Amsterdam – City-Center (within an ally)
‘Marcus Meracawhat?’
Zack was too fatigued to tell Marcus that he didn’t understand anything of what Marcus was saying. When Marcus saw that Zack had no reaction to his introduction whatsoever, he was a little confused.
While still somewhat confused, Marcus looked at the golden watch on his wrist and raised it near his mouth.
“Assemble at my location.”
It looked like he was talking in to his watch.
A few seconds after he had given this command, 5 figures came dashing in the ally from different directions. Some came from the roof, while some just took the normal way. The figures all came to a standstill when they reached Marcus his side.
They were five men in black suits who all wore an earpiece. They all had a yellow logo, — that looked like a sun with a big letter ‘A’ in the middle — on their breast pocket. They made one think of guards you would see around people like politicians or other important individuals.
One of them had a slightly different attire which made him look more like a butler than a guard. He had white hair and looked like the oldest out of the bunch.
The other four so-called guards looked middle-aged and had a certain vibe surrounding them. They all carried themselves in a graceful way while they glanced at their surroundings.
Boa, –– one of the men –– took a quick look at the four thugs laying on the ground, and the 2 youngsters drenched in blood mixed with rain. This sight concerned him a little, which caused him to address Marcus.
“Young master, why did-”
“Uren, you’re a medic, right?”
Marcus spoke to one of his other men while interrupting Boa mid-sentence.
Uren had long shiny blonde hair which came down to his shoulders. One of his eyes was partly covered by his hair, but he didn’t seem to be bothered by it. A bit of stubble could be seen on his face, nevertheless his skin still looked well-kept.
He held one of his fingers against his nostrils, as if he was disgusted by the smell of his surroundings.
“Yes sir, even though my skills are inferior to those of the holy family.”
“Stop the flattery. Tend to their wounds and take them to my residence.”
Uren’s eyes went wide. He was surprised by what Marcus had said, but he wasn’t planning to defy his order.
“Yes, young master..”
Uren walked over to Zack and Kemri while rolling up his sleeves.
A radiant light started emitting from his hands as he glared at the boys. His eyes were saying something in the direction of “why do I have to do this dirty work” which made Zack distrust him instantly.
Uren put his glowing hands on Kemri’s visible cuts as steam started to gush out of the wounds.
“H..hey! What’s the big idea?!”
Zack was panicked to see steam coming out of his roommate’s body. He tried to stand up to stop Uren in his tracks, but his body wasn’t cooperating.
“Calm yourself human, I am merely performing first-aid on your friend. I’ll get to you in a second.”
Uren had reacted calmly to Zack’s outburst, but you could sense that he was very displeased.
Kemri’s eyes were opening up for the first time since Zack had carried him on his back. Kemri turned his face to look at Zack and smiled like he usually did. This made Zack a little uneasy, since Kemri’s face was still filled with cuts and bruises. Nonetheless, it made Zack realize that Kemri was trying to tell him that it was okay, and that his outburst had been unnecessary.
As such, Zack chose to hold his tongue and watched Uren put his hands on Kemri’s injuries.
Boa, –– who knew that the order which Marcus had given casually was no simple matter –– chose to address his superior for a second time.
“Young master Marcus, should we really be healing humans?”
Marcus gracefully took a handkerchief out of his pocket and used it to remove the moist on his face caused by the rain. After he was certain that his face was dry, he opened up the umbrella he had just received from one of his men when they arrived. As soon as he put the umbrella above his head, he looked at Boa and chose to reply calmly.
“He might be our lead to Pandora’s owner. –– I am no fool Boa, but I’m prepared to take such measures if it means fulfilling my family’s task.”
“I see. Don’t mind the ignorant words of the fool that is me, young master.”
Boa got the idea that this was not the only reason why Marcus had given the order, but he chose to not further inquire him about the matter.
After a few minutes Uren had stopped Kemri’s bleeding and had reduced the swelling on his eye.
“Thankyou sir... it doesn’t hurt that much anymore.”
Without paying any attention to Kemri’s words, he shifted his gaze and walked towards Zack.
Normally Zack wouldn’t let a stranger touch him, let alone one with glowing hands. But after he saw Kemri’s reaction just now, he decided it was okay to let his guard down. He couldn’t do much in his condition anyway.
