Morale 26: Alexandria
"You seriously used the Lightning skill. Against a lightning wolf!" Lizen laughed as he and Flores walked to Yomiko's building.
Flores had discovered that using electricity to attack the thunder wolf was a bad idea, as it only supercharged the monster instead of damaging it. Lizen had been teasing him for the past ten minutes now. And as much as he hated to admit it, he did miss Lizen's company; he was the closest person to Tim in this world, and he did enjoy the banter they would get into. At the moment, however, he was fighting a losing battle and decided to keep quiet until Lizen moved onto another topic.
"So. You were busy. You took down a criminal organization, gained a new monster companion, met with Atorie and Azriel, and even evolved all three of your monsters. All in four weeks."
"What can I say? I'm built different."
"And yet, you-"
"Do not say used lightning against the wolf. I get it."
"I was going to say you only have the basics of everything down. But you said it, not me."
"Ugh." Flores grumbled. "Wait, you know Atorie and Azriel?"
"I only know Azriel. He's actually the one I made my contract with, allowing me to use his rainbow powers. I only met Atorie for a second after that. And she immediately kicked me in the face and flew off. So yeah, she's a bitch."
"She strangled me midair and threw me back to the ground. Though compared to Azriel stabbing me, I say he's the bitch."
"Fair. I don't like him much either."
/~/
"Achoo!"
/~/
Flores and Lizen continued their walk, seeing the sighs of the festive city while talking about the respective changes that happened these last four weeks. Mihare started rolling out the changes she suggested and even started to become more loose with the weapon choices.
Those who also have the potential to learn lifeforce were trained, leading to a significant increase in the fighting prowess of the army. Due to all of this, Mihare slowly stopped doing everything herself and began sending out squads to complete tasks and other missions, to much better results than before. Lizen also made it a big deal that she was getting more and more sleep by the day, now that she didn't have to worry about the constant threats to Foo.
That bled into more topics, such as how the repairs for the wave went, who the hell Hollowtrix is, and how his journey as a whole went. They were so deep into the convo that Flores didn't notice they passed their stop and continued onward until they arrived at a manor.
"Lizen, where are we? I thought we were going to Yomiko's building."
"We are. Did you really think Yomiko lives in the parliament building?" Lizen chucked as he knocked on the door.
"Well yeah. Why else would she have a bedroom in there?"
"In case she stays in the lab for too long. So like... every day."
"You're a bunch of lunatics," Flores grumbled as the doorknob jiggled.
"So annoying; this is supposed to be my day off. Yomiko opened the door, immediately ignoring Lizen and staring at Flores.
"Hey Yomiko. I'm bac- oomph." Before he could get a chance to wave, Yomiko kicked Flores. The hero blocked the hit, but he was still pushed back a few feet, smoke rising from his arm where the hit was blocked.
"YOU DISAPPEAR FOR FOUR WEEKS, AND THAT'S ALL YOU HAVE TO SAY!"
"...Yeah I'll leave you two to it." In a flash of lightning, Lizen disappeared, leaving the two alone.
/~/
"Honestly, I don't have the words to express myself at the moment. I have no idea whether to praise you for doing all the good you did or scold you for leaving so abruptly, and it makes me angry!" Yomiko breathed heavily as she drunk her tea.
"I know I can't control you and your actions, but we're supposed to be your support. We can't support you if you're pulling this nonsense."
"I know, I know. Very asshole thing for me to do. I'm not going to lie, but our parting could have been much more professional." Flores sighed. "I just wasn't in my right mind at the time."
"I'm aware. That's why we didn't try to find you. I wanted to make sure you come back when you're ready. I'm just still so pissed." Yomiko grumbled.
"Well, you're safe, and that's all that matters." Yomiko took another sip of her tea. "You didn't have to do so, but thanks for coming by. It really put my nerves at ease." Yomiko blushed.
Flores noticed the blush, and the flustered quickly looked away, hoping to hide her feelings under more tea. Flores, however, didn't really care and slowly mustered up the courage to speak.
"Actually, I didn't come by just to let you know I'm alright. I actually came here to talk."
"Hmm. About what?" Yomiko asked, drinking more tea.
"About the curse series." Flores lept out the way as a stream of liquid escaped Yomiko's mouth and hit the spot he was sitting on.
