‘Your heart is a bomb’. It’s not every day that you’d hear something like that. I don’t think anyone would probably hear that sentence uttered to them in their entire life time. Well, there was one person that I know as of now. And that unlucky person was ME.

“Huh…” I uttered again.

“What the hell, try to concentrate and look at where you’re going” Fredrick sighed as he grabbed my arm and pulled me forward.

“Uhmm, I know that my words might not seem convincing, but everything is going to turn out okay” Felicia said with a reassuring smile as she runs next to me.

“Huh…” I repeated the exact same thing whenever they told me something on the way.

Hold on a sec… that man was planning to wipe out a nation and he’s using a heart as the bomb. That heart belongs to me; so in essence, did I just assist a terrorist in his plans? Would society brand me as a contributor to wiping out a nation? Am I a terrorist myself now too?

…

I pray to whoever is up there or even anywhere at all that it’s not going to end up that way.

We traversed the city, going from corner to corner and hiding occasionally inside a building. Most of the people that were inside of the city were either hiding and barricading themselves in their own homes or offices, or evacuated to somewhere safer. From what I heard, the hospital is the only place that’s safe, but there are surely others like it inside of the city too.

The way to the mansion that Fredrick and Felicia were taking me too was very far that it took us almost two hours of running and walking. Where the area was covered by a dense forest. The travel time would have been much quicker if we would have ridden a vehicle or some sort, but from what I saw, they didn’t want to attract the attention of those giants when using those.

When we finally made it out of the forest, a large mansion came into view. I think large wouldn’t fit the bill, since this one was gigantic. It rather looked like a small castle to some degree, or maybe because it was one. There was a working fountain right before the entrance of the mansion and a beautiful array of flora lined up at the side.

The place looked vibrant and peaceful, save for the man with slick back brown hair standing behind the gates. He was wearing a frown while his right foot was tapping on the ground impatiently.

“I see that you took your time in getting back” He said as the gate opens without anyone’s doing when we walked near it. The man wore a black morning coat, grey vest, grey stripped trousers, and a white wing collar shirt. In addition, he was wearing white gloves on both of his hands. He rather looked like the stereotypical image of a butler from some rich family. He didn’t have that specific accent, though.

“Yeah, we needed to take a small detour” Fredrick apologized.

I wanted to say that it was because of me that we took so long, but the glare of the man in front of me dissuaded me from saying anything. He had a menacing aura around him that made the man somewhat unapproachable.

“Detour or not, you still took an extensive amount of time”

“Don’t be so grumpy, Glenn. We did arrive safe and sound” Felicia cut in, but all she got was reproach from him.

“I am immensely relieved of the fact that everyone arrived safely, however, the young miss needs to know that time is of the essence at the moment. One small blunder from our side and everything will be for naught” He replied to her.

“Well…” She looked down and scratched the back of her head because of the man’s words.

“I’ll explain what happened later, Uncle. There are other things that we should be doing right now” Fredrick replied to close the topic and move on.

“Hmph, very well then” He said. “This way. The old master awaits you eagerly”

“He’s already here?” Felicia asked.

“Yes, the old master had arrived soon after you were asked to escort Mr. Feld here”

He then led us towards the mansion’s giant entrance and snapped his fingers.

“Wahhh…” The doors open wide, revealing a luxurious entrance hall with a giant chandelier hanging on the ceiling forty feet up. The furniture and decorations were of dazzling quality. The paintings on the wall, the fancy lamps, the statues, the knight’s armors and sword, and the red carpet that led up from the entrance towards the different halls and floors of the place. Everything looked fancy.

“Hohoho. Welcome back!” A muscular old man who was sitting on one of the comfortable looking chairs said as he saw us enter. He was smoking a Cuban cigar and puffs out a smoke from his nose. The smoke hits his neatly arranged grey mustache as he wiggles it a few times.

“We’re back!” Felicia ran over to him with astonishing speed.

