One might ask — what makes the perfect spy?
Strength. Intelligence. Loyalty. Discipline.
The answers can be endless, and none of them were wrong.
But ask a follow up question — what makes the worst spy?
The answer will be far simpler. the absence of motivation.
Spies are trained to bury emotion, to silence doubt, to become shadows wearing human skin. Yet beneath every mask lay a reason to keep moving; after all, spies were still human, and motivation was the fundamental human behaviour.
Even the coldest ones, who seemed to be carved from stone, possess a burning flame in their heart. At the very least, they were still motivated to fight for their country, their belief.
But Aurora found nothing within himself that resembled motivation. A standard behaviour to everyone else, felt like a privilege to him.
After he was recruited by his father's friend to join the same spy organisation, he was initially determined to find out the traces of his parents.
But it was just a lie to keep himself moving. When he received the files detailing how his parents made an honorable sacrifice during a mission, he felt nothing. His mind lay still as a mirror-calm lake; the report sank into him without a sound, failing to stir even the faintest ripple.
If he was honest with himself, the reason he stayed in the organisation wasn't about carrying on his parent's legacy, nor was it about belief and honor — he was simply hungry and cold, needing a place that provided him food and shelter.
That's why he was recognised as the worst performer in his cohort. He continued to live like a corpse, without motivation to move, yet still survived.
Years have passed by, and he began to take a liking in this lifestyle. If he stopped caring, time would slip by like a dream. That's why he hated when people mentioned his parents; he didn't want anyone to remind him of reality — why he was here, and where he was headed.
What was the boy hoping for? Not even himself might know. Maybe he purposefully sabotaged some of his mission because of this; subconsciously, he wanted a reason to be punished, to die.
Or maybe… It was something else…
***
As the last embers of sunset spilled through the ruined room, it casted long, lonely silhouettes of a young man and woman against the fading light.
There were only two things occupying Aurora's mind right now:
First, was the existence of supernatural powers within the Land of Dawnflame. From a tale told to the local children, the world was built by Sacred Fire, a divine element gifted by Gods. Those who were compatible with the Sacred Fire could find themselves awakening a Remnant Core inside their soul, earning the title of the Blessed.
The Blessed were able to wield supernatural abilities. From the looks of it, the unexpected visitors were likely such people. The girl hadn't lied about this town being forgotten; the ruinous room and eerie silence proved it. To wander around in this place, even if they weren't Blessed, they must've had a few tricks up their sleeves.
Now, knowing the existence of supernatural elements in this world, of course the Earth organisation wouldn't have sent Aurora on a suicide mission. A day before he transmigrated, they made him take a pill.
It was said the pill contained tiny fragments of Sacred Fire, the very divine material that was blessed by the Gods. Logically, he should have already awakened a Remnant Core inside his soul, and indeed, before he realised it, he was already Blessed.
But here's where the question comes in — what exactly was his ability?
The mission briefing only contained generalised information such as core concepts, biological and environmental index, survival guide and some basic lore. The information on Remnant Core was not detailed, because the higher ups had expected Aurora to report to other agents first and learn the knowledge from the specialists, which was his first mission.
Who knew he'd spawn in the middle of nowhere?
The exact nature of each Remnant Core was unique, so the best way for the Blessed to discover their abilities was through experience.
Though it was said the understanding will come intuitively, like a child learning how to speak. But it would still require a bit of time to explore, which was something Aurora did not have.
The only certainty he had was that the girl and her companions weren't overwhelmingly powerful; otherwise he would've been a dead man already. Or, they were very powerful, but there was something else holding them back.
Second, he firmly believed these people have nothing but malicious intent towards him. In only five minutes of the conversation, the girl had already told two lies — they came in a group of four, not three; she had a weapon on her, there was a needle hidden under her ribbon hairclip, despite Aurora instructing her to enter the door unarmed.
Furthermore, she had the eyes of a killer. This wasn't something visible one could simply observe, but it was from an instinctive feeling honed over years of experience.
Even if he was the worst spy amongst his cohort, he was still a spy.
"Excuse me." The girl said with a bit of worry threading her voice.
"May you show yourself? I don't feel safe without seeing you."
"What's there to be afraid of?" Aurora asked in return.
"You have your buddies to watch out for you."
"Wouldn't it be great if we're at a distance, separated by this barrier? If I try anything funny, you will have enough time to alert your friends."
"That's true…" the girl introduced herself as surrendering.
"I'm Titha, what should I call you, mister?"
