"Birthday?" I guess it's that time of season already. I haven't felt the sun in a very long while, I wouldn't-
"NOW!"
Before we knew it we were sent flying into the air, and crashing into a pillar, I blacked out.
"S̶t̶e̶a̵m̸y̴.̴.̴.̶ ̷ ̸"
" ̸S̶t̴E̶a̷m̸Y̴.̸.̵!̷ ̶"
" ̸ ̵Y̸o̶u̵ ̵H̴a̸v̵e̶ ̵t̸O̷ ̸W̶a̴k̵e̶ ̶U̶P̶!̴"
"005? Everyone… What has happened?"
"Steamy, child," "y̸o̸u̸ ̷n̷e̴e̴d̵ ̶t̴o̷ ̶w̶a̶k̷e̴ ̶u̸p̵!̷ ̸Y̷o̵u̶r̷ ̵l̴i̶f̷e̵ ̵i̴s̶ ̸i̵n̶ ̸d̴a̴n̷g̵e̴r̸!̶"
"Get up child, we cannot protect you much longer. "S̷H̵A̵L̷L̶H̴A̵L̷T̵!"
"I'm up!" I'm up, but I can't move. The smell of fire clashed with the air, and the scent of death feels so joyful. "It's painful" I sense multiple people surrounding something… "Familiar" I need to get out, this rubble isn't doing my body any good, "It feels like I'm dying."
"2-35, Please help me out of here."
'My body's too numb.'
Carefully, 2-35 removed the rubble, my waist was uncovered yet I still couldn't move. Feeling around I saw the stones that still covered my legs, and I heard the sound of swords clashing. "I need to hurry!" 2-35 finished removing all the rubble off of me, "I still can't move!"
"Eyeball, Eyeball! I need your help right now! Please give me vision."
"S̶t̶e̵a̵m̶y̷!"
Tch- no response, "Can anyone else give me vision?"
"..."
"Please, you've got to help me."
"I can try," a voice whispered from the back of my soul.
"Saenathea!"
"This might hurt a bit Steamy, so bear with us."
It doesn't matter if I'm hurt, as long as I know that everyone else is safe I'll be fine. So,
"Go ahead Saenathea, A little more pain won't hurt in the slightest."
*Crack,*
'Snap"
'Crack'
It felt as if my ribs and my body were being torn apart and put back together, but besides that I could see. Although only about 30 'clear' feet in front of me, it's still better than just seeing nothing but blurs.
"You should have the vision of a spider now."
'I could tell' The colors i'm seeing are mostly green lit,
Looking around, I found the thing that had been holding me down, "there it is!" A flag pole. It pierced into the lower part of my leg and through my abdomen. It was stuck in the wall making me become a pig on a split, waiting to become roasted beef ready to be eaten.
"Let me help with that." Saenathea said,
'Slice, Slice'
"Huh what was that? Spider limbs?!?" Is that why she said it might hurt a bit? "Saenathea what is this?"
"Jorōgumo, Arachne, driders,"
'Jorōgumos, Arachnes, and driders' "You turned me into demi-spider!?!" I question, feeling the newly placed limbs as a part of my own body.
"I'm sorry, it had to be done, or else you wouldn't be able to move."
"Oh no no, I'm not complaining, Look Saena, I really thank you for your help."
…
"Then let's get moving."
Moving towards some heat signatures I could tell that it was Ms. Sow, who was surrounded by soldiers from the nation of Saga.
"Steamy, before you go in I have to tell you something." Saenathea whispered.
"What is it?"
"Your only partly transformed for right now,"
"Meaning?"
"Meaning, you could only fight with your limbs and a little bit of web for right now."
"I wouldn't be so sure Saena, I still have magic so-"
"No, it's not safe" 005 sputtered,
"005, what do you mean?"
"Saenathea used up all the 'N' you've been storing for now, if you use any more of it… It…"
"Will take too much of a toll on your body, Steamy." Saenathea completed, "It's best you just use what you can for now."
"Until the transformations complete?"
