Blindingly radiant amber light pierced through Jin's eyelids, forcing him back to the waking world with a wince and a groan.
The first things his squinting eyes perceived were golden chandeliers and the ruined ivory paint on the ceiling.
The sound of audible short sniffs drew his attention to a strange deep azure wolf next to him, its stiff expression glaring at him.
Jin jumped and quickly reached towards his hidden shoulder holster for his gun, only to end up patting his side pointlessly.
'Huh!? My weapon's gone!' Jin grimaced and crawled away while positioning his legs towards the wolf, readying to kick it if it lunged at him.
The creature growled yet its snout didn't scrunch nor vibrate viciously, and its unfocused eyes didn't blink even once.
"Vixie! Down!" a sweet voice ordered sharply as the rusty sound of something metallic struggling to turn drew Jin's eyes towards a woman with pleasantly mature features pushing the wheels of her wheelchair to them.
The woman had dazzling golden locks half-braided beautifully and her golden eyes shimmered with an ethereal majesty to them, accentuated by her pale cerulean dress that gave her a regal appearance. She had a plastic box on her lap with the picture of a panting dog on it - clearly dog food.
"He's a guest here, Vixie... Play nice," the woman's voice was the vocal equivalent of angel-touched honey, incredibly sweet and pleasant on Jin's senses.
The woman pulled out a few hard cookies in the shape of large bones and tossed them at the wolf.
But it was then that Jin realized it wasn't a normal wolf when the creature jumped up at the thrown treats, revealing a feminine human head underneath the wolf headwear, with incredibly defined sharp teeth that chomped down on the cookies audibly, instantly snapping them in half - the sudden jump caused her wolf pelt cloak to fall off, exposing her curly azure hair and fierce scarlet eyes, with the ivory shape of a four-pointed star glowing within them.
Now that he was paying close attention to the feral woman he noticed a pair of pointed ears poking out of her hair that twitched attentively and a fluffy tail swaying behind her rapidly from side to side. Not only that, but she wore a strange bodysuit covered heavily in fur while remaining tight enough to show her curves.
"They really are gold... Your eyes... They're so beautiful..." the blonde woman sat there squeezing the box into a hug while staring at Jin's eyes with parted lips, as if she was in a sudden trance.
'Beautiful, huh? It's been a while since I've looked at myself in the mirror, but if they're as wonderfully charming as hers, then staring at me must be nice.'
Yet while her eyes slowly narrowed into a captivated look, fueled by visual pleasure, Jin's eyes only softened with a knowing look.
'I need to find my guns... I don't know what either of their abilities are, but I can assume the furball wanted to be a wolf or something, a dumb wish.'
"Mona! More treats!" Vixie yelled happily while looking at the majestic woman, her aggressively swishing tail visibly showing her excitement.
"L-Later, Vixie. We need to attend to our guest," Mona broke out of her stupor and moved closer by moving the wireframed wheels under her.
"Vixie found you lying outside in the cold and dragged you here... I'm sorry but I had to take your coats off to check for any injuries... I'm Mona," the woman's cheeks glowed a soft rosy hue as she struggled to maintain eye contact after those words.
'Ah... So I didn't die... I'm still in the same world.'
"Ah, thanks. You saved my skin. I thought I was done for... My name's Jin," Jin chuckled innocently and looked around.
The place was decorated like a timeworn palace, with golden furniture as far the eye can see and crimson carpets masterfully placed to draw in the illusion of royalty despite the cracked walls and peeled off paint. The inner walls were made of dark wood to accentuate the glossy reflective furniture.
Noticing Jin's traveling gaze, Mona gestured around with a soft smile.
"This used to be a mansion that we found some time ago. Vixie and I tried our best to keep it looking new but no one can defeat time, it's... frustrating sometimes," Mona chuckled and glanced around at whatever Jin looked at.
"Yeah, but this place still looks wonderful, so your effort shows... but what about the exterior? If the outside looks just as nice then is it safe to live here by yourselves?" Jin carefully chose his words, attempting to pry information about their security and any additional people living with them.
"Oh, don't worry. Vixie's pretty strong and dependable despite her cute looks."
"You called me cute! I'm cute! Heheh..." Vixie's head bopped from side to side happily as her tail wagged aggressively, slapping the ground with every tilt.
