My whole body felt heavy as I began to come back to my senses, unsure if I had fallen asleep, or fallen into a trance.

I could feel a warm towel lying on my head. Despite being awake, I couldn't bring myself to move. It wasn't just my bruises and muscles that ached, but now it was as if the inside of my body was sore as well.

'Couldn't he have told me beforehand that this was going to happen? Even Mara always explains training exercises before she puts me through them… Well, I guess he's always been like this though… I just didn't realize it. I always thought he was the only one on my side. Even if he wasn't fighting in my army, I imagined him as a general, or at least an advisor… I certainly didn't think he was actually the opposing army's king.' I tried to sigh, and let out a groan, but my body didn't respond at all. Dull chatter started to cut through the ringing in my ears as my surroundings came into focus.

'I guess… I'm not really that smart either if I couldn't figure this out… I always thought my mind gave me value, even if no one acknowledged it… But… I guess… I guess any value I have actually is just imaginary…'

Before long the drifting voices came into focus like I was sitting at a computer wearing headphones. I could tell instantly where each person was, but I could also hear them as if they were right next to me.

'I don't want to talk to anyone right now… I just want to be alone…'

Bhaltairs' voice was the first that I could clearly make out. "Naturally as the strongest, I will inherit father's land and title."

It normally sent shivers down my spine, but even as my head began to clear I felt nothing. It was deep but smooth like silk. I wanted to hate it, to find its sound disgusting, but ultimately I ended up just finding it a pity that such a smooth voice belonged to such a cruel man.

Without looking up I could see him clearly in my mind. Every feature of his face burned into my memory. 'When the time came I nearly begged him to stop, but my feet still followed after him.'

"What about you then, Airsidh, what do you want to do when you graduate?" My little sister was sitting across from me kicking her legs that still couldn't even reach the ground… Of course, mine couldn't either. I felt each slight brush of air reach my skin from under the table and heard each breath she took as she waited for an answer.

"Who me? I'm going to own the world of course."

'The only person I've ever called brother… I am grateful for him… He's… Well, I'm not sure if kind is even the right word… He's human.'

"Wait, so that would mean you'd be above Bhaltair right?" Lu ended up taking him at his word. I wasn't sure if she knew what a lie was, but she definitely didn't understand sarcasm. I couldn't help but find myself smiling as the sound of Bhaltair's jaw clenching reached my ears.

"As for me, I'm going to be a general, maybe I'll help you take it over."

'A general…' I pictured her. Both the sweet child I played with, and the fierce warrior she had already become. 'Even if you don't cry at my funeral… I hope you'll at least bring flowers…'

A ripple cascaded through my mind as a perfect image of the space around me took shape.

There was no doubt. I was experiencing yet another mysterious power that in all likelihood consumed manna, so after the awe wore off, my first thought was how I might turn it off. My second thought was if I even cared anymore…

'If I waste too much manna I'll end up in a bad state again… It must have activated instinctively like the others, responding to my lack of sight and feeling of being in the dark. So maybe all I have to do is open my eyes?'

I hardly cared about my own well-being, starting to try and move simply out of curiosity.

The talking around me stopped and my mind went blank. All my senses returned to normal, which felt incredibly dull in comparison. 'Well, at least I won't get another nosebleed. It still hurts from the last one…'

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Placing a hand on the warm towel covering my head, I let out a groan as my aching joints cried for me to just go back to sleep. Immediately I regretted waking up, wanting to just listen to them, but it was too late. If I were going to move, I wanted more than anything to just be alone. To both have time to think, and to not think at all. As much as I hated my bed… I had already made up my mind that it was where I was going.

'Is my father really any different from the rest of them? Is he worse? Are Airsidh and Lu family? What about Mara, has she really just been acting under my father's orders this whole time? What does that make her? Better or worse?'

Just as I lifted my head, a sharp yank on my hair jerked my neck back and nearly flung me out of the seat.

"Finally awake huh?" Bhaltairs' devilish voice reached out to me, his mouth half filled with bread, making his smirk even more annoying.

The sudden movement sent a jolt through my whole body, causing me to recoil as the muscles in my neck tightened.

My body was still too tired for me to even speak clearly, so I just let out a loud groan in response, putting my head back down on the table and covering it with my hands, holding back my tears as I ruffled my hair as if trying to tell it that it was ok. I promised myself I'd never cry out from pain, for mercy, and especially never for anything from him, but more than that I had become fed up with all of it… Not just him, but my whole family. "Go screw yourself."

Silence covered the room, and Bhaltair himself was the only one who dared to disturb it."What was that? I don't think I heard you. I barely touched you and you're already shaking so much you can't talk straight?"

