Been a while... well, i'll spare you guys from my ranting, i'll leave that at japtem.com

***

-Somewhere South West-

A group of nine thousand men moved swiftly. They were like a flowing sand, a mass of countless black clothed beings sprinting at breakneck speed with ease. This army simply did not care over the terrain as they either gently swiveled away or simply plowed the way. It was not an act within human limit.

Leading this army was a man in similar black clothes, unique only by the blazing insignia etched in both his shoulder plates that separated him from the rest of nine thousand.

Strictly by appearance, his was ideal. A stunning face, a robust build, a visage of a prince.

Its fault, by standard, however, was the presence of three horns adorning his head. Two protruded from his temples that curled forward, while the third jutted out of his forehead with a menacing glint. Another unusual trait was his abyssal eyes. It contained neither light nor color. His pair of eyes were the absence of those, it reflected nothing as it swallowed everything. It was black inside out.

This man lead the charge of nine thousand men in accordance to the command of his lord, his creator, his god. He was tasked to retrieve a goddess of destiny that brings salvation. Or so he was told. Truth or lies, orders from his lord were absolute regardless of reasons or costs, so he would take this goddess and present her to his god. That was all there was to it.

Exiting the forest, the tri-horned man felt the atmosphere change along their arrival on a new terrain, a wide valley where a river winded lonesomely without a scant of life to support nor did it have the ability to do so, for an empty river was a dead river.

Raising a hand, the army behind him immediately responded in rapt attention. They quickly stopped, the nine thousand individuals who were as disorganized as scattered birds immediately stopped upon their commander's abrupt signal. The scale of minute gestures silencing an entire army at once... truly was anything but human.

-

Several kilometers away, a scout wearing magic enchanted lenses saw the sudden halt of the incoming army.

"They stopped... Damn, have we been discovered!?"

"How is that even possible! There's still more than enough distance separating us! Even the best horse would take a day without rest to cover all that!"

"No good, my hands are shaking..."

"Yeah... what in the hell got my head to participate in my death? Huh, I should have just run away with chance when I had it."

A man of muscular body suddenly thumped his foot. "Calm down, men! We are just scouts, cut your complainings and just do as you're told! Do it, get your payment, then we can say farewells on this godforsaken piece of hell. That's what you should cram to that thick heads of yours!"

"As expected of boss!"

"I followed the right man!"

"Oooh, after this, I'm gonna be rich then I could live like how my ancestors did!"

"What did they do?"

"Lived off alcohol, and married five wives!"

"Oooooh!!!"

"These idiots..." The so-called boss looked at his men with disdain and frustration. Those lecherous and downright inappropriate imaginings leaking from their swollen eyes likely spelled their very death.

These scouts were not playing games. And scouts had always been a job with highest sacrifices. Especially when dealing with the enemy kilometers ahead of them. No one knew the horror of those golden eyed abominations more than those who had survived an encounter with one. The chance of dying was several times more likely than surviving. Which was why, survivors were akin to miracles.

The boss of this group of scouts was one such rare person. He knew very well that years of preparation could not guarantee survival, much less what these dilly dallyings that his squad was indulging.

In his mind, he had never considered his men's well-being because since the beginning he would use them as pawn to bolster his own survival.

This was why encouragements were needed as he cannot have them fleeing on him when he needed them. He needed shields, and nothing worked better than sentinent meat. For this purpose, lies and encouragements were synonymous to being right.

"That's right! If we finish this job, women and alcohol, you could live days drowning in them! Men, have courage to grab that paradise with your own hands! This, right here, is where to get it! What is life without these pleasures? What is life without risk to take it up yourself? Your hands are not trinkets, are they? Life is not without such meaning! Understand? If you're a man, follow me! To a better tomorrow!"

"""To a better tomorrow!!!"""

The squad was too caught up with the hype, they cheered without really understanding their boss' words.

No, they were too afraid of their task ahead to think any deeper. They needed courage, and their boss' words was exactly just that. Their simple minds, cultivated from monotonous lives as peasants, were incapable of even considering dark schemes and the like. These men were taught by their parents of valuing obedience towards those in power, as was how their parents were taught by their parents. It was a passed down trait from generation to generation.

Their boss knew trait this very well. And he considered it perfectly normal. After all, a society where no one obeys was a society that knew chaos. Obedience gave order, and order gave power, and power, in turn, should help those who obeyed. For the greater good. This cycle, feeding off altruism, was the League of Nation's founding belief. And so was every nation's under their banner.