Uren put his hands-on Zack’s knees and ankles to stop the bleeding. It took him longer to barely close Zack’s wounds than it took him to completely stop Kemri’s bleeding. Afterwards, he took out the pieces of glass stuck on Zack’s shoulder and continued the process in that area.
By the fatigued look on Uren’s face, you could tell that the healing was taking its toll on him. Eventually, he also managed to stop the bleeding from Zack’s shoulder.
Uren had wanted to quit after he had finally stopped the bleeding but saw the face of Marcus which clearly was saying ‘you’re not finished’.
After looking at Marcus, he resumed his healing by putting his hands-on Zack’s chest. His hands started to give of even more light and at the same time his brows twitched. He quickly distanced his hands from Zack and looked at Marcus in a defeated way.
“It’s no good young master. This human his Dao flow is severely damaged. I cannot heal him with my skills.”
“That was to be expected.”
Marcus had expected such an outcome after he had seen Zack’s outrageous jump over the fence. However, he had felt that it wouldn’t hurt to try.
“It can’t be helped. Take them as they are.”
Heeding Marcus his command, the guards picked Kemri and Zack up and took off.
They took them to a parking lot, which was not far from the ally they had been.
Even though the parking lot was very big, it was completely empty, except for the 3 cars parked in the middle. The area around the cars was surrounded by a thick layer of snow that had become mushy, owing it to the rain that was falling out of the sky. This gave the impression that there had been no cars here for quite some time.
‘This must be a private parking lot.’
Zack was scanning his surrounding as he was being carried by one of Marcus his subordinates.
When they had reached the cars, Zack was mesmerized by what he saw. He had seen the vehicle before him in a magazine last week but did not pay much attention to it. This was because he had noticed the price had too many zeros for him to even consider buying it in his lifetime.
This SUV was the latest model of the Mercedes GLE.
(Note: google it!)
‘Who the hell are these people?!’
Zack’s astonishment did not stop there. When he got put in the backseat, he realized the interior was even more beautiful than the exterior. Was he even allowed to touch these seats with his bloody clothes?
He quickly put these thoughts aside and started to worry about where they would be taken. What concerned him even more, was that Kemri was put in another car than the one he was sitting in.
He wanted to run away with Kemri but attempting an escape in this situation was not even a possibility. Zack’s body was slowly regaining its mobility, but he was not foolish enough to think that he could get away. He knew that the people in black suits were not normal and the one leading them wasn’t either.
A guard with a blonde taper cut and a brown bushy beard was sitting in the driver’s seat, while Marcus took a seat next to Zack in the back. The guard’s eyes could not be seen clearly, caused by his shaded glasses.
(Note: A taper cut is a classic men’s hairstyle)
This guard was Boa.
Boa started up the car, and they made their way out of the parking lot. Zack now knew that he had to surrender himself to his fate. He just hoped everything would turn out alright.
“Are you ready to speak now?”
Marcus, –– who had felt that Zack’s heartbeat had calmed down –– took it as a sign that Zack was ready for conversation.
“I..I am.”
Zack was startled by the sudden interaction, which had caused him to stutter.
“Good, first let me start with the most important question. –– Do you know the location of Pandora’s owner?”
“I don’t understand… What is Pandora?”
Marcus was bemused by what he had heard.
“Then, did the one who taught you Dao not teach you anything about the world?”
Zack was just as puzzled as Marcus.
“Dao…?”
He had heard this man, called Marcus, talk about ‘Dao’ earlier but he had never heard of this word before today. But the way Marcus had spoken of it, made him think that it should have been something of common knowledge.
‘Could it be connected to my sudden increased speed earlier?’
“Do not take me for a fool human. I have seen you use Energeia earlier, you are at the very least informed about one style of the Dao.”
Marcus looked Zack straight in the eyes and realized that the human before his eyes had no idea off what he was telling him. After realizing this, he continued to speak in a hesitant way.
“Then, are you trying to tell me... you are unaware off why your physical attributes transcend those of average humans?”
‘I knew it!’
Zack’s gut feeling had been correct. This thing called ‘Dao’ could indeed be the answer to the strange phenomenon earlier.
“Well actually, I’m quite surprised about it myself.”
