To be strong
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𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝟱
𝙰𝚙𝚛𝚒𝚕 𝟸, 𝟹𝟶𝟶𝟷
It was the dead of night.
The sounds of screams and gunshots had finally faded away.
My wife sighed in relief as she took away her hands from our little eight-year old daughter's ears.
As I comforted them, I thought it would've been nice if the apocalypse-
No, this is the apocalypse.
It would've been nice if this apocalypse happened yesterday. After all, 𝙰𝚙𝚛𝚒𝚕 𝟷 is indeed April Fools Day.
After all this, I would gladly take the events that has transpired as a badly made joke made by the government.
Those bastards...I knew there was something wrong when they told us to stay in our houses yesterday.
We weren't even planning on going out anyways.
Well, at least luckily, it just so happens that the neighborhood where my beautiful daughter and wife, and of course myself, was a rich and quiet one.
The defenses surrounding us were quite something to behold of.
I knew it was the right place to live when I was choosing where to live with my wife many, many years ago.
Not to mention that most of my neighbors are friends and acquaintances. Fellow scientists who had to live here because of work.
Then, the walkie talkie on my belt buzzed then.
The day before the apocalypse, one of my friends passed me one of these. He said that he passed some other ones to several others as well.
I took it because...well, why not? It seemed interesting at the time.
Now, to think our signals on our phones died the next day. No wifi, no connection...these walkie talkies sure came at a convenient time.
Those damn military men...when will they get it back up!? I can't watch those survival videos and ways to survive in the apocalypse!
I mean...wow, it a strangely convenient time this walkie talkie came to be in my hand.
Then, I quickly tossed the thought into the darkest place in my head.
That's the no no zone.
I don't even want to think about it.
But...there was this tingling feeling in the back of my head.
That something bad will happen.
It will be sure to come.
I couldn't help but think that the walls around us will be shattered by those monsters.
Or...by the people we live with.
-Written by a lowly scientist
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When one thinks of a quiet garden, will they still hear things?
Some may appreciate the 'silent' world of nature as they walk through it, but it is not entirely silent.
The bugs and birds chirped, the crackling dead leaves and branches many step on, the gust of wind-
They were all included in this silent garden.
However, what was true silence?
In a world, blinded by the light of the setting sun, a garden, full of enchanting beauty, grew.
Alas, it was always silently growing.
For a very long time, no sound came from the garden.
For it was only a lifeless painting, only growing with another's permission. All life that dwells inside it is at the mercy of it.
The cracks of a tree branch; the chirping of birds; the scuttling of mice and bugs; the breeze that ruffles the leaves and thin branches-
There was truly nothing, only a silence that breeds chains that suffocates those who wish for freedom.
The feeling where some can only hear their own heartbeat; the feeling where only the sounds of their breathing are louder than their almost soundless screams.
A horrible, terrible silence. It encompasses and tightly wraps around the sane; those who truly want to live.
Want to follow their mere instincts to survive.
It warmly embraces the few, who don't care anymore.
At the center of that silence, in the shadow of a tree, a woman stood there.
The woman wore a gray-black veil over her face, with a white scarf draping down from the front of her shoulders, in her black and royal blue dress-with slits at the bottom that can allow her to move much easier.
Holding her black-blue staff/spear in her left hand, she silently stood there.
Unmoving as a statue.
Still as a predator, stalking its prey from the tall grass.
Frozen like a deer caught in a headlight.
The woman simply never moved, even as the flow of time continued flowing forward.
Nothing stopped for her, and nothing will ever stop for her.
Colorful blooming flowers, bushes, and trees decorated the entire garden, and everywhere a person could look, nothing was dirtied.
The long branches snipped, the taller grass cut, the flowers arranged in a beautiful pattern-not even an inch of dirt on a pathway was spared from its unearthly, quiet beauty.
Such a thing of beauty would only exist in the imagination of man, or in the dreams of fiction and fables.
To the woman, however...it was an empty garden.
No, it was simply 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 a garden.
A garden where it'll always be beautiful. A garden where it'll just be that, as if frozen in time.
A garden with no potential for anything else.
A garden that will never change.
𝘊𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘬!
𝘊𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘬!
𝘊𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘬!
