Back to the present.

"Hmph, I see Mediocris' biggest failure has finally returned to get off on more people's pain." Fretted Felichs as they felt the hairs rise all over their body. "Shit calm down Felichs you'll be ok. You'll outsmart this psychopath and make it home."

"Like I ever cared about being a doctor. I'm enjoying all of the free time I've attained. It's allowed me to make preparations and learn a few new things." 

"Make preparations? What, you preparing to traumatize more kids?"

"Hehe, as much as I would love to HELP more people I have more pressing matters. Have you met Tournament? HA! Don't even answer that because of course you haven't! Why would somebody with a beautiful aura like that ever want a NOBODY like you in their tournament? I told you, you're not special."

"Usually, I wouldn't waste my energy on someone like you, but your filthy self may try joining Tournoá Tou Menos and I just can't have that. So maybe it would be best to take you out now!"

She lunged forward at Felichs, grabbing them by the throat. They tried reaching for their knife, but the doctor was too smart and with her free hand grabbed Felichs and squeezed their bicep at just the right point causing their right arm to go limp. With their left hand they slapped Benignus, as hard as they could, then kicked her in the stomach. Felichs still didn't have any feeling in their right arm, but used that to their advantage as they rammed Benignus into the door. Her head slammed into it which caused her to stumble, giving them a few seconds to try and get use of their arm again. This proved to be a costly mistake.

She reached into her coat and grabbed a few needles and began squeezing them tightly. The veins on her hands began bulging out, sweat was dripping down her face, and her eyes were burning with anger.

"You stupid, worthless, disgusting creature! I should've killed you two years ago. This time...this time though I will make sure to finish the job! And now that your mother's back, after I'm done with you I can deliver your head to her, then kill her too! It'll be amazing! Then I'll be the..."

Felichs couldn't make out the rest of what was said, as they began looking for a possible way out.

Their breathing grew heavier and heavier, as they looked around trying to find something they could do or use against her. Maybe delusions or reality, but it appeared as though Dr. Benignus' needles grew much larger as she inched closer towards them. Felichs thought their eyes were playing tricks on them, but they weren't, her needles indeed grew a lot larger — ten times bigger than before! They started throwing things at her like paper and pencils from the desk, trying to find some way to escape. A floodgate of tears began to ride down the sides of their cheeks, heart popping out of their body as they backed against into the wall. They started contemplating if it would be better to just kill themself and so they took their knife and plunged it towards their neck ready when suddenly everything around them slowed down and a set of words appeared before them:

Wheel of Breath: Fear- Eyes Of A Dead Mafioso

"Everything moving so slow?! What the hell's going on?! Argh, never mind I guess I shouldn't complain. I needa get out of here and... wait a minute," Before exiting Felichs punched the doctor square in her face, "That's better, now time to get home"

Before they left, Felichs remembered the entire reason they came to Mediocris and headed over to grab some medicine from Chase's Sweatshop. This little pharmacy was owned by a snobby old man who would refuse services to anyone who couldn't pay no matter how badly injured or sick they might be, so Felichs felt nothing anytime they stole from his shop. They pulled a hairpin out of their pocket, repeated a few up-down-side-to-side motions until cracking the lock, and then ran to the back of the shop where the medications were. They pulled their knife out and broke the glass, causing the alarm to go off. Felichs grabbed a few regular medications they would normally get like Xanax, oxycodone, and codeine, then exited the pharmacy and ran home.

They arrived home later that night exhausted. As they walked inside, their mom was in the living room drinking tea. They handed her some medicine and as usual Sana had no questions about where they got it from, nor how they paid for it. She just smiled, thanked them, then took her medication. Felichs went out back to grab the water bucket, removed their clothes, then started scrubbing themselves off. Thanks to a few altercations they had gotten into that week and now the recent one with Dr. Benignus, their body was covered in cuts and bruises. The water wasn't the cleanest, but it did get the job done removing the dirt and blood from their skin.

These ugly thoughts swarmed Felichs mind as they air-dried outside. They had a love-hate relationship with nighttime. It was dark at night which meant they were in their safe space; a place where their anxiety could not reach them, allowing them to be calm. But where there was peace, like a coin, there was always something on the other side, and for Felichs that was depression. As their mind became clearer and more focused, their worst thoughts would be brought to the surface. Felichs knew one day that this other side of them would lead to their demise. They picked up the water bucket and headed back inside. Worried about how the discussion would go, Felichs was hesitant to tell their mom about what happened, but Sana noticed and asked them about it.

"So you happened to meet Dr. Benignus..." Sana said as her voice sounded troubled, "I'm so sorry sweetie... and she called you such horrible things...I love you just the way you are my child. Don't let anybody ever tell you that you're not who you believe you are. You're my baby and I love you."

"It's ok Mom, I don't blame you; she's a psychopath..."

"No you don't understand, she's a psychopath, because of me,"

"But she seemed so jealous that the commanders all favored you. How can it be your fault who favors who?

"Dr. Benignus doesn't hate me because the commanders love me, she hates me because her dad's in love with me to the point that he ignores her. He would always praise me for my ability to heal people and say that my talents were special."

"A-ability to heal? But you're just a doctor? All doctors heal people!"

