Within a dark place, confined in the recesses of the mind, a shout echoed. "Ahhh!"
And, in the middle of that endless void was Shizuka... sitting while hugging her legs with her arms, her head on her knees.
Feeling a movement inside her, she lifted her head up.
If anyone were to look into her eyes right now, they would see her eyes devoid of color, devoid of hope, a mortal shell with the shadow of its previous crazed soul.
That shout, her shout was an accumulation of past and recent grievances, tormenting her.
The need to scream fully materialized itself, probably because in reality, she withheld herself of this. This Shizuka was the vulnerable Shizuka she kept inside as she was penetrated on day 130. She wanted to lie to herself, that since there is a goal, and a contingency plan... the feeling could very well be influenced.
But the mind is the mind, no matter how strong one's mental ability is, an illusion is still an illusion. The truth will still fiercely reclaim its throne.
However, everyone at some point will have a nihilistic episode after having no choice but to accept reality. Especially if, such unfairness was constantly recurring in life like a morbid cycle.
All of a sudden, the sound of rustling wind could be heard and a blinding light enveloped the darkness changing the whole scenery. The empty space she sat on now had grass, the air was warm, the sun was eerily bright, and there was the ever asymphonous sound of cicadas breaking her reverie.
Standing in front of her was a man in his 20s, he was speaking with a younger version of Shizuka.
Shizuka remembers this memory very vividly, a short conversation that had more depth than most conversations she had in her life, than the shouts and arguments at home, in school, in work...
Figuring out her own mind's response, she must be remembering this memory as a sense of respite. To remind her of another truth she held dear to her heart.
She met that man on the eighth day after her relatives from her mother's side found out that her so called step-father was sexually harassing and molesting her.
Rather than hearing this man's voice which she yearned to hear... without notice, it was as if somebody pushed the mute button, a filtered mute button only silencing the scene before her while sounds of arguments and shouting could be heard from behind her.
She didn't dare look back as her body trembled and her tears almost burst when she heard that shout that haunted her, a shout that always made her weary of the words 'mother, guardian, family, love...'
----The first argument between relatives---:
Shino: "I will decide what to do after this!"
Second Aunt: "Decide? It's already happened! She's just a child!"
Shino: "She's my child and I have every right to make decisions for her!"
Second Aunt: "You have no right! You were in that house when it happened and it slip by you!?"
Shino: "For all we know, she's lying!"
Second Aunt: "SHINO! You're not thinking clearly!"
After a few minutes of silence.
Shino: "We'll leave that house then!"
Second Aunt: "You better!"
A week later, another argument broke.
----The second argument between relatives---:
Shino:"When I asked him to think what wrong he did, he didn't even know it! It must've been a misunderstanding!"
Second Aunt: "Shino, do you hear yourself?!"
Shino:"He and I already have a child! What life do you want Sakura to live in?"
Second Aunt: "Then, what about Shizuka?"
Shino:There was a crazy look in her eyes as she shouted, "It must've been you!" pointing at Shizuka. "You did it on purpose!"
Second Aunt: pulled Shizuka behind her, "Shino, do you even know what you're saying? She's just a child, she doesn't even know things like that! Your love for that man has blinded you!"
Shino:"We're going back! I'll make sure to teach her better!"
Second Aunt: "Do you understand what life you're going to make her live?"
Shino:"I'm her mother, I wouldn't do anything to hurt her!"
Second Aunt: Raising her hands in utter frustration and defeat, "Shino, what have you become!"
'In the end, there was no justice. There was no sense of security or motherhood...' Shizuka thought as she heard this words again, hammering her hopes to smithereens...
After those arguments ebbed away, the sounds came back.
She remembered how she told this story to him, and with his strong and stern voice he told her, "Shizuka, you told me just now that you wanted to have a gap, a sense of disconnect with what happened because you say it makes you stop, the kind of stopping that's tinged with the unknown. Fear. That experience is probably recurring since... it was traumatic. In history, we called that the thousand yard stare. The inability to move forward, to live in reality. I don't know if you understand me, but she told me your a curious one."
