Chapter 128

William tried to turn over a new leaf and he wasn't entirely sure if it was a good thing or not, or what it even meant. Ellie said it was some clever play with words, but English seemed simple for that sort of thing, and he wasn't always sure what Ellie meant because of her cleverness or words.

Accustoming to this place day by day was part of his plan. Hopefully, he wouldn't forget himself, or his past, or grow cold towards it.

Still, there was one lingering thing within his mind that sometimes overcame his worries. It kept coming back, whispering, and giving his time and memories a sudden surge. His parents and his future were enough to alter his mood. Then, he tried to think of his curiosity and what this day would give him and pretend he was fine.

He found some good topics for that immediately. If this library was so impressive, what about the Emblem Academy that was more enigmatic and powerful?

Like many, he heard rumors and small pieces about that place when growing up Outside, though most of it were rumors, hearsays, and words of some Walkers that might not even be from there. It was Ellie from yesterday who suggested and mentioned it, and William kind of trusted her. Who else was better? Well, she wasn't from there, that was for certain, but the library had some stuff about it. He just had to find them and trust them.

Some healthy dose of prominence was fine to swallow. Many people considered the Academy as even more utopian than the Federation, calling it a true safe haven under the most powerful Walkers. How or where? No one knew. Some even dared to say that the Academy was anywhere, able to shift and turn and change locations.

Some other rumors said that the Academy had its Walkers everywhere like one enormous gang. Those could be established Walkers who've succeeded in their lessons, so how about the young ones? Talents and connection meant a lot in this world, and the biggest change was showing one was worth it. William figured the Awakening was his answer and it was in the Federation.

Getting To the Academy was for no boats or planes. It was sturdy and as unknown as strong and reputable, able to bear with any Incursions or Rifts or wars.

The Federation was comparable, for they shared many common interests and seas, researchers, and even some very important works. They had some altering traditions as far as humanity moved with decades of efforts, so the Federation's vision was the core of humanity.

Academy was for Walkers, which depicted top-tier focus, research, and effort to go against all that was Dark. That was sometimes intertwined with many efforts, appearing pretty much the same as the Federation, but it wasn't even close. Allegedly, the Academy was close to the Federation for a couple of reasons that touched on the Assembly Island, or alliances that Fain favored.

Academy's Walkers shined in a different light than the Federation, which had its citizenships and overall weight to carry different burdens. It was about history, and the Federation planned for humanity to thrive. Academy thrived against this age like hunters. Against this lingering century of conflicts that started somewhere, they aimed at miracles.

Sharing many parts of organizations and nationalities, Walkers usually carried interest between more than one place. However, when a Walker was able to gain some footing in the Academy, they usually stayed for their benefit. It was how Alan Fain worked.

It was how many tried to do it as well, yet Fain did it first and already latched onto that point. Thus, the Western Hemisphere pretty much accepted these circumstances. East did not, albeit it wasn't as clear and simple as a grudge or acceptance.

This planet was broken and the land vast. Academy had always put considerable effort into many corners and wasn't as private as one would assume. It worked closely with the rest of humanity under some shadows or darkness, or against their awareness.

There was a great saying about it from the old phrases: confuse the allies and enemies shall soon break apart. Darks were close. Always...

Stable information gathering secured work, protection, and secrets. Leaked information, rumors, or facts Outside did not make sense for a good reason, for they didn't matter to the Academy, whose Walkers made strong impressions. When ordered, however. They made a name for themselves and did fantastic jobs for what the Academy stood for.

Very few dared to name it some frauds. William doubted there was some validity in them simply because this age wasn't so simple for some organizations to grow and be like idiots without some real spine.

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But in the Federation, things were different for much more obvious reasons, since it was close and open. It had more Walkers than Outside and held onto what was proper and real much better than the Academy, which didn't even have any real open recruitments, let alone some tests. They did, but Outside didn't need to know them.

William had this impression that many marvelous sights in the Academy were well beyond the Federation, even if he had almost nothing to validate such thoughts. For now, he doubted even what he knew because of Walkers and a high impression from the Federation.

Especially the heights from that helicopter changed his mind, making the first impression linger in his mind. It wasn't about the basis of incredibly strong Walkers that could fight against Hordes of Darks or crazy monsters. It was about the massage, stability, and reality. Wars and their efforts were more about toughness than Ranks. Walkers had them for a reason, and Rank 1 was better than Rank 2.

