Legacies of light

-Break-

Φ Letting out a sigh of boredom, I wonder what I am doing here. I haven’t been able to help one bit. The only reason I was brought here was for my vision, but with the change of plans, my role has been voided. Even now, I don’t know what to do. I can’t spend time with Willow the 2nd because he is asleep, and Orb is doing something important right now.

He has been trying out his legacy for the last month, figuring out what he can do to improve it. All I could do was watch from afar, which has helped me improve my sight bit by bit.

While looking at Orb in total concentration, I feel even more useless than before. So, I let out another sigh in disappointment with myself, but as I looked up, I saw Atalanta grabbing Orb. “She is back,” I say as I start moving towards their position. How did she get so close to him without me seeing her? I guess my vision hasn’t gotten that much better.

When I approach them, I am about to say something but see them already lost in conversation, discussing the infiltrate’s the best route.

I doubt I have any way to add to this conversation, I should just go over there, so I decided to walk away instead.

-Break-

After finding a good place to wallow in my misery, I stare at the night sky and ask myself, “Why am I so useless.”

“Well, I doubt many people are looking for fourteen-year-old girls overflowing with use.”

Bewildered, I jump up and say, “Atalanta, how do you keep doing this”.

“Because I am a Kunoichi”.

“What’s a kunoichi.”

“I believe it is a female ninja.”

“What’s a ninja.”

“Some assassin. I only learned about their existence recently. But that isn’t my concern, right sit on my lap. If you are star grazing, there is no better position in the world.”

So, lying down on her relatively soft legs and looking at the stars, I ask her, “Hold did you become such a capable person?”

“Because I have had seven more years of life experience than you.”

“But Orb is only a year older than me, and he is much more capable than me. He can even use his legacy.”

“To do so much at a young age isn’t good for him. He might seem capable to you, but I can tell he already has some major faults that need fixing.”

“How can you tell that.”

“Keeping your partners in mind always leads to the best times.” As Maple starts blushing at my words I say, “So is this what was bothering you?”

“Sort of, my issue is that during the fight with Cole, the path to the tunnels, and even the fight inside the tunnels, I hadn’t contributed anything at all. If I hadn’t been there, it would have been the same.

My utter uselessness has caused me to feel all this fear and anxiety. The fact is that if something went bad and Orb failed, I wouldn’t be able to help him, just like I wasn’t able to help my father. So due to all of this, I feel like crying, but I don’t want to break my promise.”

“You are surprisingly open about your problems. When I was your age, I didn’t tell no one anything.”

“I have waited too long to tell certain people how I feel, and they’re all either dead or captured. I don’t have time to hide my feelings anymore.”

“Well, I like your honesty, so let me be honest with you. I have found three ways to deal with anxiety and fear—knowledge, power, and experience. I can’t give you the third one, but the first two count on me. I found out that Basileia likes to get the most out of their slaves, so they at least keep them alive. So don’t worry your pretty little head about that.”

Then Atalanta gets up and says, “As for power, follow me,” she then leads me back to where her giant golden bow is.

What a strange design, I think to myself.

“Try and lift this.”

As I try, I realise it is too heavy, and I cannot lift it. “This is impossible for me.”

“No, it isn’t. You’re just lacking the proper method,” after she says that, she lifts it and says, “This is a special type of bow that gets lighter if you’re using spirit energy. It doesn’t come with any arrow, but it allows you to weave your spirit energy into arrows and fire them off.”

“I can’t use spirit energy.”

“Not fully, but your body has shown signs of unconscious use, so I believe it would be easier to teach you rather than Orb how to use this.”

“I have such an ability.”

“Yes, you do because those fourteen years of your life have borne some fruit, so let’s get to training.”

-Break-

One month later

Φ “Willow,” I say as I see the young boy walking down a hallway.

“Mother,” he says as he turns towards me and hugs me.

“I have heard of your work over this last month. To think you would get all those workers to fall in line. I am so proud of you, my little boy.”

“Thanks so much, mother. I will continue to work as hard as possible as a guard.”

“What a good boy you are,” I say as I hug him tighter, spinning him around. The happiness this boy feels around me is genuine. I am dumbfounded by how well this is all going.”

“Bye, Willow,” I say as I walk away. He has a big smile on his face and is waving at me.

Φ I can’t stop this utterly happy feeling. To think my plan has been going off with a hitch so far. It is just too unbelievable.

It was tough going through the punishment with my mind tact, but when I finally saw that woman’s face, I cried out of joy, knowing I had accomplished the mission. I was sure she was the one they called mother, so all I had to do was accept her comfort and behave like a good boy, and with that, I was in.

They put me to work as a guard, and I got to see not only the floor I was on but the rest of them thanks to this, I got to see all the rest of the people from my village again, but the state most of them were in was abhorrent; the mining had taken an impact on them.

Using one of the two signals Quant devised, the one which means me whether you have been notified of the plan or not. I was able to see they had all been told.

