Chapter 14

"For every minute you remain angry, you give up sixty seconds of peace of mind."

A/N

"Your terrible, leaving without saying anything, really? I have half a mind to kick you out to save myself the worry!"

"Hold on, I left you a letter!"

"A letter? Oh right, I guess that makes it all better then."

"It does...?"

"Of course not! You just left, not even giving me a chance to say a word?!"

I lingered at the edge of the couch, trying not to make it obvious I was using it as a shield of sorts, Katherine on the other side scowling at me. The rest of the group in various places around the room. We had come back after dropping Chocolat off on the way. Neil was currently standing ajar next to the singles couch in what could be in respect, but it seemed more for the same reasons I was. Katherine was just miffed by his presence, but it wasn't like her to remain that way for long. It probably helped that she considered bothering me to be a bigger problem.

"I helped the hostages…" I offered somewhat weakly. I didn't want to mention Kaiden at that moment. I didn't save him the way I wanted to save him, which was bring him back in one piece, so I chose to ignore it for the time being, which was pretty selfish, I knew, because Katherine would be the one in charge of Kaiden.

"Yeah, I know." She drawled, looking away from me. "He's up in the guest room… I'm healing him." She said, implying that since I was incapable of healing abilities, I was useless. I knew she meant it as a joke, because she didn't understand what it was like to find Kaiden like that. So instead of reacting harshly, I just ignored it and asked, "So anyways. My decisions aside, I'm sorry for leaving," I wasn't sorry exactly, so I decided I should probably be more sincere and I added "For leaving and not saying anything that is."

She looked around at the group. She seemed very unsettled. WIth everything that's been happening, a some shift in moods were to be expected, but troubled wasn't exactly what I was looking for. We had taken care of the ranch, even if Kaiden was extremely injured, we had made it back. All of us. In other words, 'unsettled' wasn't the usual reaction to all these things. Sad, mournful for Kaiden, Mad at me, relieved the threat was gone for good, and for certain.

I began to ask her what she was thinking, but she beat me to it. Frowning, she said quietly, "I guess I just… Well. I honestly wasn't expecting you to come back." No one was being chatty exactly, so everyone else waiting for everything to settle down also heard this.

I looked to her surprised, even though I probably shouldnt have been, as she watched me rather seriously for such a sad admission. "After all that talk about getting away from here I just thought you had finally left for good. Its not too far of a strech to think that, right?"

"... Yikes." I muttered, coming off a little bit more insensitive than I had hoped to, leaning over the chair. I didn't want to worry her, I wanted to keep the mood light. I was being rude, but I wasn't sure I was in the right state of mind to handle someone elses feelings like that. Terrible. "Gosh, you're making such a big deal out of it, I wouldn't leave without grabbing my stuff, then you'd know either way, right?"

She huffed, and looked away. "Your awful!"

"Anyways," Raine inturrupted, the first to do so since we arrived(And Katherine Attacked me) "Eris said it was alright, but I wanted to check to make sure if it's alright we stay here for a bit longer? We have some things to discuss."

Katherine nodded, "Of course, didn't I tell you it was alright?" She began to get up and leave to give the group some privacy, but before she did she turned to me. "Eris." I turned to face her to show I was listening. "Be careful, alright?"

I shrugged.

.

We rested for a hour, but Kratos rushed us out of the house to confront Dorr. He was concerned the man would slip from our fingers and escape by the skin of his teeth.

We walked through the doors, and as soon as we did it was as if we had stepped in a cursed morgue. It was silent, deadly was awful, you could hear your footsteps echo and for each echo it was like something else was stepping even closer. It was ominous.

I immediately began to get paranoid. One time, when I was sixteen in my last life, be and my friends liked going to 'haunted' places, and doing, in general, really stupid things of that nature. One time, we got a ouji board, and we were dared to play it.

To conclude, we burned the game and I have been mildly superstitious ever since. And the Palmacosta governors building was designed to look old, and rickety, for cultural reasons probably. So the silence made it that much creepier.

"Theres no one here." Lloyd said, his voice cutting through the silence like a hot knife and butter. It seemed he didn't feel the sketchy mood in the room. Something, something was off, but most of us couldn't seem to pinpoint what the deal with this place was, even me who knew something was waiting, I just couldn't really remember what, and I wasn't sure why the upstairs, covered in the glow of the late afternoon sun, was so creepy.

So most of us. But not all.

"I think I hear voices from below…" Colette said, seeming nervous and just as jumpy as the rest of us.

