An experiment in exchange for power [job]

Job details:

She could still remember as if it was yesterday, a simple trip along the docks of Balbadd had caused the azure-haired aide to hear the sound of soft sobs. At first, she paid it no attention. in the end, she had little interest in the affairs of the weak and yet when she passed the source of it, a little child something caused her to slowly come to a halt.

For a moment she could have sworn she saw herself in the sobbing child, helpless and abandoned to her fate, not a single soul caring about her problems. Perhaps it was for that reason that Leila decided to approach them, and once she arrived at the spot amidst some crates the child had been hiding at, she raised her voice just loud enough for him to hear her over the voices of the peddling fishermen.

"Why all the tears?"

It didn't take long for her to receive an answer, especially when the child lowered the arms covering his face, revealing there were some light bruises on it, likely a minor scuffle that he had lost.

"I... I wasn't strong enough."

It was a comment she knew all too well, the lack of strength to protect oneself, in the end, power was a natural thing for anyone to desire, and yet for someone so young and innocent to crave for it... Now that was something slightly unexpected.

"Why do you desire power?"

It was a simple question, and as Leila's mismatched eyes gazed down upon the child she finally received an answer. The boy took a deep breath, attempting to subdue the flow of tears as he mumbled.

"Because I don't want to be bullied anymore... But why do you care? Adults around here never care about my problems, I even told one of the guards who just laughed and shoved me out of the way."

The words of the child caused her to chuckle lightly, her lips curving up slightly into a smile as she crouched down onto one knee to ensure she was at the same height as the boy.

"You're right, I don't care about the problems of a child, but I am quite interested in those who seek power. If it's power you seek, I could grant you the strength to extract your revenge upon those who wronged you."

The boy seemed intrigued by this, his eyes focusing onto her as he asked with uncertainty in his voice. "Really?"

She nodded her head curtly, and finally gestured toward the large building that was visible in the distance, the residence of Master Abbass.

"Meet me at the entrance of that building at nightfall, but don't tell anyone. By the time dawn arrives you'll have the power you desire."

And with those words she rose back onto her feet, turning her back at the child and concealing the smirk that appeared on her lips. It seemed she had found an excellent candidate for her experiment.

506/500

Just like promised Leila found the child at the entrance to her master's residence, and after explaining to the guards that the boy was here to help her out with something, she brought the child along with her to the basement of the estate. He seemed quite restless among such luxury and wealth, but he still continued to follow her all the way till they reached their destination.

The basement itself seemed to had been converted to an underground dojo, a wooden practice dummy having been prepared alongside several vials and similar substances, and perched next to a jar was Trapper, her crimson colored companion.

"I didn't catch your name yet."

Leila's voice had caught the boy by surprise, who quickly replied to her with a slight stutter in his voice. "Habib" Leila nodded her head lightly in response as she moved over toward the jar, and upon picking it up she explained in a calm tone. "Have you ever heard about a symbiosis?" The boy shook his head in response, causing her to smile calmly as she explained with a hint of amusement in her tone.

"I figured as much, they are powerful creatures that grant you special abilities, this one, in particular, will give you various capacities that are normally impossible for a child to have. You'll be able to see your opponent's movements much faster than normally, and your physical strength and speed will be much stronger, on par with an adult in your case."

Of course, she didn't tell the child the consequences of using such a power, but he seemed quite interested, till she pulled the small worm-like creature out of the jar.

"This creature is a 'Worm of Morpheus', if you want to obtain the power you seek, all you have to do is let it become a part of you." The child's eyes had gone wide with fear, but she was quick to play in on that. "Habib, do you wish to be powerless forever? If you can't deal with the bullies now, then imagine the day you'll become adults. They'd kill you!"

The face of the boy turned pale, and it was in that moment of dread that she would play the devil with a bargain: "I'll give it to you for free, as long as you overcome your weakness I'll be more than pleased enough."

The child nodded his head feebly as she gave him the worm, explaining how to merge the symbiote with his body. The next day the consequences of it were evident: Watching from the shadows of a nearby alley she watched the boy, who was now blessed with dark crimson-colored eyes triumphing over his weakness. The bullies weren't even able to land a blow with the boy's heightened perception and higher physical strength and speed, and when it was all said and done the child ran over to her with a smirk upon his lips.

"I did it miss!"

Leila nodded her head lightly with a smile, a hand raised to pet the child's head while she walked off, giving him some parting words. "Keep up the good work Habib, I'll look forward to see how you will grow."

And yet, as she left Leila knew that those words were just a sugar-coated lie, for a week later Habib was found dead, the cause of his death uncertain, but judging from the lack of an external injury it was likely he died from poison, or an internal injury...

The truth was that Leila's experiment was to see the consequences of using the symbiote, and it appeared that using its powers would rapidly lead to a person's death due to the worm's poisonous substances eating away at their organs... She had to find a means to perfect this symbiote before it could become truly useful...


WC: 1165/500