Outside all of creation lies one singularity. That singularity spread across infinite existences. In that singularity, contained a library. This library spanned infinitely, an endless source of knowledge, always getting an incomprehensible quantity of books every singular day. And within the confines of the library was a librarian.
A woman in an elegant white dress reads a book, her white frilly hair stretching down to her shoulders, a silver-tinted rose headband nestled within it. As you approached, her scarlet eyes averted their hazy gaze towards you. "Ah, you must be a visitor. Welcome to the Osservatore's Library. My name is Sheila; I'm the librarian here." She clasped the book in her hand, letting it glide freely within the infinite bookshelves that spiral upwards. "You appear to be confused, almost unsure why you're here, to begin with. Allow me to assist."
A book fluttered down towards you, planting itself into the palms of your hands. Opening the nameless book, the chapters were scattered out of order, and most pages had been torn. Looking at the very last page, which contained blank pages, nearly hundreds of them were blank. It continuously lets out new pages at the very end of the book, never seeming to end.
"The book is a confusing one, isn't it? Out of all the books I've read, that one was the most bizarre."
"It continuously creates new pages as if it were being written on the spot; some pages contain a whole different story to the book, others are simply scattered in odd places. It's almost as if they were two conflicting fates, clashing against each other."
"You wanted to know the ending of the book? Well, in the very end, Chad Brinkston suffers a terrible fate, and the world is left in ruin. Quite the climactic ending."
Sheila stared at the book with narrowed eyes. "Yet, the story somehow continued, trailing off from how it was supposed to go. Something like that should've never happened; it's impossible to do so."
"Unless..."
"A miracle occurred."
"Keep injecting them with the serum. Their minds will get weaker and weaker till they fall into despair." Cecil ordered. The medical team continued to inject them with the serum as Elmira and Keisha were unconscious. "Cecil, inject them with any more of this serum, and their willpower will permanently break!" One of the medical staff told him. Upon hearing this, Cecil took a dagger from his pocket and slit his thumb. As the blood dripped from his thumb, Cecil pressed against it, squirting out more blood from the wound. The medical staff stepped back, feeling intense bloodlust from Cecil through his crow mask. "I could kill you with a single drop of blood," Cecil said, blood dripping down his fingertips. "So don't argue; you fool."
As the injections ensued, the dark thoughts continued to puddle up in Elmira's mind, putting weight on her heart. Horrid dreams tormented her, causing her to grumble in distress during her slumber. "We shall proceed with the torture once they are awake," Cecil says, exiting the room. As the steel door shut, the noise echoed throughout the cold chamber. That caused Keisha to rise once more and scammer over to Elmira, picking her up in the process. "E-Elmira, i-it's time for us to escape!" As she heaved Elmira against her shoulder, they both walked in union together. Elmira, in a dreaded look, could barely take steps, making Keisha worried. "E-Elmira, y-you need to snap out of it; we have to flee from here..." Keisha's heart was pounding and her legs were weak. Fear engulfed her body, anxiety shackling her down at the exit of the chamber. "I-I'm too scared to leave... the moment Cecil finds out about this, they'll torture us to greater extents!" Her mind was hesitating, but as she saw how broken Elmira was, her heart was telling her something else. "No. Elmira needs me. I-I need to toughen up, just like how I used to be back then!"
As Keisha got to the exit doors, she tried kicking it down at full force. Kick after kick, it was a futile effort. The only thing that came was a sore foot. "Why am I so weak... Shoka probably would've busted this door down by now." Looking back at their time in the Terrestria training center, she recalled the memory of Shoka getting into a duel with a gorilla. "When she was a kid, she was easily able to wrestle that gorilla... not to mention, her magic would've been useful by now too."
