NOVEL SIMPLE The story has changed
Third-person Child POV
Unbeknownst to Athena, the story has now started to diverge. Events that should have occurred later have started early, such as Lucina’s trip back home with Juliet. Events that never should have happened have started, such as Athena’s mission to acquire merchandise and the actions of one specific child.
“Boss!”
A child runs up to another child. Both are female, one is the child that Athena has met and another is the child that the child has saved.
“Did you see them, boss?”
“Yes.”
“Okay! I’ll tell the others!”
The child runs back to somewhere leaving one child alone. The child looks over at a cave from afar. She sees bandits running about. The child called boss waits as she stares at the cave. The child never thought that people would follow her. Ever since she met the boss, she only wanted to become stronger. Only so that the boss would accept her. So, she has been hunting bandits when she can.
“Boss, everyone is ready!”
“Good.”
The child walks forward first. She does not hide her presence. As she is still a child, she is not noticeable from a distance but as she gets closer. The bandits finally notice her.
“The fuck is a kid doing here? Shoo, go away kid.”
Some of the bandits notice her and two of them approach.
“Fuck off, kid. Go away.”
The child looked at both of them. She pulled out a dagger. A dagger given to her by the boss. Both bandits see this and laugh. The child does a quick swing. Each bandit collapse as one foot is cut off from both of them. The other bandits at the back react as both start to scream. Standing by both of their bodies, the child points her dagger to the cave and say a word.
“Attack.”
It was not that loud. No one actually hears what the child says but she has someone who is always watching her. Someone who has been with her ever since that day. So, another child’s voice screams from the back.
“ATTACK!”
The bandits react as tens of people run towards them. As all of the chaos of the battle starts, the child walks normally. She walks leisurely through the battlefield like taking a morning walk after waking up. All of these people are either former bandits, victims of bandits, good natured people or just people that were worried seeing a little girl doing something dangerous. But no matter which of them it was, all of them had belief in the child.
“We are being attacked!”
One of the bandit’s shouts as more bandits exit the cave. Their numbers are still higher and their victory is inevitable. The child watched everything that happened that day. The child believed in her boss so much that she believed that all of the people who saved them that day were the boss’s people. So, she did not reject other people who wanted to help. She believed in her boss so she copied her. Her confident poise in face of danger. Her absolute belief in herself. Sometimes, you only need one person’s confidence to affect a group of people. Just like how the boss controlled all of them before.
“How did they find us!?”
One of the bandit’s shouts as they are losing. The child remembers everything that happened that day. Fire boss was always speaking about doing what was right and fighting for other people. Ice boss showed her that someone must keep their word. Just these two traits have endeared her to the people. Those who have regrets being bandits turned to her side. Those who wanted revenge on the bandits went to her side. Those who believed in the good of the people followed her side. Those who were worried for her stayed by her side.
“The fuck? The hell is this motherfucking kid doing here?”
The child arrives at the deepest part of the cave as she meets with the leader of the bandits. This has always been the plan. As cliché as it sounds, the leader is always the only one left inside a lair. So, the child is always the one who fights them. The child brandishes her dagger and points at the leader.
“Tsk. Fine, I’ll start with you.”
The leader pulls out a hand axe as he stands up. He rushes towards the child.
“The fuck!?
The child casually walks between his legs making him miss her entirely. The child remembers maid boss’s words.
“You are small. Use it to your advantage. Always stay low, never let your feet leave the ground. Target their legs and make them fight on your height.”
The bandit tries to turn around but it was too late. She stabs the back of ankle and he crumples to the ground.
“Argh. What the hell!?”
Sha- book boss gave her books on people’s bodies.
“Make sure to read this. The human body has weak spots. Especially on the lower body, those who are strong will always protect these but you are a child. All of them will underestimate you. So, attack them before they take you seriously.”
The leader is on his knees in front of the child. The child knows the weakest point of a man. She takes the dagger and stabs him in the groin, to his unmentionables.
“AAAHHHHH!”
The man falls to the ground shaking his body. The child walks over him and stabs him on the head. The leader is dead. She cuts his head off and exits the cave. Any remaining bandits surrender as they see their leader’s severed head. And so, another bandit group has been eliminated.
“Good work, boss!”
The other child happily runs over. And so, they move on. Most people do not stay by the child’s side. This has been the activity of the child. She gathers people who are willing to help, attack and decimate a bandit camp. Then, she moves on to another place and do the same thing again. All of this so that one day, the boss would finally accept her.
“Boss!”
It was another day as the child continues to become stronger. All so that the boss would accept her one day.
“Okay.”
But even with all of this, this is only a fracture of the darkness. But this very fracture has changed the story. Because of this fracture, Athena has been given a mission. Because of this fracture, her father has started to worry. Because of this fracture, even more fractures would start. As the future of these fractures, not even Athena would know until it is too late.