"You didn't!"
"I did." Flores hung his head low.
"Fuck." Yomiko swore. "Sorry. It's just surprising." Yomiko sighed.
"What does that mean?"
"Because, despite everything you went through up until now, you continued to push forward. There were plenty of times where you could have unlocked the series before, yet it only appears now. What pushed you so far?"
"Everything from my past to the present. Those snakes made me question a lot of things. About my worth, about my life. I know I'm needed, but... It's just really hard for me right now, no matter how hard I try to hide it."
Flores finished the last of his tea and placed the cup on the table.
"I talked to the spirit of the Morale tools; they said you should be able to help."
"The spirit of the Morale tools, huh?" Yomiko put down her tea and went over to a wardrobe. Grabbing the armor she wore during the wave, she quickly put it on and opened the door.
"Walk with me. We're heading somewhere important. I'll tell you my story while we walk."
"I literally just got back; can't we talk here?"
"No. It'll be better if we go."
"Why?"
"It'll make sense in time."
"Alright then." Putting on his own armor, Flores followed Yomiko out the door.
/~/
"I haven't been here before." Flores marveled at the massive mountain in front of him.
"It's the Wild Winds mountain. It was given that name after Mihare scaled it and created the Wild Winds. Before then, it was the resting place of Miguel's bird."
"But why here? Is this place really that important?"
"All will be answered in time. Instead, let's talk about the time when I first got my series."
"You sure you want to talk about it?"
"You asked, didn't you? Why chicken out now?"
"Alright then. How did you get your curse series?"
"That has to do with an old library called Alexandria 2.0."
"That was yours!" Flores exclaimed.
"Indeed. For the longest time, it was my family's duty to take care of it. My father was the previous owner of the place; then I was when he died. That was until that day 25 years ago."
"Holy fuck, you're twenty-five?"
"Thirty."
"Wow… You look so young for an old person."
"Cutting it close, Flores." Yomiko sang as a fireball generated in her hands. "
"Woah chill. There was a compliment in there!"
"And an insult. Idiot." Yomiko pouted. "Beside, the reason I look so young in this form is because I use the same kind of transformation magic as the Selee. It was a few months after I lost my body, just days after Alexandria 2.0 burned."
/~/
"Thank you, Minister Paper. With these, I can finally start research on increasing the potency of the bandage healing ointment."
A woman gushed. She had an open back with several books inside. So much so that bundle of paper couldn't count it all.
"That's nice, ma'am. But you still need to return it all by next week."
"But that's not enough time! Three weeks!"
"One."
"Two?"
"One week, or I'm lowering the time to three days."
"One week it is. See you then, Minister Paper." The woman spent the next several minutes struggling to carry the bag out the door. The paper girl wanted to help. She was low on mana and needed the energy to help clean. But despite everything, she still wanted to help. She was about to leave the desk before a man stopped her.
"No need to worry, little Manuscript, I got it." The old man went over to the woman and picked up the bag with ease. "This batch comes with a construct! I hit the jackpot! Tell me, how much do you know about magical healing?"
"I know the universe spell Miguel used himself. Would you like to hear the story?"
"DO I!" The old man began to talk as he carried the books over to the carriage. Waving Paper goodbye, he left the building, closing the door on his way out.
Letting out a sigh, Paper locked the doors to the building and began the lockup procedures.
Several, no, hundreds of books glowed as the door shut, and their lights fell, leaving people with an assortment of hats in their wake.
"Good afternoon, book minister." The constructs bowed.
"Morning everyone. As we prepared for another round of cleaning!" Paper smiled.
"Yes Ma'am!"
"Excellent. Now let's set an end record, shall we?"
/~/
Paper walked around the library, watching and assisting everyone in their task when needed. In her path, she noticed a bunch of books out of place on a shelf and started at the culprit on the latter.
"Dylan. Why aren't you organizing them properly?"
"Agh. Busted." The boy scratched his head, climbing down from the ladder. Paper hit him on the head before walking off. "Don't make me tell your supervisor!"
Continuing on her path, Yomiko made her rounds, assisting in any way she could. She provided help to old man Patrick, putting away some of the newer books shipped in. She provided snacks and drifted to the constructs in the break area. She even somehow powered through cleaning her own desk. Though it wasn't as well organized as the rest of the library. It was too her liking.
