When I woke up, I realized that I was back. And I don’t just mean that I am alive. I am back in the past!
I felt like I’d been staring at the mirror for a while now.
No injuries.
No signs of being poisoned.
My fingers were complete. It’s like a dream.
The only thing that is out of place with my youthful features are my eyes. They are red from crying. The moment I woke up, I immediately rushed downstairs, where I greeted my mother and father. They’re alive and well, and so is my brother.
They found it odd that I ran over to them and cried for no reason. Honestly, I was glad that they didn’t ask more questions than I wanted them to.
Looking at my hands, I tried manifesting a few of the siphoned skills from the demons that I acquired over the years once again.
Nothing. Great. I guess that the demon prince wasn’t kidding when he said that he'd take away all of my accumulated abilities over the years.
And there were a lot of them! Good ones at that.
I sighed as I stared at my palm. I guess I will have to start harvesting soon. But that will be difficult considering the fact that I need a weapon to kill a demon to harvest their talent.
Right now, I am a blank slate.
Again.
Unless I manage to kill a demon with a special ability.
In this world, every person has an ability called a talent. One can think of it as a sort of magical ability. My brother, Logan Winters, can run really fast. My mother, Emilia Winters, can pass through walls, while my dad, Ducal Winters, can turn his skin into steel. On the other hand, I have the talent of a siphoner - new talent and possibly the most powerful one there is.
In the past, we all thought that I didn’t have a talent because I never had the opportunity to kill a demon myself until the apocalypse came. Whenever I kill a demon, I will gain any specific ability they have. It doesn’t matter how many there are; I will still gain them as long as I am the one who kills them by breaking a gem.
A gem. Every demon has it on its body parts. They only have one, and it is the source of their power. To kill one, you have to break their gem.
If I had known about my talent in the past, then I would have trained harder and accumulated enough skills to help with the war.
“What exactly was I doing at this time?” I ask myself out loud and glance all around me to see all the art and paintings in my room. Before, I suffered from depression. It really wasn’t easy going through that phase. I don’t exactly remember when it happened, but I started doing art, and that became my driving passion. I went to art school instead of the hunter's academy. My previous job was becoming an animator for a company, so I didn’t have much time to watch all the news since I was busy editing and drawing.
I sat on my desk as I tried to remember the original timeline. If I am going to attempt to change the future, I need to do this right. That's why every major event that happens is important.
There will be another admission to the academy in the coming month. Before that time comes, I need to demonstrate a particular skill that I possess. I don't think it's a good idea to let everyone know that I'm a siphon. I don't want to be assigned to a higher-ranking squad if I want to have complete control over my training and gather enough skills for the future. If I want to do this right, I need to stay on the sidelines and do my part. My way.
As far as I remember, the number of demons appearing increased when the academy was shut down. It was also the breaking point of the entire hunter’s association. With no new hunters, there were fewer people to replace the ones we had lost.
“I guess I really need to stay in school if I want to protect it. Not to mention that I have to look for demons to kill.” I tried to think. I need to kill purges along the way. And people must not know about my real talent.
My head started to hurt as I tried to recall events from my past life. The first day of being reborn, and I was starting to experience a dilemma that didn’t involve getting chased by demons.
It was nice. Kind of refreshing even.
My family always believed that I was born as a natural huntress, with or without my talent manifesting. I guess they were right. After all, when the apocalypse started, my drawing pen became my first weapon as I tried to escape our company building, which was infiltrated with demons. I lost a finger or two around that time, but I survived.
And when I killed my first demon, that’s when I learned of my dormant talent and its true nature.
In my old time, during the apocalypse, I had three major skills that I used as my main. But now that they were gone, I had to get them back. They would help me keep this world from crumbling again.
I got up from my desk and started to head downstairs, where my mother and father would usually hang out in the kitchen to take a break from their morning jog.
“Mom? Dad?” I called out to them and almost bit my tongue at how nostalgic it was.
First, I will go back to train to become a huntress. If I want to keep my knowledge and experience from my past life, I have to constantly train, or else I might just forget about everything and let history repeat itself. That, and I want to have a weapon. Any type of weapon as long as I can kill a demon.
My mother has a towel over her shoulder as she wipes away the sweat from her face. Her black hair was cut really short because she didn’t want it to get in the way when she’s fighting. Most of the huntresses do.
“Zarah?” She sounds surprised when she sees me. I couldn’t blame her. In the past, I would sleep till noon. But in my past life, I guess my soul still has the habit of waking up early to hunt. “What’s wrong? Are you going out today?”
“Huh? Um...No?” I walk into the kitchen and sit on one of the stools facing her. I watch as she gets herself a glass of water before I gain the courage to ask her. “Mom? Can I go back to training again?”
My mother freezes as she glances at me. I dive over the table and catch the glass just before it falls from her grasp. I let out a sigh of relief.
