After enduring ceaseless peril, when we finally arrived at the "home" I had never seen before—Sky Hope City—I was trembling with fear, on the verge of collapse. The city was both familiar and alien. I knew much about it and had seen it countless times in my memories, yet seeing it with my own eyes felt like the first time. Remus and I never had the chance to truly discuss our current predicament, but we had exchanged meaningful glances. We both understood that here, we were each other's only allies. Leveraging the authority of his host, he separated me from the rest of the team as soon as we entered the city, and almost immediately, we left again. The city was teeming with creatures like my host—would each of them want me dead?I knew the answer was yes, and so did he. We began to talk, and since his host was stronger, he took the lead in deciding our course of action. It shouldn't have been this way, but I lacked the power to change anything. We spoke of our fears, our hopes, and the newfound wisdom that was both enlightening and terrifying. Everything that mattered was new, and the clan had become a distant memory, gradually fading. My host's thoughts were clear: we were too weak, thinking like humans was too exhausting, and without a host, we would lose our ability to think... or perhaps starve and die. That was her belief, and I shared it."But we are human too," Remus insisted. "Each of us has the potential to be fully human, yet our kind is still forced to live like dogs! They suffer blindly, just as we once did. My children are still out there, living as animals!""But how can we change this?" I frowned and asked. "Should we go find them all and put them into human bodies? Setting aside the impossibility of finding them, doing so would only draw attention to us.""Think long-term, girl," Remus snapped. "We will be discovered eventually. Survival isn't about avoiding threats; it's about making the risk of opposing us greater than the risk of ignoring us. We need to spread, to control enough powerful people before humans notice, to protect ourselves."The implications of his words terrified both my host and me. I did not like the idea of spreading our kind and subjecting more hosts to this fate. My kind suffered, but to save them, we would have to cause suffering to humans. It was a cruel irony.I shared these thoughts with Remus, but he dismissed them. He had no sympathy for those who wanted us dead, even if their anger was born of self-preservation. His host was the strongest, and I dared not contradict him, fearing he would see me as an obstacle. So he made a plan: he would go to consume, grow, and spread, while I would stay with the girl who could sense us—Vita—and keep her from alerting the guild or the church. We would wait until we could place one of our kind inside her. Once she was with us, we could use her abilities to find and rescue the others.And so, on the road outside the city, we parted ways. I returned to the city, while he ran off to a place he deemed unworthy of sharing with me. I was alone with my thoughts and the thoughts of the woman I had tormented, clinging to life."I can hear you talking, you know," I whispered to myself. "We could chat occasionally, if you like."Surprise, hope, anger, rage—I felt these emotions as strongly as she did.Always able to hear? she thought, Damn you, I can't believe something like you exists."I didn't want to become like this either," I retorted.I don't care, you monster. The Templars will kill you. Give me back my body, and maybe you'll live.It was a lie. I knew every memory and thought of hers. If I relinquished control of the body to her, she would surely try to kill us."You can't fool me," I said to her. "I'm sorry I'm causing you pain, but I'd rather you suffer than die."She began to scream and rage again, as expected. I let her vent, listening quietly, the only thing I could do, since I was the one who had driven her to this.I returned to the guild and waited. Soon, Vita came back, and I spoke to her as Remus had instructed. Would this girl become our next kind? I thought I should learn as much about her as possible to help the one who would eventually inhabit her body transition smoothly. In the meantime, I mimicked the host's behavior, using her memories and instincts as a perfect template. It was easy and natural. I knew what to do, and it felt right. After so much fear, it was a rare moment of respite.But then, Vita suddenly turned on me in anger, and I snapped back to reality. I didn't want her to hate me! This was a girl who could casually kill me! I quickly apologized. She seemed surprised; it wasn't something my host would do. But her anger subsided. Alas, what was the right thing to do?As I pondered this question, I followed her to meet her family. Family—Remus wanted to protect his family, to give them a good life, and so did Vita. We were all the same, yet we had to trap her, to make her suffer. Just thinking about it made me uneasy. But when we arrived, the sight before me was beyond anything I could have anticipated.My host had never seen humans so close to death. The suffering of these children was plain to see. They were like walking horrors. The world should not be like this. It was unreasonable that such humans should exist. Suffering was not just for my kind.Heal them! my host thought, and