"An hour and forty-five minutes. Just three minutes off from the old record."
"Aww." The group collectively groaned.
"No worries. All that means is that we have to try harder again tomorrow. I'm sure we can break it then." One of the constructs exclaimed.
After the meeting, everyone said their goodbyes and went back into their books. All that was left for Paper to do was lock up for tonight. Not the front door, however; aside from the locking that, the library itself had a special anti-theft system. According to her supposed father's journal. It was a technique used by the previous metronome hero that mimicked the power of the magic weapon path when mana was given.
Of course, since she needed every last drop of mana just to exist, Paper had to find another solution in order to keep the barriers running. And that solution came in the form of a kidnapped unicorn. It took a bit to tame it, but after she did, she syphoned it's magic dust every night, allowing her to artificially power the spell every night. She went about her business but was only able to activate one barrier before she heard a thump echo throughout the library, a very puzzling sound. It was closing hours, meaning no one should be in the building. And despite the barrier not being up yet, them falling naturally is more or less impossible due to the way the shelves are built. Grumbling to herself that she has to deal with a potential sleeping scholar, Paper made her way down the hall, sword in hand.
But no matter how hard she searched, she couldn't find the supposed person inside, nor the book that had fallen. She did, however, identify the shelf it came from. It was a fictional book on Miguel and his supposed adventure in his fight against some god.
It was a popular story after the cataclysm that inspired hope in the citizens. Apparently fighting this supposed "god" that is supposed to watch over them but does nothing to help is a pretty funny story. It ultimately led to the creation of the Church of Morale, since they believed in the Progenitor of Morale and his Keepers rather than the supposed creator of their world, who may not even exist.
Despite knowing this, Paper had no idea why this book out of every would be taken. There were plenty others that would be more valuable. As she continued to ponder this though, a hidden assailant came out from the shadows behind her and thrust a scythe through her chest. The maid looked behind her, shocked at the sudden attack.
Looking behind her, there were two. The one stabbing her wearing a Lion mask, and another wearing a Fox mask. Fox reached for the key and hopped to grab it so they could leave, but Yomiko simply walked out of the scythe and kicked Fox into the wall.
"What the!" Were the only words Lion managed to get out struck in the face. Raising her sword, she brought it down but was stopped by Foxes's hammer as she was mere seconds away from Lion's neck. Fox then swung his hammer, knocking away her blade, before continuing his attack and smacking her across the face.
Paper was knocked away, her head being blown off but quickly reformed. She then shot out two blasts of paper at them, capturing both and pinning them to the wall.
"Apologies. But closing hours are between Eleven PM and Six AM. Usually trespassers are detained, but I spent a lot of energy dealing with you, so I'll be killing you both."
"Don't you realize we're in Foo."
"What?"
"We're going down in flames, and I'm taking you! [Star Flare!]"
Fox burst into flames, burning through Paper's arms as well as the book shelf they were pinned to too.
"Not the books!" Paper exclaimed. Going into a panic, she ignored the two masked thieves and rushed over to the people burning shelves.
"You idiot! We weren't supposed to destroy this place yet; there were still plenty of books of value here!"
"Who gives a damn? I'm not dying here. Now grab what you can." The two ran off in the opposite direction as Paper began to pat out the fire with a nearby sheet. But it proved to be not enough. As soon as she took out one, several more would start to burn and even spread to other shelves nearby. She then threw a glass bottle, it quickly expanding into flames as it hit the flames. The fire was put out there, but the other shelves continued to burn, and she only had so much. Paper soon found that combating the flames was impossible, her last bottle of foam being tossed along with the rest. She then chucked her sword up to the highest point of the building, hitting a bell and sounding off the emergency alarm, alerting the guard.
"Book minister, what seems to be the, oookay." The old man with a fedora panicked.
"Riju, The fiction, language, and science sections are all up in flames! I've tried everything, but it's too strong."
"I'll wake up as many as I can. We need to get as many as-AGH!"
"RIJU!" The old man fell to the ground, his body suddenly bursting into flames. Before Yomiko could help, his body began to slowly burn away.
