Mira in a Doomsday World [18]

⚠︎ TW: Abuse, depression, self-harm, and suicide. Please read at your own risk. ⚠︎

The moon was high up in the sky. At this time, there was only darkness and silence. There were no buzzing sounds of crickets and cicadas, because living creatures other than humans have become rare in the doomsdays. Even the night breeze was light and soundless, like the soft gasps of the dying planet.

Only the sky remained unchanged. As a matter of fact, it may have become even more beautiful amidst this chaotic era. The dazzling building lights were gone. Only the moon glowed brightly, surrounded by stars that looked like scattered glitters on a black canvas.

Felix still lay awake, staring at this view with complex thoughts running on his mind, such as-

Why was he still awake?

Well, he also knew that it was the warmth on his shoulder that prevented him from sleeping. His mind was disturbed by the soft hand that was clinging to his own; by the even breaths that kept hitting the skin on his neck; by the silky and fragrant hair that was touching his jaw; by that beautiful, unmatched face that induced rapid heartbeats and messy thoughts.

He was a soldier who spent the last decade of his life with sweaty men and stern women. His family has always taught him strictly, as part of his cultivation to be the next head. Even the marriage partner they'd arranged for him had only gone as far as holding hands with him before dying in the mouths of those zombies.

He was a soldier, Felix thought. A soldier must have strong determination and self-control... so how could he be so easily influenced by this strange lady with unknown origins.

He should sleep, he thought.

But he couldn't.

This stretched on for hours until the sleeping figure beside him moved. Felix instinctively stiffened.

Mira rubbed her cheek against his shoulder, murmuring indistinctly.

"Hubby..."

Thump. Thump.

Felix was unable to calm down his racing heart.

Mira's lashes trembled, and moments later, her eyes slowly fluttered open.

"Huh...?"

She realized that she seemed to be leaning on a hard surface. She raised her head dazedly and met Felix's calm gaze.

"Awake?"

Mira blinked.

"I originally planned to let you lay on the seat, but you suddenly hugged me and refused to let go, so I just sat beside you and let you sleep on my shoulder," Felix slowly explained, "Does your neck feel uncomfortable?"

Mira tilted her head in the opposite direction.

"Ow," her eyes welled up with tears, "It hurts..."

She looked at Felix accusingly, her emerald eyes looking particularly striking in the darkness.

"...I'm sorry."

Mira pouted, "You rub it for me."

"..."

"Well, you made it hurt," she insisted stubbornly, "You must rub it for me."

Felix looked at her pale and delicate neck. His mouth suddenly felt dry.

"...Okay."

Felix's hand was cold, with rough callouses due to his occupation, but his massage technique was very good.

"Hm... There, ouch, it hurts a little bit... Softer..."

Her words sounded ambiguous, coupled with her soft, waxy voice-

Felix felt his ears heating up. The skin that touched his hand was also soft and smooth, completely the opposite of his own.

He coughed, "Does it feel better now?"

"Yeah, it's a bit better..."

There was a series of muffled crunching sounds of shoes rubbing against the ground, indicating someone's approach.

Felix calmly retracted his hand, "Okay, that should be enough. It will get better by itself soon."

"You guys..." Owen suddenly appeared by the doorway, staring at them with complicated eyes.

Felix: "..."

"...I was helping her rub her neck," Felix had no choice but to explain, "She said it was painful."

"Oh, really?" Owen looked at Mira worriedly, "How are you doing? Do you still feel uncomfortable? Is your fever gone?"

Mira touched her own forehead, "Hm, I feel fine now... How long did I sleep? I just remember feeling hot and dizzy..."

"You slept for more than ten hours! It was around five o'clock in the afternoon when you fell unconscious, and it's already around three in the morning today. Everyone was worried because you suddenly started burning up."

"I'm sorry, I didn't expect to get sick all of a sudden," Mira sighed.

"Don't be sorry, this time, it might be a blessing in disguise!"

"What do you mean?"

Owen started explaining the possibility of her awakening an ability.

"...You mean, I will have superpowers like yours?"

"Not quite," Owen scratched his head, "I don't know exactly how this works, but everyone awakens a different type of ability. For example, I can control fire, but others can't. On the other hand, some can control the wind, water, earth, lightning, and even space!"

"Then how would I know what kind of ability I awakened?"

