Truth About Hope

"Oh! You're back! How'd it go?"

Orin sighed, "Almost terribly, barely managed to get it before it turned into a Desire."

"Desire..? It shouldn't have been that soon!"

"So we were told, but reality proved otherwise."

Horis hoisted a limp body onto his shoulder and walked over, "Ah, Auntie Bu! How are you?"

The woman named Auntie Bu smiled pleasantly, "It's been a great day so far! And who is this..?"

Orin answered, "Someone interesting, came across him during the cleaning. Might be an enemy, so we are taking him to interrogation."

"Oh..."

"Get Hannie for me will you?"

"Of course..."

...

Naran slowly opened his eyes. He blinked a few times as they adjusted to the light.

"You're awake sooner than expected."

Naran looked at the voice, a woman dressed in jeans and a leather jacket sat at the end of a table. He soon noticed that he was at the other end of the same table, his hands cuffed to the chair he sat on.

She continued, "The name's Hannie. What's yours?"

"...Naran."

"Alright then Naran, mind if I ask a few questions?"

"No."

"Very good. First of all, where are you from."

"I don't know."

Hannie nodded, "Intriguing. Next question, why were you there at the scene of the... monster?"

"I heard screaming. I am supposed to help if I hear screaming."

"Do you know the person who was screaming?"

"No."

"How did you harm the monster?"

"I hit where it was weakened."

"Are you aware of what that monster was?"

"No."

Hannie rested her chin on her balled fist, "Mmm, troublesome."

'If you make trouble, apologize.'

"Sorry."

"Well no harm done. You've been quite truthful huh?"

"Yes."

"How cold... Next question, are you aware of what a Fear is?"

"I do not understand."

"What is fear?"

"I... do not know."

Hannie rose her eyebrows at Naran's answer, "Is that so?"

"Yes."

Hannie leaned back in her seat as she asked, "Do you know why you are here?"

"No."

"Do you know what this place is?"

"No."

"Do you know anyone that you currently met?"

"I do not understand."

"Do you know Orin? Perhaps Horis? Or even me?"

"No."

"Mmm..."

Hannie tapped the desk with her forefinger, "I can't believe it, is it really natural talent?"

"I do not understand."

"Remain here, not like you can leave anyway."

Hannie got up and left the room without saying more. Naran sat still, staring at the wall.

The door creaked open after an unknown amount of time. Orin walked in, "So, Naran was it?"

"Yes."

"Alright then Naran, currently we are in a predicament. You seem to have some sort of a natural talent in our line of work. One we aren't willing to let go so easily. So I ask you this, take a moment to learn what we do. Once you understand, or at least have an idea, we shall make you an offer. How does that sound?"

"I do not have a choice."

"You will after a small lesson. Come along!"

"I cannot."

"Hmm? Why?"

"Cuffed to the chair."

"Oh... Hannie! Free our guest please!"

Naran rubbed his wrists as the cuffs came off. Orin patted his shoulder, "Follow me, lets take a walk as I give you the basics."

Naran did as he was told and followed as Orin began, "Do you remember that monster you fought?"

"Yes."

"That is what we call a Hope."

Naran asked, "Hope is good, right?"

"Normally under certain circumstances. It's completely harmless, however when that Hope begins to accumulate... it forms a being. Hope in physical form is almost harmless, in rare cases do they ever cause any harm. Our job, this line of work, is to find and exterminate these physical forms of Hope."

"Why?"

"The answer to that is simple. If they are not taken care of they can turn into something far more dire. Something we call a Desire. When people are obsessed with a specific Hope, it turns into a sickly Desire. They exist purely around it, wanting to do nothing but obtain it. When Hopes turn into Desires, destruction occurs. That monster you fought was merely transforming into a Desire, if it was allowed to completely form... The village would have been wiped out."

Orin turned, "Now normally this wouldn't be an issue with modern technology. However Hopes and Desires cannot be harmed through normal means. A modern missile would prove to do no harm to one. Which is why you're abnormal. However there has been one, and a very effective, way to harm them. Which is through Fears."

Orin raised his hand and the Beretta M9 formed, "Fears are exactly what they sound like. Something that terrifies you at the mere sight of it. However to physically manifest it requires some specific... conditions."

"What are the conditions?"

"It can't be a natural Fear. For instance the natural instinct of fearing death, or falling. Even somewhat uncommon fears like bugs don't count. Instead it has to form from something. These truly heartfelt fears usually stem from trauma, mostly from childhood. After going through a painstaking process, talented individuals can wield their Fear. Wielding comes in three categories: Manifestation, Attribute, and Control. Mine is Manifestation, due to it I can wield this gun."

Orin waved his hand and the gun vanished, "This doesn't come without consequence of course. In return the Fear you feel for that specific kind is multiplied. To the point of leaving you paralyzed. Of course if it was created by your own Fear you're immune, however if I were to see an actual Beretta in real life I would be completely helpless."

Orin stopped walking in front of a building, "For instance Horis has an Attribute type, that of a Bear. His strength is phenomenal, but if he were to see a bear in real life his usefulness drops to zero. Now, its our job to eliminate the Hopes before they turn into a Desire. We have a whole team gathered at this camp, each wielding Fears of different types. We work as a team."

Orin reached into his pocket and pulled out a packet, "Now here's your choice, you can stay and help us. Learn to wield your Fear and grow as a part of the team. Or, you can forget all of this, and go back to your home. None of this ever happened, and you wouldn't remember it."

Orin took a breath, "So, what's your choice?"

'You should always help if you can.'

Naran asked, "I can be of help?"

"Mhm, the fact you were able to hit a Hope means you wield a very powerful Fear subconsciously, once you learn how to weaponize it you can become a very powerful ally. And those are never in low demand."

"Okay, I will help."

Orin grinned, "Great, first... let's get you some better clothes yeah?"