[ Acceptance into Marta Kowalski’s territory pending…]
[ Acceptance into Marta Kowalski’s territory pending…]
[ Acceptance into Marta Kowalski’s territory pending…]
[ Accepted! ]
Carrying bags of groceries in the middle of the Nebulous Bazaar, his surroundings changed and he kept a firm hold on his belongings. He arrived at a girlish room with walls painted a soft pastel-colour yellow with posters of musicians of begone times. A desk was tucked into one corner, cluttered with textbooks, notebooks, and pens. Beside it, placed without consideration, was a dining table.
“Ah, Kazi! You’re here! Thank you!” Elena immediately went and took the grocery from his hands, hurrying to the left side of the room, the kitchen. Down the middle of the room was a division between the kitchen and the personal resting space.
He watched the brunette hum and get to work, like her motherly instincts had been roused. Her hair set in a side-ponytail, wearing a small smile and getting out a chopping board as well as a sharp knife, she made lunch. The meat Kazi was supplied was that of an Amphiptere, costing over ten thousand points per pound. Ordinarily, kotlet mielony—or Polish meat patties—would have been impossible to make with a normal knife. Luckily, Elena’s bakery was top-notch and the owner was more than happy to supply her with one of their best knives.
Kazi’s gaze shifted from the left, the kitchen, to the right. In the corner was a medium-sized bed where a foreboding figure lay. Not a word was said. Kazi wore a fresh smile and came over. “Marta, hey. How are you doing?”
Her blonde hair was sprawled on the pillow, almost straw-like in texture, and her blue eyes stared into the ceiling. She didn’t move or so much as glance at him. A half-full cup of black coffee lay at the side-table, stained and forgotten. Her body, once so full of life, had lost strength. Her eyes were dim and full of a misery he couldn’t possibly understand.
“I managed to convince Father Philip and Commander Cedric to come this evening,” Kazi said. No response. He kneeled down to her level and added, “I got you those salty chips you like. Oh, and medium roast beans.”
Still nothing. He looked her over one last time. He had spent the first week following Gate 10 working on one thing and one thing alone: her prosthetics. It took a lot of study and medical understanding but he successfully built titanium prosthetics for all four of her missing limbs. But they hardly worked. Not because of the prosthetics themselves but because of Marta herself. She just couldn’t do it. She tried and tried and failed every time and the tenacity that once fueled her withered away.
Now she lay in bed, mute and unmoving. He didn’t blame her. How could he? This wasn’t a single arm or a single leg—this was everything. Everything she had done up until now was amputated. Her power, her mentality, her magical skills—Jack had ripped it all apart. No amount of magical healing could fix it.
But still, he had to try and the only person with the skill to do what Kazi couldn’t was the greatest healer of the Templar Order.
Hours passed and Commander Cedric arrived in the same black iteration of the Templar uniform he was known for. Elena had readied dinner at this point and while Father Philip appreciated it, the Commander strode right past the offered meal. His eyes narrowed as he slowly approached Marta.
“Jack,” Commander Cedric muttered. “I sense his magic.”
Kazi didn’t. Even with his newfound eyes, seeing the particles of magic that Cedric was seeing was impossible. “Mind if I touch your prosthetic?” The Commander of Healing asked.
In return, he received the smallest of nods. His fingers traced up the prosthetic arm, going up to her shoulder where flesh finally appeared.
“These prosthetics are amazing,” the Commander noted. “Who did this?”
“I did,” Kazi supplied.
The Commander gave a curious look. “Were you a doctor in life?”
He shook his head. The Commander looked impressed and prepared to give an offer. Kazi hated it. He hated that look. ‘Please, for the love of god, stop talking about me.’
So before the Commander could say anything, Kazi asked, “So what’s the situation? I’m a builder, not a doctor, so I can’t give a thorough analysis.” Kazi specialized in autopsies, the status of a body after death, not during. Then there was the magical condition which he only scarcely understood at this point.
A faint glow appeared under the palm of his hand, hovered over her heart. He jump started her flow of mana and narrowed his eyes as he concentrated and analyzed. He did it two more times before his lips set into a firm line and he came to a harrowing conclusion. “Marta, you…you siphoned your soul to use your spells, didn’t you?” Marta didn’t give a response. Another faint glow from the healer’s hand. “You fool, don’t ever do that again. Using your life energy to fuel your spells will lead to soul fracture. It’s much, much worse than mana break.. There is no recovery from it, no treatment. When it happens, there are two end results: an unhealable physical disability…or death.”
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
From the side, Elena gasped. Father Phillip offered a look of solace.
“The effects this time around are weak, probably due to the freshness of your magical soul. If you had been any older, you would have…” Commander Cedric suddenly trailed off, his hand going over to her forehead. The white-yellow glow appeared one last time. His brows furrowed and his hand clenched into a fist. “You can’t see from your left eye…can you?”