"Hm... I guess you have to try summoning this weird energy inside you first. It's like... I don't know how to explain it but it's just something you will feel when you concentrate. As time passes, you will feel its presence more naturally, like its a part of you. Ah, how about you try it now? Just close your eyes, don't think about anything else, feel your soul... do you sense something now?" Owen rambled expectantly.

Mira shook her head blankly.

Felix sighed, "Okay, Owen, go back on your patrol. I'll teach her."

Owen was reluctant to leave.

"Should I go call Gale over?"

Felix shook his head, "Don't disturb his rest."

Owen turned to look at Mira.

"Just go," Felix spoke a little more sternly this time.

Owen had no choice but to leave.

"He's not very good at explaining things," Felix spoke for Owen.

"I know," Mira shrugged, "He's a bit... silly."

Felix chuckled, "Yes, he's a little silly, but he has good intentions. He was the one who insisted on taking you with us to City X."

"I know. He tried really hard to convince me that zombies exist."

"Yes, he was upset that you called him crazy before, haha."

"...Wow, you've been laughing a lot," Mira looked at Felix suspiciously, "Why are suddenly being nice to me? Are you planning something?"

"Can't I be nice to you?" Felix raised his brows in question.

"You can, but you weren't nice before..."

"Really? I don't remember ever being bad to you."

"You weren't good to me either. You looked like you didn't even want to take me with you," Mira complained.

"That's because you were a stranger," Felix paused, staring into the space for a while, "...these days, strangers are often more dangerous than those zombies."

Mira huffed, "Do I look like a bad guy?"

"You don't. And that's what makes you even more suspicious," Felix sighed, "We are in the doomsdays, where even the most innocent-looking children can cut someone's head off for a piece of biscuit. Do you know what we first noticed about you when we saw you? It wasn't your face, but your cleanliness. Nowadays, a cup of water is more important than a bag of rice. You can stay hungry for a few days, but thirst will kill you. Many sources of water have become polluted after the sudden increase of mutated plants and animals. Trees can now poison you, animal meat is inedible, and water is even more scarce... who can still waste water on bathing? Our country is much better off than others. We have people with the ability to produce water, such as myself, but even we can only rely on rainwater to keep ourselves clean," he smiled bitterly, "The last rain was two days ago, and our entire team hasn't bathed since then. You, on the other hand... You look too well-maintained. At first glance, you are someone who can enjoy a steady source of food and water. Someone like you must not be an ordinary person. It's either you are extremely strong, or you are being protected by someone who is extremely strong."

Felix shrugged, "I'm not going to lie, we originally planned to use you. If you know someone who plays an important role in this country, we will bring you to the capital safely and then negotiate with that person. Unfortunately, you woke up with no memories... I was even more suspicious."

Felix looked at Mira, his expression turning serious, "Between you and my teammates, I will definitely choose them. I agreed to bring you because Owen was right, we must never abandon our humanity. We will escort you to the capital, but you must never put anybody here in danger, or else..."

"I understand," Mira pouted, "But I'm really not a bad guy! I don't even know how I got here!"

Felix raised his brows, "I believe you-for now... Anyway, since we decided to help you out, I hope you can also make contributions to our team. Although we all have special abilities here, additional help would be greatly appreciated."

"Oh," Mira nodded, "I'm fine with that. But... what if I don't have any abilities?"

"It doesn't matter. Rest assured that we will still take you to City X safely."

Mira smiled, "Thank you!"

Felix smiled back.

At this moment, he looked like a sheathed sword—gentle and seemingly harmless. When he threatened to throw her out of the car just that morning, he also smiled like this. This man smiles like a blooming flower, but will not hesitate to spit poison the next second.

Felix quietly taught Mira how to 'channel' her ability. In the quiet night, Mira could only hear his gentle voice.

"I feel it!" Mira exclaimed.

Felix frowned, "Be quiet. Everybody else is asleep. They are all tired, don't disturb them."

Mira blinked, "How about you? Aren't you tired?"

"I'm fine," he spoke, "Well, how do you feel?"

"There's like... ah, I can't explain it. I feel something, but I can't feel the weird energy that wants to come out as you explained..."

"Hm, maybe you didn't get an elemental ability... Do you feel something on your mind?"

"No, I just feel like there's something in me that exists, I can't feel anything other than that."

Felix looked at the ground thoughtfully, "Maybe you've awakened a space-type ability," he gestured to the blanket that was wrapped around Mira, "Can you try making it disappear? Just imagine putting it inside the empty space that you feel... like you're putting it away in an imaginary storage."

