She wakes up to a ceiling.
The smell of earth and wood, the sounds of nature, and the comfort of a bed.
And to a color she had never seen before.
Not to nothing...
She isn't supposed to be alive.
"What..."
She blinks, one, two and again. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. No, she never believed she'd ever see anything again after all that.
"What in the...?"
She finally moved, from staring at this... this bright looking ceiling. Is that what the color of wood truly looks like? She has never seen a shade of brown that soft and bright before. Never in the eyes of anyone worth a place in her memory she can currently recall.
She ended up shielding her eyes from the sunlight that came from the window at her side, blinking away and being amazed by the strange colors that appeared there when she blinked.
When her eyes adjusted, she was sure her breath was not taken like this since the day she first saw those green eyes.
Colors.
There were so many, there was so much color. She couldn't believe it, she thought her eyes were deceiving her.
"..."
She shifted to get a closer view. Blue, in different shades, in shades she has never seen before. She looks up at the sky, were clouds always that white? No, she remembers them being grey and black, or just black most of the time. Is that what the sun looks like? Is that a... floating island in the distance? Up in the sky? What.
Her gaze frantically traveled to the trees, to the surroundings. What is that strange color over there, on that tree? Is that a kind of fruit? The flowers... they truly do have colors. Even colors she didn't know existed. She caught sight of something that looks like a deer of sorts. The animals, they have colors too. Not just their eyes.
There were so many colors, colors in everything outside and inside. In variations that she never knew. And she didn't know the names of many of them.
What struck her most, was that there was so much... green. Green in deep, rich shades. They were so bright, so alive, under the sun.
This was a sight she never thought was real, was something only seen in fiction. In... in fairytails, in fantasy, in imaginary stories. It shouldn't exist.
The world she once knew was bleak. So bleak and plain. With only three colors and their shades that completely covered almost everything around it. The only pops of color being people's eyes. Yet most of them looked more miserable than their surroundings.
Is this what purgatory, as they say, is like? Were the people lying then? It looks a lot less bleak than she imagined. Or is this a hell disguised as heaven? She wouldn't imagine being in a place such as paradise, she had too much blood in her hands. She had bathed in sin, born in it. So what is this?
Where is this?
Where is she?
Why am I here?
Especially that. Why? She wasn't supposed to be here, she was supposed to be dead. Banished to hell or whatever it is that many believe sinners should be in. Burning or suffering or whatever.
Why is she seeing things that were clearly meant to be seen by the purest of people, by the most deserving? She was tainted, filthy, uncleaned... bloody. And yet, here she is... drinking in colors.
She was staring in silence, letting herself take in the sight, and her eyes devour every little detail, she couldn't help it. Of course she couldn't. This was a sight worth to commit to memory.
She has only ever woken up to a sight with her breath taken like this once by... by...
Green eyes and a desperate voice flash in her memories, and her feelings of amazement and slight excitement, faded. Making way for the guilt and grief, of loss and failure.
"Hmm..."
She looks down at her hands, they were free from the gloves she always wore. Her eyes tracing the callouses and scars that hadn't changed from what she remembered.
Honestly, if she wasn't in such a strange situation right now, she would've laughed at how quickly her emotions changed. Or at least, tried to. Never had she had felt like that, go from a positive to a negative that quickly, unless it came to someone she genuinely cared about.
She hopes, she truly does for once, that her partner in crime will move on...
Tap, tap...
It was the sound she hears from outside the window. She turned her gaze to look at a crow that carried an envelope in its beak, it felt... familiar. No, it felt more than familiar.
She felt like this crow was supposed to be hers, her possession. But why?
Without much thought to the strangeness of this all, she moved. With her forearm instinctively outstretched and her hand open, the crow jumped in, landing on her arm and letting the envelope fall into her hand.
When she looks at it, it only caws at her, and she somehow understood that that was... a greeting. She only hums back as a reply, feeling as though there was no need for words. It then walked up her arm until it reached her shoulder, cawing again, pointing at the envelope in her hand.
She gets it, she was more than curious about the letter inside and its contents as well. So she opens the envelope, then the letter to read...
—
To my dearest apprentice...
If you're reading this, it means I've finally run out of ink, or perhaps fate had grown tired of my ramblings. Regardless, I won't keep you long. You see, this will be my last missive. A bittersweet farewell to the one who holds my legacy.
You've always been a puzzle to me, a stoic enigma wrapped in a shroud of distance. Yet, in those quiet moments, when your gaze lingers on the shadows, I've seen glimpses of a spirit yearning to break free. From what? I don't know, not even your summon can tell me.
But! I've cherished every moment of our time together, even if I often felt like a jester trying to coax a smile from a stone.
Let's cut to the chase, shall we? I've received a rather urgent request from a patron of the underground. It appears that a certain crime lord has been causing more than his fair share of trouble in the kingdom of Piresulas. Breaching the patron's territory. A troublesome rat gnawing at this patron's ass, it seems. More information shall be in the other paper.
It's time for you to step into the light, my dear. Your first quest awaits, and you have been chosen to… deal with this little pest. I apologize, I feel humiliated for having this as your first mission.
Oh, well, consider this a rite of passage. Embrace the challenge, and crush it in your hands. For you are no mere apprentice of mine, but a soul that shall be heard and feared throughout the underworld. Make me proud! Let me hear the whispers of your feats.
