Seris was awake now, the sound of revving had driven the act of sleep to the deepest part of her subconscious. Lucidity filled her entire being, as the familiar taste of blood trickled down her throat.
Opening her eyes, she found herself in the back of a vehicle, a sort of truck, one she hadn't seen in years, believing that they had long stopped working, or that only the true elite still had access to them.
If those true elites still existed, that is…
Surveying her surroundings, Seris found herself caged, all around her was a group of what had to be at least ten more cages all containing similarly unfortunate souls. Luckily it seemed like they were still on route to wherever their captors were taking them, the familiar trees of Sorrow forest still covered their trail.
All captees were female from what she could tell.
Each also bearing a singular shard of a mirror strapped to their chest.
Seris wasn't the first to wake up, the tinge of blood in her mouth had come from the cage adjacent to hers, a frail looking little girl had thrown a shard of glass at Seris. Seeming to want her attention.
'Why did she pick me specifically?Do I really look that endearing?'
Seris did not know, nor did she really care as a matter of fact. She was no stranger to poachers--- and knew better than to try to help others when in a situation as bad as this one.
The girl scooted closer to the bars of her cage, and whispered:
"Hey! You're one of the enlightened right? Those people with special abilities!"
Seris turned to look at the young woman. She was quite frail, appearing as though she hadn't eaten anything in days, maybe a bit of overall malnutrition as well. She had long unkept burgundy hair, reaching far below her waist. Her eyes shone a beautiful lilac. Behind them was a look of sheer determination, like she had not once lost hope while being captured. She was wearing tattered rags of what looked to be a school uniform barely able to cover the important bits on her body.
Truly there was something special behind those eyes.
the eyes of someone deranged.
Someone who grew up wild.
Seris knew better than anyone what that felt like.
So, for the first time in a long… long time.
She decided to be kind.
" Yeah, I am."
The woman shuffled to sit on her knees, a look of hope fully enveloping her face. She clasped both hands together before speaking again.
"I know this is a lot to ask, but could you plea-"
Before the young woman could finish her Entreat, the vehicle came to an abrupt stop, the cages banging violently against the edges of the truck. Many of the hostages awoke in a panic, While others seemed to already be accustomed to the rude awakening.
Seris waited motionlessly, her back to the iron bars of the cage. She was refusing to turn around and face those who captured her.
Or so it seemed. In reality she was holding the shard of mirror in her hand, its translucent surface reflecting Seris's very own face back at her.
She was really a sight for sore eyes in her current state, her hair was thrown about and dry, she had a bruise on her left cheek and it had swollen quite a bit, even her eyes had massive bags beneath them, even though she had just slept for god knows how long.
But that was not of importance right now.
Seris concentrated, pouring all of her mental power into this reflection. A flurry of golden light had manifested from the tiny mirror shard, it focalized all as one tiny dot near its center, abruptly it burst forward into an array of light.
She was willing something into being…
Forging the living manifestation of her own reflection, her true self so to speak.
A shimmering set of runic writings manifested before her. They read:
[Proceed with the summoning of a Vanguard?]
[Yes] [No]
Just as Seris was coming to a decision, a loud interruption broke her focus, the runes losing their grip on reality as she did.
"Listen up! All of you scum are now property of District 3, and you will act accordingly. Disobedience is not an option. If you manage to somehow show potential, you might be picked up by a wealthy buyer, otherwise. Be ready for a life of living hell."
She looked at the burly man that was unlocking the chains on the cages next to her, he looked like a wild beast, a long brown beard fell down his chin,and a head of hair that could put a lion's mane to shame. His eyes were those of a killer, Dark. Devoid of any emotion, almost glossy. Even from here Seris could smell the pungent scent of blood leaking off him.
A Natural born murderer.
Seris would know of course, she grew up around plenty of them.
He wore a long black trench coat, an embroidery of a Lions open maw on its shoulders.
That coat tried and failed at hiding the man's shredded physique. There was no mistaking it, he definitely was…
The young girl next to Seris as if in que, shouted out exactly what she had been thinking mere moments prior.
"An Enlightened!"
The man whipped his head around, a toothy grin forming on his disgusting face, a single golden canine was shining brightly.
He began to approach the cage in which the young girl was in.
" Oh? So you know what I am. And here I thought all of those uptight ass holes from District 1 were sheltered!"
The man leaned in closer, just outside of the cage before continuing.
"Hey, you are kinda cute… I might just haveta keep ya for myself!"
The young girl responded immediately.
"Id rather die."
And in one fast motion.
She had taken a solid chunk straight out of his nose.
Every other prisoner watched in a mix of horror and awe at the gory display.
Seris Surveiled quietly, trying to analyze everything at her disposal. Now that he was up close and flailing wildly, it was easy to see where that pungent scent of blood had come from, it was the cleaver he kept neatly pressed in a hilt behind his back, alongside a fairly sizable mirror shard to boot.
She plotted, trying to garner if a fatal blow was possible at this range. If she could even graze his neck with a shard it would be over…
'Let's not get too greedy now. I'll just wait a bit, whatever chains he puts on me won't suffice at holding me anyway.'
The man unlocked the other girl's cage, yanking her out roughly as he did. He easily lifted her into the air with a single arm, waving her around like a ragdoll. Her barely wearable school uniform, or in this case school rags, swayed wildly.
Unsheathing his cleaver, a glint of something dangerous shone in his bloodlusted eyes.
And in one fell swoop…
he let his blade hack.