南瓜影院

"… IS Yelena. Yelena Hadron."

Yelena\'s eyes glistened with the moisture of incoming tears and her hand shook slightly as she traced her fingers over the image of her Parents in the painting,

"I can still remember how much I used to plead to be allowed to leave the Mansion. To just take a walk away from their grounds and see more than the same compound every single day. To visit the town… talk to people I hadn\'t already talked to hundreds of times.

They always said no. And until the day I ran away from home, I didn\'t understand why."

Yelena\'s voice trailed off then and Henry knew she needed a nudge to get the next words out,

"What happened?" He asked, "When you left?"

He assumed since she had been bound to the Mansion, it must have been an experience that nearly killed her.

Yelena smiled. A sad smile.

"Well, it\'s more accurate to say I \'tried\' to leave. I couldn\'t actually make it past the grounds. There was some kind of tether on me that pulled me back. No matter how much I resisted, I couldn\'t shake it. It kept me here.

I went through a rebellious phase after that. Tried cutting myself but any wound I inflicted healed instantly. It seemed, within the Mansion, I was immortal.

My parents explained things to me and I pleaded that they reverse it but they told me it wasn\'t possible. The Ritual was one-way and even if they could have reversed it, they wouldn\'t have.

It didn\'t matter how depressed I got, as long as I was alive —as long as their little girl was alive— they were happy.

Elias, my brother hardly ever left the mansion just so he could keep me company. Whenever he did leave, he brought me stories of the outside world. He told it so well, it almost felt like I was outside with him. Almost.

Because of him, things didn\'t feel all too bad. I got better used to my situation. Even learned that I could \'share\' my immortality with others. I could heal wounds. Even designate a region within which all injuries are negated."

Yelena paused here to laugh,

"I used my healing on Elias the most. His constant clumsiness helped me hone my skills."

"What happened to him?" Henry asked. There was a way Yelena\'s voice caught when she spoke of her brother that told Henry it was the reason this story had been sounding like it was about to take a turn for the worst.

"As I said before, a curse like mine doesn\'t just go away. Elias suffered it instead of me.

A week after my twenty-fifth birthday, a week after this painting was commissioned, he died right out in the courtyard. No warning, no previous sign of sickness or injury. His heart just stopped.

I was by his side when it happened. I held him and tried my best to heal him but I couldn\'t reverse death and he was very much dead. He was gone.

My parents died a month after that. It didn\'t matter that their \'little girl\' was still alive. My brother was their heir, the child who could actually leave the Mansion and carry on the family name and he was gone.

They refused to eat or drink until they inevitably passed. I didn\'t eat or drink either but thanks to the Mansion and my Immortality, I didn\'t have to eat to \'survive\'.

The workers left after my Parents\' deaths. I was not in any shape to retain them. I just stayed in my room, curled up into a ball, waiting, praying for something to strike down the mansion and finally let me rest.

"I must have been curled up for decades. I lost track of time but I managed to count back when visitors began to visit the Mansion again.

It was through those visitors that I learned the people in town believed the Mansion to be cursed and were staying far away. Only a few daredevils were coming in to try and find the last pieces of wealth they could scamper away with.

They found nothing. The Mansion workers must have taken it all while I was curled up and battling my depression.

Eventually, even daredevils didn\'t visit the Mansion anymore. News that there was nothing of worth inside must have spread already. I thought that was a shame, I would have liked some company."

Yelena turned away from the painting and Henry saw her raise a hand to her eyes to dab away the tear moistures that had been surfacing.

"So now you know why I accepted you and the rest of the gang with open arms. The sounds of people in the mansion have been very welcome after centuries of silence."

"I\'m sorry."

Yelena let out a short laugh,

"I didn\'t tell you my story so you\'d pity me."

Henry looked down and then looked at the other paintings on the wall. Some were of Yelena but most were of her brother. There was one of the two of them with Yelena\'s hand over a wound of his, healing it.

"And your magic?" Henry asked.

Yelena shrugged,

"My parents said I always had a talent for it. I\'m not all that sure because for as long as I could think for myself, I\'ve been bound to the Mansion through that infernal ritual and I\'ve been supplied with a constant supply of Mana.

I\'ve never run out but then again, I\'ve never really pushed myself. Never had to."

[You have gathered the necessary clues for Yelena\'s Censored Stats]

\'Oh?\' Henry thought with surprise.

[Insight can now break through the layer that shrouds Target Yelena\'s Stat screen]

\'Alright then,\' Henry thought, \'Let\'s see.\'

[Activating <Insight Lv.1>]

——————

[Name: Yelena Hadron]

[Race: Human (Infernal Spawn)]

[Class: Witch]

[Health: -Infinite- (Conditional)]

[Mana: -Infinite- (Conditional)]

[Strength: 15]

[Agility: 20]

[Stamina: 15]

[Intelligence: 1500]

*[Remarks: Cursed to an early death but her life was extended through Infernal Energy that has doomed her to a pitiful existence bound to end all the same. Beauty that ranges from Angelic to Frosty but is consistently outstanding. She CAN be killed but would you even want to?]

——————

"Infernal Spawn," Henry mumbled with his eyes on the Stat screen.

"What?" Yelena asked.

"Nothing," Henry said, shaking his head. He had not actually meant to say it out loud.

Yelena gave him a look and walked out of the room. Henry followed with his eyes still on the Stat screen where he clicked on a tab for more information;

[(Infernal Spawn)

Description: One who has been touched by Infernal Energy. An Existence promised to Hell.]

[Optional Quest: Yelena

Quest Conditions: Discover the Witch, Yelena\'s secret]

[You have discovered that Yelena is an Infernal Spawn]

[Quest Completed]

[You have received 500 Exp]

[Level Up!]

[You are now Level 6]

[Hit Point Maximum increased to 60]

[Mana Point Maximum increased to 70]

[You have received 6 Stat Points to allocate]

[You now have 18 unallocated Stat Points]

"So, was my past to your liking?" Yelena asked as they left the room and she turned around to look at him with a smile.

But Henry saw through that smile. There was hurt in it. There was vulnerability like she wasn\'t sure why she had revealed so much and did not know where it could lead.

"Don\'t do that," Henry said.

"Don\'t do what?"

"Don\'t say it like your past is some entertainment. Thank you for sharing it with me. I\'m really sorry for all you have had to experience." He told her with his head bowed slightly.

Yelena paused and blinked and then a smile —a genuine smile— spread across her face as she said,

"Thank you. Maybe now, you\'ll be able to share with me why you wanted to die over and over again."

Henry found he was actually open to the idea,

"It\'s not going to change your mind that I\'m insane, but sure."

As he returned Yelena\'s smile and they held each other\'s gaze, Henry received an Alert from the System.

[You have received a follow-up Quest.]

[Quest: Eliminate the Infernal Spawn

Quest Condition: Kill Yelena Hadron.

*This Quest is not optional and hence, cannot be rejected.

Reward: 5000 Exp]