“Long time no see, [data lost]. What… McArthur’s gone? Humph. He lost our bet, then. I was right. You can’t save everyone… At least, not while they have free will, not that you’d agree with me. That’s why I went my own way… We’re thriving. [data lost] You would say that. Me? I hate his ideals of Salvation. Are you as naive as he was?” - Clover Emberfield, The Lost Diaries, Vol. III.

Entering Melissa’s truck again, Clover leaned against the side of the door, feeling the breeze from the open window while studying the sleepless roads. The blonde let her stew in her own thoughts, allowing her to take in everything she’d learned.

Each question that was answered only presented a dozen more; in the end, all she knew was that the Void had changed her. She wasn’t entirely human anymore; even if she mostly looked like it on the outside, she wasn’t—it was undeniable at this point.

The more terrifying prospect was that she wasn’t like the spirit users either, and if she wasn’t one of them, then what was she?

Contemplating everything, she shifted against the side of the door, holding the back of her hand against her cheek, eyes beginning to lose focus as they drove through the dreary streets. Sighing, she searched for answers in the black sky; there had to be some form of hope to latch onto.

She couldn’t be someone’s puppet, so what was there for her to do?

She’d never really taken to the whole Rosa belief—it was silly—who could think some woman was looking down and sending aid to those in need? Although, tonight, she couldn’t help but let prayer move in her heart just to reconcile with the emotions in her own breast.

How did this all happen? I suppose people have been asking that since this whole thing occurred… Were spirit users a part of that help from Rosa?

Her focus drifted to her braided hair, absently playing with it while reflecting on everything she’d seen thus far: Voids spitting out monsters and changed people, a ghost girl with her face, and all the unexpected loss she’d experienced.

Is taking away my possibility to have children a part of some big plan… I know I wasn’t planning on it any time soon, but… I can’t carry a little Leora of my own… Taking my family? Why does my mind want to blame Rosa, but my heart cries out for her help? How much is asking too much from a goddess, and what’s not enough? What was that voice I heard when I fell, and why hasn’t she talked since?

Not finding the answers, Clover’s gaze shifted to Melissa as she collected herself after the emotionally charged moments they shared; a soft hum was in her throat as her head bobbed back and forth, reliving some popular song Clover recognized from before the Voids.

The woman seemed so upbeat and positive for everything she had to deal with, yet was also very in touch with her emotions and wasn’t delusional about her unusual motivations; it certainly was unnatural, but Clover couldn’t help but be envious of Melissa’s hopeful outlook.

Of course, she’d just had the chance to see a recording of the man she admired more than any other. If love and attraction were rare for spirit users, she had found something special, yet he was obviously taken away from her in a painful way; still, she pushed on—the woman’s perseverance put a slight smile on Clover’s lips.

Thanks, Melissa, for being a light in the darkness.

Turning her eyes back to the empty heavens, Clover took another deep breath and let it out, remembering the times she’d spent with her brother.

He was always more of the type to do whatever he wanted, taking the wheel in his life; she didn’t understand why he had had so many disagreements with their parents about certain things at the time, but she could now see he was stepping out of their shadow.

I have to go my own way… I just need to find out what that is. There are so many mysteries, but what was it that voice told me when I exited the Void?

The words returned with the sensation the voice left in Clover’s chest.

“Clover, you will not wake to the same world you remember… You cannot return to the normal life you lived. You will consume; that is what you have become—Void Incarnate—and there are enemies that seek to turn you against those that need your aid. Trust yourself. You have the strength and will, Clover—find the truth—denounce those that seek to ruin this world!”

“Trust myself, hmm…”

Melissa ceased her song. “Huh? Did you say something, Clover?”

“Just thinking,” Clover whispered.

The blonde’s smile strained. “Yeah, no kidding; I bet your head’s on fire.”

Clover leaned into the back of her hand, putting pressure against her cheek while scanning the side of the night time streets. “It’s not like I could have expected any of this… I’ve just been thrown off by it all… trying to pick up all these pieces.”

“Yeah… It’s a lot to take in,” she sighed, speeding up a bit to follow behind a tram as they turned down another street.

Clover sucked in the left corner of her lip, vision falling to the cracked streets while breathing in the light breeze the Great Void released.

Has anyone thought of putting windmills or something else to use this natural wind… Why did I even have that thought? It doesn’t matter. I’m Void Incarnate… Spirit users want to help humanity, like Melissa, but I’m not like that… I do want to help, but nothing so grand as to care about every single human… It’s just not me.

She opened her eyes to follow the dim lamps they passed, sampling the air to shift between thousands of lingering scents of individual humans; it was surreal, being able to instinctually differentiate so many intricate senses she’d never experienced before without a thought.

Should I even ask these questions? If it was Rosa, or someone else, they sounded scared and angry… Trust myself, and stop the things trying to ruin my world… Find the truth… What truth?

