"Katie, are there cosmetics that can dye seal colors? Like to get a cool red or green one?"

  "Uh, kinda. But they use seal tokens. Expensive stuff."

  "No idea what that is."

  "Monster skills stored in small circular devices that look like coins. You want to have a red seal?"

  "Uhh... black."

  I paid attention to her reaction, but to my surprise, she didn't freak out or look uncomfortable. Instead, she stopped and looked at me like I was an edgelord—ironic.

  "What? It's a cool color," I responded.

  "In clothes, yeah. But..." she thought deeply for a second. "I guess it would blend your seal energy in the dark."

  I already mapped out my lies for the future. Sorry, Katie, there was certain stuff I had to 'spit in your face' about.

  "Exactly."

  We walked more, passing stalls in the street, and then I spotted one selling clothes.

  Among them was a white cotton glove. Needless to say, I asked Katie to get them for me. I needed my own money...

  "A friend of mine is going to kill a Broken vlandos. I want to see a Broken for the first time," I told Abella, sitting on the couch on the first floor, chin on her hand, seeming to be lost in thought.

  I didn't bother lying, knowing she would find out later.

  She turned to look at me and said, "So no monster hunting for you?" She smiled a little, finding it somewhat amusing. "Instead, you'll gain levels from killing this person. And you think you'll be able to do it without feeling remorse?"

  I had killed Caren, got my brother killed, and... Natasha. Then that man back at that temple. Yet, I functioned normally.

  I hadn't been overcome with grief. So I was sure I would feel nothing. "I will be okay."

  She then nodded and frowned in a way I did not feel comfortable with. "Go ahead. We'll see..."

  I was confused about why she agreed so easily, but I wasn't going to argue with her, only for her to change her mind later.

  I went into the bedroom and rested on my bed, staring at the bunker above.

  In six hours, Lo'jul would make his move. So I rested, but didn't fall asleep. I did not want to dream.

  But sometimes my mind would drift to Natasha and Caren.

  Why Caren?

  Why did I remember him carrying me on his shoulder when I faked exhaustion? Him giving me half of his food when I wanted more.

  I always wondered how he could maintain so much weight with what he ate. I suppose he probably ate 'natural' junk-like food. Or perhaps a medical condition.

  Whatever. Those thoughts were strong, and I did not like them. At all. So I got up and did nothing but jumping jacks.

  My feet left the ground, and I moved through the air, reaching a mere foot away from the ceiling.

  One.

  Caren could've been a better person. If that fool wasn't so obsessed with being right—if he had opened his mind just...

  Two.

  Ironic. The child he called a daughter had killed him.

  Three.

  I landed on the ground, my hands curling into fists.

  "What's on your mind?" I noticed Tarnisha standing in the doorway, adjusting her hair bun.

  "A lot. Clearly."

  "Yeah... I can see that." She entered the room and sat on the edge of my bed.

  "You know, you have such a weird name. Tar--nis--ha," I said.

  Her face showed she didn't appreciate my opinion. "Yeah, I know. You know what's funny? If you remove the first three letters of our names, they're the same."

  "Yeah, my name is still better."

  "Ho ho. Very funny. What's your interest in this, Broken?"

  I didn't have much to hide.

  "Never saw one before. Besides, Abella said why." And clearly, it would eliminate the problem I was having whenever I was alone. These thoughts.

  "Really? I heard they were common," Tarnisha said, taking a silver pint out of her pocket and playing with it. "And scary. Heard they bring the fear of God in man."

  I leaned against the wall near the window. It felt like the more time I spent in this city, the more familiar phrases I would hear.

  People never talked like that about a Broken; that kind of fear was saved for Darsean cultists.

  "You fear them?" I asked.

  "I fear no one."

  Sure...

  "You want to come with me or something?"

  She didn't reply right away. Just pulled her lips to the side, considering my question. "Yes, but Miss Abella wouldn't allow that." There was a pause. "Ferzan will most likely be sent by Miss Abella to keep you safe, so if you're a little cracked in the head, don't do anything you don't want somebody to see."

  ...

  My eyes narrowed at her. Her advice was more than welcome and appreciated, but it felt so perfect. Perfectly timed.

  "You know, you're a bit suspicious," I said.

  "Which part?" She held the silver rod between her fingers. "The part where we look like twins, or... the other part?"

  "Both."

  She smiled. "You're the one who looks madly suspicious to me. If I were rational, I would've thought you were some weird spawn meant to kill me and take my place."

  I found that amusing and smiled, trying my best not to grin. "Oh yeah? So what makes you think I'm not?"

  "'Cause then I think—what if you were sent for me to take your identity? A reverse, you know?" She grinned at me.

  "You know, that would be funny if things weren't so weird. 'Cause you're going to give me paranoia."

  She lightly laughed. "I changed my mind. I'm coming with you, if it will be fast. I can't afford to spend too much time out."

  "I thought Abella wouldn't allow it."

  "Ferzan will definitely be watching. What greater security is that? He may not look like it, but he's a lot stronger than you think."

  "Yeah, Katie told me."

  "Yes, so I'll just convince Miss Abella."

  I nodded but eyed her curiously. "Why do you want to come anyway? To learn more about me again?"

  "I want to see monsters suffer." She started back playing with the pint, flipping it in her hands casually, sometimes stumbling. "A human-controlled monster is no different."

  ...

  Oh.

  I was a bit surprised, and the conversation died for a while.

  I started a new one, "So, umm, I remember you said your mother died and all that, and you want revenge. That made me wonder... You were serious about that?"

  Her hand movements came to an abrupt stop, and she looked at me. "Obviously. But it's not something that can happen now, or in the near or long future."

  "Because you'll get caught?" I suppose she needed a big plan. Perhaps to target someone in government.

  "Because the thing. The 'person' is a big shot. I don't want to share more than that."

  "I'm asking 'cause if you want help, I can help."

  Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion like what I said made no sense. "Why?"

  "You helped me... so I want to help you?"

  Her face immediately relaxed. "Oh, right, that. Hm. Tell me that again in 40 years or something."