As the woman stood there, motionless, all of a sudden, hurried metallic footsteps echoed.
It grew louder as the footsteps approached closer and closer.
Moments later, there was a knock, and a person in a strange, unique armor burst opened from the doors.
The armor was all black and gray, with a maroon, slightly dirty maroon cape swung over one shoulder. Its shoulder pads had horns sticking out of it, slightly curving up. The most unique of all was its helmet.
Although the helmet had two curved horns sticking out from each side of the helmet, and it slightly curved toward the back, the most eye-catching part was the one singular hole at the center. Where the hole was, a red gleam shined brightly.
Seeing the woman, the armored person then took a few more steps until it was a couple feet away.
Then, it kneeled, the left knee on its floor as its armor 𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘦𝘥 with each movement. Placing its right arm over its chest, it bowed its head.
"𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘔𝘢𝘫𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘺, there's an emergency," a deep voice rang out from the strangely shaped helmet.
"..."
There was silence. A gap in the air. Nothing moved. Nothing created any sounds-except for the breathing of the armored person.
"...𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘔𝘢𝘫𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘺?" the armored person tentatively said after a moment.
The woman didn't turn around.
She continued looking straight ahead.
All she saw was an everdistant, invisible horizon. The armored person remained kneeling on the floor.
Eventually, after a few moments, the woman suddenly talked.
"What is this emergency?"
A voice filled with…not boredom, but no interest.
The knight bowed his head even lower.
"A couple of 'good eggs' died today, 𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘔𝘢𝘫𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘺. The ones that have…'potential.'"
"...and what is the problem?" she asked.
"The problem is 𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘔𝘢𝘫𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘺, is that they can't reincarnate any longer. Not anymore. That was what seems to be their last life...the last life of their purpose."
Silence stretched out in the garden…or would be, if-
"Excuse me for my boldness, 𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘔𝘢𝘫𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘺. This lowly one wishes to ask a question," he suddenly said.
The woman suddenly looked at him.
"What is it?" she said.
The armored person bowed even further.
"I just don't understand. Why do the good ones die so soon...so quickly?" he humbly asked.
The woman looked down at him, and he bowed his head even further.
Then, she looked away, but the armored person remained kneeling.
"When you're in a garden," the woman said. "Where there are the most beautiful and exquisite flowers and flora, which one would you pick?"
"𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘔𝘢𝘫𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘺?" he asked, and he looked up at her. The woman's back was turned towards it. So the armored person was left to ponder by itself.
"Well..." he hesitated. "It would be the purest, yet the most beautiful one, 𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘔𝘢𝘫𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘺."
"..."
The woman walked away, and the armored person in question remained kneeling. The one red eye at the center of his helmet flickers bright and dim, repeating back and forth.
Just like the distance between them, so too is the massive distance between her and her people.
The armored person would never know the answer, because he is incapable of learning.
As is most of his kind.
...
On a bed, a girl's eyes slowly opened.
Slowly sitting up from her bed, she turned to look out the window. This time, the curtains were pulled away, hanging on both sides.
It was still snowing.
Although it wasn't heavy, she couldn't even find a single leaf on a tree beyond the snowy wonderland.
Just like in her dreams. All blank, with no substance.
No meaning.
"Is there such a beautiful garden, let alone a flower, surviving amidst these dreary days?"
Nearby, a butterfly's wings flapped once.
...
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Human (???) 20% => 30%
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…
White-gray clouds still wrap the sky like a blanket. It doesn't look like it'll leave anytime soon.
It was a cold morning.
Surely it was cold, for if snow still falls from the sky, almost never melting, it sure would make everything around them cold.
𝘊𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘦𝘦𝘢𝘢𝘬…
𝘊𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘦𝘦𝘢𝘢𝘬…
𝘊𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘦𝘦𝘢𝘢𝘬…
Footsteps pressed against the wooden floorboards, creating 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬 after 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬.
This time, it was heavy, for Anna had never felt so, so tired. The cold air filtering throughout the house wasn't enough to smack herself awake.
Even getting out of bed, changing clothes, washing her face up with the melted-then boiled snow from outside, and thoughts about what happens in an apocalypse without resources didn't get her blood pumping.
There's plenty of water around.
Washing her face with warm water didn't make her feel awake.
