CHAPTER 51: HOPE

Location: ??? (Somewhere in the Underworld)

In a dim room that was more akin to a cellar than a room, a girl lay down on the only furniture present, a single bed. Sitting with no motion, as if she were dead, she wore a white headset with the word [Arcadia] written on it.

The petite girl was Raven, one of Ezekiel’s party members, currently playing Arcadia online. The headset buzzed as the green light dimmed slowly before getting replaced by a yellow one, denoting that the player had finally logged out.

Taking off the headset, Raven gave out a deep sigh. Her figure, face and hair were the same as she had set in the game. Not even a single thing varied. Her emotionless eyes looked into the space in front of her, recalling bits of information she had collected from the game.

Later, she also needed to send a complete report about everything she had seen, felt and even witnessed. From the texture of the leaves. To the colour of the mud. The differences and the similarities, everything needed to be mentioned in her report without missing a single detail.

"Done recalling?" A feminine voice came from the front, making Raven slowly raise her head. She saw a woman who looked like an aged version of her with more prominent features, longer hair and a far colder aura than she had.

She was Castellina, Raven’s blood-related sister.

Wearing a tight turtleneck sweater and slim pants that hugged her entire body, she was standing there with an unreadable smile on her face. In her right hand was a cream jacket that matched her belt. Slowly raising her hand, she wore it while continuing to speak.

"The elders are getting antsy."

Raven nodded before getting off the bed, and then picking up the short sword placed by the bed. Without looking directly into her eyes, Raven spoke out.

"When are they not?"

"Let’s go," the sister nodded before picking up the long Katana, placed by the door and then slowly walking out of the room. Behind her, Raven followed silently without uttering a single word.

"You did well. The elders are proud of you."

She looked at Raven with a slight smile, while Raven pondered before asking once again.

"Are they?"

And then, with a slight smile, Castellina told the truth.

"No. They don’t care about it. They just want you to get closer to Ezekiel."

A small sigh escaped Raven’s mouth as she nodded. She had already expected that much from them. For the elders, Raven and Castellina were expendable items that could be thrown after being used.

And it was impossible to escape this place either. The surveillance was too tight, and even after escaping, the clan would do everything to kill them to keep their dirty secrets close.

In fact, Raven was very lucky to even get to play this game, being in the top 20 of the Assassins in the entire association.

"I understand," she spoke out before turning silent once again. She didn’t expect much from the elders, anyway.

"I am proud of you, though. You did well." Sister spoke once again, her eyes looking back at Raven as she turned her neck. A proud smile was present on her face, making Raven feel a little happy.

"Thank you," Raven blushed.

It was rare that her sistercomplimented her. But when she did, it wasn’t half-hearted like the elders but an honest and blunt opinion.

The path took the duo through many rooms and hallways before finally reaching a massive open hall with a central rectangular table. On each side, there were 12 seats, filled by masked men, silently waiting for Raven to reach them.

At the edge of the table, at the head seat, there was an oddly maskless man, an aged guy with a long white beard. He looked at Raven with a slight smile, waiting for her to get close to him. Though before she could get there, her sister made her stop with a gesture before speaking,

"I have brought Livia."

The head elder clicked his tongue before looking at Livia, Raven, from a distance. He coughed a few times before speaking,

"Livia, congratulations. You have done well."

He said two sentences of praise.

"It may be a shame that you couldn’t get more rewards from the quest, but we will turn a blind eye to that."

Then he belittled her efforts.

"Now, give us the card that you have obtained, Raphael will be using it properly."

Followed by a shameless asking for her rewards.

"We will also be assigning you a simple quest. Get close to Ezekiel by any means possible. You can even use your body if needed. Provide us with as much information as you can."

Treating her like an object, like a slave, as they had always done.

"The more you find out about him, the more we will be willing to invest in you. So work hard. It’s for your sake as well."

And an empty promise.

"That will be all."

That was all they called her for. Nothing more, nothing less.

It was ridiculous.

It was baffling.

It was disgusting.

But...

"Yes, Sect Master."

She will die if she says otherwise.

Choice.

It wasn’t something she had.

Taken forcefully from the orphanage, she was tortured until she accepted becoming an assassin for them. Bound to confinement, she can’t even kill herself because of her sister, who shared the same fate as hers.

Were they born to live this way? Were they going to die at the end of their lives this way? Pathetically following the rules of these cowards?

Raven did not know.

Castellina looked at her. There was an unreadable expression on her face. As the duo got out of the hall and reached back to their rooms, she observed Raven’s calm face, devoid of any emotion.

"Castellina," Raven called out to her sister. She looked at Castellina, her blood sister, who shared the same fate as her.

"I am going to look into him, Ezekiel," she added.

Castellina focused on Raven, hearing her words without speaking.

"He is stronger than you. I don’t know what his background is, but he feels like someone who can help us out," Raven spoke.

It seemed like a baseless hope. Perhaps with no hope whatsoever, Raven was clinging to the only thing that she was seeing.

"I think so too. Elders might be blind, but that kid is stronger than most of the people within the association," and Castellina also shared the same thought.

"But it could also mean that he is someone dangerous," Castellina warned.

"I will be careful," Raven answered, making her sister nod. Then with a goodbye hug, and a kiss on the forehead, Castellina left the room.

"Take care of yourself. Perhaps if things go right, you will have a chance to get out of here as well. Even if it’s just for a mission," she spoke as she closed to door before her voice completely disappeared.

Raven sighed as she sat on her bed. Looking at the space in front of her.

How long do we need to suffer this way... she thought as she then gave out an exhausted smile. Before she stood up and moved towards the practice area, she began her training once again. This time, recalling all the things that Ezekiel had done before.