<div style="background-color:#000000; border:1px solid black; margin:10px 10px; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;"><div style="background-color:#800040; border:1px solid black; margin:10px 10px; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;"><div style="background-color:#000000; border:1px solid black; margin:10px 10px; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;"><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="background-color:#800040; border:1px solid black; margin:10px 10px; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;"><div style="background-color:#090909; border:1px solid black; margin:10px 10px; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;"><a class="postlink" href="https://i.ibb.co/rM3CwCN/Black-Assassin-full-2073916.png">[ img ]</a></div></div></div><br/><table width="100%"><tr><td style="vertical-align: top; width:50%; padding-right:10px;"><div style="background-color:#800040; border:1px solid black; margin:10px 10px; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;"><span style="color: #800040">&lt; Mew &gt;</span></div><br/><span style="font-size: 85%; line-height: 116%;"> The man seemed grateful for what she had done to his sword. She thought it was nothing really all that special. All she did was enhance it by five levels, and yes it could do some serious damage to mobs which were around his level, but as he got higher, she knew he would have to continue to upgrade his items and even go ahead and buy new gear when it became too much of a cost to manage over time. Considering the more something is enhanced, the more expensive it was to repair the durability should they not be able to use her coins to repair the weapon. It was rather lucky for him to have run into her, considering she had many short cuts thanks to the magic she could use.<br/><br/>Listening to the lullaby, her head began to bob slightly to the tune. Pulling her legs up onto the bed, she would roll over so that her head was rested on one of the pillows. Her eyes closed partially, thinking about going to sleep. She had just walked here for a whole day in total when it came to hours. The last thing she really wanted to do was sleep which was strange. It was more likely that she didn't know if she was going to wake up afterwards, considering the fact that they had died after collapsing from exhaustion. It was just like falling asleep, just she didn't wake up afterward.<br/><br/>As he continued to talk after working on a few things what were in his inventory, she stared at the wall adjacent from the bedside she was face. It was made of wood, reinforced by more wood, some metal and a little stone. It definitely seemed like a place which was built thinking about simple architecture and insulation. As it was a honey moon suite, there seemed to be more fluff in the wall to stop the noise from getting through as to not bother the other guests. The floor itself seemed to be partially elevated compared to the hallway they had entered through, so it was safe to say the floor was also insulated. <br/><br/>Taking in a deep breath and then exhaling, she listened to his warm chuckle as he explained that the old people who owned the place were nosy, simply because they were old. That was generally how old people were, unless they were heavily towards a solitude life style. Curiosity of the old always seemed to come in the wrong shapes and sizes, but it was cute none the less. <br/><br/>Alicia didn't watched as he had gotten up from where he had situated himself and went over to the closet of the room to get some more blankets and a pillow. Hearing them be placed on the ground, she turned her head slightly as he laid down relatively determined to sleep on the ground. <span style="font-style: italic">Seriously?</span> she thought to herself before rolling her eyes a bit. Though when he had said good night with that warm smile of his across his lips. <span style="color: #BF80FF">"Good night Garry,"</span> the girl stated, calling him the wrong name on purpose before laying her head back down and pulling the comforter above her head. A few seconds later a mysterious wind would have closed the shutters without much of a sound, letting them lock with a click.<br/><br/>The lack of snoring made falling asleep relatively easy for most people to fall asleep. She however kept changing positions beneath the heavy blanket. She couldn't find a comfortable spot on the bed to actually just fall asleep. Eventually she moved to the direct center of the bed, facing the foot end of the mattress. She laid there partially face down, hugging herself with her legs out in front of herself as if she was was a clock with their arms being at ninety degree angles. She looked like a somewhat twisted L beneath the blanket.<br/><br/>Soon enough the girl had fallen asleep. The world had fallen silent just for her and at first her dreamland was simple darkness which she found an odd comfort in. That was until they could feel their feet moving, the sound of their feet patting a damp stone surface. She felt even smaller than before and she smelt something disgusting, something that oddly enough smelled of spoiled meat, of death. The path she was following was suddenly lit by torches held by people in cloaks.