> April 3077. 07:45.
The agent in the SEU’s blue-and-gold uniform drove a hoverbike around the vicinity of the new portal that had opened—which was now closing rapidly due to its lack of stability in the Realm. She stayed just far away enough to keep a steady eye on the area outside the perimeter but not too far away to raise suspicions from the portal team. Zei made a call after the fifth lap.
“Hello, Raimsaer Eramun. This is Damao calling in. I haven’t spotted any life forms around the portal. It appears we’ve come at least an hour after its arrival, if it even came at all.”
There was silence over the call, then a crackly sigh. “I see. I need you to return to the portal site before the SEU begins to suspect anything,” said Eramun’s tired voice on the other end of the line.
Damao hesitated, then added, “I did, however, spot a personal vehicle leaving the nearest island. While I doubt it has anything to do with the life form, I wouldn’t totally clear it of any association. I couldn’t see the license plate, but it appeared to be a scarlet Fretera.”
“I see. My order still stands. I will handle the rest of this. Hanging up, now,” Eramun replied. The call ended with a light, bubbly sound.
Eramun stood on a small, barren island when zei ended the call. The island was just far away enough from the portal site that zei couldn’t be spotted. However, zei could still overlook a view of the blue and gold SEU vehicles in their circular formation around the presumed portal and their owners, the SEU personnel in blue uniforms. Zei could see them bloated in huir mechanical vision thanks to the enhancement on the top half of huir face. Zei had replaced the bandages zei wore in the presence of the Iminon with several purple holographic rings orbiting slowly around huir head. Gold symbols, each within their rectangular boxes and with meanings only zei knew, covered the surface of each ring. The Sight Seals, zei called the symbols. They looked like squiggles or decontextualized images to an untrained eye, but each served its purpose.
Zei turned huir head toward the nearest island. Zoomed huir vision further in. A scarlet car appeared to be departing the island and was well on its way back to the sky road connecting to Rokon City. Zei smiled slightly and mused dryly, “I know you arrived, otherworlder. How lucky you are someone found you before we did.”
Zei wasted no time and returned to huir black car parked not far behind en. It was already idling, and zei took off immediately in a woeful, low hum of antigravity tesselite particles dancing at dizzying speeds in their cradles on the bottom sides of the car.
Zei sped toward the sky road. Slowed down as zei merged seamlessly between the other cars. Despite being far behind the scarlet Fretara, the Sight Seal enhancing huir vision latched onto it like a hawk, tracing its outline that emitted its own faint yet distinguishable wavelength.
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Zei kept a steady distance behind the Fretara toward the gleaming city of Rokon. Kept particularly close while they passed through the security belt. Zei closed huir eyes and concentrated on suppressing huir senergetic wavelengths. Their myriad slowly dissipated, forming the iridescent aura zei could see beyond ordinary vision. Zei couldn’t afford even the slightest trace to be detected through that security belt.
The belt was exactly as its name implied—a strip of faint holographic material surrounding the island. Towers stood evenly spaced and frequently around the circumference of the belt. Occupying each one were at least two trained guards, fully clad in armored black and silver uniforms with the asymmetric Rokon star insignia. They stood by their hoverbikes, ready to jump on any chance at a chase. They would never get that chase, though, never with Eramun.
There was a flash of red light a few lanes over from Eramun. Everyone knew that flash—it was the belt’s holographic lasso that emerged at even the slightest wavelength signal, and this time, it had encased a grey car against its will. It pulled the car down and out of traffic, while the two closest guards came to meet the driver within seconds. Eramun smirked from underneath huir holographic rings as zei passed slowly but effortlessly through the belt. Zei had practiced for years to be able to do this. Zei had endured mind-shattering pain and deprivation to huir body all for the sake of the Iminon.
The scarlet Fretara led en to the Rokon Municipal Hospital. Zei parked a safe distance from it on a roof with designated parking and watched them through huir zoomed-in vision.
Huir breath caught in huir throat when zei zoomed onto the woman emerging from the driver’s seat while the otherworlder came from the passenger’s side. The driver looked all too familiar.
Zei paused. Where did I see that woman last?
Zei imagined a banquet somewhere. A long chandelier, white, gold, and crystal. A stage, a tall trophy, and an absent awardee. All zei remembered was just how proud zei was to be the only one who knew the truth about that awardee—just how anxious zei had been to enact huir revenge. And then zei remembered that the woman was standing in the crowd, watching the award ceremony in the same vicinity as that thing—that thing called Haecadien. The woman must have been no older than a teenager back then, but Eramun quickly recognized neir dimple-riddled smile, round cheeks, and protruding chin.
Eramun’s heart jumpstarted into a desperate race. The urgent desire to run for huir life flash-flooded huir entire body, coursing through huir veins, and it felt like every one of them was about to burst. Zei could feel huir control over huir wavelengths begin to waver.
Zei heard the booming voice of the Iminon inside huir head: “Control yourself.”
Before zei could panic, zei took a deep, shaky breath. “Shit,” zei whispered. “Why is that woman involved? Does that mean zei is involved, too?”
Zei fumbled with the buttons on huir car’s dashboard, hands shaking. Zei forced a laugh while huir eyes showed nothing but malice. “Well, then. I guess I can afford to bide some time. I’ll just keep a nice distance for now.”
Zei slammed the car’s antigravity lever and took off, but not before logging Sage’s data into huir band of Sight Seals.