“LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! Get your mead in hand and your pheasant skewers ready because the special guests you’ve all been waiting for have just arrived!” The once bustling pub suddenly grew silent in anticipation as soon as they heard the bar owner’s announcement. The show was about to begin.

A man wearing a porcelain mask slid onto the stage. He raised his left arm forward before he began riling up the crowd, “If any of you have seen our shows before, then you are well aware that to get my gift working, I need to ask you all a very important question… Are you guys ready for a grand show?!”

“Yes!” the crowd responded with excitement and glee.

“I need it a bit louder! More energy!” yelled the light master.

The crowd responded with even more vigor, “YES!”

“Gonna have to be louder!”

The third time quickly devolved from people screaming yes to hollering and cheering. This was exactly the sort of energy the light master of the play was looking for. In the midst of their roars, he quickly and loudly clapped his hand instantly extinguishing every light in the room.

The room quickly settled down again. After a few moments of silence, the sound of lute strings strumming suddenly echoed through the room. Two quick drum strikes broke through the serenity of the lute and a spotlight cracked open in tandem with the drum’s beat. Underneath its bright beam of white light was a woman dressed in black silk clothes. The woman wore a black fox mask that covered the top half of her face which left her glossy supple crimson lips out on display.

“Many ages ago, the lands of Verham used to be littered with kingdoms that were corrupt and lost. These kingdoms battled one another to no end…” as she began narrating, she raised her hands up in front of her and swiftly moved her hands in smooth motions akin to a mystical dance.

In turn, blobs of red, white, gold, green, and black colored ink floated out of their respective buckets near the stage wall behind her. The blobs of ink quickly sprawled all over the white canvas wall behind the narrator to form a painting of arrays of men in armor and cavalry horses. The art style was akin to gothic paintings often seen on church ceilings.

“They cared not for the ways of the divine. They chose to feed the greed that settled within their hearts. These sinners claimed godhood and divinity, all the while tainting their hearts and souls…” As her dance shifted, the painting quickly began to slither and swirl till all of its ink reshaped itself to form a new image. This time the image was of various men wearing crowns, dressed lavishly, and carrying black hearts within their chests.

“And so came divine punishment, in the form of the blessed and divine Melsara…” The image changed again to match her dance and tale. The image now was that of a golden light descending down on the kingdoms below.

“Despite receiving the divine punishment, their ways did not change. They simply chose to spread their evil ways to the searing plains of the east and the frozen tundras of the north. Alas, the misguided chose to continue their futile resistance against the divine. Remaining ever so defiant and tainted…” The ink transformed into the map of the world and showed black tendrils growing towards the north and the east.

“But…” Suddenly a golden light burst onto the western side of the continent on the map, “the Melsara foresaw their misguided ways and knew that He would need the help of sages, saints, and heroes from across many realms to correct their dastardly ways…”

The drummer struck his drum in an escalating rhythm before the image yet again morphed. This time it resembled a portrait of various armored men and women with a green light emanating from their chests. “And thus He made us, the Gifted. Chosen men and women were brought here from across the many realms to bring peace and purity to this world. A mission that we solemnly upheld to this very day despite the many brethren we’ve lost. And despite all the magical things we could do…”

“... the barbarians of this land rejected us despite what we had to offer, and then we did this and that, blah, blah, blah. Don’t Vunkites ever get bored of watching the same goddamn fucking story over and over again?” the drummer complained to his colleague in a hushed voice. He did so while he continued to unenthusiastically play the drums to the rhythm written on the music sheet before him. His colleague the light master continued to do his tasks with little interest as well. The two would often bicker and whine from their perch offstage.

“Yon, at least you aren’t playing the same tune the whole time. I just have to hold the spotlight in one fucking angle and play around with static lights,” the light master whined as he directed the lights telepathically.

“Despite the lies and corruption of their kin, there were still many of you who chose the righteous path! You walked the path of truth and stood beside us, the Gifted! You laid your trust in our hands despite being told by your brethren that we the Gifted were snakes wearing the guise of deers, that we were traitors, that we were devils! But despite all of the lies that your blinded kins whispered into your ears, you followed the truth, and let me ask you; What has the truth brought you?!” the masked female narrator asked the crowd and various members of the crowd jumped out of their chairs to reply. They yelled words like prosperity, guidance, wealth, and safety and some even roared the words heaven.