"Yes, until its complete"
Leaning in to hear their conversation I hear the soldiers yell,
"MONSTER!!"
Oh, guess I've been found.
Coming out of hiding, I spun over to the two soldiers closest to me, stabbing through their armor like slicing through cake. I felt their sudden deaths overwhelm me, "What is this!?!" I cried, I could feel the emotions of the two soldiers ringing throughout my head.
"Did I d̴i̶e̷ ̵?" "Is my family ̶g̶o̸i̴n̴g̶ ̵t̸o̷ ̷b̵e̵ ̶o̷k̴a̸y̶?̶?" "I wish I ̴ ̸h̵u̴gg ̸d my wife b̵e̶f̵o̶r̶e̶ ̵l̷e̶a̶v̴i̴n̷g̷ ̶--"
It wasn't just these two soldiers' pain that I felt, it was every dead person's sorrow.
"P̷L̴e̸a̴s̷e̷ ̵H̵e̶l̸p̴ ̵m̶e̷," "I̶'̷m ̴S̴o̶r̴r̷y̴!̸"
Ugh, my head hurts, and my visions are getting blurry again. The voices are clouding my mind.
"̴D̷I̵E̷!̶"̵S̸T̶E̴A̶M̴Y̶ ̷"̶K̴I̵L̵L̷ ̸T̸H̷E̷M̸!̴"̴ ̴"̸N̷O̸!̴"̴ ̶"̵S̸T̴O̴P̷ ̶T̶H̴I̷S̴"̴ "It Stop̸p̷ed!" "̴P̶L̸E̵A̸S̷E̶!̸"̴"HURRY! KIl̶l̸ ̷I̶T̸!"̷"̶S̵A̶V̸E̸ ̴M̴E̵!̷"̷ ̵"̵S̵A̸V̵E̴ ̶M̸E̸!̶!̶"̴ ̸S̴A̴V̸E̴ ̶U̷S̵!̴!̵!̸"̸ S̸T̶E̴A̶M̴Y̶ "̷F̴I̴R̸E̸ ̸B̴A̷L̷L̵!̸!̸"̴ ̵M̴O̷V̸E̴
*Slash, Stab!*
"Uh-," I grunted, I was stabbed and hit by a fireball, I lost 2 limbs and blood was now coming out of my abdomen, the same place where the pole was stuck in. But thankfully, the voices stopped.
I looked down at the soldiers, "one, two, three. Four.. Five… And Two mages'' The soldiers, glared at me terrified, but still strong as a warrior should, "H.. How can a monster of this rank be in the Capital of Solitude!?!?" One soldier said, "No, how can it pierce through Dragon Armor." Another one questioned. Am I really that scary? (I didn't know it then, but the aura I gave off and the changes my body underwent was truly terrifying.) Well it doesn't matter. Because you hurt my family, and their people,
"Die…"
Killing them was essay, one, head, 2 head, three, heads four. It wasn't pleasant but it wasn't joyfull either. Luckily, I didn't hear their voices, their cries of pains didn't scream throughout my head, so it was rather peaceful. "Just the two mages left…" They are too strong together, keeping me away with wind and fire magic, and blocking me off with ice magic.
"This is for the good men you've killed!"
"Once We're done with you we'll take them back with us!" The second mage shouted.
'If you want them back, then Take Them!'
"Qew Suee Kurr~!"
Throwing them back at the mages, one by one they couldn't help but catch their fallen comrades.
'An opening!' Quickly before they noticed, I grabbed one of the mages and threw him into the other mage, and using my silk I wrapped both of them up before slinging them back towards me.
*Stab* right threw their hearts.
Looking over to Sow I saw her horrified face as I trotted over to her.
Are you Okay, Sow?
"Spuw wu neu, Sow~?"
"It said my name… Does it Know me!?" I'm so scared, "I- I.. Don't understand, please have mercy on me, Great Beast." Sow said out of fear.
Hm? Saena, Sow said she doesn't understand me, can you fix that?
"...Lets see here… This will slightly take back your spider vision, but you should now be able to communicate after."