It only made her feel more drowsy.
So she opened the window.
𝘞𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘰𝘰𝘰𝘰𝘰𝘰𝘰𝘰𝘰𝘰𝘰𝘰𝘰𝘰𝘰𝘰𝘰𝘰𝘴𝘩-!
The full gust of freezing, cold, and almost admittedly refreshing wind smacked her right in the face.
It was like a slap…to the face.
"..."
Unfortunately, that barely made her feel more awake. In fact, she was still drowsy enough to sit on the bedside by the window and stare blankly out of it.
…
Then, she remembered she had guests.
Hence after a minute of just sitting there, Anna coerced herself to get up.
Amor just fluttered onto her right shoulder from the makeshift home she had brought back to her room yesterday.
The girl nodded her head.
A good friend always knows what you want without asking.
Probably.
…
Emerging from the hallway, the girl finally arrived at the living room.
The morning almost dim white light filtered in through the somewhat thin sliding door, creating something akin to sunlight.
Perhaps it was early in the morning, when the light still hasn't reached above the horizon?
In that case it would've been perfect to relax with that small cold temperature that made itself inside the house while she relaxed by the table.
It would've been perfect, if there wasn't already someone.
In the wake of the very early morning light, she found herself being waited upon by a blonde girl. Cross-legged, she looked blankly at the door.
The door where Anna went out last night. The door where the blonde girl went out last night.
From the low-square table, to Anna's right from her side, Avalow looked at the sliding door with a blank look.
On her face, there was no smile, neither was she forcing nor faking it.
She looked as though she was looking beyond the door. Beyond the snowy forest. Perhaps even beyond the gray sky.
Whatever the case may be, the blonde girl looked to be in a state of a thoughtless stupor.
Anna thought about what to do.
Perhaps she should just let the shadows embrace her as she walks backwards into the hallway with silent steps?
She nodded to herself.
A most agreeable plan of action.
Just as she stepped back into the shadows, suddenly, Avalow looked at the hallway.
Where Anna was.
Then, her eyes widened, and she abruptly grabbed the staff underneath the table.
Anna never did anything. She just stared at her.
"..."
"..."
Then, the blonde girl relaxed.
Just seeing her shoulders drooping looked as though energy was being sucked out of her. Her fingers unclenched from the staff, dropping the staff by her side again.
"Sorry," Avalow mumbled. Shaking her head, she muttered mumble jumbo or what not nonsense.
"I'm just…out of it. I had a nightmare, so…anyways, sorry."
Anna just nodded her head.
She had only heard the "sorry" at the end. Still, as she stood there, watching the blonde girl fidgeting, she remembered.
"Good morning to you, Avalow," Anna eventually said.
The blonde girl looked up at her, and blinked. She then blinked.
And finally, she blinked.
Then the girl scratched the side of her head.
"Heheheheh…good morning…good morning!" Avalow said, and she smiled dumbly.
Anna couldn't help but smile too.
When the blonde girl turned away, her smile fell.
…
"Oh yeah, I've been meaning to ask something."
"Yes?"
"I found this map yesterday, but I completely forgot..."
Saying that, Avalow had a large peach-brown paper tied, rolled in a scroll and tied with a small piece of a flexible branch.
"You mean the map of Seyna Baa?" Anna said. "The one you picked up out of nowhere?"
"Yes, but…I don't know which way is north or south."
"Just look at the sun. The sun rises from the east, and falls in the west right?" someone asked.
Avalow turned to look at the one who asked that.
"We can't see the sun though."
The white-haired boy blinked.
"...oh yeah. Right. Then what about a compass?" Jonah said.
"Maybe there was one in that large department store. I noticed that the food aisles in the building were mostly gone. People most likely just left the things that weren't important at the time."
"That is possible…oh, yes, there was something I wanted to ask…" the blonde girl hesitated. "The people. I only saw a few…bodies, but there should be more, no?"
From the sidelines, Anna looked at the white-haired boy. He had just placed his elbows on the table, folding his hands while placing his nose nearly on top of them.
"I…I don't really know," he said with a bit of hesitancy. "When it happened, when those fire monsters rained down from the sky, I saw many people. My sister, my…my dad…my mom-"
Jonah stopped.
