C17- Piscea (1)

In front of the gates of a city, a lonely figure could be seen. With most of her body, including half of her face, hidden under layers of clothing and some of her blonde hair getting freed by the wind; she was walking slowly. Her face had traces of tears and her eyes were red. She was carrying a big backpack filled with some books, tools and food.

The girl, Amy, walked out of the city gate slowly. She was going out of the city she lived her whole life in, leaving behind her family. Leaving them to die alone. The sight of her mother moaning in pain while her body was slowly changing shape was still not gone from her eyes.

Gritting her teeth and forcefully stopping her cries, she started to walk.

"I'm sorry mom, dad. Because I was so weak, I had to leave you to die."

The plague destroyed everything she had. Her family, her people in the city, her friends and the books she couldn't carry which had the results of her experiments in them. Everything she valued, all of them gone, in a single month since the plague reached her kingdom.

While running away from the place she called home, she swore to herself.

"I will not let any illness take anything from me again. I swear, as long as I am alive, I won't let anyone live through this hell."

She ran towards the forest path covered with a thin layer of snow.

"When I do that, please forgive me mom, dad..."

*****

SAM was watching Amy from above with an amused smile. Hearing what she swore to herself, he was pleased. She had grand ideals, just like the person SAM cares about the most.

"Well then, let's show you a path."

While muttering that he raised his arm towards the sky and snapped his fingers. When he did, a small blue streak of light shot out northwards.

"I am going to make you wait for bit, miss. I apologize."

*****

In the ruins of the Kreth village, in middle of a nest made out of bones of warying sizes, the rat-like colossus was sleeping with a bunch of it's minions on it. They were covered with a dark yellow smoke that came out of the colossus' horns.

The colossus, slowly got up while grumbling, waking it's minions up. The thing that woke it up was a stroke of blue light that penetrated through the thick smoke. The light shot towards the head of the colossus and entered inside through one of it's horns.

The colossus made some grumbling noises and the minions stood up. They were all looking at the colossus. The colossus waved it's tail and pointed towards where the light came from. The minions all nodded at the same time like a robot and started sprinting towards where the tail pointed.

After watching all of them leave, the colossus gave a grumble and continued sleeping on the nest the minions put together from the bones of the people who used to live in the village.

*****

While Amy left her home, Corvin and Noah were going to meet with the governor of Celati. Their topic, of course, was the plague. When they got inside the meeting room, a maid greeted them.

"Thank you for coming to our city Mister Vyolor and Mister Mundy. The governor will be here shortly, he is currently getting the documents he deems useful against the plague. While waiting for him, do you want something to drink?"

"Can we get some coffee? We got up earlier than usual, I am still drowsy a little bit."

"Of course. Your order, Mister Vyolor?"

Corvin slightly whispered towards his ear.

"If you say 'I want you.' I will tell Clair, okay?"

"Shut up Corvin. I wouldn't say something like that. And what does that have to do with Clair?"

"Isn't she your wife?"

"What?! Not yet, you idiot."

"Heeh, so you already accepted her as your future wife. I see, I see.", said Corvin while grinning.

Noah ignored Corvin and turned towards the maid with a red face.

"I also want some coffee."

"Coming right up.", said the maid and left with a fake smile. She didn't understand how these seemingly normal kids were going to be any help to end the plague. While walking with a slight frown, she encountered the governor of Celati, Norman Penour, and she put her smile back up.

"Sir Governor, he guests have arrived. They are in the meeting room."

"Great, I will be there as well. But tell me, what do you think of them Ellie?"

"The two are just kids. I don't think they will help us, they might even die from the plague."

"I knew you would think like that. But do you know what they are capable of?"

"I don't know, sir."

"The noble kid is an art mage who made two magic paintings in two days while attending school, and the commoner one is a natural talent who fought against a colossus on his own, while using self taught magic. That's what Felyp Vyolor told me with a letter. Both of them are very capable kids."

Ellie's expression didn't change, but her eyes widened for a second. The governor continued walking towards the meeting room with a slight smile. Ellie stood there, dumbfounded before coming back to her senses and walking towards the kitchen again.

'What kind of monsters are these kids?'

With a slightly rude thought, she started preparing the guest's orders.

*****

"It isn't working... Tch."

Clair was walking towards the dorms from the student workshops with a frown on her face.

She was working on a project that would let her make parts easier once completed, but she lacked some materials. The budget her father gave her was slowly dwindling but she was nowhere near completing anything. And now that Noah and Corvin left, she felt lonely. She wanted to go with them but her father didn't let her.

"Of course, I would only be baggage to them. Both of them are strong and useful, but I am just a nobody compared to them..."

While she was spiraling into depressing thoughts, she picked up a couple of pebbles from the ground and started to throw them into the lake nearby. The stones only went as far away as a few meters.

"I can't throw rocks to the other side of this lake. I can't come up with inventions on my own like him as well. I can't use magic like Noah, or make music or paintings like him. All I can do is look at someone else's blueprints and attempt to make what's on them. I am useless, of course they would leave me here."

She was on the verge of crying. After throwing another pebble, she looked at the last one in her hands.

"I... I don't want that!"

Sniff~

"I-If I could use magic like my dad... Then maybe I would be useful.."

She wiped her eyes and looked at the small pebble in her hands again. She imagined the pebble turning into glass.

"Please work. I want to be useful. Please..."

She used all her mental power to focus and try changing the pebble and after what felt like forever-

Crack Crack

the pebble started to crack and form shards of glass in some parts.

Watching parts of the pebble turn into glass, she froze. Trying to understand what happened with a stunned face, she stared at the pebble. Then when she understood what just happened, with maybe the happiest expression she ever had, she ran towards her dorm.

"I-It Worked! I did it! I wonder what they will say once they are back, hehehehe!"

Her bright and beautiful smile turned people's gazes towards her as she ran to her dorm, giggling like a fool.