However, even a dragon could die from disease, a disease that eats the dragon from within. In human perspective, it was called corruption, a disease that ruins society from within.

***

-Western Lands, In a Forest Clearing-

"Milord! Movements are sighted southeast. Their number ranges to nine thousand. They are moving fast, arrival to First Field is estimated to be as early as sundown."

"So they took the bait." A man in loose, grey robe leaned back on his oaken chair and tightly closed his eyes as his left hand deeply massaged his numbing temples. The wrinkles and dark shadow beneath his eyes made him look older than his age of fifty, giving an image of a fragile old man in his troubled reverie.

"Milord..."

Eyes snapped open, and the cold and piercing glint it emitted were not to be trifled with. This man was no fragile old relic. He was Illuso, an archmage in youth, a feared soldier at his peak, a cunning politician past his prime, and now a formidable individual renowned for his numerous exploits. His influence spread far and wide in all manners of matters. The name Vadérdart was not of mere decoration.

"Signal the gathering."

"By your command." The attendant rushed off.

Standing up, with both his hands at his back, Illuso looked at the map laid on his table. It was the map of the western side of the continent. On it, a white pin blotched the location of Yenoa Academy. Another pin, blue in color and a cross in shape, occupied Illuso's current encampment. There were also red pins, straight as needle, that made a beeline in a seemingly scattered locale, dotting the map like scattered blood. And what these pins indicated made Illuso's blood run cold in accepted sacrifice.

Then, there was a black dot, not a stationary pin but a visible mana, floating off the map. It slowly moved east, away from the encirclement of red pins.

It made Illuso frown. This whole operation was for the sole purpose of erasing this 'black dot'. Bottomless resources were spent for this one night. Money and manpower aside, the operation even swallowed ten years of careful planning that had the whole alliance teetering to the brink of crumbling.

And now that black dot was slipping away from their carefully laid net? Was their bait not appealing enough? Then what was an army of nine thousand abomination rushing here for?

'Seems we are onto something else entirely. Should I pursue? Or gamble with my enemies' urgency.'

Keeping a calm and collected mind, Illuso weighed his options. Scrutinizing details, the pros and cons of pursuit battled against the choice of gamble.

"Milord." A man called out from the tent.

"Report."

"Yes! A group of students is returning to the Academy."

"What!? ...And what are you still doing here? Stop them!"

"But Milord... It is not working."

"... What do you mean?"

"The illusion barrier is not affecting them. They went straight to the Academy regardless of our efforts of misleading them."

Illuso was stupefied. The illusion barrier was a joint incantation of twelve level 100 magicians specializing in this field. Level 100 was the highest tier of magicians known to public, and they number less than a thousand in the whole continent. A single level 100 can create an illusion barrier that could fool an entire city for a day. Making twelve of them participate in a single, simple illusion barrier just say the strength of that spell.

All for the sake of student safety.

Hearing that all this precaution as 'not working', Illuso truly did not know whether to laugh or cry.

This operation was dangerous to say plainly, but majority the alliance's participating nobles had no need of knowing that.

Illuso had been thoroughly forewarned by his superiors of not leaking even a single clue associating the five Academies in this heavily guarded plan of exterminating the suspected mastermind of the southern anomaly.

There was already more than enough tension between nobles and the Alliance because of the conscription of noble children, so if the plan of noble children in an unwarranted and dangerous plan gets out to unwanted ears, then civil war could very possibly erupt. And by then, every single one in the continent might as well turn into dolls with golden eyes.

Feeling his head aching with trouble, Illuso placed a hand on the table and steadied himself. "Explain, how was this possible?"

"Milord... this is mere conjecture but..."

"CUT THE CRAP AND SPEAK!!!"

Illuso snapped.

"Ah, uh, yes! It was sighted that the group of students had a newborn with them. Ibelievethat nullifyingthe barriermighthavesomething todowithit!!" The attendant was so frightened that he spoke so fast, his words were barely comprehensible. Added with his increasing pitch, he was almost yelling back.

However, Illuso did not mind. He did not notice. Because of what he just heard, Illuso felt like a puzzle was being solved in his mind. Bit by bit, scenarios after scenarios, until the light of enlightenment seemed to dawn down his face.

Maybe, that gamble was not as unreasonable as he once thought.

"I see." He murmured silently before a smile bloomed menacingly on his lips, making the attendant before him shudder in fear. "Bring the child to me!"

"By your command!"

