《Hell Is Cold》


 Hell Is Cold (1)

    Chapter 1: Hell Is Cold (1)


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    Keep moving forward,


    It''s all I''m good for,


    I can barely remember the way home, the world being covered in expressionless snow makes that difficult.


    If it wasn''t for making this journey thousands of times before, I''d surely be lost. Luckily, I had caught some rabbits for the journey to be worth it.


    I hope it''s enough.


    Drudging through knee deep snow for hours was a common situation for me,


    I don''t even get tired anymore on these hunts, why is that? Probably adrenaline I''d assume.


    Huff.


    Ah. Breathing is heavy, I always realize the toll on my body when the log cabin shows itself on the top of this mountain.


    Yeah, I pushed myself too far I think.


    The cabin looked old, it was made of tree logs and planks, it had been slowly decaying from the elements.


    If you take a good look at it, you¡¯d surely think ¡®oh this place is abandoned.¡¯  Which is a sad thought when you really think about it, because you know... I live there.


    Some green moss managed to find a way into the cracks of the planks and logs.


    Guess life really does find a way.


    There were windows, were, the glass had been broken so rags and fabric covered the view inside.


    I put my hand on the handle on the door and pushed carefully, to not damage the hinges any more than they had already been.


    If this door breaks, we are royally screwed.


    "I''m home" I mutter out, my vocal cords feeling torn from all my heavy breathing


    A figure in the dark quickly runs up to the window and undoes a rag, to let some light in.


    "Hey bro!"


    It takes some time for my eyes to adjust, but from the voice I could tell.


    It was my little sister, Amelia, I had been taking care of her for who knows how long.


    She still looks frail and weak, her black hair almost reaching the floor, skin closely wraps around the bones on her arms, I try my best to feed her, but nothing seems to be enough.


    Her dark brown eyes always looked distant, like she wasn''t even looking at me, she seemed off in her own little world.


    I can¡¯t blame her, who would want to be in this world? Everything sucks here.


    Perhaps we both have gone a little crazy.


    "I caught two today" I mutter again, bragging in a way, hoping for praise.


    I dropped the bag I had been carrying through the snow onto the ground, seemingly losing all my strength as I entered the warmth of the cabin.


    "Let me take care of that big bro, you look tired."


    "I''m fine, don''t worry."


    "You always say such stupid things," she grabs the bag from the ground while I lay down pathetically on the floor.


    I see her trying to make lifting the heavy bag look effortless as she carries it to the table. I hate pity.


    Urgh I''m so pathetic. I wish I had more strength to help.


    My headaches are back, always with these headaches, is this cabin cursed or something?


    With a grunt, she lifts the bag up, it lands it back down onto the warped wooden table, the contents of the bag already spilling out.


    I stare at her as she starts taking out all the stuff I had carried back home, she looks through it like it''s a Christmas present.


    "Two today huh? And you found some berries too? This is cause for celebration." she declares, still rummaging through the bag, separating all the food from the firewood I had collected on my small journey.


    I''m breathing heavily still, I can barely move but I manage to stand back up and walk to be beside her.


    I began to grab some of the firewood and sticks, wood had changed a bit after the snow came, it became easier to burn and its hue changed from brown to more of a redish tint, making walking through the forest look nightmarish.


    "Let me get the fire started, you can prepare some food"


    "Sounds like a plan!" She takes the two animals I had caught and prepares to skin them, they look similar to rabbits, but only have one eye.


    I don''t really know why, but ever since the snow came, these weird creatures became the norm, replacing the ones we were used to, I''d assume all the normal rabbits are dead by now, natural selection at its finest.


    I walk to the brick fireplace, its completely charred black from overuse, ash surrounds the pit, I never could be bothered to clean it.


    Disgusting.


    I began taking the dry sticks and logs I had found, placing them in the fireplace,


    Oh, here it comes, great, lightheaded, dizziness, why cant... i be... useful?


    I fainted and hit my head on the floor, this was normal though.


    Amelia thinks it''s narcolepsy, but I never had such symptoms before the snow, and without a book in sight, I don''t even know if narcolepsy can just appear out of nowhere.


    "How long was I out?"


    I look back at Amelia, who is just smiling.


    "Only a few seconds, like 15, does your head hurt?"


    "No... I''m fine" I get back up from the floor, and begin to place more wood in the fireplace


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    Luckily, I wasn''t standing up, it could''ve been a lot worse.


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    "Let us pray for this wonderful meal," Amelia says with her heart full of hope.


    She doesn''t know exactly how I catch these animals, but it involves a lot of me running and getting lucky, that''s probably why she prays.


    It''s not hard to catch them once I find them, it''s just there have been less and less recently.


    She sits next to me on the table and grabs my hands then closes her eyes, praying, I pretend to pray as well, sadly god probably died a while ago, his body growing cold like us.


    "Let''s dig in," she instantly starts eating the food like a rabid animal, I don''t know where exactly she got these table manners, but she looks like an animal tearing apart a corpse.


    It¡¯s fine though, it¡¯s not like table manners matter anymore. I do always try to eat clean, to not feel like I¡¯ve fully fallen into my animalistic nature.


    Best not to dwell on it.


    This was the usual routine, I''d come back with rabbits or berries, she''d cook and then we''d both eat, this boring routine, as expected, made us not have many things to talk about.


    "So, what did you see today?" she questioned with intrigue in her eyes, making direct eye contact while still eating the cooked rabbit.


    "Uhm, you know" I scratch my blonde hair, the texture is awful, each strand feels crispy and clumped. It''s especially bad since I haven''t washed it in a while, "just a lot of snow, the usual"


    Amelia hears my usual response and gives me a look of dissatisfaction "snow can be cool!" Giving me a fake smile, it''s clear she is getting a little stir crazy locked up in here... for, who knows how long, how long? How long have we been in this situation?


    "Hey Amelia?"


    "Sis!" she adds.


    Oh, right, she doesn''t like me using her name for some reason.


    "Hey sis, how long has it been since the snow arrived?"


    She gives me a perplexed look, as if I said something forbidden.


    "I dunno, a while, does it matter when every day is the exact same?" she replies, trying to change the subject, which is weird because she usually loves new conversation ideas.


    "And also, how old are we? I feel like we haven''t aged" I ask again, these questions weren''t as serious as she was taking them, the snow started when I was around, I think 13, since then, time has been meaningless.


    "I dunno, how old are we?" She questions back, I think she is getting defensive.


    She looks back at the rabbit and eats some more, thinking the conversation reached its natural conclusion.


    "Huh" I mutter to myself.


    Amelia looks at me again, smiling "it couldn''t have been more than a year, also eat, you haven''t touched your food"


    She begins to tug at my clothes, silently begging me to stop.


    A year? That can''t be right, it feels like much more than that, but since I don''t feel much older, it has to be true, I can¡¯t wait until I get stronger and taller¡­


    ¡°Eat!¡±


    The tugs grow more and more rapidly.


    I look down at my food, the rabbit had been skinned and cooked, Amelia naturally became good at cooking these rabbits, but without seasoning they still taste rough, a stick had been placed through the entire rabbit so we can eat while holding up the stick, sort of like a skewer.


    I take a bite, the texture is awful, although I''m sure she knows this.


    I finished my meal, and make my way to the bed in the cabin, as soon as I touch this bed I fall asleep instantly, probably from all the exhaustion I built up in my hunt, the mattress was comfortable too so that helped.


    The springs broke in the mattress a while ago, so we replaced the insides with a ton of clothes and soft material rags we had lying around in the cabin.


    I had always fallen asleep before Amelia, I hope she is getting enough rest.


    I landed on the bed and fell asleep, dreaming into the abyss.


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    Another day.


    The sun poked through the bottom of the door of the cabin, giving me my cue to wake up, Amelia had already prepared my things, something she had always done for me.


    The headaches, I always wake up with headaches, I''d assume this is what a hangover felt like, but I''ve never touched alcohol, sadly.


    "Be safe out there."


    "I always am."


    After the brief exchange, I put on multiple layers of clothes, I make my way out, going the path I always took.


    The first few minutes of the cold were unbearable, especially considering how used I got to the warmish interior of the cabin overnight.


    My skin adapts and begins to feel numb, which was a good thing in my mind.


    The path I always took was directly towards the sun, it was a smart way to do things in my mind, since by the time I started walking back I could just follow the sun again and arrive back at the cabin.


    The path was a bit dangerous, we live up in a mountainous area, and to get down there was a lot of climbing steep rocks, this was only the case for the first 2 hours at my slowish pace.


    Barely anything lived up in the mountains, which was a good thing, since rabbits weren''t the only animals in this world.


    An hour passes, my hands had become perfect for climbing so going up and down the rocks seems like second nature.


    I always like to think about how much my upper body strength had progressed, it''s really the only thing I''m proud of.


    The mountainous terrain begins to become denser in foliage as I go down, the trees sprawl super high, my neck hurts just by looking up at them.


    The trees and bushes spread decently apart and that gives this whole place an eerie look, making it seem like there''s always something lurking and watching.


    I''ve had multiple nightmares about something popping out from behind those trees, but no such scenario has happened fortunately.


    I make a small detour towards the lake nearby to wash my hair and face, it''s only about 30 minutes away from my usual path.


    My hair was unbelievably messy and tangled, so this was seen as a necessity.


    I rarely do this since the lake can sometimes be a bit dangerous.


    Wolves are what I''m most worried about, wolves and bears, they had also gone through some kind of mutation,


    same as the rabbits,


    I have only seen passing glimpses of them.


    I would never be crazy enough to actually approach one.


    The lake was beautiful, it was completely frozen over, you could break the ice with a rock and get to the nice cold water below.


    I could imagine people playing in this lake before the snow came, splashing each other, playing games, I wonder how those people are doing now?


    Probably dead.


    I shutter at the thought, I hadn''t seen another person besides Amelia since the incident when everything started to get bad.


    As I begin to break the ice with a rock I found, I hear rustling in the bushes, a rabbit maybe? No it''s too big.


    I turn around, directly at the bush where I heard the sound.


    A gasp, then a beeping sound


    "We have a mimic by the lake, please send backup"


    Why does that voice sound familiar?


    I hear something being pulled, oh it''s probably a bow, they aren''t friendly, great.


    I drop my bag and I put my hands up.


    "I surrender!" I stare at the bushes,


    I was never a fighter, nor am I strong or cunning, the best I can do is just surrender.


    "You bastard."


    A girl pops out of the bushes and fires the bow, hitting my shoulder, wedging itself into the bone.


    Shit that hurts. Urgh, I hope this doesn''t get infected, well actually I hope I don''t die, but after not dying I hope it doesn''t get infected.


    Clearly my gambit hadn''t worked but through the shock of being shot, was another.


    "Amelia?" I say, softly, she could probably barely hear me, I can see her pulling back the bow again, but yes that is clearly her, she is taller and looks older, not as skinny and fragile, she has a few scars on her face, and her hair is shorter.


    This couldn''t be her, it''s a monster, taking a deformed appearance of my sister, I hate this world so much.


    My shoulder, it''s bleeding bad, the arrow is wedged deep, if I don''t move my legs I''ll surely be shot again.


    My fight or flight response came, I ran, I begin running through the trees, I can make it back to the cabin quickly if I take a faster route.


    Leaving my bag behind.


    The girl who had the appearance of Amelia might not even be following me, but I had to still take the risk up the dangerous side of the mountain.


    "shit..." I look up, there was a reason the mountain was safe, it was very dangerous and rocky, if I fell at any point it''s certain death.


    I begin to climb up the steep side of the mountain, my shoulder made it hard to move so I was practically climbing with one hand.


    Never take a knife out if you''ve been stabbed with it, the blood will start coming out if you do, but I had to risk it with this arrow, it was actively in the way.


    I plant myself on a flat part of the terrain and pulled the arrow out, it made a squelch sound as it popped out, it was supposed to hurt, but it didn''t, probably adrenaline again.


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    A whistling sound could be faintly heard coming from the wind hitting the trees...


    "Hey Amelia, don''t go too far okay?" Said the broad man with brown hair and beard, he looked to be over 30, scars all over his face, clearly has had a rough time in this world.


    "Yeah I''m just going to the lake to wash my hair, I won''t be gone long"


    Amelia had a bow behind her back, with some handmade arrows, she wafted through the bushy area to see the lake and its view.


    She loved this place; it wasn''t far from the cabin she used to visit on holidays with her family all those years ago.


    Although she would never go back to that cabin, not after what happened.


    this lake was the only part that hadn''t been tainted yet by memories of death and despair.


    "Is that" she whispers to herself, and hides herself in the bushes, what looked to be a young boy with blonde hair, was breaking the lake open, perhaps to wash his hair as well, she couldn''t get a good look, so she wafted through the bushes further.


    A person in the wild like this? They must be skilled in surviving this harsh environment, there''s barely any food here.


    Upon seeing the face of the boy, she gasped, she instantly knew, this was a mimic.


    Mimics are a type of unholy creature, they take the appearance of people most dear to you, especially if they are dead, and coax you into a relationship with them, you become complicit, and the mimic slowly takes the life force out of you, by life force I mean blood.


    It was a horrible fate, it would take months for the mimic to eat you, meanwhile you think you are just getting more and more sick, feeling tired.


    She grasps her radio, something that was rare but needed in this world, and presses the transmit button.


    "We have a mimic by the lake, please send backup" she says, she begins to draw her bow back, carefully placing an arrow facing right towards the direction of the creature.


    The creature drops his bag, why would it need a bag? Normally clothes are just apart of the mimics skin but that bag is clearly not connected,


    weird.


    Maybe it took it from one of its victims.


    "I surrender."


    Shit it noticed me, why isn''t it making a move, it could kill me instantly. I begin shaking.


    "You bastard."


    This just slips out of my mouth, I''m feeling rage I haven''t felt in years, how dare you deform and defile my brother like this?


    I get out of the bush and take the shot.


    Crap, missed the head but got it in the shoulder, red blood? Wait why is there blood, mimics don''t have blood, they have a weird black acidic liquid they bleed with, so why was the snow painted red?


    "Amelia?"


    Shit it''s trying to trick me, it''s all a trick, I''m falling for it.


    I pull the bow back again and place another arrow, aiming right for the head.


    For an unholy monster this one seems docile, weird, these unholy creatures usually kill humans without a second thought when threatened.


    Then he ran, I mean, ''it'' ran, holding its shoulder as if it could feel pain, I let it run, it''s probably just trying to lead me into a trap.


    I walk over to the bag, it looks exactly like the old one we had at the cabin, the straps seem to be withered and torn then sewed back together.


    It''s full of berries and logs, why would a mimic need these?


    "Are you okay? I heard what you sent on the radio, we have Sophie coming over too."


    I am staring intimately at the bag, it has a familiar scent.


    "Amelia?"


    I look over and see jack, he carries all of our stuff when we go out hunting, he is reliable in situations like these, so he arrived quickly.


    Jack is a very big man, around in his 30s, basically built like a lumber jack as well, which was ironic since due to his name.


    Sophie must''ve been super far away; she could easily clear more distance than Jack.


    These were the two people she would usually go on hunts with.


    "Oh... yeah, I''m fine, the mimic ran away."


    "Ran away? Like ran ran or a sort of follow me into my secret lair run? What''s with all this blood are you hurt?"


    He walks closer to her, she looks back at the blood, red blood.


    None of this makes sense.


    "I think the mimics are evolving, they are able to now imitate blood and objects like this bag."


    Jack looks shocked but also doesn''t really believe her, how could he? They had been in this snow situation for years with no changes to the documented unholy creatures.


    "Yeah, that could be true, I''ll tell Immy about this"


    "Thanks.." she continues to look at the bag


    A uncomfortable silence befalls them, only the sounds of the trees moving in the wind fill their ears.


    "Hey jack?"


    "Yes?"


    "Can we make a quick detour? I want to go to the cabin my parents owned."


    End of Chapter 1.

 Hell Is Cold (2)

    Chapter 2:Hell Is Cold (2)


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    Huff


    Huff


    Shit, this sucks, climbing up this mountain sucks, everything sucks.


    And I lost my bag, well it''s not that I could''ve climbed this with my bag, but how am I going to collect things now?


    I need to get back to this cabin, if there are monsters here that look like humans, I need to protect Amelia.


    The jagged rocks on this side of the mountain keep cutting my fingers, but I¡¯m too much in a rush to care, I¡¯ll heal, I¡¯ll be fine, all of this will be fine.


    One step at a time, a fall from this height will surely kill me, my coats are slowing my down and restricting movement, so I decide to take them off.


    They float down all the way to the base of the mountain, blowing in the wind.


    I¡¯ll be fine, I should be able to make it there before hypothermia hits me.


    On this side of the mountain, the view was beautiful, I had to take a few stops just to admire it, on a clear day like today with little snowfall, I can see into the distance easily.


    This was the sort of view Amelia would want to hear about when I get home, I memorize it so I can describe it in detail.


    My shoulder seems to be fine; I can barely feel pain from it and it''s not limiting my movements, lucky adrenaline.


    I''ll definitely have to check the wound once I''m inside though.


    Wind begins to get intense higher up on the mountain, this would¡¯ve been an issue but luckily the mountain near the top begins to get less steep, there is even grass and some shrubs up here now.


    When I finally make it up into the forest area, I take a break to think about my options.


    I have no weapons except for a dull knife at home, that¡¯s not going to do much against someone trained with a bow.


    And I¡¯m not built for fighting, my weak small body would be easily overpowered by an adult¡­ God when can I finally grow up¡­?


    I walk slowly through the uphill snow, this part had always sucked, but it sucks worse now that I am possibly dying from a wound.


    The cabin. The cabin, I see it, ah, here comes my heavy breathing, just a few more steps.


    I swung the door open and collapsed onto the floor.


    "Big bro!! What happened?" She says as she drags me further into the cabin.


    "Rest now, I''ll treat you, patch you right up."


    The headache is back, I hate these god damn headaches.


    I feel sick to my stomach.


    My eyes close, but I can''t open them, my eyelids feel like they are glued together.


    I''m falling asleep, am I dying?


    No. Amelia wouldn''t let me die, she will help me, I just have to leave it in her hands, leave everything to her.


    "Just rest now big bro"


    I fall asleep.


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    "Amelia, we can''t just take a random detour!" jack screams as Amelia walks fast through the snow, breathing heavily.


    Sophie, who''s considered to be the protector of the 3 arrives, she has bluish tinted white hair which reaches her shoulders, her face is pretty and doesn''t have a single scar, something that was rare for snow hunters.


    Her pure silver eyes makes her look especially unnerving to people who don¡¯t know her.


    She likes to wear light clothing which allows her to move with ease, somehow, she never feels cold.


    "Let Amelia do what she has to do you prick" Sophie scorns Jack without even knowing the full context, the fact is, Amelia had been a very levelheaded individual and almost never does anything for her own gain.


    "If we make a random journey to a random cabin which will take who knows how long, it might be night by the time we get back to the city, I''m trying to keep all our lives intact here" Jack explains.


    "Cabin? Like as in Amelia''s old place, why would she want to go back, is it because of the mimic?"


    "Yeah, I mean she has seen awful things before, but this seemed to shake her, I don''t think she is thinking rationally"


    "Well... it''s our jobs as friends to help her, dontcha think?"


    She does a small twirl and follows Amelia, catching up to her quickly, Jack grunts and begins to walk faster as well.


    "So, Amy, what''s with the big frown on your face?"


    Amelia doesn''t reply, she is annoyed that she has convinced herself her brother is alive, she knows it can''t be true since she saw what happened to him all those years ago.


    Sophie doesn''t say another word and merely follows Amelia, she easily walks through the snow which both Amelia and Jack are struggling with.


    Time passes.


    "How far away is this cabin anyway?"


    Jack shouts, still lagging behind.


    Amelia doesn''t respond, she keeps moving forward, even though her body is going to give out soon if she continues at this pace.


    "Sophie she is clearly having psychological problems, I can restrain her and we can take her back" Jack says, finally catching up


    Sophie gives him an annoyed look.


    "If you want to go back that badly then go, we can handle ourselves"


    "No, it''s... okay fine we can do this pointless excursion and waste time and energy"


    "Good!" She gives Jack a fake smile, she then turns back to Amelia who is keeping the same pace.


    She sees ahead there are rocks that will need climbing.


    "Jack you can stay here, okay? I don''t want you to overexert yourself, especially since you are carrying all our stuff"


    She gives Jack a patronizing pat on the shoulder.


    "We will be back before sundown, trust me."


    Jack stays behind while Sophie and Amelia begin to climb the rocks that lead to the cabin.


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    Amelia is looking tired and breathing irregularly, it''s worrying but Sophie knows more than anyone that fulfilling base desires like this no matter how stupid can help with sanity in this messed up world.


    "So, tell me Amy, who did you see? When you saw the mimic."


    Amelia looks a bit back at Sophie before climbing to the top, she sits down and takes a breath.


    "Uh..." huff "I uh" a guttural sound followed by her vomiting onto the snow, she wipes her mouth and gets back up "I saw my" huff "brother, he still looked the same age he did back then"


    Sophie tilted her head a bit "you had a brother? We''ve been friends for so long and you''ve never told me this!!!???¡±


    Sophie pouts.


    "Hmph, well I guess I have to be the bearer of bad news, but mimics can be nasty, if you kill the mimic it will turn into its original form and you''ll see your dear brother be warped and mutilated into a weird stinky creature, not fun to see."


    Amelia doesn''t flinch at her words, "I know," and continues walking, "it should only be 30 minutes away, if we keep at this pace."


    Sophie smiles "I love it when you push yourself Amy, it makes you seem so strong."


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    Amelias mind is racing.


    Urgh, I don''t get it, why''d I have to see a mimic now? Just as soon as I got a good thing going fate turns my life around and opens up old wounds.


    Why was it¡¯s hair blonde? Why did the mimic not attack me? Why was it bleeding? Urgh, I hope this thing, whatever it is, can at least explain itself, I''m not sure why I''m even assuming the mimic lives in the cabin, but if it was trying to lure me here, this would be the perfect place.


    Huff.


    The snow is so deep here, but I can tell I''m close.


    "Amy?"


    Sophie cares too much, why does she think I''m always in the right?


    "What?"


    "I think you''re crying."


    Shit I am, I''m crying, being reminded of my dead brother yeah of course I''m going to cry.


    Why do these creatures just torture us like this? I don''t get it, I just want to be happy and forget about the past.


    I wipe my tears, before they freeze on my face.


    I spot the cabin through my blurred vision.


    There it is, the cabin, my past is in there, it looks worn and torn, in a much rougher shape, but that''s expected, most structures have been taken by the elements.


    I stop and look at Sophie.


    "You have my back, right?"


    Sophie takes out her two knives, something she uses because she thinks it looks really cool.


    Sophie is only 17, which means she only remembers the world after it became a hellscape, most people who were born into this world naturally had to learn to survive so a lot of them are skilled fighters.


    "I got your back." Sophie holds her knives and effortlessly walks towards the cabin.


    I follow her.


    Creak.


    The door opens, I look at the surroundings, but what I saw was not what I was expecting.


    I was expecting a mimic of my brother, trying to convince me to stay with him, with big eyes and a cute smile, but instead, I saw something mortifying.


    My brother, no, the creature who looks like my brother on a bed, then a mimic with no form consuming him while he is asleep.


    It was another mimic, it was my first time seeing a mimic''s true form, it had a skinny humanoid body, but its head was that of a leech, it would make you fall asleep and suck out the life force until you were dead.


    But a mimic consuming another mimic? This was messed up even in this world''s standards.


    The creature notices us and stops consuming the thing that looks like my brother, it spits out gallons of blood, then slowly begins to walk, I see it run headfirst towards me.


    "GET BACK!" Sophie pushes me out of the cabin into the cold air again, the mimic follows and tumbles clumsily down a bit onto the snow, still coughing up blood and painting the snow red. it began gaining size, this must''ve been the first time it went outside because it was getting used to the landscape.


    This mimic was becoming huge, the biggest one probably ever recorded, just how many people did it have to kill to get to this size? How much blood did it have to consume?


    In the open air the mimic grows bigger and bigger, and begins to crawl towards me, stumbling through the snow, it can''t even stand up right but it''s almost the size of the trees.


    I''m frozen in fear, damn it, it''s not time for a pitiful panic attack, I need to act.


    The mimics hands, which are now even thinner and bonier, reach towards me, they could pick up my entire body and crush me if they wanted to.


    Sophie runs up and pushes me again out of the way and slices the hand of the mimic, cutting a finger clean off.


    Now rolling down the mountain while Sophie dodges the mimics hands, I can finally think clearly.


    Sophie was fine, I was sure of that, she was masterfully weaving through the hands of the mimic, but the problem was.


    How could we even kill this thing? It was too huge, we could go for the head, but its brain is stored somewhere in the lower neck, I need to aim there.


    Forcing my shaking hands to move, I grab my bow and begin to pull back an arrow, I carefully aim towards the neck of the mimic.


    Meanwhile Sophie is carefully dodging the mimics attacks, trying to tease the creature.


    "For such a big mimic you seem to not know how to fight? You''ve been living a life of luxury I can tell," she teases as the mimic slams its hands down towards Sophie''s head clumsily.


    she slices through the wrist of the mimic like butter, trying to look cool while doing a flip.


    Sophie is what people consider a blessed child, they began to pop up after the snow came, Sophie was born with extraordinary reflexes and strength.


    The mimic, now with its hand gone, begins to pulsate its head.


    the leech head begins to suck in, air being ripped into its mouth, since the mimics head was so huge the force of this was enough to fling humans around effortlessly.


    Before Sophie can be taken off her feet an arrow flies through the sky and hits the mimic right in the neck, it stops breathing and spews out black blood.


    I huge high-pitched roar comes from its mouth, loud enough to break glass.


    "Oh, silly Amy, you might''ve just killed me" Sophie can''t dodge this, the blood of mimics can easily melt human skin. This was quite the predicament, before the blood could reach the ground, she grabs the huge hand she severed and hides under it, using it as a sort of umbrella.


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    GRARRRGH


    My eyes open, the sound jolting me awake, what is happening, where is Amelia?


    My shoulder seems fine, oh god did she go outside?


    The door was wide open, and through the door I could see a huge monster, my worst fears came true, oh god I hope Amelia is okay.


    I get up and ran outside, the snow was painted black with a weird liquid, the huge leech like creature was rolling in agony, I look around and see a severed hand, and beside it a girl with whitish hair, she was beautiful, no blemishes on her face and her skin melts into the same color of the snow, making her have natural camouflage, the clothes she was wearing were also white, polar bear skin I''d assume.


    The girl shouts "AMY, YOU NEED TO AIM FOR THE BACK OF THE NECK!"


    Who was Amy? No, who is she? I was scared to go outside but needing answers I began to take the first few steps.


    The girl hadn''t been focused on me but when I reached closer to her, I grabbed her attention by asking.


    "Where is she??? Is she okay?? Where is Amelia?"


    The girl looked at me with a confused gaze, she tilted her head, the two knives still in her hands,


    Her face was terrifying when I got closer, her silver eyes punctured through mine.


    "Oh, it''s you."


    she said with cold agitation.


    "Uh, I''m Amelia''s brother, have you seen h-"


    My neck, it... it''s cold, she had moved faster than I could perceive, blood spewed from my neck as I was on the ground.


    "Red blood?"


    Oh god everything is cold, is this it? Killed so easily, I just hope Amelia is okay, I hope I''m okay, why do I have to die? What did I do to deserve this? I can survive this... ill survive this and then find Amelia and be happy. I''ll be happy.


    "Aim for the back of the head Amy!"


    A screech.


    A thud and gargling, I guess they took the leech monster out, I hope Amelia made it out alive. She''s a strong girl.


    "Nice job"


    Footsteps,


    Why am I still alive? Aren''t I supposed to fade into darkness? The sky looks nice though, so blue.


    "Hey uh I sliced open that, brother thing you mentioned, he''s here"


    My eyes are still open, I see the white-haired girl... and the grown-up Amelia from the floor, they both look down at me.


    "Hey uh Amy? Are you sure this is a mimic?"


    The grown-up Amelia looks at me, tears flowing down her face.


    Where was the real Amelia? This one had to be fake.


    "Wh¡­ where is Amelia?"


    I mutter, how did I say that? Isn''t my neck cut open?


    "Yeah, this isn''t a mimic Amy, I don''t know what this is, but it''s certainly not human."


    Not human?


    "We should take it, maybe Immy can study why he heals so quickly"


    The grown Amelia doesn''t say a word, I look into her eyes, tears flow from hers and tears start to flow from mine.


    "Put a bag over its head Sophie, tie it up."


    Grown-up Amelia¡¯s cold words shoot daggers through my heart


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    Darkness, I''m not strong enough to do anything in this situation, these ropes around me are too tight, I can''t talk since a piece of fabric is covering my mouth, but I can hear, I can hear way too well.


    "So, Amy, tell me why this brother of yours has blonde hair and you don''t."


    "Stop calling it my brother, it''s not my brother."


    "Okay but the question still stands."


    "My brother isn''t blonde; this thing must have made a mistake when it copied him."


    I''m not blonde?


    I swear I always was, in my memories I was, wait, no in my memories I wasn''t?


    Yeah, at school I had brownish black hair.


    This is irritating, I feel like my world has been flipped upside down, all I know is that the real Amelia is missing... or was it the real Amelia?


    Urgh, I don''t know, but the Amelia I know is missing, maybe that monster took her¡­ and it''s too late.


    "Do we need the bag over this things head? I want to ask it some questions."


    "I''d rather you don''t."


    I keep being pulled, they walk so fast in the snow, and these ropes are too damn tight, why are they treating me like I''m cattle?


    "That''s fair, but Jack will have some questions as to why we are bringing back a young boy, so I will have to do an unveiling of sorts."


    "That''s fine, just make it quick."


    We continue walking


    "How are we going to get it down these rocks?"


    "I know how, Amy let me hold onto the rope for a second."


    I feel myself being pulled, then pushed.


    Oh.


    I''m falling.


    Crack.


    A cracking sound echoes throughout the forest.


    "I think his spine broke, let''s see if he can recover."


    It hurts, it hurts so bad, oh god am I really going to die this time?


    A giggle comes from behind me.


    I feel my body being lifted again; the pain almost gone


    "He seems fine."


    "Can you stop calling it a he, please."


    "Yeah, okay sorry Amy."


    More walking, more being pushed down ledges, this is torture, why are they doing this to me?


    Are they monsters?


    They seem too human to be monsters.


    Maybe humans can be monsters.


    I don''t get it, if only I could talk, I could explain how much pain I am in, then they would stop. They wouldn''t be doing this if they knew they were hurting me this much.


    "Yo Jack, we brought back a prizeeee."


    A deep voice replies, sounds like an old man.


    "Is it the mimic? don''t bring it back just dispose of it."


    "Nope it''s something a lot cooler, a creature we haven''t seen before."


    The bag lifted from my head, the light is so blinding, it''s almost afternoon so the sun is directly in my eyes.


    "Tadaaaa."


    I look over at the blue tinted white-haired girl, she has a grin like she is proud of herself.


    "A boy? This is so incredibly weird, are you sure this isn''t a human?" The man looks sternly at the white-haired girl


    As if to prove I''m not human she grabs a knife and puts it directly into my eye.


    A scream reaches through the rags in my mouth, the knife withdraws from my socket, within a matter of 5 seconds my vision regains, and the pain is gone.


    The man stands there astonished, "this could still be a human you know? Weirder things have happened, maybe he is blessed."


    He looks sternly at the white-haired girl, who then looks at the grown-up Amelia as if she has the answer to why I''m not human.


    "It looks exactly like my younger brother before he died, except for the blonde hair¡­ that''s why it''s not human."


    The man still not convinced takes the rag from my mouth so I can speak.


    "Can you talk my guy?"


    "Uhm yes" I look directly at Amelia, she looks at me with a sharp expression, it hurts me for some reason.


    But this is my only chance to plead my case "Uhm... you, you look exactly like my sist-"


    A punch hit me in the jaw, it was strong.


    It definitely came from her; I blacked out for a few moments.


    The bag is back on my head and the rag is in my mouth.


    I think I messed up, what should I have done? Acted like I didn''t think she looked like my sister, Urgh yeah, I should''ve, it could''ve come off as a coincidence that I looked like her brother.


    But that opportunity is gone.


    There wasn''t a word for hours, silence, just the sounds of footsteps, eventually I could hear a crowd, in the distance, it sounded like a lot of people.


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    The deep voice shouted, "OPEN THE GATE," followed by the sounds of chains and mechanisms.


