“You made no progress again…” a gladean knight of muscular body told the little boy in front of him. The man had tanned skin and a full-grown beard, his head was bald and his eyes the azure color of every knight—he looked disappointed, but most of all, angry. “You don’t get to eat tonight, go to your room.”
“Yes, warden.” the small boy replied. He was a knight himself, undergoing training by one of the order’s wardens—hand-picked knights, or humans tasked to raise the youngest generation of gladean knights.
As the boy bowed low to excuse himself, the knight grabbed him by the head with one hand—enveloping his short black hair with his palm. “You will never be the champion if you take the same path as the others,” the bald man told him. “The champion is no ordinary knight. If you wish to be chosen, you need to be better, stronger, smarter.” he continued. “Are you better, stronger and smarter?”
“Yes, warden.” the boy replied.
The knight let go of the boy’s head—his stern eyes looking down at the infant. “You’ll continue developing your pathway throughout this month, and I will reduce your sleeping schedule from five to two hours a week, understood?”
“Yes, warden.”
Floating City of Paradise, Knight’s District: 936, April 9th, Monday, 8:00 PM.
Loki opened his eyes gently, staring into the bluish sky above him. He found himself at the bottom of what seemed to be a fairly deep fountain, the silver moon in the sky reflected itself in the crystalline water—like a guiding light that urged him towards it.
Thrusting one hand into the surface, Loki grabbed the edge of the fountain to help himself out of the depths of its waters. His unstable body stumbled around before he could plant his feet on the grassy ground—surrounded by the beautiful garden that encompassed the large fountain.
“It didn’t take you long,” Theo—who waited for him in the surface, commented.
“What are you doing here?” Loki offered a snappy response.
“I am always here, Loki. It seems like you failed in your task, King won’t be happy about the results.”
With a click of his tongue, Loki began to fix his shoulders and posture—having being healed by the waters of the fountain. “I don’t need your useless report, I know exactly what happened.”
“You couldn’t restrain The Golden Lightning, even after she was weakened... you held back.” An angry glance was the only response Theo received at his claim—prompting him to continue. “Did you perhaps… forget why you pledge loyalty to King? May I remind you of—"
A sudden tackle from the enraged knight forced Theo to the floor, slamming his back against the grassy ground. Loki had the man pinned to the dirt with his arm pressing down on his neck, huffing furiously like a bull.
“May I remind you that I could easily wipe you all out if I wanted to?” Loki threatened. “I’m not afraid of you, or King. Bring that up a second time, and you won’t see the day of light again.” the furious knight pressed at Theo’s neck one last time before pulling back—taking a last look at the knight’s unbothered face before stomping his way out. “I’ll be at Heildin, tell King I’ll be back by morning.”
North of Heildin, Near the Deadlands Southern Region: 936, April 9th, Monday, 8:00 PM.
“Ninigi!” Atalanta broke into a sprint after spotting the knight walking across the empty pasture.
The night was mostly quiet, with the chirping songs of the grass hoppers filling in the silence. The bright moonlight above illuminated the field with into a bluish atmosphere, highlighting both knight’s glimmering azure eyes.
Ninigi responded with a smile and waved as Atalanta approached, relieved to see his former student in good health. Atalanta stopped in front of him with panting breaths, looking into his eyes with a mix of amazement and confusion.
“It’s really you…”
“It’s been a while, Atalanta.” Ninigi said casually.
The blonde knight bowed deeply with her arms firm to her side. “Thank you!” she fixed her posture with a sad frown. “You saved my life again…”
Ninigi waved his hand with a carefree smile. “Don’t bow to me, you are not my student anymore, remember?”
“Ah… right.” Atalanta scratched her head.
“Here…”
She didn’t notice it at first, but in his back, Ninigi carried the glaive she dropped during her fight with the specter and the daemons. While battered in a few areas, the weapon remained functional for the most part.
“My glaive…” she took it in her hands, thanking the knight with a smile. “Thank you, Ninigi.”
“I thought you preferred swords?” he offered a playful reply—to which Atalanta scratched the back of her ear with an embarrassed expression.
“Well, I changed my mind about my training at some point… but just a little.” she said, referring to the blade she planted in what used to be a quarterstaff—transforming it into a glaive through careful crafting.
“Gigi!” the chirpy voice of a girl interrupted the pair.
They both turned their heads to look at the sprinting girl with red hair approaching them. The redhead was Gal Freire, one of Ninigi’s current students. She dragged the unconscious body of Maulik through the dirt, pulling him by the arm as she charged her way towards her master.
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“Gigi?” Atalanta raised an eyebrow.
Gal eventually arrived at the pair and lunged herself at Ninigi with a surprising jump, wrapping her arms around his neck and sliding around to cling to his back. “Gigi, I did it!” she enthusiastically said. “Are you proud?”
“Ugh…” the tight grip of her arms around his neck, caused the restrained knight to grasp for air. “Gal… my neck.”
“Oops… sorry.” she lightened her grip. “Who’s this woman?” Gal scrunched her eyebrows into a frown—causing Atalanta to flinch back at the girl’s sudden change in attitude.
“Wo—me?” she pointed at herself.
“Gal, this is Atalanta.” Ninigi said. “One of my former students, I told you about her before, remember?”
“Ah…” the redhead frowned—keeping a fixed stare on the blonde knight.
“Atalanta,” Ninigi continued. “This is Gal, my latest student.”
“Hello, Gal. It’s my plea—”
“What do you want?”
“Eh?”
“Gal…” Ninigi reproached at the redhead’s rudeness. “Sorry, Atalanta… she can get a little competitive at times.”
