Eye on the Horizon
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Dmitri Romanov's hands clasped behind his back as he stood before the panoramic window of his 88th-floor penthouse, overlooking the cityscape of Alchymia. He laughed bitterly as he met the gaze of the eldritch eye floating ominously in the afternoon sky.
"Ares Van Nassau," he snarled. "Always watching, always judging, much like this damn predicament he's forced me to endure."
The "predicament" being his current, less than ideal, sleeping arrangement. A colossal, ever-present eye in the sky, seemingly watching, scrutinising, analysing every move he made – a not-so-subtle reminder from the Alchymian Chief Minister that their time was running out.
"Million-dollar view, you say?" Dmitri muttered to himself. "More like a front-row seat to my impending failure, isn’t it?”
Professor Indigo Crane, the Council's esteemed Head of Research, continued to burn daylight analysing the blood of the arrogant knight. Their mission: to crack the genetic code and create a biometric signature that could trace the origins of the purple smoke and its monstrous progenitor, the Eye.
Crane's argument was that they were connected, both originating from some nightmarish dimension. As such, the Council had gambled heavily on this volatile knight, even fabricating a false reality where he remained blissfully unaware of the Eye's existence.
And it must stay this way.
Should the knight discover the truth and somehow return home, the Council's covert interdimensional research could be jeopardised, quite possibly vanishing in a puff of smoke.
Meanwhile, Dmitri was left to deal with the consequences of his own reckless decision. The public panic had reached a new high, threatening to drown the city in utter chaos. The pressure from his superiors, especially the ever-watchful Ares Van Nassau, was suffocating. It was Dmitri's own hubris, his butchered attempt to destroy the Eye, that had unleashed this ancient force upon them.
Another black stain on his leadership. Just as Ares had planned, the ruthless snake had exploited this situation to the fullest. Dmitri was well aware that Ares had been grooming his second eldest son, Adrian Van Nassau, for Dmitri’s position. He could not afford any more mistakes.
Dread filled him as the Eye’s gaze darted towards him. Unable to bear the scrutiny any longer, Dmitri turned away sharply. With a roar of frustration, he slammed his fist into his mahogany desk, splitting it in two and sending his laptop crashing to the floor amidst a pile of false reports of purple smoke sightings.
"Damn you Ares!" he grunted.
Suddenly, the door burst open, revealing a dishevelled Lukas Schmidt.
"Chief Advisor!" Lukas gasped, "we have a developing situation!"
"Report," Dmitri commanded impatiently.
Lukas's eyes darted nervously between the wreckage of the desk and Dmitri's grim expression. With a firm nod, he snatched the remote control from the tea table and flicked on a holographic screen. He fumbled with the channel before settling on a National News broadcast.
“—near Blackwood's latest residential development," the news anchor announced. "We go live to our correspondent on the scene."
The scene cut to a construction site, where a bearded man in a stained vest slurred his words into the microphone, "Yeah, mate, first I thought it was some sorta, uh, purple chemical spill, right? But then it started swirling and swirling and…, like, whooshing around, like it was alive or something..."
After a few more breathless eyewitness accounts, the news shifted to a packed press conference. Thomas Blackwood, the embattled senatorial candidate, stood at the podium, facing a barrage of questions from reporters.
"Sir Blackwood, can you confirm or deny your alleged involvement with the purple smoke monster, just like your daughter?" asked a reporter.
"Sir, rumours are circulating about your potential connection to the disappearance of four of your daughter's friends. Would you care to comment?"
"Given the recent discovery on your development site, how do you feel about your chances in the upcoming election?" a third reporter questioned.
Thomas raised a hand to silence the crowd. "If the purple smoke has indeed been sighted on my property," he declared, "then it is my duty as a responsible citizen to investigate and ensure the safety of our community. But more importantly, the safety of my daughter's friends who have gone missing. This is not a time for baseless speculation and political gamesmanship. It is a time for decisive action."
Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.
Lukas switched off the screen, turning to Dmitri, whose scar seemed to throb in time with his fury.
The Chief Advisor sank into his armchair, his fingers stroking his neatly trimmed beard. "Did Blackwood request the Council's assistance?" he asked calmly.
“Yes, sir. I just received a call from his secretary. He requested... our field operatives."
"Well-played, Blackwood," Dmitri chuckled dryly. "A public declaration of a personal investigation. Not a request, but a calculated move to back the Council into a corner. Tell me, Lukas, how are the betting markets responding?"
Lukas consulted his phone. "His popularity has plummeted, sir. The conspiracy theorists are having a field day. Wild accusations, speculation…” He scrolled further, his expression growing more troubled.
"The senate race is trending higher than the latest superhero blockbuster. The betting odds are shifting with every breath Blackwood takes. He's become a media sensation, though a deeply polarising one."
Dmitri leaned back in his chair, steepling his fingers. "If the smoke monster truly is his ally, as Adrian suspects, why the sudden eagerness to catch it? And why allow the news to leak at all? Unless... there's a far more intricate game afoot."
"Your orders, sir?"
