Page 656 (1/1)

Chapter 656: Misfortune is No Excuse for Evil Deeds

“When I was young, my family was desperately poor We lived in a slum, rats like all the rest There was a trash dump outside of our front door If ent outside the san to think the se forever” The Astral Phantohtful

“For years afterward I had this phobia of getting dirty, a vestige of those dark days I have this memory… me, with a piece of bread in my hand I asked my mother ‘how much bread do I need to eat to feel full?’ I remember the tears that streamed from her eyes and dripped onto my face They were hot and slick I asked her why she was crying, but she only shook her head and said nothing”

“My father was disabled and couldn’t walk He could onlyWhen they first got together my father was an excellentto have any savings He was also an orphan with no family to lean on”

“Mother shouldered the family’s burdens on her own, but she didn’t have any special skills or training So we had no choice but to live in the slums, a hard and bitter life But I wasn’t sad – in fact I was a pretty happy child I got to be with h We tried not to let poverty ruin our lives Until one day, mom didn’t co It was her I dug through the trash until I found her, her clothes ripped and flesh bared Someone had hit her so that her face was red and swollen with blood dripping fro covered her bottorabbedI couldn’t understand what had happened She cried like that for a long tiet soh I was scared, the pain inand took me hoed her clothes, and otten back so late she just said she was busy at work”

“That night I ate bread until I was full I was still frightened but tired, so I went to bed When I woke up the next day one

When we found her she was in a river not far away It wasn’t deep, but she was floating face down… a rock had been tied to her upper body to keep her suble They suspected suicide”

“When she died et better and was confined to his bed until it took hirants from the slums that’d attacked my mom In my mind this was all because of poverty Because of poverty we couldn’t defend ourselves Because of poverty s necessary to keep working Around that time hen rants I wasn’t afraid, I just swore that I would becoest, richest person”

“In time I made money I had power and influence I could defend myself But there was always an eetor pretty I was I’d lost all my money in those pursuits Then soht be a chance to find their lost souls and call theain what I’d spent My talents were clear I knew that if I wanted to keep getting better I need hard work and luck, but also a great deal of ht resources The world seemed so broken and unfair, so I turned to murder The h, I used those resources to break through I never cared who I killed or why, so long as they paid rown into a greedy woman”

“When you marked my soul I was terrified I felt like my spirit was marred by it However these last few days that fear has passed I realized I could slon, be at peace Watching Skyfire Avenue from this , I’ve realized there was so much I didn’t consider This would could be as beautiful as it can be ugly I’ back on it I suppose I’ot me At least you aren’t like me You aren’t a bad man”

At this point the assassin rose to her feet, and ran her fingers through her hair to straighten out the strands

“It makesmy heart for over fifty years Tell me what you wish of me, super soldier I serve at your leisure, even , her face sultry with a pro’s eyes, there was only sadness and pity

He’d listened to her heartbreaking tale in silence He didn’t interrupt and instead let her get it off her chest His face expressionless, the soldier slowly made his way to theand peered out over the street He could see the striking blue façade of Zeus’ Jewelry Store

“You’re lucky, actually” Lan Qing’s voice was soft, low

“Lucky?” She looked at him skeptically

“My brother and I are orphans, we never knew our parents Before we met our teacher we never knehat a full sto We were born on Earth, after it’d been ravaged and destroyed by greed Only the ed anyone we could for food, convinced that just surviving h the Astral Phanto for the first tiaunt features His voice was cal about soht we’ve lead such si else stirred in her pretty eyes

Lan Qing turned his head to face her His deep, dark eyes fixed hers “No, we’re nothing alike My ave ht You… you became a demon”

The Astral Phanto’s soft voice proceeded “You’re beautiful, and your tale isBut none of this can hide the evil within you In all the lives you’ve taken did you ever stop to consider the fa your life doesn’t ainst the creatures that want us all dead The only way to clean the blood off your hands is to save as many lives as you can when the aliens coames as well, because they won’t work on randaped at him It orse than a slap to the face “A – Aunt?! You bastard!” She threw her arhtning, but the stabbing pain that wracked her spirit was faster She gurgled a pained cry and fell to the ground The mark that was placed on her did not per’s voice “Now that you’ve decided to live, et as e offurther to add, he left her there beside the , alone in the roohtmare Every word had been true and spoken froive them license to visit that pain on others She had accepted hter countless of innocent victi was too set all that

A full five ed to pull herself up off the floor Her teeth ground audibly as she glared daggers at the door Never in her sorry life had she hated someone so intensely, but she was powerless to end him She was sure her looks and sad story would et close That would have given her tirandut Her efforts were heartlessly denied As a Paragon she had never known this level of humiliation What wo didn’t iardless she couldn’t leave this place Through the ht, said and did Even if she left the planet she couldn’t be free from his control Her life and death were in his hands and that was the end of it