"Aurora." the young man responded. He didn't mind using his real name, because he was too lazy to think of something else, and there were no downsides.
"Ok, Aurora." she asked.
"What are you doing here? This doesn't seem like the place one would visit alone."
"I could ask the same." Aurora said gently.
"What are you and your friends doing here? Having a picnic?"
Hearing him, her expression darkened, the friendliness from before vanishing in an instant.
"You can drop the act now." She spoke again, her voice tight with impatience.
"Now that I've gotten a closer look at you, you really aren't anything special."
"You think hiding behind a bed could hide the fact you're only Scintilla rank? You may be a Blessed, but you're the worst there is."
'Not that I was trying to…' Aurora couldn't help but mutter a quiet complaint to himself.
'Do people have another adjective to describe me besides "worst"?'
"So listen closely." Titha continued, her voice low and steady.
"I'd advise you to obey us, should you want to live."
"I understand." Aurora said.
"But even if I don't obey, you won't kill me."
"Why do you sound so rushed? Is something else on your mind?"
"What—" The girl was too stunned to speak.
Even though she tried to hide it carefully, Aurora caught a hint of desperation in her voice.
Furthermore, now that he confirmed they were more powerful than him, and intended to harm, a question surfaced — why hadn't they acted already?
There were only two possibilities that came to mind: either they were in grave conditions, which was clearly untrue since they could still climb some stairs. Titha had also said she was a healer, but it might be another lie.
Then, only one answer remained — there existed something else that commanded their priority, a greater threat.
"I… don't know what you're talking about." Titha said, though she was visibly shaken.
"We can work together, Titha." Aurora offered calmly.
"I may be weak, but it's always better to have another friend than foe."
"But, you and your friends must promise not to hurt me." he continued.
"What do you say?"
Titha turned around to face the darkness outside in the hallway, after a couple of seconds, she turned back and closed the door behind her.
Aurora could faintly hear that she was speaking to someone, but couldn't grasp the exact words said.
"I just spoke with my comrades, they agreed to your proposal." she said, this time more confident.
"One of them is a knight, he swore on his family's name to not do you any harm."
"That's enough for me." Aurora nodded, though she couldn't see it.
"So tell me about it, I'm all ears."
"A Cinder Hollow." Titha said, deliberately lowering her voice.
"A very powerful one, and we're planning to hunt it."
She fell silent after that, watching the bed fortress as if waiting for him to bite.
Aurora did.
"I need more intel, Titha." he said with calmness in his voice.
"We can't work together unless you're more truthful."
She hesitated, then admitted at last.
"It can smell blood from very far away, that's all we know."
She took a slow step forward, stopping just short of the barrier.
"If you're going to help." she said, lifting her chin slightly.
"Show yourself. Then we can figure out a plan to hunt that abomination."
But, to her surprise, she received no response.
After a few seconds of waiting, she frowned.
"Aurora?"
More seconds passed by, still nothing.
Just as she moved in to check on him herself, she recognised a familiar face darted out from the next room, vaulting over the broken wall to enter this one.
He was the fourth person Titha had hid from Aurora, and this entire time he was hiding behind a broken wall in the other room, ready to stomp into this one when things become chaotic.
"Alex?" Titha shouted at the man.
"What are you doing?"
"You should be asking him!" Alex threw the entire bed away, revealing Aurora hiding behind it.
"What the F**K are you doing?!!"
Titha followed Alex's gaze onto Aurora. At first, she didn't see anything unusual. But when she took a closer look, she nearly fainted at what she saw.
Blood.
Tiny droplets of blood were dripping from Aurora's finger. Beside him on the floor, there was a glass shard covered in blood.
What's more terrifying was his smile — the young man had a devilish grin on his face that sent cold sweat soaking Titha's cropped tank top.
Instinctively, she called out to the door.
"Bon! Ash! We need to get out of here!"
But there was no response.
It was silent.
So silent, they could hear each other's heart beats.
Just as Titha imagined the worst, the door slowly creaked open, revealing the darkness out in the hallway.
It was opened by a hand she could recognise, it belonged to Bon. Relief began to wash over her—
Then the door fully opened.
And there was only a hand.
A torn limb, clenched on to the door knob as it swinged slowly like a pendulum.
From its tear, blood spattered across the floor.
Titha dropped on the ground, vomiting her guts out. While her friend Alex just stood still, eyes locked onto the darkness, and his mouth moved on its own.
"What…have you done…"