“I’m never going to understand why the Vunka force us to do these sermon-like plays. Why bother brainwashing these fucking cattle anyway? I mean we could snap their necks even when we first popped up here as kids. Why bother with the religious garbage? Just kill them if they step out of line,” asked Yon as he flipped the music sheet’s page with one hand while twirling one of the drumsticks with the other.

His compatriot, the light master chuckled while leering at the blonde girl playing the lute on the opposite side of the stage before he gave his reply. “So that we get to fuck pretty little cattle like her.”

Yon licked his canines. “It's not like we need to turn them into zealots to suck our cocks. Whip them right as the Melbrans do and they’ll gladly spread those pretty little legs open just the same.”

“Yes, but I like my lambs without bruises. It's fucking disgusting looking at someone whose skin is purple and blue all over. Anyways, your part is coming up again, I don’t want miss perfectionist chewing us out again so focus on getting it right.”

Annoyed just thinking about the nagging he would have to hear if he messed up the drumming tempo, the drummer began to focus on his task. “Yeah, yeah. Don’t worry.”

The picture on the wall now showed the image of a man with multiple eyes and a monstrous woman with long brazen hair and black tendrils squirming out of her arms. “Then came the worst source of corruption of all… the Apostles. Traitors who acted as false shepherds. Liars who like the old kings claimed to be equivalent to the divine, to the Melsara. Beings who time and time again betrayed their own ilk and lead masses to their graves…”

The crowd’s mood soured as though their ale had turned to piss just at the mention of the Apostles.

“The worst of the Apostles was the fifth. A craven witch who sought to steal from the benevolent Melsara and forge a tainted army of her own…” The picture was now showing the woman sticking out her forked tongue as her tendrils dug into a tree with golden veins of light.

“However, the wise leaders of the ten noble clans brought forth their wrath upon the craven witch and slew her quick and clean. To them do we owe the peace we enjoy,” The painting now showed ten people clad in armor posing heroically while lifting the decapitated head of the fifth Apostle up by her hair.

The paint finally settled and poured back into the buckets they flew out of. “Never forget dear Ungifted, the tale of the Gifted, the corrupt and false shepherds, for this is a tale that is a warning for you to be wary of beasts dressed in saints’ robes.”

With the final words of her tale spoken, the spotlight disappeared. Then after a moment or two with a loud clap, all the lights in the tavern suddenly lit up again and the storyteller had disappeared. The disappearing act drove the crowd wild, who hollered and cheered in celebration of the good show. Soon the loud cheers mellowed out into the bustling sounds of a typical tavern night.

Meanwhile, Yon and the light master instructed the blonde girl who played the lute to meet them in their dressing room. The two expected her to ask questions but she obediently obliged and marched to their dressing room. It was a surprise but a pleasant one for them. They really did enjoy the obedient ones.

“Wait!” the female storyteller called out. The drummer clicked his tongue in anticipation of being chewed out because she was dissatisfied with his performance.

“Belka, I swear I followed the tempo and everything that was written on the music sheet. I don’t know how -”

Belka wagged her finger sideways in front of his face, “That’s not what I’m talking about,” she paused and looked over her shoulder when she realized none of the other stagehands were paying attention to them, she continued, “while I’m looking forward to the extra practice on our pretty little instrument, we need to make sure we don’t bruise or break anything. We’re in Vunka territory, not Melbran or Gengri.”

Yon crossed his arms. “When the fuck did Vunka start caring about stuff like that?”

“They don’t. They care when the instrument happens to have volunteered to help serve the new batch of Reborns that the Melsara cooked up. They like their volunteers to be of pristine quality.”

The light master let out a single whistle. “Oh dang, completely forgot that fucking thing is around the corner. Oh well, I guess we can either charm her or make her a little sleepy.”

