Radiant Prism

 

 

 

 

 

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Radiant Age, April 5, 1127

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When I woke up, the day before felt like a dream. The memories were fleeting as I tried to recall everything that happened. My mind felt like it was in a bright haze like someone was flashing a light into my eyes. My playtime with Yuu Yuu made me feel like a kid again.

 

 

I clenched my pillows as the haziness began to fade, revealing a messy room. But that didn’t damper my spirits. I found myself kicking my bedsheets, still thinking about when I grabbed her on the sides during tag. My feet rubbed against the sheets, and this ridiculous smile was on my face.

“What’s wrong with you, Feodora?”

I said aloud, still kicking my feet about. My stomach tensed up like someone wrapped a rope around it and began squeezing me. It was warm as I snickered, thinking about… my time with someone else being… enjoyable.

"What a day… "

I thought about it, how interesting of a day it was. I was fully rested and needed to get to Radiant City for sure. So, I cleaned up the mess I made, put everything away, and got my katana from the wall. When I strapped it to my hip, the guilt finally began to rush through my body.

“Maxwell…”

My mentor, my father figure, warned me not to get involved with people in that way. It was a rule… a creed to live. Slowly, like a stream of water breaching into a cave, my mind started to flood with… dangerous thoughts.

Like what if Yuu Yuu saw me while I slept? Would she… someone so easily scared stay beside me as I screamed in the night? I knew that she wouldn’t, and a bitterness assaulted my chest. Yesterday was fun, but it wasn’t what my mentor told me to do…

“…I need to remember what I am, don’t I, Maxwell?”

Gradually, the fears of what I could end up destroying, my simple solitude, began correcting me like a teacher telling me all the things that I’ve done wrong on a test. Yuu Yuu might remind me of me… but she isn’t me. I reminded myself that I was a dark vessel, and I was meant to be alone.

“I’ll do better next time, Maxwell…”

I said to nobody as I made my way to the Radiant City.

As I walked along the grassland towards the city, I reprimanded myself for easily breaking my creed. It felt as though Maxwell was over me, shaking his cold head in disappointment. He gave me the tools to live, and I needed to take them more seriously…

“Huh?!”

The ground shook like mad as the sky lit up to my surprise. It was a pure bright white before the shockwave of an explosion caused me to lunge back. This didn’t just happen once, two more came in rapid succession and they were all from within the Radiant City.

“What the hell was that?”

 

 

Black smoke rose from the city.

“Another bombing?!”

Confused and alarmed, I started jogging to the capital. When I reached the west gates, less than half of the number of knights stood to watch for beasts. The scene looked as though the knights were in disarray. They were pacing about, nothing like how they always are. They felt as though they were panicking. I could clearly see black smoke rise from within the city as I approached.

“That was a big one… There were three of them this time!”

A female knight said warily, speaking to one of her own.

"I can't believe they're making the rest of us stay here. A psycho is going around bombing places and we're stuck at the gates?"

Another angered knight kicked the wall in frustration. That answered my question… It seemed that another bombing happened while I was on my way here. That must have been the flash I saw. That would mean Jade would likely be at the scene of the crime. I began running past them, through the gates when... 

“Hold it!”

A knight stopped me.

“Oh… wait you’re that woman working with Jade Opal, right?”

“Eh… yeah.”

Coyly, I nodded.

“If you’re looking for her, Jade’s heading the investigation on the bombings that happened minutes ago. You can find her near the north of the gates.”

“Thank you…”

I rushed past the knights and ran into the city. People were being evacuated to the east, from the north. So, I made my way down the street for a while in their direction. As I got closer, the black smoke became heavier as I approached a section of the city.

“What the…?”

The buildings around were burning, and a few of them crumbled from the shockwave. People were laid about on the ground, I could hear crying and groaning in pain.

“This is… horrible.”

“Feodora!”

The pushy voice of the knight caught me. She ran at me and came to a stop at my feet.

 

 

“Change of plans, you’re not investigating the missing people case today. We have priority to look into these bombings now.”

Before I could open my mouth, she pushed a device into my hand. It was rectangular, and I instantly knew what it was.

“Is this a… phone?”

I asked, knowing the answer to my own question.

