The Manipulator's Star | YA

The star of Scorpio shone brightly in the underworld, its light the only thing piercing the dark. Then, a massive door opened, spilling dark, radiant light into the room. A tall man in heavy armor stepped forward, his long black hair cascading over his chest, accompanied by a woman whose arm draped around him. Together, they approached the glowing star, and the woman gently touched it. Her eyes lingered on its light.

"I wish to bless this mortal infant. I want to watch over her." The woman said softly. The man nodded. "She will be under your watch, My queen." And so, they left, taking a shard of the star with them, leaving behind an infant bathed in light-Iris.

Iris adored her adopted parents more than anything, until the day she overheard them speak of her as "that child"-a stranger in their eyes. From that moment, she smiled-forced, hollow smiles-each day, hiding the growing chaos within.

Her life shattered when an intruder murdered her parents. Left alone, Iris felt no sorrow, only an unsettling mixture of laughter, tears, and pity. When the neighbors arrived, she "took care" of the intruder, despite being only seven. In her moment of collapse, a beautiful woman appeared, blessing Iris with a new power.

Iris awoke in a hospital and was moved to live with her biological aunt, but nothing felt right. She had the power to become anyone, to smile, to hide the truth. Smile. Smile. Smile. Smile. Smile. Smile?

But who was she really? What was she becoming? Every day, she wore a smile, yet the pieces of her fractured identity slipped further away. Further, further away. Until she was sent to Peridot Hall. Where she was also sent to The Divine Union Academy. Where only those chosen by the gods went. the momment she got there she was thrown into the God Ascension Games something she suspected would happen. Iris may not be strong. But she was sane for now. And manipulative enough to survive.