The issuing blast caught Koral entirely off-guard. Her body crumpled forward as searing pain lanced through her skull, the bullet rupturing flesh and bone to lodge itself inside her brain —everything swiftly engulfed by a pitch blackness devouring her senses.

  Once more, she was cast into this empty void. Was this how it ended? Had her survival of the previous day’s nightmare been this… Pointless? True, she didn’t know the reason as to why she still drew breath, but to have it snuffed out so unceremoniously felt… Anticlimactic.

  Well, no matter. She had struggled enough. If death came to claim her now, then…

  Her resignation was violently shattered as Koral found herself gasping on the floor, a trail of blood marring the pristine tiles beneath her. Somehow, she had cheated death again, the how and why a mystery.

  Raising her gaze, she beheld the blue-haired specter once more, the sound of an angered hiss escaping from beneath the veiling strands as she was kept at bay by the looming presence of Apollo’s eagle. The old man had just executed her… But to what purpose?

  With her mind running a million miles per hour, Koral’s eye hardened in spite as she prepared herself to fight for her life once more. Whether she lived or died, she wouldn’t allow anyone to choose it for her.

  Unlike Kirana, who was robbed of such choice.

  Yet any urge to resist was immediately quelled, pacified by the delicate touch of Valerica’s hands cupping the sides of her face from the ground, cradling her under the velvety touch of her fingers.

  “Such a cruel and merciless fate you’ve met.” Her melodious voice carried a spellbinding cadence. Koral was dead certain now that this woman was the one behind all her suffering, profiting from the very atrocities issued on her name while she reveled in luxurious decadence. “Don’t worry, you belong to me now.”

  But… Even as her rational mind rebelled, the small blonde found herself entranced by Valerica’s beauty, powerless against the thorned vines of captivation tightening around her heart —or was there something else at play that she could not yet see? Unseen forces manipulating her vulnerability?

  “Live for my sake, and I shall ensure all your deepest desires become reality.”

  The blue-haired specter loomed above her shoulders with menacing tension, a promise of impending devastation… Yet Koral couldn’t fight anymore. There was one desolation that rendered her heart to uselessness. She had no crave for luxury, nor power or beauty to rival Valerica’s.

  There was just one yearning that her soul could not relinquish.

  “All I want…” Koral’s words trembled as tears streaked her face, anguish she could no longer contain. “… Is for my sister to come back.”

  A moment of quiet understanding passed between them as Valerica’s fingers gently caressed Koral’s bloodied blonde hair. She exchanged a brief glance with Apollo, turning her soothing gaze back to the distraught girl after confirming her sister’s status.

  “Sweetheart, I’m sure you miss your dear sister very much. If it were in my power, I would move heaven and earth itself to bring her back.” Her voice was dripping with a saccharine empathy that made Koral’s skin crawl… Yet she couldn’t move away from this hollow comfort either. “Unfortunately, that’s what happens when a loved one dies.”

  >> “As agonizing as it is, she’s gone from this world.”

  Koral wanted to recoil from this stranger’s presumptuous words. She didn’t want her speaking about her plight like she had any idea… And yet, no one else had offered before even an ounce of the kindness her broken spirit craved for.

  “However…” Valerica continued as she reached out to tenderly tuck a stray lock of hair behind her ear. “That doesn’t mean she’s gone from your life.”

  >> “Your sister will live forever inside your heart, and you can share your memories of her with me if you feel like it. I want to know all the love you two shared.”

  >> “I’m here for you, ok? To listen, and to help you keep her alive.”

  >> “And who knows?” A private smile played across her painted lips. “Perhaps she’s even watching over now, protecting and guiding you from heaven.”

  Sniffling, Koral meekly wiped her tears with trembling wrists, dislodging the bandages previously wrapped around her head. She refused to appear pitiful, not anymore, and certainly not in front of these two adults.

  “I understand…” The broken girl reluctantly caved in, survival instincts and desperate hunger for compassion overriding all other worries. “… I’ll do whatever you say.”

  The words felt like glass coming out of her throat. She was aware of how she was repeating the same patterns as she had with Kirana —surrendering to hands more eager to take control… But fear kept her compliant. Thinking for herself had only brought disaster.

  “Well said, my dear.” Valerica’s tender smile took on a subtle, predatory edge as her hand drifted towards the paradoxical splatter of blood pooling on the tiles. “I knew you were a smart girl the moment I laid eyes on you.”

  In an eerie motion, the Cartel Ringleader sank her fingers into the crimson puddle, despite it being only a thin surface across the floor, drawing from it what appeared to be another translucent chess piece like the ones she had been toying with earlier.