***

"Wuen Dreik? Who? I don't know what you're talking about."

Right there, was bull$h!t.

This guy just won't change for the better, would he? Playing dumb with me... even though my life was ruined because of that kind of damnable attitude...

Ah, wait, why not ride along his $h!t? I mean, if he wanted to play pretend, that's definitely O.K. I don't know him either. Out of sight, out of mind. Yeah, the old bull is dead. Period.

"Ah, please pardon my misunderstanding. I was confused for a moment..." I retracted.

"Well, since you mentioned it... the name Wuen Dreik sure does ring a bell..."

Again, the old bull is better off dead. Should I make sure of it?

Nah, I get the feeling the homicide attempt would only make him happy instead... I knew him too well for comfort.

"...Sire, since our objective has been fulfilled, we intend to resume the test." Yulan supplemented from the side.

"Eh, then get going. Oh, young miss, your name?"

Uwaa, how annoying. "...Vitaly, SIR."

"Last name?"

"I'm just an orphan, SIR." I loved emphasizing the sir. It soothed my popping veins.

"How can an orphan enter the prestigious Yenoa Academy?"

"My talent, SIR." I nearly couldn't stop myself from spitting.

"Impossible."

"I am the living proof."

"..."

"..."

Fortunately, Yulan came to my rescue. "Sire, with your permission, may our group proceed onward?"

"...Fine fine, off you go. Vitaly, we'll talk later."

"I look forward to it."

Holy sh!t, should I run away? But I want to graduate... I know my priorities, no matter what I wanted.

Regardless of my decision, our group once again headed to the western forest. I briefly nodded towards the crying kid behind me before turning away silently.

-

After a while, Iris came to my side. "What just happened?"

"What?"

"You and that man. You seem to know each other."

"Probably, I recognized his voice. And that's it. I can't see his face so I was probably wrong."

"...And you're an orphan...?"

Talk about nosy. This girl wasn't taught moderation.

"Yes, I am." I answered. It shouldn't really matter.

"Iris, I believe that is enough. We are all entitled to our own private matters." Yulan reproached Iris.

"No- Well, I apologize. Just that... in a way, I understand. Being an orphan, that is. My circumstances are somehow similar... so, um, I undestand how hard it is. Haaa... what I meant to say is, Vitaly, if you are in need of help, do not hesitate to seek mine. I may not make a difference because I am but a girl without much to offer, but, at the very least, I can listen to your troubles... because I understand... how hard it could get... Apologies, I am not making much sense, am I?"

She tried to laugh off the awkwardness after her grand speech, but the message definitely came across. Her intent was clear, and her sincerity was moving me to tears. She had no idea how beautiful that sounded to my ears. To someone like me... "Thanks, Iris."

"Um, not at all."

"But..."

"?"

I inhaled then let my words flow out in one breath, "I'm afraid I can't return the favor. I have way too much secret and all of them are not pretty. In other words, don't get too close to me, you WILL regret it."

"..."

...Yeah. Well, now I've done it. The whole situation would become more awkward. And it's my fault. I seriously have a screw lose. Just what the heck was I trying to do? Why am always like this? Too impulsive, don't think before speaking, careless. This had always been the reason I got into trouble. I have to play it cool. No need to speak, just do what needs to be done, nothing more nothing less-

"...ly! Vitaly!"

"Ehm, yes?" Iris woke me from drowning in depression.

"It's alright, it's alright! It's gonna be fine, so, uh, sorry... I didn't mean to make you cry...!"

"Eh?" Lifting my hands over my face, it seemed I really had been crying again, and quite

excessively too. What am I doing? ...Playing the pitiful card... "Sorry."

"Why are you apologizing?!"

"For being troublesome?" I choked out a reply. Breathing was becoming harder over the second.

Suddenly, a piece of cloth was shoved over my face, not so gently, too.

And not really in position to refuse, I buried my face on the cloth and clenched my jaw shut to prevent myself from becoming noisy. I won't embarrass myself anymore than playing damsel in distress. More importantly, I don't even get why I'm crying...

"Uhh... There, there..." Someone patted my head, making my condition worse.

"Uuu..." Unintentionally, a whimper escaped from my shut mouth, then the patting on my head became somewhat more affectionate.

"...there, there.." The murmuring was quite soothing too, inducing my tears to flow more freely than a waterfall...

"...! You...! Stop patting me! I'm not a kid, you bastard!"

"Oh... sorry." The hand immediately retracted... That made me feel a bit lonely, but it was for the best.