The boy's mouth opened and closed. It was as though something was caught in his throat.
Then, his shoulders fell, and his head lowered until his hands blocked his eyes. Chaya schooted next to him, and hugged him tightly.
Quietly watching then, Anna clenched and unclenched her hands underneath the table.
She even felt her hands beginning to feel sweaty.
This was worse than the time when she had to accompany her mom to the grocery store, and she left her alone in a line with other people behind her back.
What was Anna supposed to say?
Show her sympathy?
Give them a hug? K
eep silent?
Why was this so hard?
So, there is only one way.
Through her 'bond,' she 'sent' her thoughts towards him.
'Amor, help me. Give me your guidance. Please. I beg thee.'
The blue butterfly sitting at the corner of the table didn't do anything.
'My friend, why?'
Meanwhile, in the background-
"Jonah, are you alright?" Avalow said, clearly perturbed.
The white-haired boy shook his head.
"No, I'm fine. I just got a little something in my eye. It was probably dust or a bug or something."
"The only bug here is Amor though," the blonde girl said thoughtfully,
Jonah just looked at her. The girl simply had a blank look with a wide 'U' shaped parabola-like smile.
"...it was just an excuse," he said dryly.
"Yeah, I know," Avalow said. "At least you feel better now, right?"
The boy blinked many, many times.
"...sorry about that," he said. "Yeah, I guess I'm fine now, if only a little. So my…dad, Chaya, and I escaped back to our house. We stayed in the house for a couple days before my dad left to find some more supplies. He…he never came back."
Jonah let out a shaky breath, and Chaya hugged him even harder.
"..."
"..."
In the background, Anna kept silently watching.
What a sob story this is.
'Dear Lord God Almighty, I've set myself up for this,' she thought. 'Please, I don't want to suffer any longer.'
"So, we waited for two days, but he never came back," the boy said, shaking his head. "We…we no longer have any food, so we wore something warm and left to find some."
"Is it not safer to let Chaya inside the house?" Avalow asked.
Jonah shook his head.
"I had debated with myself whether to leave her at home or bring her along with me, but I chose the latter. I just don't want her to be alone. I don't want to disappear from her life like my dad did."
"I also kept begging him to take me along with him too," Chaya suddenly spoke up. "So it's not entirely his fault. But look where it got us! Now we're here, safe and sound."
Saying that, the little white-haired girl smiled, sinking deeper into Jonah's arms.
The boy merely smiled as he wrapped his arm around her and squeezed her.
A forced, sad smile, but a smile nonetheless.
"...I see," Avalow said, and she wore a smile.
A pained smile.
Her lips pursed together as though it was squirming. Her eyes slightly squinted, as though she was trying to hold something back.
Her face wore…a pained expression.
Anna felt even more kinship with her now.
The blonde girl had set herself up for this.
A silence descended upon them. It wasn't one of awkwardness, for Anna didn't feel her bottom heating up.
Perhaps the natural coldness seeped through the house and thin door. She felt pleasantly fine.
A bit chilly, but it kept her awake and clear-minded.
Then, she remembered something else.
"Are you children in dire need of sustenance?" Anna asked, and then she made a face.
As she did so, so did everyone else-no, just Jonah and Chaya.
Avalow just blinked as the siblings both made faces.
"I'm sorry, are we in need of what now?" the boy asked.
"Hungry," Anna said. "Are you two hungry?"
Then, the stomachs of both of them growled, and Jonah scratched the side of his head while Chaya just patted her empty belly, pouting.
"Yes, we're hungry," the boy admittedly said.
Then that's that.
…
"I didn't know instant noodles tasted this good," Jonah muttered.
Besides him, Chaya can only hum in agreement for she was inhaling the soup along with the noodles.
Twenty minutes ago, Anna had just finished 'cooking' breakfast for the white-haired children. Indeed, children must be taken care of.
While the two had been inhaling their breakfast, Anna and Avalow simply and quietly drank tea.
Meanwhile, Amor did…absolutely nothing.
Twenty minutes later, the two had just finished eating.
Stretching, Jonah leaned back, his arms holding him up. Staring up at the ceiling, he muttered-
"Hey, aren't you guys hungry?"
