“Hey…psst!”
Zeke was absent-mindedly watching the tv only for Jack, Sulong’s friend and colleague, to sit next to him and lightly nudge him.
When he finally got a reaction out from the youth, Jack looked down and asked,
“Are these the source of your power? Is this how you students do it? If I can get power then I don’t mind an ugly tattoo or two.”
Zeke rolled his eyes and pulled his sleeves, “It doesn’t work like that. You’re either born with it or you’re not.”
“Oh… I never actually bothered to learn such stuff. All that complicated gibberish about Aether and whatnot. You know what I think? They use big words and make it elaborate just to sound smart.”
“Technically, you’re not wrong.”
“Jack! Stop with the pointless questions and clean the office for a change! Open the windows too!”
The lanky clicked his tongue and begrudgingly stood up, dragging his feet around the messy room.
“What is our favorite free-loader going to do now? Maybe you can help us work?”
“I’m going to leave for a short while. Also, why would I help you do illegal stuff?”
Sulong, sitting behind his slightly fancy desk, snorted and pointed at a legal certificate plastered on the window.
“We legally give loans to distressed civilians. There’s nothing illegal about it.”
“Yeah… except the absurd interest. And let’s not talk about you were trying to con me a while ago.”
Sulong gritted his teeth and glared at the youth, neither one of them willing to back down.
“You beat me half-dead and we settled that matter. We no longer do that.”
“I don’t see the woman and her son, though.”
“It’s because she was merely a temporary partner. When we refused to continue, she sought outside help. Pretty typical coming from he-”
Sulong’s words were cut-off by loud knocks. It was early morning and they weren’t expecting any visitors, so the only cause for this could be Zeke.
“Did you call someone?”
While getting to his feet, Zeke motioned the bald man to calm down as he walked to the door and opened it.
Much to Sulong and Jack’s surprise, the person behind the door was Vans Valort, someone they knew and didn’t want to get involved with.
With an ugly expression, Sulong banged the table and abruptly stood up.
“He’s not here to cause trouble.”
After reassuring the thugs, Zeke looked at the frowning Vans.
“I still can’t believe it.”
Vans didn’t seem interested in the loan sharks, his eyes were glued on Zeke.
“I’ll be staying here for a while. I hope I didn’t make a mistake by calling you, sir.”
The detective eyed him for a couple of breaths before sighing and stepping into the room, which reeked of cigarettes and dust.
“There were 9 injured people from yesterday’s attack in Kethra’s Arms. I suppose I don’t have to ask if you had a hand in that, right?”
Zeke walked back to the couch while shrugging nonchalantly.
“I was attacked by ours truly.”
“And why haven’t you directly come to me? Actually, what are you even doing here?”
Vans Valort glanced at the gloomy Sulong and the fidgety Jack, trying his best to ignore them.
“For the time being, I cannot return to Erys. I’ve come to those two for help. Unlike the stuck-up students in charge of the case, I thought you would be more receptive to hear the truth and not single-mindedly pursue the killer.”
“You realizer that I can’t discuss sensitive information with civilians, yes? Plus, it’s my obligation to take you to the station to take your witness statement.” The man paused for a split second as he paced around, “However… considering how I’m being pressured by my superior to wrap this case up, and what happened to your friend, I simply cannot turn a blind eye and carry on. But, before I make a decision that I might regret, I want to ascertain something.”
“Which is?”
“It wasn’t you who killed Amy’s mother, right?”
Seeing an expression of slight surprise on the youth’s face, Vans breathed a sigh of relief.
“I knew it wasn’t you, but I still had to check. Whatever killed her bore a striking resemblance to your lightning-aspected magic. And since Jonathan, the killer, cannot wield said power, then the suspect could only be Amelia. I know how much you want to help her, but, regrettably, it’s too late. She committed murder and I cannot turn a blind eye to that.”
“Even if it was fully justified? Her father was killed, her mother is in a comatose state, and she had been raped and tortured. Is that not enough of a reason, sir?”
“Nothing justifies murder, Zeke. It’s up to the law to decide.”
“I wholeheartedly disagree. If the law is the judge, then how come it didn’t interfere when the restaurant was attacked? Or does it only take the lead when someone of high societal status is implicated?”
This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.
“The kid is right. You can shove that authority and laws up your ass. We’ll do it our own way.” Loudly declared Sulong, seemingly unafraid of the detective.
After a brief silence had passed, Vans halted his feet and looked straight at the student.
“Then why is it that you called me, Zeke? Surely it wasn’t to argue about morality.”
“As I had said, I could use your help, sir… but only on the condition that you don’t divulge my whereabouts to Erys. I don’t want to be dragged back there before I do what I need to do.”
“Maybe if you exactly told me why you ran away from school, I can think about this.”
“...”
“Silence, huh. Very well, I’ll see where this goes. What do you need help with?”
----------------------------------------
Amelia was curled up in the corner of a dark and empty room, the black crystal in her chest had stopped torturing her with excruciating pain but the memory of it was still vivid in her mind.
“The Crown is acting up. Once the absorption is complete, he cannot reclaim it.”
Jonathan no longer rambled nonsensically, nor did he behave like a crazy megalomaniac anymore. Maybe
The man, who, out of habit, was fiddling with his yellow headband, approached the girl and looked down at her, his eyes glowing with a strange golden light.
