"𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐆𝐈𝐑𝐋 𝐇𝐀𝐒 𝐀𝐋𝐖𝐀𝐘𝐒 𝐁𝐄𝐄𝐍 𝐇𝐀𝐋𝐅 𝐆𝐎𝐃𝐃𝐄𝐒𝐒, 𝐇𝐀𝐋𝐅 𝐇𝐄𝐋𝐋"
❝ Delphinium Tesla is anything but the innocent citizen she pretends to be, especially not with the power of telekinesis behind her fingertips. Laying low wi...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Night had fallen by the time it was safe to leave the abandoned apartment. This time, they did not delve deep into the neon city, but rather remained on the other ring. Frankly, Delphinium had no idea what their plan was. Or if there even was one. If Jake had any clue how to escape this mess, he wasn't disclosing it and Delphinium was not going to open up another unwanted conversation.
They crossed an intersection and came up on a group of people holding handmade signs before what Delphinium assumed was a government-owned site. One woman had tears running down her face as she called to passerby, "It's not too late. We can still shut down the factories that poison the air."
One sign said, DO NOT FORGET HIM
Another read, FUCK THE MIKADO, HE DOOMS US ALL
A third said, ATONE NOW OR HE WILL RETURN
Delphinium's heart sank as it always did when she thought of Zoruki the Deathless. Ky legend had it that the moment they stopped serving him and became too depraved to have hope for, he would return to lay waste to all of Kybeshi, leaving nothing standing. It was the reason all of their buildings were made with reinforced steel-to withstand the wrath of a forgotten god. With the environmental disaster the central factories were causing, the Mikado's cutthroat, self-serving policies, and more and more people turning from the traditional ways, it was not difficult to believe Kybeshi was slipping into something its citizens wouldn't recover from.
Perhaps it was because Zoruki was death incarnate, something Delphinium was very familiar with, but she was inclined to believe in him much more than her own country's god. With the dark things she'd seen take place in Rienga, no one deserved to be rewarded simply for being born into it. Maybe all people like her deserved to be wiped off the map.
They passed on, leaving the picketers behind. Delphinium tried not to dwell on Zoruki the Deathless. She had enough murderous men to worry about as it was.
And one more was added to the list when she caught a glimpse of someone following. The picketers flew right from her thoughts.
Though she stiffened and spun to look behind her, no one amongst the lingering crowds struck her as odd. Her shoulders slumped. She thought she was done making up enemies out of thin air.
By Jake's lead, they circled closer to the city's center. She wouldn't warn him yet. Not until she had proof something was amiss.
Mistaking them for tourists, street vendors yelled their self-proclaimed 'astounding' deals as they passed. The smell of fried food sizzled through the market. A vendor selling overpriced clothing grabbed Delphinium's arm to stop her and she nearly cleaved his hand off before regaining herself.
Keeping an eye on every movement in a ten meter radius, Delphinium forced herself onward. The swift pace of her heart whispered that it knew something she didn't, which did nothing to assuage her feeling they were about to be mere mice caught in a trap.
