I'm more or less aware as we rush down through the central district. My mind is fuzzy from the pain and damage I took from dumping all of my mana like that, but physically, I'm pretty much fine. Even so, we rush straight to the clinic. I'm confused though, they saw me with a rail unit, why are they taking me to the clinic instead of, I don't know, throwing me on the side of the road somewhere?

And is Marrianne seriously following all the way there? I can't see her too clearly, I'm surprised she can keep up with Eryk and John running like this. Even so, by the time they all get to Beth's clinic, their breathing makes it sound like they're all about to collapse.

They rush us through the door and inside, Nina asks, "Eryk? What happened? What was all that noise?"

"Rail units," he gasps out, and her face goes pale in an instant. She doesn't even wave for him to go through, she just freezes. He rushes forward anyway, John following behind and heading into the back room.

Before Beth can even stand up completely, Eryk is rushing to explain. "Aria got attacked by a rail unit!"

Having just started forward, she actually trips over her own feet, stumbling and nearly falling before she recovers enough to respond. "H-how?!"

John is putting me down on the table as Eryk rambles through gasping, labored breaths. "I don't know, everything was normal, then she just freaked out, ran all the way across town, a rail unit came out of nowhere, attacked Aria, and then everything went to shit and exploded!" Wait, he thinks Effy was attacking me?!

That... actually sort of makes sense if I think about it. Based on people's expectation, how she was holding me, and I was screaming in pain... ok yeah, that makes a lot of sense when I put it that way...

"Wait, what are you even talking about? Calm down, Eryk." After wandering a couple steps away, he sits down on the floor against one of the counters, chest heaving. Beth looks me up and down, but there are no wounds, so she turns her attention to Marrianne instead. "I'm sorry, you are?" Beth asks uncertainly.

"W-well, I took care of... her for a while... and then everything happened, and..." she trails off giving a confused shrug as she looks around, slowly sliding to the floor herself.

Let's see, they think I was attacked by a rail unit, which is why they don't think I am a rail unit, which is why I got brought here instead of getting dumped somewhere. It's taking forever to work through this, I can barely think clearly...

"So..." Beth keeps looking back and forth between them. Of the three, John seems the most held together, like he's working up the energy to explain while leaning heavily against a counter.

"Umm," I try to get her attention because everyone else is in too much shock to really explain things well. Beth looks down at me with wide eyes. I speak slowly, my throat hoarse. "Basically, there was a big attack on the West Gate. I think that whole area is destroyed. Those were all the explosions earlier. Rail units were fighting." Once I finish explaining, I start to cough. Beth gets water and has me drink it slowly, which helps a lot.

Only once I've stopped coughing, does she stop to consider what I said. "Rail units... fighting? In the city?" She looks over the adults more carefully, so I turn my attention to them as well. They have quite a few cuts and scrapes from all of that debris, their arms bloody in some places. "Here, let me get you patched up. Is there anyone else? Was anyone else hurt?"

The fastest to recover, John answers, "Just us. Everyone else already evacuated by then. Kind of took a beating protecting Aria though."

Beth releases a tense breath. "Thank the gods," she mutters. Then she takes some time to clean and bandage their wounds. As it turns out when John takes off his shirt, he has a ton of bruising from shielding me from some of that wood, and a few really nasty cuts across his back. Well, he did tell me he was going to protect me, and I couldn't really move to stop him, so... ugh. He still got hurt because of me... I know I couldn't do anything about it, but it still makes me feel awful...

"Alright, so what's the problem with Aria?" Beth asks, looking me over again. "I don't see any injuries. What did the rail unit do to her exactly?"

"No idea, rail unit stuff. It touched her and she started screaming and collapsed," Eryk explains with a small shake of his head.

So she turns the question to me. "Aria, do you know what happened?"

"Uhh..." Yes, I know exactly what happened. I definitely can't tell her. But I also can't just lie to Beth. I mean, with everything that happened today. Everything I did, everything I showed, I'm going to have to explain at least some things to people, there's no possible way I could lie or be vague about it at this point...

I close my eyes so I don't have to see any of their faces right now. "Yes, I know what happened. The damage isn't physical though, I don't think there's really anything you can do for it. I'm sorry..."

"Isn't physical?" Beth asks. "What does that mean?"

I apologize again. "I'm sorry, I can't explain it."

"That's fine, honey." She rubs my head a little, but it just makes me feel more guilty.

