"Sister?"
I repeat the word, almost choking on it. My heart is beating faster than any of the duels I have been in. My mind is the most confused it has ever been. This is my sister?
The sister I have forgotten because of the Eradicators' interference?
It doesn't seem like it's true, but deep down in my heart, I know it's true. I can see it in her eyes, eyes that seem to mirror mine, that have the same glint of determination in them. Before I can come up with a proper response, the ground trembles again.
BOOM! BOOM!
Explosions tear the ground nearby. The walls of the alley shake ever so slightly. It appears like we have little time to talk, even though I want this moment to last forever. My mind is still racing with thoughts as I step back from her.
"What happened? Why didn't I know?", I say as I pull away from her embrace.
The world feels like it's crumbling, but at this moment, none of that matters. To me, the crucial part is to hear the truth and try to make sense of what happened to me in the past.
The only genuine connection to me in the past that is alive and known is my sister.
"There is so much to explain right now. I will say what I can, though, for right now. First, I am Maura, but you always just called me sis.", Maura says in a trembling voice while wiping her tears.
"They took you, brother… those freaking Eradicators are at fault for everything. That night, they attacked our family. They took everything from us. They killed Mom right in front of me. While the mercenary group looted our house, I ran into the woods. They came after me, but by sheer luck, I stayed alive."
"My guess is that they were focused on capturing you. I feel so guilty for leaving you behind. I thought you were dead ....", Maura says to me as her head hangs low.
"You don't have to feel guilty about that. It wasn't your fault…", I say as I choke up on my own words.
The last family I have was taken away from me, not only physically, but mentally. They killed my mom in front of my sister and then tried to erase my memories of them?!
I will end all the Eradicators one day and I will truly enjoy it.
Maura grabs my hand and holds it to her own.
She softly holds my hands together. The ground continues to shake, but she doesn't flinch at all.
"They thought I was dead. I thought you were dead. I am so happy you are alive.", she says to me.
I watch a purple fireball fly into a wall, causing it to explode into a thousand pieces.
"The HLH is the organization that took me in. HLH stands for Humanity's Last Hope. They are the last known human survivors in Tarondar that the Eradicators haven't manipulated yet.", Maura explains to me.
"They are the ones who saved me from the forest when I was about to die from starvation."
"Raised in their community, they found me and one day, I grew strong enough to lead them. The power that many of us hold is darkness, brother, which is the one thing that can stop the Eradicators. They focus too much on perfection and light. They forget the power of being human."
"That is why they banned your use of it unless supervised at the Keeper Academy. They wanted to study it so they could understand it more to defeat us", she says to me rapidly.
"I am glad they took care of you and are good people. I can understand their malice toward the Eradicators. How do we save the rest of the innocent human students to believe in us and that the Keepers are just an illusion?", I ask her desperately.
"That will be a hard task, but I know it's a task you are capable of. We have to start things slowly and rapidly build up. For example, this attack-", Maura says, pausing as another explosion tears off pieces from one arena.
"We planned it months in advance."
"We planned on attacking them twice like this. The first time to provoke them to be on guard. The second time to weaken their defenses. We want them to think we are going all out on this attack but we are just weakening them.", Maura says as she walks closer to me.
"You", she says while pointing at my heart just like Justus did one time.
"You are the one capable of changing the system inside out. While we distract the Eradicators, we want you to build up a loyal army of students who will defeat the illusions and defeat the Eradicators within Keeper Academy."
"To do that, it will take some time and some convincing. The rest of our allies within the academy and HLH are working on that every single day."
Her words hit me like a rock.
"You expect me to convince them? That is highly unlikely.", I reply in a frustrated tone.
"If you want proof, look at your friends. They are an unlikely group, but you brought them together, did you not? I found this out earlier, before we attacked based on our informants. You are more important than you know. Once they realize how horrible the Keeper Principal is, they will switch sides.", she says to me earnestly.
The ground continues to shake even more, even causing cracks in the ground.
"That is my sign to leave. I love you, brother, more than you will ever know. I will be back for you, I promise.", Maura says as she takes down the dome of darkness, puts her hood back on to cover her face, and evaporates like a shadow into the air.
The alley's walls crumble, and so I rush out of the alley before it could collapse on me.
I thought to myself, what's next after this?