"No, I'm fine. Just a cup of warm tea is fine with me," said Avalow, shaking her head.
Anna merely nodded along with the blonde girl.
"Alright," he just said.
And that's that.
But the way the boy's eyes kept going towards the shadows, his shoulders still tensed, always being close to his little sister at almost each passing moment…
He was scared.
There must be another story.
As the two were cleaning up, throwing away the trash and wiping the table with a rag like the good children they were taught to be, Anna glanced at Amor.
The blue butterfly hadn't even moved once, nor had he told her what she can do to avoid talking in depth about anything at all.
Stalling for twenty minutes with food didn't work.
'Quick, I need to think of something else-'
From the kitchen, the two siblings walked out. Just as they began sitting on their pillows…Anna knew.
Oh, that's right.
"Now, since we are well rested," Anna finally said. "It's about time we have…the 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬."
There was the sound of a gasp in the background, especially next to a certain white-haired girl. From almost the other side of the table, the blonde girl blinked.
"Didn't we already have…the 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬?
"...𝘨𝘢𝘴𝘱?" someone…gasped.
"A new 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬," Anna said, albeit a bit more firmly, and Avalow nodded her head seriously.
"So, shall we begin?"
"Yes!" Chaya said, kneeling and leaning her body onto the side of the table. Then someone reached out towards her shoulder and pushed her down gently.
"Chaya, let the grownups talk," Jonah said softly.
"Yes, let the grownups talk," Avalow said, nodding seriously.
"But none of you aren't even teenagers yet…" the little white-haired girl muttered, slinking down onto her pillow.
The older brother only gave her a backrub.
Anna gave everyone a moment to say anything.
"..."
"..."
"..."
Alright then.
"What are your plans?" she asked, first looking at the siblings.
"...well, I guess-no," Jonah shook his head. "We're trying to survive, first and foremost. Second...we're trying to find our dad."
"Your dad? Your missing father?" Avalow asked.
"Yes? I mean yes, our dad. He had disappeared days ago, and we tried to look all over town for him, but we couldn't find him. After going through many empty houses, living off of each scraps, we found ourselves in that supermarket or superstore, that large department building. After a night's rest, the next day, I found…monsters. Yes, the fire monsters. That's when you both saved me and my little sister…"
Anna and the blonde girl only watched silently as the boy's mouth opened and closed his mouth.
He slowly ducked his head, his chin touching his chest.
"I…I still must thank you two again. You guys have no idea what it means for you both to save Chaya. If it weren't for you guys, she would…she would-"
"It's alright," Avalow said. "We know-"
𝘛𝘏𝘜𝘋!
" know you know-!" Jonah shouted, slamming his hands into the table.
"""..."""
Silence descended on the living room once again.
It was much, much more heavy.
Avalow's smile twisted once again, whilst the little white-haired girl besides him hugged him again once more.
Anna just kept looking at the shaking, trembling hands of the white-haired boy.
"I know…you know. It's just…I can't take that for granted. I just can't. I can't…lose someone else…again. I…"
He gripped his hands even more tightly, his fingernails digging into the palm of his hands.
"Do you desire strength?" someone suddenly said.
Slowly, the boy looked up at Anna. Slowly, the girl stared back at him.
"Huh?" he said.
Anna blinked. Then blinked. And finally blinked.
"My apolo-I mean sorry, I meant…do you want to get stronger?"
Jonah looked at his hands. With the gloves off, it was only pale, soft palms looking back at him.
After a moment, he nodded.
"...yes…I do want to get stronger."
"Then do you all have a status screen?" Anna asked.
Avalow nodded her head.
"Of course I do."
Chaya and Jonah looked absolutely confused.
"What's…what's a status screen?"
"The floating blue transparent screen in front of you that lists stuff," Anna said, waving her hand in front of herself as though it was real and not entirely her imagination.
"Have you ever read a book about litrpgs, or perhaps played video games? Especially those books about dungeons and hunters?"
The blonde girl blinked again.
"Books about dungeons and what now?"
The boy looked as though a lightbulb clicked in his head.
"Oh, that? I thought that was some figment of my imagination…huh. So that's a status screen," he muttered, looking at something invisible to all but himself.