  Okay, she was doing too much now. I wasn't that nice. Who knew if I was even going to be alive for that long!

  "Are you trolling?"

  "Somewhat." She leaned into the bed, wrinkling the sheets even more. Kicking up her leg, she said, "I'm not going to let my little secret out only to be publicly hanged."

  What the hell?

  She smiled at me, already knowing what I was going to ask.

  So I didn't waste time and asked, "Who? The King?"

  Of course, I wasn't serious and said it jokingly.

  "Nope. Not going to share. Anyway, what time do you leave?"

  "I want to know."

  "Tough luck."

  I clicked my tongue and didn’t bother pressing further. "I move in about five and a half hours."

  "Awesome." She jumped out of the bed and, on her way out, said, "You should go to the library if you want to distract yourself."

  Actually... I think I liked that idea.

  And so I did that, got a little direction from a servant, and boom, I was in a damn massive room filled with golden bookshelves.

  I was careful on the yellow carpet that lacked any design whatsoever because it felt like I could slide if I moved too fast.

  The first bookshelf was a bunch of political science and related fields. I was somewhat interested in politics and how it worked, but I wanted something to get lost in, not get bored with.

  So I checked the themes of many bookshelves until I came across... History. And a book titled: The Melting Corpse Outbreak.

  I took it and sat on a tall black stool.

  The outbreak was initially believed to have originated from a rockflea carried on the Vumion trade boat. However, this theory was later debunked. Upon further investigation, it was found that the disease had already reached Lumion before arriving in Terrafall, passing through Kmel-hul. Kmel-hul was a peculiar case, as Julioes were immune to the disease, though their migratory animals were not, particularly during the mating seasons. It was through these animals that the disease entered our lands. Infected game was brought back by hunters, unaware of the contamination, and thus the virus spread across Terrafall. At first, it was slow, taking many days to show symptoms on the inside. Then a week to finally start eroding the mind and liquefying the cells. Once the symptoms were visible, it was over. They wouldn't die as long as they had energy, so they ate anything organic, including people.

  The prevailing theory is that the Contama Virus was a biological weapon, its origins linked to bone bat fossils harvested from the Contama Caves in Leiipava.

  _During the protests in Leiipava, which aimed to remove the People's Freedom Party from power, a movement that had gained considerable ground across most of the country, an armored caravan carrying infected bone bat fossils was struck and destroyed.

  Leiipava was the first of many countries on Yeathul to have a Melting corpse outbreak.

  I skipped a bunch, looking for interesting things.

  I read for a while but then got bored, then switched to a book on Emermyne called Emermyne's History of Great Annihilation Plans.

  It’s known that before Holvious developed into a powerful country, despite originating from a bunch of savages and dragon lovers... Emermyne was Terrafall's greatest threat.

  ... Hm. This book surely wasn't going to be extremely biased.

  The Death Flood, established in 28,512, was a disaster that mainly succeeded in dividing their nation.

  The Monster Eclipse had worked in Bajinmal, destroying the once powerful empire in a week. However, when it was used on Terrafall, all the monsters forced out of Emermyne and directed to us simply found themselves in our plentiful Monster Zones.

  The False Gods project was feared to be the one to make all the nations, weak and strong, come together to wipe Emermyne off the face of Korsnu. It turned out that only one Mortal God—Brandon Starbright—was enough.

  And finally, in this century, despite the widespread practices of all the world's nations, they have yet to unveil their Great Annihilation Weapon.

  Hmm. Even I knew all the world power’s. The Great Annihilation was like nukes, in the sense that they were meant to scare a nation into not attacking.

  I read some more books that I found interesting. Some about Terrafall and monsters.

  Anyway, I looked out of the window, ignoring the yellow curtains that were trying their best to resist the wind, and saw the Silo had almost finished setting.

  The sky was now painted a dark blue.

  I checked the clock and saw it was about time—seven hours after midday—and left the room.

  I got prepared, which included trading out Twirlflower for my first monster, Mon. It was unfortunate, but I needed Mon for this, and Twirlflower was currently the weakest in my arsenal.

  I went for Tarnisha and set out.

  She had a big brown fur coat on for some reason. It wasn’t even that cold—just made her look fancy... which didn’t suit her.

  "There’s a good chance that’s going to get ripped to shreds," I told her.

  "I just wouldn’t let that happen." She then whistled and brought her warbird down.

  "So where are we going?" she asked me.

  “Near the capital. But not too close."

  Tarnisha paused and gave me a questioning look.

  "You know what I mean."

  I got on her bird, found a proper grip on the saddle, and watched it fly into the night.

  After a while, we landed a good tens of meters away from the city walls. I got off the bird, landing on the green grass, then leaned against a tall, bushy tree.

  I removed my glove and clasped my hands, concealing the black light. Only when my hand felt pressured to open did I do so.

  Mon, the quadrupedal, tailless shark, took form. I brought my right hand and knife to its nose.

  "Track the person with a scent other than mine on them."

  Its nostrils flared as it inhaled deeply, drawing in the scent of the two. Then it pulled its head back and began looking around, searching for a scent hidden in the air...

  Keep doing this until you find it.

  It felt somewhat refreshing that I could also smell the entire place... The dusty ground, the grass, bugs, blood of animals, sweaty fur, rose-scented soap.

  People, sweaty people, all of them having a diverging smell, making them stand out.

  Tarnisha looked at me, a bit confused. "Uh...?"

  I explained to her, "We have to wait for him to show up, then track him..." I paused and looked up at the shellhead bird—a white dove-like bird with a green shell enclosing its head like a helmet. "Is Ferzan here right now?"

  "Who knows?"

  I tried to create a communication line to him, but it failed, meaning he wasn’t close. But he could be looking from afar, who knew?

  Anyway, we waited for Lu'jol to appear.

  Tarnisha decided to sit near me. "So..."

  I looked at her, waiting for her to finish her sentence. Instead, she awkwardly looked at me, then got annoyed. "What?"

  "What do you mean, what? You were going to say something."

  "Then you started looking at me."

  "So?" I said, wondering if this little girl had a loose screw. "Continue."

