Chapter 130: Quinn Larisch (Part 2)
Only a few hours after I returned home from the academy, I was eating dinner with my family when we got a visitor. Visitors weren’t uncommon, so neither my family nor I thought much of it. However, as I excused myself to answer the door, I quickly realized this wasn’t just any visitor.
Dressed in a suit and tie and holding a briefcase in his right hand, an Asian man smiled at me as he said I must be Quinn Larisch. I responded that I was, and he told me then that he had watched my spars earlier that day at the academy, commending me for possessing such phenomenal skills at such a young age.
Without lowering my guard, I thanked him for his praise before asking what I could do for him. Without losing his smile, the man noted that I was just like they said I was… attentive and very mature for my age. I didn’t know what to say at that point, but luckily, my mom arrived and took control of the situation. When I looked back at her as she spoke to the man, I could tell she wasn’t her usual self even though she was acting friendly. Asking the man to come in, my mother informed him that he could wait in the living room if he walked down the hall and took a right.
After the man entered the house and went in that direction, my mom’s attention shifted to me, and she told me to go to my room until she called for me. I asked her what was happening, and my mom hurriedly explained that the man waiting in the living room was from the government and that I needed to listen to her without question. That was the first time she had ever spoken to me in such a direct and blunt manner, which told me that whatever conversation was about to go down was serious.
I waited in my room for over an hour before I got a knock on the door, followed by my mother's voice asking me to join them. When I opened the door, my mom did her best to give me a brave face. But by how she spoke and her body language, it was evident that she was anxious or upset about something.
As I entered the living room, I locked eyes with the same man from before. He was seated on the couch across from my parents, and I pondered what could have been said. Glancing over at my father, he rubbed his forehead until he noticed I had arrived. Speedily morphing his expression from stress to false joy, he patted at the space next to him on the couch as he scooted over.
Only after my mother and I had taken a seat and gotten comfortable did the man formally introduce himself to me. His name was General Ryker, and he informed me that he was head of the security and strategy departments for Iasa’s military.
Even after those first few sentences, I was already beginning to understand why my parents were so tense. And that was only the beginning. Apparently, my skills and scores at the academy were some of the best the academy has ever seen. And because I had achieved those results while being enrolled in classes meant for children a few years older than myself, it only added to my remarkable resume as a student.
At some point during my junior year, the dean had made a recommendation to the military branch, informing them that they should keep an eye on me as I worked toward graduating from the academy. Supposedly, my performance in each of my classes caught the eye of the scout in attendance, who had relayed to General Ryker that I was the real deal. And so, General Ryker explained that he decided to visit himself, and luckily, it was on the day that I sparred against my instructors, including my mother.
I acknowledged what the general was saying but didn’t ask him any questions. He hadn’t gotten to his point yet.
Switching the topic on a dime, the general lifted his left leg and pulled up his pant leg, revealing a small tattoo on his ankle. The general asked me if I had ever seen one of these tattoos before, and I shook my head. He smiled and paused momentarily, praising my parents for keeping iris a secret from me for so long. My parents didn’t say anything, and as I glanced at my father, he maintained a straight face without meeting my gaze. Switching over to my mother, she grabbed my hand, flashed a shy smile, and nodded a few times as if to tell me everything would be okay. But her hand was sweaty.
General Ryker then cut straight to the point. From that day onward, he informed me that I would no longer be a student attending the academy. Instead, I will begin working under him as a government agent for both branches. He even threw in the topic of graduation, claiming that he’ll graduate me as early as tomorrow in case I desired such an accomplishment, which I honestly didn’t care about.
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The general didn’t need to say it aloud. How it was addressed made it clear that I could not refuse this development.
I waited a few seconds before giving the general a nod. He then picked up the briefcase and placed it on the table between us. He informed me and my family then that to become an agent, I must awaken the life energy of iris within me. Opening the briefcase, a small crystal shard that I could cradle inside the palm of my hand came into view. It was beautiful, bright but not blinding, and there was this… presence to it, and it was weirdly difficult to drag my eyes away from it.
The general clarified that all government agents must absorb at least one iris shard before being inducted and that my parents would explain how iris worked after he left.
Following that up, General Ryker showed me his tattoo again and said that once I absorb the shard and awaken my iris, a tattoo like this will appear somewhere on my body, which means the awakening has been completed. Additionally, the general emphasized that there was no possible way he could know the power and abilities that the shard between us contained. The process will be completed only after I absorb the shard, awaken my iris, and inherit the shard's unique ability. Only then could the general could inform me of my powers.
Furthermore, the general’s last request was that I awaken my iris within his field of view, just in case something went wrong. Hearing that, alarm bells went off, and I asked a question for the first time since I entered the conversation. I asked if this awakening process that he was about to have me undergo was safe and that my life was not at risk, to which he replied that with him there, nothing would go wrong.
I obviously couldn’t put all my trust in the guy; I had just met him, but once again, I didn’t have a choice. One way or another, I would eventually be forced to undergo the awakening process and become a government agent, so I thought I might as well get the awakening over with. Noticing I had gone quiet, the general shifted his focus to my parents and advised that it was best if I awakened my iris in an area with a lot of space. My mother, much more anxious now than before, stuttered out a reply, informing the general that the backyard should work fine.
The general nodded, closed the briefcase, grabbed its handle, and stood up as he politely asked my mom to show him the way. Giving my hand a squeeze, she rose before guiding the general out of the room, leaving just my father and me. Without looking at my dad, I asked him if he believed I should do this. There was silence for a few seconds before he replied that this was something I had to do.
I nodded, and we both popped up from the couch a few seconds later to join the others. Stepping outside, crickets chirped in the background as the smell of dusk filled the air. Even at this late hour, most of the backyard remained illuminated by the lights coming from the house.
I first saw the general out in the middle of the yard, crouched beside the briefcase, which was open on the ground. I then noticed my mom standing off to the side, and she waved me over as we made eye contact.
As I approached her, she gave me a hug. She wasn’t emotional; she’d never been that kind of person, but that was probably the most heartfelt hug I’ve ever received. She then pulled me away and asked me if I was ready to do this, and I smirked before replying that I was born ready. She smiled, but her smile was overshadowed by a far more serious tone as she told me that I would go on to achieve many great things and that I must never lose sight of who I was or where I came from.
I promised her I wouldn’t, and she gave me another hug, this one much longer than the first.
After some time, the general’s voice ended our embrace as he approached and asked the same question my mom had just asked.
I turned to him and gave him the same answer, making my mom chuckle before proudly saying, “That’s my son!”
My dad then cleared his throat and corrected her, “Our.”
My father glanced over at his wife with a smile full of pride. “That’s our son.”
After giving my dad a smile, he gave me a pat on the back as he said, “Now go on.”
Separating myself from my parents so I would stand alone, I directed my focus back to the general. I asked him another question, “There must be hundreds of capable people you could recruit, people much older and more talented than I am. So why choose me?”
“Well,” the general said, turning and taking a few steps toward the briefcase.
“I’m seeking to create a better future for this kingdom and its people. A future where we won’t have to worry about crime, war, or terrorism. Right now, the world is bleak and dangerous, and those elements have leaked into our broken country. But if I can keep looking forward… looking forward to what the future can become and the next generation who will take the reins…” the general trails off as he stops in front of the briefcase and swivels back to face me with a grin.
“The future is looking pretty damn bright, Quinn.”