  Encased within was a delicate half-withered flower, its oceanic blue petals seemingly imbued with a faint inner luminescence. Its miniature elongated shape was streaked with subtle veins of violet and midnight blue, emanating an undercurrent of danger amidst beauty, even in its fragile state.

  Valerica’s rapt attention became consumed upon this new addition, rising gracefully as if dismissing Koral’s presence as no longer worthy of notice. She examined the pawn with clear appreciation, as one might appraise a precious jewel.

  “Your Mania Blossom is a Datura…” She murmured, turning the piece to admire it from every angle. “Quite promising. I have high expectations that you’ll promote to a better piece if given time.”

  “I intend to train Koral.” Apollo interjected firmly, as if cued by the ending of this strange ceremony. “And make her a part of my division.”

  “So the little wildflower will become one of your Sicarios.” The Ringleader’s emerald eyes flicked briefly to the old man before returning to her prize. “Aren’t you a cruel one, Solano?”

  >> “I won’t object.” She added before Apollo could reply, a secretive smile played across her lips. “If you’re the one supervising her, I’m certain she will grow into a most reliable member of la Medula.”

  This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

  As the silver-haired geezer thanked this boss, he extended his hand to rest on Koral’s shoulder, as if to subtly tell her to retreat. The girl, however, resentfully jerked it away. Though the tension had been defused after Valerica’s intervention —the two spectral beings dissipating into ethereal mist; Koral hadn’t forgotten the old man’s gunshot without warning. She’d make him apologize in due time for the offense, even if her life hadn’t been permanently extinguished by it.

  Rising to her feet unaided, Koral’s finger drifted towards the displaced bandages, drawn by the flickering sensitivity behind her eyelids. Gingerly, she traced the area, wincing as her exploration confirmed that she still had the eyeball —though sight had been cruelly robbed from it.

  “This matter is the reason for your summon.” Valerica’s commanding tone redirected Koral’s attention, as the two adults carried on with their babble. “Rafael, bring the boy.”

  With a couple of curt gestures from her jeweled fingers, the tensely poised men stationed along the terrace’s edges snapped into brisk motion, exchanging words until another child was promptly ushered before them —Koral discerning that he couldn’t be more than a few years her senior.

  “You can call him Kyros.” Valerica introduced him, her focus already drifting back to the chessboard, moving pieces along with fascination. “He has a Punisher too, just like your Koral.”

  This so-called Kyros possessed olive skin a couple of shades deeper than Valerica’s, his sharp features setting him apart from the many other children Koral had seen before. His eyes were a piercing clear shade of brown, intense and almost feral, had they not been rendered hollow by some unseen burden. Dark raven hair fell in messy strands that framed his face and reached just below his earlobes.

  Yet the most striking aspect of this strange boy, beneath a dirty and plain linen shirt that clung to his thin frame, were the kaleidoscopic ensembles of markings adorning his limbs. On his left arm, crimson glyphs coiled in intricate spirals, while azure and more straight angular runes mirrored them on his right.

  Their vibrant, almost three-dimensional quality made Koral skin crawl —they didn’t look like tattoos, but more like living scars that appeared to breathe with every subtle movement. She was sure she caught them shifting and undulating subtly, as if imbued with a life of their own.

  “So I’m running a kindergarten now…” Apollo sighed, though Koral could tell his annoyance was superficial. “Is there anything else, Flor?”

  “You catch on quickly, as always. Such a good trait to have.” So wait… Did that mean this Kyros freak would also be joining her ‘training’? “I may even be somewhat envious. Wish I had such a capable teacher by my side when I was a bud.”

  Apollo parted his lips, but the words died unspoken as he shook his head, reining in whatever reproach had nearly spilled forth.

  “The three of you may leave now.” At Valerica’s dismissal, the old man rose swiftly from his chair, a hint of relief etched into the lines of his face now that this meeting was coming to a close. “But I do have a warning for you, Solano.”

  >> “Make sure you don’t abandon these ones…”

  As those words hung heavily in the air, the old man turned to the stairs without hesitation, the empty sleeve of his coat swaying under the abrupt movement, completely unfazed by the scorching rays of the sun. Koral gasped, realizing that she was being left behind, but after a few halting steps she paused —Kyros had remained rooted in place like a statue.

  Tugging insistently on his arm in an effort to break his catatonic trance, Koral’s eye met Valerica’s one final time, with the Ringleader’s unnerving smile both bewitching and disturbing her.

