ã€ŠThe Dark Veilã€‹


 Part 0: October 10

    My parents feel that my social anxiety is a product of the way I was raised and by the people that are around me. I recently have been seeing a psychologist to ¡°rid me of my social anxieties,¡± which I understand that to them that I have social anxiety even though I know that is far from the case. So Mr. James Orandaz, the psychologist, has suggested that once a week every week, I am to write down what I am feeling and any events that have happened that feel important in any way, unless said events happen in a row then I am free to write as much as I feel needed to relay the issue. So I will begin on the journey that is my life.

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    October 10th

    It seemed as if my thoughts were only capable for me to hear, from past arguments to future memories to come, I thought alone. While the kids from time to time would walk past me over to their friend¡¯s desks to talk about the days fleeting happenings, whether big or small. But I was alone.

    I have not the slightest clue when was the first time that I started to feel this way but it fits how I live my life, socially and personally. There are only two things that I truly care for and they are my books and my drawings. I read whatever I can bring into my immediate focus to distract myself from the dark, unnerving outside world that encapsulate and confuses my very being.

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    The main part of why I write so bitterly, as you might view this as, is because I cannot distinguish faces apart from each other, so I don¡¯t attempt to try. It¡¯s more of a disease that I have had to live with since young, so I don¡¯t try to make any unnecessary connection with anyone or anything.

    Even the parents who have undoubtedly loved me since the day I was born have been cast away into this veil of darkness that haunts me. The only way to tell anyone apart is by voice and mental integrity. I mostly sit on forums that discuss ancient artifacts and modern art, the place where I don¡¯t have to see a face to tell the people apart, only a creative, or not so creative, name and an online status symbol.

    In essence, I am not alone but the emptiness and loneliness still stands. How can I care or feel if I can¡¯t tell who the person I¡¯ve grown to care for from anyone else? What decides person¡¯s experiences but what the person himself is hindered by? Am I a puppet that the gods have decided to change one aspect of as to separate me for the masses as sort of a punishment from my ancestors? I don¡¯t believe so, but that I feel, might be the reason. So in that aspect, I feel sorry for myself, which I know I shouldn''t. But that is the hand in which I am dealt.

 Part 1: October 17

    October 17

    The last person I connected with was my friend Nathan; He had the normal wants for someone of our age group, have them being the newest video game or the newest sports drink that everyone is making a big deal over. I see no need for these carnal desires but of what I want I can attain in a five-minute walk to the art store down the street from my little corner street condo.

    I never judged Nathan for what he desired mainly because he was the only one that I was able to tell apart due to my getting used to his mannerisms and speech patterns. The way he greeted me with semi painful slap on the pack and a ¡°Heyo Denny¡± made it always easy to recognize that it was him speaking these random words and sentences.

    I always sat away in the middle of the classroom reading my many books, and Nate would randomly try to talk to me, which I would always ignore him. Until one day walking up the east stair case to the roof during our lunch break, where we can go anywhere as long as it¡¯s still on campus, I tripped.

    The way that I had fallen, I would have definitely severed my spinal cord from the aftershock of the drop. But about ten feet from impact luckily someone was there, someone not that much bigger than me broke my fall. I fell unconscious.

    When I started to regain consciousness it was as if I had woken up from a coma that lasted many months. I slowly opened my left eye, upon seeing the bright white light bouncing off the tiled ceiling and stark white walls, I slammed it shut, I didn¡¯t even attempt a second try. All I heard was some voice next to me beckoning me to wake up as if I already didn¡¯t wish to but these damn lights are not helping that fact. ¡°Ar¡­ you¡­ Den¡­.y?¡± It followed in a non-determined pattern of broken letters and sincere sounds of panicked noises and moving of what I would guess to be small tables or desks.

    Am I in the clinic? I thought I was walking to the roof. ¡°Wake¡­ p¡­ Den?¡± The words became more comprehensible but still jumbled. ¡°Yo.. shoul¡­ go¡­ back t.. class N..te. It wo..ldnt do an.. good miss class. He¡¯ll be f..ine here.¡± A female voice was saying in a calmed and hushed voice to someone really close to where I am.

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    ¡°No, it was my fault he¡¯s unconscious, he always seemed to want to be alone so I tried talking to him. He seemed to be accepting but annoyed deep down, so he must of went there to get away from me. I¡¯m staying, I want to at least apologize in my own words.¡± He said as if he was actually talking to me instead of the lady. I knew exactly who it is; it¡¯s obvious that it¡¯s Nathan.

    I never actually found him a bother; I just never talk to anyone, so my interaction skills with people are a bit on the loose side. I never want to lose anyone so I decided to not respond to his attempts at communication. Now, I understand what he actually felt. Without thinking I responded, I didn¡¯t know if my emotions took over or if I was still drowsy from waking up but I spoke without opening my eyes.

    ¡°I don¡¯t find you annoying, or bothersome, or anything of the sort. I don¡¯t like to talk because talking brings pain for me, and I don¡¯t want to say something and lose someone just because of whatever defect I have that prevents me from being able to keep people close to me. I do consider you a friend and I look forward to our conversations, even if it doesn¡¯t seem like I do. Also I don¡¯t blame you for what happened; it¡¯s just a small bump on the head and some light scratches. Go on to class, I¡¯ll be back tomorrow, and I will try to respond next time, okay.¡± I said all this with the feeling that I might have just made a mistake for my sake not his, but he left with seeing a loose smile on my face, and with that he said his goodbye with the message of ¡°I¡¯ll be on the roof at lunch tomorrow, climb carefully,¡± and gave a concerned look as he left the room.

 Part 2: October 18

    October 18

    As I had told Nathan yesterday, I was here, a little light headed but present and well enough to stay focused besides the resulting concussion that took a while to take affect that day. I sat in my usual seat, read my books while listening to the teacher with an attentive ear and a false conviction due to me already knowing the subject. Functions and English, I¡¯m already ahead in both subjects after many hours of studying three hours a night every night for the past two years.

    It took a while for me to grasp the English language, me being from Austria, it took a bit longer than people told me it would. But now I can speak as fluently as a native speaker, withholding judgment and different people opinions. The main reason that includes my feeling that I am speaking English well enough is that now no one corrects me or goes out of their way to correct my speech. I know that some words I use when writing or speaking could be construed as extravagant or unnecessary in the way in terms where the word could be shorter, it just comes easier to me. I am sure some can agree and some do not agree.

    Moving on, I was sitting in class reading a book I had recently bought from the aforementioned art store down the road while internally counting down the seconds until the bell rings and I can eat my lunch, and make an attempt to respond to Nathan. The clock above the empty preface of a white board in the front of the room seemed as if it didn¡¯t even tick, as if the whole portion of space time lording over the classroom has seized to move.

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    I felt almost on the brink of disappearing from how much I tried to force myself to make time move in my mind. Then as if luck was on my side, the loud sound that signifies that our break time has started had begun to ring and I was able to make the attempt to climb the stairs that led to the roof.

    I walked down the east end hall, which was eerily empty even though everyone is allowed to roam at their leisure, on my way to the east staircase. As I was climbing the stairs, I don¡¯t believe I have ever clutched anything as tightly as I had that cold railing. My knuckles were stark white and had a burning sensation as I reached for the door handle that led to the roof.

    My immediate vision was blurred almost completely as the afternoon sun had begun to slowly make its way along its usual route. As I slowly started to gain my sight back, what I saw next was not a greeting from one friend to another, but a mistake that I had stumbled upon. It might have been the last time that I could have been able to rationalize anything as a mistake.

 Part 3: October 19

    October 19

    My knees started to feel weak as the expanse of stone and metal before me that had once was brought a calm relaxing reading space for me and me alone was now one that brought horror and sadness. As I regained my focus I immediately recognized a single person, Nathan.

    I don¡¯t really know how I knew it was him, but maybe on the atmosphere around me had made me be able to register it as him, I still don¡¯t understand this ailment I contain completely. Nathan wasn¡¯t sitting there patiently waiting for me to get here, no, he was standing near the edge of the broken piece of fence that the school should have replaced years ago. Broken, rusted and ripped as it was, it could be bypassed fairly easy with little to no effort.

    I then made the attempt to lift my leg up and lazily push forward, but they would not respond to my forced attempts. As if they were not my own but someone that is inside forcing me to stay still.

    I tried my best to yell out in concern and curiosity, repeating ¡°Nathan, what are you doing? Were supposed to talk remember, even if it¡¯s small, anything.¡± I then started to sound hysterical at this point; Nathan wouldn¡¯t even look my way.

    ¡°We were going to eat lunch and get to know each other better. Get away from there, it¡¯s not safe.¡± All my efforts seemed in vain. He still faced the edge of the building, teetering on the loose rubble that seemed to not fall, which is good for me, I still have time.

    The rubble started to become loose as he rocked back and forth with his left heel trying to jar the cement little by little every second. My legs slowly started to return control to me as I inched ever so slowly toward where Nathan was standing but not too much to spook him and force his hand.

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    There was one thing that pounded in my head, one simple question, ¡°Why is he doing this? Why is he doing this?¡±

    ¡°Nate, please tell me why you are standing there? Please give me a response, something. A whisper or even a click of the tongue would suffice for giving me a reason to keep calling out besides just to save a friend. I need a response.¡± I was roughly three-fourth the way to the ledge, but I felt I didn¡¯t quite try hard enough. The next two seconds gave me this impression. The single event that I knew was a possibility but was the worst possible route that I ever would have wanted to happen. Sadly, I got the response I was looking, a quite loud one, but it wasn¡¯t one I wanted to hear.

    ¡°You will cause the end,¡± that was the last thing he said as he gave one last push with his heel against the cement as it gave way. The most unnerving thing about the situation before me was that he was staring directly at me and muttering the last two words of his recent statement, ¡°the end.¡±

    My mind rushed, mainly my thoughts, and all I could do was fall to the ground and feign ignorance.

    I didn¡¯t want to be here.

    I didn¡¯t wish for this to happen.

    I should have just stayed home.

 Part 4: October 22

    October 22

    The news reporters kept on repeating the same lines over and over like a CD with significant scratches on its shiny underside. They kept repeating, ¡°Horror at Ciat Central High School,¡± and ¡°Nate Matthews, Student at Ciat Central High School found dead after jumping from the top of the roof¡­.¡±

    All of the other reports just rang in my head as I planted my body face down on my pillow top mattress, my face pressed deeply into my pillows surface. Inside my head, I was screaming so loud as if to block out what my voice of reason had to say.

    Every single reporter in town was asking me about the situation and wanted to know the true reason why he did it. But why would I know? Why ask a kid who didn¡¯t know anything about him besides his name and how he greeted? I couldn¡¯t even interpret the situation myself let alone tell them about it, so I decided to hold back my anger and willed myself not to lash out. I walked back and forth from school taking back roads and short cuts that one of the kids in my class had informed me about.

    Thanks Gene.

    Everything didn¡¯t make sense, no matter how hard I tried I couldn¡¯t even begin to understand why he would say that ¡°I will cause the end,¡± with such malice and frustration on his face and in his heart. But why call me up to the roof to tell me this? I felt after roughly three days I should check the roof again to look for a single shred of this insanity that he could have left for me. So after most of the students left for the day with all their friends, I quietly made my way towards that dreaded stairwell.

    Luckily I just followed the same pattern in which I easily passed it the day before. My knuckles didn¡¯t tighten almost at all, not from the lack of nerves but from the draining of my confidence as I made my way up that darkened, concrete stairway. I actually made my way relatively quickly up the stairway as if I had never had a problem with them, I started feeling better. Now ahead of me, the dreaded door to the roof.

    I quickly took a single deep breath as to attempt to calm my nerves. I plunged shoulder first into the now tinted mixture of orange and red afternoon sky, the sun was discretely saying good night to this part of the world.

    As my eyes started to adjust again, I swear I started to see something in the corner of my left eye. Relatively close actually, as if it was coming in for a sneak attack. Instinctively I jumped back and turned towards the fleeting image. Nothing was there.

    Was it just my imagination? I proceeded to call out as if hoping for a response, ¡°Is anyone there? If you are, don¡¯t mess with me, I am not in the best mood today. Just come on out.¡± I realized almost instantly that what I said was a typical saying of a main character in most of my action/supernatural stories. I chuckled to myself at how stupid my thoughts could be when my whole being is in a serious situation.

    I started to see the entity coming from my left. The being started to come into focus. It seemed to be about six foot maybe even a few more inches and was taking the same color as the sky to attempt to camouflage itself. It didn¡¯t try that hard to reach me because I decided it was my turn to strike. I clenched my right fist tighter than I thought I ever could to prepare myself.

    I lowered my right shoulder and tensed my forearm as I proceeded to pick my shoulder back up and swing my fist as if to get the highest score on the BOXer arcade game that I used to love to play as a kid. My fist definitely connected but it didn¡¯t feel as if it hit anything that even resembled a face, chest, or anything. There was almost no impact, my fist just stopped as if a wall of air had halted the motion. I was in shock at how this ¡°thing¡± stopped my attack almost effortlessly.

    The fact that he had stopped me as if I hadn¡¯t even tried sent chills down my spine. His hand, if I could call it that, draped over my fist. I slowly looked up, as if in a trance, and all I saw was this WWII type gas mask that seemed as if it hadn¡¯t been in use since then, cracked between the two jet black eye holes and its main decaying brown color. As soon as I was able to show shock on my face, the enemy started to bear down on my hand. My body started to instinctively drop lower and lower to the now soft concrete even though I felt nothing.

    The crushing slowly started to affect me, I was pretty sure the entity wouldn¡¯t let go, so I attempted the best action I could with the options I had left. I attempted to blind side him with a quick sweep to his legs just to throw him off balance. Luckily I managed to loosen his grip enough to get away and jump back a few feet. The most disturbing part was that the mask didn¡¯t move his eye holes away from me at any point during that confrontation. I could feel the murderous intent in the air even though the space between us was a good few meters.

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    He started to pick up jogging, almost near sprint in my direction, still keeping a steadfast gaze on my face. I noticed that he had a limp on his right side as he started to move. Did I do that to him or was he already like that? Also how is he moving so quickly with that limp? Albeit being a barely noticeable limp, but he is basically almost running at full speed.

    I started running at full speed towards the bench on the west side of the rooftop to get something, anything to protect myself with. I was almost half way there when my ears picked up on something that could be noticed as heavy clanking and choking-like sounds coming from behind me. I heard the clanking, almost scraping, getting closer and closer, and if by some miracle instinct, I ducked.

    I don¡¯t know how I managed to do it, but I am not going to question it. He caught up to me quicker than I had thought, and swung what seemed to look like a steel pipe. Not the one from the school, it looked almost brand new. Was he carrying that the whole time? It didn¡¯t really matter; I really needed to get something to protect myself from the next attack. I started sprinting in the direction of the accident from the other day, the emotions didn¡¯t matter, and it became even more of a fight-or-flight situation.

    I was right next to the opening in the rusted fence when I heard the heavy choking right behind me again. All I felt next was a clank and my head went numb as my body fell against the gate. I put my hand on the spot of impact and all I saw on my hand was a brown-like liquid. It was most likely blood but my vision was growing weaker as the seconds pass. The thing was standing right over me waiting for me to fall, and against my best wishes I did. I felt my right arm lie up against the cold, now solid, cement as I rocked back and forth between brightness and darkness.

    I frantically attempted to grab the nearest object to throw at it so I could crawl away. I managed to feel something familiar, I didn¡¯t care what it was, with a good amount of force that was left in my arm, I threw it. The good part is that the object managed to be a piece of cement and managed to stagger him for a good thirty seconds or so. The bad part is that it was only thirty seconds of escape time, which at the pace I was going wasn¡¯t enough to escape. I tried my best to move closer to the edge of the building to yell out for help, even though I knew that everyone was gone, I tried.

    ¡°SOMEONE¡­. ANYONE¡­ I NEED HELP¡­.¡± My voice was coarse and seemed as if it didn¡¯t even make it past the second floor, ten seconds wasted. I grabbed the nearest piece of concrete before attempting to pull myself up as it drew closer. I managed to get one-foot flat on the ground and the other resting on the fence as I took a defensive stance. He stopped as if amused, standing perfectly still as a statue.

    ¡°He is mocking me.¡± I said under my breath. As my blood boiled, I quickly felt the adrenaline course through my veins as I went on the offensive, sprinting in his direction. ¡°Don¡¯t you dare mock me!¡± I yelled as I cocked my arm back, concrete in hand, ready to bash its head in.

    I ran, foot after foot, angered yell after angered yell, full speed at the masked figure. I did lose my balance a little but it didn¡¯t matter at this point. As our distances grew shorter my thoughts grew more calculating. Where should I hit first? Will he counter? It didn¡¯t matter though, I only saw red.

    At the moment I had reached him, I threw all my weight into my arm and drove the cement piece directly into the right side of his neck.

    I felt victorious until I saw the entity before me. He didn¡¯t even move an inch and was still staring at me, deadlocked on my angered expression. I stepped back slowly with my expression now resembling one of helplessness.

    ¡°Why won¡¯t you go down?! Why are you still here?¡± I wanted to say to him but the words weren¡¯t coming out.

    I felt all over my body to make sure he didn¡¯t retaliate. My heart stopped, my mind went blank, my hands stopped. I felt the handle of some small object protruding from my stomach. I lifted my hand six inches in front of my face only to see blood slowly making its way down every part of my palm and wrist. It was mine, and only mine.

    I started to grow faint and my breathing started to become labored. I only saw the entity before me stare as I dropped to the ground gasping for air. Right before Death¡¯s hand started to reach for me, a voice that sounded oddly female in essence but male in tone called out, ¡°You are mine now.¡±

 Part 5: October 24

    October 24

    My eyes shot open as I heaved myself forward gasping for air, any and all of it. My mind immediately drove up a red flag as I tried to understand why I was still alive. If I truly am.

    The first thing that hit me was the stench of melted iron and crushed glass that lingered in the room; it was not a pleasant smell.

    One by one I heard screams, sounds of blades and tearing echoing from the next room. My vision was blocked by some sort of mask locked onto my face, which I didn¡¯t notice at first. All of that wasn¡¯t on the forefront of my thoughts however.

    I sat still as I felt around my abdomen for the scar or something that would help this situation make any sort of sense. I felt nothing but my normal skin, no blemishes and no change in texture. That didn¡¯t help how I was feeling and actually made this situation even more jarring. I don¡¯t understand why my wound seems to disappear or, more importantly, why I was even breathing right now.

    Also, if I was supposedly taken hostage in some way, why are my hands free? So many things that I don¡¯t understand keep popping up. When will it stop?

    The voices from the next room started to stop at the same time as my racing thoughts have. I tried my best to listen to the faintest sound that could help me regain my composure. Sadly, only the dripping of a broken faucet gave response.

    Then as if by chance I started to hear a rustling sound coming from the corner of the room. Not from the torture chamber, but mine! My mind started to race again as the rustling stopped and the clicking of shoes started heading in my direction.

    Click¡­

    Click¡­

    Click¡­

    The sound grew closer¡­ Quicker¡­ Deeper. My heart started to synchronize with the clicking that was heading my way.

    I quickly pushed myself to my feet and made the attempt to run in the opposite way but it was a wasted effort.

    I managed to run shoulder first into a wall that was about ten feet away. I attempted to run along the wall to find some method of escape.

    Luckily, I managed to find a door on the right most wall but it was locked and chained shut. I quickly tried to push my shoulder against the door to jar the chain loose and maybe even crack the lock.

    I attempted to ram my shoulder against the door. Halfway through my attempt the person behind me yelled in a sharp tone, which in turn drew my attention and stopped me.

    ¡°If you move again, you¡¯ll get stabbed again,¡± The person said with a confidence of a war time soldier. I stopped immediately due to the last word they had said and that they had the same voice as before. ¡°Again,¡± the word wavered in my head as a statement, question, and an order.

    I wanted to yell back but I didn¡¯t try to risk it. So I raised my hands over my head and dropped to my knees but I did not bow down.

    I am not that sorry for my situation.

    ¡°I¡¯m listening, see. Can you please take of the mask so I can see the face of who I am talking to?¡±

    ¡°You would like me to do that, huh? What reason do I have to do so?¡± She sounded a little too serious in her words that it made her sound kind of nervous. It didn¡¯t really matter though; all my voice spewed was anger as if I was the king yelling at my subjects.

    ¡°Why do you think? I have no clue where I am. Why I¡¯m even still alive. Also, I don¡¯t know why the fuck I am masked and I also have no want to attack you. It¡¯s mainly because I am in an unfamiliar place in an unfamiliar position with an unknown woman telling me she¡¯d cut me if I resisted. I won¡¯t try anything stupid; I want to live so it wouldn¡¯t be smart to charge you, as much as I truly want to.¡± I said with a dead lock gaze in her direction, almost in a state of depression, I said, ¡°I have to cooperate, so,¡± All of my mind and soul resisted as my mouth tried to utter the next word, ¡°Pl¡­ea..se¡­. Please unlock the mask.¡±

    I heard her stumble back a bit, unprepared for my pleading. ¡°W¡­w¡­ well, ok¡­ okay then. As long as you cooperate and don¡¯t do anything funny, everything will go just fine.¡± She walked closer as she pulled out the key from god knows where to unlock the mask. My eyes started to burn even before she started to remove it, as if they were anticipating it.

    The room was actually dimly lit, almost barely at all, as if by a bulb nearing the end of its life span. It fits in well with the already dreary and creepy environment, so my eyes didn¡¯t burn as much as I thought they would. The first thing that I focused on was the walls around the room, but slowly after I looked back at the woman in front of me.

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    She was still awfully close, almost too close. So close in fact that the iron stench of the room started to drift away, being replaced by a sweet scent with a mixture of sweat. I normally don¡¯t notice these things easily but it was unavoidable. As I proceeded to look towards her, I noticed that I was able to see her face. She is the first person ever that I am able to recognize, I don¡¯t quite understand but I will bask in this moment.

    In amazement, I decided to study her features. She had a pretty cute face compared to how she acts, some would say beautiful; too bad she had to be my enemy. Her waist length hair was drooping ever so slightly over her right shoulder, tied at the end. It was a pleasant mixture of quicksilver and midday sun yellow, almost a midday sun; it made her look innocent and pure. Her eyes were two different colors, one blood red and the other emerald green, they both were looking at me with a questioned face, wondering why I was looking for long.

    She stood up quickly and stepped back a few feet in a panic, ¡°you were thinking weird thoughts, weren¡¯t you?¡± She turned her back away slightly as if she thought I was fondling her with my eyes.

    She is easily flustered despite her outward appearance and the tough front she puts on. She is still a girl, so I decided to tease her a little bit.

    ¡°What if I said yes? Would it change much?¡± I chuckled, ¡°I¡¯m joking, I¡¯m joking. You are easy to jump to conclusions, aren¡¯t you? I was just surprised because you¡¯re the first person that I actually was able to see the face of, and wow I got a good one. You¡¯re cute, you know that.¡± In a normal situation, I wouldn¡¯t normally talk like this and I should be angrier being in the same room as her. But surprisingly I am calmer than I ever have been; it¡¯s a truly weird feeling.

    Her face turned redder than a spring ripened tomato, I got her. With her hands covering her face, she said, ¡°W¡­.w¡­.why w¡­ would you s¡­ say that? I accept the compliment but I thought we were enemies, why compliment the enemy?¡± She turned my may hands lowered to chest height, and a curious expression put on, face back to its shining white luster. ¡°Wait, what do you mean first person to be able to see the face of?¡±

    I noticed now that I stepped into a rat hole, not a big one, but a decent size enough that some wouldn¡¯t want to endure it. I didn¡¯t want to share my weakness to the enemy, but this may help me get her on my side later on. Wow, I just noticed how easily I forgave her. But I truly didn¡¯t. Its somewhere in my mind, back there but there.

    ¡°Hmm¡­ this won¡¯t be easy for me. Give me a minute to word it. Well ever since childhood, I have been cursed with the curse from my ancestors,¡± she had the look on her face as if she wanted to say something but stopped herself. I wanted to question it but I restrained myself to keep the momentum going.

    I continued, ¡°It¡¯s a curse that makes it that I can¡¯t see anyone faces, no eyes, no hair, no anything. Just a veil of darkness over anyone, even my parents. I¡¯ve gotten used to the repetitive asking of people if I remember them or not, and I always have to answer back with a ¡°no,¡± or a ¡°sorry.¡± That in itself is very demeaning because everyone thinks it¡¯s a memory problem, which is not the case. Again and again, I have proven that my memory is at level in which I can remember more than most young adults but they still suggest that I have a disorder.¡± I looked only towards the ground, my face becoming more and more sullen as I went on.

    ¡°So, to stop people from asking stupid questions and suggesting different treatments, I shut myself away in my own little world full of adventure books and historical art. I actually enjoy it more than conversation, so in the end it worked out well in the long run. I have only connected with one person, mainly from him not leaving me alone. You have probably seen him on the news, Nate Matthews.¡± I quickly looked up to see that it was lost on her. I didn¡¯t ask because honestly I didn¡¯t want to hear the answer.

    I continued on as if I didn¡¯t say anything. ¡°Since I can¡¯t see anyone¡¯s faces, I couldn¡¯t read any situation correctly, so everyone decides to leave me alone. The way that I have to live because of my ancestor¡¯s curse is a relatively lonely way of living but at least I am content. That¡¯s all that really matters in life, right?¡± I looked up at her with a loose smile and small tears in the corners of my eyes. They didn¡¯t fall, just stood there waiting.

 Part 6: October 25

    October 25

    She immediately went silent, almost painfully so. I didn¡¯t want to make her feel sad or feel pity towards me but just thinking of my life in full brings it into a painful perspective. I was alone for most my life, I get that and no one can change that fact. Should I feel bad for myself knowing that? No. I had my books and people online that actually cared for what I said, or at least acted like they did.

    I didn¡¯t just stay home and read though; I felt like that would be a waste of the time that I had been given. I would put myself through hell before I could even start to think of entertaining myself with books and art. What else could I do besides making myself the most presentable that I possibly could so people would see me even more as a non-standout character. I wouldn¡¯t be picked on, called names, called fat or stick, called unwanted, so I made myself a well-oiled machine.

    I ran six miles every day, did over three hundred pushups every day, and did over two hundred squats three times a day. It wasn¡¯t easy but it made sure that I didn¡¯t have to sit through talks of resentment or random encounters.

    Yes, I was the one making myself alone, but what could I do but try not to stand out? I¡¯m going to stop there before my mind becomes flush with angry thoughts. I tried to stop thinking when all of a sudden I heard a gentle but angry voice yelling out to me, ¡°hey, you. Are you okay?¡± It wouldn¡¯t stop and I couldn¡¯t react, ¡°Are you okay, whatever your name is. Wake up.¡±

    Just like that I felt a tinge of pain on the right side of my face and my head flung sharply to the left. ¡°Oww, what did you do that for? You know hitting isn¡¯t a nice thing to do, young lady.¡± She was not entertained by my joking, though I didn¡¯t really expect her to.

    ¡°What were you staring at my face for? You¡¯ve been doing it for a straight minute, same expression and everything. It started to get creepy and you weren¡¯t budging, so slapping you was the next viable option.¡± She said with a certain kind of pouting look on her face as she leaned backwards looking as if to get ready to pull some cute little tantrum.

    ¡°Do you like causing more pain than needed? I was in thought about some personal issues and then I get a smacking from a girl who has a low sense of tact. I spilled my guts to a person who I don¡¯t even know the name of, so it jarred some memories loose. Did you feel any sort of a humanly emotion in my life revealing story?¡± I had a blank expression on my face with my voice also monotone, but on the surface I was actually happy to get some rise out of her even if it hurt a bit.

    ¡°Well, I had some kind of emotion, not pity or any of the happy ones. I kind of understood the loneliness, in my line of work one has to be alone to get anything done. I also have one question though. What did your ancestors do to have this curse thing put on you? Like I¡¯ve had to go after people with curses but none of them were ever as bad as a recognition deficiency. Mostly lowball ¡®sleep walking and mental disorder¡¯ type of missions.¡± She said as if not a care in the world, especially not for the feel of what the conversation should sound like.

    ¡°I have no clue about what my ancestors did I was just given the short side of the proverbial stick, I thought you knew why? Being that you were the one that stabbed me because of it. Ring a bell, Mrs. Loose Cannon?¡± She decided it would be best to sit down rather than leaning on the bar she randomly had on her, I still don¡¯t know when she grabbed it though. Maybe when I was zoning out, anyway she replied with a sense of confusion.

    ¡°Oh I have no clue, I just followed orders. I was just doing my job like normal, and they don¡¯t normally say why, they just say do. So like a good employee, I did what they asked and it just happened to be you, nothing more nothing less. Why I saved you was more of a reason of ¡®is this guy worth it or not?¡¯ It was more or less down to two factors.¡± She stopped there; I¡¯m guessing because she was looking for the empathetic ¡°why?¡± that everyone wanted to hear. So I decided the best way to make her continue would be to participate in her little game.

    ¡°Why did you choose to save my life?¡± I leaned my elbows on my crossed knees as I cocked her a smile. She then gave her response with the same expression as before.

    ¡°Number one, I wanted to see if someone could survive well in a spur of the moment encounter with me, you put up one hell of a fight until the last second, no one has ever done that yet so it surprised me. Number two, you are kind of¡­ handsome.¡± She kind of blushed a bit when saying handsome. I didn¡¯t know if she was getting me back for when I called her cute earlier or if she was being serious, either way I blushed the same way she did back then.

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    I quickly put my head down to hide my expression, I said to myself sternly, ¡°men don¡¯t get nervous, men don¡¯t get nervous but god damn that was beautiful.¡±

    She looked kind of confused, ¡°Did I say something weird? Why are you looking down? Are you okay, you look kind of feint?¡±

    I took in a deep breath and then let it out slowly, and then without even thinking, I replied, ¡°I¡¯m¡­ I¡¯m fine just a thrown a little of guard, that¡¯s the first time a girl has called me handsome, so I never knew how it would make me feel. Okay, I¡¯ve calmed down, don¡¯t blindside me like that, okay? I bet it hit you lightly when I called you cute earlier, so that¡¯s why you gave the compliment back so easily, right?¡±

    Now she¡¯s the one that was a little blindsided. ¡°Whaaaat? I¡­ umm¡­ don¡¯t umm¡­ I...¡± She couldn¡¯t quite get the words out and I could see that she was getting really embarrassed. She then proceeded to say something way too quiet for me to be able to hear but the way that her face turned red as she said it, she must¡¯ve said something around the words ¡°it didn¡¯t.¡± I still can¡¯t stop myself from thinking that she is just too cute when she is flustered.

    Stop thinking like that brain, she¡¯s deadly, deadly is not cute, it¡¯s evil. But right now she isn¡¯t the enemy.

    Anyways, we have to start thinking of what to do. So I had to talk to her about something, ¡°Oh I need to ask a few questions before we even start to think of doing anything, which we should¡¯ve actually been thinking of this whole time. What is your name or is there something that I could call you by? Why is my wound healed or just plain gone? And where exactly are we? Sorry for the rapid spitfire of questions but I need to know.¡±

    ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll answer your question with a question, what would you want my name to be? I technically don¡¯t have a name; I go by whatever anyone wants to call me. Altia, Sandra, Wench, name it and I¡¯ve probably have been called it. Your wound is still a mystery for me, I have no clue. I was led to believe that you did it yourself because I am the only one that is allowed in this room. So you were alone in this room for two whole days while you were unconscious. And Number 3, I¡¯ll keep it short, The Underworld.¡±

    ¡°Let me get this straight. You don¡¯t have a name, I healed myself, and, worst of all, ¡®The Underworld¡¯? What is this Dante¡¯s Inferno? What do you take me for, an idiot?¡± I quickly stood up staring down at her, a tinge of anger planted on my face. What didn¡¯t help was that she answered so nonchalantly as if it would faze right through me.

    ¡°No, I don¡¯t think of you as an idiot, I understand your shock. Let¡¯s just call me Kyoko, sound good, then agreed.¡± She gave a little smile, and then proceeded with her blank expression.

    ¡°As for the other two, this is The Underworld not Hell; Hell is technically another name for this place. Since The Underworld is set up differently than the supposed Hell, that book has no jurisdiction here. Since this is hell, then this is where anyone who has died ends up. Since you¡¯re in this room, in The Underworld, then does that answer your question and more?¡±

    The words repeated in my head, ¡°Does that answer your question and more?¡± That means that I must be¡­ dead? How is that possible? I am breathing right? I¡¯m walking, talking, and have no exit wound. I kind of anticipated this answer since I did pass out after being stabbed but thinking that it doesn¡¯t make it any less real.

    My mind started to slowly go blank as my eyes started to stare, as if they went completely blank at the thought that my reality as it was gone, shattered in an instant. It was made in 17 years and smashed in an instant like a pane of glass hit by a sledgehammer. I couldn¡¯t rationalize it properly so I sat there, it could¡¯ve been a minute or an hour but I doubt it, Kyoko wouldn¡¯t let me stay like this for long.