"Really?" The red clad boy said, as he cupped his ears to listen, as if it would make a significant enough difference. "I don't hear anything…"

Colette shifted nervously, and I suddenly recalled her Angel Sickness deal. A eye for an eye type of thing, and I realized what her transformation was literally trading humanity for convenience. I sighed, understanding her immense discomfort at Lloyd not hearing anything like the rest of us.

"... Wait," I interjected, looking down at the basement. "I hear something too. I know there are rumors about a basement, but I'm not sure whats down there. I think the stairs are in the hallway by the entrance."

Colette seemed to relax a bit more, thinking her secret was one hundred percent safe. I felt bad for knowing, but I wouldn't say anything unless asked. I could only support her and do my best and deal with the repercussions later… At least that's what I told myself. I had my moments. But Colette was hurting herself, and I was indirectly supporting her, but…

Another thought crossed my mind… We were going into the basement.

"Yes, there's a basement." Neil confirmed, "And your right, its at the end of the hallway down the right wing."

"In that case," Kratos said, and I saw him looking to the direction basement stairs warily. "We should head down to the basement."

"Yeah." Lloyd agreed, and the group started to move to the stairs.

It took only a slight hint of hesitation on my part for Raine to stop, as she noticed me jerk awkwardly as I debated on whether or not I should move, but had second thoughts.

"Eris? Is something wrong?" She asked, looking a mix between curious, tense and concerned.

The entire group heard this across the silence, and stopped to look at me as well. I felt the cold chills run down my spine, as I tried to look away from the stares. I noticed Kratos watching me expectantly, and I wondered if he was getting impatient with me, but it almost looked like he was expecting it.

I looked back at Raine, and I noticed I was tensed defensively. I sat up straight, and tried to look like I was ready for anything, despite the heat on my face and chill down my spine. "It doesn't matter, we don't really have much time to spare."

Although it seemed they were thrown off my the setback, they seemed to forget it as they began to cautiously walked down the stairs and Raine placed a firm but comforting hand on my shoulder.

"Don't worry, theres nothing we can't handle." Raine said, as she lightly pushed me forward. I didn't want left behind, so I complied easily enough, sighing because now Raine knew about my slightly superstitious nature.

I was soundless as usual, descending down the stairs. Genis was in ahead of me, and Raine behind me. Neil was in the far back, and he hadn't said a word. I figured he was thinking of the soon to be confrontation. I looked far ahead to see Kratos at the very front, for which I was very glad. If something jumped out, it could have the seraphim. I could deal with things I was expecting, but descending down a dark set of stairs?

He was immortal anyways.

We finally made it in the room, hiding behind some large crates before continuing just to be safe. There was little room where the others were huddled up, so I silently climbed up into the boxes just below the rafter ties, crawling forward and peering behind the stacked crates that hid us.

What we saw was essentially what we were expecting. Dorr. He was standing in front of some drapes on the wall with Killia and she watched, oddly calm for a child, even to anyone who wasn't suspicious of Dorr like we were, for in front of them was a rather high ranking Desian. I listened in, risking creeping closer. Sylvarant didn't have quality boxes, instead, old wooden boxes, so I knew I would have to coordinate my steps as Chiron had taught me as to not make noise.

"... Return to her original form?"

I watched as the Desian in questioning stood tall, and said "Not yet. You still haven't paid us enough Gald. You've been paying less and less." Not surprising, even if I had forgotten a lot of details from when I played the game.

As always. It helps to know the future doesn't it?

"This is the best I can do!" Dorr exclaimed helplessly. "The tolls, the municipal taxes, the offerings to the church of Martel... there's nowhere else to squeeze money from!"

That made an understandably bitter feeling rise in my stomach. He was saying it as if people were cattle. And the worst part was he was in a position to do it and get away with it. Who was in the position to get him in trouble? The people trusted Dorr too much. It was more trouble than it was worth to inform everyone honestly, but luckily that wasn't my decision to make in the long run.

"Well, I suppose this will do." The Desian conceded 'kind heartedly'. "For today. I'm sure Lord Magnius will remove the demon seed, depending on your next contribution."

I looked down to see the group slyly come out of their hiding places as the Desian left out the back door, and both Killia and Dorr sensed this and turned to them surprised. I wanted to remain my position so it would be possible to keep the upper hand, But the cons outweighed the pros, so it was better just to stand by them.

"Whats the matter?" Lloyd asked mockingly, "You look like you just saw a ghost."

Don't even joke about that Lloyd…

"Um. Lloyd," Genis started, sighing dramatically. "Thats a really cliche'd line."

