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Chapter 59: Marie(1)

I don't remember who I was or where I came from, I know I'm not from there because my parents were discussing crossing a border. I saw snowy fields, white, cold, and endless lands, but what I remember most was the anguished faces of my parents.

I know today that they were worried, I didn't understand why, but I suppose they were right since they were killed.

We were in a car going at high speed when I heard a deafening noise.

The car hit a group of bushes and several people approached us. My mother came to pick me up and hugged me warmly, telling me that I had to survive.

My father hugged us, then took something out of his bag and rushed towards them, my mother focused her magic to create a bird that grabbed me and took me away.

My last memory was the roar of gunfire. The bird carried me for a few minutes before disintegrating further into the forest.

I got up and walked around a lot crying, I don't remember why I cried, I'm more intrigued by why I kept walking.

I don't remember what it was, but I know I was in danger. I spent months in the forest, drinking water from the river, and picking all kinds of fruits I could find and when I managed to control my magic better, I started hunting animals with my magic.

When I think about it, without my emissary power, I would have died drunk. But I survived, it was the most important thing for me, the last thing my parents asked of me.

I continued walking south day after day and one day I reached an abandoned house.

I was relieved to be able to sleep under a roof for once, but when I broke in, I found children tied up, and 3 large men, alerted by the noise, coming out of a door.

They spoke a language I didn't understand, but actions spoke louder than words, so when one of them grabbed a rope and a knife, I knew they weren't there for anything. GOOD.

I pretended I was scared, so they would let their guard down, they muttered something and when the one at the back turned his gaze to the left, I broke the first man's neck. I learned during my hunts that the neck and head were the areas to aim for if you wanted to make a kill.

I was ready for it, but I wasn't ready for it to be easy. Humans without powers are so fragile. I hit every one of them and one hit was always enough. They were too slow, they only had knives, it was so easy. Maybe if I had fought that day, my parents wouldn't be... But it's too late now.

I freed the children, they were afraid of me, and some said things I didn't understand, but one of them took my hand and led me to the room from which the men came.

What we saw was devastating. I... I... It's something I'd like to forget... forever. I won't think about it, humans are the scariest thing there is...

We ran away from that place, we ran days and nights, surprisingly, the other kids were able to eat wild fruits with no problem, they all had special power like me, but theirs was different, they couldn't use them to fight. Also, they refused the meat.

After a few days, we reached an isolated village. The children were happy, I think some recognized the place, we were received by adults and taken to a large house.

My life became calm from that moment on, I was finally out of this perpetual race and I was able to fulfill my parents' wishes.

Here I learned to speak their language, I learned what they call powerful people like me and how valuable we were.

The children were orphans, kidnapped because they were emissaries but unable to defend themselves. This was an illegal but well-known practice for different purposes.

A finger has better raw power than a normal human, so it would make better workers, but how can we get that labor without issue? They are too rare in orphanages.

The answer made me hate the human race a little more, it was obviously by selling them when they are too young and too weak to pseudo-parents who will later become their masters.

A big investment for a better result, but it also meant that the orphanages would not release the child emissaries for free.

I realized that I was deemed to stay there when 4 adults followed me on my walks around the village, but they would regret it. I planned to stay a while because I had free food, but when I felt like it, I would run away, no matter who I had to kill.

But an unexpected event saved their lives. The kingdom sent people to assess the emissaries and ordered the orphanages and families to let them go to the rifts.

I knew the situation was serious when they packed my things and rushed me to leave. They gave me very little money, I wanted to steal everything in retaliation but I thought of the other children so I left without a word.

I traveled for a while, with a road it's easier not to get lost, and I walked from village to village. Many people asked me to join their team after a demonstration of my power, they told me that the puppeteer class was a very good class.

I thought it would be easy, so I went to the Rifts for the first time, but then I realized that the reason they were almost begging me to join was because they weren't even on the level of beginners.

I encountered a lot of failures, we won a few times but there was no future for us, so I asked to leave. This triggered the self-proclaimed leader, so she tried to intimidate me. I introduced her to the ground.

I went from party to party like this, I encountered jealousy, hypocrisy, perversity, betrayal, and nothing I didn't expect.

I learned to see a liar in his face, so one day, while traveling in Sofia, I did not miss this detail on Leon's face.

He was apparently the leader of the local emissary team, the only one in this place.

I asked to join them and he was very enthusiastic, as was his look at my body.

