Midnight fast approached the City of Tyche in a blanket of velvet black and countless smattered stars.
At night, the half moon's faint glow would pass through the public's eye as above a crowded zebra crossing, the city laid still under the bright yellow moon's guidance.
Right now, even though its already midnight, many people are still awake, the city remained tranquil, and everything felt quite normal as all around the city, yellow beams of streetlight would light the invading darkness, as well as a sea of people with ideals and dreams—may they be virtuous or just essentially wicked, both would equally traverse through the night in oblivion of the 'truth', their vivid profiles casting a myriad of shadows upon the asphalt.
Money and Power.
Beauty and Honor.
This is what the world is right now. Blinded with greed, pride, and the power to rule over the weak and the ignorant.
"I'm sick of it all"
Burning the midnight oil, a young woman with eyes carved out from granite and skin that is fair and porcelain, sat in front of a brightly lit computer screen, her pale, slender fingers moving rapidly across the keyboard.
Hunger, Fatigue, Sleep Deprivation, and Stress.
It is awful, unfair, and intolerable to be working under 'them', and as if it was a sweatshop inside, they pay you less than the minimum wage, take your rights for freedom of speech, and profits off the money that you were supposed to be paid with. Honestly, they were almost treating us as slaves, and yet despite of their incompetence, they would still demand you for 'more', complain if you made one mistake, and tire you out with no sliver of compensation for your hard work.
My father… Did he also went through these hardships when he was first 'scouted' by the management?
Did he not know of the 'truth'?
Or did he purposely hid it from us?
A human loses their sense of reality when faced with their desires.
We have been ignorant for our whole lives that for such a long time, it has been the dream of many to have a work here in this hellhole of a working place, not even knowing of the dark secrets, and vile ambitions beneath their trustworthy facade.
Well, I guess that's just because they're smarter than us.
Come to think of it, isn't it a bit odd? I mean, it was if they knew how the world truly works by the back of their hands that we didn't even had the chance to realize how they have twisted their words, and made it more so it would only transmit to us a feeling of victory and success.
Hollow promises, Lies, and Manipulation.
Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.
It has now been 3 years since I had begun working for a classy writing company in the City of Tyche, Sweet Haven Company.
For us, average people, the 4 central cities-- Tyche, Hathor, Ares, and Tyr are the only places in the entire continent to be able to compare itself to a 'true utopia', but just like the Capital of Freyja in which was the City of Drossel, not anyone can enter the 4 central cities as they wish.
Ever since the beginning of times, it has been said that from birth, a child can already sense the flow of vitality and mana of the universe. Just like how we know that there is air and oxygen around us, an infant is also well versed and spiritually aware as to what element they may have an affinity to-- may it be Wind, Water, Fire, Space, Electricity, Darkness, Light, Wood, and Ice etc.
According to an old saying, humans are the split image of deities. They were the most favored creation of God hence they were given the gift to serve thee but because of their newfound power, chaos ensued thus started the great war and divided the human race into five categories— Ordinary, Spell Casters, Elemental Born, Swordsmen, and Martial Artists.
In my case, I wasn't anything special; I was just some disfigured girl, no strength, and no beauty.
I couldn't become a Spell Caster like father, and I also couldn't become a Swordsman like mother.
I was useless, and I know it for myself.
But I was given a chance, a chance to live and see the world.
When I was born into this world, I was given the name "Stradivari Yuri Del Gesù".
It was such a beautiful name…
But that wasn't really who I was.
In fact, I was born with no name, no home, and no loving family to return to.
When I was found afloat by the Yangtze River, my face had been disfigured, and I was found to have a low aptitude due to my frail and weak body.
Going back to that fateful night, it was the coldest time of the year and no one visited the freezing river to find the poor state of a lone infant that had been carefully wrapped in a blood soaked silver silk inside a floating wooden basin.
That night, the young infant was already in the brink of entering death's door. She was cold, alone, and was basically starving to death since it has been over a few days now since the newborn has been set afloat by the Yangtze River. Luckily, the Stradivari Family that coincidentally lived near the river have instantly heard of the child's helpless cry through the falling snow.
At that time, the head of the Stradivari Family was Stradivari Antonio Giuseppe. He was an only child hence when his mother and father died, Antonio was left with no one but his only wife, Stradivari Michelle Del Gesù.
Back then, Michelle and Antonio had been happily married for 20 years, and yet even though they were happy, they were also lonely for not having a child to love and dote on, as they grew old and become sickly. For several years, Michelle suffered numerous miscarriages, and while his husband helped her through despite the anguish, Michelle was losing hope, and so did Antonio.
Fast forward to present time, 9 months later, in the middle of the winter solstice, when it was the coldest time of the year, Michelle was due to give birth to a beautiful daughter but was stricken with grief after finding out that her daughter has died, and that she had no heartbeat. Because of this, Michelle was full of melancholy and Antonio shared the same feelings as they once again grieved at the lost of their own child.
At this point, the couple was losing hope. They have prayed for years but it seems like the Gods just did not favor them. Wanting to believe in their faith for one last time, Michelle and Antonio once again wished and prayed to be blessed with a child that they could love and care for when all of a sudden, a ray of hope emerged from their hearts when they have heard of an infant's faint cry from outside the cold winter.
In the end, the couple fished out the wooden basin out of the freezing water and brought the child with them back home, thus avoiding the child's imminent death.
That child that almost died that fateful night was I, Stradivari Yuri Del Gesù, the sole daughter of Stradivari Antonio Giuseppe and Stradivari Michelle Del Gesù, and I will find out the truth to my father's death, and why he took his own life.