1 Prologue: Powerless

At this point, she didn't truly fear pain; what she feared was this feeling of utter helplessness. But right now, she still held power... power to breathe, to think, to move, to decide... Even though all of this was on a small scale, it was very precious to her.

Although... even this precious bit of power could be ripped away in a blink: Were she to breathe too loudly or move a little too much, her precious "free" time would be cut short; and even if she didn't, it would inevitably end.

Hiding in the dark, she couldn't relax: Always listening for footsteps and the creaking of the wooden ceiling; eyes always darting about looking for movement; all her thoughts directed towards a single objective: not being noticed, being forgotten, staying alone... becoming an illusion, non-existent.

But experience was constantly telling her of the futility of these actions. Shouldn't she just give up?

The thought of water filling her lungs robbing her of the power to breathe; the thought of pain wracking her body and flooding her mind, taking away all thoughts; the feeling of her body paralyzed, incapable of movement; the image of them deciding her fate, her future, her suffering; these sensations nurtured her fear and kept it burning, lighting up her mind.

'I want to be free. Please just leave me alone, let me go and be.'

Those were the thoughts of the girl cowering on the cold stone floor in the dark cellar. The only light came through the gaps in the wooden ceiling.

She could hear people moving about overhead. Every time footsteps neared the trapdoor separating her from those above, she shivered, further burying her head between her knees.

But the ineluctable arrived just as usual: Light steps quickly nearing the trapdoor, halting; the sound of a lock clicking and a chain rattling; wood rubbing against wood.

Light flooded through the opening instantly filling the space with a dim gleam, but the girl blinded by the sudden brightness did not move, only tightly closing her eyes. Then, the figure of a woman descended from above, easily moving through the opening and down the wooden stairs of the ladder underneath it. Her long hair was the same raven black as the girl's.

"Stand up!"

The woman's clear voice sharply cut through the stifling air, yet the girl still would not move. She could not as she was paralyzed by fear.

The woman did not wait for a reply. She reached the figure crouching in the farthest corner in just three large strides. Grabbing a handful of dirty raven hair she tried to yank the cowering creature to its feet.

Instead the girl winced and sucked in a deep breath. She could feel blood trickling down her face.

"Get up", the woman said letting the just pulled-out hair fall to the ground. Her voice was cold and showing no remorse for her violent actions.

Giving up hiding, the girl slowly opened her eyes and lifted her head. Her gaze met flaming orange eyes burning with disgust. Before she could get her numb legs to lift her, sharp fingernails dug into the skin above her elbow, dragging her forward.

The woman had turned around and was moving back to the wooden ladder with the dirty creature in tow. She was as light as she was bony so the woman moved her with ease.

"Climb up."

The stumbling girl weakly moved forward to climb the stairs of the ladder. A sharp slap resounded as a hand hit her butt. She was numb to this pain and just continued pulling herself up, her arms and legs shaking from this bit of exercise. When her head moved past the wooden ceiling into the light flooded room, she lost her focus for a moment, losing her footing. Before she could fall, however, she was lifted into the air.

Floating in the middle of the room, the lamps' bright light harshly illuminated her battered body. She was wearing a brown sack cloth with her head, arms, and legs sticking out. Her shaggy raven hair was missing a bunch, her face was pale, and her arms and legs riddled with small scars.

The woman had climbed out of the cellar as well and was now standing in front of the floating girl. She was addressed by a melodic but cold tenor:

"Stop wasting mana and let that down already."

The girl fell to the wooden floor with a thud.

"It almost fell on me..."

"Why did you have her climb up in the first place?" the voice interrupted her.

"I'm sorry..."

"Give her the potion already."

The woman took a needle filled with an amber liquid from a nearby table and bend over the dirty girl.

The girl could feel the needle piercing the skin at the back of her neck. A wave of pain ran through her spine as the amber liquid entered her body.

