"I won't go there." The innocent voice of a child no more than thirteen years old came from the dark, desolate void
" Why...?" The child's voice came again from the darkness, although he made sure to appear calm, the confusion and insecurity could be sensed in that voice.
" Why...?" The child's voice began to become harsher and gradually lost the innocence that was in it
" Why...!" The voice coming from the darkness changed radically and became harder and more Abhorrent, turning that innocent voice into something that could not be described as human.
I opened my eyes and stared at the newly recognized ceiling for a moment before I came to my senses and tried to raise my torso and look around.
I felt my body completely wet and I soon realized that I had been sweating profusely up until this moment
The first thing I felt was a large patch of moisture on my bed due to the sweat that had been dripping from my body the entire time I was lying down.
"Haaa..." I gasped heavily and looked around feeling confused. I looked around, looking for a cup of water to relieve the suffocation I was feeling, as if the walls of the room were closing in on me.
I grabbed the cup next to my bed and drank all the water in it
But this did not quench my thirst at all, so I forced my body with the remaining energy I had to get out of bed and go to the small refrigerator in one of the corners of this room, quickly taking out a bottle of water, and pouring all the water into my stomach.
I continued drinking water without stopping, and when I came to my senses, I realized that I had finished four full bottles of water
I felt a sudden wave of nausea hit me without warning, so I put my hands on the wall to support my body
In a desperate attempt to relieve this nausea emanating from the unbearable atmosphere of the room, I went to the window and opened it, which caused the icy wind to enter the room, causing the temperature to drop quickly.
Even though it was snowy outside and the strong winds made it even more extreme, I felt like this was the perfect thing to stop that strange heat inside my body.
After standing for a few moments facing the cold wind, full of isolation that was beating my skin mercilessly, I was finally able to regain some of my calm and clear my mind of that unexplained fogginess.
This abnormal condition was caused by one of Alexander's memory fragments
I could finally see why the name 'Varvatos' was so familiar to me
It seems that it was planned that Alexander would be sent to this academy instead of being sent to the Imperial Academy.
This seems to have been a shock to young Alexander, who had a strong reaction to his father's plans
The end of the matter was that Alexander was victorious and was able to join the Imperial Academy after he put pressure on his father with all his might.
Ironically, he is now forced to attend the academy that Alexander was trying so hard to avoid joining
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“This is not funny...” I whispered automatically, then fell into a terrible silence
Despite the sound of the wind, which made it difficult to even speak to myself, I felt that the place was terribly quiet
Under normal circumstances, I would not have resisted making a joke about this topic, or making fun of this ridiculous fate without caring about anything
But the way these memories surfaced made throwing myself off the roof of this building much easier than raising my lips smiling
The bitterness and suffering that Alexander felt during that difficult period penetrated me as if it were extending its roots into my being.
I still remember that inhuman voice that appeared in the memories and turned into something like a nightmare
The voice I heard in those memories awakened that instinct that I had tried so hard to bury over the years
the fear....
I felt my soul trembling for the first time in a long time as I searched in confusion for the source of this sound
This definitely wasn't a human voice
It was initially the voice of Alexander when he was fourteen years old
But it gradually turned into the voice of a completely different entity
That voice had flooded me with an automatic wave of dreadful that I could neither examine nor justify
As if he was filled with endless torment and suffering
I looked up at the gray cloudy sky
I usually liked this atmosphere. Enjoy walking in the gardens, taking advantage of these quiet moments
But I found that the sky had become detestable for no reason
This atmosphere was depressing, which worsened my current condition
I turned my attention to the garden below this building
Since I opened the window and stood in front of it, I felt the presence of eyes spying on me
But I could not determine the exact location of this unwelcome visitor
This was strange and incomprehensible, because my inability to monitor the exact location where the person spying on me was hiding meant that he was either stronger than me or had abilities that could counter my hunter ability.
Is he one of the government agents assigned to monitor me?
Or is it just that my psychological state made me think that I was being watched because of my current discomfort?
The feeling of being watched did not last long as it disappeared after a minute of me carefully observing the garden
This made me more inclined to believe that this was just an illusion created by my imagination due to the psychological circumstances I went through tonight
“Looks like it's going to be a sleepless night.” Whispers as I looked at my phone's clock, which indicated that dawn was near
I decided to start a tour to search for some materials and plants that grow in this area instead of continuing to dwell on this sterile topic
---------------------------
“Hey, Swanson,” Walter exhaled as he slumped into the chair in his office, “how are things with you?”
“Everything is fine and there is nothing suspicious,” Swanson replied from a phone on the desk in front of Walter
“Good…” Walter lowered his eyebrows and softened his expression
He was worried about what Alexander might do in that place
That's why he made sure to put one of the veteran officers in command of this mission
Swanson was one of the oldest and most qualified officers, who was just steps away from becoming Deputy Chief of Intelligence
But Swanson rejected this offer and preferred to remain in his position as a field officer
Swanson knew well what heavy responsibilities would fall on his shoulders once he assumed such an important position
He did not want to waste the rest of his life busy working away from his personal life and his family
The position was important and was the easy path to the top, but in Swanson's eyes there were more important things worth paying attention to
That's why he could only politely decline this promotion
Walter understood and respected this decision
In a world where everyone was fighting for position and wealth, it was difficult to find someone of Swanson's caliber
That's why Walter couldn't find anyone with the competence, loyalty, and dedication to do this job better than Swanson
"But..." Swanson's voice suddenly hesitated
Walter frowned when he realized that Swanson was reluctant to say something, “I told you to inform me of everything that brat does.”
“Actually, it's not particularly important, so I thought it wasn't necessary to mention it in the report.”
“I decide what's important,” Walter clasped his hands urging Swanson to speak, “Spit it out.”
“Well…” Swanson gave in under Walter’s pressure, “It’s just that there has been a historic rise in Agadir cactus sales because of Alexander.”
"..." what are you talking about?
Even when he tried as hard as he could to think about it, Walter could not find the connection between Alexander and the cactus.
Swanson continued his report without knowing the confusion in which Walter was placed, “The pressure placed on the markets by the increasing demand for the Agadir cactus led to a fluctuation in prices, and eventually a black market arose for the trade of these cactus. The authorities in the city decided to stop this farce, they raided the black market and arrested the merchants who were running this illegal trade, but this led to major disturbances, riots, and injuries during the arrests.”
"..." Didn't you say a moment ago that everything was fine?
Walter's face became stranger with every word that came out of the phone in front of him
It was difficult to believe that there was a new black market that had arisen within that peaceful city, and that a war had occurred between the black market traders and the government authorities, in addition to turmoil in the markets. All this chaos happened in just two days thanks to Alexander
“I thought that this had nothing to do with Alexander directly because he did not intend to do anything intentionally, so I did not think I should include it in the report.” Swanson's voice was soft with some embarrassment when he felt that Walter remained strangely silent
Walter shook his head, not knowing how to explain the matter to Swanson
But he couldn't blame him
It's just that Swanson didn't realize who Alexander really was
All he needs to do is spend some time observing Alexander and then he will know the truth
“Continue the monitoring mission, and report to me anything that occurs, no matter how simple.” Walter gave strict orders this time so as not to leave any trace of hesitation in Swanson
"Yes, sir." Swanson responded firmly after receiving orders