"There are many ways to fix this, but I'm not a medical practitioner to help you."
Shizuka giggled, "Are you sure?"
Seeing her laugh, Schneider was surprised and curious in her tolerance threshold. He had an inkling of understanding now as to why she loved this child. "Yes and No. You were given a psychology book recently right?"
"Mm."
"Some of the words you'll need to understand to help you, I'll write it down while you run later. Shizuka, I'm going to tell you this now, I'm not the type of person who comforts others. I can help you, but my way of helping isn't the way your people does it."
Shizuka nodded.
"When we meet, you'll have to filter all of it out, and only need to think logically, ruthlessly... to do what you need to do... You have to condition your mind that when things get tough, you're ready... even when you're not."
"Sometimes, thinking like this might create a wall between you and your sense of morality... so you have to have a bottom line. Something that will bring you back. Strong enough to bring you back to before this conditioning. That something can be likened to an on and off switch."
"..."
Patting her head, he then said, "If you can't understand, it's not important. What's important right now is that you run. No matter how much you hate jogging, you need it. You need the stamina it can give."
"Schneider!!" Shizuka shouted in utmost defeat.
There was killing intent when he warned, "Remember this, Shizuka... Just because you're young doesn't mean the world will hold back on you. The world will always be merciless to frail mortal life."
Hearing those words, it felt like something washed over her. Her face that was painted with frustrations started to ease from its previous visage, only maintaining an expressionless face except her eyes. Her eyes which became cold and an imperceptible as resolution formed in them, she stared at him before turning her back and jogged away.
Looking back at this memory, Schneider did want to talk about it specifically, but since she was young, 'it was ambiguous or was it vague?' But she never felt that he belittled her comprehension. The way he talked to her was a form of respect to her potential, to her cognition. She thought, 'when I wake up, I should look at that note he gave.'¹
Day 133
The dream has done its purpose, Shizuka willed to wake up and she did woke up.
Boudican military still placed her in an enclosed prison cell. Remembering that she still doesn't have her phone, she prayed that Levi did his end of the deal... 'My perfect check-in! If Vi breaks my 2,555 streak in Webnovel!' in her frustration, she couldn't help but shake her head as she clenched her fists.
Looking up, the light shone at her with disdain.
Calming herself, 'Let's wait and see who'll break first.'
Day 137
As Shizuka had assumed, they agreed with her conditions but she was still kept in her cell and was under observation.
In another room:
The screens were split into multiple shots of the whole headquarters.
A woman entered, looking for Major General Xie Jin, to her surprise, she saw her sister's back, "Nia², why are you here?"
"Mieva, has Lilith been looking for me?" she asked while casually turning around.
If one looked at them closely, one could see that their features were very different. Mieva and Begonia Crimson are the unidentical twins of the Crimson family.
"Mm."
"Sister, shouldn't you go with me to the research facility?"
"Nah, I just love studying those subjects. Seeing them in actual reality, it's too time-consuming, cumbersome. This girl, on the other hand, is very interesting~" she chattered while pointing at a screen which captured Shizuka's whole cell.
"Nia, you're too wilful. You know she's..."
"I know, I actually want to ask her about the condom. It was wonderfully made."
"Sister, don't tell me you want to mutilate your ex-husbands'..."
She laughed as if her sister was talking about the funniest joke in the world, "Mieva, please, ahahahaha, don't jest, ahahaha, they're not worth my time. ahahahaha"
"You are so unpredictable. Mom always whines about you, that was your sixth divorce."
"So? When people no longer see eye to eye and no compromise can hold it down, divorce. What do they want me to do, let my husband/s have a mistresses during the entire time were married. How foolish. Mom and dad are just conservative. They just feel that I'm staining our family name. If they start caring for my well-being and happiness, I'll start listening to them. And besides, those men peacefully gave me some of their assets as a form of apology for their own wrong doings."