“Hmph,” Gal huffed. “Just because you have a cool title doesn’t make you Gigi’s best,” she claimed. “I actually have the strongest ability anyone has ever seen in a hybrid, tell her Gigi.”
“Gal…” Ninigi reproached a second time.
Forgetting the strange exchange and Gal’s competitive attitude, Ninigi picked up Maulik from the ground and carried him in his arms. As Atalanta had nowhere to go after the order’s attempt at taking her life, Ninigi proposed she join him instead—an offer the blonde knight had no reason to refuse.
The group began to walk their way back home, but Atalanta’s busy mind caused her stop suddenly as she contemplated the events that unfolded during her fight in the Deadlands.
“I… why would the order do this?” the blonde knight kept her head low in a state of disbelief. “We were supposed to…”
“I know it’s a lot to process, but you should rest for now.” Ninigi suggested. “Let’s get out of here first, I’ll explain everything to you later.”
Cerberus HQ, Main Building: 936, April 9th, Monday, 8:00 PM.
The double glass door slid open to allow entrance to the woman in an office suit, her pencil skirt adhering to her womanly figure—she wore square glasses, and the insignia of Cerberus in her suit coat. Striding through the entrance she was stopped by a younger woman dressed in the same uniform, she had black loose hair dropped just below her shoulders, her eyes were brown like chest nuts, and her skin was of a fair and warm tone.
They both met at the entrance of HQ’s main building, in the large open space of the lobby as most employees had already left for home. The set of stairs in the middle led to the upper floors, and most doors in the ground floor have already been sealed shut.
“Miss Yeon!” the younger woman said. “I wasn’t aware you’d be arriving this late,” her eyes stared at her with surprise.
Yeon fixed her glasses, offering her response. “I know, there are some… tasks I needed done by tonight.”
“I see,” the woman smiled. “Sovereign is still sleeping in the medical room if you wish to see him.”
Her suggestion caused Yeon’s eye to twitch slightly—an action that went unnoticed by the young woman. “Could you guide me to him, please?”
“Ivanna!” Arwen’s hasty voice interrupted the pair’s conversation—calling out to the young woman. He jogged down the stairs, and stopped in front of them of both. “Yeon?” he raised an eyebrow when he noticed his friend.
“Boss, I was just on my way out.” Ivanna said. “Is there something you need?”
Handing her a folder filled with documents, Arwen informed her about some reports regarding the injured officers that arrived earlier during the afternoon. Ivanna gasped while covering her mouth with one hand, bowing to both Arwen and Yeon before rushing her way out of the building.
“Yeon!” Arwen reacted in surprise, finally having time to address his friend. “Wow, you weren’t joking when you said you’d be here soon.”
“Of course,” she tipped her glassed. “Where is Sovereign?”
“He is still sleeping. Don’t worry, I closed the door.”
Yeon hummed while lowering her head to think for a quick second. “I should go check on him… can you lead the way?”
“Of course,” Arwen smiled.
With casual and mindless chatter, the pair walked side by side while making their way towards the last floor. Their conversation was abruptly interrupted by Arwen’s phone however, as a catchy song rang across the empty rooms of the building.
“Excuse me…” he said—taking out his phone.
It was as if time froze for just a moment as his heart skipped a bit, his skin became pale like a vampire, and an electrified current ran down his spine—swallowing dry with wide open eyes. In the illuminated screen of his phone, he read the name of the calling party as a sense of dread spread through his body—the name ‘Yeon Ki-Joon’ showed up on the screen.
“Is something wrong, Arwen?” Yeon smiled next to him, taking a quick glance at his phone as she tried to peek at his tempered glass screen—which protected the phone’s contents from peepers. “Arwen?” she called again.
“Ah… n-no… no, I’m too busy for calls like these, ha-ha…” he brushed off the situation while struggling to keep his nerves in check. Arwen pushed his phone back into his pocket, and reluctantly continued guiding Yeon up the stairs—although with slower and trembling steps. “Let’s keep going…”
“You are sweating, are you alright?” Yeon asked.
“Yes… I’m just, uh…”
“Arwen?” she called him by his alias a second time—something Yeon has never done unless they walked in public, referring to him as ‘Jacob’ when in private.
Unaware of who the person standing next to him was, Arwen’s breath quivered as it grew heavier. He took a handkerchief from the pocket of his vest, and began to mop up the sweat in his forehead. Putting the handkerchief back in its place, his fingers twitched while his mind debated in pulling the gun hidden inside his coat.
His phone rang once more, but Arwen had no intentions to check on the caller a second time—knowing too well that it was his friend Yeon trying contact him after the first failed attempt.
“What do I do!” Jacob’s nerves thundered inside his mind, overwhelmed by such unexpected events. “Think, Jacob… think…”
“Oh my, are you perhaps… afraid?” Yeon said with a devilish tone.
Arwen carefully turned his head to look at the smug smile in Yeon’s face, hastily guiding one hand inside his vest, and aiming his pistol at the impostor. The woman however, reacted with incredible speed as she smacked the gun away from his hands—getting a hold of him by the wrist with one hand, and his neck with the other.
“Le… l-let me go!” Arwen cried while wrestling for his freedom.
The fake Yeon laughed at the fear in his face, keeping him well restrained by the wrists. “How pathetic, aren’t you a man?”
“W-who are you?”
“I am Yeon,” she said, arching her mouth into a sad frown. “Don’t you recognize me?” she shifted her face into a malevolent grin immediately after—baring her teeth. “Come on, who is this Sovereign that woman mentioned? Take me to him!”
“I… I…” Arwen’s state of shock prevented him from speaking.
“What’s that? You want to die? Well, don’t mind me…” her grin grew even wider.
END OF CHAPTER