"I'll need to contact you on the regular now. It already has my number on it. Now, your orders, look around the area and try to help survivors.”

As quickly as she came, she raced off into the black smoke. There I stood with a… new phone in hand. But at the time, I couldn’t let that distract me, people were hurting… So, I put it in my pocket and looked about the area.

“Help… someone.”

There was a meek voice calling out. I looked around to see where the person was. With haste, I rushed over to see a fallen establishment. The canopy reminded me of the bakery from the other day so I assumed that must have been it. The baked goods sign was laying on its side as the building slanted pitifully. The establishment crumbled as the roof was on the ground now. The sight was... depressing.

“What’s going on?”

I asked an older white-haired man who was on one knee.

“My daughter is trapped in the rubble. Even with all the knights around, they are having trouble getting her out.”

A knight turned to me.

“She’ll be out soon. A few earth vessels are on their way to help move the pile of debris.”

I looked at the destruction and thought about it. Enough objects were blocking out the sunlight underneath. That alone gave me the unique chance to help out whoever was down there.

“No need, I’ll get her from under there...”

I said, before touching the shadow and melting into the bakery. When I appeared, the entire place was dark, and the woman was huddling under a table. She likely couldn’t see because it was pitch black, but I had no problems.

 

 

“Ma’am…”

I reached out my hand, touching her shoulder. Before she answered, we appeared in the shade of a burnt tree. Just as we did, a few knights, likely earth vessels, rushed over and attempted to use their spectrum to push the debris around to get her out.

“Ah… “

“Thank you!”

The woman wept and gave me a sudden hug. The knights turned to me… I could see the frustration on their faces. But despite that, the woman ran to her father and cried in his arms. Luckily, they both were safe.

“And who are you, lady?”

A knight came up to me and put his hand on his hips. I was apprehensive he’d arrest me for some unwarranted reason.

“Ah… I’m Feodora Cicer, an assistant of Jade Opal.”

I could see all of their shoulders relax as relief came to their faces.

“Ah, if you’re working for Jade, that’s all that matters. Go on with your assignment then.”

The group of knights went over to the woman and her father and started taking statements. As I looked around, there were a lot of knights doing the same. There had to be hundreds here and that was reasonable seeing the damage here.

“Who did this?”

This was the 2nd bombing event that I witnessed here. Even though this probably wasn’t part of the missing people investigation, the fact of the matter is, someone dangerous was going around doing this and I was a consultant of Jade. As long as she needed me, I was stuck with whatever job she had for me.

This bombing event… had slowly made itself my problem too, as callous as I made that sound.

“Feodora Cicer…”

A knight approached me.

“Oh… Y-yeah?”

The sudden attention caused me to back up a little as a group of knights formed around me.

“We have this section covered. In the lower quarters of the city nearby, there are a lot more people trapped under rubble that will take time to get to. Would you please go aid the knights there instead?”

“The lower quarters?”

I was unsure where that was and to my appreciation, he pointed down a pathway. It was partially destroyed, likely from the blast.

"The housing is tighter because it's more poverty-stricken. Because the houses and businesses were closer together, the bombings had a greater impact over there and more people are trapped. With your… unique skills, we figured you’d be a bigger help there.”

“Oh… sure, I guess. Lower quarters, huh?”

At their order, I rushed over and down the steps. As I traveled in the direction they instructed, I began seeing a major change in the streets. The sun didn't reach the pathway due to the tall buildings. As I made my way down to the south side of the city, I entered a tunnel, and when I came out of the cave-like exit, I appeared in another portion of Radiant City. The streets were broken up, and dirty patches were all around. Houses weren't as nice as the other parts of Radiant City for sure. These were the poorer portions of the city as the knight explained.

“Ohh! Feodora!”

To my surprise, a bright-eyed, bushy-tailed Vivian Heart caught me as she ran up to me. She hopped around me momentarily before coming to a stop and straightening her back.

 

 

“Are you here to help with the rescue too, Feodora?!”

She was dirty, likely from digging around and helping the people here. I nodded to her as I looked about.

“Yeah, Jade and the knights asked me to help. I heard more people were trapped down here.”

Roofs were caved in, and people lay on the side of walls as black smoke protruded to the sky. The ground was almost black. This had to be one of the blast zones or ground zero in this case.