The old man opened his arms wide as if he was going in for a hug, but once Felicia was close enough to him, she jumped up and spun in the air, making her loose shirt and skirt to flutter. She then delivered a devastating kick to his temple. It made a loud sound as her feet made contact with his head.

“!” I was surprised at the sudden violent action of my classmate towards her elderly. But my worries for the old man’s well-being wasn’t warranted, as he just laughs it off as if it didn’t hurt at all. Now I’m more worried for the old man’s mental health. How could someone just laugh it off? Was he right in the head?

“Still too weak, girly. You need to put more oomph in it if you want to get through this thick skull of mine” He laughs as he hit his head with his fist a couple of times. “Maybe you should add more weights to your training from now on”

“What do you mean ‘add more’!? I’m already wearing almost fifty kilograms on each of my legs!” She replied exasperated.

Fifty kilograms of weights on each leg… wow. I mean, wait… what? Fifty kilograms?

...

What?

The man named Glenn coughed once to get the attention of both of them, while I tried to imagine what fifty kilograms worth of weight looked like on both of her legs. But it just wasn’t registering how it could be done in my head.

“Young miss, please act appropriately when you are in the presence of others outside of the household” The man that looked like a butler said.

“Ah… sorry” She blushed as she scratched the back of her head while apologizing.

“It’s fine, no need to fuss about minor things” The old man said as he patted his granddaughters head. “So, this is the kid?”

He asked as he walks towards me. Now that I take a good look at him, he’s quite tall. From my estimation, I think he was seven feet tall or more. With his baggy brown shorts and grey vest, that’s showing his hulking muscles, he looked quite the man. I dare say, he’d be a man among men if you compare him with others considering his age.

“Interesting kid you brought home” He said as he scrutinizes me. “Oh? You got a little problem there, though. Let this hip and cool geezer help you with that”

He grabs his cigar that he was currently smoking and shoves the lighted end on my cheek.

“What?” Al said.

“!” I was about to jump back, but my body stiffens, preventing me from moving any part of my body at all. This same thing happened when I met that mad man last night. And from experience, the outcome didn’t end too well for me.

I closed my eyes as I felt the heat transfer from the cigar onto my flesh. There, it happens again, the loud pulsating beat of my heart, but this time my body began to burn up, as if I was having a high fever. I couldn’t really concentrate on the cigar because my attention was focused on my heart and the heat that was spreading throughout my body. It was gradually growing in intensity each second and it was slowly becoming unbearable.

“Hoh?” The old man seemed amused as he observes me. “Let me crank up the juice”

“Ah!” I blurted out. Moments later, the pulsating died down, and my body heat returned to normal. I didn’t know why, but my body felt great right now. Not great as in I could do a summersault on the spot, but great as if I just took a long nap and felt refreshed.

“Better?” He asked as he took the cigarette away from my face.

I didn’t know what he did, but I nod my head in response. It must be some kind of mystical and magical thing again, so I just put those things to the side. If I can’t understand or if no one explains to me what they were doing, then the best thing to do rather than to worry is to just to not think about it. If someone does inform me, then, I would start panicking.

Curious as to find out if it left a scorching mark, I used my hands to check if there was, but Al notified me that there wasn’t any.

“Good” He said. “Glenn, get one of those rings that I got from the Dyulin… or better yet, get the chest”

“Was there something wrong with you before?” Al asked.

I couldn’t really tell if there was something wrong, but I guess there really was, since I felt something akin to a burden being lifted from my shoulders. I just nodded my head a little so that Al could see my response to his question.

The man named Glenn acknowledges the old man’s words and makes his way towards the hall on the right.

“So, the boys told me that you aren’t familiar with people like us and what Souls are” He asked.

I nod my head again in response, to which he found my action to be rather funny as he laughs heartily.

“Kid, you remind me of a pet hamster with the way you’re looking right now” He said.

A… hamster?

“Stop teasing him old man” Fredrick chided him.

“Hahaha. All right all right, enough about that. Let’s get down to business” He said. “How much do you know of what’s going on right now?”