“You knew who the Holder was. Tell me…”
“I.. I don’t know…”
Irritated, Jonathan punched the wall, cracking it in the process. Even after seeing his violent behavior, Amelia did not flinch, she took deep breaths and stared back at him.
“I saved your life and granted you power. Tell me who he is.”
“Power? It doesn’t matter, after all, you’ll take it back sooner or later.”
“...”
He gave her an eerie and chilling look then backed away, grabbed a chair, and sat down facing the wall.
“The System should’ve diverged towards the owner of the Crown yet… it went to him?”
Jonathan half-turned his head and looked at her from the corner of his glowing eyes,
“Unless you want to die by his hands, you better tell me who he is.”
Amelia hesitated for a couple of seconds, conflicted and unable to come up with a decision. Eventually, after a couple of unsuccessful tries, she managed to stand up though her knees felt heavy and her body soaking with cold sweat.
“Zeke wouldn’t kill me. He’s not the Holder.”
In response, the man coldly laughed and shifted back his focus to the wall. Within a couple of breaths, an ominous black mist burst from his body and spun anti-clockwise until it took the shape of the scythe-wielding ghastly entity from yesterday.
Surprisingly, the voice that came out of that entity was identical to Jonathan’s, but it was rambling incoherently, exactly like his crazy personality.
It was only then that Amelia realized the truth; Jonathan wasn’t actually crazy, it was all this creature’s doing, though it was yet to be explained how it took control of his body.
“The Holder is close! CLOSE! Bring him down! Eviscerate him! Stab him! Dismember him!”
It kept going on about Zeke, describing how it wanted to kill him and how impatient it was for the action to come. Jonathan, composed and calm, stared at him with a stone-faced expression.
“Why did you save me? Was it only to use me as a tool for the Crown?”
“Silence! Bad influence! Kill her! Rip her heart out!”
Upon hearing the girl, the ‘ghost’ tried to attack her but it was pulled back by Jonathan and absorbed back into his body thereafter.
“Would you rather I left you there? To rot and decay like so many other hapless victims?”
“That’s not what I asked.” She retorted while clutching the Crown engraved on her chest and emitting subtle heat waves.
For a short bit, he didn’t say anything, though you could see a rare expression of melancholy and grief lingering in his soulless eyes.
“Would you be happy had I a ‘good’ reason?”
“What?”
“Enough of these questions. The Holder will come to us. We just need to be ready.”
...
“What do you mean leave him be? He’s your son!”
“Are you even listening to me?!”
Maxine furiously smashed her phone against the wall and shouted at the top her lungs. She tried contacting her parents for help but they just said ‘Leave him be’, and showed no concern whatsoever.
Then again, knowing them, she should have expected such a reaction but she held a shred of hope that they could have been swayed, even by a little.
Like Edward, they walked for the Department of Defense, however, they were scientists and they had more leeway, so, they had the ability to help.
“I’ve always wondered why your parents hate Zeke so much. Is he adopted?”
V, as insensitive as always, did not shy away from asking such personal questions, but all he got in response was a piercing glare from Maxine.
“You’ve heard the Principal, Max. Don’t contact Edward.”
James stood behind her and uttered those words, but as she turned around and was about to kick him, he raised his hand and hastily added,
“Wait… I’m not done yet! I didn’t mean we shouldn’t look for Zeke.”
“What is it, then?”
“While we can’t split up, we can use subterfuge. We don’t know what Zeke is looking for, but it has something to do with Amelia. We can make him show himself.”
----------------------------------------
“This.is.so.freaking.boring!”
Julia was kicking and punching the dummy while grumbling incessantly. It has been three days since Zeke was last seen and, strangely enough, none of the teachers talked about him. When she asked his roommates, including Azmer, they all gave the same response, more or less.
Zeke’s lightning-aspected magic was exactly what she needed to train her body and claim the 1st spot in the First Year Rankings, and with him out of the picture, she was out of options.
“Be quiet.”
The Dean shook her head and warned her for the tenth time, but he only made her more frustrated.
Azmer was sitting on the ground, sweat pouring from his forehead as the ground around him was blackened by his continuous bursts of fire.
“Sir… was he expelled?”
It was unexpected for Azmer to ask about anything unrelated to training, which made the old man crease his brows and grunt.
“He is irrelevant to your training. Regulate your breathing and make ready to restart.”
“...”
Azmer nodded once but it was apparent that he wasn’t satisfied with the answer. Noticing this, the Dean walked away and entered his hut, re-emerging only after a couple of minutes.
“Gather up, both of you.”
Not a second too late, the two students sprinted in the front of the Dean and stood straight and silent. Julia was restless and in a bad mood while Azmer was relieved to be afforded a little bit more time to recuperate.
“I don’t normally go against Solas, especially in such turbulent times. However…”
He swept his gaze across the two of them and continued, “I must confess that Erys’ students lack real-life experience. They are too sheltered…”
“I’ve been in real fights!” Objected Julia while pouting.
“I have too.” Declared the stoic Azmer.
“You mean those childish squabbles your families arranged? Or the heavily-monitored challenges of Erys? Zeke might not be as talented as you two, but it is apparent that he experienced more than both of you combined. In the end, that’s what matters… to see things for what they are, not what they should be. Therefore…”
With a lightning-fast speed, the Dean struck Julia and Azmer with his stick, causing both to fall to the ground while groaning in pain.
“This is an opportunity for you to be made humble. As is my wont, I will give you an offer and it’s up to you to decide on the course of action.”