"More like they gave you some of their assets for you to divorce them."
"And so? What's so wrong about that? They asked to marry me in one point of their lives, It wasn't me who asked to marry them. We amicably agreed. They were the ones who did wrong, you know I've never committed adultery in any of those marriages.. Why are you scolding me? Darling sister, if a man marries you and suddenly has a mistress, by law you have a right to be compensated. Not every women is like me, who just takes these divorces lightly. Even though I'm open-minded, I have no intention of receiving people's mockery for an identity I didn't even sully. It's better to be seen as a materialistic social climber than be an empty vase. I'd really be an empty stupid vase if I don't get at least some compensations, I'm no saint you know. Being a saint doesn't feed me."
She sarcastically quipped, "Sure, being a shareholder in their businesses. Nice one sis."
Begonia just shrugged her shoulders totally unfettered, "How would you understand, it wasn't you who married and divorced them. I just hope that Xie Jin loves you for real."
On a stalemate, Mieva shook her head and left Begonia behind.
A few hours later.
Shizuka remembered how she wanted to see Schneider note, she took a picture of it with her phone before:
Schneider's Note #1
Some words you'd need to look up to understand your situation:
*trauma
*fear
*thousand yard stare
*toxic parenting
*harassment and molestation
*hedonism
*paradigm shift
*illusion vs. impression
*self-actualization
*injustice
We will talk about them when we meet again.
Shizuka, just take note that we hate things that are not necessarily complex but are seemingly complex, and the ability to understand the necessity for such resistance, such actions... is due to accepting a higher bodily function and giving it a sense of renewed sense of autonomy, a smarter version of the fight or flight. You might have a passive or aggressive approach after this. For now, be like a prowling tiger. Observe everything and anything. Tigers don't just attack, they hunt. In human terms, you think before you act. There is a right time for everything under the sun. We'll dwell on that some other time.
See you next week.
S.S.
Shizuka bit her lower lip as she breathed in deeply, "Schneider..." she mouthed.
Day 140
Boudican Restructuring.
The quadrangle was filled with young and vigorous people in their prime. These people were Boudica's best of best in all fields of the military, economics, and the government. This is the annual Boudican Restructuring. Boudica's vision upholds the fight of the fittest. This annual restructuring helps their elites to continuously improve in awareness of the fierce competition surrounding Boudica's ladder.
Amongst them was Shizuka. She was quite quiet that many suspected she was just someone from the base spectating. People who were aware of her identity, however, were disgusted with her being allowed to join this event.
As the host spoke of the examinations that could be taken, a beautiful woman stood beside Shizuka and struck a conversation.
"Hello, there."
Looking at the woman, Shizuka noticed her beautiful auburn hair and her long legs that seemed to be emphasized by her pants. "Hello."
"Interesting, you're fluent in Boudican?"
"Mm."
"Did they take note of that when you met the higher ups?"
"No, they must've thought I should at least be plurilingual since the code had some other languages other than the Boudican case-set."
"What are you talking about?"
"Don't even act, it doesn't fit you miss."
"Oh~ but what if I really didn't know what you meant?"
"There are no ifs in this conversation, had you or anyone here decoded the code, I'd be dead in Laniakea for knowing such highly classified information. Yama Shizuka." she said cooly.
Snickering, she replied, "Crimson Begonia."
Shizuka: "Oh, you're that woman."
Nia: *rolls her eyes, "I can't believe these people gossip about me."
Shizuka: "Well, you are siblings with Crimson Mieva. And these people are required to stay at this secret base. What do you expect they do for entertainment? There's only a myriad of possibilities. Even the guards watching me talked about you.
Nia: "You're quite straight forward."
Shizuka: "So are you, right? Since the talk of your divorce didn't seem to affect you."