    Footsteps became less mushy and more solid, was there no snow here? It feels like I''m always in the cabin here.


    It''s warmer here too.


    There are voices everywhere, like this place is bustling with people.


    "Yeah, we have a thing for Immy, let her know"


    the deep voice said, before seemingly fading out.


    I was probably passed over to different people.


    I continue being pushed and shoved forward until I hear sounds of dampness and echoing water droplets, this area was kind of humid, it was nice, but the smell, oh god the smell left for some things to be desired.


    The bag was taken off my head, along with the rag, I could see clearly now.


    Two people had been escorting me, they were wearing heavy armor, what seemed like medieval armor. What was weirder was the place I was in, a cave like a prison, the two of what seemed like guards locked the small cage I was in, it was big enough for me to sit upright, but that was it.


    It was not like those prisons that had plenty of space, but I guess those would be too nice for me.


    I look around more, there''s a lot of empty cages, they all seem like dog cages of different shapes and sizes, weird.


    The two guards walk up the steps to the outside, leaving me all alone.


    Great, now I need to escape this place, which is what I should be thinking, but all things considered, this arrangement was probably better than the one I had in the cabin.


    I wouldn''t need to constantly go out every day searching for food, I could just be left with my thoughts.


    Not for long apparently.


    "Oh hellllooooo" a feminine voice called out.


    End of chapter 2.

 Hell Is Cold (3)

    Chapter 3: Hell Is Cold (3).


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    "Oh helloooo"


    A feminine flamboyant voice echoed in the cave, I could hear footsteps of high heels.


    A woman meets my gaze as she circles my cage, she is wearing a black robe and has a little golden badge on her chest, the robe has stripes of gold making her look rich.


    Her eyes were amber, almost gold as well, she looked mature and gave off a confident atmosphere, she was beautiful.


    Maybe it''s because I have not seen a woman in ages, besides my sister, but everyone I''ve seen is beautiful.


    My standards must be pretty low.


    But yeah, she had the look of a witch, not that witches exist of course, but there was a sense of youngness and oldness in her face, its hard to describe.


    "Do you talk little one?"


    She crouches down, in a boyish manner, completely contrasting her look, her white hair almost reaches the floor as she sits in a crouched position with her arms on her knees.


    She stares into my eyes intently, her eyes look through me, I get the sense I cannot lie to her, or at least I can tell she will know if I lie.


    I manage to say something.


    "Uh. Yeah, I do, miss"


    "Miss? Call me Immy, I want us to be friends little man"


    Friends? Then why lock me in this cage?


    "What''s your name?"


    What is my name?


    It is¡­ I haven''tbeen called my name in ages;I think it starts with a z? Zach? Zane? NoI''m not sure.


    "It starts with a z I think"


    Wait I shouldn''t have said that aloud.


    She gives me a look of amusement and chuckles, then inches closer to the cage, her breath reaching my face.


    She smelt nice, I wasn¡¯t used to this floral scent.


    "You don''t remember? It does start with a z indeed, when was the last time someone called you by your name?"


    She inches even closer, leaning on the cage and leaning over me.


    Hm, now that I think about it, Amelia never called me by my name, she only called me big bro or brother, I always found that weird.


    "I guess¡­ since the snow started, I haven''t been called by my name¡­ I was too focused on protecting Amelia to care about names."


    Just be honest, ifI''m honest they will realize I''m a good person.


    Nothing wrong with also bragging about my accomplishments too.


    She looks into my eyes; I can see her pupils dilate.


    "So 18 years?"


    18 years? This has to be a joke.


    "It''s only been a year since the snow came."


    I repeated what Amelia had told me in the cabin.


    Why does it feel like I just lied? I guess I didn''t believe Amelia when she told me that. Shame.


    "Take it from an old woman like me, it''s been 18 years."


    She smiles, she seems nice, but 18 years?


    She places a hand on the cage, she is wearing black gloves and pulls the cage even closer.


    "Tell me, what happened before the snow came? give me one of the last few days you remember of the hot green earth"


    Should I just be honest? Surelyshe will understand, even if I''m not human, if I have the memories of a human, I''m technically human.


    "Uhm¡­ well the day before"


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    Beep, beep beep


    "Urgh"


    I press stop on my alarm clock, my room is messy, clothes all over the floor, some left over food I stole from the fridge on my study desk, I begin to get dressed up for school.


    I grab my winter uniform off the floor, even though it''s supposed to get warmer, we''ve been having really irregular weather all summer, but it''s all good, I like the cold.


    Man, these clothes are comfy, I step out of my room, there''s already sounds of cooking coming from the kitchen. It smells good, I make my way through the hallway and sluggishly greet my mom.


    "Hey mom"


    "Hey Z"


    I sit down at the dining table, I don''t really have a relationship with my mom, not like she would understand me anyway, we live in two different worlds.


    She is cooking pancakes, Amelia, my little sister, is jumping up and down near mom excitedly, tugging at the cloth of mom''swhite shirt.


    "Woah what''s the special occasion?"


    My dad says as he walks in, he is probably about to head out to work.


    Amelia looks at dad with stars in her eyes "mommy said if I did really really really well on the homework, I would get thousands and thousands of pancakes"If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    "Thousands huh? You sure got your work cut out for you."


    Dad kisses mom on the forehead.


    Gross, I mean I''m glad they don''t hate each other, they barely even fight, but it''s still annoying.


    "Hey Z"


    Dad says to me


    "Hey."


    I reply.


    He looks annoyed, what does he expect me to do?Carry the conversation?


    I don''t have the energy right now, I have school, sorry dad not all our lives are sunshine and rainbows.


    "Well, I''m off to work, I''ll be there to pick you two up after school, and Z, make sure Amelia gets to school safely, okay?"


    "Yeah obviously."


    Obviously I would, she is my little sister, it''s not hard to take care of her, does my dad think that I''m that stupid or Amelia is stupid?


    Oh of course he looks annoyed again, what does he expect me to say? ''Oh my dearest king I will protect this maiden with my life'' like, leave.


    Dad leaves.


    Tap tap, I tap my fingers on the table annoyingly.


    I look back over at mom "do I get any pancakes?"


    "Did you do well on your test?"


    "I did."


    I did not.


    "Okay!" She smiles at me and begins to pour more pancake batter into the pan, I just wait on the table for my food, I have about 30 minutes before I need to go to school.


    "Z!! Z!!! Did you hear the news" Amelia runs up to me


    "They said that it''s going to be cold allllll year long."


    I already knew this, I watch the news too.


    "Oh really? That''s interesting."


    Faking interest can be so tiring.


    "Yeah!!! They said this was something similar to a small ice age!! But it should pass soon, so make the most of it, maybe we will see a mammoth today!!"


    Amelia had kept talking about mammoths coming back, I''m not sure she grasps that we aren''t being sent into the movie ice age, the animated movie with the mammoth and tiger, or being sent back in time when mammoths weren''t extinct.


    I smile "yeah, I''ll keep my eyes out"


    I ruffle up her hair, she was the only one I could actually talk to without wanting to put a gun in my mouth.


    Mom holds out two plates and gives us the pancakes, mine has maple syrup all over them, Amelia''s has melted chocolate, which I find disgusting but to each their own.


    Mom begins washing dishes, she always gets silent when dad is not around, well at least silent towards me, I don''t think she knows exactly how to talk to a teenager like myself, I love being a teenager though, it feels so adult, I had just turned 13 a couple months ago but I am loving the freedom.


    I finish my pancakes at the same time as Amelia "alright Amelia get dressed, I''ll be waiting outside, okay?"


    Amelia runs into her room, and I walk up to mom who is still in the kitchen "lunches?" I demand, holding out my hand.


    Mom looks at me, then walks over to the fridge and passes me two lunch boxes, but her eyes, they give an impression of worry, I don''t know why but she seemed afraid.


    She just looks at me.


    "Mom?"


    "Hey z? Make sure you take care of Amelia, and if you see anything weird, make sure to run back home, okay?"


    What? See anything weird? Oh, right mom fell for the conspiracy theories about the small ice age.


    People had been reporting monsters and aliens a lot more often, it makes sense, paranoia is through the roof, I can''t believe she is this stupid enough to believe monsters are real though.


    I¡¯m really glad I didn¡¯t get her stupid genetics.


    "Yeah I''ll protect Amelia, leave it to me, okay?¡±


    I reply back in a softish tone, I didn''t want to tell her that her worries are stupid and irrational.


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    "BOOORING" Immy kicks the cage, making me stumble from the posture I had, I bump my head on the back of the cage.


    "Get to the good part, the part when the snow falls, and everyone dies and screams and explosions."


    Why is she irritated now?


    She seemed so nice a couple minutes ago, is she really this immature?


    Immy gets closer to the cage and stares into my eyes, and speaks softly, almost apologetically.


    "Sorry, I just have a hard time focusing, go on, sorry about my little outburst, but first I want to ask, how old was Amelia?"


    she laughs softly and cutely, but the air in the atmosphere changed, why is she rushing me?


    "Amelia? Uhm, I think she was 8 at this time in the story"


    Immy looks surprised, like she had realized something, she grabs a little book nearby from a table in the corner of the cave and writes a few lines.


    She then leaves the cave, walking up the stairs in a hurry.


    What? I was in the middle of telling my story, what kind of reaction is that?


    Well now I can at least get a good look at my living conditions.


    This was a damp, handmade cave full of cages which stacked on top of each other messily, on the other side, near the exit stairs, is a door and a table.


    The table seems to have paper and tools on it, and the door, well I can''t see through the door, but it looks ominous.


    Everything looks medieval, I''m not sure why, it''s like I was transported back in time, but I guess we don''t have electricity anymore, that was one of the first things to go out, so I guess this sort of makes sense.


    It''s kind of funny though, seeing people dress up like they are roleplaying fantasy characters, but I assume it feels normal to the people who forgot or didn''t experience the modern world.


    Also, another thing, why was I so mean in my memories?


    I would never act like that, maybe struggle really does breed maturity.


    Time passes, like an hour.


    Or two.


    Finally, the trap door connecting the stairs to the outside opens and Immy walks back down all excited, she has a jump in her step.


    "Okay!!!" She smiles as she stands by the table, writing more in the book, completely ignoring me.


    "Uhm.. immy?"


    She looks back at me "oh right, where are my manners?"


    She walks up to the cage and unlocks the door, then pulls me out a bit forcefully.


    "If you couldn''t break out of that flimsy cage then you surely couldn''t even scratch me"


    She pulls me closer, our faces inches apart, I can feel her heat.


    ¡°Uhh?¡±


    "Not a single blemish or scratch on your face either after 18 years, guess that heals too"


    She then let''s go and skips over to the table and pulls a chair out of the dusty corner.


    She pats it twice.


    The dust bouncing off the chair with each pat.


    "Sit"


    "Uhm" I can only stand still, bewildered at her behavior.


    She pats it twice again.


    "Sit."


    This time in a more serious tone.


    She smiles, it feels patronizing, but I follow her order.


    I slowly make my way to the chair and sit down, it feels like an Interrogation the way she turned her seat and bent over slightly to look at me.


    She is taller than me, I mean she is an adult, most adults are taller than me, but she seemed tall for a woman, she is basically looking down at me it''s scary, her white hair is also over me, making me feel claustrophobic.


    "So you weren''t lying."


    "Huh?"


    "The story, I assumed it was all fake, but I had a small talk with Amelia, and she recalled the exact same thing."


    She did?


    I guess that makes sense, while I was in the cage I was thinking about the weird off putting atmosphere with the Amelia I had interacted in the cabin, it was not at all similar to my memories of her, so the natural conclusion, no matter how much it hurts, is that the Amelia in the cabin had to be either a hallucination, or a monster.


    And the real one had to be the one who looked older, and, was actually real.


    "Okay..."


    I mutter out, not sure exactly where this will go.


    "I was going to cut you up and experiment on you, but since you are technically human due to your human memories, I want you to have a say in this conversation."


    Oh great¡­


    "So, like¡­ if I say I don''t want to be experimented on... you won''t?"


    "Well yes but also I have a deal, if you let me experiment on you and research your healing, and I promise I can make it painless.


    In return I''ll let you stay in my little building, I''m very rich in this city so I have multiple houses and even a little manor, and very very nice food, I can keep you warm and take care of you."


    A manor? was this a bluff or something? I didn''t get a look at the city due to the bag on my head, but I assumed it was small, even though there was a lot of noise of people around.


    "What would happen to me if I don''t take this deal?"


    "You''ll go out into the streets, probably get kidnapped and have awful things done to you, people are aware you are here you know? News spreads fast about a new self healing creature that looks human.


    And even if they don''t recognize you, you''re still in for a rough time, this place isn''t all that fun when you are poor."


    Oh. So, I really have one option, well maybe I could escape, but what is out there? I had a bag over my head so I couldn''t plan any routes, it would be a miracle if I made it out.


    There was also the gate I heard, this place probably has walls, yeah, I won''t be able to escape.


    "Okay, yeah I''ll take your deal"


    She smiles and claps her hands, "great!!!"


    I shake at the thought that I could be considered as nothing more than a monster to be researched.


    If she were crueler, I could do nothing to stop her.


    "Okay well I technically own you, so let''s get you some clothes more fitting for this place, I won''t have my property looking homeless."


    She began to exude spoilt girl vibes; it was weird how her personality would switch subtly.


    It was also weird seeing her act like this in a dirty cave, one would think a rich girl would have a better research center.


    I look down at my clothes.


    My clothes are from my parent''s cabin, but they are scrappy and sewn together multiple times after I damaged them over the 18 years I was supposedly there, so they look tattered and destroyed.


    "Let''s also get you washed up, let me take care of you"


    "Okay."


    I don''t know why she is being so nice, but I welcomed it, this is the first time I feel like I''ve been taken care of, besides the rabbit Amelia used to make over the fire, but now i''m doubting if that was even real.


    "Alright let''s go outside blondy.¡±


    Blondy? Okay whatever, I follow her up the stairs, and the trap door opens, revealing the outside.


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    The trap door opens, and¡­ oh is it night?


    I see stars in the sky, they''re flashing and beautiful


    It seemed too bright to be night though. I take a few more steps out before being pulled back in.


    "Hey, put this on, don''t want anyone recognizing you as you wander the city, right?"


    She puts a beanie on my head, it''s warm and comfortable then she pats my head affectionately.


    I used to have a beanie back in the cabin but I lost it when it fell off my head while I was climbing, that was so long ago now.


    I''m pushed back out and I can get a view of the city.


    Those weren''t stars, they were crystals, this whole place is underground.


    The huge space seemed so open, but in the distance, I could see the formations of huge stalactites and rocks, it seemed like a whole world underground.


    The glowing yellow crystals sparked above, giving everything an ethereal feeling.


    the buildings were nothing to scoff at either, there were so many in any direction.


    The buildings were like in a grid, but the further the distance I could see buildings placed on the far reaches of the cave walls, they seem tiny from here.


    The buildings were made of rock and what seemed like wood and slate, giving this place a very medieval vibe, but in the distance, I could see walls and a castle which went super high up.


    It really seemed like I was dreaming, there were a lot of people roaming this street, it seemed like this was a main road, there were shops of different types around every corner, the roads split into more roads in the distance.


    The ground wasn''t white like snow, and was solid, it was hard to get use to that.


    The ground was rocky and the roads were made of different rocks connected by what seemed to be concrete.


    "In 18 years you built all this?"


    That''s all i could get out of my mouth, I was amazed.


    "Oh right yeah you haven''t seen this place yet, yeah, with the help of blessed children of course. This place is not normal standards of living though, we got incredibly lucky with this cave and circumstances, I doubt anywhere else in the world has this sort of infrastructure"


    This was a whole city, a whole world basically, I never thought I''d see something like this ever again ever since the snow fell.


    It was similar to the city me and my family visited, I''m getting the same feeling of vastness and excitement.


    Somewhere in here, Amelia was.


    She hates me though, I could tell from how she looked at me, that sharp cold gaze, I hope I can clear the air with her.


    Am I really not human? None of this feels right, at least I''ve always been one to just take things as they happen, if I''m not human, so what?


    I think therefore I am and all that, I know my memories are real, that''s all that matters.


    Immy walks out and skips to be in front of me while I admire the city.


    "Alright let''s get you some fancy clothes my little experiment"


    I don''t like that, go back to calling me blondy.


    End of chapter 3.

 Pet Teacher (1)

    Chapter 4: Pet Teacher (1)


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    Immy was dragging me along by the hand, running seemingly in a hurry.


    "The tailor is in the inner circle, we have to hurry before it closes tonight!"


    When is tonight? How do you even tell time in this place?


    She smiles ear to ear as she picks up the pace.


    I wasn''t used to running on solid ground, I felt so light, it was actually quite exhilarating.


    She weaved in between crowds of people, barely giving me any time to inspect my surroundings.


    I did notice a few things though, this place seemed not very friendly, especially towards her.


    I saw multiple people trying to trip her over while she was running, but she just effortlessly hopped over any obstacle. It was surprising how she could move so effectively in high heels.


    The people here also looked hungry, their clothes looked torn, most of them are just basic fabrics sewn together by a beginner.


    I guess class divisions exist here as well, everyone can''t have a paradise, but these people were probably living better than I was in that cabin, so I didn''t have much sympathy.


    "Alllrighty! We are here!"


    She stops pulling me, we arrive at a huge wall and a gate, she walks up to what seems to be a knight.


    Man, they are really going into that medieval aspect, it all seems a bit silly to me, even though I''m sure for these people it''s practical.


    "Name and business" the knight said, it was slightly muffled, but the voice was firm.


    "Imogen"


    She then shows the knight the badge she has on her robe.


    "Oh¡­! well. You, you can go along, hav- have a good day"


    "Thankssss" she slaps the knights mask, the knight didn''t flinch at all but to me it seemed like immy just did something incredibly rude. Turns out she can get away with anything.


    I walk beside her but the knight stops me before I can walk the path through to the gate.


    "Name and business" he demands, he is grabbing my wrist hard, the gauntlets he is wearing are pinching my skin.


    Damn, okay my name, I can just say Z.


    I put my head high, trying to exude confidence, why am I so scared? I can''t get hurt right?


    "It''s Z, my business is-"


    "He''s my slave, get your hands off him"


    Slave? What? Wait slaves exist here? The world really did go backwards; to think we went back to slavery within 18 years.


    Even though what she said was a lie, I was more of a research subject than a slave.


    It revealed to me that this underground city was probably an awful place to live in if you don''t have any connections or money.


    The knight lets go quickly, shaking as he does so.


    Before I walk away I hear the knight say ¡°welcome to the inner circle of Haven Avante kid. Good luck.¡±


    Haven Avante? Is that the name of this city?


    The gate was huge, it was a big wooden door that was encased within a wall that stretched for miles, the door had intricate patterns of gold on it which made it look very fancy.


    The sound of a wheel turning, then mechanisms.


    What was revealed behind the gate''s door was a lush version of the city we were just in, the ground was less jagged and had a smoother stone structure, there was a lot of greenery on the houses, and it seemed to be lit better.


    The houses material was cleaner too, a lot of them were made of marble and the same gold-streaked fancy wood.


    "Surprised?"


    She is watching me intently.


    "Yeah¡­ it''s, nice"


    I¡¯m still getting used to my new surroundings, just this morning I was in a freezing cold cabin.


    But now¡­


    I couldn''t shake the feeling that I shouldn''t go in there, it seems too pristine and royal, I don''t look the part.


    Immy grabs my hand again, and guides me slowly, she isn''t running this time, she is elegantly striding to the destination.


    Every person here looks rich, and they all turn heads to look at my ragged appearance like I''m some rare creature found in the wild.


    Immy notices and tries to soothe my nerves.Stolen novel; please report.


    "It''s not too far, don''t be embarrassed, I didn''t look the part either when I first came here"


    I follow her movements, but a question was on my mind.


    "How long have you been here? When did you arrive?"


    She doesn''t even turn around as she answers.


    "Around 8 years ago, this place wasn''t as nice back then, but I was able to make my way in due to something I had in my possession"


    "What did you have?"


    "You''ll see once you reach my manor."


    She smirks, I can''t see her face but it''s clear she is enjoying my reactions.


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    We arrive at the tailor, but it seems to be a lot more than that.


    Through the pristine glass I can see a cafe and a hairdresser, it seemed empty.


    "Is it open?" I ask.


    The question must of been funny since she chuckles, "anything''s open if you have enough money"


    What an annoying thing to say, I''m really not sure how I feel about Immy, she has shown no consistency in her personality, it''s scary. I''m not even sure if our deal still holds up in her mind.


    "Let''s go in!"


    Immy takes my hand again and walks up to the front door, she begins to knock on it in a strange beat.


    After repeating the same pattern of knocking for what seemed like 2 minutes a man opens the door.


    He looks young, probably around 16, his hair is messy, and his eye bags are incredibly pronounced. His baggy clothes giving him a laid-back look.


    He was slumped over as he opened the door, hanging on the doorknob, was he drunk? He moved his black dark greenish hair to the side and groaned.


    "Hello Theo, I want the full treatment on this boy over here please!"


    She moves her body so the man can see me, he looks me up and down then back at Immy.


    "This is weird, even for you, please don''t tell me you two are in a relationship."


    She chuckles, she looks back at me to make sure I''m embarrassed by the whole situation.


    "So, the full treatment then? Tonight preferably, thank you Theo."


    "Right..."


    Theo looks at me again.


    What? She isn''t even going to deny it? Is she trying to kill me with embarrassment? Is this the first experiment?


    "I''ll be waiting in the cafe, have fun you two!!" She barges her way through the door, pushing Theo slightly, he stumbles out the door to shake my hand.


    "Nice to meet you, I''m Theodore, a blessed child in fine motor skills"


    A blessed child? Why does that keep coming up, I''ve heard it multiple times but I''m still not sure what it means, doesn''t matter anyway, for now at least.


    "I''m Z, nice to meet you Theodore"


    I shake his hand, he lets go and wipes his hand on his pants, then walks inside, I quickly follow him.


    Upon entering the building there were three doors, one on the left, one on the right and one straight forward at the end of a hallway, this entrance had a ton of waiting chairs, and the roof was incredibly high.


    Placed at the top of the roof was a large chandelier, which had the same gold colour as the linings on the walls, but the actual walls were painted an eggshell white.


    He entered the door on the left, so I did too.


    The left room was full of the hairdressing equipment I had seen through the windows, there are chairs which seem to be made of leather and tools for cutting hair, it''s all very posh.


    "Take a seat Z."


    I take the seat closest to me, in front of me was a mirror, I hadn''t seen my face in ages, so I was expecting a huge difference, but nope.


    Same face, same everything.


    Sucks, was hoping for facial hair soon, but maybe I just can''t age even a little bit, one thing I did notice though, my eye colour was significantly brighter than it used to be.


    It used to be dark brown, basically black, but now it''s just brown with a tinge of red, it''s not that interesting though.


    My hair was also longer, reaching close to my shoulders, I normally cut it with a knife every few months to make sure it didn''t get in the way while I was hunting rabbits.


    Doing that made my hair cut very very rough.


    An apron gets tied around my neck to make sure my clothes don''t get wet or damaged, which doesn''t make much sense since these clothes will be discarded soon.


    The apron then quickly gets removed.


    Cough cough.


    "When was the last time you showered?"


    Oh right I probably smell awful.


    "Uhm¡­"


    "It''s fine don''t tell me, have a shower, it''s at the end of this room, please use soap, I''ll discard of these clothes too, there will be some basic clothes left out for you when you finish"


    I get up, this is the most embarrassing moment of my life, I had completely forgot about the fact that hygiene existed, I guess Amelia never really complained, nor Immy.


    I walk into the shower, it''s decently big, probably used for quick showers for the customers, it had basic soap on a little table near the head of the shower.


    I slide the glass sliding door and step into the nice tiles of the bathroom.


    It takes me around 2 minutes to take off all my clothes, but once I do I excitedly turn on the shower, full heat.


    Aw man an actual heated shower, this is heaven.


    The water felt euphoric, the years worth of dirt and grime on my skin begins to deteriorate as I use the soap on my body.


    I spent around 20 minutes in the shower, a bit more than I should''ve, but it took a lot of will power to turn that shower head off.


    I slide the door again, I see white pants and a white shirt, my actual clothes are gone, probably to be burnt or something.


    Nostalgia wafts over me, I had had those clothes for years, they helped me fend of the cold for ages, and what do they get in return? Thrown away.


    I put on the new clothes and instantly begin not caring about old ones, the silk like texture on my skin felt like I was floating through the air.


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    Theodore was waiting outside, the chair I had sat in had been removed.


    Guess they really care about hygiene here, makes sense.


    I sit on the second closest chair and without a word spoken the hairdressers apron gets put on me.


    "So,you¡¯re from the outer circle I''m


    guessing?¡±


    Outer circle? Like the place Immy''s cave research centre is?


    Should I answer truthfully? What''s the harm in saying I''m from the wilderness.


    "Uhm, yeah, I''m from the outer circle, lived there all my life"


    Yeah, I''ll just lie, it''s easier.


    The apron gets tied tighter around my neck.


    "So why is Imogen so interested in you? There''s plenty of outer circle peasants she can take."


    I''m not sure I like this Theodore guy.


    But I do remember something that ginger fellow said when I was captured, asking if they were sure I wasn''t just a blessed child instead of a monster.


    So I came up with another lie.


    "I''m a blessed child, I can heal super quickly"


    "Oh!"


    Did I say the right thing? I hope so.


    I hear scissors being grabbed, oh god is he going to stab me to find out if I''m lying?


    Snip snip.


    Oh he is just cutting my hair, of course.


    He begins to hum, not another word was spoken between us as he cut my hair.


    Until.


    "You know, goldish blonde hair is pretty rare, I haven''t seen anyone with this hair colour before, since blonde people''s hair turned white after the snow."


    "Oh really? That''s interesting"


    "Yeah, it is, I originally thought it was white but looked gold because of all the dirt in your hair, turns out I was mistaken"


    "Okay?"


    It feels like I''m being threatened.


    "Anyways, have you heard the news?"


    Snip snip, he is working super quickly, his hands are flowing like water as he cuts my hair to be a little shorter and cleaner.


    "The news?"


    "A new creature was documented, well not officially but there¡¯s rumours, recently actually, like today, has the ability to heal itself from any wound I''m told.¡±


    "Oh really?"


    Yeah, I''m being threatened.


    He continues to cut my hair, but his hand seemingly slips, and he cuts a piece of my ear off, only a tiny bit.


    "Oops. Sorry"


    The part of my ear that was missing grows back quickly, I watch it happen in the mirror.


    "That blessing of yours, such a rare one."


    He cuts my hair a little more, keeping the length pretty long, giving me an almost androgynous look.


    "Imogen researches creatures you know, she even wrote the book documenting all of the different types there are in the wild. Such a high-class individual, it would be worrisome if she were to let one roam the streets and play dress up with it"


    He taps me on the shoulder with the scissors.


    ¡°That would be some serious jail time, maybe even the death sentence.¡±


    I''m frozen, is Immy in trouble? I don''t get this at all.


    He leans in closer to my ear.


    "Want me to dye your hair black? it would save you a lot of headaches, being mistaken for a golden-haired monster."


    I''m frozen for about 10 seconds trying to absorb the information.


    "Yes please" I sigh.


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    I look into the mirror, my hair is black now, it feels a lot more natural, guess because I can now recognise myself as the person in my memories.


    Theodore undoes the apron and walks to the exit of the hairdresser room.


    "Stay here, I need to talk to Imogen about what she wants you to wear."


    That went well considering the circumstances.


    Ill just wait now, I''m guessing Theodore is also going to talk to Immy about my whole being not human situation.


    I pretty much accept there''s something severely wrong with me, I mean I have the memories of myself, but I don''t age, nor can I get hurt, it still comes as a shock though.


    The door opens again, Theodore pops his head out "follow me."


    I quickly snap out of my daze and get up, following him down the hallway to the door at the end.


    He opens it and it reveals a bunch of wardrobes with pre-made suits and clothes, some look modern and some look medieval.


    "Take a seat, Imogen was pretty direct on what she wanted you to wear."


    Oh god is it going to be something embarrassing? Like a maid outfit? I really hope not but my few interactions with Immy showed me that that is definitely something she would do.


    He brings out a suit.


    Oh, it''s just a suit, a nice one at that, it''s a black blazer with a grey cardigan below it and then a white button up long shirt below that, and some black silk like pants, along with some leather shoes, something I''d never ever wear unless being told to.


    "Tell me if it''s too big or small, but I can usually tell the dimensions just by looking at someone"


    He ushers me to the changing room, and I put on the clothes.


    They fit perfectly, but it''s a bit cramped, I''m not used to wearing any other clothes other than my loose-fitting jumpers I layered on top of each other in the cabin.


    I walk out and Immy is standing by the entrance and spots me walking out.


    "Oh my you look sooo cute!!¡°


    She runs up to my and grabs my hands.


    "Absolutely stunning, like a little servant!!"


    She moves in closer.


    "These are perfect clothes for the perfect tutor, isn''t that right Theo?" she ruffles my hair.


    Wait tutor? That wasn''t part of the deal? What could I possibly teach?


    "Tutor?" I question


    "Yes!! For my daughter, the old one was killed last week and as if fate brought us together, I get something new to research and a tutor that cant die!"


    Oh god. This is a nightmare.


    End of chapter 4.

 Pet Teacher (2)

    Chapter 5: Pet Teacher (2)


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    This sucks.


    The worst part is I can''t really say no.


    The old tutor was killed? What kind of job was this? Am I just going to get hurt repeatedly?


    Even with these thoughts running through my mind, I followed Immy, she was the one who paid for my clothes after all and paid to fix up my hair and general appearance.


    I feel indebted to her now, even though I know she had something to gain through it all,


    it wasn''t just pure kindness.


    She isn''t holding my hand anymore, she is just walking by my side, slightly in front.


    "It''s the next left here."


    There were a lot less buildings here since everything was more spaced out and vast, the buildings were a lot fancier and larger with large gardens, a lot of the cave had been covered with grass and flowers in this fancy part of the city, making it look almost like the outside world without snow.


    Makes me wonder how these plants even survive down here without sunlight, the only light source are the crystals above and light posts on the street.


    "Alright here''s my little house"


    Little? I take a long look at the structure in front of me, it has a path into a garden which is full of hedges and trees, then a huge building which sprawls widely, it was made of white brick and marble, giving it a 1800s government building look.


    "Don''t look so shocked, I''m sure in your memories you''ve seen skyscrapers"


    Yeah, I have, but this was still shocking, in my memories I lived in a suburban area with my family, so houses were fairly small, this seemed like a whole mansion.


    She smiles at my reaction and grabs my hand.


    "Come in, you''ll have to meet my daughter"


    Has she just completely forgot about our deal?


    She pulls me through the garden, flowers of distinct kinds paint the green grass with color, there were even flowers that seemed sort of alien, striped flowers with gold streaks in them coming from vines that spread on the wooden fences.


    They were beautiful.


    The straight walk through the garden took around 1 minute, finally, we arrived at the front door.


    Before I could even say a word, someone opens the door for us and invites us in, it''s what looked to be a maid, dressed in a formal black dress, similar to what someone would wear at a funeral.


    The maiddidn''t say anything as I walked through the door with Immy.


    All she did was look me in the eyes, she couldn''t be much older than me, or how old I seem to be, I mean I know my body is young since I can''t age and all.


    She seemed around 15.


    I really hope this person is actually being paid for their work, the mention of slaves earlier kind of gave me a bad feeling.


    But wow, the manor was beautiful, the entrance was vast, there were pink and white marble tiles on the floor and a red carpet that leads the way up the staircase to a second floor, everything was so open.


    The use of pink gold on the large curved door frames and staircase railing gave everything a rich French European look.


    Not to mention the chandelier on the roof made everything sparkle.


    Immy made her way through the opening on the right. I was standing stupidly gawkingat the entrance.


    The maid walked up to me when Immy walked out.


    "Pardon my speaking, Are you the new tutor? You seem young." She questioned formally.


    I look back at her, I hadn''t really taken in her appearance, she had black hair which worked well with her clothes, giving her an almost gothic look, and black eyes, it was almost frightening to stare into them since I couldn''t see her pupils.


    Her hair was tied up neatly into a bun and her whole demeanor was that of professionalism, her sharp facial features make her seem like a very orderly and strict person.


    Sort of reminds me of someone I used to know in the modern world, my piano teacher.