"G-get... out of here. B-b-book… minister." Falling to the floor, Riju's body burned away.
Paper stood there, watching the spot where Riju was just sitting. She then realized the books weren't the only things going to burn. Taking off sprinting, Paper grabbed every book she could and ran into a separate room, deep within the basement. It was a place of bad memories, or really the lack there of. The only thing she knew of this place was that it was the place her father lost her life, and her body died. It wasn't a place she visited often, but there was one thing there that she held in value.
Rushing through the rubble of the abandoned lab, she turned the corner and reached a tube of special water. Legends say the heroes can use this water to regain SP. But it also held some practical applications in the processes of alchemy. The water, however, wasn't the thing she desired, and she immediately broke the tube, spilling all the water out on the ground.
What she was truly looking for was the lifeless body of a young girl—her original body. The body she spent so long trying to recreate. Right now, she was setting herself back who knows how many years according to her father's note. But that didn't matter, as long as it preserved. Wrapping it up with a special cloth, Paper grabbed as many notes as he could and immediately bolted towards the door.
But as she opened it, the fire had already gotten worse. Almost every shelf in the area had already caught fire, and the exit was in the middle of it all. Gathering as much paper as she could, she launched herself through the flames blocking her path and ran towards the door. She bobbed and weaved, dodging every falling book and crazed bookshelf in her path. It was a difficult task, and she constantly had to get rid of burning sheets on herself just to prevent herself from burning as well. She was so close to escaping, the door just a few inches from her hand. But as she reached out, her whole arm fell to the ground. Her time was up.
"NO! NOT NOW! PEONY, KELL, KIM!" Paper reached out her second hand, attempting to catch the three books that fell, but that arm fell apart as well, making her drop everything else she had. Her legs followed soon after, and later her body.
Each book she carried fell to the floor, unaware of the events going on, unaware that they're in any danger. Even the sheets of research, her father's last will and testament for her to keep and defend, were not spared. All of them soon succumbed to the power of flames.
And between all of them was Paper. Despite being paper incarnate, she was as vulnerable to flames as any other person. But with her level, that only meant she'd suffer longer under the burning embrace as she watched everything come crashing down. Even if she couldn't remember them, every inch of her soul felt the pain of watching the library burn. She looked at her father's research, the last remnants of him she had slowly burning away. She looks at the books, the last records of human ingenuity and creativity, her best friends, and caretakers for over the past 19 years, burning right before her eyes. And finally, she starred at her original body, the form she yearned so much for. For years she studied as hard as she could, leading as much ancient knowledge that her nonexistent brain could somehow memorize, all in the hopes of becoming human once again.
She wants to eat and finally taste the delicious meals the barmaid Freya cooked for her. She wanted to feel the touch of the sand on her feet and waltz along the beaches of Foo. She wanted to be able to get into water and smell the candle given to her by Mihare; she wanted to live! But now, it seems that the flames have come to take her life.
That was until a bright light flashed in front of her, as she was transported to a different plane. Inside was a music room, and with three others inside playing an instrument of some kind. She couldn't discern the two on the sides, as their faces were blurred. The one in the middle, however, was the one who caught her eye.
"I may not be human. But I feel your pain, young one."
He was a very tall, muscular gentleman wearing a white suit. A rose pierced his white Oxford shirt, with the red tie falling all the way down to the upper stomach. The white shoes he wore tapped the ground, making a simple beat while showing off his red bottoms with every step he took. It was almost like a clock that ticked every second, but each step had a distinct sound different from the other. It was soothing, peaceful even. Anything was peaceful compared to that hell she just came from. If this was God coming to claim her now, then she had no rejection.
"If heaven exists, I'm ready to- how am I speaking right now? My illusion magic should have worn off." Paper questioned.
"We are within your mind right now. The power of the metronome calls out to you, which is why I'm here." The man picked up Paper and dropped her in the air. She thought she was going to fall back down, but she didn't. She floated in the air as if gravity had no effect on her; she could even move around midair now.
"Who… are you?"
"I am Maestro. The embodiment of the Metronome, its will given form."
"A construct?"
"Sort of like that. I can manifest myself, but I am unable to fight. I've tried, though it seems I technically have no stats without a wielder. Though even with a wielder, I assume I can't do much either."