"Shut up Genis!"

"What are you guys doing here?!" Dorr exclaimed, too distracted by the current turmoil caused by our appearance to acknowledge the bickering teens. "Neil! Where's Neil!?"

The mentioned man stepped forward from behind us, incredibly disappointed in his superior's actions I was sure.

"Governor-General Dorr… I can't believe you've been working together with the Desians."

"So that's it… You've betrayed me!" Dorr said, and I felt a twitch of irritation.

"Hold on, you can't pin this on Neil." I said, trying not to bite out my words as I stepped next to Neil in an act of support. I didn't want to be angry, but I couldn't help it, but I could help the way I presented myself to the Governor-general traitor. "We're here for answers."

"...Governor-General." Neil said gravely, glancing at me as he spoke less enthusiastically to Dorr. "The chosen destroyed the human ranch for us. Please stop this foolishness..."

I didn't say that even if he takes back all the things he's done, apologises, and suffers all the torment he was responsible for, nothing would ever go back to the way he used to be.

I heard the young girl behind Dorr gasp. Not in surprise though.

She failed. And she's glad?

"What?" Door said in agonising horror, his eyes widening. "What have you done?!"

I couldn't help but feel a bit of pity. I remembered plenty about expheric monsters, and the fact the same thing most likely happened to Tia almost made me pity Dorr. But when I looked at Neil, at his tangible disappointment in his superior, the pure love for Dorr and his people, I felt my heart harden. Dorr couldn't hide behind his mistakes and pin it on anyone else.

Before I could ask, Dorr cut into my train of thought as he exclaimed, "You… Destroyed Clara's hopes of living!"

Lloyd didn't seem to understand how odd that statement was, only Raine and Kratos appeared to brace themselves.

"I don't know who that is, but we saved every person at the ranch." Lloyd tried to comfort, despite his resolute disposition.

"... Saved?!" Dorr exclaimed in shock, but much like Killia, it wasn't a sort of shock that the Lloyds words called for. He laughed bitterly, as he said, "Th… Thats funny! Alright then… Just try saving Clara!"

With that he walked to the drapes behind him, and I stepped closer to Raine, who was behind me. Clara was something I remembered, but I didn't know myself well enough to guess how I would react, and seeing something that practically symbolised the worst of changes in my reborn life.

"Save my wife!"

He pulled down the drapes, and I flinched back. I felt, horrible. I recalled certain things. Details. Anna regained herself one last time before everything disappeared.

Kratos reached out to me after I fell, Lloyd was in Anna's arms.

I did wind up having a scar on my chest, from that fall, that was painful.

But I knew, nothing was as bitter as losing a family member to a monster, that you pray, is a regainable shell of their past self. I supposed Dorr must have begun to obsess over the possibility of regaining Clara.

I only remembered the horrors of the events as I stared at the imprisoned monster before me as she, Clara… it groaned in despair. I wondered absently, if Kratos felt anything towards Dorr after this like I did. Clara and Anna wound up the same way, and it was awful. I wondered if he was thinking about Anna.

I wondered if he was trying not to.

I moved back further, taking a deep breath in what may have sounded like a large sigh even more as Kratos gasped.

"Ah!" Genis exclaimed, gasping. "Wh...What's that monster!?"

"She's crying…" Colette murmured. "She's crying out in pain… You mustn't call her a monster!"

I noticed how her mana coiled up, unorganized and twisted with odd and almost artificial mana. Unlike a normal persons mana like Lloyd Genis and Raine, whose energy all flowed in one direction and organized and untangled. The only similarity between her and a normal person being the ball of energy around her heart was spinning clockwise like ours was, even if it was spinning faster than the norm.

It was hard to describe, but her mana was pulsing, as if trying to break free.

I clenched my fists, and looked away from the woman turned monster. Instead trying to focus on Dorr. Although I… Pitied him, he left her to suffer in a body she didn't belong in, how was that fair? I could only imagine how she felt, trapped inside the mess she was. But I also knew, Dorr wasn't strong enough to kill her. Freeing her wasn't an option. It was. Too terrible. But I still couldn't help but cling to any excuse I could to despise Dorr instead of find similarities between him and people who were far better.

"You don't mean…" Lloyd trailed off, as Dorr looked up to us coldly.

"Thats right." He said, not at all sadly. It was angry, cold and callous. "This is what's become of my wife, Clara!"

"So thats why you told everyone she passed away." Raine said, remaining calm. I was glad she was, as I found myself turning to her slightly, hoping her security would rub off on me.

