Retro-cognition

Chapter 22 - Envy's First Attack

Pain followed in her arm before she lost balance and fell. When she opened her eyes, she was in a grass field.

It was near the tree house. Her arm ached, and she checked the injuries. The first slash was deep, but it was healing. Sighing, she rose from her spot on the grass.

“Back to here,” she muttered. What was it that Annelka had said? Something about going here, before she’d turned envious. She looked around, the scorched spot on the ground was visible among all the green.

The sight still made her sad. There had been memories in that house, both some she’d apparently forgotten, but also memories from the brief time she shared with Sion.

Sion. God, she missed him.

Unique’s feet started walking on their own accord. She didn’t know where they’d lead her, but she couldn’t stand still.

She didn’t have any ways of lining up everything, but it would be a fantastic way to start. What exactly had happened while she was here? There had to be something that could be of help.

Her memories were fuzzy and blurred out. Sion had mentioned a trigger to the tree house. He had looked up her skirt while she found it.

Perhaps… She started to run, despite the continuous pain in her arm. Why didn’t it heal already? Running over to a neighboring tree, she looked up. The crown was close and she had trouble spotting anything, but it was doable. She narrowed her eyes and skimmed the trunk. There.

A tiny trigger was placed just above her head. She ran over to another tree and spotted the same.

For every tree she encountered, she saw little triggers, and handles that could be used. She wandered deeper into the darker part of the forest. Only a little sunshine penetrated the tree crowns, and she shivered in the cold. Goosebumps covered her bare arms, and her palms stroked across her skin, to give a little heat. Her fingertips touched the slash wound from Annelka. Surprised, Unique stopped and surveyed her arm.

It was healing, but extremely slowly, blood still seeped out. Her other gash hadn’t started healing yet, and the sight of her life-blood spilling out made her dizzy. It shouldn’t take so long, so why was it?

She sat down on the grass and leaned her head between her knees. Her head hurt.

All these questions were draining her, perhaps that’s why her healing wasn’t working up to scale. It didn’t help that every time she had one answer, two questions popped up. Quietly, she tried to collect her thoughts.

She had to catch the Gods attention—she had to do it by acting good.

She had no memories of her childhood nor of the supposed marriage between her and Sion.

Sion had said that he didn’t want her to look for him, yet the vision form Envy seemed different.

Envy had gotten to Annelka and Unique was alone.

There were other cabins here in this forest.

Her powers were failing.

And she had forgotten to recall the memory of—

Her head snapped up. What was it she had been supposed to remember?

“Crap. Crap. Crap. Crap,” she muttered. Sion had told her to remember something every time she used her powers. What was it?

A tear slid down her cheek. This couldn’t be real.

She was the Goddess of Retro-cognition. She could see the past of others, but she was senile when it came to her own memories? The whole idea seemed so unrealistic and hopeless. Unique sniffled.

She missed her father. Even though they weren’t always on reasonable terms, he’d been able to calm her down for the larger part. She missed Aunt Amora and Uncle Fury. Granted, she didn’t socialize with them that much, but they always greeted her as if she were a close relative, and not just the weird offspring of Retro.

Most of all, she missed Sion. It was almost painful to admit, but it was the truth. She missed his stupid and lame jokes. His endless source of crude pickup-lines. Without him, she felt lost. He’d been the one with all the answers, and he’d been taking care of everything, despite her being whiny and ungrateful.

Unique was scared, sad and helpless right now. She didn’t know what to do, or where to go. She didn’t know anything right now.

A gust of wind caught her hair, and the white locks blew in front of her eyes. A strand of hair cluttered to her tears. Annoyed, she wiped it away. Couldn’t she be allowed to sulk in peace? You’d think that an abandoned, holy forest would be a decent spot to cry out.

“Noo, there just had to be an annoying wind to annoy,” she rambled in a mutter.

Her eyes caught sight of the tree across from her. Looking upwards, she saw that the branches were fairly easy to climb, and they continued high above the other trees.

If she climbed up there, she’d be able to see the whole field from the top. Unique wasn’t sure what it would help, but her gut instinct told her to try anyway. It was simply made to be climbed.  

A/N. I hope you're still enjoying it.