At least my reflexes were still in better shape.
I stood up and handed her the glass once again.
“Zarah, I wasn’t hearing things, right?” She asks. “You really want to go back to the academy?”
“Who wants to go back to the academy?” My father appears in the kitchen with a cup of coffee in his hands.
“Dear, Zarah, says she wants to go back to train.” Says my mother.
Now, it is my father’s turn to drop his mug. I dive back to the ground once again to catch it. My hands burned as a few drops of coffee fell on my hands. I hiss as I hand the mug back to him.
“Can you people stop trying to break mugs just because I said that I wanted to return to the academy?!” I huff, and I wipe the droplets of coffee on my pajamas.
There was a gasp as I heard a tumbler fall to the ground. We all turned around when we heard a loud metallic clang. Logan was standing there in his training uniform, staring at us. Well, more like he was gapping at me. He blinks and points a finger at me. “You want to go back to the academy?!” He repeats the question that everyone has been asking. He ran towards me. His hand immediately went to my forehead to test my temperature. “Are you feeling alright? Are you sure nothing’s wrong with you?”
I slapped his hands away as I looked at my family.
My family; such a nostalgic and pleasant feeling. Although I was thankful that they were back, I still couldn’t shake the bit of annoyance that I was feeling.
But seriously. I couldn’t blame them, to be honest. Being in a family full of talented hunters and huntresses and being born without a talent, who wouldn’t feel miserable? I did.
I clear my throat as I turn to face them. I should have calculated this scene well enough. I should keep this in mind in case I do something rash again in the future.
“I...I thought about it. I just can’t seem to get hunting out of my head. I feel like it’s my calling. You know, with or without a talent.” I flash them all a smile, hoping that they will at least buy that bit of excuse from me. I even batted my eyelashes at them.
My parents and my brother exchanged glances. A ghost of a smile appears on their faces before they face me. I swallowed the bile that was rising from my throat. There was no doubt in their eyes—just pure happiness and the look that tells me they are proud.
My mother came to my side and pulled me into an embrace. “Of course you can. There is nothing in this world that you couldn’t do.”
“Hah! Those kids better watch out because a prodigy will soon make its comeback.” My father boasts, making me blush. If I were the old me, I would deny that claim.
“Really? That easy?” I raise an eyebrow. “I thought there would be a bit of a talk here about its dangers since I do not have a talent.”
“With or without a talent, you are still an excellent huntress. We were only waiting for you to realize that, dear.” My mother says this to me, making me freeze in place.
They were never ashamed of me? They just wanted me to take on being a huntress on my own that’s why they never asked me to join before? And here I thought that…
Before I knew it, my eyes started to become blurry as tears blocked my vision. I knew my family loved me, but I never thought they would be proud to have a daughter without a talent.
My mother pulled me closer to her as I began to sob.
“I knew she’d pull through,” Logan says to our father with a bright smile on his face. Seeing my family right now has ignited an intense flame within me. A flame that would protect this family.
I will be stronger. I will get back the powers that were once mine. And I will stop the oncoming apocalypse.
And to do that, I made a pact with one of the princes of Hell.
“Where are you going?” Logan asks as soon as I come out of my room wearing a shirt and some jeans. He sits on a couch and eats some ice cream while scrolling through social media.“Outside?” I suggested and cocks an eyebrow at him. “Why aren’t you at the training grounds yet?”He sighs. “Holiday. Nothing I can do about it.” He finishes the rest of his ice cream before studying me again with a curious look. “Seriously, Zarah. Where are you going?”I purse my lips as I debate whether I should tell him or not. I just remembered something from my past. Something I find irrelevant, but I have to deal with it right now, so it won’t become a problem.Also, I wanted revenge for what happened in the past. Again, it’s pretty minuscule compared to what I will face in the future, but getting back at your cheating boyfriend is something that I don’t want to throw out.“I’m going to see Kain,” I answer.Logan suddenly has a teasing grin on his face. “I see. Well finally. It’s about time you two wou
I glance at my clock. It is about 10 pm now, and I am still awake. I wasn’t planning to sleep just yet. What I plan to do right now is to hunt. I need to siphon a talent that I would have to show as my own. If I don’t have a talent, I doubt that my parents would take me seriously as a huntress. I’m not sure what type of demons are lurking in the city at this hour, but I just hope that there are some valuable demons out there. My siphon is a little tricky. It can only absorb talent from a demon with unique abilities. Thankfully, I already have one in mind. It’s not the talent that I plan to showcase as my own, but it would assist me in future events. There have been rumors about a woman behind the abandoned theaters who would randomly tell someone the date of their death. But the woman only appears when she wants to. Sometimes, she does not appear at all. It is a long shot, but I figure she must be a demon if all she can see is death.Nonetheless, it would not hurt to dig more into