How much do I know… well, not much, really? Besides the things that Gerrard and the others told me a while ago, I’ve been kept in the dark. But even if they did tell me more than what I needed to know, I’d just be restless and giddy all day long.

“There’s a bomb and uhmm… my heart is the bomb” I replied.

He laughs once again at my answer. “Well, you got the essential things down, but… would you like to know who the perpetrator is to this whole mess?” He said with a huge smile on his face.

Perpetrator? Does he mean that mad man? Then…

I shake my head to signify that I didn’t want to, which he laughed at, once again.

“This person’s very chipper, isn’t he?” Al said.

I agree. This old man in front of me is very merry. At least that’s what I think, since he’s been laughing a whole lot ever since I saw him. Which wasn’t that long, really. So, my assessment of him might change in the future.

“Well, you got no choice but to listen to me anyway. Since this hip and cool geezer likes to tell stories to the youngins” He laughed as he ignored my will to not hear any information regarding the mad man from last night.

“He goes at his own pace like a kid. Maybe you could learn a thing or two form him, Rei” Al said.

Ah… I don’t know. Should I?

“Now sit here on my lap and I’ll tell you the story” He said as he walked back towards where he sat a moment ago and took a sit. “Come come” He pats his lap while beckoning me to come sit on it.

No. Definitely not.

“Hmm? No? Then what about you girly?”

The girl in question shakes her head while she mutters ‘I’m not a small kid anymore, you know?’

“Fredrick?” He asked again, but all he got for a reply was a sigh from him.

“Ay ay, this geezer’s feeling very lonesome” He said looking pained.

A few seconds later, Glenn comes out of the hallway while carrying a small ornate chest with both of his hands.

“Ah, before I start talking, come here for a second, kid” He called for me to come closer to him as he took the chest from Glenn.

“…” I look towards Fredrick to check if he’ll give me a hint or warning as to whether or not the old man will do something surprising to me again, so that I might be a little prepared this time.

The boy that was to my left just nods his head and urged me to go near the man. Both he and Felicia then went their separate ways too. Fredrick followed Glenn towards the hall on the right. And as for Felicia, she went to the second floor while waving her hands and said ‘I’ll see you guys later’ to us.

“…” With still some doubts, I go near the old man.

He then opens up the small ornate chest and pulls out a silver ring.

“?” The ring looked somewhat rough and crude with a few bumps and an uneven surface. There were no gems or anything of the sort that was embedded, but there were writings that were inscribed on it. In addition, it was somewhat unnoticeable, but if you took a closer look, you could also see that the surface is somewhat glittering without the need for light to reflect on its surface.

“Now, I’ll explain to you first why you need this” He said. “Go on, take a seat”

As instructed, I sat on a couch opposite from where he was sitting.

“Ahhh~” I let out a small sound. The word comfortable was an understatement as to how my buttocks and back are currently feeling while I sat on the couch. There wasn’t that much resistance when I sat, so my body sank somewhat on the furniture, but it stops at an even level as to not suck you right in. If I could put both of my feet up on it, then I think I’d be able to sleep right then and there. In other words, it was very nice.

“Kid, you know what souls are?” He started.

I only know some things about it, but I still nod my head in response.

“Good. Now, you also know why he took your heart, correct?”

I nod my head again.

“Now that makes things easier. So, basically, this rings right here are going to be the replacement for your heart and will filter most of the souls out of your body. Since that body of yours is still sucking up the souls in the surroundings while that artificial organ of yours can’t keep up” He explained as he inspects the ring that he was holding onto.

“That said, it might not be a problem as of right now, but once it’s at an absurd amount of volume that’s accumulated inside, and if that isn’t released, your body will start to wither and degrade in breakneck speed. And from the looks of it, your body’s absorbing at an astonishing rate while it isn’t releasing any of it at all” He said with a smile.