"I don't have a status screen," Chaya said sadly.
"You will one day get one, Chaya," Anna said. "However, you must be at least around twelve years old."
"Four more years? That's so long," the white-haired girl whimpered. Saying that, she slumped down on the pillow.
The brother quietly rubbed her back again.
"I've read some books about games like that before...but this is surreal" Jonah muttered as he kept rubbing Chaya's back.
"If you 'order' it in your head to leave, it'll automatically disappear. If you try thinking of the word '𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘴' in your head, the screen will appear once more. If it does show, that means you have awakened."
"Awakened?" he muttered distractedly, for the boy had long since began gazing dazedly at the invisible screen in front of him.
"With this, I can grow stronger…?"
"The status screen shows where your strength lies and weakness," Anna said. "Your attributes, skills, and titles. As you slowly grow and train, so too would your attributes raise."
"Yeah…I have [D-] in Strength, Endurance, and Agility…and the rest are below E…" Jonah muttered. "So if I keep doing pushups, runs, and fighting other monsters in the books, these…letters…would rise?"
"Exactly," Avalow said. "Just like using mana. You use them over and over, and they'll grow stronger and stronger. Of course there are side effects, especially with mana…but they don't matter in the long run!"
"Okay…" the boy nodded.
Then, he looked at the blonde girl.
"Wait, side effects-?"
"It's alright, it's alright! It wouldn't really affect you anyways," the blonde girl said brightly.
"As long as we're here, it won't be of any danger whatsoever! ᴾʳᵒᵇᵃᵇˡʸ."
"...okay," Jonah nodded, and then he looked back at something invisible in front of him.
Anna waited a moment for the boy to continue observing his status screen before finally opening her mouth.
"So let's corroborate what we know. Jonah, when did the...𝗖𝗮𝗹𝗮𝗺𝗶𝘁𝘆…begin?
"𝗖𝗮𝗹𝗮𝗺𝗶𝘁𝘆?" Jonah blinked. "You mean when all this strange stuff happened? Well, at...at least a week ago."
"Since its fire first rained down from the sky, and now only snow lay across what assumes to be the entire country and most of the world...the first 𝗖𝗮𝗹𝗮𝗺𝗶𝘁𝘆 should be in theory 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘋𝘦𝘴𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘏𝘦𝘭𝘭."
Jonah and Chaya blinked, while the blonde girl began pondering.
"𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘋𝘦𝘴𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘏𝘦𝘭𝘭, huh?" Avalow muttered. "But didn't the first 𝗖𝗮𝗹𝗮𝗺𝗶𝘁𝘆…hmm…"
"𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘋𝘦𝘴𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘏𝘦𝘭𝘭? You mean it really is the descent of hell-like the hell where bad people goes to-unto this world?" Jonah exclaimed.
"Not really," Anna shook her head.
"It is akin to a person looking at hurricanes blowing up houses, tsunamis drowning skyscrapers, and fiery meteors falling from the black-gray sky. When one looks at all of these things, do you think it looks like hell on earth? That is what people named it, even though it's not truly the 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘦 hell."
The white-haired boy made a face.
"That…that makes sense."
Then, Jonah suddenly looked at the blonde girl.
"Wait…what did you mean by…𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵?" the boy shook his head. "Wait, how would you two know this-"
"Oh, didn't you know?" Avalow asked. "I thought you would. Well, anyways, you don't need to worry about-"
"Like...like hell I would not worry about this!"
"Was that pun intentional?"
"...no. No it wasn't. Well, I don't know anymore. Again. This is just like yesterday. I'll just sit back and listen."
Saying that, he leaned his cheek onto his right palm.
Anna looked at the blonde girl. Once again, she was paying attention to anything but them.
Her throat must suffer again from talking.
"𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘋𝘦𝘴𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘏𝘦𝘭𝘭 is the introduction to the Era of Calamities, an age long ago, for some reason forgotten by history. It was the first, but not the last. However, it is also the title man gave to it. That being is the 𝘍𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘊𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘺."
She then pointed with her hand towards the sliding door. The door that leads to the snowy, lifeless world.