"Vitaly..." Suddenly, I got a hug. It was definitely Iris.

"What now!?" I shouted, trying to break free, but my arm was not moving as I wanted. Then, I finally noticed my body was shaking too much that I could barely stand.

"You are pushing yourself too much...! Can you not see, you are breaking yourself!"

What?

So there I was. Making a scene. It was embarrassing. It was awkward. It was uncomfortable. I didn't want anything else in that moment than to find a hole and bury myself under. I was crying more than I ever had before. And becoming so helplessly weak disgusted me. I hated it. I wanted to escape.

"Sorry, guys. Let's just keep moving forward. I'll calm down somehow, so please, let's get going. Everyone wants to graduate, right?"

"Vitaly!" Iris nearly screamed over my ears.

As I thought, she's too nosy for anyone's good.

"...Enough, Iris. Vitaly, can you truly cope with the group at your current state?"

"Of course, I don't need eyes to see after all."

"..." There was no reply over my joke. Was that too generic?

Just when I was starting to fidget again because of the awkwardness, someone unexpected spoke up.

"Move forward." Seirs finalized.

There were a few more bouts of awkward pauses, but my insistence to move forward eventually won.

-

The time should be around noon, with the sun in its highest place. My stomach had been acting up for awhile, but I ignored it for the time being.

My head was running wild with random thoughts. I began to miss Pina suddenly. I missed Lanna and Ra'in, too. The baby-no-name was also popping in my list.

Then, there was my life as a college student. It sucked to be in college, but it was fun, somewhat. I missed challenging the deadlines, cramming a book in a single night, and partying hard after passing my courses despite all my neglects. Eh, those were some really, stupidly, fleeting fun times.

Then, I also wondered what my siblings did after I died. Our parents were as good as dead, so I can't really give a damn what they thought.

Anyhow, I was quite annoying as a person in that previous life, too. Is this destiny? Eh, I was starting to become pathetic again.

"You guys, sorry again. I don't want this to become anymore awkward, so let me lighten things up. Just that, I have no idea how... suggestions?" I said out of the blue.

Right, my thoughts were running wild because the group was way too quiet for comfort. It was the perfect atmosphere to day dream. But day dreaming for hours after hours was not my thing. Even for a lazy at heart person, that was just too much.

"You say that now?" Iris butted.

Good, that's one less silence, get. "Yes, I say it now, not before, not later."

"...Then, explain. Why are you so different?"

"Which way?"

"...All ways, but allow me enumerate the most disturbing instances. Diction, for example. Your word choices, and the way your arrange them? Yes, we speak the same language, yet I struggle understanding your meanings."

"Really? I understand you just fine, though. Maybe, the problem is you?"

"Of course not!" Oh, she yelled back.

"I have to side with Iris in this." Jasper chimed in.

"Same for me."

"...Me also."

With that, operation anyi-silence was success. Everyone was talking. Good bye to Group Silent... although the topic was my weirdness. Yup, I don't mind.

"I was born this way, so I can't really explain? Next question then!"

"...Really? Why do I bother asking..." Iris sighed to the side.

"Because you are curious and you know it."

"Ugh, see? I feel like I just missed something, like your words just now had underlying meaning... What is wrong with you?"

"No, no, no, miss Iris, you are simply thinking too deeply on this. I am not as weird as you think. Eh, well, I thought I fitted in at least."

"Fitted in?"

"You know, being normal, blending in with the crowd anonymously."

"You do not..."

"No at all..."

"You failed miserably..."

"Impossible..."

I was unanimously outvoted. "Why?! What did I do wrong?"

Iris looked at the skies and heaved a long sigh. "Can someone put it into words? My tongue is tying itself. I cannot seem to find words for my thoughts..."

"Allow me!" Jasper vibrantly volunteered. "For one, Vitaly, you are really very beautiful-"

"Ehm, thank you."

"-You stand out in a crowd as easily as a royalty! Your appearance aside, even your

countenace have the bearing that places you a cut above others. You are dazzling as well as intimidating, the kind everyone dreams to serve to their death!"

"Seriously... are you courting me? If so, flattering my appearance won't work! I am blind after all." I joked.

"...There, right there, was Her Highness, Vitaly's, royal arrogance. Behold and be damned..."

"Iris, why so bitter? Jealous?"

"Like hell I am!"

"It is not nice to cuss, miss Iris."

"Grr-" She just gritted her teeth, and it was amusing to hear. It seemed I found my new entertainment.

