The next day.
The Rundenwheel Bathhouse was an enormous outdoor hot spring located in the eastern district of the central city.
Coiling wisps of dense steam rose into the air, concealing the unbothered bathers below. The calming flow of running water and the crisp chirping of spring birds played atop the hidden hums of natural magic and waves of runic cleansing.
Petra lay on her back, drifting lightly atop the water's surface. Her little feet splashed from time to time, preventing her from drifting into the wall and bonking her head.
Mell sat next to her, dipping only her legs in the warm water. She held up a towel, blocking her surprisingly large chest.
Wind and Soryn were sat to the side, both submerged to their chins. They lay back to back, eyes closed, and listened to the beautiful sound of nature bound by the hot spring.
While floating, Petra listened to Mell recite the news that had exploded around the city.
Apparently, the city lord's mansion had been attacked last night. A thief had snuck into the main vault and stolen all of its contents. Petra naturally didn't do this, because her shallow pockets were incapable of carrying such wealth.
The sudden disappearance of the city's funds rallied a wave of infuriated citizens, resulting in a witch hunt for the culprit. It was likely that someone had taken the opportunity to use Petra, or the night invader, as a shield.
'Tsk, what greedy people.'
As for the question of whether Petra cared, she naturally did not.
Next, the matter of the twelve girls.
After breaking into the underground prison and 'saving' the girls, Petra had to get creative when taking them out and leaving the city lord's mansion.
Teleportation was like leaving a ripple atop a calm pond. If you did it once, then perhaps it would go unnoticed, but if you repeatedly went back and forth, say, to move a group of imprisoned girls, then not only would it leave behind traces, but some specialists could also track the spatial coordinates and follow you.
To make a long story short, Petra didn't want to take them out one at a time. She ended up just walking out the back door through a mixture of illusions and 'suspicious plot armour level protagonist nonsense.'
After the girls left the city lord's mansion, Petra left a very special poison in the depths of the prison.
This was a special creation that would slowly grow and leak out over time, even if you didn't deal with it right away. If they wanted to find out what had happened to the underground laboratory, then they would have to pass through this poison to get there.
This impatience meant that they would have to forcefully expose themselves to Petra's poison.
As for what it did?
That was simple, the poison would lightly paralyze a target, before sending them into an eternal sleep. After one was infected, it would then spread through whoever touched them during the paralysis phase. This created an awkward chain where they had to send one person after another into the underground prison to save those that were paralyzed, only to have it spread. Because it was mixed with the tower spider's venom, using protective clothing was also impossible. It would spread uncontrollably until a professional was called to clean up the City Lord's Mansion.
After leaving the underground prison, the twelve girls were taken back to the Tower Spider by Petra to get cleaned up and settled in. They were weak and exhausted, tightly wrapped in bandages, and had just gone through another painful surgery, but none of them complained, because whatever Petra had done to them had caused their constant pain to finally disappear.
After a quick check, Petra was relatively sure that these girls could be taken away without any problems.
* * *
Later that day.
After leaving the hot spring, Petra and the girls passed through the streets and casually toured the city. They visited some of the larger reconstruction projects, historical sites, and the largest entertainment venues in the city. Sevensen was very large, so there was never a lack of things to see or do.
The morning was like any other, until...
"Hay, Petra, long time no see!"
A crisp call from behind shattered the peaceful morning.
Something seemed to skip.
Nebula was the first to notice it. The moment that the voice came, Petras entire body stiffened.
Petra slowly turned around, almost like a rusty machine on its last legs. There was a pause, then her eyes widened when she saw the face of the young girl that stood not too far behind them.
The world seemed to pause.
The surrounding voices dulled, and the blowing breeze stopped. Swaying trees froze in place and an unnatural silence crept through the streets.
This girl was young, lively, and energetic. She had short purple hair and dazzling amethyst eyes. She walked with a free and unbound spirit, quickly closing the distance the same way that an old acquaintance would when greeting an old friend. Her short black coat billowed in the wind as she jogged over with a wide smile.
Behind her walked a strange girl in white. Her hollow eyes and indifferent face were emotionless and unsettling, almost unnatural in their nature. She carried dozens of bags, the same way that an overly helpful boyfriend might do for their girlfriend.
"Haha! We meet again little one, it's been such a long time!"
She bent down slightly, clasping Petra's hands in her own like a good sister.
"How are you here!" Petra screamed, trying to pull away.
Levy giggled. "Your mother sent me! Hahaha!"
