Lira emerged from the ghost manor and looked at the sky—bright blue with white clouds traveling across it. From observing the sky, she learned about the wind element.
Her blindness had previously locked away her path to becoming strong, but now she could feel others and learn from them.
Lira began walking away from the manor toward a public place where she could see people. A few hours later, she entered a crowded area of Verdan territory. Looking around like a beggar, everyone ignored her and didn't want to come close to her.
Lira observed the people around her and their emotions—they all felt the same about her, except for a few individuals.
She ignored everyone around her and started traveling, searching for someone better than Elenya throughout the area.
Day passed into night, but she still hadn't found anyone who could be compared to Elenya. Lira didn't return to the Ghost Manor and continued trying to find someone who could help her.
"AHAHAHAHHH! Help!"
Lira heard screaming from somewhere and went toward the sound. In a narrow alley, she saw three men and one young woman beating a lone fat boy with three other guys. The fat boy was screaming for help.
Lira looked at all of them and saw some talent in the fat boy, but not enough to compare to Elenya. She approached and said loudly:
"Hey, what are you all doing?"
The young lady looked back and, seeing what appeared to be a beggar, licked her lips and said to the other three, "Go capture her too."
The three men approached Lira. As they were about to touch her, she punched one with her hand—he went down instantly. The others were shocked, and one said loudly:
"You fucking beggar!"
He finished his words and they attacked Lira together, but she dodged all their attacks and responded with rock-hard punches. Soon all three men were on the ground. The young lady saw this but didn't react much. She looked at Lira and said:
"Hmm, you're quite talented for a child."
Lira looked at her but didn't reply.
"I'll let you go this time. And girl, we'll meet again," the young lady said to both of them and walked away.
Lira looked at the boy and asked, "Are you alright?"
The boy looked at her and started staring—in his eyes, she looked like a goddess, and he couldn't even speak.
Seeing his reaction, Lira left. He followed her, but she somehow got away from him.
Morning rose again, and Lira continued trying to find anyone who could replace Elenya, but she hadn't yet found anyone comparable to her.
Lira walked around day and night but couldn't find anyone who could even match Elenya's level. But she didn't give up on searching.
The second day passed the same way—still no results. She moved away from crowded places and went to an empty roadside where carriages rarely came. She sat there for hours when she heard clashing sounds.
She approached the clash and saw many people fighting each other. Some were protecting a child while others dressed in black were trying to kill the child. Lira looked at the boy, her eyes widening as a thought emerged: I finally found a match for Elenya.
Lira looked at the people and burned them with her fire. She didn't even look back—she just burned everyone around the boy, even the carriage, then captured the boy and took him with her.
Lira returned to the Manor with the unconscious boy. When she arrived, she found new corpses around the place with organs scattered everywhere. She ignored the bodies and went directly to where Aeren stayed.
Aeren wasn't doing anything to anyone—just sitting in the room, looking at Elenya's body as she continued breathing. Then Lira opened the door.
Slam
"Aeren, here, take him and leave Elenya alone."
Aeren looked at the unconscious boy who had talent comparable to Elenya's, but he was of no use to Aeren at all. So he ignored Lira and continued watching Elenya, doing nothing.
Aeren looked at Elenya the whole night, did nothing, and then left.
Lira looked at Aeren with confusion—she didn't understand him at all.
She looked at the boy who was starting to wake up. Seeing him regain consciousness, she panicked and hit him hard. He went unconscious again. She tied him up and went to Elenya, who was still feeling pain inside and out and couldn't move at all.
Elenya opened her eyes, looked at Lira, and said, "Kill me."
Lira looked at Elenya and said, "I found your replacement. Don't worry."
After saying this, she waited for night to come and for Aeren to return. Night came, but Aeren didn't appear. She waited for 2-3 more days, but Aeren never came, and Elenya still couldn't gain enough energy to stand.
Lira was left alone with the boy, who sometimes woke up and stirred around. Each time, she would hit him and make him unconscious again.
One day, out of curiosity, she cut the boy with a knife and started searching for anything she could find in him.
She vomited for the first time, but after that, her curiosity didn't end there—she started cutting him more and more.
Time passed. Aeren came occasionally, and Lira began watching him and learning from him. She even started helping him. Since Aeren now rarely came, Lira was handling most of the experiments. Just like that, Lira settled at the manor and felt more freedom than she had before. She remembered the last day of experiments with Aeren when he had told her that she was the only one able to survive his methods, so he could give her a reward—anything she wanted.
Lira sat silently on a sofa, drinking tea, when—
Boom!
The door exploded, and people rushed in.
Lira looked at the intruders.
They were the Verdan family with their guards and servants, but Lira didn't know who they were. She also saw Aeren among them.