started.

Essairyn swung the blade back into the gash, slashing the demon nearly in half. He gave another garish scream, the sound turning liquid as he struggled to finish his words.

"Monster."

The demon laid still in a pool of blood; pitch black orbs peered out into nothingness. Essairyn stared back vacantly; blood dripped from her blade. After a second of silence, the man's body burst into a shower of black dust glinting with red. The dust dissipated as it rose, and the body and blood soon disappeared as if nothing had ever happened.

Essairyn just stared at the empty space. Her sword dropped from her hand, vanishing in a puff of lavender. Her knees felt shaky. She drew in a sharp breath and released it tremulously.

"So," a voice jolted Essairyn back. It was the fox.

"You know magic. I suppose that was how you defeated that beast demon," the small animal conjectured, revealing herself from behind a bush.

Essairyn looked at the fox, deadpan. "Yeah. And I suppose you left me again to your pursuers."

The fox smiled tersely, "Well you were stronger than them anyway."

A corner of Essairyn's mouth twitched up fleetingly on her impassive face. "I don't suppose you also left me for dead too; although, I suppose you came back this time."

"Ouch, touché," the fox winced, "It's not like I know you or anything…"

"Huh, but if you knew me, would you still leave me like one of your 'friends'?" Essairyn snapped sarcastically.

The fox's eyes widened momentarily before she turned her head away. "I don't have friends… anymore." The last word came as a whisper as the fox's face turned dark. There was a hint of sadness in her voice and on her face. At this response, Essairyn wondered just what was the story behind the man's words from earlier.

"Besides, what are you even doing in this forest?" the fox queried, evading Essairyn's questioning look.

The girl gazed at the fox cautiously. "You haven't told me why both of those demons were after you. And how do I know you're not a demon too? Seeing as I saved you twice, I think I ought to know."

The little creature sighed, her white-tipped ears bending downwards in exasperation. "Look, I'm not a demon; I'm a spirit. I know that demon's words didn't give you the best impression of me…or that I had left my problems with you twice..but I assure you, I'm not going to hurt you or leave you again."

"Right…" Essairyn breathed dismissively with a sidelong glance. "So.. the Spirit and Demon Forest."

The small fox perked her ears up and got up on all fours. She scampered over to Essairyn and started circling and sniffing her.

"Wha…" Essairyn started questioningly, picking up her foot to move away from the fox's nose.

The fox lifted her snout towards the girl. Her hazel eyes were bright as she exclaimed, "You're not from around here, are you? Are you a traveler, perhaps?"

"A traveler..?" Essairyn repeated.

Essairyn nodded, understanding Akari meant the principles of yin and yang.

She pointed up at the tree boughs, saying, "That is where I made my treehouse. I figured sleeping in the trees would be safer than on the ground. I guessed that there would be more things moving on the ground than in the air seeing as gravity still exists here…"

"Oh yeah," Akari registered, "apparently your, uh, Earth? has stronger gravity. But how 'gravity' works here is a little different. When you walk, it's not like you bounce or anything. It's only when you jump that you feel the difference, I suppose."

"Hmm, that's interesting," Essairyn commented, "Anyway, let's go up."

Creating a magic circle and stepping up on it, Essairyn gestured for Akari to follow. After the fox joined, the two glided upwards and landed on the treehouse porch. Essairyn gave a little tour of the treehouse, and Akari surveyed its contents, noting the neat craftsmanship of the structure and furnishings.

"This is a nice little place you have here," Akari remarked, "Are you sure today's your first day in this world? This place looks like it was built by an expert carpenter, and yet you built it all with magic? Just like that piece of cloth over there?"

The fox gestured towards the large fabric Essairyn had woven on the way and placed on the bed as a blanket. The girl had learned from the fox that the cotton-like plants she saw earlier weren't harmful; in fact, they were often used to make clothing.

"Yes," Essairyn replied enthusiastically, "if I just imagine the procedures, cutting, compressing, etcetera.. I can recreate the actions without the need for machines or tools. Magic is really amazing, isn't it? You can do so much so easily with it!"

She held up her bag of berries and compressed the juice into the wood cup as demonstration. "Ink," she stated with a smile.

Akari frowned at the thrilled girl, "Are you kidding me? You're an anomaly! You already were though when you used elemental magic as a human… And gimme that bag!"

The fox snatched the bag from Essairyn and began eating the crushed berries inside.

"You mean this isn't normal?" Essairyn curiously asked while the fox ate the berries.

The fox gave a little exasperated sigh before replying, "If that were normal we wouldn't have wars over magic."

The girl pondered over this as she leaned against the side of the window frame.

"I suppose magic is a resource like anything else," she deduced as she watched the fox jump up to the window ledge next to her after finishing the berries.

"Yes, the most valuable considering it can get you basically anything: money, fame, respect and recognition, a home, a living, even life," Akari elaborated, settling down on her belly.

"Life?" Essairyn softly exclaimed.

"Yes, magic can heal after all. So, it's basically like saving someone," Akari clarified and then added with a portentous tone, "And there are more ways to save a life. Hiding their soul, splitting it.."

Essairyn smiled uneasily, making the fox chuckle at her expression.

"Ah, it's only the gods and elementals that can do that anyway, so don't worry. Even then it's extremely hard for them to do unless they're the elemental creator gods," Akari reassured.

Essairyn's expression perked up at the mention of creator gods. Noticing this, Akari continued, "Water, light, earth, fire, and ice. They're the gods who created this world. And for a long time too, they lived in this world. But after the Great Elemental War, they disappeared and became part of the world themselves. No one's ever seen or heard them since. Now, people have forgotten how the world used to be…" Akari trailed off.

She gestured for the fox to follow her to the treehouse. On the way back, the girl shared a little about herself on Earth. She was an only child, a college sophomore, and a part-time intern. Her life was mostly ordinary except for an illness she developed a several years ago that left her physically weak.

The fox shared that she was reincarnating after three thousand years. Once she regained her former powers, she planned to punish those who killed her. But, she didn't elaborate on the details of her death or current pursuers. Essairyn figured she'd eventually find out considering how quickly Akari ran into trouble.

Moving onto the topic of Sol'h'meyr, Akari explained the basics.

"A world is like a mirror, hence the meaning of 'meyr.' A world only exists the way we perceive it, and in a sense, it is superficial. There are many other worlds out there as you can now attest, so a world is a transient reflection of space and time. Soul-heart refers to the way in which this specific world works or is built upon—magic. Magic exists in every creature; every creature is made of magic; it's their life-force. When something is devoid of magic, it is dead.

"While everything is made of magic, not everything has magical ability. In other words, the ability to use magic. The strength of one's innate magical ability lies in their soul. Magical ability can be further strengthened through physical training, in other words, physically practicing their magic, or physical exercise and training of their body to increase magic capacity and strength. We call it strengthening one's soul-heart, the heart which refers to the physical body, and the soul which refers to the magical or spiritual. Even if one doesn't have magical ability, their soul-heart can still be strengthened.

"Then, you get the name of spirits and demons. Spirits were born from the positive or righteous feelings, thoughts, values, and beliefs of humans. Demons are the opposite, but that doesn't necessarily mean spirits are good and demons are bad. They are like light and dark. While the light is seen more positively, the dark doesn't mean it's bad. They're just opposites that balance out the world."

Akari wrinkled her nose in concentration. "I think in some culture of yours, spirits and demons would be akin to yen and yeng..? Or something like that," she added just before they arrived at the ancient tree.