“Hm?”

She looked at my back pocket and her eyes lit up.

“Whaaa?! You got a phone without me?!”

I tapped my pocket as she reached out, trying to take it from me.

“Eh, no… Jade gave this to me…”

Vivian puffed out her cheeks and crossed her arms.

“That’s super mean, Feodora! I was going to pick you out the coolest because you are the coolest!”

Aggravated, the white bunny kicked a pebble.

“Arrrgg… well, I can’t worry about that right now. We need to save these people! I need help over here, Feodora; come with me.”

She pulled me along, and we made our way to a pile of broken-down houses. Knights were removing people from within as others were spraying water at the fires that were still roaring.

“When the explosion happened, a few places built on bad foundations caved in, Feodora. Knights are having trouble getting that low in the ground, and people are stuck down there.”

I nodded.

“I did it before. I can shadow walk down there and see if I can pull some people back to the surface.”

“Ohhh! That’s super smart!”

The bunny jumped.

“I should think about ways to use my holy spectrum right now too. C'mon, a superhero wouldn't falter! Think, think!"

I tapped her on the head.

“Don’t think too hard about it, Vivian. Ah…”

I looked at the wounded who were being taken out by the knights. They were so busy, many of them had to be left to the side and their wounds weren’t being tended to immediately.

"How versed in the water spectrum are you, Vivian?"

I asked, causing the white bunny to hop up in excitement.

"I can treat wounds if that's what you want, Feodora!"

She exploded with vigor, already ready to spring into action.

“How about you use water spectrum and treat their wounds, for now, Vivian?”

I suggested.

“Yes! Will do, Feodora!”

Instantly, Vivian jumped around like a rabbit with too much energy. She raced over and did just as I instructed.

“Now then…”

I walked over to the dark spot of a fallen building. I calmed my mind and closed my eyes...

Just as I did at the bakery before, I looked about the dark spots to see a good place to shadow walk to. The shadows were tight, but I could see 4 or more people stuck under the dirt. There was a space underneath, just enough to fit me in, so I appeared inside.

"Oh? Who's there?"

A weak masculine voice asked as I touched their shoulder.

“Don’t worry. I’ll get you all out of here one at a time.”

I did just that. One at a time, I brought out each of them to the surface. When I appeared with them, the white rabbit would run over, take them by the hand, and begin healing their wounds using water spectrum as I instructed. This went on for a bit until I finally got everyone out.

“Thank you, ma’am, thank you.”

Gratefully, she sobbed as she raced over and held their loved ones.

“What a mess.”

When I turned around, the psycho named Eve walked into the scene. She held her head and crushed a pot under her feet as she made her way to me.

“Any ideas on who did this, Eve?”

I questioned, earning a shrug from her.

“No idea… I’m on medical duty Jade told me. I’m just as lost as you are, I guess, Feodora.”

“Where were you when the explosion happened, Eve?”

She bit her lip and gazed away from me.

“Dangerously close… Let's just say that. I was following a lead on something... While I was down here in the lower quarters, this bombing happened.”

 

 

Midway through her explanation, she walked over to the group that Vivian was healing.

“Oh, Eve! Good to have you! Did I do well?!”

Vivian asked.

“You did as good as you could, Vivian… not being a water vessel that is, kid. But I’ll take it from here.”

She did just that as she poured her healing spectrum on the group. I heard sighs of relief as their pain started to go away. With a bit of downtime, I decided it would be best to start investigating too. Jade mentioned she was… suspicious of both Eve and Vivian for a reason so, I figured they might be the best place to start.

“Vivian, where were you during this explosion?”

I asked. The bunny hopped up and saluted me.

“I was on a mission, so I didn’t get here until much later.”

 

 

“A mission?”

I probed.

“Yes, it’s confidential, but I had to gather some important intel. I felt the three shockwaves, however. But I couldn’t abandon my job. A few moments later though, around 15 minutes or so later, Eve called me to get here.”

“So, you weren’t one of the first responders, Vivian?”

“Sadly, no.”

Dejected, she put her shoulders down.

