I had a dream. In my dream, they told me they gave me "something" to prevent me from being exposed. They said there was no time. And they said something about Divanitas. But I can't remember it. I don't remember who was talking to me or what else was said.
My head hurts. What just happened? I felt like I had a stroke and collapsed to the ground. My head hurts so much that I'm scared to open my eyes. I felt a force at my legs. A warm breath. Something was moving around me. Finally, I overcame my fear and opened my eyes.
The sky. Pitch black, full of stars. And the moon. Its light shines on me, making me feel powerless beside it. From the sounds, I must be in a crowded place. I slowly turned my head to the right. A wall? Then to the left. A foot… A boot! Someone walked past me. Then I kept seeing more feet. A sandal and a boot… Holding my head, I sat up. At my feet, a cat. A black cat. It was looking at me with its bright blue eyes and rubbing against me. Okay, I know the logical thing is to check my surroundings first. But… I chose to pet this cat. I stroked its head. Between my legs, I saw a bag. Looking inside, I found two silver coins, a rusty knife, a small city map, and a letter. The knife, though medium-sized, was rusted. I opened the letter. As expected, it was from Kris.
"Guren, your second exam has begun. So you don't cry like last time, I'll explain. The letter will burn and disappear two minutes after being opened. From the moment you open it, you have three days to get home. You're currently in the slums of Sacrum. One of the worst places for a 6-year-old kid. If you can make it home alive from this place full of every kind of trouble, you've mastered Diffusio. The best way to learn something is to learn it through your own suffering. So… GOOD LUCK!"
Why am I not surprised? Classic Kris move. I put the items in my pocket and started examining my surroundings. I was in a dimly lit street. The street stretched downhill and uphill. Looking uphill, I saw a hill. Downhill led to the city's exit, while uphill led to Sacrum's center. On the hill was a castle. The castle, with the full moon behind it, stood there in all its glory. I got this information by studying the map. There were few people on the street. A few walking up or down, and a group of four standing diagonally downhill from me. Based on Kris' letter, interacting with people here doesn't seem like a good idea. The letter— Oh, right. I forgot it would burn. The moment I realized this, the letter in my pocket caught fire. First, I felt warmth in my stomach area, then I saw the glowing light. Honestly, I panicked and started running. My clothes were on fire, and I ran aimlessly. I didn't notice I was running toward the group of four until I crashed into one of them. The guy I hit was built like a wall, so I fell to the ground, and the fire on me went out.
The men turned to me. One was tall and skinny, another short and fat, another tall and fat, and the one I crashed into was a tall, muscular-looking guy. How lucky am I, right? The guy had a sword at his waist, and all four were looking at me with angry eyes. At that moment, I thought, "Who are these guys? What do I do now? Am I going to die?" I looked at them, showing all my fear. Maybe they wouldn't do anything, I thought, until the guy grabbed me by the back with one hand, lifted me up, and said in his rough, thick, drunken voice:
— "Ha, who are you, kid? Wanna die, huh?"
He punched me. The force of the punch sent me crashing to the ground again. My vision darkened but then cleared. While I lay there unable to move, I heard their conversation.
— Voice 1: What are you planning to do with this kid, boss?
— Voice 2: Let's sell him to the brothel! He kinda looks like a girl… Or maybe we should have a go at him ourselves.
— Voice 3: I say we just beat him to death! (Chuckles)
— Voice 4: Huh? His corpse or used body won't fetch any money. I'll sell him as a slave!
These guys mean business; I need to escape, I thought. But what can I do in this situation?
I had no choice but to use what I'd learned. I slowly moved my hand to my knife. I gripped it tightly and closed my eyes. This time, I imagined less liquid coming from my fingers. I slowly opened my eyes. The knife was glowing bright red and stood solid. This time, I'd controlled the energy and didn't crack the knife. I jumped to my feet with all my speed, feeling my feet and entire body heat up. It was like the liquid I imagined wasn't just coming from my fingertips but spreading from my whole body, flowing into the knife and back to me. With my sudden movement, I cut the skinny one's leg. His leg flew one way, him another. Without losing momentum, I attacked the short one. Thanks to their drunken state, they couldn't make sense of what was happening. I got in front of the short one, bent my knees, extended the knife, and turned myself into an arrow-like form, stabbing him. His fat body couldn't stop me; I went right through. They noticed what was happening, and the tall fat one reached for his sword. I threw my knife at him. The knife pierced his sword-holding hand, then lodged in his ribcage. With a flash step, I grabbed his sword. As I did, I saw a shadow behind me. The shadow swung something at me, but I dodged by rolling left. The one attacking me was the muscular guy I'd crashed into. We locked eyes. He spoke.