"But, truly, if you would allow me to marry you, I would definitely be happy."

...Jasper replied without a hint of bashfulness or insincerity.

"...Are you serious? Did say I am an orphan? Your parents would kill you, you know."

"Hah! The Zedds choose their brides not for ancestry, wealth, or influence. It is all for the sake of knowledge, talent, and future. You are all three with great promise in each, and probably more! I tell you, my grandmother would definitely clap my back and her last words would be 'well done'."

"What crazy family." I was shocked. So the truthseeker-ish-themed families exists outside fiction? That's kinda cool.

He just laughed, and winked? Either way, my answer was, "No, thank you."

"-! Why?!" He asked in mocked pain. "Had I been inferior in comparison to the valiant and gallant dual wielder or was fierce stick wielder simply your preference-

"Do not call my glaive a mere stick." Seirs hissed, to which Jasper wholeheartedly ignored.

"-that must have been it, was it not? Please, somehow, what must a humble druid accomplish to capture the eyes-"

Smack.

"Shut up! My ears are bleeding, and my eyes are missing! So? Whose eyes you're gonna capture? Go ask a troll, maybe she'll entertain you. You have my blessings, condolences."

"Yes, go die on a creek somewhere, you creep." Iris agreed with colorful tongue. Kids do learn fast, don't they?

"Hey... I was just helping you lighten the mood..."

"Sure, but please don't treat me like a kid. I am not your average wooey girl next door ripe for cheesy entrance. I had long ago graduated from that. Anyway, marriage is for adults. Joking about it during an adventure where we could die any moment is pointless."

"...And she completely stopped making sense..." Iris once again sighed to the heavens.

Anyhow, we chatted and walked. Though, it was mainly me, Iris, and Jasper who did the talking. We talked about random things, but Iris and Jasper considerately avoided personal questions and the like so our chats remained light hearted and nothing heavy for the heart.

Yulan occasionally added a thing or two in the conversation, so did Seirs, but those two mainly focused on the road ahead. That was like carrying the burden of five in just two. I felt guilty so I tried to quiet down Iris and Jasper to get them working their share of work. But, Yulan and Seirs stopped me, not really explaining why they were being such masochist.

Maybe, it was the same reason why Jasper suddenly became so chatty? Or why Iris was so clingy? Given my damsel in distress moment, the answer was most probably yes.

Either way, I was grateful.

"You guys, thanks." I said as sincerely as I felt.

***

-Central Lands, In a Certain Village-

"Ha.Ha.Haaahaaahaa.Hahahahah!" A hysteric laughter.

"Monster!" A desperate howl.

"Well, thank you!"

In a place where blood was so thick one could lick it from an empty air, a girl in her early teens was laughing maniacally.

Stepping on the wound of a dying man, she briefly smiled down before suddenly putting weight on her legs and channeled that force to the sole of her foot, creating a slush crater in the once abdomen of a weeping man.

"Aaaarghhhh!" That man howled in pain, his eyes teared with blood and angst. "I... I curse you. Curse you. Curse you- YOU CURSE CURSE-"

A sharp sword flashed, and the man's jaw fell on the ground.

"Ah? Ah... Ah ah ah ahhhkkhhhkhHHHkH!!!"

"My, oh my. How unsightly."

With a final step, a skull was squashed like a bug. Much like its neighbor.

"..."

"Haaaa... now you're too quiet. Whatever. Hey, what's next." She shouted gleefully

"...ait ...til h... ...rivesss." A bipedal snake responded with broken words. Clothed in leather shorts and sleeveless tunic, it looked like any other man if not for its scaly skin and slanted, glowing pupils that specially shone under the shroud of dark clouds.

"Hmm? Who's coming~?"

"...rius."

"!!! Brother is?! My, oh my... My clothes are dirty!" She screeched a yell that made ears ring in pain.

Looking around frantically, she saw a robe that looked to be in relatively good condition. While sprinting towards it, the girl stripped all her clothing. She run naked on the blood soaked ground without care as she looted any usable garments that would look presentable in front of her brother.

With an over-sized robe on, a pointy wizard shoe, and a sash used as belt, the girl looked like a misshapen beggar that stole clothes from her neighbourhood. When she looked down at herself in a puddle of blood, a lightning flash revealed her sorry state. She grimaced in frustration but took no further action. How she looked now, a beggar, was a far cry better image than her former broken warrior set of armor that was stained in unpleasant scent and coloration.