Then the woman stepped back and a man took her spot in the girl's field of vision. He held a crystal bottle with a clear liquid inside in his left hand and a knife in his right. As he crouched down, his cold mint eyes held no pity but instead a spark of morbid amusement.

"Your hand," his tenor voice beckoned.

The girl had already experienced this scene countless times, tried resisting in a hundred different ways... all to no avail; so, she just compliantly lifted her hand and offered it to the man with the palm facing upwards.

After skillfully cutting the palm of the offered hand, the man placed the crystal bottle on it and closed both his hands around hers.

The reason being that the girl had started shaking uncontrollably the instant the bottle made contact with her blood. Her head was wracked by intense pain as she felt something leaving her body in a rush; all her limbs felt as if being frozen from the inside out. The coldness spreading through her body wasn't tranquil but burning frigidness.

Her senses were intact, yet her thoughts were filled with nothing but the searing cold.

"... another bottle!"

"Quickly..."

"... another..."

"... another..."

Finally, the intense pain ended, leaving her mind behind in the unending cold.

On the table where the needle had been taken from now stood three bottles made of blood-red crystal. Another one was currently being held against the light and studied closely by the man's mint eyes. The liquid inside was slightly lighter than in the bottles on the table.

"Barely more than last time. Seems this is the end of her growth."

"But that monster..."

"She has a lot more than you, her mother, no?" the man interrupted.

"Please, can you not call me that?" the woman answered after a short silence.

"But you did give birth to her, no?" The man chuckled.

"You asked me to!" The woman sounded angry.

"Now, now, calm down, 'darling'. It was the logical choice given the situation. You were the one who got pregnant, no?" The man sounded bored as if they had had this conversation a thousand times already.

And they had. Such words were nothing new to the girl lying shivering on the floor, trying to escape the cold paralyzing her mind.

"I... It was not my choice!" The woman sounded pleading.

"Shush, 'darling', I know. So do not bring this up ~again~ and ~again~ or one of these days I might get angry."

This seemed to have shut the woman up as she now turned her attention to the girl lying on the floor.

"That... It was disobedient earlier and almost fell on me..." the woman spoke.

But the man interrupted her again, "Just put her over there for now.

"Even if you punished her, I doubt she'd feel much in this state. So, sort through the formulas while she recovers a bit. Then we can properly punish her."

Yielding readily, the woman nodded and then turned to walk to a desk at the other end of the room that was covered in scrolls. The desk was of a height that it did not require a chair and one could comfortably sit at it with a pillow on the floor.

After the woman had sat down and started reading through the scrolls, the man finally stopped studying the liquid in the crystal bottle and likewise sat down at a floor-seating table; it was facing the wall to the left of the woman. On it were placed only a single scroll as well as parchment, ink, and a brush.

Meanwhile, the girl was magically moved into the corner at the other end of the room and landed on a wooden bench. Chains wrapped around her wrists and ankles, but this seemed unnecessary as she was just shivering there; because of the stifling cold freezing her mind she could not even will her eyes to close again.

Uncounted minutes passed like this. Since the room was windowless and not lit by candles, it was impossible to judge how many. But the girl's mind gradually warmed up.

The man seemed to have noticed as he suddenly stood up and walked over. Standing there, he coldly gazed down and studied her. After some time, he spoke,

"If you want to take a little break, I think she's ready now."

"Yes, thank you," the woman responded and got up after tidying the desk.

He beckoned her over with a quick wave of his hand, and so she came.

Once she was next to him, he drew her in close, embracing her. Then, he planted a passionate kiss on her lips. Not letting go, he kissed her without a breather; her lips even turned a little blue.

When their lips finally parted, she hung there, in his embrace, breathlessly gasping for air. After catching her breath, she turned her attention towards the now trembling girl.

The girl knew what was coming because she had lain there a thousand times before. No questions or plans came to mind. Instead, she simply closed her dim eyes and embraced the small embers of warmth hidden deep inside of her.

