KNOCK KNOCK
"Whose here early in the morning?" Jack grumbled.
"It's me Mister," a small voice came from the other side of the door.
"What're doing here this early," Jack sauntered towards the door.
"Huh? What's that Mister? I couldn't hear you," Finn shouted.
"Wait, wait, I'm coming," Jack pulled down the lock, and opened the door.
There he stood, his smile greeting Jack. Finn was welcomed by the sight of Jack, his body moist after a bath, and water droplets glistening, a towel concealing his waist.
"What is it?" Jack asked with a smile.
"I was bored."
"How'd you find my room?"
"There is a whole building dedicated for teachers but right now no one's here, and only this room has sounds coming from it." Of course I remember the whole campus, glad I could at least remember the way here.
"That's how you found me?"
"No, I did something else."
"What?"
"Well, it's kind of hard to explain."
Jack gestured, asking Finn to come in, "And why is that?"
"Well, I tried the RFE, and... uh, well something's strange with my core," Finn chuckled awkwardly.
"May I?" Jack glanced, putting forward a request.
"Oh, please."
"Limitless concentration," Jack muttered, his pupils glowing gold.
'Wonder if he can see it,' Finn thought.
"You developed... dual property? That's strange, even in such cases the cores remain separate, but..."
"The cores have merged into one, right?" Finn completed his thoughts.
"Yes, and it's dangerous," Jack continued scanning through Finn's body.
"Why mister?" 'This is bad?'
"For now it might seem as if there is no problem, but later on maybe during your first or second star formation, you might face separation of the two properties."
"Seperation? How do I fix this?"
"Fear not, this old man is here for you."
"But, RFE, what is it?"
"It's a copy of the Harmonic Convergence," Jack said as he sat down, his arms crossed, still scanning Finn.
"Harmonic Convergence?" Finn tilted his head.
"It's this advanced technique, and the result is similar to what you wanted but it's way more efficient, while RFE is a worn down version."
"It's your original?"
"Kind of," Jack focused, his eyes narrowing, "your meridians have opened up."
"What!?"
Meridians or pathways, the pathways through which mana flows, and stores itself. The meridian are the quintessential elements of cultivation.
"The paths are all open, but it's not necessarily a good thing."
"Is it because the open pathways lead to faster yet unstable circulation?"
"You have it all figured out, yes in short that's going to be a problem," Jack nodded. "But shadow and frost, a deadly combination, and a perfect unison, I think it's part of your talent."
"My talent? It was a C-Rank talent."
"Maybe it's because of your bloodline, you must be part of some large clan, considering both the frost and the shadow in your core are dense with mana."
How did he figure it out from just taking a look at me, this guy keeps surprising me.
"I don't think that's the case, I'm just some peasant."
"Being born a noble isn't anything that great."
"And why is that?"
"Either you'll grow up to be some spoiled brat, or go through a life of hell," Jack's eyes shimmered down, the golden glow turning back to his hazel pupils.
"Which household are you from?"
"Huh?"
"You told me you were a noble, but which house? A County, a Baron, or a Marquis?"
"Well, I guess it's time to introduce myself," Jack got up on his feet, pulling back his almost dry hair, "My name is Jonathan Thorne, the second child of Orion Thorne, the Sword Duke."
"Woah!" Finn's eyes illuminated in respect. "Aren't you quite the big shot?"
"Nope, I was considered to be below the servants of the household."
"What?" Finn retorted forms surprise.
"Believe it or not, my father absolutely hated me, not sure why, and my elder brother, Vinchen also picked after him."
"Why?"
"I'm not sure?"
"And?"
"Well my younger brother was the only one who always stood with me, but unlike me, my grandfather always took him along for everything."
"You were left behind?"
"Not quite... maybe, Yes," Jack paused. "But Ravin was always there for me."
"Who's that?"
"My father's butler, he always took care of me."
"That is some level of deep rooted hate."
"That's not even the worst of the stuff that's happened to me, I remember this one time, father broke all of my limbs, SNAP SNAP, first my arms then my legs, still gives me creeps."
What the fuck!, Finn gasped, choking on his own breath, "Old man, what the hell, that's not something you can just casually drop on me."
"Hey, that's nothing compared to the time he cut off my right leg, here see for yourself," Jack lifted up his towel by a bit, showing a scar that ran all the way around his thighs, a bit above the knee cap.
Jack's body had multiple scars, one on his belly, another on his right shoulders, a nick on his left one, a small cross shaped scar on his wide back, but this one was the nastiest of them all.
