'Cheat of Adaptation...'
Marlene subconsciously chuckled in her mother's arms while thinking about the infinite possibilities her new cheat ability brought with it.
After overcoming the 'trial' set up by the Soul Goddess she was in an excellent mood.
As she turned her head, she came face to face with her twin brother who was staring at her with his abyss-like black eyes that seemed to reflect no light at all. This trait, inherited from their father, gave him his only unique characteristic.
At that moment, Marlene heard a voice inside her head.
"The biggest question comes down to of whom the soul belonged to before she came here, and what should I do with her?"
"I see, some sort of telepathic communication?"
When Marlene thought that sentence, she saw the boy's eyes widening in surprise.
Xuan Feng looked around. Sure enough, nobody else in the room seemed to hear the words he had just heard..
Then he replied.
"Who are you?"
"It is bad manners to question someone without introducing yourself first"
Marlene replied in her mind, her eyes narrowed in thought.
Xuan Feng decided to adopt a friendly approach, given that he was currently in a baby's body and couldn't do much beyond communicating with this unknown soul—his sister, apparently.
"My name is Xuan Feng. I assume you were sent by the Soul Goddess?"
"That is correct, what is your relationship with the Goddess?"
Xuan Feng's face scrunched slightly in displeasure.
"Answer my question first, who are you?"
Marlene replied with amusement.
"My name is Marlene Merry. I am from Earth and that Goddess chose me as a candidate for forced reincarnation, with the objective of assisting her revival."
Though Marlene hadn't voiced it before, she was furious about the forced reincarnation and harbored a deep grudge.
She was convinced the Soul Goddess would've anticipated her resentment and taken precautions.
So Marlene had hidden her emotions, she knew that revenge was a dish best served cold.
"I see... To be a subject of forced reincarnation, I don't know if you are lucky or unlucky."
Marlene didn't respond.
"It appears that we are on the same side, Marlene. My personal objective is the destruction of the Divine Realm. Assisting the Goddess is just a means to an end."
Xuan Feng stared at the ceiling without blinking, reminiscing about his past life.
He often delved into his memories, experiencing one specific night over and over again. He remembered every detail so vividly.
"The day I turned 15. That night... I woke up to the screams of my mother."
"The smell of blood assaulted my nostrils."
Tears began to gather around his eyes as he recounted his experience to Marlene.
"I got up from my bed and ran outside, to where the screams were coming from, as fast as I could."
"But I was too late... Not that I could have done anything in the first place."
"All I saw were two bodies laying on the ground, motionless, and four masked people standing over the bodies.
"They were covered entirely in black robes that made them seem invisible in the dark of the night."
"I didn't want to believe it, I couldn't. My parents that had been there for me my whole life were reduced to mere corpses on the ground."
"My mind was blank. I couldn't even move my legs to try and escape."
He clenched his tiny fists without realizing.
"I was powerless to do anything. I didn't have the courage to do anything, I had lost my will to struggle."
"The only thing that came out of my mouth was a pathetic whisper."
"I asked , 'Why?'. I wasn't asking the masked killers, I wasn't asking my parents, I wasn't asking myself."
"No, I was asking myself."
"Why could I not do anything? Why was I so weak? Why was I so pathetic? Why did I have nothing? Why was this world so unfair to me?..."
"All of my life I had been bullied, pushed and thrown around. The only two people that I could lean on, the only ones who helped me stumble my way through life. They were now gone."
"I don't know why, maybe it was out of pity, but one of the masked people answered my question."
"He said to me in such a robotic and unfeeling voice that I had trouble believing he was human."
"Orders from the Divine Emperor."
His gaze drifted from the ceiling onto the face of his mother. She was much younger than the face in his memories.
And although she had tear stains and obvious signs of tiredness on her face, she also somehow seemed happier than ever.
"I don't remember how I survived. All I remember was a bright flash of light before I passed out."
"When I woke up, I wished that everything was just a dream. I didn't want any of this to be real."
"But the reality of the world is often not the reality we desire. The bodies of my parents weren't gone, they had started to rot under the sun."
"To this day, I still don't know why I wasn't killed..."
Xuan Feng had managed to hold back his tears.
After telling the story of how he came to bear a grudge against the divine emperor, he looked at his new sister to see her reaction.
Instead he saw her closed eyes; her breath came in slow, even rhythms, a gentle whisper in the quiet room.
Xuan Feng's mouth was open. He was speechless at his sister...
Soon enough, a bitter smile found its way onto his face as he gave in to the urge to sleep as well.
"Thank you for everything, Miss Fan!"
Said Xuan Zhen, while he escorted the midwife out of the house.
"You're welcome, little Zhen. Sigh, I remember when that rascal Xuan An was born. To think that she is having kids of her own, I'm truly getting old... Anyways, don't forget what I told you, make sure to take the proper measures!"
He didn't need to pay her anything since she was employed by the City of Wind.
Before this midwife program was initiated, many mothers and babies had died or contracted serious illnesses because they couldn't muster up the funds required to ask for the help of a midwife.
Thus, the city started such a program which drastically increased the rate of the population's rise, which in turn increased the funds earned by the city from the farmers.