Gray and rainy is the last kind of weather Ilista enjoys. Regardless, it means she can pick an outfit appropriately. It’s something modest yet cute. Dark blue leggings peak out from beneath gray shorts and into a pair of matching ankle boots.
If anything, to keep herself from stepping into a surprisingly deep puddle. She tugs the light blue coat around her a little tighter. It hides away the long-sleeved, darker blue shirt beneath it.
Ilista doesn’t plan on being here for long. She has the location and the ability to be mildly patient. Not to mention timing it just right to let herself be seen. It’s a mission she knows she can carry out with near perfection.
Especially when she sets eyes on the shorter man. He’s walking towards the apartment building, towards her. It’s almost painful how easy it is to allow him to shoulder-check her as they get close.
The collision has Xerxes dropping the paper bag and stumbling back. In all honesty, he wouldn’t fall. He can keep himself from doing so, but that doesn’t stop Ilista from grabbing onto him.
She loops an arm around his waist with the other flailing in an attempt to catch the paper bag. To which it splats into a puddle at their feet, the water easily soaking into it. Realizing she missed, Ilista gives Xerxes a sad smile.
“Sorry about that, I almost had it.”
Xerxes stares up at her and suddenly he hates himself. He left his mask in his pocket. It’s the only thing that would be able to give him enough courage to not stutter when he replies. Not when the most gorgeous person he’s ever seen is slowly pulling away from him. The hand that drags over the middle of his back has a chill running through him.
“N-no it’s fine.” He shoves his phone into his pocket and tries to look anywhere other than into those bright golden eyes. One place ends up being the sandwich he had just bought— ruined by the puddle. “I should have been watching where I was going.”
Ilista settles a hand on his shoulder when he goes to bend over. “Oh please, let me make it up to you? I was the one not paying attention.”
Xerxes dips down to pick it up anyway. The bag is daring to rip in his hands already and the sandwich inside is surely ruined. The price to pay for thinking he could cheat out of cooking something tonight.
He does his best not to look up at her. “It’s, um, fine. I was on my way home anyway.”
“Mm…I suppose. I would feel better if you’d at least let me buy what I ruined. Or give you money for it?”
She’s insistent, almost pushy with how she doesn’t want to let him go. And she doesn’t. Making a crack into someone’s wall doesn’t always go slow and easy. Not when Ilista is doing it.
The mist-like rain falling around them encourages Xerxes to end the encounter or move it along. He doesn’t want to stay out in this weather much longer. Even with a beanie over his blue hair and a brown coat over his shoulders, it’s still chilly.
“I…I guess if you insist? The restaurant I got it from is right back there.”
He gestures to the shop near the end of the street. Eyes locking onto where they’re going, Ilista gives him an encouraging smile. “Then let’s go. I haven’t tried them yet either.”
Striding back to the restaurant, Xerxes tries not to look over at Ilista very often. Each time he does he gets caught with a smile reflected back at him. He’ll quickly look away and is more than happy when they reach the glass door. Taking hold of it, Xerxes holds it open for her.
“Thank you,” she whispers to him as she slips inside the warm atmosphere.
It smells so wonderful that she almost gets lost in it for a moment. It’s been some time since she’s visited any world and gotten to truly indulge. If only she had more time today she would. Instead, she waits for Xerxes to come to stand beside her.
Together they move to the counter where the person standing there moves away with their food. Ilista glances down at Xerxes. “Order whatever you want.”
Ilista is more than happy now that she asked Yue for money relating to this world. She’d be losing her mind over what to do otherwise. Regardless, she waits patiently for Xerxes to place his order so she can pay. It doesn’t take them long to hand him the fresh sandwich.
A feat that has Ilista a bit disgruntled. It’s not enough of a wait to be able to strike up a conversation at all. Therefore, she remains silent while he places it in the bag slung over his shoulder. Just like they entered, they leave and return to the rain peppering down on them.