"Excuse me, I'm a little lost here," Marrianne finally speaks up. "You keep calling her Aria, I thought her name was Wunay?"

I speak up first, before anyone can question that. "I'm sorry, I never had a chance to give you my name. Those boys had it wrong. My name is Aria." That's the easiest way to explain away the issue without it turning into a big deal.

"I see..." she trails off, going quiet briefly.

"In any case, who are you? How do you know Aria?" Eryk asks, clearly confused. It looks like he's finally recovered from the shock and is getting back to normal.

"O-oh," she jolts a little, clearly realizing that she's completely surrounded by strangers. "My name is Marrianne, I took care of Aria while she was sick. I haven't seen her for a while, but then, well, everything happened earlier, and she just showed up in front of me, and got attacked like that, so I just... came along... for her..."

Beth's eyebrows shoot up. "That's... Ok..." is all she says.

Since I know I should clarify this for them, I add, "She's Francis' wife." That one makes Eryk jolt a little.

"Oh, so that's who you are!" he gives a strong nod.

"You know my husband?" Marrianne questions.

"Yes, we've met a few times before."

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

"Really? How?"

"Well," Eryk looks up for a bit, before explaining. "Aria got in a bit of trouble and needed some help, and we were both there for her at the time."

"Francis has... been with you since then?" She directs the question at me, hurt in her voice.

Gritting my teeth, I try to explain. "He's a guard, so I see him around town sometimes, like when I go out the gates. I've also gotten mixed up in a few things and he's just been around at the time."

"I see..." she mutters. I don't know if that really helped at all... "How have you been doing since you left? What have you been doing?"

"Things have been..." I think of the orphanage. Having my stuff taken, getting beaten, everyone too afraid to get close. "...Fine. I've been..." Getting kidnapped. Attacked by monsters. Beaten by Mister Fredricson. Dying. "...Learning stuff..."

Those thoughts bring back a memory. Another piece of a dream. Marrianne... an easier road... but I wouldn't stay...

"Is that so...?" She forces a stiff smile. I wasn't the slightest bit convincing there, was I?

Marrianne walks to the edge of the table. "If things have been..." she doesn't say it directly. "Why didn't you stay?"

I don't meet her gaze, feeling Beth and Eryk's eyes on me as I work up an answer. "I couldn't, there are... things I have to do."

She sighs lightly, rubbing my head. "I understand."

Beth speaks up, her tone anxious. "Sorry if this is too personal, but from the sound of it... were you trying to adopt her?" Without saying anything, Marrianne sets her shoulders and nods.

"Then why...?" Eryk doesn't finish the question, he doesn't have to. Why didn't I let Marrianne adopt me, but try to have him do it?

"That's different," I mutter, looking down. "There are reasons. Things I have to do. It wouldn't have worked." I can't offer anything more.

Everyone stands, the adults all crowded around the table where I'm still lying down. The silence is heavy, everyone knowing, but no one wanting to say it. We've already talked around it as much as possible, even going into my past with Marrianne first. There's nothing else anyone can say at this point.

Of course, Eryk is the one to speak up. "So, Aria... What happened today?"

I slowly inhale, then exhale again, trying to work up the courage to explain things. Remember, these are people I trust. I can tell them things. As long as it's not that I'm a rail unit, I can trust them with almost anything. Even if I haven't seen her in a long time, I absolutely trust Marrianne too.

Well... my gaze shifts to Taylor, sitting at his desk as usual. "Umm?" I glance at Beth, then over to Taylor so she'll follow my gaze. She gives a very slight nod, then addresses him.

"Hey, honey, could you wait outside for a bit?" she asks, and he goes without much fuss.

Once we're alone, I take a few more breaths before explaining things. "I've told pieces to some of you, but not others, so some of this you may have heard already..." I sigh. I've really only told bits and pieces to each of them individually. No one has the whole picture. "I'll start from the beginning, especially for Marrianne. To put it simply, I have strange powers, sort of similar to magic. I can do things I shouldn't be able to do. Know things I shouldn't know." Of course the reactions are mixed, from Eryk and John already knowing, to Marrianne's jaw dropping.

After giving her some time to recover, I press on. "So, some parts of this are related and some aren't. Besides having weird powers, I've received two blessings from Reena. This time, it's Eryk's turn to be shocked since John and Beth already knew. "The first had to do with learning to use my powers. The second..." this part I'm not sure of. I meet John's gaze, since he's the only one who knows about it. "The second is... complicated." The way Eryk's eyebrows draw in, it's like he's silently asking 'complicated how?'

