Rain watched on her communicator as trumpets blared and confetti fell upon a grand stage. Nephis was on said stage, regal and beautiful as a goddess, delivering a speech for her people.
"…and I hope to see each and every one of you participants give your all within the next coming weeks. I'm looking forward to seeing which of you shall soon join the ranks of the Fire Keepers. Good luck."
The crowd erupted as their goddess finished speaking. Rain wondered how her sister-in-law felt about their feverish admirations and whether or not it got to her head. And how because of Sunny, she had such close access and familiarity with said goddess.
'I can't believe she likes a scoundrel like him.'
She sighed, and peered through her makeshift runes once again, towards the very bottom of her memories.
Memory: [Weaver's Mask]
Memory Rank: Divine
Memory Tier: VII
Memory Type: Tool
Memory Description: Weaver believed that knowledge was the origin of power and so always hid behind numerous lies, wearing them as a mantle. No one knew Weaver's thoughts, Weaver's face, and Weaver's heart. Even the gods could not see what hid behind the mask.
'Holy…'
Rain still couldn't believe how easily her brother handed her a DIVINE memory. A god tier item that was crafted by a supposed Daemon. Why was someone like herself, a mere Awakened, keeping possession on such a powerful, awesome item. How had her brother attained such a fearsome item, and why did he nonchalantly just toss her the memory?
'It's not like, like he has THAT many more divine memories, right?'
Rain was too afraid to keep going along that line of thought.
The mask was supposed to reverse her flaw and make her a war machine able to kill anyone in her way. The Dreamscape allowed her to kill and maim with no real consequences, so the perfect storm had brewed up for her to test her mettle without being in a war.
Rain sighed and looked around her. NQSC was quite dormant ever since the Exodus to the Dream Realm. It was almost a ghost town with only a few million people roaming around, compared to before. She wanted to spend some time to herself before she would undertake the tournament. She… she was nervous to say the least. Excited, maybe, but also quite nervous about the prospect of killing people for the first time.
She had butchered Nightmare Creatures, hunted beasts that were way out of her league. She punched upwards against beasts that were supposed to be hunted by men and women greater than her. And yet, the closest to killing that she got was against White Feather Telle.
'Telle huh?'
Rain had gotten to know her would-be victim and catalyst that manifested her flaw. Telle of the White Feather Clan was like another version of Tamar but from Valor's vassals rather than Song. She was good company considering that they were at each others' throats at one point. She was the third musketeer for their ménage à trois, whatever that meant.
Rain roamed the streets of NQSC until she stumbled upon a familiar location. It was a
the convenience store that she frequently visited after her classes. A colorful sign inviting her was hung outside, and Rain decided to oblige.
The bell fixed above the door rang melodiously, announcing her arrival to the clerk.
Ignoring the clerk, who was staring at her with wide eyes, Rain looked around the modest store. There were all kinds of food items on the shelves, from cheap synthpaste rations to more extravagant natural snacks. This district was mostly visited by a somewhat affluent crowd, so there was a lot to choose from.
'Nice, they still have it'
Rain headed towards the shelf holding cups of noodles and plucked one, before heading to the clerk to pay. After paying the wide-eyed clerk, she headed to the boiling water dispenser to prepare her noodles.
After adding the boiling water, she turned and walked towards the window, where a small dining surface was arranged for her to eat. Siting down and waiting for her noodles to cook, Rain thought to herself,
'Huh, isn't this where Sunny popped up from?'
Rain remembered the first time she met the enigmatic yet handsome young man she would learn to be her brother. He had asked her some funny questions, gave some funny answers, and then disappeared for about a year before emerging as her teacher.
'At least he liked the Sh*n Ramen. Should I bring some back for him?'
Rain would spend some time eating and reminiscing back when her life was simpler and mundane, before her mortality rate spiked tenfold. Relaxing, waiting before she would enter the tournament and begin her hunt.