I had more or less followed Seika here in a daze, lost in the sea of questions that flooded my mind. 

How did she know about my shard? If she knew, who else knew? Was there some kind of giveaway on my body? Was that what Setsuya meant when he said I was marked? Did everyone else I had met also know? Would I become an enemy for possessing a shard? 

Before I could even run through them all, we had already been seated with a waiter chattering away while Seika ordered for the both of us.

I ate the meal rather absent-mindedly, which consisted of eggs, bread, grilled meats, and a bowl of porridge.

Meanwhile, Seika gobbled down everything on the plates before her like a starved wolf, completely oblivious to my internal distress.

***

“Ok ok, now that food’s been taken care of, let’s get back on topic- oh, thank you”

She once again diverted her attention to the waiter who had returned to collect our empty dishes, handing him several bronze coins that she seemingly pulled from nowhere. Afterwards, she gave a brief nod of acknowledgement before returning her eyes to me.

“I think we should start over with introductions. The conversation back at the inn wasn’t very… eh, I can’t be bothered to describe it, but it wasn’t good”

I repeated the same introduction I had previously given to Setsuya at that table before.

“I know your name already. What I’m interested in is your background. That village you say you’re from, tell me about it”

I ran through the summary of the events that led me to where I was now, just as I had done with Yukiko, once again omitting the details regarding my encounter with Aeolus. Ever since my ‘reawakening’ to my ‘normal’ mental state, I began having doubts on the legitimacy of that encounter anyways.

She appeared surprised at first when I mentioned I had come from within a barrier zone, yet came to accept it surprisingly quickly as if it were some usual occurrence. Contrarily, she reacted with indifference when I reached the part where I had killed Seraphim. 

Once I began recounting the moments of and after my encounter with Yukiko, she leaned forwards with full attentiveness. According to her, Yukiko was currently staying back at the inn with Setsuya to help ease his worries, meaning any and all testimonies of us fighting together against the corruption and especially against Nightfall would benefit my case in his eyes.

“Now, about your shard- you are a shardbearer, right?”

It might’ve been easier to lie, but with the precarious situation I was now in, straightforward compliance was likely the best option.

“Yes. If you’re okay with me asking, how did you know?”

“Oh, the shard’s signature is basically freely flowing from your body. Anybody who has any experience being around a shard would be able to recognize its presence. We’re gonna need to work on that later, by the way-”

“Should I assume Setsuya also knows?”

“Nah, he probably didn’t notice that, being overly fixated on your mark and all”

“So, that then means that the mark and the shard are unrelated?”

She looked at me with an incredulous glare as if I had said the most blasphemous thing she’d ever heard.

“You-! Oh, right, you’re from a barrier zone… I forgot it also took him a while to get used to the outside societies”

“Him?”

“Hah! Who am I kidding, of course you wouldn’t know. There’s only been one other person in Greater Magius’s history to have broken out of a barrier zone. His name’s Akari. I’ll arrange to have you two meet sometime”

I nodded.

“Back on topic. Just to make sure, you do know where the shards come from, right?”

“Yes. They’re the fragmented pieces of the Key of Creation used by Hayato in The Great Uprising”

“Good to know. Those tales are consistent regardless of location, then. So, where do you keep your shard?”

“...Keep..?”

“Yeah. Its power created a new body for you after you came in contact with it, right?”

“No, no, no. You misunderstood. That shard became my new body-”

“It WHAT?!”

She seemed ready to flip the table over in astonishment, her hands grasping onto its edges, before calming herself down and taking a few moments to mutter some notes to herself.

“I see… so that would explain why detecting its presence didn’t come naturally to you”

“I’ll take it that most people don’t ‘absorb’ the shards into their body..?”

“Of course not. See this?”

She tapped at the rather ordinary looking pendant hanging around her neck, more specifically, the jagged, silvery metal that hung from it.

“That thing’s your shard? It feels like just a chunk of steel-”

I was suddenly blasted by a wave of mana that radiated from her pendant with great potency. As quickly as it came on, its presence faded back to nothing.