Belka stroked the drummer’s chin with her finger, as a coy and naughty smile crept up on her face. “Hey, hey, Yon. Don’t get pissy. Just think of it as light practice before we get to play with -”

“Lady Belka! Lady Belka! May I have a moment of your time? I need to discuss some matters with you, please!” the owner of the bar interrupted her as he waddled towards the trio. Belka’s face twisted with anger.

“Yes, of course. The Gifted are always ready to serve,” she said as she swiftly turned to face him with her expressions swapped to gentle and serene.

The light master bowed politely as he and the drummer made their exit. “We’ll be taking our leave.”

The two eagerly speed-walked to their dressing room. As soon as they entered the room, the light master discreetly locked the room while the drummer engaged the nervous blonde girl seated in conversation.

The girl was seated timidly on the large red sofa and smiled at the man approaching her sofa. Yon immediately started to flirt with her as he sat down next to her. “You were quite beautiful out there today… in terms of the music you played.”

The light master cringed and rolled his eyes at the lack of subtlety in his partner’s approach. He immediately tried to remedy his approach by quickly pouring the three of them a glass of wine from the bottle near their dressing table. “Yes, you were really skilled, you really helped us sell the atmosphere of the scenes to the audience. The three of us wanted to reward you for your efforts.”

The blonde bashfully responded, “Oh dear, there is no need. It was an honor for me, I don’t need any rewards. Thank you.”

Yon scooted in closer to the girl, the sides of his hips now touching hers. “Don’t be like that. It’s the job of us Gifteds to reward…” he paused to glance at her chest, “good behavior.”

The light master winced at his actions. The girl was dressed in a black coat, wearing black gloves, black high heels, and black slacks. A rather modest attire, there wasn’t even a cleavage to ogle but his mutt-brained colleague still peeked.

“What he’s trying to say is just be comfortable. You don’t need to be so formal with us. Have a drink, celebrate a good show.” The light master offered the blonde a glass of wine while desperately trying to compensate for his colleague's lack of tact. He then sat on the opposite end of the sofa from his colleague.

As she hesitantly accepted the glass, Yon moved his face closer to her. As his breath brushed against her neck, she quickly jumped up to her feet and distanced herself from the sofa. The light master gritted his teeth as he noticed a restrained smile appearing on the drummer’s face. The bastard wanted as an excuse to get rough, he thought to himself as he cursed his colleague.

However, just as he got ready to take action, the girl bowed and said, “I’m sorry but I’m not dressed properly to receive the reward you wish to offer me.”

Intrigued, both of them asked what she meant. She replied in a soft timid voice, “I think I need to dress more comfortably before I receive your gifts.”

The scheming light master took his chance. “Why of course! You can use the divider near the cupboard to dress up however you see fit.”

The blonde placed the glass on the table and gently curtsied before she made her way to the divider. “Will Lady Belka intervene in our little celebration?” she asked as she tossed gloves to the ground.

“Actually she might be joining us after she’s done settling some stuff with the tavern owner,” Yon replied excitedly.

Worried about her response to his words, the light master held his breath. Her reply was to stretch out her hand outside the dividers in which she held her now-removed coat, and drop the coat to the ground.

“That’s good to hear, I thought she would be opposed to such things,” she said as she then removed her shirt, held it outside the dividers for both of them to see, and then drop it on the ground.

“Well, we are really glad that you aren’t opposed to any of this either.” Despite it not being part of his original plans, Yon didn’t mind the strip show.

The girl then held out her slacks for them to see before she dropped them on the ground as well. She then poked her head out bashfully and pushed back a few strands of hair behind her ear before asking, “If the two of you don’t mind me asking, would it be more comfortable if I remove my heels?”

The two men gleefully looked at each other and quickly discussed between themselves before giving her an answer. She then asked them which remaining pieces of her attire they would want her to keep on, which color would they want, and even which type. She quizzed and teased the two for a minute or so more. The two men were truly having the best time of their day. They were so immersed in the fun that neither of them noticed the two swords levitating several feet directly above their heads.

“One last request and then we celebrate okay?” the blonde asked in a playful tone.

“Oof, you really have lots of those don’t you?” Yon was on the brink after being teased for just a minute or two.

