15 Years Ago

Impatiently, I waited until my parents left the Manor for work, and for Quin and Gio to go to school. Ever since they pulled me out from my class, I was mostly left alone inside the house, with only Nan and the other servants for company. Quin would leave Bunny with me to play with though, because she did not want me to be lonely.

My parents were arranging for me to be homeschooled but had not gotten a tutor yet. In the meantime, I was supposed to study by myself.

Glancing out of the window of my room, I saw our car exit the driveway. The moment it slipped past our gates, I climbed out of the window, holding onto the branch of a nearby tree and swinging into a large enough indenture on the trunk. From there, it wasn't hard to jump off to the ground. I had done this a thousand times because I was always being confined inside my room for days, and I needed to escape every now and then.

I sprinted towards our backyard woods--my favorite spot, and found Rael already waiting for me.

"Oh, you're here."

"Yes. I had to wait for them to leave." I plopped to the grassy area beside him.

"So, what are we going to do today?" I inquired as I took off my gloves and threw them with disdain to the ground and scratched the red itchy skin.

"Have you been doing what I told you to do?"

"Uhh...eating my vegetables?"

Rael huffed. "No. Not that."

"Uhh... saying my prayers at night?"

Rael knuckles landed playfully on top of my head. "Not that either."

"How would I know? You've told me to do a lot of things!" I gingerly stroked my offended skull.

"Have you been meditating? Like I told you too."

"Uhh. You see, whenever I would start meditating, Quin would knock on my door and ask to play."

Rael narrowed his eyes, although, unlike Father, I did not feel threatened by it in any way.

"What can I do? I'm irresistible." I shrugged my shoulders for emphasis.

The knuckle landed again, this time, with more force. "Smartass."

"Ouch."

"Do the meditation now, kiddo."

I groaned. Ever since Rael started teaching me to control my powers a month ago, all he ever made me do was meditate. Half of those ended with me sleeping, which, apparently, was not a proper form of meditation.

"Do I have to?" I said as I went to a shadier part of the woods and sat there again, crosslegged.

"This is the basic discipline if you want to control your powers."

"But Quin doesn't do this."

"Quin's powers are different. I've already explained to you before right? Your power is rooted in your emotions, negative ones such as fear, sadness, or anger, specifically. Unless you control it, it will respond to your strong emotional outbursts."

I sighed and pouted as I closed my eyes. "I still don't know how this will let me control it. Will meditating help me keep my emotions under control?"

"It will help you relax."

"So relaxed, I ended up sleeping."

"It will also help you be aware of your powers enough to grasp and wield it."

My eyes shot open. This was new information. I did not know that I could voluntarily tap into my powers that way. "Really, wield it? Like, I can wave it around?"

Rael chuckled. "Yes. Now, close your eyes and concentrate."

I did. All I wanted, when I first started training with Rael, was to learn how to suppress my power so I would not hurt anybody. But the prospect that I could take control of my powers enough to wield it on my own appealed to me too.

With my eyes closed, I could hear all the noises around me--the chirping of the birds, the wind, the rustling of leaves, even the sound of passing cars on the nearby highway.

"Feel the energy within you," Rael said, softly.

I breathed out slowly and focused on my own body--how the blades of grass gently pricked my exposed skin, the warm touch of sunlight on my bare arms, and the gentle sway of the wind as it blew on my face.

I felt the rhythmic beating of my heart inside my chest and its slight movement as I breathed. It was very oddly calm.

After a moment and with everything tuned out, I felt it--something flickering from within my core like a lazy fire. It felt warm at first but the more I focused on it, the more I became aware of how cold the areas licked by the flickering flames were. The sensation made me tingly. It made me want to scratch my insides.

"Now, open your eyes."

As instructed, my eyes opened and I gasped at the sight. The world around me--from the trees to the grass--seemed to warp, a sheer glow was flashing and coiling around them all, slithering around the tree trunks and eventually enveloping the trees, as if they were doused in gasoline and set aflame. Unlike a raging fire, though, the sheer glow moved in slow, leisurely movements. Mesmerizing. Inviting.

I scrambled to my feet but in the next moment, it was gone. In a second, everything appeared as it should be.

I felt gentle hands on my shoulders, pushing me to sit again. "Relax. It's alright."

"What was that?" I asked, bewildered. "D-did you see that?" I looked at Rael who seemed amused by my reaction. He didn't seem affected by the weird display earlier that I thought he didn't see it, and it was simply my imagination. But in the next moment, he nodded, telling me that what I saw was real.

"You see, this world is made up of energy. Every living thing is made up of energy. What you saw, are the energies around you."

Wow. I glanced around me, hoping to see those energies again, but to no avail. Everything looked normal.

"If you train enough, you can manipulate the energies for yourself."

I looked up at Rael with hopeful eyes. "I can touch people without hurting them?"