  "Hmph. Don’t know. You should’ve told me we would have to wait a while. I would’ve brought a puzzle set... This shouldn’t take long, though? I can’t stay out long."

  "You did stay out about four hours last time."

  "Yeah, 'cause Miss Abella was in a meeting with her mother."

  "Why do you need to be by her side so often anyway?"

  "None of your concern." She began scratching at her hair.

  "I see... Katie told me you two discuss a lot of topics. Sounds like school."

  "Hm? Yes. She has a lot of stories from being a [Hero]. I inquire a lot. Politics, history, and so on all deal with it. So I guess it’s school-like."

  "Right... right. Hero."

  "Random question—do you ever feel like a side character, just surrounded by mains? Like, the ones The System handpicks to be the stars of history?"

  That was an odd question.

  “Nah, you?”

  “Nope. I’m way too unique,” she muttered, then tilted her head, resting it against the tree's trunk. “Way too cool.”

  Some time passed, and I noticed that Mon’s will had no effect on my mind. He was level 7, and my mind had been considerably enhanced, so it made sense.

  I could probably control it for two hours straight without a hitch.

  I yawned and glanced up, noticing how the stars grew brighter as the sky deepened into pitch black.

  There was no full moon. Then a familiar scent hit me—Lu’jol’s. It was different from a human’s, reminding me of guava leaves mixed with a light hint of vinegar.

  I wondered if this was how Wolverine felt, just picking up scents regular people never could.

  Anyway, I stood up and told Tarnisha, "Our person is here."

  She put away the silver pints she had been juggling and stood up.

  He was with someone else—a woman. Based on the smell, a human... but mixed with something else?

  I couldn’t see them in the distance, and Mon’s night vision wasn’t great.

  Now the Scent of two monsters.

  Then suddenly, they were moving incredibly fast. That meant they were riding monsters.

  “Let’s go now.” I grabbed Mon and went to hop on her bird, but it immediately scowled at me, feathers puffed, staring and screeching at Mon.

  Right—animals feared monsters. But I needed its sense of smell.

  Tarnisha glowered at it too, then asked, “Why don't you just keep its nose out of your seal?”

  “What?”

  “What?” She stared back at me. “Is it hard?”

  “No... I’ve just never heard of that.”

  “Well, you have now.” She turned to the bird, trying to calm it.

  I made Mon return to my seal, then did as she said. There was blackness at my palm—something that blended into the night, if not for me covering it with my shirt.

  And then, I saw a red shark snout protruding from the end of my palm, with a deeper shade of darkness at the base.

  Holy shit. HOLY SHIT!

  I pulled it and swung my arm around, "this is so damn unreal."

  She didn't see the excitement... and that made me think I was being cringe.

  Whatever. The warbird was no longer freaked out, so we got onboard.

  “Been meaning to ask—why aren’t your flashes white?”

  For a moment, my mind froze. “What makes you wonder that?”

  “I don’t see a flash at all.”

  “Clearly, it’s impossible for there not to be a flash.”

  “Hm.” The bird took flight into the air. “You hide your flashes somehow. Cool. I don’t really care anyway. If it’s monster stuff, that’s your issue.”

  "I have this cosmetic thing to make them different."

  "Ah..."

  She didn't continue the conversation, seeming to lose interest in it.

  We tracked Lu’jol and his companion from afar, who were following a dirt road leading to a decently sized village.

  Try to smell for a dirty human—one who hasn’t washed in a long time.

  The snout took deep breaths of air, far longer than before—and suddenly, it hit me.

  I told Tarnisha, “In the forest to the right of that village. Move fast.”

  She nodded and pulled the handles, steering us that way. We sped up quickly and passed Lu’jol and his friend.

  We neared the forest. I still couldn’t see anything, but my shared sense of smell let me map out the whole place.

  I could literally smell the rich greens getting closer—and that very dirty person, covered in the stench of dirt, blood, sweat, piss, and shit.

  That and... two monsters with him.

  After a couple of minutes, we were right above them.

  I stood up, wind slamming into me, blowing my hair back. “So, you're just gonna watch in the sky like last time?”

  She kept her eyes forward, unable to see anything. “I wouldn’t be able to see anything from this height.”

  She rummaged through her sidebag and pulled out a metal shell. She popped it open, revealing blu-dust inside.

  I made Mon return completely into my seal and prepped Crushbull. “No ether battery light or something?”

  “I don’t see the point.” She pulled out a glass cylinder with a lens at one end, shoved blu-dust into the base, and then spat into it.

  The dust sizzled and combusted quickly. The light dimmed to almost nothing, except at the lens, which shone brightly.

  Then she said, “Go.”

  That was way higher quality than what we had back in Vaera village.

  The breeze softened, no longer battering my face. I tapped her shoulder, causing her to make eye contact with me, then sent a communication line request.

  Her eyes widened, and she frowned slightly. “System stuff...”

  “You hate that too?”

  “Not as much. But of course I hate whatever’s related to monsters.”

  “Is that so...” I jumped off the bird, arms tucked tight to my sides.

  Kinda felt like a superhero. The wind on my face would’ve been fun if it didn’t make breathing impossible.

  Then I had a sudden idea. I clasped my hands and partially released Crushbull’s horn. [Earth Armor]— excluding my right palm. And make it hard—use most of your damn ether for it!

  Rocks covered my body. It felt different this time. Much heavier, fewer cracks—way more refined.

  I laughed. I was learning new ways to use these powers so quickly!

  Why didn’t more vlandos do this?!

  I then partially released Crushbull’s head and immediately got perfect night vision.

  Yes... the Broken Vlandos was directly under me—basically naked, with torn armor on his shoulders, thighs, and back—looking up. Then, with the speed of a falling boulder, I almost hit him.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

  At the last second, he had scrambled away on all fours.

  There was a loud thud when I hit the ground.

  I jumped back immediately, moving my left hand forward for a better view.

  Huh. All I saw were trees and a wet forest floor, layered thick with both fresh and rotting leaves.

  The guy was no longer—

  My leg was grabbed, and I was yanked off the ground—slammed through a thick tree that had probably stood for a century.