<br/><br/>No one could see who was beneath the cloaks, all their heads were down and avoiding eye contact. She looked down at the puddles beneath her feet. The girl was four years old, way too long bodied to be a human child. So it was definitely a younger version of Alicia, a Lelian. Looking back up in front of her there was a pair of cloaks standing before her with their hoods down, her parents, so it seemed as the girl picked up the pace and hugged them both. <br/><br/>Her smiles were met with stoic expressions, cold eyes which withheld their true feelings, but she could feel the warmth through the two hands which were placed on top of her head. <span style="font-style: italic">This is some messed up form of love,</span> the thoughts echoed into what seemed like an abyss. After a flew flashes, things changed. Alicia would begin to witness in first person the orchestrated deaths of common criminals, nobles and those whom their cult was contracted to kill. She even killed people indirectly, or directly by simply tripping them or luring them into traps. <br/><br/><span style="color: #FF0000"><span style="font-style: italic">You were bred to kill</span></span>, a voice sounded from what seemed to be all directions, and it seemed familiar somehow. <span style="color: #FF0000"><span style="font-style: italic">Through death and pain we inflict on others, we shall always prevail.</span></span> A strange sense of foreshadowing occurred. There were very few happy scenes and while the dream seemed incredibly real, they had no control. The sense of falling didn't wake her, and all the senses didn't change. <span style="color: #FF0000"><span style="font-style: italic">Through blood we are signed, through blood we are loved, for blood we kill and maim. For our nature demands it.</span></span> She found herself back in the abyss of darkness, but this time she was no longer comforted. <br/><br/>This abyss seemed to be staring back at her, with devilish intent. What did it want from her? A scene began to unfold, a blurry scenario. She was being carried, cradled in a woman's arms. It seemed to be a woman, a familiar woman. The mother from earlier? In the distance there was a house burning. The scene was heavy on the Bokeh effect, she assumed the smell of salt and ash was from the tears in their eyes. Then there was this sudden thunk noise.<br/><br/>The mother was no longer running, she was stumbling for a few moments before collapsing right on top of the child. Pushing and pulling, Alicia could hear and feel the sound of a child's voice crying. <span style="color: #40FFFF">"Why Momma...? Why did you kill Momma?"</span> While the voice was particularly crying, it wasn't sadness. It wasn't really confusion or curiosity either. She was being loud, disorderly and provocative. If she had just remained under her mother's corpse she would have been left well enough alone.<br/><br/>A man stood over the child, who threw rocks, pebbles and her mothers knives at him. The weapons and projectiles were missing, she couldn't see due to having had smoke and ashes in her eyes prior. With a sudden flick of the wrist, the man cut her right cheek and then swiped the blade upward and narrowly missed her left eye; cutting her upper cheek and the ridge of the brow. <br/><br/>The pain was real, as was the shock the child felt by the swift movements. At first it felt like a paper cut, a nuisance, then the skin, flesh and fat began to spread. The man knelt down before her as she began to scream and cry. <span style="color: #FFBF80">"You have died my child, and have now been reborn as my own."</span> The man cut his palm over her and squeezed his hand shut, spilling the blood of his own onto her wounds. <br/><br/>Alicia's eyes and mouth shot open as she took in a silent, violent and sharp breath. Slowly rising beneath the comforter, she was in the pitch black of darkness. Night was definitely here as she confirmed it as she pulled the blanket off of her head and slowly slipped off the bed and onto her feet. With her hand placed against her chest, she opened the window and looked outside. Judging by the clock which was on the mini-map, it had only been an hour since she had fallen asleep. Yet it had felt like an entire life time had been there.<br/><br/>Taking short, shallow breaths, she calmed down her heart and closed her eyes partially as she wiped her dampened face. Pulling herself over the windowsill after pulling her cloak onto her body and attaching the sheaths to her belt. She would make a classic superhero landing with two feet and a hand on the ground. The mist and mud having a rippling effect from the dramatic landing from only a second story of a building. <br/><br/></span></td><td style="vertical-align: top; width:50%; padding-left:10px;"><span style="font-size: 85%; line-height: 116%;">Standing straight up she put her hood up and vanished from Grey's mini-map, her name greying out on the party list. Gazing at her own map, she would notice that there were some additional white dots that weren't there before. Usually that would be normal, but they were roaming the streets, checking in windows and doors. <br/><br/>Was she paranoid or was the dream some sort of warning? Though the dream felt and looked familiar, maybe it was something she had written as Lee Tano? Wait, she did remember writing a backstory for the character, but to have it really implemented into this world? That was relatively strange.<br/><br/>With her eyes still partially closed, she wore a sheepish expression as she made her way through the muddy stone streets of Bi Town. The place had a Chinese–European architecture, where first floors of buildings were made of stone and upper floors consisted of wood, clay and tiles; whilst roofs were flared and their spines decorated. It was quite a site to see, her own work being put to work so well. Finding herself in front of an aged tall bearded man draped in an alabaster colored cloak, a mask covering the nose and eyes of his face. <br/><br/><span style="color: #FF8080">"Excuse me child..."