Manifest War: The Weapons Within

After walking for a few hours into the muggy night, Carmen began to notice her energy and strength leaving her. Each step was more difficult than the last and her breathing was also getting more labored. Her vision blurred as she could barely keep her eyes open, struggling to move forward.

“Rivell… Wait.. Up, ugh.” She softly said before collapsing to the ground. Rivell turned around and rushed over, lifting her head and frantically asking what was wrong.

“Carmen! Hey! Are you okay!?”

She slowly opened her eyes and began to cough, unable to respond to him. Rivell noticed her arm was turning purple and the bandages seemed stained with a strange substance.

“Oh no, that blade he had must’ve been covered with some kind of poison. Otherwise, there’s no way a cut of this size would cause this much damage.”

Carmen’s condition was rapidly deteriorating and they were still miles away from any kind of establishment. As her almost lifeless body began to get colder, Rivell started to cry.

“Why do situations like this always happen to those around me? If I didn’t freeze up, she wouldn’t be in this situation. Why am I so useless?? Why can’t I help her??”

Tears streaked down his face and then a heavy and hot jolt hit the inside of his chest.

“What was that?” He wondered.

It happened again and again, the feeling getting hotter and more intense. Rivell felt a large amount of Core Energy welling up around him, and the surrounding air grew warm. His body began to glow green as a bright light appeared in front of him.

Within the light was a thick, dark green book with a red rose brandished on the front cover. It floated in the air with its pages slowly turning, enticing him to take hold of it.

Rivell nervously reached out and grabbed the strange book, feeling an immense power enter him as he touched it. The book was his Manifest. At this very moment, Rivell became fully awakened.

He looked at the book in awe, taking notice of its intricate detail. Suddenly, the Manifest glowed and on its own, turned to a certain page. The page had strange, runic text that Rivell had never seen before. He scanned the page and realized that, for some reason, he could fully understand what the text said. He cautiously read it out loud.

“The wielder of this testament may bring life to those within their presence. All we ask for is but a little bit of yours. Do you accept these terms?”

Rivell, with a determined look on his face, quickly placed his hand on the page and forced his Core Energy into it. Upon doing so, a light green circle appeared around him and Carmen. Green petals materialized and swirl all around, taking aim and completely enveloping Carmen’s arm.

Her wounds began to heal rapidly, causing the poison to dissipate and the cut to disappear entirely. The color in her face returned and the dark bags under her eyes cleared up.

“Ah! Carmen! Carmen!” Rivell excitedly yelled, trying to wake her up.

The green circle faded as the petals blew away in the wind, breaking apart and scattering in all directions. His Manifest closed shut and stopped glowing, finishing its job with incredible results. Carmen slowly opened her eyes and wondered what was happening.

“Uhh, Rivell, why are you holding me?” She asked, confused by the situation.

Rivell started to tear up and gave her a big hug, squeezing tightly. Carmen almost pushed him off, but the sound of his cries caused her to hesitate. She lowered her arms and let him finish his embrace, realizing that he needed this moment.

Lighting flashed in the distance of this stormy night. At the upper eastern edge of Volaire was a tavern called the Tilted Minx Taphouse and tonight it wasn’t as busy as it usually was. Entering the door was Zalthia, trying to seek shelter from the pouring rain. She took a seat at the front bar area and pulled back the hood of her scarlet-colored robes, resting from a long day of travel.

“James, get me the usual. Extra ice.” She requested, getting more comfortable at the stool.

“Right away miss.” The bartender replied with a smile, grabbing a short glass from the cabinet.

He poured a yellowish, thin liquid into the cup and three large cubes of ice. He gently slid the drink to her underneath a napkin.

“Here you go Lady Zalthia, Vahneer on the rocks. Enjoy.”

Zalthia took the cup and sipped the bitter, yet smooth, alcoholic drink, feeling calmer with each gulp.

“That certainly takes the edge off things.” She remarked with a tired sigh, her face now becoming slightly flush.

“Everything alright? You seem more stressed today than usual.”

“Yeah. I’ve just been investigating something lately and I haven’t gotten any leads. Feels as though I’m running in circles. So annoying.”

Zalthia swished her cup around before taking another sip.

“Ah, I see. Well, I’m sure you’ll figure something out. You always do.”

Zalthia shot a side-eyed glance at the smiling gray-haired bartender and brushed aside his words of encouragement, not feeling empowered by them at all.

