Don't Destroy the World

Lord Felis stared at Ember with distaste from his seat on his settee. A wave of panic and anger spread through her. They found her. Did they know she was the one who attacked Lord Felis? She had his Inspect ability so he might not know she was a Seedling and she had disguised herself when she attacked him. There was still a chance even if it was a faint one.

Ember knew she was grasping at straws but there were no shackles on her wrist so it was a possibility.

"Finder's Keepers," Lord Felis said with a sneer. "Only one ability and such a pitiful one at that."

He had his ability back? If it returned that meant she had been unconscious for days. If she was caught then she would just have to fight back. The thought of being on the run again twisted in her stomach but she would make it work. Since she was already caught there was no point in holding back. She would kill Lord Felis and take her father. She would hide him before going to collect Rowan and her mother.

With her decision made, she called up Mally and...nothing. Nothing. Mally didn't come. She tried using Soul torture but again nothing happened. She took a step forward or at least attempted to but her body didn't move. She opened her mouth to shout but again nothing.

Lord Felis sighed. "Well what was I expecting from someone like you. The Choosing is wasted on your sort."

The panic rushing through Ember turned into confusion. What was going on? He was talking like she went through the Choosing. Technically she did but that was in her...

"Call up your ability."

Ember's body nodded outside her control and then her lips moved. "Finder."

A glowing gold Map appeared.

Lord Felis gestured for her to come closer and she moved. The Lord looked at the map with slight interest and nodded his head. He gestured to the steward.

"Find the limits of her ability and send me a report. She is not to eat or sleep until she has shown herself to be useful."

With that, she was dismissed and shuffled out the room behind the steward.

Ember didn't say anything. It wouldn't have mattered anyway. All this had happened already.

----

Ember stood in a workshop, searching for different things the steward ordered. When she was too slow, a guard would hit her. When she failed to find something on the map, she was hit again. If she looked angry or paused for a breath, she was hit over and over.

Even if she reliving a memory, each strike was just as painful as it had been in the past. She struggled to take over her body but everything played out just like in the past. Every flinch, every look, every timid word that spilled from her mouth. Back then, she was simply a twelve-year-old girl in an impossible situation with a cruel man.

Back then, while she had memories of her past life they were jumbled and like looking at a movie that starred her in a role she didn't remember having. It wasn't until much later that her mind had opened up and she truly remember and reconnected to her life on earth. By then, it had come much too late to be useful.

Still, why was she here now? What was happening outside her body. She had fainted in the grass while trying to escape the manor which had been truly a clusterfuck of enormous proportions. She didn't save her father and she let her temper get the best of her only to torture the Lord and leave him alive in the process.

She moved to rub her head and then grunted in frustration when she couldn't. Why was she trapped here? Was it some sort of torture that she was undergoing? But no one knew about her past lives so it didn't make sense. Her mind whirled with questions but there was no answer.

Then suddenly Keeper floated in front of her. The floating book opened up and she saw the familiar page.

---

Finder's Keeper

The ability to find what you seek and keep what you find.

Status: Akashic Gifted, Permanent

Unlocked

1 - Find inanimate objects

---

A fist slammed into her face and she fell to the ground. "Wait! I-I can only find inanimate objects. It says it right here," her old self said, pointing desperately at the floating book.

The steward looked at where she pointed and then sighed. "Stop play games, girl. I don't wish to waste all my time on you."

"It true," she insisted.

"Hit her again," the steward said with a bored voice.

Ember remembered this. They had beat her until she could hardly walk and the whole time she insisted she was telling the truth. Eventually, the steward decided to bring her to Lord Felis. The Lord had used his Inspect ability on her and it indeed showed that her ability stated only inanimate objects could be found. That night she was finally allowed food and a bed to sleep in. She barely ate two bits of bread before she collapsed.

As in the past, the same thing played out. Ember couldn't help being disgusted with her past self. She had been so timid and helpless. She should've never told the steward she could find inanimate objects but back then she had just wanted the constant beatings to stop.

She mentally frowned. She was being too harsh. Back then, she had truly been just a twelve-year-old girl. One who had been sheltered by her parents and with no education beyond learning to cook and do chores.

It wasn't like now where she could remember everything and had the same maturity as before. She paused. Or did she have the same maturity. Her emotions had seemed more vivid than before. Sure, she had a temper but she usually had the emotional intelligence to bid her time but she did the complete opposite and went after her father.

The smarter thing would have been to get to Hekral and see if she could get help. Sure, she was a commoner but she had information that someone might have found useful about the Lord. After all, she knew about his smuggling ring. Yes, he had a powerful patron but she could've worked with Knight Van and found someone trustworthy to report it to while in the meantime preparing a safehouse for her family then get her father. On top of that, the Felis Family was not in good standing with the king so she could have gotten them involved. It would've also work as a good distraction while she put her family in hiding.

