ALL NOVEL Prologue: Please…wake up…
It had been almost half a year already, and it hadn't gotten better "Good morning ♥!" She still kept going of course.
"Did you have a good dream today ♥?" It hurt her in ways she didn't know it was possible, "Did you dream of me today ♥?" She didn't want this.
If she had known it would be like this she would have done her best, she would have ignored the deal that had been offered to her, and she would have done her best to help her.
"What? Did you have a nightmare again?" She wouldn't have ignored those who insisted in her to go and fight on the exterior, she wouldn't have used the excuse of protecting them while that [Villain] attacked their clinic. "That's just silly...I will never leave your side...Even if you tell me to go away!"
She would have helped her...She would have stood by her side and protected her...She wouldn't have ignored the [Skill] that tugged at her [Soul] telling her that Elizabeth was in danger.
"So even if you want to get rid of me you will need to say it yourself ♥!" She wouldn't have...She wouldn't have...."So please...wake up Eli-Eli...Tell me of much you hate me....Tell me how much you despise me...But wake up..."
She wouldn't have betrayed her trust.
These feelings...She didn't want them, what was the point of knowing the colors that were in the world...If all of them were gone to the point that she wanted them the most.
Of course, she had been happy the first few days when the world gained color all at once, she enjoyed the day, she loved the rain...
She had thought that Elizabeth had learned of how she left her fighting alone against [Nyctophagia] to suffer, she thought her...No she didn't have the right to call her [Her Elizabeth], not anymore.
She thought that Elizabeth had decided to cut their bond clean after finding out about her betrayal, about how she knew about someone messing with her soul...That she had found that she was leeching of her to find her own emotions.
Instead when she found a week later that Elizabeth was in a bed in a coma...She cried, she rushed to a ruined clinic where she had been shoved at the end of the line, she only had a bed by the right of her bracelet, a broken obsidian one. They had taken this long to find a contact that could answer for her.
And they didn't throw her into the street because she had a bracelet linked to a school, only because of that. No family registry, no contacts in her phone answered...
She didn't have an ID, her bracelet wasn't functional and only a single contact had been found for her, but since it wasn't family they hadn't called for her.
She almost killed them all, only the grief stopped her from doing so, it hit her like a train. Her placid face, no emotion at all, and her skin instead of the lustrous and healthy color she had before was pale, sickly pale, and dry.
'We didn't find any family record and the school doesn't have her registry. Either she didn't pay her scholarship or her papers got mixed after the advent of the system, she probably didn't register in time after the [System] came in.' Had said the clerk when she came to herself.
She didn't know when or how she reacted, but it didn't take her that long to get them to give her the right to take care of Elizabeth.
The school was having an influx of students coming their way, so either she left Elizabeth in a care house or she would need to take a year off.
No teacher came to help her, they had too much work with all the new students coming in and leaving the school, and not many acclimated well to having their [Skills] stripped of them and tuned down by the system.
She was among the very few that managed to stay at the top...Only by the fact that she had already [The System], it was still there for her. Even after all of this...
Elizabeth had given her an edge...And she...She thanked her by leaving them to rot in a clinic, her body was malnourished, and she came back to her [Identify] skill as a level 1 with only a single point in all of her stats. No job, no profession...And worringly...No [Titles].
Everyone could see Elizabeth's Status, she was initialized in the [System] but somehow she was also not part of it. Her [Skill] could see more than many, and no one could answer why, some believed that her affinity as a [Healer] gave her that extra information. Some doubted her till she read them their [Status] out loud.
She didn't care either way, no healing spell or skill she cast seemed to help Elizabeth.
"Please wake up...I...I can't..." Tears started raining down on Elizabeth's face.
She was crying again.
"I can't do this...Not without you...Not after...I left you like this..." It wasn't that she found her alone in a forgotten and dirty room.
They had given her the best room they had at first, but when they found nothing in Elizabeth's file, they threw her to the back, and she found evidence of wounds in her body too.
At first, she thought she had been wounded while fighting Nyctophagia, that was obvious was it not?
She was a magical girl fighting a [Villain], what other reason could have been for Elizabeth to be wounded?
"I'm sorry." It was a villain, but not the one she expected.
It was a worker, a former [Hero] now Janitor, he hadn't been able to use his [Skills] like before and ended up working as a Janitor. He didn't take well that Elizabeth was cared for, so he took his frustration at her by hitting her, kicking her...Groping her.
When she found him in the act she couldn't believe it, when the man tried to excuse himself by saying she had no right to defend Elizabeth since she wasn't her familiar. She almost spared him.
Almost.