</span> the strong pungent smell of rum was on his breath, his voice was coarse, as if he had been used to shouting on a battle field. With the back of his hand, he gently nudged Alicia to the side with his hand against her head. A familiar scent, her eyes looked up at him, her hood fell back as she stopped moving with the hood. <br/><br/>The man stared down at her, as if he had just seen a ghost. She reached up and grasped his wrist with a strong tug she brought it to her face, to see a scar across the man's palm. Pulling his arm back, he stumbled as he took several steps in the backward direction without turning away. <span style="color: #FF8080">"Impossible..."</span> was the only thing she could hear utter from his mouth, yet she cluelessly stared at him.<br/><br/><span style="color: #BF80FF">"What's impossible?"</span> A simple question with a monotoned voice was what found its way out of her tongue. <span style="color: #BF80FF">"Did you leave me to die in the swamplands?"</span> Alicia reasonably assumed, considering her dream and where she had woken up the day before.<br/><br/>That's when the man's face became confused, as if what she had just inquired was foreign to him. <span style="color: #FF8080">"No?"</span> It was clear by his body language and tone that he wasn't lying, nor was he sure what she was talking about. <span style="color: #FF8080">"You're suppose to be dead, my child..."</span><br/><br/>Making a cross expression and puffing out her cheeks in a childish manner, <span style="color: #BF80FF">"Huh!?"</span> She could tell he was serious about what he had just said. He didn't think he was lying, and watching as his pale complexion came back to normal, he seemed to sigh in relief to see that she was the real thing and not a ghost.<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF8080">"After we got separated all those years ago during the ambush, I thought you were dead along the rest of our men. Then I heard you were killed by brigands after they had murdered our Marshal..."</span> This information wasn't necessarily new, but now she knew exactly who the man was from the written biography and the dream. This was her adoptive father which one of the actual novels follows him becoming an adventurer after his men-at-arms were defeated in an ambush. Though his story seemed to be a bit off, she had killed the Marshal, but she didn't feel like correcting him should his own book be wrong.<br/><br/>Squinting slightly as she was remembering a bit of her book, a flashback occurred. She was about the same size in this one, the feelings were real. Had she fallen asleep while standing up? Shaking her head slightly, she was back in reality. The man was still standing there in front of her, staring down at her in curious thought. Focusing back again on her thoughts, she pulled a thought from her selective memory. <span style="font-style: italic">Isn't he suppose to die here?</span><br/><br/>Click, click. She drew both of her daggers beneath her warm cloak as she heard the muffled pulling of a crossbow's string. A shocked expression crossed the old man's face as he went for his sword, believing her to likely attack him. Just as he was about to pull his weapon from its scabbard, the loud clink sound of the bolt being released could be heard. As a blur, the girl leapt and deflected the projectile, slicing it in two before smacking it aside with the flat side of adjacent her dagger. <br/><br/><span style="color: #FF8080">"Hoo-hoo-hoo~"</span> The sound of the older man's laugh sounded similar to that of a wise owl. Excitement entered his eyes as he drew his sword.<br/><br/>White dots which had been on the map, systematically placed had suddenly turned red on her mini-map. Brigands or assassins seemed to be there, but she heard an odd whispering on the wind. The smell, scent and taste of blood was in the air. Licking her lips slightly, Alicia looked towards the man. <span style="color: #BF80FF">"Oh pops, your laugh never ceases to amaze me. Even in my books,"</span> she watched the map as two of the dots were approaching from behind. Normal people wouldn't be able to see them, but she had a mini-map which designated where her enemies would be found. <br/><br/>Shifting to the side, she threw both of her daggers at the targets as they went airborne to strike down the oldman as he seemed to be the priority target. Both assassins dropped to the ground, lifeless with loud thuds as one of the crushed a parked empty fruit cart. <span style="color: #BF80FF">"At least there were no cabbages..."</span> The girl muttered to herself as she drew her magic bow from her inventory, the sight being greeted by another one of those owl laughs.<br/><br/>Smirking like a hellion she drew back the string which summoned four arrows made out of raw compressed mana. She faced another two which were coming out from over a roof top to give a pounce on her. Sending the arrows directly through their chests before they could even launch themselves into the air. Two more thuds to the ground as they slid off the flared rooftop. <br/><br/>For a time, there was now silence. The remaining assassins began to withdraw and those ones that downed seemed to dissipate into digital cloud before completely disappearing. Items appearing in her inventory and increased karma. Glancing over her shoulder towards the older man, just in time for his hand to pat the top of her head, she stood there blinking a few times at the feeling. <br/><br/>There was an odd sense of accomplishment and the feeling of an old grizzly man's hand ruffling her head. Alicia couldn't help but let out a barrage of giggles, ones that she had never let out before, nor did she know she could even do so. Flushing a light pink, she even thought herself as cute or adorable at this point. An ambition which would begin to form in the back of her head. <br/><br/><span style="color: #FFBF80">"Men will learn to adore me, or they shall fear me, right?"</span> The old man laughed, quoting something the original Alicia had once said.<br/></span></td></tr></table></div></div></div>