"...I don't remember her ever being in a ranch, that information would have been announced, if not leaked or rumoured." I spoke lowly, my voice thick with evidence of my torrent of emotions. "How did she ever get an exphere to be removed in the first place…?"

"My father, the previous Governor-General, was a fool." Dorr growled, giving the monster behind him a dirty look. I felt malice spike in the pits of my stomach, and I noticed Genis was shaking. "Because of his defiant stance against the Desians, they killed him then planted the demon seed in my wife as a warning."

I didn't remember any of this… I remembered Dorr's father's death. Not Clara. I also thought Dorr was the first to be given Governor-General title, but guessed his father did as well.

Can't expect people to tell a small child stuff like that. But how did I miss Clara?

"If I cooperate with them…" The man continued, interrupting my thoughts in a desperate tone that time, "They will give me the medicine to save her!"

"But that means you're betraying the people of this city!" Genis said, disbelievingly.

"Who cares!" He retorted, not tactfully at all. "It was the only way to save Clara! But it's all been for nothing-"

"It was all for nothing anyways." I muttered.I crossed my arms, sighing. There was a part of me that wanted to forgive him, and a part of me that wanted to make him suffer forever. So I decided to ignore any opinion on the man altogether, instead thinking of his wife. "How do you think Clara feels, supporting the people her made her this way?" I couldn't bring myself to call her a monster. "They made her suffer. So you give up, right?"

"This isn't about giving up, it was about returning things to the way they were! I had to watch Clara rot until she turned into this thing, and you've ruined the only chance I had left!"

"You're not the only victim here!" Lloyd added, looking to Dorr with an expression that begged for Dorr to explain, but I knew there would be no good answer to satisfy any of us. Dorr was a man who used his own people and went against the morals of his father, his wife, and ignorantly believed it was the correct decision. That his wife, would allow that if she was cured. "I'm sorry about your wife. But think of all those people who believed in you, only to be sent to the ranch! Any of them may have wound up just like your wife!"

I immediately thought of Kaiden at that, and I found myself just tiring of Dorrs antics even more. He could have turned out just like Clara, Tia, and Anna. What would I have done? I wondered if I would have been strong enough hto keep moving, despite the fact there were people who lost far more loved ones than I.

"Silence boy!" Dorr exclaimed arrogantly. "Stop acting like your justice is absolute!"

"Where do you get off?" Lloyd growled. I remembered putting a lot of thought into that one line, but I didn't have the heart to care how awful Dorr was anymore. He made my loved ones suffer, and I was not the same person I used to be. "Don't even start spewing the word 'justice'! I hate that word! If you wanted to save your wife, you should have resigned your position as Governor-General and searched for a cure, or help, or whatever! Your a worthless jerk who couldn't give up his social status even for his own wife!"

Even though I agreed with the basics of what he was saying, I could see his anger clouding his perception of Dorr. I was angry too, but I knew what happened when people only accepted fact, and rejected the truth. "There's more to it than that Lloyd." I said, looking at him at the corner of my eye. He didn't look back. "Dorr obviously have a few screws loose, and it doesn't change what he did. But we can't just jump to conclusions about the past."

"Lloyd." Colette agreed with my slight protest. "Not everyone is strong enough to stand against the Desians!"

Strength is a choice. The me of the past, was a good person. She was actually wanted to love and help people no matter what, and learn as much as possible about everything. But I chose to change, justifying my weakness with my rebirth. But I chose to become weak, because I was sick of being selfless. I wouldn't get rewarded here. I had a hard life, but I still kept moving.

Maybe you're just building yourself up to ease the guilt.

But I still chose to become weak.

"Colette…" Loyd said, looking at the angel. He seemed to lose some of his energy, but not all of course. It was Lloyd after all.

"I'll find it for you!" Colette said, "If there's a medicine for your wife, I promise to find it! So please…"

"... There's no use." Kilia finally spoke up, her voice heavier than its usual tone. It was more heartless too, and I felt chills going down my spine. Deja vu with these people was inevitable, but unlike most this was foreboding and I couldn't remember what was about to happen. "There's no way to remove a demon seed once it has sprouted."

She walked toward her father in a way that was very familiar, and I recognized the way she was moving too late.

Dorr fell to the floor, a bloody knife in his back.

"Kilia…" Dorr choked. "What are you…?"

"What are you doing!?" Lloyd finished for the weak man on the floor.

"How could you do that to your own father!?" Genis asked, watching the repulsive events unfold, Raine and Kratos choosing to watch the events unfold.

