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Skyfire Avenue - Chapter 656




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Chapter 656

Chapter 656: Misfortune is No Excuse for Evil Deeds

“When I was young, my family was desperately poor . We lived in a slum, rats like all the rest . There was a trash dump outside of our front door . If we went outside the smell would make you gag . Eventually I began to think the smell was getting into my pores . I’d smell like garbage forever . ” The Astral Phantom idly stared out of the window, her words soft and thoughtful .

“For years afterward I had this phobia of getting dirty, a vestige of those dark days . I have this memory… me, with a piece of bread in my hand . I asked my mother ‘how much bread do I need to eat to feel full?’ I remember the tears that streamed from her eyes and dripped onto my face . They were hot and slick . I asked her why she was crying, but she only shook her head and said nothing . ”

“My father was disabled and couldn’t walk . He could only manage simple tasks . My mother was beautiful and hardworking . When they first got together my father was an excellent mecha pilot . But then he lost his legs . He was too young to have any savings . He was also an orphan with no family to lean on . ”

“Mother shouldered the family’s burdens on her own, but she didn’t have any special skills or training . So we had no choice but to live in the slums, a hard and bitter life . But I wasn’t sad – in fact I was a pretty happy child . I got to be with my parents, that was enough . We tried not to let poverty ruin our lives . Until one day, mom didn’t come home . I searched all over for her until I heard crying . It was her . I dug through the trash until I found her, her clothes ripped and flesh bared . Someone had hit her so that her face was red and swollen with blood dripping from her mouth . Nothing covered her bottom half . ”

“I didn’t know what to do when she grabbed me and started sobbing . I couldn’t understand what had happened . She cried like that for a long time… I said, ‘mom, I’m hungry . Can we go home and get some food?’ I was five years old . Although I was scared, the pain in my belly was stronger . She stopped crying and took me home . She didn’t talk to father . She just took a shower, changed her clothes, and made us food . When father asked why she’d gotten back so late she just said she was busy at work . ”

“That night I ate bread until I was full . I was still frightened but tired, so I went to bed . When I woke up the next day mother was gone .

When we found her she was in a river not far away . It wasn’t deep, but she was floating face down… a rock had been tied to her upper body to keep her submerged . The police said there wasn’t any sign of a struggle . They suspected suicide . ”

“When she died my father broke . He got sick and wouldn’t get better and was confined to his bed until it took him, too . Later I learned that it had been a gang of vagrants from the slums that’d attacked my mom . In my mind this was all because of poverty . Because of poverty we couldn’t defend ourselves . Because of poverty my father couldn’t afford the bionic legs necessary to keep working . Around that time was when my powers awakened . I hunted down and killed those vagrants . I wasn’t afraid, I just swore that I would become the world’s strongest, richest person . ”

“In time I made money . I had power and influence . I could defend myself . But there was always an emptiness I couldn’t fill . I would never get my parents back, no matter how rich or strong or pretty I was . I’d lost all my money in those pursuits . Then someone told me that if I became a Paragon there might be a chance to find their lost souls and call them back . I began to regain what I’d spent . My talents were clear . I knew that if I wanted to keep getting better I need hard work and luck, but also a great deal of money . Money bought resources . The world seemed so broken and unfair, so I turned to murder . The method to make money didn’t matter to me . Once I earned enough, I used those resources to break through . I never cared who I killed or why, so long as they paid me well . Nothing was more important than money . I had grown into a greedy woman . ”

“When you marked my soul I was terrified . I felt like my spirit was marred by it . However these last few days that fear has passed . I realized I could slow down, be at peace . Watching Skyfire Avenue from this window, I’ve realized there was so much I didn’t consider . This would could be as beautiful as it can be ugly . I’m tired… but I’m grateful I didn’t choose death . Thinking back on it I suppose I’m lucky it was you who got me . At least you aren’t like me . You aren’t a bad man . ”

At this point the assassin rose to her feet, and ran her fingers through her hair to straighten out the strands .



“It makes me happy to say all this out loud . They’ve been poisoning my heart for over fifty years . Tell me what you wish of me, super soldier . I serve at your leisure, even my body . I’ve never lain with a man . ” She turned to Lan Qing, her face sultry with a promising grin .


But in Lan Qing’s eyes, there was only sadness and pity .

He’d listened to her heartbreaking tale in silence . He didn’t interrupt and instead let her get it off her chest . His face expressionless, the soldier slowly made his way to the window and peered out over the street . He could see the striking blue façade of Zeus’ Jewelry Store .

“You’re lucky, actually . ” Lan Qing’s voice was soft, low .

“Lucky?” She looked at him skeptically .

“My brother and I are orphans, we never knew our parents . Before we met our teacher we never knew what a full stomach felt like . We only knew life as pain and suffering . We were born on Earth, after it’d been ravaged and destroyed by greed . Only the most unfortunate remained . We begged anyone we could for food, convinced that just surviving made us lucky . ”



Flickers of emotion raced through the Astral Phantom’s eyes . She looked at him, seeing for the first time his handsome but gaunt features . His voice was calm and his features still, like he was talking about someone else’s life .

“I’d have never thought we’ve lead such similar lives,” she sighed . Something else stirred in her pretty eyes .

Lan Qing turned his head to face her . His deep, dark eyes fixed hers . “No, we’re nothing alike . My misfortunes taught me to be strong, gave me perspective . It motivated me to chase the light . You… you became a demon . ”

The Astral Phantom’s face slowly went stiff .

Lan Qing’s soft voice proceeded . “You’re beautiful, and your tale is moving . But none of this can hide the evil within you . In all the lives you’ve taken did you ever stop to consider the families left behind? Sparing your life doesn’t mean I accept you – you’re a tool to use against the creatures that want us all dead . The only way to clean the blood off your hands is to save as many lives as you can when the aliens come . This is your atonement . You can stop your games as well, because they won’t work on me . Should I call you aunt? Or grandmother . ”



The Astral Phantom gaped at him . It was worse than a slap to the face . “A – Aunt?! You bastard!” She threw her arm back, ready to slap him .

Her movements were fast as lightning, but the stabbing pain that wracked her spirit was faster . She gurgled a pained cry and fell to the ground . The mark that was placed on her did not permit any defiance .

A dangerous chill had crept into Lan Qing’s voice . “Now that you’ve decided to live, make sure you get as many years as you can . Do not try to take advantage of me or this opportunity I’ve given you . ” With nothing further to add, he left her there beside the window, alone in the room .

The Astral Phantom’s childhood was a nightmare . Every word had been true and spoken from the heart . But one’s pain didn’t give them license to visit that pain on others . She had accepted money to slaughter countless of innocent victims in her role as a master assassin . Lan Qing was too smart for a sad story to make him forget all that .

A full five minutes later the Astral Phantom managed to pull herself up off the floor . Her teeth ground audibly as she glared daggers at the door . Never in her sorry life had she hated someone so intensely, but she was powerless to end him . She was sure her looks and sad story would move him – if not to let her go, then at least to get close . That would have given her time to search for a way out . But calling her aunt, grandmother, was a punch to the gut . Her efforts were heartlessly denied . As a Paragon she had never known this level of humiliation . What woman didn’t take pride in her appearance?

Lan Qing didn’t impose any constraints on her, but regardless she couldn’t leave this place . Through the mark Lan Qing instantly knew everything she thought, said and did . Even if she left the planet she couldn’t be free from his control . Her life and death were in his hands and that was the end of it .

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