After Marcus heard this, he realized that he was in quite a predicament. ––
Marcus had been in the city-center for the sole purpose of finding the owner of Pandora’s Box. After he and his men had parked their cars, they split up and started to gather information around the city-center. While Marcus was walking through the crowded streets, he sensed a trace of energy not far from him. He had the feeling that the source of that energy would be his ticket to Pandora’s owner. As such, he followed the vastly moving source of energy until he reached a fence. Upon reaching the fairly high fence, he saw two humans jumping over it. This had convinced him that the source of the energy would indeed give him sufficient information, if not lead him to Pandora’s owner. After all, humans who could perform such feats usually belonged to some organization and were very knowledgeable.
Marcus had chosen to chase those 2 humans down the ally. He even went as far as to heal one of the humans, –– which is a great taboo where he comes from –– in exchange for information. But things were not going as planned for Marcus.
–– He did not know what to do with Zack at the moment.
Zack also wanted to know what was happening to his body and wouldn’t let this chance slip by.
“Maybe I can help if you tell me more.”
Marcus had gone as far as to heal Zack, and he even harmed other humans, ––which is also a taboo where he comes from. –– he might as well try to squeeze out every little bit of information he can.
“Very well.”
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Amsterdam – South (Accel Hotel)
‘Am I being kidnapped?’
These had been the thoughts of a young man who was simply planning to go the gym just a few hours earlier. But due to an unfortunate occurrence he had not been able to go there. Instead, he was now in front of a huge building called the Accel Hotel. ––
The Accel Hotel was the most expensive hotel of whole Amsterdam. Its prices were so high that even celebrities would think twice before booking a night here. It also was the tallest building in the whole southern region, due to it having 30 floors.
–– The man who had driven him to this location was walking next to him while slightly taking the lead. This way the man could still keep an eye on the youngster while he was showing the way.
This man had a tanned complexion and trimmed blonde hair. His eyes and his goatee were dark brown which made one wonder if the hair on his head had been dyed. His aura was repellent, as his brows were frowned, and the corners of his mouth were pointing downwards.
The youngster –– who was walking behind him –– had bandage on his head and a cast on his arm. In the hand, that seemed uninjured, he held a crutch which made a ticking sound with every step. Through the transparent raincoat he was wearing you could see some red stains on his clothes
A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
Seemingly unbothered by the youngster’s bad condition, the man kept his eyes forwards and did not make an attempt to help him. It was a grim sight to witness.
The already grim atmosphere was made even grimmer by the torrential rainfall. The rain was falling heavily on the snow, which made the chances of the youngster slipping very high. Yet, the man did not seem to care in the slightest.
The strangest part was, that this very same man was the one who had put the bandage on the youngster’s head. He also put the cast on his arm and gave him his crutch. He even gave him the raincoat.
‘Does he care about my wellbeing, or not?’
The youngster was left confused by the actions of his abductor.
When they reached the reception hall, the lady behind the counter had given the man his keys without exchanging any words whatsoever. This gave the young man the idea that the person who had abducted him, was a regular at this hotel.
“Follow me.”
The man, –– who had been silent the whole drive here –– had chosen to address the youngster. This was because the youngster had been walking slowly since they entered the building. Which was the result of him admiring his surroundings. This was only natural, owing to the fact that the halls of the hotel were decorated with exquisite artworks of which the likes of him had never seen.
Nonetheless, the kidnapped youngster did not want to anger his abductor and had heeded his command immediately. He followed the man to the main elevator of the hotel. Upon entering the elevator, the man pressed the button with the number #30 on it.
It was awkwardly silent in the elevator, but the young man had gotten used to it, since it had been the same way when they drove to this destination.
At the moment they had reached the top floor, there was a small hall with a beautifully decorated door in front of them. It seemed to be the only door on this floor.
The man put the key, –– which he had received from the lady behind the counter earlier –– in the key hole.
The door slowly opened.
The room before the youngster’s eyes was clearly breath-taking. To call the room well-appointed would be less than an understatement. It was furnished with the most handsome couches, and tables and had a humongous window with a dazzling view. The floor was made out of marble, with red Persian rugs located on the most ideal places. The walls were packed with abstract designs which effected the vibe of the room in a glorious way.
On the immense red sofa in the middle of the room, there were 2 people conversing. Between these 2 people there laid a small glass table with 2 cups and a fancy teapot on top of it. Both the cups and the teapot looked like they were made out of gold.
One of these 2 people was a man with an elegant presence. His skin looked as soft as silk and his eyes were inhumanly vivid. From his hair style to the way he was dressed, this man looked refined.