As Keisha tried to think of a way out of the chamber, its door opened suddenly. It was a burly man wearing a crow mask. He wore an armored vest over his black uniform that was put on. "Oh? Is the little rat awake now?" he said, punching Keisha right in the jaw. Keisha fell onto her back, dropping Elmira in the process. As Elmira looked up, she began to swell up in tears. "N-No, please no, stop torturing us!" Elmira pleaded with the man. He grabbed her by the throat and tossed her outside of the room, smashing her against the halls of the underground facility. A voice blurted out from the man's radio, which Keisha could hear. "Billbur, remember not to kill them; you got that?!" Cecil ordered. "Okay, boss. Whatever you say!" the man responded, staring directly at the security camera in the hallway.
Coming from the shadows of the chambers was something that Billbur hadn't expected. It was Keisha coming in for a tackle. Grabbing his legs and trying her best to push him down, Billbur stared at Keisha's pitiful attempts. "And they said the Cerrux Squad had immeasurable potential. I can clearly see that's wrong!" Billbur said before heaving his arm onto Keisha's side, making her ragdoll far down the facility hallways. The ceiling lights of the steel corridor flickered as she was sent far back at incredible speeds. As she made contact with the ground, she rolled for a few seconds before coming to a complete stop. Keisha grasped her palms as she heaved herself up from the floor, the sounds of Billbur's footsteps echoing down the hall.
Billbur aimed his arm at Keisha, causing vines to grow and wrap themselves around Keisha. Constraining her from moving, Billbur rushed in front of Keisha before throwing multiple punches at her. Each blow felt like a sledgehammer, constantly pounding against her. As she slowly was losing consciousness, she could only think in that situation. "He's punching me too much. It hurts."
The situation was depressing. Two weakened-down girls stuck in the torture chambers of one of the strongest corporations in their continent. Even if they wanted to be killed, they would just end up healing them, preventing them from their unruly demise. What good was it to try and escape when you know that they'll just recapture you and torture you again? The cast of doubt loomed over Keisha, unable to do anything as she was mercilessly beaten. "N-No. I must keep hoping." Keisha uttered under her relentless assault. The words made Billbur pause, amused by what was spoken. "Hope? In this situation?! That's hilarious!" Billbur laughed loudly, his chest going in and out with each laugh.
"Y-You'll never know what will happen next... even in the darkest moments, there eventually will be a light!" Keisha's voice was weak and raspy; most of her energy was drained by trying to compose herself from the pain. Billbur let out one heavy punch, smashing her through the vines and making a dent into the floor with her body. Keisha could hear her bones crack and the blood erupting from her mouth as her insides were busted up. "Enough of your yapping." Billbur then grew two vines from his sleeve and grappled Keisha by the legs. Using the vines, he tossed Keisha back, making her directly collide with Elmira. The impact made both of their heads collide, heavily rattling their brains. As Keisha plunged right beside Elmira, her head was spinning. Blood began to drip down her hair, and her voice began to slur. "I-I cahn tuh focut stwaighth..."
Billbur edged closer, a grin etched onto his face. "Don't underestimate my magic, Vine Grapple, when it comes to tossing things! It made me a top-ranking in high school baseball!" Even though his footsteps were loud, it sounded extremely fuzzy in Keisha's mind. Her vision began to be disoriented, and she couldn't think straight. "Did you get a concussion because of me? We're supposed to jack up your brains in the long term, so I don't see any issue with this."
Keisha thought long and hard. Her body jittered everywhere as her brain couldn't even do normal functions.
"Hope... I want to keep hoping." she thought.
In her struggles to think, there was a light in her mind. As she reached for that light, a memory flickered in her mind.
"Hi, nice to meet you; my name is Keisha!" She let out her tiny hand, a gesture that seemed odd to the little girl in front of her. "My name is Elmira; how do you do..." A shy tone she had, and not to mention, she appeared too timid to keep eye contact. With a bright smile, she gave Elmira's hand a forceful shake, surprising her. "We were both adopted by the same people; that means we're sisters!" Keisha told Elmira, making Elmira's expression soften. "So you don't need to be shy; you can smile with me!"