He smiled warmly and ruffled my hair. "And so much more."

Present Day

Dazed, I stared off; my consciousness brought to life by a muffled ringing somewhere. It took me a while to shake the disorientation. I realized I've been lying on the floor, surrounded by broken ceramics. I might not have any kitchenwares left before this shit is over.

Droplets of blood were scattered all around me. Carefully avoiding the shards I pushed myself up, my bones creaking in the process and my muscles aching as if I had spent the whole day at the gym.

My body felt so heavy. So tired.

I spent a considerable time just sitting; my back resting on the base of my mini kitchen counter with my head resting on my bent knees; my chest heaving at just the effort of sitting up.

I had no idea what time of day it was since I passed out, but I should already get back to work.

My eyes shut closed upon realizing what this 'work' entailed. Exhaling a tired breath, I pushed myself to stand, wincing when my palms landed on some sharp shards.

There was no time to waste.

I had to do this.

This was my last chance.

From somewhere, the muffled ringing was back. I had half a mind to ignore it until I realized who was calling.

Gio.

Dragging my heavy feet to walk faster, I reached for my bag and rummaged for my phone. I pressed the call button the moment I found it.

"Hello?" I mentally facepalmed when I realized how hoarse my voice was. My throat felt so dry that it hurt to speak. I cleared my throat and with a modulated voice, I croaked another "Hello" on the phone, making an effort to sound livelier.

"Are you alright? You sound sick." Gio's voice crackled due to interference. As promised, he had been calling twice a day to ensure I was doing okay. And I had been bluffing my way out of his phone calls for the past week.

I cleared my throat once more. "I'm fine. I was just sleeping. That's why."

Well, it wasn't really a lie.

"Have you eaten?"

"Yes." Yesterday. Maybe.

"Mhmm. Good. What have you been doing?"

"Nothing much. I marathoned a series. A detective story. I'm making the most out of my vacation."

Sitting on the floor with my head and back resting on the wall and eyes shut to ward off the dizziness, I prattled on using the liveliest voice I could muster. Despite my lies, I found talking to Gio the most refreshing part of my day, something that I looked forward to.

We talked for about thirty minutes. When he ended the call, the tenuous elation I felt quickly faded into dread. Expelling a ragged breath, I stood up, my movements still sluggish.

Steeling myself as much as I could, I took my laptop, and with trembling fingers, I pressed the play button and watched the video come to life once again.

I had to watch them beat my Dad up because I had to match the rooms with the building blueprints in my head, hoping that I could at least locate where they took him. Or if that proved impossible, to just spot clues. Anything, really, to help me find where they had hidden him. And there were more than fifty videos. Just watching them all nonstop would take another week. A bitter laugh escaped my throat. As if I had a shortage of fucked up memories to keep me awake at night. Now, I had to add these. The Universe was one cruel bitch.

As I watched blood drip from his haggard frame, those blood-covered floors and walls inside Musa's Main Facility basement made sense. And I bet there were a lot like those rooms scattered across the country because this particular video I was watching wasn't even taken in that same facility.

Minute after fucking minute of watching tore my fucking soul to shreds. Many times, my hand hovered over the stop button. I just wanted it to end. I did not want to watch anymore. Didn't want to see how he was hurting, his silent gasps because of the pain, the sheer hopelessness in his eyes. I felt every loathful blow dealt, every cruel lash delivered, every freaking cut made as if they were done on my own body because it was I who put him there. All those bruises were my fault. Those cuts were the rash decisions I made. Every ounce of blood that flowed was the result of my ineptitude. I felt them all as if I was still chained inside one of Musa's hide-outs. I felt the burn on my wrist as if the spike was still lodged there. My body knew the insane pain of being under Musa's mercy and knowing that my Dad had to undergo all those for thirteen fucking years made the pain worsen a thousand times over.

Tears had blurred my vision and as much as I wanted the respite, I had to wipe them away so I could focus on the screen filled with the distressed images of my Dad. Many times, I felt bile rise when it all became too much to watch. Too gory even for my hardened standards. The only reason I didn't puke my guts out was that there was nothing else to expel.

When the video ended, my Dad was a mangled mess and I was on the brink of a mental breakdown.

And this was just the first video.

My vision blurred at the onset of a terrible headache. The bright beam of oncoming cars did little to assuage the blinding pain in my head.

All around me people milled about, with some of them sparing me occasional glances. I must have looked like a runaway from the way some of them stared at me. I mean, I couldn't really blame them. I must have looked as bad as I felt.

Leaning against a pole, I shut my eyes tight and took deep calming breaths to get my bearing. Just one more lab to visit then I could move on with the next stages of my plan.

I straightened up and staggered a bit. My body begged for rest, but there was no time to waste. More than two weeks had already passed since Gio left and I was so close.

