Life in a Cage (My lie)

I remember a certain event from when I was younger. Actually, it might be considered one of my earliest memories.

I was with my sister, hugging her before we went to sleep.

"Ami how can I get beautiful hair like yours?" (?)

It was a thought I often had. Just looking at my sister's long pink locks made me self-aware. So sparkly, almost like glitter. They were always a sight for sore eyes in this dreary room. Never failing to brighten up the mood.

On the other hand, mine was a deep red. The only thought that came to mind from that was blood and the actions that caused it to spill. A bad omen, at least that is what everyone else tells me... My sister seemed to think differently though.

"Hoho. Have I made my sister fall for my charms? What a sinful person I am." (Ami)

She was joking as ever. She always was like that, carefree to the last. Not that I minded though, I admire her for it actually. Yet, this time she suddenly became serious.

"heh... But Honestly, I have always been envious of yours. It reminds me of the sun. Brings back good memories." (Ami)

(The sun?) (?)

It was a foreign word, yet I knew its meaning somehow.

Still, that did not matter. After all, I would never be able to see it myself...

A color of bad omen and what I could never possess.

Truly, a hateful color

...

"Hey, whos that!?" (Scott)

Seems like it was real. Either that or Scott had begun hearing things too.

With a confused mind, I decided to turn my head toward where the voice was coming from. There I saw a girl, one that could not be much older than me. She had deep purple eyes that could enthrall anyone with their royal brilliance which went in contrast with her plain white-cloth attire. On her head were long stipes of silver hair, lighting up the alleyway with their mysterious glow. She had an out-of-this-world feel to her but in essence beautiful.

For a moment I was too caught up in my stupor that I forgot the situation. As reason returned to my mind a horrible thought gave way. (She came here because of me).

Despite being desperate for help, how could I sacrifice a helpless girl? She probably wouldn't survive a second. Because of me, she will- NO!

Before I could warn her it was too late. Evan and Scott had already set their eyes on her. Eyes I knew all too well. Their gazes were filled with greed. Like a bag of money had just landed in their lap. The same gaze as that day... What have I done? I have doomed another innocent person. Because of me... Hm?

But it seemed that fate had still yet to play her hand.

Mystics? How could someone only a year older than me have nurtured their "talents" to that extent?

But that was not the only surprise. The girl had released a light from her hand. It was so bright that it left me momentarily blind, only able to see white tots for a while. When my vision began to return, the situation had turned on its head. Before I had come to terms with the new situation, Scott was already down. The girl had locked her eyes on Evan next.

(No, don't do that!) but, my warning didn't leave my mouth. Even if I were to warn her of Evan now, it was too late. Next, before I knew it, she had crashed into a stone wall, red coloring the ground. While it was too fast for me to see, it's clear that it was Evan's doing.

...It was too late. I-If only I had warned her!

Why didn't I?

Then realization hit. I thought that she might have a chance. That she could save me. Such hope had left me standing in place.

A wave of guilt and loathing hit, no harder than Evans blow did. I clawed at my chest, almost as if trying to stop it from beating. Ironically it only made it beat louder, ringing in my ears.

I failed my sister. And because of me, another innocent life has been taken.

I should have been the one who should have died, both back then and now. Why, why do others always have to suffer because of me? Why can I just stand there and do nothing?

Before I noticed my cheeks had become wet, and my breath came out rapid and shallow.

"Please, someone, anyone!? Why do I always hurt those around me!?"

As these emotions collected in my chest, before I had noticed it, I was screaming them out. Rage almost tangible sitting at the tip of my mouth.

"Gods, if you are out there, why did you have to take the lives of these innocent people!?"

And the emotions continued to flow out, Sounding almost lunatic. Until-

"Why, why couldn't you have just taken ... mine instead..."

As I beg on my knees, cursing at the heavens, a subtle but shocking line leaves my mouth. No. In reality, I had known it all along. Even before I got my memories back, it was always there in the back of my mind.

So...that was what I wanted all along? To just let it all go and end this circle of pain.

As I was finally forced to face the truth, I could no longer hide from its ugly nature. I collapsed on the ground, my cursing wails turning into pitiful sobs.

As I could no longer ignore it, I hoped that the world would ignore me. To let me rot here so that I could no longer hurt anyone.

But that was only wishful thinking. For as caught up in my own epiphany as I was, the world was still moving forward as ever.

I had to watch as Evan slowly made his way over to the young girl's body. Most likely, he wanted to make sure that she had fainted.

I could hear each and every one of his steps as he moved closer and closer to her small body. And for each one, I could feel a beating in my chest, as if the steps were resonating with it.

Each time he moved his foot forward was slower than the last, almost like time itself had stoped to a crawl.

Sadly, despite how the length of the steps seemed longer, it would inevitably come to an end, and the next one would begin. Rather than it being a blessing, it felt like torture. After all, even if the time of execution was extended, Evan would inevitably reach his goal. Each click of his bots feeling like a countdown. A countdown to when the girl's life would become forfeit. Only a new asset for him to sell.

I could only beg in my mind for it all to end.

Even when I knew that it wouldn't, reason was not something I thought of right now. Rather I was trying to deny it, to ignore reality.

But as always, no matter how much I begged, neither I nor her could be saved. That is the destiny of people like us.