"Okay, thanks Saena," Slowly but surely my vision once again withered away, by the end of it, I could only see about 15 'clear' feet in front of me till everything started to blur off again.
E-Ehm, Sow it's me can you hear me now?
"St- Steamy!? Is That you?!"
"Yes? It's me,"
"Oh my God!" She hugged me, "I thought I was dead! You know you're really, really scary right now Steamy."
I am huh? "This is very different from your usual cold self Sow."
"Don't shame me now!!! It's just that I feel guilty for being harsh on you. Knowing that you saved me, it'd be wrong not to show you some gratitude."
"Ms. Sow… You feel Guilty because you're liable to punishment, it's because of something you've done, right?"
"Well yeah, Maybe.." She quietly responded.
"And you feel shameful because you've made a mistake. You think that mistake defines who you are."
Stopping in front of me she yelled, "Hey! What's the point you're trying to make here..!"
"Ms. Sow, I want you to know that it is okay to feel guilty, everyone has at some point or another… But it's no good to be shameful. Remember that everyone makes mistakes and it's how we learn and grow… That's all that truly matters.. So learn from your mistakes and be a better person, and don't let shame take over you. Don't let it blind you from forgiveness and acceptance… Or else you would end up only hurting yourself more"
"You sound so sentimental right now." She said with a sassy attitude, "But I get what you're saying.."
'Guilt; a feeling comfortable to when you feel accountable for a wrongdoing and facing punishment, it's a feeling that can help you understand how your actions impact others. While shame is the subjective feeling of being inherently flawed as a person. It's the feeling of worthlessness based on our identity, worthlessness because of who we are or what you've done. Shame; is the subjective sense of being inherently inadequate from the person you are, to the person you want to be… It's the difference between admitting to a mistake and feeling like a mistake defines you.'
.
.
So father, wherever you are, please don't be ashamed of what you've done… Because I've already forgiven you…
It's been quiet for a while now, we've only come across about a dozen civilians and a few injured Solitude soldiers. The smell of fire and the rain of ash started to wither away from the cooling winds, but while the piles of stones and never ending debris kept upholding us, Ms. Sow broke the awkward silence that connected us.
"Steamy can I ask you something?"
"What is it Ms. Sow?"
"Now, I don't mean to be rude but.. What exactly are you???"
"Hm... Well it's a long story, but I guess you could say it was the work of my father."
"Your father?"
"It was.. what he spent his life giving up too. His final gift to me you could say-" I paused at that note, if I tell Ms. Sow about father right now she might feel too guilty for what she did to me, "I could always tell you more about him later, so let's focus on finding civilians for now."
"Ah, Alright…" She said, with disappointment flowing from out of her soul, "Hay steamy-"
Solitude Soldier: "Halt right there! Vile Creature!"
"Hm..? Ms. I think you've misunderstood" Even though I still couldn't see clearly, my web couldn't even feel their presence, 'this person's strong.'
"Die!"
*Swing, Slash.*
"Wait, Please dont attack me. We're on the same side!"
*Swing, Slash.*
I was able to dodge her first two swings, but I didn't see her charge and I ended up getting pinned down.
"General, Yaovilda!" Ms. Sow yelled,
"Sow?"
Yaovilda, a name meaning, "Mighty Warrior, The War Goddess in Battle," made up of 3 different names, (Yaotl, Vigidis, and Matilda) She has long red hair that gloriously chants the words of 'Victory!' With her vibrant armor and shining weapons, it'd be foolish of people to not elucidate her might, But it'd be no surprise for someone not to see her, as she is strong enough to completely hide her presence.
"General Yaovilda, please don't hurt them" Ms. Sow cried,
'Sow, what are you doing!?!' You should get away from us for your safety." she Incited, pointing her weapon down at my neck.
"General, this is no monster, it's Steamy. So please put your weapons down."
She looked down at me, "Steamy… as in Steamy, Ven Solitude!?!" Sow nodded,
The signs of guilt crowded her soul, and without any hesitation, she withdrew from her stance.
