Humans are quite weird.
They preach you to believe in yourself, to make yourself distinctive, they say that you and... you alone can find the way to your own success, they whisper in your ears that you and every other human out there is different, and has been since time immemorial.
Then comes those days where you find those same whispering voices against you, comparing your value to that of others, questioning your decisions, discouraging your opinions and trying to mould you into an individual with the characters they either could never achieve in their own lifetime or something they just staunchly believed in.
They make you into their puppet...
Are...are we the puppets and the society our puppeteer?
Quite the world we live in, don't we?
Then there comes people like Adrian; he never cared for the validation of the society, lived up to his own wishes and manipulated his way through the society.
Not that he ever got the chance to seek validation...
It was either being ordered or breaking your shackles. There was never a midway in between.
His life had been tiring, relentlessly merciless and drawing out his soul from him... literally.
In fact, now he has even hoped to get to finally live a life in peace. But...
'...I was wrong. Peace...it has always been an illusion, weakening kings and strengthening the shadows.'
Adrian hummed as the thoughts came to him, unbidden.
Currently, he was doing something considered a low act among mortals -- stalking.
And guess what?
He was stalking his own stalker.
Stalking can make one a creep who shall end up behind bars and admonished by the public, or it can make you a great spy, even worshipped by the society one day for their enigmatic personalities.
One might argue about the nonsense being spoken ...but that being said, Adrian is the creep while his own stalker is the spy.
Ever since he arrived at Trios a month back, he felt it; a presence always at his back, always observing his movements.
He could never pinpoint the direction, but he always felt them tethering just at the edge of his vision.
As he can right now feel the same presence from the person in front of him-- the blue haired girl who had so eagerly asked him about the Evenstar Kingdom a few hours back.
He wasn't even trying to hide and follow her. He could see that she was ahead of him and walking down the desolated, thin lanes that were now empty.
She acted oblivious to his presence, though the smile on her lips suggested otherwise.
The girl approached one empty, broken house and broke the rusted lock with a sharp jab. Adrian who was following her, stopped at a short distance.
He watched as the girl swung the door open, which made a creaking sound as if it had woken up from a deep slumber.
She entered the house and held the door open.
Then she turned towards Adrian and smiled. A small, knowing smile.
It was enough to confirm his musings. And thus, he walked and with cautious steps entered the house, all the while keeping an eye on the blue haired girl's movements.
The girl merely kept on smiling in response.
Adrain scanned the room.
It was made of straws and mud. The mud had spilled over in many parts of the walls, giving way to small holes at random spots.
He went over and leaned towards one of the weaker section of the wall.
It was a precaution in case he needed to flee. He could feel that a slightly forceful push would be enough for the wall to break down.
The girl took her sweet time, graciously closing the door before she approached him with the same smile on her face.
She started, "Pleased to meet you again, Mr.Leonard. Though I certainly didn't think it would be so soon."
Adrian meanwhile, narrowed his eyes at the mask that the girl had worn in the form of the smile. He then carefully chose his words and replied, "I am sure we don't need to be so formal. You crossed that line quite a while back, watching over me everytime, didn't you?"
The girl tilted her head, eyes full of feigned innocence, "What do you mean, sir? Me? Stalking you?"
She then put her index finger on her lips and provocatively acted as if in a deep thought, before shaking her head with that same innocence in her eyes.
She however added, "In fact, one might argue that I have arrived here just a few hours back... just like all the other saviours."
Adrian ignored the provocation while hissing back "Stop your games and tell me what do you want.I didn't actually think you would reveal yourself so casually by coming to the shop."
Noting the girl's mild confusion, he clarified.
"When you visited my shop earlier, did you seriously think I wouldn't notice the way your lips twitched with that all so knowing smirk, when I lied to you about my arrival to Trios."
Hearing that, the blue-haired girl simply covered her mouth with the palm of her hand while she giggled, her stomach shaking from the impact.
"You are sharp. I have to give you that, and here I thought that you were just developing some alias for Leonard."
The smile then disappeared suddenly, as if it had never been present. Her eyes turned cold as she gave an ultimatum.
"Mr.Leonard or should I say...Mr.Adrian?" Adrian's eyes bulged in horror.
How could he not when this girl just disclosed his real name, even while he was under a disguise not only in name but also in a different body and face?
Choosing to ignore his reaction, she continued, "I give you 2 choices: either, kneel down and be restrained by me or..."
She grabbed a dagger from underneath her sleeve and threw it at his feet before continuing,
"...you can kill yourself with that. Choice is yours, mister."
Various emotions flashed through Adrian's eyes before he abruptly calmed himself down.
"Ahh, I am overreacting now. Tch, why would I even do that? You see...If you just happened to not leave this house after today, doesn't that mean I don't need to choose at all?"
Then with a sly smirk, he added.
"It is even the best solution...or choice if you can call that."
The girl raised an eyebrow before softly whispering,"Are you sure you want to fight me given you know, you are Lvl 0?"
Adrian simply picked up the dagger from the floor, thanking the girl's foolishness in his mind and then looked at her.
"You know whoever sent you to me didn't even bother to properly inform you about me."
"And what makes you think that I am working under someone?" The girl asked, amused by his actions.
Before he could answer, the girl added,"Though let me tell you, I am Lvl 26. No matter what you do, you are losing this combat....maybe even your life."
Adrain chuckled slightly before rotating his neck.
Then he readied himself, keeping his right foot grounded in front of him and his left foot only partially touching the ground. His right hand holding the dagger was poised towards the blue haired.
Squinting his eyes, he spoke again.
"I understand now. Your organization or whoever they are had warned you about me....but unluckily for them, you are just a cheeky brat."
Her eyebrows twitched at his blunt words; she looked as if she had just been indignified...which was actually the case.
Two more daggers slipped out of her sleeves.
'Atleast she has a decent battle preparation. Not bad,not bad at all'
Adrian couldn't help but be impressed despite himself.
'I don't even need anything fancy as mind reading to guess her happiness thinking she tricked me into this trap.
But alas, my curiosity has always been like a unending void...and look where I find myself trying to quelch it.'
"Let the show unfold..."