Kiehra trudged through the empty halls of the Headquarters, her boots echoing off the tile floors. It was quiet, a stark deviation from the hustle and bustle of most of the base, and for good reason too. This part of the HQ was avoided, whispered about in the superstitious mutters of both new arrivals and other lower ranked staff. She could remember mentioning something to her when she first joined the Sentry. Rumors of bad omens, curses and ghostly wails that never quite left after years of occupation. Kiehra had never cared for the stories they told. Living in Abyss was definitely worse. Plus, she enjoyed the silence, something that Old Oasis's streets couldn't properly provide. After the letdown that was yesterday's mission in the Golden Sea, she needed space for herself—away from the wary eyes, the accusations and the judgment.
The dimly lit overhead lights flickered every now and then, creating long, eerie shadows that danced across the stone walls. Her mind couldn't stop replaying the events of the mission, cycling endlessly through every detail. Riona had blasted the spirit's core apart with her savagery and powerful powers, making it look easy. As expected, she was hailed as the star of the mission and promoted to a Sentry Officer the moment they made it back to HQ, becoming the first of their batch of Initiates to do so. Whispers of admiration were sung tirelessly since yesterday all the way to this moment.
And Kiehra? Well, she had been promoted to LV5, but the rank felt hollow, like an empty shell. Sure Rhys gave her a nod of acknowledgement, but it was out of a sense of duty, rather than recognition. Kiehra knew she was supposed to feel happier about it…but she just couldn't. She felt numb, a familiar haze of uselessness settling around her. It was like she was walking through life, unseen and untouchable by everyone around her.
What…what am I even doing here?
The question preyed on her mind, cutting through all other thoughts like a blade. The deeper she walked into the empty corridor, the heavier the air became, the atmosphere filled with something she couldn't quite name. It wasn't just this mission. In retrospect, this emptiness she felt could be traced all the way to her first day in the Sentry. Starting out as a mere janitor meant she had always been covered by some kind of blanket of frustration and invisibility. She had always been on the periphery, perpetually overlooked unless it was time for her to be humiliated by her superiors.
But now that she was on the track to becoming a proper soldier, the situation had been reversed…and it was arguably worse than being ignored. Now she had been noticed, but not in a good way. Whispers danced around her like the wind, and accusations had already tarnished her image. Other applicants and higher ranked officers avoided her like a plague. Her performance in the physical exams had done so much more harm than she could have imagined, and the painful truth of it all was that things could get so much worse.
The worst part was the power she wielded—dark and terrifying—simmering beneath the surface and growing stronger with each passing day. She'd done a relatively good job of concealing it, but nobody was there to commend her for her efforts. Nobody saw the restraint, the unbearable weight she carried every second, holding herself back out of fear for what would happen if she ever lost the handle she had on her strength.
Nobody understands. They can't see it…how close I always am to losing control.
She closed and opened her fists repeatedly, feeling the latent energy pulse steadily beneath her skin in rhythm with her heartbeat. She wasn't even sure who she should be scared of—being found out by Vela or letting herself be consumed by power. Ever since meeting Three, she was locked in a perpetual battle with herself. Every waking moment was a struggle to keep her and Three's overpowering energy contained, to prevent it from bursting out and eviscerating everything and everyone around her. The pressure of it all was suffocating.
She found a quiet corner in the dimly lit hallway, far from the sounds or prying eyes of other people in the Sentry. The cold stone wall pressed into her back as she rested against it, pulling her knees up to her chest.
The silence here would be considered deafening by most, but Kiehra didn't mind it at all. It allowed her to go through her own thoughts and sort them out, something she'd been unable to do in recent weeks.
"What have I become? Am I…am I just a puppet?" She asked herself in a low voice, her words echoing in the quiet halls. "This power…do I even deserve it? Do I even have the right to call it mine? Or am I just the vessel of something I don't even understand?"
The questions hung in the air, and a bitter feeling settled in her chest.
Ant then a voice shattered the silence.
"A puppet? Is that really how you view our relationship? You hurt me with your harshness."
Kiehra jumped up to her, her eyes wide with relief and disbelief. "Three?!" Her voice came out louder than she wanted, but she didn't care too much. Three was speaking again, his voice echoing inside her mind with its usual teasing charm.
"The one and only," Three replied, his tone bubbling with amusement. "You sound like I've been gone for a long time. It's only been a few hours at most."
Kiehra pouted, not sure if she should laugh or be pissed. "A few hours? Three you've been off for days! I You haven't spoken to me properly in weeks. What happened?"
