Underground town - boy's lounge - afternoon

The halls in this place are truly immaculate, even with a book in hand I can't seem to take my eyes off of them. The craftsmen truly were masters of their craft. A while ago, some of the men from the army tried to attack me, however, their attempts were in vain, as I was able to incapacitate them with one hit. Nothing fatal, I simply tapped the side of their heads using a moderate amount of force.

Such an event was surprising, yet I’m more or less surprised by their transfixed state. Their pupils are dilated, their eyes bloodshot. This all indicates that they're inebriated. I'd chalk it up to them being drunk, however, others like them had tried to attack me, but in the end, they were dispatched.

"I should be arriving at my room, right about…"

As I turn the corner, someone about my age, 19, is wearing a top button coat that stops at his shins. His hair is peculiar, it is shaped like a top hat. I wonder if he has to constantly maintain the shape of it.

"You can not go any further, Quincy."

"You know of me?"

"Of course, you are well known in the researcher circle."

"Ah, that does explain that. Well, it was a pleasure meeting you, whatever your name is, but I must be going to my room."

As I come closer to him, hoping to pass by him without trouble, he draws his blade, cutting my neck open… At least, that would have happened, if I didn't draw my bat a moment before he drew his weapon.

"How did you!?"

"Simple, I predicted your movement."

Pushing him back, I put my book away to focus on the enemy in front of me. "I am unaware of the situation, but I do know that something is afoot, and I am sort of curious on the matter. However, I should focus on this fight, so do come at me and save whatever speech you have for later."

"You think you're hot stuff, huh? Well--"

I step forward, swing my weapon at him before he can finish his sentence. Slight delay in reaction, he steps back before I could hit him.

"How dare you!?"

"As I said, save whatever speech you have for later, or else you'll be leaving yourself--"

I blocked the incoming attack that was going to skewer my brains.

"How about you shut up!"

"Sorry, you're right, I should simply beat you for now."

Backing off from one another, he re-engages with a flurry of pierce attacks. Each one is aimed at a vital point in the body; anyone has the potential to be deadly. Fortunately enough, I am able to perceive his aim then block it in a swift motion.

His sword is a slim, silver blade that is no more than 4 feet long, and 4 mm wide. It seems the point itself is the only sharp part about the weapon. He only makes thrust attacks, never going for a slash, not once. However, he's always pushing forward, making me move back to stay out of getting too close.

"There!"

A single strike makes it through my defense, leaving a fresh cut on my face. It stings, but it's not worth a reaction.

"How's that? With that, I'll be able to beat you, then I'll be taking all your findings. I know you were studying something, something quite interesting. So what is it, wanna tell--"

"You are particularly annoying. This annoyance is no good."

I take out a cloth from my pocket, wiping down the front part of my lenses.

"If you are done acting foolish, may I say this: why are you a researcher?"

He gives a puzzled expression, as if I posed a difficult question.

"Why? For the money, why else? Isn't that why you do it?"

"Ah, that is why. Then, in that case, I don't wish to waste my breath on you."

The confidence he had seconds ago melts, showing an expression that holds anger. His eyes stare holes into me.

"You think you're better than me!?"

"No, I just don't think it's worth conversing with you, that's all."

Blind with anger, he's getting ready to attack. Right leg forward, followed by a thrust. I easily dodge it. Now, 4 thrusts into a slash. I just as easily block these.

"Wha-- How did you dodge that!"

Instead of responding, I swing my bat at the enemy's shoulder blade, redirecting it to his neck the moment the previous attack connected. I didn't paralyze his dominant hand with this attack, but I have weakened it.

He attempts more thrusts only for me to intercept with an attack of my own, leading into a counterattack that always hits its mark. His movement has slowed down, reaction time is a second too late, even his stabbing motion has grown less accurate and lacks in strength. Each of his blows is no longer working, nor will they ever land again. Of course, the question is how am I certain? Simple, I can predict it.

Humans have habits that they follow, whether it's how they stand, walk, talk, breathe, think, sleep, and especially how they fight. We use methods that could be considered a pattern of attack, especially when we're unaware of it. So when I predict an enemy's moves, it's because I understand their pattern after watching them for a certain amount of time.

In this case, his moves are so simple, it's easier to analyze him in a short amount of time. Proxy, for example, took a bit of time to understand since he's adept at fighting, but if I were to try and do it on him now, I fear it would take longer since he has grown.

However, I forgot to mention one other detail, not only am I able to predict, but I can copy as well, so not only have I come to understand his pattern, but his style…

I put my right foot forward, holding my bat with one hand, pointing it at the enemy. I circle my bat ever so slightly in the air, it’s almost hypnotic; quite interesting, I’ll see if it produces a hypnotic effect later. Continuing with the circling, my enemy’s attention goes to my bat instead of me, meanwhile, I move ever so slightly to him. It seems as if he doesn’t notice, good. Then I can end this with quick decisive blows. In the blink of an eye, I strike him 8 times max, each one hitting his legs, torso, elbows, the Glenohumeral joints, and forehead.