Eve was in the vicinity of the explosion, but she wasn’t harmed during the blast. Surprisingly, Vivian didn’t come racing to the bombing sites because she was in the middle of a “mission.” But as she was still doing her job, she was forced to come over and help because Eve called her…

I closed my eyes and thought about it… something felt off about her testimony.

“Isn’t that a little strange, Vivian?”

I questioned, looking at the bright-eyed wonder.

“Oh, what’s strange, Feodora?”

“That you… a heroine of justice, wasn’t one of the first responders here? You’re faster than anyone I know yet you didn’t race to action when these explosions happened?”

She smiled brightly and tilted her head.

“Oh, do you think I had something to do with the bombings? Is that why you’re interrogating me? I swear that I’m innocent!”

She chided me, almost mockingly, as if just to play with me. She didn’t seem upset that I was suspicious about her in the slightest.

“No… it’s not that, Vivian.”

I lied as I reformulated my question.

“I’m just curious why you didn’t think it was important to race to such a large explosion.”

The bunny put her hands behind her back and paced for a bit.

"Because the mission I was on was a top priority from the Light Camp.”

I recalled that name, the Light Camp. Yuu Yuu mentioned it when we were hanging out.

“So, you work for the Light Camp, Vivian.”

The white bunny nodded. Her ponytail bounced as she did.

“Yep! I’ve been assigned on the job to help the knights. That’s why Jade is my commander!”

Excitedly, she raised her head like a proud puppy.

“The only thing that could cut that priority would be a direct command from Jade. I am told by my superiors from the Light Camp that Jade's command is the law.”

“But it was Eve who called you, right?”

She turned back to me and shined her bright eyes my way.

“Yes, I don’t have Jade’s number so any information given from someone else is by proxy, Jade to me. So effectively, Eve was Jade, meaning my orders became absolute.”

I still found it odd that she, the heroine of justice, wouldn't drop all orders and come to help. But then again, if her job is that important, she might not have the freedom to do that.

“…Can you tell me a little bit more about the Light Camp, Vivian?”

“Oh, are you interested in us?”

She giggled.

"We are a group who are like family. We do odd jobs in the Radiant City to collect money to sustain our village miles away from here. That’s the simplest explanation I can give you.”

Vivian sounded open and honest. I… felt a tad guilty doubting her now.

“Well, what about you, Feodora?”

The bunny grinned as she looked me up and down now.

“How do I know you aren’t the one who caused this? Or maybe my heroine is actually working with the people who did this?”

She wasn’t wrong to bring that up. All I did was shrug in response.

“You don’t. For all we know, these bombs were on a timer and that would give anyone an alibi. For now… we don’t have the information to know who did this.”

With a sigh, she nodded her head in agreement.

“I at least know you were outside of the town gates when the explosion happened. So effectively, I’m your alibi too.”

Alarmed, I looked back at her.

“How did you know that, Vivian?”

The white bunny put her finger to her lips and smirked.

“Because I like you, and I was watching you! I always have to keep an eye on my heroine, don't I?”

Cutely, she approached me.

“I mean, what if you did something super cool and I missed it?! I’m like your biggest fan, you know?”

I backed up slightly as she pushed her nose to mine. Her sweet breath trickled along my cheek as she whispered.

“Just kidding!”

 

 

Gently, she pushed my shoulder as she teased.

“If you have no other questions, I’m going to keep helping the people here. Bye, bye, Feodora!”

Before waiting for my reply, she raced off. I rubbed the back of my head and took a deep breath.

“That girl… is a lot to handle, isn’t she?”

I at least know that Vivian knew my location during the explosion. Meaning whatever “mission” she was doing, it took her to the west gates of Radiant City. I was curious about what that "mission" could have been.

By order of the Light Camp, Jade's order is the law to Vivian. But that would actually mean Vivian is only following those laws because they came from the Light Camp. If her camp never made those orders, Jade wouldn't have had any authority over her actions.

 

(So, who is actually directing you then, Vivian?)

I questioned internally.

That might become important later in my investigation, I concluded. As it stood, Vivian was only doing what the Light Camp ordered her to do and that was anything Jade had in mind. Despite how she made it sound, her priority and loyalty are only to the Light Camp.

 

 

(I’ll keep investigating. For the time being, everyone is a suspect, and I shouldn’t favor someone no matter how innocent they might look.)