The Grey Hound reached for the Scholar Girl. His quavering fingertips touched her face, then froze. A sharp blade pierced his head. His skull shattered under the abrupt pressure, splitting a hole from which blood gushed out. His indignant eyes flickered as his shivering body collapsed on the ground, drowning under his puddle of blood.
Surprise and anxiety oozed out of the Scholar Girl. She raised her head, her eyes tearing up. In front of her, the frail, terrified Barineer dropped to the ground as she lost her grip on her blood-soaked knife. She covered her mouth with her right hand, but the metallic stench on it almost made her retch.
"Why?" Barineer said, sobbing. "This has nothing to do with you!"
"Silly Barin, you've mistaken." The Scholar Girl drew her right hand forward, touching Barineer's cheeks. The warm teardrops on them gave her the determination to endure a little more. "It has everything to do with me. I’m your best friend.”
"I don't need such a best friend. I want a living friend, not one who will leave me." Barineer grabbed the tail of her dress, bit it, and tore it apart. She messily pressed the fabric on the gaping wound. "Talk to me; keep speaking. Don't ever sleep on me."
The pressure on the wound made the Scholar Girl frown, but she silently withered through everything. The scorching sensation gradually disappeared from her senses, as with all else. "Barin, I'm tired, really, really tired."
"You aren't. Don’t think otherwise."
"I know I shouldn't sleep, but . . . I need to."
Barineer clenched her fists until her palms bled. She applied more pressure on the Scholar Girl's wounds, making her groan, snapping her mind.
"Sorry, but I can’t let you go. Every time you . . . try to sleep, I'll . . . hurt you."
"I won’t blame you; I never will." The Scholar Girl coughed. Blood spat out of her mouth. Her vision became tainted by dull grey. "Barin, your eyes, they are beautiful. Since I first met you, I've always admired your green eye."
"I understand. I fully understand. I also admired your determination, especially your perseverance. You never get discouraged by failure. No matter what obstacles you face, you'll rise above them."
The Scholar Girl smiled. The light in her flickering eyes faded. She tensed up and grabbed Barineer's arms, pulling her closer. "I want you to promise me one thing."
"As long as you stay with me." Barineer's agitated voice peaked. She tried to carry the Scholar Girl, but her injuries were too severe.
"Sit still, will you?" The Scholar Girl softly chuckled. "I'll . . . try my best. Now, listen carefully: you'll go to my house and retrieve . . . Inside my bedroom closet, the one you once hid in, there is a hammer. Use it to . . . break a black tile in the storage room. That tile . . . underneath it is a wooden chest. Take everything inside it and go somewhere far away. That new identity will be useful to you."
"I'm not leaving alone. We will go together!"
The Scholar Girl closed her eyes, which had lost their function. She couldn't feel anymore. "Whatever you do, don't try to avenge me. And most importantly . . . don't . . . be like me. Don't join . . ."
"Speak up, ———!" Barineer shook the Scholar Girl, whose head hung low, unmoving. "You mustn't sleep. I don't want you to sleep; I don't want to be alone. I hate you! I hate you! I hate you!"
Barineer cried and screamed until her voice got lost to the indifferent air around the forest. Despite the sea of fire devouring the mansion, only chill and sorrow permeated her. For a few moments, her heart stopped pulsating, the refusal to continue.
Her grief stretched her perception of time towards eternity. She sat for a long time on the cold, lonely earth, staring at the lake of blood, in which the corpse of her dearest friend inevitably sank. Though the Scholar Girl smiled in her last moment, it could not dispel the everlasting pain in Barineer’s heart.
That depressing tranquillity seemingly lasted forever until a metallic click shattered the harmony of life and death. Barineer rigidly turned around.
A woman cloaked in a series of silky black fabric placed her hand on her chin and smiled. Her dull yet sharp hazel eyes focused on Barineer, who stubbornly stared back, then the late Scholar Girl, who lay motionless, devoid of life.
"In the end, you chose your ideal over your life," the lady said.
"Who are you?" Barineer said, her voice shrill. "Are you here for me, or are you here for ———?"
"I've heard of you from ———." The lady knelt beside Barineer and placed her hand on the Scholar Girl's forehead, feeling the lingering warmth. "Indeed, I came from Two-Fold Wind Order, a Secret Organisation of us assassin ladies. ——— is akin to my half student."
"Could you have, have saved her?"
The lady shook her head. "If it were poison, I might have a chance, but I cannot cure mortal wounds. We assassins are weapons for killing; we don't have much to save ourselves."
"Then, will you kill me?" Barineer closed her eyes. "I have nothing left, no family, no friend, and no one to rely on. I have nothing on me that can guarantee my safety. Unless you want my green eye, there isn't anything precious on me."
"Will you keep what happened here a secret?"
"I don't think it's enough for you to spare me."
