Chapter 5.1 – Extra Chapter: Therese's Evernox Journal Entry
(Therese's POV)
April 21st, 3025
Tuesday
Journal Entry #1
This is the first time I'm writing since I left the cave where I trained for the last five years. I departed two days ago, and while my three masters were eccentric beyond belief, they were also some of the kindest people I've ever met.
So, why am I on this journey?
Well… I'm searching for twelve people—each carrying the surname of one of the Twelve Ever Houses. Once I find them all, I'll climb the Stair to the Boundless Skies, plead before the god who lives there, and ask them to release my siblings' souls from being corrupted into demons. You know, just the usual family reunion quest.
Anyway, I'm only journaling now because, honestly, nothing interesting happened the past couple of days—just floating through the Tharos Seas. Until today.
Melic, my familiar—a particularly feisty maya bird—brewed some wine last night. Naturally, I drank it.
Naturally, I woke up with a pounding headache.
That was problem number one.
Problem number two? When I looked up, Melic pointed his wing toward a massive shipwreck drifting nearby. Wreckage everywhere. And a lot of bodies. A lot of dead bodies.
Thankfully, three people survived. I managed to fish them out. Victory, right?
Except one of them—fully conscious—started tying up the other two who were unconscious.
Apparently, the awake one is a knight named Chandler Everiel. Yes, that Everiel. One of the Twelve Houses. And according to him, the two I saved were fugitives from the Empire of Lumiere, wanted for treason and the murder of the Emperor and Empress.
Naturally, I was like: "What Empire?"
Turns out, it's located all the way on the opposite side of the world—in the far Southeast. Sir Everiel was visibly stunned when I told him they had ended up in the northern continent of Tharos. Something about his story felt… off.
Still, I played along. Can't go revealing my cards yet.
Then I examined the two unconscious royals. There was something subtle in their blood. Not fatal, but enough to put them into an extended sleep. Poisoned. Neatly and efficiently.
Sir Everiel was hiding something, sure. But in fairness, most strangers do when meeting someone new. I didn't press—yet.
Later that afternoon, he asked if we could gather the bodies of his fallen knights into a small boat. He offered a solemn prayer and we set them ablaze at sea. It was… sincere. Emotional, even.
After that, Melic and I sobbed while we prepared our lunch and chopped onions. No, really. I blame the onions.
Post-meal, I treated Chandler's injuries. He insisted he could manage, but I told him I'd help—especially with the gash on his back. Just doing my civic duty as a world-traveling blood mage, thank you very much.
Now, here's where things got interesting.
While cleaning a scrape, my finger brushed against his blood.
And there it was. My passive Blood Arts skill kicked in.
Blood Art XI: Hemovision Reverie
It tapped into blood's quantum memory and neurological resonance, allowing me to passively or actively access the echoes of lived experience stored in blood's molecular lattice.
One drop is all it takes—I saw everything. His memories. His motives. His regrets. His lies.
Turns out, he never captured the royal siblings. His whole mission was a cover. He's been pretending to hunt them, only to sabotage every bounty hunter who tried. He's been helping them escape all this time—his squad of loyal knights even reports fake failures to the Empire.
The last group of bounty hunters they faced was brutal. The royals had already been drugged and restrained. Chandler and his men launched a rescue. But during the skirmish, a rogue cannon fired, triggering an explosion.
And then—boom—a Borealis burst across the sky, and the entire ship was magically teleported here.
Of course, I knew exactly who did it. But later on that…
Sir Everiel. He's the rare kind you only read about—kind without naivety, strong without arrogance, righteous without needing praise. Like a hero lifted from the pages of a fantasy book and dropped into real life.
Even his childhood... hah. I really wish I could filter memories with the Blood Arts. Just a glimpse, a hint—but no. One drop of blood, and it's like watching someone's entire life unfold behind your eyes. No fast-forward. No pause.
Still, I poked around the edges of what I saw. Just a bit of mischief. Just enough to get a reaction.
He responded the only way a knight would.
We crossed blades. And for a moment, I had to take him seriously. He was strong—so much that if I didn't act fast, I'd have been the one pushed back.
I grinned, of course.
It's been a while since someone made me move like that.
As for the royal siblings… I'll sort through their memories later—with Prilla beside me and blood she got on her needles with the siblings. I have a feeling their truths won't be as easy to laugh through.
Master Rielle. One of my three masters. One of the Seven Sages.
See, in this world, Sages are magic users who reached the peak of their craft without divine or demonic aid. They refined their abilities through sheer discipline and will. Master Rielle's specialty is Current Magic—magic born from movement and emotion. Her combat style is practically a dance: her footwork moves tides, her sorrow summons ice, and joy can conjure wind blades.
When she was active, she danced across battlefields—calming storms or unleashing them.
So yes. She was the one who teleported that entire ship here. Why? Who knows. She just told me, "You'll need them."
Classic Master Rielle while squishing my face. She loves doing that, I tell you.
But I told her, it is for them to decide. I'm not here to pull anyone's strings. And they left with the boat and emptied my food storage hahaha.
Sir Everiel must have been really holding a deep grudge for playing him over. Well, I did kick him over.
Well, this is not the end. I know we will see each other soon.