Nia: "Hey, do you also think I'm miserable?"
Shizuka: "Not at all. Divorce was something normal in the pre-colonized times. I don't know why we went backwards though."
Nia: Hearing her assessment, she couldn't help but ask, "Hmmm, that's a good mindset you have. However, why is it that even though we have history books to attest this and that civilization seems to be pointing towards a catalyst, we still can't change..., can't get there? I mean, look, Boudica is one of the leading countries in the world, and yet here we are still..."
Shizuka: Sigh* "I don't know what answer you want to hear, I'll just play along since you seem nice. It's the culture or to be more precise, the psychological conditioning that culture and tradition instilled in people. If you think about it, almost everybody here has had to have psychological and physically conditioned themselves to become better in terms of wit, thinking, reflex, and all. The same can be said with Boudica, since it's a heavily nationalistic country... it conditioned the mind, the body, the emotion, the heritage for Boudican children to grow a certain way. I'm not sure if that was the plan of Boudica's ancestors, but Boudica's conditioning runs deep, even up to its previous colonies. This is an outcome that should not have ended there... but Boudica hasn't reached the zenith after its ancestors did, nor did they understand their vision... so most people here can't break from that paradigm. You're lucky you could, but it would seem that your family hasn't, since they aren't part of the gossip in the direction that I could've expected had they been otherwise."
Nia: "..."
Shizuka: "Don't worry, there are many people who think like you. I just don't know if they're brave to get there."
Nia: "...What about you, would you be brave enough to befriend me?"
Shizuka: giggles* "You naive little girl, that's easy for me. You, on the other hand, are you looking for death? I am technically a kidnapped talent. I'm still an alien on this soil, no matter the amount of Boudican blood in my veins... an outsider is still an outsider, befriending me is the same as admitting that you don't like many things here, you'd be branded a traitor. Worst, they could pull you in a crime they orchestrated and they could make you a questionable culprit... all for the sake of self-interest. Had you had a more reliable background, they could just presume you're approaching me because of the novelty of a kidnapped talent. But you don't seem to play by that rules."
Nia: "It's boring, and somewhat damaging my brain, following those rules."
Shizuka: "... As long as you're aware and prepared of what you're getting yourself into. Sure."
Nia: "Are you usually this talkative?"
Shizuka: "So, it would seem. I just prefer to be clear."
Nia: "I can understand your sentiments."
Shizuka: "Since we're considered friends now, could you tell me about your experience of six divorces. If you heard about me, then you'd know I'm originally a researcher in Laniakea. I really like finding out-of-norm experiences like yours."
Nia: The abrupt change in Shizuka caught Nia by surprise, "Hey, aren't you too capricious?"
Shizuka: "Nah, I always swing this way." flashes a cheeky grin*
Nia: Chuckles* "Okay, Ms. Researcher, but shouldn't you be listening to the set of rules?
Shizuka: "Nah, I only listened to the competitions I plan to enter, all the others, discarded. Unnecessary."
Nia: "You do know that you still need to compete in them, right?"
Shizuka: "I'll just forfeit. I mean, being the best in the category that is my forte should be enough to give me a spot in Boudican Military."
Nia: "You, you're to reckless."
Shizuka: "Far from it. I have nothing besides it, I don't pose any threat, for now... by the way, I heard you're an engineer?"
Nia: "Mm"
A few minutes later
Shizuka was currently speaking with Begonia about AI programming and machines when the people in the quadrangle became quiet. Noticing this, Shizuka couldn't help but suspect the oddity, looking up, her eyes widened.
Walking towards the podium of the quadrangle was a group of high officials. Now, for the reason why everyone went mute, these men were handsome and charismatic young men. Their sense of valor and charisma seemed to have affected everyone. Especially the one who had the rank of major general. He was a man of 1.85 meters. He wasn't the tallest amongst the group, but overall, his presence was not overshadowed.