Next, I tried memorising the mine layout, but it wasn’t as easy as I thought. This place is like a maze, and I have to be accompanied everywhere I go because only a few people have a map for the mine, but I have a relatively good understanding of the upper floors.

Still, except for the layout, everything else is going fine, especially since I could find out there will be a party, I have decided that will be the best time to escape. So as long as I can figure out an escape route and the location of the hostages over the next month, everything will be ok.

Though one thing I wish I could change, is the treatment Cyrus gets. I don’t know if it’s because everyone has been on edge with all the work recently or whatever else, but they are always picking on him, and he does nothing in return, but I can’t be disobedient; I don’t want to attract attention myself.

As I arrive at the first floor of the mine, still lost in thought, I hear a large booming sound. As it shakes the mines, I realise this must be an explosion. Hearing this, a bunch of other guards and I headed down to the lowest floor, where the sound seemed to originate.

As we arrived, we did see that an explosion had occurred. We immediately went around helping all the slaves and the guards, but lots of them were blown up with bits of their bodies everywhere. Some guards vomit at the site of this. As we moved deeper into the mine, I saw a hole in the ground.

“Huh, isn’t this supposed to be the bottom floor of the mine,” I look down into the hole and see so many crystals that it almost blinds me.

Another guard pulls me back and says, “Stay away from there.”

“What is that? I thought we were on the bottom floor.”

“Well, we are on the current bottom floor , since down there is unusable. There are about seven times more crystals down there than up here, but the toxins they produce are so concentrated down there that your skin rots and your lungs are set ablaze.”

As he finishes saying this, we see someone jump through the hole. It was Cyrus, and he had many bodies on his back. After this, Cyrus dropped to the floor and started coughing profusely.

I ran over to him and said, “Are you okay.”

“I am fine, Willow. It is just that these people fell there, so I jumped down and brought them back up.”

“Huh, what do you mean you could have died, you idiot.”

“All these people are died,” The guard beside me says. “Cyrus, you’ve been here long enough to know the toxic would have killed all these people in seconds, so please tell me why you did this.”

“Because people’s bodies deserve to be buried.”

Getting up close and grabbing Cyrus by the head, he says, “Compared to slaves around the world, we treat you guys rather nicely. The only rules we have are not to do stupid shit that would get in the way of your work, and that is exactly what you’re doing, you retard!” He throws Cyrus’s head down and says, “ Get back to work on the floor above here then.”

“Wait, Cyrus is still injured. He should take some time to rest”.

“Head guards rules; if Cyrus can work, make him. Nothing I can do about it. But if Cyrus doesn’t want to, all he has to do is say it. So, any problems, Cyrus.”

“N-N-No.”

“Excellent, now get moving.”

As Cyrus started moving, I put my hand on his shoulder and got in front of him, bowing down and said, “Please let Cyrus go to get some rest. I will take full responsibility,” this gave me unnecessary attention, but Cyrus helped me, so I had to repay that.

“All the responsibility?”

“Yes.”

“Ok then.”

And with that, I grab Cyrus and head off with him coughing all the way.

After arriving in his cell, I realise this place looks utterly abandoned. When was the last time he was here? I sit him down and get some supplies to patch up his injuries. It seems he took a good bit of damage from the explosion.

While he is sitting quietly beside me, I ask him, “Why do you do what you do?”

“What do you-u-u me-a-a-an.”

“It is just that at first glance, I would call you weak-willed since you don’t stand up for yourself, but then you go out of your way and put yourself in certain situations in which you do things out of principle, so my question is, why.”

Going quiet for a moment, he says, “I have an older sister. She is a powerful and beautiful person. She would always come and help me when I was in trouble. Since I am not the best at making decisions, she was my guiding light.”

“You must be proud of her since you are not stuttering.”

“Yes, I am.”

“Please tell me about her.”

Cyrus then talks for a while without a single stutter about his sister until I ask him.

“Would you like to see her again? I am sure if you tired, you would be able to.”

“Nothing good would come from that.”

“Why.”

“B-B-B-Because I hav-v-v-ven’t been good at making d-d-d-decisions since I was you-u-u-unger. I freez-z-z-ze up whenever I need to make one, so my sister gave me a set of rules that I should never break to help me, b-b-b-but those rules don’t cover everyth-h-h-hing, so if any situation comes up w-h-h-hhen I need to make a decision, I follow what I am to-o-o-old.”

“But I am sure you would be happy if you choose for yourself.”

“NO, I WON’T. If I try to do something of my own will, it will be catastrophic. I will lose the things I care for the most because I am a failure.”

I slap Cyrus’s checks with both hands and look straight at him. “I know how you feel. That feeling of failing again haunts me, but as my friend once told me, you can do it. Just remember that if you want to do something right down in your soul, you can do it.