    Just as that thought left the fleeting image of my mind, I suddenly felt something warm wrap around me. It was Kyoko, she must have understood the brunt of her words, and felt my pain. I didn¡¯t mind as we both sat there for a while as I attempted to pick up the shattered pieces of my once stable reality.

 Part 7: October 26

    October 26

    As I started to wake up in a daze from a sleep without a dream, I felt unsatisfied. As if by the ritual I used to do every morning, I naturally started to reach for an alarm that I could swear was going off.

    ¡°Just stop¡­ Stop it you. Let me sleep¡­ for two more minutes.¡± I reached for the snooze button but what I felt was not a button; it was a surface that was as smooth as silk and there was no ringing but I woke up all the same.

    Also, why do I have something soft underneath my head, there weren¡¯t any pillows in this place, at least from what I was able to see once the mask was gone.

    I clamored my eyes slowly open and the situation hit me once again.

    I didn¡¯t want to remember that I was here but I am. I could no longer consider myself a living being, at least in the normal sense of the term ¡°living.¡± But I can slowly begin to accept that.

    My main attention, however, was drawn to the question of ¡°why do I feel so comfortable in a place like this?¡±

    Then, as if still dreaming, I heard an angelic voice ask, ¡°Did you sleep well, Denny? Also, why¡­ are you touching my arm?¡±

    I looked upwards to see a smiling face looking back at me.

    Is she smiling because she¡¯s happy or is she just trying to make my awakening more bearable? Either way, it felt pleasant.

    ¡°Umm¡­ I don¡¯t really think I can call what that was sleep, so... I passed out well. Thank you.¡± I noticed that I should probably stop touching her arm so we don¡¯t have any misunderstandings, so I quickly did so as to lower the awkwardness in the air.

    ¡°Sorry about that. But now on to my other question, why does my head feel like its resting on something very soft? We both know that there aren¡¯t any pillows in this creepy place.¡±

    She started to look a little flustered, I¡¯m still curious though. ¡°Well¡­. You see¡­¡± the words seemed harder to come out. So, as a curious man would do, I threw out a guess.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to take a wild guess because I feel that I have a near perfect idea.¡± I chose the one that seems to happen quite a bit in one of the few manga that I have been keeping up on, so I thought ¡°why not give it a guess?¡±

    ¡°Is it your lap?¡± She stopped immediately and started blushing quite badly now.

    I sat perplexed at the girl in front of me, I was basically in shock. Then the moment dawned on me as the shock wore off.

    I quickly jumped away from her lap, my chest started to tighten. ¡°Wait, I was right? Okay¡­ first, umm thank you for letting me sleep there¡­ and two, it didn¡¯t hit me until ten seconds after I guessed, so I am also sorry.¡±

    As I sat there I couldn¡¯t really hide the shock and blushing from my face, as if by someone else¡¯s wishes, I couldn¡¯t stop smiling.

    I finally see a girl and I turn into a blushing, awkward idiot. What¡¯s wrong with me?

    ¡°Did¡­ I do something weird?¡± She started to fidget a bit, not too badly but extremely noticeable as redness grew on her face.

    How can such a girl who seems so military-like act so unbearably cute?

    ¡°No¡­ No, of course not, I¡¯m¡­ I¡¯m actually very happy. I have never had a girl let me do that, especially not a girl as beautiful as you. It made waking back into this world more peaceful.¡± I said with a constant smile on my face and slightly avoiding her gaze.

    She whispers to herself, ¡°He called me beautiful.¡± She started blushing even more. ¡°Uhh¡­ okay, umm lets¡­ let¡¯s move on then. What should be our next move?¡± She asked as she started to sit up. Her nervous face and clearly stunning complexion had been burned into my mind. Thank you God, or Devil, or whatever entity I have to pray now for this.

    ¡°I think we should gather whatever weapons we can find from this room first. Wait, you¡¯re from here, you should know this place pretty well, right?¡± I am guessing she is from higher up knowing that she is basically strong enough to stop a Chimera.

    ¡°Do you live somewhere around here? Or¡­¡± Before I could finish my statement she suddenly jumped up, deployed her armor, and reached for her knife.

    ¡°Kyoko¡­ What¡¯s wrong? Why did you jump up so fast, should I get ready too?¡± I said sitting almost completely upright. Now wide awake.

    ¡°You know those sounds you heard before? They stopped.¡±

    ¡°They stopped?¡± I quickly noticed that the saws and screaming stopped but tiny panic has set in.

    ¡°The saws and the screaming that came from the next room? What does that have to do with anything?¡± I asked with a concerned look and tone of voice.

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    ¡°It shouldn¡¯t stop¡­ it should never stop. It¡¯s not good if it stops. He must be coming. He must know I didn¡¯t complete the mission.¡±

    ¡°Mission? He? Kyoko, what¡¯s happening? Like I said before, should I help?¡±

    ¡°No, just¡­¡± She stopped to give a quick sigh, not in disappointment but in extreme thought before she continued.

    ¡°Actually, yeah. Go over to my bag. I might have something that can disguise your scent and look. This can either go very well or go horribly wrong. So, grab the short sword from the left side pocket.¡± She yelled orders at me with leader-like conviction. I felt compelled to listen, not forced to.

    ¡°Gotcha Captain. I mean¡­ I¡¯ll just go.¡± I ran as fast as I could towards the medium sized bag in the back corner of the room. I went straight for the side and the front pocket. Luckily, the sword was in its respective place and in surprisingly amazing shape. I also grabbed the robe laying to the right of the bag.

    I put on the robe first to make sure it fit; it was kind of tight but it was made specifically for women, so I didn¡¯t complain. I then snuck the sword into my right pocket since I don¡¯t have a holster for any type of weapon currently. Actually, I¡¯m still wearing my street clothes that are stained with my blood under this robe. I¡¯ll get new ones once we get out of this.

    The cloak actually sealed my physique well as I stood at the ready next to my current leader. The stomping, and I mean earth shattering steps, came closer toward the door that was about fifteen yards in front of us.

    Kyoko turned to me and whispered, ¡°Whatever you do, don¡¯t talk and don¡¯t move. I will cover for you if anything happens, okay?¡± She started to get into a relaxed but still defensive stance as the footsteps stopped in front of the door.

    I heard what sounded like loud snarling in a weird pattern on the other side. Is he trying to smell us? Or is he just trying to understand what the noises are from our side?

    Suddenly everything went silent. It sounded as if the whole world had gone to sleep as quickly as it had started when I had woken up.

    Is everything fine now? Are we good? I¡¯m not going to stop feeling tense until Kyoko gives me the nod and even then I¡¯ll still be on guard.

    It¡¯s a new world, a new life. I should never put my guard down and she makes me feel even a little welcome in this world, at least so far.

    The harshly worn silence was quickly broken as the beast crashed through the metal twin doors at full speed into our room.

    He just¡­ stood there

    We both stood silent.

    ¡°Listen Denny, this creature is known as a Mercentry. It cannot see or hear but¡­ Here is a big ¡®but,¡¯ he can feel the vibration of any slight movement from anything. He is also almost perfect at distinguishing anything apart from any other object and/or being. So, don¡¯t make any unnecessary movements. As long as you aren¡¯t detected through his sense of smell, we will be fine.¡±

    The gigantic beast hulking over me as if he was a bear standing on its hind legs looking for prey but it resembled more of an oversized pig.

    I didn¡¯t even breathe during that long minute that it took to walk around the room; I couldn¡¯t tell where it exactly was. The breathing kept getting louder as he paced behind me, halfway through his walk.

    ¡°Oh god, what did I do?¡± I kept telling myself even though I knew the answer was nothing. Do nothing, say nothing, understand nothing. That saying has more or less been the definition of how I have lived life up until this point. But this is now, so no moving.

    The beast started to get louder and louder but it wasn¡¯t getting closer. Did I mess up?

    The only thing I dared to move was my eyes as I looked towards Kyoko. Never have I seen someone yell as quickly as she did in that moment. All I truly saw were what words her lips formed, not the sounds.

    The words I read were, ¡°Roll left now!¡±

    Wait, Roll left now? I didn''t truly question it; I just did, almost instinctively.

    OH SHIT!

    Right after I rolled left, I turned to see a stray butcher¡¯s knife the size of a full grown alligator sticking out of the ground where I once stood. I barely even kept myself upright as he jarred the knife loose and began to rush in for a second attack.

    Well, just my luck.

 Part 8: October 27

    October 27

    ¡°Denny, let it chase you and try to keep it on its toes, I¡¯ll give it a run around in the meantime. Are you ready team? Break!¡±

    She said as she started running in the opposite direction. Out of view from the looming monster running towards me.

    ¡°ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?!! I HAVE TO ENTERTAIN THIS THING! I¡¯M A HUMAN FOR PETE¡¯S SAKE! OH GOD! OH GOD!¡±

    I was too hyped to be wholly frustrated at her, to be honest this made me feel kind of alive. Okay. Umm¡­ dead? Well I felt amazing either way. I sprinted toward the east corner when I heard the beast start after me.

    Wait, how am I running so fast? I feel like I could run as fast as a car on the freeway. This is cool. I¡¯ll ask Kyoko once were out of this.

    Either way the beast couldn¡¯t keep up. Ha ha, sucker. Just as I had that thought, every part of my being shook as the blade flew past me at breakneck speed.

    I froze for the moment, shocked. The beast pulled on¡­. Wait! It has a chain now? How many tricks does this thing have?

    The pullback was a little bit slower than the throw but not by much as it sailed straight for me, I somehow managed to dodge it by tucking and rolling forward, but it did manage to cut the edge of the cloak¡¯s hood.

    Damn, good thing this isn¡¯t mine but Kyoko is going to yell at me for it. Not that I honestly care much.

    I don¡¯t really feel like this is going to go well because he managed to break the wall quite easily as if slicing a butter knife through butter. It crumbled into a fine powder.

    ¡°How¡¯s it going over there Kyo? Are we at least halfway through some sort of plan? Or are we going to just say there¡¯s a plan and flail around hoping we hit something vital because I can handle doing that,¡± then I whispered to myself, ¡°Not that I¡¯ve actually held a short sword before.¡±

    ¡°Oh I have a plan, just not completely done yet. Give me about three more minutes.¡± She said while standing perfectly still. The area around her started to shine and glow almost as if she was using some sort of magic.

    I didn¡¯t truly believe in that, though. But hey, a first time for everything, right?

    I decided the best way to attack a giant would be to take out the legs via the knees. So, I took out the sharpened short sword from my pocket and stopped mid step.

    I then proceeded to turn on my right heel one hundred eighty degrees and as soon as my foot faced forward, I was gone.

    The speed at which I was running is reminiscent of if I was being chased by demons that represented themselves as horrors from those old campfire stories. I didn¡¯t stop nearing the beast.

    It clamored to turn around.

    Ha. Too slow, beasty.

    I flipped back the shroud that I had and as it flapped by my sides from the now overbearing wind, the blade glistened slightly. Two knees, two major veins, one knife. Which should I capitalize on first?

    I decided on the left since it would make him fall in the opposite direction of Kyoko. I had to protect her while she is off doing whatever the hell she is doing.

    She is still glowing. Still silent.

    I ran at full speed while I flipped the handle of the knife so that the blade was on the outside of my arm. Waiting.

    Right as I was underneath this big beast, I looked up. I saw that his arm was already in motion as if it anticipated my movements.

    Now I regret running at full speed because the brutes swing acted as it would be a golf club. Me unwittingly being the ball.

    He hit me as hard as he could as I flew almost at the same speed backwards, hitting the wall behind me. I don¡¯t know how I was still conscious, let alone alive at that point.

    As I started to fade in and out of consciousness, I heard a type of clink from my right.

    I attempted to lift my head but the highest I could lift it was three inches off the ground due to the immense pain in my neck and back. But what I saw shattered my perception of what the unknown was.

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    My vision was hazed from the pressure but that didn¡¯t affect how the situation looked. I saw Kyoko pull something out of mid-air; I couldn¡¯t believe what I saw.

    The light that she was once holding was not that of a big ball of white but was quickly turning into a shapely bright silver sword with a bronze handle, which was laced with a stark orange jewel the size of a pigeon¡¯s egg, planted on its hilt.

    This sword had a weird vibe to it, not of negativity but of something I never would have believed.

    Greed.

    This masterpiece that was spawned by the imagination of some blacksmith was something that could only come from otherworldly legends. Or at least never documented in the normal world.

    I would say it most likely resembled Excalibur but it a different variant and vibe to it. But that¡¯s enough about the sword. The next scene was like as if it was from an action film that depleted most of its budget on the first fight.

    Kyoko started to run and I could tell that the sword started to slow her down because she didn¡¯t have the normal luster that she usually exuded when she ran. She still shone but more at a forceful and pained level, like the sword was already draining her of all of her energy.

    But that didn¡¯t stop her; actually I think it made her more furious. She kept on moving while holding the sword by her right hip at the ready, with a fierce gleam in her eye that I noticed with fear and honor. It was more of hate than of passion but it worked all the same.

    She was about three yards away from the giant when he decided to go on the attack. He started to swing his oversized butcher-like sword when Kyoko was at the two-yard mark.

    He swung down with all his might with a single grunt and a short moan. But he was at the disadvantage now as the cleaver missed its target.

    With one swipe, the beasts arm wasn¡¯t with him but lying on the cold floor next to him cleaved in half.

    Then I started to hear a chuckle; it was a soft but kind of crazed one that was easily noticeable.

    I turned my head to see that it was Kyoko. She started laughing at the beast, almost hysterically.

    I didn¡¯t know what to think about the situation before me. She started to run at the beast again as she held the blade sideways, almost flush to the beast legs.

    She separated them as if her sword was one half of a pair of scissors and his legs were made of fresh paper. She didn¡¯t seem like she intended to stop brutalizing the enemy, who can now be called a victim.

    I need to stop this. I tried my best to stand up but couldn¡¯t keep my balance. I didn¡¯t care about pain at this point as I grabbed the now dulled blade and used it to try to start the blood flow to the other parts of my body by gripping the blade. As quickly as I did so, my body kicked into high gear as I rushed at Kyoko as quick as my body let me.

    Nothing stood in my way as I ran at her yelling for her to stop, she sadly didn¡¯t. The last idea I had was probably a very stupid idea but I truly didn¡¯t care. It was going down anyway, why let it suffer more?

    I ran straight into her, grabbing hold of her. Begging her. Pleading her to stop.

    But I felt a pain, almost unbearable. I looked down to see the mysterious blade stuck in my side.

    Luckily it was shallow enough that I¡¯ll survive from it but deep enough to cause immense worry.

    ¡°St¡­op it. Why¡­ go¡­ this¡­ far? What¡¯s¡­ wrong¡­ wi¡­ yo... Kyo?¡± I said while gasping and choking on my own blood.

    I blacked out at that point; I¡¯m hoping that I stopped her. That¡¯s all could do at that point, Hope.

 Part 9: October 28

    October 28

    I snapped quickly out of my current state as if waking from a nightmare.

    How long was I out?

    I guess that it wasn¡¯t long because I felt the wall on my back as I saw Kyoko just staring at my side in shock.

    Oh yeah, I was stabbed again, I have quite a knack for this.

    ¡°Hey Kyoko, are you okay?¡± I weakly asked.

    She snapped her head up towards me as she started to show her normal concerned face again.

    ¡°Idiot, you¡¯re asking if I¡¯m okay? You¡¯re the one that got hurt. It¡¯s more of ¡®are you okay¡¯?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about me. Of course I¡¯m fine, it doesn¡¯t hurt.¡± I felt down to feel only skin, just like last time.

    ¡°Wait¡­ It doesn¡¯t hurt at all. What the¡­¡±

    Please tell me that I heal almost instantly now.

    I looked down to check my scar.

    Nothing. Ehh, ehh, what¡¯s going on here?

    ¡°What is this sorcery, Kyo? Am I a mutant now?¡±

    ¡°Well, I was actually shaken a bit after I came back¡­¡± Kyoko said looking directly at me, almost serious.

    ¡°Wait¡­ came back? You mean that wasn¡¯t you doing the attacking?¡± I wanted to back up but the brick wall was behind me.

    ¡°Yes and no. The After Bringer is an ancient sword that only certain people are able to use but only one person was able to control it and stay in control. He didn¡¯t last long because the holder¡¯s power reduces by half if they try to control it once it¡¯s activated. I had no recollection of what had happened but I knew it was bad once I came to and you were bleeding badly next to me. So I carried you over here. You have been out for five minutes.¡± She said sullen but also happy that I¡¯m okay.

    ¡°If I may be so bold to ask, why have I healed twice now? Do I have healing powers? I think that¡¯s a big question that needs some answering, if you may. Please.¡± I said with a mix of confusion and happiness hidden on my face as I attempted to keep a semi-poker face.

    ¡°Well, whenever someone is born into the world, they are put into a class due to their parents and social status. You must have luckily been considered as being born into this world after I dragged your body from your world over to mine. You were most likely born as an Ushia like me. They normally get powers, in some way. Wait, do you have a tail?¡± She said now smiling as if happy to see what it was and if I¡­ if I grew a tail?

    ¡°Umm¡­ Wait you have one? I kind of want to see it. I don¡¯t believe I have one or at least it hasn¡¯t appeared yet if so.¡± I said checking but finding no sign of one.

    ¡°N¡­ No¡­ you can¡¯t see mine, at least not now.¡± She was blushing and looking away as if I hit some value or rule of this world.

    Every time I talk about some aspect of her, she seems to blush a lot. Am I slowly getting to her?

    Ooh, my luck. Beautiful, strong, shiny silver and blond hair, an amazing body, and now a tail.

    Should I really be feeling this comfortable with her already? And almost instantly, I shook that thought off.

    This is becoming more of a fantasy than a nightmare like I had initially thought.

    She continued, ¡°If you haven¡¯t gotten one yet, you should soon. Ooh, I¡¯m excited to see what it¡¯ll be.¡± She couldn¡¯t stop herself as her face curved into a wider smile.

    ¡°Depending on the tail, it shows how compatible two people are¡­¡± She stopped, embarrasses at the thought.

    ¡°Well I would like to have a wolf tail, which would be pretty cool. I¡¯d like to admit.¡± I snickered while looking at her, noticing that this conversation isn¡¯t working out as well as she had thought.

    ¡°Anyway, back to serious matters, where should we go next? I need to get new clothes, maybe even a mask to hide my face. Do you know a nice place to go for clothes and what nots?¡±

    ¡°Um... let me see. There is this small town not too far from here that has this really good blacksmith. He actually made my armor, Dragon Rainer, there. He could make you a nice armor set if that¡¯s what you¡¯d like.¡± She said staring off into the space, most likely trying to remember the name or where it is.

    We started to head northeast towards a bridge named Telorso Bridge. Weird name. Don¡¯t get it but I don¡¯t really care. It sounds kind of cool to me.

    We crossed the bridge, which was more unstable than how it looked from what seemed to be many periods of extreme misuse and abandonment over several years. Planks missing, ropes unattached. It doesn¡¯t seem worth it to walk on but we had to get across.

    We slowly made our way across the bridge.

    We were talking back and forth about our lives to distract each other. It was mostly her sharing, which to me was fine. Her past, her line of work, her likes and dislikes.

    The jacket she wore resembled a mid-tier winter vest with a sweater like shirt underneath. She wore what seemed to be reminiscent of a dress from the Chinese culture. I have no idea why she wore it, maybe she likes the style but I believe it¡¯s for the freedom of movement that it allows.

    Some crows started to sound in the nearby trees, almost like they were warning us, but we didn¡¯t heed them.

    ¡°It got quite loud all of a sudden, huh? Birds can get quite loud in the night, I guess. It¡¯s actually very peaceful in a weird annoying way. What do you think?¡± I said looking towards the ground to make sure I didn¡¯t trip. I¡¯ve never been good at the whole forest scene, I fell a lot and pretty badly almost every time.

    ¡°I don¡¯t really care for crows because they are supposed to resemble death. Blue Jays are normally my preference but we don¡¯t have any normal birds here, only crows and vultures. It almost brings a tear to your eye, does it not?¡± I wonder why she¡¯s talking in such a stern tone now. Did I ask the wrong question or does she get like this when she¡¯s on guard?

    ¡°Are you okay there, Kyoko? You seem kind of tense all of a sudden. Is there something I should know involving where we are?¡±

    She didn¡¯t turn as she gave her response just moved her head slightly to the left and whispered.

    ¡°I feel we are being watched, don¡¯t know why, don¡¯t know by whom, but we are. I believe it is dark Alfertain, elves in your world, because this is normally where they live, they move a lot depending on the season. So, if I talk in a stale tone that means my concentration is at an all-time high. Sorry to make you worry.¡± She said in her normal soft tone, hushed.

    I followed the same pattern by tensing my body to ready myself.

    ¡°So, I¡¯m guessing there are normal elves, also where are we headed right now?¡± I finished as I tripped only slightly on a large root protruding from the ground.

    ¡°I have few friends in a village named Astern near here, about two miles due east. They have an amazing blacksmith as well so we can go there for our weapons and armor. He can most likely make you a set of Spirit Armor and get you some clean clothes. It should be¡­¡± She was interrupted by a nearby rustling in a tree about seven yards away.

    Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.

    Kyoko quickly grabbed for her sword, aptly named Shadow, with her left hand as she brought her right hand down to hit the button on the left side of her back to deploy her armor. I was only able to put on what was left of the cloak on myself and drew my knife.

    I was ready for whatever came my way.

    ¡°Who¡¯s there? Come out now or we will strike first. We are both well-armed and protected, so don¡¯t start a battle you won¡¯t be able to finish.¡± Kyoko said as she took her normal relaxed, defensive stance that I saw from the last battle. Both her blood red eye and emerald like eyes were glaring intensely, almost glowing.

    I just stood, blade facing forewords at about mid-chest level and a determined gleam in my eyes. I liked the feel of the blade, it had enough grip so I wouldn¡¯t lose it but wasn¡¯t so taught that I couldn¡¯t flip it around at a moment¡¯s notice.

    We heard a deep chuckling from the bush below which then stopped abruptly two seconds later, to restart almost immediately as it had stopped. Not in front of us but in the tree behind us.

    ¡°You really think I care about whether if I ¡®take a step¡¯ that I¡¯d get hit; did you not just hear me move? Yet you didn¡¯t attack. Why? Did you not expect that I wouldn¡¯t move quickly through space, Miss Warrior? Yeah, I know it¡¯s you, even behind that gas mask. I know.¡± Kyoko turned to face the enemy.

    ¡°Oh shit.¡± I¡¯m guessing she knows who it is because she immediately dropped her stance and started to casually walk towards the elf that was now in front of us.

    ¡°Julac, did you really have to speak in riddles, get down here right now, mister.¡± She could tell the person was like a family member because she even put away her armor.

    ¡°Ha-ha, I made you worry for a second that. That is a first.¡± He said as he jumped down from the tree to give his hand to Kyoko.

    This man had all the makeup of most fantasy stories and games detailing of what an elf should look like. He had pointy ears, slim build, white hair. Additionally, he also had a scar below his left eye, yellow pupils, a rather muscular build, and tattoo of small shrine, all in gold, on his right shoulder.

    ¡°So, what are you doing all the way out here? Are you here for Elsa? I can lead you to the village if you want?¡±

    I was not only lost but widely confused at what was happening in front of me. ¡°Whoa whoa, wait¡­ you know this guy. So¡­ he¡¯s a friend, not an enemy, right?¡±

    ¡°Yes, he¡¯s my friend Elsa¡¯s little brother. He is harmless. Well, if you¡¯re on his side, he is.¡± Kyoko said in a kind manner towards me while giving a friendly glare to Julac.

    ¡°Oh-ho ho, thank god. I was not ready to fight; my legs were so tense that they would¡¯ve given out if I had taken one step. Hey, nice to meet you. I¡¯m Denny.¡±

    I extended a hand out to him but he didn¡¯t accept it. I guess it is understandable, I don¡¯t necessarily fall into a race here. Also, I am a stranger but I¡¯m not dangerous. At least, I don¡¯t believe I am. Just unlucky.

    ¡°Hey¡­¡± Off to the side to Kyoko, ¡°Who is he and why don¡¯t I feel any vibe coming from him?¡±

    ¡°I will explain everything once we get to the village.¡± She started to turn as she pointed her focus more towards Julac after.

    ¡°Shall we start going? The quicker we start going, the better.¡± Kyoko said to Julac.

    He understood and started leading us through a dense path full of broken down trees and smashed roots. I tripped on almost every step.

    Damn balance.

    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­

    It took the good part of the day to reach the village but once we did, it was worth it.

    The valley contained about fifty houses, all small sized but definitely livable, and thirty acres of farm land in the middle of two crystal clear lakes about fifty meters in diameter. The rest of the village was surrounded by trees underneath a now pale orange sky filled with graying clouds.

    The sight was almost too much to admire all at once and I understood that fact. I never was able to see much of it while in my world.

    There was what seemed to be a manor on top of the lonely hill in the village that had one majestic flowing silver waterfall that branched out to each side, banking into the village into water turbines for power.

    I continued to walk in wonder while following Kyo and Julac. He led us to a small inn, where he set us up in separate rooms for the night. The room had a single wooden door connecting the two. No matter how hard I tried to change it, I still felt like an outcast.

    There was a rapid tap of three knock on one of the two doors that led to my room.

    ¡°Oh god this is it, I¡¯m dead.¡± I was so wound up that I thought that was the case.

    A calming voice came from the door that separated mine and Kyo¡¯s room.

    ¡°Denny, are you in there? If so, say something. I don¡¯t want to just barge in to see that you¡¯re out taking a walk or wake you up or anything.¡± Kyo¡¯s voice sounded concerned. She knows how to read a situation better than I had thought.

    ¡°Yeah¡­ Yeah, I¡¯m here. You scared me a bit though. I¡¯m a little jumpy but I¡¯ll be fine. Come on in, the doors unlocked.¡±

    She opened the door and took three steps in.

    ¡°How are you doing? I noticed while you were glaring upwards at the landscape that you were still tensed even though you tried to give the impression that you were fine. Are you going to be fine in here alone?¡± She said as if motherly but as if the only thing she cared about was my well-being.

    ¡°I just feel like something is off here, I know you¡¯ve known them for a while, but I just can¡¯t shake this feeling. Sorry for insinuating anything. I think I¡¯m fine¡­¡± I took a pause but didn¡¯t continue my sentence.

    ¡°Okay, if you ever have another bad vibe, don¡¯t be afraid to knock, all right?¡± She said smiling; she looked kind of tired herself.

    Then I said it.

    ¡°Actually, I don¡¯t feel it would be safe for us to be in separate rooms. I know it sounds random, weird, or creepy to you but I feel like it¡¯d be for the best. Can I stay in your room? I¡¯ll be sleeping on the floor, of course.¡± I realized really quick that it sounded way better in my mind than it did saying it.

    Then as if not caring either way, she agreed, keeping the warmth in her smile.

    I felt weird being in the same room as a girl but I needed to be there in case something was to happen. I couldn¡¯t shake the feeling throughout the night that someone was going to strike at any minute.

    I¡¯m happy she trusts me to not do anything, either she didn¡¯t care or was feeling that something was off herself. It didn¡¯t matter either way; I didn¡¯t want to do anything to upset her. So I kept my guard until passing out later in the waning night.

 Part 10: October 29

    October 29

    I woke up in a cold sweat for some weird reason; I didn¡¯t dream almost at all, so maybe it was panic.

    I turned to greet Kyoko with a typical good morning but she wasn¡¯t in the bed. She wasn¡¯t even in the room.

    Wait¡­ oh no. I ran out of the now wide open door, down the nearby rustic stairs to the front desk.

    ¡°Did a woman about sixty-five centimeters in height, silver-like blond hair, and two different colored eyes run through here?¡± I said in a panic.

    ¡°Oh¡­. You mean Kyo? She woke up really early this morning; she seemed to be in a rush to talk to Elsa. I didn¡¯t want to ask why, it seemed way too urgent. They¡¯ve been apart for a bit due to Kyo¡¯s training.¡± He said as happily as possible.

    ¡°Oh, that makes sense. Where would this Elsa be by the way, if it¡¯s not too much to ask? Also do you have a blacksmith in the village?¡±

    ¡°She lives on the manor on the hill; it¡¯s easy to get to. A path on the side of the hill should lead you straight there. The blacksmith normally works in the manor as well. So I guess you can hit two birds with one stone there.¡± I liked this guy¡¯s attitude, he didn¡¯t seem to care if I was asking any type of question, and he still answers.

    Nice¡­ I like this place so far besides the constant feeling of being watched, I hope I didn¡¯t offend anyone.

    I said my thanks and went off with a smile. I would have given him some money but I don¡¯t believe they¡¯d accept my kind of money. I started to make my way towards the manor, but was stopped outside the door.

    ¡°Are you the man named Denny?¡± Two guards in full armor one about the age of twenty-five and the other in his late thirties walked up to me. Withholding being a threat to me, they asked kindly. Are they bating me now?

    ¡°Yes¡­ Why do you ask? Did I do something wrong? Did I hurt someone important in my sleep, which happens sometimes?¡± I tried to keep them smiling, which they were creepily happy, so I didn¡¯t want to anger them by accident.

    ¡°No. No, you are fine. We have received orders from Clan leader Elsa Sesarie to escort you to the manor, if you will please follow.¡± The guards separated between one in front of me and one behind me. Weird guarding strategy but hey, whatever they¡¯re comfortable with doing as long as I get there.

    ¡°Umm¡­ What is this Clan Leader Elsa like, by the way?¡± I am still really curious; they seem to give me the impression that she¡¯s not afraid to rule like a dictator if she had to mainly because of the title ¡°Clan Leader.¡±

    Also because Kyoko is friends with her, that doesn¡¯t help with my perception of what she¡¯s going to be like since Kyo can be pretty strict at times.

    Does that mean this Leader lady can also have a nice side?

    I¡¯m hoping for that.

    ----------------

    I walked up to the First chamber, which was covered with more guards.

    Great more security checks.

    Why can¡¯t it be the typical manor with a butler who opens the door, greets you, let¡¯s you in, and you chat with the person you¡¯re intending to talk too. Maybe that¡¯s only in TV shows and movies but come on.

    Luckily for me the second room was more relaxed than the first and I passed that relatively quickly.

    Now off to this Elsa lady.

    ----------------

    Knock, Knock.

    The guard at the door banged the circular, if not eerily so, brass knocker on the doors outer surface. ¡°Denny has arrived, should I let him in?¡±

    ¡°Of course, I have been waiting a whole hour now for the new guest to arrive; you can let him in now.¡± A calming but sped up voice came from the room beyond me.

    I am hoping that she will stay cheery like that once I am actually in there.

    I took one step into the room and was greeted plentifully by the clan leader and Kyo.

    Okay¡­ So far so good.

    Before I took a second step to say that unsaid good morning to Kyo, I was tackled by Elsa.

    Elsa was a tanned woman about twenty-five years old, if I had to guess. She was genuinely cute with twin tails and pointy ears, and roughly the same height as Kyo. Reminiscent of the main female elf character in the fantasy novels that I have read but she was in person, alive, and super hyper.

    ¡°Umm¡­ Hi. Can you¡­ maybe¡­ move off me a bit? Also, if I may be so kind to ask, why did you jump at me? I¡¯m not saying I am against it but¡­. it is kind of weird since I technically haven¡¯t really met you yet.¡±

    She didn¡¯t even listen to me it seems as she stayed lying on top of me as she turned to Kyoko.

    ¡°Ooh. So¡­ This is your cute companion from another world that you told me about? You sure know how to choose ¡®em, Kyo! Hehe, me like.¡± She said moving back and forth, slowly dragging her tongue across her bottom teeth in a playful manner.

    Oh god, I have to find a way to get her off me without seeming rude.

    Wait¡­ Kyo told her that I¡¯m cute? I don¡¯t know if that¡¯s a good thing as in that ¡®I am handsome¡¯ cute or the way that I act and am considered cute. Either way it sounded like a compliment, so I took it.

    ¡°Well, cutey-pie. Why don¡¯t you stay here with me and be my prince?¡± She said with a silver tongue. She spoke softly; others would find it very sexy. Sadly, I am not into seductresses. But it did raise my ego a bit.

    I grabbed Elsa¡¯s shoulders and gently pushed her to the side, ¡°Look, I am flattered and all but I can¡¯t accept that offer. I am not able to see myself as a prince in a world that I have just learned existed. Plus, I need to be with Kyo, I feel obligated. Wait, that may not be the right words, I want to protect Kyo, even though I know she can protect herself well enough. Oh god, can she.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re not making me want you any less, maybe even the opposite. But I understand, Mr. Macho, as I¡¯ve heard you been referred to, wants to stay with his savior. The offer will always be there.¡± She says with a smile but a hidden small amount of disappointment in her eyes.

    ¡°There it will stay sadly.¡± Well that was painful to do but it closes one door that I didn¡¯t expect to be opened in the first place.

    I walked over to Kyoko who was standing there in a seemingly formal wear. Well, way more formal than she normally has with that armor or that Chinese dress.

    Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

    ¡°Did I get the desired reaction out of you? Oh and good morning. Been wanting to say it but you left. Didn¡¯t even leave me breakfast. Rude.¡± I liked messing with her because the reaction was priceless.

    It was usually a blush, smile, or friendly slap. I know that it¡¯s friendly because I have seen her hit way, way harder.

    ¡°I had to get to Elsa before the normal people start to arrive to complain, or suggest unwanted stuff just to benefit themselves. I would¡¯ve stayed but I needed to tell her the situation right away. She actually took my side on it, it surprised me. She¡¯s more liberal than she looks; I thought she¡¯d call the guards on you.¡± Kyoko said smirking at me, knowing it would worry me.

    ¡°You¡¯d really go through all that trouble to get me arrested, when you could easily subdue me like you did before? I¡¯ll give you props, that takes guts and hatred for me.¡± I chuckled as I faced forward towards Elsa who has begun to speak.

    ¡°So, the situation here is a little confusing but I¡¯ll go step by step. This handsome young man is from Earth and you were hunting him because you were given orders by the Efferet Council, right? You felt something towards him once you saw him before going through the gate. Ooh la la! Umm¡­ let¡¯s see. Then you decided to rescue him by making him an Ushia. You know you can get life in prison for this, I hope you know. I won¡¯t tattle though, lips are sealed, sister.¡± She was stern-faced yet joking. I definitely wouldn¡¯t stay with her because that¡­ is super creepy.

    ¡°Yes, the Efferet Council ordered me to take out this man. It was the King that told me to do it personally. Once I saw who he was and what his life was like, I couldn¡¯t stand seeing him like that. But I had orders to follow and I decided to attack. He put up an amazing fight and that was the last piece I needed to decide to save him.¡± Kyoko said with a happy and stern face.

    Now that¡¯s a face that¡¯s all right with me, order is everything.

    ¡°Hmm¡­ I see. How do you feel towards him?¡± She asked seriously as it seemed.

    ¡°Well he¡¯s capable, a good fighter, nice person, and good looking.¡± Kyoko was stopped by Elsa.

    ¡°No, no dear. I mean ¡®feel¡¯ feel. What do you ¡®feel¡¯ emotionally towards him?¡± Now I know Elsa was back to her giddy self.

    ¡°Wha¡­what¡­what does th¡­that have to do with anything?¡± Kyoko started blushing a bright red, her eyes sparkling as she stared at Elsa. Her hands about four inches from her face balled up. I¡¯ve never been so intrigued and terrified of what might come of this.

    Either she answers honestly with her true feelings or everyone in this place gets destroyed in fury. I didn¡¯t know which would be more devastating to be honest, for the first I mean as a good thing. The second is more of an ¡®ehh, don¡¯t really know them, don¡¯t truly care¡¯ kind of way.

    ¡°Just answer the question because if you don¡¯t, I¡¯ll try harder to get him.¡± She looks at me as she licks her lips seductively. That would be nice. No, keep to the task at hand Denny.

    ¡°We¡­we¡­well¡­ Umm¡­ I¡­ Uhh¡­ I can¡¯t say I don¡¯t not care for him, I can¡¯t say I really like him, mo¡­more of a mutual like, th¡­that¡¯s it.¡± I knew she was just hiding her true emotions as to not seem weak.

    ¡°Come on, Kyo. Don¡¯t lie to yourself, let me ask your ¡®mutually liked¡¯ friend here how he feels. So Denny, how do you feel towards my sis here?¡± Elsa asked way too quickly and stared at me to see my reaction, as if savoring it.

    How do I feel? I haven¡¯t had enough time to realize it yet.

    Yes, I admire her. She is beautiful. She has an amazing body. The way she blushes truly melts my heart. I want to protect her with my life. I truly enjoy her joking yet sometimes strict attitude and personality. Who she is and how she acts makes my chest tighten and my mind race. She also has the cutest face when embarrassed, coming from me not seeing any besides her, doesn¡¯t stand for much. I panic when she¡¯s not there.

    I guess I¡¯ll have to realize it while I talk, this should go well.

    I pulled in a calm, deep breath then let it out slowly. Then I began to pour out how I am feeling about the current situation, which was way easier than I thought it would.

    ¡°Well, when she tried and succeeded in killing me, I was scared of her. Who wouldn¡¯t be? I was sucked in by her gaze and spilled my guts to her and she actually listened. She was the first person ever besides Dr. Orandaz to listen to my story and care about me, not it. It made me very happy.¡±

    I looked over at her; she was now looking down twiddling her thumbs.

    ¡°I looked at her and she was the first person that I could see the face of. I was able to see someone¡¯s face and one as beautiful as hers. Her different colored eyes caught me off guard at first but that¡¯s another thing that makes her, her. The journey we have had so far, albeit short, made me realize that I belong here with her. I rely on her and she relies on me. I have no idea where we¡¯re going but I know as long as I¡¯m with her, I¡¯ll be fine.¡± I was determined now to make her look directly at me. She was moving her head up then quickly downwards.

    ¡°Ever since that day I felt a click and I still do now. I like her very much. It may be too soon for me to say it but it¡¯s how I feel. I may not be a full Ushia yet or even a high ranking human when I was alive. But I knew I had something different and now I have a girl from the Underworld that I can say that I care very deeply about.¡±

    I turned to Kyoko who was red from ear to ear, looking directly into my eyes. She was happy, smiling widely at me. I didn¡¯t even have to take a hint about what I should do next, I just did it.

    I walked up to Kyoko, grabbing her close, putting my left hand on the back of her head, and the other in her right hand as I placed my lips on hers.

    It was passionate and warm. Soft and calming. Everything I thought it would be and more. It took my breath away at how she kissed me back.

    I saw in her eyes that she felt the same way as she went in for a second time. I felt more cared about with her than anyone that I knew on Earth. Not from Nathan, my family, or my parents.

    Just her. Right here, right now.

 Part 11: October 30

    October 30

    I didn¡¯t want this moment to end. If it could last forever, I would let it. We both leaned back for a breath and we looked into each other¡¯s eyes. Her face showed nervous pleasure. I kept my hand of the right side of her face as I leaned in to continue this moment; there was a clap right next to my ear.

    ¡°Okay that¡¯s enough loving for one day!!¡± Elsa yelled quite loudly while clapping.

    ¡°God, ahh. Do you seriously have something wrong with moments? You just love to ruin them, don¡¯t ya? Jumping at me earlier out of nowhere and ruining this kiss¡­¡± It just hit me, I just had my first kiss and with this beautiful woman standing before me. So that is what that whole kissing thing I heard about was, I now understand. I looked up at Kyoko nervously, who looked at me with her head tilted slightly downward as she brushed the right side of her silver/blonde hair back.

    So cute¡­

    Anyway, I was kind of mad at Elsa for ruining the moment but I knew the circumstances we were in. They weren¡¯t good but they weren¡¯t horrible. Especially with the event that just took place. That cheered me up a bit.

    ¡°Anyway, what would you need us to do? I can help with whatever I can but where are you two planning to go from here?¡± Elsa asked, in her serious way again.

    Kyoko responded still a little flustered but she managed, ¡°We need to get to the village named Hauk to take out a man named Oracle Navarro. He was the second person I was ordered to kill after I had succeeded with Denny here.¡± She looked to me, and in a hushed tone said, ¡°Sorry.¡±

    ¡°So, what can we do for you? You are perfectly fit enough to take almost anyone out, being the best of the Royal Guard that you are known to be. Like I said I can get almost anything for you since I consider you as family. Just as long as it is currently available in the village, I can get it.¡± Elsa replied less serious but more leaning on the neutral, emotionless side.

    ¡°Well, for starters, we need clean clothes and a specific Ushia armor that I know your personal blacksmith can make for Denny. Two, we would like to have your brother, Julac, for the mission. And the third, we will be in need of new weapons, I have a sword and Denny has a dagger. I also believe we need to train Denny in sharpshooting because as you know, I am strong and require close combat. If Julac joins, he is meant more as an assassin who can use low range magic, if any at all. Denny is truly fast and can potentially be better with honing skills than strength with a normal blade.¡± Kyoko listed the needs while Elsa nods as if she wasn¡¯t really listening.

    ¡°One, of course he can. Jacob will just need Denny¡¯s measurements to be able to get the right material sizes. He can also get you some upgraded weapons as well. Two, that¡¯s up to Julac if he wants to, I won¡¯t force him to go. I doubt he will decline though; he is a weird case. Three, I would say that you should go find Aster to teach Denny archery. He is really good at teaching anyone the art and since you said he has good honing skills. Well, it might even take less time than that.¡±

    ¡°I believe it shouldn¡¯t be too hard, right? I recently have been able to pick up new techniques and skills relatively easily. I am also ready for some sort of training. Why don¡¯t we do this, Kyo. While I go and learn from the master archer, you should go to the blacksmith for those new weapons. I believe you¡¯ll be able to pick the best one for me. Also, I don¡¯t believe Julac trusts me yet so could you see if he¡¯d be cool to join us? After archery practice, I will ask around for information on Oracle Navarro, sound good?¡± I had a gleam in my eye that projected happiness but showed determination.

    ¡°Sounds solid enough, don¡¯t get too hurt. You may be able to heal almost instantly but that doesn¡¯t make you invincible. Remember that, if you go down, I will mourn you. Not well but I will.¡± Her joking manner never seizes to amaze me. The last sight I saw was Elsa doing weird movements through space and Kyo¡¯s smiling face slowly fading as the door closed behind me.

    I quickly made my way past the two waterfalls, which I actually stopped at both to look at the crystal clear water seemingly dancing off the edge of the hill.

    Once I finally got past the waterfalls and hills, I saw two houses in front of me, both equally beautiful. Elsa only told me to look for a house with a blue ribbon hanging on the front porch shutter. I have never seen a ribbon placed on a shutter on Earth.

    New places, new ways of doing things, I guess.

    I looked at each of these two buildings, one was labeled, ¡°Aftershop,¡± the other being named, ¡°Oltos.¡±  I decided to pick the abnormally named one because curiosity was beckoning.

    As I walked up to the door, I realized that I had picked the right one since the house did have the desired ribbon tied onto the front facing shutter.

    I am one for one. I feel great so far.

    I didn¡¯t even put my hand on the door handle when I heard a deep, hardened voice call out.

    ¡°Come on in, I have heard from Elsa that you need my help.¡±

    ¡°How are they able to talk to her so fast?¡±

    ¡°She sends messages quickly.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t see any letters, did you...?¡± I didn¡¯t even open my mouth for the next word when he answered me.

    ¡°Yes, she sent a message through her mind; I can receive messages but not send them out. Neat, right?¡± This man seemed like a nice guy so far.

    I walked into the house to find a normal sized man with a darkened skin tone, two white eyes, and pointy ears. I sat down in the chair opposite to him.

    ¡°So, you are Denny? You want to learn Archery or do you need to? Ahh, okay. So you don¡¯t need to but you want to be able to effectively help Kyo. Protect her. That¡¯s enough to reason, it seems. Will do; let me prepare the bows, arrows, and targets. Come out back and wait five minutes but be on constant guard.¡±

    The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

    He slowly got up but seemed to have to feel the space, albeit barely.

    ¡°Yes, I am blind. I heard you ask it in your head, you shouldn¡¯t be so curious.¡± He smiled as to show me that he was joking.

    He seemed to look at me perfectly, I wonder. Not really but I will learn from the archery master the way to use a bow and arrow without needing sight. This will be painful to watch for anyone who happens to walk by.

    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­Kyoko¡¯s point of view

    Where could any of this be? I think Elsa was being really vague in her directions on purpose.

    ¡°Down the corner and to the left.¡±

    Who does she take me as? I was always smarter than her, at least led myself to believe that. Down the corner, to the left. Down the¡­ Oh, there it is.

    Good job Kyoko, you are good at this.

    I¡¯m hoping that this man isn¡¯t going to charge me above face value because he knows who I am. I hate that.

    I wonder if Denny found the place well enough, again Elsa doesn¡¯t give good directions, never has, never will. Anyway, Blacksmith¡­ Blacksmith.

    ¡°Oh, if it ain¡¯t Miss Kyoko? How you been doin¡¯? Holdin¡¯ up?¡± The blacksmith was an older man maybe in his 60s, each wrinkle on his face seemed as if it might have a story. Most likely a boring one but I didn¡¯t want to hear it anyway.

    ¡°Yes, Jacob. So, I have a big job for you. I need an Ushian armor set for a man about seventy inches and a pair of weapons that will supersede these five-fold.¡± I took out my sword and Denny¡¯s dagger that he had left me, knowing he didn¡¯t need it anyway. My blade was dulling but still had life in it. Denny¡¯s dagger was an old blade, barely even still held together.

    ¡°I¡¯ll make one up quickly, I am guessin¡¯ flexible material? Fiberglass or carbon fiber, maybe? What are ¡®is abilities?¡± He was a simple man, since he only asked those three questions.

    ¡°He has the ability of near instant healing and an advanced ability to learn new things two times faster than normal. I would say Carbon fiber and mesh around the joints, on the back add in an arrow and ammo holder. The mask should be attached with a scope already on it since he will be our marksman. I believe¡­¡± He put up a single bony finger.

    ¡°All you had to say was, ¡®Yes, Carbon fiber, ¡®e is a marksman.¡¯ I know what to do, give me about six hours and then we will talk about weapons. See ya then, Princess.¡± No matter how many times that I saw him, his smile still freaked me out. I saw him off with a semi salute, force of habit.

    Okay, where would Julac be? I believe the east wing second floor but it might have moved. It has been over six months since I have been here. I am hoping it hasn¡¯t.

    Good, the stairs, the magnificent stairs. Okay, not really. But I finally found them. I need a place to sit or rest at least.

    This place is a small manor on the outside but surprisingly huge on the inside. I still get lost here even though I have been here about fifty times in my life. The stairs were strong and well made, ¡°God, I am so tired.¡±

    ¡°Then sit down in the lounge.¡± I heard as I heard a thump at the top of the stairs.

    ¡°Guess who came to me. Thank you. I didn¡¯t want to walk up these, even if they are short. So I have a proposition for you, Julac. Will you hear me out?¡± I squinted while barely even containing my laughter; I don¡¯t do movie type conversation as well as I should.

    ¡°I am hearing. If it is what I need, I will do. This is fun by the way and how is my voice?¡± He fired back in a typical movie mob type of accent. He is still the same fun kid that I know.

    I started to bait him, ¡°It is an adventure.¡± He moved down two steps, ¡°It involves walking through forests.¡± He moved down three steps, ¡°third of the bounty rewards.¡±

    He jumped to the bottom of the stairs, in front of me. ¡°Sold, you and Mr. new guy, right? Done, I am on. I just need to get my stuff ready. Where is Den anyway?¡± He jumped back and forth, kind of like an excited monkey.

    ¡°He is currently training to be our spotter and marksman with Aster. I think he should be done by the end of today.¡± I said that way too confidently.

    ¡°But that shouldn¡¯t be possible to be a great marksman, especially half as good as Aster, him being blind and all. It would take two weeks to even learn his intermediate style of Archery but both by the end of the day?¡± His mind looked like it was going to explode from the question.

    ¡°That¡¯s the wonder of Denny, he has two practical abilities. I should make cool names for them. My names aren¡¯t that bad, Bulk and Dagger then Aftershock. My defensive/offensive power and my drawing of the After Bringer. I am not going to try that again for a while.¡± I looked away slowly as to draw attention.

    ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll get everything ready and say my farewells to some of the town folk. I¡¯ll see you tomorrow. Get yourself some good rest, Kyo.¡± He said as he leaped up the stairs.

    He is a weird number, isn¡¯t he?

    I should check on Denny while I am at it.

    I heard a rather large sounding explosion coming from the what would seem to be middle of the lake.

    My heart dropped and the only thought running through my mind was the worst possible solution. I didn¡¯t even take the time to run down the cliff, so I just jumped for it.

    It is not the right time for an attack, not right at all.

 Part 12: October 31

    October 31

    The bright light behind me struck like a flash bang. But I lost my balance and started to spin wildly. My luck just didn¡¯t agree with me as I saw another headed my way.

    ¡°Holy shit, man. Calm down. I know you need to be rough for me to learn but come on.¡± Arrow after arrow blew up behind me; I nearly lost my balance on this now frozen lake.

    ¡°You need better training; you have the vision but not the mobility. To be a marksman, you have to be able to dodge attacks as to make your mind sharper and more aware. So, what better to train than explosions?¡± His chuckle kind of sickened me to the point of distracting my mind even a bit.

    My leg leaned to the left a little more than intended and the arrow hit me directly in the right leg. Then, here came the explosion; that damn explosion felt like a thousand knives stabbing my leg at once. My leg blew off in twenty different directions, tendons and arteries, all of it. The worst part is the healing did not prepare me for pain but made my leg itch horribly.

    He didn¡¯t even give me enough time to stand up on my new leg as he shot another my way. ¡°Oh shit,¡± I looked at the nearby lakeside as I ran to distract my mind, only to see Kyoko standing there, still in her formal attire.

    What is she doing here? Is she already done? I need to get to her.

    I ran at Kyoko with a speed of a wounded animal but I was making it there relatively efficiently.

    I was nearing the spot when the old man teleported in front of me.

    ¡°No, no, no. It is not play time yet; you can¡¯t talk until training is over.¡± He held the bow to my chest and fired.

    I was sent flying back ten yards coughing up blood and blood sprayed from my chest.

    I am so happy that he knows that I am able to regenerate because I believe he would have shot more than once if I didn¡¯t.

    ¡°Do you know my secret yet? It involves the bow. Here is a hint: it involves its makeup.¡± He gave a quick glance at me and raised the bow to fire again.

    He shot four arrows in my direction. Instead of running I held up my arm to just take the damage. I braced for impact when a bright blue light appeared where my arm was before and I saw the explosions disappear around me. ¡°The hell?¡± I quickly saw the arrows hit the light and freeze on impact before dropping.

    ¡°Good boy, good. You materialized a part of your power. I guess humans can be mystifying in this world. I know I am.¡± He said as he walked towards me smiling.

    ¡°What does that mean? ¡®I know I am¡¯?¡± I said with a bold expression on my face, endearing but stern.

    ¡°I was a human like you. How do you think I can know everything around me while being blind, have astral projection, and reinforcement? This lake isn¡¯t actually frozen, yet you can stand on it because I made it viable. This bow is random matter that I have willed it to take form in the shape of a bow. How do you think I was able to pull it so fast after teleporting?¡± I was amazed at the fact he was also a former human but who could have saved him?

    My mind switched to a different subject.

    ¡°Who saved you and also didn¡¯t you wonder why you were?¡± If he was saved by someone like Kyoko or¡­?

    ¡°You may have not seen her but my savior was in the back. She isn¡¯t doing very well. She saved me and I managed to become an Alfertain once I crossed the border. I was being attacked by a near invisible enemy and she came to save me. Sadly, they were too strong and got to me, I was already bleeding out. That was the moment that I realized someone was willing to risk their life to save me. Because of that, I fell for her immediately. She and I have been married for four years now, very happily.¡± Staring off into the distance while reminiscing. You could see his happiness shining.

    I saw Kyoko staring almost blankly at Aster¡¯s words in shock.

    ¡°Shia? She¡¯s here? May I see her?¡± She walked onto the ice and tripped a bit as she started sprinting. She put her hands on his chest to gain balance.

    ¡°Why, yes. But may I ask why? I have heard her talk about you a few times, did you work with her?¡± He said looking, not at her but almost through her.

    ¡°I see, right this way, both of you.¡±

    He led us back to the shop and showed us to the back room, Kyoko almost fainted as she held onto my arm tightly. I can see the hope and despair on her face.

    I hope everything is okay.

    Once he opened the curtain to the room, we saw a beautiful but frail lying down on the bed to the back of the room, barely conscious. Kyoko ran to her bed almost in tears, ¡°You¡¯ve¡­ been here this whole time? I heard you abandoned the Royal Guard and hid from the king. But hiding here? Right under the Ushian¡¯s watch? You could have had Julac call for me. You know that I will always be on your side, no matter what trouble that you could get into.¡±

    I looked over to Aster and said, ¡°Why is this making Kyo so sad? Are they related?¡±

    ¡°She is Junlos¡¯s older sister. She treated Kyo as a little sister almost to the point of being a mother figure to her. She left for the mission to take me out, you know the rest. Well, someone else was already there to start the process. They succeeded but she revived me into this world. After she saved me, we hid here and she fell ill two years later. We weren¡¯t allowed to send any mail out because we were considered outsiders until recently. Hehe, it is kind of stressful looking back but I believe we have been each other crutches. I hope you feel the same when the time comes; Kyo has the same demeanor as Shia. I hope you¡¯re ready for the hard times.¡± That¡¯s all he said before he went silent while looking at Shia and Kyoko.

    ¡°I¡­ I am so¡­ happy you came. I am sorry that¡­ I couldn¡¯t,¡± She gave a ragged but quick cough. For being sick for two years, she still looked quite healthy. Maybe she is in an upswing?

    ¡°They will be after¡­ you, I¡­ hope you know. Your father must be enraged that you let this one go,¡± She looked at me, I didn¡¯t know for sure so I pointed towards my face. She gave a curt smile as she turned back to Kyoko.

    ¡°You need to have Aster train him while we chat, I will make some tea.¡± Aster understood as he led me out of the door to the lake.

    This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

    ¡°Okay, we need to train in your materialization of offense not just defense. Half humans who are put into the Alfertain or Ushia races are able to materialize and reinforce weapons and shields. Pick up the sword in front of you and think as if it is a dagger.¡±

    This man loves to smile a lot, maybe he wants to see me fail or he wants to see what I can make.

    I am so ready for this.

    Dagger¡­ Dagger¡­ Dagger¡­

    ¡°No luck. I was attacked last time and it appeared. Maybe there is something that triggered it. Attack me.¡± I held my hands up with the sword hilted on my left hip at the ready.

    Aster took about twenty steps back and drew a red hilted machete out of thin air. He was already half that distance in a second and half.

    Damn, he is quick and I felt the murderous intent radiating from him. He can go from grinning like an idiot at everything to one hundred percent serious in a second and I felt it.

    My hand was on the hilt of the sword and my other on the handle. He was within twenty feet of me when I clicked the button on the hilt and the hatch released. The sword was way shorter than I had thought it was. Almost half of the original length.

    I swung forward with all my force and my blade struck his with a force enough to cause a small shockwave around us.

    The dust settled quickly, both of us panting. Aster was still standing but about ten feet backwards and with a deep cut on his cheek. ¡°Well¡­ that went well. Now look at the sword.¡±

    I looked down to see that the blade was no longer a sword but a round bladed dagger.

    ¡°The way that reinforcement works is that a bigger weapon such as a katana can be changed into a smaller type. All of the length condenses into magical damage and the shape of the original weapon changes into a form that the wielder desires. The opposite happens when you take a smaller weapon such as a knife and change it into a larger weapon. It is given a rather significant speed boost instead of magical damage strength. Well done, Denny. Since you have the basics down we should start to work on materialization next. Are you ready?¡±

    I couldn¡¯t speak; I was too invested in staring at the slowly fading dagger as it changed back to its original shape. I looked up at him once it was done.

    ¡°Amused, I see? Well, let¡¯s go to the next exercise. I think it should go as well as the last did.¡± He reached up to his face and felt the cut. He didn¡¯t even flinch. This guy is good.

    We walked towards the end of the frozen lake, where a rock the length and height of an average sized SUV was sitting, unmoving. The surface of the rock was nearly perfectly smooth except for a few gashes and indents from previous training sessions.

    ¡°Visualize that you are holding a weapon while holding your arms in a position like holding a fully strung bow. You need to focus completely and entirely on the moment you put your hand into the final moment.¡±

    I knew what I needed to do, so I had to start from the beginning.

    I stepped forward and blocked out my surroundings except for the birds chirping, even Asters voice was out of reach of my thoughts. I held my left hand to my side clutching like something was there. I let out a deep breath as my eyes then shot open.

    I reached above my shoulders behind my back, grabbing the air, but visualizing an arrow, while going through the motions. As my hands started to grasp the air in front of me, I started to feel a slight sting.

    I pulled back the invisible string in front of me. The grip in my palm, the tension, all of it felt real.

    Matter on mind, as if nothing else was viewable, the bow appeared.

    The silence started to build as I counted out loud, ¡°One¡­ Two¡­ Three¡­¡±

    I released my right hand and a blast of blue light flew from my hand. And with a thump, the rock fell in half down the middle vertically.

    I felt a tap on my back and turned to see Aster smiling, ¡°you didn¡¯t hear anything that I said, did you?¡±

    ¡°No¡­ no, sorry. I was too focused on the task at hand and it just came naturally. I just locked onto the rock. I visualized the motions on how a bow should generally work, visualized the rock as not being there but also keeping aware that it was. I let go and here you have it.¡± I was proud at my achievement but also spent.

    ¡°I think I need a rest after that.¡± I was about to drop to the ground.

    ¡°Agreed, you did well today. Let¡¯s go see how the girls are doing and I will whip you up a mean protein drink. Let¡¯s go.¡±

    We marched back to the shop to see the girls laughing between themselves like it was normal. But I felt that there was a bit of tension. What happened here?

    ¡°Hey, guys. Denny, how was training?¡± Kyoko said with reddened eyes and a sad smile. I walked over to her and held both of her hands and requested her to come with me outside.

    I closed the door behind me slowly until the click rang out. Still holding her hand, I looked into her eyes calmly as to not upset her.

    ¡°Okay, I know this was sudden but I could tell something is wrong. You don¡¯t need to fake a smile just to keep me at ease because it only does the opposite. I don¡¯t want to see you sad or cry over anything if I can help it. Please¡­ tell me.¡±

    She calmly held back her tears, ¡°she told me that she¡¯s dying because the pills my father gave her that stopped the illness she has from spreading¡­ ran out. She proposed that we should sneak in and take them but that is not something that I want to do.¡±

    ¡°I see. So, your father has the pills that can save her or at least keep her alive? He must be dangerous if you¡¯re even being cautious. Who is he, anyway?¡± I was still holding her hand so I felt all of the nervousness in her twitches.

    I can tell that she was resistant to tell me as her face was sullen and depressed as she looked me in the eyes.

    ¡°He is kind of¡­ the¡­ king of the Underworld.¡±

    My eyes flew open and I fell down on my butt but not in fear but surprise.

    This girl in front of me was a princess?

 Part 13: November 1

    November 1

    ¡°Ahem¡­ Wait¡­ Princess? You?¡± I realized right after that what I said was wrong as she started to pout.

    ¡°Well¡­ that¡­ kind of hurt, I try to take care of my proper image, you know. Yes, I am a princess. My dad¡¯s name is King Jol Wara Azuraine, and my real name is Kyo Koura Azuraine. That¡¯s why I like to be called either Kyoko formally or like you calling me, Kyo.¡± She stopped pouting for the second to think about it. ¡°You seem to be taking this easier than I thought you were going to.¡±

    ¡°Well, it¡¯s you. Yes, it is terrifying that I could piss off someone so powerful by liking his daughter but he already wants both of us taken in and my head on a platter.¡± I wasn¡¯t truly worried. I already died once, that is the mindset that I have to go by.

    ¡°I have a few question though. Why are you in armor and killing people? I thought you were the Royal Guard? Does that mean you can kill anyone that threatens anything about you? Also, why did you risk everything to save a person like me?¡±

    ¡°Just read this part from some pages I tore from your journal and you may understand.¡±

    She opened handed me two pages that look like the ones that were from my notebook.

    It took me about twenty-five minutes to read the pages but I understood the gist of it.

    ¡°Well, first. Good penmanship, very captivating. Second, you felt something for me even before you met me? I¡¯ve never been so touched.¡± On the outside I was joking around but on the inside, I could barely hide my excitement. She heard about me and felt something; I just had to die to see that someone could. Sometimes death is cruel but I don¡¯t believe that it¡¯s against me.

    ¡°Yes. I felt something but I didn¡¯t know what it was until you fought with me and held your ground. My father wanted you dead because of the Dark Veil but¡­¡± I had to stop her.

    ¡°He knows about this thing, this curse, whatever it is? What¡¯s the purpose of him wanting me killed? It¡¯s all because my ancestors had to mess with something they should not have, why do I have to pay because of it?¡±

    ¡°He only said to kill you once he had heard that you were alive but when I asked him why, he was willing to take me away from the Guard. I worked day and night to be one of them and I wasn¡¯t willing to lose it.¡±

    She continued, ¡°My parents were never truly parents to begin with; they just pushed what they thought I should act, think, and be like. So, the first second that I was considered an adult, I left. Junlos and Shia raised me as a warrior growing up and that made me want to be in the Royal Guard.¡±

    She took a seat next to me on the step as she reflected. Even though I didn¡¯t ask about it, I can see her dedication and passion for Shia and her responsibilities.

    ¡°I¡¯m happy you were raised the way you were, I like your hard to change demeanor and the way you can easily talk about your past. It makes me happy to see you like that. Also, I have a question to ask you.¡±

    ¡°You chose me to bring back to life and even turned me into an Ushia because of how you feel? Also, how does one go into the process of becoming one of the living in this world and where do people who weren¡¯t saved go?¡± I grabbed her over-turned hand and looked her in her eyes, I was serious.

    She showed shock by jumping a little but smiled at me all the same and responded.

    ¡°Yep, does that bother you?¡± She looked at me with glaring puppy dog eyes. Out of pure instinct, grabbed her close and buried her face in my chest. If I had taken more of that look, I would have had a heart attack.

    ¡°Only someone from royal lineage or from a person with some form of power can change someone into any form of Underling, as we call it.¡± She paused for a second, her voice almost welling with sadness.

    She continued, ¡°Sounds cruel, right? Being stripped of your humanity and being placed in the same category as your savior? The people that I have killed turn into either Owos or Mercentry, depending on how they lived. Being an Owos isn¡¯t that bad because of their effects are needed but they can¡¯t be reasoned with easily. Mercentries are the lowest rung of society; you saw what they looked like in that battle.¡±

    Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

    ¡°Thinking about it now, I was not much of a person to begin with. I lived for my own benefit by shutting myself out to everyone. The second that Nathan decided to jumped off the roof, time went a million times slower. I fought back against you because something inside me wanted to live, wanted to keep going even though I felt truly dead inside. I thought life wasn¡¯t really as bad as I had previously thought. Once I had opened my eyes to the room I was in, I felt wrong and terrified and hurt and confused. Almost like a dear in headlights, I freaked out. I remember one thing that you said before I died. ¡°You are mine now.¡± What did that mean?¡±

    I looked up to see a bewildered look come across her face almost shocked that I had remembered. ¡°As a Royal Guard you have to normally say, ¡®It¡¯s your turn to sleep.¡¯ But only if you are sure that the person is worth saving, do you say ¡®You are mine now.¡¯ Then the person is bound to your soul and you basically own the rights to them.¡±

    I pushed her back a bit in surprise, ¡°So I am basically your pet, in a way? That¡¯s kind of cruel but having a good master isn¡¯t that bad.¡±

    She started to pet me on the head and said ¡°Good boy,¡± as if mocking me.

    ¡°Only the person I truly see as a¡­ a soulmate¡­ can see this.¡± She stood up and I slowly saw something swaying behind her. What¡­ is that?

    She turned to show a wolf tail flailing semi-widely behind her, excited and nervous. It was bushy and looked extremely soft. It was snow white on it¡¯s under side and almost blue in its tone of grey on the top. It complimented her porcelain with a bit of peach skin tone almost perfectly.

    ¡°Umm¡­¡± I was mystified with it, I had to touch it. ¡°That¡­ umm¡­ It¡¯s majestic.¡±

    I looked up to see her looking away as her tail slows down a bit from flailing.

    She truly is nervous. I think she mentioned something about it before, isn¡¯t it a personal thing?

    Oh yeah, in the diary entry. It is basically saying that they are taken and very happily so.

    ¡°What do you think of it?¡± Kyoko says while her eyes pace back and forth as her right index finger lay on her bottom lip.

    ¡°May I touch it? I really want to. No, I need to.¡±

    ¡°You have to hold me really close while you do it so you can¡¯t see my face, it¡¯s either that or not at all.¡±

    I agreed calmly and slowly pulled her close. I kissed her on the cheek as I told her that I would be gentle.

    I may sound like a pervert or something but this was the rarest opportunity to feel a tail on a person. I wanted to understand the excitement I have seen in shows.

    I started to pet her tail slowly. It was softer than it looked and made me feel immediately happy but I knew it was making her feel uncomfortable so I stopped shortly after.

    ¡°Sorry.¡± I said, a little embarrassed myself.

    ¡°It¡­ it¡¯s¡­ okay.¡± She smiled and winked with her emerald green eye shining predominantly from seeing my expression.

    We heard a loud thump from inside the shop then a loud yell for us to come in.

    We ran through the door to see Shia collapsed on the floor in Aster¡¯s arms gasping for breath.

    We gave her water and some herbs to get her breathing steady but it was the only short term treatment that we knew.