Breathing heavily, I pushed myself to keep going because I knew I couldn't give up now. Not after I saw what he was going through. I had to get him out of there. I couldn't let him stay even a day more.

After painstakingly watching all the videos and from observing the tracers, I had eliminated six of Musa's labs from possible places where they could be keeping my Dad, including the Main Facility. The five labs which were located in Bulacan, Cainta, Taytay, Cavite, and Tagaytay, were all an hour's drive from the Metro.

The four labs which might have my Dad were scattered across the country. Two of them were located in Tarlac and Bataan, which were about four hours away from the Metro, while the other two, located in Legazpi and Davao, were only accessible if I booked a flight.

I had previously paid a visit to the Bulacan, Cainta, Taytay, and Tagaytay labs. It took me almost two whole days just to finish my business there, but I did it. I was now about to do the same to this Cavite lab.

I fixed my bonnet one last time and straightened my glasses. I had changed my appearance for this very occasion, even donning the appropriate uniform and putting on an overbite for the sake of disguise.

Heaving, I straightened my frame. Fatigue had seeped into my bones. My non-stop activity for the past weeks had taken its toll on my mind and body. I felt like if I closed my eyes even for a second, I would lose consciousness completely.

My hands massaged my temples again when another wave of dizziness took over and the pounding inside my skull intensified. I expelled one ragged breath after another.

Willing my sight to stay focused and my breathing leveled, I trudged on towards the building before it closed. A maintenance service was supposed to be scheduled today after office hours, and that was what I was after. I flashed a fake ID to the guard on duty and went past the main entrance towards the receptionist.

I nodded at the girl and showed her my ID. "I'm with maintenance, miss," I said with a polite smile. The girl looked briefly at my ID.

"Who are you with again?" the receptionist asked as she handed me a logbook to sign. I quickly scanned the pages for someone from the same maintenance agency.

"I'm with Peter Gonzo, miss," I answered, flashing a smile at her while I signed a fake name on the logbook.

I left before the receptionist could verify my identity further. If I was lucky, I'd be out of here in five minutes.

Going directly towards a ventilation chute, I went to work.

Past midnight and a dozen dizzy spells after, and I was again staring at the rooftop of Musa's Main Facility in my Reaper outfit, although in a lot worse condition than the first time. I raised trembling fingers to massage my temples to ease the painful pounding in my head while my other hand clutched DeathScythe tightly. Heaving one exhausted breath after another, I steadied my stance, willing my gaze to focus on where I should land.

Taking one unsteady step back after another, and despite my body's protests, I gave one final heave before sprinting, firmly planting my foot on the edge of the building for momentum as I jumped. I landed not so gracefully as I hoped, bruising my shoulder on impact as I rolled.

Grunting, I stood up and fell back on my knees when my surroundings spun. I stayed in that position, unmoving, while I wait for my vision to right itself again. All my four limbs were shaking at this point, vehemently objecting to my commands of movement. Breathing heavily, I straightened and stood up again despite the overwhelming exhaustion I was feeling.

I knew I was in no condition to fight. I also knew I couldn't give up.

Just one more thing to do then I could rest. Just one.

A blurred image sailed past my right and it was on pure instinct that I dodged, a metal baton missing my face by mere centimeters. Gripping DeathSycth tight, I plunged the blade into the man's torso, turning the hilt as I shoved it in a little more. Blood flowed generously from the man's body, coating the blade and the ground with crimson that glistened under the moonlit sky. The man fell onto the ground lifeless.

DeathScythe's first kill.

With another heave, I swung the blade to dislodge the blood and proceeded to enter the building. From behind me, there was a patter of hurried footsteps and a crack of a gun. Pain sliced across my shoulders as I turned, twirling my weapon to ward off more oncoming bullets from three of Musa's men. I kept rotating my blades, keeping enough momentum despite my aching muscles because stopping would mean death, at the very least.

When the volley of bullets lessened, I sent my needles to each of their throats and watch them crumple onto the floor.

Wiping the blood flowing down my arm with my shirt to secure my grip of DeathScythe once again, I entered the building.

Like the other labs I visited earlier, I went and located the ventilation shafts and planted my devices there, blinking several times to clear my vision. For this to work, I needed to plant these devices properly in at least half of the floors.

Just after I installed the device, I felt a presence behind me. I turned, but it was too late. A blow at my torso, had me doubling over, and soon after, sirens were blaring, alerting the whole building of my presence.

Gritting my teeth at the pain, I swung my blade in one swift arc, its razor-sharp edge connecting with the man's neck which promptly spewed blood all over the place.

The hurried footsteps of other men approaching echoed from the distance. Instead of running though, I waited for them.

Because the next step in my plan was to cause mayhem.

And come they did. With guns strapped on their shoulders, they approached, aiming their firearms at me.

"Stay where you are!" one of them growled.