  My body tore through it, snapping it in half, wood shards flying everywhere. But I felt nothing.

  I did realize why more vlandos didn’t use this technique. Being completely manual in battle sucked ass.

  I spied at his level, noticing it was only 21.

  Hm.

  I switched from Crushbull to Aquaren, letting it burst from my palm, and immediately used [Sharp Splash]. The snake shot forward, hit the man’s face, and exploded in water.

  The man went flying, crashing through trees before slamming into the ground and digging a furrow into it.

  I stood and readied myself, sending out Forwing while Aquaren recovered from being a puddle of water. The strain was instant and heavy.

  A powerful migraine—but I could handle it for about twelve seconds before losing my mind. More than enough.

  Forwing’s white and red form soared into the air, and I moved fast. “[Feather Dance]!”

  It climbed high, red wings wide, then spun, flooding the area with feathers.

  Now. [Faster Movement], on me.

  It was a status skill—officially an enchantment skill—but whatever. Forwing screeched, and a blue glow outlined my body, lines of light rising from me.

  Okay...

  I no longer felt the weight of the armor.

  Do it again, Forwing.

  Another glow of blue came over me, and this time, I felt much lighter!

  _I stretched out my hand, keeping an eye on the broken vlandos as he roared—

  Then I heard a sudden sound. A ball of fire with spider legs surrounding it, the size of me, shot toward my chest.

  And... that was its mistake.

  [Snakes of Water] — Aquaren swiped its tail at me, hitting my foot.

  Any surface could be its target, including my body. My torso magically sank in, replaced with a pond of blue water.

  Then the monster hit me and screamed in agony as water snakes manifested from it, coiling around its body and sinking the creature into it.

  Level 16.

  My mind began swelling with pain, and the wall between me and the monsters began breaking.

  At the same time, the broken Vlandos was above me, moving with his hands outstretched.

  I dashed to the side, much faster because of [Faster Movement]. Then I swiped Aquaren’s head, absorbing it into my seal.

  The man screamed, swinging his arm down at my head. I parried it and stabbed him in the chest with my black knife. It broke through his skin and muscle but didn't sink deeper.

  Then he grabbed my shoulders, sinking deeper into my knife and confusing me.

  His mouth widened and his teeth bared, then he bit down on my protected neck.

  He was really crazy...

  On his shoulder, a metallic scorpion — its legs and tail like drills but twice as long as its body, grinned at me.

  It screeched, then struck with its tail. I tried to swing my head to the side, but the speed boost had wade off, making me too slow.

  The tip of its tail broke through my headpiece, then my skin, drawing blood. But that was as far as it went.

  Indeed, Earth Armor was my precious little darling.

  The monster reared its tail back. This time, the tip was dripping with a metallic liquid.

  Handle it.

  Forwing obeyed my command and swooped down, picking the monster up with its talons.

  I wanted to be careful with Forwing's ether expenditure since I already made it use two powerful skills.

  I found it annoying that the Broken was able to track me through the [Feather Dance]. Maybe he was using the monster's nose, or ears, or something.

  He kept making weird sounds and trying to bite through the armor.

  I grabbed his head and brought mine to his, splitting the skin and shaking his brain.

  He stumbled back, using his hands to stop himself from falling to the ground. He then looked at me, not with anger, but something different now.

  Confusion, grief, sadness, then... his mouth widened and a mad look overcame him again.

  "Dalian... Dalian..." then a screech.

  What was going on?

  I stepped back, easily dodging his swings, then countered by kicking his leg, causing him to fall.

  "I can't... lose him...!" He forced himself back up. "I... Death... Die... die, human!"

  Was he recalling his memories? Did my headbutt work the same way I had regained control back then?

  But adventurers were sent to kill him. He was deemed broken. He couldn't be fixed...

  I looked at him, watching the way he forced himself up. "I love... I love... No... Die, die, die!"

  But what if I killed the monster controlling him? Wouldn't that be an easy cure? Why couldn't that work?

  He rushed forward, catching me off guard. His hands wrapped around my waist, and he kept running, then he switched his grip to my leg and swung me through trees and massive rocks.

  It was—

  No... it could work. Why didn’t they do it? Regulars didn’t like us — why wouldn’t they send other vlandos to kill their own? Some kind of psychological taming?

  I went through another tree, feeling nothing.

  Then I remembered: harm is shared between vlandos and their monster. If I killed his monster, he would die.

  I raised my arm high above him, then drove my elbow down onto his head with all the force I could muster.

  Immediately, he tumbled down over me, barely conscious. Armor was truly the make-or-break of an adventurer.

  I pushed him off and switched my focus to Forwing. I merely needed to knock his monster unconscious.

  Forwing was having a hard time hurting that metal monster, which led me to wonder what it was weak in. Perhaps its travel speed?

  I also wondered where he got his hands on something like that... no matter.

  [Water of Snakes] would be enough to handle it.

  I moved, then suddenly, I felt the man's hand wrap around my armored ankle. "Dalian... I didn’t mean to... But I can’t... I..." His voice regressed into a monstrous tone. "Kill, everyone. I'll have you—"

  "Sorry..." I muttered before forcing my foot out of his grip and running off, clasping my hands, readying Aquaren.

  Forwing, bring it to me.

  It charged at the scorpion, bent to avoid a tail strike to its wing, then grabbed the creature's head and flung it up.

  I then gave Forwing another command, and it obeyed—hitting it with a [Wind Slash], sending it hurling in my direction.

  It spun through tree leaves, then finally reached me. I grabbed its tail at the same moment it struck my arm, leaving a drip of liquid metal on it.

  I stomped forward and hurled all my weight into the swing, slamming it into the ground with a heavy, jarring thud.

  Immediately, I partially released Aquaren, allowing it to curl to the ground and turn the earth beneath the scorpion into a pond of water.

  And it worked like a charm.

  Then something odd caught my eye. The liquid metal on my arm was spreading, crawling up to my shoulder.

  Shit.

  I made Aquaren retreat into my seal and brought out Mon, immediately commanding it to hit me with [Fire Spit].

  I had to make sure the liquid wouldn't reach the hole in my headpiece.

