As she stood there, with blood dripping down her fingers, not her own of course, all Ione could think, I hope Fellis doesn’t think worse of me.

Her sister only through circumstance stood there behind Coranne, cowering, like a frightened child.

“Fellis? Are you scared of me?” Ione asked.

The girl nodded. Great.

The white-haired girl sat down with a huff. “Alright, let’s talk about it then.” Then looked expectantly at the duo standing. With slow movements, they guided their bodies to the ground until they were all level. Coranne was strangely quiet, but she could address that later.

Fellis refused to open up.

“C’mon, girly, you know I don’t bite.” Ione tried to coax out some words.

All she did was point at Ione’s stomach.

“Oh, you saw that, huh? It comes with the class”. She lifted her tunic and smiled. “I’ve named it Harold.”

Fellis’ mouth formed in a grimace.

Fuck.

Her first instinct was to use skills to persuade her sister to open up, but that would be cheating, and Fellis was a person. Not an enemy.

Ione laid back and looked at the blue sky, dotted with white clouds. Bird creatures flew past and a light breeze rustled the trees. It’s a beautiful day, Ione thought, whilst she soaked the grass with blood.

She couldn't think of a way to talk Fellis back to her, so she dissociated from the situation, preparing herself for a less than ideal goodbye.

Fellis eventually spoke. “Ione, who are you?”

“I think a better question is ‘what, are you?’”

“You’re so dramatic.” She responded.

“Comes with being reincarnated, I guess, maybe. Can’t speak for all reincarnators, so I guess I’m just the dramatic one.” She could hear herself rambling, using anything to focus on the current situation. Ione wasn’t well versed in these sorts of situations. Killing, she was relatively good at, trying to mend a semi-broken relationship? Not her forte.

“Well, then ‘what’ are you?”

“I think you know.”

“Sheesh, Ione you’re not a monster, stop calling yourself that. And now you’re moping. Is it cause you killed Belan?”

“Hey! I'm not moping because I killed Belan, I’m moping around because you’re scared of me now!” She sat up and looked at her sister, only to meet her eyes head on.

“I’m…not scared of you...” She trailed off as she scratched her head. “I’m scared of what you can do. I’m scared of the secrets you keep.”

“Oh, everyone holds secrets, “ Ione said whilst she gave a nervous laugh.

“Not like you. You’re nice to me and Coranne, but to people you don’t know? They might as well not exist. And people you hate? You don’t treat them as people, you treat them as enemies you read about in novels. You don’t exactly treat this world like it’s real.”

Ione thought about that. This world was real, objectively. Though, to her, subjectively? Her adversaries were less than people, and she focused more on the numbers on the status screen. She cared about Fellis and Coranne, and by extension, Jahren, Daniah, Kraylin, Trikka and Osmen, but she hadn't really cultivated as strong of a bond with the latter five. Every time she had an interaction with people, it was to use them in some way. Fellis came to her, but eventually Ione had grown used to liking and looking forward to her company. Did she use Fellis as a way to alleviate any feelings of loneliness and not because she genuinely cared about her? Did she use Coranne with the notion of instating her to a Mother from the very beginning? Only gathering her loyalty through underhanded means to secure the woman’s favor? No, she did care about them, but she did use them, as well. Over time, she had realized the feeling of care grew muted, and she wasn't sure if it was due to the distance, or because she had already gotten her use out of them.

“I try to, I think.”

“No.” She shook her head. “You don’t. What do you think you’re doing right now? You’re pretending like everything is fine. Your mind is somewhere else, You were literally gazing at the sky while I sat here.”

The white-haired girl felt awkward with Coranne listening, and she was floundering.

“Yeah, because I was waiting for you to come to me. I didn’t want to make it worse.”

“So you think pretending I don't exist helped?”

“That’s not what I said, and not what I was doing. And you know that. You didn’t want to talk so I wasn’t going to force you.”

“No, you were preparing yourself for a goodbye, just to leave it like that. You weren’t even going to try to talk it out, didn’t even ask me anything. Not ‘are you okay,’ or, ‘did you see what happened?’ You were just going to leave it at that.”

Ione said nothing because that’s exactly what she was going to do.

“I know you think pretending to not care is cool and all, maybe you actually don’t, and you want to be this epic fantasy hero, who’s super dark and edgy-thanks for teaching me that word, by the way-but is that really you? This weird hero-villain persona? Or the goofy sister that I know. Or maybe you’re the cool calm collected heroine that you act around Coranne, the one who knows all and only reveals bits of information at a time.”

Ione could feel the tell tale burning sensation in her eyes and she looked to Coranne. The nun looked away from her.

What the actual fuck was going on?

“Where is this coming from?”

“It’s been on my mind. Over the years I’ve noticed that we’ve become distant, but I didn't wanna say anything. But, my suspicions grew. I’ve overheard the nuns talking and they're afraid of you, Ione. I don’t think you realize the aura you project. You just simply don’t give a crap about people outside your immediate circle, and people can pick up on it. When you look at others, you look past them, and when you don’t, it’s with the aim that you’re going to use them.”