    Aster was sitting next to the bed with his left hand in Shia¡¯s and his head in the other. Kyoko and I sat across the room in silence for what felt like an eternity until he started to speak.

    ¡°I¡¯m coming with you to Hauk. No question. I can¡¯t stand seeing her suffer like this.¡±

 Part 14: November 2

    November 2

    ¡°Are you sure about this, Aster? It will be a tough journey and Shia will have to come along. You do understand this, right?¡± I hope he understands the danger fully.

    ¡°I did say no questions, remember? I understand that I may die and I understand that Shia must come as well. But¡­ for her¡­ I would gladly give my life if it means that she can continue on. I know that you would do the same for Kyoko if the chance shall come.¡±

    Aster walked to the kitchen to gather some food and then to the bedroom to grab his bow and Shia¡¯s Quartz-eye Rapier.

    ¡°But of course I would. I have always told myself that my life will be forfeit the second that I can save another. And yes, I know she can fight better than me and she will be able to survive longer than me but¡­ If I can give my life, the life she has let me continue, for her to escape or even increase her chances a little by doing so, I would.¡±

    I looked to her now on one knee with my left arm arched behind my back and the other dagger in my right hand crossed over my chest. ¡°As long as you¡¯ll let me.¡±

    She took her hand, put her index finger under my chin, and lifted my head up. She quickly pecked me on the lips. ¡°You are very chivalrous, it¡¯s almost shameful. Of course I accept you; I will also do my best to keep you safe. I am going to go get Julac while you make sure Shia is all right and help Aster with gathering supplies. Thank you.¡±

    She ran as quickly as she could in the opposite way of the shop. It makes me almost forget the situation we are in when I think about my past and how far I have gone.

    ¡°Okay, Aster. How are we going to bring her with us? We don¡¯t have a wagon or anything, not even a horse.¡± I looked puzzled at him while also keeping my peripheral vision on Shia.

    ¡°We need to think this out while Kyoko is gone. I would say that we carry her, I can do it.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s the best idea¡±

    ¡°But why not? She is my wife. I want to be there for her.¡±

    ¡°You can be but just think this through. You will need to be the archer, due to your advancement in skill level over everyone else in the group. We already have a quick fighter in Julac and the strongest close combat fighter in Kyo. Please¡­ let me do it. I promise that I will protect her with my life. Just make sure Kyo is covered by your bow and everything will go well.¡±

    ¡°Do you have a plan or will we be running in crazily?¡±

    ¡°Julac and Kyo might know the path the best but if we run across a Mercentry, then we should be okay.¡± I gave him a nervous smile since I didn¡¯t even believe myself. That is mainly because it was Kyo that took that beast down, not me.

    ¡°I¡¯ll believe in you. I am going to go grab some food and whatever medicine that I can from the pantry. You watch over Shia while I do so.¡±

    ¡°Will do.¡± As the words left my lips, I felt a tug on my torn light tan shirt and turned my head almost immediately.

    I then heard a soft tone coming from the person lying next to me.

    ¡°You are a nice person, Denny. I can feel it from your words and the way you hold yourself. I hope you stick to your word for Kyoko. Anyway, I trust that you will do your best carrying me. I am not that heavy, never was, so it shouldn¡¯t be a problem. Aster won¡¯t show it but he¡¯s happy that you care so much for the people around you. He fell for me for being the same way.¡± She had a faint smile full of care as she went back to sleep.

    ¡°Of course, you have my full trust.¡± I said knowing she wouldn¡¯t hear me but knowing it is what she wants to hear.

    ¡°Okay, I have four blankets, some ¡®special¡¯ mixtures for medicine, whatever food I was able to grab that is non-perishable, and about ten extra arrows for us, just in case. I have one question; can your body accept In-flow magic?¡± He said with a stern but helpful face like a teacher would give his student. The sparkle barely hid his excitement about being able to share his wisdom with the rest of even one person, me being that one.

    ¡°In¡­ flow magic? What is that? It sounds quite scary but can you explain it?¡± At this point, I felt he was going to use some terms from those fantasy RPG¡¯s that I hear about from classmates whenever I took a break from reading. I also know a few, and I mean a few, from this book I read called ¡°The Underling¡± by Alice Grey. She never used her real name but had such a giant and beautiful imagination. It captivated me with her word play but sadly she only wrote one fantasy novel. Well, at least in the medieval style.

    If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.¡°Watch this.¡±

    All light in the room was slowly being drawn towards Aster and a sparkling, bright yellow aura started to appear not around him but around the room itself. The yellow light now mixing with the dark grey of the cobblestone bricks covering the ceiling made a reluctant deep golden color.

    Just as soon as it had appeared, it had flown back to Asters hand, where it started crawling up his arms and seemingly absorbed into his skin.

    ¡°That was cool. No, downright beautiful and all but that doesn¡¯t explain anything.¡± I couldn¡¯t even stand up afterwards, maybe from shock of the light show that had happened right before me.

    ¡°That¡¯s because I was showing off. I just drew the energy from the room. Test it. Try and stand up.¡± He had a wide smirk on his face.

    Now he is challenging me. Wait¡­ What the hell?!? My¡­ My legs¡­ They¡¯re just shaking but not moving. ¡°What the hell is going on, Aster? What did you do?¡±

    ¡°Like I said, I drew out the energy from the room. As an Ushia, your body is mostly made up of energy. So, as an effect, you wouldn¡¯t be able to use energy that isn¡¯t yours without In-flow magic. Now using In-flow magic, I can use your power of regeneration and that means you cannot use it until I run too low on blood or I give it back. But sadly, there is a downside to this power. You use your own blood to sustain the power. Yes, it may sound a little ridiculous and believe me in my past life, I would have thought the same thing. For this magic to work, you cannot use life energy or spiritual energy to fuel it. Well, in essence, you can use life energy but at that point you will not be yourself. It¡¯s kind of like you are always borrowing your life energy from yourself but not using it. Using life energy for In-flow magic gives the control of your body back to the lender. Your mind.¡±

    So like I said, scary.

    ¡°So this¡­ power, should I call it so, lets me take anyone¡¯s power but takes it away from them as long as they are not Ushia, because if they are they will be paralyzed. Also, I can only use the power as long as I have enough blood to survive and I cannot use life energy to fuel it as long as I want to be me. So in my skill set, by using my logic that seems to not work 100%. I can use my regeneration powers so I can¡¯t hit stage one of anemia, correct?¡±

    ¡°Hmm¡­ As long as you don¡¯t take one of Kyoko¡¯s powers then you should be fine.¡±

    ¡°Why would¡­ Oh yeah, Ushia¡­¡± I realized quickly that I still don¡¯t know how to even activate these powers. ¡°What do I need to use In-flow magic? Some spell, a magic gesture, or is it easier than that.¡±

    Please don¡¯t be hard¡­ Please don¡¯t be hard.

    ¡°Are you sure you are ready? It isn¡¯t going to be that hard.¡±

    Like just like that, all my worries were gone¡­

    ¡°You know what an Ankh is, right? I will need to place a seal in the form of a slight variation of the Ankh but we will need to wait until Kyoko comes back. You need the person you have a contract with to accept the agreement.¡±

    ¡°Will it be painful? What I am saying is will it hurt her?¡± I said, almost panicked.

    ¡°It shouldn¡¯t hurt her; it might cause some hallucinations though. But we will burn that bridge when it passes. I think you should prioritize finding Kyo first, it¡¯s been quite a while since she went to fetch Julac. I¡¯ll stay here and gather anything else I may have forgotten and make sure Shia is sleeping soundly. Stay safe, anything is a possibility.¡± He patted me on the shoulder as I made my way out of the door.

    ¡°Anything is a possibility, huh?¡± I feel like he¡¯s insisting that something is wrong. Their definitely is something off but doesn¡¯t seem like it is life threatening. I reached down to my belt to find my dagger is hanging loosely inside its normal leather pouch. Additional to that, I have two small sized health pots that I must have unconsciously grabbed before leaving in the other side¡¯s pocket.

    ¡­¡­.

    It took about five minutes to reach the manor, which is the fastest time by far. I am so proud of myself. Amidst my happiness, there were no guards in sight.

    I grabbed the door handle and felt a harsh coldness, almost immediately from the other side. My reflexes kicked in and I reached for my dagger. Not good.

    I turned the dagger and the atmosphere was dead.

    ¡°Kyo! Kyo! Are you here?! Is anyone here?!¡±

    My brain was in frenzy mode now. My dagger was drawn.

    I ran to the main chamber and what I saw was¡­ was¡­

    Oh god¡­

 Part 15: November 3

    November 3

    ¡°Eh¡­ I¡­ What¡­ Is¡­¡± The words just wouldn¡¯t appear as if someone had stuck a steel rod into my windpipe. It hurt to speak.

    My heart beat was louder than the atmosphere in the chamber and seemed to cut through it like a knife through butter. I can even hear my now nervous sweat bouncing off the marble floor as the silence started to overpower me.

    The feeling felt all too familiar. Silence and suspense.

    After truly taking in the sight before me, I managed to place my dagger back by my side in its rightful place.

    ¡°Denny¡­¡± The word kept ringing in my ears if on a record with a scratch, it continued.

    ¡°Denny¡­¡±

    ¡°Denny¡­¡±

    I wanted to answer but I still couldn¡¯t. I then felt a tug on the right side of my pant. I felt it, weakly but able enough to draw my attention.

    ¡°Denny¡­ Is¡­ that you?¡± I looked down to see one of the guards who came to get me before from the inn, lying on the ground with half of his body ripped to shreds.

    His legs were hanging by two tendons in each. Both of his arms were against the rear wall, drenched in blood.

    ¡°Denny¡­ Save Elsa. Save¡­ them¡­ from¡­ ourselves.¡± The blood drained from his body enough to stop his cluttered words.

    He then proceeded to look directly at a cylindrical object in close proximity to us. It was about the width of a pen. Maybe he wants me to get it for him.

    I went along with it and grabbed the object. It was covered in splatters of already dried dark red pigment. He looked intensely at my movements and suggested that I place it in his now wide open mouth.

    He started to use the pen-like object to write what seem to be instructions on the ground, or rather, locations?

    He started to write, ¡°Kyo¡­ko¡­ Safe. Top¡­ Floor, Second¡­ Room. Elsa¡­ Escaped¡­ Lake. Julac¡­ With¡­ Kyo. Our¡­ Own¡­ Did¡­ This. Save¡­ them.¡±

    He stopped writing and two seconds after collapsed, his body was stone cold. I put my fingers on his face and shut his eyelids closed.

    ¡°Rest in peace, my fellow warrior,¡± is what I would have liked to say but I was already out the door of the main chamber and headed for the stairs. More horror followed as scattered wounded or dead bodies lined the halls.

    Who would do such horrible things?

    ¡°Kyo?!? Kyo?!? Are you all right?¡± I rounded the nearby doorway to see the number for the room the guard wrote on the wall next to a broken door, barely on its hinges. If it still was.

    I heard very shallow breathing amidst my own, almost pained groans coming from inside.

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    Oh, please be all right. Please be fine.

    ¡°Kyo¡­?¡± My voice trailed off into the grim distance, almost uncertain of its location. But the groans faded out as I turned the corner into the room Kyoko should be.

    As instinct took hold, I threw my hand onto my dagger¡¯s handle.

    ¡°Den¡­ Denny¡­ They¡­ They¡¯re d¡­¡± I disregarded the rest of the room and ran towards Kyoko, putting my arms around her as she started to cry, gripping my back, almost drawing blood.

    ¡°Denny¡­ Denny¡­ He¡­ Julac¡­¡± She started to grip even harder.

    It doesn¡¯t matter how I feel right now. She must be hurting ten times worse. Believe me; I have been shaking ever since I stepped into this death trap of a manor.

    I took a quick look around the room, just to be sent into a trance as to not show my terror to Kyoko. Have you ever seen a person, mutilated like nothing? Now I can say I have. Just¡­ nothing can prepare you.

    While Kyoko was crying hysterically on my shoulder, the only words that I could say were, ¡°It will be alright,¡± ¡°We will get through it,¡± ¡°He felt you were worth giving his life for.¡±

    The next phrase must have hit her enough to bring her back down to reality.

    ¡°Everyone in this place gave up their life to protect you, Julac, and Elsa. There is a great chance that Elsa is still out there. Do you really want to sit here and do nothing?¡± I grabbed her shuttering shoulders with my hands that were shaking more than she was. I did not intend to say it the way that I did but I guess it was the right way to.

    She shook her head and as quickly as I let go, she shot up and ran out of the door.

    ¡°Damn, going without me. I guess you are the leader now. Not like you weren¡¯t to begin with.¡±

    I walked over to Julac¡¯s dead body, closed his eyes, and put my hand on his chest.

    ¡°Rest in peace, my friend. I wish you could have come with us but sadly, life had another plan for you.¡±

    My eyes closed to the now dark town as if a field of haze road across the blue expanse of the sky. But sadly, there was no such field, no burden on the sun. Actually¡­

    ¡°Wait¡­ where is the sun? It can¡¯t be night; it¡¯s ten in the morning. Today, or tonight should I say, is just getting worse and worse.¡± I began to stare up at the sky with full intent of finding out why.

    It didn¡¯t truly matter if I try to find out why now. All that matters is that I have to reach Kyo before anything bad happens to her.

    With how things have been going, it only makes me worry more.

 Part 6.5: Kyokos Perspective

    October 25.5

    Kyoko¡¯s POV

    Umm... Hello, I am Kyoko. Wait, is anyone actually going to be reading this diary thing? Well it doesn¡¯t matter, moving on. Hello, as I¡¯ve stated before that I¡¯m Kyoko, It¡¯s actually Kyo Koura Azuraine but people call me Kyoko.

    So I stole this guy¡¯s journal¡­ diary¡­ whatchamacallit, and decided to read through it. I have now learned that his name is Dennzyte (Weird right), or Denny (Better), that¡¯s a new name to me and probably you too. Well, from reading through the first couple days, it seems he didn¡¯t have a good time growing up, me neither so it seems that is one thing we have in common besides the attitude.

    I¡¯ve been in The Underworld since I was born so I haven¡¯t seen many humans, especially since there were none that were like him. Most just yell at me, tell me that I am a monster, and give in. I think that¡¯s kind of rude, I am a lady after all; I take care of how I look even though I wear a mask, tough armor, and a cloak. I still care about how I look.

    If you have gotten this far into my writing then congratulations, I am very happy for you, : ). I bet you didn¡¯t believe I¡¯d draw that smiley face, did you? Well since you are here I am not going to just write random stuff in his diary just because I can. I feel like filling you in about why I came after Mr. Macho here.

    I¡¯ll give you a background on me first, so you can relate, or not, with me. I don¡¯t talk very much unless I need to extract something or the person is generally above average in conversational skills. Luckily Denny is, despite being alone most of the time he can hold a conversation quite well. Anyways on to me, I was born in a little town called Xerces, the city of lost souls. Depressing name, right? Sadly, it is basically the capital of the whole Underworld.

    Why do I live there you ask? Well good question.

    I am forced to. I have no say in where I live, actually no one does, and it¡¯s all ¡°predetermined¡± by the Efferets Coucil, which is basically the government of all countries. It is full of greedy assholes that chase woman and drink all day. They are all pigs. Anyway, I am the unluckiest of all; do you want to know why? I am the king¡¯s daughter, a freaking princess. Some may say sentiments such as ¡°Lucky you, you can buy whatever you want and never struggle.¡±

    I don¡¯t like that I am pampered but¡­ I am.

    Since I was born into that family, I was always fed lies that beauty and grace were everything. ¡°Stand up straight. Don¡¯t let anyone see you yawn. Act ladylike.¡± I would always hear these stupid sentiments.

    ACT LADYLIKE? WHAT DOES THAT EVEN MEAN? I get up at six every morning to learn piano and cello. Then go to bed at midnight after learning table manners and presentation all day.

    I have always hated it, from the itchy dresses to the overly profound galas, where men only seemed like they wanted to be the next prince-to-be because I was beautiful and also the daughter of the king of everything.

    I always enjoyed playing with the Vice Duke¡¯s son Alfonse. He was always nice to me, whether he had feelings for me I never knew; I did have some feelings for him but never knew how to tell him. Anyway, he would always play as if I was one of his other kid friends that were boys: playing trucks, roughhousing. It was never dull.

    Until, he moved to Andervell, which truly crushed me. All the rest of the kids that my ¡°loving¡± dad set me up with were little girls, who wanted to play tea party and play with dollies. You know what I did with any dolly that my dad gave me; I told the butler to burn it in the incinerator.

    As you can tell I dislike anything adorable or fluffy, cute though is a different story, I very much enjoy cute.

    Okay, sorry. I got a little off topic.

    So basically I grew up rejecting my parent¡¯s ideals of what a princess should act like, and actually, I had quite a fan base acting like a normal person as princess. Well we aren¡¯t technically people from your standards.

    There are many races in The Underworld. The many of them arrange as follows (in order):

    Mercentry - Half man/Half pig. Just don¡¯t get me started on them.

    Alfertain ¨C Elves. I have friends that are Alfertain, also our guard is Half-Elfertain. They mainly use plant based magic. As for their nature, they are good hearted people but sadly they are low on social status. I have never treated them differently though. I just can¡¯t.

    Tealwoes - Bear men. They are pretty insidious and plotting creatures, they are meant for strength and building.

    Owos - Basically Ghosts. We get our camouflage from these people. Technology wise, they are pretty advanced.

    Ushias - My race. We are basically humanoid in shape. Each person has some distinctive ability; some are alike but never the same in degree. The main difference between humans and Ushias is that Ushias have tails normally ranging from feline to reptilian in nature. Thought I should mention that we normally hide it from society unless we are in a relationship, or feel attracted towards someone, little tidbit.

    So anyway back to the story aspect, I grew up as a princess as much as I could to make my parents stop bothering me. I begged my parents to be a Royal Guard but they kept on telling me, ¡°No, royal ladies don¡¯t participate in such brute like behavior.¡± Of course I was furious, so I started to ask Junlos (my Royal Guardian), to train me.

    So we trained every day whenever my parents were dealing with guests or generally out around the town. I did this for six straight years until I was about the age of twenty, stepping up the latter of every skill I could learn until I was easily able to overpower Junlos. He was more than happy to have been able to teach me his fighting techniques.

    I told my parents that I was going to leave on a mission and since I was an adult (Twenty is considered an adult in Xerces. Since I was an adult, they couldn¡¯t say no.

    I packed up all of my necessities (Clothes, money, and a knife) and headed out for the nearest forest, which was about ten miles due south. So I trained as much as I could in the forest for about six months before I deemed myself worthy enough to convince my dad to be put on any type of military. I gained quite a few decent sized scars underneath my clothes, invisible to anyone that saw me in a ¡°normal¡± type of situation.

    I bought a suit of armor from this extremely nice and hardworking blacksmith in a nearby town, I don¡¯t know the name of the town, so I can¡¯t write it. Sorry.

    I took about 300 gold coins (Equal to about three thousand silver) from my small bag of change and I bought a suit of armor named the Dragon Rainer.

    The armor was beautiful; it was full titanium plated armor with extremely bendable flex joints, Adjustable defense mechanism on telekinetic command (not impervious, just boosts defense to one area), and it can be embedded with the ability that the user has from birth.

    For me and my magical powers, this thing wouldn¡¯t be seen. It also had a strong camouflage unit for easier hunting or sneak attacks. I have never loved something so much in my life. Besides that, I got a gas mask for my face. The armor didn¡¯t have a mask but I didn¡¯t mind, to easily pass any poison trap and a hefty but pliable cloak to hide the armor so it is not too suspicious.

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    So I marched back to the castle after thanking the man for his hard work and wondrous craftsmanship. I walked through the front gate after talking to the guards that were currently on post and went straight to my father¡¯s chamber to beg him to put me on the Royal Guard. He saw the determination and passion in my eyes, and saw my Dragon Rainer armor. He also had a nod from Junlos that I was an admirable fighter.

    I waited two days for his decision and with heavy resistance and consideration, he let me join.

    I managed a few main missions that included about two to three different guards and a few solos. They were easy with very small payout. Then he gave me my first big mission. He gave me a mission to kill a man who he should¡¯ve killed the entire family of when he was in the Royal Guard.

    I immediately asked, ¡°Why do you want this kid dead? He doesn¡¯t seem like the type to cause any harm; he looks like he wouldn¡¯t hurt a fly.¡±

    Dad immediately replied, ¡°Are you questioning authority now after all this time of training?¡±

    ¡°No father, if you wish so, it is my command that I will follow.¡±

    I started to make my way to the portal to observe my target. Why do I feel so bad for him? I don¡¯t even know the person but I am sympathizing with him. Why do I feel this way? I quickly blocked my emotions and looked at the portal. At this point, I saw the boy climbing the stairs slowly towards the roof; I felt this would be the best opportunity to strike.

    I quickly pressed the button on the side of my right leg that activated the camouflage receiver on the neck of the suit. Weird design but hey it worked, so I didn¡¯t really care.

    I quietly snuck through the portal and made my way behind the already frightened man standing all alone on the roof.

    ¡°What a piece of cake this will be,¡± I told myself in my head. Sadly, this guy could feel something was not right and jumped backwards than proceeded to run where I was first standing.

    Can he see me? Is my camouflage malfunctioning?

    Then he yelled, ¡°¡°Is anyone there? If you are, don¡¯t mess with me, I am not in the best mood today. Just come on out.¡±

    At that point, I started to get anxious. This is just the way I like it, some prey with a feisty side. I decided the best course of action would be to flank from his left.

    Yeah¡­ That should throw him off guard quite nicely.

    I started running in his general direction preparing to attack with the armor cushioning the blows of my feet on the hard cement; he didn¡¯t seem to hear me. Until he turned and looked towards where I was running, then directly at me, intently reading me.

    ¡°What the hell is going on? Does this curse I¡¯ve heard about allow him to see through my disguise or am I imagining things?¡± I yelled to myself.

    As I kept on running at him, regardless of if he could see me or not, he began to cock his right arm back and took a shot.

    I slowly laughed cockily at him; he thought he could punch me, one of the elite royal guards. I grabbed his fist and started to bear down on it like a dog and its ball. He started to crumble under the pressure.

    Without noticing, my little act of cockiness got the best of me and he decided to sweep me.

    ¡°Stupid decision,¡± I thought but sadly I was mistaken as it managed to hit my right leg and shattered my invisibility sensor. He somehow managed to break free of my grip while my legs started to twist.

    Now I¡¯m pissed. I stared directly in his eyes for most of the battle to strike fear into his heart. He decided to capitalize on releasing his hand and started to run towards the left bench on one side of the rooftop. I followed suit as I picked up the nearest pipe and ran towards him with a small limp that my knee brace quickly compensated for.

    I started to catch up to him rather quickly. I started to pick up the pipe that I was dragging along my backside to take a swing at him, but sadly he dodged my advance as if by a miracle.

    At this point, my breathing was starting to labor and the mask did not help to quiet it down. I quickly caught up with him, who was running towards a whole in the gate on the far side of the building.

    He¡¯s just asking to be taken out now.

    I swung the pipe with half of my strength in order to strike quickly in order to subdue him and it finally hit. He dropped to the ground after staggering and falling onto the nearby fence. I didn¡¯t see what he was grabbing for but I prepared for the worst.

    He threw whatever he could with what seemed like the last bit of his strength and threw it towards my head.

    It hit me directly on the top of the gas mask.

    ¡°Damn it, Damn it, Damn it! I need to regain my balance. It¡¯s not over until one of us dies.¡± I yelled inside my head once again.

    The man was clearly yelling something off the edge of the building but I couldn¡¯t quite make any of it out. He then proceeded to grab yet another chunk of concrete and took a defensive stance after pulling himself up.

    I finally regained my pseudo-sense of balance but decided not to start moving right away.

    He then started to get angry which is understandable; this is a fight to the death.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you dare mock me!¡± He yelled as he started to cock his arm back, concrete in hand, ready to attempt to turn the tables.

    I still didn¡¯t feel it was safe to move so I rerouted most of my defense to my upper body; to my neck, shoulder, and chest.

    He then ran full force at me, staggering a bit as his steps started getting closer together. He then drove the cement block into the right side of my neck, it hurt quite a bit but the armor helped soften the blow. I still was able to maintain eye contact. My armor tightened around my legs to prevent unnecessary movement so I couldn¡¯t stagger even though I knew I needed to.

    I was happy that I had enough control over my arms to deliver the final blow. The knife to the abdomen, my famous signature death kill. He started to stagger with blood all over his hand with a look of helplessness as started to bleed out.

    I regained my normal sense of emotion that is normally shut off during battle. The haze of blood lust washed off and I had the overwhelming want to help him in some shape or form. I can¡¯t bring him back to life but I can transfer his life over to the new world while keeping his body as a human.

    Maybe.

    So I opened the rift and carried him into the room right next to the interrogation chamber, he rested as his body slowly started to heal itself over the course of two days. You know the rest from the other parts.

    I¡­. Oh¡­ He¡¯s¡­ He¡¯s waking up after his giant revelation, I need to tear this page out and hide it so he doesn¡¯t see it. If you eventually were able to read this, thank you. See you next time.

 Part 16: November 4

    November 4

    ¡°Damn¡­ KYO!! SLOW DOWN!¡± I yelled into the dark void of trees, shrubs, and many different assortments of greenery that were in front of me, hoping to provoke a response.

    How is she moving so fast? I am normally the fastest between us but¡­ she is running way faster than I normally could even at top speed. Besides the head start she took, she is making me feel almost as if I was barely sprinting. And my panicking is only making it worse.

    I reached for my back but felt nothing. Then, I quickly remembered that I left my bow back at the shop.

    She steadily and quickly disappeared from my view amongst the greenery like a phantom. Almost as if she didn¡¯t want me to follow.

    Okay¡­. Um¡­ Plan B¡­ Keep running and hope for the best. Maybe my honing ability will help me find which direction Kyoko is heading for.

    ¡°Imagine¡­ Forest¡­. Set.

    Imagine¡­ Lake¡­ Set.

    Imagine¡­ Kyo Koura Azuraine¡­

    Position Set.

    Set: North East.

    Set: Location, Unknown.

    Set: Speed, 0 Miles per Hour.

    Set: Health Status, Unknown.¡±

    Speed, 0 Miles per Hour?

    Health status, Unknown?

    Is it broken? How can it? Did I use it wrong?

    Maybe I can track down Elsa and use this ability kind of like those satellite lasers. GPS, right?

    Yeah, that¡¯s it. Maybe I can sling shot this ability onto Kyo and get a more accurate data representation.

    ¡°Imagine¡­ Elsa Sesarie.

    Position, Set.

    Set: North East.

    Set: 25 Meters.

    Set: Speed, 0 Miles per Hour.

    Set: Health Status, 100.¡±

    Okay, North East seems like it would be worth trying.

    Well, it is the only option I truly have at this point.

    I attempted to run towards what sound like an ongoing fight, which sounds like it is completely one sided or at least a one on none fight.

    Please tell me that I will not have to join in.

    ¡°¡­never know. She can never know. But it¡¯s over now. Hehehe, yes¡­ It is all over now.¡± In between each statement, I heard a thud and a painful gasp.

    I can tell I was getting closer because I am about ninety-eight percent sure that the voice was Elsa¡¯s as I pushed my way forward through the seemingly never ending maze of trees, shrubbery, and vinery.

    Why do I only hear hers though?

    ¡°Why did this happen? Why couldn¡¯t I have been stronger? You always saw me as an equal even though we are a lower people. You always viewed me as family even though I was weak, am weak. Why? Just¡­ why do you have to be so kind?¡± As I started to get closer, the sounds became clearer. I started to hear her crying, not hysterically but strongly. Also, her laughter was blending in less and less.

    I heard the thud of a tree trunk being punched as it reverberated very strongly throughout the rest of the forest. Almost echoing into the depths of my soul; there was so much anger, so much pain. I am surprised that the tree could stay standing after that.

    I finally made my way to the mini field, which was widely spread out. This place, by rough estimation, might have been a spot used for a small battle in a past war by how flat and spread out the land was.

    On the side opposite of me, a waterfall flowed peculiar silver colored water that seemed clear enough otherwise to support life. The water gracefully flowed over the hill into a small weather formed crater.

    I saw Kyoko lying on the ground unconscious with a red spot on her left cheek.

    Before I could take two steps into the surrounding area, my foot brushed up against some form of branch. To me, it sounded almost silent but Elsa instantly noticed my presence.

    Her eyes were red from tears and her outfit was basically the bare essentials of what would be called clothes and a bag barely visible bag hanging from her left shoulder. Her resulting body was splattered in what I would hope to be dried blood because if it isn¡¯t, then I have another problem to worry about.

    ¡°If it isn¡¯t Mister tall, white, and handsome? What are you doing here so¡­ so¡­¡± I saw her soul crack even a little bit trying to act as if she was fine.

    She dropped to the ground and put one of her hands on her stomach and brought it back up in front of her face. Her facial expression didn¡¯t change even though her hand was drenched in blood.

    ¡°Am I¡­ a monster now? I killed a good portion of the people in the main room but I can¡¯t even react properly.¡± She started to cry but I understand now that it is from confusion not from regret.

    I started to walk towards Kyoko slowly but again I had to stop because I was quickly met with an arrow to the right shoulder.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you dare take one more step. I can¡¯t let anyone take another loved one from me. Take one more step and this next one will go through your pretty face.¡± I have never heard a more clich¨¦ line be spoken until now and unfortunately it had the desired effect that it was intended to have.

    ¡°I just want to see if she¡­¡± I didn¡¯t move an inch but I guess speaking counted as violence as another arrow sailed past my head.

    ¡°She is fine, I heard someone behind me while trying to escape and instinctively swung.  But it ended up being the proper thing to do. I can¡¯t have her see me like this. She has only seen me as the happy-go-lucky, hyper, and super cute Elsa.¡± As she said ¡®super cute,¡¯ she put on a superficial smile and it radiated that feeling.

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    ¡°And I am sad that you had to see me like this but I can¡¯t trust you. It has become clear now. Question time, Mister Savior.¡± She already had the next arrow pulled back and aiming for my other shoulder.

    ¡°How did you truly get to the Underworld? You don¡¯t need to lie to gain Kyo¡¯s favor.¡±

    ¡°Exactly as she had told you, I arrived when she killed me and put me under her ownership, protection, or whatever you call it. I then woke up confused, masked, chained, and not human anymore. I have been keeping her company, at first out of confusion but not because I want to, almost have to.¡±

    An arrow grazed my left shoulder and cut though the cloak Kyo gave me.

    ¡°Ah¡­ Damn¡­ Even if you shoot me in the forehead with an arrow, I will stick with my story until that moment. All I know is that I am an Ushia now, almost immortal, and would protect Kyo with my life. Besides that, I will disregard my past life because most of it I want to forget anyways. So judge me from what I am and not from why. I don¡¯t plan to hurt anyone unless they hurt who I care for the most.¡±

    She kept her bow raised on me but her expression dropped a little. I can tell she doesn¡¯t completely trust me yet but some of what I said had gotten to her.

    ¡°I have one question.¡±

    ¡°You can attempt to ask.¡± Her bow still trained on my shoulder, just in case I would say something wrong.

    ¡°Why were there so few guards in the palace today?¡± Something clicked in my mind but I need some form of conformation.

    ¡°I always have two guards outside the main room and four guards walking the grounds. That is a normal day. How many dead guards did you see in the main room?¡± She showed almost no emotion but emanated a saddened aura.

    ¡°There were easily ten. And all that¡­ was done with you and the two guards? But¡­¡± Just by mentioning it, I saw the fa?ade drop again and all her leg muscles just seemed to stop working.

    ¡°Have you ever killed before, Denny? Have you¡­? I had to kill six of those ten men and I still lost my last blood relative. You don¡¯t know what taking a life feels like, do you? Controlling the life of another and stopping their heart? This sadly was not my first time but it¡­ Even if it is to save someone that you love, it is not going to make it any easier. Life just isn¡¯t that settled.¡±

    After Elsa finished her sentence, she grabbed onto her bag and a knife of reasonable size was now in her left hand. She then proceeded to point the dagger towards herself while in tears.

    Before I knew it, my legs were already at full speed running to stop her but I stopped almost instantly.

    A steel dagger with a red clothed handle flew past me and managed to hit the top edge of the knife. The instability led the dagger to fall out of Elsa¡¯s hand.

    ¡°You claim that you can¡¯t fight. You claim that you can¡¯t deal with all the lives that you have taken. Worse of all, you dare pull a knife on yourself without taking into account the people who would miss you the most.¡± I saw Kyo brush off the hit she took before like nothing as she slowly started to approach Elsa, step by step.

    ¡°Yes, I understand taking a life for the first time is traumatizing and you feel like the only way to atone for that is by ending yours but¡­ I have lived through that too, Elsa. But what would that achieve? Also, why wouldn¡¯t you let me help you through it? When I tried to come for you¡­ you hit me.¡±

    Kyo started to walk even faster with tears falling from her pained face. All that I could do was stand there and stare in amazement and resentment that I didn¡¯t know what to say.

