The Source of All Evil

Chapter Three

Michaela Walker.

Michaela rubbed her face awake, stretching as she sat up, stumbling in the darkness that filled her room to the bathroom. She turned the light on, taking a quick glance at herself in the mirror. Evidence of the peaceful and undisturbed sleep she had was showing on her reflection, as a red mark covered the right side of her face. It made her realize that her arm was numb from sleeping on it for hours.

She yawned, relieving herself in the toilet. She went back to her room and picked up the bag Hannah gave her, looked inside it only to frown. She removed the large bottle of Argan oil, staring with a puzzled look at what else was inside it.

After some hesitation, she picked up a thick, old book and studied it, weirded out that the cover was plain and only had an intricate symbol on it, with no title nor an author name.

She knew very well that this book wasn’t in the bag when she first checked it at the coffee shop, so Kyrie nor Hannah were the ones who placed it there. Kirsten as well was out of the question as she would’ve mentioned it.

She sat down on her bed, feeling more awake now, opening the book. The first page was blank, nothing was written on it, the second page was torn, making her scowl deepen, as the third was blank, too. On the fourth page, words were written with something fine and defined that could only be a fountain pen.

So, she began reading, and reading, finding it hard to place down the book for how intriguing the story was. By the time she finished, it was already lunchtime, and Michaela has drunk three cups of coffee in the last twelve hours.

The story setting was in a fantasy world where dragons, mythical beasts, and spiritual and divine cultivators existed. The protagonist was a princess of a kingdom called Crystfire in that world. The King, her father, was an honest and fair man who accepted a group of refugees that escaped war in the southern region. The southern lands were under the control of the evil master and demon emperor, Adrius Gaelerith.

The princess, Nirvana Goliath, lived a good life, showered by the love of her parents and the people of her kingdom. She had access to beautiful and fancy things, good education, many friends, and even a fiancé.

And, of course, like any fantasy that started on a happy note, there definitely would be a moment that changed everything.

War happened. One of the refugees, a spy, was sent by his master to find the whereabouts of an object. Confirming that the King had it, the four divine practitioners, the Fire Dragon clan, Celestial Pheonix clan, Blood Wyvern clan, and Shifter clan masters, plotted against the King, aiming for the royal temple that secured the object they have been looking for. The most powerful amulet in their world.

Nirvana lost her parents in the battle, in front of her own eyes. Battered and captured, the four divine masters feared Nirvana’s grudge, brought her and the few people who survived to the forbidden forest, which was bridled with beasts, rinsing the blood off their hands from killing the princess themselves, forcing her and the few survivors to their demise.

A typical, cliché, and fateful mistake all antagonists subject the protagonist to, as Michaela chuckled at reading that part of the story. It would’ve been easier for them to kill the princess and avoid the risk of her surviving the forbidden forest.

Michaela obviously didn’t like this plot hole.

The princess witnessed the people who were with her get shredded by Divine beasts, while she barely survived, saved by someone who brought her to the Evil Master.

Once she came by, the princess was thirsty for revenge. She dedicated her time to training, learning the dark techniques, awakening the hidden powers within her. She refused the support of Adrius and shunned the offer she’s received from the Fire Dragon Divine master’s successor, her betrothed, Hosuh Adrision, to help her. The latter was in closed-door meditation, unaware of the battle that took place in the Crystfire kingdom. The princess loathed him for being part of that clan while he had no hand in what happened.

Nirvana chose a weird way to execute her plan and hide her existence by opening a brothel, using it as her base of operations. It was an unconventional but clever choice, as the villains wouldn’t guess that the hero would choose such a promiscuous place as a hideout.

Gradually, Nirvana received immense support from disgruntled people, fleeing the oppression of the four Divine Masters.

She thrived and avenged her parents, fighting and killing all four Divine practitioners, unaware that Adrius and Hosuh were pulling the strings behind the scenes to help her succeed. She triumphed, taking back the amulet her father protected with his life, opening the passage to a Divine cave.

Nirvana earned a name for herself out there, voted as the most powerful Divine Master, courted for her love by akin masters, Adrius and Hosuh.

But it didn’t end well for her. Her followers decreased after realizing that she practiced crooked ways to claim her kingdom back, swayed from the spiritual and divinity paths.

She was then named the Cursed Princess, and the four Divine successors soon led a crusade to the Crystfire Kingdom to kill her, threatened by her unrestrained powers.

Nirvana lost control when she got ambushed. She felt dejected that her people turned their backs on her. She resolved to kill everyone present in the area. The Evil Master and the new Fire Dragon Master, Hosuh, couldn’t let her do this, knowing well that she wouldn’t be able to live with herself for killing innocents.

They tried to persuade her, and they failed. They had no choice but to kill her to stop her rampage after she begged them to relieve her from the excruciating pain she was experiencing.