The man had ink black hair that was styled in a crew cut. He had grayish eyes that can make people feel a sort of hazy gentle warmth that military men mostly did not possess. The sunlight from the window cast a sort of halo over his presence.
His physique was lean and athletic, having the aura of a lazy black panther. His posture was erect, and his stride was wonderful to behold. He was like an image of god, ready to take breath and life away.
Shizuka was utterly shocked, she felt tremors in her whole body. Her hands shook as she looked at the man unblinking.
Nia: "Haist, another victim, Major General Xie's presence is really... Hey! Call back your soul!~" she joked as she mused at Shizuka's reaction.
Shizuka blinked and breath deeply for about 15 seconds. She lowered her head as her face started to flush a rosy hue.
Nia: shaking her head* "He's quite the spectacle, huh? That's Major General Xie. He's the youngest major general in Boudica."
Shizuka: "He's really a major general?" Her voice was laced with suspicion.
Nia only thought that this was a usual reaction and confirmed, "Yeah. He's turning 25 this year. Considering his background, it's expected. I guess? I mean, his family has held high positions in the military since the expeditions."
Begonia failed to notice Shizuka's shallow breathing, her blush earlier on, and her gaze. Shizuka slowly raised her head and looked at the man who was slowly walking towards the host. Coincidentally, she and Begonia were near the podium, they were in the first row at the farthest right.
The man seemed to have felt her gaze the moment he was across from her. A wave of emotion flashed, and Shizuka looked at him with a myriad of emotions. After three seconds, Shizuka felt that that gaze was no longer the one she knew...
Begonia noticed something was wrong with Shizuka, and Xie also looked at her with intensity, as if an arrow pulling a bow taut, but he needed to speak for this competition. Whatever he thought of had to be delayed.
In his whole talk, Shizuka didn't understand anything. All she thought of was, 'So, this is where he went after all those years he and his family disappeared... no wonder I couldn't contact him.'
When he was done talking, he went down the podium and walked towards a young woman. Love poured out of his eyes as he talked with her.
Nia: whispering* "That's my sister there, he's Mieva's boyfriend."
Shizuka: walks towards Nia and gently rubs her back* "You have it hard. You must worry a lot about Mieva since her boyfriend is such a premium-grade man. haist, have there been a lot of people trying to swindle him out of the relationship?"
Nia: eyes wide* "..."
Shizuka: "Nu-uh, huh?"
Nia: "Not one soul dared. Xie Jin is a major general, Mieva is the youngest head of the research facility."
Shizuka: "I see."
A general examination was conducted for everyone at the beginning. A documentary of Xie Jin recapturing a rebelling region of Boudica was shown and the audiences were given 10 minutes to produce an answer, if it was not Xie Jin's war tactic, how else could they make the rebels surrender?
Many from the audience didn't mind vocalizing their answers to exchange possible retaliation tactics with Xie Jin. He patiently answered why their answers had major and minor flaws.
Nia: "Is there really no way out of this?"
Shizuka: she wrote down, 'A more powerful battalion, machinery, and enhanced soldiers. Mutation of known viruses, or... defying the laws of nature... somewheres along those grey areas.' on her paper.
Nia: peeping at her paper* whispers* "Hey, Shizuka, what does defying the laws of nature mean?"
Shizuka: blinking in wonder* "Nia, before that, you're not part of this examinations?" looking at her lack of paper and pen*
Nia: shakes her head*
Shizuka: "Then why are you here?"
Nia: "I'm just a spectator." grins*
Shizuka: "... oh..." she pauses.
Nia: "Come on, what does defying the laws of nature mean?"
Shizuka: "Chemical warfare."
Nia: "Oh, why not just write it as is, chemical warfare?"
Shizuka: "Just like what happened to Farica, the nuclear bombs changed their environment. A man made deviation on nature, one where even Boudica could not repair after all these years. Isn't that a perfect example of defying laws of nature?"