“Ya know, sometimes I wish I could just have a simple job like yours. Pouring drinks while listening to people complain… Would be nice.” She remarked, resting her head on her left hand.

“You say that now, but I bet you would be bored within a couple days. The great Scarlet Reaper needs to be out in the field, having fun while running investigations and capturing criminals for the Queen. That’s what you do best, Miss.”

“Pfft, you make it sound like I’m some kind of action hero. Trust me, it’s not all daisies and rainbows. Dealing with so many idiots all the time takes the fun out of it, that’s for damn sure..”

Zalthia sighed and shifted her weight slightly, as though preparing to leave. She finished the last drop of her drink and stood up.

“Thanks for the drink. Keep the change.”

Zalthia laid down a few gold-colored coins after putting up the hood on her scarlet robes. James bowed his head and thanked her as she walked away. Just before she got to the door, Zalthia overheard a conversation between two burly looking gentlemen near the entryway.

“Did you hear about the new jobs coming up? They’re saying that whoever brings them this key or whatever you call it, will get a huge reward.” One of the men said with a slight whisper.

“Yeah, but I don’t know where we would find it. The listing down in the depths wasn’t specific.” The other man replied, trying to remember what he had read prior.

Zalthia took note of this and stuck around close outside, waiting for them to exit the taphouse.

A few short minutes passed and the two men left the building, completely unaware that they were being tailed. After going past a few shops, they stepped into an alleyway, wanting to take a shortcut across town.

“Hey.” Could be quietly heard from behind them, echoing against the neighboring walls.

The moment they turned around, Zalthia dashed towards them with incredible speed, looking like nothing more than a red colored flash. She grabbed one of them by their collar and slammed him into the wall.

“What do you know about these objects being stolen across Resotera? Who are you getting them for?” She forcefully asked with a sharp, stern voice, giving him a vivid red-eyed glare.

The other man sprinted away in fear, attempting to leave his partner to fend for himself. However, before he could even create any distance, a clone of Zalthia leapt from the sky and subdued him, pinning the man to the ground.

“I don’t know anything! Let me go!” he loudly pleaded, unable to push Zalthia off of him.

“Cut the bullshit, I heard what you two were talking about in there. Now, tell me what you know or I swear I will bring an end to your miserable lives right now.”

The man’s eyes went wide with fear, now realizing who they were dealing with after noticing her silver hair, red eyes, and scarlet colored robes.

“T-There isn't much to s-say… There have been random listings popping up in mercenary hideouts wanting us to steal some items. The listings don’t give many details and we don’t know who puts them out. All we know is they'll give a big reward should we complete the task. That’s everything I know, I swear!” He replied, trembling with fear as he was still firmly pressed against the wall.

“What mercenary hideouts are you talking about? Stop glossing over details!”

“I-I can’t say the name! I’ll die if I say the name!” He added with great fear, his eyes shaking something fierce.

Zalthia tightened her grip and forced his arm into an awkward position, causing it to slightly crack from the pressure.

“Gah!! Stop! Please!” He begged, wanting this violent interrogation to be over.

“You’ve got a lot of nerve worrying about death from an outside source while I have you pinned to this wall. I’ll stop if you tell me what I want to know, otherwise death will be the thing you wish for most.”

She added more of her strength behind the grip and increased his pain tenfold.

“Alright!!! W-We saw them down in D-Dead Ha-.”

The man paused his reply completely as though something had put him in a choke hold. An intricate D.H symbol appeared on his forehead, shining a dull black color as it exerted a fair bit of Core Energy. Seconds later, he stopped breathing while his eyes rolled back into his head. He had suddenly died at that very moment, causing shock and confusion to come across Zalthia's face.

'What the hell was that!?'

She released her grip and watched the man slump over onto the floor.

“What did he say? Dead something? And that symbol, I’ve never seen it before.. Just what is going on?”

Zalthia had a myriad of questions and thoughts in her head, confused by the events that just transpired.

His partner looked on in horror while he was still pinned to the floor by Zalthia’s clone, not believing what he just saw. Zalthia glared back at him while deep in thought, frustrated that she couldn’t get any proper information. She sucked her teeth before calling off her clone, letting the man go.

“Take care of your friend over there..” She said, not wanting anything else to do with this situation anymore. He slowly nodded as he watched Zalthia walk away into the darkness of this rainy night.