Kilia giggled. "Thats a laugh."

We watched as she transformed, into a purple horned creature, and I felt her Mana shifting. I noticed one condensed piece of Mana in her chest, not visible to anyone else, and it seemed to let her shift, as well as stabilizing her mana as she did so.

It wasn't a exphere, but it eerily similar. If I had to guess, it was what allowed her to shape shift, or processed power. I hadn't seen anything like it before, even comparing them to expheres was a bit of a stretch. It was much like the creature in the cage next to her, but with a similar aura as a half elf, but more stable mana flow.

"I'm a servant of Pronyma, leader of the Five Grand Cardinals who rule over the Desians." The not so Kilia said in a shrill voice. "I was merely assigned to observe the new human cultivation technique developed by Magnius. Theres no way a superior half elf such as I could have a fool of a father such as this!"

"A… Fool of a father?" Colette repeated, an odd, almost mournful, look on her face.

"Just look at him!" Kilia said deridingly, "He didn't even notice his own daughter was dead… He was too busy chasing after a medicine that doesn't exist, in order to save his monster wife!" She began cackling, her grotesque features twisting around her face.

"You…!" Lloyd said threateningly, grasping his swords and charging without any further questions. The rest of us followed with only a moment's hesitation, worrying for Lloyd above all else.

"How could you?" Colette said, mortified as she threw her chakram precisely, Kilia dodging.

We kept this up, as she stuck to dodging most of our attacks.

Until she teleported that is.

"What?!" I yelled, "She can teleport!"

No one answered, instead focusing on either casting, healing, or making openings for the melee fighters to attack. I did a bit of both, but Killia's movements were too unpredictable, and every time she casted I became hyper aware of the mana in use and became distracted.

In other words, I was having a little more trouble than I should have been.

Luckily, there were always patterns in the way magic users cast, and even luckier, Killia was using a lot. Every time she casted, she used a lot of excess mana, making it… Smoke? Every move she made, the Mana emitting from the stone in her chest would smoke and twirl in the direction she would move.

I found myself able to guess where she was moving according to this, So as she dodged, I would be right there to meet her as she jumped away with a dagger in hand. But unfortunately, it happened so fast I could hardly aim at a fatal spot. However, the easier it got to predict her every movement, the less she was able to cast dark spells. But even then I did hit, sometimes it wouldn't go through due to her thick skin, and not in the metaphorical way.

The more time went on, the more everyone adjusted to fighting her off. Lloyd was doing especially well, doing the most damage out of all of us, because every time someone landed a hit Killia would flinch to defend, and Lloyd was fast enough to take full advantage of it.

Eventually she got frustrated enough to where her Mana would spike so much it was as if it exploded, and she would temporarily go somewhat unstable as several white bone like things stuck out of her body.

The first time it happened, I was in the middle of attackin when it suddenly extended out to pierce through my side. It wasn't too deep, thankfully, and Raine managed to heal me with first aid fairly quick after that.

"What was that?!" Genis called out, and I would have answered if I wasn't dodging a barrage of attacks from Killia, who was very frustrated.

"You- can not-" She screetched between hits, as I dodged, forgoing blocking in favor of not breaking any bones, "Win this!" With that, I was forced to completely dodge to the side, as her bones extended and hit the ground with a crackling crash.

Lloyd came up behind her, expecting her to stagger, but it seemed she was no longer that vulnerable and turned to throw him to the side mid swing. Kratos came up the other side, and made piercing strike, which she again dodged.

Overlimit apparently.

So basically, we just kept dodging until her little tantrum was finished.

But I did manage to slow her down, and the other's were able to bring her down with coordinated attacks, Kratos doing much of the work and even if Lloyd was making the most strikes, Kratos was making the most powerful and efficient ones. I made sure to stay away from Clara and Dorr who was breathing heavily, not wanting any unexpected surprises.

Although Killias strikes hurt a lot, it didn't hurt as much as I thought when I was hit with dark sphere every so often.

It was what it sounded like, I was locked in a sphere for several seconds, and the magic intensity built up before it spiked my Mana all at once and threw me off. It was rather painful. It didn't seem she could spike any internal mana though, just the mana bleeding off like steam.

It was as I jammed two of my knifes into her shoulder blade, that I heard Colette shout "Angel feathers!"

I struck right in the center, where the stone was, with a loud crack. Iwasnt sure if it was the stone, the chakram hitting, or her bones, but either way it did the trick. Kilia let out a cry of agony, and I jumped back as she fell to the ground. "Lord… Pronyma!"