"Assemble a team of our most seasoned agents, Lukas. And prepare yourself as well. You will accompany Thomas Blackwood on this... Smoke Monster expedition." The Chief Advisor’s voice dipped. "Let's hope this isn't merely a display of smoke and mirrors."
"Yes, sir!" Lukas bowed crisply and quickly exited, leaving Dmitri alone in the harshly lit room, the unsettling Eye seeming to watch his every move.
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Meanwhile, even St. Kevin’s wasn't immune to its own brand of high-stakes negotiations. Eydis, the Queen of Shadows, was currently locked in a battle of wills with the formidable duo known as Cleo and Anthony.
"Oh sweetie!"
Eydis found herself smothered in their embraces, her hands clenched involuntarily, fighting the urge to telekinetically fling them into the stratosphere—or perhaps, simply muting their voices. Forever would be ideal.
Goosebumps erupted on her skin as they wailed in her ears. Seriously, did someone announce her reincarnation?
After an aeon had passed, Cleo and Anthony finally released their death grips on the very much irritated Queen's shoulders.
Cleo’s voice wobbled. “You've snubbed our invitations to come home for three whole years... We’ve missed you so much!" And to punctuate this heartfelt sentiment, she delivered a hearty slap to the Eydis’s royal behind.
Her fingers twitched, dark static pulsing through them.
‘Deep breaths, Your Majesty. Remember the plan,’ Envy teased.
‘Woof, woof!’ Cerberus agreed.
Oblivious to the Queen’s mental debate, Anthony placed a large hand on her shoulder. “We were freaking out about you putting off that doctor's visit. Thank god you're finally prioritising your health, kiddo.”
Eydis sighed, ”Relax, work’s been intense lately. No time for anything else, unfortunately."
If she made it back to her realm in one piece, her first order of business would be to obliterate those "gods" everyone kept worshipping. Perhaps she'd start with The Sacred Order of the Silver-Obsessed and Stoically Serious (a name she totally didn't just make up), then Damien, then the Sa—
A sudden pang in her chest interrupted her vengeful musings. How curious... Eydis blinked, taken aback.
What was this emotion?
Anyway, this Plan B was already shaping up to be a cringe-fest. Which was precisely why it was a Plan B to begin with. She contemplated the horror of enduring her parents’ antics for the entirety of the four-hour drive back to Alchymia City.
Four hours. In a confined space. With them.
‘Oh mon Dieu!’ she groaned silently, channelling Colette.
Why so long, you ask? Traffic, the bane of modern existence. Sure, St. Kevin’s wasn't exactly on the other side of the globe from the city centre, but as you approached civilisation, a 5km journey could morph into a time-bending odyssey, complete with a honking soundtrack and curses that would make the saltiest orge weep.
Or so Natalia had informed her.
Cleo and Anthony resided in one of those concrete hives in the city. Anthony was a "tradie” (translation: construction worker), who was involved in the city's never-ending roadwork projects, while Cleo was an accountant who mainly "worked from home," whatever that meant.
Ever since that little "incident" with Tiffany (ah, memories), the Blackwoods had been footing the bill for Eydis's medical checkups, hoping to avoid any legal unpleasantness. But since the girl was a minor, the charges, if any, would be the equivalent of a parking ticket.
So, Cleo and Anthony reluctantly accepted their funding for Eydis's perpetually postponed checkups.
You see, she was simply far too busy to waste her precious weekends in the city, as St. Kevin’s was a veritable magnet for her Sins. But not anymore. There was a gala to crash, and since Theo had the audacity to feign obliviousness, she'd simply have to take matters into her own capable hands.
As requested, her parents had secured a 1.5-day leave from school for her doctor's appointment, giving her the perfect alibi to fully exploit her weekend in Alchymia city centre to her advantage.
"Dr. Le Bleu is amazing," Anthony said, opening the car door for her. "We scheduled a 10:00 AM appointment with her tomorrow. She isn't just any medical doctor."
"But a Gifted doctor!" Cleo clapped her hands together, hopping into the front seat. "The school doctor is nothing compared to her. As much as I despise those Blackwoods, I have to admit they pulled some strings to get you the best of the best, sweetie."
Eydis smirked, glancing at her phone screen, where an open tab revealed the impressive credentials of Dr. Melissa Le Bleu. Renowned, Elite, and ‘gifted’ with healing powers.
The Queen had handpicked her for this very reason. ‘Melissa Le Bleu, you're about to become my unwitting accomplice.’
As their white electric car merged onto the freeway, Cleo exclaimed, "Ha! Classic!"
Eydis looked up from her phone, her smile evaporating as Cleo enthusiastically tapped the car's touchscreen. The speakers immediately blared with the most cringe-inducing love song one could find... ever... in any realm.
Eydis's internal eye roll was so powerful, it zapped the two daydreaming familiars in her mindscape back to reality, unwilling participants in this auditory torture.
‘If only I could teleport, if only Sloth were with me,’ she mentally pleaded.
Envy hissed, ‘Your Majesty, I'm starting to think Plan B was the optimistic one. Any chance we can rewind and try Plan A again?’ Cerberus let out a mournful howl in agreement.
Eydis massaged her temples, already feeling a headache brewing.
This was going to be a long, looooong ride.