“Growth – Master Spell”

Those words were written in dark-black pen and caligraphy-like font.

“Those who wish to master growth always failed, leaving many scholars to believe that it is an extremely difficult ability. Only few have been able to use growth, and only in very limited quantities. In its current form, growth seems nearly useless.”

Her lips parted gently.

“Although it is often considered as one of the most difficult forms of magic, we have recently come over a well-respected theory that the power of growth can be heavily accelerated through hereditary traits. This study is still a work in progress, as very few people have these so called 'accelerations'.”

Ryoko turned the page with butterflies in her stomach, her eyes settling on what seemed to be the spell in question, labelled “Growth --” There was a heavy blotch of ink after the word. Every page following that one was blank, leading her to consider that this was a sorcerer's notebook.

A growth spell... She thought distantly to herself, her mind wandering over the possibility. Her experience of magic was limited to that of the mages in her village, leaving her uneducated in the face of spells. Nonetheless, a magic that's she's never even heard of brought excitement along with skepticism.

Ryoko let off a sudden and relieved laugh, realizing how long the book had distracted her from the thought of her deceased sister. Perhaps she would survive.

She sighted back at the book, her fingertip brushing under the font, staining her print with thin dust. She considered attempting the spell, pondering how to approach it. The words she gazed at were readable, yet undecipherable. Still, it was worth a shot.

Gently, she lowered the book past her legs, faint strands of grass flattening as the book settled on the dirt. She followed by standing, resting her weight in the soothing soil. “Maybe it'll work...” She murmured as if to assure herself.

She closed her eyes serenely, directing her focus entirely to the spell. Once Ryoko re-opened her eyes, she promptly looked at the page and began to interpret it. With a soft, melancholy voice, she uttered the entirety of the tomb in about ten seconds.

After the sound of her voice had died, she was left with only the ambience of the forest. Only with the birds chirping, leaves swaying, and shadows dancing did she notice how dizzy she was getting. Ryoko rubbed her eyes woozily, a deep yawn forcing its way through her shut lips.

“J...Just a nap... A q-quick.. nap...” She murmured weakly, falling back onto a slate-shaped rock. She used the last of her energy to assure that her robe only settled on the rock, to keep it from staining. After that, she was fast asleep.

Ryoko couldn't tell how long she was asleep for. As she opened her eyes, she noticed that they parted unusually slowly, as if something was hindering her movements. The sun was still held halfway in the air, so either she slept through an entire day, or she hadn't slept at all. The air was thin and frigid, yet she didn't tremble or shiver. Unusually, the coldness felt rather comfortable. Her lips parted widely for a clamoring yawn, her arms stretching out with the same slowness. It seemed like all of her motions were at seventy-percent speed.

After a moment of consideration, she realized that there weren't any trees around her. Strangely, she could barely even recall the events before she fell asleep. She frowned woefully when the thought of her sister crossed her mind while she was trying to remember. Her mind snapped back to the missing trees. As she turned her head, her violet eyes widened in a calm manner. There wasn't any forest around her anymore. Only some tiny, sharp hills, with peaks painted in white, some pond-sized bodies of water, and a near constant green moss on the ground, only interrupted by diversely shaped and sized blotches of grid-textured moss, colored mostly in brown or gray.

With the familiar slowness of her motions, she placed her palms at her sides, digging the heels of her hands into the rather loose soil. She pushed herself up, first straightening her back, then bending her knees in order to place her soles on the ground. This moss felt slightly prickly under her feet. She pressed her palms deeper into the soil, raising her entire body to her feet. It was only now that she could see around herself more properly.

All at once, her memories of last night recompiled. Perhaps it was the sight of the familiar geography, or maybe the visible curvature of the horizon, causing a blue-tint to appear at the edge. Nontheless, her body froze as she awoke to reality. She was massive. Unbelievably, improbably, inconceivably massive.

Ryoko stood motionless in the sky for around ten seconds, eyes unblinking. She thought to herself about the millions of people on the ground, staring up at her like insects in the dirt.They must feel powerless...

Her gaze gloomily loomed downwards, the familiar cloth of her robe unmoved by any wind. Below that, her soles, planted mostly in the green moss. Her eyes widened again as they glanced at a hint of brown-moss under her sole, only partly visible because of the massive heel that was thumped on top of it. That's... That's where my village... was... Even though she knew that everyone within the town, suvivor and attacker alike, was certainly crushed to a pulp, she felt no guilt.

What was this feeling in her chest? Her heart was pounding quickly, and she felt a burden of anxiety, like a lump in her lower throat. After all these years of being weak, weak and worthless, and now unloved... Yet she was now perhaps the strongest thing alive, a village smothered carelessly her constantly shifting heel.

Ryoko's mind jumped back to the attackers at her village. All that they had done to her, all of her hatred towards them. Her fingers curled into themselves, balling her hands into dreadful fists. The corners of her lips curved upwards, an ominous expression in her sadistically enthralled eyes. Slowly, she turned her head away from the flattened village, and towards the largest nearby tower. It distinguished itself from the other buildings, towering into the sky, and parting the clouds. It had a slight halo around its tip. At its base, a massive, sprawling blotch of grid-textured gray spread out for around ten 'feet'. This area belonged to The Draok clan, which seemed to be at the blade of unfortune.