"Hic, I loo~k disgusting! This is your fault! You~~!!!" She screamed at a dead man stripped off his robe, then kicked him, lifting the dead man couple meters off the ground. The girl jumped, tilted mid-air, then struck the body with enough force to send it flying towards the lizardman.

"..." The bipedal lizard merely side-stepped and gave a cold grunt.

"Hmph, boring~ boring~!" She whined then look upward apprehensively. "Seriously, when are you gonna move? Your beloved creations are dying like bugs, you know?"

"Ayala, don't unnecessarily provoke them." A figure riding a mixed-breed bird swooped down and chided the girl complaining against the heavens.

"Big brother!" Ayala beamed innocently, greatly contrasting her grave surrounding.

"...rius." The lizardman moved forward and gave a curt bow.

Sirius nodded once then faced his sister with a guilty smile. Seeing the state of his sister, he was yet again reminded of what happened ten years ago...

"Ayala, someday, what do you want to do?" He asked, sentimentally.

"Mmm? Well, after cleaning up the rest of the continent, I'd like to see what the other continents looked like!"

"'Cleaning up'... you don't have to do all that. Leave all the dirty things to me. You don't like being dirty, do you?"

"But won't I die if I don't? The lord did say so."

"... For the time being, is there anything you wish to do?"

"Yes! I want to see a beach!"

Sirius finally smiled genuinely. "Then, do you want to head east with me? The lord has ordered me to subjugate the eastern coasts-"

"Beach and blood?! That's perfect! Let's go, let's go, let's go~ Ah! Let me prepare my things first. I'll meet you here, alright? Don't leave without me!"

He frowned for a bit, then ignored his sister's hopping steps altogether. Facing the lizardman, he once again donned his stern mask as he gave out orders. "I will start the ritual, scout ahead and assure that no eyes are watching."

"I o..ey" The lizardman respectfully bowed, then vanished from sight.

Meanwhile, Sirius scanned his surrounding. It was nothing unusual. A small village, a dozen wooden houses, a hundred corpses, and the empty feeling that numbed his soul.

Without much ado, he mechanically placed a palm over crushed skulls and chanted short, foreign words he did not understand.

In a way, the ritual was his way of praying for the departed souls, a prayer filled with envy and hatred.

With every finished chant, a broken skull was reformed accompanied by an ethereal scream. It was a scream he heard way too often. It was of the pain of a soul forcefully bound where it did not belong.

One by one, dead bodies were reanimated with eyes glowing like the sun. Men and women and elderly and children. Sirius did not have preferences. All he needed was accomplish his job, nothing more.

"Mama!"

Suddenly, a little girl ran towards him and clung joyously to a corpse he just reanimated.

"Mama!" She cried and whimpered.

"Oh, hello there, young miss." Sirius greeted.

"?" The girl merely backed off, afraid of the unsettling, friendly stranger.

"What is this? Did I not just help your 'mother'? You can at least give me your name."

"...Ellie... Mama calls me Ellie."

Humored by the child's naivety, Sirius told the cruel truth. "Then, Ellie, unfortunately, she is dead."

"?! Lies!"

"Heh." With lightning fast stroke, the girl's 'mother' had a two fingers piercing both closed eyelids.

"NOO!! St- stop!! Mama, mama!" She kicked his shin hard, but Sirius felt no pain.

Still, he pulled out his fingers and mercilessly flicked the dripping blood towards the crying child. "See for yourself, what has happened to your 'mother'."

Shaken, scared, confused, and angry, the little girl unconsciously followed where the stranger before her was pointing. There, to where her 'mother' stood, was the 'monster' she knew too well from the horror stories that the village elder had told every passing child.

With its gold eyes, the 'mother' was no longer seen as a mother, just a monster.

Simply scared, the little girl did not utter a single more sound nor did she dare move. Seeing this, Sirius suddenly had an idea.

He smiled cruelly and ordered the puppet to move.

"...Ellie...?" A croaking voice whispered.

"...Mama?"

"Yes, Ellie, it's Mama. Here, come." Opening its arms, the puppet embraced the little girl gently.

The confused girl soon forgot her 'mother's' golden eyes as her longing for warmth overtook her prejudice. "Mama!"

It was a heart-warming scene, at the surface that was. Knowing full well that this reunion was a farce, Sirius kept his smiling mask as he watched the two.

He continued the play and ushered ushered the little girl away from the village.

"Now, then, I should hurry the 'clean up'." With satisfied sigh, he continued increasing the number of puppets as he was expected to.

***

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