“Hmm… Melissa?”

“Mmh?” the woman replied, giving her a happy glance.

Hesitating a moment, Clover worked through how to frame her question. “When you, mmh—was there a woman’s voice that spoke to you when you exited the Void?”

Melissa blinked. “A Voice? Hmm. Not me, no, but… I mean, I’ve heard a few people mention something like that among the higher spirit users, but most of them said it was a male voice—two said female, though—if I remember right.”

“Great,” Clover sighed. “Any specifics?”

The blonde shook her head. “Afraid not… Sorry.”

“Fantastic. It’s not your fault,” Clover sighed, shifting her posture. “I’m just working through some things.”

“Did… you wanna talk about it?” Melissa whispered, slowing the car a bit.

Should I tell her? No. I don’t know what I’m dealing with; I’ve got a ghost girl that looks like me as a kid and this random woman’s voice in my head when I fell. For now, I need to calm down; at least let my thoughts settle.

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

“Heh… maybe later,” she chuckled, rubbing her temple with her thumb and shaking her head. “Honestly, I just need to process everything… Man, it would help if I could release some tension on some transevil or rassi.”

Melissa’s small smile returned as she focused on the road and sped up. “I completely understand! Eh, we just need to get things sorted before sending you to a hotspot.”

A long puff of air shot through Clover’s mouth as she gently tapped the side of the door’s frame. “I get the feeling you’re stonewalling me,” she mumbled, scanning the broken streets and nervous citizens. “You can’t tell me you don’t know where these dangerous creatures are.”

The spirit user’s cheer dampened a tad, slumping into her seat. “Stonewalling you, huh? Well… you’re not entirely wrong.”

She slowed to a stop outside a business—a bar—which, of course, would be the most taken care of establishment she’d seen in a post-apocalyptic town. Putting the truck in park, she took out the old key and tightened her grip before unbuckling and changing her posture to look at her.

Clover shifted positions to face her. “Mhm?”

“Look, Clover,” she hesitantly started, brushing back her out-of-place hair—she’d clearly been up for a long time without the ability to freshen up. “I know you’re just trying to release steam, but if something bad were to happen, we need to be in a position where we can respond, and there are places you could go, but it wouldn’t really be helping anyone out.”

A grimace moved Clover’s cheeks. Basically, the needs of the many versus me…

“I know this may come as a shock to you, Melissa, but I’m not all that concerned about helping these random people. Do I feel bad for them? Sure. Yet, that doesn’t mean I will drop everything to let them walk all over or use me. I’m looking for answers, and if I can help people, then that’s great, but I don’t owe these people anything.”

Groaning while drooping back against her door, Melissa covered her eyes with her arm. “I… figured that was what you would say in the end. So… you aren’t like a normal spirit user?”

Clover cleared her throat, whispering, “Melissa, let me clarify…”

The woman’s eyebrows drew together, dropping her gaze to see a soft smirk in Clover’s snake-like eyes. “Okay?”

“I don’t owe them anything, but you have been nothing but accommodating and done everything within your power to support me.”

Unfastening her seatbelt, Clover opened the door and exited the vehicle with Melissa following her; shutting it, Clover leaned against the side of the warm hood to look at the blonde’s uncertain expression beside her.

“I cannot thank you enough, Melissa, nor the help that the general has given me with Lily and you; heh, I can tell this isn’t just a job, but you really care about me, and that means a lot.”

“Which means?” Melissa tentatively asked, sucking in her bottom lip.

Clover puffed out a long breath of air before straightening and looking up at the sky and listening to the sounds of crickets filling the night. “If you’re asking me to wait, then I’ll do it, but I want answers; it may sound bad to you… but I don’t care to fight in this holy crusade.”

She snickered at the circumstance she’d found herself in, walking around to face Melissa, who was still trying to discern everything she was saying and any underlying message.

“Don’t get me wrong, I’d love to fight transevil and rassi—fighting does become me—I’m just not sold on the whole following orders business with the SPU. I’ll support you—Melissa, the spirit user—if it follows my goals and we grow as friends, but it’s up to you to make sure we align.”

Melissa’s expression soon brightened. “I… see. Hmm. Well, this is really new… I don’t see it being a problem, though. Yeah! Give me some time to think about that, and I’ll get back to you. So…”

“Lily,” Clover smirked, putting a hand on her hip while facing the establishment. “Does she drink often?”

A short shrug moved Melissa’s shoulders while pocketing her key in the folds of her dress and walking next to her. “I couldn’t say for sure; booze is a pretty lucrative business.”

“I can tell…”

Clover’s focus moved from the lovely outdoor area on the second floor of the four-level establishment to the lower bar area. The windows were tinted, but soft chuckles could be heard from inside, and it seemed to be as high-class as you could get in a ruined town like Hollow Veil.