“Although, even if your heart grew in capacity because of your body’s constitution, it should still have a limit, but, hmm… where was it sending the excess if it isn’t releasing any, then?” He stopped to think for a few seconds. “Bah, a question for another day. Long story short, these rings right here will keep you alive in the meantime”

“Oh…” So maybe that’s why my body reacted like that a while ago, but still, I’m going to die If I don’t wear those or get my heart back. That’s… not good. Not good at all.

“But I won’t give them to you for free, though” He said. “These things right here are made especially by a reclusive tribe in the far south. They’re long gone, though, so their worth a ton now, and I’m talking about in the millions for one of these babies”

“A m-m-meyl-… million!?” I said aloud as I choked on my words.

From what I understood, those rings where things that would keep me alive until I get my heart back. But millions!? I can’t afford something as expensive like that. I won’t even come to a sum near that even if I took a lot of part time jobs for my whole life.

Sensing my dilemma, the old man before me laughs and gave me an option that I couldn’t refuse.

“Tell you what, I’ll let you borrow them, but the rental fee won’t come cheap” He said with the most businessman like smile that you’ll ever see.

“…Borrow?” I asked.

“Yes, borrow. And if you want to pay the fee, it’s easy. You’ll just need to do something for me in return. No money, just a little manual work” He said while grinning.

“W-what do I need to do?” I was scared that he’ll make me do something so impossible that it would probably result in my death. That’s always how it goes in the stories that I’ve read. The only reason why the main character lives is that, well, they’re the main protagonist with plot armor. I mean, the author can’t just let his or her protagonist die like that. They’ll end the story on a bad note.

“Oh, you don’t need to worry about that till later” He said. “Just put this on first”

He hands me the ring that he was holding onto. I warily try to grab it until he laughs and forcefully shoves the thing into my index finger. I was expecting something to happen when the ring was put on, but there wasn’t. So, I let out a sigh of relief.

“Hmm… it’s not making much of a dent at all. I guess you need more than one of them” He said after he took a look at my hand. He then takes out four more from the chest. “Here, put these on too”

I did as I was told and put the four rings all on one hand.

“Hmm…” Now that I’m looking at my right hand, it kind of looked too gaudy for me. It’s not like I care too much about what I wear on my body, but if people started to notice and stare, I’d be troubled. Extremely troubled. I can still somehow manage if it’s just a few people, but if it’s more… I might just run away and hide in a corner.

“Now that that’s done with, let’s talk about that man” He said after he was satisfied with whatever he was looking at on my hand. “Firstly, his name is Kai Molony. He was once a cult leader of one of the largest cults in the nation of Wholfin that worshiped an old Deity from the north” He said. “Their cult’s following reached to numbers that it was almost in the dozens of thousand in just a couple of months that he first started it. That’s a hefty amount that you couldn’t even joke about”

Dozens of thousand in just a couple of months!? That person’s preaching must be at an extraordinary level if he could pull off something like that.

“Well, with great power comes great responsibility, right? What do you think did the man do after reaching that far?” He asked me.

I just tilt my head trying to think what the man did. It must have been something over the top, since that’s what I felt like he would do. But I wasn’t sure what it was.

“Let me give you a hint. It involved wanting more members”

“Uhmm… preaching?” I said.

“Hmm, close, but no cigar” He said with a smile. “He tried to force his beliefs onto the city’s occupants where the cult was located. And when I mean force, it meant you do as they want you to do or you get ‘punished’. But, to be honest, it’s more of a widespread brainwash than some kind of sermon”

Ah…so he wasn’t a good preacher at all, but he was just a good at manipulating people, which is... the same thing, really.

“He only needed three weeks before they got everyone in the city on board in their group. And that’s without any bloodshed, besides the original followers cutting themselves to use their techniques on the people.” He continued. “There wasn’t any information that leaked outside of the city for that whole duration, since his followers where doing their goddamn best trying to keep everything in check. The man was a competent leader with very competent subordinates, I say”

“B-but… uhmm, keeping everything a secret shouldn’t be possible… right?” I said.

