Laying across a massage table, Kagami quietly exhaled as she lowered her head and closed her eyes. Feeling hands press against her back, she tensed up slightly before slowly forcing herself to ease up. There was a faint warmth coming from the hands which was oddly comforting. It still wasn't something she liked though. She took a deep breath as her mind began to grow foggy. It was almost as if she was falling asleep.
No longer feeling the warmth or hands, she opened her eyes. She was no longer in the spa. She now found herself standing in a rainforest. Taking note of the area and plants, her brow furrowed. "Ancient Remnant, perhaps?" She thought to herself before walking ahead. Holding out her arm, she tried to touch a leaf only for her hand to go through it. "Right. Memories. I'm just viewing the past."
Despite knowing this, when she heard rustling of trees behind her she quickly turned around. Seeing a light skinned man with dark brown hair crawling on the ground, she immediately knew where she was.
"You're him..." She crouched down with a small smile. As he crawled past her, she smiled at his white eyes. "You can't hear me but you're him. The man of legends." She watched as she used his hands to feel and guide himself. "You're the blind man who regained his vision." Smiling more, she stood back up and followed behind him.
She couldn't hide her smile as she watched him push ahead through the forest. Fighting and the urge to survive was long since in her blood. She wished she could encourage him, but she knew it was pointless. And she knew he was going to make it. He had to survive. He was going to.
After what must have felt like an eternity for him, he reached out with his hand. His palm bracing against the edge of a cliff. He pulled himself back, but it was too late. Where his hand had touched had already broken away and he began to fall. He shouted. His voice cracked as he felt the wind rushing by him. And then the impact of water below.
"There you go!" With a smile, Kagami ran towards the edge of the cliff and jumped. Landing on the ground below, she stood up just as her ancestor was crawling to shore. His hair now the same as hers and his eyes the iconic Monomane green. Looking away from him, she glanced at the pond he had fallen into. It was beginning to dry up or it had been drying up for a long time. There clearly wasn't as much water as there should have been. In the middle of the pond, there was an island with a large tree. The leaves were blooming with life. "Beautiful..." She mumbled under her breath.
"Beautiful..." The ancient Monomane spoke as he stared at everything. "Utterly beautiful."
Kagami thought that this was going to be the end, but as she blinked she found herself in another memory.
"Really? You could do what I do?" Now much more muscular than before, the ancient Monomane rung out a wet rag. "You could do what I do?" He repeated while turning around to face a young teenage boy who looked like him. His son.
"Yeah." The boy nodded. He had a small gash over his eyebrow. "The merchant's son wouldn't leave me alone. I got really upset and..." He looked at his hands with a terrified look. They were both bloody.
"It's okay, it's okay." His father reassured while stepping over and tending to his injury. "I can teach you to control it. It'll be alright." He then exhaled. "I suppose your sister will be the same when she is born."
"We need to make sure she doesn't hurt anyone." The boy straightened a little. "We can't have her being upset with herself if she did."
Smiling, he nodded. "You're absolutely right."
Once again, Kagami's perception changed to another memory. This time to a slightly older ancient Monomane and a young woman with the same hair and eyes. The two of them were heading through the rainforests from before with empty buckets.
"Is this the place?" The woman asked.
"It is." He replied. "Do you really think this idea of yours will work?" His head tilted.
"I hope." She nodded as the two of them came up to the small pond. Both of them paused. Something about the water, the scenery, it felt distant. Both of them ignored the feeling and scooped up the water in the buckets they had before returning back to their village. There, they placed the buckets of water in a large container.
Changing out of her clothes, his daughter put on a smithing uniform. Lighting the fire to her forge, she quickly got to work. Once satisfied with the red hot dagger she had, she plunged it into the magical water. There was no steam, no bubbling, just a quiet hiss before silence.
Pulling the blade from the water, the silver was now tinted a faint green. Examining her work, she smiled. "I'll have my brother test it out. Okay?" She glanced at her father.
"Go on ahead. I'll clean up a bit here." He nodded. "If we can make even stronger armor and weapons, it'll be even easier to hunt Grimm and protect everyone."
"I hope so." She nodded.
"No way..." Kagami reached up to grab where the strap to her sheath would normally be. She didn't have it on and ended up grabbing her jacket instead. "Really? That's how it was made? But the hoodie..." Her brow furrowed. "You can't cool fabric in water."
Her questions were soon answered as she was thrown into another memory. This time, two teenage twins ran around the armory. The place looked older now. Much older.
"How do you even know if this would work?" The girl crossed her arms. Her hair was cut short.