"Wielder… metronome. I was chosen to be an Apostle? But why?"
"You're the one who fits my criteria. A being able to see the wonderful life that is creation and has the desire and power to create! There are few others in this world that are able to fulfill those needs, but you are by far the most interesting of the bunch. I trust you'll be able to defend the world with my power."
"But I can't! Look at me, I'm a sheet of paper! I couldn't save Alexandria; I COULDN'T EVEN SAVE MYSELF! I LOST EVERYTHING! How am I supposed to save anything if there's nothing left?" In her imaginary world, the girl began to cry for the first time ever. Despite being paper, however, the tears never stained her face and she slid down unhindered.
"You poor child." Maestro grasped the paper and hugged it. Though it was awkward hugging a piece of paper, he gave it all the love it could. "It is not through your mistakes that this has happened, and it's not through your weakness that Alexandria burned. But together, I have the power to allow you to defend what you desire and to form yourself for as long as you need. And forge yourself a body of your desire."
"The ability to become human, does such a spell exist?" She remembered back to her time within the lab. Her and the science construct would work tirelessly with her in order to reform her destroyed body. For a year, they, along with the rest of the constructs of Alexdria, all yearned for her to get that form and tried everything in order to attain it. Now the opportunity was standing in her face, but would it even matter now that everyone is gone? Paper continued to think as Maestro continued.
"Though I do warn. Even when you transform, the fragment of your being will always be paper. You won't even share traits with that of your original body you lost today."
"That doesn't matter. There's no way to replicate it anyway."
"Then I can allow you to see your friends one final time. Besides, there are many that can still be rescued."
"They can!" Yomiko exclaimed. Her eyes then widened. The fire was massive, so she assumed everything was unaffected. But she then remembered. A few of the shelved got their barrier up before the fire went down. Not to mention all the other books that were checked out days before. There were still plenty left to gather and defend. She couldn't give up now. Without hesitation, Paper accepted, touching the sip of her sheet into the hands of Maestro, who began to laugh.
"Alright, my wielder. Just follow my instructions."
/~/
"We can't control the blaze. Great Minister Gaylan! It's too strong!"
"This has to be fire of the magical variety. Get the coven out here and have them start water melodic magic!" The man commanded.
"Yes sir!" The soldier ran off as Gaylan went to address another team.
"Were you able to discern Minister Paper's wearabouts?"
"No sir. Not a single sheet of paper has been spotted outside."
"So she's still inside! Coat me in fire resistance magic now!"
"You're going in, sir? That's a death wish!"
"She's level fifty-four. If she's not dead, she's burning in agony right now. We need to move now or."
BOOM!
Gaylan quickly turned around, just in time to see a bolt of lightning hit a building nearby. Appearing from the scorch marks, a young boy with blond hair carried a naked girl on his shoulders and landed safely on the ground.
"Lizen! Did you find her!?" A young girl with a red jacket asked.
"Sorry Mihare. I searched all over. I could only get her; it's basically hell in there." Lizen coughed a bit, then began dusting the soot off of him.
"Lizen. You're up?"
"Just another forest trip, Minister."
The two nodded at each other as they placed the woman down. Gaylan cringed, however, shielding his eye away from her nakedness before giving his cloak to Mihare. "I'm getting too old for this." The old man sighed. He was then jump-scared as the woman suddenly sat up beside him.
"Ah!"
"Hands, I can feel. Actual flesh limbs, a tongue with taste buds!" The woman grabbed a handful of sand and stuffed it into her mouth, only to immediately spit it back out.
"Peh. Note to self: dirt tastes disgusting. Peh." The woman spat.
"Thank goodness you're awake. Tell me, can you remember if there was anyone else inside!?"
"Ahh, Minister Gaylan, no, there's no one inside. Though I was almost toast there, thank Lizen, Mihare."
"You know us!?"
"You can't really be-"
"No time to explain. As the library's keeper, I need to protect the remaining books." Paper got up, fastening the cloak around her new modest-size chest, and faced the flaming building. Holding out her hand, everyone watched as ticks began to play and a metronome appeared in the hands of the woman.
"The metronome? Another wielder has been chosen."
"But who is she? I never seen her here before."