I want to go on. I want to tell them, but it's terrifying. I want him to ask so I have to explain. Gritting my teeth and shoving down my trepidation, my heart hammers away while I say the words. "I had a premonition." All the jaws drop. I can see it in Eryk's eyes. The fascination. He wants to know, but that is the only part I can't tell them.

"I've heard premonitions mean that something important is going to happen, and... well, that's probably true, but I have no idea what it might be. I'll... I'll get to that," I mutter, glancing away. "So, umm, I had a premonition. Reena wanted me to do something, and it's kind of a long story, but it basically sort of turned out alright?" If you call failing at what I thought she meant, only to turn out that she wanted something completely different, our huge fight and eventually making up as 'turning out alright.' Which... I guess I do, considering how things are between us now...

Shaking myself from my uncertain thoughts, I try to keep going. "So, umm, there's one last really important thing." Across all of their faces, I can clearly read 'there's more?' I sit up just a little, trying to straighten myself out so they can all see me clearly. It's the best I can do, as tired and hurt as I am. I shudder a little. Besides being a rail unit, and maybe the animals, this is my most dangerous secret.

I gulp, take a few deep breaths to hold back my rising panic, and push on before I can get cold feet or talk myself out of it.

I close my eyes and chann-

There's a piercing shriek. An instant later, I realize it's mine. Everything is agony. My entire being from start to finish, all the way around, every last mote. It feels like an eternity, but probably lasts no more than a few moments. Everyone else is shuddering secondhand. Chisa has to land because she can't fly right. Even Myra groans and buries her face in the grass.

As it fades, I finally regain enough awareness of my own body to realize what's happening. Every muscle is clenched as hard as possible, my back arched while a scream rips from my throat. Eyes rolling back, until finally, the pain reduces enough that I can do something other than cry out against it. I flop down on the table, totally spent. Half delirious and drooling. No one responds, just staring with wide eyes for a few long moments.

My vision is still bleary, eyes full of tears and my everything hurts too much to move. It's Beth, the only blond blur, that jumps into motion, pressing a hand to my chest and holding her ear to my mouth as I gasp in aching, labored breaths. She sighs loudly, standing back up.

"S-sorry..." I rasp toward Beth once I wrap my staggering mind around what just happened. "That was a fifteen." That... was pain from trying to use my mana while I'm so torn up inside. Like trying to push a boulder up a mountain with all of your bones broken. It wasn't physical pain. I'm used to physical pain. That was different. Not something I can get used to or ignore. "Sorry," I apologize again.

"It's fine, don't worry honey, it's fine," Beth tries to comfort me even though she clearly has no idea what just happened. I can hear it, the terror in her voice after seeing me like that. I can hardly move, it's going to take my locked up muscles some time to recover. But I didn't get to finish explaining. With unconsciousness threatening, I just want to finish. I want them to know.

"I was trying to show you, but I didn't realize it would be so bad, so I'll just tell you." I can't manage to put any strength into my voice, it comes out in an exhausted mumble. "I am an angel." I can't even see their responses. "Reena chose me for a task. I wanted to show you my mark, but, well, that went very badly. You'll just have to take my word for it... I guess." My words are getting as dull and muddled as my thoughts.

"What is your task?" It's actually Marrianne who asks.

I take some time, brain like sludge as I start to form an answer. "Well, actually... It's complicated. I think it's something important, but it's really secret and she can't tell me and, uhh... Well, I'm actually supposed to be secret too, so... don't tell anyone please? Especially the other gods?" What am I even saying anymore? I think I hear Eryk cough a little in response to that. "That's uhh, that's pretty much it. I trust all of you, so I really wanted you to know everything." I think I'm starting to go under...

"Everything?" Eryk asks, barely calling my consciousness back. I can hear the full 'but you said you couldn't tell me everything' from his tone alone.

"Oh no, not that. That's something completely unrelated," I tell him, my eyes slowly sliding closed again. Being a rail unit doesn't relate to any of this stuff with the gods or any of that.

Well, I guess I did mention 'having powers' which does come from being a rail unit, but whatever, I'm just so drained at this point that it's hard to care about little stuff like that.

"Thanks for listening, I'm really tired now..." I finally mumble out, losing consciousness. No one says anything, but I feel a hand on my head, rubbing softly as I drift off completely.

End of Book Six.