Ira was jolted awake as the armored vehicle lurched over the jagged dirt road. Stretching out, her shoes landed on top of Bariealla's.
In a swift movement, the silver-haired girl pulled her feet back; she smiled shyly, not daring to gaze at Bariealla.
Feeling her unrested shoulders and sore neck, she let out a nearly inaudible groan.
Bariealla had begun to speak, disturbing the silent atmosphere.
"Is this your first time outside of Fort Delta?" A gentle smile appeared on her lips.
Noticing the expression, Ira felt a tinge of sorrow appearing in her soul. 'Bari… Bariealla's smile kind of reminds me of Astheneia… What am I doing!? Answer her damn questions, idiot!'
"I-it is my second time…"
Bariealla tilted her head in curiosity—her interest now piqued.
"May I ask what your first time was? You do not have to share, though."
Ira's mouth opened to answer, yet the words refused to leave her mouth—almost as if they had a will of their own.
One look told Bariealla everything she needed to know—grief was very apparent on Ira's face. "Let us leave this chat as is, alright?" Bari spoke warmly.
Nodding her head subtly, Ira closed her eyes again in an attempt to get some more sleep.
'Why did I not answer? That happened eight years ago, I should have moved on by now… Maybe that is another thing I should work on this year—if I even survive this year…'
Before Ira could even drift off, Cammie spoke with her usual obnoxious voice. "So, what's your echo ability, new girl? I'll go first—actually, while we're at it, let us all share! Okay, so mine is called Cradlebreaker, it allows me to store momentum up and then unleash it as super-strong kinetic attacks!.. Though, if I do not have any momentum stored up, I am pretty useless… your turn, Kaine!"
Sighing heavily, the beautiful man spoke with a tone filled with superiority. "My ability is called Vital Regression. It allows me to revert someone to a past state in time. It is good for healing, but if my opponent has ever received an injury, I can also revert them back to that state. I know, an amazing ability unlike Cammie's."
The three of them glanced at Bariealla now, awaiting her reply—even if one of them, Cammie, was also glaring at Kaine at the same time.
"M-me?" Bariealla said.
Groaning playfully, Cammie responded, "Yes you, silly!"
"O-oh.. Okay. My ability is called Spirit Slash, which allows me to send out a mid to long-range attack that prevents the flow of Realm Thread in that area. It sounds pretty amazing in theory—but that changes when it is put into practice, since the Realm Thread left in that area can still be used, and the restriction is only temporary... What about you, Ira?"
The silver-haired girl felt a little jealous of the names of their echo abilities. 'Mine is only named stupid Mist Manipulation..!'
"W-well.. I can m-make mist, and use it to enhance my body and other things… I-it takes a lot of Realm Thread to make, and doesn't 'scale with rank'—whatever that means…" Ira's voice was slightly shaky under the gaze of them all.
"That is an amazing echo ability you have, Ira. It makes mine seem pretty useless…" Bari said softly.
Ira was confused by Bariealla's sudden personality shift. 'She was much more confident before we left Fort Delta. Maybe she is not good with car rides..?'
Whatever the reason was, it did not worry Ira, so she would not pry any deeper.
A grumbling sound came from Kaine's stomach, making him turn red with embarrassment. "T-that was Cammie! I am far above hunger." A pause followed before Kaine continued, "I am hungry…" he laughed nervously.
Cammie looked a little agitated at what Kaine had said, "Did we not eat less than three hours ago? Why didn't you eat then?"
Checking the time, Kaine began to laugh. "Do you not have any sense of time, idiot!? It has been five hours!" A smug smile appeared on his face, tempting Cammie to smash her fist into it, "Maybe then you won't be so pretty.. And wait a minute you had to check the time to make sure you got it right!"
Sighing heavily, Ira attempted to plug her ears with her fingers to silence their obnoxious chatting.
'Silence.. At last… I am so tired…' starvation had severely taken a toll on Ira, even if she had greedily devoured food a few hours earlier allowing some of her strength to return to her body, it would still take plenty of time for her body to sap the nutrients, fats, and more from the food to properly dissolve into chemical energy.
A tap landed on her shoulder a moment later, causing her to flinch. Unplugging her ears, she finally heard what they wanted to tell her.
"We are here, new girl. Take a look!"
The tall walls of Fort Echo did not inspire a sense of awe in Ira—simply because Fort Delta also had a tall wall.
◇
After passing the gate, the silver-haired girl began to gaze around—she noticed nothing different from Fort Delta. Streetlights remained broken or unreliable, the roads were left unmaintained causing the armored vehicle to bounce as it drove over the potholes. The scenery was gloomy at best, nothing worth mentioning—unlike the supposed Fort Bravo, which had a reputation for its scenery, 'Not like I have ever seen it.'
Even so, something felt different. The atmosphere had been much more cheerful, people walked around without a care in the world, and even a group of high-school girls were playing in a park a few dozen meters away, 'I wonder if my life would be similar to theirs if I did not possess such a... Unique look.'
Shaking her head internally, she knew the answer all too well. 'I doubt it; I would still be "The Champion Of Hope" or whatever..'
A title the Oracle had given her, that even Resonance recognized. Titles were not so easily acquired, and those who possessed them were of the highest power or talent, something Ira believed she was neither of.
Calling forth Resonance, she began to stare at her "Doomed" attribute.
'I wonder how my life would be without this sick joke of an attribute...'
[Attributes: Doomed. You are destined to die within the next six years]
'It would have been much better if it said "in", instead of "with in", that way I could be as reckless as I wanted without fear of death—but no, it just had emphasis on that part..!' Exhaling sharply, Ira decided to be optimistic about her current situation. 'At least the Lineage Of Mystery gave me plenty of other attributes.'
Finally, the car began to roll to a stop before a massive building. Unlike the building near the outer edge of the city, this one was in pristine condition.
The walls held no cracks, the roads that led to it possessed no potholes, and the streetlights that would illuminate its surroundings at night seemed functional, 'Not like I know for sure, it is the middle of the day after all.'
Yawning gently, Ira exited the car with the others and began to climb the stairs towards the headquarters of Fort Echo.
Before they entered, Andrisson warned them not to investigate unless they wanted to be killed.
"This is Fort Echo Logistics Division, any and all information gathered here is fairly important or top secret. Avoid prying into things that do not bother you or us."
Nodding their heads, they entered the pristine building.