Mutagen

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"Ugh."

With a numbing pain in her arms, Limabela opened her eyes.

Confused, Limabela looked around, only to find herself waking up inside an unfamiliar ditch.

Limebela lifted her painful body up. She could not remember anything. Where was this place? Why was she here? Limabela was utterly in the dark.

The first thing she did was climb up the ditch she fell in. It was she noticed her arms covered in a pair of unfamiliar gauntlets with a familiar glow and sheen. Limabela could not recall where she had seen this kind of glow before. It just felt familiar.

After noticing the gauntlets, Limabela also noticed she was wearing a light protective armor that paired with the gauntlets in terms of appearance. She also wore a matching pair of boots.

It was really strange as Limabela had never seen such armor before. She also noticed that her armor was severely scratched and damaged. Some parts were even falling off as she moved around.

BOOM!

Limabela's attention shifted from her armor to the sounds coming from outside the ditch. That was right. There was no time to wonder about what she was wearing. She must know where she was and what was happening.

Although the ditch covered the view of the outside, it was not high enough to be impossible to climb.

And when Limabela looked around after leaving the ditch, she felt a severe headache. Strange enough, everything looked blurred in her eyes.

Despite the pain in her head and blurry surroundings, Limabela continued to observe her surroundings. She looked around until she noticed something. It was a hill, a very familiar hill.

And the hill did not look blurry in her eyes.

BOOM!

An explosion occurred in the sky. Limabela could not help but look, causing the pain in her head to intensify. However, she insisted on looking at it and saw the blurry figures of two entities battling to death in the sky. One figure seemed clad in flames, while the other appeared to be darkness itself.

The two clashed, and the space shook. That scene made Limabela shudder. It was as if she was watching a battle beyond mortals. 

A battle of Deities and Gods.

Limabela felt weaker. She was unable to hold on watching the godly entities in the sky.

Still, Limabela moved. She followed the direction of the familiar hill.

BOOM!

On the hill, a surge of energy exploded.

That surge of energy made Limabela's eyes widen.

That surge of energy was the most familiar thing to her in this blurry world.

That surge of energy was something Limabela had seen countless times.

"LUNA!"

Limabela shouted in reflex.

On that very hill, Luna and Bajing should be there.

And Limabela should also be there at this moment.

However, Limabela was not there but here.

Limabela was becoming overwhelmed with worry and confusion.

The surge of energy bloomed. The top of the hill became submerged within that energy.

It was the sign that Luna, Bajing, and Limabela would die. That surge of energy would leave not a single trace of them.

But...

Limabela was not on the hill.

"UGH!"

Limabela fell to her knees as the pain in her head intensified further.

But all of a sudden, Limabela felt another surge of energy. A familiar energy she had felt before.

Another attempt, Limabela raised her head. She looked straight at the hill.

Then, Limabela saw two figures soar in the air. She was too far to recognize the two figures, but she could not be mistaken about one of them.

It was a woman with silver hair. That familiar silver hair.

CRASH!

All of a sudden, everything froze. A sound of glass cracking echoed inside Limabela's ears.

And then, all went black.

***

"HA! HU! HA! HU!"

Limabela took rapid, deep breaths as she suddenly woke up from her sleep. Her clothes felt sticky. It reeked of sweat.

Feeling uncomfortable to continue lying on the bed, Limabela slowly got up.

Limabela felt a little sluggish as she stood up. However, it was not the first time. She was already a little accustomed to this feeling. However, she would never get completely used to it.

The night was dark. Everyone had to save candles and oil for lanterns. Nonetheless, Limabela had no problem moving through her room.

Limabela moved to the window and opened it slightly. With the help of the moonlight, she could see a little bit outside. However, the view was not something she really liked to see. It was the view created by greed and corruption. It was the view only seen in the Northside Peak.

That was right. Limabela was currently away from the 38th Settlement, returning to where her family was currently living. Well, although it said family, it was just her father. Her mother had long left them due to an illness years ago. On the other hand, her younger brother, the same as her, who longed for freedom, had already left the family, joining a different survivor group.

"I should change clothes..."

Limabela muttered as she closed the window again.

While changing clothes, Limabela could not help but stare blankly in the air.

Once more, Limabela was given a vision through her dream. However, the vision this time was extremely different from the ones before.

Before, the visions would always be quite short. Furthermore, it was stuck to only one scene. It was the scene where Limabela, Bajing, and Luna were atop that very same hill, about to face death. 

The first visions showed Bajing dead and Limabela's body mangled. All that was left struggling was Luna, who could barely stand in front of Limabela. Then, as the light bloomed and energy surged, all of them died, and the vision would end.

Since Limabela saw those visions, she had been trying ways to change them. And her decisions did show some changes, albeit small.

But the better end of the vision came when Mark's figure appeared in that scene. There was no warning. None of them knew of him either. As he stood in front of the three, it was the first time the vision ended with the three of them alive.

Now, however... It was the second time there was a drastic change in the vision. And this was the first vision she was not utterly incapacitated.