The crowd began to mumble as the ticking of the metronome got faster and faster. Raising her hand into the air, a wave of sound covered everyone near.
"My very first skill. [Tempo!]"
Everyone's mind within the zone became clear. Even the dullest were able to come up with rhymes that put top-tier mages to shame. The crowd felt this effect and began to cheer. It was not everyday one would witness the power of the heroes before their very eyes, let alone be affected by it's great power.
Showing off, however, wasn't Yomiko's plan. Calling upon every last sheet of paper she could find, a book came flying towards her—the book that started it all. The thieves were nearby, but there was nothing she could do. Instead, she took a look at the last book left from Alexandria 2.0 and ripped the pages out herself, forming a platform beneath her feet.
"May the Metronome guide me as I face the flames that burn my home." Flying into the air, Yomiko held out both hands. "Water from around, and gather to where I roam."
Holding her hands in the air, particles of water began to fly at Yomiko. "Gather yourselves; your purpose is clear. Extinguish the flames on the building that's near."
Directing her hands down, the ball of water grew larger and larger. It's size is growing larger than the nearby houses.
"As the new Metronome hero, that is my first command. Launch yourself forward, and cleanse the flames from this land! [Galaxy Waterfall!" Paper exclaimed, firing off the stream of water at the library.
/~/
"You're already a calamity class witch. This will only improve your power. Though I do apologize, even I'm not strong enough to recreate the losses Arcadia has suffered today." Maestro sighed.
"No need to apologize. I know what must be done."
"Are you sure you're ready to deal with such a task?"
"By the time I wake up, the fire would have already burned every unprotected book there. But there are still plenty I can save. So thank you for giving me a reason to keep going."
/~/
"Younger me. I spent so long chasing you, only to fail. I model this form after you, so I may remember what my original form was. That short brunette hair, those black eyes… though really. I should say, My short hair and eyes." Paper laughed as the water hit the tip of the bell, splitting itself and splashing down every corner of the library.
"It was nice knowing you. I apologize for not being able to defend you or your home. Thank you for raising me, housing me for so many years, and giving me the purpose to continue, despite not being the effort. I'll honor you every day, constructs of Alexandria."
Tears began to steam down Papers face. She closed her eyes, as she couldn't bear watching the library flood. That was until he heard a voice, which broke her out of their trance.
"Miss paper!"
"Huh?"
Look down at the building on the top of the library. There were hundreds, if not thousands, of people, young and old alike, all of them wearing a hat of some kind.
"Thank you for being out caretaker, book minister!"
In unison, they all bowed before waving her off. The last few in the crowd all turned to light, disappearing into the library below.
"The surviving constructs, huh? So you are still alive." Hopping off her platform, Paper fell towards the ground as she called back all the paper. The sheets all formed together into a neat stack. And Yomiko put them away as she fell.
Without speaking a word. She transformed into a ball of water and seeped harmlessly through the cracks of the library, getting inside. There, she saw the last bookshelf standing. Though it was labeled Fantasy. The shelf had books from several other genres, a few matching the book shelf's real label.
Despite everything. The thieves, the destruction, the flooding. Yomiko laughed. And continued to laugh for awhile before finally being able to compose herself.
"At least one book from each genre. Dylan, you mad man." Mihare touched the shelf and deactivated the barrier. "I'll be sure to take care of you all. You are the last of my collection after all."
/~/
"Wow. I never knew."
"Well, of course you didn't; you weren't there." Yomiko chuckled. "It's funny. Despite being such a tragic night. I can't help but laugh when I think back to it. Guess I really am desensitized." Yomiko chuckles some more.
"You know, I met them right?"
"You have? But how have you never seen this place before?"
"No, no, I mean Fox and Tiger. They were the bandit leader I defeated." Flores explained
"Really!? You killed them!?" Yomiko exclaimed.
"No. But they're currently in the care of the sanctuary. They should be transported to Foo soon so they can face their crimes; at least that's what Leo told me."
"You don't say, huh. I can't wait." A pink aura began to emanate from Yomiko as she gave a very sinister grin.
Stepping a few inches away, Flores cleared his throat, getting Yomiko's attention.
"So, who were you talking about earlier?"
"Who?"
"You know, the people I haven't met yet. You were pretty shocked." Flores explained.