After striking his head, he went limp, dropping to the ground like a corpse hitting the ground.

“Well, I suppose it was quite effective for my first time, but maybe I struck you too hard. I’ll be sure to adjust the impact next time I use it.”

I tuck my bat back into its sheath, on my back.

“I have to hurry and collect the book. Don’t wish for anyone else to have, now do I?”

Hmm, no good, I still can’t get what he said out of my mind. Maybe I should set the record straight, as Proxy would put it.

“I’m not a researcher because of money, nor am I out of a noble pursuit. I simply do it because I can explore the world, learn, grow alongside it as I accept new ideas. In short, I do it for fun,”

Right, now that I have that out of my system, I should be going. Taking out my book, I head back to the page I was on…

Underground - Zeal’s room - afternoon

A quiet knock on my door makes me shoot up from my bed, swing it open.

“Brother, there… Huh?”

Vetra is at the door, pointing a weapon at me. Seems to be a hand cannon that those guys at the kingdom are cooking up. How did she get that?

“Why are you pointing that damn thing at me?”

“I’m sorry, but I need you to--”

“Answer the damn question!”

Not taking her eyes off me, she moves into the room, keeping her distance from me as she sits on my bed.

“...I’ve been instructed by the elder to capture those who haven’t been put under our control, and those who resist are to be killed.”

“So what, gonna kill me?”

“Yes, I will.”

I move closer, making her flinch. She stands up, pointing it to my head. Not falling for her threat, I put my head against her gun.

“Here you go, got a clear shot.”

“What are you--”

“I said you have a clear shot, so take it!”

Her finger slowly moves for the trigger. She's clearly having a hard time trying to shoot me, and if she were a man, I would snatch the thing and break their jaw. But it isn’t, I have to deal with this differently.

“Why are you telling me to?”

“What, ain’t gonna do it? It’s simple, so just do it!”

She’s no killer, a killer just does it, no drama, no hesitation, they just kill with a cold attitude. Maybe she will, or maybe she won’t, but I ain’t gonna die, no way.

“So much damn drama! How about I end it for ya?"

A voice from outside my room. My attention goes to their hand, the air around it is visible, swirling around the palm of his hand, which is pointing toward us. There’s a feeling in the back of my head; we need to move out of the way.

If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

“Move!”

I push her to the side of the room, taking the brunt of the attack. An ice block tears through the room, ramming into me. I managed to jump back before it hit, but my arms are throbbing like crazy. My back hits the wall behind me, taking my mind off the pain in my arms.

By itself, the ice breaks into beautiful, crystal pieces.

The asshole who hit me laughs, coming into the room like he owns the place.

“Man, what a weakling, couldn’t you have dodged my attack, let alone survive it?”

“How about you shut the hell up and stop giving me a headache, huh?”

I get up from the floor using the wall behind as support.

"Shit, you still alive?"

"A prissy ass attack like that isn't gonna kill me!"

"You sure about that? Another one of those, and you're as good as gone!" Hate to admit it, but if he does, who knows what would happen. "...More importantly, you…"

He walks up to Vetra. "Sir Sven, I--"

He smacks her, the sound of flesh clashing against each other echoes inside this small room. My mind goes blank.

"Useless woman, can't you kill one guy without hesitating? Maybe I should kill you too?"

"You asshole, get away from--"

"Shut up, you dumbass. I'm just punishing someone who can't do their damn job!"

"Job?"

"Yeah, she's supposed to kill you, but she's taking so damn long that I have to step in and make her." He grabs her gun and has her point it at me. "Now, shoot this piece of shit! Hurry, damnit!"

Her grip on the gun is unstable, she's sweating, and she's on the verge of tears. Altogether, her grip on the hand cannon leaves her as she collapses to the ground.

“I can’t. I’m sorry, I can’t. I just…”

“So damn useless!”

My mind rubberbands back into action, power surges through my legs. As he raises his arm, I lunge myself at him, grabbing his arm. I lift him from the ground.

“Let me go, you piece of shit! I’ll kill you if you don’t!”

“Then try it, but shut your punk ass up!”

I threw him through the wall of my room, next to the door. I turn to Vetra, who's giving me a hundred-mile stare. The girl is scared stiff…

“Wait here, and don’t come out no matter what. I’ll end this in a flash.”

Exiting the room, I see the bastard, getting up from the floor. “Who the hell do you think you are?”

“Screw that, who do you think you are, dipshit?”

“I asked first!”

“I don’t give a shit, tell me anyway!”

“Fine, I am lord Sven! Now tell me who you are, you bastard!”

