Mina swung her daggers with precision, impressing both Konge and Harold. "Wow, she has gotten way better today! It's like she's a natural at this." Konge says, perching on Harold's shoulder.
"Yeah. Yesterday, she couldn't keep her footing when attacking. Now it's like she has been training for years." Mina quickly scurried over to Harold, a cute face of anticipation beaming at him. "What's next, Harold?!" Her demeanor reminded Harold of a dog with their tail wagging, seeing how excited she was. "O-Oh... yeah, um, let's start focusing on training your Artifact abilities, then." The sudden change in Mina almost scared him, to say the least. "What's up with her?"
Mina ran to her training spot and began slashing the air with both of her Artifacts active. Splashing purple acid in one direction, while slinging hellfire in another direction. Lifting both of her daggers, she dashed into a pile of scrap metal, slashing it with a downward cut. Using both of her Artifact abilities, the scrap metal immediately disintegrates into dust. "How was that, Harold?"
"I-It's pretty good..." he gave off a shaken thumbs up, surprised at how efficient she had gotten with her Artifact. "What the hell... she has way more mastery at using Artifacts than me at this point!"
As Mina continued swinging her daggers around, they heard a voice. It was the voice of a woman, a mature one, to be exact. "Wow, you're pretty good at this." Without delay, Harold positioned himself near Mina and summoned forth his Artifact. As his Artifact formed, Harold called out in the barren scrapyard. "Who's there? Show yourself." Mina quivered behind Harold, scared of what was to come.
"Whoa, calm down kiddos. I'm down here." They both looked down at the ground, surveying for the source of the voice. "You idiots, I'm being held by the girl right now!" it frustratingly screamed. Mina looked at her daggers, hearing the voice pop out from the purple one. "Look, you finally found me." Mina cried, dropping the dagger. "Hey, don't just drop me like that!" As Mina recomposed herself, she slowly picked up the dagger. "S-Sorry, you startled me."
Harold leaned in to look at her dagger and observed it. "Stop staring at me. I won't allow a pervert to feast his eyes on a beautiful lady like me!" the dagger yelled. Poking it, Mina's dagger rattled. "Don't touch me, you ape!"
Seeing the reactions of it, Harold had concluded. "It seems your Artifact had developed an ego." Harold says, continuing to poke her dagger.
"An ego? What's that?" Mina replied.
"Pretty much in simple terms, your Artifact has come to life! I read it in an Artifacts theory book. This happens on rare occasions though, only if your soul and your Artifact are a perfect match in the merging process."
Hopelessly gazing at her dagger, her eyes averted to Harold's; despair creeping in. "D-Does that mean this thing will be with me for the rest of my life? Staring at everything I do!?"
"Oh, not to mention, since your souls are connected, they can also read your thoughts, too!"
Mina dropped to her knees and screamed. "GYAAAHHHHHHH! I don't want this Artifact anymore! Harold, please take it off from me!" Mina said, suddenly clutching onto Harold's legs.
"Y-You idiot, if you were to take it away, you would die!" Harold said, trying to peel Mina off of his legs.
"No! I don't want this thing anymore!" Mina then toppled Harold over, still clinging to his legs. Even if Harold was nearly double Mina's size, she could overpower him in many situations. "Damn it, stop being a brat!"
"Excuse me, Mina. I am not just a thing! Call me by my name!" Her Artifact rattled with anger in its tone. She raised her Artifact to her face, asking it the question it demanded. "A name? You have a name?" Mina asked, as she still holds onto Harold's legs. Begrudgingly, Harold answered Mina while Mina's actions still annoyed him. "All Artifacts have names. Later on, you'll subconsciously learn their names; it just takes time."
"So I guess it was rude not to ask your name first. I'm sorry." Mina said, apologizing to her Artifact. Her Artifact let out an amused laugh, a tone full of acceptance. "It's okay, dear. I'm glad you're quick to understand how you've hurt my precious feelings! My name is Sorrow; it'll be nice working with you, Mina." Mina nodded with a smile. "Yeah, likewise as well, Sorrow."
"An ego, huh? She's quite lucky if she managed to snag an Artifact that is perfectly matched with her." Konge stated. "Yeah, the chances of that happening are extremely low." Chad added, watching both Mina and her Artifact converse with each other.
Amidst their conversation, Mina had brought a unique question to Sorrow. "Sorrow, can you turn into an animal like Konge over there? If so, can you turn into a cute kitten for me!" Sorrow rattled at the question, feeling almost insulted by it. "You dare ask a beautiful woman like me to stoop low as a disgusting creature? How ignorant can you be?!"
"S-So, you won't do it?" Mina said, with pleading eyes.
"No! And either way, Artifacts with egos can't transform into whatever animal you want! That's not possible!" Sorrow replied. "If so, how can Harold's Artifact turn into a bird?" Mina asked, pointing at Konge. Looking at Konge, Sorrow was struck with confusion. "You fool, that's not an ego at all. That's simply a pet." Sorrow told her.
"E-Eh, really?!"
Harold inputted himself into the mix, bringing out his Artifact. "Hold up, he's not a pet at all. Konge can freely enter and exit my Artifact, not to mention, he can control it too. A normal pet cannot do this." Harold said, showcasing how Konge can flutter into the blade of his Artifact. By swinging his sword forward, Harold sends Konge flying out of his Artifact. "See," Harold said as Konge immediately swooped back onto his shoulder after Harold sent him flying.