They bonded and played for days on end, meeting new friends along the way. "So your names are... Niantha!" She said, pointing at Shoka. "And your name is Shoka!" Keisha says, pointing at Niantha. In a disappointed tone, Shoka let out a tired sigh. "Keisha, you got our names mixed up again." In a shocked face, she let out a gasp. "A-Ah, I did?!" Elmira let out a tiny chuckle. "Keisha, you goof!"
The kids were all trapped within the underground facility, only able to see the outside world through pictures and videos. Even though they had all of the resources to live properly, it was never enough in their minds. "I want to go explore the world; I want to see what life has to offer!" she told them. It was a dream, her life's mission. She thought she could achieve that dream in the future, but they were quickly shot down.
Keisha stood in front of Cecil and his men, arms widened to shield the rest of the girls. "Why are you putting us through this?!" Keisha screamed, tears glossing over her lacerations due to the suffering they had to deal with. "I don't care if you guys want to turn us into powerful beings; you're hurting my friends!" Elmira, Niantha, and Shoka cowered behind Keisha. Their bodies are writhing due to the forceful growth of their mana storage. Even though Keisha's pain was also immeasurable, she still had the determination to stand up for her friends. Cecil, on the other hand, did not like this. "A tool like you shouldn't be rebellious against us." Cecil says to Keisha before turning to his colleagues. "Bring me the Dampening Serum." Cecil ordered.
For days on end, Keisha was injected with the Dampening Serum. A serum that continuously breaks down one's willpower. Even though Keisha told the others she was fine, they slowly came to witness Keisha's downfall. The endless days of the Dampening Serum, combined with endless hours of torture, shattered Keisha's mind.
Elmira approached Keisha, trying to reach out to her. "K-Keisha, are you okay? Niantha and Shoka are worried about you..." That's when Keisha recoiled back from Elmira's hand, quivering in fear as tears streamed down her face. "P-Please d-don't touch m-me..." Keisha said with a hard stutter.
The sight of Keisha shocked the girls. Niantha, Shoka, and Elmira—speechless at what they're witnessing. The bright, cheerful, and fun-loving girl had fallen into such a horrible state. Moving slowly so as not to scare Keisha, Shoka asked Keisha a question. "Keisha, you don't need to keep standing up for us; we'll endure their harsh experiments! Didn't you have the dream of wanting to explore the outside world?"
Keisha's lips moved, but she was too anxious to let out a word. She had constant panic attacks, barely able to even register their words towards her. "N-No... I-I don't want that anymore."
"I-I'm too scared."
Keisha snapped back to reality. She passed out for just a moment, but her dreams lasted for what seemed to be an eternity.
"W-Where am I..." she thought, analyzing her surroundings. Billbur was stepping closer, and Elmira was unconscious.
"That's right... I'm here."
It all seemed hopeless. Even when she tried to stand up for herself, her memories proved that she was quickly shot down. A strong feeling of dread loomed over her; it pulsed through her body, striking her directly in the heart. The anxiety started to flood in again, and her body began to tremble.
"What's this feeling? This feeling that pains me so much? Is my heart... wavering?"
"Am I going to give up...?"
It wasn't until Keisha's eyes connected with Elmira. Watching her unconscious body triggered something in her. "What was I thinking?"
"Elmira, Shoka, and Niantha, when I was in my darkest times, they all protected me and stayed by my side. So why am I still acting like this?" Keisha clenched her fist and gritted her teeth.
Billbur stopped moving, seeing the sudden actions of Keisha. "Strange... she should be unconscious by now, but she's still up?"
"This whole time, I was scared—scared to do anything! But if I'm scared now, Elmira and I will never be able to leave this hellscape!" Keisha's movements were hesitant; her anxious mind was reluctant to act, but her heart compelled her to move. Two conflicting sides, pushing against each other. Finally channeling her long-lost determination, she let out a single burst that got her to stand up. Through her pain and struggles, she fought against them, letting out her potent strength to stay up. "I'm still scared... but, at the same time, I want to protect my sister!" Keisha told Billbur. He was impressed at her determination. Even with her injuries, she still stood tall and didn't give up. "Such a tenacious girl... sadly, that won't get you anywhere in life." Billbur said.
