Chapter 42

Speaking of a chance, and chance around the corner, from the cockpit area, the door shot open. Zep poked his head around a corner, unwilling to use his mic because he knew it wasn't as fun as talking and looking at what was going on.

“Oh,” he said. “Captain is showing off his Cube! Hilarious. What does it mean? Are you impressing yet another kid? I knew it!” He laughed in his strange accent, looking at the sight that surprised him.

Luke turned his head at a sudden intruder, unleashing a look that could kill. He pointed his Cube toward him, and Zep swore it looked at him much worse than Luke ever did.

“Alright. Alright. The Captain is always right.” Zep surrounded with his hands. “I didn't want to speak with the mic. There is something... urgent. No Darks in sight for the Cube to rise. We have stable time and hours ahead. That is all. You can keep the entertainment running. Have fun. Don't forget to do a backflip.” Zep saluted before chuckling back to his cockpit, where most of the team rested.

William saw a little bit of its area, which had around a dozen much better seats before a large clear cockpit.

“What a lad, this Zep,” Luke mumbled and clutched his Cube before it would do anything bad. “He never learns.”

“Where is he from? Europe? Some tribe up in the east?” William asked since the opportunity came by itself.

“Honestly, I am not even sure myself. Knowing would mean there are more people like him somewhere in the wild. What a nightmare.” Luke shrugged his shoulders and handled his Cube with care. Waves calmed and Cube dimmed. Then, Emblem started to breathe again and the cycle stayed where it started. “As you can see, stability and control over my Cycles is important when handling Arcalyst. It empowers where it flows. I don't want my Cube too dense. It would mean less Arcana in my body and over it as well. A good ratio is important.”

William was speechless.

It flows... like a life, falling from that robust-looking cube, that disintegrated to those particles as well.

“Anyway, Arcalyst is a special power that is an important start of a whole different Emblem game, which touches upon the System as well. You will much better learn it yourself at the due date since yours could differ from mine like the moon and sun. Your Molds might be close to others or near the same, while Skills sets everything apart. Emblems do that... well, as long as you are good Elementalists, or your Vector Type is compatible, and your control is good. Not Arcalyst, I mean. That stuff is for those at Rank 4 and above most of the time.”

“That means I will have a completely different Arcalyst than you?” William asked just to be sure.

“Yes. Since the beginning of this whole mess and destruction throughout the continents, many effects of Arcalysts have been recorded across many organizations and Walkers alike. Scientists like Anna are making sense of them, exploring them and their senses. It is complicated, so I won't bother you with that, unless.. she does?”

Anna was far too busy drawing. She even mumbled something under her nose and William took a seat somewhere else to not bother her.

At least she no longer fawned over his Emblem, “You know, mister Luke?” William asked.

“What?”

“You could be a good teacher yourself. You know a lot of stuff.”

Luke began to laugh as if he was mad, slapping his thighs and even his Cube seemed to quiver and shiver, increasing in cycles and breaths.

“Damn! I hope Zep did not hear this. He will never let this down.” He muttered, wiping tears from his eyes.

William observed Luke and Cube alike, both looking emotional and connected. He wondered how it flowed, what they could do, and make. His imagination rose and wonders spread into a wide spectrum of ideas.

Is it... normal? Is he like me, or am I like him? Is Arcalyst something I mismanaged, or completely overlooked? What if all Walkers are like... this, and I've never watched something abnormal? No... that can't be. I am different and Walkers are the same. That azure color and flow are different. But again... what is under my gloss? What is even an Emblem?

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William knew that those whipping aftereffects of his outbursts were like shadows and bare breaths of what was under that glossy finish. He didn't learn it from someone but took it as his opinion.

Far too many times he felt it moving and whispering noises and voices followed it. His crimson was... weird, lively, and loud. Was there something simple hiding behind it? These Arcalysts sounded and looked very impressive, so it was likely Luke was feeling many things but in different waves or noises than he would ever do. Or he had something William couldn't imagine just yet.

William recognized its difficulty. Many clues suggested special circumstances where his Emblem awakened as Rank 0. Luke said it himself, while William hadn't seen its importance. And Luke was far ahead at Ranks, which meant greater quality and control, followed by a much broader and stronger Emblem and awareness.

It is like leashing a dog.