His voice was fiery, but it wasn't warm like Airsidh's, or my father's. It was hot. Every time he spoke it was as if a jet engine's heat was given off, his words burning into me. I knew he was trying to get a reaction, fear, panic, anything. 'I won't let it show… I won't let him…' The image of him rolling out his set of knives vividly replayed in my mind along with my own thoughts. I could hear the clank of each blade against the stone. 'Screw all of it…'

Without a word, I planted my elbow on the table and raised my pinky and index fingers into the air. 'The devil's horns…' As soon as my hand made the gesture I started regretting it, but not enough to lower my hand. 'If My goal was to piss him off, that'll do it for sure…'

He certainly didn't like it when I talked back to him, or when I did something "Inappropriate." Which of course included vulgar jokes, words, and gestures. To be fair… He didn't like a lot of things, even scolding me once for dressing inappropriately when I only had one set of clothes.

'I bet my voice pisses him off on it's own though with how much he hates me… I don't care how bad it gets anymore… He won't kill me. He can't without orders.'

I paused, suddenly losing motivation to actually fight. 'Am I only going this far because of this heaviness in my chest?' I slowly relaxed my hand, bringing it back down to the table. 'Well, it's too late to go back now…'

"Air, what did she do just now, with her hands?" Hearing Lu's voice made me suddenly think of my position as her older sister. In my past life, it wasn't something I had to think about, since I was the youngest but…

'I'm not setting a very good example by doing this, am I… Should I even care? I mean, she's young enough she could still grow up to be a good kid, right? But… Does that matter either…'

Airsidh stepped slightly closer to her. "Uh… Just forget you saw that… It's not something you should ever do."

I let out a sigh as I listened to them chatter. 'Now I feel a little guilty… This is all stupid… I'll just go to my room…' I lifted my head, looking down at my hand as I slowly moved my fingers back to the gesture. The devil's horns were a gesture that represented a lot of things, the main one being that that person should be stabbed twice and die. It really conveyed my feelings pretty well.

'Actual devils have two hearts, right?, that's why they get stabbed twice. Of course, since humans only have one heart the second stab would be… Well, no one ever actually told me that part, but I can imagine…'

I slowly clenched my fist. 'I've been picking a lot of losing battles recently… Haven't I…' I slowly smirked as I leaned back in my seat and stared up at the ceiling. 'Maybe I'm more like Suzuki than I thought…'

A bone-chilling laugh suddenly echoed through the room, as if Bhaltair wasn't sure if it was funny, or if it was making him mad. Placing his plate down, he slowly began coming back towards me. Every heavy footstep on the floor felt like it shook my very soul, and I could hear my heart beating faster and faster.

I might have provoked him knowingly, but I didn't like pain. I shut my eyes, bracing for whatever he was going to do and covering my head. 'No… This is fine… I can take a hit. If I can even land a hit on Mara then I'll be able to get him too… I pick the fight… I picked the fight… So… One way or another, I have to… Something… I…'

Everything blurred before slowing down as my mind became both clear and empty. My instincts slowly made everything visible in a 360-degree radius around me. I could see the entire room as if I were looking at a blueprint, the walls, the floorboards that were slightly sticking out, and most importantly, Bhaltair.

Time froze. How far away he was, how big he was, where his feet were, I could see all of it. It was as if I had left my body entirely.

Airsidh was standing next to Lu, his hand on his sword. His heart was beating fast too… 'He would never do anything though, no matter how bad it gets.'

Lu was next to him, she seemed confused, and her heart rate was normal. 'That's right, she's probably never seen this side of him. He only shows it to me…'

My saving grace was that Mara was outside the door walking towards us. She would be opening the door shortly, but I doubted anyone knew that.

'When I fought that monster I managed to win… Maybe I can make up a plan to get out of this. Bhaltair is marching towards me. He is about five steps away.

'He could probably get a good three hits in before Mara walks through the door. Mara doesn't like fighting inside of the house, so she will stop him, for that reason if nothing else… Ok… So I just need to stall then?'

Time unfroze and began again in slow motion, I could sense everyone's hearts beating, I could feel the air entering my lungs as my own pounded in my chest and adrenaline filled my veins.

I had taken so many beatings from him that I knew how to fight him more than anyone.

'Knowing him he will probably try to grab my hair again since I openly showed how much that hurt… He's left-handed so he'll probably reach with his left hand. Sense he's walking, even though he's angry, if I'm quick I should be able to slide out of reach from his first attempt to grab my hair. He will become more angry, but he will pause for a short time. After that, he will probably try to grab my wrist and pull me away from the table. If I can yank my arm back at the last second, that would stall longer. But after that, it would be hopeless. My fists won't hurt him, even if I wasn't injured… If he reaches for my wrist and I do manage to slip through his fingers, then his hand will be exposed on the table… The table has already been set for dinner. I have a knife… But what about… Do I care…

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