Right now, I am about to do something I thought was impossible, all because there are people I want to save and a girl I want to meet.”

so, getting up, I say, “I have been here long enough. It is about time I get back to work. Now get some sleep, Cyrus. It will be good for you.”

-Break-

Two weeks Later

“Willow, come with me,” Sora tells me.

“Of course, brother, anything you need.”

“Willow, I need you to do something for me.”

“What would that be.”

“Well, since you are so good at commanding people, I need you to go look after the kid hostages.”

I haven’t been able to get anywhere close to the hostages since my work has nothing to do with them but wait. “Aren’t you supposed to be looking after them today?”

Putting his hand on my shoulder, he says, “Willow, my dear boy, once you have been with a woman like me, you realise you don’t have time to spend looking after snot-noosed brats. Maybe one day you will understand, but with your looks, probably not.”

Don’t punch him, don’t punch him, don’t punch him, I think while clenching my fist.

“Now go over there. I have already sent a few guards to help you.”

Freaking a showboat, I think as I walk to the rooms. As I arrive, I am greeted by the site of the kids from my village, all mostly male, but some of the girl’s kids were sent as well. Seeing me the kids run up and hug me, I guess they missed me since I was the one who took care of a lot of them.

“We missed you.”

“Where is everyone else.”

“Your clothes look stupid.”

“Oh, Willow, these kids are from your village?” A guard asks.

“Yes, they are.”

“Would you please tell them to behave themselves? They have been very disobedient.”

“Because you won’t tell us anything.”

“Where are our families.”

“You suck.”

The kids begin to boo at the guards in the room. They’re all still the same brats as before, but staying in character, I say, “I hope all of you kids have been good to mother.”

Their faces sour at my response, but I have no choice; I can’t be found out. So now that they have calmed down, I take some time to look around the room since this might be my only chance here, and I find out a few things that surprise me.

The hostages are all begun well taken care of. They are given food, clothes, and sleep and are all being educated here. From what they have been learning, I would say some of these kids might be more intelligent than me now. However, some of the kids here are missing fingers.

Still, I got the layout of the rooms without wasting time. Now I can get all of them out of here without any problems. So, with all my objectives clear, I waited a few days until the party neared and used the second signal, which tells people how many days before the escape. Now, all we have to do is wait. I will be seeing both Orb and Maple soon at this rate.

-Break-

Φ This is good. I can make much more ice now, and my control has improved. I guess training day and day out for three months has helped me though it has taken most of my time to improve this much. If Maple doesn’t come and remind me to eat, I will forget. I have also noticed that Maple has been looking differently lately. She has bruises over her body. I should spend so much time with her, but I will do that after I get everyone back.

I don’t want her blaming herself anymore, so I got to do this. Up until now, I have only barely been getting by. I can’t let that keep happening. If I fail, it isn’t only my life at stake, but all the people I care about, so I got to be ahead of the game. No one will end up like Sequoia again.

“What are you thinking about.”

Jumping away, I say, “Stop doing that.”

“Sorry, but you guys’ reactions are just too funny. Now tell me what you were thinking about with that serious expression.”

“Nothing,” I say as I compose myself.

“Well, if you are doing nothing, come with me.”

“I am busy.”

“I won’t take no for an answer,” she says as she picks me up. I try to get away from her, but I realise how exhausted I am. I must have pushed myself too far.

“Let go of me.”

“No way, just shut up and wait.”

She takes me for a long walk on what I assume is a cliff, and when she puts me down, she covers my eyes with her hands and says, “Now take a peek at this sight.”

If this is her naked body or something, I am stabbing her; I think to myself as I open my eyes. The sight I see is the shining city that is Basileia from the top of a cliff. I stare at this sight with eyes full of wonder. The reddish-blue crystal pillars look so amazing from up here.

“Now that’s the expression you should have.”

“Huh, what do you mean.”

“A kid like you should have had such a serious expression. Instead, a kid’s eyes should be filled with wonder. Whenever a kid’s eyes aren’t, that’s the fault of all the adults around the child in question.”

“I am not that much of a child. In many countries, people my age are considered adults and most kids can’t do everything I can.”

“That’s the issue. You are too capable for your age, and thus you’re growing up too fast. If you don’t stop and enjoy life a bit, you are crushed by life’s unending issues in no time.”

“Well, I think being an adult faster is better.”

Putting her feet in my face from the position she is in on the floor, she tells me, “Well, as long as you think like that, your definitely a child.”

“Hey, stop that.”

“Is that a smile I see on your face? Do you like my feet that much.”

“No, I am smiling because it is nice that you’re here.”

“I already told you I am not into little boys.”

Shyly I say, “It is not that I have just been wondering where all that happiness Capti promised is, because most people in the outside world haven’t been the greatest. So, thank you for giving me some hope.”

“Your adorable,” she says while hugging me.

“Please stop that,” I say, trying to push her off.

A few weeks later

"Today is the day now it let us begin this infiltration."