"This bitch again." Another one.

"You're lucky we have instruction to get you alive. Or your body would be full of holes by now," one of them jeered.

A staggered footstep forward. "Unfortunately for you, bitch, I don't care if you die," I said, breathless.

My head felt so heavy. My limbs kept shaking. But I tightened my grip on my blade and with the next flourished movement, my needles struck and got embedded between eyes. Three of them fell. Forcing my aching legs to move, I slid to the ground towards them to evade their bullets. Crouching, DeathScythe swirled low and struck knees and ankles in the next second, staining the white marbled floors and walls with circular crimson rivulets. Pained howls, followed by intense cursings, bounced off the otherwise silent walls.

The next moment, I sent DeathScythe's tip into the man nearest me. A dull thud of a body meeting the cold floor followed a grunt of pain.

Air got knocked out of me the next second as my back collided against the wall. DeathScythe clattered to the ground. Shots rang and burning pain erupted on my right leg dragging a strained cry from my chest. A blow connected against my torso and I doubled over, grunting and gritting my teeth.

"Bitch."

A hand clamped tightly around my neck, hauling me up and cutting the flow of air to my lungs. The lack of air made me more dazed, adding to my fatigue.

Exhausted.

I felt so fucking exhausted.

I was just so fucking bone-weary and tired of everything. Mentally and physically.

But I could not give up yet.

Fucking not here. Not with these people.

Gripping his shoulders as a focal point, I pushed against the wall and drove my knees against his crotch. His grip on my neck loosened and I fell to the ground heaving for air and coughing due to the effort.

The reprieve was short, however, because soon, another fist sailed and connected with my face. The taste of copper filled my mouth.

My hand found DeathSycthe and I blindly swung upwards. My assailant evaded the blades with a quick step backward.

"Bitch, quit fighting. Can't you see you're cornered?" one said, followed by a mocking snicker.

I refocused my attention on the men. He was right. There were at least twenty of them still standing, all with guns drawn.

I fucking recognized some of them. Those fucking faces who delivered blow after blow on my Dad's bloodied frame. The merciless faces holding the whip as they lashed him more times than a grown hardened man could handle. The sadistic glee they had when they tried one torture implements on him after another.

These men.

I will show them no mercy.

The rumbling from deep within my core ignited, quickly ascending from my depths and erupting from my body with such force that it created a whirlwind inside the building where we were at. Gripping my blades, I leaped and spun, swirling DeathScythe from the top of my head and bringing it down in one full spin against the nearest man's head as my feet landed on the ground.

Blind shots echoed once more but I was beyond caring. I could fucking die here, right now, but I was determined to take all of these people to hell.

I swung my blades continuously, cutting off limbs and bodies. I did not care anymore. They will all die, and they will die in pieces.

I struck my blade at someone's face, the last one, and watched the life drain from his eyes. He fell to the ground, some other pieces of him scattered somewhere else.

When it was over, I was standing in the middle of dismembered corpses, covered in blood--mine and theirs--with ashen tendrils of death swirling all around me, licking up the remaining signs of life from the room.

The euphoria quickly faded into exhaustion once again. I quickly went about my work without further interruption.

At three o'clock in the morning, I hauled my exhausted self out of the building and rode Blue-chan to the place where Gio took me several weeks ago. Still bone-tired, I almost crashed my bike halfway. I only reached my destination by sheer force of will.

I plopped to the ground, letting myself a moment to catch my breath. Blood had crusted on my skin and clothes, but the grass around me quickly turned red when I sat.

Forcing air into my lungs, I tried to clear my still dazed mind. Here on out, there was no going back. It was either I succeed or not. Either he would die or I would.

With trembling fingers, I pressed the button and watched explosions erupt in Musa's twenty-two-story building. It started with little explosions from the top floors which gradually built energy as they traveled downwards until the whole city shook with the deafening roar of a building burning to the ground, the flames lighting up the night sky in one glorious display.

Despite the fatigue that I could feel straight to my very soul, I couldn't help the smile that formed on my lips as I watched Musa's building crash. A Reaper's poetic justice. Or the beginning thereof.

My smile faltered a bit, however, when I realized that something was off, although I could not point what exactly. I felt like I had forgotten something important.

Stretching up exhausted muscles, I shook the weird feeling off. With shaky steps, I climbed on Blue-chan again and sped off towards my apartment for my promised rest.

I was so close to passing out when I reached my building, perfunctorily parking Blue-chan and wearily going up the stairs step by fucking step. I knew I was leaving blood everywhere but I couldn't bring myself to care about it anymore.

Black dots had formed on my vision when I finally reached my floor. When I opened my apartment, I realized what I had forgotten.

My phone.

Which was now in Gio's hand.

I gave him a weak smile before finally collapsing. 

What do you think the Reaper's plans are? 

Muahaha,

RF

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