    ¡°I was there¡­ when it happened to Julac. I saw the soldiers die that tried their best to protect us. I don¡¯t know why this happened and I want to find out why as much as you do.¡± Kyo dropped to her knees and wrapped her arms around Elsa.

    ¡°You are one of the only family members that I truly still care for. So¡­ please¡­ don¡¯t do this to yourself. Please.¡±

    You can see that every single word had gotten to Elsa because she wrapped her arms around Kyo as well. Her arms were wrapped around her so tight that you could hear the stress on the metal of Kyo¡¯s armor.

    A pain hit my chest like a shockwave, almost sending me backwards. Why¡­ is this happening? Am I hallucinating? I don¡¯t know but I wasn¡¯t the only one who felt it as Elsa¡¯s head shot up.

    ¡°Oh shit.¡± She grabbed Kyo¡¯s arms off of her gently but sternly and took off in the direction that I had come from.

    ¡°What just happened? Why¡­?¡± I didn¡¯t let Kyo finish as I grabbed her arm and dashed with her in the direction Elsa was heading.

    ¡­.

    We managed to catch up to her standing on the hill that overlooked the crystal clear river.

    I normally would have recognized it as a beautiful view in the right light. But the only visage that was echoing before us was a bright light, not of the moon light dancing off the surface of the water but of the dancing orange and red flames that emanated from the village beyond the lake.

 Part 17: November 5

    November 5

    The visage was almost too jarring, blinding in the sways of the many

    shades of the moon light bouncing off of the hills. The view looked as if the

    world was hit by a massive meteor and we were sitting nearby barely safe from

    the impact.

    There was a mixture of jeers, cheers, screams, verbal promises, and

    regrets. I can already see the tears on the side of Elsa¡¯s face as she stood,

    frozen in time, while she only repeated one word, ¡°Why? Why? Why?¡±

    Indeed, why? Why here? How did they get in so easily?

    I felt Kyo¡¯s grip stretch behind and let go of my hand. I looked back

    and saw that I was quickly fading further and further away from her. Until I

    felt a sudden rush of energy as I looked before me and saw a Tealwoe almost ten

    feet in front of me.

    The only logical conclusion is that Kyo must have sent me out to

    attack anything that isn¡¯t Alfertain or Ushia. That must mean that she can

    control my actions because never did I tell myself to run or even attack. But

    in the time that I had finished that thought the Tealwoe was lying on the

    ground with his left arm and right leg detached.

    I didn¡¯t feel pain or sadness as the dagger I held before me blazed

    with a burning yellow light and extended before planting itself next to the

    creature¡¯s head. Words started to appear out of my mouth that I would never

    normally say if not for the rage, all of us combined, forced them to.

    ¡°I have the ability to envision and resupply you with the limbs that

    I have taken and I will be just as kind as to cut them off again if you do or

    say anything that raises suspicion. This can all be avoided by telling me why

    the Tealwoes did this!¡±

    I was roughly a foot from the side of the being¡¯s neck as it spoke,

    barely struggling.

    ¡°We only do¡­ what we are told. We were told to kill¡­ so we did. We

    don¡¯t ask questions and we enjoy killing.¡± I could see in its eyes that it did

    not fear my blade nor did it show any remorse for what it had done.

    My vision went dark and my mind went blank as my body moved on instinct

    and finished him off with a swift stroke of my already laden blade.

    I fell to my knees as my vision returned and I gained control of my

    former self.

    I instinctively fell backwards. Scared, saddened, remorseful, but

    still angry. My hands, legs, and arms were shaking with enough power to detach

    them. My eyes grew wide and I only felt the pressure build in my chest as I

    realized that the life that is laying a few feet away is gone.

    I started to laugh as if to calm myself down. It was pressured but

    soft. It seemed to last only a minute but still worried Kyoko and Elsa.

    ¡°So this is how it feels, huh? Why is it so easy to do but so hard to

    stand it afterwards? I now know how it feels, Elsa. I¡­ I¡­ I just¡­ Yes, I had

    to. I had to protect them. I¡­¡± I felt calm but my heart beat was thumping

    faster than I thought possible.

    I felt warmth spread around me as I was snapped back from my episode.

    Kyoko pulled me in close and placed my head on her chest with her arms wrapped

    around it as if a mother trying to calm a crying child.

    It did make me feel a little better as she said the words, ¡°you are

    strong, you can fight through this, it will be all right¡± then silence but she

    rocked back and forth to comfort me.

    We sat like that for a minute before she looked me in the eyes and

    gave me a quick peck on the head.

    ¡°Are you calmer now? I wondered why you attacked that Tealwoe so

    quickly. I only alerted you of its presence and you just attacked, faster than

    I thought possible. It is truly impressive with that power and hate. It amazed

    but scared me because you were leaving an evil aura and I don¡¯t want to see you

    like that. I don¡¯t want to see you like me when I fight.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I feel¡­ better, thank you very much. What is this about you

    having an ¡®evil aura¡¯ when fighting? Is it because of that one time with the

    After Bringer? It was necessary because it was the best possible choice in a

    fight against that beast. It is the sword with the evil intent behind it not

    the wielder. You shouldn¡¯t believe that it was you who was evil when fighting

    with After Bringer.¡±

    She spoke three quiet words as

    she stood up, pulling me along with her. ¡°You will see.¡±

    I didn¡¯t want to ask her about it because I would rather see it for

    myself later.

    Elsa stood on the top of the hill overlooking the city with her eyes

    closed. She was focusing on the sounds of the town as her small pointed ears

    twitched ever so slightly to even the smallest echo or whistle in the wind.

    At the drop of a pin, her eyes shot open and she started running again

    towards the village. Kyoko and I did not need a seconds thought to chase after

    her. She was intent on getting wherever it was first, even we could barely keep

    to her sides.

    ¡°Aster and Shia are in trouble.¡± Those words were all it took for Kyo

    to rush ahead of us, way quicker than before.

    I felt a hard thump to my chest again as I was already in the air

    falling down holding my dagger hammer fisted aiming downward at another

    If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.Tealwoe.

    Elsa saw that I was going to handle it and understood the situation,

    so she kept on running. I swung down with all my might as I saw Elsa

    reluctantly run after Kyo.

    As soon as my blade struck the shielded forearm of the enemy in front

    of me, I knew that it wasn¡¯t enough. At a second¡¯s notice, I was thrown aside

    as if hit by a tree trunk to the stomach with his other arm.

    My vision started to blur as I was thrown back about twenty feet. Luckily

    landing on my left knee and barely holding my balance with my right foot.

    That did not stop me from coughing to try to get my normal breathing

    pattern back. I looked down towards the ground to find a small amount of blood

    sitting in a pool in front of me.

    ¡°Well played, my friend. You know that you will pay for that, right?¡±

    I wiped off the small amount of blood that was left on my chin as I showed

    challenge and a fierce grin on my face.

    I held the dagger outright and brought my body together into a

    straight upright position. I tried my best to narrow my now stable breathing as

    the energy started to flow from my chest to my hands to the dagger in front of

    me.

    The handle of the short dagger started to become elongated as my hand

    traveled further from its original place. I took what I knew about myself and

    what Kyo mentioned before about my attack style to choose what I made my blade

    into. I am not a close range fighter, I am also not meant for strength and

    outright damage but I am meant for speed and knowing enemy¡¯s weak points.

    The weapon in front of me is reminiscent of a mix between a lance and

    a quarterstaff. The front of the lance is frayed outwards a little but only

    enough to be wide bodied but still joined at a sharp point. The blade has a

    black rounded symbol for dark on one side and a white rounded symbol for light

    on the other while two lines from each converged to the main staff edging below

    it. The staff itself is made of a blend of carbon fiber and steel, which made

    it light and easy to hold but durable and strong. There is also a button just

    above where my hands would normally be positioned that can launch the blade on

    the staff almost two meters away from its base connected by a steel chain. This

    makes the weapon more effective and even deadly if aimed right at nearly four

    meters.

    Even with that, I feel it needs color and a symbol to give it an

    identity, even if it is inanimate. The weapons staff turned black and a symbol

    of a white face that was hazed over with no features rose above the surface. I

    decided that the name of this weapon will be named after what I was haunted by

    for most of my life, The Dark Veil.

    All of the forming of the staff had taken only a minute but the

    process was enough to stun the enemy before me. The staff is laying in my open

    palms waiting to be used in battle. I quickly twirled the staff underneath my

    right arm and pulled back slightly as I quickly thrust towards my enemy.

    He was not as stunned as I had thought because he managed to dodge

    the attack, which resulted in him only being nicked by The Dark Veil. He didn¡¯t

    even flinch as he lunged towards me with his armored fist in full swing. I used

    the mid length of my staff to block the attack. I tried to retaliate against

    him to gain the higher ground with a kick to the gut but it had no effect.

    Damn.

    He chose to try the same strike and against my luck, his attack,

    although slower, connected and threw me back about ten feet onto my back.

    He took advantage of what he saw as an opening and punched the ground

    on which I had landed. I had taken advantage of his slower attacking speed to

    roll myself to the right, barely dodging his attack.

    This time I made sure that I wouldn¡¯t miss to make substantial

    damage. I connected with his shoulder joint and quickly hit the switch on the

    staff. The blade shot through the other side of his arm and then returned to

    its rightful place.

    I saw him fall to the ground but he still did not show his pain even

    though his arm went limp, he stood back up growling.

    ¡°I can see that you are higher up than the other Tealwoe that I had

    faced. Why attack a village that did nothing but live peacefully? Is murder and

    violence the Tealwoe¡¯s life goal?¡± I yelled at it hoping that it will be more

    submissive now.

    ¡°We only do what we are told. We were told to kill, so we did. We

    don¡¯t ask questions and honestly¡­ we enjoy killing.¡± The monster said through

    the hate in his voice and the sting to his glare made me feel the emotion

    behind it.

    ¡°That¡¯s what the other one said, almost to the letter. I have one

    question for you before we finish this. Who ordered you to attack this village

    and why?¡±

    He gave a sharper glare this time but I was not intimidated, actually

    maybe I was unfazed by what is happening.

    ¡°King Jol Wara Azuraine. He ordered us to attack the village as an

    effort to draw out his daughter and bring her back to Xerces.¡±

    ¡°The king ordered this? Why does he want Kyo back to Xerces?¡± A wide smile grew across his face.

    ¡°For her execution.¡±

 Part 18: November 6

    November 6

    ¡°Wait¡­ Execution. Is it¡­ because of Kyo not killing me that day?¡± I almost thought out loud.

    Without thinking, I dropped to the ground and rested my body on my arms placed behind my back as I faced upwards staring into the nothingness above me.

    ¡°Because of me, huh? Yeah. It must be. Why do I feel like this? I barely have lived in this world and already feel like I have done a major wrong even though I don¡¯t understand what is going on.¡± I was smiling the whole time as I said that but inside I could feel the cracks beginning to show, almost like a hammer striking frozen plastic.

    ¡°Listen up, Mr. Tealwoe. Is it because of Kyoko saving me? Is it because she wouldn¡¯t kill me? Why would the king want to kill his own daughter? It must take a big man to want to do that.¡± I started to regain my senses as I slowly raised myself back up, swaying and staggering as if in a deep trance.

    I removed The Dark Veil for now as my hand, if by reflex, pulled out the dagger from before. Lazily, I held it in front of me, swaying along with me.

    ¡°I cannot answer that, you do not deserve it. We Tealwoes are proud beings; you need to show that you¡¯re not as pathetic as you look in my eyes after that stunt. You even gave yourself a better chance with that last attack; maybe it will be easier than you think.¡± He was mocking me now.

    I felt my head tilt downwards but my vision shot upwards as my teeth gritted against itself in anger.

    The beast started running full force as his right arm hung limply to his side, listlessly flying in the air behind him.

    The beast was either smarter than I first anticipated or just really stupid because he decided to swing the aforementioned broken arm at me.

    I dodged the attack but was quickly met with the left. I felt and heard the crack of two of my ribs, the pain felt as if I was struck by a moving sedan that had no intent of stopping.

    There was also no stopping my body from flying to the right as if I was a puppet with no string attached. The blood found its way out of my mouth onto the dirt road under me. Sadly the feeling of my ribs beginning to heal themselves wasn¡¯t any better than the pain of breaking them.

    Now, I am pissed. My teeth were still tightly locked as I cracked my knuckles and lengthened the blade of my dagger. Long enough to make the enemy rethink his strategy, he did not let his guard down a second though.

    He let out a fierce growl but it only made me angrier. I started running at him, the pain was still burrowing into my chest but I blocked it out.

    The Tealwoe moved left rather quickly, which was almost unbelievable due to his size but still wasn¡¯t enough to throw off my attack. He is facing a tracker/marksman after all.

    Out of the corner of my eye as I made a sharp turn, what looked like a shiny object was heading closer. As my body transitioned into the light of the enemy, it was too late. The object had hit my head at an unbearable force.

    As the blood started to run down my face, blurring out the vision in my left eye, I started to hear the footsteps grow closer. I managed to wipe some of the blood off of my face but sadly it kept coming.

    My reflexes seemed to slow but were enough to throw my blade up in defense as the shielded arm of the enemy started to bear down on me.

    I don¡¯t know how I was still standing but the vision of Kyo started appearing in my mind, a support system maybe? I guess the movies weren¡¯t lying.

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    That thought and vision brought a smile across my face and a little chuckle escaped my lips. The Tealwoe did not question this but must have taken it as a challenge as he started to bear down with even more weight but I could see that it was energy that he did not have to waste as he started to shake.

    Still chuckling I looked up at the enemy, left eye closed and a smile on my face. His body language did not change much but I could tell his strength was starting to falter.

    I used this opportunity to roll to the right and used the time until his arms hit the ground to gain some offensive. I used my speed as my main strength and ran at the beast with my blade held high over my head as I swung down into the already broken arm of my enemy.

    The arm fell to the ground as if a log falling onto the forest floor, my gaze fell with it. The object that permeated in my vision was not of the arm but of an object, glistening and round. As my vision centered on the object, I realized that it was a steel object in the shape of a¡­ helmet?

    I looked up at the monster in front of me and noticed his face in full. A scar across the left eye and a permanent scowl laced across that barren forehead bearing two silver eyes that glowed anger and shined hate. When looking into the two voids, I was finally able to see its pain.

    Even though the pain should have been excruciating, it still managed to swing at me with all his weight resting now in his functional arm. I barely dodged it but the jagged metal of his arm brace snagged my right shirt sleeve and tore it off.

    I didn¡¯t mind it. Actually, it seems to give me more mobility.

    I finally have the upper hand in this fight, now to attack offensively. I started to run at the now injured animal, he decided to take another swing. As was in the downward swing, I took the opportunity to slide underneath the attack and his legs.

    I brought back The Dark Veil and turned to thrust the end blade deep into the middle of the beast¡¯s spine. I then pushed the button and saw as blood shot with the blade out of the front of the animal.

    The blade returned and clicked back in place. I quickly jumped a few feet back in defense as the Tealwoe fell backwards with a sputter and thump.

    The silence after the attack was almost painstaking, for the air around us and my own conscience.

    I walked over the enemies face, kneeled down, and asked him one question before he left this world as a Tealwoe.

    ¡°Forget the question from before, I have a new one. Was it worth it to murder this many people in such a quiet village?¡± I asked in a sympathetic voice while looking into the scar ridden left eye of the death that lay beneath me.

    ¡°You already¡­ know our¡­ motto. We only¡­ do what we¡­ are told. We are¡­ told to kill, so we¡­ do. So yes, it was. My¡­ people will¡­ live on due¡­ to this. Isn¡¯t¡­ that a¡­ decent enough reason?¡±

    ¡°No, not even a little,¡± the beast drew its last breath and the words I really wanted to say rang out, ¡°murder is never the reason. Killing should only be a last chance option, if at all.¡±

    Murder is slaughter without reason; killing is the stage before murder and after self defense.

    I closed the beast¡¯s eyes, stood up, and headed towards the store.

    As the thoughts in my mind started to return back to normal, I started to struggle keeping them consistent.

    Am I becoming a monster?

 Part 19: November 7

    November 7

    I just couldn¡¯t shake the mixed feelings of confusion of how I will tell Kyo, or if I should. I have a mixture of feelings of questionable dread in hope that they made it safely, hate for myself, and anger at the beasts roaming this once beautiful village.

    I hooked The Dark Veil on my back, next to my bow. The force of each step as I ran as fast as I could towards my destination left foot prints deep but quiet enough to barely disturb a sleeping child.

    The village seems almost too quiet but the flames still roared proudly as if they had something to tell me. Maybe they are trying to prove something to our group, just to mock us. I don¡¯t know and I do not want to. I just want it to stop.

    Almost halfway to the small building, my ears picked up on something underneath the crackling of the flames. The sound of an almost subtle, distinct sound of wire being plucked rang out.

    My body dove forward on instinct once more. Halfway through, I heard a whistling fly by the back of my head, almost grazing it.

    Then, it started.

    On cue of a slight roar, over forty arrows flew back and forth in random patterns in front, behind, and currently where I was standing.

    I rolled back on to the now loosened soles of my feet and attempted my best impression of a fluid dancer to avoid the arrows. My feet did not stop.

    Almost as if another being had taken control of my body and attempted full control but failed, my moves must look random but elegant from the onlooker¡¯s vision.

    I took one quick look to the right but it wouldn¡¯t have looked any better. One of the arrows seemed to sense this as insecurity or doubt since it flew directly towards my right forearm and landed in the center of the bone.

    Shit.

    The feeling of impact had passed through me as if nothing had truly happened but the pain was enough to throw my balance for a spin as I tilted a little too forward and the next arrow impacted my left shoulder. I felt the strength leave it but my senses were left intact.

    How¡­ How¡­ will I make it?

    One wrong placed arrow and my legs could be next.

    Damn, Damn, Damn.

    My feet did not stop despite that thought but my morale was slowly fading.

    I knew my left is now unable to be moved but my right is still workable, if not hindered. This gave me two options:

    One, pull out the arrow in my left and allow my arm the time it needs to heal to be able to use The Dark Veil to block most of the incoming arrows. This will give me a better chance of making it but it takes more time that I truly don¡¯t have.

    Two, use my dagger to deflect some arrows and hope that it will be enough. This will take less time but it will be based more on luck.

    I had about one second to decide as my senses picked up the sound of the draw of two bows aimed at either side of me.

    Think fast¡­ Think fast¡­

    I heard the arrows disengage and start their path to take my last chances away.

    My decision seems to be the only one possible, the dagger. This gave me enough time to hit the arrow flying in from the right but the left struck the hinge of my shoulder blade. The pain was immense, which threw my balance off even more and my vision from before did not get any better.

    I felt my body become heavier and heavier as I wore on but I started to see the building in front of me. Can¡­ I make it?

    I tried my best to make a sprint towards the building but the heaviness seemed to wear down my legs enough to make them almost stop all together.

    Damn it, work¡­ work! We can make it.

    My legs were not in my control anymore as they gave way and my body collapsed with them to the cold, hard ground. No matter if my body can heal itself; it still takes pain normally and at large.

    Heh¡­ heh heh heh¡­ I guess I can give in; my body isn¡¯t immortal, now I know. I felt the strength start to leave my arms and head as my vision starts to blur as well.

    ¡°Aster¡­ I¡¯m sorry. Shia¡­ I¡¯m sorry. Elsa¡­ I¡¯m sorry. Last but not least, Kyoko, I¡¯m sorry. I would love to see your face once more. I¡¯m sorry; I don¡¯t think I will make it back. But I will keep trying until my body won¡¯t let me.¡±

    I tried to pull any strength in my arms as I reached as far as I could in front of me to grasp the earth blindly. What I grabbed was not

    crumbling or distressed rubble but was of a hardened material like cloth or leather.

    The grasping of my hand slowly stopped as I transferred all of my energy into my hearing to get some sort of grasp on what was happening.

    I heard something familiar but unfamiliar, calm yet hostile all at once.

    ¡°Fuck¡­ What did¡­get yourself... to? No choice.¡± I felt a slight tug on my arms as I was hoisted onto something. It felt kind, in the lowest sense of the word but I could tell it was not an enemy.

    The voice sounded distressed but also eerily calm. It kept calling my name, ¡°Denny¡­ Denny,¡± as if I would respond. It was calming though.

    My hearing faded along with the rest of my senses, my grip released and I gave way to the shaking and swaying of the world around me.

    The impact of some sort of soft surface underneath me brought me back to my senses. I don¡¯t know what to feel besides the pain surrounding my body.

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    Was it good or bad? I have no idea.

    The noises around me did not feel faked, broken, angry, but saddening and heartbreaking. I heard two higher pitched voices yelling as ramblings.

    Are they crying? Is that what it is?

    My ears started to hone in on the sounds surrounding me and I wish they hadn¡¯t.

    The voice that I had heard from before said some quiet words to one of the women and their crying seemed to slow down a little.

    The silence was almost unbearable but the atmosphere was not awkward. I felt a slow graceful sense run up my arm and it slowly made its way to my head where it stayed. I couldn¡¯t really grasp what was going on but from the way that they were touching me, I knew who it could be.

    My eyes started to come back into my power but I knew it wouldn¡¯t be easy to open them. I needed to see her, to show me that I am still here, that I am still me.

    I let the sound echo around me and let my body rest as I tried my best to lift the lids that were surprisingly hard to feel.

    The light filtered in that left an imprint on my eyelids and moved closer to the source of my curiosity. My eyes drew into focus the eerie darkness in front of me as my reality snapped back into life.

    Reality can be harsh it seems. Even though I should be panicking, I feel safe and calm.

    The light entering my vision, more focused than before. They drew the image of sad but excited, angry but calm eyes. They were blood red and emerald green respectively with sore red marks underneath them. Her quicksilver and midday sun yellow hair still seemed to keep its respective color and beauty even with the events that are occurring. Her face had a little bit of dirt on it but that is to be expected.

    I still wasn¡¯t able to speak and I didn¡¯t have to because she understood what I wanted to say, even if I didn¡¯t have anything to say.

    I attempted to sit up but the pain pierced my body as if I had no skin to protect it.

    Again, no groan, sound, or yell rang out.

    ¡°I have removed the arrows and bandaged the wounds but they may take longer than normal to heal. They were deep and you may be able to heal ten times faster than normal but you are still human.¡± Aster said from across the room, clinking of glasses can be heard as well.

    I closed my eyes to try to center my energy on my wounds but nothing was making it heal faster.

    I heard a soft, calm voice enter my ear saying, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Everything will be all right, Shia is here and feeling a little better. She

    will do her best to assist you.¡±

    ¡®Assist me?¡¯ Tell me that doesn¡¯t mean¡­

    ¡°I know this might not be the best plan but it is the only one we have.¡± Aster came over to the side of the bed and handed me a glass of water.

    ¡°Kyoko, Elsa, and I will have to head back to the manor. I know that no one wants to go there willingly but there are a few items that we need if we are to save the village and escape with our lives. Shia will be here to help with any problems that you may run into, whether it is a health problem or a combat one, she is capable.¡±

    I knew he saw the distress on my face but he did not address it. I knew that he was capable of keeping them safe, Kyo is more than capable, and Elsa is the most adept at magic. But I still felt that something was off.

    I felt a kiss on my forehead and a quick hug for a brief minute before Kyoko stepped away. Elsa decided this was her chance to put a word in but only to me.

    You could feel the meaning behind her words due to the near silence as they left her red lips.

    ¡°I may have looked playful before and maybe came onto you a bit too strong. I am sorry for that. I also can see that you are risking your life for the group and that last battle took a lot out of you, as I can plainly see.¡± She let out a shy chuckle. ¡°But please¡­ don¡¯t push yourself too hard while we are gone and in the near future. Don¡¯t feel entitled to save the ¡®damsels in distress,¡¯ we can handle ourselves just fine, okay?¡±

    She put her hand on my still numb shoulder as she pushed herself up and I could see a smile and blushing on her small, tanned face.

    ¡°Got all of the weapons and supplies ready, Kyoko?¡± Aster said as he walked across the room to grab his Glistening Shot bow. A bow of glimmering white with Ruby and Amethyst stones emblazoned on to the side with a strong

    gold string going down the center.

    ¡°Yes.¡± Kyoko picked up a leather back pack that was loaded to the brim, full of various bows and small swords.

    ¡°Then we are ready. Kyoko, you are the most equipped with a sword, you should lead the way. Elsa, you go second and I will protect from the side and back.¡± He opened the door and Kyoko gave me one last full look before heading through the door. Her face flashed a smile of happiness that I was safe but also of worry that there were only two of us in the store alone with the

    enemies still roaming outside.

    The door shut relatively quiet behind them. The sound of slashing, thumping, and crackling from the flames only made my worries more apparent.

    Aster, Elsa, and Kyoko. Please come back safely.

 Part 20: November 8

    November 8

    I slowly made my way around the spacious living quarters for any type

    of rod or steel pipe to shove into the door handle for some sense of security.

    The most that I found was a hammer and a crowbar. The crowbar may hold but the

    hammer won¡¯t if it gets too wild for it may look quite strong but it is not the

    most durable.

    I lodged the crowbar into the front door handle and the hammer into

    the back. The best that I possibly can do is hope that it can hold out for the

    time being and that they mainly attack the front of the shop.

    I grabbed the book case from the other side of the room and pushed it

    to block the front door.

    I gave out one last puff of breath as I attempted one last push to

    make sure it was firmly against the door.

    ¡°And¡­ we should be okay as long as they don¡¯t hear us, so no loud

    noises from either of us, okay?¡±

    The look on Shia¡¯s face was one of a strong smile but her eyes showed

    a different story.

    Puzzled? Confused? Worried? I couldn¡¯t tell. The only thing that I

    could take away from it is that it made me concerned and I didn¡¯t like that.

    ¡°Is something wrong, Shia? Are you hungry? I can make you something

    if you are.¡±

    The room feels tense and I have no clue why. Why is it starting to

    feel hot in here now?

    I felt the sweat start to slowly run down my forehead. It was cold

    and made my body almost shiver.

    She shook her head and slowly lifted herself onto the side of her

    bed. She started to squint as she looked me, focusing on my every feature.

    Reading me.

    Understanding me.

    She then proceeded to stand up and motion me to lie back down on my

    bed. She walked over and pushed my head down to the pillow slowly and gently,

    almost motherly.

    She didn¡¯t say a word, just sat next to the side of the bed, closed

    her eyes, and started humming.

    The air above me started to heat up but only slightly. Her palms

    started to glow a bright green, letting out a small whine that corresponded

    with her humming. It started to give off a melodic orchestra that echoed inside

    my head.

    What the heck is going on?

    Wait¡­ Wait¡­ My wounds¡­ They¡¯re¡­ They¡¯re healing?

    ¡°What do you think of this world, Mr. Denny?¡± She asks me in a calm

    manner.

    ¡°Um¡­ isn¡¯t that kind of out of left field? Well¡­ I don¡¯t hate it.

    Besides what¡¯s happening right now, it is close in consistency to a fantasy

    novel that I have read. I got to meet you and Aster. I also had the chance to

    fall for the all beautiful, rough-and-tough Kyoko. And¡­¡± I said it in a more

    joking matter to cut the silence but it seems she did not like that as much as

    she cut me off.

    Her eyes opened up and looked directly into mine. The humming and

    light stopped and the atmosphere became even more tense than previous. Almost

    thought breaking, or at least thought racing.

    Should I have not said that?

    ¡°What are your true feelings towards Kyoko?¡± Her voice turned to

    stone. Her usual kind, loving face showed only cold, darkened eyes and a flat

    line where her smile used to be. It made my hurried thoughts drop to dead

    silence.

    ¡°Should we¡­ really be¡­¡± I saw the determination burrow farther in her

    eyes.

    ¡°Well, ever since the second I had been brought to this world, it was

    fear of the unknown and the look of murder that was my initial thought of her.

    Almost as if I knew that I was going to die. And well, sure enough I wasn''t

    wrong. Even though she was injured and surprised, she still beat me easily. It

    was terrifying. Waking up in a strange place that smelled of death and aged

    iron, even worse. Clicking of boots across that floor while being blind folded,

    I ran. Her tone when trying to get me to sit still stopped my heart cold. ''If

    you move again, you¡¯ll get stabbed again,'' romantic, right?¡± My expression must

    flow well with the story because Shia was hanging on every word I said, heavily

    invested.

    ¡°Then, we were attacked by a Mercentry. I was the distraction in the

    fight because of my speed and she was trying to gain the upper hand in any way

    possible. I just saw her. The way she moved, her power, her strength, they were

    and are captivating. She may have been under the effect of After Bringer but

    even then¡­ she was shining. It did not end well though. After I awoke from her

    attack on me, she greeted me with a smile. Her shining mixed hair hovering over

    her right shoulder as she looked down at me, almost landing on my pale face.¡±

    ¡°She was smiling at me. Smiling. Something that I had never seen

    before and it was for me. Her smile is beautiful, mixed with her soft voice, I

    almost feel like I am being gifted. Her toughness is a great feature as well;

    she is not as fragile as you would think just looking at her.¡± The memory of

    that moment played over and over in my memory. A deep smile was implanted on my

    face.

    ¡°Oh¡­ Are you completely sure that your curse may have effected your

    feelings at all?¡± Her expression kept its consistency quite well.

    ¡°How do you know about that? Oh yeah, the time spent with Kyo when

    Aster and I were training. Of course it has affected some aspects of my

    feelings. But only a tiny bit, I would believe so. She was the first face that

    I have ever seen, not even my parent¡¯s faces were visible to me. I would go

    home after school every day and say hello to the strangers that also lived

    there then go to my room. In my room, I would try my best to tell certain parts

    of a face apart from others, from what I could actually see. Seeing a real face

    for the first time was a new experience to me and it just happened to be a

    beautiful girl like Kyoko. Everything beyond that point made me realize that

    going from someone who has never actually seen care or love can still

    understand what it feels like even if they haven''t experienced it. The battles,

    the conversations, the way she shows her feelings. The way she blushes and

    smiles, the way she frowns, the way she walks and talks. All of it. I would

    give my life for her, not because she gave me a new life but because I want her

    to live longer than me. As best I can, I want to see her live on and share her

    smile with more people. I really truly like her. If not more than that. I don¡¯t

    know if my confession was too soon but she accepted it anyway and that made me

    very happy.¡± I started to blush but kept a brave front on.

    Her face changed back to her usual brightening smile and her eyes

    close back with the green light shining once more.

    ¡°Good. I accept your responses, Denny. You better stick to your word

    with protecting her with your life but don¡¯t push yourself too hard, okay? She

    wouldn¡¯t want to see you die before her either, we both know that.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I know. So, now that you asked a question. I want to ask one.

    I am always puzzled by this. What made Kyoko the way she is?¡± She was taken

    aback by this but didn¡¯t take it as something that should be stepped around. I

    was expecting that she would have.

    ¡°Kyoko was a very

    normal girl growing up. Wore dresses, played with dolls, played with stuffed

    toys. But the main difference between her and other girls is that she never

    smiled. She actually broke all of her dolls in secret so her parents wouldn''t

    find out. I was there to watch and protect her, so I gave her toys that she did

    like to play with. You know, trucks and the like. It was rather adorable to see

    her try and show her toughness by attempting to break them.¡±

    Her face grew grim.

    ¡°Until King Jol found

    out and promised to punish her by locking her in a dark cell for one day. I

    took the blame, the least that I could do. Buying toys for her was all that I

    could do at the time. She deserved something that she could actually enjoy, not

    dolls and those frilly dresses that made her miserable. The lessons to make her

    ¡°Lady-Like,¡± Ha... what a joke. She¡¯s a strong girl but every time I saw the

    door open with her standing in that doorway saddened, almost broke my heart.

    She would throw herself on the bed, her face mixed with anger and pure sadness.

    I sat on the side of her bed and held her close. Even if she hit me, I would

    let her. I wasn''t the most adept at showing emotion or even understanding

    others at the time. For her sake, I was willing to learn.

    So every other day, I

    would go without food and train to give myself some idea of pain. Even on the

    days that I ate, I would eat light. Yes, it may sound stupid to starve myself

    but that''s the only idea I had. After about a year, I begged King Jol to allow

    Kyoko to hang out with some other girls around her age. For some release from

    this constant training. He allowed it.¡±

    ¡°My younger brother,

    Junlos, attempted to play with her but pretty much clung to me the whole time.

    So that plan didn''t work out as well. That was when the Vice Duke''s son,

    Alfonse, was invited to play with her. I have never seen Kyoko so happy and in

    turn, I started to feel joyed by this. But sadly, nothing lasts forever.¡±

    ¡°What happened?¡± I

    sat up quite a bit in suspense. I saw that remembering this was hard for her,

    even if I could tell that it couldn''t be dreadful but more heart wrenching.

    ¡°The boy''s father was

    put under scrutiny for cheating on his wife and raping four other women. Just

    like everyone else on that fucking Efferets Council. Pardon my language.

