The girl had black hair with glittering brown eyes that seemed radiant under the beautiful sunlight. Her eyes seemed to glance around as she appreciated nature.
She had a pleasant smile on her face as she hopped back to her house, feeling that it was a good day as usual.
"Natty, are you done with your homework?" Nathasia's mother, Laina, called out from the kitchen.
Nathasia grimaced as she tried to tip-toe her way past the kitchen, but then a face suddenly popped up in front of her...Laina's face, a beautiful lady in her forties, and one could clearly see where Nathasia got most of her beauty from.
Laina put up an angry expression, "So you skipped your homework, again. Did you?"
Nathasia rolled her eyes, "Ma, who does homework these days when there is no more school or stuff? Everything is pretty much in lockdown because of the Crimson Devil and—"
"SHH, don't say his name out loud. Who knows if he will suddenly appear before us and kill us out of anger?" Laina said in a cautious tone, and her gaze even seemed to dart around in worry.
Nathasia giggled, "Seriously, Ma? Don't be this superstitious. Anyways, make me something tasty. I will go wash up!"
"You, wait!" Laina called out, but Nathasia seemed to be deaf as she quickly dashed off to her room.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64ce79d606107d003c23ea27", id: "pf-5140-1"})"Dear, why the long face?" A man looking in his late forties asked who was Nathasia's father, William.
He had a kind look with a small beard and mustache with grey on the sides of his hair. However, his body had a strong and stocky build making one realize that he still knew how to stay fit at his age.
Laina sighed and now looked at William with an angry expression, "Are you not worried about her studies? All she does is paint all day long."
William let out a soft chuckle, "Don't worry, Laina. She is a smart girl. Let her enjoy her painting. She already learned enough to live in this world. And like she said, there are no more schools, colleges or anything. The world is different now. And you know what kind of skills the world is looking for now, right?"
Laina's expression became serious, "You don't mean to send her—"
"Of course not!" William determinedly said and continued, "Just because she could change the shape of simple things does not mean I will send her to those organizations. Even if she had the power to decimate a whole building, I still wouldn't. Let someone else take care of the devil. We are safe as long as we are here."
Laina said in an understanding tone, "You are right. No one has to know our daughter is an Ascended one, even if she is the weakest among them. I heard in the market that if the news of a person awakening to become an Ascended one, the military immediately shows up and takes them away so that they would have one more potential soldier to fight and kill you-know-who."
"Hmph, fuck the military. They are not getting anywhere near our daughter. Meanwhile, we don't even know if the devil is alive anymore. We hadn't heard from him for almost a year, and in case he is in hiding, it means that he no longer wishes to interact with our world. These military people should just maintain the status quo instead of trying to provoke him," William said with a frustrated expression.
"What are you two discussing so heatedly about? Is it about the Crimson Devil? I wanna hear it too!" Nathasia said in an enthusiastic tone as she rushed up to them.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64cc9e79c7059f003e4ad4b0", id: "pf-5109-1"})Laina rubbed her forehead, wondering why her daughter was interested in the wrong things.
"Dear, you indulge her. I have breakfast to prepare," Laina said as she returned to the kitchen.
Nathasia asked with a spark of curiosity in her big, round eyes, "Papa, is the Crimson Devil really a bad person? I mean, didn't he used to save people and protect the world before? I also used to see him on TV as a kid, and he was so handsome and chivalrous. Just from his face and the deeds he did for the world, I could see that he was a very kind person."
William let out a heavy sigh as he sat down near the dining table, "Nathasia, people can change. A good person can become evil, or an evil person can become good. Besides, we don't really know him or the person he really is. Still, one thing is clear. He definitely wiped out almost all of us. If he had gone further, we would have been extinct. So, you can understand why we are afraid of him and why people out there are doing their best to track him and kill him just to prevent the possibility of him coming back stronger."
Nathasia pinched her lips together, "Hmph, do they really think that they can kill someone who nearly ended the world? Even if he was last seen injured, almost a year has passed by. With his powers, he would be as healthy as a horse by now, at least."
William said in a worried tone, "Natty, it's okay to speak like this before us. But don't ever, ever speak in favor of him before anybody else. I know you have looked up to him since your childhood. But those who even remotely supported him verbally got executed or taken away to god knows where. They will call you as one of the Devil Worshippers and exact cruel punishments on you. Do you understand what I am saying?"
Nathasia blew through her lips, "Fiffff, I know, Papa. I am not an idiot. Don't be like Ma."
"Hey, young lady, why shouldn't he be like me?" Laina asked with a playful glare as she came out with a food tray in her hands.
Nathasia smiled foolishly, "Nothing, Ma. I was telling him how younger you are looking as days pass by."
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "663633fa8ebf7442f0652b33", id: "pf-8817-1"})Laina smiled embarrassedly and pinched Nathasia's arm, "Enough of your sweet tongue. Now go eat, girl."
The family of three happily ate their breakfast together while Nathasia continued to blabber about various things.
"Papa, you previously mentioned Devil Worshippers. Who are they exactly, and why would they openly support him?" Nathasia asked as she popped a morsel of food into her big mouth.
"After the Great Calamity happened, there were some fanatics who believed that 'he' was a messiah sent by the gods to cleanse the world or make the world undergo a rebirth. These kinds of people were only a minority, though. The others believed that he was not the one to blame for what happened or that it was not his fault. These kinds of people still believed in the hero he once was. Anyways, all these people are still a minority, and most of them ended up dead," William explained in a tone of pity.
"Now, now you two stop talking about these unpleasant things while eating," Lain said as she glared at the father and daughter duo. Then she focused her glare on William and said, "She is like this because you are always indulging her every whim. You should be more strict on her."
"Ma! Papa, please don't listen to her. You are the best papa in the world!" Nathasia said with a big smile.
William beamed, hearing his daughter's compliment while Liana shut her eyes in exasperation, wondering if these two were born to oppose her.
After they finished eating, Nathasia took her drawing book and a small painting kit as she headed out.
"Natty, where do you think you are going? Liana asked as she caught Nathasia trying to sneak out.
Nathasia winced as she turned around and said, "Just nearby to paint the beauty of nature on my book."
"Not possible. It's dangerous to wander around alone," Liana said as she shook her head with a serious face.
Seeing that she wouldn't be able to convince her mother, Nathasia closed her eyes and shouted, "Papa!"
"What is it now?" William came out of the bathroom with a towel in his hands. Clearly, he barely got the time to wash his hands after breakfast before he got called out.
"Tell Ma what you promised me on my 18th birthday," Nathasia said as she stood near the front door.
William was a bit confused, but then he remembered something and looked at Liana with a sorry expression and said, "Liana, it's okay to let her walk in the woods. It's quite near, and she is an adult now, and I promised her that she could go there and paint."
"Yes! And I always accompanied Papa whenever we went into the woods. I know the place with my eyes closed," Nathasia said in a convincing tone, hoping that her mother wouldn't continue to protest.
Liana rubbed her temples and said in a frustrated, "Fine. Do whatever you want." She then left in a huff leaving behind an awkward father-daughter duo.
William sighed and said, "You can go. But...take this..."
Nathasia looked at his hand and took 'it' after a brief moment of hesitation.
William said in a serious tone, "In case there is any problem, you should return right back. Also, be back before the sun sets, and don't go too far.
"Okay, okay!" Nathasia beamed as she ran out, feeling excited that she could now paint the beauty of nature to her heart's content.
However, she had no idea that from this day onwards, her destiny would undergo a drastic change.