    "I guess I am, nice to meet you, I''m Z"


    I hold my hand out to shake hers.


    She doesn''t move.


    Come on, please don¡¯t make this weird.


    I keep my hand out, hoping she will take the hint and shake it, but her hands stay behind her back.


    I retract my hand, "Okay... it was nice meeting you"


    "You too, my name is Emily"


    She holds her hand out to shake mine, she is wearing black gloves.


    What? Oh so now you want to shake hands, Is this some prank? Urgh.


    I shake her hand, the gloves feel silky and warm, as we shake, I feel something being passed into my hand, a small piece of paper?


    I hold the paper in my hand as we stop shaking and put it into my pocket, we exchange looks, she looks angry, but not towards me I don''t think.


    I go into the room Immy walked into; it was the dining room.


    "I''ve got food for you, I was thinking, you probably ate nothing but mere berries out in the wild, so I wanted you to slowly expand your culinary palate, I started you off with some nice Hong Kong Portuguese chicken with a pear and lime rosemary salad."


    What did any of those words mean?


    The food looked delicious, how did she prepare this so quickly? Ah it was probably a chef who did this beforehand, I could see a room ahead of the dining room which had a kitchen and two people working, they were dressed in black suits even though they were cooking.


    "Thank you Immy"


    "Call me Imogen, I am your superior."


    Didn''t she want me to call her Immy? is she mad at me or something?


    I sit down on the long table, it seemed eerie having such a big table with nobody but me sitting on it.


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    The meal was good, I felt full, I haven''t felt full in years, at my best I could catch 3 rabbits, but split between me and Amelia, it wouldn''t be nearly enough, although I''ve never felt hungry either. Maybe I can''t starve to death as well, that would be good.


    "Alright, I''ll go get my daughter, she is still sulking about the last tutor dying, such a shame."


    She walks to the entrance then up the stairs. The goth looking maid follows her.This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.


    Well, no need to worry about any of this now, if I keep getting fed like this, I''m fine with any grunt work.


    Oh! I should probably check out what that paper says.


    I take the small piece of paper from my pocket, there is intricate tiny handwriting on one side of the ripped paper.


    It said, "Get out of here right now, Diana will kill you."


    Woah.


    I wasn''t scared for some reason, I mean I don''t like pain, and I would like to avoid getting tortured.


    But I can''t die right? So, it''s fine I think, I''m guessing this Diana character is Immy''s daughter, we will see, I will be a good boy and stay here.


    There is a reason as to why I''m so complicit, I want to be able to talk to the grown-up Amelia again, and make her not hate me, I''m sure if I act good Immy can get me in contact with her, wherever she is.


    Although this lack of freedom is making me on edge, back in the cabin I had to do everything myself, now I feel coddled and controlled, it''s not a good feeling.


    A small girl with white hair runs down, she looks around 14 and is basically the same height as me, when she spots me in the dining room her hair becomes black.


    Was I seeing things wrong? Was it just the lighting that made her hair look white?


    She is wearing casual clothes that remind me of the modern world, it was a casual white t shirt and baggy black pants, very basic.


    Is this really Immy¡¯s daughter? Their facial structure looks completely different.


    Immy had a sharper look with her jaw and eyes, giving her an almost predatory gaze.


    But this girl''s face was curvy in shape, her cheeks look plump and so do her lips. Her eye structure looks completely different from Immy¡¯s too.


    Is she adopted?


    "Hello!! I''m Diana! But you need to call me Miss Abel!¡± She stands up proudly, taking a stance as she points at herself.


    Immy walks in soon after, followed by the maid that looks at me and frowns.


    Diana runs over to Immy energetically "is he really my new toy? He looks boring!"


    Oh, okay rude, also toy? This situation keeps getting worse, I want to go back to when it was just going to be Immy studying my healing ability.


    Immy looks down at Diana and brushes her cheek with her hand.


    "Don''t call people toys Diana, he is your new tutor, he is going to teach you how to survive out in the wilderness."


    "But he looks so young!!! What does he know about adventures and monsters and awesome battles and big monsters and explosions mom?"


    Diana quickly turns her gaze towards me, her hair turning white again in the blink of an eye.


    Ah so I wasn''t crazy, she can just do that for some reason.


    "So! Have you ever killed anyone? Or maybe a monster!"


    Hm, in the past years of the routine I had only come into contact with a few wolves and bears, no monsters like the leech thing I saw near the cabin today.


    But I should lie, she is giving me hopeful eyes, might as well tell a fake story.


    "I killed a bear once"


    The girl''s eyes lose interest instantly, and her hair turns black again.


    "Which snow hunter hasn''t killed a bear? Not something to brag about you know? I was talking about unholy creatures!!! Like in my mom''s book!"


    Please help me out here, I send Immy a concerned look and she decided to chime in.


    "Your tutor here survived in the wild, alone, for over 18 years, that''s pretty impressive is it not Diana?"


    Why''d you say 18 years??? That''s not going to make any sense to her, I look 13.


    Diana''s hair changes to white, it seemed to bounce a bit too.


    "Oh my god really????? So, you were living out there!!!"


    Diana grabs my hands, squeezing them super hard, it almost feels like she is about to break them.


    "Yeah!" I reply back, trying to copy her mannerisms.


    Why is she ignoring the part where she said I had survived 18 years?


    Her grip gets tighter until my hands break from the force.


    Ah shit that¡¯s not good, let go please, please let go, how can such a small girl have that much strength?


    I grit my teeth at the pain, my hands are completely mangled.


    She lets go, and watches my hands closely, seeing the deformed purple hands slowly turn back to normal.


    Even though I dislike the pain, it is satisfying having a painful wound quickly become a memory.


    "Oohhhhhh¡­" she inspects my hands.


    Then looks back at Immy, who has walked closer to the both of us.


    "Can I have him???"


    "Only if you don''t hurt him on purpose."


    Diana''s hair turns black again, it almost seems normal at this point to witness this.


    "Okay¡­"


    She runs up to Immy and hugs her, Immy is looking at me with a satisfied face, then I see the face of the maid, it looks like she was crying but I didn''t see any tears.


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    "Okay teach, stand still."


    This was NOT a teacher''s job.


    There is an apple on my head, and Diana has a bow.


    A nightmare scenario.


    She has an arrow readily pointing at me.


    Apparently, my job is just to get her to not be lazy and actually train for who knows what.


    I''m not teaching her anything I''m just supposed to entertain her.


    I¡¯m just the jester.


    Immy told me before leaving me with Diana to just "let her do whatever"


    We are outside in the garden, this was the first thing Diana wanted to do with me, I didn''t want to say no since that girl could probably rip me apart with her bare hands.


    The maid is also here, watching and giving arrows to Diana if she ever ran out.


    I guess she is like Diana''s caregiver then, nice.


    Diana takes the shot and completely misses, then takes another, and misses.


    Then another.


    Then another.


    I''m kind of happy she is awful with the bow, but I kind of actually need to teach her something.


    So I speak up.


    "Hey Miss Abel, you''re holding the bow wrong, have your arm pull back to your shoulder."


    I had used a bow before, in fact I used to use bows to capture rabbits before I figured out how to get them with my hands, so the bow slowly became redundant for me, since it was a waste of resources and space.


    Diana''s hair goes black.


    "Well if you are so talented why don''t you show off your skills, Emily, please put this apple on your head and stand by the wall."


    ¡°As you wish MissAbel¡± She softly spoke.


    The maid nods and grabs the apple, quickly balancing it on her head.


    Hey woah I''m not that confident, we literally have targets I can set up.


    I object


    "Hey, I can just grab practice targets, no need to inconvenience Emily here."


    I could probably hit the apple, but I can''t let this behavior continue.


    She then pouts and teases me.


    "Oh, so you aren''t a bow master? So why are you trying to act like it? If you don''t try shooting the apple off her pretty little head, I will."


    Holy shit so she is actually an evil person, this is something a villain would say.


    She smiles, her hair becomes white again.


    Urgh.


    I grab the bow out of Diana''s hands and stand at-least 10 meters away.


    I can''t believe I''m playing this childish game, sorry Emily, just have confidence in me, okay?


    I stare into Emily''s eyes, she has no hatred towards me in her gaze, just sadness.


    I ready an arrow and pull it back.


    Woosh,


    I hit the apple on the bottom left corner, way too close to her head, perhaps I got a bit rusty.


    Diana claps,


    "BRAVO!!"


    Her hair is basically floating and jiggling in excitement, glowing white, which I don''t really understand but it probably has something to do with a blessing.


    After I did that, Diana seemed pleased and let me off for the night, my internal clock was telling me it was about nighttime, but I didn''t feel tired at all.


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    The library.


    I decide to make my way to the manor''s library.


    Since I don''t feel tired yet, and since I don''t even know if I have a place to sleep, I decided to research things I could teach Diana and actually take my job seriously.


    I also wanted to selfishly spend time far away from Diana encase she wanted to play anymore ''fun games.''


    I doubt she goes to the library so it''s a good hiding spot.


    I open the door.


    I was told by the maid that the library was on the second floor near the far end of the building, it was a pretty long walk.


    I walk in and see a ton of bookshelves made of the golden streaked wood. They all have little letters on them probably to dictate the letter the books title starts with.


    There weren''t many books, but I guess it makes sense, 18 years of history isn''t that long, and I doubt any of the books outside of this underground city have survived the climate.


    Goodbye Shakespeare I guess.


    As I walk through the bookshelves, most of the books are research on the strange phenomena that appeared after the snow arrived. Apparently, a lot more changed than just the climate.


    I wasn''t really aware due to me only going the same path back and forth from the cabin and never seeing anything new.


    I walked over to the B bookshelf and picked up a few books explaining and documenting the different kinds of blessings, these were written by Immy herself.


    I also picked up another book by Immy, the one she was apparently famous for, ''Unholy: the complete documentation of unholy creature phenomenon''


    Boring title.


    I sit these books on the table and begin to read them, it''s all very interesting.


    There are a total of 83 total ''unholy'' creatures, doesn''t include me yet of course.


    these are separate from the mutated rabbits and wolves, that phenomenon was caused by ''rapid evolution'' that started happening ever since the snow came, every animal on the planet has been evolving insanely fast.


    The unholy creatures are ranked from E- to S+ in danger.


    The one I wanted to find, was the leech I saw those two girls fight in front of my cabin, I had never seen anything like it.


    I go through the pages, skimming them.


    "The mimic, class C-B"


    C-B meant B was the max danger a mimic could be if it consumed enough humans.


    Ah, that explains it.


    As I read through the document about the mimic, and the symptoms it gave when it was feeding off a victim, it sounded awfully similar to how I was feeling in that cabin.


    The headaches, randomly falling asleep, heavy breathing, tiredness, all explained by the mimic feeding off me.


    I was living with a mimic for 18 years?


    Just then, the door opens and I hear high heels, it was Immy.


    She stands in front of me, smiling widely.


    "Hey Imogen."


    I say formally, saying Imogen because she had asked me to earlier, perhaps some professionalism was good.


    "Please. Call me Immy, you are off duty remember?"


    My god, okay fine yeah sure I''ll call you Immy, is she bipolar or something?


    "Hey Immy."


    "So, I heard about the fun you had with my little angel¡±


    She sits besides me, awfully close.


    Right¡­ was she mad at me? I did shoot at her maid with a bow. Albeit Diana forced me to.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s there to be sorry for? You did so well, my little tutor.¡±


    She plays with my hair.


    ¡°Stop treating me like a child.¡±


    ¡°Oh but you are? You basically had no social upbringing in the past 18 years; you just act like a mature 13-year-old for your age. You¡¯ve gone through so much let me pamper you.¡±


    Is that true? I guess I¡¯m still horrible at socializing.


    Although I think she is slightly wrong, I definitely don¡¯t act like the person from my memories anymore, I was once a spoilt brat.


    But every day in that cabin blended together, I didn¡¯t really make any memories there.


    ¡°So why are you here?¡±


    ¡°You suspect I have something I want from you? I just wanted to talk.¡±


    Oh. Okay?


    She is still playing with my hair, it felt kind of nice, she is like the mother figure I missed.


    Suddenly she speaks up.


    ¡°Diana has been pestering me about wanting to go out and hunt animals in the wild, and I thought. Hm. You could do that!


    You know the wilderness more than anyone right? Can''t you take my little Diana out with you on a small adventure? Protect her with your life of course, lives."


    She chuckles.


    This was a lot to process.


    "When does she want to go?"


    "Well, I decided she should learn more from you, so like a month?" She puts her hands together in a begging motion.


    "I would really appreciate it, I will owe you one, nobody wants to take my little Diana outside since they consider her a reckless person and will get them killed!"


    Makes sense.


    "Yeah okay, also what about the deal? With the whole studying me thing?"


    "Oh? Eager are you? I decided I can just study you from a distance, I''m not even 100% certain you are an unholy creature, if you were one though I''d put you as E class."


    She is looking down at the book I''m reading while saying that.


    "Anyways, you must be tired right? Let me show you to your chambers, I got you a nice guest room for our special little tutor."


    She gets up and tugs at my shirt, basically ordering me to follow her.


    I really wanted to read this book more, but I guess that can wait until the morning.


    I follow her, the room was pretty close to the library, something I think she did on purpose.


    I''m having a really hard time figuring out if Immy is actually a nice person or a complete sociopath trying to manipulate me.


    She opens the door, and it''s pretty much what I expected for this huge mansion. It had a king-sized bed and a personal bathroom, along with a study desk.


    It was nice, way more than I was used to and needed, it''s like my whole life changed within a day.


    Well my whole life did change in a day.


    But I still wanted to be selfish and ask Immy something.


    "Hey Immy?"


    "Yes?"


    She looks at me worried, maybe she thinks I don''t like the room.


    First I wanted to thank her.


    "I just wanted to thank you for treating me so well, I haven''t been this happy in a long time, I really appreciate it"


    She smiles and lets out a little "awwwwww"


    A little patronizing, but what I said was a bit wholesome.


    I then ask.


    "Is there any way I can get into contact with Amelia?"


    She gives me a stunned look, thinking.


    "Hmm¡­


    I can talk to her, but I doubt she will want anything to do with you, last thing she said to me was that if I don''t find a way to kill you, she will do it herself."


    Oh.


    "I can get you into contact with Sophie though, Amelia''s close friend."


    Why would that help? Is Sophie the one with the knives that sliced my neck open?


    Urgh it''s better than nothing.


    "Sure, thank you Immy"


    "No problem, I''ll let her know you want to talk."


    She smiles at me, it was heart warming.


    I really don''t know why she is treating me so kindly; I feel kind of like the cattle that gets treated well and fed a lot before being taken into the shed and slaughtered.


    Immy closes the door behind her as she leaves, deciding the conversation was over since I was staring into space.


    Alright time to sleep.


    End of chapter 5.

 Pet Teacher (3)

    Chapter 6: Pet Teacher (3).


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    The light from the crystals outside is a dim purple, giving everything a sleepy vibe.


    I think this cave has a similar system to tell the time of day like we do outside with the sun and moon, I noticed the colors of the crystals slowly turn from yellow to purple within the past few hours.


    That doesn''t matter right now though.


    I. Can''t. Sleep.


    I''ve been trying so hard, this mattress is super comfortable, but I just don''t feel tired.


    It hit me that maybe the only reason I could fall asleep in the cabin was because I had a mimic sucking out my life force.


    If this healing ability really does stop me from feeling hungry, maybe it stops me from being tired too, but that doesn''t mean I can''t use something to make me fall asleep.


    Medicine came to mind, but I don''t want to wake anyone up right now to ask for some, so I guess I''ll just wander the garden and read in the library.


    I open my door, the place is dark, so it takes time for my eyes to adjust.


    Once they do, I walk towards the entrance of the manor, it''s a bit of a maze since the second floor is just a bunch of hallways that house guest rooms.


    The closer I get to the entrance I feel the music of a piano fill my ears, it sounds melancholic.


    I get lured towards it, walking down the steps and through the dining room into a living room,


    the living room, which is just a bunch of couches and tables, sort of a party spot for people to mingle. As I walk through, I see two doors, the music is coming from this room.


    I don''t really want to disturb anyone, but if they are already awake it should be fine.


    I open the doors, it''s a music room full of different instruments, then to the right, a theatre, with rows of seats and a piano placed on the stage.


    It was the maid; uh Emily was her name, I think.


    The song was slow and sad, I don''t know much about music theory, but I can tell the song was composed by someone super passionate in their craft.


    I stand by the seats, listening patiently, she looks like she is in a daze as she plays, it''s quite beautiful, her clothes bleed into the black of the piano. Almost making it seem like they are merged body and soul.


    Suddenly she stops after playing a wrong note, I snap out of thinking to myself and see she is staring directly at me.


    Is she angry?


    She waves awkwardly.


    I wave back, I should probably walk over and tell her how nice the song was.


    I get up from the seat and walk towards the stage.


    Since she wasn''t saying anything, I decided to start the conversation.


    "Sorry I couldn''t sleep, I didn''t mean to intru-"


    "It''s fi-fine! It''s fine!"


    She speaks loudly and softly at the same time, stuttering a bit, I can tell by her face that she was scared, scared of me?


    "Uh, the song was very nice, I heard it from the entrance and had to find out who was playing it"


    I awkwardly laugh, Urgh I''m making a fool of myself.


    She just stares at me.


    "Sorry for intruding."


    Crap I already said that, I really need to get better at talking to people.


    "Anyways, who composed that song? It''s very nice"


    "M-my mom¡­ she taught it to me before she¡­ before something bad happened to her."


    Oh I see, dead parents, I know this game, this conversation is a minefield now.


    I go with the usual response.


    "She would be proud of how well you play it, it was beautiful, really"


    "Well.. I can''t play it as well as my mother."


    What do I even say to that? oh I know.


    "Can I play something?"


    "O-oh. Sure!"


    I climb up the stage, pulling myself up instead of using the stairs on the side, this was easy since I had basically become a professional rock climber by climbing rocks down and up the mountain every day.


    Okay okay, now I just need to remember the piano lessons my parents forced on me, my parents always wanted me to be a gifted child so they spent a ton of money on useless hobbies.


    My teacher always taught me this one song, it was apparently her original ''masterpiece''A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    She always had to dumb it down for me, making sure to remind me that I could never play the full version.


    I could play it fairly well, 3 years of constant berating and screams really etched the keys into my mind.


    Man, that teacher was a bitch. No offense though, she was talented for sure.


    Alright here goes.


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    Body on seat, hands on keys, slouched position.


    This is making me remember the lessons, I can already hear my teacher in my mind screaming about my posture and kicking my stool.


    I begin to play.


    It''s rough, I make a lot of mistakes, but as I play, I get more and more refined, as if regaining my muscle memory.


    This song was another sad one, probably not the best to ease the tension between me and Emily.


    It was surprisingly fun, I started to surprise myself with how fluently I''m playing.


    Sound echoes in the theatre, this piano must''ve been expensive, this room had also been designed to have great acoustics as well,


    so it only added to the mood.


    I get to the end, my hands hurt, haven''t tried at playing piano in so long, it was kind of exhausting.


    I look back at Emily, she is crying? Uh oh did I mess something up? Surely this crappy song didn''t push her to tears, that wouldn''t make any sense.


    "W-where, where did you learn that song?"


    Her face is serious, a cold gaze is sent right into my soul.


    "Oh¡­ I had a teach-"


    "What was her name"


    Her? How does she know it was a woman?


    "Mrs. Kearny?"


    Her face is full of tears, I can gather from this situation that either this is a small coincidence, or a huge coincidence.


    She straightens her posture while crying ¡°You need to quit. Miss Abel will keep hurting you repeatedly, get out, you don''t deserve this.¡±


    After leaving me shocked by her words, she begins to take her leave, walking then picking up the pace to a run.


    Emily runs up the stairs and exits the theatre, leaving me alone.


    It was probably the big coincidence, if she recognized the song and name that meant her mother was my teacher when I was younger,


    small world.


    I never thought that woman would die, she seemed too stubborn, she was only 22 by the time she last taught me at 9 to 12. She was a rising star in the pianist industry but took her time out of her famous life to teach an annoying brat like myself.


    Damn she must''ve died young, that''s common in this world though.


    I close the piano and walk back to the entrance.


    I hope Emily doesn¡¯t hate me now, I hope I didn''t ruin a song her mother made.


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    Ahhhh fresh cold air, how does this cave keep itself so well fumigated and not scorching hot.


    The wonders of the world huh¡­


    From the garden, other huge mansions fill my view, but I can still get a good look at this massive cave city, every part of this huge cave has been turned into property, it''s kind of sad but beautiful in a way.


    I wonder how many people live here¡­ I take a look at the flowers I saw on the fence as I walked in, they really are amazing, it''s probably a new flower due to the rapid evolution of everything.


    I never thought I''d see beauty in this world again.


    As I walk through the garden, I spot a small shack, in the outer skirts, far away from the building, it was still on Immy''s property though.


    I wonder what''s in there.


    Against my better judgement I walk up to it, and right as I''m out to open the door I feel the cold feeling of a knife placed against the front of my neck.


    "Who are you and why are you trespassing?"


    It was a feminine voice, but still sounded rough, sort of like she was doing a fake evil voice.


    Without moving I manage to mutter out.


    "I''m the new tutor, I was just walking around is all"


    "Okay!"


    Her voice instantly became bubbly.


    The knife quickly disappears, I look behind me and nobody is there.


    Did they disappear as well?


    A voice behind me says "so Mrtutor... this is a tough job you know, the last tutor was turned into a mushy paste after refusing little miss sunshine one too many times"


    Turned into mush? That''s a visceral description¡­


    "Yeah, I''m aware. I''ll be fine"


    I say that with certainty in my voice, because I truly think I''d be fine, even though I''m not exactly sure if I could heal from ''mush.''


    I look around my shoulder again, nobody is there.


    The voice behind my back laughs then replies.


    "So, you''re strong! You don''t look it, maybe tone your egotism down a notch"


    I get kicked in the back, ouch, it wasn''t that rough but didn''t feel playful either.


    I decide to ask a simple question.


    "So who are you? If you don''t mind me asking"


    "I''m Holly Caldwell! You know!!"


    Why is she acting like I should''ve already know her.


    I look to the direction of her voice again, nothing was there.


    "Are you invisible? Also is that name supposed to mean something?"


    "Caldwell, one of the twins??? Are you really a tutor if you don''t know basic information."


    "I only know things that actually matter sorry."


    Urgh she is annoying. I accidentally on purpose said something rude.


    I get a slap on the back, then a head rests on my shoulder, I can get a glimpse of the woman beside me.


    Very very pale skin, like almost corpse like, and white hair with a tint of red.


    "I''m Diana''s sword trainer, and your new friend, if you truly don''t know me that is."


    She moves her body to be in front of me in a very strange way, she is wearing pajamas, looking like she just woke up.


    She looks awfully similar to someone I already saw.. but I can''t really put my finger on it.


    She is skinny, but seems strong, she is slightly taller than me and her piercing silver eyeswas something I needed to get used to.


    I think she is that blue haired girls'' sister, her eyes gave it away.


    "I hope you don''t die!"


    She holds her hands out.


    She really switched sides quickly, I could still be a trespasser, she is just taking me on my word.


    I shake her hands, she seems surprised.


    "So you truly don''t know me??"


    "Yeah..."


    I''m so confused.


    "I was just holding a knife to your neck, and you have no signs of fear."


    She shakes my hand then let''s go, keeping a casual posture.


    Yeah, I guess it is weird how I reacted when I think about it,


    "I guess I just have no self-preservation skills, you seem friendly though."


    She laughs.


    She really is pale, when was the last time she went outside? She doesn''t seem sickly though, so maybe it''s fine.


    She looks young, probably a blessed child as well.


    But yet again, as most women I''ve seen in this world, she was beautiful, but the surprise doesn''t really surprise me anymore.


    We just lock eyes for a few seconds.


    "So tutor, you''ll need training if you want to defend yourself against Diana, feel free to ask me for lessons when you are free, I''m usually here at night defending this place. Just act suspicious around this time and I''ll find you"


    That''s actually, a pretty good offer.


    "Thanks, but I better get going, I need to research some more stuff in the library"


    It feels casual around her, it''s nice.


    "Okay!! Good luck, thanks for talking to me, it was fun"


    Thanks for talking to you? Is she some kind of recluse that has no friends.


    "Yeah, it was fun talking to you too, seeya around." I begin to walk back.


    "HEY WAIT!!!"


    I hear footsteps behind me.


    "Take this! You''ll need it in training!"


    It looked like just the handle of a sword without a blade.


    "It''s a training sword, here press this button"


    She presses a button, and crystals get pushed out and form a blade.


    "You can also set what type of blade, so get used to it okay?? Make sure to come tomorrow at night!! I''ll be waiting"


    She is incredibly eager to train me, but I don''t really feel any hostility so it should be fine.


    This sword was cool though, the blue glowing crystal blade made it look like a magic weapon. I press the button again and the crystals flow down back into the handle of the blade.


    "Oh!! I never got your name!"


    Oh right.


    "I''m Z"


    At least, I think it is, I never actually asked about my full first name.


    She begins fidgeting, moving energetically. "Z, z z, z, z, has a ring to it, that''s my new favorite name."


    She is basically singingthis,I''m getting secondhand embarrassment.


    "Alright bye Z.." she slips out of view, the way she moved for a split second before she was gone looked unnatural, like she was pushing her body to the limits.


    Well, that was interesting, I didn''t know Diana had a sword trainer, so I guess I''m not the only teacher here.


    Alright library time.


    The crystals above me are beginning to turn black, signaling that it''s midnight, have I really been awake for that long?


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    Reading started out fun, but going through this unholy creature documentation book is just filling me with dread. There are some real world ending monsters documented in here.


    I guess I should check out what blessings are.


    260 documented blessings so far, most people who have a blessing are born with a unique one, so I guess there''s 260+ people who are blessed?


    I try to find the one Diana has, with the shifting black and white hair.


    It was one of the first ones documented in the book by Immy, cool.


    Apparently, each strand of hair works as her own limb, they act as a defense and offense system whenever she is attacked or feels threatened. The hair is strong enough to puncture steel and rip people apart effortlessly.


    Nice. Good to know. Stay far away from Diana''s hair, got it.


    Now I wanted to find out what Holly''s blessing was, since she obviously had something strange going on.


    I Couldn''t find anything on invisibility, which was my first guess, but there was one called ''slight of body''


    It''s apparently where you can move your body in unnatural ways to surpass speed and strength of a normal person. Basically, controlling yourself like a puppet.


    It even mentions Holly in this entry, she is the only one with this blessing.


    Gross though.


    I was so focused on this book that the world around me became blurred.


    "Whatcha reading?"


    That really startled me, I jumped in my chair.


    Oh god, it''s Diana. She is sitting right in front of me.


    I look up, her hair is white which means she is in a good mood.


    "Oh, hey Miss Diana¡­ Shouldn¡¯t you be asleep?"


    "It''s morning silly, it''s like 9 am"


    Wow I must''ve been reading for a while.


    "So, teach, whatcha reading?"


    "Just stuff about unholy creatures and blessings."


    She points at the title of the blessing I was reading.


    "What''s this say?"


    She can''tread? Did Immy teach her nothing?


    "It says ''slight of body''"


    "Ohhhh like Holly''s blessing?? So cool, she is so cool.


    You two would get along."


    I''m worried about the fact she can''t read.


    "So¡­ Diana, do you know how to read?"


    "Nope!" She says proudly for some reason.


    "Do you want me to teach you?"


    "Nope!" She says again, tilting her head up and crossing her arms.


    Well, I can''t exactly force her, so I need to come up with a plan, she seems too old to be illiterate.


    She just watches me read for a few minutes, but I can tell she is getting bored. Why is she trying to spend time with me?


    "Do you want to get breakfast??"


    She says, with aneerie smile on her face.


    "Okay..."


    End of chapter 6.

 Pet Teacher (4)

    Chapter 7: Pet Teacher (4)


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    I couldn''t shake the feeling that something was off about this breakfast.


    I sat down at the dining table, the two men in suits bring out scrambled eggs and bacon, a pretty simple dish.


    But Diana had a smile on her face the entire time, and her hair had not gone black for a second.


    Showing that she was just weirdly enjoying watching me eat.


    Yes, that''s right. just watching me eat, she doesn''t have any food herself.


    Is it poisoned? I wouldn''t put it past her, she seems to be a bit of a sadist.


    The maid that always followed Diana wherever she went was nowhere to be found, which I also found confusing.


    The eggs were good though, well I mean any cooked meal is good in my eyes after eating cooked rabbit with no seasoning for 18 years.


    "You enjoying the meal teach?"


    She smiles ear to ear.


    "Yes¡­.?"


    It looks like she is studying me, looking for a sign of something.


    I finish the meal.


    "Thank you, Miss Abel,it was delicious."


    "I''m glad!"


    Her hair shines bright white like she was proud of the meal she didn''t even make.


    "Okay let''s play now, where did my Emily run off to? I''ll be right back!!"


    She runs off skipping in her step, passing Immy as she runs up the entrance steps.


    Wait so that''s actually it? What was that about? I could swear something was off.


    Immy walks down the entrance into the dining room, completely ignoring me.


    "Hey Immy."


    "Oh, right you''re here."


    Thanks for the warm greeting.


    I actually had a request for what I could teach Diana today, so I decided to take a shot.


    "Hey Immy, is there any way I can get some live rabbits and put on a little hunt in the garden for Diana?"


    Immy''s eyes shot up like she just remembered who I was.


    "Oh that sounds like a wonderful idea!! I don''t have any rabbits, but I do have a friend who has a farm in their backyard, just ask Emily for directions to Miss Baker¡¯s estate in Emberpoint.


    I''m sure she won''t mind; she barely interacts with the outside world so she will accept the company."


    Usually, people have a reason to not interact with the outside world, I really hope this person isn''t dangerous in any way.


    Doesn''t matter because I have Diana who could probably kill anything.


    She walks up to me and pats my head, "good boy taking your job seriously."


    I think this time she is actually being affectionate.


    She looks down at my plate and lets out a sigh.


    "Slow acting poisons don''t work huh, interesting, guess your body completely heals itself even without being damaged physically every 5 seconds."


    Oh¡­


    "You poisoned my food?" I say softly with a hint of anger.


    "Uhmmm."


    She says then turns her heel.


    And just walks away into the living room to sit by the fireplace.


    This place is full of actual sociopaths.


    I mean I know this is what I signed up for but am I not allowed to even have a meal without it being some test?


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    Emberpoint seemed to be in the far corner of this cave city, it was outside of the inner circle, so I got Emily to prepare us some casual clothes that won''t scream ''I''m the upper class!!! target me!!''


    I also didn''t want Diana to go into rage mode and kill anyone who may try to attack us.


    I''m not expecting people to try anything though, people are generally good I''ve found out, but it''s still a risk I don''t want to take.


    "This is sooo exciting I''ve never been out of the inner circle before!!"


    That is worrisome.


    "Does Immy not let you leave?"


    "No? I just haven''t had a reason to go until this venture, I''ve been told the outer circle is dangerous and dirty."


    It wasn''t that bad from what I saw, there were some streets that were rough, I should try my best to avoid those.


    Why am I even putting this much effort in? I don''t really gain anything from this.


    I''m probably trying to keep myself busy until I can mend the bridge between me and Amelia, I hope she is okay.


    The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    We got to the gate that leads to the outer circle, the knight on this side was a lot kinder.


    "Take these tickets and show them to the knight outside when you want to come back in."


    It was kind of hard to understand him through the armor, but I got handed 3 tickets.


    A cool system for sure, but I do worry about forgery on these tickets. They were red and had a pattern of swirling gold on them, and today''s date.


    The 17th of October.


    Oh man it''s almost Halloween, do they do that here?


    We walk through the gate, me and Diana are side by side, but Emily is keeping her distance.


    She keeps looking at me then looking away, I''m really worried that she hates me or something.


    But why would she hate me? The piano song I played that was made by her dead mother? Or the fact that I might bean unholy creature?


    Makes sense really. If I didn''t have the ability to heal super quickly, I would be terrified of Diana, and any other people who had abilities similar to mine.


    Emily¡¯s hair was untied, it looked pretty nice, along with her casual clothes it made her seem approachable.


    Diana is wearing something similar to what she wore yesterday, some baggy pants and a normal shirt.


    I first wanted to make a stop at a shop, so we can get hunting gear that wasn''t in Immy¡¯s manor.


    We stop at a gear store on the main road.


    ¡°Alright let''s go in here.¡±


    It was a fairly nice shop from the outside, made of wood and stone. It looked safe.