She still stripped him of his manhood and made him eat it, she still buried him in a park with only a single airway for him to live a little longer and the carcass of an animal for him to eat.
Afterward, she took her from the clinic and left a note for the school about how she would take a year to care for Elizabeth, they didn't insist on her to come back. Agatha encouraged her even, though the woman didn't know who Elizabeth was, as if she had forgotten how she had antagonized her.
They thought Elizabeth was from her orphanage even!
That was the weirdest thing, Elizabeth wasn't registered as being born in [Avalon], she was registered as if she had been born in [Camelot].
Elizabeth Starbright, orphaned as Elizabeth Ashcroft. Her Mother Catherine Ashcroft had died while birthing her, and her Father Jack Ashcroft had died a month after while working as a soldier, fighting against terrorists.
She left the orphanage at fifteen years old and changed her name after joining the Mystic Powers Institute as a way to honor her parents. She chose that name so that she could shine as a bright star in the sky so her parents would always look after her from the heavens and know where their daughter was.
She had memories of Elizabeth's parents, vague memories since now that she was [Fixed] most of her memories before the system were blurred...But she knew Elizabeth had parents. Live parents.
A mother that had a mastery over [Souls] and a father that looked more like an idol than a soldier, but stern nonetheless. Maybe [Odyssey] had struck down Elizabeth's Mother?
That goddess seemed to take offense for [Soul Magic], but then why would they strike down Elizabeth's Father?
Why would they punish Elizabeth like this?
If someone needed punishment it was her!
SHE BETRAYED ELIZABETH!
LEFT HER TO ROT WHILE SHE ENJOYED THE NEW WORLD!
"Please...wake up Elizabeth...I can't do this...Not anymore...." She wasn't there when Elizabeth needed her the most, fighting against the [Taint], fighting against whatever [Framework] fought.
She wasn't there to protect Elizabeth when she got hit by whatever they had done that day...Whatever send her to a coma...Whatever that took away Elizabeth's parents...
An alarm took her out of her musing, it was 1 PM already. "Oh right, your Lunch! Why didn't you tell me that you were hungry!" It was time for Elizabeth's Lunch.
She remembered Elizabeth always sung praises for her cooking, this was another knife stuck in her heart, she could feel her magic breaking a little more...
Her magic was [Healing] but she had evolved her [Origin] to [Emotions] before the system, and while the [System] took their magic and turned it into [Skills] she was still affected by that decision.
Her [Emotions] influenced her [Magic], so the guilt was more than a metaphorical feeling for her, it was a pain that struck at her very [Self].
She could strip herself of it, of course, the [System] allowed them to ditch skills if one needed...Most of the faculty had tried to convince her to do so.
But she refused. She wouldn't allow herself an easy time, she had wanted these emotions, she wanted to be normal...So she would suffer.
"Today it's your favorite ♥!" She took the syringe and poured down the nutrient solution down the nasogastric tube Elizabeth had in her.
It was a compound solution made of all the required nutrients Elizabeth would need to stay 'Healthy', one of many tubes Elizabeth had in her body.
She had a couple of IVs in her arms that fed her solutions to keep hydrated, and a couple of vitamin supplements...And another one so she wouldn't wet her bed.
It wasn't glamorous, but it helped, she had even learned how to change them all herself if only to make sure no one would hurt Elizabeth more than needed. Not that she hadn't done that already.
"Did you like it? I did my best today!" She still spoke to her, in a cheery tone.
The doctors had told her it was good for Elizabeth, so she spoke to her as if nothing was wrong. As if she hadn't betrayed her, as if she hadn't forsaken her to be abused by a former [Hero].
As if it wasn't her fault that she was like this...She did as much as she could as if nothing had changed, "Oh silly Eli-Eli you have something in your mouth." And tried her best to act as always.
So that meant that she would 'Tease' her "*Smooch*♥" That meant her flirting with Elizabeth.
*crack*
That meant her [Soul] got cracked just a little more from the rebound of her guilt and pleasure.
Guilt because she was taking advantage of Elizabeth's moment of weakness...
Pleasure because even after all this, all her feelings, she still [Loved] Elizabeth. Even if she wasn't worthy of the blonde girl, even if it was her fault the girl was like this, even if doing this was the bare minimum of what she should do.
Even if she would probably die after Elizabeth woke up...
"Of course, I will always be there for you Eli-Eli♥!" Even if this was a charade to motivate herself so she could keep it going.
She was feeling it already, it was funny how six months ago when she truly [Felt] emotions it was the happiest day of her life, how she laughed and cried at a world full of colors and wonders, how her [Soul] burned with hope for a new world...
Now her [Soulscape] was cracked, wounds all over the place from her conflicting emotions. Guilt and pleasure fighting over her soul.