On the other hand, you had the other person. This person was a young man with unkept black curly hair. His clothes were dirty with red stains on it that looked like dried up blood. From his hair style to the way he was dressed, this youngster was obviously inferior compared to man sitting in front of him.
“Zack…”
The person, who was sitting on the couch, now turned his head upon hearing his name. He had not noticed people entering the room, since he was having a real intense conversation with the man in front of him.
“Ah.. Kemri, I was getting worried.”
A light smile appeared on Zack’s face. He had arrived in this room 30 minutes earlier and was starting to wonder if they had taken Kemri to a different location. Seeing Kemri arrive, was a huge load of his mind.
“Hahaha you’re actually worried about me?”
“Shut up clo-”
Zack stopped mid-sentence, as he instinctively reacted to Kemri. He chose to not finish his sentence because he felt that he had no right to call Kemri a clown. He had put Kemri in a really bad position a few hours back and was still feeling greatly upset about it. Zack wanted to apologize right away, but he assumed that it wouldn’t be enough. As such, he pointed his face back to Marcus to continue their conversation and had put the matter regarding Kemri to the side for later.
“So are you sure you can heal my mother.”
Zack’s facial expression had turned serious as he focused al his attention to Marcus.
“We, of the Apollo Family, do not tell petty lies.”
You could see that Zack was very pleased to hear this by the way the corners of his mouth were slightly moving upwards. Though, for some reason it seemed Zack did not want to show this, so he quickly returned his facial expression to how it had been before and answered Marcus.
“Then you have yourself a deal Marcus.”
“’MARCUS’!? HOW DARE YOU ADDRESS ROYALTY LIKE THAT!? I WILL NOT STAND FOR SUCH INSOLENCE!“
It felt like the whole room was trembling by this violently loud voice.
The source of this sound was the guard who had entered with Kemri, he was enraged. But he painfully restrained himself as soon as Marcus had raised his hand in a matter which was saying “calm down”.
“If you keep your part of the agreement, I will have everything arranged.”
Marcus composedly replied to Zack as he took a sip from his tea.
Zack stood up from the sofa without further ado and grabbed his dirty jacket that had been laying on his side of the sofa. His legs were faintly shaking while his face remained composed.
Kemri did not know if this was the aftermath of Zack’s injuries, or if it was caused by the intimidation of the guard just now.
After putting his jacket on, Zack turned to face Marcus before taking his first step.
“Then, I will take my leave.”
‘What’s up with these fancy sentences?’
Kemri was already surprised by Marcus his way of speech, but for Zack to also be talking in this way was simply ridiculous. Why was Zack acting like this, and what were Zack and Marcus talking about just now? Kemri felt like he was missing a whole dialogue of information that he wanted to know about, but he decided that it would be smarter to confront Zack about it at a later time.
“Boa! Uren!”
Marcus called two of the four men whom he had ordered to be in a separate room a while back. He had done so, because Zack had asked Marcus for it to be done. Zack had told Marcus he was not comfortable talking with so many men surrounding him.
Boa and Uren opened the door of the bedroom almost instantly. It looked like they had been waiting behind the door for this very moment. They simultaneously opened their mouth to answer to Marcus his call.
“Yes, young master?”
“From today onwards, you guys will follow Mr. Florique’s every move. Until we find Pandora’s owner I want no harm to be done to him or his friend.”
Boa and Uren were dumbfounded but what Marcus told them. This order was something completely illogical to them.
“But master, it is not permitted to-.”
Suddenly a faint gleam started radiating from Marcus his golden eyes. His intimidating aura could even be felt by Kemri and Zack, whom it was not directed to. This almost made it hard to breathe for the two youngsters.
“Have I been clear?”
“Y-yes young master.”
After Boa and Uren’s response, the deadly aura emitting from Marcus vanished. It was as if it never had been there.
“Good. –– Now bring them back to their house so they can rest… I will speak to you tomorrow Mr. Florique.”
Zack tried to stay composed as cold sweat was forming on his forehead.
“Ah, yes... I see ya… I shall see you tomorrow...”
Zack was very wobbly on his feet when he took his first step. Marcus, who saw this, looked at Boa with frowned brows.
Boa immediately rushed to Zack’s side and lent him his shoulder. Zack knew this was not done out of Boa’s own initiative but had no choice but to accept his help.