Mona giggled before her warm smile faded into a concerned frown as she looked at Jin carefully.
"Your eyes... they're like ours, so you're a Starbound Soul, right?" Mona's face was full of pain as she asked that.
"Starbound Soul?" Jin cocked a brow.
"Mhm... It happens when we-"
"Mona! Don't be sad!" Vixie expertly crawled to Mona and sat on her lap to hug her, squishing her own face against Mona's cheek with a mirrored frown.
"S-Stop… You know it tickles when you–" Mona giggled when Vixie's nestled her face into her neck. She desperately tried to push the wolf girl away while laughing, but it was fruitless.
Jin's eyes remained neutral but his cheeks heated up with a tinge of excitement.
Mona pushed Vixie away enough to take a deep breath and calm herself down.
"Look, I'm not sad, okay?" Mona smiled at Vixie then stroked her head lovingly.
Vixie closed her eyes happily and curled up in Mona's lap, one of her legs drooping down the wheelchair since she was still too big to fit comfortably, but she didn't look like she cared about that.
"You spoiled thing… You'll give him the wrong idea… Heheh… Uhh... I hope this is not… uhm… making you uncomfortable, Jin…" Mona looked up at Jin with a faint smile while rubbing Vixie's stomach and chest with her hand.
"Not... Not at all," Jin shook his head, his cheeks still visibly rosy as he thought of how happy Skouter would be if he saw this.
"Mhm... My sweet Vixie can be a handful sometimes... My… only friend. Oh, I was explaining Starbound Souls to you… You have special powers, powers that you shouldn't show to other people or they'll hurt you... I hope nobody hurt you out there..."
Jin grimaced.
'It was the opposite actually... Not a day in and I already killed someone,' Jin thought to himself silently.
"People don't exactly like our kind but first let me explain Starbound Souls... uhm... When you tell your wish to a falling star, it explodes and then–"
Mona reiterated what Jin already knew about the Wishes, how they come from a person's desire resonating with an exploding star, how they manifest into unique abilities, but just like he thought, she never mentioned anything about a strange panels tracking her or any timers, she was Blessed.
Jin's friendly façade slowly wilted when she explained how wonderful the Wishes were, making it all seem like a big positive when in reality Jin gained more negatives instead.
"-but… even though Wishes are amazing, Starbound Souls are still treated like monsters… Because of the war, people think we're part of the government's superweapon experiments… Not to mention with the Zurians running around terrorizing us, people are too paranoid to listen to reason… If I didn't have Vixie, I would've died in that last camp…"
Jin stared at the sleeping wolf girl in her lap, then his eyes went lower.
"Did they cripple you because of your powers?" Jin stared at her legs with a scowl.
"Oh. No, I… I've been like this since I was young… I don't remember the accident that caused it but my mother always cried about it, saying it was her fault…"
"That doesn't make any sense… Why didn't you wish for working feet when you had the chance?"
"Mmm... I guess… because she was more important…" Mona smiled warmly at Vixie, with almost a maternal care behind her eyes.
"My mother, Vixie and I traveled around trying to survive in the cold. It was hard since I couldn't contribute at all and Vixie wasn't a well-trained dog. My mother was… a good mother. She didn't hate me, it just must've been really hard trying to survive with someone like me around her, so I don't blame her for her outbursts," Mona's eyes trembled and welled up with tears, yet she kept her smile going.
"Whenever she broke down and screamed at me, I felt like a burden that shouldn't have been born... I know my mother couldn't help it, because I made her life even harder… but Vixie was different, she still loved me and helped make me feel better… Always wagging her silly little tail when she came to me…" Mona sniffled and wiped her tears.
"But then Vixie grew very ill… maybe it was something she ate or something in the air, but my mother wanted to leave her behind after that… But I still don't understand it… I was as useless as Vixie when she became sick, so why didn't my mother throw me away like her? She would've been better off leaving us both behind..."
Jin's eyes drifted down, unable to keep looking at her pained tearful face.
"That's -hic- when I saw it… Like a strangely peaceful missile through the sky, it was so beautiful… I didn't -hic- think too much of it and just let poured my heart out in that moment," Mona sniffled and stroked Vixie's head some more.
"You... wished for your pet dog to... become human?" Jin glanced up at Vixie's sleeping form, his emotions heavily visible on his face.