“Right you are, kid. Even if his followers were indeed competent, there should be at least one thing that managed to go out. And there was, thanks to some bad eggs among the cultists” He explained. “Word traveled fast and reached the government, but what do you think did they do?”

…

This feels like a teacher asking his student about the assignment that he gave last time. But, he gave one important rule while doing it. ‘Don’t read the text book or use the internet. Answer as you see fit’.

“Took the city back?” I replied.

He laughed heartily at my answer.

“No no no, what they did was…” He said while wagging his index finger. “NOTHING” And then he continues his laugh.

“B-but why? I mean, uhmm… nothing?”

Thinking about it, wouldn’t the government of that place try to at least take the city back? Or release the unwilling citizens that were caught in the cults grasp? Freedom and whatever.

“Why? Well, what do you think would happen if the government of Wholfin took the city full of brainwashed people?”

What would happen? What would...

…

“Ah…” It then hit me on why they did nothing at all. It’s not because they wouldn’t want to take the city back, but it’s that they COULDN’T.

“What’s scarier than a gun that’s pointed your way? Well, a city full of devout and brainwashed cultist that are willing to do anything that their leader told them to, of course” He said. “Although, his happy days didn’t continue for long”

“Why?”

“The man got drunk on power and bit more than he could chew” He replied. “Two years ago, he tried to take on a Dominion Lord’s territory straight on. Just waltzed into his city with most of his followers like a locust swarm”

He laughs once again while he slaps his knee with his right hand. “Stupidity at it’s finest. Although, it was a juicy story for us back then”

“What happened?” I was very interested now. I’d say even more than what he was going to do with my heart. It’s like I was reading one of my novels, but this one’s happened in real life. And that makes it all the more exciting.

“As Dominion Lords are, most of them aren’t interested in what’s happening outside their city and just stay where their Well is, and occasionally going to some meetings setup by the council of that area. But once you barge in to theirs and try to knock them off their high horse, they get really pissed. Pissed enough to make that Lord use the Well that’s been saving up to erase them from the earth”

“Erase… killed?”

“No. I meant it as what it means. Leaving no trace behind. No bloodshed, no fighting, just straight up making them vanish. Poof, their gone”

“Huh…”

“Bastard got lucky since he barged into the city while the council’s hosting a gathering in Giollyn. Otherwise, he wouldn’t even come close to reaching the Well… or he might have just planned everything to take place when it was happening. Hah, a crafty one, I say”

“But, uhmm… you know, if everyone got erased. Then why is he here?”

“Well, everyone thought that he vanished along with his followers back then, but we just recently found out from his doings in the city that that wasn’t really him. It was just a copy of some sort” He pointed out. “Still cautious even though he’s already drunk on power tells you what kind of person he really is”

“Okay… but what does ‘me’ have to do with any of this?”

“Ah, that. If you want to get what’s yours back, then you’d have to work for it. And besides, it’s already too late for us to do anything, but, you?” He said as he took out a small knife with inscriptions on its silver handle from inside one of his vests pockets. “You still have a chance “

So, I’m the only one who can do this? That doesn’t bode well for everyone else, though. But…

“It’s plain easy, is what it is. You just need to stab your heart with this here knife”

“Okay, and then?” I said without any reservations that I would usually have. Heck, I didn’t even avoid eye contact this time, which is to say, a very hard thing to resist doing.

“Hoh? I’d be sure you’d have a different reaction” He sounded a little bit disappointed.

“Heh?” Al was surprised too.

As I said before I arrived here, I couldn’t be bothered anymore. Or at least I try not to be. BUT! If it involved other people’s lives, then I would give it my all. Even though ‘my all’ won’t amount to much to begin with. Also, I can’t believe I’m saying this, but… be it stabbing my heart or something else as absurd, I’ll try to cope with it. I’m not saying I don’t want my heart back anymore, though. I just want things to go as smoothly as possible without any kind of setbacks or whatsoever.

…

I’m jinxing myself, aren’t I?