"This can't be…!" She said, and I watched as she arched her back toward the cage beside her. "Fine… Then… I'll set this monster free and let it kill you!"

She slowly began to dissipate on the floor, gushing out ooz(I was dropping the notion that Killia was human, elf or half elf), as she began to open the door that was the only thing between us… And Clara.

Wait, she literally disappears though? I thought that was a game thing.

It wasn't a clean one though, there was stains left from her blood and although her mana left just fine, there were remenants that were not carried off, such as bones and blood(Clear goo really) that had already left her

No one could do anything as the monster… Clara, walked out of her prison, limbs dangling limply, the body being in a uneven and mutated condition.

"No, not again!" Lloyd exclaimed apprehensively, horrified at the familiar situation put before him. "Do I have to kill yet another innocent victim?"

The shell of Clara let out a painfully grating roar, as she lifted her appendage limply in preparation to do damage. Namely Colette.

"No! Stop!"

She was too far away for help, so we watched in amazement(And yes, fear) as Clara seemed to pause, arm still set in preparation to swing. She then let out a weak, agonizing cry as she turned around and hobbled in the other direction with a shriek.

Being faster than our comprehensive abilities, she managed to get away through the open door that the Desian from before left ajar as we stood there with what I was sure was mixed feelings. No one wanted to hurt her, she hurt no one, so what was the point in chasing her? Other than, she was capable of hurting a lot of people, but she wasn't exactly our priority right then, Dorr was. The majority of us was in shock, wondering why she didn't hit Colette. Was it because she was the Chosen? Did the soon to be angel stop her somehow? Or…

How did Clara regain herself enough to run? Did… My mom, Anna, do the same? She did didn't she? I remembered vaguely, she had managed to regain herself much Like Clara might have just then, to save Lloyd, right?

I looked over to Kratos, he was pale, and it took knowing the story to figure out that he was bothered. No one else would tell I'd assume, since he appeared as undisturbed as ever other than things, I admit, I looked for.

"W...Wait!" Genis cried, vainly trying to run after the escaped monster, Colette going to follow, but we all knew it was too late.

"Is Kilia really dead…?"

The pair stopped at the sound of Dorr's hoarse croak, and everyone turned to look at the man on the floor. He was bleeding out. I felt the familiar candle like flicker in his mana, the feeling of a man dying. I pressed my lips together, feeling remorseful, but also content with his selfishly induced death.

You know what they say… Kick a man while he's down, because then he'll never get back up.

Pretty sure no one says that. I thought, distancing myself from the events around me as they spoke to Dorr.

"It seems your real daughter is fine…" I focused back in at the sound of a easy to spot lie. It was Lloyd, who was smiling at Dorr. I frowned. Lying… Lloyd lied to the traitor to protect him. I wasn't sure if he deserved the truth or the lie, both were equally terrible. Lloyd must have gathered that, from the way he could barely look at Dorr in the eye.

"I… See." The man coughed, the life visibly draining out of him, and the warmth of personified mana leaving him ever so slowly. "You… Your name… Is Lloyd?"

"... Yeah."

"Professor Sage!" Colette cried, "Please help him!"

Raine grimaced, as she kneeled down with her staff at the ready. I watched as she began to work.

Channeling your mana to heal basically looked like little bugs that latch on to a single area of mana to trigger healing. For flesh wounds at least. But since Dorr's life was already slipping away, the little 'mana bugs' seemed unable to grasp the man's energy through the skin, like it was dispersing from a solid, to a liquid, to a gas. So there was nothing for the 'bugs' to grab and mend.

I had seen death before, my first being Anna. However, the first time I had ever killed anyone was soon after Tia died, and I was traveling to Asgard. I was ambushed, being by myself, so I, underestimating the danger of traveling alone, fought back.

Most were unconscious, but I killed two that day. I expected to feel horrible, like I had committed some grand sin I could never come back from. But it didn't. It was as if I was used to it. Maybe it was because I had memories of dying myself, because I had seen it so much, I don't know, but the point was I felt nothing.

I was scared about this lack of care, but I wasn't about to question it. It was better than a moral panic when I didn't need one.

Raine seemed to realize that Dorr was dying as she was healing too, and she stood up abruptly and turned away, the two children in front of her watching hopefully. But the message was clear; Dorr was a dead man.

"Please… Make sure the escapees are alright…" Dorr gasped as his life began to fade. "And if you find a way to save my wife… Please help her return to her original form… I don't want my daughter being alone."

