After steeling his resolve, Lucian anxiously waited. He remained on guard however, unwilling to blindly trust a stranger.
The red-eyed woman smiled before she spoke. “How much do you know about Londo?”
He was caught off guard by the sheer simplicity of her question, but chose to respond earnestly. Londo was divided into four main districts: the east and west being the worst, the upper-class residing in the south, and him in the north. It was fairly equal, although certain gaps in status were inevitable.
𝘖𝘧 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘨𝘢𝘱𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨.
“I like to think I know more than the average person, but I am admittedly lacking in some areas.”
“You're honest, good.”
Her words irked him somewhat, but he opted to put on a smile. The truth was, his knowledge of the city was indeed limited for the son of a Great House. As despite being his only successor, his father hadn't taught him much.
The reason he knew as much as he currently did was all thanks to his mother and Hector.
𝘍𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺, 𝘐'𝘮 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘳𝘶𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘺.
It wasn't much, but it was all he had.
A portion of it came from attending important meetings with his father's advisors. His mother had also worked hard to garner support for his eventual succession. As part of this, she took him on patrols into the poorer districts to offer aid. All in an effort to win the hearts of the people.
𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘶𝘯𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘏𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘎𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘳 𝘏𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘋𝘦𝘪𝘮𝘰𝘴, 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘸𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘩. 𝘈𝘴 𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘭𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘱𝘰𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩-𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘴, 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴, 𝘸𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳.
He wasn't proud of it, but there wasn't much he could do — at least, that was what he kept telling himself.
The red-eyed woman, who had been silent, finally spoke up. “If my eyes haven't deceived me, you will make a fine Harbinger. However, there's only one way to find out for sure, here.”
At that moment, she slid the box towards him. Lucian picked it up and examined it carefully.
“Umm, red... Sorry. How should I address you? And what exactly am I supposed to do with this?” Lucian asked. Even though he knew what it did, he had no idea how to use it.
The red-eyed woman chuckled and said, “Do you believe in miracles?”
He didn't respond immediately.
As far as he knew, miracles had only ever been associated with the Church of Ianthe. When his mother had fallen ill, he had prayed to the goddess once, only to lose faith when his plea went unanswered. Nevertheless, this did not change the fact that it remained the dominant faith in the Empire.
𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘧 𝘐'𝘮 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵, 𝘮𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘯𝘰.
His skepticism was not solely based on personal bias; he had simply never seen a miracle firsthand. He ultimately shook his head, eliciting an amused smirk.
𝘐 𝘥𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘦𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘴. 𝘐 𝘨𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘪𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘴, 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵? 𝘞𝘢𝘪𝘵, 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘱, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮?
The majority of these tales were widely considered myths!
“So he didn't tell you. Well then, rather than explaining, I could just show you.”
“How will you do that?”
“Simply close your eyes, focus solely on the box, repeat in your mind what I tell you, and try to envision it. Find your Moon.”
𝘍𝘪𝘯𝘥... 𝘮𝘺 𝘔𝘰𝘰𝘯.
Following her instructions, Lucian concentrated on the box, initially feeling nothing. This led him to question the woman's sanity until, suddenly, he felt it.
“What is... Ah—Aaagh!!”
Lucian screamed as he fell to the ground, clutching at his heart.
It felt like everything within him was cracking, while a hot knife was being driven into his brain. He did anything to lessen the pain, even repeatedly slamming his head into the ground until it started to bleed. All while, unconsciously clutching the box in his hand.
“Gah... I feel nauseous... I don't know what's happening. The only thing I know... is that if I lose focus—I will die.”
Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author's preferred platform and support their work!
Through the agony, he could make out the red-eyed woman's tranquil voice, “Relax. Though it may feel otherwise, you're not dying. Just accept what it gives you and try to make it yours. If it's too much, the rest will be locked away.”
As she spoke, memories flooded in, his entire life replaying before him. Lucian could feel his body changing, his flesh and soul transforming and melding with alien knowledge. All this to make him stronger, to help him understand, to make him worthy... To make him a Harbinger.
𝘞𝘢𝘪𝘵. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯... 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘭𝘦𝘥𝘨𝘦... 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘦...
At that moment, a familiar voice rang in his mind. The voice of the person he hated the most—his father.
“How disappointing. Why have you not taken it in yet?”
𝘕𝘰, 𝘪𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘯'𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘮. 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯!
In his vision, a figure cloaked in mist materialized. While its features were indistinct, the emotionless voice was unmistakable.
“At least you have a strong soul. If you want to know the truth, get stronger...”
𝘎𝘦𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳?
𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘸𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘤𝘩, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘪𝘴, 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳? 𝘕𝘰, 𝘐 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘢 𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘴𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘺 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘢 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥.
𝘏𝘢𝘩𝘢𝘩𝘢, 𝘰𝘬𝘢𝘺. 𝘐'𝘭𝘭 𝘥𝘦𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘷𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘯, 𝘐'𝘮 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶.... 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘐 𝘥𝘰, 𝘐'𝘮 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘧 𝘪𝘵'𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘐'𝘭𝘭 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘥𝘰. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘣𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘥!