He threw a party to celebrate my arrival, there I met all the party members. The healer was a little distant, a safe distance for me, the spear was very cheerful, she was happy to have another girl around and Lilith was acting like a big sister. I don't know why, but for once, I felt like I was among strong people.

The chef and his sidekick were livening up the party, I thought they talked a lot, too much, but it was better there than with beginners.

The day passed, and we had a meeting at our base, there I had an encounter that would change my life.

"Dora... You're late again." Leon sighed.

"... Oh, the 'we have a new member' intro speech. Who is the new member?"

Then, she looked at me, yes, it was my impression, and sometimes I think about his reaction if I told him that I misgendered him.

"... Leon, let's have a talk for a moment."

"What? You're late and you want to argue?"

"Listen, I don't care how you recruit people but, maybe it's time to fix an age limit."

I shuddered a little, I don't know my age, I don't remember how long I've been running, but it was the first time anyone had called me a child.

It was a little frustrating, but I'm used to being underestimated and I know how to make them shut up.

We went into a rift and the outcome was satisfactory. This was much easier than my previous rifts, I used a swordsman puppet and a knife for myself in case a monster approached, but I never had to use it.

The monsters were taken care of without problem by the others. At one point, the last guy stayed close to me, it made me uncomfortable, I felt like he was scrutinizing me.

On the way back, he stayed in the back near me, Léon was still giving a false speech about our achievement, so I took the opportunity to settle things with him.

"Can you stop looking at me? It's very unpleasant."

"Hm? Oh, don't worry about that."

"I don't mind? How could I when you keep looking at me? I have to put up with everyone and I'd like to keep doing that, so sto-"

"Why are you holding a bomb all the time?"

I stopped abruptly.

"... What?"

"That teddy bear you always carry, it's a bomb, isn't it? I feel the concentrated energy."

How did he...

I froze for a second then slowly moved closer to him. I then took my knife and pointed it at his back.

"What are you doing?"

"Don't say a word, we're taking a detour."

"... Okay. Guys, Marie has to pee but she's scared, I'm going to go with her."

... What's wrong with this guy?

The others were surprised but at least no one objected. We went into the forest where no one could see us.

"So? Why do you want a private conversation?"

"... Never mind, how did you know about my puppet?"

"I told you, I felt the energy, it was obvious."

"It's not easy, how do you recognize a bomb?"

He looked at me for a while, I wasn't afraid, I was ready to shut him down now and run away, I just needed to confirm if he knew me from afar.

"Okay, you need to calm down first."

He snapped his finger and to my surprise the feeling on my hand changed, the knife was gone. I was stunned.

"H-how?" I was ready to retaliate, but I didn't sense any animosity from him.

Now it was scary, it was scary because he let me lead him there and didn't react, he wasn't angry, he knew the purpose of my teddy bear and made my knife disappear.

"Why are you overreacting? I just asked you why your puppet is a bomb, why are you acting like it's a state secret? And let's be serious, you have almost no physical powers, what do you think you can do with this knife?"

I only knew how to speak 2 languages ??but I felt insulted in 666 different languages.

"Thank you... But I know how to use a knife, I have my reasons and it's none of your business."

"Yeah, that's what I meant, and considering how tough you are, I'd be surprised if this thing can break a wall."

How determined was he to insult me? I talked with him for a while, forgetting my fear, slowly being replaced by anger as he used every word in a dictionary to criticize my power.

At one point, I don't know why, I don't know him, but I felt like I didn't have to worry about him. I could sense he was being honest, which was worse in a way.

"This is how I fight, I've always done it like this and it's always worked, I don't need your advice!"

"Then why did you stop attacking? You took a knife to attack me, didn't you? Why did you stop?"

"Because you're not worth it! Don't give me advice when you're weaker than me!"

I was already exhausted, I was turning my back ready to leave, when a huge wave of energy passed through my body.

I looked at him, shaking in disbelief, he was the same, but not the same. Before he had no presence, he walked like a ghost and appeared out of nowhere, but as soon as I looked into his eyes I knew he was someone different.

"Well, can I give you some advice now?"

"... Who... Who are you?..."

He took a step forward, I shivered and jumped back, but somehow I knew I was finished. He walked towards me and when he put his hand on my shoulder, I didn't resist. This power... This pressure... It was something I had never felt before.

"People call me Anesidora, but to you, it will be Gamma."

This is how I really met the one who would soon become my teacher and the one who would open my eyes to a new world. My strange friend, and his multiple personalities.