    Everyone on that ungodly Council are bound to do the same but they are adept at

    covering it up. He didn''t even attempt to. The only ¡°pure,¡± to put it lightly,

    individual is King Jol. He hasn''t cheated and shows high respect for his wife.

    The major draw is that he is the most violent of the council. Anyways, the Vice

    Duke had to leave the country to Andervell or face the slaughter of his entire

    family. His son was a sweet, innocent child and sadly had to be brought into

    that. Kyoko didn''t understand then and still doesn''t know today. Not that she

    shouldn''t know but it might be for the best. She really liked that boy. Oh...

    Sorry.¡± She just realized that she mentioned it to me.

    ¡°It''s no problem, I

    can''t say that I understand the feeling but I understand the situation.¡± If I

    said that it didn''t make me a little jealous, I would be lying.

    ¡°Well... anyway, this

    brought on a string of ¡°friends¡± that the King had gathered for Kyoko. Every

    one ended badly and every doll she received was ordered by her to be burned by

    the butler. After the fifth friend left, she gave up trying to make friends.

    She kept to the Princess Training that they put her through and she was turning

    out to seem like true royalty. For close to four years, she did this.

    I was put on a

    special mission at the time and events that I will mention at another time led

    to how I got to Astern. Junlos sent me letters on occasion to fill me in on the

    rest of the details.

    After a while, Kyoko

    begged her parents to become a Royal Guardian and every time the answer was no.

    She then begged Junlos to train her and he quickly agreed. He always respected

    Kyoko, not because she is the princess but because of her determination. It

    shocked me but I was proud that she finally took that step. Whenever Kyoko had

    the free time, she sparred with Junlos.

    She trained for six

    more years until she turned twenty. She told her parents that she was going to

    do her best to be a Royal Guardian. She wanted to prove her worthiness of the

    title, so she left the castle with nothing on her but a few pairs of clothes,

    money, and a knife. I didn''t hear about her from Junlos for about six months

    and I was worried the whole time.

    Junlos mentioned that

    she was almost unrecognizable. Besides her hair and eye colors, you wouldn''t

    have known it was her.

    She marched into the

    main chamber with a full suit of armor on and a gas mask in her hand. She

    showed her father what she was capable of, a speech from Junlos definitely

    helped, and he reluctantly put her on the Royal Guard.

    You already know who

    her first target was.

    Junlos decided to

    enter her room that night and found her sitting on the side of her bed with her

    head in her hands, shaking.

    ''First mission

    jitters?''

    ''No. No... No. I...

    why him? He seems so innocent. What has he done to make father so determined?''

    ''I have had harder

    people to deal with. Children, old men, women. It''s always hard. No matter if you

    think you are used to it or not.''

    ''But... he...''

    ''Don''t tell me...

    that he''s got you in a bind because you think he''s handsome.''

    ''Wha... what are you

    saying? Of course not.''

    He joked with her but

    he stopped.

    ''Listen, I get that

    you are at a sensitive age but you have to understand that a target is a

    target. He is a human. He will die eventually. They are not immortal. Why make

    it more painful that it has to be? You can capture him if you like but

    understand the repercussions, especially for the princess. But hey... no

    pressure, okay.¡±

    ¡°At the end of that

    note, he mentioned that he was going on a special mission.¡± She looked like she

    was about the cry. ¡°He still... hasn''t sent another letter.¡±

    I was in too much

    shock to respond but I didn''t have to.

    ¡°You were her first

    mission. Do you believe she was successful?¡±

    She wanted to

    continue the conversation but was now too sad to do so. She started to cry in

    the thought of Junlos and I decided to be her shoulder to cry on.

    ¡°He''s probably still

    fighting the best he can. To see one day, how lovely his sister has become.¡±

    I felt the burden

    come out from her tears but I knew she was strong enough to calm herself down.

    She let go and went

    back to her bed without saying a word to get some amount of rest in.

    I sat up on my bed

    and thought about the next plan of action as calming yet worrying noises filled

    and surrounded this small building.

    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    November 9

    My head ached, my

    body ached, it seems like everything ached. Should I be worried? Or is this

    natural for a person in my situation? Winning a big fight, becoming something

    that isn''t human, being killed almost twice. Maybe it is catching up to me.

    I stuttered to stand

    up as the pain of my ribs still lingered and the many aches made my legs creak

    at the same tone as the aged wooden floor boards beneath me.

    I staggered over to

    check on the weapons that were left behind by Aster and the group.

    I checked the cabinet

    in the back of the main bedroom that was situated on the right side of the

    store. The room gave off a pleasant aroma despite the outside world that should

    have poisoned that smell a while ago.

    The room was well

    organized, which is to be expected due to Aster''s condition.

    I finally reached the

    lopsided steel cabinet on the back corner of the room. It seems to have been

    This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.recently polished. It reflected almost everything perfectly. Except for the few

    scratched and bumps in the aged metal, it seemed almost brand new.

    I opened the left

    cabinet door to find only a few matches and a few stuffed dolls that Shia may

    be collecting. I didn''t know that they had such pleasantries here, I wasn''t

    shocked though. It''s almost like the living world just with more truths that I

    used to believe were myths. So, most things from home might be somewhere in

    this world.

    I took the matches

    and one of the dolls that seemed to be kept in the highest regard amongst the

    rest.

    I put the doll into

    my right pocket gently as to not rip the delicate cloth and designs. I then put

    the matches into my left back pocket for easy accessibility.

    I attempted to open

    the right cabinet door but to be expected, it was locked tight.

    Hmm... maybe Shia

    would know... No, I can¡¯t bother her right now.

    Umm.... Come on

    Denny, you''re better than this.

    Like in some of the

    mystery books that I have read, a good portion of them revealed that when in a

    bind, the answer can be simple if looked at from a different perspective. The

    store has only one floor and Aster most likely has the key when he left. He may

    have taken the key ring with it on. So, unlocking it in a traditional sense is

    out of the question.

    Umm.... hmm...

    Wait... Manifestation. I can just make a new key. Right... Okay... This could

    work.

    I walked over to the

    lock and rested my thumb over the key lock and placed all concentration on my

    thoughts. The white light that I seem almost too used to started to shine

    brightly again and patterns of the tumblers started to map out inside my head.

    It took almost two full minutes and a lot of strain on my mind before the

    object was finished and took a lot more out of me after the fact rather than

    during.

    The design became

    more clear the more that I focused on it. It doesn''t resemble any key that I

    have ever seen before. It had an almost trapezoidal base, which rounded further

    down the shaft into an almost oval like pattern, the stems consisted of indents

    and centimeter thick hooks not jumps or hills like a key would normally

    exhibit.

    This gave concern on

    my part but not enough warrant for me to investigate it. Its only just a key,

    not a mysterious artifact.

    The key was

    mystifying to look at none-the-less. It has a silver-like finish with a rather

    peculiar stemmed, rugged feel and.... Denny, less staring at it and more

    attempting to use it.

    Okay Brain, okay.

    I put the key into

    the lock without a hassle and a neat click came from inside the mechanism. The

    key turned with no problem at all.

    To my disappointment,

    there were only papers and various journals that have the words, ¡°My Previous

    Life,¡± written in bold tipped marker along the cover page.

    It could mean either

    of them to be honest. Aster''s life as a human and Shia''s old life as a Royal

    Guard. I will not push my luck and look further into it.

    Oh... It''s so tempting

    though....

    No Denny, you were

    raised better.

    But¡­ Maybe just a

    peek.

    I grabbed the nearest

    journal and opened the first page as I made my way over to the nearby chair

    while making sure I stayed as quiet as possible.

    ¡°July 14<sup>th</sup>It has been so long

    since I have seen the lush greenery of my garden back home. I may say that I

    don''t miss it but that is a blatant lie that I tell to myself and Shia.¡±

    So it is Aster''s. Hmm...

    ¡°This world has given

    me a second chance though and for that, I am surely grateful. Back in the real

    world, fresh out of high school, I was a Janitor. Or a Custodial Staff Member,

    as they called it.

    I didn''t have plans

    for the future. Just me, my job, and my girlfriend at the time, Lucy. She was a

    short, blonde haired woman, with thick glasses and a mind for adventure. I

    liked that about her. She had dreams that I couldn''t have at my station.

    Lucy was a smart

    cookie, she was. She was a Science major going into the branch of Physics and

    Aerodynamic Study. A calm person with an insight for everything around her and

    a positive attitude for every wrong that could have been done to her. She never

    gave up on the world or me and that seemed like the only reason that kept me

    going.¡±

    I

    didn''t know he had such a dark side. Poor Aster. I probably should check one

    more page, just to understand.

    ¡°July

    15<sup>th</sup>As

    one would guess, I woke up every day except for Sundays and worked. From eight

    in the morning to eight at night, I worked. It was a routine that I was not

    pleased with in any shape or form. I woke up, brushed my teeth, made some

    breakfast for me and Lucy, who was still up after spending all night studying.

    I would sometimes help her on the little things that I remembered from Ms.

    Burke''s twelfth grade Physics lectures.

    Gosh,

    did I hated her. Well, hate is a strong word. Disliked greatly.

    Anyway,

    my schedule. I would eat breakfast with Lucy, go to work, finish all the daily

    tasks that they had given me, and come home. I would find her passed out most

    of the time on her desk, her snoring was pretty adorable. She wasn''t the

    strongest person but she would keep herself up for hours on end even when she

    knew that her brain was yelling for her to stop. No matter how crazy life got,

    she wouldn''t give up. That made me believe it too.

    She

    taught me a lot. It was one of the things that I loved about her... loved...

    yeah, I do. I haven''t really realized it. Hmm... interesting.¡±

    I

    should probably skip a bit to find out what made him go to the roof on that

    day.

    ¡°August

    16th

    This was almost too hard to

    remember but I know that Shia loves to read and knowing her reading speed. She

    could read through all my previous memoirs like it was nothing. It¡¯s almost

    terrifying, heh heh.

    Anyway, I loved my work-a-day,

    drum-a-day lifestyle up to a point. That point was the day Lucy was taken from

    me. Yes, it sounds like every other sad story but it was almost too sudden for

    any romance novel.

    This was a while back now, almost

    ten years. I had lived with Lucy for about three years and knew almost

    everything about her. Her favorite drink, her favorite food, her favorite

    hangout, her damn favorite equation in Dynamics. She was dorky like that and I

    couldn''t blame her. It was interesting material. But... I didn''t know what she

    wanted to do after she completed the four-year school that she was in then.

    It''s not that I never asked or listened but she just didn''t want to tell me...

    like she was ashamed to tell me. Or afraid to.

    So, in a normal dinner

    conversation, I asked her.

    ''What do you want to do after Crill-Tech?

    Classes end soon, right?'' I asked casually.

    She didn''t answer.

    ¡°Lucy... are you okay?¡±

    ¡°Yes, why do you ask?¡± She asked

    as if my last question was non-existent. But I could see something hiding in

    her eyes.

    ¡°Whenever I ask any other

    question, you respond with a calm smile on your face. Full of joy. But when I

    ask you that question, you go wide eyed and lock up. What¡¯s wrong?''

    ''It''s nothing... important.'' Her

    face went red, she excused herself, and power walked to the bedroom holding her

    face in her hands. I would chase after her but the last time I did that, she

    started to cry harder the more that I would try to comfort her.

    I stood up, staring in her direction, and a faint buzzing

    became more clear and present behind me. I turned around to see that Lucy had

    left her phone behind while marching off.

    The brightly lit screen shows the name, ''mom'', in white

    letters. I don''t know why I did but I answered.

    ''Hello.'' I said anticipating.

    ''Aster, is that you? Where is Lucy?''

    ''She isn''t in the mood to talk right now or even willing to

    try. She has been up and down for the past week or so, something is seriously

    bothering her. Do you know what it is?'' I said in a flat, non-optimistic voice.

    ¡°Umm... well... It could be anything. She seems to always be

    bothered by something nowadays. Well I have to go. You have a good day, Aster.''

    She didn''t let me say my goodbye as the tone rang in my ears.

    My suspicions have been right and it was the worse version

    that I had predicted.

    I came home from work the next day to find that the house was

    empty, not just of Lucy but of her clothes and belongings as well.

    I tried calling her many times but each time was the same

    exact words. ¡°The number you are trying to reach has been disconnected.¡±

    It shot a bullet straight through my heart but I didn''t want

    to give up. She wouldn''t want me to.

    I drove to her house many times attempting to get a chance to

    speak to her and every time, I was restrained by her well off parent¡¯s staff,

    A.K.A Goons. Many times have I tried and every time was the same result. They

    never had the decency to give me a reason, and the worse part was that I would

    see Lucy''s mom lifting the curtains and staring back at me.

    I only got one letter from her and it looked rushed. In

    short, the letter read that her family didn''t approve of my low status and that

    they will find someone more suitable. She also mentioned about how much she

    tried to go against them but failed each time. But the one thing that rang in

    my mind was ''why didn''t you ask for my help before?''¡±

    I flipped to a month later.

    ¡°September 18<sup>th</sup>I have never felt so hopeless that past month. Any person

    that looked anything like her... just... painful memories returned. I could

    have sworn that I saw her that day. Or at least... I thought it was her.

    It was almost too clear, too real, I wanted to believe that

    it was her. She was too far away though. Happy or at least she showed her

    gleaming shine to the world. Thinking back on it, she always smiled even under

    heavy load. From the nights she spent stress crying, she would lie next to me

    and smile while tears fell down her face.

    Oh, even thinking about it, writing this is making me

    remember the good and the bad times. Heh, it¡¯s funny that when things turn bad,

    you look back at times that were also bad and hope for them.

    That day, I went into work like normal. Took shit from the

    students, as usual. Finished up and went home.

    The one thing that hit me the most was coming home to the

    same empty house, disgraced by abuse over the time that she had been gone. I

    didn''t want to live like this. I couldn''t.

    I never received another letter. Everyday started to get

    harder and harder. I did seek help from family but they weren''t ever helpful in

    meaningful situations. More friends than family, it seemed.

    I didn''t want to feel anything, to be honest. I may sound

    pathetic to some but I never was a strong human being. I gave up on a lot of

    things, I cried about a lot of things, I was the laughingstock of my family.

    But I was never without people to stand by me. I always had someone with me at

    almost all times. I am not meant to deal with problems alone and even benefited

    from that.

    I went to the school building to see my place of work and get

    a good laugh. That laugh of dislike and mockery. Like a light cackling, stupid

    but effective.

    I walked past the corridor that lead from Building A to

    Building B. A light was shining brightly from the top of the stairs that lead

    to the rooftop.

    There are three floors to go up. How is it visible all the

    way down here?

    The closer that I had gotten to the top, the brightness

    started to fade little by little.

    I pushed open the rusty paneled door to see nothing but the

    night sky above me.

    I gently rubbed my eyes as to get a better grasp on the

    situation in front of me but nothing changed.

    Heh. Heh. I finally am losing it... I knew it.

    I walked over to the edge of the rooftop to admire the

    outside world the best I could. I peered over the edge to see nothing but

    darkness below.

    The thought crossed my mind. What if I... slipped? No... I

    can¡¯t, there must be something to look forward to. Hmm...

    I leaned against the railing that was almost too old for its

    merit. Rusted, bruised. Sad, yet not.

    I looked back into the night sky and started to hum to

    myself. I was very pleased by the sound that came out. It had a very smooth yet

    rustic tone to it, almost akin to Victorian piano music.

    I leaned my back against the railing. It was relaxing,

    peaceful almost. Indeed, it was.

    That peace made me feel too much at peace. I heard a snap and

    in a brief second, my question from before was answered.

    My body was frozen in place. My back went first and the rest

    of me chased after. I attempted to grasp the rest of the railing to gain some

    balance but nothing placed itself in my grasp.

    The only thing that I could do is close my eyes and accept

    it. My life slowly started to flash in my mind. I believe that I have lived

    well up to this point.

    As my foot fully left the buildings side, I felt a forceful

    tug on my leg and my body jerked back towards the cobbled walls of the school.

    A force struck the back of my head and the darkness from my

    eyelids turns into a new kind, unconsciousness.

    I was awoken by a soft voice and a light brush across my

    medium length hair. I saw someone whose features reminded me very much of Lucy

    staring back at me with an identical smile. The only words I heard are, ''it''s

    all right, you are mine now. So... please rest.''

    A sharp pain shook my stomach as the world slowly faded past

    my vision.

    Would I have known that I would have met Shia on that day, I

    probably would have lived happier to show her the best side of me first.¡±

    I decided that delving anymore then that wouldn''t be wise.

    Maybe Aster and I were even more alike than I had previously thought.

    I put the journal back into its rightful place, locked it

    tight, tucked the key into the pocket in my tattered shorts, and walked over to

    Shia''s bed, where I left the doll I had taken from the cabinet on the nearby

    night stand. This might calm her down when she wakes up.

    A smile went across my face as I slowly walked back to my

    bed. Many thoughts were racing in my head but only one was relevant for now.

    I guess sadness is the main link for being turned into a

    servant in this world, also being able to show an upside. Mine being my Dark

    Veil and Aster has his quick learning and being able to rely on others. Maybe

    something else but that is for another time.

    I need to heal up a little bit more before I can have an even

    chance for whatever may happen.

 Part 21: November 9

    November 10

    My eyes closed as the crackles outside became tied to a saddening song with no end. A somber melody mixing the light and dark of the once peaceful village.

    The darkness based on the undersides of my eyelids as well as the outside tones faded away to a setting filled of a very familiar scene.

    My bedroom.

    The room was exactly as I remembered it. A whitened shade of blue covered every wall except for the pale brown bookshelf that encompassed the entire eastern wall. Books upon books covered nearly every inch of the shelf. A variety of colors and ages in between them.

    I did the same routine that I would do every morning. Starting off the day, I powered on my computer to read the local news from channel sixteen. They always seem to have relevant news to my area. Well, at least I felt that they did.

    The first page opened up and the first picture that had loaded onto the page was the face of a serial killer that was responsible for the murder of twenty people.

    My eyes faded past the picture and fled to the text but something felt off about it. Something different. My eyes started to hover back to the picture of the serial killer and something just clicked in my mind.

    Wait... I stared at the screen. I remember this. I saw this story the morning of that day. The day Nathan died.

    I took a deeper look at the actual picture. Besides that, nothing really stood out. Just a rather creepy looking man and....

    Wait... Another creepy looking man... I can see his face. His awkwardly bizarre face. It may not be one that I particularly want to see but I can actually see a face!

    So, even though I am in a dream, I can see people¡¯s faces?

    Even if I haven''t actually seen them before?

    I ran downstairs as quickly as I could only to see a note on the counter.

    ¡°Denny, your father and I both had to head out to get groceries. Be back later. Love you. -Mom¡±

    Well, I totally forgot about that part. Wait, the mantle. We should have a few family photo''s left from Christmas.

    I sprinted over to the mantle and picked up the nearest photo frame that was knocked over. Upon further inspection, it seems as if the picture had been removed forcefully from its housing. I picked up another and it portrayed the same property.

    Why? Do I really not want to see my families faces that badly? Or is it because I feel that I shouldn''t?

    I felt myself slowly giving up on that task and headed over to the fridge, defeated but not finished.

    I grabbed the orange juice carton out of the fridge, grabbed a glass out of the cupboard, and poured myself some before rushing to the shower to get ready for school.

    ''Should I really be going though? Even if I already knew what was going to happen?'' Those types of questions rang in my head over and over but I knew that I needed to get an answer from Nathan this time. I just have to. If I can.

    I walked past several people on my route, each seemed more friendly than the last. All smiling and waving. I have never felt so accepted, almost too accepted. Which in truth, I have always wanted to be but it felt... off. Borderline creepy even.

    My head was drawn downwards for the remainder of the journey.

    Something occurred to me, relatively quickly in fact. Has the pavement always been this cracked? Someone should have called about this a while ago.

    The rest of the way was full of convincing myself on how that I should confront Nate.

    I began to see a familiar archway appear on the edges of my peripheral vision. My head was pulled upwards, dismissing the people around me. I stopped, stuck in a state of awe and coldness. Many thoughts went through my head, all of them were both good and bad.

    The building brought back from the dead. Well, it felt dead to me anymore.

    I was staring at the school from the front gates in my normal uniform. Black button down shirt, slightly faded blue jeans, and a pair of light gray sneakers with white laces. The school has a designated ''Uniform'' that is enforced to some degree that involves wearing the designated black button down shirt but everything else, as long as it doesn''t break any rules, is up to personal choice.

    My eyes stood wide, gazing at the brick building ahead of me. Saddened but slightly happy to see this place after a little while.

    I wouldn''t say that I disliked my time here but I can''t say that I did anything that would warrant me having distinct memories besides the whole incident with Nate.

    Amid my thoughts, I felt a weird wind behind me. Almost a dark force or at least a malevolent force.

    No... not malevolent but...

    I didn''t even have the time to finish that thought as a pain shot from the middle of my back downwards.

    All that I could hear as my legs gave way was ¡°Heyo, Denny!¡±

    I dropped to the ground as a friendly person that I wasn''t sure that I wanted to see appeared before me, sticking their hand out.

    My hand was shaking violently and any attempt at responding was taken away.

    A face that was almost exactly what I had pictured it as. Medium length brown hair, a rather normal face except for his glasses. They were more shades than prescriptions but I won''t judge.

    Nathan stood before me glaring with a mix of confusion and worry as everyone started to stop and stare at me.

    ¡°Ho... Wh.... W...¡± The words attempted to form, barely could be called that. Sounds, wasted air, whatever it could be called.

    ¡°Denny, what''s up with you? Are you okay? Are ya hungry? Tired?¡± He seemed to be himself. Well, his usual helpful, normal self. I stopped shivering and grabbed his hand.

    ¡°I''m... I''m okay. You just managed to scare me a little with that one.¡± It would be better to humor him for now.

    I reached towards his hand. ¡°But I even hit a little softer this time. You dropped way faster than yesterday. Are you sure that you are okay? Yesterday was rough on the both of us remember.¡±

    Oh yeah, the fall. That time when I slipped down the stairs on the east side of the building and Nathan was the lucky one to catch me. Well, less catching and more being a safety blanket.

    ¡°Yeah, yeah. I''m fine. Just sore in some places. Are you hurt bad? You did take most of the weight.¡±

    ¡°Nah, nah. I am built like a bull, so I am more than fine.¡± He raised his arms to show off his toughness but I clearly saw him flinch.

    This dream feels way too real. Feels¡­. Wrong or should I say, off-putting.

    We walked to class and assumed our usual positions. Me sitting at my desk reading whatever book that I managed to grab off the shelf that morning and Nathan sitting next to me talking about whatever he saw on TV last night.

    The teacher took every second of their entrance into the classroom to make us understand that we need to sit down and shut up. Nathan stood still and silent at his desk with his notebook open and pencil ready. I had my notebook open and book at the ready as well.

    I was very cautious. During every second of the lecture, I had my book up but kept a steady gaze towards Nathan. I needed to see if anything, even the slightest change in his behavior, could have changed.

    The time flew by like nothing. The bell rang and on cue, Nathan left the class room in a hurry. I felt my chest tighten, my pulse race, and my vision narrow. The feeling of happiness that I had felt disappeared and was replaced with panic.

    I shoved my books into my bag and made my way towards the Eastern corridor staircase. Instead of shaking my way up the stairs, I sprinted up them. Fully intent and ready to have a talk with Nathan.

    I clutched the door knob and threw it open. The expanse of stone and cinder block in front of me was somehow different than before. As if it had

    shifted. No... the situation had shifted. I didn''t see Nathan on the edge of the building but sitting on the bench on the opposite side of the rooftop.

    Just sitting, waiting.

    I took one slow step after slow step as to not rouse suspicion. It worked for almost ten feet or so.

    I am surprised that I even got as far as I had.

    ¡°Heyo, Denny. Ol'' Buddy, Ol'' Pal. Come over here and take a seat. Let''s have a chat like usual.¡± He gestured towards the spot next to him. His tone was calm and gentle. I would have expected a more sinister feel to it but there weren''t any.

    I walked over to the bench at normal speed but brought out my book to provide myself with some kind of defense. Even if it would be considered a weak defense, it is reassuring in a personal sense.

    ¡°You do understand that we are in a dream, yes?¡± He asked while staring up at the sky, either arm was resting on the top of the bench behind him.

    I nodded to his response, expressionless and simple.

    ¡°You still remember how this day had ended and the words I had said, yes?¡± He kept his calm tone but had become more suspicious in the process.

    The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

    ¡°The first person who had actually been considered a friend to me, jumped off the school''s roof. You said that I will cause the end. How could I forget that?¡± I wanted to but I didn''t raise my tone at all. All I did was keep my ears open to any thing that he had to say. My eyes remaining distant from him but also honed into his saddened expression.

    I finally made my way onto the bench next to him. I remained at least two feet in between us for reassurance.

    ¡°Heh. I never knew that you would survive the days following. Not that I didn''t want you to, of course. I had orders and I am not about to disobey them even for my best friend.¡±

    It seemed as if he was having an entirely different conversation.

    ¡°Orders? Never knew that I''d survive? What are you talking about?¡± I had some sort of idea about what he was saying but I wanted to hear it directly from him.

    ¡°There is no way that you could understand the person I am working for...¡±

    ¡°King Jol Azuraine.¡± I stared intensely at him.

    ¡°You know of Mister Azuraine. Have you had to meet him personally yet?¡± His face was more of shock and surprise than sadness anymore.

    ¡°I haven''t had the pleasure of meeting the king yet. I have had the great pleasure of meeting the princess though.¡±

    His face returned to his smiling state from the beginning of the conversation.

    ¡°Ahh... The Princess. Yes, she was a graceful child. Her Mother would tell everyone about their daughter¡¯s strength. The king just regarded her as a child with a foolish wish. He did respect her decision but never actually believed in her. That is the one thing that I never understood about him.¡±

    ¡°You said she ''was'' a graceful child. How do you know Kyoko?¡± How much does he know about her? And who is this man before me? Also, what is he?

    ¡°I have known her for basically my whole life. We grew up together, played together, trained together. My sister always treated us like we were her own children and the king even allowed me to use my ability. He set me up with someone to train me, the Vice Duke. Due to that, I had to use my ability to transform into a respectful looking young man to hide my true identity. Everyone regarded me as his son, as Alfonse. Every day, I would come back to the castle as my more known and natural self, Junlos. Leave during the day under ''Training'' and sometimes play with Kyoko during the day, if allowed. Up until my ''Father'' was sent away, I enjoyed those choice meetings. Those little things called play dates that I wasn''t allowed to have as Junlos. It was training day after day after day. Rarely any breathers or recover periods.¡±

    ¡°As for Kyoko, I was only able to ask her a few questions before her mission. Usual sibling talk. What worried her and what she believes is right. That mission was to take down you and seeing that you are still alive means that you have earned her trust. Or you are incredibly lucky. She was scared, worried, confused, but also prepared, confident, and mentally ready.¡±

    ¡°I bet you are wondering why I took the form of Nathan, hmm? I bet so. I was given a case file on your family history and let me tell you that it was a long line. A list of people who have dealt with dark magic, ritualistic spells, and even, as we call it, holistic runes. Requested by the King himself, I changed my appearance from an above average Alfertain prone to attacking trees as targets for fun into this average looking male human addicted to reality television and video games. The only trait that I knew about my target, you, was that he loves to read and is extremely quiet. It wasn''t hard to find you in the classroom on the first day. But your habits were very interesting, I couldn''t help but enjoy your way of living. You only talked when you needed to, kept to yourself, and read all class long. Even after the final bell rang, you wouldn''t move until the teacher told you to. I wanted to learn more about you, so the first thing that came to find was the element of surprise. After observing the other classmates, a slap to the back seemed like a sociable greeting. The ''Heyo'' is more of a personal habit of mine. Sorry for that one.¡±

    ¡°So, the reason you were even friendly to me was because I was amusing? You want me to believe that the one that I called friend is also the one who was picking up information to use against me? Also, that the little boy that Kyo loved to play with was also the brother she grew up with? Even if I were to say that it is possible, am I able to believe you? Especially after those words and actions that you had done on that last day.¡±

    ¡°No. I don''t believe that I have earned the right to be trusted by you just yet. The last thing that I had ever wanted was to be thought of as a friend by you but life has a weird way with things. That whole situation with the roof was not how I wanted it to pan out but Jol had a different idea. He told me to make a scene and repeat my own version of the words, ''You will cause the end.'' Did I want to? No. Would I have went against his orders if need be? I wish that I could have but no. Do you think I like how our time knowing each other ended? Of course not. I considered you a friend and I still do. I don''t believe that you do though.¡±

    I just kept on feeling worse and worse with every word that came out of his mouth. Even a little anger started to show. I didn''t know if I could believe him.

    ¡°I actually started to believe that someone could want to be friends with me and then they jump off the roof of the school swearing that I am the downfall of everything. How could I not feel confused, angry, and betrayed? Then, three days later I come back to that roof top to be killed by another supernatural being. Even if that attack may have led to meeting the single important person of my life. It still does not help a damn thing. I am pretty sure that there are people more threatening to Your Majesties empire than I am. People that have pasts so corrupt and have dangerous allies worse than a boy that can''t see faces and can''t use magic. Why out of all of them do I have to be a self-titled protagonist? A side show act? Do I believe that from all the books I read that it would be a little bit fun to be a part of a grander scheme? Oh, hell yeah I do. Is it amazing to finally be able to connect with someone like I did with Kyoko? Damn straight. One question that I want answered is this: Why is the King so interested in me?¡±

    ¡°DNA. That is the most important reason why you are wanted. Your DNA holds with it the key to your ancestors. Anything beyond that is above my pay grade. But it doesn''t sound good... at all. I did also pick up a few little whispers from beyond the council door by ''accident.'' From what I know, the king has currently sent an army of Tealwoes to...¡±

    ¡°I''m...¡± I chuckled a bit out of nervousness. ¡°I''m already in the middle of it.... Kyoko, Aster, Shia, and I...¡±

    ¡°You''re in Astern? Shia is with you? How is she holding up? And who is this Aster fellow?¡±

    ¡°We... We are fine. Shia is currently trying to rest up while she can in this mess. We don''t have time as of now for me to tell you about Aster. Anyway, Aster, Kyoko, and Elsa are all back at the village''s manor looking for supplies. Aster is a master Archer and Elsa is a moderate healer, so they should be fine.¡±

    ¡°Damn... Okay... Umm... Is there any way to call them back?¡±

    ¡°Not that I know of.¡±

    ¡°Okay... Do you know the village named Hauk?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, that is the place that harbors Kyo''s next target, Oracle Navarro.¡±

    ¡°Good, good. Oracle is on every Royal Guard''s list, not a big time necessity but still a target. I will be held up there for the meantime. As long as you can get Shia here safely, it should be an easy travel. I can explain everything once you get here. You can explain your relationship with Kyo and who this Aster fellow is. I believe that you may be getting a visitor, so I will let you leave.¡±

    ¡°Wait...¡± As if right on cue, banging came from the back door.

    I mouthed the words, ¡°Well shit,¡± as I heard sounds that did not give me the idea that my team had arrived. Scratching and low, haunting growls crowded behind both sides of the house.

    Okay, I am working at half capacity and Shia is on the borderline of being asleep and being unconscious.

    I had a moment of blank panic, the point where nothing presents itself to you except worry and anxiety. My first action was to run to the back room and search for anything in sight.

    The growling and banging from outside continued to intensify, which only made me panic more.

    In my random dismantling of the room, I managed to trip on something rather hefty on the back side of the room. I crashed into the side of the bed, only agitating my ribs once more. Amid my pain, my eyes centered on the object underneath me.

    Then, a light bulb went off in my head.

    A wide smile climbed its way slowly across my face.

    ¡°Time to prepare some traps.¡±

 Part 22: November 10

    November 10

    My eyes closed as the crackles outside became tied to a saddening song with no end. A somber melody mixing the light and dark of the once peaceful village.

    The darkness based on the undersides of my eyelids as well as the outside tones faded away to a setting filled of a very familiar scene.

    My bedroom.

    The room was exactly as I remembered it. A whitened shade of blue covered every wall except for the pale brown bookshelf that encompassed the entire eastern wall. Books upon books covered nearly every inch of the shelf. A variety of colors and ages in between them.

    I did the same routine that I would do every morning. Starting off the day, I powered on my computer to read the local news from channel sixteen. They always seem to have relevant news to my area. Well, at least I felt that they did.

    The first page opened up and the first picture that had loaded onto the page was the face of a serial killer that was responsible for the murder of twenty people.

    My eyes faded past the picture and fled to the text but something felt off about it. Something different. My eyes started to hover back to the picture of the serial killer and it something just clicked in my mind.

    Wait... I stared at the screen. I remember this. I saw this story the morning of that day. The day Nathan died.

    I took a deeper look at the actual picture. Besides that, Nothing really stood out, just a rather creepy looking man and....

    Wait... Another creepy looking man... I can see his face. His awkwardly bizarre face. It may not be one that I particularly want to see but I can actually see a face!

    So, even though I am in a dream, I can see peoples faces? Even if I haven''t actually seen them before?

    I ran downstairs as quickly as I could only to see a note on the counter.

