Kept secret by an ancient Clan, under the orders of someone they knew as a saviour. A boon, perhaps? This Eihk-Huellastar had many secrets. And from what I’m beginning to understand of their earliest histories, more than one God.

-From Professor Shokolov’s Journal, 4th Entry

AxEl clicked his tongue, getting the attention of Nook. “Is everything alright?” his friend asked.

“Yeah. I have to go,” AxEl replied. Nook asked several times after that, but AxEl kept making excuses until he was finally out of sight of his friend. He took out his phone again and sent a reply back.

It’d be better not to anger the man any more than he would presumably be once he found out that AxEl hadn’t made a single piece off of the Firewire. The alternative was much worse, so he did as the text said and began the path to the hardware store.

The Burnbark trees were especially bright today, their luminescence mesmerizing. Yet his legs grew jittery with each step. He didn’t dare ride to the location, for fear of being caught out so late at night. And though he was embarrassed to admit it, a tiny part of him did fear that his bicycle would be taken as a form of compensation.

When he came upon the darkened alley, he half-hoped that no one was in there. Perhaps Kel would forget to meet him and give him another day to earn back the debt.

There was no such luck for him, however, as he saw the man there, standing with someone AxEl didn’t know. Kel himself wore that golden ring that he always carried as a symbol, along with a confident smile as he met AxEl’s gaze.

Kel stretched his legs and sighed in an extravagant manner. He sauntered over to AxEl’s location, forcing him to step in front.

“Hello there, AxEl. How are you doing?” he asked, easygoing.

“’s fine, Kel…” AxEl half muttered back. Kel nodded in acknowledgement.

“Me and the supplier over there were just having a chat about how much trust matters. You’d understand that, right?”

“Yeah, Kel…Trust’s important after all,” AxEl replied, giving the man what he wanted to hear. Though now that AxEl took a look at that supplier Kel was referring to, he saw that the man was portly. It got the mind of the young AxEl working on outlandish ideas. He was knocked out of his stupor from a snap of Kel’s fingers.

“It’s good that you understand, kid. The whole business would be compromised if someone were to spill, after all. That would make some people very angry,” Kel stated.

“You keep saying that, Kel. I understand, alright?” AxEl said back. Kel was a bit shocked by the sudden confidence, but the glint in his eyes didn’t look disapproving.

“Just making sure. Now onto the topic of business,” Kel said and held out a hand. This was the part that he had been dreading ever since he had received that message. AxEl pulled out his wallet, and the meager allowance within before handing it over.

He hoped that it would be enough to convince the man, but after looking up, he saw only confusion on Kel’s face.

“AxEl….What is this?” he asked simply. AxEl stuttered a bit before replying.

“I c-couldn’t get any more than that. Sorry, Kel, but I swear! I’ll make it up to you next month!” AxEl argued. Kel didn’t seem to listen, simply stalking over to the teenager. He was one of the only people with the height to match AxEl, so it struck even more fear into his heart.

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Then a simple smile broke across the man’s face. “Ah, whatever. I can wait another month. It’s alright, kiddo,” he said.

AxEl almost breathed a real sigh of relief. Audibly, even. But he held back on it until he was sure that he was away from Kel. “Just text me that next time so I don’t waste my time waiting for you. Alright, AxEl? Now go on, it’s past your bed time or something,” He said, scratching the scruff on his chin.

“Y-yeah, Kel. You won’t regret this!” AxEl replied before turning to walk away. He was stopped in his step a moment later when an unbearably hot hand covered his shoulder. AxEl winced as the heat started spreading through his body, but had enough self-control to look backwards.

Kel was still standing there, but his eyes had taken on an ashy colour. Shifting greys within his iris and sclera gave him an inhuman look. “Oh, I won’t, kiddo,” he said, with the same confident grin he always wore. He then let go as soon as he had grabbed, causing the hot sensation to fade over time from AxEl’s shoulder.

AxEl left a bit quicker after that. His feet carried him to where his bicycle was parked and it did most of the work for him in getting back. AxEl went to lock up his bike along a stand, but the shiny metal reminded him of those same ashy eyes he had seen. That was a real Magic Bullet, the supernatural substances he was carrying on him at the moment.

AxEl walked through the door to his house, wincing at the fact that the lights were still on. That could only mean that his mother had decided not to go to sleep. Walking past the kitchen, he entered the living room and found her reading the first few pages of a book. She had her glasses on and looked to be calm. Despite how tall AxEl was, his mother FenEl was actually quite a petite woman, with lightly wrinkled skin. You wouldn’t notice it unless you looked at just about the right angle.

“Hi, mom…” AxEl said. Maybe she’d approve of him initiating conversation? Though she didn’t reply, she pointed a finger to the seat across from her and closed the book around her lap.

“AxEl. Why are you late?” she asked in a matter-of-fact tone. He hadn’t thought of a good reply, his mind still reeling from his earlier confrontation.

“I was…busy with Nook is all. Just playing. We lost track of time, I guess?” He reasoned. Her eyes bared down on him with a glare unbelieving.

“And yet when I called him, he said that you’d both disbanded an hour or so ago,” she said. She tapped her glasses against the book, waiting for an answer.

“I might have forgotten where I’d parked my bicycle. Sorry about that…” He said with his most convincing frown. His mother kept her eyes on him for a moment, before finally putting her glasses down and speaking.

“If that’s all it was, then I’m glad. But don’t scare me like that AxEl. You should have at least called me!” she asked. AxEl was relieved to find some of the tension in the room had been alleviated, though he still had to deal with his mother’s demands.

“But it was just an hour!” he argued.

“An hour where you could have been kidnapped, robbed or something worse. No compromises, AxEl. When you’re outside, you call. Simple as that,” she said with a finality in her tone. Then she finally let her shoulders relax and sat back on the couch.

AxEl hadn’t noticed, but she must have been pretty tense. If she really was reading the book, she’d be past the first pages by now, wouldn’t she? A little piece chimed in his mind.

“How about I massage your shoulders. As an apology?” AxEl offered. His mother pondered for a moment.

“That doesn’t sound too awful, actually. I’d be delighted.” AxEl hoped that it would be enough to actually make her forget his utterly tactless actions of staying out an entire hour late.

After his mother had fallen asleep at the couch, AxEl brought over a blanket and covered her with it. He knew more than most how much she deserved the rest. Finishing that, he went over to her purse and opened it up. A hidden pocket in his clothing revealed the roll of bills that he had hidden from Kel.

He straightened them out and placed them within the purse, before closing it and stuffing it back where it belonged. His tasks done for the day, he decided to catch up on some television. It was horribly late at night, but tomorrow would be a day off that he could use to recuperate and replan.

He turned the television on and saw the channel fizz into existence. On it, a reporter relayed the news.

“And considering the rampant increase in Airwaves trade, HuedoLupan is in dire straits. The trade has spread across from the north west of the country to the other regions, and several criminals have been found abusing the product to their own ends. Addi-“

AxEl didn’t wait for the anchor to finish. He turned off the television angrily, pressing against the button a lot harder than needed. Then, he finally decided to end his day.