Martia was rigorously trained to be an assassin with twelve hours oftraining with swords, knives, and arrows and five hours of study every

  day.

  She was taught everything about Absyleous and even about matters outside it.

  Martia could see all the children, except her, given a day’s break, where they could play or participate in other activities, but Martia was not allowed

  to join them. She only trained and studied all the time.

  There was a child called Minver, who always visited Martia for a few minutes before she went to study.

  She followed the same routine till she reached the age of twenty, except for once, when she went outside for an assignment along with Promanthae

  and Arigue.

  One day, after training, she was going to study in a classroom especially made for her, and on the way, as usual, Minver came to visit and talk to her.

  Minver said in an excited tone, “Some of us are going to meet today at midnight and play a game beside the fire after everyone is asleep. Come and join us after you are done with your studies. You can sacrifice one or two hours of sleep, can’t you? Join us at midnight. I will wait for you.”

  Martia agreed. She was excited that she was going to make some friends today.

  Arigue, after seeing her settling to study, said, “Okay, before we start studying, tell me the few sentences that I teach you every day.”

  Martia, annoyed with this question, said in an irritated tone, “Just start teaching already. I don’t want to remember that tragic encrypted story of

  yours, which you have been making me read since I was ten. Let’s finish this studying quickly. I am tired.”

  Arigue asked, “Are you tired or are you thinking that you will end up making some friends today?”

  “You have sharp hearing for an old man,” said Martia.

  “I am only twelve years older than you. Who is old?” replied Arigue.

  Martia retorted, “If that is so, then stop being my teacher, and I will stop calling you an old man. Why do you always look so emotionless with everyone and so annoyed with me? What is this hatred towards me for? Is it because you are trapped here teaching me, and you want to run away from

  this place, which I know you think of as hell? If that’s the case, then should I find a way for you to get out of this so-called hell of yours?”

  Arigue asked, “Are you calling your village hell?”

  Martia smiled and replied, “Arigue, let’s only talk about you, like how you never smile, you sit in the teaching room all day and read all the books

  brought here, make notes, or write. You don’t look like a living being to me. You live your life like a punishment here. So, if this is not hell for you,

  then what is this? Heaven?”

  Arigue replied angrily, “Why only talk about me? Let’s include you, too, in this discussion of how to live life. You train the whole day and

  study the rest and then sleep and repeat the same routine again and again.

  Have you played any games children played? Do you even have anyone to talk to? I have lived my life the best I could before I turned twenty. But you, on the other hand, Martia, if you really think you have the knowledge to live like a living being, then have you ever lived like that even for a single moment? I live in hell, that is true. I am only breathing, that is also true, but you! You are the epitome of hell. And that’s why you are destined to live a life with no joy or happiness. Can’t you see you are being trained to be an assassin? Who knows if you will even be alive till my age?”

  Laughing mockingly, Arigue continued, “Martia, even if you survive and become the leader of this village and dethrone King Coaleme, your whole life will be spent without any love or affection, just like Promanthae. What is the point of that life?”

  Martia was a little bothered on hearing this but replied sarcastically, “Well, Arigue, if that is the case, then we should leave this place. Where do

  you want to go after running from here? The neutral villages? Or the fancy cities? Or should I kill Coaleme and make you the king?”

  Arigue replied angrily, “Do you really think you can get out of this village?”

  Martia confidently said, “I have been observing all the changes made from the last time I ran away. I have observed this present security in complete detail for the last seven years. I can easily break all the barriers and leave if I want to.”

  “Then why don’t you?” asked Arigue.

  Martia replied in a disillusioned tone, “Because I have nowhere to go. And none of the places outside this village intrigued me to the extent where I want to stay there always. But I can get you out of here, so tell me, Arigue, do you want to leave this place?”

  “After you grew up, you just went out of Promapple once, with me and Promanthae, to see all the villages that support us and the cities, along with one of your own missions, and you have already assumed all those places are boring. Anyways, what if I say yes?”

  Arigue paused and continued, “Will you really get me out of this place?”

  Martia replied quickly and confidently, “I can easily, but there is one problem.”

  “What’s the problem? Your guardian? The one and only Promanthae?”Arigue mockingly asked.

  Martia smiled and replied, “I am not scared of Promanthae. Or anyone else. You know that. I am not even scared of dying.”

  Arigue then asked with some curiosity, “Then what is the problem?”

  “The problem is . . .” Martia paused and said, “I feel that the day you leave this village is going to be the last day of my life. I mean, I am not scared of dying, but I do want to live my whole life.” Martia started

  laughing.

  Arigue angrily replied, “Talking to you is a waste of my time. Just repeat the sentences I teach you every day.”

  Martia smiled and said, “Once a Rare Star with a crimson aura called Scarlet, after being tired of everything dreary around it, started roaming

  in infinity. Suddenly, a beautiful Planet caught its attention. Mesmerized by the Planet’s pristine aura, Scarlet gravitated towards it. Scarlet traversed

  through all the obstructions and finally reached the enticing Planet. The peacefulness and the beauty of the exquisite Planet allured the Star, and it was never able to leave. That beautiful Planet gave Scarlet a sense of serenity, which it couldn’t find anywhere else in the entire infinity. But

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

  the sereneness didn’t last long. The idyllic Planet started getting attacked by the negative energies of other planets and stars. Scarlet did its best to

  fight all the belligerent energies to save the Planet but was overwhelmed by the assaults from all sides. Distraught by this, Scarlet thought to summon

  positive energies to help it conquer all the negative ones overwhelming it.