"Impossible!" Petra roared.
Petra's mind felt dizzy, a storm of memories overtaking her.
She did indeed know who this woman was, but not in this life! This was Levy Lunabell, a senior sister, and half mentor, from her life back on Earth!
* * *
[Earth], [Era: Unknown], [Date: Unknown], [Corrupted Information]
Where the American border met the Canadian border, in a place that was no longer considered a part of either country's territory, there existed a special circle of land called 'The Collapsed Zone.'
This was a unique region that functioned as a small country.
Over the course of many years, this place had become something akin to a massive landfill, where both countries discarded their damaged, unused, or unwanted trash. Whether this was biological waste, mechanical scraps, or something in between, it had slowly piled up into small mountains. The land had become a breeding zone for crime and chaos, a crucible where its inhabitants foraged to survive even the harshest environments.
Children needed to become scavengers just to survive, and adults bowed their heads to whoever was willing to take them in. It was no longer the age of order, where one could find work just by sending in an application. The world had long changed, long advanced, and chaotic zones like this could be found dotted around the globe.
The weather was chaotic, and the temperature was unstable. Bio-Beasts would emerge from the ground from time to time and go berserk, while magnetic storms would sweep across and displace the countless mountains of trash.
Death was as constant as the waste that formed the horizon.
Transportation in and out of the Collapsed Zone was extremely harsh, and only those who graduated from special schools or possessed special identities were permitted to leave.
The reason for this was because the inhabitants of the Collapsed Zone were born with 'special properties'.
It was here that Petra, the young orphan, grew up.
-
Today, the sun hung high beneath the grey sky.
There were only three places in the collapsed zone that had any semblance of order, and those were the 'special schools', the 'noble region', and the 'Collapse Research Center or CRC'.
This was the 'Red Leaf University of Advanced Studies and Special Sciences', or 'RlU' for short.
A young girl walked through the halls, her small face looking around 18 or 19. Her steps were slow and methodical, but her posture was atrocious, and her complexion was deathly pale. She had dark bags under her eyes and her malnourished body looked as if it had skipped a day or two of eating. She wore thick circular glasses and black knee length socks. Her school uniform was a black sweater with a red and black plaid skirt. A red leaf was stitched to her left sleeve and a large bag hung to her side. Within this bag were half a dozen textbooks, along with her basic stationery.
Petra slowly walked through the white and grey halls, quietly following the red line on the ground. The exhaustion from the last two days slowly dawned on her.
She reached the classroom and sat down.
She sat in class, listening to today's lesson with the fifty other students.
Students of the RlU were taught many things, their curriculum ranging from social sciences and history, to the genetic sciences and chemistry. Each student was taught three things on top of the regular curriculum, and that was mechanics, architecture, and a 'Specialty' that was tailored to each person.
When class ended, Petra walked out, the piercing glares of her fellow peers boring into her back.
Petra was not popular.
Unlike the other students who had grown up in the 'upper echelon' of the Collapsed Zone, Petra had climbed out of the trash fields all by herself. Her grades were too high, and her performance was too good, making her the target of jealousy for many of the other students.
To leave the Collapsed Zone, one needed to graduate, but graduation opportunities were finite. The quota was limited, so every name that received the green light was one less opportunity for another.
Petra, who was the lowest of the low in the eyes of many, was often looked down upon, not for her appearance, but for her origins. As a 'Trash Picker', the fact that she could attend, not to mention graduate, from the RlU was an insult to many people. This wasn't only relative to the other students, many teachers also felt the same way. For reasons like this, corruption was not uncommon.
Petra walked, leaving the school premises.
"Ah!"
When she reached a safe distance, she clenched her fist and smashed it against the wall. The green eyes hidden behind her glasses were swimming with a furious light. Her hand bled while her jaw creaked. Tears ran down her cheeks as frustration welled up in her chest.
She crumpled today's test in her fist. It was labeled '0' in a large red font. The failure was attributed to plagiarism, resulting in an immediate zero.
Petra knew that this wasn't plagiarized, but sometimes it didn't matter. Having connections often meant that you could get away with certain things. If you didn't like someone, then those in the upper echelon could end them with just a word. Bullying like this, especially for people like Petra, who had no background, was extremely common.
Her mind flashed to a blond haired bitch with a sweet smile.
She gritted her teeth even harder.
Petra had been suffering ever since she rejected that woman's request. Petra was unwilling to become a dog for the higher class, and she was unwilling to stand at someone's beck and call. This resulted in her current predicament. That girl, Ashley, intended to destroy her future.