Mira closed her eyes and pursed her lips, trying to concentrate.

"You don't have to do it like that," Felix chuckled, "Remember, mind over matter. Just look at the object, concentrate—you're going to hide the object. Think of this and then try it."

Mira stared at the fluffy blanket silently.

It looked like there was a stare-off between a human and a brown blanket.

A while later, a loud scream woke up the group of sleeping people.

"I DID IT!!!"

°°°

⚠︎ TRIGGER WARNING: Mentions of abuse, depression, self-harm, and suicide ahead. Please read at your own risk. ⚠︎

City X has been busy for the past few days. Rumor has it that a young leading figure suddenly gained strange powers. The scientists of the base have been clamoring to find what caused this mutation.

Xu, who was wearing a standard white lab gown, raised the vial in his hand, an unpredictable expression on his face.

Country Z's lab was by no means comparable to Country Y's, but they still had extraordinary experiment results that they were very much proud of.

For example, the dangerous zombie-attracting liquid that Xu recreated.

It was the same agent that killed Wei Lin's sister, Lu Mira-the same agent that separated Xu from his own Mira.

In fact, since returning from the traumatic zombie tide encounter, Xu has become increasingly suspicious of Wei Lin. He still remembered Wei Lin and Sakura's conversation back in the mall.

"As long as the captain leaves her side, she is bound to get killed."

At that time, he was able to hear them clearly because of his enhanced senses, however, he never took their words seriously. Who was Mira? She was someone far stronger than their entire team combined. Even if Xu leaves her side, she would be more than capable enough of taking care of herself.

Xu just didn't understand... Why did she let herself be caught by those zombies? Did she do it on purpose? Did she want to make him believe that she died in that zombie tide? Did she just want to prove that indeed, he wasn't strong enough to protect her?

Xu's heart was hurting every day.

Attachment was a scary thing. He could no longer get used to the feeling of having no Mira in his life. He felt that his world has become boring and monotonous. The same experiments that he used to feel enthusiastic about felt more like a heavy burden than anything else.

His goal has always remained the same: to save humanity.

But after Mira went missing, he sometimes couldn't help but wonder, why should he save the world? He wasn't some superhero... It was his father who caused this entire mess, but so what? Should he be responsible for everything else just because he was his blood relative?

Xu was losing motivation. Like a butterfly trapped in a spider's web, his struggle for freedom was slowly weakening.

It was like he was back to that boring office, where his days would be spent keeping the company that his crazy father had left him intact, only to go back to a cold, empty house with nothing to look forward to. Mira was like a rainbow in his dull life, but now, that rainbow had also disappeared, leaving him with even more pain and loneliness.

Xu was the most afraid to become like his father.

Jun Xie's love for his wife was something that many in their circle admired. However, beneath that sweet surface was a dark secret that Xu had witnessed first-hand since childhood. His own father was crazy. He was so obsessed with An Wei that he would chain her to their bedroom, only letting her out during important occasions.

Jun Xie chased An Wei for eight years. According to him, on their first day of high school, he fell in love with her at first sight. He pursued her madly since then. Everybody thought that An Wei was softened by his persistence, but in fact, it was only out of fear that she agreed to be with Jun Xie.

Jun Xie was very paranoid and jealous. He could not stand anyone getting too close to An Wei. An Wei gradually noticed that all of her 'admirers' would suddenly get into some kind of accident after a few interactions with her, making her more and more afraid every day. The world only thought that Jun Xie was a very enthusiastic and loyal suitor, but to An Wei, he was a terrifying stalker with a deceiving exterior.

It wasn't that An Wei never tried to get rid of him, but every time she complained to someone, be it a close friend or a family member, nobody would believe her. Even her own parents were convinced that Jun Xie was a gentle and charming young man who could never do anybody harm. In the end, because of Jun Xie's threats and her parents' convincing, An Wei could only agree to his pursuit.

In less than a year after officially becoming a couple, they got married.

When Xu was born, An Wei could not take care of him as normal mothers should. Jun Xie hired a nanny and forbid her from spending more than an hour with Xu, stating that she was not allowed to pay excessive attention to somebody else other than him.

Xu grew up only seeing his mother for a short period of time, and seeing his father for even less.

