The Red Road

AN: (Alright, from now on, I will post one chapter per day plus bonus chapters for Powerstone goals that I will public later, but for now let's say, one bonus chapter for every 25 ps.)

The lifeless form of the muscular man collapsed into a puddle of rainwater, mixed with his own blood and piss, motionless. His neck was bent, chest collapsed, and vacant eyes fixated on an empty horizon. From the ghastly wound in his chest, blood gushed out, while his split skull leaked brain fluid onto the gory concrete road.

Tia stood in the downpour, her hair drenched, cascading loosely down her back. Her eyes flickered between the gruesome scene of the mutilated corpse and her own blood-stained hand, still grasping a steaming hot human heart.

A shiver of shock coursed through her as she confronted the unsettling reality of her own brutality.

Beep!

<<<<<<>>>>>>

Mission accomplished:

Objective --> Defeat the fire super

Rewards --> <Basic Pyrokinesis I>; 1 EP

<<<<<<>>>>>>

Ding!

//

Quest cleared:

You have successfully collected the needed materials.

Rewards: 3 WP; Recipe: Fire Heart Concoction

//

Her memories were hazy, replaced only by occasional flashes of blood. 'Have I spaced out?'

A bag dripping with blood lay next to her feet, the iron smell of blood so strong it almost made her puke.

'No jokes on me, systems? Hmm, it looks like even you have lost your words.'

The pain still pulsed all over her reddened face, but her anger and frenzy died down, bringing a scary thought into her mind. 'What if I am really crazy? What if I wasn't framed, and instead, I was locked up just because I belonged there.'

Her eyes moved to the mountain-like corpse of the man. 'Would a normal person be okay with just killing and dissecting people? What if even the systems and my past life aren't real and just a fabrication of my powers and insane mind?'

A lightning bolt suddenly split the sky in half, and the rain thickened even more, washing the blood away from her hand. The bloodier river painted the entire road red on its way to the drainage.

"I certainly didn't expect this..." The familiar feminine voice suddenly came from behind her, making her flinch and turn.

The tall receptionist stood there in her long, gray coat.

"I have watched you fight. So you are truly not a psychic, you are an esper..." Even amidst the bloody scene, there was no fear or even emotion in her voice.

'How long was she watching me? Was she even watching me harvest the body parts?'

Her intimidating height and her cold and emotionless face sent a jolt of forewarning down Tia's spine.

She motioned to her, "Come, you have passed. We need to leave. Soon this place will be swarming with guards."

Tia remained rooted to the place, still in shock.

"Come with me, you are burned and cold." The woman smiled at her for the first time, only unsettling her even more.

'She didn't shoot when I was turned back, so she is likely not here to kill me.'

With determination, Tia seized the bag and swiftly stowed the heart inside, all the while aware of the amused eyes observing her every move. At last, she cast a final, lingering look at the lifeless pyromaniac before striding toward the awaiting woman.

"Do you really need to bring that heart and bag with you?"

She just nodded, the embarrassment making her want to crawl under some rock. 'Well, even if I am not crazy, they will definitely think that I am after this... At least, I can do whatever weird stuff the systems ask me to do and then just blame it on me being insane.'

A few hours later:

POV Inspector ???:

"Do you think it was her?" The figure in the black coat crouched beside the mutilated corpse of a large man, his eyes scanning the crime scene. Within his irises, a multitude of numbers, data, and lines were projected, revealing a heightened perception of the surroundings.

The bright reflectors illuminated the street, making it even brighter than during the day, revealing the gruesome scene of the blood diluted with rainwater splattered all over the road, turning the road red.

The heavily armed agents of the planetary guard stood guard on both ends of the street, keeping the crowds at bay. Their visors flickered in the green light, and the large logos of the planetary guard special division dimly shone on the chest plates of their black tactical armor.

His assistant in the coat, identical to his, tapped him on the shoulder, bringing attention to her glowing tablet. "Yes, look at this analysis. The cause of death was suffocation and spine injury, but the pressure was too even to be caused by a physical object."

"What about local surveillance, did they spot anything?"

"No, everything is gone, replaced by static."

They both looked at each other, sharing the same thoughts. 'This is bad. Someone must be covering after her.'

POV Tiariel:

Tia silently sat in a cold metal chair in an empty concrete room, only a single neon lamp illuminating it. She was absent-mindedly looking into a large mirror embedded in the wall, observing the reflection of her reddened, burned face. She was tightly clenching her fists to suppress the pulsing burning pain from the burns.

Leaning over her was the tall receptionist, holding a small glowing rod, which emitted a rhythmic electrical hum as it gently caressed her burned face.

The pulsing pain slowly subsided under the glow of the medical tool, her skin regenerating and regaining its healthy hue right before her eyes in the mirror's reflection.

"Done." The woman stepped back and put the tool on the metal table, her face as emotionless as usual.

"From now on, you are one of us. You do what we say, and in exchange, we will guard your back. I am your handler, so you can call me like that."

The more she spent with the so-called handler, the more she felt like what she joined wasn't just some criminal organization. They were simply too secretive, professional, and well-supplied.

"May I ask? Who am I even working for, I..."

The handler coldly cut her off before she could even fully formulate her question, "We work here on a need-to-know basis. You are a field operator—you go and do what I, your handler, tells you to do. There is no need for you to know anything not necessary for your job."

Tia gulped down and hurriedly nodded, feeling threat and warning in the woman's tone. She was sure that if she overstepped her boundaries, she would be disposed of.

'I need to get money and get as far away from this planet as I can.'

"Good, you understand. I am a handler, and my job is to manage you and your colleagues, the weapons of the organization, and if you go rogue, to clean up." The woman's slender fingers gently brushed off Tia's cheek, her face and voice so devoid of emotion it made it seem as if it was just a daily routine.

'Yup, this woman is more insane than me...'