"This entire thing, the apocalypse that is happening currently, is started by the 𝘍𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵, and the 𝘍𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 alone. Or at least it should be…"
"Wait…" Jonah slowly said. "What did you mean by…𝘍𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵?"
"It is as you have thought," Anna nodded. "There are and will be more Calamities to come."
"No way..." the white haired boy began scratching both sides of his head. Now Chaya began rubbing his back with worry.
"There is no need to worry," Anna interjected, "Although they are beings with immense power and authority, they have been brought down a millenia ago. If they can be taken down, they can be taken down once more."
The blue butterfly's wings twitched.
"Alas, it would be a long while until the being can truly, and actually descend, and until someone with…" Anna paused. "A…certain 'power' arises. So until then, we can grow in power safely for the most part."
'To grow in secret when the whole world is chaotic. Who would pay attention to a small town in the countryside?' she thought.
As she was thinking, the blonde girl looked at her in wonder.
"How do you know of this?"
"From my…" Anna hesitated.
"...teacher."
Avalow blinked.
"...teacher?"
"Yes, from my teacher. She taught me," Anna stated simply.
"...I see," the blonde girl said thoughtfully.
"Now then," Anna said. "On that note, I would also say...all of you can't stay here…"
Everyone immediately looked up at her from their thoughts and ponderings.
"...besides Chaya of course. Since she doesn't have a status screen, I'll protect her here…with me."
As expected, someone got a certain reaction. Jonah 𝘢𝘭𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 stood up from the table. That meant he got up on his knees and 𝘢𝘭𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 slammed down his hands onto the table.
Thankfully the boy had manners for both his hands hovered over the table for a moment before gently placing them onto the table.
"You can't just-!"
"I know I am much stronger than you," Anna stated. "What safer place can she be than with me? Isn't the reason you brought her along with you is because you're afraid of leaving her alone?"
"...that's right," Jonah nodded. "But-"
"Of course you can always remain nearby and come once in a while, but didn't you say you want strength?
The boy opened and closed his mouth, but no words came out of it.
"You should spend most of your time growing stronger, and not worrying about your little sister," Anna said.
Then, she paused.
"Also, if it helps, I'm not a witch."
The girl felt something burning the side of her head, but she kept looking at Jonah. No, she glanced at a certain someone before looking back at the boy.
"Avalow can do whatever she wants. I don't really care about her-"
"Hey, that sounded very insulting, but I'm sure you meant no-"
"-but you, you must train. If you put in effort in growing stronger, as well as…assist me anytime I want, we'll be…'acquaintances'…that can help…help each other out."
Anna nodded her head.
"If you'll do that, then you have earned your worth. Enough that I will respect you, and then you can protect your little sister, but you, as of now, are unbearably weak."
"..."
The boy slowly sank back into his pillow seat.
Jonah gritted his teeth, digging his fingernails into the palms of his hands once again.
Still, slowly, after a moment, the boy let out a long sigh as he slowly unclenched his fingers.
"Alright. I will do what you say. But please…keep Chaya safe."
Anna nodded her head.
"I promise to keep her safe."
…
So, she sent them off at the gate.
Yes, them.
Avalow decided to go with Jonah, just in case.
Anna silently thanked the Lord God Almighty as she watched them leave.
She then felt something was wrong, but it just…left.
Just like a slippery fish in her grip, the thought squirmed out of it and jumped into the lake, swimming into the unknown depths.
The white-haired little girl beside her waved her little hand shouting 'good luck' and other similar words of parting as they went down the road.
Locking the gate once more, while Anna trekked back, with hChaya at the front…she had a thought.
No, multiple thoughts.
All of this is to grow stronger and survive, right? All while staying inside her home forever.
There was no need for her to go outside...right?
She can simply circulate her mana over and over again, as though it was muscle memory, and study what spells to use whenever she wants.
Even with the rules placed on those who dare use mana everyday. Even for those who don't use it, they can't help it because they simply can't stop all the holes from being blocked.
The side effects of using mana.
Anna looked at her own hands.
Still pale, thin, and familiar, but underneath it, she felt the mana coursing within her.
It felt so familiar, yet alien.
So uncanny, yet strangely warm.
Then, she felt something warm 'brushing' her 'mind.'
Anna smiled.
She wasn't alone, after all.