“This piece right here is my shard, and I’m able to control how much energy it emits just as I’d control my own aura”

“I see…”

“Training you on how to fully utilize your shard will certainly be… more different- given your circumstances. However, I’m up to the challenge”

She didn’t even bother asking whether or not I’d like to learn from her, but judging by her expertise, having such a mentor would undoubtedly be beneficial to my development.

“Now, you’re clearly unaware of what a ‘mark’ is, so let’s cover that next. That understanding will be crucial to navigating Setsuya’s current attitude towards you”

“Good. It’s about time I found out why he hates me so much”

“Heh. I like that response. Unlike what I assume you previously thought, the marks have nothing to do with the shards. In fact, they’re complete opposites, for the marks are connected to the corruption”

“Corruption? But I-”

“Allow me to continue. Some people, namely members of Nightfall at the present, will willingly mark themselves with traces of corrupted energy. While granting them much greater power beyond what the average person’s aura could accomplish in World Zero, the marks chip away at their host’s sanity and humanity until they are nothing but empty, beastly shells, much like those mutated beasts we fought yesterday”

“And once again, I’m saying I’m-”

“I’m not done yet. While some marks are gained willingly, others can be passed to people against their volition, usually through prolonged or internal contact with corrupted energy. Yet, regardless of how a person becomes marked, the crimson tattoo-like marking would still appear somewhere on their person”

I began picking up on what she was hinting at, glancing down at my right arm. I hadn’t looked at my arm underneath the glove recently.

“Wait, but after our fight with that titan, Yukiko herself had tended to my right arm, and I even looked at it before putting the glove on”

“That wasn’t your only encounter with the corruption, was it? I’ve heard that Nightfall is experimenting with a new technology that can transmit corrupted energy through magetech… and in addition to that, prolonged contact with a corrupted’s body can enhance the presence of the mark”

“The Assassin of Nightfall… I caught his dagger in this hand to fend off one of his attacks-”

I held up my right hand to show her the roughly sewn together slit on the glove that had been previously cut open by the dagger.

“-And I held the mantis’s scythes to defeat it during yesterday’s attack on Synoria Outlook”

“Well then, it seems we have our answer. You likely became marked shortly after your fight with the Assassin and later had the mark enhanced in your fight with the mantis”

“By any chance… does being marked interfere with your aura usage..?”

“I was wondering when you’d make the connection… it first happened back when we first met, right?”

“How did you-”

“Of course I knew. Why else do you think I ran a current of mana through your body? It was to suppress the mark’s spreading. Now, just to be sure, mind taking off that glove?”

I complied, unbuckling the straps around my upper arm before removing it completely. The burns seemed to have gotten better, if just by a small margin.

“That, right there”

She pointed towards a winding, almost vine-like cluster of red that had spread thinly around my forearm.

“You said this thing will wear down my humanity..?”

It was certainly a terrifying concept.

“For you, not necessarily. Your body is more or less a form of the shard, meaning you likely have some level of resistance. However, right now, you’re completely vulnerable since you haven't got a clue how to utilize the shard’s power”

Damn it… so even my new body wasn’t going to be free from the taint of the corruption.

“Before we continue, now you’ve explained what the marks are, what’s up with Setsuya’s prickly attitude? It’s not like I chose to be marked”

“Ah- without revealing too many personal details, let’s just say he had someone close to him walk down a different path due to one of those marks. Since then, he’s held a seething hatred towards anyone remotely associated to marked individuals, especially if they’re connected to his sister in any way”

Abhorrence after someone you love turns to the corruption…

I remembered Kouki’s reaction to Koharu’s words in my body back in that cavern.

It was a distasteful sense of understanding. At least before, I could only see Setsuya as an opponent to overcome in my journey. Now, he was someone who detested me that I couldn’t help but feel guilt and pity for.

“Ok, so what exactly am I supposed to do now? I’m assuming these marks aren’t as easy to remove as they are to obtain”

“You are unfortunately correct. We haven’t discovered a way to reverse the marks yet. However, I do have an alternate solution”

She pointed at a group of volunteer construction workers passing by.

“Yukiko’s already doing her best to change his mind back at the inn. Out here, we’ve gotta find ways to attest to your character in Synorian society”

“...you’ve got to be kidding me”

“It’s either this or you get labeled as a public enemy”

“...Fine”