The lady snickered as she lightly grasped Barineer's neck. Her sharp, purplish fingers grazed Barineer's flesh, leaving a tiny bleeding mark. Facing such despair, Barineer closed her eyes and sighed, but she revealed no fear. In her sigh were only solace, even slight contentment.
"Barineer, I shall give you a chance." The lady pulled Barineer closer. "Will you hold onto it?"
Barineer tensed. "My answer will depend on your condition."
The lady laughed. "Join us. We will teach you everything about killing. You'll be like her."
Barineer pressed her hands on her chest, staring at the corpse of her friend. "What am I going to lose?"
"Your freedom and your ordinary life." The lady drew back her hands and pulled down her sleeve. There was a crimson eye-shaped tattoo on her wrist. "Once you step to this side, there is no return. This mark will connect us until oblivion claims us."
"Why did you choose this life?"
"I’m good at it, and it can help me achieve my dream.”
"Is ——— sent here to kill someone from my family?"
"My clearance is not high enough to say definitively, but I doubt it. The Order won't do anything detrimental to its members, especially regarding the matter of their fake identity."
The lady curled her fist and unfolded it. An exquisite knife appeared in her hand. She passed it to Barineer, who reached out but couldn't accept it.
"Miss, why did ——— join the Order?"
"I wasn't there when she joined, but I heard from my colleagues that she was the last survivor of her caravan. The lady who found her saw her killing a bandit and took her in."
"Just like me, huh?" Barineer bit her lips and grabbed the knife. "What must I do to be like her?"
"Perish your old life. The wound of the blade will be where the eye tattoo manifests. Remember, there is no turning back."
Barineer took a deep breath as she lay beside the Scholar Girl. She held the knife above her neck, closed her eyes, and contemplated for a moment. Her memories swirled in her heart, blossoming into an array of visions, which formed around one singular figure.
"Barin, don't be like me," the Scholar Girl said, her figure slowly disintegrating. "Ahead of you is a peaceful life. You can settle down and forget the pain of the past. You might even find the love of your life and start a family. Do you want to forsake that future?"
"These people implicate you, us." Barineer smiled. "I'm sorry I can't keep your promise, but you did it first."
"I hold a little hope that you might be smart for once." The Scholar Girl's figure rapidly vanished. "In the end, we're all fools, aren't we?"
Tensing up, Barineer pulled in her knife. It punctured her throat, creating a gaping wound. Pain and panic flooded her heart, but she endured it. As she struggled to breathe, crimson light shone from her injury. On her throat, blood-red lines engraved themselves on her, branding her with a life-long contract.
"Despite your frail appearance, you're quite determined." The lady grabbed the knife and pulled it out. She took out a pill and slid it inside Barineer's mouth. "Sleep first. When you wake up, you’ll start a new life. Hopefully, you'll do what ——— couldn't."
The pill dissolved into a wave of cooling wind. It battled the searing pain and left overwhelming drowsiness behind. Barineer quickly fell asleep, immersing herself in the strange lightness of her mind.
...
Once Iris walked out of the mist, she found herself standing in front of the locked door, her position the same as when she entered the room.
That was dangerous. I shouldn't have randomly walked into the mist like that. Though I gained more knowledge and connection with the mind palace, I almost lost my sense of self.
In the memory, Iris became Barineer. Her emotions got tangled with Barineer's. Her mind fused with the experience that moulded Barineer into a ruthless assassin. If Iris couldn't resist it, she would have gone mad, unable to find her identity.
"Let's get this over with," Iris said. "Barineer, I'll help you remember her."
Closing her eyes, Iris grasped forward. Her fingers merged with the mansion and pulled the maze in her grip. Her awareness encompassed the endless corridors and fractal corridors. Every hallway and intersection connected with her, giving her a concise image of the entire mind palace.
Though Iris couldn't shift and morph the mind palace, she could sense almost everything within it. Smiling, she increased her pace and caught up to Barineer and the Scholar Girl.
"Madam Iris, you seem different. Is there good news?" Under the hazy appearance, the Scholar Girl beamed.
"I want to know too!" Barineer, still a young, lovely girl, perked up. "I don't get to leave the mansion too often. If you have good news to share, I promise to be a good girl and not run around anymore."
"How sly of you. You should act refined because you're a beautiful girl, not because I'm going to show you something interesting." Iris chuckled. "I remember where I have to go now. Do you want to follow me?"
"May I ask where we are going?" The Scholar Girl held the thick tome closer to her chest, shivering.
"Somewhere unforgettable."
Iris held Barineer's and the Scholar Girl's hands as she guided them across the myriad hallways. As she marched, the red carpet under her fluttered. Their soft fabric grasped her feet, but they could not slow her pace. No matter what happened, she would arrive at her destination and reclaim what Barineer had once lost.