Nirvana Goliath died that day surrounded by the only two individuals that loved her the most.

Michaela snorted at first, thinking of how much the princess reminded her of Kirsten if you ignore the whole fantasy and calamity part. It was definitely upsetting for this story to end tragically. The author could've avoided the several cliché tropes in the story. It also lacked lore, which could be confusing for some readers. The build-up and the characters were okay. Overall, this story had potential.

Then she started thinking about who wrote this book and how did it end up in her bag. She spent the rest of the day just holding the book, contemplating. She couldn’t think of a way for it to be in her bag. She gave up, phoning Kirsten, as she was the last one who touched the bag.

“Hey, bestie!”

“Someone is in a merry mood,” Said Michaela in response to the strange way of greeting.

“Uh-huh! I’ve just finished a call with Seth. He’s coming over.”

Michaela smiled, cheering in her heart for Seth. She loved the guy, and she hoped Kirsten would end up with him. She deserved the best, and Carter was nowhere near the best.

“That’s great. So, what’s the plan?”

Kirsten was quiet for mere seconds, then nervously asked. “Would it be bad if I’m still unsure?”

“No,” Michaela said truthfully, as she knew how hard this was for her friend.

The other sighed. “I-I just want to see him, talk to him, and tell him my answer afterward.”

“Fair, just don’t drag it for so long. I’m sure he’s as nervous as you are right now. . . Just try to relax and act normal. . . I mean, don’t listen to me. I’m not good at giving advice. The last thing someone nervous wants to hear is ‘try to relax’.”

Michaela face-palmed for being awkward at this, but hearing Kirsten chuckle happily, she smiled.

“Mica, you’re the best friend I can ever ask for.”

“Don’t get sentimental with me. I’ll start crying.”

“I’d love to see you cry. . . from happiness, of course.”

She giggled at her wavering tone of voice, figured that she was really nervous about the whole Seth thing. “Okay, silly goose. Call me when you can.”

“Okay. . . Uh, hold on! Why did you call me?”

Michaela glanced at the book on her lap, shaking her head. “It’s nothing important. Talk to you later.”

“Later!”

After ending the call, Michaela sat in front of her laptop, trying to find the author of that book. It looked old, and the leather cover looked like one from medieval times. However, the language was simple and contemporary, as it contained words that were invented in the last decade or so.

She found it weird how the book looked ancient, but the language was modern. She searched for hours, skimming through blurbs of many fantasy books, which she narrowed down into a list, but there was nothing. She even used an app that checked for plagiarized work, and still nothing.

Michaela scratched her head, dropping the search, decided on preparing dinner. Her phone rang, and she knew it must be Kirsten.

“I did it!” Kirsten exclaimed, and Michaela pulled the phone away from her ear, placing her on speaker. Otherwise, she’d lose her sense of hearing from how loud she was.

“What did you do?”

“I told him that I like him too, and. . . and we kissed, and it felt amazing!”

Michaela smiled, relieved that Kirsten made the right choice. “And where is he now?”

“Oh,” Kirsten giggled, saying. “He’s next to me, and you’re on speaker.”

She didn’t know if she should laugh or cry. Kirsten was sure something else. Who would say something as embarrassing in front of the person they were talking about.

“Hi, Mica,” She heard Seth’s voice.

“Hi, Seth. Are you sure about this? Kirsten is a fool, you know.”

“Mica!”

Seth let out a chuckle, and she could imagine Kirsten blushing on the other end. “She’s my fool,” he said with a laugh.

So adorable.

“She is,” she agreed. “When you get tired of each other, let’s hang out.”

“There is no way I’ll get tired of him,” Kirsten said with a cute huff, acting spoiled in front of her boyfriend.

“Good, but we still should hang out.”

“Of course,” said Seth. “I’m free this whole week. I was thinking of taking Kirsten to the lake cabin if she’s free on the weekend.”

“Sure, I’d love to!” Kirsten sounded excited. “I love your lake house.”

“I’m sure you’ll love it even more now.” A sly grin hooked on Michaela’s thin lips, enjoying hearing Kirsten a stammering mess.

“You’re off speaker now. You lost that privilege.”

“Heh, you i***t. You shameless goblin. You said all that embarrassing s**t in front of him. You have no tact.”

“So what? I am happy.”

Michaela had a gentle smile, feeling happy for her. . . for them. “You deserve each other.”

“He’s so sweet and handsome, and kind, and cuddly. . .”

“I get it,” she cut in, feigning annoyance. “You earned bragging rights, just this once.” Looking at the book, she added. “By the way, did you put a book in my bag yesterday?”

No,” Kirsten said in thought. “What type of book?”

She didn’t know what had her dismiss this question, feeling obliged to hide its existence. “Kyrie must’ve given it to me. Anyway, you have fun with your boyfriend.”