  The metal liquid reached my stomach and was spreading to my lower body. And to make things worse, it reached my neck.

  Then I got hit with a blast of hot flames from Mon — a consistent blast. Those flames burned at my forehead... but after it could no longer spit, I opened my eyes and observed myself through Mon’s eyes.

  The metal had stopped spreading and hardened. Not just that, I couldn’t move the affected areas.

  Whatever. I made Mon retreat into my hand and summoned Forwing so it could fire its beak(an ether cheap skill) at me as many times as needed to shatter the armor.

  Since Crushbull energy was depleted, it couldn't help me out.

  It took very, very long, but eventually, the rock part of the armor shattered, making it easier to tear through the metal-coated parts, since they hadn’t penetrated too deeply into the stone.

  Forwing was now drained beyond its limits and couldn’t move anymore, so I absorbed it.

  That metal thing. What a damn skill...

  I stared at the scorpion, watching how it desperately kept its head above water.

  I didn’t want it to die. I was about to get ready to send a monster out, but I felt drained.

  So damn drained. I didn’t know why — it wasn’t a healing-drain type of feeling. Perhaps it was from using two monsters at the same time.

  I touched my head, about to heal it, then remembered I had people watching. Whatever, I had to endure it. I sent out Aquaren and tried to make it deactivate the pool, but it turned out it couldn’t.

  So instead, I tried to make it destroy the surface surrounding the pool of water with [Water Pulse] — a stream of high-pressure water from its mouth, but it didn't have enough ether for that.

  I sighed. [Snakes of Water] was just too overpowered. So Aquaren and I jumped into the pond and rescued what would soon be my possession, only after it could no longer resist the water snakes.

  I threw the metallic scorpion on the ground, listening to it cough up water.

  I walked to it, partially releasing Crushbull’s head for a couple of seconds so I could use Earth Armor — but with a twist. Only on my right arm... and it worked.

  Brown rocks enclosed around my arm, and I brought my fist down on the scorpion multiple times, only stopping when its legs curled to its body and it began to shake uncontrollably.

  I highly doubted I could actually kill it. Anyway, soon the seizures stopped. I took a deep breath and turned back to the man.

  "I hope what I'm doing makes sense..." I muttered.

  Soon, flapping wings were coming closer, and through Aquaren’s eyes, which felt like they were underwater, I saw Tarnisha’s bird coming down. The bright blue light was also hard to miss.

  Then she hopped off it.

  With her hands in her fur coat, she asked me, "What's the holdup?"

  I replied as I approached him. "He’s still there. In his head. I think I can make him come back to his senses."

  "What? Why do you care?"

  "What kind of question is that? I thought he was lost in the madness of a monster. I saw he wasn't, and I don't want to kill him. What about that is hard to understand?" My voice was a little more aggressive than usual, but it was because I thought her question was ridiculous since I had explained his situation.

  "A Broken can't be fixed. If they could, they wouldn't be killed."

  I crouched near the man, who was sprawled face-first on the ground. "Well, maybe there's a way."

  "You're being silly."

  I barely tilted my head in her direction. "I don't believe impossible that the adventurer guild wants us, wants fellow vlandos to kill their own."

  Yes, that indeed made sense to me. "I mean, nations used that as a war strategy in the past. What if Brokens are not truly broken? They always do this, always using all kinds of dirty methods to keep us down, to control us..."

  And the more I thought about it, the angrier it made me.

  "You act like vlandos didn't do their share of oppression and control."

  ...

  The thoughts I was having came to a stop, and I eerily turned to her, staring at her like I’d been spat in the face. "What did you just say?"

  "You heard me loud and clear. And I find it hard to believe someone with half a brain could disagree. vlandos are superhumans... capable of..." She bared her teeth like a word of disgust was on her tongue. "Controlling monsters. Intertwined with these evils are so bad that they depend on their power."

  I stood up and pointed at her. "I don't know if you've lost your mind or something, but you're a fucking vlandos like me, Abella, Ferzan. If you think for a single second that... being ashamed of what you are, hating what we are, is going to make you seem... I don't know, better? Then you're quite frankly delusional."

  She stared at me, then her lips curled into a snarl. "Miss Abella's mother, do you think she's any different than those on Yellowbrim? Those on the Free Islands? You think that..."

  She stressed a smile. "that vlandos, despite being so damn powerful, are just poor creatures controlled and beaten by ants? That they do nothing wrong? You give a person power, they will take it and rule over the weaker ones. Make someone aware they have control over others, the first thing they do is get off on that idea, smile at it, rejoice, and eventually use it, take advantage of it. Biologically, vlandos are at the top of the food chain, the next step of evolution... built in the grossest ways to fight monsters... And you think... our kind just happened to be the super victims out of nowhere? I personally think worse. I think if I were a human, a regular weak ant, and lived in a world without monsters, I would wish for us to disappear. Because if I had to choose between living in a human-ruled land versus those Free Islands, I would choose the one where people can't hack your bloody mind and make you hang yourself. The one where a conflict doesn't involve lightning falling from the sky. One where the person doesn't resurrect your parents as zombies and make them kill your friends. The one where you can't be eternally trapped in a dream. The one where they can't turn you into a damn metal statue and parade it around the city. The one where their limits of evil are none. The one that, if for a second... You lift your feet off them, society would fall, and only nightmares would await the survivors."

  We kept eye contact for a while.

  "The weak in society still suffer hell from those stronger than them. The only damn difference is that we have the capacity for more destruction."

  "Exactly!" she shouted. "You think I don't know humans are evil? Of course I do. Every damn intelligent thing is evil... but a damn Skydolphine will never be capable of the horrors mankind is. Your point is just a summary of what I said, Vernisha."

  Sure, some of what she said made sense. But I was a vlandos, and being one meant I’d long been made aware that my existence sat firmly at the bottom of the value chain.

  Did that make me biased? Of course it. Did I care? No. I had no interest in trying to see all the grey in the world. The objectivity. Perhaps that wasn't the right word...