    ¡°Okay teach!¡±


    She runs in without a care in the world.


    Me and Emily exchange looks.


    ¡°Shall we go inside? We mustn¡¯t keep Miss Abel waiting.¡± I say elegantly.


    I¡¯m practicing talking super formally, it¡¯s easier to practice with Emily than with Diana because Emily can¡¯t send me flying into the air like a rag doll.


    She blinks a couple times then comes up with her reply.


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    We both walk in, Diana is already trying to pick a fight with the shopkeeper, he is shaking.


    I should just distract her, the shopkeeper looks terrified.


    ¡°Hey Miss Abel, can you help me gather some rope and arrows?¡±


    ¡°huh?? I was just having a chat with this guy! Isn''t that right?¡±


    She stares at the shopkeeper, who just nods while sweat falls from his forehead.


    He speaks in a softish tone, ¡°please take anything you want... its free... all of it.¡±


    You clearly intimidated him.


    Diana just runs up to me, waiting for me to praise her.


    ¡°Did I do good Teach?¡±


    I should not encourage this behavior. But I also don''t want this situation to get any worse by ridiculing her.


    She leans her head downwards, so I can pet her head.


    Why does she want me to do this?


    I reach out and stroke her hair, ¡°thanks Diana, but we should support small businesses, no? To keep the economy healthy.¡±


    She moves her head into my hand, ¡°Yes I suppose...¡±


    Bomb defused.


    Emily, while this was all happening, collected all the necessary equipment and paid in full completely behind our back.


    The shopkeeper doesn''t say a word, still shaking.


    I guess people are really scared of blessed people here? Or is it just Diana they fear? I''m not sure if Diana has a bad reputation.


    ¡°Alright let''s go.¡±


    The walk was fairly nice, there was a park we could walk through that would lead to the Emberpoint town center.


    It was a huge man-made forest.


    Emberpoint was surrounded by manmade forest, it was very isolated, so people would go to live there to stay out of politics of the main city, its sort of a self-sufficient town with a lot of farms. Its also a big supplier of food exports, since its the only place in the city where you can have wild animals.


    "So,Miss Abel, how many rabbits do you think you can catch?"


    Small talk like this is crucial to make her like me.


    "Hmph, more than you, how many can you catch?"


    How many can I catch?


    Well, considering I''m not in the snow, where I''m usually super slow and the rabbits have the advantage, I''m sure I could catch around 7-8 fairly quickly.


    The hardest part in the wild was just finding the little critters, they always hid in the weirdest spaces.


    So if I had access to as many as I wanted without having to walk great distances.


    I could probably get 40 in an hour with my hands.


    "My max is 40 I think"


    "That''s it? 40 in a day?"


    "No in like an hour"


    Her hair glowed white for a bit.


    "I could still do better, watch and learn teach."


    If I don''t catch 40, I can just say it''s an off day or I was too used to the snow biome.


    But I''m sure I''ve gotten pretty good at it after 18 years of practice.


    At least from the book I read, the evolved creatures are incredibly hard to manage and capture, rabbits especially.


    Since the rabbits evolved to be faster and more cunning, even catching 1 in the wild without a bow is considered very very difficult.


    But using a bow would kill it, I wanted to capture them.


    So, I felt proud, I actually had a useful skill, even though it was very niche.


    Emily is still behind us, just telling us to go left, right, or forwards, basically being our navigation system.


    Such professionalism is something I need to learn. To keep out of trouble that is.


    We arrive at the ends of the cave, the buildings were a lot less packed together here compared to the rest of the outer circle, it seemed like not a single soul was around.


    All the buildings were made of wood, we were walking through the town hall area that leads to the field where the farms are.


    Was this one of the first places built in the cave? That would make sense since this place looks at least 15 years old.


    Old and decrepit.


    "How many people live in this town Emily?"


    I ask, finding it strange that every house seems empty.


    "1400? I think?"


    She looked just as confused as I was.


    It was empty, carts full of nothing filled the streets, shops that sold jewels open with nobody at the front desk.


    And not a single person was around walking the street, it''s like they all disappeared. I had a really bad feeling.


    I didn''t want to disappoint Diana though, so we walked along the desolate streets.


    Emberpoint was one of the only places where humans could live with wild animals, all domesticated of course.


    In the rest of the city, it was strictly prohibited to bring any live animals into it. Unless you were a researcher like Immy.


    There was a reason for this, I read about it in the documentation book on unholy creatures.


    But I couldn''t exactly remember what the reason was.


    We arrive at the Bakers estate, it was a big farmhouse with a lot of green land around it, it was supposed to be full of animals, the grass was overgrown, and everything was unkempt.


    Emily speaks up


    "Miss Abel. I think we need to leave; something is very wrong here."


    She looks scared.


    I look at Diana, who seems to be shaking, her hair is black now, signaling a negative emotion.


    "Oh please, it''s fine, let''s go in and greet Miss Baker"


    We could not object.


    The farmhouse was dusty, I was hoping Diana would realize this and make a quick exit.


    The reason I was sticking by Diana was because I''m supposed to be the guardian here, besides Emily.


    And if I were to be alone in this town, I feel like something would attack me. Kind of cowardly I know.


    Diana opens the door; it makes a loud creaking sound.


    "Miss Baker!! It''s me Diana!! We''ve come to kill some of your rabbits!!"


    We weren''t going to kill any rabbits but okay.


    We walk into the building, it was incredibly dusty and dark.


    No response.


    But there was a stench of death coming from upstairs.


    We need to get out of here.


    "Miss Abel, we need to go now, there is something incredibly strange going on."


    Diana still shaking, nods slightly.


    Thank God.


    Emily is super close to me now, holding onto my arm, recognizing the danger as well.


    We walk towards the open door to leave, outside we see a small rabbit, hopping on the now overgrown grass.


    It''s one eye spots us, it begins to hop towards us, jerking as it moves, this is very weird behavior for a rabbit.


    Its jumps become more manic as it reaches the front porch, stumbling over itself a bit.


    We are all frozen now, we know what this is.


    This is actually a nightmare scenario.


    I slowly step forward, and as my shaking hand touches the handle of the door to close it.


    I''m hoping my slow movements make the creature docile enough.


    the rabbits face twitches and pulsates, the eye almost coming out of its socket.


    An awful guttural noise comes from its mouth and its face opens up.


    The loudest screech I have ever heard comes from the rabbit as it trembles and moves unnaturally.


    Hundreds of black stringy like worm creatures shoot out of its face and grab my hand, digging into my skin trying to find their way into my nervous system.


    This was the ONE unholy creature I was very worried about in this scenario.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª Page 46¡ª


    Nervous System Walkers.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Class: C to B+


    These creatures take on a black stringy worm like appearance, they are usually found under the snow, planting themselves in the ground as a sort of land mine.


    If a creature like a rabbit, wolf or even a human step on it.


    It will quickly shoot up into the nervous system of the victim, replicating itself by using the spare tissue and organs, hollowing out the body.


    The victim will then be controlled like a marionette, becoming a host.


    As the host travels, it will drop more worms out of its body that will dig into the snow and become traps.


    But if the host comes across another living creature, it will become aggressive and forcefully shoot out worms to turn the living creature into a host.


    It is considered a C level threat if it is only 1 host,


    B level threat if its numbers increase to 10.


    And a B+ level threat if it exceeds 100.


    And so on. Highest number of one colony of hosts documented is 160, which is known as the Horse Head Massacre.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    The worms dig into my hand to my arm, they completely disconnected themselves from the rabbit.


    This is bad, this is very VERY bad.


    I quickly slam the door so the rabbit can''t make any more moves and look back at Emily and Diana.


    Diana is frozen in shock, but Emily is beside me applying a tourniquet to my hand... wait why? Ohhhh. shit she is going to cut my hand off.


    She takes the knife out of my pocket and begins to cut before the worms can reach any further.


    I pull back in pain, this is the most excruciating experience I''ve ever been in.


    The worms make it past the tourniquet, burying into my arm.


    Emily taking full control of the situation screams at Diana.


    "DIANA, I NEED YOU TO RIP OFF Z''S ARM, RIGHT NOW."


    It was strange to see Emily giving orders and using Diana¡¯s first name.


    Diana jumps a bit, and quickly runs over to me, hair bright white.


    "Okay! 1¡­ 2..."


    She quickly rips it off, breaking the bone as well, and then stomps on the arm killing all the worms.


    "3!"


    I fall backwards in pain, those worms would''ve kept feeding on me, I would''ve become an infinite feeding machine for infinite worms if Emily hadn''t stepped in and helped.


    ¡°That was sooo fun, look at it!!!¡±


    She pokes at my detached arm while laughing manically.


    My arm begins to grow back, slowly this time, I wasn''t sure if it would but luckily my healing surpasses even what I thought was possible.


    Now wasn''t the time to be on the ground in pain so I stood up and decided to find an escape route.


    The most important part of this was telling someone what was going on here, 1400 people supposedly lived here, so that meant at-least 1400 hosts.


    This whole place would need to be burnt to the ground.


    This was a catastrophe on a scale not really seen before in this cave city, somehow nobody realized that a whole town went missing.


    Most likely because this place is in the far outskirts and far away from any other town in the area.


    now that my arm is fully healed I clap my hands together, "okay so this is a nightmare, our one goal should be to tell some higher authority what is going on here."


    They both nod.


    "Diana, you''re strong right?"


    "Uhhhh¡­ not¡­ not really?"


    What.


    "I''m stronger than an average person but in the world of blessed humans I''m one of the weakest, I can''t kill any of these creatures."


    She bows down in shame, her hair pitch black.


    "Sorry."


    I felt bad.


    Great, I was hoping Diana could find a way out of here due to her overwhelming strength.


    Turns out the easy option is a no go.


    Second plan.


    Only someone like me could pull this one off.


    "I need a fire starter, or two sticks, anything"


    I say calmly, my plan is one that is incredibly dangerous and stupid, for me at-least.


    Emily stares at me angry, seemingly figuring out my plan.


    She orders me.


    "No. Don''t."


    End of Chapter 7.

 Self Destruction (1)

    Chapter 8: Self Destruction (1).


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    I am going to become a major distraction, setting fire to myself and then to the wooden buildings outside, this will let people know something bad is going on here due to the smoke rising.


    The reason I set myself on fire is because the worm-like creatures can''t survive heat, so my body will become its natural enemy if it tries to take me over.


    And since my body constantly heals itself, the fire won''t run out of fuel.


    Diana runs over to a couple cabinets and finds me some alcohol and matches.


    Her hair is white now, it pisses me off knowing she is excited about me setting myself on fire.


    Outside a ton of creatures have convened, waiting for the potential hosts to come outside. I can see animals, adults, children, all waiting like zombies, they aren''t making any noise, just waiting. There must be hundreds out there.


    Maybe that''s how they got this far without being noticed, they just waited instead of causing destruction.


    I¡¯m sure they all took over slowly and carefully, I''m pretty sure the hosts could act like normal people if they wanted to.


    The alcohol smelt bad as I poured it all over me, soaking my clothes.


    "Okay I need to leave this place through the window, then I''ll light this match"


    I don''t know why I was explaining the exact moves I was going to make, especially since they can''t help.


    I guess I was hoping one of them would object to my plan and find a better one. That didn''t happen of course.


    "You don¡¯t need to-¡­ good luck," Emily gives up trying to stop me.


    "Teach!! This is awesome!! You really are cool you know that? So badass!"


    Diana''s hair is glowing white, I guess my little act of stupid bravery rubbed off on her.


    I go to the second floor and climb up to the roof through a window, if I jump from here I can easily make a run to the middle of the town.


    I didn''t want to set myself on fire just yet because I didn''t want to set this house on fire with Diana and Emily in it.


    And also, I didn''t know if I was even going to be able to move while in that sort of pain.


    I wasn''t sure if my muscles would heal faster than the fire would burn them, a gruesome thought.


    Burning is one of the worst ways to die I''m pretty sure.


    The creatures were now all around the house, just waiting, they haven''t noticed I''m on top of the building yet.


    I need to lead them away.


    Alright, here goes nothing.


    I jump off the building, rolling onto the soft grass.


    Shit that hurt a lot more than I thought.


    I get up and sprint as fast as I can, but my small body can only run so fast.


    Instantly the creatures begin to run after me, shooting the worms out towards me.


    I dodge and weave through the various animals and humans trying to hold me down and knock me over.


    Okay, Okay! Urgh couple worms got me, it''s fine. It''s fine, I should be fine for a minute or two.


    Its fine its fine, it''s only a couple worms.


    It hurts. It hurts.


    I could feel them burying into my body as I ran as fast as I could towards the center of the town. Where the most buildings were, the most fuel.


    Why am I doing this? Why do I put so much effort in? What¡¯s the alternative to this?


    The perfect spot was about 30 seconds away.


    It felt like hours with my adrenaline pumping through me.


    I think I lost the ability to control my arm, the worms really work fast huh.


    My arm was flailing in the air as if I was having a seizure, making it hard for me to keep balance while running.


    I trip and fall, guess I lost the ability to use my legs too,Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.


    Well here goes nothing.


    I struggle against myself to grab the match, my other hand trying to stop me, I light the match on the box I placed on the ground and put it near my body.


    I erupt into flames.


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    Diana is sitting on the dusty rocking chair, rocking back and forth, she is fidgeting with her clothes, clearly scared by the situation they are in.


    Emily just waits by the window, she was watching Z run through the field, it looked like he was struggling.


    Now he is too far away to observe.


    "Teach sure is cool huh! It''s so awesome what he is doing."


    Emily''s face twists in anger.


    She softly spoke while looking out the window.


    "Why couldn''t you help him?"


    "Huh? Speak up Emily.¡±


    Emily spoke up, spitting out the same question.


    "WHY couldn''t you help him?"


    Diana jumps at the question, she is confused.


    ¡°I said why. I''m too weak to help him, besides he is practically immortal so-"


    "No. You can clearly help him, Diana. You are just too scared."


    Emily turns to face Diana, her eyes piercing her like daggers.


    "Don''t call me Diana, call me Miss Able or something of higher status, like Master."


    Diana''s hair goes a little bit red.


    Emily looks down at Diana.


    "You could solve this whole situation yourself if you actually tried for once, you could''ve gotten us out of here,


    but no, you''re too scared, scared of getting hurt, so you gave up.


    That''s why you stick around people far weaker than you and play with them like toys."


    Diana''s hair grows redder, it''s shaking a bit.


    All Diana does is smirk, hiding her insecurities.


    "Hmph! I guess trusted teach had a better plan, and besides! I''m not ready to fight yet, you''ve seen me do sword practice with holly! I''m useless at fighting."


    She had no qualms about being called weak to get out of situations that could harm her.


    Emily''s voice gets louder.


    "Z''s plan was to set himself on fire and become a living smoke signal, you didn''t even try to stop him when you could clearly get us all out of here safely, you don''t even try at all, you''ve never tried at anything Diana."


    "I don''t appreciate your tone Emily, stop now."


    Diana stands up, she is slightly shorter than Emily, so she raises her head high.


    Emily doesn''t move when Diana steps into her personal space.


    "Or what? You''re going to kill me? Kill me like you killed my mom?"


    Emily''s voice is stern now, her usual calm tone is replaced by anger.


    Clearly the situation has gotten to her as well.


    Diana looks shocked by her words.


    "Hey, I never meant to do that."


    That seemed to anger Emily even more.


    "YOU DID! And now, look at you, all that strength and you decide to hide away like a scared little dog. Making Z go through unimaginable pain just so you don''t have to try.


    No wonder everyone sees you as a disappointment."


    Dianas hair bursts glowing bright red. Strands are reaching out like static lightning, waiting to pierce the person in front of her.


    "I''ve been nice to you Emily, I even saw you as a friend, don''t continue to talk down to me."


    Emily''s eyes don''t falter.


    "Or what Diana? You''re going to rip me apart just because you weren''t good enough at piano? Or kill me because I messed up your meal? Or push me off a building because ''I was boring?''


    Fucking do it then Diana, I hate you, I hate you so much. Kill me and show me how strong you are."


    "You¡­ you can''t say these things to me Emily. You''re fired. I fire you, how about that? A bit of mercy, I''ll make sure you can never get a job again, you''ll live with these rats in the outer circle."


    Emily slaps Diana.


    Diana just stares into the eyes of Emily.


    Diana was about to have an outburst, you could tell by how her mouth was trembling in anger, the twitch in her eyes.


    She then turns away, looking to be holding back tears.


    "Meanie."


    That was all she could mutter out.


    She walks away, back onto the rocking chair.


    Emily is confused, she would usually kill anyone who did even a quarter of what she did today.


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    Keep moving forward.


    It''s all I''m good for.


    I set myself alight about 120 steps away from my destination, which was this town''s bar.


    God damn it, not even adrenaline can stop this pain that surrounds my body. It¡¯s getting harder to move.


    I saw the bar when we were walking through this place.


    I was planning to cause a huge explosion.


    But each step I took was extremely difficult, my body was falling apart then healing again and again. The fire was all over my body.


    The hosts were just surrounding me, keeping a distance. Too scared to attack me.


    Just a little further.


    I fell over, urgh I can just crawl.


    My body scrapes against the stone ground as I crawl through the street.


    Why am I doing this? Why am I putting so much effort into saving everyone?


    Is this what I get for being a decent person?


    I reach the bar and push the door open, it''s empty of people. Good.


    The hosts just wait outside, they were obviously confused on how to turn the burning man into a host.


    There were various heavy liquors on the shelves, as I crawl in, I set the building alight with my body.


    I should just give up, can I die now? I''ve done my job. This place will explode soon, no doubt this explosion will kill the 200 hosts that followed me, meaning there will be still 1000+ left alive.


    I barely dented the total number. That''s a shitty thought.


    Surely the explosion will kill me. Surely.


    Urgh I might as well go out with a bang.


    I collect all the liquor and put it in one place, basically making a huge Molotov.


    When this building collapses from the heat, these glasses will break and explode everywhere.


    This pain sucks. Everything sucks.


    Creaking, I can see the wood warping, can''t this be any quicker?


    It''s getting hard to breathe.


    Fine, I''ll just open the bottle myself.


    Twist, a popping sound, almost immediately flames reach the bottle.


    And.


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    The crystals in the sky were a nice bright shade of white, signaling it was the middle of the day.


    Immy was walking through the markets in the outer circle, something she liked to do in her time off.


    Now that her daughter had a new tutor, she could finally indulge in things such as these.


    She was wearing the robe she always wore.


    Immy was with holly, Diana''s sword trainer.


    Holly is by Immy''s side as a bodyguard.


    "So, when is Sophie getting here?"


    Immy looks down at holly, holly was the below average height for a girl but Immy was tall for a girl and always wore high heels, making her seem huge in comparison.


    Holly was wearing light leather armor, it did not go well with her incredibly pale skin.


    "She is probably running late, we are supposed to meet at the adventurer hall." Immy holds a finger to her mouth, pondering.


    "But we are not at the adventurer hall?"


    "You are right! Let''s go then!"


    Immy was a strange person.


    The adventurer hall was a place where you could exchange outside goods for cash, such as modern material and equipment like walkie talkies, batteries or scrap metal.


    They arrive at the adventurer hall swiftly, Sophie had invited Amelia to come along on this fun market shopping day.


    She did not look excited. Ever since seeing her brother again she has been in a downward spiral, Sophie has been worried about her so she brung Amelia everywhere she went.


    Sophie was wearing a blue dress that went well with her blue tinted hair, while Amelia was just wearing basic rags, something a poor person in the outer circle would wear.


    Holly jumped at the sight of Sophie.


    "SIS!!!!" She ran over and hugged Sophie, squeezing her tight.


    They were twins.


    Sophie smiles "glad you''re doing well holly, how''s Diana doing?"


    "She is still crap at swordplay, but I''m trying my best"


    Holly gives Sophie a teethly grin then turns her head towards Amelia.


    "Hey Amelia! Haven''t seen you in ages how have you been?"


    Amelia doesn''t reply.


    "Amy has been in a bit of rut recently, she probably doesn''t want to talk about it"


    Holly doesn''t understand but agrees not to dig too deep.


    Immy is just standing a bit away, enjoyingly watching the conversation.


    Sophie speaks up "so Immy, what''s the special occasion? you rarely invite us out to places."


    Immy adjusts the robe she is wearing.


    "Oh, you know, just had some free time off, wanted to see you and also ask you something."


    "Oh? What is it?"


    "I can''t ask you while Amelia is here."


    That gave away pretty quickly what Immy was going to ask, it had something to do with the monster that looked like Amelia''s brother.


    "Gotcha, we will talk about it later."


    Sophie pats Amelia on the back.


    Just then the faint sound of an explosion in the distance echoes through the cave.


    Holly jumps "woahhhhh that was cool!!"


    Immy takes a few steps back, trying to find out where the explosion came from.


    After 30 seconds of thinking she began to shake.


    Smoke was far east, in the corner of the city, it was barely visible due to how far away it was.


    "Sophie, Holly, Amelia we need to go to Baker''s estate"


    Sophie looks confused.


    "Like Miss Baker? That crazy woman? Why''s that?"


    Immy looks genuinely concerned, it''s the most emotion she has shown to these girls.


    "That''s where my daughter is right now, and that''s where the explosion was."


    End of Chapter 8.

 Self Destruction (2)

    Chapter 9: Self Destruction (2).


    1.


    "Screw this I''m going out there, that explosion means Z probably succeeded, I don''t want him to suffer more than he has already."


    She readies a bow in her hand, its the one she bought from the hardware store, and a few arrows.


    She also grabs the knife she took from Z, looking at the blood for a second, before putting it into her pocket.


    Emily begins to open the front door, all the hosts followed Z when he escaped so there were none outside at this time.


    Diana is still sitting in the rocking chair, rocking back and forth.


    "Fine! Go! See if I care!"


    Emily doesn''t even reply, she just leaves, leaving Diana all alone.


    She felt cold.


    "Stupid, stupid stupid Emily, I was your best friend Emily, but this is how you treat me?"


    She stomps on the floor in anger, her hair has gone from red to black.


    She grabs the matches, so she can watch the fire, she was a bit of a pyromaniac.


    She lights it and it burns her a bit.


    "Owwwww" she drops the match.


    "That really hurt."


    Diana wasn''t used to pain, she could usually avoid it, but accidentally burning herself made her think.


    "Is this how teach feels right now? But, a lot more?"


    She rubs the burn, it hurts.


    She didn''t like to think about the emotions of other people, she had no way of connecting to other people either.


    She was an actual sociopath.


    "Emily hurt me, was she that mad about her mom? I didn''t mean to hurt her mom, she was yelling at me¡­"


    She was dealing with strange emotions, she considered Emily a sort of friend, since she was the servant who has been around her for the longest time without dying.


    She didn''t hate to spend time with Emily, she usually went along with everything she said and did.


    But.


    What Emily said hurt her emotionally.


    "Is this pain I¡¯m feeling? Does Emily feel it all the time about her mom?"


    "If my mom died, would I feel sad?"


    She is just muttering to herself.


    Diana needs to figure out how to stop feeling this pain, she assumes this is some sort of curse Emily can release. She just needs to get Emily to forgive her.


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    Nothingness,


    No taste no smell no vision no thoughts.


    Blown to bits, not even my brain survived the explosion, I was hoping this would''ve killed me, but nope.


    I feel my body slowly growing on top of another building, this is where a piece of my brain fell.


    I regain my ability to think, and my memories, somehow the healing restores those too.


    Funny.


    It took some time, but I felt my skeleton grow back around my brain, then the muscle, then my skin, it was surprisingly calming.


    I was dead for a few seconds I think, all I remember is the abyss, my consciousness floating in space.


    Then I was pulled back into this body.


    I begin to move, it feels weird, like my overall bone structure and muscles have changed somehow.


    Standing up I can see the burning town.


    The town hall of this small town is full of wooden buildings, so I basically set the entire place on fire after the explosion.


    I''m no longer burning though, which felt great.


    I also didn''t have any clothes, they were all burnt in the fire, and unluckily, my hair was used as fuel.


    I''m bald now, for some reason this annoyed me more than it should''ve.


    I could never pull this look off.


    "Haah"


    I laugh about where my priorities are.


    The building I was on was burning rapidly, probably was about to collapse, I quickly and effortlessly climbed down into an ally, now I just need to run back to the Bakers estate and get Diana and Emily out.This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.


    Easy.


    This plan was going surprisingly well, I turned a corner and saw charred remains of some of the hosts, I hopefully got all of them.


    I turned my head left, which should''ve been the exit to the field, it was full of hosts who stayed a distance away, blocking the only path from this street, rabbits, cows, humans, dogs, sheep, pigs.


    They all saw me when I turned the corner.


    Alright time to run.


    I turned the other way and grabbed a burning piece of plank wood.


    It burnt my hand as I held it, but it was a good enough weapon.


    The hosts swarm around me, but every time they get close, I waft the burning wood at them, they aren''t even shooting the worms at me.


    Surprisingly docile, they must think I''m a demon or something, taking out 200 of their brothers with ease.


    I''m guessing they are also confused about how I survived them infecting me twice and the explosion.


    Alright I just need to lead them a little bit into an alleyway where that building was close to collapsing.


    There were about 60 hosts around me, I was hoping to rack up more, but they all probably dispersed after the explosion.


    I walk slowly backwards into the burning building, and kick the now weak support beams, they break easily, the building collapses setting everyone in a 10-meter radius on fire.


    Covering everyone in burning embers.


    Urgh here comes the pain again.


    I just wait until the wood crushing me becomes weak enough for me to go through.


    It felt like an eternity.


    Let it end, let me die.


    These are the only thoughts that run through my head when I''m in pain.


    My god is that all I can think about? Is pain really enough to make me give up?


    It feels like I''m swimming in a vat of lava.


    Urgh I''m so cowardly. Why can''t I just be useful?


    I eventually reach the top and slide down the ashes of the building.


    By now, a lot of the other buildings have collapsed, it looks like this place was hit by a nuke.


    I hear a scream in the field.


    "Z, WHERE ARE YOU!"


    Urgh don''tshout,it''ll only attract more of the hosts.


    I crawled up the ashes to find out who it was.


    I see Emily, running away from a couple hosts on a field, two men were chasing after her with manic movements.


    Urghh I gotta help.


    I swiftly run down, I don''t even know if I could take down these men without fire.


    On my way I pick up a piece of heated metal from the rubble, I''m not sure where it''s from but it''s glowing red and instantly burnt into the bone of my hand.


    I''m gonna need some serious therapy after all this pain, there is no doubt I could have some actual mental health issues after suffering this much.


    I run out to the field and see her, she had hit one of the men with an arrow but couldn''t get another shot in.


    She was surprisingly good with a bow.


    She sees me and turns her head, running faster.


    Crap I can''t catch up, the men and her are faster than me.


    I just decided to do a Hail Mary, a stupid decision, I throw the metal rod that was super-heated by the fire in-between the distance of Emily and the two men, setting the field grass ablaze instantly.


    The men stop and try to find a way around, and that gives me time to finally catch up and push them into the flames, easily killing them.


    Emily just watches me.


    "What are you doing out here??? I told you to stay in the farmhouse, it''s not safe."


    I shouted out, still running towards her.


    She averts her eyes to the sky.


    "I... sorry¡­ I just didn''t want you to feel pain..."


    That was actually really sweet. Still stupid though.


    But we have a real problem.


    In this field, now that the fire had made all the hosts leave and disperse out of the town, this largish field was the only safe haven for them.


    Meaning around 1000+ hosts were slowly making their way towards us, cutting us from the path to escape.


    We were completely surrounded.


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    The first ones to arrive at the scene were Sophie and Holly, they ran on top of the buildings clearing the long distance with their blessed physicalabilities.


    They reach the edge of the town, which was the huge park pathway, it was basically a man-made forest.


    They could see all the smoke rising in the distance.


    There were already guards setting up a perimeter.


    As they try to walk through, some guy stops them.


    "Where do you think you''re going? Two pretty young things like yourself?"


    It was a knight, he had an aura of confidence and cockiness that surpassed most royalty in this city.


    His helmet was off, he was unusually attractive in a noble way.


    Weirdly his hair was light green and shined bright in the white crystals light.


    His armor was red with gold linings, signaling that he desperately wanted to stand out.


    Royals come from the royalist circle, it''s separate from the outer circle and inner circle.


    It''s where the huge castle is, and where the useless king lives.


    Most of the pricks live there, and this was one standing before them.


    Sophie steps towards him "do you know who we are?"


    "The Caldwell twins I assume, this whole situation is above you."


    This really pissed Sophie off.


    "What did you just say? Above me?"


    She stupidly reached for her knife.


    But a force was stopping her from moving.


    "Attacking a government official? Your reputation precedes you."


    She just tries harder and harder to reach for the knife, nothing is working.


    He simply chuckles.


    "I''ll let this one slide; I assume someone you know was in this town? I know the twins love to mingle with the gutter rats."


    She can''t move her arm, was this man blessed? Why hasn''t she heard of him before?


    "Since you seem to be a bit of an airhead let me actually explain the situation."


    Sophie just wanted to rip this guy apart.


    "We can''t risk having a blessed individual being taken over by a parasite, over 1400+ people have become hosts, surely even you understand your limits?"


    This made Sophie even more mad, because it actually made sense.


    A surprisingly strong and mature argument, he was dealing with these worm creatures it would be best to take a safe and calm approach, slowly killing them with fire.


    He simply went back to ordering soldiers to secure the perimeter.


    At least he is effective, even though he has that royal aura that pisses Sophie off.


    She hates the fact she and Holly used to be considered as nobles.


    Her hand suddenly can move again, slightly strained.


    "What do we do sis?"


    Holly asks while tugging at Sophie''s hair. She really dislikes it when Sophie gets mad, so she plays with her hair to soothe her nerves.


    Sophie began thinking. If she went in, no doubt she would be breaking the law.


    Diana was in there though.


    Sophie had only talked to Diana a few times, she was a very weird individual, much like her mom.


    And the rumors from the outer circle folk''s families who get hired there are less than stellar.


    About 20 people had gone missing after working for Immy.


    And, from the stories Holly told, she wasn''t too good at planning and combat, if this whole town had really been infected by that parasite, she would probably be dead by now.


    It''s not about strength in a situation like this, it''s about cunning and strategic thinking.


    She must''ve been dead already, taken over, that might''ve been what the explosion was.


    Maybe Diana is going on a rampage after becoming a host.


    Either way it was too dangerous.


    She looks back at Holly.


    Wait.


    Holly?


    Where was she?


    "Dumbass." She mutters to herself.


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    Completely surrounded, we couldn''t even get to Baker''s farmhouse.


    The hosts were walking slowly, clearly knowing they had won in the end.


    They work as a sort of hive mind, so it makes sense they''d try to preserve energy when they feel half of their colony burning alive.


    An idea pops into my mind.


    "Emily, can I rip your shirt off?"


    She looks at me then looks away instantly, her ears look red.


    "Huh???"


    Ah shit she must''ve taken that the wrong way.


    "I need a ripped piece of cloth to write a message on, I''ll use my blood and an arrow to shoot it through the farmhouse window."


    "Oh! Okay yeah! That makes sense!"


    Her face is completely red. It was kind of fun seeing her like this.


    I''d have to make a deal with Diana with this message, even if she is weak, she should be able to clear a path so they can barricade up in the safety of the farmhouse.


    Emily rips a bit of her sleeve, I prick my finger with the arrow and write on the clothing with it like a fountain pen.


    I do this fairly quickly, I wrap the small cloth around the arrow and shoot it through the bottom window.


    Bullseye!


    Man,I''mpretty good at this.


    Now hopefully she takes the bait.


    Instantly Diana barges through the door with bright glowing white hair, it''s longer and flowing with no gravity.


    "What kind of offer was this?"


    Emily looks at me worried, but then again, looks away instantly.


    "Something she can''t refuse I guess."


    I had really sold my soul here.


    As soon as Diana made an appearance, all the hosts ran towards her, her hair quickly began to automatically attack any living being nearby.


    I knew the parasites would probably try their hardest to turn a blessed being into a host, so her showing up and showing off her abilities made me and Emily low priority, basically invisible.


    Great now I just need to sneak into the farmhouse.


    "Hey Emily? Can you climb?"


    We would have to run around and climb to the second story window I climbed out before earlier.


    "Maybe..."


    She sighs.


    Okay whatever good enough, not like a no was going to stop us anyway.