    ¡°Denny, your father and I both had to head out to get groceries. Be back later. Love you. -Mom.¡±

    Well, I totally forgot about that part. Wait, the mantle. We should have a few family photo''s left from Christmas.

    I sprinted over to the mantle and picked up the nearest photo frame that was knocked over. Upon further inspection, it seems as if the picture had been removed forcefully from its housing. I picked up another and it portrayed the same property.

    Why? Do I really not want to see my families faces that badly? Or is it because I feel that I shouldn''t?

    I felt myself slowly giving up on that task and headed over to the fridge, defeated but not finished.

    I grabbed the orange juice carton out of the fridge, grabbed a glass out of the cupboard, and poured myself some before rushing to the shower to get ready for school.

    ''Should I really be going though? Even if I already knew what was going to happen?'' Those types of questions rang in my head over and over but I knew that I needed to get an answer from Nathan this time. I just have to. If I can.

    I walked past several people on my route, each seemed more friendly than the last. All smiling and waving. I have never felt so accepted, almost too accepted. Which in truth, I have always wanted to be but it felt... off. Borderline creepy even.

    My head was drawn downwards for the remainder of the journey.

    Something occurred to me, relatively quickly in fact. Has the pavement always been this cracked? Someone should have called about this a while ago.

    The rest of the way was full of convincing myself on how that I should confront Nate.

    I began to see a familiar archway appear on the edges of my peripheral vision. My head was pulled upwards, dismissing the people around me. I stopped, stuck in a state of awe and coldness. Many thoughts went through my head, all of them were both good and bad.

    The building brought back from the dead. Well, it felt dead to me anymore.

    I was staring at the school from the front gates in my normal uniform. Black button down shirt, slightly faded blue jeans, and a pair of light gray sneakers with white laces. The school has a designated ''Uniform'' that is enforced to some degree that involves wearing the designated black button down shirt but everything else, as long as it doesn''t break any rules, is up to personal choice.

    My eyes stood wide, gazing at the brick building ahead of me. Saddened but slightly happy to see this place after a little while.

    I wouldn''t say that I disliked my time here but I can''t say that I did anything that would warrant me having distinct memories besides the whole incident with Nate.

    Amid my thoughts, I felt a weird wind behind me. Almost a dark force, or at least a malevolent force. No... not malevolent, but...

    I didn''t even have the time to finish that thought as a pain shot from the middle of my back downwards.

    All that I could hear as my legs gave way was ¡°Heyo Denny!¡±

    I dropped to the ground as a friendly person that I wasn''t sure that I wanted to see appeared before me, sticking their hand out.

    My hand was shaking violently and any attempt at responding was taken away.

    A face that was almost exactly what I had pictured it as. Medium length brown hair, a rather normal face except for his glasses. They were more shades than prescriptions but I won''t judge.

    Nathan stood before me glaring with a mix of confusion and worry as everyone started to stop and stare at me.

    ¡°Ho... Wh.... W...¡± The words attempted to form, barely could be called that. Sounds, wasted air, whatever it could be called.

    ¡°Denny, what''s up with you? Are you okay? Are ya hungry? Tired?¡± He seemed to be himself, well his usual helpful, normal self. I stopped shivering and grabbed his hand.

    ¡°I''m... I''m okay. You just managed to scare me a little with that one.¡± It would be better to humor him for now.

    I reached towards his hand. ¡°But I even hit a little softer this time, you dropped way faster than yesterday. Are you sure that you are okay? Yesterday was rough on the both of us remember.¡±

    Oh yeah, the fall. That time when I slipped down the stairs on the east side of the building and Nathan was the lucky one to catch me. Well, less catching and more being a safety blanket.

    ¡°Yeah, yeah. I''m fine. Just sore in some places. Are you hurt bad? You did take most of the weight.¡±

    ¡°Nah, nah. I am built like a bull, so I am more than fine.¡± He raised his arms to show off his toughness but I clearly saw him flinch.

    This dream feels way too real. Feels wrong, or should I say off-putting.

    We walked to class and assumed our usual positions. Me sitting in my desk reading whatever book that I managed to grab off the shelf that morning and Nathan sitting next to me talking about whatever he saw on TV last night.

    The teacher took every second of their entrance into the classroom to make us understand that we need to sit down and shut up. Nathan stood still and silent in his desk with his notebook open and pencil ready. I had my notebook open and book at the ready.

    I was very cautious. During every second of the lecture, I had my book up but kept a steady gaze towards Nathan. I needed to see if anything, even the slightest change in his behavior could have changed.

    The time flew bye like nothing, the bell rang, and on cue Nathan left the class room in a hurry. I felt my chest tightened, my pulse raced, and I felt my vision narrow. The feeling of happiness that I had felt disappeared and was replaced with panic.

    I shoved my books into my bag and made my way towards the Eastern corridor staircase. Instead of shaking my way if the stairs, I sprinted up them. Fully intent and ready to have a talk with Nathan.

    I clutched the door knob and threw it open. The expanse of stone and cinder block in front of me was somehow different than before. As if it had shifted. No... the situation had shifted. I didn''t see Nathan on the edge of the building but sitting on the bench on the opposite side of the rooftop. Just sitting, waiting.

    I took one slow step after slow step as to not rouse suspicion. It worked for almost ten feet or so. I am surprised that I even got as far as I had.

    ¡°Heyo, Denny. Ol'' Buddy, Ol'' Pal. Come over here and take a seat. Let''s have a chat like usual.¡± He gestured towards the spot next to him. His tone was calm and gentle, I would have expected a more sinister feel to it but there weren''t any.

    I walked over to the bench at normal speed but brought out my book to provide myself with some kind of defense. Even if it would be considered a weak defense, it is reassuring in a personal sense.

    ¡°You do understand that we are in a dream, yes?¡± He asked while staring up at the sky, either arm were resting on the top of the bench behind him.

    I nodded to his response, expressionless and simple.

    ¡°You still remember how this day had ended and the words I had said, yes?¡± He kept his calm tone but had became more suspicious in the process.

    ¡°The first person who had actually been considered a friend to me, jumped off the school''s roof, and said that I will cause the end. How could I forget that?¡± I wanted to but I didn''t raise my tone at all. All I did was keep my ears open to any thing that he had to say. My eyes remaining distant from him but also honed into his saddened expression.

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    I finally made my way onto the bench next to him. I remained at least two feet in between us for reassurance.

    ¡°Heh. I never knew that you would survive the days following. Not that I didn''t want you to, of course. I had orders and I am not about to disobey them even for my best friend.¡±

    It seemed as if he was having an entirely different conversation.

    ¡°Orders? Never knew that I''d survive? What are you talking about?¡± I had some sort of idea about what he was saying but I wanted to hear it directly from him.

    ¡°There is no way that you could understand the person I am working for...¡±

    ¡°King Jol Azuraine.¡± I stared intensely at him.

    ¡°You know of Mister Azuraine. Have you had to meet him personally yet?¡± His face was more of shock and surprise than sadness anymore.

    ¡°I haven''t had the pleasure of meeting the king yet. I have had the great pleasure of meeting the princess though.¡±

    His face returned to his smiling state from the beginning of the conversation.

    ¡°Ahh... The Princess. Yes, she was a graceful child. Her Mother would tell everyone about there daughters strength. The king just regarded her as a child with a foolish wish. He did respect her decision but never actually believed in her. That is the one thing that I never understood about him.¡±

    ¡°You said she ''was'' a graceful child. How do you know Kyoko?¡± How much does he know about her? And who is this man before me? Also, what is he?

    ¡°I have known her for basically my whole life. We grew up together, played together, trained together. My sister always treated us like we were her own children and the king even allowed me to use my ability. He set me up with someone to train me, the Vice Duke. Due to that, I had to use my ability to transform into a respectful looking young man to hide my true identity. Everyone regarded me as his son, as Alfonse. Everyday I would come back to the castle as my more known and natural self, Junlos. Leave during the day under ''Training'' and sometimes play with Kyoko during the day if allowed. Up until my ''Father'' was sent away, I enjoyed those choice meetings. Those little things called play dates that I wasn''t allowed to have as Junlos. It was training day after day after day. Rarely any breathers or recovery periods.¡±

    ¡°As for Kyoko, I was only able to ask her a few questions before her mission. Usual sibling talk, what worried her and what she believes is right. That mission was you and seeing that you are alive means that you have earned her trust. Or you are incredibly lucky. She was scared, worried, confused, but also prepared, confident, and mentally ready.¡±

    ¡°I bet you are wondering why I took the form of Nathan, hmm? I bet so. I was given a case file on your family history and let me tell you that it was a long line. A list of people who have dealt with dark magic, ritualistic spells, and even, as we call it, holistic runes. Requested by the King himself, I changed my appearance of an above average Alfertain prone to attacking trees as targets for fun into this average looking male human addicted to reality television and video games. The only trait that I knew about my target, you, was that he loves to read and is extremely quiet. It wasn''t hard to find you in the classroom on the first day. But your habits were very interesting, I couldn''t help but enjoy your way of living. You only talked when you needed to, kept to yourself, and read all class long. Even after the final bell rang, you wouldn''t move until the teacher told you to. I wanted to learn more about you, so the first thing that came to find was the element of surprise. After observing the other classmates, a slap to the back seemed like a sociable greeting. The ''Heyo'' is more of a personal habit of mine, sorry for that one.¡±

    ¡°So, the reason you were even friendly to me was because I was amusing? You want me to believe that the one that I called friend is also the one who was picking up information to use against me? Also, that the little boy that Kyo loved to play with was also the brother she grew up with? Even if I were to say that it is possible, am I able to believe you? Especially after those words and actions that you had done on that last day.¡±

    ¡°No. I don''t believe that I have earned the right to be trusted just yet. The last thing that I had ever wanted was to be thought of as a friend by you but life has a weird way with things. That whole situation with the roof was not how I wanted it to pan out but Jol had a different idea. He told me to make a scene and repeat my own version of the words, ''You will cause the end.'' Did I want to? No. Would I have went against his orders if need be? I wish that I could have but no. Do you think I like how our time knowing each other ended? Of course not. I considered you a friend and I still do. I don''t believe that you do though.¡±

    I just kept on feeling worse and worse with every word that came out of his mouth. Even a little anger started to show. I didn''t know if I could believe him.

    ¡°I actually started to believe that someone could want to be friends with me and then they jump off the roof of the school swearing that I am the downfall of everything. How could I not feel confused, angry, and betrayed? Then, three days later I come back to that roof top to be killed by another supernatural being. Even if that attack may have led to meeting the single important person of  my life. It still does not help a damn thing. I am pretty sure that there are people more threatening to Your Majesties empire than I am. People that have pasts so corrupt and have dangerous allies worse than a boy that can''t see faces and can''t use magic. Why out of all of them do I have to be a self-titled protagonist? A side show act? Do I believe that from all the books I read that it would be a little bit fun to be a part of a grander scheme? Oh hell yeah I do. Is it amazing to finally be able to connect with some like I did with Kyoko? Damn straight. One question that I want answered is this: Why is the King so interested in me?¡±

    ¡°DNA. That is the most important reason why you are wanted. Your DNA holds with it the key to your ancestors. Anything beyond that is above my pay grade. But it doesn''t sound good... at all. The way he talks about it, ugh, gives me the chills. I did also pick up a few little whispers from beyond the council door by ''accident.'' From what I know, the king has currently sent an army of Tealwoes to...¡±

    ¡°I''m...¡± I chuckled a bit out of nervousness. ¡°I''m already in the middle of it.... Kyoko, Aster, Shia, and I...¡±

    ¡°You''re in Astern? Shia is with you? How is she holding up? And who is this Aster fellow?¡±

    ¡°We... We are fine. Shia is currently trying to rest up while she can in this mess. We don''t have time as of now for me to tell you about Aster. Anyway, Aster, Kyoko, and Elsa are all back to the village''s manor looking for supplies. Aster is a master Archer and Elsa is a moderate healer, so they should be fine.¡±

    ¡°Damn... Okay... Umm... Is there any way to call them back?¡±

    ¡°Not that I know of. I can receive messages from Aster but so far he cannot receive mine.¡±

    ¡°Okay... Do you know the village named Hauk?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, that is the place that harbors Kyo''s next target, Oracle Navarro.¡±

    ¡°Good, good. Oracle is on every Royal Guard''s list, not a big time necessity but still a target. I will be held up there for the meantime. As long as you can get Shia here safely, it should be an easy travel. I can explain everything once you get here. You can explain your relationship with Kyo and who this Aster fellow is. I believe that you may be getting a visitor, so I will let you leave.¡±

    ¡°Wait...¡± As if right on cue, banging came from the back door.

    I mouthed the words, ¡°Well shit,¡± as I heard sounds that did not give me the idea that my team had arrived. Scratching and low, haunting growls crowded behind both sides of the house.

    ¡°Okay, I am working at half capacity and Shia is on the borderline of being asleep and being unconscious.

    I had a moment of blank panic, the point where nothing presents itself to you except worry and anxiety. My first action was to run to the back room and search for anything in sight.

    The growling and banging from outside continued to intensify, which only made me panic more.

    In my random dismantling of the room, I managed to trip on something rather hefty on the back side of the room. I crashed into the side of the bed, only agitating my ribs once more. Amid my pain, my eyes centered on the object underneath me and found something intriguing.

    A light bulb went off in my head.

    A wide smile climbed its way slowly across my face.

    ¡°Time to prepare some traps.¡±

 Part 23: November 11

    November 11

    I grasped the nearest elongated object that I could find to push myself back onto my feet and closer to the shining object.

    The object before me is nearly reminiscent of one of the standard tanks of propane that one would fine at the local gas station, if not rather scuffed from being hid in such tight and unkempt quarters.

    My hand grasped the widened yet grippy handle as tightly as possible as I rushed back into the main center room of the cabin.

    My mind ready but also frantic. Calm but erratic. If the others were here, they may have called me ¡°insane,¡± but I would say that I feel ¡°sure.¡±

    The noises just kept on getting louder and the banging became more forceful. Almost as if the forces doubled from the point I tripped and fell in the back room to my actual trip a few feet to the main room.

    Well, this just keeps on getting more and more fun.

    I looked over at Shia, who was still sound asleep on the cot on the east wall. She seems as if nothing in the world was happening at all. I wish that I could have such a luxury. So peaceful, almost too peaceful.

    My head moved again towards the back door, which seemed as if it was on it''s last legs. I made the conscious effort to move my eyes to the front. Nothing seemed to be of major discord thanks to the sturdy dresser. One less thing to worry about at the second.

    Okay, okay. Umm... Think Denny think. Okay, kitchen. Knives. Okay, that may work.

    I set the propane tank down, ran to the most left drawer, and yanked it open, almost jarring it loose from it''s embedded railing. Rummaging through it, I found almost nothing that could be of use.

    My hands scratched almost every surface of the drawer. I can''t waste any more time on this. I pulled my hand out haphazardly and the drawer came lose along with it. The piece was not that hard to catch but the object that followed behind was not something that I could catch with my feet.

    Believe me, I have tried. Never ends well.

    What was most intriguing was what the object was. From the looks of it, it seemed to be half of a wrench that seemed to be well taken care of besides it''s split appearance.

    I started to talk to myself again as if someone else was actually attempting to listen. It calmed me, so I didn''t stop.

    ¡°Okay, this may actually be the main piece that I need for the trap.¡± I placed the object into my back pocket. ¡°Perfect. Brilliant. Okay. Next, I need some sort of lighter or even something that can spark will do. Let me check the back room again for anything useful.¡±

    As that statement left my lips, I felt a spreading pain from my left side. Maybe moving too fast did not work in my favor again. The floor almost seemed to be one of my best friends in the world because I just can''t get away from it.

    I heard a thump and a crack coming from the front of the cabin. I lifted my head as I lay still on the hardwood floor. What came in to view was the exterior of the hinges and framing of the door started to jut inwards, almost as if the dresser did not even matter.

    ¡°Damn... Damn... Damn.¡± I snarled under my breath. The only possible course of action was to suffer through the pain and place the trap.

    I pushed myself back onto my feet and waddled my way over to the rather heavy tank. I pushed it onto it''s side and attempted to roll it over to the back door. The good part was that it actually was moving quite easily despite the bigger frame of the barrel.

    Once it hit the frame of the door, I grabbed for the wrench that I had placed into my pocket and placed it firmly onto the nozzle of the barrel and jarred it a little. I attempted to wiggle it even a little bit more but to no avail. Perfect.

    I used some of my strength to materialize a makeshift hammer. With most of my strength, I bore down the hammer and swung headstrong at the wrench. I heard a crack and a slow hissing. Finally, a good sound to hear.

    The pain hit me again. This time worse than the last. Why does the healing process have to hurt even worse than the original pain? Especially right now?

    This time I knew that pushing myself up would be impossible without an object to assist me. But crawling is still an option worth using.

    The growling started to grow more vicious. The smashing and scratching even more insistent. They really want to get in. That seems like vengeance for their commanders death. Too many noises to count but I could guess that the ones that are not at the manor with Kyo, Aster, and Elsa are here with Shia and I.

    Shia... She could provide the spark for the final stage of the trap. A-Ha!

    My left arm was almost outdoing itself just to help the rest of me, overstretching in front of me to gain the most ground. Next was the right and the left again. The bed was getting close rather quickly.

    The blanket was well weighted on the surface of the bed and helped as a sort of rope to pull me onto the unbalanced legs beneath me.

    I shook Shia in urgency to attempt to wake her up with no avail. I tried calling her name but still no response. The most that I could hear from her was some jumbled words and a turn. I grabbed her and mustered the last of my strength the move her to the bed furthest from the back door as I could, the bed that I had used previously.

    That was a heroic but stupid attempt to be the savior as all the life that I thought I could muster was sapped out of me. Move body, move. But it seemed as if it wouldn''t even try.

    I started to hear muttered talking from the bed above but could not make out most of the words. I tried my best to resist the urge to give in to my bodies fatigue. But the more that I struggled, the more I fall closer to the line.

    My mind was slowly subdued and fell under.

    ¡­...

    A near pitch dark, blank field lay before my eyes, mind, and soul. An expanse of shadows, confusion, desperation, everything, and nothing. Some would call it beautiful but I am part of the many that would call it terrifying. The view was reminiscent of an abandoned factory that had no slits for the moonlight to shine through and no air to spread any feverish glow.

    ¡°Hello, Denny. Are you looking for solemn silence or a conversation with a Protector?¡±

    A rich yellow light appeared out of the sky and acted as a spotlight in the vast darkness. The voice headed from the direction of the ominous light but a lone chair was placed perfectly in the center of the beam.

    ¡°Who... Who is there?¡± I attempted to hide my fear but I couldn''t resist.

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    The voice was almost demonic. Not in tone but in the power of the voice. Controlling but controlled itself. Deep but in the terms of a boss addressing an employee that had made a bad deal with a potential buyer.

    The spotlight slowly started to collapse into itself to reveal the source of the sound. I took a few steps closer to get a semblance of a view of the self proclaimed ¡°Protector.¡±

    The figure stood from it''s chair and gave a bow that is akin to an actor after an amazing performance.

    ¡°Welcome, Denny. I have been looking forward to a chance to speak with you. Oh... that confused expression on your face tells me that you don''t recognize me. I am so sorry, sir. I am what is known as The Dark Veil. Not your righteous weapon but the curse itself. Nice to finally meet you, it is a pleasure. My appearance is as you must see the curse I know, I am very sorry about that. It is something that I can''t change, sadly.¡±

    His appearance was reminiscent of a professional. He wore a full suit of black and white with a red vivid mask covering his eyes but leaving his neatly white skin to bask in the light above. The mouth that was portrayed kept a sharp and painful smirk that would make anyone feel uneasy.

    ¡°You probably still have a good memory of the battle with that one Tealwoe General, do you not? The rage, the anger, the feeling of losing control, the ability to take enough arrows to kill thirty-plus men, the strength to be able to fight for someone you love? Do you know now?¡±

    The man stood still, tall, condescending but honest and started to chuckle. He is now starting to piss me off.

    ¡°Ha. Ha. Ha.... Am I toying with the best parts of you, Denny? Am I hitting all the right places? I am truly sorry. Do you remember the words after that battle with that Tealwoe general? You asked ''Am I a monster?'' I will answer with the word, ¡°No.¡± At least, I don''t believe that you are. You had to fight to help your friends and to keep your precious... precious Darling, Kyo Koura Azuraine safe. Didn''t you, Denny Boy? To answer the question in full, ''No, you are not a monster... I am the monster that you are.''¡±

    He let out a deep and audible exhale. Not out of anger or disappointment but of discord.

    ¡°In normal terms, whenever you need power, I am that power. Whenever you lose control... Hehehe that is me. Whenever you can''t see your parents face''s, that is the side effect of... me. Life is but a game that all people, non-people, creatures, and entities play and there are additions such as The Dark Veil... Me. Do you have any questions?¡±

    My teeth clenched tightly enough to possibly tear the roots and the bones holding them in. My fists clenched tight enough to grind themselves to dust.

    ¡°Why... Why wait until now? Until the point where the lives of others are in my hands. Why now? Do you choose to appear and make everything even harder than it has to be? Why did you choose me and not with my Father, who is in the same blood line? Why... Choose ME? Huh? What is so important or special about me? All you have proven to me is that death is something not to be afraid of which I have learned on my own from a young age. You have shown that everything that I believe, everything that I have achieved is nothing but a hoax or falsified by an inside source that I never knew existed. So, why chose me as a host for a curse that I had never asked for?¡±

    ¡°Because you are the strongest soul in generations... All the previous ones have either given in once I have shown myself to them or have just lived boring lives. But you... You, Denny are one interesting Human. You were attacked by the Princess of the Underworld. The King, Jol, wants you dead and you made his daughter fall for you. You have the unwieldy ability to heal yourself. Yeah, the downside is feeling the cuts, bruises, and bones reconstruct themselves but you can always re-heal with no adverse effects otherwise. I was only able to see until your high school days and guessed it would be the same as the others. But you... you have a VERY, VERY interesting life here. I am seething with excitement.¡±

    ¡°I will get to the point of why I finally showed myself to you. You are in a little situation as I can see. There are about fifty, give or take, Tealwoes that are outside right now ready to slaughter both of you like little animals. I have the ability to stop it... To give you a major winning advantage. Super strength, near-instant healing, and an agility boost for ten minutes? Sounds great, huh? Sadly though, there is a catch. You would have to give full control to madness. You will be able to watch but all your movements will be controlled by my ability. Your body will be on auto pilot and will attack anything that moves besides Shia. I can at least promise that.¡±

    ¡°What about the others?¡±

    ¡°You will just hope that they are not nearby for the next ten minutes. That is the best that you can do while this ability is activated. Do we have a deal, Mister Denny?¡± He held out his hand, walking closer to me with broad steps and a rather formal smile.

    Damn it. If I don''t, Shia and I are as good as dead. If I do, the problem can be easily solved but I could possibly kill the others if they return early. Damn, Damn, Damn.

    ¡°Damn. Fine... Deal.¡±

    ¡°Pleasure doing business with you.¡±

    He let out a rather happy snicker and the light of the cabin came back to my vision. My body stopped hurting and it started to stand up on its own. Swaying to a steady position and then it barged headfirst towards the back door. The object that centered into it''s vision was the now leaking tank.

    It grasped the tank in my hands and ran into the door, using the scraping of steel on wood as the spark to ignite the gas. Using this as a crowd thinner and a distraction as my body barreled through the smoke and flames to get the upper hand.

    The Dark Veil''s power is more potent and intelligent than I had thought. I am already starting to regret this decision.

    <hr />

    I am very sorry for the tardiness of this chapter. Adjustment to the school year and work have not been as forgiving as hoped. I will soon post the next part when time allows. So for now, please enjoy.  :D

    Also, I appreciate all the people who have been enjoying this novel as much as I have been writing it. I hope you will all keep enjoying it for the upcoming future and for any novels that may be upcoming. Ooh, Exciting, huh? I believe so.  I never have said how much I appreciate all of you so, I felt now was a good time. :)

 Part 23.5: Kyokos Perspective 2

    November 11.5

    Kyoko''s Perspective

    ¡°Kyo, go Left. Elsa, stay Center. I will keep right.¡±

    ¡°Elsa use your Southern Light (Constant Health over Time ability). Kyo use your Camouflage ability and boost it with your Dragon Rainer. Then, transition most of the defensive function to the upper body, just in case of a surprise attack shakes loose from the inside.¡±

    One dagger shining of Gold and another of Azure, transcended from each hand, each sporting a chain at each end that are linked to Aster''s wrists.

    ¡°Stay sharp and stay calm.¡± He whispered.

    He nodded to give me the go ahead. Dagger drawn, eyes locked, pulse pounding, prepared for the worse.

    I raised my dagger over my head with my right hand, palm spread inward with the blade faced forward, and began to reach for the door with my left. I held the doorknob steady and it slowly clicked to the right. I heard the crunch of dried blood and felt the handle stick but still move, albeit slowly.

    The dismantled door slowly creaked open and the stench escaped from the dark tomb before us. I couldn''t help but turn away and gag. It was akin to Sulfur and Ammonia. I understood what it was but even after the many targets that I have taken. I still couldn''t get used to it.

    ¡°Switch positions. Elsa move right but keep Southern Light at the ready. I will move Center. Kyo move left but take out your broadsword.¡± Aster said as he raised his right arm conjoined with the daggers, raised slightly slanted over his head. His left stayed by his side, his arms reminiscent of the uppercase letter ''C.''

    I put my gas mask attachment on as to not breath in any more of that cruel mixture. We took three solid steps in, each step gave out a click, tear, click, tear, click, tear. Each step by Elsa was met with a small squeal under her breath.

    Oh yeah, only a few hours ago, this was her palace and she is still child-like in mind due to her regal upbringing.

    I slowly walked over to her and slowly stroked her shivering back.

    ¡°Everything will be all right. I know it''s hard but we shouldn''t be here too long. You can make it through. It will be okay.¡± I gave her a friendly smile to reassure her that I am here to protect her if need be.

    Aster turned towards anything and everything that may have looked suspicious. Pointing his right dagger at it as he does so.

    ¡°Let¡¯s enter the main chamber to see if there may be any indication of why this had happened. A note, a guard¡¯s armor, anything that can tell us why these beasts rained upon our village. So, stay vigilant.¡±

    He grabbed for the door. This time the door knob wouldn''t budge even an inch from the looks of it.

    ¡°Move out of the way, I''ve got this.¡± I let Elsa down for a second, moved all of my defense to my right leg, pulled all the force into a swinging backwards motion, and dragged all that into a blazing side kick right into the center dead bolt on the door, which in turn saw the door crashing open.

    The sight inside was nearly comparable to having experienced most of the violence first hand. Bodies thrown all over the ground: some intact, some halved, and some in millions of pieces.

    Aster walked into the room as a man on a mission while Elsa ran into the room in tears and in horror. I stood motionless, unable to think about anything else except about all the lives lost in this battle. All of the people that were kind to me as a kid when my Mother would let me visit Elsa. Dead, most if not all of them, dead. It made me sad but no tears or whimpers would come out. I was stuck in a constant panic and had no way to escape.

    Jamei, the neighborhood Butcher. Allo, the Florist. Klea, the Candy Shop Confectionery. All of those who helped me when I was feeling down were laying on the floor covered in blood in soldier uniforms. Dismembered.

    ¡°Kyo... KYO... KYO! Snap out of it. I understand it''s hard, I pray for all of the dead here today but Elsa needs you more than I could possibly provide. I may have a lead here. Can you help her please?¡±

    He held her in his arms, resting her head on his chest as she was crouching down on the cold, sticky floor. ¡°Everything will be alright, Kyo will be right over. We can get through this, you can do this.¡±

    Even with the efforts of Aster, she was mumbling over and over to herself, ¡°family, friends, Julac. All gone.¡±

    I crouched down and held her in my arms. Stroking her hair and whispering calming words as I attempt to process the situation myself. Aster walked over to the nearby bodies of the dead Tealwoes and looked at any piece of armor that was still attached to them.

    ¡°Hmm....¡±

    I looked directly at him, ¡°what''s wrong, Aster? Find something?¡±

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    He had something in his hand and felt all around it. As if he was trying to unlock the worlds hardest puzzle.

    ¡°This badge seems eerily familiar somehow, I just can''t seem to place my finger on it though. Kyoko, can you take a look at it? Maybe you will have an easier time with it.¡±

    He slid the badge over my way. Luckily, I wasn''t that far away because the badge didn''t slide as far due to the condition of the floor.

    My eyes shot open the instant my eyes fell upon it. ¡°Wha... What? How? Why?¡± I didn''t lose control but I was damn close to.

    ¡°Kyo? What is it? What''s on the badge?¡± He crawled his way towards me, I could hear the crunching and scraping.

    ¡°It... The... The borderline, the shape, the symbol that lies directly in the center, the weight. These are only given out... to members of Father''s Personal Guild. But why.... Why the Tealwoes? Why here?¡± I was visibly shaking out of anger, feeling of betrayal, and confusion.

    ¡°Damn. Now, the note makes a little more sense. Not to add to the situation, more of talking to myself.¡± He tried to say it quietly to himself but it was loud enough for everyone to hear.

    ¡°What note? What note are you talking about?¡±

    Aster passed me the note, I stared intently at it and started unintentionally reading it out loud.

    ¡°To Master,

    We have found the village that the target is located in and have even isolated the target. We will not disappoint you, Master. We will bring the target alive so that you can bring her to sweet justice with death under your hand. Betraying you is worth death and we will make sure that it happens. For we are Tealwoe, we will not fail.

    -Corporal Wekzite¡±

    All of the information clicked slowly in my mind. Father, Master, her, death under your hand, disappoint. But... But... But...

    I held Elsa out and handed her over to Aster as I ran for the main door and ran outside to throw up. What the fuck is going on here? What did I do? Is it for saving Denny? I know he was a target but shouldn''t father understand? Is he still that hard pressed?

    I looked up towards the village to see that the cabin was almost completely surrounded by Tealwoes.

    Before I was completely back to my senses, the back of the cabin burst open and a body that looked exactly like Denny flew forward from it. Following the smoke.

    ¡°What the hell is happening? What was that explosion?¡± Aster came out carrying Elsa in his arms as she lay silent with her eyes wide open rambling nothingness. Still in a trance it seems.

    He yelled at me to follow as he quickly jumped the railing. All I could see in the blur was that his back was glowing and the shape was reminiscent of arrows.

    He was ready for the fight ahead.

    The daggers slid from their covers rather quick and smooth-like as I jumped over the guard railing and slid down the treacherous and steep cliff underneath us to the scorched earth below.

    We stood before an army of torn and defeated Tealwoes laying destroyed.

    Amid the many bodies, in the center, Denny just stood there panting, hunched over. Even though his main attribute is not strength, he managed to take them all down without any weapon. Just his bare hands.

    I started to walk towards him as if walking towards a precious family pet in the yard. One step after another, I grew closer. No movement on his part. Still standing, still panting. It was bizarre, almost terrifying.

    ¡°Denny?¡± Still no movement. I drew even closer.

    ¡°Denny?!¡± Still nothing. Now I''m getting worried.

    ¡°DENNY?! Please.¡± I took one more step while screaming his name. This time I got a response but it was not one that I wanted.

    The body that looked like Denny turned towards me, showing no recognition of who I was. Eyes full of rage and confusion. I barely recognized him. His cloak covered in blood, his hands bruised, his face contorted. He gave out something akin to a frustrated groan and sigh.

    ¡°Denny, don''t make me... Don''t.¡± I held back my sadness, confusion, and anxiety as I slipped my left foot behind me and got into my usual fighting stance, blades raised.

    Without wasting any time, he started to charge, full force. I didn''t have enough time to react before he was already in front of me.

    The tense feeling of his average presence was gone. His original innocence was gone as well. It overwhelmed me.

    Denny wouldn''t hit me, would he?

    I closed my eyes to test this theory. This may be either a turning point or a terrible decision on my part. I am hoping for the former.

 Part 24: November 12

    November 12

    My vision blurred.

    My heart rate accelerated.

    The person that I am is who is not currently in control of my body right now.

    The girl that I am quite sure that I love is standing in front of me. Arms outstretched, face held high, and willing to take a hit from me is what it seems.

    Why? Why are you doing this, Kyo? I can¡¯t control myself and yet you try to pull me out of it.

    I admire that about you. That¡¯s one of the many things that I like about you.

    I also don¡¯t want to see you hurt. Ever.

    I will fight this phenomenon for you. I am stuck behind this cell of my own mind while the madness overcomes me.

    I struggle but get a yielded return of nothing.

    Damn! Damn! Damn!

    Why! Can¡¯t! I! Move?! Even for the girl that I care about the most?!

    I turn my back to the situation in front of me. My body is still moving full force with anger, fierceness, hate, and random resolve in its movements.

    I look towards The Dark Veil. His head held high, his hands tucked firmly into his pocket, and his smile ever so creepily wide while his teeth were gleaming as if to mock me. His face still pisses me off but sadly he is a part of who I am. A fragment of a past in the grains of sand in time.