Guided by Uren and Boa, Zack and Kemri left the room.
Feliz, –– the guard that had been with Kemri until now –– opened his mouth after he was sure that the boys had left.
“Young master, I don’t know what your agreed upon with him, but are you sure we can trust him?”
“No. –– But I’ll have to at the moment. He’s my only lead to Pandora’s owner.”
“Excuse me for my rudeness, but even so…. Sending Boa and Uren to be the bodyguards of simple humans, isn’t that going a little bit too far?”
“I understand your concern, but I do not think that this human is as ’simple’ as you make him out to be. –– I have seen him use Energeia at an Aes III level.”
“Aes III !? Impossible!”
“Do not yell in my presence Feliz.”
“My deepest apologies young master.”
“It is forgiven, I can understand that you’re surprised. –– But do you understand now Feliz? No human who can use Energeia at that level can be called simple.”
“I understand now. I sincerely apologize for my ignorance!”
“You are forgiven… and stop yelling Feliz.”
“My apologies!”
“*sigh~*”
-----------------------------------------------
Amsterdam - South (Zack’s House)
“Then, we will take our leave now. We will be nearby at all times.”
Boa had addressed the two boys he had just brought to their house.
“Yes, thank you.”
Zack thanked him, but he didn’t like Boa at all. Even though Boa had been acting friendly the whole ride, Zack knew that this was all an act and could see that Boa actually disliked him for some reason. The same could be said about the other guard, Uren. The only difference was that Uren made it very clear that he didn’t like Zack.
Zack watched as the two guards, who had brought him and Kemri to their front door, were leaving his sight. Looking at their fading silhouettes, Zack’s eyes narrowed as a thought crossed his mind.
‘I have to be careful around these two.’
When the silhouettes had completely disappeared, Zack turned his body to open the door. He barely managed to keep his footing as he walked to the couch in the living room.
The moment Zack had taken a seat, Kemri immediately shot questions towards Zack.
“Okay, who are they? Why were you speaking so familiar with them? And who were those people who broke in to our house?.”
“Calm down Kemri, I can only answer one question at a time. –– Let me first explain what happened yesterday.”
Zack reacted very calm to Kemri. Which was normal, because he had already expected these questions to be asked as soon as they got home. He was already very thankful that Kemri had waited until this moment, or else it might had ruined his plans.
And so, Zack started to tell Kemri about the strange events he had witnessed.
Zack took the time to explain everything that happened to him since yesterday. He even told him about the unnatural sensation in his body since last morning.
The strange part was that Kemri’s face remained neutral throughout the whole story. He didn’t even flinch at the part about the blue-eyed man. One could think that this young man called Kemri was not even listening at all. But Zack knew that this neutral face of Kemri was a face he made when he was thinking at his hardest.
Kemri took his time to take in all the information he had just received. After he summarized it for himself in his head, he opened his mouth.
“Why didn’t you tell me anything?”
“As I was saying, I wasn’t even sure if it really happened at some point…. And besides, what good would it do to tell you?”
“What do you mean ‘what good would it do’? I’m your friend, –– of course I want to know what you’re going through.”
‘Friend?’
“I… uh…”
“Well it happened, forget it. What I’m more curious about is... what were you and that blonde guy talking about earlier?”
Zack’s face, which had a surprised expression from the words of Kemri earlier, turned serious once again.
“Okay, Kemri listen... I know this will all sound like bullshit but hear me out.”
“I doubt anything would surprise me at this point… continue.”
Zack took a deep breath and resumed speaking.
“First, let me start by saying… that those people earlier weren’t human.”
“Hahahaha what...?”
“Yeah, I know… but think about it. The abilities they have shown by healing us were not humane to begin with. I don’t know if they are human or not, but they sure as hell aren’t normal, you have to agree with me on that.”
Kemri was not fully conscious when Uren had healed them, so he had not grasped the situation at that time. But he knew that being healed this quickly was certainly uncommon to say the least.
“Hmm.. yeah, they were kind of weird and rich.”
“That’s not what I-…. anyway –– What’s more, that blonde snob claimed to be the son of some god named Apollo.”
“Apollo? The ancient Greek god of the sun?”
Kemri was a huge history bookworm, especially if it was about mythology. So, this name ‘Apollo’ was very familiar to him.