Xerxes flicks his eyes up to her and then back to his feet as they begin to walk toward his apartment. “Thank you…for that.”
“No worries. It’s not out of my way since I live right there.”
Following where she gestures, Xerxes finally lets his blue eyes meet her yellow ones. A blush dusts over his cheeks and he cuts his gaze away. “R-really?”
“Mhm! I just moved in.”
“I live there, too.”
Ilista smiles at him as they come to a stop before the building. “I’m glad. I’ll be able to see you again, then. Although, I do have somewhere else to be now or I’d love to offer you a hot beverage to get away from the rain.”
“T-that’s alright, thank you anyway.”
Xerxes has never been able to hide the emotion from his face, much less his eyes. Even Ilista can see the sadness lingering there. She can only imagine he might be lonely. It does seem like a rather dreary little city.
“I am new to the city and don’t really know much around here. Would you mind if I reached out if I need help?”
“I-I don’t mind.” Xerxes rustles around in his jacket pocket to pull out his phone. “I can give you my number.”
Panic surges through her. A phone? She definitely doesn’t have anything she can pass off as one with her. It’s another thing she’ll have to get Yue’s help with— another favor to owe the expert seamstress.
“I don’t have my phone on me. Why not just write yours here,” she suggests while lifting her arm and pulling the sleeves back.
“What? Are you sure?”
“I’m not scared of a little ink. And that way I won’t forget who it belongs to.”
Xerxes goes silent at that. The tips of his ears are turning pink from where they peek out from his hair. He dutifully puts his phone away and reaches for a pen inside his bag. A moment later and he’s holding onto her wrist while scrawling the numbers on her arm. He writes them small, yet readable.
It doesn’t help he almost looks like a tomato by the time he’s done. A fact that has her smiling wide. “Thanks! And be careful not to slip when you get inside.”
The smile she gives is blinding even as she turns to walk away. He can’t help but stare after her, watching as she disappears into the throng of people. Something he realizes he didn’t notice was there.
People, they’ve been crowding around and past them the entire time. But with her? It’s as if it was just them and the little bit of anxiety melted away. Her bright presence is like the sun in his cloudy world.
It reminds him of another friend he hasn’t heard from in some time. Maybe…maybe he should message her to see how she’s doing. Perhaps even meet up and treat her to a meal, he knows Callua won’t turn that down.
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In fact, Callua does get the message. She checks it and types out a swift reply— one that says she’ll get back to him after work. In all honesty, it’s not wrong. She is at work. Although thankfully she’s waiting for Soren to show up and can spare the second to answer back.
The last place she expects to come to is this dilapidated house. It even feels like it has a permanent black cloud over it. The rain has just let up but it’s left a chill in the air that has Callua uneasy.
Coming up the stairs behind her, Soren scoffs at the steps he has to be careful walking up. He’s not gentle with how he opens the screen door that’s barely holding onto its hinges either. Nor does he knock before opening the door.
An act that has Callua wondering why it’s not locked, to begin with. Not that she can focus on it for long. Soren is already barging inside as if he owns the place. Callua gently shuts the door behind her.
The inside is just as bad as the outside. Yet it doesn’t look filthy whatsoever. There’s no dust or grime or a cobweb to be seen. What they come into is a small entryway with an antique chair in the corner.
“Girl, I know you’re here. Bring them to me.”
The voice he raises isn’t quite a yell. Nonetheless, it resounds through the seemingly empty house and bounces off the walls. Callua tries not to visibly flinch and remains dutifully behind him.
Around the corner, she can hear the softest footfalls. They precede the appearance of a young woman. A hood is pulled up over short hair that frames in red eyes that seem so bright in the dim lighting around them.
The hooded jacket she wears is oversized with the sleeves so long that Callua can’t see her fingers. Considering it should be easy from how she’s holding a small, plain black box in her hands.