With a strong glare, she yelled with all her might. "As I said... you'll never know what's at the end of the road!" Mana began channeling through her body at a rampant rate. The amount of mana grew so much that it extended nearly 10 feet from Keisha. As the mana began condensing within her body, Keisha closed her eyes, focusing on it from within. Her wounds began to slowly heal, and her mana flow began to accelerate. In a state of shock, Billbur's eyes widened. "Don't tell me, her magic is... evolving?!"
As her eyes opened, a huge blast of steam erupted from underneath Billbur, making him cry out in pain. "GOOAAHHHHH!!!!!" Billbur covered his body in Aura, allowing him to tank through the attack. "Her old magic used to be mist—what is it now?!" Billbur began to charge in at Keisha with his arms up in a blocking position. "I'll just beat her to a pulp and find out later!" As Billbur changed in, he channeled more mana into his Aura. "I have enough mana to have Aura activated for at least an hour! Her attacks are futile against me!" Analyzing the attack from before, he tried to decipher Keisha's next move.
"She made a geyser out of steam to right under me. Her previous magic was a Standard-Type, so I'm assuming that her magic new evolution is something that makes steam geysers!" As he gets close to punching distance, he prepares for another geyser underneath him. "I'll just jump over the geyser and punch her when I come down!"
As the plan played out perfectly in his mind, Keisha put her hand forward. "Go away." She lets out a barrage of steam at Billbur from the palm of her hand, continuously pushing him back. "She's using a steam blast now?! I thought she was a Standard-Type magic user before!" As he continued to get pushed back, the temperature of the steam increased. "O-Oh god, it's starting to burn real bad! Even through my aura, the temperature is way too high!" Out of desperation, Billbur made vines on the walls to allow him to grapple and swing towards Keisha. His body was still stinging after the harsh temperatures that were put on him, and he was desperate to end the battle in one attack. Using vines to constrain Keisha, he imbues his arm with a heavy amount of Aura. "It's over!"
Keisha surrounded herself with a continuous flow of steam, using it to wilt the vines away. "I miscalculated! I didn't think she would be able to produce temperatures that high in such a short period!" Even with the miscalculation, Billbur was forced to continue with his assault as he had no other plan to do mid-air. Nearing his punch, Keisha shot out another barrage of steam at Billbur, beginning to push him while he was in the air. He is pushed repeatedly by the steam stream, which pushes him up against the facility's hallway roof. "S-Stop, you'll really kill me!" Billbur screamed, pleading for his life.
She increased the amount of steam generated while he begged, keeping Billbur slowly cooked to death. As the last bit of mana was out of her system, she stopped the production of steam, letting Billbur's corpse fall and let out a loud thud against the steel flooring. Breathing heavily, she collapsed next to Elmira, exhausted.
"How interesting. Even though she had Mist Magic, which was a Standard-Type magic, her magic evolved into Steam Magic, which is a Primordial-Type. Very interesting indeed." Cecil said, watching her from the security cameras. "She'll be an even greater asset than what we had anticipated." With a nefarious grin, he couldn't wait to turn her into a weapon of mass destruction. He had already planned additional projects to further enhance the Cerrux Squad's power, so Keisha's growth excited him even more.
It was until something completely unexpected had happened, leaving Cecil speechless. From the security cameras, he saw the vent next to Elmira and Keisha open. Shoka and Kotori quickly dragged them inside the vent and sealed it shut.
"What."
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Magic Name: Steam
User: Keisha Sterling
Type: Primordial
Rank: Elite
Description: Generate steam from your body or within a certain radius. The steam's temperature depends on the amount of mana consumed.
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