This did not surprise the woman; her burning orange eyes had observed this reaction many times already. Her voice sounded full of satisfaction as she asked gleefully,

"Can this monster not once face punishment with rue? Disgusting."

The man the while seemed bored by all of this as he stated,

"Finishing the analysis is of utmost importance. She won't go anywhere, no? Just get going before I declare this little break over."

He turned around and walked towards a door on the left, but then he paused. With his right hand on the door knob, he said,

"Oh! Don't waste any mana on this."

Then he opened the door and left. It closed behind him with a thud.

The woman let out a long sigh. It sounded like longing.

"~You~ better be grateful. If not for him, I'd never take care of such a monster.

"I want to make him happy, but ~you~ are in the way. That alone demands punishment.

"Always making things difficult for me, never obeying... Does such a thing perhaps not know the difference between 'do' and 'don't', 'yes' and 'no'?"

The girl did not respond to the woman's ramblings, keeping her eyes tightly shut.

"What am I expecting of a monster? But I will teach it, ~you~, the difference."

The girl heard light footsteps moving away from her, but she did not move. Although the cold freezing her mind had largely receded, her body still felt frozen. Furthermore, she was shackled by both chains and hopelessness; what even could she do?

After a short while of silence, footsteps once more were heard; this time they were coming towards her.

When they ended, she could feel the presence of another human being looming over her but she did not open her eyes.

'I want to be free. Please leave me alone, let me be.'

Like a mantra of begging, she uttered this thought over and over in her mind.

"Open your eyes."

She knew that it mattered not whether she followed this command. Keeping her eyes closed, she imagined huddling behind the small embers she felt inside herself.

<><><><>

As a result, she only flinched when something icy cold was pressed against her arm. It had the size of a child's palm and the texture of a rugged stone; but all of this was barely noticeable as it exuded a biting cold.

But unlike against the cold coming from inside her earlier, her mind could protect her against this outside cold. Imagining hiding behind the embers, she barely felt it.

"Do and don't, yes and no, hot and cold. The difference is the same. This is don't, no. But when I give a command, what I need is do, yes!"

She let out a whimper as bright hotness suddenly overwhelmed the cold. Blazing pain broke through her wall of embers before her imagination could turn it into soothing water. When she focused her mind through the pain and changed her imagination, it granted her only a small moment of relief: Soon the drops of heat turned into icy cold as the rugged stone was pressed against her arm again.

Her imagination had vastly improved over time, but it was still not fast enough to subdue this punishment. Did her mother choose it because she knew? All she could do was concentrate to allay one extreme.

'The cold.'

She hated the cold.

Focused on keeping the embers burning inside her mind, she ignored the drops of heat periodically burning her arm. But without the image of soothing water, she could not succeed for long:

Soon her whimpering was replaced by pitiful cries. The protective embers of her fantasy had died down, drowned out by the drops of pain. Without them damming it, the river of pain broke free, submerging her mind.

The sound of a door closing with a thud. Finally, the pain abated a little, allowing her mind to emerge. Another presence closing in...

"You used that again."

The familiar tenor voice of the man.

"Should I not have?"

A reply full of uncertainty.

"She is getting used to it, no?"

"Yes, it held out for quite long before repenting."

"... She has yet to properly apologize, no?"

"You are correct."

"Well, then I'll do you a favor this once, darling."

A cold hand touching the girl's burned arm. The feeling of soothing heat rushing into her...

Then, as it moved deeper, the soothing heat changed into something different: hostile energy choking her mind; she started convulsing. Her eyes and mouth opened on their own. A mix of gagging and sobbing noises escaped her.

Everything became hazy except for the joyful mint eyes staring down at her, glowing from amusement...

<><><><>

When she was about to give in to the pain, it suddenly ended. The glowing mints hovering above looked shocked. She saw the man opening his mouth; but before he could, everything was engulfed by an invisible force. It had also enveloped her.

She instinctively felt it pressing down on them and knew they could no longer move. But where had it come from?

She wanted to stretch out her awareness, but the world outside was cold and she had no warmth to spare inside her mind.