The familiar sensation of awakening my talent surges all over my body. And the feeling of gaining a new power inflicts me with pain as my body is trying to get accustomed to the magic. And soon, it’s over. The magic transfer is complete. I now have the gift of foresight. Good. But now comes the next question. Should I hunt for more demons? I look at my phone. It’s already almost 11 p.m. Crap. If only the foresight demon wasn't so far away, then maybe I would have more time to hunt more demons. Come to think of it, I wonder if there are any demons nearby that I can kill to make this day satisfying? As if my new gift of foresight was answering my question, images started to enter my mind. I see a convenience store that seems to be nearby. Then, a familiar man exits it with a can of soda in hand. It took me a while to realize that it’s the driver from before. That’s odd. Why is the vision showing me this? I watch patiently as the driver drinks the whole can of soda and heads for
After my encounter with the shadow monster, I was supposed to head back home and treat my wounds. But I guess that my empathic power reacted to my needs and led me to the closest demon with the ability to heal. But of course, I needed to go through a lot of demons since they seemed to be in a pack. I managed to target the demon with the healing ability first, using my shadow weaving to heal myself before I took care of the rest. Among the pack of demons, I managed to acquire a keen eye and brute strength from them. Since I am satisfied with my talent haul, I decided that it is time for me to head back and go to sleep. At least, that’s the plan, but when I finally managed to reach my room using my shadow weaving, I sense another presence in the area. I went to grab my knife when I realized that it was already broken down and no longer useable. As I figured, I need a proper demon-slaying weapon made of sturdy material if I am to hunt every night. But I will have to worry about th
After my encounter with the seventh prince of hell last night, I decided that I need more training. And I need to get enrolled as soon as possible so I can stay in my own dorm and have the freedom to sneak off when I want to. And the only way for me to secure a dorm in the academy is if I have a talent to show. Right now, I am in the kitchen with my mother, helping her prepare dinner for tonight. Truthfully, I am nervous. I can’t show them my real talent, but I can pick one among the many other talents I acquired last night. And the one talent that I see fit to present as a mediocre huntress is: healing. As far as I remember, hunters with healing talents usually stay at the back of the groups so they can provide assistance whenever the teams are in trouble. I want to become a huntress and kill demons, but I also do not want to stand out too much or I might get picked out for important and time-consuming missions. I need to have as much free time as possible and get called on s
The following day, my father and brother took me to a weaponry store by the academy. It makes me excited that I am going to get a new weapon, but thinking back to the fact that I might have doomed myself in a potential ranking among the healers makes me less thrilled. A soft ring of the bell when we enter the store signals our presence. A shopkeeper wearing a white polo shirt with a black bow tie appears to cater to us. “Welcome to Reon Weaponry. How may I be of service?” He greets us. When he seems to focus on my father, his eyes widen in recognition. “Sir Winters, I apologies for not recognizing you so soon!” “We’re looking for a weapon for my daughter.” My father says after giving him one curt nod in recognition. He then gestures in my direction, which makes the attendant take notice of me for the first time. The man seems surprised, and I cannot blame him because I rarely come to gatherings out of shame that I have no talent. “Well, what does the young miss prefer for a weapon?
After purchasing my new weapon, we decided to head for the academy so I could enlist myself. The academy’s interior feels nostalgic for me because, in my case, it’s been a long time since I walked down the hallway. In my past life, I never got the chance to visit the academy again since I dropped out. I feel a little bit excited now because I can actually be a student here once more. And a student with talent at that. My brother, father, and I are waiting in the dean’s office since they recognize my father as one of the most respected hunters in the guild. Right now, I’m facing my old dean, who is also my father’s high school friend - Mr. Bruce Fierce. My father is telling him about my talent for healing, and the whole time that my father speaks about me, I see Bruce watching me in doubt. Mr. Bruce is not a bad person. In fact, in my past life, he died trying to protect me from an attack by one of the powerful demons. “Ducal, I believe you when you say that your daughter has fin
“Keep those shoulders tense! Don’t make your body fully relaxed when shooting those arrows!” My father barked an order at me while I was trying out my new bow. Don’t get me wrong. I already know how to shoot with an arrow. I just don’t want to stand out as much after the whole scholarship thing happened. From now on, I really have to try to keep everything low profile, even as I fight in front of people, at least. “Dad,” My brother heads over to place a comforting hand on my shoulder before he faces our father. “Give Zarah a break. She just started training.” I can’t help but smile at Logan. No matter what happens, I knew that I could always count on my brother to help me out – even when it means talking to my grumpy father about my training. “She has had the skills before, so her body should remember it naturally.” My father sighs and shakes his head before raising his head to look at me. “I’m sorry, Zarah. I might have had the feeling that you were purposely trying to fail. Of