When the snow dissipated into the summer night, Gaius found himself standing on a skyscraper overlooking the cacophony of neon lights that stretched out almost indefinitely. Sirius City was large, to say the least. And that was no surprise, since it was the capital of the richest country in the world, Surone.
“Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown. Would that his burden be shared amongst his people, even if it were merely for a brief repose.”
Gaius looked grimly at the Mage looking into the distance. Though still adorned in his impressive looking presidential robes, President Cosmo Benedictus looked wearier than usual. He turned to the boy.
“Before anything, I’d like to apologise,” Benedictus said. “I haven’t been able to find out anything substantial about this spellcraft.”
“Substantial? That means you did find out something at least, didn’t you?”
“Clever boy. Though I do hope you’re not expecting too much.” The Mage put his hands behind his back. “I managed to trace the magic back to the Angelo syndicate. Titus and Lucia Angelo, to be more specific. I’m sure you’ve already met them; Alcaeus and Elpis have been reporting to me.”
“They’re metas, aren’t they?” Gaius queried. “Metas cannot activate spellcrafts; what use is it to them?”
“You were a meta as well, weren’t you? And how did you become a magi?”
“You mean… They are trying to use the spellcraft to give metas the ability to wield arcani?”
“That is one possibility, yes.” Benedictus nodded. “Though I can’t fathom where they would have gotten the knowledge to do that in the first place. But enough about me, did you manage to find out anything about Alcaeus?”
“Other than he’s trying his best to help society, nothing,” Gaius said frankly. “The last remaining tome is not in his house; I’ve checked it thoroughly. And he claims that a magi dressed in all white took the book during his mission.”
“Nonsense.” The Mage waved his hand dismissively. “He told me that lie before too. No magi can wield magic from all classes with such proficiency, unless he draws power from reality itself like the wizard class. Which last I heard, went extinct some two hundred years ago.”
“Or like me. The magical energy that dwells within me is ancient reality magic, is it not?” The Sorcerer folded his arms. “It works on the most fundamental principle of arcani: Reality manipulation.”
“I see you have been making good use of my library, Gaius.” Benedictus chuckled, before his expression turned serious again. “It will be bad news indeed if it’s true that the spellcraft can grant metas the ability to use magic. The balance of this world will be upset beyond recovery.”
“Speaking of which, I’m beginning to think there’s a lot more to our world than what I have been told.” Gaius was glaring at him. “Our schools haven’t exactly been teaching us the true history of the world, have they? General Theodore Faustus is a lot more than a mere general, isn’t he? Why did you alter our syllabus?”
There was a dangerously long pause.
“Truly nothing gets past your incredible perception, does it? I chose right to make your acquaintance.” The President let out a short, dry laugh. “Order and chaos are natural laws of the world, my boy. I only did what I needed to preserve its delicate balance.”
“By fulfilling the General’s pact in his place and maintaining magi superiority?” Gaius’ voice was rising quickly. “Is that why despite all these years, metas have known nothing else but more and more hardship?”
“There’s always a reason as to why things settle down the way they are. To challenge it would be to risk chaos.” Benedictus remained calm despite the boy’s outburst. “Think for a moment, what would happen if metas found out that the magic we wield originated from the murder of their kind. What will metas do, after being oppressed for so many centuries, once they regain their superiority over non-metas?”
He faced Gaius, holding him by his shoulders.
“I am but a mere man, Gaius. Do you think I made these metas the way they are? Do you think I forced them to choose the lives of ruffians?” Benedictus hung his head. “I truly want meta and magis to coexist equally, but that cannot come at the price of anarchy. I gave you access to my library despite knowing that you were once a meta, didn’t I? I gave you my trust. I gave you answers. Won’t you trust me in return?”
“I…” Gaius’ expression softened. “My friend, Felix. He’s suffering because magis won’t help a meta like him. My parents; they were wrongfully executed because magis didn’t believe them just because of their race. There’s just so much injustice in this world. And I’m so powerless… to do anything about it.”
“Poor child…” Gaius felt a hand drape over him and pat his shoulder gently.
“You’re not, Sorcerer Gaius.” Benedictus was smiling warmly. “Trust me. Work with me. We’ll make this society a better place together.”
“I’ll try my best, sir.”
----------------------------------------
Light footsteps dodged around the narrow walls, gradually increasing its tempo like a horror movie soundtrack doing its best to frighten its audience. A not so lonely pedestrian walked briskly in the deserted alleyway as the threat behind her loomed closer with every second. Tears leaked down the frightened girl’s face as she broke into a jog, desperately trying to get back to civilization before the shadow caught up with her. She looked back and whimpered in fear.
Oh gods, help me please… I’ll never take this shortcut again. Please just get me out of here…
The man, or monster, was not even bothering to conceal his intentions anymore. An uncontrollable scream burst from the girl’s mouth as she began running as fast as she could. Her stalker followed suit, breaking into a sprint as well.
An explosion from behind knocked the wind out of her lungs, and the girl crashed into some nearby garbage bags. Her palms scraped against the rocky pavement as she crawled backwards, whimpering in fear and shaking her head frantically at the man. He grinned sinisterly, brandishing a set of power nullifiers. A glint of light reflected off its shiny surface as he brought them closer to her-
And he froze.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
A confused look was etched on his face while only his eyes darted around frantically in fear. The man seemed to be trying his hardest to move, but an invisible force was holding every muscle on his body in place.
“Feels good, doesn’t it; preying on the weak?” A voice echoed around the walls, dripping with malice.