“Zeal, and I’m about to beat you senseless.”

“Ain’t we so sure of ourselves. However, it’s misplaced.”

From below his feet, ice blankets the floor below, spreading across the ground. I jump over it to avoid it. It stops below me, creating a pillar that quickly climbs upward to hit me in the gut.

“Got you!”

The pillar scales until I hit the ceiling, it then breaks apart, letting me drop to the ground.

“This is the fun part.”

In the corner of my eye, a block of ice comes hurling my way. I can’t do jack shit to it, and I’m not gonna. The block smashes against my body, freezing my skin as it pushes against me. Like before, it bursts into small fragments of ice. Hitting the ground, my body tumbles and rolls all over as I use my hands to stop my momentum, digging my fingers into the ground.

“Damn, you look pathetic. My ice is too much for a weakling like you. Maybe I should…”

All this shit he’s talking is pathetic, I just can’t stand it… It’s just… It’s just...too damn funny!

Power surges through my body, the hair on my head stands up, my blood is racing faster than usual, and the pain that was bothering me a second ago is gone. The power in me swells to a point where it becomes intoxicating. I always laugh, it’s just too damn good!

“Hey, I’ll let you in on a little secret. I don’t have the same powers you do, far from it.”

Taking a step forward, he starts to panic, tumbling to the ground as he backs away from me. Look at that, he’s shitting bricks, how cute, but he’ll be shitting himself for real!

"Stay...stay…!"

"Huh, want me to stay?"

"Stay away from me!"

He yells at the top of his lungs as he sends a block of ice hurling my way. It tears the walls of the lounge apart as it comes closer. Cute. Using the ridiculous strength in my legs, I take one leap forward. Air rushes past me at breakneck speed as my body rips through the air, flying at the bastard. The wind holds my arm back, but even its might is no match for mine. I smash through the ice, jetting my way through it. It all comes ahead when my body flies past the guy. The wind roars as I land, ice scatters everywhere, and this dude is laid out on the floor, practically pissing himself scared.

“Wha...wha...wha...the...th…”

It takes no less than two seconds for me to reach him, even if we’re several yards apart. When I take damage, it turns into power; the more banged up I get, the more power I gain. My physical abilities are ramped up, so that makes me a bit superhuman. However, this lasts for only a minute, so I need to make the most of my strength, not only that, but I get extremely tired.

Back to this sad sack, I put my face close to his, staring at his terrified eyes. A grin creeps up on my face. “Boo.” I flick his forehead, instantly knocking him out. I soften the blow so his brains wouldn’t be turned to mush inside his tiny head.

Bastard, that’ll show you who’s the best. Now, then, I better get this done before I go limp or some shit. Entering the room, she’s still on the ground, but she’s not quaking, the stillness she had before is back, yet it’s different; the best way to put it is the calm after a bad storm.

“You alright?” I outstretch my hand to her, waiting for her to take it. She says nothing, not even a peep. “I asked if you’re okay?”

“Why?”

“Why what? Stop being vague!”

“Why did you save me?”

That’s not what I wanted to hear, damnit!

“Does it matter?”

“Because I tried to kill you. Anyone else would’ve been angry. Is it because I look like your mom? Because you aren’t the first, there were others who thought so. It’s easy to give off a motherly presence if you try. So don’t you see, I was only pretending… It’s awful, I know.”

Yeah, it pisses me off, more than you can ever know. The fact she manipulated me by making me remember my mom would be enough to lose my shit… Yet, I can’t.

“You might’ve been acting like my mom, or at least gave off the presence, but it was nice… It felt nice to remember her in a different way, and the reason I save you is that it makes me feel better, let’s just leave it at...that…

A switch inside me flips, all the strength in my body evaporates. My vision blurs as I lose my footing. I get on my knees, trying not to fall forward. Shit, this is why I hate when I use this ability, the after-effect sucks ass, and I can’t move for a good while, so I don’t try using it too often. Had no choice this time since that prick had powers.

“Zeal!”

Everything goes black as I close my eyes. I can feel myself hitting something, definitely not the ground, this is too soft to be called the ground. Whatever it is, it beats the ground, that’s for sure…

“Thank you, Zeal.”

That voice sounds like my mother's… It’s probably not, but I want to dream, even if it’s for a little bit… Her voice, how gentle her personality is, how she made me and my brother laugh. Even if it was all surrounded by death, I’d rather live those moments forever. But I can’t, because if I do, then I’ll be leaving my brother, so I can’t dream forever, but just for a moment…

…

The halls are in shambles as I breeze past with my Source. The walls, floor, and ceiling are caved in. This is where Zeal's room is. I had to fight quite a lot of anti-bandit troops on the way here, and I didn't want to hurt them too badly.

Barging into Zeal's room, I see him lying on Vetra's lap, both of them sitting on the ground. There are visible bruises on him, a bandage on his forehead.