"Mhm… I didn't like my mother choosing me over her... If she was my sister instead, mother wouldn't have abandoned her, if she was human…" Mona wiped her tears away, but a trickle still slid off her cheek and landed on Vixie's soft fur.
Vixie's eyes instantly opened.
"Huh? Mona? Mona… Don't cry, Mona…"
Vixie frowned and sat up, hugging Mona tightly and licking her cheek, her tongue wiping Mona's salty tears away.
Jin stared at them with a crestfallen look.
"S-Sorry… Mother died shortly after that… But Vixie has been taking good care of me… and besides the few bad moments I've had with people, I've been living wonderfully with her here... I'm really happy, don't let my tears make you think otherwise. I'm sorry," Mona forced a smile as she caressed Vixie's head while wiping her remaining tears away.
Jin sighed deeply. Part of him asked these questions to gather information and make the other person feel at ease, but a part of him couldn't help but want to listen one final time.
"S-Sorry… I didn't mean to burden you with something this heavy…" Mona's expression grew more worried as her eyes carefully analyzed Jin's face.
"You… You went through a lot…" Jin scratched his cheek while looking away.
'Why is my luck so bad? Why couldn't it have been some power hungry scum? Or someone whose life was terrible enough that I'd be doing them a favor? I didn't have to think too hard about those retrievals in the past.'
"Uhm… Jin? What exactly is your Wish? If it's something hidden then you don't have to worry about people chasing you off or attacking you, but if it's really obvious then please be careful... And if you have nowhere to go then I don't mind if you want to live here with us for safety if you can contribute and help around. I'm… obviously not good at helping you live comfortably but I've gotten good at cooking and cutting hair. Actually, your hair is starting to fray so why don't I–"
"No need. It's okay, relax... I'm sorry but I'm just staying here for a night," Jin smiled faintly.
"Oh… Okay, I'll get a room ready. But if you ever change your mind, this place is always hospitable to you in the future," Mona smiled brightly and then poked Vixie.
"Let's go, Vixie."
"Okay!" Vixie jumped off then pushed the wheelchair away to a room concealed behind crimson curtains nailed to the wall.
Jin watched her with a somber look, her warm loving smile lingering in his mind.
While many wished to be blessed with someone who smiled at them like that, Jin hated it. He hated how multiple people showed that same expression to him minutes before he coldly ripped their modified glowing hearts out. He hated how genuine it was; how pure, hopeful and innocent its expectations were.
If he was simply fate's cog as he claimed to be, then why was fate so cruel as to send him here?
***
After preparing the room, Mona and Vixie came back to show Jin around the makeshift guestroom. Outside of it, crimson curtains worked as a silky door, draped over the door-less entrance with two smaller nails on its sides to tie them open.
On their way to the room, they conversed about different foods Mona learned to make and other mundane topics Jin pivoted into to make himself seem less threatening.
Jin spoke about some moments he had with Skouter that made Emilia and Sadie laugh, exaggerating the tales greatly while avoiding any details that gave too much away, which ended up amusing both Mona and Vixie.
Jin used the story to create a false air of friendliness around him so they wouldn't feel tense or uncomfortable near him. And while it helped them relax, their laughter and smiles only burned through his soul painfully.
Despite the light tone of his conversation, Jin was still wondering when and how to strike, he didn't want to spend too long here but he didn't want to provoke them too early. He knew what Mona's wish was, but according to Walter, they both were Wishbearers, so Vixie's wish was still an enigma.
'I didn't even think animals could make wishes, but maybe she made it after she became human? Maybe I could just ask her directly and say it's out of curiosity...'
"Oh, it's already this late. I'm sorry, Jin. But I haven't slept a wink after Vixie dragged you in, so if you don't mind I'll go rest my head. If you have anything you want, you can wake me up and ask me, I don't mind," Mona smiled with a mature warmth then gestured for Vixie to push her to the neighboring room, one with a working door that lacked a door knob.
Jin nodded and walked inside his room, where his clothes and weapons rested on a fluffy gray mattress. Jin inspected his belongings to see if everything was there, then he swiped the air in front of him to summon the familiar ethereal panel with the grim reminder of his doom.
[Energy Remaining: 5 days, 7 hours.]
'Alright... I'll give it a few minutes so they'd sleep and then go kill them.'