I wasn’t aware I was going to be read for filth after killing Belan.

“Did you kill Sannie?”

The white-haired girl looked at her. Coranne looked at Ione with her eyebrows raised.

“I’ll take your silence as a yes. So, how?” Fellis crossed her arms.

“I don’t even think I should tell you. There’s...there's mind control and what if-”

“Screw that! The Father’s are getting killed all over Whisperwind. Conveniently after Jahren got his class. Don’t think I haven't been keeping up.”

Fellis was a lot smarter than anyone gave her credit for.

“With a pencil.” Ione murmured.

“Huh?”

“I killed Sannie with a pencil.” She said, louder. Coranne’s mouth dropped open.

“Did you kill Neve?”

“No.”

Fellis moved to the next person. “I know you killed Kine, but how?”

Silence.

“How?”

“You want it short and sweet or long and detailed?” Her voice was monotone. She didn’t want to think about how she killed Kine.

“Detailed.”

The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

“Fuck. Okay. Well, you saw the beginning. I grabbed him then brought him to the roof. Emotionally drained him by means of psychological torture. Which I did by laughing in his face and dancing with him for hours. Completely one sided-”

“I figured.” Fellis interrupted.

“Yeah, and then I chucked him off the roof. He broke some bones, namely his leg and elbow. I dragged him to the pond they found him in and then I drowned him while I stabbed him in the back. There you go.”

Fellis shuddered, then nodded. “I knew you killed him, but I never had the details. And so, you killed Umin right?”

“Yeah.”

“And you framed Vanria?”

“Yup.”

“You decapitated Father Umin, rolled his body under the bed and left his head in the hallway? For any random person to come across?”

“You’ve summed it up.” Ione felt emotionally dead. She didn’t like this conversation one bit.

“Ione, that’s fucked up. Do you realize how scary you sound? You used a pencil to end a life, you tortured Kine, monologued like a villain from a story, and then decapitated Umin and framed an innocent. Did you do it quickly, at least?”

Ione huffed. “I tried to choke him out, but he woke up, so then I bashed his body against the well and then, his head sort of, just, popped off…”

“So you tortured Umin too, then.”

“I tried not to!”

“Don’t lie to me. You couldn't have just stomped your foot on his face? End it right there and then, why was it so complicated?”

“My planning skill helped me come up with it.”

“So you’re blaming the skill?”

“Sort of, kinda. Yes. Okay, I shouldn't, but in my defense it said it would find inconsistencies, so I thought it was the best solution.”

“Okay, but that is an inconsistency, unless…”

“Unless what?”

“Unless Mauvah is trying to guide you somewhere…”

The newly-classed girl paused to think. Did she think of the plan, or was her skill subtly telling her what to do? If it was her skill, then technically the skill is an extension of Mauvah and Mauvah would be guiding her to these acts. Ione became nervous at thinking about the gods, remembering her experience after she had invited the three girls to their recess training.

“Most of my classes mainly focus on killing people, or finding people. Or finding ways to kill people, or finding things that could lead to me killing a lot of people.” Ione offered.

“How many are for you to kill people?”

“Ummm, completed or ongoing?”

“Both.”

“Okay, so, uhh, five have been for killing people.”

This time, Coranne chimed in. “That’s not normal, Ione.”

Huh?

“Mauvah is a quest giver, but the quests he normally gives aren’t as…bloodthirsty as yours seem to be.”

“So then, what quests does Mauvah normally give?”

“They’re related to classes mainly. And what you want to achieve.”

“So then, it’s indirectly saying I want to kill evil people. That’s what I want to achieve. A better world through getting rid of the trash.”

“See, there she goes again.” Fellis muttered. “You can get a better world by doing that, but the way you go about it is off. Did you like torturing Kine? You needlessly drew out his death, and yes, he was a piece of baumshit, but I don’t think he deserved all of that. Just a quick neck break would have sufficed. So on some level you want to draw out their pain…”

Ione looked away. She had already guessed that Fellis was less than impressed with her actions and if her sister thought that of her, then she wouldn't even bother trying to dig herself out of this hole.

“...Or something is influencing you. Influencing your mind”

The white-haired girl whipped her head back around, not expecting that to come out of Fellis’ mouth.

“What do you mean?”

Fellis shot back. “How did you react after Sannie died?”

Ione remembered it vividly. “I vomited in the toilet. My mindset was definitely not the best.”

Her golden eyes pinned Ione. “And how did you feel after Kine died?”

“Upset. I pretty much killed a kid. Granted, I think he deserved it but, he looked exactly like a kid. An innocent.”

Fellis noded. “What about Umin?”

“I had some skills… running that prevented me from feeling an emotional state when I killed him. It’s what helped me push his body under Vanria’s bed”

The duo sitting across from her raised their brows.

Fellis cleared her throat. “And what about Mother Belan?”

“I…also had some skills running when I killed the brothers, and her.”