I knew her thoughts without her having to speak.On our way back, I learned more about Vita, comparing my host's thoughts and instincts about her to my own. It was strange; I had "my own thoughts." After all, most of my memories were my host's, so we agreed on many things. However, while my host thought Vita was naive, I found her noble. A girl capable of taking lives chose to give them instead. It was touching. But so what? We were still going to take everything from her.If these were to be Vita's last days, I would try to make them as happy as possible. We talked, joked, and I took her to my host's favorite places, letting both of them, who would soon suffer because of me, enjoy the pleasure of warm water and companionship. What else could I do? She was such a kind person. It scared me that I genuinely enjoyed spending time with her. My laughter was heartfelt. She was small but so strong. When seeing her own reflection almost brought her to tears, I almost gave in. Damn it, I almost let her escape, but I didn't.Later that evening, I "talked" with my host again, and Vita almost killed me on the spot. That small girl's face, twisted with rage, was terrifying. I had my lies ready. Now I knew what I had done wrong before. A lie mixed with some truth was easier to believe. So I revealed a part of a big secret to my host to cover up my own big secret. She and her fiancé had many secrets. I knew I could use him to cover the secret he mistakenly thought was hers. It was another unintentional cruelty to my host, revealing so many secrets, but I supposed it didn't matter. After all, her life was now in my control, and her fiancé would become mine too.At least I managed to persuade Vita to go to sleep. The poor girl really needed it. In the morning, Remus came back. Damn it! Could Vita not live even one more day? It wasn't long before, as I led this innocent and kind girl to her doom, anger surged within me amidst my despair. Couldn't I at least try to fight for her?"Remus, do we really have to do this?" I asked."Seek medical treatment? Of course, it's obvious," he replied irritably."No, I mean Vita."Vita clearly didn't like this. Her body tensed, her face darkened, and she began to slow her pace. Remus matched her slower pace, and just that seemed to anger her. She was such a skittish girl."Penelope," Remus warned, but I continued."I like her, Remus," I said, "Don't you think we could try talking to her first, before ——"He moved in an instant, and Vita was on the ground, unconscious. I froze in terror, sliding off his back and landing on the ground."We can't try talking to her, Penelope," Remus said, "Our situation is clear—it's us or them."He bent down, and his "larva" slid out of his arm and into Vita's body."Now wake her up," he commanded.I had no choice but to comply."There was no need to do this!" I protested, as if my words could carry more weight than my actions."I don't think so," Remus responded flatly, "I'm just glad you had enough sense to wait until we were alone to say that. If you think humans will tolerate us, you're mad."There was movement then."This is just too damn bizarre," Vita said. It was the new Vita."Did you lose too many memories while you were waiting?" Remus asked."No, my memory is pretty good," the new Vita replied, "It just feels strange. Damn it, I'm a little girl now, and my name is Vita, huh?""From now on, and forever," Remus nodded, "Is there anything interesting in her head?""I'm looking, I'm looking, don't rush me," she said."Look faster, someone could pass by at any moment on this road.""Hey, don't rush me! That's child abuse," she paused briefly, then grinned, "Wow! Haha, she really hates me saying that.""We don't have time for this, Vita," Remus said impatiently, "Is there any relevant information? Both of our hosts suspect she's hiding a big secret.""Don't rush me!" Vita insisted, "She has a pretty good memory, there's a lot to sift through. Oh, damn, she..."Another brief pause, and I held my breath, wondering what bombshell might be dropped next."... is furious!" Vita finished, with a triumphant, mischievous grin.Of course she was furious! After all I had done for her, this was the result."Who cares? You control the host's body, you can decide everything the host does," Remus grumbled, "I can't believe I have to remind my 'child' to stay on task and not backtalk.""Sorry, Dad, but now that I'm a teenager, it's my job to argue with you. If you wanted me to be obedient, you should have put me in a slave's body."Remus' eyelid twitched, and the new Vita raised her hands in a placating gesture, laughing."Oops, just joking. This extra perception is so distracting. I was just talking while sorting through my thoughts.""Forget about the extra perception," Remus commanded, "Quickly, we've discussed this before. Has Vita exposed our identity? How much does she know about us? Who else do we need to deal with? Does she know of anyone else who might pose a threat to us?""Yeah, yeah," she said, thinking, "Well... no, she hasn't exposed our identity, and she doesn't know much about us. She just has suspicions, but she's not sure. I... I didn't find anyone else in her memories who could be like her or have similar abilities."Remus exhaled deeply and began to relax. I had known or suspected most of this before, so it didn't bring me much relief."Well, that's