  The Star then followed a ritual for this miracle to happen. Scarlet went and stood at the center of the Planet and faced Septentrion; it then followed

  an ideal path, worshiping thirty Supreme Powers. It again took a righteous path and worshiped seventy more Supreme Powers. With the blessings of

  all the Powers, Scarlet commenced the summoning of the first, sixth, and tenth energies of one universe, and then, along with the sixth energy of

  the first universe, the Star also summoned the first and tenth energies of the second universe. With the power from all the positive energies, Scarlet

  fought again and was victorious among all. It eventually took control of all the negative energies attacking its Planet and made those negative energies a part of itself and became dangerously powerful. After saving that serene Planet, Scarlet left and went far away from its beloved Planet. The Star just wanted to save the peace on that beautiful Planet from its present dangerously destructive aura.”

  Martia smirked and said, “What in the universe does it even mean, Arigue? Did your lover write this poem for you, or did you write it for her? Is it some kind of map for you both to find each other?”

  She continued mocking him. “No wonder you are alone right now. Your lover might have gotten lost after reading this map of yours! Who can decode this and find you?

  Why did you always indulge yourself in some or other kind of sadness? I wonder how you will look when you are happy from your heart.” Teasingly,

  she said, “Now that I am imagining it, I feel like that must be a scary scene.” Saying that, she started laughing.

  Arigue replied emotionlessly, “At least I had a lover who is lost now. But you, Martia, with the path you are on, you never had and never will have anything that you would want to treasure or protect, and if,

  fortunately, you might get something precious you want to save, then also, because of your destructive nature, I feel like this beautiful, tragic story will become your reality. And after that, you will also be colored with these feelings of sadness and depression like I am. The exact feelings you are making fun of! So, don’t worry, Martia. If that is your fate, then you will definitely understand why I never smile from my heart, as you would also never be able to. . So, it’s better we continue with what we are good at, that is, studying about the things that are lifeless like us.”

  Martia replied in a bored tone, “Oh, no, Arigue, you are wrong about me. I am not brave like you to keep living in this melancholy. I will either die or lose my mind. There will be only two conclusions in my life. And also, you, Arigue, are a very pessimistic person, but what can I expect from a person who willingly lives in a jail, right?” Disappointed, she said, “Anyways, you are right, we should only study.”

  After studying for five hours, Martia went home and had dinner with Promanthae. She then went to her room in front of him but sneaked out

  after some time to meet Minver, hoping to talk about anything except studies or fighting. The tiredness she was feeling vanished after seeing

  Minver, who introduced her to everyone.

  One of Minver’s friends, named Ari, said, “Who doesn’t know Martia, our future leader! I mean, we must be careful about what we say in front of her.”

  Minver replied proudly, “I am looking forward to being under her leadership. Our village will rule Absyleous under her. I know it.”

  Listening to all this, Martia felt a little burdened and bored but replied calmly, “Right now, I am your friend. Let’s talk like friends; let’s leave the rest to the future.”

  Hearing this, Ari asked her, “If we give you a dare as a friend, will you accept it?”

  Martia replied, smiling, “Well, why not? What is the dare?”

  Ari excitedly replied, “Go to the city where King Coaleme’s castle isand bring me the badge of one of the king’s generals.”

  Minver said in a worried tone, “Ari, what is this dare? What if she gets caught?”

  Ari replied mockingly, “Looks like Minver doesn’t have any faith in our leader. Martia, you should be wary of this person in future; don’t have him

  as one of your trusted advisors,” Ari finished, laughing.

  Minver, irritated with Ari, replied, “Shut up, I just don’t want her to get into trouble.”

  Ari retorted, “Trouble? Our Martia injured the previous king, Zarek, when she was ten. Now she is twenty. She can at least bring a badge of one

  of the generals. I am asking her to do much less compared to what she is capable of.”

  Martia, amused by this conversation, said, “When do you want me to leave?”

  Ari replied excitedly, “How about now? You can leave tonight, find a general, take his badge, and come back.”

  Martia smiled and said, “Thank you for this detailed plan. Remind me to include you in my team of strategists in the future.”

  Ari replied, embarrassed, “Well, I am studying to be a doctor, so you can use me as your doctor. I will be a very good one in the future. Promanthae always sends me to the city to meet the other doctors there.

  I have even opened a health care facility in the city with the help of some of the citizens from neutral villages, and I am planning to use that facility to treat Promapplers secretly. Acastius and Minver know about this. And I will tell Promanthae in a few days too. He will be proud of me!”

  Martia replied, smiling, “Good! But I hope I never have to visit that place.”

  Acastius, who was listening, said, “Martia, take me with you.”

  Martia replied quickly, “You will be a burden.”

  Acastius, hurt by this, replied quickly, “I am also training to be an assassin.”

  Martia asked, “And how much have you progressed until now? Don’t you get scolded every day by Promanthae and practice more than the rest

  and still find yourself making mistakes the next day?”

  Acastius replied angrily, “You are a good assassin and our future leader, but does that give you the right to insult me?”

  Martia replied casually, “I don’t care about you enough to make an effort to insult you. But I observe everything and everyone very carefully. I

  just said what I saw but not what I observed. Don’t mind, because I never said you won’t be a perfect assassin in future, but right now, you are not,

  and it is a fact. I am not your leader right now. But when I will be, I will take you as one of my trusted fighters.”

  Acastius asked curiously, “But what if I will still be poor at fighting, like right now?”

  Martia replied, “You shouldn’t say things you don’t want to happen to you, even if just to get a reaction out of others. That is disrespecting yourself.”

  Acastius, who had been disillusioned with Martia before, started feeling respect for her now, after hearing her last statement. He said, “I don’t mind

  being selected as your personal guard and saving you someday.”

  Martia said, “Let’s see if you can save me someday.” She got up and said, “I should leave now. I have to take care of a dare.”