  So that many may live, a few should die. This was the logic she used to explain why humans kept us down. Did it make sense from a human point of view? A super sentient's? And quite frankly, rational? Sure.

  If a couple of house cats are capable of keeping a pride of lions under their control, why would they ever let that control go? Why would they let the lions ever think they could overthrow them?

  I understood it well.

  Did I care?

  No.

  Did I accept being stepped on so that many could live in safety?

  No... No. No!

  Maybe it wasn't logical, it wasn't a thing a social animal should do. After all, the nation was the body, the citizens were its cells. And people like me were the cancer.

  So I said to her angrily, full of rage, "And I'll say it again, you're a vlandos."

  "...I'm aware. Do you think I hate us? I don't hate you. I don't hate Ferzan or Abella. No—we were all just born unlucky. And I could never hate myself for that. For being born this way... I was given a purpose." She paused, a flicker of reminiscence in her eyes.

  Then she continued, back to normal, "How does me being a vlandos change my argument? You can’t deny it, can you?"

  I stepped up to her, and she didn't back down. "If you kick at those stronger than you, what do you think will eventually happen? Those great fears, the fears that propel them to keep us down, will eventually be the fuel that makes us rise and kick them back, kick them till they're dust."

  "Have you been looking around recently? Terrafall is aware of that. Holvious is aware of that. Lumion is aware of that. Even Kmel-Hul to a degree. When was the last time you saw a vlandos being ill-treated in any Terrafall city?"

  "That's because of the strict laws..." I immediately saw the point she was making. "But that's just laws. The culture is a different thing. And those far from the authority of the law don't care. Wait... no. Actually, your point is shit. Look at what we must become to make a dime—soldier slaves. Adventurers, Knights, Vanquishers? They look us in the eye and say we must fight for them. Fight like the dogs we are. Die for them, or starve. And no, you can't really look at Ferzan or Abella as an example. They're exceptions to the rules, and you know that."

  I shook my head, unable to believe I was having this conversation. I had a weird trembling rage in my fists, rage that was begging to be planted in someone's face. In her face.

  But I wasn't going to do that.

  "Some things are not perfect, I can see that. But it's still better than being governed by other vlanods. Even you must see that. The Free Islands are examples of that." She stepped closer, not out of anger, but like she was trying to make a genuine point.

  "What's your deal, Tarnisha? That you're wise for thinking this? Objective? Free of your emotions?" It felt like I was being mocked.

  She blinked multiple times, and her fingers lightly flexed. "I saw the way I was treated. How my mother was. How we were talked about. And I wondered and wondered—why the hell? When that thing killed my mother, I wondered why. Because she was a vlandos? When the villagers tried to kill me, I wondered why. When I was surrounded by nothing but monsters, I wondered why and why and why and why. Eventually, my anger turned cold. And my wondering found purchase. And one by one... I realized it all. If monsters never existed... vlandos wouldn't either. Every vlandos would be born regular. They would be treated like everyone else. People wouldn't fear what they can do. What they would do if given the opportunity. What they had done in the past. If dinosaurs rained destruction on my ancestors, why would I ever allow those dinosaurs to get the chance to do that again?"

  ... My hands relaxed, and my head tilted back in surprise. A sort of pity was what I felt for her—a look that immediately disgusted her.

  "Don't look at me like that," she spat, glaring at me. "What I said makes sense. So stop it!"

  "Okay..." I averted my eyes.

  I could see her frown at the edge of my vision, and the look of fear and overthinking on her face.

  "I'm not traumatized. I'm okay in the head, you hear me?"

  "What?" That was random. It felt like something she had repeated many times. A plea, perhaps.

  "Don't try that. I know that look... I know it." Her fists trembled in anger.

  "I didn't think that..." Acknowledging, empathizing with someone's trauma wasn't something that could be done willy-nilly. So I did what was best at the moment.

  She stared at me, most likely not believing me. But she gave in and said, "...Ignore me then."

  She stepped back and angrily looked to the side, staring at nothing.

  "By the way, I understand what you said. I see the logic behind it. If I were a human, a regular human, I would agree," I said.

  She looked at me, surprised.

  And I continued, "But I'm not. Unlike you, I can't be that practical. I'm emotional to a point. And I like that. When I'm done wrong, I want to do wrong in return. I don’t desire to understand why they wronged me. I want them to regret it. Not really revenge, but more like... an understanding that actions have consequences."

  If I must suffer so others may be comfortable, then I'll take my life. In that way, we will all suffer.

  I took a deep breath. "Only those stronger than me should do more wrong, not the weak. Never those weaker than me."

  Her anger turned into faint chuckles. "And I suppose this Broken did not do you wrong?"

  "No. I did him wrong."

  I went back to him, watching him stir awake. "This Dalian. I'm sure he must be worried about you."

  His hands dragged through the dirt, pushing aside rotting leaves and twigs, to push himself up. Then his knees joined in, but he didn’t stand. Instead, he shifted, turning to me like a beat.

  His eyes were wide, and dried tears marked his face, but there was no sanity in his gaze. "Kill... I'll take everything... I'll... the strongest... I'll have many, many... offspring... I'll... Dalian... I'm so... so sorry."

  He vomited green but kept grunting, repeating the same things over and over.

  I couldn’t say anything. I just stared.

  So a Broken Vlandos was truly broken. His mind must have been scrambled and replaced by the monsters', with only the cinders of his old self remaining.

  I was too opportunistic. I was a fool. I had to kill him. Allowing him to roam free would only hurt others and bring him more suffering.

  I raised my earth gauntlet, but Tarnisha suddenly said, "You shouldn’t give him a messy death. His family would want to grieve over his corpse, not be horrified by the state of it."

  "I thought you wouldn't care about that."

  "Yeah, well. I hate monsters. I don't hate people. And, monsters can't feel regret; he does. That’s a person trapped in that head. The least we can give him is an appropriate death."

  Then she suddenly had a big idea, "Or no death. Ferzan is watching us. He can fix it."

  Her head tilted upward, like she was peering into nothing. Telepathy?

  I was sure she didn't like it. I guess she had a communication line with Ferzan for protection reasons.