She doesn’t dare look up to meet Soren’s eyes. Although, she does glance over at Callua while holding the box close to her chest. “I…I think these are too dangerous. Just making them—”
“I don’t care about how much it hurt to create it. Hand them over. I’d hate to have to tear this ratty little place down.”
“B-but, sir, please?”
“You’ve been cared for and this is your payment to me. Now do it.”
When she hesitates, he lifts his hand. “Or should I get one of my friends to encourage you to move faster?”
“No! I’m sorry.” She holds out the box toward him and keeps her head bowed.
“Good. I know you wouldn’t want me to tell Hax you had a little accident now would you?”
Callua watches the exchange carefully. The mention of Hax’s name strikes her as odd. What’s worse is when she peers around Soren to see what’s inside the box. For a moment, she can see the items; what looks to be a ring and a jewel on a strip of cloth.
“Good. We’ll be off and you’ll receive your payment.”
“Y-yes, sir. Thank you, sir.”
Callua quickly opens the door and allows Soren to turn, leaving first. She follows behind him with a single glance back at the girl. As the door shuts, she sinks to her knees.
Perhaps she’ll come back and check on the girl later. Then again, she can only assume Soren has her monitored round the clock. Soren turns to her once she comes off the steps. The box is thrust out toward her.
She gingerly pulls it into her grasp as she watches him. A lighter flicks out a flame briefly. He lights a cigarette and takes a long inhale before tugging it from his lips. If only because he can see her eyes on him.
“What is it?”
“She makes them? A human?”
“I don’t care for how. Hax is the one that found her. Although it seems like she can’t just make them left and right. But it’s fine, we have what we need.”
“What do we do with her now?”
Soren chuckles at that and begins to walk. “If I had my way? She’d be dead.”
“Meaning?”
“Hax said not to harm a hair on her head or he deals with the person who did it personally. But if the opportunity arises, I trust you’ll answer my call.”
“Of course.”
Soren exhales a large breath of smoke. “Perhaps if you keep up the good work I can pull you into the fold. We could use someone like yourself. To start, take this and put it in the safe in the office. Then we’ll reconvene.”
Callua nods and opens a portal. “I’ll meet you at the usual place then.”
Getting away from Soren and letting the portal close behind her is easy. It’s once she’s away from his sight that she panics. She doesn’t have very much time to get this done and meet with Jace. She’s already sending Jace a message while doing as Soren told.
Into the office, put in the combination to the safe, and place the box inside. The second it’s shut once more, she’s hopping through another portal to stumble out onto the cliff where she’s met Jace before.
The only difference is this time it’s bright and sunny, and the wind coming off the ocean is invigorating. There at the edge is Jace. He glances back upon her arrival.
“What’s the hurry?”
“I can’t stay long. I just need to give you the information.”
“That’s fine, I can’t either. Hax is waiting for me to finish up.”
“It’s about Hax. The tools Soren has been talking about— he has them. They’re in the office and he said the girl that made them is special.”
Jace raises a brow but says nothing.
“The catch is that Soren would love to get rid of her but he can’t. Hax is protecting her, said that no one is allowed to lay a hand on her.”
“Do you know where she is?”
“Yes.”
“Then let me see what I can get out of Hax before we pay her a visit. We’ll have to be careful. I’m sure Soren has surveillance on her round the clock.”
Callua deflates now that she’s done what she needs to do. The adrenaline is slipping away to where all she wants to do is take a nap. Undercover work is not her cup of tea.
“Then I’ll get going before Soren expects anything.”
“Go ahead. Let me know when you’re free next.”
A nod and she’s turning away. He watches as she draws up a doorway only to stop and glance over her shoulder. “Oh! I got a message from one of Zye’s old friends. Did you want to go with me?”
“Cal, I don’t…” The look on her face convinces him that now isn’t the time to tell her no. “Let me think about it.”
The smile she leaves him with helps ease some of the tension from his shoulders. Not a lot, but enough to have him able to find the location Hax is sending him to next. The fact that he won’t be there alludes to the fact that there’s not a bunker for experimentation.
