(“Everything around has always been cold, my magic, my family, my friends…..

…Cold…

It’s. So. Cold.”)

Those were Lyra’s thoughts as she floated about in a seemingly endless sea of darkness after being abandoned–no, thrown away by Kage on the mountain top.

(“Why!?”) she thought to herself over and over quite literally frozen in despair,

That despair slowly becoming confusion as the weeks passed and as months rolled by hate,

Although for Lyra no time had passed at all.

……

Lyra’s next memory was waking up on a hospital bed, in a strange room, everything here was different…

(“Where am I?

Why can’t I move!?”) Lyra pondered frantically, to weak to even speak

She was surrounded by artificial lights monitors and strange people in masks looking down at her, if not for her meeting with Apollo’s concerned gaze the girl might have gone insane right then and there.

Lyra’s spine was shattered beyond recognition, her body was also in a state of extreme hypothermia from being frozen for so long,

The fact that she was alive was amazing on its own.

It was a little under four months after the ‘mountain’ when Lyra was finally found.

Another month was spent in a hospital as Lyra underwent medical procedures that saw the strange masked people called surgeons cut open her back removing what was left of her spine before replacing with their 'technology’

After another painful month Lyra was already back to her feet despite being urged to stay longer and recover the girl finally left the alien facility, stepping out into an equally alien world–ring,

One she hated.…

………

****

“You do understand that just because have been given specific liberties it does not mean you can ignore us whenever you please Lyra?”

“I have my own business I am busy with official Stanton,” Lyra replies obstinately to a man wearing horn-rimmed glasses of which he habitually lowers to his pointy nose, which curves in annoyance with girl in front of him

“Ah yes, we have heard a little about your ‘escapades'—"

“Good then you know I’m busy,” Interrupts Lyra

“Precisely why you were called for today” Stanton adjusting his glasses once more

“………”

“…….”

……

“Is everything good Lyra?” Apollo asks the girl exiting from the main building of the large central government complex on the plastic beach

“They had a mission for me,

I told them I’d consider it,” Lyra brushes past me chatting with Apollo

After what happened yesterday things became a little bit–

-No, a lot awkward…

(I don’t know what came over me back there,

It was like I was feeling her emotions but amplified

Even if those weren’t my emotions, they felt so genuine

I have felt sorrow before, but never to that extent…

For as long as I can remember I’ve always felt everything all at once, at all times,

That’s how my emotions flow regularly

Feeling everything all the time ultimately is the same as feeling nothing,

Yesterday was the first time I’ve ever experienced a single emotion,

It was like a drug being injected into my vein, I was consumed by it all my actions my words moving only with the flow of that one emotion.

Is this how regular people feel?

Is this why they act the way they do?)

“So you basically declined?” Apollo is talking

“No, I put them into consideration,

They already know I have been keeping plenty busy with ‘that’ Apollo,”

“Hmm they do? Not even my supervisor knows,” Apollo mutters thinking over something to himself

(So are they both going to ignore my existence…?)

“Just take it easy Lyra and don’t try to cross the UCA,” Advises the young man

“I know,” yawns Lyra, “But even if I did cross them

Who would be able to stop us here?

I’m confident that just the two of us alone could wipe out the popula–”

“–Shhh!

At least talk about things like that after we’ve left the big government facility Lyra,”

“Whatever its not like I’d get in trouble anyways,” she replies nonchalantly

“…….”

(Say something to break the ice)

“…….

So……”

“Why are you being weirder than normal Kage?” groans Lyra, looking back at me,

“If you have something to say, say it”

“Why were you at that prison in the first place?” I mutter out quickly

(That’s not what I wanted to say)

“None of your business,” Lyra retorts

“I want to know too Lyra,” Apollo buts in possibly to assist me,

“I was getting information, I just happened to see Kage there fighting guards and I figured I’d rough him up a bit as payback,”

“’A bit’ you say?” I press, gingerly remembering the beating

“You deserved it for being a criminal,

I heard you were in for murder, among other crimes,” she coos

“Those weren’t my crimes,” I adamantly refuse,

“Besides that what information were you after?”

“Didn’t I just say I am not telling you anything Kage,

And Apollo you know what I am talking about so don’t try to be sly again making me talk to feed Kage’s curiosity,”

“Know what?” I jab at Apollo

“hhhhhh

I might have to call my supervisor to give us a ride again,” The young man sighs ignoring me as we step through the gates of the complex

“Are you coming back to the beach house Lyra?

And why were you even staying in that apartment in Old York?”

“I move around,

This place is unbearable

I hate staying in one place or I’ll start to feel sick,”

“So am I just going to be ignored for the rest of the day?” I interject

“Depends on how the day goes,” shrugs, Lyra

“If you so desperately want to know what my business here could possibly be, think back to the last bit of information we got before climbing that godforsaken mountain,”

(Before we climbed the mountain?.....

….Back in Bakufu, old man Shiki said there were two men who stole some requiems and escape too the mountains,

One had teleport magic and the other….)

“Your brother Lyra?

He’s here?”