Blessings

Upon exiting the alley, the two ran a few blocks before slowing down. While running in the city would draw attention, it was of no consequence since the blood covering Terran's face would have already drawn sufficient onlookers. They then continued walking at a fast pace, making many turns in the labyrinth of streets.

Sophie kept checking over her shoulder, looking to see if they were being followed. Luckily, she never spotted anyone following them. While many people snuck glances at the blood dripping down Terran's face, the most obvious assumption was that they were rushing to a hospital. Fortunately, no one cared for others' personal problems in such a crowded city, at least when the others in question were insignificant.

Twenty minutes later and Sophie directed Terran into one of the many buildings. It was clear that this was an apartment building. They slipped up the stairs that scaled the side of the building and stopped at a door. The metal door was rusting in the areas where the paint had peeled. Sophie placed her hand on the doorknob. Not even a second later, a click was heard, and the door swung open.

Inside was a small kitchen combined with a sitting room, a bathroom, and a bedroom. While the space was small, it was modest for a city as large as the Oasis, where space was a luxury. A window in the kitchen and bedroom looked out from the third floor.

As soon as the door closed, Sophie exhaled deeply.

"Sorry Miss Sophie, I didn't mean to get you in so much trouble. Will the guard come after us?"

Despite the tension in Terran's voice, Sophie simply smiled back. "You don't have to worry. He overstepped his bounds and won't be able to do much. Besides, remember, he said he didn't like paperwork."

Sophie was truthfully fairly confident the guard would not pursue legal matters against them. While individual corruption cases were common in the city, comradery in corruption was not, at least not by someone with as little power as a guard. This was a dog-eat-dog world after all. The Oasis was filled with power and social ladders, and someone with true authority would not stick their neck out for a mere guard.

The guard would have to write a detailed report on what happened, and while the street camera would have captured Terran climbing the wall, the cameras would have also captured his actions. While the man could most likely find a friend to back him up, this would not be enough to evade all of the checks and balances.

What Sophie didn't say, however, was that she was worried the guard might come after them off duty. Unfortunately, this was just a thought, and there was not enough evidence to warrant any action from officials. Since she had no reason to, she chose not to say this thought out loud in front of Terran.

"Are all the guards in the city so rotten?" This question slipped off Terran's lips as he was lost in thought. Despite having no memories, for some reason, he knew that in a healthy society, people so corrupt were rather uncommon. If most people were not inherently evil, how cliché would it have been for him to run into the one outlier?

After asking his borderline rhetorical question, Sophie gave Terran a look as if she saw an untainted angel.

*Sigh*

"I suppose you don't remember. That's probably for the best, but at the same time, you have the right to know… While things may look stable, at the current rate things are going, the human race will be extinct in the next few years."

Pausing, Sophie was surprised to see that Terran didn't look scared or even shocked.

"So? That's plenty of time."

Hearing these words that could only originate from a child's mouth, Sophie smiled.

She considered explaining that this meant parents had little to no hope for their children's futures. That this meant many of the currently young people would be forcefully taken from this world. That this meant many people would take actions that would otherwise only be a passing whisper from the devil on their shoulder. In the end, she decided not to take away the childish innocence she perceived from the kid in front of her.

What Sophie didn't know was that she had greatly misinterpreted Terran's reaction. For starters, in Terran's mind, two years was already an eternity, but what he had truly been referring to was his system's goal. So, while he still had much to learn, if the system was confident in him completing the mission statement, a few decades was plenty of time.

After Sophie believed to have dismissed Terran's worry, she got a wet towel and cleaned off the blood on his face. However, she was quickly shocked to find no wounds under all the blood. It was as if the blood had not even belonged to Terran, but she had seen his face hitting the concrete, so she knew it belonged to him.

Coming to this conclusion, Sophie's mind spun, but before asking about it, Terran beat her to it with his own question.

"By the way, Miss Sophie, how did you find me?"

While it was not impossible, the fact that Sophie had found him so fast, considering he had been moving for most of the day, seemed to be beyond a coincidence.

"Oh, that was thanks to my blessing. It basically lights up all footprints for me. It also allows me to focus on a certain pair, making tracking a lot easier. It's actually why I dare to make a living by trapping outside the city. It's because I can easily spot trails made by the few animals living in the harsh wasteland."

"A blessing?" Terran thought. According to his system, a blessing was a fraction of a god's power. It was also the thing that allowed him to heal so rapidly.

Sophie had not thought to provide Terran a definition. This was simply because no one in the Oasis didn't know what a blessing was. They talked a lot in their short time together. Since Terran knew of other everyday things like street signs, doctors, and animals, why would blessings be different?