“I don’t know Kemri. He also said something about him coming from another world. –– A world named Olymfius or something.“
“Olympus!?”
Kemri’s eyes had gone wide open as he raised his voice in bewilderment.
Zack quickly got out of the couch to put his hand on Kemri’s mouth.
“Shhhhh… Kemri, calm down or those guards will think there’s something happening. They might be out of our sight, but they're still keeping tabs on us.”
Kemri nodded as if he had understood. As such, Zack removed his hand from Kemri’s mouth and fell back to the couch.
“I’m sorry but… Olympus is the place where the 12 greater gods of Greece lived. To say that such a place really exists... it’s kind of ridiculous. I didn’t take them for such jokers.”
“Yeah normally I wouldn’t be convinced either, but by the things that have been happening to me in this short time span... It kind of makes it easier for me to believe the words of that snob.”
“Hmmmm, you have a point... I mean... they did close my wounds really fast, I thought I had mortal wounds...but…”
Kemri looked at his arm which had a cast on it and seemed to be thinking about something.
Zack knew that Kemri was slowly starting to believe him and continued speaking.
“Now here’s the good part… at some point I was acting like I was not surprised by the words of the snob, and that gave him the impression of me being part of some secret human organization or something. When I realized that he had placed me in a position of value, I started to ask him questions about the healing. Soon I came to know, that this ‘Apollo Family’ of his, had people that could heal ‘human diseases’. So, I did not hesitate to ask him to heal my mother.”
Kemri’s face turned bitter.
“Zack…”
“And he was okay with it, on one condition. –– I have to give him information on an individual they call ‘Pandora’s owner’.”
“Pandora’s owner? Do you know someone like that?”
“Not in the slightest. –– But I have an idea as how to make them think I do.”
“Zack, I don’t think these are people you should be messing with… You saw what he did to those guys of the Maharia.”
(Note: Barry is a member of the gang named Maharia)
“If it gives me a chance to cure my mom, I don’t care about the consequences. –– And don’t worry, I told them you were a normal human who does not know anything. It seems hurting ‘regular humans’ is actually a huge problem for them, but he had placed me in such high regards that he chose to knock out those Maharia guys.”
Kemri had not even thought about his own safety, he only had a bad feeling about what Zack was getting himself in to. As such, Zack’s words –– meant to put Kemri at ease –– only had the opposite effect. But Kemri saw Zack’s determent look and knew that nothing he said would be able to change Zack’s mind.
“I don’t think this is a good idea… I know you won’t listen, but I just felt like I needed to tell you.”
“Don’t worry, just take a good rest and I’ll talk about the details of my plan tomorrow.”
“*sigh~* Sure, but I’m sleeping in your room tonight.”
“Wh- What… why would you be sleeping in my room?”
Kemri rested his back against the wall and pointed his clutch in Zack’s direction.
“Because for some reason it’s very cold in my room.”
Zack then remembered that he broke Kemri’s window when he jumped out of it during their escape from Barry. He also remembered the splattered blood around Kemri’s room and understood why Kemri did not want to enter his own room.
“Ah, sure you can sleep in my room... I did not want to leave this couch anyway.”
Zack’s room was not spacious enough for two people to be sleeping in, so sleeping on the couch was the most logical solution.
“Oh.. Alright then.. See ya tomorrow.”
Kemri had actually expected Zack to tell him that had to sleep on the couch himself. That would have been a normal reaction for Zack. Kemri then thought about how Zack had been acting a little different towards him since the incident.
After seemingly haven come to a conclusion, Kemri showed a soft smile while shaking his head.
“Oh!.. and Kemri”
“Yeah?”
“Please act like you don’t remember anything of what happened today when those Apollo guys are around.”
“Ah… sure.”
“Thankyou. See ya tomorrow.”
Zack looked at the door of his room, which Kemri had just entered.
‘Friend huh…?’
~The next morning~
*Riiiiingggggg!*
‘Ulgh, the doorbell.’
The loud noice of the doorbell had woken Zack up. When he glanced at the window next to him, he could see the morning sun had barely gotten up. Who would be in front of the door so early?
Zack dragged his feet towards the front door until he stood in front of it. While still half asleep, he opened the door as a natural reaction to the doorbell.
The cold breeze from outside felt like a slap in his face. The icy wind had woken him up completely.
“I find it quite distasteful to be waiting this long.”