"Grandma didn't know if making a dagger would work." A boy with long hair narrowed his eyes back at her. "I'm going to at least try." With a piece of animal hide in his hand, he cautiously approached the container of water that brought great protection to their village. Gulping a little, he clenched the piece of hide tight before plunging it into the water. After a moment, he pulled it back out.
"Did it work?" She quickly asked.
"I don't know." He shrugged a little before setting it down. Grabbing a knife, he stabbed it. The blade easily sliced through it. "Oh..." He slouched.
"Maybe it's because it's too thick." His sister suggested while walking to a cabinet. "Maybe you need something smaller for the magic to infuse into." She grabbed a small spool of twine. "Here." She tossed it over.
Catching it, his head tilted a little before he plunged it into the water as well. Bringing it back out, he smiled as the black twine was now green. "Oh yes." He nodded while picking the knife back up. As he tried to cut the twine, he excitedly bounced when it didn't so much as fray. "Yes!" He then frowned. "But it's so small... it would take forever to make someone armor this way."
"But it would be lighter than armor or chainmail. We could be quicker." She walked over while tilting her head. "I'll try to make a sarf in my free time. Maybe someday in the future it'll be easier to weave twine together. We need to make sure this lesson remains and doesn't get lost to time."
"You're right." He nodded. "You're definitely right."
"Except everything was lost to time. Our teaching and techniques, even the clan was lost. Only faint stories remained." Kagami mumbled to herself. "How? Why?" She took a few steps as the scene around her changed again.
She found herself in the same room as the ancient Monomane again. He was very old now. His skin was sagging and his face was covered in countless wrinkles. Despite such, he had no gray hair. His hair was still the same bright green as usual. Breathing slowly in and out, he eventually stood and walked out.
Heading down the main village road, he glanced up and down. There was now many more green haired children running around, a few of them sparring one another with a few adults watching them. The majority of the adults were out near the edge of the village on guard duty.
His family had grown more than even he could have imagined.
Coming up to the blacksmith's shop, he smiled and let himself inside. There, a large man with a green scarf smiled. "Great great grandfather." He nodded. "You're looking good today."
"Don't lie to me, boy." He flashed a smile as he slowly stepped over. "I know my time is nearing its end. It's alright."
Blinking once, he lowered his head. "My apologies then."
"It's quite alright." He waved him off. "What are you working on?"
"Something new." He smiled. "My uncle gave me the idea of a sword that's been twisted. Coiled." Pulling the longsword he was crafting from the forge, he looked at the spiral before carefully twisting it a little more then sticking it back inside the fire. "I think it'll be cool."
"A coiled sword, huh?" The ancient Monomane grunted as he slowly sat down on a stool. "It does sound cool."
"Can you tell mom that?" He chuckled. "She says I should make arrowheads instead. Something practical." He rolled his eyes while pulling the longsword out again. Taking a deep breath, he gently plunged the longsword into the magical bucket of water that was still full even after all this time. Pulling it out, he smiled at his handy work. "Beautiful."
"Indeed." Getting back up, the ancient Monomane made his way over. "It's very unique. I like it a lot. You would think twisting it would make it weak, but with Monomane steel it's just as strong, even stronger than the average weapon."
"They're items of protection, not weapons per se." He corrected him as he began to clean up the longsword and place a handle on it. "That's our job. To protect. It's why we were given this gift."
"I know. I know." He quietly laughed. Taking a deep breath, he glanced at his reflection in the magical water. "Trust me, I know." Staring at his old face, he tilted his head as the water rippled. Suddenly, he was staring at his younger self. Blinking once, he reached up to rub his face.
It was wrinkly. He was still old. But...
Looking up at his great great grandson, he made sure he was busy making a handle. Painfully and slowly, he knelt down. "Will you still gift me strength...?" He mumbled to himself while reaching into the water and cupping his hands.
"Did you say something?" The blacksmith finished with the handle before turning around. "Is there-" He cut himself off and stared.
Slowly rising to his feet, the ancient Monomane looked at his arms in utter disbelief. He was young again and athletic.
"Great great grandfather..." He trailed off.
Taking a few deep breaths, he snapped his head to the side and narrowed his eyes. "You will tell no one. Do you hear me?"
"No... no. You know this isn't right." He took a step forward. "You cannot do this again. This is not the way of the Gods. This is not the natural order of things."
"I am your elder, boy." He shifted his body and stepped towards him. "You will do as I say and tell no one of what happened."
"I cannot do that." He clenched his jaw while standing up straight. "Death is an honorable fate."
"Then I hope you enjoy yours." He snarled a little. With quick speed, he slipped around him and snatched the coiled sword off his workstation. Before he even had a chance to turn around, the ancient Monomane stabbed him in the back. The blade twisted flesh and bone as it went through his rib cage. Jerking it out, blood splattered across the forge. Drops of it sizzling away in the fire. "No one can know." Taking a deep breath,he reached down and snatched the green scarf off his fallen family. He then cautiously made his way out of the blacksmith shop before sprinting off into the woods.