    I could actively see Diana''s hair getting slower, the bodies of the hosts just piled on top of each other, each strand had to counteract the worms that were being shot out at high speeds.


    I grabbed Emily''s hand and ran to the side of the house, we could easily get there, the hosts don''t see us as a priority at all now due to the opportunity to make a blessed child a host came along.


    I climb the ridges of the planks, effortlessly getting to the second-floor window and climbing in.


    "Uh¡­ I don''t think I can do that."


    There was a window downstairs, but I didn''t want to risk breaking it and having the hosts have a way in.


    Urgh.


    I jump down.


    My ankle rolls, it hurts for a second then heals back.


    "Get on my back"


    This sucks.


    She looks at me and slowly clings around me, shaking.


    "Okay¡­ sorry¡­I''m really sorry..."


    I need to put clothes on, this is so embarrassing.


    She is actually lighter than my backpack was when I was climbing those rocks, this should be easy.


    I began climbing, she squeezed onto my small body, she was a little bigger than me, so it was an awkward way to climb.


    Her arms tighten as I get higher, her legs are around my waist and her arms are tucked around my armpits.


    This is probably the closest I''ve been to a girl.


    I get through the window.


    Uhm...


    "You can let go now."


    Is she frozen in fear or something?"


    "Right!"


    She lets go of my back and stands far away.


    "Go tell Diana to come back inside, I''m going to put clothes on quickly"


    Clearly this situation was just as embarrassing for her since her face was bright pink.


    She runs downstairs.


    This situation isn''t over yet, hopefully people are coming over to save us.


    The smell on this second floor is awful, it gets worse the moment I begin to open the door to the bedroom.


    There is a corpse on the bed.


    I think I found Miss Baker.


    Suicide, I think? Maybe shedidn''t want to be turned into a host.


    Makes sense.


    Time to find some clothes. I''mdefinitely going to need therapy after this, genuinely.


    End of Chapter 9.

 Self Destruction (3)

    Chapter 10: Self Destruction (3).


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    I went through Miss Baker¡¯s wardrobe. It feels incredibly disrespectful and wrong, its like I''m stealing from an old lady. Because I am stealing from an old lady.


    There were only dresses in here, maybe it wasn''t a suicide, and she just died of old age because my god are all these clothes outdated, looks like something my grandma would''ve worn.


    I managed to find a simple shirt and pants, they have flowers and polka dots on them.


    Better than nothing, I guess.


    I look into the mirror for a split second, I instantly recognize I look different.


    I wipe the dust from it, to get a clearer reflection.


    It''s like I''ve aged, I look around 1 year older now, I still have an androgynous young face but there is a difference in complexion.


    When am I going to hit puberty? I really want facial hair. I could rock a sick beard i think, id look wise like a wizard.


    My eyes also look redder, the brown color is almost overpowered by the red making my eyes look maroon.


    I look scary, if it wasn''t for my cuteish face, I''d be afraid of this person staring back at me.


    I didn''t have to go downstairs because both Diana and Emily were waiting for me as I opened the door.


    Diana looked super out of breath, her hair looked gray due to over exertion.


    I hear banging at the door, ah they''re actively trying to break through now.


    "Alright, let''s barricade the second floor."


    That was really the only sensible option.


    Luckily there was a huge bookshelf just waiting to fill up the only entrance up the stairs.


    Diana easily tips it over, a huge crashing sound reverberates through my ears as it lands by the stair entrance, that shelf was heavy, it damaged a lot of the floor too.


    "Okay, well now we just wait."


    I really had no more secret plans.


    Emily and Diana are just looking at me.


    "Have you gotten taller? What''s with those eyes?"


    Diana asks, I used to be the same height as her but now I''m about 1 and a half inch taller, it''s a very noticeable change since it seemed to happen within an hours'' time.


    Oh right, my whole body blew up, maybe that made me grow taller? Wait, so if I keep dying in ways where my whole body is destroyed will I just keep getting older? Eventually becoming an old man, that sounds awful.


    That¡¯d probably be a way to kill me.


    Who knows.


    "Yeah, I think so, but let''s not worry about that."


    "Why not, it''s not like we have much else to do? Also, you look weird bald."


    "Thanks..."


    Suddenly she looks sad for a second, her face trembles a bit, she asks.


    ¡°So! About the offer? Can I use it now?¡±


    Oh great. Really?


    The offer was to let her do anything to me, since she probably was told by Immy not to torture me or do anything painful since she would get in trouble, so this would be her only chance to harm the interesting immortal boy.


    It was a stupid offer, I knew she was super interested in my healing abilities, I had no doubt she¡¯d be excited about the opportunity.


    ¡°Yeah, sure.¡± I sighed, she was so immature.


    Her hair becomes a brighter shade of white, clearly showing she is excited.


    Does she really have no survival instincts? I expected her to at least wait until we were all home and not in a situation where we could all die.


    What''s she going to do? I''m scared thinking about it. It was probably going to hurt.


    Suddenly she runs up to me, and I feel the wet presses of lips on my cheek.


    What. What? Huh?


    Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    She jumps back ¡°There! I just wanted to reward you for your hard work, my mom says boys like it when you kiss them.¡±


    She steps forward, leaning downwards with her head up so I can see her eyes more clearly, while looking intently into my eyes ¡°So do you forgive me? For not stopping you from setting yourself on fire? And for all the pain you went through?¡±


    She is giving me a look of fake sincerity, but who cares, if she wants forgiveness I can easily give it to her.


    ¡°Yes, I forgive you, no takesiesbacksies though, you completed the offer.¡±


    She smiled.


    ¡°Curse lifted!¡± she pumps her arm in the air.


    What was the point of this? This didn''t seem like something she would do.


    Emily is awfully quiet, and Diana keeps looking at her.


    Suddenly, Diana bows.


    "I''m sorry."


    What? Did she lose her mind?


    This didn''t seem directed at me, it seemed directed at Emily.


    Diana looks up, still bowing.


    Emily doesn''t say anything to her, giving her a disgusted look.


    Nobody says anything for a while.


    Diana, still bowing, softly, shouts her demands.


    "Okay! Now say you forgive me!"


    Forgive you for what?


    "No."


    Emily''s eyes look cold and empty, I knew she didn''t like Diana, but I never expected her to show those feelings openly in front of her.


    Diana just shakes a bit, before walking away, running into a guest room and slamming the door.


    "Care to explain?"


    Emily shakes a bit, tugging at her own hair.


    "No¡­ it''s fine... nothing for you to worry about¡­ but just so you know. I''ve been fired, so we won''t see each other again after this. If we get out alive that is..."


    This seemed to happen out of nowhere, they must''ve had a fight while I was away, I really hope I didn''t cause it with my stupid plan.


    I didn¡¯t know what to do in this situation, I always hated drama.


    "How about you become my assistant then? Tutors'' assistant?"


    Emily just looks at me.


    "I''m not sure Miss Imogen-"


    "It''s fine, she will say yes"


    How could she say no after I basically saved her daughter''s life? Well hopefully saved her life we aren''t out of the woods yet.


    I really didn''t want to deal with Diana alone, so this was an incredibly selfish request on my part.


    Especially since I don''t even know the context of what happened.


    She just looks at me. Mouth wide open.


    "Okay¡­"


    I feel like she was super conflicted.


    Great, now we are back to status quo at least.


    We both jump at the sound of the front door breaking open, they''re probably swarming the bottom floor now.


    I really hope someone comes soon.


    2.


    "HOLLY!!"


    I shout, God damn I forgot how fast she was.


    Sophie finally catches up to her,


    They were both running at supernatural speeds.


    "You''re so stupid Holly, stupid Holly! That should be your name, stupid idiot Holly from Dumb town!"


    "What??? Rude. My student is in there, I need show her what real swordsmanship can do, so she will be motivated"


    Holly is moving her body like a puppet,the majority of people find her blessing disgusting and the work of the devil.


    Sophie doesn''t mind though, she has accepted Holly for who she is.


    "Okay so do you have a plan??"


    Sophie was hoping Holly didn''t just run into this with no cards to play.


    "Plan? We just go in and kill things then save Diana, right?"


    My god.


    They arrive at the burning town, almost 70% of the town hall area is burnt to the ground.


    In the distance, ahead of the town hall was the field.


    That huge field housed Baker''s estate.


    It would take too long to go around, so they''d have to run on top of the burning buildings.


    "Holly?"


    They were on the same wavelength, due to being twins and all.


    "Yeah, I understand the plan, we will be fine, it''s only fire."


    Hah, only fire.


    What they were about to do was just a huge fire walk. Fire run would be a better description.


    Luckily, they had shoes, but Sophie''s dress was bound to get ruined.


    This really irritates her, she worked hard to pay for this dress.


    "Alright sis let''s go!!! Can''t keep Diana waiting!"


    Diana is probably dead.


    Hopefully not, but probably.


    Maybe she is just hiding inside the baker''s estate house.


    Why would Diana be here in the first place? I hadn''t been explained the whole situation.


    They begin running through the ruins, dodging buildings that collapsed under them and around them.


    There were so many charred remains of animals and humans.


    I wish I could''ve come here earlier, how did all this happen with nobody realizing until it was too late?


    The town hall area was small, so they quickly made work through it and arrived near the huge field.


    What they saw did not fill them with confidence.


    What had to be over 1000+ hosts, making their way to one building.


    It was Baker''s estate.


    "Sis¡­ we can''t kill that many can we..."


    Holly for the first time looks lost.


    Sophie simply replies with a simple.


    "Yeah¡­"


    3.


    It''s getting very, very bad outside.


    The bottom floor is completely filled with hosts, they are trying to break apart the whole building by slamming their bodies into the supports.


    What to do, what to do?


    The only thing I could think of was another explosive.


    But Emily and Diana wouldn''t survive that.


    Actually.


    I knock on the door Diana is hiding in, Emily keeps her distance.


    "What do you want!"


    "Do you have the ability to protect yourself from an explosion? With your hair?"


    "No¡­ My hair doesn''t do well with heat, any shrapnel or blunt force would be fine though."


    "Okay that''s fine. Would you also be able to protect Emily in that barrier as well?"


    "Only if she forgives me."


    I sigh.


    "Miss Abel, if you really want to be forgiven, you need to put in the work, do as many good things as possible. This can be a start, right?"


    ¡°I did a good thing to you... and you forgave me... why can''t she? I want this curse lifted... please...¡±


    ¡°Well you have to be alive to have Emily forgive you, so saving her will be a start.


    I still have no clue what she needs to forgive you for.


    I hear the door unlocking.


    Diana comes out, it looks like she has been crying.


    "So teach¡­ what''s the plan?"


    This one was stupid, much more stupid than setting myself on fire.


    But if we wanted to kill all these things all at once, it seemed like a good way to.


    Of course I could set myself on fire again, but that would only take out a few hundred.


    ¡®Project badass crystal explosion awesome.¡¯


    (Plan name by Diana)


    Making explosives is very easy in this world, especially with the new resources that suddenly appeared.


    The main one I could use here was glistening blue snow.


    Most people had glistening blue snow in their house, luckily there was some upstairs in the bedroom.


    It was basically a spice, you use it in very VERY small amounts, you always add it to cold foods and drinks, it apparently makes whatever you put it in incredibly refreshing, like having cold water after a long day working in the heat.


    Why not in hot food or drink though? Because when it''s heated it melts through basically Everything.


    Luckily, I learnt about it in the book I had read last night.


    And also luckily, this person, miss baker had a whole barrel full of it, probably stockpiling it.


    She also consumed a ton before dying, it was probably the quickest way she could before the hosts got her, sounds like a gruesome way to die though.


    Since this field was near the wall of the cave, I was sure I could get Diana to chuck me far enough to start climbing it.


    I can stuff the powder into a backpack, since I am used to climbing withsomething heavy on my back.


    My god this was such a stupid plan.


    I didn''t want to just blow the place up, apparently Diana''s hair doesn''t do too well against heat.


    So, I needed something else.


    The huge crystals above us, if they fell it would cause an explosion similar to a small meteorite.


    Diana assured me her hair could defend her against shrapnel and blunt objects.


    And they could get out of this with no life-threatening injuries.


    Emily pulls on my clothes while I''m explaining the plan.


    ¡°if you break a crystal, you''ll be locked up and killed. It is one of the greatest sins.¡±


    Well obviously, I''d be basically committing an act of terrorism on the cave city, these crystals that surround the caves roof are the only reason any of these people in this city are alive. I read up on it, it''s what lets grass and foliage grow down here.


    I bluntly reply, ¡°I don''t care.¡±


    I really didn''t, this was the only option to get them all out alive, if nobody was coming to save them that is.


    I''m not planning on sitting idly by and hoping a saving grace comes.


    Me and Diana climb up on the roof, Emily follows too even though she doesn''t want to.


    I told them as soon as the crystal begins to fall, for Diana to jump as far as she can away, while holding Emily of course.


    ¡°So, teach! Any last words?¡±


    Any last words? If I were to somehow die here, what would be the best thing to say.


    ¡°Earn forgiveness, I guess.¡±


    It sounded cringy, but Diana seemed to take it to heart, her hair glowing a little bit.


    I think Diana thinks I''m cool now, I guess I did pull off some crazy shit today.


    Diana grabs me by the body with two arms like I''m a large rock and chucks me far into the cave walls.


    It was quite the distance; she was unbelievably strong.


    My whole body crashed into the wall, but I managed to get a grip on a piece of rock.


    I feel stronger for some reason, maybe it had something to do with my body getting taller?


    Now time for the boring part.


    This would take a while to pull off, I''m not even sure I could climb overhang to get to the huge crystal I was planning to melt. It was the one directly over the bakers estate, glowing yellow since it was the afternoon.


    I might as well try.


    Me failing only costs the life of all of us, so.


    Yeah so, I can''t fall, not once.


    End of chapter 10.

 Self Destruction (4)

    Chapter 11: Self Destruction (4)


    1.


    Huff


    She hasn¡¯t run like this in ages


    Her robe is making her sweaty, breathing unsteady.


    She used to run a lot when she was younger, but now age has got to her, her lavish lifestyle has made her incredibly unfit.


    I ran on pure fear of what might¡¯ve happened to my daughter.


    Immy and Amelia arrived at the perimeter, it took some time.


    What they both saw when they arrived at the perimeter was terrifying with or without context.


    The whole forest park that leads to the town is being burnt down to the ground. The men are in full protective gear, something bad has definitely happened here.


    They make their way through the perimeter but are stopped by a man in red knight''s armour.


    ¡°Imogen Abel. It¡¯s a pleasure to meet you.¡±


    Fans, they are everywhere, she hates her fans.


    Immy just walks by him, ignoring him.


    Suddenly she can¡¯t move a joint in her body.


    ¡°Where do you think you¡¯re going? You can¡¯t go inside of the exclusion zone, it¡¯s dangerous for someone like you.¡±


    The knight walks in front of her, since she can¡¯t turn her neck to look at him.


    ¡°Is there anyone important within the perimeter we should know about?¡±


    Immy doesn¡¯t exactly know what is going on here, but answers truthfully, she has a hunch this had something to do with an unholy creature outbreak.


    ¡°My¡± huff ¡°my daughter¡±


    Immy¡¯s exhaustion is catching up to her.


    ¡°Diana? The blessed disappointment? Oh sorry I didn¡¯t mean to insult your child, that is just what she is known for. You understand.¡±


    Immy didn''t care for what labels Diana had, she just wanted Diana to have an easy life.


    A time ago she used to force her to do things she didn¡¯t like, like piano and reading.


    But that always ended in someone dying, so she gave up trying to have Diana live a normal life.


    He turns to the people who are burning the forest and the grass.


    He shouts.


    ¡°The situation has changed. Go home.¡±


    The men burning the trees swiftly make their exit.


    He turns back to Immy.


    ¡°Your daughter is likely dead. I¡¯ll let the higher ups know and we will try to keep her corpse intact when we kill the host she has become.¡±


    He then walks away, probably to collect a team of talented blessed humans to take care of the situation quickly.


    Immy is furious, not with him but with how bad this disaster was. She knows what monster they are dealing with now, she was the main researcher who studied these parasites.


    Her mind is racing, trying to find blame and purpose.


    How could I be so stupid? Letting my daughter go to a place like this? it¡¯s because I trusted that monster to take care of her, if only he didn¡¯t ask to do a fake rabbit hunt.


    No, it¡¯s not his fault¡­ he was trying his best.


    His body is probably a constant feeding source for these parasites now.


    He is going to be a problem, the amount of sustenance from his body those worms will get from him will be a disaster within itself.


    Not even considering that a blessed possibly became a host, my daughter¡­


    Only twice before has a blessed person become a host to these parasites, both times it ended in tragedy.


    But that was outside the cave, a disaster of this scale inside of the cave city has not yet been seen before.


    There was nothing she could do but wonder what was happening in there.


    She can move again, her joints hurts, what an interesting blessing. She hasn¡¯t seen that one before, she was only interested in it for a second before snapping back to reality.


    Amelia just stands near her uselessly and decides to ask.


    ¡°Are you okay?¡±


    She is still here? Why did she even follow me? I forgot she was a good person, urgh annoying.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine Amelia, go home. I¡¯ll stay here.¡±


    Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.


    ¡°No I¡¯ll stay with you, I know what its like to lose someone close to you.¡±


    You DONT though, a brother is not at all similar to a daughter, and besides, your brother is basically alive.


    ¡°hahahaha¡±


    Why am I laughing?


    ¡°Immy?¡±


    Oh right, Amelia would hate me if she found out I was treating the corpse of her brother like a real person, which he basically is.


    Just leave me alone. Leave me alone.


    I¡¯ll just tell her, I don¡¯t care anymore.


    ¡°Your brother is in there.¡±


    ¡°Huh? My brother is dead Imogen, you know this.¡±


    ¡°He has your brother''s memories. Remember when I asked you to recount that story?


    The story about the day before the snow came, the person you captured recounted the exact same thing.


    Whether you like it or not that is your brother.¡±


    There, she probably hates me now and will leave me alone.


    Amelia just stares into space, snapping out of it after 30 seconds.


    ¡°Fuck you.¡±


    She runs the opposite direction.


    Hah¡­ peace and quiet. It¡¯s not like anything matters anymore if my daughter is dead.


    I wonder how Z is doing.


    He is in agony right now probably.


    Such a poor child. If he makes it out of here without my daughter though I¡¯ll make him pay.


    2.


    The sounds of hosts tearing apart the building gets louder and louder.


    They are just piling on top of each other, working as a unit to tear this place apart plank by plank.


    The entire building is shaking, there¡¯s not much time left.


    ¡°Do you think he is gonna fall Emily?¡±


    My neck hurts from looking up at Z climbing the side of the cave. He looks so cool though, I wish I could do that, but I¡¯d be too scared to go up that high.


    He has shown me time and time again he is smart and reliable today, he might actually be able to teach me things.


    I¡¯ll have to reward him when he comes back.


    I turn to see Emily, who seems to just be sitting on the only flat part of the roof, looking down.


    Emily didn¡¯t respond to my question


    Why is she still sulking. It¡¯s going to be a lot harder than I thought to make her forgive me, teach said if I just do nice things Emily will stop being so mean. I trust him.


    ¡°I unfire you Emily.¡±


    I¡¯m trying to coax any reaction out of her, I just want forgiveness, if I can get forgiveness I will stop feeling the pain in my heart.


    ¡°And... and I¡¯ll revive your mom, I¡¯ll figure out how to make her alive again!¡±


    Emily continues to look down.


    Is this offer not enough for you?


    ¡°If me and my mom work together, we can find a way to bring her back, she will be so much cooler than before, then it¡¯ll all be okay?¡±


    Diana begins to hear crying, why was she crying? I just promised to make her mom alive again, they must¡¯ve been tears of joy, yes!


    ¡°After we get out of this Emily, I¡¯ll work my hardest to bring her back, and¡­ and I¡¯ll take her piano lessons, and get really really good.¡±


    I¡¯m doing it! She will surely forgive me.


    I walk up to Emily, and squat down next to her.


    My hand reaches for her hair, I¡¯m going to play with it like my mother does to me when I am sad.


    A hand stops me though, hitting mine away.


    Emily is looking at me with pure rage in her eyes.


    ¡°Get the fuck away from me.¡±


    What?? She is mad? Why? Does she not want her mom back?


    ¡°Do you not want your mom back?¡±


    Emily looks at me disgusted and confused.


    ¡°You can¡¯t...¡±


    A loud cracking noise interrupts her, the crystal above them sounds like it¡¯s breaking from the inside.


    I sit down next to her.


    ¡°Why are you mad? Genuinely tell me.¡±


    ¡°You¡­ My mom is dead, stop bringing it up, you can¡¯t revive dead people.¡±


    Yes I knew that, obviously. I was hoping you would believe me though¡­


    ¡°What do you want me to do then Emily?¡±


    Emily is still staring into her eyes.


    ¡°K..kil-¡°


    She stops and takes a deep breath, it seems like she was going to say something really bad.


    ¡°Stop hurting people, stop killing everyone I meet.¡±


    Why do you care? Why do you care about the people that don¡¯t matter. I understand you not liking me for hurting your mom but the other people I hurt had it coming and they shouldn¡¯t matter to you.


    They should not matter to you Emily. Why don¡¯t you see that?


    Fine.


    The sounds of cracking echo, the crystal is almost completely broken.


    3.


    Holly and Sophie are sitting on the top of an unburnt building, doing nothing.


    ¡°Oh! I see something!¡±


    Sophie looks at Holly.


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    Holly has great eyesight, like an eagle, so she can see exactly where and who everyone is.


    It¡¯s not even apart of her blessing she just naturally has great eyesight.


    ¡°I see¡­ Diana, the maid and Z!!!¡±


    She watches Z get thrown to the cave wall.


    ¡°Woahhh look how high up Z is going¡±


    Sophie and Holly are watching the scene from a distance.


    Sophie is shocked but manages to ask.


    ¡°So Diana¡¯s alive right?¡±


    ¡°Yep! On the roof, safe and sound, for now.¡±


    ¡°Who is Z though?¡±


    ¡°My friend, he is Diana¡¯s new tutor. He is climbing the edge of the cave wall. Hahaha he is bald, when did that happen?¡±


    ¡°Friend?¡±


    Most people don¡¯t like to be friends with holly because of her past, Holly for some reason is considered a demon by most people.


    If Z is Holly¡¯s friend, then I¡¯m Z¡¯s friend.


    ¡°Wait climbing the cave wall? What for?¡±


    ¡°No clue.¡±


    Holly begins to hum a song, just saying Z over and over again.


    Around 5 minutes pass with no updates from Holly, Sophie could barely see into the distance, the house is so tiny from where they were.


    Then a cracking sound, it was loud, came from the crystal Z climbed onto.


    Oh so that¡¯s the plan.


    Sophie figured it out


    ¡°Hey Holly? Do you think you could make a jump to the house from the bottom of the field?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, but what for? I could probably get up on that roof but there¡¯s no way I can carry them back without landing into the group of hosts.¡±


    ¡°Well¡­ I think that Z person is going to drop that huge crystal onto everyone.¡±


    ¡°Oh!! That¡¯s so cool, alright yeah I¡¯ll get up there, and¡­ then what?¡±


    ¡°Considering Diana¡¯s blessing. I¡¯m guessing she can use it defensively, but I doubt she can jump that far out of the way of the impact.


    You can jump far though.¡±


    Holly¡¯s eyes shine at the praise she was given.


    ¡°You¡¯re so right sis. I CAN jump far, watch me¡±


    ¡°Wait I haven¡¯t explai-¡°


    She is gone, Holly made her way down to the field, all of the hosts are clumped close and tearing apart the baker''s estate. So the rest of the field was empty.


    4.


    Holly is running through the field, the overgrown grass makes it difficult to spot the parasites and hosts, she wasn¡¯t worried at all.


    She is incredibly talented at dodging.


    The entire colony seems to be breaking apart the Baker¡¯s estate, luckily the building was built to last so even with thousands of bodies smashing into it was hard to make a dent.


    Although the building did look like it was on its last legs.


    She easily jumps over the colony of hosts without being spotted, landing right in front of Emily and Diana.


    Diana is crying, and so is Emily.


    She assumes they are crying due to the situation they are in, not because they had a fight.


    ¡°You two must be so scared, it¡¯s okay now I¡¯m here!¡±


    She gains the attention of Diana.


    ¡°What are you doing here?¡±


    Not a warm welcome.


    Diana likes Holly the most, so this reaction was a bit weird, she would usually be excited to see her.


    Holly did want to ask one thing to her though, about Z¡¯s plan.


    ¡°I see Z is up there, breaking that crystal, I wonder how he will get down safely?¡±


    ¡°He won¡¯t! He is falling with the crystal.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯ll kill him though?¡±


    She is surprised at Z¡¯s bravery, and the fact that he was going to do a sacrifice made her heart flutter a bit. He is like a hero now in her eyes.


    Holly loves to read books about hero¡¯s saving the damsel in distress, Holly always wanted to be saved when she was younger, saved from her parents, maybe if Z didn¡¯t die here he would sacrifice himself for her.


    She accepted his wishes of dying for Emily and Diana, although she is sad about not getting to know him better.


    Diana just blurts out


    ¡°He can¡¯t die. So it¡¯s okay.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    The crystal fully breaks, a huge shard begins to fall.


    Holly quickly moves into action; she grabs Diana and Emily in each arm and jumps.


    ¡°DIANA ACTIVATE YOUR HAIR THING¡±


    Holly shouts.


    The sounds of glass shattering is all they could hear as white strands cover them in a sphere.


    It was loud. Incredibly loud.


    Holly could feel her body being hit by a shockwave, hurting her back and shooting her further forward.


    The sound of crashing makes her ears feel like they are about to rupture.


    Rubble and shards fly into the hair but swiftly get cut, some make it through and stab Holly as she holds the two girls close with her body, becoming an extra shield.


    They land, the ground doesn¡¯t feel like grass anymore it feels like rock.


    Its like they¡¯re in the middle of a hurricane, she can barely stand on the ground.


    She twists her body to plant itself in the rubble while also protecting the two girls from passing shrapnel that made it through the hair defence, crystals slice her legs and arms.


    This is the first time Holly has gotten hurt, she will have scars after this, making her more of a freak in her mind.


    5.


    Falling, falling.


    I had covered my hands in the glistening blue snow, it quickly super heated and melted my entire hand, but would also melt the crystal, it cracked ever so slightly each time.


    I did this over and over again. And now.


    I¡¯m falling.


    My body is being chucked around like a rag doll. I can¡¯t see anything but dust and shrapnel.


    I sometimes lost my entire head when a rock smashed into me, then it¡¯d grow back again. The feeling of nothingness was bliss.


    This was probably what hell felt like.


    Eventually everything settled, dust still covering the air, nothing was visible except for my body.


    The crystal should¡¯ve destroyed half of the huge field.


    The damage might¡¯ve even reached the town, although the town was already basically in ruin already.


    I finally landed, with a big crunch sound.


    Ow.


    The ground was rocky, and sharp, just walking on it cut my feet, but I needed to make my way out to see if Diana and Emily are okay.


    Why don¡¯t I ever think about myself? It¡¯s fine don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s fine I¡¯m fine now. The situation is over.


    I feel like I¡¯ve dissociated from this whole day now, I went through unbelievable pain just to get everyone out alive.


    Walking again after being flung around was actually nice.


    No clothes again, they were destroyed in the impact.


    There was a lot of shattered crystal on the floor, making my feet bleed then heal then bleed then heal.


    Eventually I got used to it, it just felt like I was being tickled, in comparison to what I¡¯ve been through today. This was nothing.


    Eventually I get out of the huge dust cloud, I can finally breath, I saw a person in front of me. Leading a group of people.


    I shout out.


    ¡°HEY!¡±


    Silence filled the air.


    The man in front of me takes his red helmet off, which went well with his red knight''s armour, it really sticks out.


    He looked calm and collected, an unnerving emotion to feel in this sort of destruction.


    End of chapter 11.

 Consequence Coverup (1)

    Chapter 12: Consequence Coverup (1)


    1.


    My limbs aren''t working.


    I can''t move. Who is this guy?


    He looks a bit confused.


    ¡°You can talk?¡±


    ¡°Yeah?¡±


    ¡°How did, you survive that explosion just now?¡±


    I have no clue what to say to that.


    ¡°Luck.¡±


    Sure whatever I''ll just go with that.


    Instantly I feel my arm contorting and twisting.


    Since I''ve gone through much worse today, my expression of tiredness just stays the same.


    I''m just done, when all of this is over I''m running away, this city has brought me nothing but suffering.


    Urgh I promised Emily I would make her my assistant though... Guess I can stick through it for a little bit.


    I thought I was done with the pain after the crystal fell, my arm is just twisting and twisting until it rips itself off.


    This man is doing it, he must be blessed, he has a neutral face like what he is doing is completely normal, urgh is every blessed person a psycho?


    My arm grows back from the stub, his face looks neutral and concerned now, like he put something into place.


    He turns back to the people following him.


    ¡°Leave at once, take care of any rogue parasites. Oh! Except for you, Lily.¡±


    The group that was following him run in different directions at super high speeds, probably being blessed beings as well.


    The girl called lily stays back, right behind this man.


    She has dark purple hair, purple eyes and a purple robe.


    I guess she really likes purple I Dunno.


    She looks around 16 but still looks incredibly wise for some reason. She was incredibly tall, probably the same height as Immy.


    She gives off an ethereal look, it almost looks like there are stars contained within those eyes, she doesn''t say a word, she is just clasping her hands together, almost like she is praying.


    Her hair is incredibly kept and straight, not a single strand out of place.


    He looks back at me, with a softer expression.


    He passes me a shirt and some pants from the backpack Lily was holding in her hand.


    I was thankful.


    ¡°you¡¯re the one who was climbing towards that crystal? I didn''t believe it when I saw you, thought that sinner would be dead by now.¡±


    He spotted me? This really wasn''t good, I could get into a lot of trouble from this.


    ¡°I understand your motives, in fact id call you a hero given the circumstances, but we can''t excuse what you''ve done here, the crystals are sacred to life and you completely destroyed one.¡±


    Yeah... I did...


    An awful excuse that a child would come up with slipped out of my mouth.


    ¡°There''s still plenty more in the cave, and besides if I didn''t we would all die.¡±


    ¡°we?¡±


    Oh right? Should I say, I feel like he would help them if I told him.


    ¡°Diana and Emily, Diana is a ble-¡±


    ¡°Yes blessed I understand. So she wasn''t infected?¡±


    ¡°she isn''t infected.¡±


    I give him a proud look, he responds back with his neutral face, showing no emotion.


    I feel like I''m walking on shards of glass around this conversation.


    And why is this lily girl staring at me so intensely, I feel like she is judging me on every word I say.


    ¡°Where are you from? I''ve never heard of a blessing such as yours.¡±


    What''s the right thing to say in this situation?


    ¡°I''m from the inner circle.¡±


    Lily speaks up.


    ¡°Lie.¡±


    Oh... She is a lie detector.


    ¡°I live in the inner circle currently.¡±


    They look at each other, exchanging glances.


    Please don''t ask for more, please don''t ask for more info.


    I don''t know if being from the wilderness is normal or not.


    ¡°So you were born in the outer circle and made your way into the inner circle?¡±


    He seems distant now, like he is talking down to me.


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Lie.¡±


    Yeah of course.


    ¡°Huh? Where are you really from.¡±


    ¡°Outside of the cave...¡±


    ¡°You were born out there, in the wild... Okay... Who are you staying with now?¡±This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.


    ¡°Imogen. Uh.. Imogen Abel¡±


    His face looks annoyed, like he was wishing death upon me.


    He looks back at lily, she just nods.


    ¡°So why is Imogen so interested in you?¡±


    ¡°I can heal super fast.¡±


    ¡°so you are blessed?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Lie.¡±


    Instantly his face contorted.


    My body feels like it''s being crushed, he is now using his ability to force me to the ground.


    He spits out another question.


    ¡°Are you human?¡±


    Am I human? I don''t even know? I think i am, maybe not. I have no clue.


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Lie...¡±


    My body is crushed, I feel everything being compressed into one single point.


    Sweet nothingness here I come.


    2.


    Sophie runs up to where Holly landed, she looks battered and hurt.


    ¡°Holly? Are you okay!?¡±


    ¡°Yeah... I''m fine...¡±


    She lets go of Diana and Emily, she was wrapped around them, they both passed out from the force of the explosion.


    ¡°they¡¯ll be fine... They¡¯ll be fine...¡±


    Holly looks over at Sophie, she is covered in cuts, including a big cut in her right eye, destroying it, there was no way of recovering that.