Three made a sound that she could only describe as a dramatic gasp. "Silent? I don't recall going anywhere. I'm always here, watching, waiting, enjoying the show!" he replied.
Kiehra blinked, scratching her head in confusion. "No, you were…different. I could barely feel your presence, and you hardly said anything. I thought something was wrong—I thought you had left."
"Wrong you say? Oh Kiehra, you do worry your pretty little head too much," the spirit teased, sounding genuinely sincere. "I don't recall anything being out of the ordinary. I'm perfectly fine, and just for the record, I would never leave someone as charming as you."
Kiehra frowned. She hadn't imagined it. Something was definitely going on with Three, even though he didn't seem to remember it. He had a penchant for being vague sometimes, but something was different—there was something he wasn't telling her, and she could only hope it was one of those dry jokes he liked cracking.
Before she could ask more questions, another voice pierced the quiet.
"Who's out there? The Sentry hates squatters y'know?" Payday's voice called out, cheerful and bright, dissipating the tension in the room. Kiehra turned, spotting her bound down the hallway with a spring in her step. The janitor stopped when she noticed who was there, smiling brightly and sliding onto the floor beside Kiehra with effortless grace. The manner in which she was going about it made it feel like they were old friends meeting over tea.
"Oh it's you Kiehra. You look like you've seen a ghost," Payday joked, her eyes shining with mischief. "That wouldn't be too surprising though, given the nature of well…the Phantom Sentry. Heh."
Kiehra forced a weak smile, though her mind still buzzed with questions to ask Three. "I'm fine Payday…just thinking."
"Pretty bold of you to think in a place like this," Payday stretched, leaning back on her hands without a care in the world. "You know what they call this place? The Hollow Wing. You can't really be sure what you'll stir up in these halls. I hear that there's eavesdropping spirits in here…or worse."
Kiehra was never bothered by the rumors, but with Payday talking like that, she couldn't help but feel apprehensive. "Eavesdropping? What...do you mean by that?"
Payday's grin widened, but there was something off in her expression. Her eyes were staring right at her, but they were dark and unsettling, like something else was looking straight at her.
"Oh, you know, just office gossip. Voices calling from the great beyond, shadows that dance when you're not looking at them, whispers about dead initiates coming back…" She leaned closer till their foreheads almost touched. "Perhaps…it isn't all word of mouth?"
Kiehra's edged away, beads of sweat forming on her forehead. "What are you getting at?"
Payday shrugged, standing up and dusting off her trousers. "Some people see and know things that nobody else does. And you?" the woman giggled darkly, her eyes lingering on a particularly dark corner of the corridor. "You've just got something different about ya."
Kiehra gulped. "I'm not sure I understand what you mean…"
Payday's smile only grew wider, her eyes returning to their usual look of empty-headed bliss. "Keep your eyes peeled. You don't need me telling you Vela's sniffing around, and you my friend have a scent he's just dying to follow." She winked before skipping away.
Kiehra remained seated, lost in bewilderment as Payday's footsteps echoed away. Just what was that kooky woman going on about? She spoke like something big was coming, and soon.
Three's voice thrummed to life, perplexed and serious. "Something isn't right with that one. She's off…"
"Payday?"
"Yeah. Something about her…is familiar."
Kiehra was incredulous. Payday? The office ditz who stumbled her way through everything with a carefree grin? Familiar to Three? No part of it made a lick of sense. Sure Three said weird things recently, but he'd never spoken like this about another person before.
"Ugh, I don't think I can handle any mysteries," Kiehra groaned as she stood up and stretched her limbs, freeing herself of the tension in her muscles. She had enough on her plate already—Vela's suspicion, Riona's accusations, the whispers of the other initiates, her personal doubts, and most important of all, her uncontrollable power.
As she turned to leave the Hollow Wing, Kiehra decided to fill Three in on everything he had "missed"—her surprising control over her power, the missions, the taunts, and the constant looming threat of accidentally exposing herself. She vented her frustrations, her confusions, her fears, and through it all Three listened with genuine attentiveness.
Unbeknownst to Kiehra, just mere feet away from where she was seated, a shadow lingered. Flak pressed himself flat against the wall, his heart pounding loudly as he overhead every word said. Fear and uncertainty flashed in his eyes as the pieces of the puzzle clicked together in his mind. The Field of Fallen Gods, the spirit that was destroyed without anyone noticing, the power Kiehra wielded during the exams, the questions that he was asked.
He knew it all.
And he wasn't the only one.