Arriving back at the training grounds with Hikari, she was still shaking; she began to cry.
"She was one of them" – She kept muttering over and over
"One of what?" - I leaned in, pcing one of my hands on her head.
"That girl that we met, she is the sinner of Mencholy." – She seemed to snap out of whatever trance she was in and gave me a coherent response.
"What is special about these sinners? What did she do to deserve being called a sinner?" - Whatever has been affecting Hikari doesn't seem to affect me at all, so I don't get her reaction, but it might be due to me not being familiar with this world.
"She was a person that I once knew. The sinner of Mencholy is the only sinner born, and it's always a girl. She can manifest a weapon like a sword that can discharge a huge amount of Nihility." – What is she talking about?
"What is Nihility? And you say you knew her, but what happened between you?" - I got closer to comfort Hikari.
"Well, your shadow magic is based on this element; Shadow Magic is a much weaker version of Nihility. Nihility in itself is an element that erases everything, it's an element of decay, it opposes even death. The effect that it has on humans, it can be sin on the Sinner of Mencholy, her mind and other senses slowly decay until she is completely erased without any trace left of her," – Hikari began to sob quietly.
"But, what did she even do to deserve a fate like this?" - I remained without much of an expression.
"No one knows, but I can tell you that much. The number of negative emotions I felt when encountering her threw me off a bit." Hikari tried to calm herself. Still, anyone who comes into contact with Nihility is severely affected emotionally.
"Ok, tell me how you know her then?"
4 years ago, on a hill near Welcia City
Back then, I didn't know much about the world, so when I first met the sinner of Mencholy, she looked weird and didn't behave like you would expect a girl in this world to behave.
"You shouldn't be here," – A monotone voice is coming from a figure clutching her sword's hilt. She has her back turned, watching the sun.
"I always come here to watch the sunset, I never seen you around, and why shouldn't I be here?" - I asked as innocently as I could
"Suit yourself if you are here for the sunset. The sun will set for everyone at one point, and the sun will dawn for another." – She gnced at me and then looked back at the setting sun.
"Ok…" - I didn't know what else to say to her, but I watched the sunset with her; it was almost dark before I noticed it; the grass around her was all bck and withered away. I wanted to get closer to her, but something kept me from doing that.
"I suggest you not close to me unless you want a dance with the undesirable." – She locked her gaze on me and smiled.
The next day, I went to the same spot. The invasion of monsters was announced today, but the pce is close to the vilge, so we should be able to hold on; the same girl from yesterday is standing there.
"Hey, it's not really safe here; you know about the monster invasion, right?" – I tried to run toward her, but she raised her hands.
"I know, that's why I am here. My path is a lonely one; I don't want to take credit for anything, but if you would like to watch, be my guest." – I slowly moved toward her; back then, I knew she was one of the sinners, but I didn't hold any bad feelings towards them, especially her.
"A st question, do you come here of your own volition?" - That's strange.
"I came here because I like the sunset; before my training as a maid is finished, I want to watch the sunset and feel this freedom as much as I can," – I replied. I don't know why I told her that, but I just felt the need to do that.
"Seems like the world is getting restless. In the coming long years I forsee that you will face many setbacks and witness many tragedies and in the end, all the color from your world will be gone, but in that monotone and monochrome shell, there will be a speck of color and when you make a choice, one that holds dear to your heart, you won't regret it and it will return once more." - I didn't know what she meant by it until much ter.
"What does that mean?" - Before I could get an answer, I could feel the ground shaking as the loud sound of footsteps and monster screams assaulted my ears.
"Go, head toward the vilge; it will get messy pretty fast." – She put her left foot forward and slowly drew her sword; everything around us began to shift. I could feel myself becoming slower and frozen in time; I could only watch the sword pulse with a deep crimson hue. She held it in her left hand up the hilt and the right hand below, down the hill where I used to watch the sunset monsters heading toward us at high speeds, but then, the color in everything was gone; a deep void repced the once glorious sun in the sky, and the ground below us turned into bck but clear shadowy water.
With one horizontal swing, a bde of energy emerges from the sword and heads straight for the monster horde.
The moment it made contact with the horde, an explosion followed that sent me flying back; after that, everything was gone, even the girl. I don't even know where she was, but the rain had started.
Back to the present:
"So, she speaks in riddles, but were any of those riddles true?" - I looked at a calmer Hikari; recounting all of those events took a bit of a tool on her.
"Yes, the things I faced were the worst, from my vilge burning down and my parents being murdered by a group of bandits to me almost dying. I was scared when I saw her again; all of those things came true, almost like she saw the future." – I try to keep myself calm, but I am failing and getting restless.
"Is there anything I can do to help you?" - I always used to ask Hikari that back in our world, I was good at helping people if they told me what they wanted but figuring it out was always a pain.
"Just hold me for a bit; a lot of nasty memories came back; your family welcomed me as a maid here. I was almost found dead near the mansion. I am happy I got to meet you again." – I sat on the ground, and Hikari put her head on my p.
"And did meeting me again make the color return to your world?" - I asked pyfully, but it still came out as cold.
"It did, before meeting you and knowing it's you. The maids are taking it easy on you because of me. Most of them still hold grudges, but they put them aside for me; if you can hear what they truly think, it's not pretty, you still have some things to give back to them." – She is right; forgiveness doesn't come cheap, they overlooked everything because of Hikari, I still have to make it up to the individual maids.
"I know; look, calm down first, and then we can continue."
"Ohh my, what do we have here? A very forbidden love story, I see," – A woman's voice boomed from behind us.
"Who are you?" - I spoke without looking but was already guarded.
"Your battle instructor, I turn rich brats like you into top-notch soldiers. I was stunned when I heard you were the one to ask me and not your mother or father." – The woman walked next to us and sat down. She has blonde hair and red eyes and wears some light leather armor.
"Fatima Iris"- I extended my hand to shake hers.
"ohhh, familiar already with stuff like this, well let's make a deal, I won't tell anyone of your little love affair with the maid if you have a battle with her while I go all out, win or lose doesn't matter." – She rose from her seat and starred daggers at me, intimidation is her game it seems.
"Accepted. Alma, sorry, you will have to y somewhere else for a bit."- Hikari didn't say anything, just nodded.
"So bold of you." – The instructor ughed.
Time to see what my primordial skill does.
*Use skill: Goddess Of War: Lumia* - Let's see what it does. In my left hand, a gun magically appeared, simir to the ones in my world; it looked a lot like a Glock pistol.
"I've never seen someone able to summon a magic gun, but let's just use swords for now, I will see what you truly are capable of!" - I think the way I change the weapon is by saying its name.
"Katana" – I whispered to myself, and the gun changed into a katana, a wooden one used for training.
"Now, time to go!"