  It didn’t take long, Ferzan showed up, dressed in all blue, walking toward us like he’d been nearby the whole time.

  "How’d you know I was watching?" He asked, scratching at his sleeve, decorated with little Punchio hands forming hearts.

  Tarnisha shone her blue light on him.

  "I know your nature, and your mother’s."

  "Is that so..." He looked at the Broken and asked, "You're not killing him?"

  Tarnisha said, "One of your Divine Requests—we want you to use it on him."

  "You want me to ask Wanda to... find a way to cure him? There isn’t one. Well, nothing we currently have on hand."

  "Your grandfather’s power, then."

  "Lost cause. Whenever I make a request, pray, anything—he shuts it down." He grunted. "A jack... A piece of work."

  I said, still looking at the man, "You wanted to be a good guy? To me, you are a good guy, Ferzan. So please help him out."

  He went still, shocked by what I said.

  Then he said, "Of course... But. I want to know why you want to help him. Why do you care?"

  "Not sure. I mean, I don’t know the dude. But lately, life has been so depressing. If I can somehow save this guy, make his family happy he’s alive, that would be one happy moment in a sea of failures."

  I forced a smile at him, and he slowly nodded, saying, "Got it. But... I mean—"

  The man muttered, "Run... from me... I’m so... so sorry..."

  Ferzan's eyes widened. "My days! He's not completely broken. Okay, I can work with that."

  He approached the scorpion monster and touched it. A bright white flash—then nothing. "He got any others linked to him?"

  "You... cut the connection?"

  "Yeah. He got any others?"

  "No..."

  Holy hell, I didn’t know he could do that.

  "Got it." Then from his fingers came an odd, massive blue brain wrapped in a translucent shell of crystal armor.

  "It’ll take a while for him to recover... But here we go."

  The creature tilted so that the strange circular node in the middle of its armor faced the man’s head.

  Then... his body went stiff, and his eyes opened wide in shock.

  I asked, "Are you healing him?"

  "No. Going through his mind with [Mind Hack]. I’ll cut off all the monster thoughts and desires with [Mind Cut], and mend some of his original brain processes with [Neural Arrangement]."

  "A mind monster..." They were among the most popular and feared, kinds of monsters. Owning them was heavily regulated too.

  I muttered, "I might invest in getting one... as soon as my limit issue is dealt with."

  "No offense, but I wouldn’t want you jailed, then hanged for getting your hands on one."

  "But you have one... never mind."

  He chuckled.

  I chose to focus on the man. He wasn’t having much of a reaction. I hoped that was a good sign.

  I asked, "So, any struggles?"

  "No, none. Not yet. It’s going to take a little while, though. Would be faster if Eren wasn't such a loser..."

  "So Wanda’s powers wouldn’t help? I’m not exactly sure how the prayers work."

  "It’s just that she is very... um... troublesome. So I don’t really like calling her unless it feels urgent."

  "Oh, so like... sometimes she answers?"

  "Oh no. She answers all the time—more than she ever answered my mother. And my mom used to get answers half the time."

  "And you don’t want to share?" I asked. It wasn’t often someone could learn more about a Mortal God.

  "Not really."

  I wondered if she was like Elliot, but way worse. After all, he was now her many-times-great-grandchild.

  "Okay. I hate the fact I don’t know, but I’ll accept it."

  "Trust me, it’s nowhere near as interesting as you think. And don’t think I hate her, ‘cause I don’t. I’ve got mixed feelings about her—but because of her, and my dad, I know the kind of person I want to be."

  "A good person?"

  "I don't like the fact I'm one dimensional in your head." He smiled.

  That made me laugh. "What about your mom? She didn't have a play in it?"

  "Uhh... well, she's okay with it. She's just very stuck in her Starlight and [Hero] worldviews."

  "I see. A least I got an answer for why you care so much about being a good person. It puzzled me."

  Maybe it did because I wasn't a good person and didn't care to be one.

  "Could just ask me. And even I'm not too sure. Doesn't really make sense, right? I can remember the conversations I had with them that made me want to be a good person, but I can't remember what initiated those conversations—what made me come to that conclusion, really. They all think a good person is different than what I view it as. To me... It's someone who's always reliable, someone you can count on. When you think of me, you're supposed to think, 'It's okay. He's here now. We're saved.' I mean, everyone wants that anyway, so... I can't disappoint them."

  He half-grinned, looking at me. "Imagine, when you came to me for help, I turned you away. Or if I got killed by your father."

  Ferzan... what a person you are.

  I smiled back at him to affirm what he thought. "Yeah, I'm glad you're our knight in shining armor."

  "A knight... eh, sure. They're cool." I somehow killed the moment and made him cringe.

  I forgot that knights weren’t liked. Oddly, I only became aware of this when I interacted with other vlandos. Back in Vaera, people thought knights were okay.

  I remember some conversations I would overhear.

  "They may be vlandos... but they're pretty okay. I got a soft spot for them. Is that crazy to say?"

  "Nah... Not at all. My sister's niece just became a vlandos. Crap's unfortunate, but I got hope. I need hope... I need that child to be a knight. Least she can do."

  It wasn't like they really respected knights, after all, they were still vlandos, but they thought they were better than the rest, the trash.

  The difference in how knights were viewed was so jarring, but now wasn't appropriate to ask about it.

  Ferzan rested his hands at his sides. "Looks like I'm almost done. But hell, that monster made him do some disgusting stuff. I'm making sure he doesn't remember that... and that."

  After a couple of minutes, it was done. Then his monster turned into white energy and flew toward his fingers.

  He didn’t even need to touch them?

  He noticed my surprise and said, "That freaked you out?"

  "What? No, no. It was amazing. I wish I could do that." I looked at the man. "But to the important thing at hand—I'm going to make a super selfish request."

  "Ask Wanda where he lives so we can drop him off."

  I clasped my hands. "That would be greatly appreciated. But I wonder if that would cause some issues back at the Adventurer Guild."

  "I'll deal with that." He yawned, then took a seat on the ground, folded his legs, and closed his eyes.

  A while passed, then he opened his eyes and looked up at the sky. Standing up, he said, "He lives in Sundawn, Melden Street. Makes sense."

