The Ring of Rebirth

Tiff rushed into her apartment and sat on the sofa cross-legged, seizing any chance to Arise.

She breathed deeply but just couldn’t calm herself. There are only five days until the duel and she still hasn’t broken into Level 2 yet. Concealed Weaponry will certainly act a big part on the stage, but without enough Quanery to wrap the needles, they would definitely see her cheating. Tiff signed, and decided if she can’t Arise, the only choice is to master the skills even better.

Ms. Hamson taught them how to transport things with Quanery for the last week, though with the limited Quanery they have, they could only move small stuff like pens and papers. Tiff knew she could retrieve needles using this skill, but she still reckons attacks and defences are more important for dueling.

Then, Tiff heard men’s voices outside, followed by fists banging on her door. She tensed. It can’t be her dad. He had always brought keys himself and had never come home with other people before.

“Is it you, dad?” She shouted toward the door.

“Open up, little girl! We can easily break this door, you know.” A man barked hoarsely.

Tiff made sure her needles were all on her before she opened the door. Around six men were standing in front of her flat.

The bulky man in the front towered over Tiff, scowling, “Where’s your dad?”

“I don’t know. Perhaps he went out for a drink.” She shrugged, trying to seem brave.

The herd shook their head as they burst into laughter, “Oh, girl, you dad’s always out for drinks and gambling. It’s an easy guess. Do you know which bar he went to?”

“Sorry, I don’t.”

The man bent down to face her. He poked his face so near Tiff could feel his foul breath puffing on her. She tried her best to not to flinch or frown.

“Um, what do you want my dad for?” She tentatively asked, just to drag the time.

“He gambled, lost, and now own our money. Girl, these are the stuff you don’t need to understand. Just be a lamb and tell me where your dad went!” He growled.

Tiff assessed the situation. They have six men while she’s just a first-year student. They must have at least Phase 5 Quanery each when she hasn’t even reached Level 2. Even with the help of her poisonous needles, she still doesn’t stand a chance against them.

“Tell me where your dad went!” He squinted menacingly at her, “Or you’d leave us no choice but to tie you away with us. Girl, you don’t want that, do you?”

Tiff knew this is a dead end. Fight or flight? She’d get caught either way, so all she could do was to come up with something that would make them leave her alone. She’s got nothing to offer or threaten with, so she decided to play poor.

Though just in case it won’t work, she needs to be prepared to take her chance. She pinched two needles with one of her hands and conjured a shield with the other behind her back.

“I, I truly don’t know…” Tiff choked, “He never tells me anything about him.”

Between the men’s legs, she saw Mason’s door opening and him stepping out. No! He’ll ruin her pretence and get himself in danger as well. She can’t let them spot him. Now, she needs tears.

She recalled Nick stomping on the wedding rings and the dagger piercing her back. Though for some reason it didn’t work, maybe it’s because she has already cried her tears dry on this subject. She pinched herself hard on the waist, her nails dug deep under the flesh.

Tiff’s looked up at the group of men with her watery eyes, “He’s drunk all the time. He doesn’t care about me, and he beats me when he’s irritated…”

She shook her head ever so slightly and flicked her fingers inconspicuously beside her, signalling Mason to go back. He caught her gestures. He stood there, puzzled, but clever enough to not make a sound. Then, silently, he slowly retreated to his apartment.

Tiff was relieved, and continued to squeeze her tears, “Please, don’t bring me away. I have an important test tomorrow… My dad wouldn’t care for me anyway. He’d sell me for ten bucks.”

“She might be telling the truth.” A man shrugged.

The others looked at each other, not sure what to do with her.

“Yeah. Tying her away won’t do us much good. See how scrawny she is? We’d have to feed her a lot, or she’d probably get starved. It might not be worth it.”

“Oh, just admit you guys pity her.” Another lanky man rolled his eyes.

The man in the front snorted, “Fine. We won’t tie you then, but you have to ask him where he’s going tomorrow and tell us later. Do you swear it?”

“Yes,” Tiff stared at them genuinely with her endearing eyes, “I swear.”

“Good.” The herd of men marched away.

Whew! Tiff retracted the needles, blinked her tears away and returned to her apartment. She went into her bedroom, sat on the ground, and started to practice her Wind again.

Just when she was about to begin, a brilliant idea popped up. It seemed crazy, but what if, what if she could blend the numbing poison into her shield? Maybe into her Quanery? Then every attack and defence she projects will have the power of numbing. But how is she going to achieve it? Drink the remaining poison?

She gazed at the bottle. If she drank and it didn’t work, she’d be paralyzed for hours. And if her dad comes back during the period… Tiff hesitated, though eventually decided that is a risk she’s willing to take. After all, losing the duel will bring more bullies to Mason and her. If she can’t win against Ben, she surely can’t win against them all. Then, her mission might as well as failed.

Tiff exhaled, closed her eyes, and gulped down the poison without tasting it, though the foul smell still made her stomach churn. A few moments later, the poison was absorbed, and she could feel her muscles loosening its sense. She visualized the tornado of Wind, traveling it around her body and drawing in the poison along its way. Wherever her Quanery passed, the area regained its sense and the Quanery obtained a whirl of black smoke.