“I need the two of you to keep your eyes completely locked when I poke my hand out, okay? Don’t move or look away for even an inch or else you’ll ruin the spell, okay?” The two men eagerly complied with her request.

She stretched out her hand again, this time holding out her bra. She then waited for several seconds until both of them stopped fidgeting and their heads stood still. As she twisted her wrist back slowly as though it was a wind-up for a throwing motion, Yon chuckled hoping for her to toss it in his face.

“Thank you for your patience.” She then flicked her wrist and the two levitating blades quickly crashed down into their skulls.

The light master died instantly but Yon had a few sparks of life left. He fell forward and tried to crawl towards the door while ineffectively trying to call for help. The sword had not only pierced the parts of his brain that controlled his vocal cords but had also pierced through his chin. He couldn’t even open his mouth to scream. He could barely let out moans and gasps.

“I was hoping both of you would outlast the initial impact but it seemed like your friend was a bit more fidgety than you and accidentally got a clean death.” Her timid mannerisms were replaced by a cold bitter tone. After commenting on her minor miscalculations she quickly started to rummage through their cupboard.

She grabbed a blindfold, a large red silk sheet, a bowl full of metal balls, and a pair of fuzzy handcuffs from the cupboard. She then placed the bowl and handcuffs on the table in front of the sofa and walked up to the drummer who was still fruitlessly dragging his body toward the door. The blonde then flicked her wrist upwards to telepathically remove the sword embedded in the light master’s skull. She then impaled the sword into Yon's abdomen and then dragged his body by telepathically moving both swords. She moved him closer to the cupboard so that he wouldn’t be visible if the door opened.

As she dragged his body, he helplessly moaned and flailed his arms trying to fight back. His last actions before his death were of him desperately clawing at the blade of the sword embedded in his skull as he desperately tried to reach for the sword’s grip.

After relocating him, she quickly relocated the corpse of the light master as well. She used the same technique to move his corpse. She then turned her attention to the bloodstains on the floor. Luckily for her, she managed to cover the stains with the red silk sheet just before Belka knocked on the door.

With the handcuffs and blindfold in hand, she approached the door. She opened the door slightly, letting Belka only catch a glimpse of her doe-like expressions and her bare breast. “I’m sorry but… the masters told me that they want you to wear a blindfold and handcuffs before entering.”

“Sure but I’ll put on the handcuffs when I’m in,” the storyteller replied as she bit her bottom lip and gladly followed the given instructions. She tossed away her mask and covered her turquoise eyes with the black blindfold handed to her.

As soon as she entered the room, the blonde put on the handcuffs on Belka’s hands. Belka opened her mouth to talk to her compatriots but the blonde immediately shushed her and place her finger on the storyteller’s lips. “Shhh, no words. Only pleasure.”

She then telepathically brought one of the metal balls to her hand and then placed the ball against the storyteller’s lips. With a broad smile on her face, she gladly welcomed the metal sphere into her mouth. As giddy and blinded by lust as the other two, she happily allowed the blonde to lead her to the red sofa. As she sat on the sofa she momentarily wondered why parts of the seat were wet, the blonde answered those questions with lies, “The wet parts are…” she rolled her eyes and quietly winced before she completed her lie, “because of a little… happy accident caused by the pleasure I received from the masters.”

The smirk on Belka’s face was enough for the blonde to know that the lie worked, though the blonde silently wished she never had to say something so embarrassing in the first place.

“I just need to make sure you’re properly secured into your joyous seat.” The blonde bound the handcuffs to one of the protruding parts of the elaborate carvings on the sofa by using a metal chain.

“The masters will be with you in a moment, they are recovering their stamina.” She paused as she levitated and aimed about thirty metal balls at Belka’s mouth while she dressed. By the time she had quickly put on her shirt and pants, she had also managed to align and aim the balls perfectly for the sort of execution she had in mind.

After she was ready, she cradled the back of Belka’s head in her hand and then gently opened her mouth. “Thank you for your patience.”