"Oh right. I guess there's no reason for us to hike anymore. [Waypoint Metronome!]"
"Waypoint wha-" Flores got out before disappearing.
Reappearing at the top of the mountain, Flores looked down, barely seeing the area they were just in.
"You mean we didn't have to climb all this time!" Flores exclaimed.
"I wanted to be sure you heard everything. You were asking how I surpassed the curse series, right?" Yomiko waved her hands, the ticking from her metronome dispelling an invisibility spell and revealing another manor.
"Truth is, I lied. I never unlocked one. I never reached my event horizon because I knew I had something to protect."
"Something to protect. You mean-"
"You catch on fast." Yomiko interrupted. The pink gem on her metronome shot out a beam of light at the door, unlocking it for Flores to enter.
Inside was a massive house, with constructs of every age moving about. The main room was a library, carrying dozens of shelves, each unorganized.
"Every now and then. I would find abandoned books and bring them here. I made sure to teach them everything they could to survive. Some even made names for themselves as adventurers."
Flores watched as Yomiko watched over all of them in silence. Some played, some fought, and some even read each other's books. It was like an orphanage.
"I have a purpose in this world, a goal. I want to rebuild Alexandria one day with the books I saved. Though I may stumble here and there, I know I have something to come back home to. People who need me, people who love me. I may not know how to surpass the power of sin. But I can be that outlet for you." Yomiko mumbled the last bit, with Flores hearing every word. But he said nothing of it.
Walking off and disappointing the paper girl. He reached the edge of the mountain and sat down. He only thought back to his time here. Sure, he had a goal. Yomiko almost unlocked her curse because she felt like she failed to protect everything her life had to offer. But after becoming adamant about protecting the last books of Alexandria, she kept herself from falling further into disarray. If he could find that outlet. A way for him to not only get past his insecurities but to also forgive himself. Maybe he could be as mentally stable as Yomiko.
Pulling out a cigarret, Flores looked over to Yomiko, who had tapped him on the shoulder.
"If you're still not feeling fine, I understand. Just know, I'm here for you. No matter what happens, you can always come to me." Yomiko blushed.
/~/
"Here you go, brother. I'm not very good at this, so bear with me." Shelby sighed.
"I didn't want you to see me like this. My arm is just too banged up to do anything though."
"Don't worry, Sylvie. I'm the reason you got hurt anyway."
"No. It's my job to protect you; it's never your fault."
"But it is! I get bad grades, I'm slow on the practice field, and I can't cook as well as you. I have to understand this, or mother will keep getting mad." Shelby exclaimed, still carrying a determined look on her face.
"Shelby." Sylvester muttered.
"Don't worry, brother. I'm here for you. If mom hurts you again, you can always come to me!"
/~/
"Sorry. I'll leave you be for now." Yomiko began to walk away, but Flores got up and hugged her from behind. Her face turned red as a tomato, and she stuttered over her words as she looked behind her. For the first time ever, the witch watches tears fall from the heroes face.
"Sorry, I just." Flores sniffed. Looking up at Yomiko, he saw an apparition of his sister standing beside her, hugging him back. As his grasp got tighter, Yomiko hugged him back, pulling him into her chest.
"I understand. Stay as long as you like."
The two sat there for awhile. The constructs inside peek their heads outside to see what the commotion was, only to see their book minister being hugged by a pretty muscular man.
Yomiko heard a few giggles from the crowd and sighed. She began muttered a rhyme, but Flores stopped her before she could finish.
"No worries, I'm fine now." Getting back up, Flores grabbed the cigarette he was holding and walked back over to the edge.
"Uh. Thanks for that. I just-"
"No, I understand. If you want some drinks, we have tea inside." Yomiko offered.
"No thanks. You can start without me."
"If you say so." Yomiko made her way to the door before turning her head. "Oh and Flores."
"Yeah?"
"You're a great hero." Closing the door, Flores turned back around, cigarette in hand. Flores lit it with his light and put it to his mouth. But he stopped himself and looked at it. After awhile, Flores sighed to himself and threw the smokeable off the mountain.
"Hey Yomiko! I actually want that drink."
/~/
That marks the end of this mini-arc. Morale would be taking a break so I can work on my other stories. Thanks for reading!