The woman caught her eye as she shifted from her seat. “Ione, you’re mind controlling yourself to not feel anything. Which is going to catch up with you.”

What did she mean by that?

“Is that from the Tutorial Book?”

Coranne nodded.

“Why isn’t that taught?”

“Because kids, and even adults, generally don’t have the skills you have, so they don’t bother.”

"Why didn't you tell me?" The white-haired girl whined.

Coranne gave her a look. "Because you never said anything about those kinds of skills."

Fuck.

“So the mind altering skills that I’ve been using on myself…”

“Will, and has been, slowly changing you fundamentally. As a person.”

Ione felt slightly sick to her…mouth stomach. She's been using them for years now.

Fellis looked at her accusingly. “Do you have a skill running right now?”

Ione stared at the grass.

“Turn it off, you asshole!”

Tier 6 of [Pain Resistance] was shut off, and she felt the weight of the world on her shoulders.

She jerked to the right and threw up with her normal mouth.“Fuck.” Then sat back and wiped her mouth.

“I’m sorry.”

“Yea, you should be. You know that was wrong.”

Ione looked contrite, and a little green.

“If you still want a relationship with me, and Coranne, then I’m going to need you to change a few things.”

The white-haired girl nodded.

“One, please don’t torture people when you kill them. I know that some people deserve to die, but to draw it out is criminal. Your class looks like you can make any weapon you want, so use that to your advantage and do clean kills. Please.”

I can do that. She nodded. I had already planned on it.

“Two, don’t use your planning skill as much as you seem to, In fact, don’t use skills that mind control yourself at all.”

Now that was something Ione had an issue with.

“But I'll need them when I kill someone. Okay, Planning I can get around, but Tier 6 of Pain Resistance protects against mental anguish and Tier 2 of Deception gets rid of my emotional state. I might end up seeing some things that I would rather unsee.”

“Ione, you have to work through those emotions in a healthy way.” Coranne gently chided. “You can use those skills if it’s last resort only, but please for the sake of us, and for the sake of yourself, don’t rely on those skills to help you. Rely on us, at least. We’re always here for you. I was there for you after Kine. So was Fellis. Did you use those skills during that time?”

“Yeah, but not to the degree I do now.”

The nun nodded.

“Without saying too much, I’d bet the gods are messing with you, in some way, particularly, Mauvah with all these quests and skills being weird,” Fellis said thinking, before her eyes rolled back into her skull and she tipped over, face first towards the grass.

“Christ! Fellis!” Ione hurtled towards the passed-out girl and caught her while Coranne quickly laid a glowing green hand on the prone girl’s forehead.

The young girl’s ears started bleeding and Ione was all too familiar with what happened.

~~~~~

Not too long after the incident, Fellis woke up, befuddled. “Ugh, what happened?”

Ione and Coranne shared a glance. “We were talking about things I need to stop doing in order to stay in your good graces and we think the sun got to you.”

Fellis giggled and then groaned. “Stupid sun.” Then threw an arm over her eyes. “That was a test, I know you guys are lying. I heard voices telling me to ‘cease’ in stupid ass voices. Who do the gods think they are?” Fellis complained. "Coranne did you forget that you told me what happened to Ione?”

The nun’s cheeks reddened.

“Well whatever I was thinking about, It's gone now, don't remind me. No use thinking any more for today. Anyways, Ione, don’t torture people, don’t use mind altering skills on yourself, don't frame innocent people and please, actually figure out your personality and what you want.”

“Hey!” Ione exclaimed, offended.

“Hey, yourself. You can’t seem to choose who you want to be and you seem sort of aimless beyond fighting for Whisperwind. What else do you wanna do? Explore? Eat new foods? Maybe go dungeoneering? There’s so many things you can do in this world. I don't even know what else could be out there.” She said wistfully.

Ione has been so many versions of herself that she couldn't even begin to think about who to be. There seemed to be a sort of weird personality amalgamation in her current incarnation and it made her wonder if she wasn't supposed to be reincarnated this many times. If every previous incarnation fucked her up in some way. She knew she had trauma, and It was something for her to think about later.

Regarding the second portion of what Fellis said, Ione didn’t think too hard beyond what she wanted to do outside of Whisperwind and the Elven Domain. Ending the war and whatever fuckery this society had going for it was at the top of her list, but past that? Ione wasn’t sure. She wanted to get strong, so exploring was the best option. Dungeoneering, as well. Regardless, Fellis gave some good ideas and she was appreciative.

“You're right, and you know what, you will see what else is out there, I'll make sure of it, Fellis.”

She nodded. “That’s all we can ask, and thanks, but don't hold yourself back on my account.” She smiled.

Coranne seemed content for the girls’ to hash out whatever they had going with each other and soon stood up. “I think it’s time we go back, Ione I still want to talk to you, but I think you should take a shower and get a new change of clothes, and Fellis, you need to go to the infirmary.”

Ione was in agreement, and soon, they were on their way back to the orphanage.