    ¡°Why are you letting this happen? You are me as well! Don¡¯t you care what happens to her? Don¡¯t you care about the woman that the body and mind of Denny loves is currently in danger of being possibly broken in two by your actions?¡±

    ¡°Of course, I do. Kyoko is a beautiful girl but she fell for you. Remember, Denny Boy? And it is your body that is the one headed down this route, not me. I just imbued your body with all the power that it could possibly want to save the day. You should be thanking me, sir. But I will say that your feelings and strength may be the only thing that can save her from losing, let us say, an arm or two.¡± His grin stayed in its outstretched position, mocking me.

    I hate him yet understand his position.

    I hate this.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you think that I want to? I can¡¯t do anything in this state You said it yourself. She is the one that I love. I never want to see her hurt and if it is by me, what is worth living if I am the one that is causing her pain? What kind of man would I be? I already think of myself as a monster, what else would I believe that I am?¡±

    I feel like I am only yelling at myself at this point.

    The movements of my body still rocked on by but¡­ my movements seem off. As if my body was slowing down.

    Are my words getting to it? Or am I missing something?

    I looked back at the scene before me and saw that the distance between my possessed body and Kyo seem to shorten.

    I have a sinking bad feeling about this.

    My vision became blurred by a fierce white light. All my vision gone but I started to hear a faint whistling coming from both sides of me.

    A thump.

    And another.

    And another.

    This happened three more times.

    Three in total on each side of my body. All of them quite painful but endurable.

    ¡°Denny, I didn¡¯t want to have to do that. You are a friend and a strong ally but you could have hurt Kyoko and I will not allow that.¡±

    My body ripped out the three arrows that were lodged in its left arm and threw them like nothing. It turned to its left to see an agile Aster running in a circle around it. Shooting everything that he had on his person just to attempt to possibly subdue me.

    Aster¡­ Don¡¯t¡­

    I now know why I had that sinking bad feeling as the vision of Aster swiftly became closer and closer. But Aster was able to keep his distance and speed quite consistent enough to throw evenly placed zig zags that had managed to throw my possessed body off more than expected.

    ¡°Way to go, Aster!¡± I yelled excitedly.

    ¡°Denny, if you are still in there, please come back to us. Please!¡± His composure stayed the same but his words showed hope and a hint of sadness.

    My body regarded all sentimental bits of emotion with as much as a smirk.

    ¡°Do you really feel like this is enough to take me down? Small arrows? Really, Aster? As a former human, I would have thought better from you. I guess my thoughts were wrong. You can only see as much as your mind will let you. The future and the past are all what you are able to see. Why waste it on a little fight like me? Why, Aster? Why not just finish me off right now? You have the ability to take me down with a little shot to the head. Why not do that?¡± My darkness was controlling my body to say these mangled, hateful words. None of while I actually ever thought.

    I could feel the grin on my face fade as my body pulled the arrows from its right side and spawned a bow. He strung all three arrows at once and used my ability, Trace, to lock onto Asters pattern of movement.

    ¡°Oh, playing that game are you? Saying that my abilities are that well off but then you say that my arrows aren¡¯t good enough? What kind of evil has possessed you? What makes you tick, Denny? What kind of darkness are you holding in your heart? What is holding you back? I have a lot of that. Lucy being taken from me, my own sad thoughts surrounding suicide, my depression, my constant struggle to stay strong even when I can only see a damn thing because of my abilities, the constant looming threat of being killed by King Jol, and my constant fear that one day Shia may not be with me. That last thought scares me the most. It scares me¡­ every day! And you are questioning me? When you can barely even question yourself.¡± Aster looked like he was about to break out in tears but only one rolled down each of his cheeks, off his tan skin from his paled out green eyes to the earth below.

    I wanted to reach out and tell him that it would be okay. It seemed to slightly work as I was able to regain some control as my body stopped. I was able to change the facial expression for a split second from a creepy smile to an earnest one. It was short and it quickly changed back.

    My body froze.

    My pulse quickened.

    My eyes focused and its muscles tensed.

    It didn¡¯t hesitate even a second as it started the charge again. The hate started to surge once more as it didn¡¯t hold anything back.

    Full throttle. Full speed ahead.

    As my body ran, it released the three arrows that it had strung.

    ¡°ASTER GET OUT OF THE WAY!¡± I wanted to yell but no words came out.

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    Come on, Aster. You can do this.

    Aster was making short work of his quick movements but all three arrows seemed to veer off in different directions.

    He attempted to watch closely on the arrows but also on my body as it drew closer for a quick strike with the dagger. The creepy smile still wide on its face.

    My body was nearly on top of Aster as the blade was drawn and his movements narrowed. His stance different. I can feel the blood lust behind its movements and can see the clouding of its vision as I see Aster get closer and closer.

    Aster could become chopped at any moment now.

    No¡­ I can¡¯t let this happen.

    I started to bang on the wall in front of me, which I will assume is the front wall of my mind. Relentlessly, furiously, raw intent. I tried and did not stop, even to deter the beast a little bit.

    My body¡¯s movement may have been quick but rather sloppy in style. I may not be the best swordsman but he was nowhere as closely refined as I am at my best.

    It swung the dagger wildly but also as if it had a pattern to its off-beat movements. It was disturbing me, to say the least.

    Aster zig-zagged, circled, jumped, and juked his way around my body¡¯s close attacks.

    In turn, one of the arrows flew over his head as he ducked. It pierced the tree behind him.

    ¡°NICE ONE!¡± I yelled to myself and The Dark Veil, who sat behind me watching the battle intently as if studying everyone¡¯s movements individually and at length.

    The next arrow seemed to be heading straight for his left arm. He was leaning towards the right a little bit as if he was intending to dodge the arrow.

    My body must have seen this as an opening as his blade started to swing from the right side. The speed was slowed but the strength aided in its eventual decent.

    I could see the split second decision making from Aster as he decided to take the arrow rather than potentially losing his entire right side.

    ¡°It may still be taking damage but it is way better than the alternative! Way to go!¡± I said out loud unwittingly.

    ¡°Oh, you are cheering for the other team. I thought you would be cheering for yourself. It does make sense since your lovey-dovey is on the other side, Denny boy.¡± The Dark Veil chimed in with his casual retort and chilling voice.

    Oh, yeah. Where did Kyo go¡­ Wait... What is that?

    Right in front of my body, where Aster stood, a circular disk of light surrounded both sides of Aster¡¯s body, blocking both attacks.

    His shock was genuine and the recoil from my body threw him backwards and off center.

    My body recoiled backwards with the strike and was spun on its left heel to face the source of the glowing power that stopped its attack.

    Elsa stood roughly thirty feet away and her eyes were closed while humming a weird, yet lovely tune. A soft yellow light was glowing around her and her presence seemed nearly angelic in nature. I was truly astounded.

    She opened her eyes to see that her spell had worked. She snickered for about a second or two and her face showed not sadness but mockery.

    Her regular frown was turned into a smile much like a demon playing with its prey. Her eyes started to show intent. The tears were still falling down her cheek. Albeit, slowly.

    ¡°Denny¡­ I know that you are still in there. I know that it isn¡¯t you. I am ready for your attention, sir. But it looks like you are hankering for a good fight. So, does that mean you want to play?¡± She is definitely mocking the fake version of me.

    I sure hope that she knows what she is doing.

    My body quickly gave up on Aster almost like a child giving up playing with its toy for the second. It was now facing her, ready to run at full speed, ready for the kill, and angry.

    It put away the bow in a flash of light and pulled out The Dark Veil in its place. It smiled at its darkness clad weapon but said nothing.

    It took its stance quickly and even quicker than that, it was gone. Almost as if it did not stop moving in the first place when it ran at Aster.

    Yet, Elsa kept the smug smile still in place. But this time, teeth were showing.

    ¡°Time Immemorial!!¡± Elsa shouted as she raised her left hand upwards and the other started to move around in a circle like a clock with her index finger pointed upwards. She starts to hum what sounds like a forgotten folk song.

    Time started to move slower and slower the more that she hummed the oddly strange but beautiful song.

    I felt the movements of my body start to slow but its thoughts feel like they are going rampant. I can understand the pain it must be feeling in this confusion.

    I suddenly felt a sharp pain in my side as if I were the one being truly stabbed. A blaze of midday sun flew past my and its vision.

    My heart was filled with joy and slight worry.

    I looked down at my own self and saw no marks or scars but still felt a lingering intense pain and texture of steel that was piercing my abdomen.

    The vision before me was of a dagger being shoved forcefully into my side. The person who was responsible was just standing there, weak at the knees.

    Her eyes were sparkling while staring into my controlled body, tears filling them. Her eyes were shining immensely. They touched my very soul.

    I started to bang on the wall in front me intensely while yelling, ¡°KYOKO!! KYOKO!!! DON¡¯T DO THIS!! DON¡¯T Do this!¡±

    I started to tear up a little bit as well.

    ¡°Why won¡¯t you stop it? Is this not bothering you still?¡± I yelled at The Dark Veil while still banging on the wall.

    ¡°Only a couple more minutes and you will regain control, Denny. Sorry, my boy.¡± He said with a hint of sincerity in his voice.

    I looked at him with hate in my eyes. But I turned back to the wall.

    Eh¡­?

    My eyes must be playing tricks on me.

    I saw my bodies hand flying straight across Kyo¡¯s face. Her body flew backwards with no resistance despite her armor being on.

    I stood in absolute horror.

    Shaking, convulsing, whatever you may call it.

    In my frenzied state, I heard movement right behind me and swung.

    My fist connected right into the smug face of The Dark Veil.

    Tears started to stream out of anger and even a hint of power filled my thoughts.

    I am truly done with this crap and it hasn¡¯t even been ten minutes.

 Part 25: November 13

    November 13

    ¡°Wo ho ho, Denny! Do you really want to take a swing at me? Don¡¯t you know the common sense to not hit yourself? That kind of hurt. Almost like a quick pinch. How strong a boy you must be Denny-o. To be able to hit the almighty Dar¡­¡±

    ¡°SHUT¡­ UP!¡± I only saw blood through the tears that flooded my eyes.

    Fists clenched. Top teeth almost ripping the bottoms out. My body hardened.

    ¡°Denny? Did I push a little too hard this time? HAHAHA! GOOD! GOO¡­¡± He was just antagonizing me like always.

    ¡°I SAID¡­ SHUT¡­ THE¡­ FUCK UP!¡±

    My eyes glared hate while my right hand started to burn with a shimmering white light with a hardened solid starting to take its place. I started to twirl the weapon in my hand, staring at The Dark Veil with my brow furrowed. It¡¯s pointy blade gleaming outwards while it¡¯s pitch dark absence alongside my body.

    I twirled the staff one more time as I felt a rather sadistic grin come across my face and my legs started to move.

    I closed in slowly second by second. The light came closer and closer, brighter and brighter, hollower and hollower. The hate seething.

    I saw the black suit in front of me, as if mocking my attack. Shaded as it was, and mocking as it was, I couldn¡¯t shake this haunting feeling.

    He was waiting for me to do something, wasn¡¯t he?

    Okay. Now, he is really pissing me off. Way more than before.

    ¡°TAKE THIS YOU PIECE OF¡­ HUH?¡± I hit the release latch on my Dark Veil and the blade shot outwards but it came back unhooked.

    ¡°Huh? What?¡±

    His body disappeared.

    Vanished.

    Gone.

    Where did that smug bastard go?

    Without noticing, I let my guard down and heard a swish from behind me.

    A small, quick pained strike was placed right along my spine.

    I dropped to my knees in sheer pain. Almost paralyzed.

    ¡°Denny. Denny. Denny. Are you really trying to fight with me? Do you really have a reason? Anger, revenge, lashing out? Are you a child or a man?¡±

    I jumped back to my feet and use the blunt end of the staff to jab behind me.

    The strike must have been just fast enough as I felt a little resistance for a half second.

    ¡°Nice hit there, Denny. See! That is the glimmer of being a man and a quick fighter. You¡¯re a ranged fighter with speed. Hitting me should be your forte.¡±

    I dematerialized my Dark Veil and spawned my bow, in which I still have not named.

    ¡°You want quick?! I¡¯ll give you quick!¡±

    I closed my eyes and calmly inhaled for a second. Then, calmly exhaled for another.

    ¡°Trace¡­ ON!¡±

    My left eye started to shimmer a sky blue tinted white blaze and my mind focused purely on The Dark Veils every single slithering movement. His leg twitching, his dagger-like stare underneath his mask, his rather smooth moving transitions. Everything.

    I materialized one arrow, smirked, and strung it immediately. It took half a second to start its trajectory and another half to hit the opponent.

    Only a slight flinch.

    He started to chuckle. Small enough to miss but I didn¡¯t.

    I pulled out another. Strung, release.

    Another. Strung, release.

    Another. Strung, release.

    Over and over.

    Over and over, I pulled my bow. Arrow for arrow, just to land a hit. They were hitting but seemed to have little effect on him.

    Then I saw it!

    I saw one hit on his right shoulder and saw a visible twitch.

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    A weakness perhaps? I don¡¯t care if it is or not. It caused a visible reaction and I am going to use it as my lever.

    I pulled three arrows in tandem this time, each pointing in a slightly different direction.

    Let¡¯s see him dodge these all at once.

    I pulled one, release. Trajectory of the arrow was aimed towards his smug smile.

    The next one that I pulled was aimed directly at his right shoulder.

    Hopefully, a hit.

    Then, the next pulled directly after was aimed towards his left leg. This one is meant to hopefully throw him off balance.

    I kept up the usual single pulls after the previous three but at a slower repetition this time to preserve my energy just in case of a counter.

    He seemed to dodge the arrow almost as if he was dodging the bar in a traditional limbo competition.

    Head back, body bent slightly backwards, flexibility at an all-time high. He made it seem like child¡¯s play. And that angered me even more.

    The second arrow headed for his left leg. Again, he made short work of that attack as if he was just stepping over a spring trap wire meant to set off an alarm.

    Why aren¡¯t my arrows tracing well? They are going to their intended targets but they should move on their own fruition to give themselves the best chance to hit their mark.

    But they weren¡¯t.

    Maybe, he is able to read my thoughts and determine my strategy?

    But my worries were wrong. And in a good way.

    The arrow hit its mark on his right shoulder as his head was slightly turned to see the arrow near his leg. I saw his visible twitch and felt his anger.

    A pulse formed around him and burst outwards throughout most of the blank space in the room.

    Glowing, shining, glittering, and terrifying.

    My arrows were gone.

    My bow was gone.

    My tracing interface was gone.

    ¡°Oh¡­ Denny! That actually hurt. Now, I am kind of sad and pained. You just may be stronger than I thought. All of your ancestors haven¡¯t been able to land a true hit on me like this little¡­¡± He pulls out the arrow and drops it on the ground as if crumpled paper. ¡°thing. You know what Denny. I am a kind entity. Go back to your battle. Go back to your ¡®friends,¡¯ your ¡®precious¡¯ Kyo Koura Azuraine. So bye for now, Denny Boy.¡±

    My feet started to make the best impression of a treadmill and started to run towards him as fast as I possibly could.

    But he knew.

    That bastard knew.

    How did he anticipate me?

    He appeared in front of me as if reappearing from an in-depth magic trick.

    ¡°Bye for now.¡± I saw his smirk as he grabbed my head for a second, then¡­ black.

    Complete and utter darkness.

    My eyes opened after a second and I saw Kyo on the ground. Not hurt but in shock.

    No! No! No!

    I looked around and saw blank stares from Aster and Elsa.

    I wanted to apologize.

    I wanted to run.

    I wanted this all to end.

    I felt time slow down as my body couldn¡¯t move well even in automatic control and a volley of around forty silver laced arrows flew towards me at full speed.

    I have hurt the one that I love and I deserve this.

    But my body seems to think differently as it started to break out of the spell with sheer strength and will.

    Its focus was back on Kyo and I have no control¡­

 Part 26: November 14th

    November 14th

    Shake.

    Rumble.

    That is all that I could hear or feel amongst the hate, rage, and confusion of the situation that is surrounding my consciousness.

    Stunning but painful.

    Truly painful.

    My heart¡­ and my head¡­ both hurt.

    My head is splitting at the seams and my heart is cracking while it tries to reach for Kyo.

    My fists were not my own and everything that it felt or smashed against, I felt in leaps and bounds. Every bump, crackle, rumble, and quiver. The same goes for all of the other pieces of my body. As if I were merely a spectator for another player¡¯s first person character in a video game. Sitting stagnant while he goes for his fifth kill in a row,

    heading for a medal.

    I watched as the raining volley of arrows rained down upon my body. Nearly replicating an attack set in the golden age of the roman empire. Almost all of the arrows hit as if a thousand daggers pierced my body with intent to draw the worst from me.

    My body did not take very kindly to this new pain.

    Not kindly at all.

    It swiped over, breaking any stuck arrows in half. The pieces that were still stuck in me started to fall out one by one and the pain slowly dissipated. It may have looked as if the arrows had completely missed or bounced off of me like bullets on a tank to anyone on the outside.

    He then let out another loud roar, one enough to shake the ground underneath him from how it felt. It sounded less like an average human voice and more beast but that is what I would have expected anymore.

    He started to charge towards Aster again. Aster expected this and spawned a staff to sway his attacks where possible. He took a wide defensive stance. It was actually quite calming to the nerves from what it seems.

    My body lunged forward, bones writhe with offensive eternity. His footsteps brought indents into the dirt, not deep but wide. Sound and true. Each step brought it closer to its prey.

    Aster held the staff at an insanely weird angle in front of him. Shielding his own existence and it seemed it was instinctual but also roughly intentional.

    A quick but absurdly strong kick was all it took for my body to be sent spiraling downwards. His fist hitting the ground, buried deep into the dirt and his eyes pierced.

    He is not kind, not happy, not proud but determined.

    I could feel the determination in the movements of my own body down to the stark coldness in the rigid bones of my center. They felt brittle but also as if by steel likeness.

    Its head flew up. Its rampage started up again, this time more intently. It spawned The Dark Veil and twirled it in its hand, slowly walking towards Aster much like the actual Dark Veil itself.

    The staff was constantly twirling with each step pushing more against the dirt than before. I felt the confidence in my movements, which actually made me more uneasy than ever.

    Aster did not move a single muscle as he was embracing the possible dangerous situation that he had been presented.

    I am rooting for Aster in this fight. I want him to withstand the attack and even knock me out and hopefully¡­ just hopefully I will regain control.

    My body was nearly at Asters front as my arms started to move up as if for an overhead downward slash.

    But knowing my own movements, I knew that is not the case.

    Oh, it is not.

    Aster braced as if it was. I wanted to yell out to Aster to warn him. Too late.

    The staff threw down his arms, not in a vertical slash but a ¡®C¡¯ pattern to the right. As he did so, the blade atop The Dark Veil detached and extended its full length outwards. Whipping wildly as it did so.

    Aster¡¯s staff flew as quickly as his muscles could muster to attempt to block the attack.

    The chain of The Dark Veil had become entangled around the staff and with a decent amount of pull, my body yanked the staff out of Aster¡¯s hands despite his best wishes. My body wasted little time as it closed the distance again.

    Aster withdrew his staff.

    My body was right in front of Aster and its fist flew as fast as it could.

    But it did not hit its target.

    It hit his forearm as if hitting a brick wall. Air and dirt from the momentum flew back behind Aster.

    ¡°You really are a tough one, Denny? You made Kyou drop with a single hit then you think that I would let you get away with that and take me down so easily? Am I that simple to take down just because I am blind? I thought that I taught you better than this. Hmm¡­ I guess you need more training. And once you actually get your body back, I will have to give you a stern talking to.¡± He held a confident air about him while keeping his roughness up, barely shaking while holding back the heightened strength of the darkness consuming me.

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    Aster is way stronger than I had wanted to ever imagine. Even able to take back this while barely flinching.

    Impressive. But how long can he last like this?

    My mind pondered the question: How much longer will this go?

    Aster was the one who threw the next punch at a blindingly fast speed. My body duplicated his movements from before and blocked the shot. It was as if a mirror was put between them. The facial expressions the same, the movements the same, the air around them the same.

    One after another, the punches were flying. Again and again, no stopping. Just punch after punch, air flying back, again and again.

    Neither getting tired and all I saw was the determination to outlast my body.

    But why? He could have dodged any of the attacks that my body was throwing at him but would not. I am curious on why.

    And I could start to feel that the impacts were getting slower and slower from Aster.

    And if out of nowhere, instead of his fist, flew his daggers. Implanting itself deep into my forearms. The pain was immense but I had no mouth to yell out the tearing of my muscle from bone.

    My body took a few steps back, looked at its wound. It¡¯s wound healed almost immediately as its pain subsided as well.

    I could feel its smile creep across its face as it looks up at Aster, who was now smiling as well.

    I felt a sharp pain come across my head and the whole visage in front of me started to tilt. My body hit the ground at a quick speed but nothing could be heard as the impact left a ringing in my ears.

    Aster was still standing there, this time with no smile and crossed arms.

    A weight flew across my chest and another sharp pain threw my face towards what was attacking me.

    A sobbing Kyo was yelling words that I could not hear nor understand and throwing punches that I could only tell were from anger, confusion, and sadness.

    I could only make out one word being repeated, ¡°Why¡­?¡± After every single hit, this was repeated.

    Over and over, the pain came.

    Over and over, my body seemed to let it happen.

    Not moving. Twitching but not fighting back.

    Why?

    My head flew back to the left and I saw my arms were pinned down by Kyo as her knees stopped any movements that they intended.

    My hand started to twitch though. I still felt its movement.

    Wait¡­ I¡­ can move my hand.

    I¡­ have control again.

    But I can¡¯t move my arms to grab her. To tell her that it¡¯s me. To tell her that it will be all right. That I am sorry. That I hate that I hit her.

    But I didn¡¯t have to.

    Her punches stopped flying and she just sat there while her tears started to fall onto me.

    I tried to say something anything to reassure her.

    ¡°Kyo¡­ I¡¯m¡­ Sorry¡­¡± It felt as if lava was flying up with every word that I attempted to say. It hurt but I needed to say it.

    My hearing slowly came back and I heard the sobs coming from her. I then looked up to see her weeping face stop for a moment. Her mixed colored eyes were glimmering in the unwavering moonlight.

    My eyes closed so that I can attempt to process everything that has happened.

    Tears started to build up in my eyes as well.

    Warm, nice, filled with emotions.

    I felt something soft on my lips, something caring, something happy but with pain behind it.

    As soon as it had started, it stopped.

    ¡°Why¡­ What happened to you? Why hurt so many? And worst of all, what hurt you?¡± I heard the soft yet sobbing voice of Kyo resting in my eardrums, pained but supportive.

    I didn¡¯t know what to say and even if I wanted to, my body was too exhausted to do anything at all.

    My vision started black out and before I knew it, everything before me was gone.

    ¡­¡­

    ¡°How was your time, Denny Boy?¡±

 Part 27: November 15th

    November 15th

    Even though I knew the voice, my eyes opened only to darkness before me. The expanse above my face was nothing but a chasm of nothingness and blank empty thoughts. My body was feeling the absence of strength as well, as if the muscle had deteriorated. No movements seemed easily possible.

    I saw a slow but eager shadowy figure slowly come into my vision. Too drained to be able to react properly.

    The shadow continued to speak in a calm, yet somber tone. Like always. But this time it seemed to have a different sort of delivery.

    ¡°Let me say that I applaud your victory but I am not a man with no common morals, my boy. I applaud your vigor but I know that it must have been hard to hurt your friends and sadden that young maiden of yours.¡± I felt his silver tongue back in action. Mocking me. Angering me. Willing me.

    He stopped and took a calm breath in. The sound slithered along my ear canal and laid itself bare to dig deeper. A quite unpleasant feeling.

    ¡°You are willing to sacrifice control for the good of the many. That is admirable. Very much so and even though you won¡¯t believe anything that I say, I will say one more thing before it is your turn. I am truly proud to have you as the vessel for my soul. You have truly great strength and pure determination. It makes me feel at ease and honestly, makes me want to mess with you a little bit more. In the joking sense of course. I am not trying to be that cruel. Even though you may think me as.¡±

    I heard a deep sigh and clicking of boots hitting wood in this absent space for a few seconds. Then silence that was quickly disrupted with no discernible location of the voice.

    ¡°That is all, Denny.¡± I felt the full presence of him sink slowly away.

    Left me to silence. To think. To ponder.

    What kind of violence may I have truly caused? I saw all of the awful things done to the many innocent souls in the village. I took vengeance for those that will never be able to do that now.

    I started to think deeply about what I wanted, what I got from that fight, and why I had chosen such a path.

    ¡°Was my choice truly bad?¡±

    As if I was not in such a strange situation already¡­ I heard a reply.

    Yes.

    And the voice sounds oddly familiar.

    ¡°Why do you answer ¡®yes¡¯?¡±

    You killed many to only save one.

    It was my own.

    ¡°I used the power to take vengeance for the ones who cannot anymore.¡±

    You did not, Denny. You chose to take the quicker and easier way out just to save one soul of Shia. All that you truly had to do was survive long enough so that the others would have time to come back.

    ¡°The group would not have come if I had not used The Dark Veil¡¯s power to cause the skirmish outside the shop.¡±

    No. That is what you believe to be the only way. The others were alerted by the explosion, not your rampage. If you had simply taken Shia and ran, it would have been enough to get help.

    ¡°But¡­¡±

    YOU were the one that could have stalled. YOU could have hurt more than just the Tealwoes. YOU could have been patient but ended up almost hurting the one that you love. Do YOU truly believe that what YOU did was the right thing to do, Denny?

    ¡°I¡­ I¡­ I want to believe that I do. I am not strong enough to fight on my own. Much rather survive if that explosion had gone haywire. MY strength after The Darkness took over caused the explosion in the first place. Also, running is a tricky way to go about that type of situation. What about the distance, the weaponry of the enemy that was unknown, the murderous intent in the air, the broken ground underneath what once was the village, etcetera? Those are all factors that are accountable for why that might not have worked! My speed can only carry me so far, just as my regeneration can only let me go so far.¡±

    The silence returned. The ebb and flow of calm had returned.

    A small voice was heard, muttering three words.

    Do YOU truly?

    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­

    ¡°This mess will take forever to clean up. Kyo, I want you to go and round up any survivors with Elsa. Me and Shia will watch over the young fellow to make sure nothing bad happens to him. Or in turn us from him. We will search the shop and the surrounding houses to search for any people or anything useful as well as assembling Denny¡¯s armor once we are finished.¡±

    ¡°Rodger!¡± Both Elsa and I agreed in unison and started to head across the once lush field now scorched with ash and debris.

    Houses were caved in and now toppling over into the next as if a tree ripped from its roots from the powerful storm that had swept the area beyond. All shrubbery had disappeared, almost as if they were never planted in the first place.

    The silence was almost unbearable. Sickening to say the least.

    ¡°This¡­ This is too cruel. So many families. All ones that I grew up around when I came to visit. So many people, nay innocents, were slaughtered for less than a comparable reason. We may not know the reasoning yet but whatever it is, whoever gave it¡­ They will pay. I swear by it.¡±

    Elsa¡¯s eyes were sullen but a harsh aura lurked behind them as she spoke those words. Her face was plastered of one of nothing. Blank. Unnervingly understandable. She couldn¡¯t take all of the sadness, hate, and confusion that ran through her mind. So, she chose to show nothing.

    Nothing that I could not read though.

    I understand her too well. So, I better not dwell on that for now.

    The surrounding area was filled with cracking and swooshing, sobs and screams, nervous laughter and nervous hatred.

    The sounds started to seamlessly overlap each other in weird ways. Suspicious and oddly reminiscent ways.

    But one particular sound started to overpower the rest.

    Crackle.

    Crackle.

    The dirt underneath my feet started to change shape from the shifting of my stance. My hand grazed past my sword and closer to my dagger.

    I was at the ready.

    My dagger was pulled and outstretched slightly in front of me as a slow but steady shadow-like figure started to come from around the nearby building.

    My feet slid to the side but was ready.

    Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

    Before I was able to react, I heard a familiar thud underneath my feet.

    ¡°Don¡­ Don¡¯t move. Or¡­ We will continue to fire.¡±

    Elsa and I both gave each other a quick glance. And Elsa offered a simple rebuttal.

    ¡°If you cannot tell from my voice, then I will introduce myself. I am Elsa Tifla, the leader of this once beautiful village, and this is Kyo Koura Azuraine, my second in command. We are out here looking for any refugees that may still be alive in the village. If you are in fact a friendly, I advise that you lay back your weapons and come out of hiding. But if you are aiming roughly around where my head is and intend to fire, you will be dispatched faster than the drawstring will be able to be plucked. Do you understand these terms?¡± Elsa spoke in her rough, forceful tone. I have never seen her more likeness to myself than in that moment. Robe covering most of her body, stance stiff but merciful, strong and enticing.

    Three youths slowly stepped out from behind the scorched and distorted building. All three of them were of Alfertain race, roughly in their late teens, strong warrior types. One archer, a warrior, and one akin to a rogue.

    They started to whisper to each other in hushed tones. They truly looked like a unit but also unified in their uncertainties. They were sure, yet unsure in their auras. I was truly intrigued.

    They stepped out fully from their cover with their weapons raised above their heads. The disorder and fear that I felt from their group had disappeared.

    ¡°We are three warriors from the guard in the neighboring village of Tyuka. My name is Jolai. The gorgeous, white haired girl standing to my right with the broadsword is Leka. The strong boy by my left with the dagger and hood is Yanta. We came to the aid of your allied village once we saw the smoke rise above the tree tops. We had assumed that it was a possible forest fire but came to realize it was quite horrific indeed. We came in the night under our own volition without orders. We did save at least four families ranging from five to six each from ages three to eighty.¡±

    ¡°I appreciate that more than words can even say. It truly means everything for another village to be so willing to help another in a time of true uncertainty and need. But I do have a few questions first, if I may?¡±

    ¡°Proceed, Miss Tifla.¡±

    ¡°Won¡¯t your commander be a little angry to have such young bodies missing from the count? Also, why were you hiding from behind the house, strategy or fear?¡±

    ¡°We are three out of our villages top five soldiers, even though we don¡¯t see it most times. Our commander lets us roam where we must if it means that the village can remain safe. And regarding your other question, being honest, a little of both. We were escorting the last refugees we saved safely to one of the standing houses and then out of nowhere, an explosion. We took immediate action and ducked away behind any cover possible. Then we saw something fly from the building from which the explosion came from. Fire everywhere and within seconds, blood and bodies along with it. We did not know what to do and were a tad fearful. Nothing had such an explosive force like that. So we kept quiet and calm the best that we could. As you have heard from my voice, that did not go over well.¡±

    ¡°You guys are brave enough to come to the aid of our village. To help with the Tealwoes as well. We are in your debt and gratitude.¡±

    The young girl, maybe around fifteen years¡¯ old spoke up and gave her sentiments.

    ¡°We thank you for your humble sentiments but we cannot accept that debt. We chose to come here under what is right and just. Even if it was small, we were happy that we could help. And want to share a sincere sadness and offer our humble sorrows for the families of the ones lost today.¡±

    The young boy with the hood walked up to Elsa with a solemn smile and handed her a letter. He then proceeded to take a step back to his original position without a sound.

    Elsa read from the letter in a tone that I would say it was meant to be written in.

    ¡°Miss Tifla,

    I am sorry that I have to write to you what I have to say, as for I am unable to speak. The offer that the other two have mentioned is that we want to take you, the others of your party, and the refugees to our home village for safekeeping and to speak with our village leader. It would be of sincerest hopes that you agree because we only want the best for all of you.

    I thank you,

    Yanta.¡±

    I look over to the hooded man. He gave me a nod while keeping his solemn smile in the same shape as before.

    ¡°I thank you all. I will have to reference with the rest of my party. If you would like to gather the rest of the people, we can go talk to our group about the state of one of our members. He was the one that caused the explosion that caught all of us off-guard.¡±

    ¡°That sounds perfect, my lady. We shall wrangle up any of the remaining civilians. Just don¡¯t make us wait too long, okay?¡± Jolai gave a nice smile as the group started their path to the other houses.

    Elsa and I started to make our way down the path as well towards our group. I wanted to give my two cents on the situation and thankfully my mouth also did.

    ¡°I feel almost at ease around them. Almost. They have a rather useful vigor about them but still something may have been¡­ off. The only problem I could see is that it is hard to have people help in this world out of the true goodness in their heart alone. I will ask you this, Elsa. Is their village truly trustworthy?¡±

    Her brow furrowed a bit but it subsided rather quickly as her voice went from serious beforehand to neutral again. It did have a rather sharpness to it though. It impressed but slightly scared me.

    ¡°I am not truly sure. They have helped us at random times with random food and water shortages, asking nothing in return. So, I want to say yes. I believe that with the strength that we have with us and the healing abilities that Shia can provide¡­ We should consider going. The village is a day walk from here and we can have a nice, friendly, little chat with our new friends: Jolai, Leka, and Yanta.¡±