Usually, Kirsten would be curious and probe into something like this, especially since Michaela avoided the question. However, maybe in this moment of joy, she just said her goodbye and ended the call.

Michaela knew for a fact that Kyrie nor Hannah gave her this book, which brought up again the question of how it ended up in her bag.

For the next few days, Michaela searched diligently for the owner of the book. She visited several libraries, checked archives, even asked on a famous forum for a book that entailed a similar story; still nothing.

She even went back to Sisters Café, hoping someone could shed light on the matter. She asked Craig, Hannah, and Kyrie, and they all said the same thing. They didn’t leave the book in her bag.

So, Michaela decided to drop the search and focus on her work. She sat in front of her laptop, glaring at the blank page, typing and deleting every paragraph she wrote. She noticed a white light from the corner of her eye, making her take a glance at the book on her desk. It looked normal, not glowing as she assumed, wondering if she finally lost her mind from obsessing over it.

She looked at her laptop and started typing. She did that for a couple of days, and when she stopped, she stared at what she wrote with a frown.

She’d created a background story, explaining how gods descended from the heavens and shared their wisdom and powers with humans. She went into details about how the ascension worked. She also elaborated from her imaginative thinking about the origin of supernatural beings and mythical creatures.

She basically only added the missing details while the rest was a word for word, with the same characters and the same plot. The only major thing she changed was the amulet, finding it more intriguing for a secretive and powerful key to be a human with no spiritual powers.

She based this human on her friend Hannah, describing her as a compassionate, loving, and peaceful person. She gave this human a major role, as she was the one who saved the princess in the forbidden forest and took her to the Evil Master’s empire.

Michaela wrote all that and scowled at it, thinking if this would be alright. Her clean conscious felt heavy, knowing that this wasn’t the right thing to do. And after contemplating the matter, she decided not to use these materials and work on something else instead.

She walked to the front door of her small apartment when someone ringed the bell. Stella, her agent, greeted her with a smile.

Oh s**t! She bitterly thought, as she’d for sure get a scolding for not writing anything. She reluctantly invited her in, and the other placed her bag on a small end table, taking off her shoes, staring with narrowed eyes at the lit screen of her laptop.

“Oh, you’re writing! I was so scared when Kirsten told me you have writer's block.”

I still do, Michaela almost said but stopped herself. Instead, she went on. “I’m working on it but still didn’t write much. I’ll have the transcript ready by the end of next week.”

Stella didn’t seem to hear what she said, taking a seat in front of the laptop and going through what she wrote.

Michaela nervously scratched her head, clenching her firsts from time to time, trying to stop her. She couldn’t do this. She couldn’t use someone else’s hard work as her own. She sighed, staring at her agent as she skimmed through the several pages, unaware of the inner turmoil Michaela was going through.

“This is. . .”

“This is great!” Stella had a wide smile, staring at her. “You did it, Michaela! This will for sure sell thousands of copies!”

“No, you don’t understand. . .”

She cut in again, lost in her thoughts. “After Mr. Parks sees this, he’d for sure stop doubting me and my intuitive sense. I told him that you’ll be huge one day, but he said that you’re a one-time hit.”

“Stella, I. . .”

“Don’t mind what he thinks, Michaela.” Stella stood up and placed her hands on her shoulders. “You’re an awesome author, and you and I will get famous after this one.”

Michaela was struggling mentally, listening to Stella just running her mouth, making assumptions about the book, while she was trying to say that this work wasn’t hers. She could’ve tried harder, and she should have. But seeing that wide grin stopped her from clearing up the misunderstanding. So, she resolved on coaxing Stella into disregarding this book.

“Don’t you think it’s too typical of a story?”

“Not at all. What are you talking about?”

Michaela chuckled nervously. “I was thinking of a different plot.” She grimaced at what crossed her mind, adding. “How about this? The protagonist is seeking revenge on the man who broke her heart. The jerk. . . I mean, the man is a CEO of a publishing company. She focuses on her career, becoming a successful writer. . .”

Stella, who was seriously listening to her, shook her head. “No, it’s overdone. I like this one better.”

“But, Stella. . .”

“Enough nonsense! Go make me some tea while I check this.”

Michaela begrudgingly strode to her kitchen to boil water, placing her sweaty palms on the counter, glaring at the clear marble tiles, thinking of a way to persuade her. She was concerned, worried that this book would get seen by others. If someone or the author recognized the story, her career would plummet. She could imagine the many law suits, the headlines in news websites and tabloids, the harsh comments from critics and angry readers.

With this in mind, she returned to her bedroom. It had a small partition with a couch and a TV, serving as a living room. Stella was standing there, carrying her bag, her smile creepier than before.

“I took the liberty to send the manuscript to my email since you finished it. I’ll review it and contact you.”

Michaela stood there dumbfounded as Stella patted her back, chuckling. “You just made my day.”