Finn eyes on the verge of bursting out, "Holy shit! Old man your father has big problems."
"I can't blame him, maybe it's because I wasn't exactly what he was expecting," Jack explained with a smile.
"And you're just accepting it, how bland."
"It's not like I want revenge, after all I wouldn't be born without him."
"Aren't you thankful," Finn remarked.
"It's who I am, you can't blame me, can you?"
"I'm wondering how you came to be. When people go through things like that, they change, yet you seem like some... innocent child."
"Innocent child?" Jack chuckled.
"Yeah, I think you're awesome."
"Where is this coming from all of a sudden?"
"It's called respect, consider it payment."
"Well, ...thanks."
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Martin, a character who had limited screen time, met a tragic end at the hands of one of the story's most sorrowful figures. He sacrificed himself to save Archibald, the protagonist.
The soft hum of the water lapping against the edges of the bathtub filled the quiet room. The scent of lavender relaxed her mind as she laid back in.
"Lavender, I remember the fragrance splitting open my head," Daniela let out a lighthearted chuckle.
If I can solve all the problems and reach the end I'll be able to find something out, peaceful life isn't something I can dream about.
Maybe I can live peacefully, but how did I die? I can't have just died out of the blue, can I?
She got out, the water rippling harder from her motion. "The bath sure was nice."
There is still the case with the emperor, no, father, he's my father, and I have to take care of him. Even if the owner of the body never intended to, I will.
She slowly picks up the towel and starts wiping the water off her body, the towel soaking up each drop.
...
After wiping, she covered herself up with the towel, walking out of the bathroom, the steam still lingering around, her shape a visible shilouete.
"But something I can't get out of my head is Finn, why was he there?"
"Result of my actions... nah, not even close, I didn't even do anything to influence anything yet at that point."
She proceeded to the wardrobe, pulling it open. The wardrobe was a cacophony of dark colours.
"She really liked the darker tones, huh. Well at least she had good taste, still what happened to her?"
If I'm here does that mean she's back there? On earth?
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"Was this really necessary?" the man in the Black suit said, adjusting his meticulously maintained tie, his eyes falling on the woman in white besides him.
"What do you mean, you agreed to this," the woman besides him retorted, her expression brows furrowed.
"Do you think this can fix it?" the man glanced at her in frustration.
"With how things have been going so far, I do think we'll get to see something different."
"Vonn, where did you get the girl's soul?"
"You know that world, the same one as where he resides," a voice came from the shadows.
"I know a lot of he's. Be more specific," the man spoke.
The woman sighed, "The Monarch of Goodwill and Sacrifice, his world."
"You had to touch that dimension," the man in the Black suit spoke, "I agreed to this but it seems like you two proceeded without even asking me."
"What do you mean touch that dimension? It's not like he cares," the woman spoke.
SIGH, "It's alright, but I do hope we can get a better result this time."
"But the girl isn't using the Akashic Scroll we gave her," the man stepped out of the shadows, his white clothes similar to the other individual, but a pair of golden horns protruding from his forehead.
"You idiot, why would she follow that, she's already read the story," the woman added.
"Wait, what story?" the man in white said.
"What story!?" the woman snapped.
"Wait, you didn't know?" the man in black asked.
"What story?"
"Why did you think we picked that world?"
"Because that one was the ...closest?"
The woman folded her arms, unimpressed, "It's because it was one of those dimensions"
"...Fuck."
_________________________
BEEP BEEP
A deep mechanical sound through the heavy fog clouding her mind. It was rhythmic yet unnerving.
Uh, what happened? My head hurts.
Her head throbbed as if something pushed and wriggled inside her cranium. She tried to open her eyes but they wouldn't obey her.
I can't open my eyes, my head is splitting apart.
BEEP BEEP
The unnerving sound was back, no rather the sound never left, but pierced her open.
What's that sound, am I at the healing ward?
But the smell of antiseptic and the small chatter around, made her question it.
I fainted all of a sudden, was I poisoned?
She could hear a conversation, muffled at first but now cutting through the fog, "She's waking up, someone call Marcus."
"I'll go."
'Marcus? Who's that?'
After a few seconds, her ears picked up multiple footsteps. She felt the presence enter, a strange tension filling the room.
"Is she up?" the voice was new, yet it sparked a familiarity she couldn't place.
"Glad the boy brought her here, she just hit her head, nothing big," a pause. "What's her full name?"
"Rose Morris."
Rose who? My name is Daniela.
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