So why didn't she do that? Was it guilt or had it been her pride at failing? A misguided attempt to fix a mistake that she only made worse. First, she had been too cautious and then she was too reckless. She was sure being in a twelve-year-old body affected her but was that the only reason? No. It was her. She let her pride and temper rule her. And in return she had made mistake after mistake.

Ember felt sick at the realization. She knew the hormones and brain development would still cloud her judgement but her main problem would be taking control of her temper and pride. Even with two lives under her belt, three if she counted her earth life, she was still flawed and she was sure she would continue to be. But going forward she would have to really think things through.

Hopefully, it wasn't already too late.

----

Pain cause Ember to open her eyes. She tried to move but again the sensation of being connected to her body but unable to control it flooded her. She was still reliving her past. Why? Why hadn't she woken up? Was she in a coma? More and more she was starting to suspect someone was using an ability on her. But how did she break free?

Her thoughts shattered as the whip slashed down on her back. Again and again until she felt like she would pass out or die. Finally, the whipping stopped and she was dragged out from the stocks. She passed out.

When she woke up, she was in her bed in the servant's quarters. She was cleaned up and her wounds treated. Still, it hurt to move and she laid in her bed weeping. Eventually she found herself too tired to cry but the pain of her wounds wouldn't let her sleep. So, Ember called up Finder.

With a start, Ember realized she recognized this memory. It was after she had been wiped after she sent the team out to find a buried treasure only to lead them to a single coin. After that she had learned to be more specific with Finder but before that she had discovered something else.

Keeper suddenly appeared in front of her and once again it flipped open to the page of her ability.

---

Finder's Keeper

The ability to find what you seek and keep what you find.

Status: Akashic Gifted, Permanent

Unlocked

1 - Find inanimate objects

2 - Find unawaken creatures and people

---

She remembered how she had kept the evolution a secret for as long as she could. Every night she had brought Finder up and looked for the dots where her family was located. But then...

The room began to blur before her eyes and this time she was conscious as the scene changed. She was in the library staring at Finder. There were no dots showing on the map.

"Finder, find Mister Zeris of Goros."

Nothing.

"Finder, find Rowan, son of Mister Zeris and Matron Camila."

Nothing. Tears spilled down her cheek.

"F-finder, find Matron Camila, mother of Maiden Ember and Rowan."

Nothing.

Over and over again, she asked Finder to find them but there was nothing. She knew there would be nothing. She was nineteen. Her father and brother had died years ago in a strange animal attack no one could explain. She had to beg to go to their funeral.

Afterwards, her mother had been moved into the manor. She was allowed to see her for an hour a day to start and then it went down to every three days then once a week. Each time the length grew longer and longer.

Three days ago, the dot showing her mother vanished. The next day she was told her mother had passed away in her sleep. Her funeral was yesterday and afterwards, Lord Felis hadn't called for her. She was left alone to her devices.

There were whispers that her mother had wasted away, refusing to eat until finally her spirit had left her. Ember was alone. She hid in the library because no one went in there besides Lord Felis and he had locked himself in his room.

Huddled up, all Ember could do was call up Finder and ask the same question over and over again.

I don't want to relive this.

"I'm sorry," a voice said.

Ember's past self looked up. Her eyes were dead. She was a husk with only the broken pieces of her spirit hanging. It looked like her past self was about to turn away but then she hesitated. It was the hair. The woman speaking to her had blue wavy hair. She had never seen that color. Most people who had colored hair weren't human but the woman seemed human.

"Are you human?"

The woman seemed surprised by the question. "Yes. At least I started that way."

Ember vaguely remembered this conversation. The woman had been a visitor at the estate. She didn't know much about her and she quickly came and went.

"I want to tell you a story," the woman said. "Will you listen to me?"

"I'm a little old for stories," Ember said bitterly.

"Then you don't have to listen. I'll just say tell it to the room you happen to be in."

Ember's past self said nothing. Then the woman began to speak.

The story was like any story told to children. One of monsters and knights that fought them. Of treasure found and then lost, but Ember found herself drawn in. And it wasn't just the self from the past, but her right now.

As she listened to the weave her tale she could feel magic in the air. Ember hadn't noticed it then but she could feel it now. A magic she had never encountered before. It was different from Akashic Tree and different from the Shade. It was something completely unique to this strange blue-haired woman.

How did I not notice this before?

Once again Keeper popped up.

---

Finder's Keeper

The ability to find what you seek and keep what you find.

Status: Akashic Gifted, Permanent

Unlocked

1 - Find inanimate objects

2 - Find unawaken creatures and people

3 - Find Knowledge

---

"Who are you?" Ember asked.

The woman smiled. "A friend of a friend."