Chapter 155: Chapter 154 : Violet (Part 1)

“Aaa aaa…”

On her bed, Violet’s face was wet with cold sweat. Ten seconds had passed since she had been jolted out of her nap. Her chest heaved up and down rapidly as she took gulping breaths. As she did, her Psi Scan couldn’t help but search her surroundings.

There was no one, a predictable outcome, the bell hadn’t gone off after all. Still, some part of her couldn’t help but check, just in case. Only after confirming the fact did Violet’s scrambled heart finally regain its bearings.

She took a few more breaths. These breaths were well-practised at this point and within seconds, she found her balance.

Body and mind both settled, she pointed her attention to the dream - the nightmare which had spawned this sequence of events.

The act caused her beautiful face to twist up. At the same time, crackling sounds resounded out in the royal’s room as agitated lightning snakes began flickering in and out of existence.

‘Dammit!’

She clenched her palms tightly as a rush of anger filled her veins. This anger rose with the passing seconds, but ten seconds later, a fact caused it to plateau, and seconds later, another fact caused it to plummet.

Her anger fizzled out much like her lightning snakes, and sorrow, frustration and hollowness took root in her.

‘Dammit…’

She shut her eyes and refocused on the event that caused this - that caused everything to happen.

The Bloody Hill incident.

Just like it was for Lane, this was a life-altering date for Violet.

Proxima Hill was a lush region filled with all sorts of flowers and natural artworks, praised for its majestic and otherworldly appeal. Belle Astor, the then queen of Saures had visited this place a few times and decided to bring the rest of her family along for a picnic of sorts. Just the four Astors would attend; the husband and wife pair, Carter and Belle, and the sibling pair of Violet and Cloud.

Violet’s feelings leading up to the trip were positive. She was a home-body, but she appreciated beauty in its various forms. Cloud, her older brother by five years was in a similar boat, feeling-wise. Even as he complained that he’d rather hang out with friends, his anticipation remained clear. Sharing the same boat was Carter. It wasn’t as obvious though, but his wife’s eyes were attuned to read the subtle cracks on his stony face.

Noting that all were aboard, she set sail. In her mind, it would be a family bonding time - a much-needed family bonding time. Puberty had created a chasm of sorts to form between parents and children, and she hoped the trip would shrink it somewhat.

But it wouldn’t, in fact, the opposite would happen.

Disaster struck. In a move that made no sense then or years later, the Black Mist popped up out of nowhere and moved to assassinate the royal family. It was a shocking and traumatic event for Violet. The nightmare that cut her nap short minutes earlier was one of many symptoms that still plagued her to this day.

The fifteen-year-old Violet hadn’t awakened her Mimic power yet nor did she have any physical enhancements. In the middle of everything, her senses picked up nothing but chaos. She couldn’t tell left from right. Numerous blurs and bright piercing lights flashed across her vision. At the same time, shockwaves and loud sounds rang off on end.

Cloud had acted quickly to erect a barrier to protect his non-psionic mother and sister, but seconds into the conflict, this was shattered. Violet was blinded and deafened, left to scramble about like a headless chicken, as intense vibrations hit her delicate form from all sides. Helpless and afraid, she sought out her mother, mouthing her name and feeling the space around her. After a few seconds, she found her.

The pain subsided a little as relief poured into her heart. She recognised the wristwatch well enough. She tugged at her mother’s wrist but found Belle’s response lacking. The momentary relief was instantly pushed back. A wet sensation reached her leg. Her heart dropped at the warm touch. Somewhere in her mind, she hoped that in her fear, she had lost control of her bladder, but this hope was quickly dashed as the smell of blood assaulted her nostrils.

Negative emotions surged but she held out hope. Her mother’s lameness could be ascribed to the fact that she was unconscious and the blood could be from a healable wound. With this hope, the deaf and blind Violet used her hands to find the leaking wound.

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Her main concern was her mother’s abandonment so was very relieved to find no injury at all. But this relief quickly turned to worry. There was so much blood. Where had it come from? She would quickly find out.

She froze for a few seconds, then proceeded to tap the bloody puddle a few times, looking to find what should instead be in its place. In the chaos of battle, a stray force emission had slipped through a gap in the cracked barrier and blew Belle’s head clean off, killing her in an instant. Once realisation hit, truly hit, Violet unleashed an ungodly cry to the heavens.