  “We’ll see each other again, moonflower.” She stated with certainty. “You’ve yet to tell me about your sister, have you?”

  A shudder rippled down Koral’s spine as she swallowed hard, unsettled by the undercurrent of dread that Valerica’s words stirred within her. It was difficult for the girl to believe that mere moments ago, she had so readily agreed to follow the Ringleader’s bidding —a surrender that now felt akin to making a deal with the devil himself.

  Steeling her resolve, Koral refused to stumble or hesitate, unwilling to show weakness in the face of such a frightening woman. She continued tugging insistently on Kyros’ arm until he began following of his own accord, the two children hastening down the white marble staircase in pursuit of Apollo, who was lighting a cigarette.

  “That could have gone worse.” The old man began, his softening voice and trembling lower lip betraying the nervousness he was trying to conceal under quick-moving feet. “I’m sorry about shooting you, Koral. La Flor is a very obnoxious woman. She would have demanded a demonstration of your capabilities, and that was the quickest manner.”

  >> “I told you before to never trust anyone, did I not? That advice rings especially true when it comes to her.”

  “I don’t forgive you anyway.” Koral responded bluntly, her voice carrying a disgruntled edge as she sent a kick in Apollo’s direction, though it failed to even budge his burly form. She stained his pants with dirt though, which was enough of a victory in her book. “The least you could’ve done is warn me, asshole.”

  “Would that have made it easier on you?” Apollo responded, unbothered by her petulance.

  They were talking about shooting her in the face. Perhaps he had a point, however…

  “Excuse me!?” Koral replied with exaggerated indignation, though the fire in her tone began to dim as memories of the pain and the fright of the void resurfaced, exacerbated by the dull throbbing of her still-aching eye —which she continued to ignore. “I’d like to at least get a choice if it’s about getting a bullet inside my head…”

  >> “What if… The not-dying thing didn’t work this time?”

  Her voice trembled, vulnerability seeping through the cracks in her bravado. Apollo responded to those quiet, hesitant words with a weary sigh, momentarily silenced before he directed his attention towards Kyros.

  “So, brat…” His tone was coarse and harsh, and very unlike the one he had used with her so far. Perhaps he didn’t have much fondness for children after all, and she was the only exception? “What’s the name of your Punisher?”

  Kyros, who still looked out of it, remained muted until their steps towards Apollo’s car had diminished the opulent mansion’s outline in the distance.

  “Aethyr.” The black-haired boy finally uttered, driving Koral to voice her curiosity on the subject for the first time. She made a conscious effort to appear more upbeat, not wanting Kyros to get any wrong impressions about her —nor to expose vulnerabilities further.

  “A Punisher is one of those ghost things, right?” This much was a given, or so she thought with a raised eyebrow. “They have names? How about your bird, Solano? How do I know which one is mine's?”

  “Don’t call me by that name, thank you very much.” Apollo swiftly retorted, tossing the half-consumed cigarette to the ground with a flick of his wrist, seemingly more eager to escape into the sanctuary of his car than to continue smoking. Maybe his nerves had calmed down, thanks to her of course. “The name of the eagle is Sunshine Recorder. We’ll be working together from here onwards, so remember it well.”

  >> “As for yours… That’s something you should already know. Look inside yourself for the answer.”

  Koral’s brow furrowed at the old coot’s cryptic comment. To ‘look inside oneself’ sounded like one of those cheap suggestions peddled by the scam diviners of the streets. And yet, against her better judgment, she found herself following his advice, closing her eye and attempting to dig through the tumultuous layers of her thoughts in search of a resonant echo —a connection to the blue-haired monster.

  The simple act of shuttering herself from visual input ignited a visceral reaction in the young girl. Flashes of Kirana’s final moments, scorched into her memory with searing clarity, resurfaced to haunt her with terrifying speed. Koral trembled, her entire frame racked by anguish… Yet she pushed through the anguish, forcing herself to face the onslaught even as her teeth began to chatter uncontrollably.

  And just like Apollo had said… It was there, poorly veiled beneath the fresh memories of hell —a presence both familiar and foreign, lying in wait for a chance to bare her blades against the world once more.

  “I know the name.” She managed to say, struggling to control the cold sweat that beaded on her brow. Her two eyes opened, though the right one remained haunted by the visions that danced in the black obscurity.

  The word emerged as little more than a tremulous whisper, laden with the weight of a truth she could scarcely comprehend. At that moment, Koral understood that the path before her would be one of silence —paved with the echoes of muffled screams, those she wanted no one else to listen to.

  “It’s Hush.”