Ms. Avry?! Why is she hanging like a lamb from the ceiling! Why is my mind so blurry! What is happening! What is this a hallucination! What do I do! Pluck out my eyes!
Although she was completely silent, an internal scream went inside her mind as her eyes had a hard time believing this was true. She was hanging in front of her from the ceiling as blood escaped her mouth and nose, clearly signs of being beaten up. Her hands were tied up high from either sides as another few strands tied together into a stronger rope around her mentor's neck.
The brown wavy hair came in front of her face, almost shielding her from being clear she was still alive. But her breathing didn't stop, so she was relieved about that. The only thing, those threads weren't tied to the end of her own fingers and rather, it was on the hands of someone else entirely. The only way to free her was, to defeat the Guardian and at the end, was to kill herself.
But it wasn't just anyway she was going to die. She needed to die the way Lady Gray had, taking away the core that supported her magic energy, and then killing her in one blow where she wouldn't be able to come back alive again. It was a very gruesome and harsh thing to do.
Her mouth agape, the thinking only circulated back to the severed Ms. Avry. The strings were twisting her limbs by the passing time. She thought about whether the office was aware about all this, about whether someone was coming to get her back. About how, all this happened and no one else seemed to be concerned about this the last time she had seen any member of the office.
Not Helio, not Nada, not the young girl who had stalked her. Did they help her get captured? Did they share hands into this idea and matters? Because if they did, I will rip them off too. Aefia's nerves flared at every thought now, only because her eyes were locked at the terrifying sight in front of her. But why? Why would they do something to someone who has never done a single harm to anyone? For me? For my death?
She unknowingly clenched her hair tightly between her fingertips as if trying to rip them all off her head. She shut her eyes tightly, to keep herself distracted from the image in front of her. A soft whisper was felt at her ears, Silence was speaking, more like confronting her.
"I tried to seek answers about you from her, since you were seemingly extremely close to her. If you want for reference, the mentor you entrusted your family's security to, he had told me the information." The woman spoke, which ringed heavily inside her mind now that she knew who was to blame.
"Now let me listen to what you have to say, what is your opinion on what the man can do next to your family? Let alone the girl named Nada?" Her voice had now increased, alongside her fingers holding her face still towards the vision in front of you. "If you don't answer, I will have no other choice but to kill that woman in front of your own eyes. And I know you won't want that...do you? Seeing someone who treasure you like their own daughter, die at the hands of your own magic?"
"What is truely wrong with you! What is it that you want from me!" Aefia shouted as she grabbed onto the hand lifting her chin, and threw it sideways while throwing her fist at Silence. The area that was hit immediately reddened as the woman stumbled backwards and fell onto the ground while holding her face.
A laugh escaped her mouth as she continued looking at her with terrifying eyes. "You really do work well when you are enraged. Does angering someone like you with a failed mission, get to your last nerves? I was starting to think it was my job to capture that woman and try to get every ounce of information out of you. You really are mysterious at this point."
Her fists clenched tightly, enough to highlight the white knuckles around her hand and the veins popped up around the back of her hand. Her eyes were shadowed, and immediate red waves erupted around her feet as it rose up and enveloped her around it. "Maybe I do. But what good does it have to do with you?" Her gaze lifted eventually to face her.
"I agree, what use do I get from your anger? It is a very good disadvantage to me anyways." She spoke as her wing wrapped around herself and she appeared anew like she didn't just get hit in the face a few seconds ago. "But you should know, I have a very fast regenerating skill that will fail your animalistic instincts too. I was named Silence for some reason you know."
"And I must have been named the Pitiful Child for some reasons too." A dagger appeared at her grasp as she flung it in the air and caught it with her left hand which she immediately used to strike the Guardian across the face. The angle at which she was holding the weapon, shielded the lower half of her face as only the eyes, which was in full lighting now and the hair flew out of view, it sent chills down the Guardian's spine as she moved backwards while using her hand to change the trajectory of the blade.
What was that just now? Why did she suddenly have the appearance of a higher up herself? Like she were somehow connected to the Guardian of Death, like she were a...descendent? Silence shoke in place, recalling the image of the last time she had seen the similar gaze, a long time ago.
The vivid image rolled back into her mind as she recalled the movements she had placed right before pouncing at her with the dagger. Did she use space shifting to reappear in front of me...because it seemed she had left an echo behind her while coming at me with that insane speed. Even her weapon, matching with the dark gradient of her red and black eyes, her forehead, I had seen the same flower and vines pattern on that Guardian too.
The scene in front of her mind suddenly changed. In front of her stood the weakest Gaurdian of the realm, the Guardian of Death. It was the first time she had shown her true potentials openly in front of anyone. The same scythe that Silence was now wielding, and had wings the same shape as the ones behind Aefia's head. Behind her, blazing fire, absolute red as the entire village burned with the same colour as her eyes.
Her cloak's hood fell from her face, revealing a face of a very young girl, no one knew her age. She would say she didn't know either, but it was well seen that there was age with the times she had spoken about witnessing historic events. But only now, could there be an ancient anger surfacing on her face. Back then, Silence was in the same position as she was now, as the scythe pointed at her face.