“I suppose we should snatch Lily up and get her home… I’ll think about things while she sleeps; you’re not the only one that needs to come up with answers on what to do with me.”

Melissa giggled at her smile and shrugged, opening the door and gesturing for her to go first. “I look forward to working with you, Clover!”

Her gray dress pressed against her knees as Clover entered the business; they instantly drew eyes, and whispers began. Word of her arrival seemed to spread like wildfire because everyone knew who she was, and more than one conversation was rather unpleasant.

Scanning the first level, a frown touched her mouth; Clover could smell that Lily came in through the front, but the girl wasn’t anywhere in sight.

She led the way to the bar with Melissa following, scanning the area to see if she’d missed her behind a booth. Dozens of men and women that appeared to be a part of the military were posted up together around the area, and she saw many wearing the Steel Box Bastion uniform.

The first thing on everyone’s tongue was grading her looks, which actually went straight to her long, braided hair; she’d heard anything below your shoulder blades was considered extremely rare these days, so it seemed on point and not that shocking, but her other features soon followed.

Ignoring the vulgar conversations between the men and women, she concluded that knowing what was on people’s minds rather than letting them hide it behind platitudes was the most optimal direction; she strode up to the bartender, taking the same path as her operator’s scent.

However, she paused just beyond a meter from the stool, turning to stare at a corner booth where Lily had been; the girl seemed to have gotten her drink and moved to that location. Now, the only thing occupying the booth was a nearly full glass of alcohol, and something else caught her notice, a very pungent odor she assumed was the potent spirit user beverage.

The scents wafting through the air were becoming so strong that they weren’t even in the same league as before; she was adapting to these new senses.

She could practically see the odors wafting through the atmosphere, lingering on clothes, and blowing into the fans that dispersed the fumes throughout the area; it was a little overwhelming at first, but the longer she stood still, the more the past revealed itself as she tracked the strength of each smell.

The crowd gave her curious looks, with most trying not to be obvious, yet Clover’s mind was far beyond the white noise; she could sense something was wrong, but the issue was identifying it.

Melissa held her hands behind her back, spinning in a slow circle. “I… don’t think she’s on the first floor. Should we check the ones above?”

The bartender leaned forward against the counter, studying her with a small, welcoming smile. “So, you’re the new… Huh. Anythin’ I can, eh, help ya with… Uh, ma’am?”

Ignoring him, Clover went to the area where she’d sensed Lily; the heat of her back had pressed up against the back of the worn cushion only twenty-five minutes ago.

“Melissa… you told me these spirit user drinks aren’t sold to normal citizens, correct?”

“Right?” Melissa asked, following her gaze to the cup. “What’s up?”

Picking up the glass, Clover brought it up to smell the aroma, eyebrows pulling in further. “Lily drank from this… I can smell her saliva.”

Handing it to Melissa, the bubbly woman hesitated before sipping it; everyone watched with confused looks as she winced and coughed. “Eh—ack… Yeah… Yeah, that’s stronger than the stuff I usually get.”

Returning to the counter, Clover’s eyes leveled with the nervous middle-aged man. “Hold up… I didn’t sell anything like that—the girl didn’t even order anything—everyone here knows that.”

Melissa sat the glass down before him and folded her arms. “Something like this would have put a normal human in the bathroom, half-drunk, and with a single sip—puking and having stomach troubles—it would be terrible! Who ordered it?”

“How’d ya even know any of that?” he asked, rubbing the back of his neck before sniffing it. “Eh… Okay, yeah, but I keep a tight roster; you’ll see that everything I’ve got in stock is accounted for—you know I’m strict with my products, Captain Melissa—I do everything by the book! I haven’t even sold one of these all day,” he protested.

Clover couldn’t really sense any deception from him, which drew her attention to a different angle. “There was a man with her—big—somewhat drunk himself and with some other kind of chemicals in his system… Who was he?”

The bartender began to fidget at her pointed questions, nodding and pointing to the back where the bathroom sign was. “I don’t know the name—I’ve seen him with the SBB crowd every once in a while—he’s, uh…”

Dots from her conversations with Lily, Melissa, and the two disgruntled girls from the bathroom drew a numbing picture in Clover’s mind. “Melissa, we need to go…”

“W-What’s going on?” she asked, jogging after her as they entered the hallway, but Clover went beyond it, knowing they didn’t enter the facilities.

Exiting through the emergency exit, Clover’s nose twisted; she’d seen more than enough movies and read enough literature to know where this would go. She’d seen news reported on it from other City-States daily before the Voids, which highlighted how good Skydream had it.

“I suspect one of the operators that was in line to work with me grew tired of orphans stealing their position and has made a rash decision in the heat of the moment. Lily’s life is in danger.”