**
Neila didn't have a lot of souvenir about how is the outside world, since she's been locked down for as long as she can remember.
So once she got out of that dungeons she was locked in, it felt as if she jumped in time.
The little houses gave place to mansions, the empty streets were now crowded, the sound of children laughing, of marchants trying to sell what was left in their stock.
She never thought about what the outside world was like, she never thought it could change, move, evolve.
She was stuck in a cruel time loop, the horror of yesterday repeating today.
One thing only was able to free her from those chains.
Books.
And so she started looking for a library.
At her surprise, she found her first library pretty fast.
As well as the second, and the third.
There was libraries everywhere, a district full of only books.
That's where she met him.
"Won't you look at this cutie", said the man standing at the corner of the district.
He looked as if he was from a dream, with his long brown coat, his black top hat with a brown ruban going around it.
He had a monocle on his right green eye and his left eye was covered with a lock of ashen grey hair.
He looked like a giant to Neila.
After a moment he spoke again, with his deep and vibrant voice, and yet reassuring.
"Would it be that you are lost ?", he was playing with his grey beard as he spoke.
"Actually I think I'm exactly where I wanted to be", she said with a smile on her face and showing the story book she had taken with her.
Only artefact of a previous life.
A life that was over six years ago.
"Oh so you're looking for books, you certainly found your destination then", he said with a gentle smile that would warm anyone's heart.
"My library is just around here, I can take you and we'll look together for something you might like ", his voice was so reassuring it was almost hypnotising.
"Of course", she said with a smile.
Some things never change, she thought.
**
"I cannot believe you don't know the name of the place where you live !"
Mia has been trying to know more about Neila since they started working together, after all they are killing people together, knowing your partner is more than necessary.
But Neila only ever gave her was a smile, a nod at best, as an answer, and Mia was wondering if she was purposefully hiding things from her or if she was just extremely dull.
Both ways it was getting on her nerves.
"Seems like that's the place", said Neila as they got in front of an old looking library.
"This thing could fall at any moment", said Mia, but she realized no one was listening to her.
Her partner was absorbed by the library.
"Something is wrong", she asked, more curious than worried.
"No, it's nothing, I just always loved books, it helps to forget the real world"
Mia wanted to say something but this was the first time Neila ever said something, she didn't want to waste this.
She needed to know more, after all, information is the most precious currency in her world.
As they went in, they were welcomed by the sound of a bell and the smells of incense.
But as soon as they put a feet on the creaking ground, brusts of dust started rising.
The shop was only lightened by small candles here and there, making it hard to see clearly.
"I wonder how this place can be in such an expensive district", said Neila, as she was putting her red scarf over her mouth.
"That's the thing, it shouldn't" said Mia, apparently unbothered by the dust.
"Welcome ladies" said a voice from the back of the shop.
As Neila and Mia approached, a small figure started appearing, lightened by the candle at it's side.
The figure ended up being an old man, seemingly as old as the shop itself, if not older in Mia's opinion.
"Are you the shop owner ?", asked Mia, as Neila started wondering around, looking at books here and there.
"Well, I don't think there's anyone else in here", said the oldman with a voice that would suggest nothing of his advanced age.
"I guess you know why we are here", said Mia with a voice as cold as the winter.
"I do", said the oldman with a leveled tone, there was no fear or animosity in it.
Nothing but peace.
It was so peaceful it caught Mia and Neila off guard, them being so used to having only chaos in their lives.
Neila moved toward him.
"Your books looks as old as you and this shop, and yet you don't want to listen reason and freaking leave", Mia hated how calm he was.
How he was NOT afraid of her.
"I will ask you to watch your language my lady", he said as he started to grow in size.
He wasn't short, he was simply sitting, but that, they could not see in that much darkness.
Now that he was closer to them, and to a source of light they noticed two things.
First, he was physically well preserved for an old man, except for the second thing, that he was blind.
"You my dear lady, I can see you have a lot of hate", he said pointing out to Mia, " and you, I can see pain in you my child", he said this time pointing to Neila.
"What the fuck are you talking about, you can't see shit you blind fuck", Mia had definitely lost the few patience she had, she flicked her fingers and a knife appeared in her hand and she put it on the throat of the oldman, "now you are going to listen"
"I asked you to watch your language lady".
Suddenly Mia felt something huge hitting her in the stomach, it felt as if a bull in fury hit her.
Neila only saw her scream and fall on place.
It was too dark for her to see what happened.
She couldn't have seen the fist of the oldman get back to his side.
"This fucker..." she said through her grinding teeth in anger.
Her eyes were flames, ready to burn everything in her sight.