Let me see the fear in their eyes, as they imagine the bloody things you could do! Let me see the visions of you tearing into flesh and viscera and—sorry, I've gotten a little too invested there.
Everything I possess, all that I am, is now yours. It shall be under the cabin's floors. Use them all wisely. My faith in you is unwavering, you hear? I know you won't disappoint.
Keep your wits sharp, dear. I will be watching, perhaps not in the way you think, or maybe in the way you do think, but you'll know when I'm near.
With all my affection,
Your mentor, Q.
—
She doesn't know why, or maybe she does and she would rather not remember, but she can just feel herself get exasperated by her mentor's apparent pride in her.
But even that didn't hinder the fondness and familiarity she felt while reading the letter. She may not exactly remember who they were and what they were like, but she can tell she cared for whoever her mentor, Q, is. Just the same as her mentor seems to care for her.
She felt like she had known Q for a long time, despite not having a single memory of them.
She sighs as she puts the letter away momentarily, the crow flew off to perch itself onto a well made and fancy cane that was held by a handle of sorts. She runs a hand through her hair, trying to mediate the ghost feelings of stress from all of what she was experiencing.
It somehow worked in one try, she suddenly, instantly, felt calm and ready to think with clarity. Hm. She'll deal with that later. She already has so much to think about...
[Ding! First Mission has been received.]
A screen suddenly appeared right in front of her eyes, bright, soft and blue. She blinks at it, she doesn't think she'll get used to such sudden pops of colors like this.
She read the contents on the screen, curious and already tired of all this being weighed on her, before it then changes to something else.
[First Mission: Rite of Passage ]
["Assassinate your first target after your awakening. Gain renown in the underworld of Calais. A nice welcome, no?"]
——
[Rewards: Beginner's Gift, 900x in Currency, 25 Skill Points, Unlock System Functions...]
[Deadline: Unspecified, unknown...]
"Quest...?" She sighs, "would there be any kind of explanation for all this?" She asks, faint irritation in her tone. She asked the air, the crow, the screen, whatever else could hear her.
No response. The screen had done nothing, only displaying the same thing. But her crow only cawed in confusion and understanding.
That still didn't give her a proper answer.
Her gaze then catches unto an option on the screen, "Status". Just as she read it, it opened. Bursting colors into her eyes again.
[Full Status]
——
—
[Name: N Argent]
[Race: ——, Deadrose (Hybrid) ]
——
—
[Strength: SSS+ (Max)]
[Defense: SS+]
[Agility: SS-]
[Intelligence: SSS+ (Max)]
[Mana: A]
[Luck: — ]
—— [Overall: SS+]
_____
— [Skill Points: 5] —
[Skills: Inventory, Analysis, Unknowable, Cig-Conjure, Weapon Creation (Lvl. 2), No Lie (Lvl. 5), Detective (Lv. 9), Deadeye (Max)]
[Passive Skills: Cheshire Cat, Intimidation, Calming Presence, Gambler's Luck, Jack-of-All-Trades, Pain Resistant, Hit-Soul (Lv. 8)]
[Innate Skills: Deadrose, Summons (Lvl. 3), Drain (Lvl. 5)]
——
She does not understand.
Nothing about any of this is truly understandable to her. But, as if any of these surprises from all these colors and screens popping in front of her face wasn't enough, information about all that she had seen rushed to her head and hit her like a bullet.
She felt so dizzy after that bombardment of information, her head pounding for a moment before it faded away, her [Pain Resistant] skill might not be as bad as she thought it'd be.
Now, she understands. But she also didn't.
She understood how and what these skills and abilities are, that the world she was in was quite literally a fantasy world she'd only ever hear about in books and movies, what this status window is. But why and where is not answered still.
Yet, no answers would come to her.
I need a smoke.
She shakes her head, clearing the questions still running in her mind. Deciding to make use of one of the skills already, she conjures a cigarette from mid-air. Watching in awe as it lands on her hand. It's truly like magic...
It lit itself the moment she had it in between her fingers, as if on command.
Her gaze flickers to the crow, which had been silently watching her on its perch. It didn't need to be called on to, neither did it need a glance to know what she wanted. It flew to the bed, landing in front of her and simply sat down. Looking up at her expectantly.
She watches as it fades away in vapor, then seamlessly reappear again, beady eyes still looking up at her. She had willed for it to disappear, and reappear again. She almost couldn't believe she could do that.
She lets it fade away, for it to rest this time. She didn't need its assistance right now.
Sucking a breath full of smoke from the cigarette, she can feel her nerves relax. This one's different, not nicotine.
It made her feel rejuvenated, calmer, relaxed. And it didn't feel like it could give her lung cancer, it was as though she just breathed in fresh air. Made her feel healthy, rather than feeling like she was giving a boost to health decline. Good to know.
She felt familiarity at the color of the cigarette's smoke, grey. At least something didn't change.
Turning her gaze to the colorful scenery outside, she was amazed. The colors were too bright to ignore. She still cannot believe this is real.
She wants to enjoy this view, for only a bit. It was something she had never seen in her entire life. Let her eyes drink in the colors, they were too beautiful, too unthinkable to not imprint into her mind.
For now, she'll relax.
Enjoy the privilege of this sight, before she inevitably needs to think on her next move...