He had grown used to the silence in the large house, but the loneliness in his heart grew with each passing day. He would often see his classmates being taken to school by their parents. He would hear them bragging about what kind of new toy their mom or dad bought them, or what kind of present they received for their birthday. Xu could only listen quietly. He realized his family wasn't normal. His home was not like other kids' homes. Only when visiting his grandparents would he feel some sense of normalcy. During those visits, his father would smile at him and his mother would hug him. His grandparents would chat with him and give him gifts, just like how those other kids described.

Gradually, Xu spoke less and less, developing a taciturn character. He no longer paid attention to anything in school other than learning, because only when he gets awards would he get praised by his father.

An Wei had long since been depressed. Jun Xie thought that having a child would keep her suicidal thoughts at bay, but it only drove her deeper into depression.

Three months after Xu's twelfth birthday, An Wei died. She choked herself with the chains that Jun Xie shackled her with.

On that same day, Jun Xie went berserk.

Xu remembered how he cried and screamed while holding An Wei in his arms. He was driven away by that lunatic. He didn't allow anybody to see An Wei after her death. The next day, Jun Xie disappeared, taking An Wei's cold body with him. He didn't know how that man explained it to everybody else, but Xu only saw him returning with his grandparents, a bleak smile on his face as the two old people comforted him with teary eyes. Xu thought, how did this man manage to deceive everybody else?

Somehow, he had an understanding of how his mother must have felt.

But she was gone, and he grew up too late to save her.

Six years later, the company was handed over to Xu. Xu had to give up his passion for science and research in order to take care of his father's company. At eighteen, he was tasked to handle a huge enterprise with only his father's old assistants to guide him.

Jun Xie retired and stopped returning to their house. Four years later, Xu found out about his secret laboratory, but the virus had already begun to spread.

A decade of hard work and Jun Xie managed to create an irreversible disaster for humanity just for the sake of reviving his dead wife.

How ironic that it was his own wife who killed herself, and that she did it just to escape him.

Now, Xu is slowly realizing that he is somewhat turning into the same person as his father.

Just like Jun Xie, Xu loved science and research.

Just like Jun Xie, Xu fell for a woman to the point of obsession.

Just like Jun Xie, Xu lost his beloved.

Just like Jun Xie, Xu was starting to have thoughts of wanting to cage Mira.

×××

Mira's Q & A

Question 1: At what point in time did Mira become who she is and why?

Mira: Wow, that's a good question~ Devils are very... weird creatures. We are borne from both everything and nothing. The universe is made up purely of energy. There is neverending energy cycling around, making the worlds turn and the stars shine. Devils are the result of the condensation of excess energies.

In short, we're just byproducts of everything else. We're like... farts-powerful farts :3 Although, my luck is a bit better than most devils. Instead of waking up in a dark corner of the universe, I woke up in the upper realm, where gods and all sorts of powerful beings gather.

Other devils wake up with little to no wisdom, but I woke up knowing my name and my origin, as well as all other basic knowledge about the universe and the upper realm. I don't know why this is the case, but I'm not complaining either! For the second part of the question... Ah, I just remember squatting down in front of the heavenly mirror all day long, watching different people live their lives every day... and then I suddenly got a bit jealous. What's so good about the upper realm? Why is everybody trying so hard to ascend? Isn't it better to live in the mortal world? Freedom, adventure, and good food... Well, I just suddenly got enlightened, so I sneaked out and hid in the abyss, collecting soul fragments that would help me become a real mortal!

Question 2: What will be the plot for the next arc?

Mira: Hm, I'm not too sure yet~ But, I would definitely choose a bigger, less boring world, preferably with stronger souls and more adventure!

Question 3: Will Mira ever be involved with a woman?

[ Originally this was @/piapie's comment on Chapter 12, but I still decided to include this here because it was an interesting question. Let's see how Mira answers~ ]

Mira: Well, other than this world, I've already traveled through tons of other worlds before. Some worlds were already extremely open in terms of sexuality, so I got the chance to experiment and slowly discover my own sexuality throughout these adventures. As boring as I may be, I'm only sexually attracted to males. Romantically speaking, however, I believe that love can transcend this barrier of sexual preference. Who knows, I might fall in love with a girl someday too, despite initially having no interest in their body~

 

Author's Note:

This is a very long chapter compared to the others hahaha. By the way, I may open a cover/graphic shop in wattpad these coming days. I already have a portfolio but I really enjoy making edits these days so I might make a book solely for receiving requests for book covers and other graphics. Of course, if y'all are interested, my readers/followers' requests would be prioritized haha.

Thank you for supporting my work~ I hope you guys enjoyed reading this chapter. Have a great day, everyone!