I wondered why he thought he had the right to ask us these things. Which was awful to think, because he was dying, but I guess I'd like to believe I could trust the people around me in my dying moments, no matter what I did to deserve it. And I also knew… Clara was not like Dorr.

She was kind. I remembered the stories Tia told me. Tia would have saved her, so I guessed it was up to me to take that responsibility. I figured, it was better to act for the dead since they arent here, and since I knew what TIa would have done, I had no more doubts about what I should do.

I could already imagine it. The only thing we had to do was untangle the cords of mana, then it would revert her to a non comatose state when it came to her being. She was literally trapped inside the coils, that was her core. The reason it was spinning so fast was because the faster it spins, the more mana gets exerted. She was like a star though, once she ran out of mana she was dead, but that would take so long there was really no rush.

The coils prevented any mana getting out, and if no mana could reach the outside she could not be controlled. This was why it was necessary for this world to have mana, why no one could survive without it. You're mana literally dictated who you are. You aren't a consciousness, you are the mana itself. So if you lose mana, you lose yourself.

Not even I could live without it in this life, even if I lived in a world where we didn't need it in a past life. These people werent like earth people, my old life was gone and all I had left were fading memories.

There was a whole science behind it, but in order to save Clara by untangling the cord's I would need years and perfect control. Yes, I could touch mana, but it was far easier to do so with my own, since my mana couldn't hurt me. But doing it to someone else, or even something else ran the risk of mixing mana, which was poisonous. It wouldn't work like healing artes, It was risky, very risky for me to do it, and I wouldn't be able to stop ever in the light that it would kill her.

I couldn't do anything, and it hurt because I could see the problem and I knew how to fix it, to a degree. I just didn't have the means or skill.

"...Okay." I looked back at Lloyd, who was standing over Dorr along with the other teens. "I promise.

Surprising us all, a tear ran down the dying mans face. "Thank you…" He said quietly, and I noted his mana was almost dispersed. Usually people died much quicker than this, but I guess Dorr had a good hold on his life to finish his words. He held something up incredibly weakly, a card it looked like, and when Lloyd took it his arm dropped with a loud thump, and his mana left him all at once.

I could practically feel the wind like mana of his life passing over me swiftly. It wasn't disgusting, like hugging a dead man, because it was fresh and alive, as if he was still alive. It wasn't dead. But it was gone.

I wondered where the mana was going, did he disappear? Or was he as unlucky as I was?I vaguly wondered, if rebirth was in everyones fate, or just some? I wondered if death itself could make mistakes?

"Governor-General Dorr!" Neil cried, falling in front of the man. His eyes were closed in remorse.

"We should get out of here…" Raine said, probably thinking about how bothersome it would be if we stayed too long.

"I'll take care of this…" Neil said, looking up at us. "Wait for me upstairs, if you don't mind."

"Don't you need some help?" I asked, "Dead bodies are usually pretty heavy." He shook his head.

"... Lets go then." Lloyd said quietly, and with that everyone followed me up the stairs.

.

We were waiting for about thirty minutes in the lobby in silence, the mournful air gradually dissipating, when Neil came through the front Door instead of the back. I figured it was because he took care of Dorr's body, but I didn't want to think about it too much.

He stepped behind the councils desks, looked to us.

"... I'm sorry for all that's happened." he apologized, a small, sincere smile on his face. "Thank you for your help."

"What are you going to do now?" Raine asked, not commenting on his apology.

"I think the first step is to get together with those who hold power in this city and reorganize the government." Neil said, and I grinned.

"Thats good." I decided to express, and Neil looked at me. "There are people in this city that are going to need your help. Your smart. You saw what was happening in the nick of time." I tried to encourage him, it would take a lot of work to fix all of Dorrs mistakes. .

"You're right…" The man let out a breathy laugh, smiling a little bigger. "It's going to be quite the ordeal."

"Well, all I can say is good luck." Lloyd offered, a big smile on his face. He had eventually got over the tragedy from downstair somewhat, so he was back to normal. "As for us, we're going to make sure the Desians can't hurt anymore innocent victims like Clara."

"Thats right. We promised." Colette chirped.

"Indeed." Kratos spoke for the first time since Clara.

"Thank you." Neil said again.

"I guess its time to go then." Colette said, and we all nodded.

The young hero did as well, agreeably. "Yeah."

"Be careful, and come back here anytime...and Eris?" I turned around to Neil, who met me just before we walked out the door. "Could you tell Ms. Katherine that I would like to meet with her? Anytime at noon tomorrow is fine."