The young man on his doorstep spoke in a displeased way. Zack rubbed his eyes in surprise of the person standing on his doorstep.
“M- Marcus..? Goodmorning, what brings you here?”
“What brings me here? I have given you your rest, I want to start our search as quickly as possible.”
‘Is this guy for real? I’ve barely slept for 5 hours.’
“Ah.. sure… let me get dressed.”
Marcus followed Zack back inside as he observed Zack attentively.
“You can take a seat on the couch, I’ll be done changing in a minute.”
Marcus took a quick look at the couch which Zack had been laying on just a while back. He noticed the dirty jacket Zack had worn yesterday laying on top of it. –– It laid there for the reason that Zack had used that jacket as a blanket last night. –– The corners of Marcus his mouth lowered as he focused his eyes back to Zack.
“I will stand. –– And as much as I do want to start the search… I urge you to take a shower before we leave.”
Zack felt quite embarrassed by Marcus his words. It seemed like merely being in the presence of him already made Zack feel inferior. But the way Marcus addressed people was the most degrading thing. Despite that, Zack had felt no ill intentions behind Marcus his words yesterday nor at this moment.
“Ah.. alright, I’ll try to make it quick.”
“That pleases me to hear.”
Thinking about how even the way Marcus thanked people was disdainful, Zack made his way to the bathroom.
Marcus –– who was still standing in the living room –– could hear how quickly the water of the shower had turned on and was pleased with Zack’s haste. But something had been bothering Marcus since the moment he came in. ––
The Dao flow of a person was something that controlled a person’s recovery, mobility and breathing. If there was something wrong with someone’s Dao flow, it would be apparent in one of these three things. Also, the Dao flow was something that could hardly be restored once damaged, and if it was restored it would never be the same as before.
–– Marcus could not comprehend why this human named Zack was showing no disruptions in his Dao flow at all. He was sure that Zack’s Dao flow had been shattered yesterday, but today he was walking like it had never been injured in the first place.
This human, he had only wanted for information, was now really peaking his interest.
*Bathroom door opens*
“I’m finished, we can go.”
“Very well.”
Zack walked to the couch to pick up his jacket. As Marcus saw this, he immediately chose to speak.
“I know human’s in general lack gracefulness and pride. –– But I do not see why one would wear a bloodstained jacket while accompanying someone. On what grounds do you take such actions? Or is this the thing humans call ‘fashion’?”
Zack looked at Marcus completely baffled and took a look at the jacket in his hand right after. He scratched his head and showed an awkward smile.
“Actually… my only two jackets have been ruined. I have no decent jackets left, so I have no choice.”
Suddenly, Marcus his cheeks showed a slight redness.
*cough* *cough* “Excuse me. –– It seems I have been quite rude.”
“Don’t worry about it.”
“We shall provide you with a new jacket before we start our search.”
“Well, I don’t really think that’s-“
“I insist.”
Zack’s will to reject the offer was crushed by Marcus his amazing pressure.
He took another good look at his jacket as he put it on and knew it was for the best if he accepted the offer. After all, he did not have much money to spare anyway.
“Very well.”
Satisfied with Zack’s reaction, Marcus made his way to the door.
As they stepped outside the house, Zack saw the black SUV waiting for them a few steps away.
When they stepped in the car, the interior made Zack mesmerized all over again. Marcus took a seat next to Zack like last night.
“Welcome back young master.”
An old man with winter white hair and apparent wrinkles on his face had greeted Marcus in a very friendly way. This old-timer was Marcus his usual driver and the head of the Meraculus Apollo squad.
“Festal, bring us to the usual shopping street in the city-center.”
“Most certainly. –– Is it that Pandora’s owner might be there?”
“No, we will provide Mr. Florique with a new jacket before we start our search.”
The driver fell silent for a brief moment. Zack could not see the driver his face, so he did not know what kind of facial expression this person called Festal was making.
“I see.”
After these two words left the driver’s mouth, he started the engine and made his way towards the city-center.
A deadly silence fell in the car as soon as the wheels started rolling.
Zack opened his mouth to break the silence with some small talk, but Marcus chose to address him first.
“Mr. Florique, could you tell me more about Pandora’s owner as we drive?”
‘Hehe, just when I thought he would give me some time to breathe…’
“Of course, –– Well I met a blue-eyed man at a pub two days ago…”