"I am Pandora, the keeper of stories. I will guide you through your own story and shall help you understand yourself properly, just as I did for all the Ascendants before you."
Come, child, let's see what kind of life you lived.
With that, Pandora started walking, and Theon followed her.
They kept walking for some time, but he didn't feel tired or discomfort.
"This world reflects your own inner world, also known as the soul corridor. Every single moment you live through is reflected here. It's natural you don't feel tired."
"Mm, I see. But my lady, why do I have to see through my own memories? I mean, it's not like I don't know about the things that happened to me?"
Pandora looked back and smiled.
"A good story always needs a proper beginning. The secret for an Ascendant to grow is to have a goal and a purpose. That's why your transformation halted midway, allowing me to appear and guide you. Kid, how can you have a purpose when you don't even know who you are?"
"It's fine if you don't understand. Everything will be clear soon. We are almost there. Before deciding where to go, you should understand where you are right now."
Soon, a familiar building became visible. It was Varenthis Castle, absurdly sitting in the middle of the grassland. Well, this is kind of a manifestation after all.
They made their way into the castle and slowly made their way towards the east wing. They found themselves in a garden. Theon was able to recognize this place. His parents often brought him here and left him in the garden to play.
Pandora tapped him on the shoulder and pointed her finger towards someplace. A couple of children were playing with each other. They walked towards the children. It was a boy and a girl. One had blond hair while the girl had blue hair. Both looked like they were around the same age.
The Girl had a small, shabby crown made of tree leaves.
"Amm, Theo. I made it like you showed me." The girl spoke, innocently smiling. She gave the crown to the boy.
Pandora gave a meaningful laugh.
"Kid, I was expecting loneliness, isolation, bullying, and betrayal. But this is surprisingly normal. Who is she? Your girlfriend?"
Theon himself was surprised. "That bitch is capable of smiling? What the heck?"
Pandora coughed, "Language, kid." That's not how you speak in front of a lady."
"Sorry. I don't remember this, but I do know the girl. Her name is Sofia. Princess of the Valtair kingdom. The current Water avatar. And she is not my anybody. We have zero closeness. On the contrary, she spent our entire childhood torturing me."
Pandora tapped her chin with her finger.
"Don't believe everything you see, kid. Especially when it comes to women"
They focused their attention on the children again.
"Umm, Theo. Mama told me to stay away from you. She said you are my enn niee mi?
She blinked innocently, trying hard to pronounce the word. Little Theon flicked her forehead.
"Sofi, your mama can't stop my dad. If he gives permission, we can play together. As long as I don't skip training, Dad will say yes. Besides, one day, when you become queen, your mother can't stop us from playing together."
"Really?" The girl's eyes were sparkling.
"Really. If you become queen, you can do anything."
"Mmm, then can you become my knight?"
"Agggh," Adult Theon felt like puking.
"Lady, can we go and stalk on a different memory? I'm already afraid of where this would lead."
Pandora chuckled and snapped her fingers. Locations changed, and this time? They were inside the Ignisborn castle. They were in the training hall. And this time, they could see young Theo wielding a spear.
His instructor at the time, Jane, was observing him. She was a former commander of the Ignisborn military and a renowned spear arts instructor.
"Well done, young master. You successfully mastered the first form of the "Sunfire" art. You need to refine it a lot more. But I'm sure you can master all 12 forms when you become an adult."
Theon looked at his child self with a complicated gaze. The Ignisborn kingdom is famous for its might. The main reason for that is their versatile thinking. Rather than sticking to a fighting style that was passed down, they adapt to the present. The Ignisborn kingdom does not consider one weapon inferior to another. Anyone who inherited Ignisborn blood is free to wield their preferred weapon. But alongside these weapons, they also learn a set of spells unique to them. After that. An Ignisborn is expected to fuse their weapon arts with these spells. This is the main Ignisborn fighting style, Ignis Regnum.
There was a reason why young Theon chose a spear. Each of the four clans inherited the divine treasure of their patron god. Flame god's divine treasure was a spear. It was authorized to be wielded by the avatars, with the gods' permission, but in times of crisis, the patriarch or the heir is allowed to use it. Little Theon was captivated by this spear ever since he first saw it and wanted to wield it someday.
"In the end, I was only able to master the first form."
The scene shifted to a different time. Theon was practicing his spear art alone. He worked day and night to improve his proficiency. It also showed him dueling with his peers. Every time he won, people admired him. In the eyes of people, he was undoubtedly talented. Although people talked about his talent, few people knew of the effort he put in secretly.
Scene shifted again, and young Theon found himself in front of his parents. There was a little girl with them.
"Theo, we'd like you to meet someone. This is Thalia. From today onwards, she will be your sister."
That day, his parents adopted an unknown girl. Of course, Theon didn't feel comfortable with his parents suddenly asking him to treat a random girl like his own sister. But he still tried. The reason for that is, when he looked into her eyes, he could see deep loneliness, sadness, and distrust towards the world. She was also suddenly forced to live a different life.
Days passed, they dined together, read together, and played together. Slowly, Thalia started smiling around him. She got attached to him. Then one day,
"Brother, look look"
Thalia was able to conjure a small fireball. It was glowing white. No, it was shining in Silver. White flames are a gift from the god of flames. It's an inferior version of Silver Flames used by the god. If she could summon them, then that only means one thing.
Their parents were overjoyed. Of course, he was happy for her, too. But he was also a little bit sad. This means she is an avatar. The legendary spear belonged to her as well as unimaginable strength. But at the end of the day, there's only one thing he could do. He started working even harder. Slowly, the atmosphere within the Ignisborn castle changed.
"Jane, Jane, I learned a new spell today, can you help me fuse it with the spear?"
Young Theon asked the weapon instructor when he saw her. But,
"Patriarch has entrusted me with Lady Thalia's training. I shall do so next time, young master."
It was a strictly professional response, different from how she spoke with Theon before. Soon, Jane and the other instructors willingly volunteered to teach Thalia, seeing her unending talent. She already mastered the 4th form of Sunfire art while Theon was still stuck in the 1st form.
She was growing at an incredibly fast pace. Theo had to work even harder. Then the comparison came. Two of them were constantly compared to each other. Gradually, Thalia became the center of the clan. This affected their relationship as well.
Soon, Thalia will surpass him. They both knew that. She saw all the effort he put on and slowly started thinking of him as someone weak. Someone she has to look after and protect. Theo knew that if he even lost a single duel, this thinking would solidify. He studied every weapon art manual, martial art, and spell he could find.
Theon observed as his younger self studied all the ancient scrolls and tried to find or create a weapon style more suited for him. He abandoned the spear and Sunfire style, which didn't yield any results, and started using a sword. He came up with his own method to utilize white flame.
Thanks to his hard work, he was able to barely win in every duel, but for how long? Thalia is fighting effortlessly while he is giving everything he has. Then one day, the duel ended in a tie. They both knew that Theon would lose in the next one. He confined himself to his room. Soon, his life as he knew it would be turned upside down. What's the point of putting any effort anymore?
He closed his eyes. But when he opened them again, he was no longer himself.