That was common sense, but humanity had no such things. They had hopes and lives instead.

Darks were the same, following the common discreet system of dangers, hazard levels, System matters, and Ranks imposed by the Walkers to prove their base risks. That involved a lot of rules, opinions, Dark Aspects, or the Darks themselves. It had wide-scale associations and rules that even Outside knew about.

It went without surprise because, at some point, there was no Federation or Academy, yet Darks were always around. People made sense of what was stronger and weaker, and there was always something below that was very clear, or very dreadful. Some of that was hard to imagine and put into words, thus some criticism and methods were better taken into account.

Numbers were easy to comprehend, some considered. People were people; William always knew that, and Walkers weren't really people.

There were no hidden meanings in this hideous clash of Walkers and Darks. Sure, there was this lingering grand System that Walkers followed or hated with a passion, but William had yet to know what was so great or annoying about it. He heard its tone and watched it a few times. He believed so, at least. Without Rank 1, which was allegedly required for it, he always doubted himself.

Seeing was knowing, and he watched a lot of people around the street, so William walked inside the library. Greeted by the incredible tall ceiling, he glanced up for a few moments, before looking around for Ellie.

“Where could she be?” He wondered and mumbled when he didn't see her.

He looked and waited until a youth from yesterday, who accompanied Burton, emerged from the offices. He didn't notice William straight away, thanks to the massive change in his appearance. Still, he glanced around and did a job that Ellie would do under normal circumstances. Frankly, she won't do it ever again, which wasn't something that William thought about at all. Her colleagues didn't either, for most of them had no idea about her change and what Burton or Heidi planned about.

William recognized the guy who got scared by Burton and did the most clever thing he could. He asked him about her directly and wasn't even aware that this youth couldn't even recognize him.

“Excuse me. Hello, I was here yesterday.” William greeted the youth named Rob, who looked at him as if he was half-sure William was the person he should know or not.

“I... think I know you. Can I help you with something?” Rob asked in a hesitant tone, trying to discern that rough boy in William from yesterday. The difference was rather glaring.

“Where is Ellie? She is supposed to be my guide for today, isn't she?”

“Ellie? Right, right... She arrived in the morning, if not at all. I heard she stayed overnight, so perhaps I am overthinking it. Anyway, she must be on some floor. I don't know where. She got some deal and no longer adheres to a common schedule because of something that Burton or Miss Heidi made for her.” Rob quickly changed his tone and recognized William as a proper Walker. He spoke politely and was shocked at how William changed overnight.

“You work in the same library and you are unsure?” William asked, dubious.

“Y-yea. I am sorry. This place is big. We have a hundred employees because most leaders have been quite demanding and like people.” Rob replied in embarrassment and glanced away, halting their eye contact. That didn't happen yesterday.

“Oh, alright. Shame. I will look for her myself. Have a good one, ” William waved at him and walked toward the stairs, leaving Rob behind.

Taking a few glances at the first floor, William thought he would recognize Ellie from afar, but he couldn't see anyone resembling her. From yesterday, he thought he glimpsed at her enough for this to be easy. He didn't think too much.

So, he moved towards the next floor to no avail, then the third. It was a failure of his role or lacking experience that failed him. Perhaps she changed outfits as well? How come? Her uniform might be similar to other workers, but her face and hair were impossible to... well, not overlook.

If anything, William thought he had sharp eyes and enough brain to recognize her.

“She would not change her clothes, I hope.” With unfortunate failures back to back, William moved beyond the cultural floor, thinking that this place gave him enough things yesterday. He got some old item out of there, and it described some interesting matters, as well as someone very weird and mad.

Ascending the stairs, there she was, sitting in the hallway beside the Museum.

Unsure at first, William approached her before speaking. “Hey, hello, Ellie. Earth is calling?” He waved at her up close, though she was way too busy reading something to hear his steps.

She had the same attire from yesterday, but her hair had a red ribbon to make a ponytail. She looked quite busy and her eyes were focused as if she played chess. She sat at a small table and read some documents without blinking. Her eyes were jumping in focus and intensity.

Then, she looked at him and couldn't believe her eyes.