HAAAAP… Alpha gasped and bolted upright on her bed. ‘No…, ‘ She thought, ‘It’s Alice now. Not… not that damn codename.’ Alice clutched her shirt, her fists trembling and her breaths ragged. Her back was full of cold sweat.
‘It’s that dream again, ‘ She clicked her tongue as she begrudgingly got out of her bed and checked her smartwatch. It was still just four AM, and she has a whole day ahead of her—she had to go to library as soon as possible and go to some ‘places’ to ‘sightsee’. The nightmare stole her sleep again. And she can’t afford to sleep again, cause maybe, juuuust maybe, she might dream of that horrifying scene again.
She strapped the watch back into her wrists. The lights of her apartment were turned on as soon as she manipulated it a bit. Her lodging was a normal apartment just enough or her. A simple single-bedroom apartment with dining room and toilet. Alice walked towards the refrigerator just outside her room with a sour face.
The dreams have haunted her for months now, the bags under her eye were proof of that. It wasn’t usually this disconcerting, but they were normally disturbing in the least.
‘Haaaaaa...,’ She sighed, right after she finished chugging a glass of water with trembling hands.
She clicked her tongue again. It’s never easy after these kinds if dreams. With both heavy steps and a heavy heart, she walked towards the bathroom. After some steps, she went inside the toilet and turned the light on.
“Why do I feel so weak…,” Alice murmured to herself. A corner of her lips rose slightly to form a wry smile. Her steps led to the front of a smudgy mirror. She untied her black hair from a ponytail, it fell to her shoulders as she studied her face. The bags in her eyes were so heavy that it could already be called luggage. Her purple eyes offered a mysterious aura but it is now dull, it didn’t have the sharpness it usually had. Tears built up in her eyes as she saw her pitiful state. But she didn’t release them, that would just be showing another sign of weakness.
Right as she thought about that, the watch on her wrist vibrated and the screen blinked as a notification came. She checked what the notification was about and formed a sly grin. She wiped away the tears that were building up. As she looked back towards the mirror, she noticed that a glint of mischief was back in her eyes. ‘The professors? The Hounds? The Elites? What about them? I’ll just kill them all, ‘she grinned.
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In a great distance away, a storm is brewing. The Elders have arranged a meeting and every magician felt the heavy fluctuations in the Ether.
They have agreed to meet in the ‘Meeting Place’. A place designed to contain and dampen the powers of all of these Elders so as to not create another magical disaster. The amount of power that the seven Elders had were almost creating a literal storm in their meeting place. An intense aura of awe, along with lung-crushing intimidation splashed across the Guards protecting the place.
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
The ‘Meeting Place’ is a top of line building from the most skilled magical architects. It was a dome shaped area with a circle in the center and seven podiums around it, each with different colors and each for different Elders.
“Ignis,” A white robed Elder called a red robed one, “Why have you gathered us all? This has to be something of great importance to call upon all of the Elders.”
The other Elders visibly nodded to their question.
“Do not worry, Michael, “ Ignis looked towards the white robed Elder, Michael, and said haughtily ”I do have something of great importance to say.”
“Then state your business. Do not beat around the bush, Ignis. “ Another Elder, a black robed one this time, reprimanded Ignis, “We all have our own matters to direct our attention towards.
“Then so be it, “Ignis’ face visibly darkened and his voice became rather grave, “I bring grave news to all of you. Science, as we all know it, is rapidly progressing, slowly but steadily reaching singularity.”
Ignis paused and looked towards the other Elders, they merely nodded and Ignis continued.
“We do not necessarily object to this, rather, their discoveries might even help us with our own goals. Science has given us better understanding of the world and, though indirectly, of magic. However, the government and especially Helios Tech. has been found colluding with powerful mages of unknown origins.”
At this moment, everyone in the room was surprised, but not by much. All of them had already predicted that this would happen, in fact, it had already happened once some 10 years ago.
They also knew what Helios Tech. was, it was the world’s leading manufacturer of Smartwatches and Nano processors. Or at least that’s the cover story.
“They have created a ‘Mana Inhibitory Field’ as they call it, “ Ignis continued, “It disrupts the flow of mana while allowing Ether to pass through normally. My insider had reported that it was still at the creation procedure but we can’t rule out the possibility of being double crossed or some planted information.”
“They have been experimenting with humans and mages alike. If this project or partnership is continued, the incident of 10 years ago can and will repeat itself. With technology very much ahead than 10 years ago, more mages and civilians will be affected by this. We need to stop this at all costs. If they set up MIF’s everywhere, we would essentially be weak and useless. Perfect for capturing and allowing experiments to be done to us, which will further advance their goals, repeating a vicious cycle.”
The Elders were now deep in their own thoughts, thinking of strategies and solutions to their new predicament.
A blue robed elder shifted in her place, the robe wasn’t enough to hide her alluring figure. “When did you get this information? Can your informant help us halt or slow down the development of this device?” She asked.
“Undine, my informant can at most delay the development, but it will most likely be at the cost of their life.” Ignis said with a solemn tone, “As for your other question, I got it an hour before I arranged this whole meeting.”
Undine nodded her head, satisfied at his answer. Ignis looked around to see if anyone had any more questions.
Seeing there was no other questions, Ignis clapped his hands, “Everyone," He said, "Think this through with utmost care and importance. We will hold another meeting here after five days.”
They nodded and each stepped out of their podiums and into the exits, still locked in thought.