It was soundless in her ears, but accounts of the aftermath spoke of a terrible wail that rattled the souls of all who heard it, resulting in a momentary pause. After releasing this outburst, Violet’s world quickly faded to black. Having truly poured her everything into the cry, her body turned limp and she fell unconscious.

A few seconds after Violet’s howl, another voice tore through the Proxima. It was Carter’s. It was one of boundless fury. Fueled by his wife’s death and his failure to protect his family, his subsequent wrathful attacks transformed the once beautiful land into a scene from hell until only ash, smoke and flames filled the place.

All who attacked him and his family on that day were killed then and there, eradicated by his lightning. Following the incident, he spearheaded the movement that would later eradicate the faction along with many other factions.

The aftermath was a bitter one.

Violet awakened three days later.

The first few minutes were quite pleasant. None of the pain she felt during the incident could be felt, and her vision and hearing had been restored - or rather, enhanced. Glancing at a mirror, she noted that her once blonde hair and blue eyes were now an enchanting violet. This wasn’t the only change. Without her knowing it, she had awakened psionic power. It was the same as her father’s, making her the sixth Astor to be a lightning Mimic.

These discoveries were where the pleasantness stopped. Informed that the event wasn’t a nightmare, but reality, Violet broke down as a sea of negative emotions ravaged her young heart.

In the aftermath of the event, the fifteen-year-old was left to sail these rowdy waters on her lonesome.

The Astor family had split following the tragedy. Carter poured the next few months of his life into tracking down and killing the Black Mist. Cloud, similarly devastated and guilt-ridden, stormed off. The next two years of his life would be a downward spiral, as the youth attempted to escape his memories with every means he could find.

The loss of her mother wasn’t the only thing she had to deal with. Life following the incident was completely different from before. Violet was pulled from school and ‘locked up’ in the Royal district. Her education would be handled by a number of private tutors that had been strictly vetted.

Now, she could only leave the circular district with permission and while accompanied by several powerful Royal Guards. At the same time, she was forced to undergo harsh military training, something that she had never been expected to, or done before. Since young, Violet had been an artist. She loved to draw, paint and write.

She had no interest in fighting or being strong, so the sudden switch in lifestyle hit her hard. The fact she didn’t have a choice in the matter made it worse. When combined with her negative feelings at having been abandoned in her time of need, Violet was the spitting image of misery. And more than sadness and sorrow, it was anger and resentment that dominated her feelings.

These feelings pointed toward her father and to a lesser extent Cloud. Her feelings toward her brother mellowed out over the last year. After a two year bender, he had somehow found his footing again. He returned to Saures and his duties as future king. Over the last year, the two siblings had managed to repair their broken bond. The bridge connecting them was one of sticks and string, but progress had been made. The same couldn’t be said of Violet’s relationship with her father though.

The resentment she held for him only increased as time went by. She ‘understood’ and partially ‘accepted’ his actions in the immediate aftermath. If she was in his place at the time, she would stop at nothing to rid the world of that which took her loved one away from her. Even his paranoia and his decision to force her into a life she didn’t want could be accepted by her.

The training was hard, but she could accept it. What she couldn’t accept was his absence. Even after completing his vendetta, Carter remained largely absent in her life. Despite living in the same district, some two kilometres in diameter, Violet rarely encountered her father and when she did, it was always unpleasant. There was no affection to be found from him. Words were scarce and even his gaze refused to land anywhere near her. This cold treatment devastated her, only second to her mother’s death, and gave rise to a flood of resentment and anger.

Still, in her position, all she could do was harbour it. She was under his house and under his rules. As a teenager, as a Rank 5 Mimic, she could only endure it…that is, until recently.

The Hunter Academy.

This was her way out of her locked tower. As soon as she turned eighteen, she enrolled. Carter had a lot of sway but he couldn’t stop her from going. The application was sent and accepted, and only a day separated her from finally leaving Saures. She had no grand goals nor was she interested in becoming a Hunter and what it entailed. She just wanted out. Out of the rut she was living in, and to experience new and exciting things.

The Hunter Academy was simply a door to her.

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