Sorrow had a puzzled hum to her, trying to think of what Konge's existence was. "That's strange; I've never learned anything of this. I don't know if that's an ego or something entirely new. Does that bird know anything about itself?"
Konge shook his head. "Nope, my memories are all chopped up. I can barely remember anything from my past. I only know the reasoning on why I'm here." He aimed his wing at Harold. "It's so I can guide this young man to save the world from doom! That's why I reawakened from my slumber!"
Sorrow riled up, increasing her volume on Konge. "You moron, that gives us nothing about you!" Konge fluttered in Mina's wrist, pecking at Sorrow. Sorrow vibrated, making noises of pain. "Ow, stop that, you dumb bird, stop it!" Konge furiously kept pecking at her, feeling a sense of power in doing so.
"That's right, who's a moron now?!" Konge said with a cocky tone.
"It's still you! O-Ow! Mina, get this bird out of here!"
Harold and Mina stared in awe at the bickering of the two.
*
*
*
*
At midnight, Harold had stopped the training. "Okay Mina, let's go to the city and clean ourselves up." Mina nodded, excited about what was going to come. "Okay!"
Leaving the scrapyard, Harold had made her follow a path down an abandoned railway. The rails showed considerable wear and tear from years of neglect and lack of use. Not to mention rust corroding the tracks and weeds plowing through. Rusted and broken clockworks were lying on the side of the tracks. Seeing the defective products disposed of so easily unnerved Mina. Even if the appearance was unsightly, the grand view it gave of Argon City from a distance was gorgeous. Especially the city lights shimmering in the night sky. "Wow, so we came through here?" Mina asked as she walked next to Harold. "Yeah, I carried you through here after you fell asleep in my arms. Honestly, how hard did you struggle to fall asleep drooling?" Mina blushed at Harold seeing her drooling habit when she goes into a deep slumber. "S-Sorry, didn't mean for you to see me doing that! It's a habit of when I was little!" Harold walked ahead with his hands in his pocket. "Well, it's not like I give a damn. Come on, let's hurry now; I'm starving."
"O-Oh, okay!" Mina said, increasing her pace. As she trailed behind Harold, she could barely catch up. "He's getting farther by the second..." Harold looked back with a sly grin. "Who said your training was over? Try your best to keep up, Mina!" Harold darted off into the darkness, leaving Mina running in desperation. "S-Stop going so fast Harold, I'm already exhausted!" Mina stopped and got on her knees, gasping for air. "He's way too fast... well, that's expected by a person who fights bad people as a hobby." Suddenly, Sorrow emerged in her hands. "How dare that boar just leave an innocent gem like you behind?!" Mina gave a short smile. "Well, it's fine; I'll catch up to him, eventually."
"Mina, since we're together now, I can feel all of your emotions too, not just your thoughts."
"Yeah, and what of it?"
"When you're around that Harold guy, you always seem anxious, desperate to please him. Stop it."
Mina's heart sank. "W-What do you mean?" In response to her words, Sorrow's tone grew bitter. "Don't lie to me. I know how you truly feel. You keep trying to cling to him as if you were a dog. Just because you're scared that he'll leave you if you were nothing of value."
"I-I'm not..."
"Oh yes you are, you're just lying to yourself. You tell yourself that you are nice to him, want to be with him, because he's sooooo nice, but in the end, you're just desperate to use him as a resource to live off of."
Mina tossed Sorrow to the side, venom ingrained in her voice. "What do you know of me..." Sorrow re-summoned herself in the palm of her hands. "Mina, I'm part of you now; you can't just toss me aside like nothing."
"A-And what are you trying to tell me, exactly? What's the point?" Mina asked, her voice shaken.
"I'm telling you this because I hate fake people! Especially a fake woman! Being fake is the most unappealing aspect of a woman. I cannot have a beauty like me tainted by your lies."
"Enough!" Mina attempted to use Sorrow to stab herself in the neck, forcing Sorrow to dissipate herself.
Sorrow smacked her lips, witnessing Mina's risky actions. "She purposely tried to harm herself to make me go away! Is she crazy or something?!" Sorrow grumbles for a moment until she pauses. Looking through the depths of her soul, she could one-stop and gaze at the sight. "Oh, she's not crazy... it's because of that."
Soon after, a few minutes later, Harold came running back. "Hey, Mina, are you alright? I had noticed you weren't coming, so I got worried something happened to you!" Mina, still on her knees, stood up. "N-No, sorry... I'm just exhausted." As she brushed herself off, her eyes caught Harold standing in front of her, his back turned. Confused by this action, she stood there, awaiting his next move. "Come on." Harold says. "Um, what do you mean by that?" Mina asked. "Get on my back; I'll give you a piggyback ride." Something so childish nearly made Mina cringe. "W-Wait, I'll just walk myself..." Harold sighed, doing a sharp jerk around to Mina, startling her. "Plan B then." Harold quickly snatched her up into his arms, the same action he had earlier when kidnapping her for training. "Not this again!" Mina said, flailing her arms and legs around in his grasp. "Shut it, you're exhausted. I can't let my student overwork herself." Harold continued to walk down the railway as Mina struggled the entire journey to the city.