    It looked really bad.


    ¡°Shit. Holly, we need to get you to a doctor.¡±


    ¡°I''m fine, there''s no organ damage, just carry the maid ill carry Diana, let''s go home sis¡±


    Sophie knows better than anyone how stubborn Holly is about self-care and health. It will get her killed one day.


    She picks up the maid, she has bruises all over her body, but nothing substantial, luckily, she survived, for a non-blessed human this was a miracle. Diana must have really tried to protect her.


    They began walking the destroyed landscape.


    Holly looks like she is struggling with movement, she has a broken ankle.


    She isn''t complaining, she is on a mission, and nothing will stop her.


    ¡°Shit, holly hide.¡± Sophie pushes her slightly behind a rock.


    It was the red knight prick with a pretty lady.


    She recognises her, she is Lily, they had met before. But she knows she is bad news.


    And then there''s a boy, forced onto the ground, I think he is going to be killed.


    Wait... is that Amelias brother...


    ¡°woahhh its Z, he is alive? What are they doing to him?¡±


    Wait holly¡¯s friend Z is the creature that took the appearance of Amelia¡¯s brother? Shit this is getting way to complicated, so much potential drama.


    Instantly Z gets crushed, blood splattering everywhere.


    Welp not anymore, there¡¯s no coming back from that.


    Holly drops Diana on the floor, with a thud she instantly rushes over and strikes the knight in red with a kick.


    Catching him off guard the kick hits him in the head.


    ¡°argh fuck.¡±


    He looks up and tries to subdue Holly but she twists out of his grasp and punches him in the nose, breaking it.


    A snapping sound could be heard, he just broke her wrist as she struck him.


    He wafts his hands sideways and flings Holly into the air without touching her, she crashes into a few rocks.


    ¡°Fuck, what was that about?¡±


    He mutters out loud.


    Holly gets up from the rocks.


    ¡°Holly Caldwell? Oh using your demon powers are we? What were you siblings to the monster I just killed? Wouldn''t be surprised.¡±


    He teases her, he really wants an excuse to kill her, he has not been struck in a long time, he wanted to cut loose.


    Before holly can rush in again, Sophie comes from behind a boulder.


    ¡°WE SURRENDER!¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡±


    He looks at Sophie, who dropped her two knives.


    ¡°I think holly was confused, she did not know the boy you just killed, she thought you killed a random person.¡±


    Lily speaks up, ¡°Lie¡±


    ¡°Oh, you stupid bitch.¡±


    The man just laughs to himself, touching his face which is now covered in a bit of blood from his nose.


    ¡°you two both trespassed! Completely ignoring me! You should be punished.¡±


    He laughs again.


    ¡°I could kill you right now, but I''ll be merciful, how about you two get on your knees and beg?¡±


    Holly¡¯s anger fills her, but the pain from her bodies injuries has already made her fall on her knees.


    ¡°Holly has the right idea, come on Sophie, beg for m-¡±


    Another punch, it was weak and in his jaw, but still caught him off guard.


    The punch turned into a grab, arms wrapped around his neck, he quickly twists the body attached to him.


    What? It was the boy I just crushed?


    Holly shouts ¡°Z!!! Z z z !! Z!¡±


    He twists more but Z just continues to squeeze, the twists and turns that he is applying to his body are being healed quicker than he can apply them.


    He cant crush his entire body from this close distance.


    He flings the body attached to him, his hand finally let go.


    Z was flung 50 meters into the air


    He begins breathing heavily, his vision is slightly blurred.


    Sophie runs in and punches him. He gets knocked back, his neck making a cracking noise. Recognising he is actually hurt now he decided to lower himself to ask for help.


    ¡°LILY!¡±


    ¡°what?¡±


    ¡°HELP?¡±


    ¡°no.¡±


    He holds his hand out to push Sophie backwards, he needs space to be more effective, he was incredibly weak in close combat.


    Sophie tries to grab the neck of his Armor but he gains hold of her arm and twists it.


    ¡°ARGH¡±


    Before he could full snap Sophie¡¯s arm, Holly comes in with another flying kick.


    He saw right through it and as she is in the air he wafts his hand down and slams her forcefully into the rocks.


    The force of the slam destroys the ground below her, making a crater.


    Holly is incapacitated.


    He then flings Sophie backwards, planning to finish Holly off.


    ¡°Urgh this is tiring.¡±


    Suddenly the boy comes back and lands on his back, he puts him in a headlock.


    ¡°GO AWAY.¡±


    He elbows Z, each elbow crushing his ribs, but that only made him squeeze harder.


    Holly wakes up barely, still dazed from the impact, she sees Z saving her from the man that was probably going to kill her.


    Z didn''t have enough strength to actually knock out this man though. Considering blessed people had significantly stronger bodies.


    She forces herself up like a puppet and slams her fist into the man''s face, over and over again until he falls over.


    ¡°My... Saviour...¡±


    She collapses and falls asleep.


    Z just stands near the body of the man, he was out cold.


    He looks at Lily, who was just watching.


    Her lips move, she asks quietly.


    ¡°Are you evil?¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    She smiles like a little girl, ¡°Good!¡±


    She walks over to the man in the knight''s armour and grabs him by the collar, she begins to drag him into a more restful position.


    ¡°You don''t want to be here when he comes back, expect repercussions for this whole ordeal of course.


    Kal isn''t all bad, he just has a bad personality, but he usually does the right thing, don''t hold it against him.


    You are a hero though, you killed all those hosts, you saved lives, that''s why I''m on your side, can I get your name?¡±


    This info was a lot to process for him.


    ¡°My name is Z.¡±


    ¡°Cute name, ill remember that one, my little hero.¡±


    She gives me a wink, it looked really weird seeing her act playfully when she looked like the princess of heaven.


    Z blushes.


    She smiles at my reaction, like gained something from it.


    ¡°Also.¡±


    She reaches into her backpack and gives me a new shirt and pants, the previous was destroyed when I was crushed.


    ¡°Cover yourself up.¡±


    She laughs cutely.


    Z was incredibly embarrassed.


    She looks over Z¡¯s shoulder while he is changing, Sophie is by holly''s sleeping body.


    ¡°Hey Sophie?¡± Lily speaks softly.


    She spits out a reply.


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°you''ve gotten stronger, your parents would be proud.¡±


    ¡°I really don''t give a shit about my parents Lily.¡±


    She picks up holly then walks over to the rock where Diana and Emily are sleeping.


    Sophie shouts at me from behind the rock.


    ¡°Z. Help me carry these people back home, I can take Diana and Holly, you carry the maid.¡±


    He runs over, glad the two are okay, his efforts were not for nothing.


    3.


    Emily is light, so I''m fine physically.


    But mentally? Sophie is giving me really weird energy.


    She seems to be conflicted about something, probably me, which makes sense.


    She seems to notice me being afraid around her.


    ¡°Relax kid, I''m not going to hurt you or anything.¡±


    ¡°No, I didn''t think that...¡±


    ¡°it''s not like we are friends though, you caused this whole situation that got holly hurt, I don''t know what she sees in you.¡±


    I don¡¯t know either, I only met her yesterday, maybe she gets attached quickly.


    ¡°Sorry.¡±


    ¡°Relax, I''m not actually mad, actually I had a question, was it you that caused the explosion? The one that made people actually aware something was wrong in this town¡±


    ¡°yeah... I set myself on fire and exploded the bar¡±


    Why does it hurt to think about this? The memories being grainy and terrifying; my stomach is dropping when I recount it in my mind.


    I wish I could heal from mental side effects.


    After this. I''m living a life of peace.


    ¡°Holy shit, really? Thats metal.¡±


    She gives me a concerned look, she can tell what kind of mental toll something like that can bring.


    We are making our way around the burning town, it was a long walk.


    ¡°So Z. Are you not an unholy creature? What did Immy say about you.¡±


    ¡°I don''t know if I am or not, Last thing Immy said was that she was also unsure, but I have this bodies memories, I think that''s all that counts.¡±


    ¡°Memories of your past and then like, what? 10 plus years of you living with a mimic? Thats wild.¡±


    She gives me a sad look.


    ¡°Do you remember how you died? The first time.¡±


    I have no memories of dying originally, I just remember my parents losing their life near the cabin, by a huge bear unholy creature, a bear that had no right being that big, it roared, and my parents stood still, passive to the situation that was going on, letting the bear eat them alive with a smile on their face and open arms.


    Was a very traumatic memory.


    This creature was in the book I read, it reminded me instantly of this distressing event, unlocking it from my mind.


    Then I remember running with my sister, getting her safely to the cabin... and then? Yeah then we just survived.


    ¡°I don''t remember dying.¡±


    ¡°Hm, well that''s fine, I''m sure its blocked up somewhere in that brain, Amelia never told me what happened, she is kind of secretive in that way.¡±


    ¡°How is Amelia doing?¡±


    ¡°I can''t tell you, she would hate me if she found out I was talking to you, let alone telling you things about her.¡±


    ¡°Right.¡±


    We didn''t say another word until we arrived back at the perimeter, there was an impromptu fence placed around the circumference, allowing for no entry into the forest.


    The ground and trees here were burnt, I guess that''ll be the best way to get rid of any of the worms that are hiding in the grass.


    Sophie easily jumps over the fence and leaves Sophie and Diana on the floor, then jumps over and grabs Emily from me, jumping over again.


    ¡°Need me to carry you as well?¡±


    I shake my head.


    I was fine, I just climbed up the fence and jumped over.


    ¡°Got a nice set of muscles on you, hey did you get older? You look older than when I first met you¡±


    ¡°yeah, when my entire body was destroyed, I got older... wait is there a mirror anywhere?¡±


    My body was completely destroyed 3 times, once with the explosion, second with the crystal impact and third with being crushed into nothing.


    She takes me to a lake, and I look at my face in the reflection.


    My hair is back??? What, when did this happen?? It''s like it grew to how it was when I was a kid. Kind of longish hair. It was still blonde though.


    I''m so confused. This regeneration system seems to have no rules whatsoever.


    Oh. I still look the same as I did back in Baker''s house, face wise at least.


    Weird. So, what was the trigger for me to age?


    I step away from the lake and pick Emily back up.


    ¡°We can continue, same boring face.¡±


    Sophie gives me an amused look, she is warming up to me, I can tell.


    As we walk, we see Immy sitting down on the dirt path, completely broken.


    She hasn''t spotted us yet, but I''m sure she will be happy when she sees her precious Diana is fine.


    Sophie shouts out.


    ¡°YO! Immy!!!¡±


    Immy slowly turns her head, expecting nothing.


    Once she sees what we are holding, she starts crying.


    Oh she probably thinks its the corpse of Diana, that''s funny in a morbid way.


    Sophie just realises what this looks like.


    ¡°NO NO NO!!! She is alive.¡±


    She runs up to Immy and places Diana on Immy¡¯s lap. She is still clearly breathing.


    Immy doesn''t say a word, she just brushes Dianas hair with her hand.


    We stay like this for a few hours, eventually Holly wakes up.


    ¡°woah, woah did we win??¡±


    That was the first thing that came to her mind.


    She looks at me.


    ¡°You saved me!!!¡±


    And hugs me, wrapping her body around me.


    Her face is nuzzling mine, Sophie pulls her away, placing her in a resting position.


    ¡°Holly don''t move, you are still incredibly hurt.¡±


    Holly realises this, it took a while for her to notice the pain.


    ¡°Right... I''m going to sit down... thanks Z... You can take me to the doctor now sis, my mission is over.¡±


    Sophie sighs.


    ¡°I''m going to take holly to the doctor, are you okay staying with Immy Z? Also, don''t mind my sister, she gets attached to people too easily.¡±


    ¡°yeah ill be alright, thanks Sophie, for everything.¡±


    Sophie does a little hand gesture of a heart towards me, then picks up holly, taking her further into the packed city.


    ¡°I feel like a queen with you carrying me!¡±


    I could hear holly say that in the distance.


    I can only let out a breathy exhale.


    ¡°z..¡± Immy spoke softly.


    ¡°yeah?¡±


    I look at her, she seems to be holding back tears, it''s clear she is incredibly grateful.


    ¡°lets go home...¡±


    ¡°okay...¡±


    I carry Emily, while she carries Diana.


    End of chapter 12.

 Consequence Coverup (2)

    Chapter 13: Consequence Coverup (2)


    1.


    ¡°I¡¯m... I¡¯m gonna go take a shower.¡±


    ¡°Okay, that¡¯s fine.¡±


    I rest Emily on the couch in the living room and walk upstairs to my chambers.


    The weight of today finally crashing down on me.


    Just stop thinking, stop remembering today, stop remembering that¡¯s all I need to do.


    I unlock my door and walk in, finally having peace and quiet, something I hadn¡¯t had all day.


    My body was completely destroyed 3 times today.


    This was all just bad luck, right? None of this was supposed to happen, I just got unlucky and did what I had to do. After today I¡¯m never getting hurt again.


    I enter the bathroom and see my reflection, my eye colour is even more red, and my hair is back and blonde, it¡¯s also how it was styled in my memory, I had fairly long hair as a kid.


    But it looked wrong, everything looked wrong.


    Something about my face fills my soul with anger.


    Why did today happen? Why did I decide to set myself on fire almost instantly? Surely there were other options, what is wrong with me?


    Every time I try to recount a memory my body feels physically ill, why did this have to happen?


    What was all this for? To save two people I just met? One being a psychopath.


    I could just run away.


    I could run away and go back to the cabin, I could pretend I never left and stay there.


    Eventually I¡¯ll start hallucinating right? Make up a new fake Amelia, I¡¯d go out hunting every day and try my hardest to support us both.


    What is the point of any of this?


    What¡¯s my goal here?


    The emotion I was feeling was anger, I couldn¡¯t even recognise it until it reached a boiling point.


    I like to be levelheaded, but.


    ¡°Stop looking at me¡­¡±


    I punch the mirror in front of me out of frustration, then again, then again.


    The shattered mirror cuts my hand but pain means nothing anymore.


    Again and again, the anger dissipates in into my hand.


    Deep breath¡­ empty¡­ feel empty¡­ I can¡¯t keep going like this if I¡¯m not levelheaded.


    How could I help anyone if I am constantly angry all the time? Stupid me, just empty, I need to feel nothing.


    ¡°Haah¡±


    I don¡¯t know why I did that, guess I just needed a way to vent my frustration over today.


    I turn on the hot water, I feel the weight on me slowly lift.


    There is still an underlying feeling of discomfort that lingers in the back of my mind.


    Images of me on fire, images of me being flung around, that fight that left me nothing but a pile of blood, all of them are flashing into my mind, each time I remember it¡¯s like a bullet hits my chest.


    It¡¯s lucky I feel a sense of disconnect from those memories now, that wasn¡¯t me, that didn¡¯t happen to me.


    Am I going to be like this forever? Am I done for? Can I be happy again?


    After a long shower I step out and put on some clothes, I walk down the entrance into the living room. Immy is there.


    She is wearing a black dress which has a slit on the leg of the long skirt which shows off her thigh and slender legs.


    The skin of her back is also completely exposed, it seems like she was completely cutting loose from her usual demeanour.


    Immy spots me and smiles softly.


    ¡°Diana and Emily are both sleeping upstairs.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    She is drinking wine straight from the bottle.


    ¡°Want some?¡±


    ¡°Will it help?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Then yes please.¡±


    I guess either underage drinking isn¡¯t a crime, or simply Immy doesn¡¯t care. I won¡¯t be able to get drunk anyway, so its fine, my body would probably heal itself.You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.


    She pours out a glass for me, she doesn¡¯t appear to be drunk but I¡¯m sure she is planning to be.


    I take the glass out of her hand and sip.


    Ew, tastes sour.


    ¡°Tastes disgusting.¡±


    ¡°You get used to it, I sometimes forget you are a young boy at heart, so inexperienced.¡±


    Will I get used to it? The way I am right now it feels like my life is completely over.


    ¡°Your appearance has changed, you look older.¡±


    ¡°How old?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s hard to tell, you still don¡¯t look very manly, I would say 14 very close to 15¡±


    Not very manly huh, not that it matters anyway.


    ¡°Your eyes are going to cause trouble, a blonde, red eyed monster, but don¡¯t worry about that.¡±


    How can I not worry about something you just mentioned?


    Immy sits down on the couch by the fireplace, she puts the bottle on the glass table in front of her.


    ¡°Sit¡±


    It didn¡¯t feel like an order, but I don¡¯t get what the point of this was.


    I sit down next to her, I get a waft of her alcoholic breath.


    She motions my head to rest on her lap. Something I just let happen, I''ve given up trying to find out whatever her motives are.


    She begins to play with my hair and caress my neck.


    It feels warm and nice. Like I¡¯m in the hands of someone who genuinely cares and loves me.


    ¡°You are suffering. I know too well how terrible memories can be.¡±


    She doesn¡¯t know what I¡¯ve been through, but it¡¯s nice she is trying to relate, she is assuming I went through a lot of pain today.


    Which I did.


    ¡°I want to reward you, for protecting my daughter, but I¡¯m not sure what you want.¡±


    What do I want? Most of all I want Amelia to like me but that¡¯s not something I can ask, oh I know.


    ¡°I want to make Emily my assistant tutor.¡±


    I promised it, so I might as well


    She just giggles a bit, twirling my hair in her hand.


    ¡°Done, is there anything else you want?¡±


    Anything else? She is being awfully kind today.


    ¡°A way for me to sleep, I couldn¡¯t sleep last night.¡±


    ¡°I know, I''ve already developed something for that. Is there anything else?¡±


    ¡°No¡­¡±


    ¡°You aren¡¯t a selfish person. You really should try to be.¡±


    I know.


    ¡°I know.¡±


    ¡°Do you want to stay in my bed tonight as you sleep?¡±


    What? What? No no no. Why was she offering this? I don¡¯t want to mess up any relationships I have built thus far, she is drunk, she is drunk and not thinking straight.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure? You¡¯ll have to deal with the nightmares alone in your own bed, nobody should have to go through that.¡±


    The nightmares? Oh right today''s memories are probably going to play in my mind over and over again.


    Is she offering to just keep me company while I sleep? That doesn¡¯t sound so bad.


    I misunderstood, my bad.


    ¡°Fine¡­¡±


    I begin to get up, but she stops me.


    ¡°I¡¯ll carry you, don¡¯t worry.¡±


    She picks up my body, I¡¯m probably pretty light considering how easily she is moving around right now.


    She carried my body to her chambers, it was a huge bedroom, but I couldn¡¯t be bothered to take in the room¡¯s decor.


    It smelt of lavender, it was calming. There was already a lit candle on the table half melted.


    She rests me on the bed.


    ¡°My little tutor, going through so much.¡±


    I look at her face, it seems like she recognises the feelings I¡¯m going through. Or will go through soon.


    She takes something out of a container, it looks like gum.


    ¡°I¡¯ll just rest this in your gums, it¡¯ll make you fall asleep for 4 hours, then I¡¯ll reapply another one 4 hours after, no need to do anything.¡±


    Was she planning on not sleeping at all? Just staying up making sure I sleep well?


    ¡°Do you want to sleep now? Or do you want anything else from me?¡±


    ¡°I want to sleep please.¡±


    She looked a bit annoyed for a second but quickly hid it.


    ¡°You¡¯re a good boy, but you should try to take more.¡±


    She puts the gum into my mouth, her fingers are delicately placing it.


    She lays beside me, still playing with my hair.


    ¡°I wish I could reward you more, I wish you¡¯d let me.¡±


    She whispers out her soothing words as I drift off.


    I begin to feel woozy, my eyes become heavy.


    I feel my body sink into the bed, then feel the pressing of lips on my forehead.


    This is the second time I¡¯ve been kissed today, am I attractive now? No, surely not.


    My mind closes.


    Sleep takes me away.


    2.


    The nightmares replayed in my mind over and over again as I dreamt, it was like an endless cycle of memories.


    Suddenly I¡¯m woken up by the sound of knocking, knocking from the front door? It was distant, probably from the entrance.


    I¡¯m covered in sweat, I was probably developing a fever just from the stress alone.


    Immy is asleep beside me, I guess she couldn¡¯t stay up after all.


    That¡¯s fine, I don¡¯t want to sleep anymore.


    I walk outside towards the entrance, the knocking of the door is quiet but distinct.


    A trespasser? No.


    A soft voice from the door says.


    ¡°Is anyone in there? It¡¯s me Lily, I¡¯ve been out. Here for 2 hours¡±


    Oh it¡¯s Lily, from the fight before.


    I unlock and open the door, Lily looks surprised to see me.


    She is wearing the same purple robe, her eyes sparkle in the darkness of the purple crystals in the sky even more.


    She walks towards me without saying a word, I fall onto my back accidentally while trying to keep distance.


    She rests her body on my lap and looks into my eyes.


    She leans in close and whispers in my ear,


    ¡°You¡¯re going to go to jail tomorrow, Z.¡±


    Right, makes sense, I did harm a knight and caused the destruction of a crystal.


    ¡°Okay?¡±


    She looks curious for a moment, possibly as to why I¡¯m so calm.


    ¡°You have a plan?¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    She gets off my lap.


    ¡°So, you¡¯ve given up then?¡±


    I guess I have, it¡¯s kind of sad to be honest.


    ¡°Maybe¡­ I just don¡¯t see a way out of this that won¡¯t hurt the people I protected, it¡¯s honestly better for me to take all the blame.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re planning to take all the blame?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    ¡°Are you dumb?¡±


    ¡°I dunno.¡±


    She grabs my hand and moves me down into the living room, probably so we can have a more refined discussion.


    ¡°Oh by the way, don¡¯t tell Imogen I was here, she hates me.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Reasons.¡±


    Okay¡­


    ¡°So, Z, I want to make a deal with you.¡±


    Great. A deal, this is going to be fun.


    ¡°Okay?¡±


    ¡°So, I will represent you, in court, which will benefit you greatly, you¡¯ll even be considered human and be able to leave this place, I¡¯m a royal so I can make the court do anything you see.¡±


    ¡°Okay what do you get in return?¡±


    ¡°I just want to help out.¡±


    I for some reason don''t trust that, Im not a very trusting person, the fact that the past 18 years was a lie has probably made me that way.


    Every blessed person is low tempered and a bit crazy. Has that phenomenon been studied?


    I sigh, whatever I guess this is the best option.


    ¡°Okay, but what about Sophie and Holly?¡±


    ¡°They¡¯ll be fine, blessed people can¡¯t really get in trouble.


    The Caldwell twins are considered a special case since they aren¡¯t officially recognised as blessed beings anymore, but I doubt anyone will be brave enough to arrest them.


    So they don¡¯t really need to follow the law either¡±


    That¡¯s terrifying.


    ¡°Alright then, I take your deal¡±


    ¡°Great. Now, tomorrow you will be taken away, it will be painful and you won¡¯t be put in the nicest of prisons, you will spend the day there.


    Then, the day after, I will come out of the blue and announce I will be representing you, I will tell your tale of bravery, and how you are just a poor boy who saved the city¡±


    Actually, not a bad plan, sounds good.


    ¡°Okay, sounds good, thanks Lily.¡±


    She smiles. Then moves closer to me on the couch.


    She smells nice, she must be wearing a special perfume.


    ¡°You are kindhearted, I can tell, so much good in that soul.¡±


    ¡°Thanks¡­¡±


    ¡°When I saw you try your hardest to fight Kal, I knew you were special.¡±


    ¡°Thanks?¡±


    ¡°You have a high tolerance for pain, and very good mental fortitude. Most people would be brain dead after going through what you went through today.


    Is that true? Or is she just trying to make me seem special. I really don¡¯t want to be manipulated. Why do I feel dizzy?


    She rests her hand on my chest, feeling my heartbeat.


    ¡°Are you attracted to me?¡±


    Uhhh.


    I pull back from her hand.


    ¡°No?¡±


    Her lips curl into a smile.


    ¡°Lie.¡±


    Shit I forgot she can do that.


    ¡°No, it¡¯s not attraction attraction, I don¡¯t think of you romantically, I barely know you.¡±


    She nods.


    ¡°Do you want to get to know me?¡±


    She moves in closer again, and whispers in my ear.


    ¡°Do you want to get out of here?¡±


    Her face is inches from mine. Her smile looks even more manic.


    ¡°Then you can get to know me, and I can get to know you.¡±


    She gives me some crazy eyes, like her mask of perfection slipped off for a second.


    She gets off the couch and does a twirl. Returning to her mature demeanour.


    ¡°Get up.¡±


    A feeling of having to do what she said wafts over me, like it was an order I had to follow.


    I felt like I was stuck in a daze for a second, but I snap out of it, probably my healing?


    ¡°Huh? Oh I''m good. Sorry, I''m not interested.¡±


    She looks confused, like I said something incredibly wrong.


    She tilts her head ¡°Right...¡±


    She then walks away, not giving me time to respond.


    3


    Lily walks out of the manor, humming to herself.


    ¡°Did you tell him I was sorry? Because I¡¯m not.¡±


    Kal is standing outside, he was waiting for lily to walk out, his face is covered in bruises.


    Lily steps out of the garden, keeping her normal demeanour.


    ¡°No. Not like he would believe that anyway.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure about this plan? Why are you trying to help him? He isn¡¯t even human.¡±


    ¡°He doesn¡¯t know if he is human, that¡¯s why the answer came off as a lie.¡±


    ¡°Urgh.¡±


    Kal is annoyed at this whole situation, this isn¡¯t what he wanted.


    ¡°There¡¯s no doubt he has a human heart though, he can be manipulated, just will take some time, my seduction didn''t work today, I don¡¯t have control yet.¡±


    ¡°Why is he so important?¡±


    ¡°Do you really have to ask that? He can¡¯t die. With the right push we can turn him into an unstoppable machine of destruction.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, and why would you want that?¡±


    ¡°Stop asking questions, did you want revenge or not?¡±


    ¡°I do, but it seems like you are only helping him.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine, I¡¯ll be secretly unrooting him under everyone¡¯s noses.


    There is no doubt I can break him and make him mine.¡±


    Kal just goes along with it, he knows lily is smart enough to come up with a competent plan.


    ¡°So how does this tie in with The Caldwell twins?¡±


    Lily gives kal an unamused look.


    ¡°Z is going to kill them of course. And the rest of our enemies.¡±


    Not another word was spoken as they walked through the streets of the city.


    End of chapter 13.

 Consequence Coverup (3)

    Chapter 14: Consequence Coverup (3)


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    I just sat in the dining room waiting for morning, waiting for the guards to come in and take me away.


    I could''ve just run away, but that seems like it would only make the situation worse.


    And surely enough, once it hit around 6 am, knocking at the door.


    It''s nice they waited until a reasonable time to arrest me.


    ¡°OPEN THE DOOR¡±


    Urgh I better open it before they break it down.


    I walk over to the door and unlock it, instantly men run in and surround me.


    ¡°Get down now.¡±


    This atmosphere was suffocating, they were probably told I was a monster so everyone is on edge, I''m just one bad move away from them impaling me with their swords.


    ¡°Alright, calm down, I''m not evil, just a weak defenceless kid, no evil powers.¡±


    I get on my stomach, hands behind my back.


    A man walks up to me and ties my hands together with a rope. It¡¯s incredibly tight.


    Due to this commotion, Immy wakes up and runs to the entrance.


    ¡°What is going on here?¡±


    The guards who all have a lot of respect for Immy carefully explain the situation, and what I did with the crystal, something she was not aware of.


    ¡°Treat him well please, please.¡±


    I can¡¯t see her face, but she sounds mad, not at me but at the world.


    A guard replies.


    ¡°We can¡¯t promise that Miss Abel, but I¡¯ll try my best.¡±


    These guards don¡¯t seem to hate me, in fact I¡¯m willing to bet most of them saw what I did as a heroic act. But an order is an order.


    I¡¯m taken into a carriage with no windows, I hadn¡¯t seen many before on the roads due to the city being incredibly walkable, so it makes sense why carriages were out of style, I only saw a few of them carrying produce yesterday.


    Inside the carriage there is a man in red knight¡¯s armour, Kal. Sitting in front of me.


    Instantly my blood runs cold, is he here to kill me?


    His face is covered in bruises, why does he even have his helmet off? Is he not embarrassed? Id personally be embarrassed.


    ¡°Uhm... sorry for beating you up and stuff... ya know? Nothing personal, just survival, and you totally killed me so it''s like... even, right?¡±


    This is so awkward.


    ¡°Yes, yes, I forgive you¡± He spits out, not at all sounding convincing


    ¡±I¡¯m going to escort you to the royal circle, you will be imprisoned there until further notice.¡±


    The carriage starts moving, its a bit bumpy but as we cross the gate into the royal circle pathway it becomes a smooth ride.


    Kal doesn''t say another word, he doesn''t even look at me.


    I did choke him out yesterday, its not like I was going to kill him though, although I doubt we can ever be friends after that.


    This carriage had no windows, probably because it was used to carry prisoners without letting people see us.


    I guess it makes a lot of sense, I would be well known after what I did yesterday. I wonder what my public perception is?


    The carriage stops.


    ¡°Alright.¡±


    Kal just grabs me by the arm and takes me out the carriage.


    We are rested on a path below a bridge, it looks gross. The underneath of the bridge seems to house a tunnel that I am being guided into.


    As Kal pushes me through the tunnel he spits out some words.


    ¡°You know, I''m on your side right? I think you are a hero for what you did.¡±


    Incredibly forced.


    Also what he was saying didn¡¯t make any sense, he was the one who tried to arrest me in the first place.


    ¡°Thanks...¡±


    The sides of the tunnel were full of different barred rooms.


    We reach the end where there is a prison room and he pushes me in, locking it swiftly.


    This cage was significantly bigger than the one Immy put me in, it even had a toilet and bed.


    ¡°Bye.¡±


    He begins to walk away, his armour clinking every step.


    ¡°Hey can I ask you a question?¡±


    Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.


    I need more information, I''m totally in the dark right now.


    ¡°Urgh... What? Quickly.¡±


    ¡°What does the public think of me? After news broke.¡±


    ¡°Hm? Well news is still reaching the city, but generally the outer circle...¡¯people¡¯... consider you a hero, and inner circle along with royal circle want to tear every limb from your body publicly repeatedly, over and over again, for decades, isn''t that just awful?¡±


    ¡°Ah! Okay cool!¡±


    Alrighty that''s pretty much expected, they need someone to blame so I''m the sacrifice, but for some reason I just can''t find a reason to care, If lily is actually on my side, she should hopefully convince them not to torture me for years? I''d hope so.


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    I wake up in my bed, my comfortable, silky, wonderful bed.


    Did Teach do it? Are we safe now?


    I see my curtains part open, showing rays of sunshine, everything is so bright and happy.


    Yes!!! We survived!!! I¡¯ll have to thank him.


    What a joyous day to be alive!


    I get up and run outside of my room, skipping through the hallway.


    I can hear crying from the entrance, mom?


    My mom is crying by the front door, who hurt her? I¡¯ll kill them, maybe... if it was teach making her cry maybe I''ll just hurt him.


    ¡°Mom, are you okay?¡±


    She looks back at me, and laughs a bit, she seemed to regain a bit of happiness after seeing me in front of her.


    I run down and hug her.


    ¡°Mom I missed you!¡±


    ¡°I missed you too¡­¡±


    ¡°Teach saved us, he was so smart, he was like a calculating mastermind, you should¡¯ve seen him mom.¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡­ I bet he was.¡±


    Is teach still asleep? He would be here right?


    ¡°So! Where is teach mom? Is he still sleeping?¡±


    I want to reward him, I owe him my life, he is unusually useful for a non-blessed person.


    ¡°Oh. Dear. He was taken, he destroyed a crystal, he is in prison Diana.¡±


    Oh. Right. He would be wouldn¡¯t he?


    I didn¡¯t even get to see him one last time.


    He should¡¯ve woken me up before being taken, stupid Teach, never thinking about how I feel.


    ¡°Well that¡¯s stupid, he did it to save me. Is he in big trouble?¡±


    ¡°He will probably get the death sentence, but since he can¡¯t die, he will end up just being tortured.¡±


    I¡­ I don¡¯t want that. I don¡¯t want that to happen to Teach.


    ¡°Mom I don¡¯t want that.¡±


    ¡°I know, neither do I.¡±


    ¡°Can you stop it?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not apart of the royal circle, I have no power in matters such as those.¡±


    Right. If only I had actually worked hard. Then we would be in the royal circle.


    If I worked hard Teach wouldn¡¯t be in prison.