The girl covered her mouth, still shaking in fear as a figure descended from above. It landed silently behind her assailant. Moonlight glanced off his Pantalone mask as the figure stepped forward slowly. A faint magenta hue was surrounding the mysterious person.
“Not so easy when they fight back, huh?” The caped vigilante swung his hand and telekinetically tossed the stalker into the wall. The crash echoed down the alleyway.
The man got back to his feet with a growl. His forearm crackled with energy as he directed another explosion at the vigilante. The masked man flicked his wrist lazily, blocking the attack with a pink psychic wall.
“That voice, that power… It’s you…” he breathed. “You’re the Rouge Phan- AAARGH!”
His excruciating scream shattered the night as his right arm snapped off at the elbow. The meta fell to his knees, clutching his mangled arm and breathing raggedly in pain.
“Try that again, and you’ll lose the other arm.” Two points of pink peeked from behind the eye holes of the mask. Felix kept his hand outstretched, pinning the man’s body against the wall with his mind. He crouched down beside the girl and put his other palm on her forehead gently. Her terrified eyes rolled back as she drifted into a dreamless sleep.
Felix turned his attention back to the meta glaring defiantly at him. He looked as though he was struggling to say something, so the psychic let go of his jaw.
And was rewarded with a bloodied spit in the face.
Felix loosened his grip slightly; he had not realised he had accidentally cracked his hostage’s ribs with his overwhelming strength. Still, it felt really good. A sadistic sense of jubilation rippled through his blood, and it felt as though it could light his power on fire. Gods, how nice it felt to have his sister’s captor trapped in the palm of his hand.
“Here’s what’s going to happen,” he whispered to the man. “You’re going to tell me where your boss is, or I am going to lobotomise you and extract that information for myself. We can do this the easy way or the hard w-”
“Go fuck yourself, traitor.”
Felix closed his eyes as a wide grin began to spread across his face. He threw his head, letting loose a maniacal laugh that rang in the night sky.
“Gods, I’ve always enjoyed the hard way.”
The meta slumped to the ground, and Felix’s hand met his face. The defiance in his eyes quickly gave way to unbridled, primal fear as the first wave of pain hit his mind.
The man thrashed around, but Felix simply tightened his grip and ignored the strangled cries. The psychic’s mind seared through every conscious thought and burned through them like a ravenous wildfire. He watched the man’s entire life flash before his eyes in seconds as he violently tore up his memories as though they were simply pieces of waste paper.
The cries were getting weaker, more desperate. But the telepath was not finished.
His power formed a blade, slicing through basic motor functions and crumbling all the pillars that made up his sentience. Cognitive abilities were shattered like pieces of glass and scattered around the devastated mind-scape of the now lobotomised man.
Felix finally let go of his victim, leaving him to spasm slightly and drool on the floor. A slight sense of pity stung his conscience. This man would be a vegetable for the rest of his life, if he was even lucky enough to regain consciousness. Perhaps he should have controlled his anger and held back-
No. A voice spoke in his mind, shaking it with every word. This scum deserved every bit of it.
Felix’s expression hardened again. The voice was right. And besides, this was no time to contemplate the moral implications of his actions. Marcia was still missing, but he had her exact location now.
Titus Angelo. Determination knitted his eyebrows. I’m coming for you-
“Julius! Oh gods… No!”
Felix turned to the source of the shriek. He cursed under his breath; the meta woman was not alone.
“You… you killed my boyfriend…” She was pointing a trembling finger at him, and her face glistened with tears under the moonlight. “He was everything I had. You… You’ll die for this!”
The Rouge Phantom tensed up his body in preparation for a fight, but a shadow behind the charging metas caught his eye.
“Eldritch… BLAST!”
Felix immediately stretched out a hand and pulled the unconscious girl to him. The enormous force hurtled through the alleyway less than a second later, blasting everything out of its way. He crossed his arms in a blocking stance, emitting a psychic shield against the powerful explosion. The bodies of the meta criminals spiralled around the pink psionic dome like leaves in a hurricane as the boy gritted his teeth in concentration.
The wind died down soon enough, and the unconscious metas dropped to the ground in their newly rearranged surroundings. The Warlock walked into the light, revealing herself.
“Kleopatra? What are you doing here?” Felix laid the girl down gently. “You gotta be more careful. You could’ve hurt both of us!”
“You’re welcome,” Kleopatra scoffed and tilted her head sideways. “Y’know, you’re not fooling anyone with that cape and halloween mask, Felix.”
“Mind your own business, lady.” Felix jerked his head away from her hand. “How did you know where to find me?”
“You may be a competent Guardian, but you make a terrible criminal.” Kleopatra smirked, crossing her arms. “Even a child would’ve figured out your frequented hotspots if he bothered to give your vigilantism a second glance. You’re lucky our constables couldn’t care less about your actions.”
“Touché, Kleo. I was merely tracking Angelo’s men. They’ve been ordered to kidnap psychic-based metas, among other petty crimes.” Felix removed his mask. “So if you would excuse me, I still have my sister to save-”
“I know. That’s why I’m coming with you.”
“I don’t need help from a magi,” the meta teenager snapped. “I can handle this myself.”
“Yes, and that’s why Titus managed to escape the last time,” Kleopatra scoffed sarcastically, ignoring the anger flaring in the boy’s eyes. “You may not trust me yet, and I have no right to force you to. But know this, Pagonis. I’m not helping you just because I’m a saint. I’m doing this to prove myself capable enough to my father, and you’re not getting in my way.”
Felix pursed his lips.
“Fine. Let’s go.”