  I was expecting something flashy. Like the face of Wanda in the sky or a flash of light.

  "Oh, before we go," I told Ferzan, "I want the scorpion. So... mind holding Mon for me?"

  "Eh, sure. You're going to need a Monster Farm soon. But your circumstances are so troubling..."

  "Tell me about it." I made contact with his finger and gave him Mon. "I guess you're like my farm—respectfully, of course."

  He raised an eyebrow childishly. "I guess so."

  Anyway, I made my way to the little beauty... and then, before touching it, I made them look away, saying it was embarrassing and whatever.

  Anyway, they listened. Tarnisha was being annoying, but eventually she listened. And I sealed it!

  "Vernisha...?" I heard Lo'jul's voice and saw a woman in armor near him, approaching us, confused.

  They took long.

  I noticed something odd shifting from side to side—a blue, tiger-like tail from the woman.

  Huh. Sure, I hadn't seen a person with wings. But now I had seen a person with a tail.

  "Nice tail," I pointed out.

  She responded, still bewildered. "Thank you."

  Their eyes then shifted to Ferzan. The woman was visibly stunned, quickly bowing deeply. With a mix of anxiety and excitement, she said, "It’s an honor to meet you, Ferzan Starworth!"

  "Oh, thanks. You too. You've got a beautiful tail. What doctor?" he responded.

  "Sir Maxwell Xeland! You want his contact? Not that I think you haven’t heard of him! I mean, you must have... Sorry. I sometimes talk a lot." She took in deep, controlled breaths, as if it were a well-practiced routine.

  "It's okay. I talk a lot too." He then gestured to the ex-broken Vlandos. "About this fellow, though. He wasn’t fully broken, so I was able to do some fixing to him."

  They nodded slowly, barely able to process what he meant.

  Lo'jul asked, "What do you mean, you fixed him?"

  "Less fix and more so removed the monster influences and so on. And yes, I took care of the trauma—most of it. I left some so he would fear using his monsters beyond his limit, but nothing too much."

  Again, they couldn't believe it. He then pointed at me. "Although..." he paused, stopping himself mid-track. "Oh, never mind."

  Tarnisha said to me telepathically, He almost outed you.

  The guy knows. He's cool.

  Lo'jul’s eyes moved from Ferzan to me, eyeing the burned spot on my forehead, and noticing I was hiding a hand behind my back.

  He then shook his head like a disappointed father—and then, I think there was a smile on his face for half of a second.

  Lo'jul Sons-Ver’mol’yu is trying to form a communication line with you.

  I accepted and prepared for what he had to say.

  'I was right about you being smart, but I didn't know you were also very troublesome,' he said to me.

  I looked at him in surprise. 'You're not angry? Or... wondering how I stalked you?'

  'I already got played by a kid. Why would I want my ego hurt even more?’ He said, amused.

  I smiled, and so things were settled.

  We moved with Eskor(ex Broken), who was born in Balbin, a short distance west of Shinetown. Information given to us by the two adventurers.

  Tarnisha flew on her warbird alongside a bird monster; the same creepy monster with teeth under its feathers, which was immensely bigger than the warbird.

  We were traveling in silence until Tarnisha broke it, "I got to go back to the estate. Been out too long."

  I waved at her, and so did Ferzan.

  Before diverting, she looked at me. "Be safe."

  "From what?"

  Ferzan added, "Yeah, what about wishing me safety too?"

  "I was just being nice and... you know, be in danger." Her bird broke off from us and flew to the right.

  Ferzan sighed. "When I get home, I'm going to dive into a bath of cold water and sleep."

  "In it?"

  "You bet. Katie did that once and nearly drowned. Whenever I remember it, I kinda just laugh at how silly it is."

  "I imagine she hates hearing that."

  "Oh yeah. She does."

  We reached the gates, blah and blah. We were in the city, taking transportation to the guy’s home.

  I personally wasn’t a fan of this, but Ferzan insisted I come along, saying You’ll love it—or at least understand better why I think the way I do.

  And we were near the street he lived on, a ten-minute walk from the Adventurer Guild, according to Ferzan.

  I imagined the rent here was crazy high, since the demand for adventurers to be near it would be high. And with people moving to Sundawn for work, they'd naturally aim for the closest spot to the guild. You get the idea.

  But the area was very clean and was very clearly an apartment square—just concrete apartments side by side, with patches of green and fences to separate them.

  Ferzan handed me the man and approached the blue house first floor, knocking on the door. It took a while, but eventually the white door opened, and standing there was a young man with a messy beard and a tired face.

  Blue smoke came from the old cigar between his fingers.

  Ferzan looked at me, expecting me to go ahead. So I did.

  I gestured at the man in my hands and said, "Eskor... um."

  This was awkward. Normally, I was really good at interacting with others—amazing, matter of fact, but for some reason, I wasn't sure what to say.

  What if Ferzan got the wrong house?

  The man blinked multiple times in shock, like he couldn't believe what he was seeing. His eyes darted from the man to Ferzan.

  I cleared my throat and said, "He was Broken. Me and a friend found him, and we got Fer—"

  Ferzan put a hand on my shoulder and said, "And she made sure he could return to you."

  He was giving me all the credit. Perhaps he was too nice.

  I added, "It'll take a while for him to recover. He's not the same as before, but he still is whoever he is. Lover, I assume?"

  The cigar dropped to the tiled floor, and he dramatically dropped to his knees. Tears formed at the edges of his eyes. "I thought... he was completely gone. That he was going to be killed. I... was told that..."

  "Well. I put a stop to that."

  He took the man, arms trembling, and said with a trembling mouth, "Thank you... Thank you..." Then he asked, "What's your name?"

  I debated the risks of it and thought it was too great. So I said, "Nelle McPherson."

  "Thank you... May The Stars shine on your future." He smiled and went inside.

  Ferzan crossed his arms and looked at me, waiting to see what I had to say.

  I walked ahead, not letting Ferzan see the simple smile on my face, "I get what you mean now. That felt... great."

  He smiled brightly. "Of course it does."