The thing she had done, that was a grave mistake which was done out of jealousy. Like now, but her target this time was someone else. At one of her hand, she held a top hat, a deep and navy blue with golden accents at the top and around. Her face, there was a vision of sorrow and anger, that was well illuminated by the erupting fire.
"You killed her...didn't you? And stole a thing with a very...gruesome manner. Did you kill her so you could steal it?" Her eyes were fierce, and the hat she was holding, belonged to the person who was killed. Silence had back then, shaken her head as she moved backwards and felt the metallic sharp edge of a spear. A fear had appeared upon her face.
"Don't worry...I will make it less gruesome compared to what you did." The Guardian of Death in front of her spoke as she brought up the scythe above her head and dropped the hat. But at the same time, her eyes stayed stuck at the sight below her, blood spewed out from her stomach as her grip loosened against her own weapon and a smile crept onto her face. "But I guess you did the right thing too."
No one knew, why she had chosen to sacrifice herself and leave behind multiple memories that was scattered across many Guardian's minds. Only one refused to believe the tale she had told upon returning, the Guardian of War. "That's unacceptable! She is the Guardian of Death! She can't die!" But that was a question that remained until just now, just when the girl's eyes flashed the same way hers did before dying.
The vision cleared from her eyes as Aefia zoomed back towards her, with her dagger grazing her skin, and leaving huge cuts around the arms as she tried to cut her down, every time. "If you want to know about me...then you should fight back! What is it that is stopping you from moving your hands against your will just to see me suffer? If you kill me, you will be doing the righteous thing! Whatever it is you want from me, you will instantly get it!" The shouts echoed around the entire room as she continued cutting air and bleeding the Guardian.
At this point, Silence knew exactly what this girl was. Going against her will was going to make her more aggressive, now that there was a major reason for her to harm the person who she had seen as a mothering figure. She could see the angerness around her eyes, as the intense pressure of her magic energy caused blood droplets to fall from the edges. Finally, not being able to avoid the oncoming attacks, she held out the scythe and slid against the ground, causing dust to rise and fall back after a few seconds.
Aefia stepped back many steps while wiping her eyes. They were back to a very dark black colour and the dagger seemed to slowly lose it's colour. She was beginning to exhaust her magic energy to the lowest, given how she had just wasted her own health and fatigue just to get this far into the battle and at the last moment, stepped back. Her sigil from the face had completely dissapeared, leaving an unreadale pale complexion.
It was also not the best time to fight back, because it would cause more trouble to arise within seconds. She was probably planning something, or setting up a trap for Silence to fall into. But nothing, just heavy breathes and the twitching coming from the woman hanging high above. The woman seemed to have woken up from her unconscious state, and was currently trying to escape the grasp of the strings.
"What are you doing?! What are you planning! How did you...?!" As shocked as she sounded, the room fell silent again. Only echoes were left, even an insect crawling could be heard. The area they were at, had the ceiling filled with the same red strings and holes that allowed sunlight from the outside world to flow in and enlightened the room.
Both sides were now exhausted and only one person laughed. "Jealousy...a fun thing indeed. Why would you be jealous of anyone stronger than you? What is the benefit you get while trying to defeat a young girl just because she is way more powerful then you and can outshine you? Why? Can't she just live to survive?" The words didn't leave from Aefia's mouth, but someone from her area as her eyes contracted with the voice getting sent into her ears. A hope lingered inside her as she turned her head around to face the person speaking.
Speechless, she was completely blank minded at this situation and could only wish for the best to happen now. Ms. Avry's wrist burned with a bright turquoise light as the strings snapped and disappeared, immediately taking away the reddish hue coming from them. Despite being extremely weak, the woman still managed to land on her feet when falling, and walked towards the young girl's direction. "You are jealous of someone, so you try to use any source you can just to find out more about her. It is simply clear, why she had chosen to leave the competition."
Silence gritted her teeth as she watched Ms. Avry use the back of her hand to wipe away the rest of the splattered blood smudged across Aefia's face. Despite being covered up in blood herself, she was worried about someone who wasn't related to her, and instead, she just happened to know her for a very short time. "I know why you were told to find me to answer your questions about her. I am her legal guardian, and in case you are wondering, I seem to have a very bond when I am with her to the eyes of others." A smile crept against her face as she walked forward and Silence moved back.
"I am honestly proud of her, seeing how she had fought against you, I guess you are jealous because she has a potential...and you don't." She continued speaking while glancing sideways at times. "Her identity, it isn't pitiful child anymore...because once she leaves this room, they would know her as the revengeful and the merciful. Because while fighting you, you could have felt the hesitation while she tried to attack you."
The memory was clear as day, she didn't fully extend her arm while placing the dagger against the skin, and they all just stayed in the air, all of the attacks. Even if a blind person were to do the same thing, at least fifty percent of the time would they successfully strike down the blade completely against the limb.
"I don't care anymore. I have found the answer I wanted to know, and I will finish off what I started." Silence raised her hand into the air as a pillar of the room completed turned into a beast that they wouldn't dare to face. "Let's see how long she can withstand this then! To prove her potential!" A laugh was followed after. Within the next second, the beast growled, and pounced onto Aefia.