As my heart and spirit fell, I could only watch on as tragedy played before me...Or at least, it should have.

Suddenly, as Even made his next step forward, a burst of darkness spewed forth a few meters before him. It was like an eruption of shadows, swallowing Evan's own aura. And out of the powerful mass of mana, the figure of a girl appeared. The shadows enveloped her, giving of wild pulsations like it was a living beast. Yet, at the same time, its violet sheen gave of a regal and majestic feeling. She was beautiful, like a god announcing their presence.

"H-How!??" (?)

I was spellbound. Unable to say anything other than that one word. My body could not even move, as if it too was also bound in place. But, it was not because of confusion, rather something much mor-

I couldn't even finish my sentence before she started to move. The once quiet scene was now replaced with utter chaos, mana wreaking havoc everywhere.

Yet, I could still not move. Standing in place, as the wind blew through my hair, a consequence of the two powerful auras clashing against each other.

Even then, it was clear that the regal, violet aura had the advantage over Evan's dirty dark one. And, as fate would have it, the violet one was the last one standing.

When the dark aura disappeared, I could hear Evan's screeching in the distance, indicating who the victor was. And as if announcing her dominance "she" appeared.

Like a fairy, fair and beautiful. And like a god, strong bond domineering. She was something demanding respect.

(Someone who can do whatever she can)

And before I knew it, she left such an impression in my mind.

Somehow, my chest hurts when I think about her, but that only lasts a moment. In its place appears something else: Desire.

Not in the affection kind of way, rather, the admiring type. Admiring her prowess and her freedom.

Before I knew it, I had started stretching my hand out for her. Like grasping after something that I instinctively wanted-

(No.)

I don't know why, but that single thought made me retract my hand, and my body go limp. As if I was a puppet that just had its strings cut, I could only stare down.

(Right, I don't deserve it.)

Another crushing thought hit me. How could I hold such freedom in these filthy hands? How could I do so when the only thing I have ever done is holding others down. It's not mine to achieve or possess. Even just the warm feeling it gave me just a moment ago, is not mine to have.

With such dark thoughts in my mind, I could only stare at the ground, waiting for the moment to pass...Yet it didn't.

Even after waiting for what felt like an eternity, the silver-haired girl showed no sign of walking away. In fact, she started moving in my direction.

Wondering what was going on, as there was only a dead-end behind me, I decided to stare up. What waited for me there was an unexpected face.

I must say that I have seen many faces in my life. Some of dispair, others emotionless as if they had given up on everything. Or those of the Aurmors, who were often overflowing with anger or greed. Yet, the face before me now was unlike any of those; carefree and happy. It was as if the fight moments ago was all a lie, and the blood on her forehead was nothing but makeup. No, actually, I think I have seen that face before. A certain memory plays in my mind.

It was not anything special, just a memory of my sister and me. When we used to play when we were smaller. Not caring for the cell around us, we were in our own little world. She looked so happy back then.

As my aching heart was drowned in nostalgia, the image of the girl before me overlapped with that of my sister, and something inside me awakened. It was something deeper than anything else so far. It lay so deep that I could barely feel it. Yet, it also felt familiar, like a natural part of me.

Before I had noticed it, the silver girl reached out her hand, as if calling me. And even weirder, another hand decided to grab it.

Wait who-

As I stared at the smaller hand, that had suddenly appeared, an unthinkable realization came to me: it was mine.

Utterly befuddled at my actions, the scene suddenly moved. The silver girl had grabbed my hand and pulled me off of the ground.

But that was not the end, she started running. Moving along faster and faster the longer we got, eventually leaving the scene behind. At some point, I could only be dragged behind her, my feet not being able to follow up. But that was okay, as she never let go of my hand.

After a short while, the view shifted. The dark alleyways becoming brighter and brighter the longer we went. Before I knew it, the alleyways came to an end, and in its place, the world expanded. The earlier gloomy shadows got fully devoured by the bright light above. But that was not all that light did. It enveloped me in its warmth, bewildering my senses once more.

I could only stare up at the sky above me, at the source of that light. What I saw stunned me at my core.

The once endless bleakness had been replaced by a vibrant blue sky and shining red sun. The sheer amount of change was unfathomable. For a moment I thought that it might even be an illusion. It felt unreal.

But this was reality. Normally this would be a good thing, but somehow I could only think of a single question.

(It was that easy?)

That instance was short for any observer, but to me, it felt much longer, as a myriad of emotions exploded inside me. I felt like laughing, crying and screaming all at the same time. Yet, none of them managed to surface into neither actions nor speech. The bright giant above made sure of that, as it silenced all of those emotions before they could properly take form. Yet that was no problem. After all, another voice gave form to those emotions for me.

"Huh, seems like it's sunset already. It looks quite beautiful"'

At those words, it felt like a mountain of anxieties fell off my shoulders.

"Yeah, it looks beautiful!"

Like I was reborn anew.

...

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Authors note: Finally over!! Got a new keyboard. Must say that it takes some time to get used to. Anyway, thx for reading so far! Please comment on what powers this girl to awaken, as I've yet to decide on everything...(the one I have decided should be obvious...)

Also, I will move a bit away from the supernatural and dark stuff for the coming chapters. You know, balance and stuff.