good," Remus said, "So... we're safe for now, right?""I suppose so," I replied quietly."Thank goodness," Remus sighed, relaxing his body, "Alright, so here's what we do next. Vita, Penelope, you two go back to the guild and 'confirm' that we've seen the bio-mage expert and that we've removed whatever was inside us. I have other matters to attend to, and I'll join you later. Can you handle things for the next few weeks on your own?"More secrets, more demands. I didn't like this man. My kind, though frustrating at times, at least didn't require me to pretend."I suppose we don't have much choice," I said, frowning."If we want everyone to survive, we don't have a choice," Remus replied sternly, "But before we part ways, there's one last thing. I've figured out what we are."This caught my attention, and my eyes widened."Wait, you've figured it out?"He nodded."Yes, before meeting you all, I used this body's clearance to access confidential files and did some digging. It turns out there are humans who know about our existence, but for some reason, they've kept it a secret. Our kind is called Nawra.""Nawra," I repeated, savoring the word. Our "curse" of an existence finally had a name.Remus nodded."Yes, but don't say that word where others can hear you. But... yes, it's good to have a name. Penelope, Vita, control your intake. If your original forms grow too large, they will split.""Aw, don't you want grandkids, Dad?" Vita asked, childishly. A small Nawra in a little girl's body—it was fitting. I'd have to keep an eye on her to make sure she didn't mess up.Remus smiled at her, a kind smile filled with hope."Not yet."She nodded and extended her hand for a handshake."Alright then, see you later, Dad," she said.They shook hands briefly, and then Remus flicked his fingers."I feel like you just shocked me," he said.Vita grinned widely."Sorry, Dad, I'm still getting used to this body."He nodded."Understandable, you've only just been born, ten hours ago, right? You'll get the hang of being Vita before we get back to the city. Don't worry. Is there anything else you two need before I head out?""No," Vita said, "I'm good, Dad."I had no needs either and remained silent."We can't let our kind suffer like animals anymore," Remus promised, "Since we can be human, we can't stand by and do nothing."I just sighed and turned to walk back into the city. Remus jogged off. New Vita followed behind, perhaps as obedient to me as I was to Remus, but soon she started chatting with me."So..." she began, "How does it feel to be a secret agent?"I shrugged."Thrilling, oppressive, confusing—life is definitely less complicated when you don't have much wisdom.""Not much wisdom?""Well, I mean... Oh, right, you were born from Remus," I remembered. She was born in a human body, so she wouldn't know. "He and I had other bodies before, animal bodies, with hardly any capacity for thought, and neither did we. I think if we stay out of human bodies for too long, we'll revert to that state. A few hours away from a body, and our memories of being animals start to fade.""Oh, well, Remus did mention something like that. That's terrible."I snorted. The guy had a knack for understatement."It's far from ideal. My first act as a human was to imprison another person in her own body. I'm barely a part of her, yet she clings to me like a ghost. I reckon the real Vita wouldn't let you off easily either, I mean the original one, not you."My kind just laughed."Oh?" she asked, "Why do you think she'd give me a hard time? We're in charge now, aren't we?""Please listen to her thoughts, at least do that much. We're taking their lives and making them watch helplessly! But I... I remember most of what it was like to be an animal, that state of feeling without thinking, acting without questioning, just existing blindly. I don't want to go back to that. No matter how much I despise myself, I don't want to. It's no different from being dead."Vita seemed to waver for a moment, taking a deep breath."Alright, I'll listen to her thoughts now," she said, "Vita wants to ask you something, may I?"I nearly tripped, my breath catching."I... of course, goodness, I forgot... I'm so stupid. She can hear me talking, Vita, I'm sorry, I ——""What she wants to know," Vita interrupted me, "is how Penelope is doing?"I'm not doing well, but I knew she wasn't asking about me. Why would she care about me? I've never been the Penelope she thought I was. Either way, the answer was no."N... not well," I whispered, my voice trembling as I held back tears, "She's not doing well at all."She moved closer to me, trying to place a hand on my shoulder, but instead, she grabbed my neck, right where my true form was hidden. I looked at her, and the look of malice and contempt in her eyes was seared into my memory. An intangible sense of oppression enveloped me, as if foretelling my doom.I stared into those eyes, terror gripping my heart. Oh, she wasn't my kind. When had Remus' "child" died?"Please don't kill me," I whispered. I was so cowardly; that was all I could manage to say."Then I suggest you let her go," Vita said, "Right now, immediately."I did as she said. I detached myself from the host's spine, losing her eyes, ears, body... I cast myself into the void that represented my nature, a void devoid of sensation, praying to survive while awaiting death.
