The afternoon sun kissed Emily's forehead as she sat on a balcony. A brisk wind rustled her black hair. Her legs dangled over the edge, emerald eyes fixated on the ENGINE. It dominated over Leonore, its endless gears parting the clouds. A low bass hum reverberated off Emily's chest as her nostrils flared. She grabbed a nearby pebble and slung it towards the ENGINE. It landed on the cobblestone streets below without a noise.
The giant machine didn't even notice.
She rubbed the hair out of her face as she glanced down at the citizens below. Her imagination ran wild as she pondered jumping off the roof to see if the ENGINE would save her. A long, drawn-out sigh came from her lips as her eyes glanced back up towards the sky. The thought faded with a frown as she threw another pebble with all her might at it.
The Engine watched unbothered.
"You seem troubled. Emily of Leonore," Shiyu asked as she walked over.
Emily sighed as she rolled her eyes. "Isn't it obvious?"
Shiyu forced a thin-lipped smile as she placed a bag of groceries next to Emily. "Figured you were hungry."
"Thanks, but no thanks. I'm not looking to be anyone's pity party, let alone have some crazy religious nut job following me around."
"And what of the other two?" Shiyu asked as she gestured at Elijah and Rachel in the crowd below.
Emily sighed and shrugged, cheeks turning red as she stared at Rachel. "Whatever, I just wish I could hand someone this mask," she replied as she tugged at the white mask on the right side of her face. "Fucking rat in a cage for a God's game."
Shiyu nodded, then looked up at the ENGINE. "That's one way to look at it. Unfortunately for us mortals, there are things we can't control. We can only live around it."
"Fuck that," Emily muttered as she stared at the ENGINE. She threw a pebble with all her might again, but it bounced off a citizen's head before vanishing into the grass. "Look at it, just mocking us, puny little mortals. You're going to die because I want you to, and there's nothing you can do about it. Win the game, and you too can mock puny mortals."
Shiyu chuckled. "Or perhaps we are not as puny as you might think. What if we are so strong that a God ascends, the strongest amongst us, so they rule instead of it?"
Emily rolled her eyes and then stood up. "Sounds incredibly boring," She glanced at the ENGINE. "It doesn't even want to do the damn job."
"₲łłłłⱤⱠⱠⱠⱠⱠⱠ!"
Emily rubbed her head, then blinked as she forced a thin-lipped smile on her face. "Think I'm going to catch some air."
"We are on the roof of a building, Emily," Shiyu replied flatly.
Emily blinked as she bit her lip while a distant look formed on her face.
"Ⱨ₳Ⱨ₳Ⱨ₳Ⱨ₳Ⱨ₳Ⱨ₳Ⱨ₳Ⱨ₳ⱧⱧ₳₳Ⱨ₳Ⱨ!"
"Yeah, umm... yeah, groceries. Thanks, I've got to go," Emily replied with a forced smile as she climbed down the fire escape.
"₩ⱧɎ ₳ⱤɆ ɎØɄ ⱤɄ₦₦ł₦₲?"
Emily took a deep breath as she sped walked through the crowd. The world closed in around as noise faded to static. Her mind raced with whispers as she constantly bumped into people while walking. Her eyes widened as she made eye contact with Rachel before she snapped them away. She pushed the hotel doors open with force as she ran towards her hotel room.
The door clicked open, and sunlight peered through the window blinds as Emily made her way to the bathroom. She flicked the light on as she splashed cool water on her face. Her heart slowed as she stared at her reflection in the mirror. Emily stared wildly into her emerald eyes, which flickered mulberry as she heard a knock on the door.
"I'm busy!" Emily yelled as she wiped her face on a towel.
"It's Rachel. Did something happen?"
"Fuck," Emily mumbled out loud.
"JɄ₴₮ ฿Ɇ ɎØɄⱤ₴ɆⱠ₣."
"Says the evil voice in my head."
"₳Ⱡ₩₳Ɏ₴ ɆVłⱠ ₩ⱧɆ₦ ɎØɄⱤ JɄ₴₮ ĐɄ₥฿"
"Fuck you."
"₣Ʉ₵₭ ₥Ɇ? ₣Ʉ₵₭ ɎØɄ!"
"Emily of Leonore! I will bust this damn door down if you don't open it this instant!" Rachel yelled.
"Okay, okay... jeez, just had a panic attack!" Emily replied as she opened the door with an exasperated sigh.
"A what?" Rachel asked.
"Forget it," Emily grumbled as she crossed her arms.
"Hrmmmmm," Rachel said as she raised an eyebrow, while Emily avoided eye contact. "What secrets are you hiding, Emily of Leonore?"
Emily blinked and rubbed her shoulder. "Well, outside of having serious mental health issues from living on the streets all my life. I have a serious obsession with waffles," she joked.
