Being a Summoner on our Evolved Earth

(44)

Lucia glanced up at the sky while organizing her thoughts. The clouds moved across the sky slowly. Other people were moving about the graveyard, and someone even stopped at a grave on the other side of the tree. Finally, she looked back at the grave and took a deep breath.

"Hey Mom, it's been a really long time huh? Well you may not recognize me, but I'm still your daughter Lucia. Boy do I have a story to tell you, and you can't just say I have an active imagination any more because it really happened!" Lucia started talking to the grave with a nostalgic smile. She began telling the story of what happened without caring about who would overhear. 

The sun had reached its peak when Lucia finished her story.

"So yeah, that's what happened over the last century. Even after all that, I still have the same depressing thoughts like I'm useless and why am I staying alive? After talking though, I know why I'm still alive. I do want to be a part of other's lives, even if I can't have a family of my own, I can still take care of others. If one day Aegis and Vicki decide they don't want to follow me, and I have nothing else tying me down, then I'll come to see you." Lucia smiled as she finally sorted herself out. 

"I'm still scared though... Of what consequences may come from my actions in the future. I'm scared that my decisions may get Aegis or Vicki killed. I can be as cautious as I want, but I can't think of every possible outcome. I guess this is a part of living too. Being in a human society again makes me both happy and uncomfortable. I love the food, but who knows when someone is going to stab me or try to steal from me..."

As Lucia paused her speech, she could hear the sound of a lot of light footsteps behind her. She turned around in curiosity and saw a man dressed in simple grey robes with brown hair and eyes. On his shoulder was a golden canary, and behind him was about eight children who were following quietly while staring at the Canary. Their lack of action or emotion caused Lucia to feel that this was an odd situation.

"Hello young one, we're going to play at the temple, would you like to join us?" The robed young man asked, and before Lucia could reject, the canary sang.  

All emotion faded from Lucia's face as she quietly got in line with the other kids. The man smiled as he continued to lead the kids to the temple. Bruno watched hesitantly and Rikit's head peaked out of Lucia's shadow briefly. Then they received a signal from Lucia, causing to slip back into her shadow, and Bruno just followed along. When the group arrived at the temple, the man led them around back to a cellar door. He opened it up and the canary chirped an order to the hypnotized children. The children then one by one entered the cellar. Bruno waited outside while watching Lucia disappear with a hint of worry. It looked like a normal place for storage at first, and they all gathered into the store room. The man then slid some large crates to the side and revealed a hidden passage, the canary chirped again, and all the children entered single file. Once the children were in, the man followed behind and moved the crates back with a hidden handle to block the entrance. 

In the new room was a prison with two large empty cells and a white line painted on the cobblestone floor. The children lined up in two rows along the white line. The man walked in while rubbing his hands together nervously. 

"Bella, since you've worked hard, pick out the one want first, and send the rest into the cells." The man spoke to the canary. 

"That last child we picked up seems to be the oldest and the strongest so I'll take her. The rest of you into the cells, boys left and girls right." Bella spoke arrogantly in her soft voice. 

All the children other than Lucia moved into the cells. Lucia's hands twitched as she watched the situation. 

"Hurry, hurry Edman! I want a human body quickly!" Bella chirped excitedly.