Then with a quick jerk of her head, she started to fire the thirty metal balls into the storyteller’s mouth and down her throat. The moment the first metal spheres rammed against her uvula, Belka immediately started to panic and close her mouth. The blonde made sure to keep her jaws pried open with her hands as she continued to telepathically shove the metal spheres down the storyteller’s throat. As she quickly started to choke, Belka yanked on her restraints and began to kick the table in front of her in sheer panic.

Using her strength, Belka managed to break the wooden protrusion to which her handcuffs were bound but her little victory was of no use. The blonde telepathically pulled the metal cuffs and chains Belka’s hands were bound to and yanked her arms to the back of Belka’s head.

As the metal balls were shoved down her throat one at a time, they started to cluster up and jam in her larynx. This happened just after 9 balls. Under normal circumstances, Belka might have survived if she puked out the foreign objects in her throat but the blonde made sure that wouldn’t happen with her ability. Despite the added resistance, the blonde continued to push them down Belka’s throat with her ability.

The larynx being a boney structure could only expand so much. Within the first minute of her execution, Belka’s larynx snapped in two with an audible snap. Within the second minute, Belka had choked to death as both her larynx and trachea were destroyed. Her throat had several large lumps formed by the metal stuffed into the trachea.

After executing her target, the blonde walked towards, the door and peeked out. The chubby bar owner was anxiously waiting with his back against the wall and his feet constantly bouncing against the floor. His anxiety instantly washed away the moment he noticed the blonde gesturing him to enter the room.

“I take it that they’ve all been…” He gestured by moving his index finger across his throat discreetly.

“Yes, you can come inside and look for yourself. I’m sure it will give you some peace, Mr. Holtam,” the blonde replied before letting him in.

“Thank you.” As soon as he walked into the room and saw their corpses, he was in disbelief. Only when he walked to the center of the room and closer to their dead bodies, did his mind start to process his emotions. The sheer influx of emotions caused his body to shake. The jolly mask he wore that night had started to break. The wrath he had tried to bury inside started to surface. One could hear the rage build up just by how heavy his breaths became. He clenched his fists so tightly that the fair skin around his hands turned a pinkish red.

“The light master was the only one who had accidentally had a swift death. The other two suffered just as you requested,” the blonde reported as she rested her back against the door.

“I understand. You can have your payment. You can use my daughter’s…” The bar owner almost broke into tears the very moment he mentioned her. The blonde walked up to him and placed her hand on his shoulder as he rocked his head back and forth desperately trying to hold back tears.

“I spent three whole years… running from one court to another. Begging the garrisons, the judges, and anyone I could get my hands on to avenge her. I thought this would bring me peace,” water beads started to flow from his eyes and sank into his beard, “I just feel angrier. I just feel angry that I lost her to people like them. That I wasn’t strong enough to protect her from them. That I couldn’t avenge my daughter with my own hands.”

“You had other children to protect. Going after them yourself would have been suicide. They would have torn an Ungfited like you apart with their bare hands.” Hearing her words, the bar owner shrugged off the hand she placed on his back.

“Mava’s face and name. You can have them.” His eyes were red but they gave off a dead cold glare.

The blonde sighed. The look in his eyes was one she had seen far too often to be thrown off by. “Thank you for your cooperation. I will be taking my leave.”

As she reached the doorknob, the bar owner called out to her, “Wait!”

She looked over her shoulder, praying that he didn’t suddenly have second thoughts about the assassinations she had performed for him. Her line of work doesn’t offer refunds. Customers with faltering resolve often lead to more bodies, “Yes?”

“If the fifth Apostle was still alive, would any of this have happened? Would she have protected my girl?” the veins on the bar owner’s temples were bulging as he continued to fight back the urge to collapse on the ground weeping.

A mournful but gentle smile appeared on the blonde’s face as she answered his question, “My mother would have made sure you had the power to protect your daughter. She would never have left you or anyone else so helpless… regardless of whether you were reborns or not.”

“Then it's a pity that we lost her,” The blonde replied to his words with a silent nod and left the room. As she walked through the crowd, her sheepish mannerism returned. With her facade back on, she left the tavern to prepare for the next job at hand. She prepared to infiltrate the Festival of Rebirth.