Staring with wide eyes, Kagami couldn't believe what she had watched. "What...?" She quietly let out. "What just... what the hell?" She quickly began walking.
The world around her shifted as she found herself in another part of history. Centuries had passed, maybe even millenniums, but the ancient Monomane she recognized still looked the same.
Pacing around a cave, he clenched his hands into tight fists. "No, no. They're growing too curious. They're going to learn. I can't have them learning!" He shouted. Stopping for a moment, he glanced over towards the longsword he had. The blade wrapped up in the green fabric he had stolen that night. "We can't have them stopping us. We're stronger than all of them and they would try to stop us for being unnatural."
Taking a deep breath, he reached up and ran his fingers through his long oily hair. "We need a better hiding spot. We need to run farther..." He trailed off before smiling. "We need to stop them and protect the waters."
In the blink of an eye, Kagami found herself standing in a desert. They weren't the sands of Vacuo. They were barren. Dry. Unlivable. There wasn't any sign of life. Looking up, she stared at the sky. She knew these stars. They were the stars that filled her night sky. But there was no way she had woken up. Looking around, she spotted a hole in the ground. Slowly, she made her way over and slipped inside.
The underground was carved out into a small living space with a large handmade fountain of water in the center. Raw Dust crystals were being used for dim light. Looking around, her eyes grew wide at the pile of green tinted armor and weapons and... bones.
Her breathing grew rapid as she approached. There was over a thousand skulls piled up. It was horrible and heartbreaking and terrifying all at the same time. An entire bloodline of warriors left to rot away with no decency. No honor.
Kagami's frown quivered a little before she bared her teeth. What had her ancestor done to her family? Closing her eyes, she lowered her head. As she pulled away, her foot struck an antique helmet. There was a soft clatter which quickly made her look back. She couldn't touch anything before.
"We... don't recognize you." A dark voice made her jump
When she turned back around, her breath hitched. Standing in front of her was the blind man who regained his vision. He was different now. His aura felt wrong. It felt like it was old yet new at the same time. Strong yet weak. Like it was his own yet none of it felt like him. And his eyes, the brave and courageous eyes of a Monomane, his eyes showed nothing but utter madness.
With his long hair now messy and unevenly cut, he tilted his head. His place had been so quiet for so long he had forgotten what noise sounded like. "You aren't the one that escaped... he's too afraid to show his face. Why can't we see you?" His voice was rough and harsh. A little scratchy and cold too. "We know you're there. We feel your presence." He reached out. "We know you're one of them. We know you will come. We thought we put an end to this hunt..." He began to smile from ear to ear. "Oh but the hunt continues!" He exclaimed. "How long will it take you to find us? How many more trophies will we get this time, hmm? How many of you are left?" He swiped his hand towards her.
Jerking, Kagami jumped from the bench she was laying on and scrambled on the floor. Breathing rapidly, she quickly looked over. Finding herself in the spa again, her shoulders slowly lowered. Looking at each of her friends, she swallowed and stood up.
"You really can't relax, can you?" Annie tilted her head. "Odd. I thought I was getting somewhere but-"
"How does your semblance work?!" The jadette shouted. "How exactly does it work?!"
"Whoa, whoa, Kagami." Cheyenne gently placed a hand on her shoulder. "Are you-"
Jerking away from her friend, she took a step forward. "How does it work?!" She demanded.
Blinking, Annie furrowed her brow. "Genetic memory. I open up the memories in your DNA from people that lived thousands of years ago. Are you okay?"
"What about now?! Can I see memories of people now?!" She kept her voice raised.
"Well, no. That's... that's not possible. I can't have you relive memories from people now. They have to be born generations ago." She shook her head. "I've tried to relive my mother's memories, but I can't. They have to be from forever ago."
"Well what if someone lived that long?! What if I saw the memories they were making right this second, right now?!"
"Kagami!" Elise snapped while grabbing her leader's arm. "What's going on with you?"
"I don't know." Annie quietly responded. "Hypothetically, I don't know what would happen if that happened."
"Kagami...?" Kris took a small step towards her leader. "Is everything okay?"
Still unevenly breathing, the jadette tried to calm the rush of panic and fear inside her. "I... I... we need to go get Baren. And go home. And talk to my mother." She took a deep breath. She felt sick to her stomach. "I think... I think I know why there aren't really any Monomanes anymore."
I've waited a long time to finally be able to write and post this. It's always been gnawing at the back of my head but Kagami had to return to Vytal before I could ever bring it up. A quest for honor calls and these girls are going to answer.