My head throbbed. One moment, I was… where? I couldn't even remember. Now, I was slumped in a chair that felt too small, facing two figures ripped straight out of a fever dream.
The first was a tower. I mean, seriously, this guy was huge. He had to be at least six and a half feet tall, a solid wall of muscle barely contained by his worn clothes. A bandana covered the lower half of his face, leaving only piercing eyes and a surprisingly playful curl of dark hair visible. And clutched in one massive hand was… a lollipop the size of my fist. Seriously?
Then there was the other one. A girl. She couldn't have been older than sixteen, maybe even younger. She was petite, barely reaching my shoulder even seated. Her short, cropped hoodie revealed a toned midriff and the hint of a dark sports bra. Baggy trousers swallowed her legs, but even hidden, I could tell she had an athletic build. But more than that it was her eyes that struck me with an intensity that mirrored my current state.
I forced myself to focus. "Where am I?" The words came out rough, my throat dry. "Who are you people?"
The giant with the lollipop stepped forward, a surprisingly light movement for someone his size. He peeled the wrapper off his sugary weapon with a flick of his wrist and popped it into his mouth. "Easy there, kid. Name's Sweet." He spoke with a surprisingly gentle baritone. "We're members of Rhine."
Rhine? I'd heard whispers in the marketplace, snippets of conversations quickly hushed. Hunters of the deep, they were called. A thorn in the government's side, searching for lost documentation, exceeding the border lines, I'd been told the government set.
"Rhine?" I echoed, my mind still foggy. "And what does that have to do with me?"
The girl leaned forward, her eyes sharp and assessing. "After your… episode at the bridge, news reached certain individuals. Kyōheikoku showed up in droves." She spat the word "Kyōheikoku" like a curse. Those bastards. Soldiers that hunt people like me – Kanjōkho's. Individuals that bestow powers from emotions.
I felt a cold dread creep up my spine. "I was captured?"
She nodded. "Being shipped off to a facility. One of those secret training camps the government keeps locked down. They call it The Academy but don't be fooled; its anything but academic."
"So? They're gonna train me? Isn't that… great?" I knew, even as I said it, that the hope was a pathetic attempt to cling to normalcy.
Sweet chuckled, a low rumble that vibrated in his chest. "Not exactly, kid. Your case is… unique. You're a sole survivor of the Okonogi line. The line that dared to oppose the king. The power you possess is a threat in their eyes."
The girl continued. "You wield Okhuomo-Gekido. Meaning you channel your powers from the six foundational emotions. The Kyōheikoku prefer the Yami-Ebhi. They master a single emotion; you are a walking, talking chaotic potential."
"I wasn't even trying to when it happend" I mumbled quietly, the memories flooding back.
She leaned in closer, her voice dropping to a near whisper. "They locked you in a private room on the top floor of their eighteen-story building. Scary, isn't it? The last floor, guarded like Fort Knox. The doctors and scientists were prepping you for… well, let's just say it wouldn't have been a pleasant experience. Like a lab rat; I can imagine the countless needles and tools pointed at my skin. They wanted to tear down my mind and rebuild it to their ideal. The idea alone made me sick
And then, something sparked in my memory. A face, lined and warm, filled with endless love. "Grandma…" I muttered, my voice cracking. "Where's my grandma? I haven't seen my grandma!"
I started repeating the words, louder and louder, a desperate plea echoing in my ears. "Grandma! Where is she? Where's Grandma?" A burning rage started to boil
within me, hotter and stronger than anything I'd felt before. They took me away from her!
I could feel it building – that familiar surge of energy thrumming beneath my skin. The air around me crackled. She continued on how I was rescued and then I remembered there was a deafening CRASH when I woke up at an unknown facility filled with white coated men that I couldn't Identify, the wall exploded inward, showering with debris. I didn't even have to look to know my eyes were glowing.
Through the gaping hole, I saw a massive Popsicle jutting out from the building like a grotesque tongue. And then, a hand – reached in and yanked me out of that room, away from the nightmare, into the waiting arms of Rhine.
That was our escape but the memory of their eyes and what they want with me made this new life seem a bit more challenging.