"Don't worry, he's going to be fine," Vetra whispers.

Thank you, goodness. Now that I'm here I can heal him.

"May I heal my brother?"

"Do you need to ask?"

"Thank you."

Putting my hands on his forehead, I heal whatever injuries he currently has on his body. My Source spreads across his chest, mending the wounds that he has.

"...I tried to kill your brother," she says, a hint of shame behind it. "I was going to, but I couldn't."

"Why not?"

"Are you not angry?"

"Do you want me to be?"

"I suppose I do… For the longest time, we've been welcoming guests who were welcomed here. We would welcome them and treat them like kings for a couple of days. Then, we give them the drinks we gave to your friends, have them search for any remaining members, then kill them."

So my suspicion was right. This is too sudden for it to be a last-minute idea. On top of that, the way we all came here is too convenient.

“Excuse me, is the elder by chance a female, hides her face, but is good with a whip?”

“...Yes.”

I knew it. The elder has to be a bandit! On top of that, it might be the 7th Flame Wraith: Lexia. I knew she was based somewhere in this region, but I never imagined she was manning an underground town. If she knows we were coming, then that means the others know we’re coming as well.

“If you are our enemy, why are you comforting my brother?”

“Because… It makes me feel better.”

“About what?”

“...During the war, I had a child. He was a spirited one, just like Zeal…”

“Something happened, didn’t it?”

“I failed to protect my child. Knights raided the village, killing all the fighters there. They used projectiles against us. One of them hit our home, killing me my husband and child... “

My chest tightens as my heart stings from the pain of her past. This pain is not unfamiliar to me I can relate.

“May I be so bold?” she humbly asks.

“Certainly.”

“Do I remind you of your mother?”

“You do.”

“I see, then is she…”

“Yes, she is no longer with us.”

“I am sorry.”

“It is fine, I am sorry for your loss as well.”

We all lost something precious to us, and we almost like what we have now because of the war. Zeal and I were only children when our mother was killed. A man came inside our home with a rusty-looking weapon. In the end, mother protected us but lost her life doing so. Back then, I still had my power, but I was too scared to use it to protect her. The weight of my mother’s death is on my shoulders, but even when I was in pain, I knew I had to take responsibility, so I act like an older sibling to Zeal. There’s a part of me that’s scared to tell him about me being able to use my abilities back then; would he hate me, resent me, not wish to see me ever again?

I suppose that makes me a horrible person, does it not?

“Please, rest a while. I’ll wake you when your brother is awake.”

“Thank you, please wake me if someone comes by as well.”

Lying on Zeal’s bed, I rest my eyes for a while. Zeal’s wounds are most likely healed, but until he wakes up, I’ll have to hope I healed him to the best of my abilities.

In my dreams, a woman greets both me and my brother. Her hair is starting to turn grey and her facial features reflect her old age, but she still retains all of her beauty. Zeal makes her something good to eat while I make sure she’s comfortable. Other times, Zeal and I are outside, taking care of a farm with others assisting us; Zeal has a hard time using a hoe, but he’s getting the hang of it with the help of some of the locals. Mother watches us from a small cabin, sitting on the porch with a smile shining brighter than sunlight. Many other peaceful scenarios play in front of my eyes…

But, that comes to an end when the peace is bathed in red. The world turns monochrome as I gaze inside of a cabin painted in blood. The very woman who I thought the world of, who meant everything to me and my brother lies on the floor. The air in my lungs freezes, choking me from the inside, blood circulates through my veins faster than it should, and my heart feels as if someone’s gripping it, ready to squeeze it at a moment's notice.

A tear rolls down my face, being confronted with this scene again.

“...Brother!” A voice calls for me, concerned in tone. “Brother… Brother! Wake up! Brother!”

Darkness obscures my vision for a split second before it leaves, putting me in another scene. Zeal’s face is looking down at me, a worried expression written on his face. He’s standing up with the help of Vetra, who seems just as concerned.

“Brother, are you okay!?”

“Zeal? Are you okay?”

“Forget about me! Why are you crying!?”

Crying? I am, tears are coming from my eyes. Was I really crying while dreaming?

“...It appears I am,” I say calmly.

“What’s the matter, did that prick outside hurt you? I’m gonna...!”

“No, he was unconscious when I got here. Besides, I was asleep, wasn’t I?”

“Oh, yeah, yeah, you were. I was kinda freaking out, so I thought…”

“It’s fine, I just had a dream is all.”

“Was it a nightmare?”

There are vivid images of the dream The first to surface is the blood and mother’s dead body. However, the ones that stand out the most are her and Zeal’s smiling faces.

“Yes, it was a nightmare, but it was also a beautiful dream.”

I resent myself for my inability to save mother, that will probably never change, but as long as I have my brother, I think I can keep moving forward.