Petra leaned against the wall, letting herself fall down.
She collapsed on her knees, wrapping her arms around herself.
Her breathing was uneven.
Her body had long been in a weakened state, and now her mind was slowly collapsing.
She had persisted, she had survived, but Petra couldn't find a way out, not this time. She didn't know what to do. She had worked so hard, fought so far, just to be blocked at the end.
As darkness slowly started to take root in the young girl's mind, a crisp call came from behind.
"Haha! We meet again little one, it's been such a long time!"
Petra turned her head, looking at this intruder.
She didn't recognise her.
Petra wiped off her tears with her sleeve and stood up with a wobble, using the wall as a support.
She focused on this annoying girl that had approached way too quickly.
Petra's brows furrowed, pulling away from the hand that had reached out towards hers. "I don't know you. What do you want?"
Levy giggled. "Your mother sent me! Hahaha!"
"Impossible!" Petra spat, her voice incredibly cold.
She had no mother. She was born in the abyss of the unwanted sea of discarded trash. She fought tooth and nail for even a day's scraps. At one point, she was almost a walking skeleton. She was only five at that time. If she had a mother, and that mother knew where she was, then just what kind of monster would she be?
"Come come come, let me help you!"
Petra's brows furrowed.
"Get away from me."
She was pulled up unwillingly, then dragged over to a nearby bench where Levy offered her some food.
Petra shrank her shoulders, her irritation like a disobedient beast. She was unwilling to talk to this woman, but she knew that she couldn't pass up a free meal.
Petra's mind swam with conspiracies, but the trap that she had expected never came.
-
As Petra and Levy became closer, things started to change.
After that day, Levy began tutoring Petra.
The knowledge that Levy passed on wasn't only more complete, it was also more compact, refined, and taught in a way that exceeded the current curriculum's speed by many times.
Their ages didn't seem too different, but the 'library' of knowledge that Levy possessed was unfathomable.
This didn't mean that Petra trusted her, far from it.
Regardless of this strange girl's intentions, regardless of the unbelievable claim that she had come upon her mother's request, it didn't matter. Petra just listened quietly, spending each day slowly collecting new knowledge.
Months passed like this.
Levy took care of food and shelter, so Petra had time to focus on school. With this, the problems Petra had faced also began to slowly disappear.
Although she was still disliked by her peers, those looks of disgust began to turn from disdain to fear.
Even Ashley, who secretly hated Petra, had realised that something was wrong. The people who she had bribed began to slowly refuse her requests, and sometimes even straight up scolded her. It quickly became apparent that Petra had found a backer.
As time passed, months turned into years.
Petra passed through her first year of 'RlU' with ease, then her second year as if it were nothing, and finally her third year went so quickly that it was like a blur to her mind. It was clear to anyone that this girl was a true genius, a monster that appeared only once in a generation.
Over the last three years, Petra and Levy had slowly become closer, almost like sisters.
Petra had opened her heart, allowing this girl to become her first and only friend. Regardless, the questions about her mother remained unanswered.
As time passed, the strictness of Levy's lessons increased. They had started to cover things that exceeded the syllabus, leading Petra into an unknown field. It was only many years later that Petra would discover that what Levy had taught her was advanced knowledge that even the top scientists and scholars would kill for, literally...
Over a long period of time, the 22 year old Petra had even started to develop a 'fear' towards Levy. This wasn't the kind of fear that came from danger, instead, it came from reverence, from that unfathomable aura that always seemed to follow her. She was there, yet she wasn't. Petra felt that she didn't seem to fit in with the world, like she was disconnected in a way that couldn't be explained.
The young Petra could only think this far, and the future Petra was unwilling to think back.
One day, something changed.
The week before the final exam... out of nowhere, Levy disappeared.
It was like she had never existed, like she had been erased from history.
One day she was there, and the next she had disappeared.
Even the memories of her had started to fade. Petra remembered a period of time where she began to question herself about whether Levy had ever even existed to begin with. To the world, there was never such a person.
This all came to a head during the final exam.
With the memories of Petra's 'backer' suddenly erased, Ashley had no qualms about continuing to target her. The backstab came in the form of an accusation. Petra had cheated, and she had obtained her results in advance, and this was the truth behind her amazing grades.
Proof was not always needed.
The conclusion was set before any trial was even considered.
For Petra, the world that had started to brighten shattered in an instant,
* * *