Following a beat of silence…a small nod. The most movement that Kazi had seen from her. Elena put a hand to her mouth, horrified. “S-she can’t see? Are you sure? M-Marta, say something."
No answer was given. Commander Cedric moved back to her shoulder and the silver prosthetic arm and after that the leg. Like a doctor, he continued, “Yes, indeed, these are impressive sets of prosthetics. Stylistically, it’s better than what we Templars have. But…she won't be able to conduct magic with them. This titanium will block her flow of mana and stop any spells in their tracks. And with no release, the mana may build-up and cause other side-effects.”
“What kind?” Kazi asked.
“At best, mild discomfort. The worst would be an explosion,” Commander Cedric said. “Assuming, of course, she uses magic on a daily basis. If you want prosthetics, you can certainly buy them from us.”
“I want the best on the market,” Kazi declared.
“The best?” Commander Cedric stared at him. “That will cost you upwards of two hundred thousand points."
“That’s no issue,” Kazi brushed off. “Where can I find it?”
Commander Cedric crossed his arms. “You can’t possibly afford it. Even I’m limited by a bi-monthly budget of two hundred thousand points and I'm talking about two hundred thousand for each limb piece.”
“Humour me.”
With a long breath, Commander Cedric told him, “The best out there is made of Hihi'irokane. It's durable, immune to rust, and is an excellent conductor for mana. You'll have to buy them from the House of Yamato.”
The House of Yamato; meaning, the Japanese imperial family. He heard they had a huge stake in the Sun Mall, a large-scale shōtengai that directly competed with the Baishi Mall. As the royal family of Japan that held eminence even in the modern day, the concentration of wealth and power was immense. As a new player with no political backing, he wondered what would happen if he casually strolled up to them to buy several pounds of Hihi'irokane or to buy the prosthetics themselves.
“Understood.”
Commander Cedric didn’t. He thought he was crazy for daring to think he could buy something from the Imperial family of Japan. Father Phillip went down to his knees and offered a prayer. Elena joined in. They begged for the Lord to help her. To give her the strength to move past this. Marta didn’t say anything. She simply lay there.
Kazi looked away and opened up his messages.
[ > Kazi Hossain: How is William doing? ]
[ > Yoon Sun-young: still asleep ]
The reply was instant. Kazi swallowed and looked up at the ceiling. He, William, and Marta had built this room during their off-time. All of them had worked together to build each other’s room. It was a fun time where they laughed and joked. Kazi would often have to correct them but…he was okay with that. For once, he truly was. He peered over his shoulder at Marta and hated what he saw. The woman that never gave up, that wanted to oh-so desperately change her destiny.
He refused to let it be over.
“Commander Cedric,” Kazi called out. “Where can I meet them?”
“The Imperial Palace is situated directly next to the entrance of the Sun Mall in the Guild Sector. Just keep walking and you won’t miss it."
The territory belonging to the Alhambra Guardians was at the very, very end of the Nebulous Bazaar. ‘The Imperial Palace must be aligned close to it then.’ Once Father Phillip and Elena were done with their prayer, he went over and held Marta’s hand with a comforting smile.
“I’ll be back.”
***
“Ha…?”
Walking into Temple Anneke, Kazi was met with surprise and an eerie smile. Anna Roleffes, the cool woman with tattoos and a long black rococo dress. He imagined her to be the type with an elbow on the counter and a hand always cupping the cheek, but upon seeing him, she removed her hand and smiled widely.
“Now this is wicked.”
The Valknut symbol in his left eye changed gears. “I’m here for another bit of information.”
“Information? I’m no broker but…” She looked him up and down. The dark smell in the air thickened. “I suppose I can make an exception. What do you need?”
“The Imperial family of Japan. Tell me about them.”
“That’s very specific.” Anna hummed to herself. “Do you mind giving me some time?”
“You don’t know,” Kazi stated.
“Everyone knows of the Eternal Emperor and his family,” Anna clarified. “But he’s an immortal. He’s been here forever. When you see him on the news, you just think, ‘Oh, that old bastard is still kicking around?’ So it's hard to know him on a personal level. Luckily for you…” Anna drawled. “A friend of mine in the Old Mage Tower does. Shadow Blade—maybe you’ve heard of him? Ah, I suppose it doesn’t matter. I’ll be back.” She went into the backroom and returned fifteen minutes later. On her shoulder was a white Dove Pigeon that was holding a rolled-up letter in its beak. “Here.” Anna picked out the letter and was prepared to toss it to him, only to hold back. “Remember our contract. You owe me big time.”
Kazi nodded and Anna threw it over. He didn’t waste a second in opening it up. After a quick read, he nodded again. “Thank you.”
Anna fed the Dove Pigeon a tiny piece of monster meat. “It’s what I do. Ah, but a question?” She didn't allow him to deny or accept it. “Your left eye possesses the symbol of Odin and your mana is endless. You're more similar to an avatar than a demigod. Just what in the world happened to you?”
Kazi considered her question, then smiled. “I found myself looking at a well and realized that I had to try.”