Host: "Please do pass your answers to our ushers."
After a few minutes, they collated the answers, they chose some participants who had promising and vague answers, one of which was Shizuka. She was asked to give her explanation at the podium and she gave the same answer that she gave earlier to Nia, and she chose to keep quiet when everybody was eyeing her like she was a clown when they heard the answer.
Many people felt all the more disgusted with Shizuka, all her answers were not novel, too time-constricting, not even promising enough to win the war. The Everett Convention disallowed such means in war except for her first answer, if they followed her answers, not only will Boudica be penalized, they would also have enemies eyeing them all the more. This might even incur the hate of countries around them, which might cause them to come together against Boudica.
That's what everyone thought, but two other entities watching this disagreed.
"She... she's thought of this to this extent?" Aegis was shaking in disbelief.
Andromeda sighed, "Really, she can enter the Verstand on her own, now she even thought of that... are you sure the Verstand project's estimation of her is correct?"
Leering at Andromeda, Aegis said, "Well, Prime was mortal. So, the Verstand project is prone to human error."
-earlier on, when they were listening to Shizuka's answer on stage, Andromeda and Aegis were well aware of another paper with Shizuka's full answer inside her pocket.-
Her answer is as follows:
A more powerful battalion, machinery, and enhanced soldiers. Mutation of known viruses, or... defying the laws of nature... somewheres along those grey areas.
The first answer is highly possible but equally strenuous for it consumes too much natural resources and the lack of talents in the areas of gunsmiths, chemists, and inventors.
Moreover, tolerance differs for both enhanced soldier training and even the possible victims of the mutated virus.
The third however, has not been fully dealt. Just like what happened to Farica, the nuclear bombs changed their environment. A man made deviation on nature, one where even Boudica could not repair after all these years. Isn't that a perfect example of defying laws of nature?
Which is what we're familiar with, but chemical warfare is but the tip of the iceberg. The other deviation on the laws of nature is breaking or manipulating the environment wherein the causality is within a controlled direction. Therefore, the Everett Convention cannot penalize Boudica when natural calamities struck enemy countries, are deemed caused by natural calamities unless proven otherwise. With the way the Jingu capital has brought up their heirs of earth, it's not that far when technology and mortals can have a handle in nature...
The possibility that the rebels of Bomani hold the civilians hostages is high. If such a thing happens, the manipulation of wind which the heirs of the earth have already accomplished may be of use. Sleeping medicine can be mixed with the air that enters Bomani thereby subduing the whole region without blood being spilled.
After which, rebelling region only need be cordoned off, the civilians may be moved before such acts of justice are made against rebels, both from the man-made-calamities and the military.
Of course, this is only applicable for the Bomani region for their radical and extreme war against the military which had been happening for three consecutive years. This had already destroyed their once fertile land, all for their blind justice.
The natural calamity, if it can be manipulated to a large extent by that time can help renew the region to start from scratch. With this show of prowess, the government can fully nip at the bud all rebellion plans and win the hearts of the people.
Goal: Learn from the heirs of earth on how the heritage of nature manipulation can be increased with the use of technology.
Sidenote: The heirs of the earth are believed to have mystical deep roots. Historical accounts from Persephone's Cove details the modification of the natural environment surrounding its outer parameters. Many of the citizens there have blamed the Jingu government for their environment, citizens state that the unstable and haphazard change of environment were due to the rites that heirs of the earth were taking to become official heirs, further solidifying the capability of the heirs of the earth.
In addition, if nature manipulation is acquired, this can also help Farica's land to heal from the previous atomic bomb that Boudica has blown there 50 years ago. If successful, Boudica will no longer need to offer assistance to Farica. Further strengthening Boudica's case. Furthermore, the previous impermanence of weather will no longer affect the future crops of Boudica when nature manipulation is achieved, with the means and knowledge from the heirs of the earth and technology.