Nonetheless, she was also separated from Luna and Bajing.

The worst thing about this vision was that Limabela could not see anything that was happening atop the hill. All her visions had been in first person. Her own perspective at the time of the vision. If she were to be separated from the others in the vision, it would be impossible for Limabela to help and take action.

But what caused the sudden change in future events? It was like when Mark's figure just appeared with no warning or anything at all.

A sudden change.

It was as if there were things the visions could not predict and had to change drastically and accordingly.

Limabela's eyes widened. She remembered the two figures in the sky. One clad in flames and one clad in darkness.

Godly beings. Beings unbound by fate, beings that could overturn destiny.

"Beings that could drastically affect the future..."

Limabela murmured as she replaced her sweaty underwear.

Shaking her head, Limabela quickly finished changing her clothes. She had to investigate what was going on. Although she was unsure that she would arrive at the answers. However, a few little clues would at least help her change the visions.

After changing clothes, Limabela tried to return to bed and sleep. However, the scenes in the vision became stuck in her head. Unable to go back to sleep, Limabela just laid on her bead, blankly staring at the ceiling.

***

Day 264 - 8:11 AM - Astria Manor, Northside Peak, Muria Sacred Fortress, Mount Muria, Central Java, Indonesia

Morning came, and Limabela never fell back to sleep. Now, she lacked several hours of rest, but Limabela tried to shake it off as she smiled before the dining table.

However, a voice entered her ear, clearly knowing her lack of sleep.

"You didn't sleep properly again?"

The voice asked as Limabela looked across the table.

There was a middle-aged man sitting in front of her. It was her father and the head of Astria Enterprises, Baskoro Astria.

"It's the usual."

Limabela replied.

"The usual, huh. You mean your usual visions that you don't want to tell me."

Baskoro said, staring at his daughter.

"It's really nothing," Limabela smiled. "I'll tell you if it's bad."

Baskoro continued staring at his hard-headed daughter. He could only sigh.

"You already know that the words you said just now are the same words your mother told me before leaving us."

"You already said that many times, too," Limabela complained. "It's really nothing."

At this time, a maid entered the dining room, pushing a cart with food.

"Thank you."

Limabela thanked the maid as she placed food in front of her.

The maid smiled and retreated.

"By the way, Dad," Limabela turned back to her father. "I'm going back to our base today."

Baskoro glared at Limabela but did not say anything. He then chewed and swallowed the food in his mouth before talking.

"Don't go alone. Go there with our transport. Our men will be heading there with the materials, anyway."

"You're not stopping me this time, huh?"

Limabela was a little surprised. Usually, he would be against her going with her friends.

"I want to stop you, but you'll just slip out, anyway," Baskoro sighed. "You're really the split image of your mother. Not just abilities, but also personality."

"Is that a compliment?"

Limabela asked.

"It's not."

Baskoro wanted to smack his daughter's senses back.

However, there was one reason why Baskoro was not against Limabela going out this time. There was a current threat of the [Face Wearers] in the fortress. And the safest place in the fortress against these [Face Wearers] was the 38th Satellite Settlement, where the maker of the badges resided.

With those thoughts, Baskoro could not help but glance at the badge on his chest. When Limabela returned, she came back with these badges, which were supposed to be exclusive to the soldiers of General Wijaya. He was a little happy. It meant that these badges would protect the family from those [Face Wearers]. Limabela even brought extra badges for their servants, making everyone happy.

Against [Face Wearers], the 38th Satellite Settlement would be the safest. However, Baskoro could not help but worry a little. The [Face Wearers] would not be the only danger the Moon Chasers would face. Those badges would make other people target them, too.

That was why Baskoro decided to send some guards for Limabela in the guise of bringing materials there to trade.

Baskoro could only wish nothing bad would happen to his daughter. It was good that even in the apocalypse, he had some influence. In the least, the greedy bastards would hesitate to provoke him by harming his daughter.

"By the way, Dad," Limabela took back her father's attention. "Any news about brother?"

"Your brother's group just finished dealing with the monsters that came out of the sea. If not for the [Face Wearers], they would be the topic of the news around the fortress."

"Is that so? Good for them." Limabela tapped her place with her spoon. "Should I send some badges to brother? I don't know if we had enough materials, though."

"It would be good if you can," Baskoro supported his daughter's idea. "The materials would not be a problem. We can also ask your brother to provide extra funds to trade for the badges."

"If that's the case, I'll ask Sir Mark."

Limabela replied with a nod.

However, hearing a man's name coming from his daughter's lips made Baskoro a little uncomfortable, especially since Limabela looked enthusiastic.

"That face again," Limabela pouted. "Don't worry. Sir Mark's already married."

"I didn't say anything."

Baskoro spoke.

"You really don't have to say anything if what you are thinking is obvious on your face."

Limabela argued.

The father and daughter continued their banter over the course of their breakfast.

In the middle of the apocalypse, many people would be envious of such a scene.