    If I worked hard Teach wouldn¡¯t have had to break that crystal.


    If I worked hard Teach wouldn¡¯t have to set himself on fire.


    If I worked hard Emily wouldn¡¯t hate me.


    ¡°Mom¡­ is Emily okay?¡±


    ¡°She is fine¡­ just sleeping.¡±


    Oh. Great! Okay now I just need to become stronger so I can break Teach out of prison and have Emily like me.


    I just need training.


    ¡°Where is Holly?¡±


    ¡°She was hurt, sorry but your sword training is probably on hold for a while.¡±


    I need to work harder.


    But without Holly training me what can I do? I¡¯m so useless.


    ¡°Mom. I want to make Teach happy and also make Emily happy.¡±


    My mom just looks at me, like I said something she thought I¡¯d never say in a million years.


    ¡°Do you want me to help you?¡±


    ¡°Yes please. I want to be¡­ good¡­ and make them not hate me¡±


    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t care about whether people hate you or not Diana... it just causes more pain.¡±


    She always tells me this, that I shouldn''t care, that people shouldn''t matter.


    But I do, I do care, they matter.


    ¡°I do care though mom, please help. If Teach gets out of prison I want to throw him a big celebration.¡±


    ¡°That sounds like a wonderful idea!¡± Immy claps her hands, trying to enthusiastic.


    ¡°I¡¯ll help you prepare, let¡¯s spend all our time on this celebration why don¡¯t we?¡±


    It¡¯s scaring me, she is smiling on the outside but crying inside, why is this scaring me?


    I think mom just wants a distraction, I can tell her heart isn¡¯t in it.


    Why do I feel so bad? Will making Emily and Teach happy make me happy?


    I hope so.


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    The prison was cool for the first 10 minutes. But now only one word comes to mind.


    BORING.


    I can¡¯t even keep track of time, I only had to wait a day, right? Then lily would represent me.


    I hope she wasn¡¯t just tricking me, trying to toy with me and give me hope so I wouldn¡¯t struggle when I reached the prison.


    My memories of the whole Emberpoint disaster keep coming back as well, I can¡¯t seem to avoid them.


    I guess I¡¯ll just have to keep myself busy, it seems to only affect me when I have alone time.


    Taps of shoes, I could hear them down the tunnel.


    They sounded methodical and perfect.


    Only someone as perfect as Lily would be able to walk in perfect tempo.


    Lily was now standing in front of my cage. She looks down at me since I¡¯m sitting back first on the floor. Looking up at the ceiling bored out of my mind.


    ¡°Hey Z.¡±


    ¡°Hey Lily.¡±


    She squats down, she isn¡¯t wearing her robe, she is just wearing a purple dress instead, it was incredibly intricate and didn¡¯t fit at all with the dingy tunnel we were in.


    ¡°Z¡­can we talk?¡±


    I get up and sit with my legs crossed.


    ¡°Yeah?¡±


    She smiles.


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t supposed to be here, but I wanted to talk to you, I feel a connection between you and I.¡±


    Is she confessing? Isn¡¯t this too soon? We only just met a day ago.


    ¡°Z¡­¡±


    She gets close to the bars, she is speaking in a seductive tone.


    ¡°Z¡­ I really¡­ really want to see you happy, I desperately need you to be happy. So you have to do everything I say during thehearing.¡±


    Something isn¡¯t right here, my heart is fluttering, why is she talking to me like this?


    I feel my body getting warmer, it¡¯s like I¡¯m being hypnotized.


    ¡°Okay¡­¡± is all I could say.


    Her voice gets deeper and raspier.


    ¡°I would do anything for you Z¡­ you are my hero¡­ I want you to be mine Z¡­ is that too selfish? Is that okay?¡±


    She wants me to be hers? Urgh get out of my head, what is the goal here?


    ¡°Yeah¡­¡±


    That just slipped out of my mouth, it¡¯s like I can¡¯t even control what I say around her anymore.


    ¡°So¡­ when you are mine¡­ you¡¯ll do everything I say?¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­¡±


    What is happening?


    ¡°Z¡­ I think about you all the time¡­ I¡¯m crazy for you¡­ can we please be more than friends¡­ and see where that takes us?¡±


    All I can do is just listen, I¡¯m not used to this kind of conversation.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you want that Z? To spend time with me? Alone time?¡±


    We seem to stare into each other''s eyes until I eventually snap out of whatever daze I was in.


    My heart goes back to normal.


    ¡°I''m sure I can spend time with you if I''m free. Can we just be friends though? I have priorities you know, with other people, and I''m not ready for a relationship, uh... sorry! You¡¯re uh, nice and cute though, but no relationships, nope, cant do it!¡±


    I bow.


    I sound like an idiot, I know she was hitting on me, you¡¯d have to be a moron not to realise that. But I really don¡¯t want a relationship, it¡¯s too time consuming, I need to focus on mending the bridge between me and Amelia.


    And I don¡¯t know what her intentions are.


    She looks at me with confusion in her eyes.


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    She seems very confused.


    ¡°What?¡± I ask.


    ¡°Stand up.¡± She says in a seductive tone as well.


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Huh??¡±


    Her face is red with embarrassment, did she finally realise she confessed like 20 times in the span of 2 minutes? I¡¯d be embarrassed too.


    Why did she confess? There¡¯s no way you get feelings for someone after two conversations. Was this a test?


    ¡°Are you okay Lily?¡±


    She looks at me and whimpers.


    ¡°You¡­ you¡­¡±


    Is she having a stroke?


    ¡°Lily?¡±


    ¡°Oh. It¡¯s nothing. I¡¯ll see you tomorrow.¡±


    She gets up off the ground and trips over herself a bit.


    ¡°You are strange.¡±


    Her tone goes back to normal, she hastily scurries away.


    What a weird interaction, I¡¯m trying to figure out what the point of this was.


    It could¡¯ve been a test or something, a test to see if I liked her?


    Urgh I¡¯m so confused.


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    Lily walks out of the tunnel, yet again Kal is waiting outside.


    ¡°So, is he under your control now?¡±


    Lily shakes her head and looks embarrassed.


    ¡°He might be harder to manipulate than I thought, I assumed he would attach himself to the first woman who openly said she liked him, but he didn¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°Okay? So is the plan ruined?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure I can eventually get him to like me, but it¡¯ll have to wait until after the case is finished.¡±


    ¡°So you¡¯ll have to actually... do what your dad said?¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­¡±


    Along with lily¡¯s ability to tell if someone is lying or not, she has a second, more well-hidden ability.


    She can completely mentally and emotionally control someone who loves her.


    Nobody except Kal and her family knows this.


    ¡°I¡¯ve already made a deal with the judge, this whole hearing is just for show. Although now I¡¯m worried if Z will mess it up somehow, that¡¯s why I wanted him under my control today so things wouldn''t get messed up. That man is a bumbling idiot¡±


    Kal finds it kind of funny how she was so sure she could make Z fall in love with her in a day.


    She leaves Kal and goes to her study hall.


    Her manor was huge, everything seemed bigger than it needed to be, thoughts raced through her mind.


    Why doesn¡¯t he like me? I seduced him right? He should be in love with me?


    He is just a filthy outsider, someone from the wild. Wouldn¡¯t he be clawing to get a piece of my body?


    She begins to find books in her own private library. Almost all of the people in the royal circle have a huge manor they live in with everything they¡¯d ever need.


    My power works subjectively depending on the person. Does Z think love is something more than physical attraction?


    Most men in this world have had a rough upbringing, people rarely have loving parents or good relationships, especially people outside of the royal circle, so the concept of love to them is nothing more than sexual attraction.


    Rats. They¡¯re all rats, they just want my body. Outer circle freaks, let alone people from the wild, savages, all of them.


    Why is Z not interested in me?


    To Z however, being raised in a suburban household with loving parents in a peaceful world. His concept of love is marriage and eternal affection.


    She is reading different dictionaries and finding what love means in them.


    The concept of love.


    All the definitions were confusing, so she instead opened up a famous romance book, written by none other than Imogen Abel.


    Aha this will help me, I¡¯ll follow this book and Z will fall in love with me. Then I can control him.


    All day she reads this book, getting immersed into its universe. Its setting is in the modern world, before the snow or the cave.


    She studied the book like she would study for a math test to get perfect grades.


    The story was about two classmates who met under extreme circumstances during a storm with falling ice, hail its called. He was a normal student but decided to share the umbrella with the girl, trying to walk her home.


    He was incredibly selfless.


    By complete coincidence, they lived in the same apartment.


    This started a long relationship, and by the end of the book they were happily married with children.


    She felt a weird longing when she read the book, like this was something she wished could happen. But it wasn¡¯t real, this wasn¡¯t the real world. People like that don¡¯t exist.


    People don¡¯t just help people in storms, people are selfish.


    She decides to follow the book, she will use all the lines from it and get Z to love her so she can continue her plan.


    With an indestructible boy under her control, she will be unstoppable.


    She chuckles a bit, she likes to be seen as a bit of a villain.


    She is just following orders, orders by her father so they can kill their enemies.


    If Z¡¯s perception of love is marriage, then she will just have to marry him.


    End of Chapter 14.

 Consequence Coverup (4)

    Chapter 15: Consequence Coverup (4)


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    Tap tap tap.


    This prison has nice acoustics, got a steady beat.


    ¡°IM BORRRED!!¡±


    I''ve gotten to the point where I''m just punching the wall and watching my bloodied hand heal. None of this is fun.


    At least it''s something to do.


    I can¡¯t sleep. So I just wait, juuust gotta wait.


    My arms rest on the bars, they¡¯re rusty, I could probably break out of here if I just kept slamming my body into them. Surely hitting something with a bone could break metal right?


    What would that even accomplish? My life is totally in Lily¡¯s hands right now, and I''m not too happy about that, she is downright scary. Not because she is a woman and I lack the capability to communicate to someone of that calibre but because she is just an unnerving individual. Complete psycho, like Diana.


    Although I understand Diana, she is just a kid with issues, I do not understand Lily, and people usually fear what they don''t understand, and I am in the category of ¡®people¡¯ I like to think.


    I kick the bars, ouch.


    I can¡¯t even tell the time, there are no windows here, there''s NOTHING.


    The only light-source is a glowing crystal attached to a pole on the ceiling.


    It has to be tomorrow by now, right?


    Surely I won¡¯t have to wait any longer.


    If I were to guess, it¡¯s around 9 am the next day.


    So today should be my court hearing, where I can potentially clear my name.


    Although Lily seems certain she can win, perhaps she pulled some strings?


    Okay I''m playing with the glowing crystal on the ceiling, there''s nothing else to do.


    I move the bed and stand on top of it, the crystal is just screwed onto the pole like a light bulb, history does repeat itself apparently. They quite literally reinvented the light bulb.


    Almost there, it''s hot.


    Methodical steps echo in the tunnel.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡±


    I stumble off the bed, the crystal falls and cracks all over the ground, causing the floor to become a light source.


    ¡°Heyyy Lily, was just... researching the crystal... Can I leave yet? I''m getting a little bit stir crazy you know?¡±


    She is wearing her purple robe again, but looks tired, like she stayed up all night.


    ¡°Here is some paper.¡±


    She drops it through the bars.


    ¡°Thanks?¡±


    Is it just paper or is there like anything written on it, or?


    I grab it, it seems to be a list of instructions.


    ¡°Follow these, the court hearing is in 4 hours, after this expect to be considered a blessed human, you¡¯ll get all the benefitsfrom that too.¡±


    The benefits? Like not being able to get arrested?


    ¡°Thanks Lily, I appreciate it.¡±


    ¡°No need to thank me, I did it out of the goodness of my heart.¡±


    ¡°Yep, I understand. Also, what is the whole deal between you and Immy?¡±


    ¡°Our families don¡¯t mix well, it¡¯s a political thing, none of your concern.¡±


    If it¡¯s political I don¡¯t want to get involved.


    Immy doesn¡¯t seem like someone who would care about status, or about her image, as well as Diana¡¯s image. I don''t think she cares about anything.


    ¡°Okay, I won¡¯t pry, I appreciate all the help Lily, but I need to know, what are you actually getting out of this?¡±


    ¡°Oh? Is it not enough that I find you nteresting?¡±


    ¡°Not really? Although I¡¯m not exactly sure how much effort you needed to put in to design this plan of yours.¡±


    This whole thing could¡¯ve been incredibly hard to pull off for her or super easy.


    Maybe she was just doing it out of the kindness of her own heart, although I doubt that.


    She begins to sweat, it¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve seen her lose her composure.


    ¡°My plan?? What plan?¡±


    ¡°The plan to make me not in prison? And get ripped apart limb by limb like Kal mentioned?¡±


    She tugs at her purple robe nervously.


    This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    ¡°Right. Yes. It was easy, don¡¯t worry.¡±


    Okay, I guess she just wanted to be nice?


    ¡°Okay, sorry about my question, I¡¯m just naturally wary of people.¡±


    ¡°Understandable, that¡¯s a smart way to be. Although you need to trust some people, just remember that.¡±


    Right, I do. The only person I trust¡­ it wouldn¡¯t be Diana or Immy. I trust Emily a little bit and surprisingly Sophie came off as a very trustworthy person, even though her silver eyes give me the creeps.


    I don¡¯t trust Lily though. Not at all.


    ¡°Okay, thanks for the advice.¡±


    ¡°No problem. See you later Z¡±


    ¡°Bye.¡±


    She walks away, humming to herself.


    The piece of paper has three instructions.


    ONE, don¡¯t talk unless asked a question.


    TWO, say you are human when they ask you, and say you are from the outer circle, you were always blessed but didn¡¯t want to tell anyone due to you being an orphan and scared, you escaped into the wild and then got caught, brought to Immy, then had this whole disaster happen.


    THREE, smile!!!


    This seems easy enough.


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    ¡°I don¡¯t want to do this Emily!!¡±


    Diana is cutting up onions on a wooden board clumsily, hair dark and cold.


    ¡°Too bad, you said you wanted to learn useful skills, right?¡±


    Emily is just watching her, not helping her when she obviously needs it.


    ¡°Yeah... but this isn¡¯t useful.¡±


    ¡°This is the most useful thing you can do as a woman, besides bearing a child of course.¡±


    Emily says this proudly, it¡¯s what her mother taught her, if Emily were to find a husband one day, she was sure she could make him happy.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that kind of thinking outdated Emily?¡±


    ¡°Diana, you said you wouldn¡¯t argue with me.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    Emily is now the substitute teacher while Z is away, it¡¯s not going very smoothly.


    ¡°Alright, now we are going to simmer the onion in cream, prepare those cherry tomatoes.¡±


    ¡°Eeemmmilllyyyy, I don¡¯t wannnnaaa.¡±


    ¡°Now.¡±


    Diana is being very submissive, actually following and taking orders from Emily.


    It¡¯s mainly because she wants forgiveness, but she also has the urge to actually improve, something she isn¡¯t used to feeling.


    She wants to be able to protect people and reward people, but she still considered herself to be useless and weak, which she was usually fine with.


    But now, after the horrific incident they went through, she decided that she needed to be useful, to be as cool as Z was.


    But this isn¡¯t what she meant by becoming stronger.


    ¡°If I do this Emily, can you teach me more about the bow this afternoon?¡±


    Emily had shown she was decent as an archer, not the best not the worst. When she was younger, she wanted to become an adventurer, but her mother decided against it, making her a maid at the age of 12.


    ¡°Yes. Sure.¡±


    ¡°Okay!¡±


    Emily is taking her job seriously, she still hates Diana but has been great at hiding it thus far.


    She didn¡¯t want to disappoint Z as well, especially since he gave her this job.


    Suddenly Immy walks into the kitchen.


    ¡°You having fun Diana? If you aren¡¯t having fun you can quit.¡±


    Immy had always been a bad influence on Diana, she didn¡¯t want Diana to live a hard life, so she never forced her to try or succeed in anything.


    ¡°I know, but I want to learn things.¡±


    ¡°Very well, thank you Emily for teaching my daughter how to cook whatever the hell you two are making, it smells nice.¡±


    Suddenly one of the men in suits walks up to Immy and whispers in her ear.


    ¡°Today? That was quicker than expected, who is representing him?¡±


    Immy was planning tobecome a member of the royal circle quickly and represent him, due to her high status she was a good choice.


    To get into the royal circle you''d need a lot of influence and submit an application to the useless king.


    Court hearings were less about the law here and more of a popularity contest.


    Immy suddenly became furious when she heard who was his representative and storms out.


    Diana turns to the man in the suit.


    ¡°You. Tell me at once, what was this about?¡±


    The man shakes.


    ¡°It is about Master Z, he is going to a court hearing in 1 hour, represented by LiliaCullington.¡±


    Diana knows who Lily is, they¡¯ve had multiple arguments and fights.


    ¡°Okay! Leave, get out, shoo¡±


    The man in the suit walks off.


    Diana turns to Emily.


    ¡°Do you want to break into the royal circle and watch?¡±


    Emily surprisingly nods.


    Emily was just as interested in the situation with Z, she knew he would be in prison but the decision on whether or not he will be put to death hadn¡¯t been decided.


    She holds out hope for a good ending.


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    ¡°Yeah yeah I get it you can¡¯t climb.¡±


    Diana is carrying Emily up the royal circle wall with her hair. The hearing is being held in a small church like building, inside of the royal circle.


    ¡°Why¡¯d I even take you? You are making things difficult.¡±


    Emily can¡¯t even talk, she is wrapped in strands of hair completely.


    Eventually she fully scales the wall, guards are up there.


    ¡°Hello! I didn¡¯t want to go through all the traffic at the front gate, is it alright if I enter this way?¡±


    The guards, having no way to actually stop her just nod.


    Blessed beings are basically allowed to do anything they want. Although if their public image gets worse enough, they¡¯d be assassinated by another blessed being.


    It was all very chaotic.


    She unwraps Emily by the roof of the building where the hearing is being held, they are just watching through an open window which gives them a top-down view.


    Emily struggles to breathe. The hair making it incredibly hard to get air.


    Huff


    ¡°I couldn¡¯t breathe in there Diana.¡±


    ¡°Oh? Sorry.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine¡± huff ¡°just make sure to use less hair next time, now let us watch.¡±


    Currently Lily is talking on the stand. Diana¡¯s hair instantly goes black upon seeing her.


    Diana then sees Z and takes in his appearance, he is dressed in a nice suit, most likely supplied by Lily, she is mad how they are coddling him. But his hair was also back and a different colour.


    ¡°Woahhh look Teacher''s hair is back!¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I noticed, weird, and it¡¯s blonde now.¡±


    They decide to stop talking to each other and listen to what Lily is saying.


    Lily is speaking formally and succinct.


    ¡°-clearly gone through enough; you wish to make this poor boy suffer more than he already has? has he not paid the price in pain for destroying that crystal?


    He clearly did not mean harm, he knew of the dangers these parasites posed and made a selfless decision. A strategy that may of been reckless but saved tens of thousands of lives.


    Is that the work of an unholy creature? This boy is no monster, he has a human heart with a human body, if that isn''t enough for you I don''t know what would convince you.


    You know what he told me when we first met? He said to make sure he takes all the blame;how could this kind-hearted boy be considered a monster in the eyes of the public? He should be considered a hero.


    I do not think he deserves a punishment; I believe he deserves a reward for his sacrifice.


    That is why I am asking you, judge, to give him a lawful residence in the royal circle as a blessed individual, in my family¡¯s name.


    My parents has already agreed to let me marry him.¡±


    Diana whispers in an annoyed tone.


    ¡°What? What is she planning? That witch, she is taking Teach away!¡±


    Emily holds her hand over her mouth.


    ¡°Z looks just as shocked by the news.¡±


    ¡°Well of course he is, this is a typical thing she would pull without asking. She is trying to mess with me. She has been against me for years. God I just want to rip her apart.¡±


    Emilies hair begins to turn red and shake with anger, Emily quickly holds her to calm her down. She asks a question to keep Dianas mind preoccupied, she has gotten very good at making Emily not fall into anger, it''s the only reason she is alive.


    ¡°Can he say no to this?¡±


    ¡°I doubt it, saying no to a royal''s marriage proposal would ruin his chances at freedom and put him in an even worse position than before. What¡¯s her plan here? Why does she want to destroy everything I have?¡±


    ¡°You didn¡¯t ¡¯have¡¯ Z, this will probably be good for him.¡±


    ¡°It won¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°Why not? He has succeeded in making a beautiful woman his wife, along with marrying into a wealthy family¡±


    ¡°There is no way Lily actually likes Teach, she is doing this to either toy with me and my mom, or she sees something in Teach we didn¡¯t see, probably his healing could be used in a way that benefits them. She always just RUINS EVERYTHING.¡±


    Emily stays quiet, Diana is surprisingly good at politics, if she wasn''t a hothead she would be genuinely cunning.


    They watch as the judge agrees to the conditions. Z was officially married into the Cullington family, they didn¡¯t even hold a wedding nor did the formalities, they just signed the paperwork.


    Emily just stares at the confused Z, he looks like he thinks he is in a living nightmare.


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    I get down from the stand, my job is done.


    I had to go as far as to marry this rat to make him love me, annoying.


    My mother was not pleased with the news, but Dad assured me Z could be used as an incredible weapon, and this was the best way to keep him close.


    I explained the situation to dad about how Z most likelyconsidered love to be marriage and eternally bonding with a partner.


    Making him a tricky target with my blessing, I didn¡¯t realise Z was this important to sell out your own daughter to marriage, but I trust my dad, he knows best.


    I am simply a tool to be used.


    I run up to Z, haha he is looking so confused.


    ¡°Why¡¯d you do that Lily?¡±


    Ill speak in a soft tone, I need to keep my perfect tone.


    ¡°Do what? Oh right. I just wanted to marry you.¡±


    I¡¯ve got him in my grasp, now that we are married, he should soon fall in love with me.


    ¡°Come on husband, let us get out of here, this court room is awfully crowded.¡±


    I wrap my arm around his, guiding him out of the courtroom.


    I hate how I have to touch him, what a disgusting creature.


    Well, for a man he isn¡¯t that bad looking, he is rather cute, and those eyes, those redeyes are intriguing.


    I just hate how I needed to marry a homeless person of lower status.


    I look at his face, haha he seems so dazed and lost in thought, maybe he has already fallen in love with me?


    Just having a beautiful girl like me wrap her arms around yours is enough to make you lose all that ¡®let¡¯s just be friends¡¯ talk huh?


    ¡°Lily, can I go back to Immy¡¯s place after this?¡±


    Why? Why? Why would you want that?


    ¡°Why dear? Do you have personal belongings you need? I can get some servants to grab them don¡¯t worry.¡±


    ¡°No. I just don¡¯t want to be married to you Lily.¡±


    Rude. Mean, it¡¯s fine, it¡¯s not like he can refuse.


    But I can¡¯t say he can¡¯t refuse my marriage, otherwise he might realise I¡¯m threatening him.


    Urgh this is tricky. He is so stubborn. I never expected him to actually try to stop marrying me, does he really not want me?


    ¡°It¡¯s fine Z, this is just a sham marriage, it¡¯s so you can be considered human.


    If you want to go back to Imogen¡¯s, you can, I did this all for you Z.¡±


    Urgh, it¡¯s fine it¡¯s fine, even if he thinks it¡¯s a sham marriage this still gives me an in.


    I can make him love me; it may take some time.


    Its not like Imogen is going to let him stay at her place anyways, not after having my last name, Z is going to be so saddened by the news that I''ll need to embrace him with a hug.


    Z looks grateful now; I made the right choice.


    ¡°Okay great, you really didn¡¯t need to go this far¡­ I am forever in your debt.¡±


    It¡¯s fine I intend to collect that debt. This is perfect, he thinks I¡¯m some saint.


    ¡°I need to get you cleaned up, let us go into the inner circle.¡±


    ¡°Yes okay, that sounds good.¡±


    Great! Ill take him to that tailor shop owned by that blessed young man, need to get Z all formal looking.


    He doesn''t look too amused by my stunt, I bet he thinks I have an ulterior motive.


    Which I do.


    Guess he is smarter than I thought.


    A carriage stops on the road, right in front of us.


    ¡°It''s mine.¡± Time to go on a little adventure into the inner circle.


    End of chapter 15.

 Honeymoon (1)

    Chapter 16: Honeymoon (1)


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    Since it is midday, the streets of the inner circle were packed.


    And also, I had become infamous for destroying a crystal, so people were gathering around.


    ¡°FUCK YOU MONSTER.¡±


    A man throws a bottle at the carriage window, the bottle shatters instantly, the contents blurring up the view to the outside.


    I was hoping for a warmer reception, but these inner circle people are much more reliant on the crystals than the outer circle people.


    At least I think so, I really hope I''m not hated by everyone.


    Lily is just waving to the people outside, a smile on her face, acting like a princess. She is not scared by the lack of warm reception. She looks back at me with the same fake smile.


    ¡°Don''t worry about them Z.¡±


    ¡°Yeah I''m not, but uh... how are we going to leave this carriage with such a big crowd?¡±


    ¡°I may not look it but I¡¯m strong, if anyone tries anything they¡¯ll be instantly obliterated.¡±


    Great. Good to know.


    Its surprising to see these rich folk act so savagely, although I guess that''s just human nature, it doesn''t matter how much money you have, you are still human with human anger.


    Its funny seeing women in perfect dresses cursing me out, not only me but also cursing out the Cullington family.


    ¡°Lily is your family disliked?¡±


    She looks at me, confused as to why id ask, but then she realizes that I''m from outside the cave so I''m not aware of the politics.


    ¡°Yes. People don''t like our family because we are one of the 3 royal families protecting the king, people like to call him ¡®the useless king.¡¯¡±


    ¡°Why? Is the king bad?¡±


    ¡°It''s better not to talk of it.¡±


    I guess its a touchy subject.


    I''m just trying to figure out the politics of this place, now that I''ve been thrown into the middle of it.


    God damn it I want to go back to the cabin so badly, or at least go back to Immy¡¯s manor, why is my life so interesting? Why can''t it be boring?


    We arrive at the tailors, as she opens the carriage door the screams from outside become louder.


    ¡°DEMON, DEMON MARRYING ANOTHER DEMON¡±


    What is that even supposed to mean?


    ¡°MONSTER, GO BACK OUT TO THE OUTERCIRCLE YOU RODENT¡±


    Urgh.


    ¡°KILL HIM, KILL HIM¡±


    The crowd begins throwing stuff, but never gets too close, I have Lily to thank for that.


    We enter the tailors, It''s the same place Immy took me to, the hallway is packed full of people waiting.


    Screams are still very loud even from within this shop.


    Lily speaks up.


    ¡°Everybody out. Now¡±


    Instantly everyone in the waiting room leaves, if I had that sort of power id be abusing it too, I hate lines.


    Theo walks out of the hairdresser''s room, annoyed.


    He spots me and he instantly has a face of bewilderment.


    ¡°Lily. What are you doing with this boy?¡±


    ¡°Haven''t you heard? Its big news, I''m married to him.¡±


    Theo gives me a look of concern.


    ¡°Does he want a haircut?¡±


    Lily looks at me and repeats his question.


    ¡°Do you want a haircut, husband?¡±


    Ew don''t call me that.


    I will take a haircut, even though the hair I have is fairly short I need time to talk privately to Theo, that guy seems to have answers.


    ¡°Yes, Thank you.¡±


    I walk into the hairdressing room and sit in the closest chair.


    ¡°Do you want me to wait outside or be with you during the haircut?¡±


    Lily is being incredibly considerate of my feelings. It¡¯s nice but completely unneeded, this is a sham marriage after all.The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    But I didn''t want her to be here, especially when Theo seems so on edge.


    ¡°Uh, outside please.¡±


    She looks annoyed and leaves the room, now it''s just me and Theo.


    Finally, I can relax, I''m scared around lily, it''s not like I hate her, but she is a lot to deal with.


    ¡°So, how''d you do it?¡±


    Theo speaks up, holding a wet rag in his hands.


    ¡°Do what?¡±


    ¡°Marry the daughter of the infamous Cullington family obviously.¡±


    I guess it does seem weird, especially in his position, he just saw me with Immy 3 days ago and now I''m with another high-class individual and married to them.


    ¡°It''s not a real marriage, just something she setup so I could get out of prison and become a human in the eyes of the law.¡±


    This was supposed to be private information, but considering he kept the secret about me maybe being a monster before, I consider him a decently trustworthy person.


    My hair gets covered in the rag, my hair instantly collecting the moisture.


    ¡°If the Cullington family wants someone out of prison or to be considered human, they can just demand it and it''ll happen, there was no reason for her to marry you.¡±


    Wait really?


    ¡°Are you being serious?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Sounds like you aren''t aware of their infamy, they are one of the top families in the city and the most feared.¡±


    ¡°Why are they feared?¡±


    ¡°They helped kill the last king, replaced him with a puppet, now they can do whatever they want, within reason of course to not cause riots.¡±


    Oh... Yikes...


    He begins to cut my wet hair.


    ¡°Sounds like they need you for something, if I were you, I''d get out of there, your new father-in-law is a very, very dangerous person.¡±


    This is a lot of new information, I hate politics so much.


    ¡°Do you want me to dye your hair again?¡±


    ¡°I''m fine, thank you Theo.¡±


    ¡°no problem.¡±


    He works fast, cutting my hair to be more styled, adding texture and layering.


    I look into the mirror and notice my red colored eyes are even more prominent.


    ¡°Those eyes sure are unique, ominous even... anyways, I gave you the classic royal haircut with a bit of texturization because you seem to like messy hair¡±


    I don''t like messy hair. I just always had messy hair due to never cleaning it, but it does look nice, the front of my hair still rests nicely on my forehead near my brows, my hair looks curlier as well, the sides of my hair are a lot fluffier, giving volume to the shape of my face.


    It¡¯s basically just a longer middle part haircut.


    ¡°Royals love these types of haircuts, you''ll fit right in.¡±


    He pats me on the back twice.


    ¡°By the way, what happened between you and Imogen?¡±


    Right of course he would ask that, my situation is incredibly weird.


    ¡°Nothing? Last time we talked she was very nice to me.¡±


    ¡°Expect that to change.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    ¡°I doubt Imogen will ever forgive you for marrying into her worst enemy¡¯s family.¡±


    Great. That is some very valuable information.


    I got out of the chair and walked to the door.


    ¡°You have no idea how helpful you have been today, Theo.¡±


    ¡°I''m aware how helpful I''ve been, I expect you to pay me back sometime.¡±


    I chuckled a bit, Theo is a very chill person, almost someone I could consider a friend if I knew him better.


    As soon as I began to open the door Lily barged in.


    ¡°Hello Theodore, did you tell Z here any information that would be considered against my families name and image?¡±


    Oh...


    Theo looks at her, he has a relaxed look.


    ¡°Yeah, I did, you know where I stand Lily.¡±


    Lily stares daggers into him with anger, but quickly dismisses that emotion when she looked into my eyes.


    ¡°Z, you mustn''t worry yourself with politics, I promise our family history isn''t as bad as it seems, a lot of the rumors are old and bloated with lies.¡±


    Yeah, okay whatever.


    ¡°Now Theo. If you are done filling this boys head with your ideology, can you please escort us to the tailor room, I want you to make Z the nicest clothing you can make. Actually I want a dozen sets of outfits he can wear, all hand made, today.¡±


    Theo sighs ¡°you''ll have to wait a few hours, are you okay with that?¡±


    ¡°It just means I have more alone time with my husband, come on lets go through the city.¡±


    She grabs my hand and walks out to the hallway, then to the front door.


    She opens it and the street is empty, completely empty.


    ¡°Guards probably cleared the street.¡±


    How did they make it empty? I really hope force wasn''t used, there doesn''t seem to be any blood on the roads...


    How can you get rid of hundreds of angry people this quickly?


    ¡°Z? Come on let''s walk the streets.¡±


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    I must admit, even though Theodore is a traitor, he knows how to style people''s hair.


    Z looks considerably better than before, and his eyes, his red eye color is beautiful, never seen anyone with that eye color before, he looks almost evil, I love it.


    My plan is going perfectly, I''m going to pamper him like a wife would, until he cant live without me, naturally he will fall in love with me and I will make him my puppet.


    Father will be happy with how well my plan is going, I cant wait to tell him.


    I spot a nice famous bakery caf¨¦ down the road, this is a perfect place to feed him.


    ¡°Z, can we go to that bakery please?¡±


    The most important part of this is making him seem in control, men love it when they completely dominate a woman, ill have to play that part.


    Its all for the greater good.