"I'm- sorry I-"
"Its okay, Ms. Yaovilda, you did nothing wrong. So please don't feel guilty, we need to keep searching around, there must be more survivors here in this reck." 'Grandma, I hope you're safe.'
"Yes, Princess…"
"Just call me Steamy. Let's go…" 'Princess,' this is the first time I've been called something so girly. It doesn't bother me, but it's just… it's a unique 'Title' I've never been called before, it gave me a warm feeling for a brief moment…
Walking further down the ruins, the cool air subsided as the cold air came in, 'It's now night time.' We found a camp full of Sullarion soldiers, "Ms. Sow, I think it's best for you to stay here, we need you to protect the injured while me and Ms. Yaovilda are away. Can you do that?" I asked, looking
At Ms. Yaovilda to agree with me.
"Yes I can stay here, but it's getting late so you two should hurry back here." Ms. Sow said, giving me a bat on the head.
"It won't take long," Ms. Yao replied, "We'll be back before the sun rises…"
"Saena, how long will it take for me to see clearly again?"
She responded quickly, "I- don't have the power to restore the vision you had at the start of this all, but I'm sure this would help you."
*Click, Click*
"What was that!?!" I asked,
"Though you can't see well with your sight, you could still see with your 'Spiritual Web' I gifted you, all I did was- advanced it a bit."
'So that's what it was called,' the web I felt from before, the power you gave me, is called a Spiritual Web. 'Thank you Saenathea, you really are such a big help to me..'
"Your welcome, …"
With this new pov, I am able to sense things that are about 50 feet away from me, 'this will make it easier to find grandma.' Though I don't know where she is, if I come across her soul with my spiritual web, I'll be able to locate her quickly.
"Hey Ms. Yaovilda," I asked, "Do you happen to know where my Grandmother might be?"
"Your Grandmother… Ah-! You mean Her Royal Highness Awihna?"
"Yes, my Grandmother. So do you know?"
"Give me a moment," She stopped, rummaging through her bag she pulled out a dim blue stone, "This is a-"
"Communication stone." I cut her off,
"Yes, you know what this is?" she questioned, putting the things she pulled out of her bag back in it.
"Of course I do." I lowered myself down to help her, "If you had this stone, why didn't you contact her sooner?"
Ms. Yao laughed, "You'd be surprised, under the covers of that beautiful face, and her deep blue eyes, it seems like she'd need a knight in shining armor with her."
"Is that not the case?"
"No, in fact it's quite the contrary."
"What do you mean?" I asked helping her up and moving forward.
"You see, your Grandma has the Ability called, 'Lifeline' though not much is widely known about her ability, it's said to do 3 things,"
"What are they?"
"The first part of her ability is to give 'Life' to something or someone, pretty self explanatory but she can basically heal you as long as you're not already dead. The second part of her ability is taking away life from others, pretty scary right?"
"Huh, yeah.." I responded, "So what's the 3rd part of her ability?"
"She can see your 'Life Force,' in other words she can tell when you're gonna die."
I paused, 'She can tell when you're gonna die???'
"What Do you mean by that?" I questioned abruptly, "If She Can Tell, then does that mean she has the Ability To Stop It?"
"If She Has the Ability To Give People Life Can She Bring Back the Dead??? Can She Force People To Unwillingly Lay on Their Deathbeds? Wha- What About-!"
"Calm down Steamy. Calm down…" Ms. Yao held me tightly till I regained my senses, "Your questions have already been answered. Except for the first one, and for that, I truly don't know. Like I said, not much is truly known about your Grandmother's abilities."
"I'm sorry," I said wiping down my face, "It seems like I overreacted for a bit there."
"No need to Worry, Ms. Steamy, look at this," she gave me the communication stone, "It seems like your grandma is calling. I want you to pick it up." Taking the stone from Ms. Yao's hand I picked up the signal that Grandma was sending,
*If anyone hears this message, please help me… My Location XX-034-XII… Pleas-!*
End of Chapter 5