And wasn't that funny, most mages would kill just to be able to [Feel] their [Soulscape] again, and she was suffering from being aware of how hers was.
"I will go to buy more groceries, don't miss me ♥!" She waved at the sleeping form of Elizabeth in the bed, making sure her vitals were stable on the multiple monitors, making sure the wards were topped up in mana.
And after making sure her cellphone was synced she exited the apartment, she wasn't going to buy groceries of course. The nutrient solution she was feeding Elizabeth was delivered to their home.
No, she was going to work. Healing some ultra-rich asshole to get more money, she needed it to keep Elizabeth's care going, it was getting expensive by the day. The doctors no longer came unless she accepted a deal to heal in their name, her worth as [Healer] had skyrocketed as one of the few ones that still could cast high-tier magic.
But that was going to end soon enough, as more [Healers] built themselves up, she was still more versatile than most, since she could build spells on the run, unlike them that depended on [Skills].
Today she was supposed to heal someone linked to a former megacorp, one of the ones that had crashed to the ground after the advent of the system.
"Here to heal." The man at the entrance nodded once and let her in.
This place had some workers going from left to right, it was being rebuilt as a church to [Framework] since the place had a logo similar enough to his. An eagle holding a scroll, they only needed to swap the scroll for a shield.
"Here, we will transfer the money after confirming the [Status] was lifted." The man who guided her said.
She narrowed her eyes at that, "That wasn't the deal." And answered as such, "You pay upfront and I will cast [High Heal] if it doesn't work you get 30% off the next spell of your choice. Unless you want to pay (Upfront) for a [Diagnosis] spell that is."
The last time someone tried to pull that off she had to make an example, these people didn't seem to take the hint. "It's fine we will pay up front." A voice from the other side of the door said.
She opened it and saw a blonde man connected to twice the amount of machines Elizabeth was, he had blue eyes like Elizabeth, but his body was worse for wear.
He was connected to a respirator and was speaking using a machine, "Sorry that I can't shake hands, but the [System] took offense to me."
She was surprised by this, her passive diagnosis told her the story of a man who had been stripped of most of the things done to his body and reduced to this...Husk.
Her spells spoke about rapid acceleration of muscle gain, a new couple of organs, mana flesh weaved artificially to his body, and new redundant organs added to the mix. All of them were done in the lapse of five to eight years...
And in turn, all of them were taken away in a single day, his body had gone into shock and if not for these installations the man would have died six months ago.
Instead, he was here, paying her for a [Fix] to his problem. "A year ago you would have been groveling at the base of my bed, longing for my company." The blonde man started speaking, she noticed an attempt in his cardiovascular system to pump blood to his nether region.
Only for it to return empty, the man had even changed his manhood to a synthetic one, one that he was missing now. "I wouldn't, a year ago you wouldn't even know who I was." She answered back, a smirk on her face.
Seeing someone else suffer was a balm to her weary soul, to know she wasn't the only one suffering from bad decisions was good to her.
"I will cast [High Heal] and throw you a free [Blessing] for bringing my mood up. As soon as you pay me." And since this man brought her mood up, she was willing to compromise.
The [Blessing] was a lie of course, she would throw him a modified [Heal] spell to increase his dopamine count so he would feel better. The effect was good, but she never casted that on herself.
She had enough guilt in her system from her kisses to Elizabeth already, more dopamine in her system might as well break her down, besides... If she ever got in the mood she might do something like having hope for a better future.
She couldn't afford herself that, this was punishment, that apartment was her own Hell, and it wouldn't do for her to enjoy the stay. No.
She would endure, she would endure it for as long as she could, save enough money to make sure someone would take care of Elizabeth when her [Soul] could no longer stand the cracks forming within from her own [Emotions] going out of control.
Then and only then, would she rest.
But for now.
"Fine, let it not be said that the Saintsworths don't accept losses." She would take the money of this fellow living in his own hell like her.
She wondered why he tried to give an inflection to his name, or why his soul was a mess like hers. "[High Heal] + [Bless] = [Healing Pulse]" And she would cast the custom-made spell.
She was among the very few who could cast magic without help from the [System], and that made her spells not only more complex and efficient but also difficult to discern.
So she sneaked a few diagnosis nodes to check the integrity of this man's soul, and compare it with her notes, if there was something she could use to create a more stable model she would take it and disguise it as a side effect of her spell. Soon enough she would have enough samples to try and wake up Elizabeth.
And she would plunder, steal, and sacrifice as many souls as needed to wake her up.
The whole world could burn for all she cared, but Elizabeth would wake up...Even if it took breaking down her own [Soul] to do it.