And so she did, while she was still on the floor, she kicked an iron pole that had a candle on it.
But the candle never reached the floor.
The oldman catched it before it could even move.
"How did you do that... you can't see", Neila was shocked, and admirative, and curious.
She wanted to know how he was able to do that.
"I may have lost the sense of sight, but I earned something way more precious"
"Is it magic ?", asked Neila, she had stars in her eyes.
"Who gives a damn about how his trick work, we have a job to do!"
Mia got up and went to strike again with her knife.
Following the candle in the old man's hand, she could guess where his head and his vital points were.
It wasn't her first time fighting in dim light, she even fought in total darkness many time, but this time she couldn't even feel like her attacks were close to hit.
Suddenly she heard a sound, and she understood what it was when it hit her.
A stool.
Someone moved a stool, probably with their feet from the sound, and hit her with it, knocking her on the ground and lifting enormous amounts of dust.
She took advantage of that dust to retreat back to Neila's side.
"There's something wrong with this guy"
"Is it because he's kicking your ass"
Mia gave her a gaze full of anger.
"It's more how, first he's footsteps are not making any sound on this floor that's older than the fucking country, second I got hit from the left side, but the candle was at my right, and considering how tall he is, it can't be him that hit me with that stool", she explained after a moment of silence.
"I said watch your language lady", the voice was extremely close.
It was the oldman voice.
But the candle didn't move at all
Mia started hitting randomly in the direction of the sound.
She only cut the air, and some incense stick.
"Am telling you it's magic"
"Honestly, I don't think so, magic can allow one to do a lot of things, but to be able to be this good, the price is too big"
"And you're right", the voice was now at their right, "magic is a way of bending nature to your will, you force elements to behave in a way that is unnatural, I simply use the flow of energy that is all around us, I don't bend it to my will, I follow it's will, and with that I grow stronger"
"Don't tell me you're one of those fanatics that think we should kill everyone that use magic", Mia was on alert, trying to hear even the slightest sound that could help her find him.
"Oh certainly not", the voice was now behind them,"I believe every one can use the means he find best to achieve his goal, there are things I cannot do even by using the flow of energy, but the cost of magic is too big for me, and I already paid the price for being too greedy"
"Alright nice talk now let's get to business, Neila you're gonna have to help me on this"
Neila moved her hand and a dagger appeared, she then took her stance and was getting ready for the fight.
They went into a formation were they had their back to each other, that way they had no blind spot and could block any attack coming from any side.
What they didn't expect was that the attack would come from above.
Neila felt a kick hitting her on the back of her neck while Neila simply felt as if something was pushing her on the back of her head.
The man then appeared between them, "I can sense a deep feeling of control, you like to bend things to your will", he said as he kicked Neila with a crescent kick,"but you cannot bend the universe to your will".
Neila attacked him with a spinning elbow as she turned to face him, but he swiftly went under her attack and hit her with his palm to the side of the chest, cutting her breath.
"You, on the other, you let yourself go too much, you'll end up swallowed by the flow of the universe."
"Watch me", they said together as Mia went down and gave a kick in a semi circular motion and Neila gave a right hook in the direction of his temple.
But all they hit was air.
They thought the man simply disappeared again, or it was all just an illusion.
But then they felt it.
Mia got hit with a double kick right to the head, sending it backward so violently it was like her body folded itself before hitting the floor.
Neila got hit with a double palmed strike to the solar plexus, cutting her breath short and making her fall to her knees.
They both realized that the only way for him to have done that, would be that he was floating.
"Well ladies, that was an interesting conversation, but the oldman that I'm have to rest now"
"Am not done yet" said Mia with fury in her voice and fire in her eyes.
And hands.
"Am gonna burn this whole fucking place down"
As the flame in her hands started growing bigger, the man moved toward her in an instant, leaving a cloud of dust behind him.
His fingers were on here throat in an instant, and she could clearly see his face now.
"Are you ?", his voice still had that calm, peaceful tone, but it was vibrating with distrust, and threats.
And his eyes showed no hesitation, he would do what he have to do.
Mia let the flames in her hands go off, and simply walked away, without a word.
"Don't let the flow swallow you, and don't let power break you", he said as they reached the door.
"What the fuck was that", was the only word spoken by Mia for the rest of the night.
Francis was welcomed by a sound of bell and the smell of incense, along with the creaking of the floor and the rise of dust.
"Oh hello, so you finally came huh", said the oldman, elongated on his bed at the back of the shop"
"They told me what happened, didn't you go a bit too hard on them, dad ?"
"They are tough, they can take this much", said the oldman with a funny tone in his voice.