    He looks at me then the bakery.


    ¡°Sure, but can I be a bit selfish?¡±


    ¡°Yes, you can. Anything I have is yours, even my own body.¡±


    Haha he is blushing, I am nailing this.


    ¡°Uh... Right... Can we go to Immy¡¯s manor? And clear the air?¡±


    What? Obviously, the answer is no, are you stupid?


    ¡°We can''t... I''m sorry but Imogen dislikes me very much¡±


    Are you dense? Can''t you see that we are enemies?


    ¡°Okay, I promised not to pry so I won''t, but Immy treated me very well, so if you can both make it up to each other and somehow mend the bridge id greatly appreciate it.¡±


    Haah,


    That isn''t going to happen, not one chance, not after what my father did.


    ¡°Yes, I can get my father to arrange a talk, now can we please go to the bakery?¡±


    He is rather selfish. Not selfish for himself, but selfish for the people he thinks he cares about.


    You have a beautiful girl on your arm and all you can think about is creating an alliance between my family and Imogen''s? For what?


    Does he even consider himself human? Does he matter to himself?


    We arrive at the bakery, nobody was in it, the only person was someone at the front desk.


    Weird how nobody was in this bakery, usually this place is packed.


    ¡°Hello, I would like to be served, quickly please.¡±


    The bakery was huge, it was a bar, bakery and cafe in one.


    The woman at the front desk just smiled, she was ginger and had freckles, which was rare in this world.


    She looks familiar...


    ¡°Uhh...Please come in... Miss... sorry Mrs!! Mrs cullington!¡±


    Hahah, she is scared, its so funny seeing normal people react to me.


    Z follows me like a puppy, maybe he is the kind of man who wants to be dominated, it makes sense with how little desire he has outwardly shown when it comes to my advances.


    Its funny to see his reactions though, he is kind of aloof.


    We both sit down at a two-person table, the girl asks us to order.


    ¡°Can I get a coffee?¡± Z says.


    Coffee? That disgusting drink? I cant risk him having a bad time here, ill get him a better drink.


    ¡°Z, how about you have some wine?¡±


    ¡°Yeah I guess that''s fine? ill have some wine.¡±


    He really just doesn''t care about himself does he?


    ¡°Ill have wine as well, please give me your most expensive bottle.¡±


    Wine is romantic, this is perfect. I''ve set the mood.


    The girl brings us two glasses and a bottle of expensive looking wine, I''m not exactly a wine expert but this one would probably cost a pretty penny.


    Who cares, my family basically has infinite money.


    ¡°Me and Z would also like some pastries, bring out any¡±


    I¡¯m being such a pure little good wife.


    Z stares at me, what is he thinking right now?


    I watch him take a sip of the wine, I copy him and take a sip of my own.


    It tastes nice and refreshing, my mom would always make me drink wine, she is such a wine fanatic, she drinks a whole bottle almost every night, I dream to be able to do that but I''m too busy... maybe when I''m older and settle down...


    He looks disgusted by the wine. Why? Did I mess up?


    Its fine, nothing has been ruined yet.


    ¡°So Z, tell me about yourself.¡±


    ¡°Do you just want general information or my entire backstory?¡±


    ¡°Backstory please, how did you end up here?¡±


    ¡°I uh, this is going to sound weird but I survived in the wilderness for 18 years.¡±


    18 years? My blessing is telling me he isn¡¯t lying¡­ is he really that old? Has he not aged?


    18 years in the wild, that definitely explains his behavior, lack of basic social instincts as well.


    ¡°Really? How¡¯d you survive?¡±


    Stupid question considering he is immortal, am I messing this up?


    ¡°I¡¯d normally¡­ gather berries and catch rabbits. I had a run-down cabin I lived in.¡±


    Catch rabbits? Those creatures that are incredibly fast and agile? This boy caught them? In the snow no less.


    Is he actually talented?


    I saw him fight Kal, he didn¡¯t have much combat experience, but he seemed very sharp in his planning.


    His plan to drop that crystal was also very interesting.


    I¡¯m guessing he was the one to raise the smoke alarm with the explosion as well.


    Is he smart?


    ¡°Lily? You¡¯re staring off into space.¡±


    Oh right. I¡¯m thinking too much, he still acts like a child socially so I can still manipulate him.


    ¡°Yes sorry¡­ I was just thinking about how cute your eyes were¡±


    Perfect move, I see him blush, 10 points.


    I need to be less seductive and more romantic, like the character in the book.


    I take another sip of my wine.


    ¡°Uhhh.. thanks Lily, I must say you are looking great as well.¡±


    Well, yeah, I know! I look like this because of you! It¡¯s for you.


    It felt nice to hear him recognize my effort.


    ¡°Thank you, I work very hard on my appearance.¡±


    ¡°I can tell, you really do work hard don¡¯t you? I think it¡¯sa great quality to have.¡±


    Finally! someone gets it!


    ¡°I know right?? Most people don¡¯t see that, they think I don¡¯t put any effort in because I''m blessed, when I clearly am trying hard all the time. I work my ass off and what do I get? Just more orders, more commands, when do I get a break?¡±


    I showed too much emotion, oops. I guess I like being complimented, that¡¯s a weakness I need to destroy.


    Z leans over the table and strokes the top of my head... what?


    ¡°Why are you doing this?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s to show that I appreciate the work you put into things.¡±


    It feels nice¡­


    I close my eyes and listen to Z¡¯s voice.


    ¡°I¡¯m proud of you.¡±


    Proud of me? I haven¡¯t heard those words in a while.


    I snap out of it and quickly slap his hand away.


    ¡°Oh. Sorry. I, cannot be seen with you stroking my hair, you understand.¡±


    I look around, nobody is here, this is incredibly strange. This place should be bustling.


    Where are the pastries? This place did not live up to the praise it was given.


    I take another sip of my wine, the whole glass is almost gone.


    Where are those damned pastries?


    I feel sick¡­


    ¡°Forgive me¡­ Z¡­ I feel lightheaded¡­¡±


    I get up, am I about to faint? Did I drink too much?


    Oh great...


    Thud.


    Darkness.


    End of chapter 16

 Honeymoon (2)

    Chapter 17: Honeymoon (2)


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    Lily collapses on the floor, clearly out cold.


    Shit, they poisoned the wine.


    I run up to her body, she is still breathing, I don¡¯t think it was fatal.


    Her pulse is normal, was she just put to sleep? Not poisoned?


    ¡°My goodness finally, now we can talk.¡±


    It¡¯s the girl with the ginger hair, behind her are two bodyguards, huge bodyguards.


    The men behind her looked terrifying; the reason being simple.


    They were both about 6¡¯6 bulky dudes which is terrifying enoughbut also, strangely, their eyes were completely white, like just the whites of the eyes.


    Their skin looked dead and gross, like it was in the beginning of decomposition. A blessing maybe? Or do they just need skincare?


    The skin of the girl in front of me also looks unnerving, but it looks like makeup was used to make it look less noticeable. It¡¯s hard to tell how old she is due to this.


    Why am I always at the epicentre of everything bad that could possibly happen?


    ¡°Who are you? This is some pretty bad service you know? 1 star.¡±


    She giggles and speaks to me like she is reading a script.


    ¡°It doesn''t matter who I am, what matters is who are you, Z. That healing blessing of yours is something really special.¡±


    Shit she already knows about my healing?


    There goes my element of surprise, it¡¯s really the only thing I have here.


    ¡°What do you want from me?¡±


    ¡°We aren¡¯t after you, actually, we consider you a victim in all this.¡±


    ¡°Okay?¡±


    ¡°Do you want to help us? We are taking Lily, trust me it¡¯s for the good of the city.¡±


    Do I want to help? Is this some sort of trafficking scheme?


    Hell no I don¡¯t, but I can say I do want to help, to catch them off guard. Acting mode activated.


    Tsk.


    ¡°This god damn bitch has been driving me crazy all day, I¡¯m glad you finally shut her up.¡±


    My acting career began and ended with this simple sentence; I am hoping she fell for this pathetic display.


    The ginger girl chuckles, ¡°I understand, the Cullington family are a disgusting people, you not included. Help us carry this girl outside.¡±


    I step closer but she holds her hand out.


    ¡°Also... I''ve been watching you, you are really an interesting person you know that? I think you can do great things, great things in the future.


    Thank you for all your sacrifices.¡±


    Oh geez I¡¯m blushing,


    I am going to feel bad for what I¡¯m about to do.


    I stand up, slowly make my way towards the bottle of wine, my steps are calculated and cold.


    Every movement in this bakery can be heard, there¡¯s no background noise, just a ringing in my ears.It¡¯s giving me a sense of focus.


    I grab the wine with a smile on my face, holding it up towards them dramatically.


    ¡°Can I take this home? As a reward for helping? Expensive stuff right?¡±


    ¡°Sure, we don¡¯t work here anyways, take it. Take whatever, it¡¯ll disappear when we get back anyway.¡±


    ¡°What? Disappear?¡±


    ¡°Oopsie, I said too much.¡±


    Interesting¡­ Are these the people that cleared out the streets? How did they do that? How did they make this place empty?


    The two men begin to pick up Lily.


    I need more information.


    ¡°So, what¡¯s your name?¡±


    ¡°My name? I don¡¯t have a name anymore, not after dying of course, I was reborn in the wild, surely you understand, we don¡¯t need names.¡±


    ¡°Dying?¡±


    ¡°Yeah? If you don¡¯t know I¡¯m not going to be the one to spoil it, sorry friend.¡±


    ¡°Uhh¡­ alright, do you live here?¡±


    ¡°What is this an interrogation? I guess I can tell you even if you betray us, we live in the wild, out in the snow where we are free, where you were free.¡±


    I take a step forward.


    ¡°So why do you need Lily?¡±


    ¡°Secret. Listen Z, I think we could be thegreatest of friends, we are doing a good thing here, please join our cause.¡±


    Nah, sorry.


    I take a step forward, my hand grips onto the edge of the bottle, and,


    SMASH.


    I hit the first man in the back of the head with the bottle. An obvious dent appears on his head. An easy one hit kill.


    I hear a groan, the man stays upright.


    Wait that didn¡¯t knock him out?


    He turned to me and grabbed me by the neck.


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    The bottle I had in my hand drops onto the floor, completely shattered.


    That was thick glass too, and this guy didn¡¯t even budge.


    ¡°Now now, be gentle with him boy, he is our friend remember? He is just confused on which side to fight for. Disappointing nonetheless.¡±


    The ginger girl smiles at me.


    ¡°I understand, you are kindhearted, but Lily deserves nothing but pain, I was hoping you¡¯d see that.¡±


    The man is completely lifting me off the ground, it hurts so bad.


    His pure white eyes are staring at nothing, I don¡¯t think a single thought is going through this man¡¯s head.


    I grab onto his wrist and try to break it, I can¡¯t.


    I can¡¯t reach towards his face either.


    I¡¯m in a constant state of blacking out and then healing myself.


    ¡°Hey Z? Hang in there okay?¡±


    The ginger girl and the second man begin to pick up Lily, taking her outside.


    I¡¯m just stuck hanging in the air, this man¡¯s grip does not falter.


    Okay what to do what to do.


    I can¡¯t even kick this guy, I wish I wasn¡¯t so short. Urgh.


    He isn¡¯t even squeezing enough to kill me, just to keep me out of oxygen and contained.


    The corners of my blacked-out mind begin to form a plan.


    I remember a story, a story about how a mother managed to lift a burning car to save her child.


    This was because she had used more than the amount the brain lets you use a muscle.


    Since muscles tear against themselves if they are used at such force.


    How did she manage to lift the car then?


    Adrenaline.


    I can get adrenaline from pain. As long as my brain recognises it.


    I bite my tonguesuper hard; pain shoots out and my brain awakens, I¡¯m given full clarity.


    I begin to squeeze this man¡¯s wrist, I feel my forearms tearing apart then re-healing then tearing apart again.


    Actually, I could hear it, I was squeezing so hard my muscles snapping made a boing sound.


    His wrist breaks and I drop onto the ground.


    He doesn¡¯t move, his wrist is broken, and he doesn¡¯t move. Is he some monster? I expected at least a grunt of pain. Anything.


    Suddenly he looks at his snapped wrist, then back at me.


    I need to run; I need to run now.


    I push myself of the floor, the wooden planks below me allow me to slide a bit as I get up.


    I take my first step to get out, turning my head for a split second.


    A sharp pain ripples through my side, I had been kicked with enough force to flip a car.


    I fly to the other side of the room, smashing into tables and eventually into the barcounter, my back breaks and I fall into the service area.


    The man just grumbles and walks towards me, slowly.


    ¡°Let¡¯s just chill and talk this out like adults okay?¡± My voice is wavering, urgh I don¡¯t want to feel pain again, why is everything so painful?


    He doesn¡¯t even register my words as he picks up the pace.


    My body snaps back into place with a sickening crunch, I quickly stand up, not really having a plan.


    In a desperate attempt to stop him I throw bottles and glasses from the bar towards him.


    The glass breaks on impact and slashes his skin, but he doesn¡¯t slow down or show any emotion. He isn¡¯t even bleeding, the deep wounds just being black in colour.


    Is he even human? His body is damaged so he should be slowing down, and the dent in his head from me hitting him with the wine earlier looks like a severe injury.


    But he doesn¡¯t stop moving.


    I run backwards into the kitchen area, yet again nobody is there. Everyone everywhere disappeared somehow.


    I hear him enter, he is like an unstoppable force. Intent on apprehending me.


    I grab a pan of boiling water that was left on the stove and throw it over his face.


    I can see the skin bubbling and falling off, but he doesn¡¯t stop moving.


    Shit.


    I get hit again by a punch, hitting me directly in the ribs.


    Flyingbackwards into a metal table my body breaks on the metal counter, a ton of kitchen equipment rattles onto the ground.


    ¡°Whyyyy¡± I try and move my body, but it¡¯s clearly broken and trying to reconstruct itself.


    I¡¯m losing my cool, this isn¡¯t good.


    ¡°Stop doing that prick¡­ dick move¡­¡± My breath is heavy, the wind completely knocked out of me.


    I¡¯m cornered.


    ¡°Hey uh how about we settle this with a coin flip? I promise I won¡¯t tell your boss okay?¡±


    I crawl backwards, it would take too long to get up, he would most definitely grab me if I did.


    ¡°This floor is disgustingly greasy, this cannot be regulation, how about we go tell your boss okay?¡±


    Any attempt at communication with this guy just doesn¡¯t work, what¡¯s even the point of talking when this guy is just a husk?


    He should 100% be dead by now.


    He continues to step towards me, I grab a knife off the ground and throw it clumsily.


    It stabs into his arm before falling off.


    His wrist is clearly broken from earlier so he can¡¯t use that arm, meaning I can stop him from moving, I just have to find a way to break his legs.


    Okay, I just need to get u-


    I am slammed into the floor by a kick, I lose my vision.


    I begin regenerating on the other side of the room, too slow to do anything before I get pinned down. This whole place is covered in blood and body parts, the ground being super slippy due to the blood.


    I smash into a wall of hanging knives, they fall alongside me onto the ground.


    He is standing basically on top of me now.


    I regenerate enough to be able to see and think again,


    ¡°Okay¡­ please no more¡­ I surrender okay? Stop hurting me.¡±


    His leg rises and slams back down onto my stomach.


    An unconscious scream of pain leaves my mouth.


    It flattens my body, his foot going through me and onto the floor like a hydraulic press.


    I can¡¯t move my legs, the clatter of cutlery was within reach.


    I can barely control my arms, I keep losing the ability to move them and then gaining it back again.


    I grab another knife off the ground with my shaking arm and stab his leg over and over again, hoping he would move his foot from the inside of my stomach.


    After around 8 slices he moves, the sound and pain was nauseating,


    ¡°Please no more¡­ I surrender? White flag? I concede this win to you.¡±


    His foot now covered in blood rises again, and slams down into my neck.


    Shit I can¡¯t move anymore, I am completely paralysed.


    I can¡¯t even fight back, my arm which was holding the knife falls limp, he can just stay in this position with his foot constantly crushing my neck and spine.


    Urgh this is bad, this is really bad.


    I keep dying, I keep dying over and over again.


    I feel my brain being sent into nothing then I get brought back to reality, its making it hard to think.


    My eyes don¡¯t work I¡¯m just in darkness.


    I can¡¯t do anything here. Do I just give up? Is this really all I can do? This is such a stupid power, whycan''t I be overpowered like everyone else?


    I think about how I once regenerated with no hair, because of the fire.


    Back then, sometime between me dying in the crystal impact, and being crushed, my hair was magically back.


    What were the rules? I kept thinking about this, my brain was working overtime.


    Do I regenerate depending on how I perceive myself? I aged after the first sacrifice; I did feel a sense of maturity and accomplishment; I thought that what I did was selfless and adult.


    Because I was told adults are the epitome of self sacrifice and perfection as a kid, well actually I just assumed that.


    I always thought adults were perfect in the modern world orat leastsupposed to be perfect.


    My eyes turning red could be from me subconsciously thinking I''m a monster? Since monsters have red eyes.


    I''m trying my hardest to figure this all out, anything to get me out of the pain I''m feeling.


    If I regenerate depending on how I perceive myself. Can I in some way control it?


    I begin to envision my spine, healing in a way that it would wrap itself around this man¡¯s foot and squeeze it.


    It was disgusting to think about, I just kept envisioning it.


    My spine, I pictured it like a snake, wrapping from the back of my brain to the top of this man¡¯s foot.


    I kept seeing it, in my mind, I squeezed it, I pictured my spine cracking under the pressure of the force I was putting it under.


    I could sense the feeling, like an anaconda taking out its pray.


    I pictured it turning the man¡¯s foot into a paste.


    Eventually I hear a pop, and someone fall on the floor.


    My body regenerates to how it was supposed to be, my blurry vision comes into focus.


    It looks like the man¡¯s foot was completely mangled; he can¡¯t stand anymore.


    Next to him, a piece of spine that was snapped in half, it was curled and didn¡¯t look right, it looked kind of just like a random bone, I guess I didn''t envision the shape right.


    This was big... I could actually do something...


    He fell backwards and is crawling towards me.


    How did I even do that?


    I really hope this is something I can do on command and not just something I can do when I¡¯m desperate.


    I get up and easily make my way around the huge man, he is a nonthreatnow.


    I grab a knife as I leave and run outside.


    There was still nobody around, and I could not see the ginger girl either.


    I need a better view. The building I was just in had 3 stories to it, I could easily climb it and see the whole inner circle from there.


    As I begin climbing, I notice something that I did when I was climbing the cave wall to the crystal.


    I felt stronger, knowing what I know now, I feel like my body was subconsciously adding muscle to my body, to make it easier to climb.


    Because I perceived myself as a good climber, naturally I would have the muscle for it.


    Interesting, I can¡¯t wait to test out all my theories, I¡¯m so glad there is more to me than just my healing.


    This is the first bit of happiness I¡¯m feeling in a while.


    I reach the top of the building and look around, there was nobody on any of the main roads, nobody through any windows, nobody anywhere no matter how far I looked.


    This is incredibly weird, was I in a different dimension or something?


    ¡°HEYYYY!!! WHERE ARE YOU!!!!¡± i scream, it breaks the silence, the deafening silence, it echoes infinitely.


    I don¡¯t know why i thought that would work, next I¡¯m gonna try to shout Marco and hope they reply back.


    How do I find one person in a giant city? They could be hiding in any one of these buildings or alleyways.


    ¡°URGH.¡±


    I jump back down the third story building, landing with a thud, not caring about the damages to my body, I stumble back into the bakery.


    The man is still crawling towards me, on a never-ending mission.


    ¡°Hey uh, I¡¯ll join you okay? Take me to your boss or something and I¡¯ll help out.¡±


    This was pointless, this man had nothing going on in his mind. But there¡¯s gotta be some telltale sign to tell me where that ginger woman was.


    ¡°Alright this¡¯ll get a bit gruesome.¡±


    I use the knife to sever the head from the body, he keeps trying to bite at me like a zombie. I hold him up by the hair.


    ¡°Okay friend, become my metal detector, my ginger detector.¡±


    I take thehead outside, holding it out, I do a quick 360 and sure enough the grunts he makes get quieter in a certain direction. Like he didn¡¯t want to upset his boss.


    ¡°What a stupid weakness.¡±


    There was no way to know for sure this would work, I just got incredibly lucky with the mechanics of this guy, maybe he was told not to make noise near her? he seems to follow commands well so that could be the case.


    I hold him out and head the direction where he makes the least amount of noise.


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    ¡°I come bearing gifts my friend!¡±


    A ginger girl walks into an alleyway with lily¡¯s body in her henchman¡¯s arms.


    ¡°Got her just like you asked!¡±


    A woman in a black cloak and a mask stands up from a bloody circle drawn onto the floor. She moves efficiently and mechanically.


    She speaks in a monotone voice.


    ¡°That was quick. The circle isn¡¯t done yet. Where is Z? This wasn¡¯t the plan.¡±


    ¡°Urghhhh he tried to kill one of my men, boytrouble, right?¡±


    ¡°Did you explain the plan?¡±


    ¡°No? You think I¡¯m stupid enough to leak sensitive data?¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    The woman goes back to the ground and continues to paint the floor with blood, the bucket beside her being full of a deep shade of crimson.


    ¡°So what¡¯s this little art project? Or do you not trust me enough to explain your blessing?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t trust you enough.¡±


    ¡°Fair! But we are a team now, so maybe in a few business days you can explain?¡±


    The henchman drops lily onto the ground with a thud, making her grin.


    She reaches into her pocket and looks at her watch, it¡¯s completely frozen.


    ¡°Ba ba ha ha baba da da da!¡±


    She sits on a barrel kicking her legs. Drumming a beat.


    ¡°Stop it.¡±


    ¡°Then make conversation! Why do people suck at socialising now? I just had to talk to a boy who seemed completely disconnected from his surroundings, while i had to act all mature and convincing, and now I gotta talk to you, a robot person basically. Back in my day people were friends!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t call me a robot person. That is rude.¡±


    ¡°If you don¡¯t want to be called it then don¡¯t act like it.¡±


    Footsteps and grunts can be heard a short distance away.


    ¡°Uh oh, how¡¯d he get out of my sticky situation I setup?¡±


    ¡°What? Did he find us?¡± She begins to fidget with her cloak.


    ¡°Yep! What a clever young man. I didn¡¯t expect him to actually pose a threat to this scheme we got going on.Well, it¡¯s your fault since you wanted the kid, we should¡¯ve done this separately, first lily then the kid.¡±


    ¡°Lily almost never leaves her manor without a bodyguard. Except for today, this kid poses less of a threat than her usual blessed Guardians.¡±


    ¡°Yeah yeah whatever, all smart I get it. I¡¯m gonna go stop him.¡±


    She walks out into the open street, a figure holding a severed head is walking towards her, covered in their own blood.


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­ gross¡­¡±


    ¡°How¡¯s it going guys?¡±


    End of chapter 17

 Honeymoon (3)

    Chapter 18: Honeymoon (3)


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    I don¡¯t feel scared.


    I don¡¯t feel in danger.


    I don¡¯t feel anxious.


    I don¡¯t feel sad nor happy.


    I don¡¯t feel strange nor normal.


    I don¡¯t feel angry nor calm.


    ¡°Sorry I just had to drop this guy off.¡±


    I chuck the head onto the floor, it rolls down and rolls past the ginger girl.


    She sighs.


    ¡°Do you have any idea how hard it is to find a specimen like that??? That¡¯s such a mean thing to do!¡±


    I keep walking forward, what am I feeling? What¡¯s the point of any of this? Seriously.


    ¡°Sorry.¡± I shrug; the sounds of my footsteps are unsettlingly loud in this dead city.


    ¡°All good, so I take it you want to save little miss manipulator?¡±


    ¡°Guess so.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t seem very invested in this whole thing.¡±


    ¡°Guess not.¡±


    The second henchman she had following her around arrives behind her, waiting for orders.


    ¡°Okay boy, I want you to go all out and hurt this person okay? Not too much that he breaks mentally, I still want him to not hate me after all, just stall until we can finish the circle! Aight byeeeee!¡±


    She turns to me ¡°hey no hard feelings right? This is just business.¡± She runs off into the alleyway and I¡¯m stuck looking directly at the man in front of me.


    There would be a zero chance of winning in an open space like this, I only have a knife and a dream.


    ¡°Urghhhhhh.¡± I walk forward, slowly turning it into a run, the man in front of me stays stilllike a mannequin.


    I gain literally nothing from fighting this guy. As soon as I make a right turn to run past him he side steps and reverse haymakers my body into a wall.


    Holy shit that''s him going all out?? He is so fast!


    The building I was hit into was made of white concrete, so naturally my body broke first.


    Before I have time to snap back into place he bull rushes me into the wall, flinging me through the building


    This building was unreasonably nice, it had golden plated furniture with half eaten food on the table, what looked like a kings feast that was in the middle of being eaten, like everyone disappeared mid dinner.


    I forgot this was the rich part of town.


    Rubble falls from the hole my body made and falls on top of the man, it doesn¡¯t even dent him, he is stronger and more durable than the other guy I killed.


    If the last guy was a bull this guy was a rhino.


    I just need to lose him, then circle back.


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    Currently my body is on the other side of the room, embedded into a bookshelf, ¡°A guide to poverty¡± a black leather book on the floor by Imogen Abel, does she just write about anything? She most definitely was a writer before the snow came.Why is this book even here? Isn''t this a house full of rich people?


    I grab the book and chuck it at the man, this does nothing except fuel my hate for literature. He continues to run towards me with a weird robotic efficiency, like he is taking those orders to his very soul.


    My bones make a snapping sound as I stand up, I manoeuvre out of the way and he crashes into the bookshelf.


    ¡°Clumsy¡± I thought, sadly my thinking was cut short by the man punting me in the stomach, he moves unnecessarily fast for such a bulky decomposing man.


    For a moment I feel like I''m flying in the air, peaceful, like a bird who''s wings just got unclipped.


    Of course a bird who has never flown before is bound to crash and die, that''s why I hit the sink in the kitchen with a sickening thud.


    I cough out ¡°Its always with the back injuries!! Why are back injuries so common?¡±


    Come to think of it, my dad always complained about his back before the snow came, maybe we are just born with bad backs?


    My disks slip back into place and I look around, and I see it, what I was hoping to see, blue glistening snow, a spice you put in cool drink to make it super refreshing, I used it to melt the crystal, now I can use it to melt him.


    As long as it dissolves in cold water it''s not dangerous, buuut.


    I smash the container open and spread it all over my hands, before the man can pummel me again, I turn the sink on and steamy water comes out.


    Thank god for plumbing systems, hot water really is a commodity.


    The powder on my hands begin popping and becoming a sticky liquid that melts through skin and muscle, sticking to my bones.


    I wonder why they have this spice everywhere, really seems dangerous for kids, but I''m sure other people would say the same thing about bleach in the modern world.


    As the man runs towards me I jump with my arms outstretched and give him a nice overhead hug.


    Instantly his shoulders dissolve, along with the neck, I held on tight as he tried to shake me off, the muscle connecting his bones must''ve burnt quickly because I was left with a head connected to a spine and a body that was motionless by my feet.


    Urgh my suit is ruined, I hope the tailor is done by now, I need some indestructible clothes or something.


    I walk out holding the spine of the man, dragging his head onto the street and into the alleyway.


    ¡°Sorry I broke another one¡± I chuck it over.


    The sight I saw in the alleyway was one that confused me.


    Lily in the middle of a crimson red circle, candles lit around her with a masked woman in a dark robe painting the floor with intricate patterns, sort of a satanist circle.


    ¡°You told me you could buy more time.¡± the robed woman said in an unusually calm manner, her voice sounded soothing.


    ¡°Yeah I thought I could, can we bargain Z? How abouts, we take lily and thennnn... what do you want?¡±


    ¡°I want my sister to talk to me.¡±


    ¡°Done! Your sister Amelia? Ohhh boy she is a sad one, did you know she locked herself in her room after hearing of your news? What a wonderful sight to see her hear of how much of a hero you were in the outer circle bar, her own little monster being paraded in the outer circle streets.¡±


    That makes complete sense, the outer circle marvelled at me, calling me a hero while the inner circle called me a monster, she would be hearing about me everywhere. Naturally if you hate the person people are revering you''d lock yourself up to no longer hear of such things.


    ¡°so what can you even do to help?¡±


    ¡°oh you¡¯re actually considering this? I thought lily meant something to you, why else would you be fighting tooth and nail to save her? Quite literally tooth and nails you''ve lost.¡± she giggles at her joke.


    ¡°What can you do to help with my relationship with Amelia. Answer.¡±


    ¡°Uhmmm... we can trap her in here, right?¡± she looks back at the robed woman, she nods her head a few times.


    That wont help a thing, she would still see me as a monster, something that took the appearance of her brother, and I''m starting to think I''m not even her brother.


    How could I be? I am nothing like my memories said I am, in my memories before the snow I was rude to anybody but my sister, I was selfish and trying my hardest to get away from my family. I got my mom and dad killed my complaining too loud, I killed our parents, why does she like that version of me more than this version of me?


    ¡°Nah I''m good¡± I grab the knife from my pocket and slice my arm, spilling blood all over the intricate circle ¡°ohhhh nooo. My bad.¡±


    I take a swing at the ginger girl, she efficiently moves the side and puts me in a headlock.


    ¡°that was childish, but cleverly annoying, hey masky, can we finish this or are we screwed? Did he mess it up?¡±


    In my fading vision I see the girl in the robe stand up ¡°screwed I''m afraid. Let''s go.¡±


    I''m pushed to a wall, all I can see is the face of the ginger girl, her skin is unnatural, the makeup doing little to conceal her rotting skin. She seems to notice im staring.


    ¡°oh you think we are the bad guys because I look evil huh?¡± she wipes at her face, causing the makeup to come off, showing that her skin is indeed decomposing.


    ¡°You have Lily to blame for this predicament I''m in, but I don''t blame you, you are just another victim, although why you would try so hard to save someone you don''t care about is beyond me.¡±


    Why had I tried so hard? If she died the marriage would be dissolved and I could go back to Immy''s mansion.


    ¡°you aren''t invested in any of this are you? You pretend to be, but you clearly still stuck in that cabin correct?¡±


    ¡°How. How do you know about the cab-¡±


    ¡°I saw you, as I said I''m from the wild. Your mind is in the cabin but your body is here, I wish you luck on finding a purpose, mine is revenge. Byeee.¡±


    Instantly she disappears, sound blasts through my ears, the sound of ambient noise and chattering, all the blood is gone along with the candles, the masked girl is gone too, the only thing left in the alley is me and a sleeping Lily on the floor.


    I look out to the streets and see people again, walking like nothing happened.


    What an interesting blessing. ''m guessing the ginger girl has a blessing to control dead bodies? And if I''m not mistaken she took control of herself. But what did that ritual circle have anything to do with this?


    Who cares.


    ¡°urghhhhh¡± I walk over to lily and pick her up, she looks so peaceful, while I was getting pummelled into a pulp, she was just being sleeping beauty.


    I walk outside, my clothes are tattered, but I''m not covered in blood, so at least I won''t draw too much attention.


    People start to surround me, right... I forgot I''m a big deal. They hurl insults as I run through the crowds, carrying lily in my arms.


    KNOCK KNOCK.


    On the front door it said the place was closed for ¡®personal reasons¡¯ but it¡¯s clear it¡¯s just because Lily ordered a ton of clothing.


    People gathered around me, but wouldn¡¯t get too close, they probably considered me powerful as well, if they wanted, they could rip me apart and take lily, I''m lucky blessed people are usually so scary.


    ¡°WHAT!?¡±


    The door opens, Theo looks tired and angry.


    I walk through the door, still holding Lily in my arms.


    ¡°I¡¯ll explain, just give me a moment.¡±


    I walk down the hallway into the tailors room, I laid Lily on a shoe changing seat, it was big enough for her to sleep on.


    ¡°So? Care to explain why Lily is out cold? Did you roofie her or something?¡±


    What. No?


    ¡°Just... give me a moment, I need a mental breather...¡±


    ¡°Okay... want a drink?¡±


    ¡°Something strong.¡±


    ¡°Anything in mind?¡±


    ¡°Do I look like I know about liquor?¡±


    ¡°You look like you''ve grown older and a lot more traumatized, so yeah you do look like you''d know all about liquor. Also, dark hair suits you, when did you get it dyed? You couldve gotten it dyed here you know.¡±


    What?


    End of chapter 18