Possibly earning Boudica the title of the first country to achieve utopia. Hitting three birds with one stone.
-end of answer-
Shizuka quietly went back to stand beside Nia.
Nia: whispers* "Shizuka, why do I feel like the time you consumed writing isn't the same length as your asnwer?"
Shizuka: "Because there really is an inconsistency."
Nia: "What?"
Shizuka: Gazes intently at Nia* whispers* "Nia, you said you don't like the culture nor the laws of Boudica, can I assume that you have no loyalty to Boudica?"
Nia: a ripple was created in her mind, "What if yes and what if no?"
Shizuka: continues to whisper* "Simple, give me your loyalty and I'll show you my real answer. No, we forget about this. If you want to report me, go ahead."
Nia: "Loyalty is such a high price." she adds in a low voice, "I'm just a simple engineer."
Shizuka whispers still, "And I wish I could tell you the same with me being a researcher, but with the way the world is heading towards a certain direction I detest, since I have the brains and the will to gain power, why not change it? The only thing I lack are talents."
Begonia's body trembled when she realized a possibility, "You!"
Shizuka nodded.
As Nia thought about Shizuka's words so far, many of the people with promising answers for the general examination again shared their thoughts on the stage. Only one, however, was promising enough to not just be a theoretical tactic.
Shizuka typed in her phone, "Think twice, your life could be at stake staying with me. If you are in the know as much as I expected you to be, you should know how powerless I am at the moment." and she poked Nia for her to see this.
Seeing this, Nia laughed, 'How can anyone want to work with her, seeing how hopeless she is?'
Shizuka typed again, "To show my sincerity, I'll give you my answer. If you intend to take credit of it, take note of two things, 1. You'll make an enemy of an entire country and 2. Their enactment of autonomous-genocide would mean the impossibility of my answer ever becoming reality." she poked Nia again, this time, she gave the folded paper in her pocket and her phone.
Seeing this, Nia felt that this powerless person was filled with so much guts and potential, how she has the audacity to give her the paper, as if she already knew she would join her? This foresight and psychological tactic was terrifying, she could possibly tip the balance of the scales of the world.
Reaching out, she first read the message in her phone. Nia felt such ferocity, 'A self-actualized genocide?!' her message wasn't anything like her half-baked answer when she went on stage. This was an outright question on her moral high ground. A voracious hunger to know her real answer was ignited inside Nia, such high stakes... She looked around her to see if anyone was paying attention to her, luckily, the most promising answer has yet to be fully explained. All eyes were on the stage, even Shizuka's.
This was the first time Begonia met someone who hid herself so well, the shallow surface was already intoxicating and awakening her aspirations, what more the unknown and unfathomable depth?
Breathing deeply, she slowly unfolded the paper and read it. After a few minutes, Nia, realized that Shizuka's vision was aligned with her dreams of creating technology that was beyond what her ancestors did. Technology that could change more than just humanity, technology that could possibly breach the gap between the crippling divide of technology and nature. She was now deeply rooted on the ground, as if her soul left her. Shell shock.
The paper was suddenly snatched and crumpled by Shizuka before she placed it in her pocket. She casually asked, "So, are you up to the task? I'd really like the loyalty of a beauty like you." winking at her.
Shizuka's words held no frivolous charm of an expert player, but Nia blushed through and through.
¹People like Shizuka have reached a certain cognitive threshold, they are, at some point in the dream, aware if they are dreaming. Not only are they aware, but they even use the dream either to heal from trauma or to better understand their psychological state. If she wanted to further understand her mind, she could've continued dreaming. However, the last time she did that, she regretted the knowledge she gained. After that incident, she never did dwell more on it unless the urge in her was great. Are you one of these types of people? comment down below, I'd like to hear some of your experiences.
²Begonia's nickname is Nia (read as Naya, just like Pewdiepie's dog named Maya).
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