"So, it's like my healing ability?" Terran asked for confirmation, even though he knew the answer. He still lacked a lot of information about blessings. While the system had given him a rough definition, he still seriously lacked details. Not to mention, he had seen the look in Sophie's eyes when she wiped the blood, so he knew she was aware of the healing.

The mission his system had given him revolved around stealing a blessing. Additionally, he would have been dead thousands of times over if not for his current blessing. For those two reasons alone, Terran wanted to absorb information regarding blessings like a sponge to water.

Recognition flashed through Sophie's gaze as her unasked question was answered. Her mood also lifted, learning that Terran had a blessing. The lives of children with blessings were naturally better than those without. The city had three academies filled with an abundance of facilities for kids with blessings. This was because humanity was currently a pinch away from extinction. One of the only hopes to revive the human population lay in those blessed. Moreover, there were fears that a powerful blessed could grow up with animosity towards the city. If that happened, it would only take one day for them to extinguish the last flame of humanity.

Knowing that Terran was blessed also brought Sophie further confusion. "If his parents had a blessed child, there would be no reason to abandon him. All of his expenses would be paid for by the city until he turned eighteen. Then, even after becoming an adult, it would be easy for him to find a job to provide for himself." The only possibility Sophie could think of was that Terran had been blessed after being abandoned. Still, that scenario was improbable, considering the environment in the wasteland was not capable of allowing people to awaken.

However, a puzzle would not solve itself, and neither Sophie nor Terran held the pieces. Since Sophie did not have the information, she decided not to ponder on it for too long.

"Yes, you should be blessed considering how fast you recovered." Sophie felt a bit of pity for Terran. Although it was indeed a good thing that he was blessed, healing a few scratches faster than normal was an abysmally useless ability. It went without saying that kids that had been told they were blessed by gods and that they were better than their peers from a young age would have a bit of a superiority complex. Sophie knew better than anyone how ruthless some of the kids could be. Hell, even the adults sometimes acted like cruel toddlers. It was also one of the reasons after graduating, she chose to spend a lot of her time outside of the city. She could have quickly risen to a high rank as a detective or some other security personnel with her ability. Instead, she chose a much harder job that paid far less. That being said, Terran's blessing would be far worse than hers, as any minor wounds he suffered would be erased in minutes. All that being said, the opportunity of going to an academy far outweighed the cost.

Sophie also didn't question Terran about his blessing. While she had chosen to give him a general explanation of hers, it was considered impolite to ask for details about others' blessings. It was also possible to have multiple blessings and for blessings to grow and evolve so Terran's poor situation would not be set in stone.

"Miss Sophie, why are you looking at me like I'm a pig about to be slaughtered? Is it because of the situation er--?"

"Hahaha, no-no. My mind was just wandering elsewhere. You have nothing to worry about." Realizing her facial expression, Sophie rushed to reassure him.

"It's great that you have a blessing. That means you can attend one of the great academies of the Oasis. I'm sure they will be able to teach you all there is about blessings and more. I could help you get in if you want." Sophie trailed off for a second as if thinking of something. "Do you know if you have been registered as a blessed?"

"Registered? I'm not sure, I don't think so."

"Here, let me check." Sophie then proceeded to pull back the hair that had been covering his right ear.

"Nope, it doesn't look like you are. We'll have to do that first thing tomorrow. I don't mean to alarm you, but it is a severe crime to remain an unregistered blessed. Of course, you will not be penalized for getting registered late, so there is nothing to worry about."

Sophie then pulled back her own hair and tilted her head. Hidden behind her right ear was a tattoo containing a small serial number.

Despite this little societal red flag, Terran was too glad to hear about the academies to care about registration. Previously he had been worried about how he would adjust to city life, but just like that, it seemed he would be able to fit right in.

"Thank you, Miss Sophie, I'll do my best, so I can pay you back for the sand cat and all your help," Terran said while giving her a big hug.

Sophie could not help but embrace him back with an amused look plastered on her face. "You don't have to worry about paying me back. Just live your best life. That would leave me content. Also, uhh--, please could you drop the Miss?"

"But Miss Sophie, how else would I show my respect?"

"There are times and places where respect is needed. Thank you for your kind intentions, but this is not one of those places."

"Ok, Miss Sophie, I'll try to be less formal."

"Thank yo—u wait a second."

The two continued to childishly bicker back and forth.

Sophie was curious how a boy left in the desert could still have such a great outlook on life. Personally, she believed that if she had been in his situation, she would have turned out more mentally scarred at the very least. However, this was, of course, only a passing thought, and she did not dare to say it out loud, especially to Terran's face.