Lolita

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Sentoushaverse

At the age of 17, in the pursuit of hope to make use of her healing magic, Lolita gave up her peaceful life and went to another land to enroll in Sentousha Academy, aiming to become a battlefield medic. She hoped, one day, her abilities would be able to help those in need of it as much as possible.Due to some incidents, she was arranged into class D - one of the weaker classes. But thanks to the tireless effort in training day by day, she managed to become one of the most outstanding students in her field, with the support of her teammates. Together they overcame many challenging missions, bypassed desperate situations, learned and grew as a whole. In other words, they became best friends.But Fate didn't let her be for long. She had to return home when the rising evil force that meant to disturb the peace of the world attacked her country, and she must help her compatriots fight against the villian to save her beloved homeland.Yet she fell, and helplessly watched her dear town collapse, her friends killed. Even though Lolita wished to stay and keep fighting, by the Queen's order, she had to travel abroad and seek support from other military organizations, including Sentousha.Leaving her family behind and setting her dreams aside, Lolita enters another agonizing battle to regain what was lost, and save what was left.

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Legacy of Rosena

("The Legacy of Rosena" was based on a play written by Sentousha's Art Club and developed into a full-scale story.)

The story begins in a Kingdom named Rosena, or The Empire of Light.Legend has it that from a very long time ago, the Empire was blessed by Ruza - the dark-haired Goddess of flowers, happiness and pledges.Ruza promised to protect Rosena from all harm. In return, all the girls born into the Royal Family that has the same dark hair as the Goddess would have to sacrifice their happiness, thus they can never be with the person they love. They said because those princesses were incarnations of the Goddess herself, that was why they must sacrifice their hearts for the people. "One royal's anguished life in exchange for a thousand other's happiness."For many generations, the blessing (or curse) never failed to fulfill. One princess after another found their love lost in the hands of fate, or, sometimes, people. Each time a bonding vow was given, then not much later, their other half would die in battles, accidents, or assassinations... all their love stories ended up with the princess in tears. On the other hand, Rosena gradually became one of the most prosperous nations, Her citizens never suffered any loss nor tragedies.Until one day, Lolita - the Crown Princess of the sixth dynasty, came into the picture.Acknowledged the curse, she swore to never fall in love, and refused to have her heart broken for any affinity reason. But Fate has its way of turning the table. The princess did not love anyone, so she lost the people she cared about the most in life: her parents.With the King and Queen demised, Lolita was forced to inherit the throne. In shock and grief, she became the seventh ruler of The Empire of Light. She realized there was no way to avoid a painful life that Ruza beseeched unto the Royal Family.But that was just the beginning.

After taking the crown, she finally learned about the brutal truth of the so-called "blessing": Rosena was never out of trouble. The neighboring country had constantly set their eyes on Rosena's prosperity and kept waging wars outside the borders. The blessing had long-lost its effects, or half of it; Rosena was still growing strong, but the Goddess couldn't hold the threats at bay forever. After many years of resisting, Rosena's situation was in severe danger.But it seemed that the preceding rulers decided to make the blessing continue and turned it into a veil of ignorance. Conflicts still happened, they just never reached the ears of the people. As for why, only they could answer. Maybe the predecessors didn't want people to fall into fear or succumb to desperation and cause trouble from within? One could only guess.All the soldiers who fought and died in these wars had pledged to keep it a secret. Their loyal sacrifices didn't earn any honor mourning. The soldiers, who people thought were away on an imaginary expedition, were actually fighting in defense of this very empire. The ones thought to live as settlers in an imaginary newly colonized territory, were actually dying in their homeland.Learning all this, Lolita decided "the blessing" must end in her reign, and that Rosena has to stand up for herself, instead of relying on a false covenant and ignoring the bitter truth - that their land was gradually heading towards self-destruction.The Queen voluntarily took the diplomatic mission to negotiate a compromise with the neighboring country, knowing that they would never let her go back to Rosena alive.But that was exactly her motive.

An arrow straight to the heart, that was how she made the news about the greedy and savage enemy known to all the regions. Rosena's allied nations then had the excuse to rise up and extinguish the threats that enclosed the Empire.After the war, a new agreement was made to make sure no nation should cause another conflict against Rosena, as long as they could share mutual benefits between the Empire and other countries. Rosena could finally enjoy true peace.Our Queen managed to do that, at the cost of her life.She died in the arms of the only person left who truly loved her: Her dear Royal Knight. He managed to bring her back to their homeland, just enough so she could look at her beloved nation one last time before passing away. He breathed his last even before her.Curiously, since then there were no other dark-haired princesses born on the land of Rosena. And no more tears were shed at the foot of the statue of Ruza.Thus concluded the story of the Queen who cannot love. May her heart and hope forever endure through time, when the songs about The Empire of Light continues to pass on.

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By The Sea

Humans feed on animals and consider it normal. How do they call mermaids monsters just because they feed on humans?

Once upon a time, there was a poor Prince who was voiceless at birth. His unfortunate disability got him banished to the secluded palace by the sea, away from all eyes. His name was not allowed to be mentioned, they just called him "the Prince", and none shall discuss his existence ever, like a despicable sin, or a curse.The Prince's one and only friend was a mermaid. She got caught as a baby, and given to the Prince as a consolation gift. He raised her until she grew up enough to go back to the ocean. Yet she always came back to him.Neither of them could say a word, but they didn't need one to grow fond of each other. With one another's company, they never felt lonely.However, just normal food was not enough for the mermaids. They craved human flesh. Living without it would drive them mad and ferocious.Hence, the Prince came up with an idea: He asked for the prisoners, the most despicable ones, to be escorted to his seaside palace. There, they got the chance to behold the extraordinary beauty of his mermaid, before turning into her meal.