Minutes later, Tiff’s Wind finished its journey in her body and was now back into the form of a tornado. Though unlike before, it was not white anymore, there were streaks of black mixed in between the white, much like her house uniform.

She rotated her shoulders, kicked around, and found her body was perfectly normal again. The shield she projected now was still mainly white, but if she examined it closely, she’s able to see a tiny line of black swirling on the surface.

Tiff emitted a strip of Wind from one hand to attack the shield conjured by her other hand. The Wind was reflected sideways like usual, but this time, she felt the tip of her fingers numbed. She pinched them but hardly felt anything. Tiff’s hand only came back to normal a minute later.

She beamed at this success and patted the Ring of Rebirth, “Owen! Great news! Did you see what I did?”

“Yeah, I saw it. It was pretty impressive. No one in this world has never done it before.” The boy grinned broadly, “Congrats. Now you can win Ben without the need to cheat.”

“True. Wait, if I used all my Quanery, will the refill be poisonous too? Or will it just return to the original state? I have no time to make any more poison.” Tiff frowned.

“Let me check it for you.” Owen reappeared seconds later, “Fantastic! It’s in you forever. The Quanery refill will have the same effect as it has now.”

“Cool! Then I won’t need my needles.”

“Actually, it’s better if you bring it with you. Firstly, it targets more precisely. You can numb wherever you want on the opponent, while this poisonous Quanery requires direct contact between powers. Secondly, you could use the needles to attack when your Ouanery is about to run out. You know, like a backup.” He reasoned.

“Yep, I’m bringing my needles. Wow, Owen, sometimes you could be so wise.”

“Thanks. Well, I lived for hundreds of years after all.” The boy beamed.

Tiff then went back to Arising. Soon, she felt something cracked in her, some restraint silently breaking apart. Her Quanery boosted, the world felt fresher and clearer to her, much like a fish jumping from a small tank to a bigger one. She broke into Level 2!

Then, she spotted a hint of white under her wooden closet. Tiff tied her eyebrows into a knot and kneeled on the floor to examine it. It was a brittle, yellowish piece of paper.

She lifted the closet and gently tugged it out, afraid to tear it. She held the irregular piece of paper in her palm, trying to identify the red, twisted handwriting.

“Dear Tracy,” Tiff murmured as she read, “I’m dying. Run away from your dad, as soon and as far as possible when you are able. Super sorry for not being there for you when you grow up. Love you deeply, mum.”

Tiff’s heart fluttered at these sentences. Were the words written with blood? She rubbed at the paper and found those red, coated lines peeling and shattering into powder. Tracy’s mum must have been using her last strength and own blood to write this message for her daughter.

At that instant, Tiff heard keys turning outside of the front door. Her fists tightened. Now that asshole’s back! That asshole is the reason why this family was broken, why a loving mum died, why an innocent girl had a wrecked childhood…

“Well, I would not run away.” Tiff vowed, “Instead, Tracy, I’ll clear your path for you.”

The wasted man slurred, “Where’s my dinner?”

Tiff put the paper back under the closet before heading out. She snatched all her needles and strode calmly toward him, flicking them at his torso with steady hands.

“Hey, get my di—” The man didn’t realize her attack before the needles sank into his bare chest.

He blinked, frowned, and lost his grip on the beer bottle. It shattered and beer splashed everywhere.

Tiff grabbed this opportunity and shot streaks of Wind at the man. He instinctively projected an ice shield, way wider than Tiff’s, and successfully blocked all her attacks. Though he then gawped at his fingers as he found it disabled. He grumbled something in confusion. The poisonous needles soon took effect, his legs gave under him and he thumped onto the ground.

Tiff knew the man is only paralysed for about a minute, and time was running out. She stormed into the kitchen, seized a knife and stabbed into the man’s chest, perforating his heart. He was still goggling at her with that blank expression when she withdrew the knife and pierced his main organs a few more times, spewing blood all over the floor.

Tiff contemplated for a while, then decided to fake this a suicide. She wasn’t exactly sure how to do that, but she’d give it a try.

She speared more holes on the man’s body and face, made him completely unrecognizable. Then, she checked from the gigantic hole in the living room, made sure no one was passing on the street before she calmly grasped the man’s arms, dragged him to the window and tossed him out of it. She watched as his body slumped face down onto the street.

Tiff rushed back to wash the knife and mop the floor. After she cleaned the mess up, she curled herself up in her bed and signed. She hoped no one will find out the truth.

Killing people was pretty normal to her, but she never had the necessity to conceal it. When she went on missions for the Organisation, she just kills and fleets back to the base, leaving it another unsolved crime for the police.

“Owen? Do they have police officers here?” Tiff asked in her mind.

“Yeah, they do. They have prisons too, mate.”

Tiff’s heart tightened, “Do you think they will find out?”

“They might just take it as a suicide. They don’t have high-levelled technologies here, they have no clue about fingerprints and all the other stuff you Earth people know and have.”

“Great.” Tiff smiled in relief, “Then I simply need to pretend that I’m sad.”