"Wait, sister!" Sin shouted, rushing to stand with arms spread protecting me at the last second before those ice axes could reach me.
"Sin! Get out of the way!" Sylvia snapped harshly, but managed to stop her axes in time.
"Let's talk this through first!" Sin tried to negotiate, looking panicked.
"What's this about now, Sylvia!" Vex shouted, his voice starting to sound irritated.
The ice axe tips still pointed at me made me think... does this world have ice element too? As far as I knew, there were only earth, water, wind, fire, lightning, and the two forbidden elements of darkness and light, right? Or could it be element fusion? My thoughts were getting confused.
"Sin! Dad!" Sylvia lowered her voice slightly, but her eyes still stared at me with distrust. "This guy!" She kept yelling. Does this family only have loud people? But twin weapons again... twin ice axes... this family is so badass.
She slowly lowered her axes and smoothly sheathed them back at her waist before glancing at me with cold eyes.
"Even though the curse seems small, it's terrifying and spine-chilling," she muttered, but loud enough for everyone in the shop to hear.
"Dad, can you explain this to me?" Sylvia turned to ask Vex.
"Sigh! How would I know! You're the one with the divine eyes or whatever, not me!" Vex waved his hands dismissively. "You're the one who needs to explain!"
Sylvia let out a long, weary sigh before walking over to slump down at a wooden table in the shop. Her movements looked elegant but tinged with irritation.
"What's your name," she looked directly at me. Those sharp eyes stared deep like they'd pierce right through to the inside... ah... I think she's asking my name.
"R-Rift," I answered with a slight tremor, still feeling chills from the murderous intent earlier.
"What have you been doing?" She got straight to the point so fast I could barely keep up. I glanced at Sin and Vex standing with stern faces nearby.
"Just answer her, kid," Vex interjected when he saw me hesitating. "Sylvia has 'Divine Eyes' - she can see through people and perceive the true nature of their hearts."
Whoa! This family is full of people with weird amazing powers! My heart was racing like crazy. Now how should I answer this divine-eyed woman? Can she really read my mind?
...This won't work. I have to lie about how I sealed the Soul Rift...
"You... went and sealed a Soul Rift the wrong way, didn't you?" Before I could even open my mouth, Sylvia spoke with a flat tone, but her words made me jump. Damn it! It's like she really can read my mind!
"N-no, that's not it," I quickly denied, my voice cracking, trying to make my face look as innocent as possible.
"Really? Then how did you get cursed like that?" Her eyes sharpened. I couldn't find any words to respond, standing there stunned for several long seconds until she started showing signs of irritation, making a soft "tsk" sound. So I decided to tell some truth...
"My family..." my voice started trembling. "My family... was massacred."
"After that... after I saw that scene..." Terrible memories came flooding back. Those images still lingered in my head. I didn't want to think about them anymore. I wanted to forget them all... I... I wanted to kill them! Vengeful feelings erupted again, making me unconsciously clench my fists.
"I understand now," Sylvia's stern expression softened slightly when she saw my condition. Does she believe me now? Or can she see the pain in my heart?
"Sin," she turned to call her younger brother before looking back at me. "You're Sin's disciple, right?"
Not really... she was just talking about Sin. Why is she asking me like this... oh, she probably means me.
"Yes... is there something wrong?" I answered, confused.
"How long have you been his disciple?"
"Uh... we just agreed yesterday actually. But if we're talking about real training, just today. A few hours."
"I see... so you really did seal a Soul Rift using some weird wrong method." Hey! What's going on! So she didn't believe what I said from the beginning? Why? Does my voice sound untrustworthy?
"Right... I guessed from your tone and expression. There's both truth and lies mixed together," she said. Damn! What kind of person is she?! Does she know absolutely everything?!
"Sin... would you mind if I borrowed Rift from you for a while?" Sylvia turned to speak with Sin, making him look completely stunned. I was just as shocked.
"Huh! What are you talking about?!" Sin cried out in surprise.
"The curse attached to this kid is very dangerous. I'll take him to remove it myself," Sylvia declared.
"Can't you remove it here?!" Sin seemed unwilling to give in easily.
"I'll take him to the water city Maris to cleanse the sins he committed himself."
What?! What the hell! Suddenly talking weird stuff about taking me to cleanse sins!
"What are you talking about, Sylvia!" Vex also shouted.
"Exactly what I said, Dad," Sylvia replied fearlessly.
"Explain it more clearly!" Both Vex and Sin said in unison without planning it.
I also looked confused, glancing between all three faces. What kind of crazy situation is this now?!