Savage as it may sound, to the Prince, there's nothing in such a heartless world that could compare to his mermaid. She's the only one that didn't pity his fate, nor would she ever leave him to his own demise in the middle of nowhere like the rest of his kin. He could satisfy her with anything she wanted. If she's happy, that would please him as well.The Prince liked to visit her on the steps leading down the sea, day by day when the sun was out of the clouds. That was a magnificent scene: when the Prince sat by the blue water as clear as his eyes, beside the extraordinary mermaid, her scales glistening under the light - they truly looked like a picture from a classic fairy tale that one often looks for in his dreams.Usually, he'd use a flute to play some grieving melodies. They had no lyrics, yet sounded like a thousand words, and she'd cry for his tune, like no else would. Other times, it's her who sang for him, waving songs from the sea, with the charming voice of a mermaid that some would die for a chance to listen to. And he knew she understood the bitterness, the hatred he felt towards his cursed fate.Just like that, those poor souls only and always had each other.

For the record, the Prince made one painting for his mermaid. Among his shiny, empty treasure, it was the only thing he cherished.Even after his death, while all the proof about his life was buried or burned, the painting was kept and passed down like folk songs. No one knew how the painting was made, but those who were lucky enough to have a look at it swore that they could hear a sorrowful melody that didn't sound like human, and the colors would glitter like water under sunlight.Hundreds of years later, the world might forget about the merciless Prince who'd wasted away quietly at the deserted palace; they might also forget about his loyal, dreadful friend of a mermaid. But the painting should remind them of the tale of two outcasts, who were shunned by society just because they didn't own a human voice.

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The Purple Sleeves

Mệnh thọ con người vốn dĩ không dài, nhưng lòng tham của họ lại tưởng như vô đáy. Trong giới hạn ngắn ngủi đó, họ muốn nếm trải mọi thứ, nắm trong tay tất cả những gì có thể, dẫu biết chẳng mang được chúng theo mình sau khi nhắm mắt xuôi tay. Có lẽ chính sự hữu hạn của kiếp người mới khiến cõi lòng không tình nguyện để cuộc đời cứ thế lãng phí trôi đi.Thật ảo tưởng. Mà cũng thật đẹp đẽ.Đối với giống loài bất tử và coi thời gian như một thứ chẳng đáng bận tâm, đôi khi tham vọng đó lại khiến ta ghen tị. Thứ động lực thúc đẩy thế gian biến chuyển khôn lường chỉ có thể đến từ những sinh mệnh biết sợ được mất, mà mưu tính cho thật kĩ càng, mà vươn xa bằng tốc độ đáng kinh ngạc.Nhưng điều làm ta cảm thấy sửng sốt nhất ở nhân loại, là tình yêu.Nhất là thứ tình yêu mà người ta không thể sở hữu. Nó trở thành một nỗi ám ảnh, một giấc mộng không có được lại càng chẳng nỡ buông tay. Người ta có thể mất cả đời để theo đuổi vinh quang, thỏa mãn trong phút chốc rồi lại tìm kiếm một đỉnh cao danh vọng khác, nhưng lại không quên nổi cánh hoa vô tình rơi vào đáy mắt dưới một cơn gió xuân nào đó xa vời.Cũng giống như người đó.

Hắn tìm đến ta để khỏa lấp một ảo ảnh đã vụt mất từ bao giờ. Người mà hắn phải lòng, nàng có dung mạo giống hệt ta. Chỉ riêng đôi mắt là không phải. “Đôi mắt nàng dịu dàng hơn sự thông tuệ lạnh lùng của ngươi,” hắn đã nói thế khi hướng ánh nhìn xuống chén rượu trong vắt như thể đang nói chuyện với chính ký ức của mình. Nó có phản chiếu sự nuối tiếc nào trong đó không? Ta chẳng rõ, nhưng ý nghĩ ấy khiến ta dao động như cánh hoa chạm xuống mặt hồ.Hắn chẳng yêu cầu gì, ngoài sự hiện diện của ta-trong-hình-hài-của-nàng. Thi thoảng ta cũng giúp hắn luyện chữ, hoặc đối ẩm, hoặc đàn ca múa hát - bất kì điều gì mà ta vẫn làm để giải khuây những vị khách của mình, nhưng hắn chỉ có vẻ xúc động nhất khi nghe ta gọi hai tiếng “Tướng quân”. Hẳn nàng cũng từng gọi hắn như thế, trước khi rời khỏi cuộc đời hắn mãi mãi.Liệu ta có bao giờ trở thành một ám ảnh như vậy với ai chăng? Biết đâu trong quá khứ đã từng. Ta không còn nhớ nữa. Phàm là người hay yêu, khi mới nếm trải hương vị của ái tình hẳn đều kinh qua cảm giác say đắm ấy một lần. Nhưng giữa tham vọng và trái tim đôi khi chỉ có thể chọn một. Mà ta thì không bao giờ muốn mình-chỉ-là-một-lựa-chọn. Liệu trong hào quang vinh hiển, họ đó có bao giờ tìm kiếm đôi mắt ta trong dáng hình của kẻ khác? Nếu được quay lại một lần nữa, liệu có ai chấp nhận đánh đổi?Câu hỏi ấy, cả ta và hắn chỉ có thể thả vào những chén rượu rồi uống cạn để tự làm ấm lòng mình mà thôi.

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