Rachel laughed. "Yeah, I have that too, well, not the living on the streets part."
"I don't need your pity... wait, what?"
"Believe it or not, being from a bloodline of multiple PRIMEs also comes with its own issues. Every day I wake up knowing my only worth to my family and the empire is becoming PRIME."
"At least you have a family and a roof over your head."
Rachel nodded. "You're right, I did, but what good is living under a roof with a family when you're more of a future investment than a daughter?"
Emily's eyes drifted from Rachel's gaze.
"But you still have a chance. A chance to be a family... I don't even know who my parents are."
"Nothing stopping you from finding your own family."
"It's not the same."
Rachel smirked. "Family isn't blood...trust me...I know that all too well."
Emily rolled her eyes as she leaned against the wall.
"Let's make a deal, Emily of Leonore."
Emily raised an eyebrow as she crossed her arms. "If this is about that rematch, forget it."
Rachel shook her head. "Why don't we team up during the pilgrimage?"
Emily scoffed. "You can't be serious."
"I am. We help each other survive, and then when we are the only two left, we have that rematch?"
Emily glanced at Rachel's hand as she outstretched it towards her. She looked into Rachel's chestnut eyes, then shrugged and shook her hand. "Fine, but I have no interest in winning."
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"If hypothetically we are the last two, I would rather just not fight at all," Emily replied as she crossed her arms. "Since this is all about finding the next PRIME, then I plan on making sure there isn't another PRIME."
Rachel tilted her head. "You lost me."
"Only one can become PRIME, right?"
Rachel nodded.
"Okay, so we just don't fight, and there will be no new PRIME."
"That will not work."
Emily shrugged. "How would you know? Either the ENGINE breaks its own rules, or it will wait forever while we don't fight."
Rachel chuckled. "So you want to throw a big middle finger to the ENGINE?"
"Pretty much."
Rachel shrugged and laughed. "Sure, why not...it would be a big fuck you to my family as well."
"Promise," Emily replied as she looked dead into her eyes.
Rachel smiled and then kissed Emily. "Promise."
Emily's heart raced as her eyes widened. She licked her lips as she gazed down at the ground. Her head snapped towards the window as a choir sang outside, accompanied by ceremonial baroque music.
"Shit.... It's about to start," Rachel said as her eyes widened while she rushed towards the window. "Come, we will miss the Leonore Chosen festival," she explained as she gestured Emily to follow her.
Church bells chimed in the air as Emily followed Rachel into the streets of Leonore. Delicate violin strings hummed beneath the choir's harmonies as citizens watched with reverence. Emily stumbled briefly over her feet as she struggled to keep up with Rachel. She squeezed her body between two pedestrians before noticing Rachel waving at her closer to where the choir was.
Emily's eyes fixated on Sarah as she performed a masterful violin performance alongside the choir. Arthur stood alongside fellow Leonore chosen, basking in the reverence from the crowd. Elijah stood with his arms crossed as he leaned on a lamppost. His cigarette dangling from his lips as he shook his head at Arthur. Sarah strummed her instrument, her eyes fixated on Rachel and Emily. A smile stretched across her face as she walked towards them.
"My two favorite chosen love birds, glad you could attend the festivities," Sarah said as she wrapped her arms around them.
Emily's skin crawled as she tried to squirm away from Sarah.
"Come, the stage beckons. Sing...dance, strum your future tragedy," Sarah insisted as she willed them towards the front of the choir.
"Can I say no?" Emily muttered as dread crept up her spine as she saw the hundreds of eyes looking at her.
"Afraid not, Emily of Leonore. What did Rachel say? You can't be afraid of the stage if you are to become PRIME!" Sarah mocked as she thrust Emily forward. "But I will let you pick your choice of instrument."
Emily froze like ice as she gazed into the sea of watchers. When she looked up toward the ENGINE, the paralyzing freeze melted like it had been thrown into lava. She stared at its eldritch gears, its mulberry core uninterested in the spectacle below. A creeping melancholy mixed with defiance seeped into every pore of Emily's body.
"The crowd is waiting, Emily of Leonore... pick your instrument," Sarah whispered sweet venom into Emily's ears.
"Cello," Emily muttered as Sarah gracefully handed her choice of instrument. She took a seat as she glanced up at the ENGINE and then closed her eyes as she strummed her first note.
The cello strings wept a lullaby carried by the reverberating bass she heard echoing off her chest. Eyes lit up in the crowd as if they were hearing something divine. Nobody spoke a word as the cello strings roared under Emily's strumming. Fellow chosen stared in awe as their minds drifted inwards as the cello strings cried.
Nobody noticed that the ENGINE was watching. It's mulberry, eye fixated on Emily and her cello.