“...Very well.”
The apparition vanished instantly as Lucian lunged at it. After falling to the ground again, he closed his eyes and focused. Gradually, the pain began to lessen until it completely disappeared, signaling that he had succeeded.
He rolled onto his back and stared at the ceiling with tired eyes, the pain still fresh in his mind.
“With that, the pact is sealed.”
𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘭.
After hearing the red-eyed woman's words, Lucian exhaled.
Once again cursing his father, he decided to reevaluate the deck, only to realize that it was gone. Despite this, he didn't panic as a part of him knew that it was still with him.
𝘑𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘦𝘹𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘐 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘮𝘺𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰?
As if reading his thoughts, the red-eyed woman replied, finally providing some answers.
“Now that that's settled, let me tell you about our future arrangements. Your teammates and I will be taking up residence in your fine home as of tonight. Additionally, I will assign you different tasks that will not only help you grow, but should also allow you to learn more about your father.”
“Why can't you just tell me what you know about him now?”
“Well, I don't know the whole picture. Your father was a very secretive and cautious man. Also, why would I give up my leverage against you?”
𝘍𝘢𝘪𝘳 𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩.
“Wait, did you say teammates? And why are they living here?!”
The red-eyed woman ignored him, uninterested.
Seeing this, Lucian could only accept the situation. Then, his gaze wandered to the large window behind his father's desk. More accurately, the large black circle in the night sky where the moon had once been.
He learned that it had been like this since the Cataclysm five thousand years ago. This caused the nights to become longer, with only eight out of the twenty four hours being daytime.
There were those who said it was a curse from the gods, while others said it was a sign of the future apocalypse. However, he now speculated that it was connected to the pact he had just made.
“Ugh...young... master?”
Upon hearing a weak voice, Lucian turned his head and saw that Hector had regained consciousness. He hastily rushed over to see how he was doing.
Immediately forgetting that the red-eyed woman was still in the room, whom Hector instantly noticed.
“Who... Who is that behind you? Ah, you're bleeding. I shall retrieve a first aid kit...”
𝘚𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘭𝘺? 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘣𝘣𝘰𝘳𝘯 𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘯!
“No, I'm fine. You're not.”
“But, it's my—”
“Enough. Get some rest, that's an order. Just... go to sleep for a bit.”
At those words, Hector's brown eyes clouded over.
Lucian was startled, but he caught the old man and set him down gently. Then, studying the butler closely, he confirmed from his steady breathing that the man was indeed sound asleep.
𝘗𝘩𝘦𝘸, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘣𝘢𝘥. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘯𝘰 𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘢 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘶𝘱...
𝘞𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘴𝘩!
The strange dimming of the room caught his attention. It was the red-eyed woman who now loomed above him.
“What dedication. It's hard to find such loyalty these days.”
“Er, yeah. He's a hard worker.”
“I see. I hope you are too. In any case, tomorrow I'll tell you a bit more and introduce you to the others, so I hope you're prepared. Do you recall the pain you felt when forming the pact?”
𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘐 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘵?
Lucian held back his sarcasm and simply nodded.
“Good, remember it. You'll suffer plenty from now on, so you better get used to it.”
“Oh. Alright then, I'll... try?”
𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘧𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭!
𝘔𝘺 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳.
𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘵'𝘴 𝘢 𝘣𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘸.
After letting out a self-deprecating laugh, he made a fist with all his strength. Although it came at a cost, he was alive and now had a goal.
𝘍𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵, 𝘐 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘢 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘦 𝘏𝘢𝘳𝘣𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘈𝘴 𝘐 𝘥𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵, 𝘐'𝘭𝘭 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘮𝘺 𝘧𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘰𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘥.
He was, of course, also curious about the red-eyed woman's motives. He wondered what she had gained from this deal, apart from moving into his house.
With that thought, Lucian tried to sneak a cautious glance at her.
Only to realize she had been staring at him, sending a chill down his spine.
“Is something wrong?”
Her gaze remained fixed on him as she said in a calm voice, “No, it's just that your power is not one I'm too familiar with, so I'm a little curious as to how much you've improved. But I suppose there's only one way to find out... A little durability test.”
Before he could speak, he was cut off by a sharp pain in his chest, as though his heart was being torn apart.
Followed by flashes of pain in his stomach, legs, jaw and collarbone.
“GAAAAGH!”
The pain he felt, while weaker than when he first formed the pact, still caused him to let out an agonizing scream.
“You... Cough! Cough!”
“Hmm, it seems it's more impressive than I thought. Ah, I never told you my name, did I? Apologies. My name is Lihit, you may call me boss, though I'm more like your manager. Nice to meet you.”
In his fleeting moments of awareness, Lucian could make out the golden rays of dawn.
“Rest well, my King.”
And the voice of the red-eyed, no, the voice of Lihit, his new manager.