"I guess it's time to tell you the full truth. Sit down sweetie, this may take a while and all of it might not make the most sense." Sana sighed heavily before continuing, "Ever since the Queen Elpis passed and the wars broke back out , people have talked about how it seems like certain people have these supernatural abilities. Nobody knows how they came about or why they did. The first time they were seen was in a skirmish between Perdita and Spes when a Perditian swordswoman was overpowered by an individual. She said the person she fought, had grown claws and destroyed her blade with ease before striking her. A few were skeptical to believe this, but seeing the large, wolf-like scratches on her torso was all the proof they needed. Eventually, a few more ability sightings were talked about. Then, fifteen years ago, I joined the military. I was in the middle of combat when a comrade of mine was injured. She was my best friend, so seeing her lifeless body was too much. I broke down crying, holding the bullet wounds and praying to Eirini that she wouldn't die. My tears fell onto her wounds and as I screamed louder and louder for help, something amazing happened. Her wounds started healing up and soon her lifeless body was once again full of life. I was in complete shock and soon the rumors started spreading that I was an angel. That's why I was gone...it wasn't to heal but to learn. To learn how to awaken and harness this power for Perdita's military, to eventually control this country."

Felichs sat in silence as their mom slowly got up, bones cracking as she did.

"Mom,"

"Yes, sweetie."

"These abilities. These experiments. Are these the cause of your illness?"

Sana looked at Felichs in silence, not muttering a word

Tears started to roll down Felichs' eyes. They walked outside and headed up to the roof. It was a few weeks before the tournament and Felichs grew more and more worried. A plethora of thoughts raced through their troubled mind. What if there were others in the tournament who had these same abilities or even stronger ones that could cause great destruction? There's no way death wasn't going to be an option. Felichs reached into their pocket and grabbed the note reading over it again.

Felichs

Solis

Ira

Malu

Mori

The rest of the names weren't legible, but there appeared to be at least three others. They examined the page closer trying to see if something was hidden. They turned the page over and over multiple times, hoping something, anything would show itself to them. However, the only thing that was there was the bloody handprint. As Felichs looked closer at it they noticed it wasn't completely smooth, it had very slight cracks in it that could easily be overlooked. They started scratching it, hoping to find something to ease their restless mind. What happened next though caused their eyes to widen. Some of the blood fell off, but most of it stayed and formed what appeared to be the words:

"One day you'll understand why Felichs..."

Felichs woke up and went about their usual daily activities. They decided to not tell their mom about the letter, knowing it would cause too many complications. Instead, they went outside and gathered some of their knives, made a quick braid, and wrapped the end around one of their knives. They attached two others to their belt and then gave their mom one.

Sana knew something was different about Felichs.

"I know you say everything's going to be alright, but I'm still going to be worried," Sana said in a low tone.

"Like I said before, don't be. I promise I'll be safe and even try my best not to get into fights before the tournament or on my way back, after I win it." Felichs smiled as wide as possible, showing all their spikey teeth.

"Whether you win or lose, just please come back to me baby, you're all I have left," Sana said as tears started to form. "Every since I lost your sis-"

"Mom...I thought we said we wouldn't talk about her. Every time we do you blame yourself even though it's not your fault."

"You're right, you're right. I'm sorry sweetie, just promise me one thing. Whatever you do, don't do something you'll regret. Got it?"

"Yeah, mom. I got it."

They gave their mom a big hug goodbye then helped them get to the window before heading to Fortuna. Normally, they wouldn't be allowed here, but Tournament had assured them they would be allowed entry upon flashing the letter. Fortuna was a noble-only city that lay north of Mediocris and was the one city Felichs stayed far away from. It was heavily guarded with elite military forces everywhere, patrolling on the ground and keeping watch from the lookout towers. The city was lined with houses, but the three big houses in the center of its city were the most important. Two of those belonged to the main noble families and the other one to the members of the council. There were also two hospitals, one belonging to House Mors and the other to House Vita. Its population only held about a few hundred citizens, half belonged to the two families and the council, while the others belonged to the lesser noble families.

As they walked through Fortuna, Felichs could feel the glares of disgust from its citizens.

"What is Pauper-trash like that doing here"

"What a disgusting creature. It looks like it hasn't eaten in weeks"

"I couldn't even turn that thing into a good slave if I wanted to."

These were just some of the things said about them, but Felichs paid them no mind. They had heard these things many times and knew getting into an altercation with anyone from Fortuna would have them imprisoned for life. After the assassination of King Olivier lll, the nobles, and Chancellor Cedric took control of Perdita, allowing the nobles to have the power to make laws for the state and run Perdita in whichever they saw fit.

They lowered their head and walked through the city until they reached the center. The letter told them to head to the council's house and so they did. Upon arriving they were greeted by a very large man, about seven feet tall, who had a rough face covered in scars and missing his left eye. He wore a suit and greeted Felichs, requesting they hurry inside.

"You're really early you know? Matter of fact, you're an entire two hours ahead of schedule."

"Yeah, I've been told I had a bad habit of showing up early," 

"So, who are you supposed to be? A butler"

"You could say that. I have many jobs here. Butler. Tutor. Security. I do whatever is asked of me by our De..I-I-I-I mean our heads of the house." The man said as he stumbled over his words.

Felichs wanted to ask what the man was going to say but knew he would dodge the question. "So, what's your name? Or do you have many names too?"

"My name is Servus. Servus #11835. But please just call me Servus. And you must be Felichs of Pauper. I've heard a lot about you."

"Yeah, but just call me Felichs. So, you said I was early? Maybe I can use this time to have a conversation with Tournament, I've been meaning to ask them something."

The man suddenly stopped and turned back to Felichs with a look of fear on their face, "You're not safe here."

"I will endure whatever hell is in store for me if it means you can leave world in peace"