Fortunately, her question was resolved in the next instant when a new man appeared in the room. He exuded beautiful warmth; as if dancing butterflies were buzzing around him. Yet, it carried the same feeling as the indifferent oppressiveness weighing down on them: it was majestic.

"It's been a long time..." The majestic new man spoke with his voice full of dark coldness while looking at the woman.

Although she could not see the man closing in from behind her, the woman's eyes showed recognition and fear upon hearing his voice.

"First things first." He then turned his gaze upon the mint-eyed man. Cold purple eyes devouring him...

This was the first time the girl felt fear from this man. Although she could not lift her head to see his shock-filled mints, she felt it in his aura.

The new man casually walked over to the mint-eyed man standing next to the woman. The girl saw his black-gloved hands grab the mint-eyed man's shoulders and turn him around, away from her.

Then she felt a change in the room's flow of warmth: the indifferent oppressiveness was still there, but now there was a stream of sharp sparks of warmth flowing from the majestic man towards the mint-eyed man's head.

It lasted for quite a while before with a thud the man fell to the ground. The woman's eyes widened.

"He's only unconscious for now."

With the large figure of the man out of the way, the girl could finally get a better view of the majestic man:

He wore a black cloak with flowing silvery blue lines embroidered. It was held together by a black metal broach.

He started moving around the room, enabling her to see more of him – since she was still unable to move she couldn't lift her head: he wore the hood of his cloak up, covering his hair; because of the shadow of the cloak's hood, black gloves, pants, and brogans, she hadn't seen his skin yet.

After he had collected numerous things, the majestic man returned to them. He seemed to think for a moment before waving his hand, sending a flow of warmth into the woman.

"You should feel my mana controlling yours."

After another flick of his hand, the oppressive energy around the woman vanished, but remained around the others.

"You..." the woman said with great difficulty,

"Do you think I'll blow myself up?"

The majestic man did not answer her question, instead he asked,

"Why did you do it? This is your chance to explain yourself."

"Why did I do what?" the woman snapped back.

When the man remained silent, she continued:

"I am your enemy, what did you expect?"

"Enemy? Did I not spare your life and treat you well?"

"You used me."

"I showed mercy and did not execute you for your crimes. You repayed me by joining my enemies and stealing from me."

He paused before speaking more coldly,

"I wondered why you did not wait till you could steal all the parts..."

"Why couldn't you just leave me be? I pose no threat to you and we already shared the formulas. Why did you waste your time tracking us down?" the woman spoke angrily.

The girl had never seen her speak so passionately. It seemed her hatred for this man was equal to her hatred for her.

"How could I let a traitor go? Most importantly," the man paused to pull out a bottle from somewhere. It was one of the blood-red bottles that had been created earlier.

"... I needed to stop the distribution of this."

"You noticed?" the woman asked fearfully.

"Of course, the quality of this mana is almost identical to mine. To think you've turned your own child into a mana generator..."

"That is not my child!"

"Pffft!"

Was this the majestic man's way of laughing?

"You forced me... that is a monster..."

"I forced you? I did conquer your kingdom and kill your brother, the king. You can accuse me of that. However, I never mistreated you after I accepted your plea for forgiveness."

"Once you'd grown bored of me, you would have killed me."

"It is rare for me to so thoroughly misjudge a person. I am cruel, but I am not governed by whims. I have my own principles and I thought you a similar person."

"Similar? You're a monster."

"I see you do not wish to explain yourself..."

The woman interrupted him,

"Why would I explain myself to you?"

The man waved his hand as if swatting away a fly. The girl felt the oppressive energy disappear completely.

It seemed that the collapsed man had regained his consciousness; he swiftly got up and opened a blood red bottle he had somehow drawn from his sleeve.

"Daring to release us... You made a mistake!"

"Pffft!"

The majestic man's voice held a glint of ridicule,

"I dare because you are no threat. In my presence, you are ~powerless~."