That was a quote William heard from some passing Walkers or comments made by multiple people. It sounded like bizarre assurance and wording, though... even a leashed dog could bite, so he believed it.

What made more sense to him? From the looks of it, and his time Outside and around young Walkers like him, it appeared his Emblem was naturally more active when leashed, caged, and limited at the same time. Somewhat. Not always, obvious by some outbursts and flickering noises and Emblem itself.

Gueses that William couldn't understand would soon clear up. What if other children like him were hiding something? What if their Emblems were often clearer to see than his, or they were even more active? Perhaps they weren't feeling anything strange like him, or they did.

Even then, there were exceptions in guesses, and some youngsters could be quite unstable. William wasn't that, he believed. Those walls, Miss Anderson, and Luke would disagree, but not as if it was a bad thing. Something always started it, and William had almost no bad feelings about it besides healthy curiosity and personal pain that...well, that was problematic in itself. Many Emblems were hidden under clothes and unique circumstances like pain and emotions. Hiding them made them calmer, or so some believed.

William would disagree. The noises and spreading heat and... other things were always near when his Emblem wobbled. Clothes or not, it always felt touching, listening, and flowing.

William felt he had very few surprises left because Luke gave him plenty of them today.

The way Luke moved and worked with that Cube gave William almost no idea about controlling his Emblem. Perhaps it was difficult, or control was subjective. For now, he never even thought of controlling something like his insanity, though stopping it was still possible. Or necessary. It preferred acts on its own, so perhaps this Arcalyst was the same and not that different from that.

For a soldier and a Walker, one should need to retain some sense of self and reason, and not end up as a complete stoner in the shape of nightmare and death. Walkers were strangers, after all, walking between life and death at every moment when they fought Darks or tried to push some boundaries wide, or closer.

“Is it that bad to be a teacher?” William asked just to be sure if there was something wrong with the way he spoke.

“No. No. No. I would be the most hilarious teacher there ever was,” Luke chuckled once more before calming down. “I won't forget this. This teaching... Many would say it out of boredom because telling is different than showing. It is tough, isn't it? Outside, I mean. I've spent and seen plenty of things out there. Not in the camps. That isn't under my jurisdiction for a couple of years. ”

William nodded and believed that Luke's work must be rich and that he wasn't some fool who knew nothing about Outside.

“Anyway, let's stop with this. I am serious. William, I hope this conversation will prove to be helpful for your future. Who knows, maybe you will get to know me better one day. At that time, I will be your superior so be nice. For now, I am your greater superior and like a god above your head!” Luke walked forward and shook William's head once more. Then, he let the Cube enter his hand, and tides of waves flew back to this Emblem. Then, he pulled his uniform and jacket back in place, hiding the glow. All of this took a couple of seconds.

William still had many questions left, but no complaints. His reasonings were sensible and it was true that there were numerous better people to speak to and learn things from than Luke. Anna was one of them, but William didn't know this, nor did he know that Luke was terrible at it.

The unknown was nauseous, filling his mind with a lot of things. Darks were like that too. The world was their nest and everything else was a prey. Walkers had a certain depth to them and Arcalysts were just one part of the iceberg that could be upfront, closer to the surface, or hidden very deep.

William kept touching his Emblem and wondered about this Walker before him.

It seems Luke is a pure Elementalist filled with Arcana, isn't he? No flame... or... was that something to do with wind or water? There didn't seem to be any Vectors, I think. Do I know it for sure? Should I guess? That Arcalyst felt different from some weapons, Molds, and so on. Elementalists do that, or not? Do Elementalists have their Arcalyst the same as Vector Type? How about Mutants?

William deducted some facts from his eyes and mind, trying to remember if he had seen some Arcalysts in the past. It was possible. If they were common above Rank 4, it was likely he had seen many of them because lower Rank Walkers weren't common around the camps.

Obvious Walkers he had seen were fighting, thus their weapons and choices of Molds were most prominent, while Arcalyst wasn't a Mold, or could they be that? It was still energy. Arcana.

Arcalyst was a genuine expression of an Emblem and had quite a high level of control and management. Calling it a killing move was a great way to describe them, while many Walkers had them as a trump card, priority, or like a secret Skill that might be heavy on the user, or dangerous.