I nodded, and continued on out the door.

.

We were sitting on the couch, as Katherine making us dinner. And I knew time like that were odd, it was like living in a completely different world. One minute we were facing the grand plans of the desians and fighting treachery, and the next we were doing nothing as we lounged around, no intermediate danger.

I was sitting next to Raine, Colette next to her. Katherine, not an ounce of shyness in her blood, ordered Lloyd to do some garden work in the back yard. Kratos tagged along, having nothing to do as well.

I had a book in my hands, and the two girls beside me were talking. Genis offered to help cook, and Katherine allowed him, albeit reluctantly.

I had just started a book out of desperation for something to do, but I found myself actually liking it. Books in this world were covered some sort of special substance to preserve them, and although no one could actually do that anymore, you could pick up a perfectly good book and it be a thousand years old, and you'd be none the wiser.

"Alright! The foods all done!" I looked over from my perch to see Katherine grinning in the doorway.

"What did you make?" I asked, in hopes that she would tell me so I decided if I wanted to get up or not.

"Food."

"...Why don't you just tell me what it is?"

"Because." Katherine answered simply, and I sighed tiredly. I decided to wait it out anyways, knowing someone had to come back with food.

And that someone was Genis, with…

I made a vomiting sound, and the young half elf looked to me curiously. "Whats the matter with you?"

I eyed the slimy dish with disdain, shivering at the thought of it. "Nope, I'm not eating."

I caught scent of it, and I resisted the urge cover my nose, burying my nose in the couch

"Lasagna?" Raine came up and asked, a plate of her own. "Don't tell me you dislike tomatoes too…"

I shrugged. "I don't mind tomatoes. Its casserole dishes that usually bug me."

Lloyd and Kratos walked through the door with Katherine, and Lloyd froze upon seeing the dish and Kratos… just turned around. And casually walked away.

"U-uh… I'm not hungry all of a sudden…!"

Katherine pouted. "Seriously? I made it on Riss's request…"

"I did not!"

Colette walked through the kitchen with a big smile on her face. "This is very good Ms. Katherine, thank you!"

Said woman giggled, and I rolled my eyes as she began to coo. "Aww, you don't need to thank me, its the least I can do! Also you can call me Katherine, I'm not much older than you, only twenty!"

"You had your birthday already?" I asked passivly, lifting my head and resting my head in my palm, and she let out a short laugh.

"Yeah actually! In fact, it was right after you took off without saying anything!"

"I fixed your roof."

"What, you couldn't afford a birthday present or anything?"

"I don't think you're supposed to reward someone for getting senile."

"Pft, don't come crying to me when you need me to sign something as your guardian then."

I didn't answer right away, instead I put my hands on my heart as if I was hurt and mocked, "Don't say such things! We have guests!"

The woman simply rolled her eyes, and childishly puffed out her cheeks as she crossed her arms. "You could have at least said happy birthday…"

"Fine, happy birthday."

"Thank you." With that over with, she stomped back to the kitchen, and I slid back in my own seat. I felt like some coffee at that moment, but it was too late and I actually wanted to get sleep that night, for once in my life.

I heard a giggle, as Colette took the spot Raine was in next to me. "You're home is so lively! It must be nice." The former exclaimed happily as she took a bite.

I blinked at her, and glanced at Raine who was now eating in front of me. "Sometimes. But she gets like this because she likes people. Otherwise its pretty quiet…"

"Speaking of birthdays though…" Genis started, and I looked at him curiously. "How old are you?"

I sighed. I wanted to avoid this question for many reasons. The mature one being I wanted to separate myself from Lloyd and Kratos as much as possible, and when your long lost father knows your age, it's practically a give away. Also it was no secret that I was short,so the fact I was going to be fifteen soon would come as a huge shock to everyone.

"Well… I'm… Around fifteen…? Sixteen possibly. Or fourteen."

"Thats not even a real answer!" Genis exclaimed, sitting up straighter to peer at me from across the room.

"How do you not know your own age?" Lloyd piped in, his voice hitching in surprise.

I shrugged. "I'm pretty sure I was born around fall… But I don't know the exact day. It doesn't matter, I was just joking though. I know my age."

The truth was, I went with my past date, July eighteenth. But since I was born in october, it is now october(The name october stayed the same in this world) eighteenth. I wasn't lying when I said I didn't know the exact date though.

"... Then what is it." Genis asked(more stated), starting to get tired of it. I shrugged.

"I'm fifteen."

"You don't look-"

"Shut up Lloyd."