As a weapons master herself, Mom taught me that I should never hesitate to switch weapons if the situation called for it. We had an inherent advantage over others in a sense that we were far more adaptable than the common warrior; that there was always a suitable weapon for any kind of scenario. Of course, I already knew that, but hearing this come from my Mom was still a treat for someone that was deprived of parental love for almost all of her first life. I drank in everything she taught me, learning the basics of every weapon imaginable as she drilled me nonstop in my earlier teen years. 'No hesitation' she said. Let the body flow, do what you think is natural, switch to a more suitable weapon, if possible. That was the natural flow diagram of an accomplished weapons master. Never did she ever say that I should use weapons that I had no mastery with over something that I was very comfortable at. It was

I shook my head at the thought of getting defeated. Being negative now would just make it come true even harder. I had to focus! I couldn't afford to lose here! Especially if Livia was watching, and most assuredly, she was probably already by the sidelines cheering me on. Nope! I had to win this! It didn't matter that he was holding back! It just meant that he was underestimating me by a significant margin. And I could use that. Steeling my resolve even further, I crouched low on the ground before flying straight at the waiting Prime. If he wasn't taking me seriously, then I should take him down now before he even begins to wisen up. *CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!* "Such ferocity in your attacks, Miss Crimson," the Prime commented with a finesse that he had no right in having while blocking my attacks. "Now, this is something th

Waking up sore and groggy was the last thing on my bucket list as I forced my eyes to open for another grueling day of this accursed life. I felt like absolute shit, and my body ached in places that I never thought even existed despite my firm knowledge pertaining to the human anatomy. "On your feet, Dirt Eater." My ears rang at the commanding tone. That's the sound of the alarm, Crimson. Best get moving... My knees threatened to collapse from under me as I struggled to get up from my piss-poor accommodations. I haven't got a clue as to where I was, how I got here, or even why the fuck I was being kept alive for this long in the first place. This was torture, most likely; a penance for all of the shit that I ever did to these fucks. What those were? I hadn't got a single clue. "Am I gonna ge

I opened my eyes to day number.... I don't know... eighty? a hundred and five? Hmm... Yeah... Probably the latter... Okay. Day number a hundred and five since I was put in this prison. It was kind of daunting to think about Like, holy shit. It's been well over three months ever since I tasted the air of freedom? Even my time at the Furnace wasn't as long as this one. "Wake up." Heeding my alarm, my stomach grumbled as I got a whiff of the once in a blue moon ration being held out to me. At first, it was bland as shit in my mouth. I was pretty sure that the damn thing didn't have any nutritional value whatsoever beyond sawdust and burnt scraps. But with time, I came to appreciate the dry and ashy texture of edible food as opposed to the constant hunger rocking my body. Hunger truly was the mo

Has it been a year? It didn't feel like a year has passed. My hair had visibly lost its luster as I managed to get a glimpse of my reflection from the scant amount of water that the guard gave me.  I keep saying that all hope within me has gone and evaporated into nothingness, but only now did I truly realize what true despair was. The gnawing feeling of emptiness and lack of future coalescing into a writhing void of black tar settled inside my chest like a cancer devouring what little happiness I could derive from my situation. I was back to where I started; the day when I died during my first life. I hadn't even noticed when my cell door opened; my dutiful alarm looking at me with the same old scowl and disdain that he showed me since the first day I ever set foot in this place. "You have a visitor." I raised an eyebrow at the statement. A v