His voice was full of confidence.
— "What are you, kid?! You killed three of my men in 10 seconds!"
He charged at me and threw a kick.
— "Think I'll let that slide?!"
Did I kill three people? What just happened? I was just defending myself, right? As I saw the kick coming at me in slow motion, I thought these things. How did I even do that? I looked left and right to escape. To my left, I saw it. The black cat I saw when I woke up. Its blue eyes glowed. "Meow." As its eyes glowed, I thought I was losing the heat in my body. I suddenly felt cold. Very cold. Aches shot through my leg and arm muscles in seconds. The liquid I imagined coming out was now only from my fingertips. My vision slowed, and I took the kick. I flew, fell to the ground, and started rolling. Spitting blood from my mouth, I stood up. The guy appeared in front of me. He swung his sword vertically at me. I barely raised my sword and blocked his attack. A detail caught my eye. His sword was emitting red lights. Was he using Diffusio too?!
— "What happened, kid, where's your earlier speed?"
He kept attacking, and I slowly blocked. I could feel the cat's eyes on me. Every second I felt its eyes, I got colder. Finally, my sword lost its energy and went out. The guy slashed my sword diagonally, and it broke into two pieces.
— "You might be talented at magic, but you don't know the first thing about sword fighting! This move will kill you!"
I saw his sword thrusting straight at me. It gleamed under the moonlight in the foggy street. I don't want to die, no! What if it hurts like last time… But what does it matter? If what the angel Misosezai said is true, my father's a liar. Why should I bother? Why should I be strong? What should I dedicate my life to? What's the point? Everyone will be fine without me. If this Moses nonsense is true, what does it matter… Just as I was losing hope and thinking this, a hand grabbed mine and pulled me into a side alley. A thin voice I couldn't place shouted, "RUN!" With my last bit of strength, I ran with all my might. She ran ahead of me… We finally hid in some bushes. Our only light was the moonlight. I finally looked at her. A girl with short black hair, black and narrow eyes, skin as white as the moon, wearing glasses. The moonlight glowed on her face, making her even more perfect. I asked.
— "W-who are you?"
— "Shh! He'll hear us. I'm Luna, Shiro Luna!"
— "Luna, huh?" At that moment, I couldn't bear the pain any longer and lost consciousness.
I opened my eyes in a familiar place. But it was a bit different. A void. But there was a difference. This time, it was white. A pure white void. I was naked. In front of me was a mirror. I saw myself in the mirror. But it wasn't me. The reflection moved independently of me. I shouted in fear.
— "Who are you?!"
It answered with a blank expression.
— "I'm Moses. I've been watching you in this mirror all this time. What you did back there was amazing. It seems my experiences helped you."
— "Are you really that Moses?"
— "I'm not sure, actually. I think I figured it out after your talk with the angel. I'm the reflection of your soul, the Moses of the truth lying in your subconscious! (I think) Before you talked to the angel, I was here alone, with no idea what I was. I was just here."
— "Then why didn't you talk to me?"
— "I tried, actually. But the reason we can talk now might be because you used my reflexes and experience so much. That must've created a bond between us."
— "That makes sense. But do you believe that angel?"
— "Don't you? If you didn't, would any of this have happened? You felt that nostalgic feeling too, right?"
— "Shut up…"
— "Hmm… What was that 'what's the point of living' attitude? Listen to me! Find a purpose quickly and discover the truth. I don't know when we'll meet again, Guren."
— "I understand… I'm sorry. Can I ask one question?"
— "Of course. But hurry, you're waking up."
— "What was that speed and strength in the fight? No matter how hard I try, I couldn't be that fast."
— "Hmm… Probably one of your Divanitas. 'Using manatrons on yourself' must be it. That's my theory, anyway."
— "So the angel was telling the truth."
— "I don't know if everything he said was true, but I think some things were."
— "I see. Then goodbye."
The white void started to fade.
— "Let's meet again, Moses!"
— "See you, Guren. No matter what, LIVE!"
I felt so tired. Behind my closed eyes, I heard these words.
— "And if you say your prayers you will make God happy…""
Is this a song?
— "And if you do what's told you will make me happy…"
A girl's voice is singing. Her voice is so beautiful, it makes you wish it would never stop.
— "I'll keep you in a jar
And you will seem happy
I'll give you breathing holes
You will think you're happy now
You're in a laundry room
You're in a laundry room
You're in a laundry room"
I opened my eyes. At my side, in all her beauty, was Luna… She looked to the side and kept murmuring.
— "And if you save yourself
You will make them happy
They'll bring you fine rewards
And you will feel happy"
Then she turned, looked at me, and noticed I was awake. And she said to me:
— "Right?"