Kara felt odd. Something was wrong.

The air weighted differently upon her fingertips, the notes sinking causing a foreign ring in her ears. Countless times had she performed over these past few months, learning every knack and scratch upon its seemingly flawless surface. She’d made some fine progress with it.

But now? It felt...inadquate. It would have tasted bland if her sense of taste worked.

She shifted in her bench, trying to find a comfortable stance. Such moments of repose were scarce. She attempted to savor each moment of it.

Being cozy was exactly what she was raised against. Everything had to be hard, durable, practical. The softness makes a soldier go soft, and a soft soldier is easy to break. Kara agreed, which is exactly why she gave up on becoming a soldier. Too much work, too much marching, too much cold food. Not enough sleep.

Her body rattled and moaned with each abrupt movement, further sinking her Energy reserves.

Let her fall into the music, into something of greater importance, towards the path of immensity that will transcend her feeble, filth-ridden body.

It was not working.

So much for that.

She felt her blood rising, her heart beating faster, her fingers tightening. Thermal Energy began to bud inside her, almost radiating off her clothes. The urge to blast the piano to bits began to tug at her nerves.

It wasn’t her imagination. Someone was sabotaging her. A key pressed twice would produce a different sound each time, and sometimes no a sound at all. Other keys were couple milliseconds behind, some a couple milliseconds ahead. A pianist controls the song, and Kara was not in control.

Kara did not like it when she was not in control.

Wrath though, was not the way this time. It was the way to ruin. It was a fire that burned itself.

If someone, or something, wanted to drive Kara mad, then the only appropriate response is to stay calm.

Kara tried to recall a different memory, from a different time. A soft, tender one. She breathed lightly, attempting to relax her fingers.

No explosions--for now.

She imagined the campfire of one of her many nights in the wild with her three other brothers, when they were all small and cute as kids come. The youngest and smallest, cheeks all pink and fluffy, she sat in the middle. The smell of blood was in the air, but it was mostly of the Earth Boar.

It was another one of her father's pointless challenges. Kai, her second oldest brother, was roasting the thing with a big grin on his face. The battle was fierce enough that at least half a dozen trees were blasted in the process, but he’d gotten the killing blow. She was proud of him. Her third oldest brother was nearest to the fire, close enough to nearly burn himself. He has yet not learned Thermal Manipulation well enough, causing the cold to bite at his skin.

The fire crackled, dancing when the wind whipped at her face. The trees swayed too, betraying many unknown shadows. But Kara wasn’t afraid, for her father was one of those shadows, up in the trees, watching over them. Her brothers did not know this, but she did. He tried so hard, to hide his presence among the trees, but the harder he tried the worse he was off. A rustling of the branches, a leaked Life Force scaring off the singing birds. They hopped away from him as she watched, and as he watched her watch him.

She couldn’t see him but she could feel his frustration growing. She didn’t understand. If he wanted to stay hidden, then why didn’t he just conceal his presence?

The piano listened this time. She heard her music flow into the room, taking their place among the candles and vibrant room lights. She played the song with grace and ease, forgetting about the keys and focusing on the sounds she tried to convey. Warmth, security. A little, tiny energy behind the ribcage.

The fire cackled once again, their fires giving color to her oldest brother, Lano. His lips were smiling but his eyes were not. He was irritated. Kara remembered her confusion, her confusion even now. He cared for his little siblings, blood or non-blood related. Yet his eyes betrayed something heavy. She remembered how Lano looked at her back then, how her hair stood up and how her skin turned cold.

She remembered what he would do. She found no anger in her this time. She was tired, beaten and bruised. She played that song, too. Emotion welled up in her, ones she was not too familiar with. The Sylvia family was not accustomed to emotion. It was a weakness that clouded the mind.

Kara agreed, which is why she played the piano. To forget about the betrayal and desire for revenge. Those little things were shallow. Boyish. Kara was too tired of it. Too tired of the fight she could never win. Fighting the world was too hard, much too hard. Barely thirty years old yet too full of disdain to ever take comfort in anything.

It amounted to nothing. All the training, all the years, all to nowhere. Stagnant, like Caldain. Stagnant, just like her. Stagnant, like her song.

She lifted her fingers from the keys, but the song continued.

She looked up with lazy eyes, meeting the black tables. She knew they were coming, had felt them wet her rusting bones, but had found it bothersome to care much about. The Games have arrived. People will die. Some will rise. And then the cycle would repeat.

But for her, it didn't matter. She had lost before the Game even begun.

You have been chosen as a Player in the upcoming Games. You are the hope of The Bright Side of Earth.

You are now named Siren Of Death. Weep your songs upon the broken battlefield, for where Souls depart will be your greatest verse.

You may enter most level restricted areas, though you may only use your Siren skills within it.

There is always a way.

Kara couldn't help but chuckle. There is always a way. It was the only thing that did not change from Game to Game, a phrase that could be dated back to the very first ones, centuries ago.

She glanced at the HP bar that appeared at the corner of her vision, and then immediately placed one hand around her ribs, afraid that her growing laughter would crack them.

HP

0/0

STM

0/0

Overall STM

0/0

Life Force

1/0

Energy

1763/2080 (20.8/Minute)