He assumes, anyway.
The world he steps out into isn’t much different from some of the places he’s been. It’s a bustling city of technology, good-smelling food, and a variety of people in all shapes and sizes. It doesn’t surprise him to see an abundance of animalistic features on each person; tails, ears, scales, and fins.
Then again, plenty of the Dark Stars he’s worked with are no different.
Regardless, he stands on the edge of the roof across the street from what looks to be a restaurant. From the shadows, he can feel the presence of a Nether. It ambles over to him and points to the building he looks at.
Jace can only sigh. This is the last thing he expected. Working with a Nether isn’t something he would have guessed to be doing. Nonetheless, he glances at it from the corner of his eye. It’s rather large and tall, a bit over his own height. A tentacle comes out from each side of its back. The two appendages hover in the air, pointing as well.
“Wish you could talk…just the fact that you’re helping is weird enough.”
“Common…goal…”
Jace’s head whips toward it. His eyes widen as he stares at the Nether’s countenance. There’s no hint of emotion or acknowledgment, the strangest part of it all.
“Hax didn’t say you could communicate.”
“Low on…can’t say…stay here…”
Jace lifts the hood of his coat, tugging it up and tucking his hair in. “Fine, maybe next time.”
“Hax…orders…sorry…”
He’s still bewildered and can barely concentrate on the task ahead of him. A task he’s not even sure what it entails. With one last look back at the Nether, Jace hurries over to the building in question. It only takes a moment to get to the back entrance and inside.
He’s grateful they’ve left it unlocked, to say the least. It makes it all the easier to slip down into the basement. No one looks back at him as he does. They don’t notice a thing and it tells him they must all be mortal— they wouldn’t see him to begin with.
There’s no light as he makes his way down. The ability to see in the dark is limited at best. He can at least tell where he’s going for a couple of feet in front of himself. Stepping off the last step, he’s confused.
The area isn’t very large and there’s little room to move in to top it off. If it was anything more he’d expect an ambush. Yet there’s nothing. It’s not a bunker for inhumane activities. Jace can only imagine this is one of Hax’s— a place he used during his time as leader of the Dark Surge.
Immediately, Jace begins to scour the room for anything he can find. Sacks of grains, jarred goods, and the like are all he can find stacked around the room. He’s about to give up when he notices the table behind a large drum of something.
Jace moves it the best he can. His muscles burn as he scoots it enough to get access to the table and the solo meager drawer it holds. A lock situates on the front of it. One he doesn’t have time to deal with.
Fire burns across his fingertips, getting hotter, until he brings them to the lock. It drops to the floor with a loud thud. Jace doesn’t care. He’s too busy prying the wooden drawer open and grabbing what’s inside.
The flame vanishes from his fingers as he uses both hands to pull out what appears to be journals. They don a hardcover while not being very thick at all. Even so, they’re sealed in some kind of material that his fingers glide over.
It’s glossy and slick, yet not glass. Surely it won’t take much to get into. Perhaps he can just ask Hax when he gets out of here. That would be the easiest solution. Jace is sure Hax would tell him…right?
“Who…are you?”
The small voice catches him off guard as much as the light brimming to life over his head. Jace spins around to spot the source. He expects someone that’s tailed him.
Instead, all he sees is a small boy. Short brown hair is pulled out of his face and tucked, mostly, into a beanie. It shows off large blue eyes that stare up at Jace expectantly. His hands remain in front of his yellow t-shirt and brown shorts.
“I don’t mean you any harm. I was just coming to get something of mine.”
“Yours?”
The child glances back to the stairs where the door is left open. The brighter light from the main building spills down the steps. He can hear the noises of the adults bustling around to get meals made and served.
“Yes, it’ll help me fight monsters.”
Choosing his words wisely pays off. The child’s eyes light up at the thought. For a moment, Jace is worried. The child is far too trusting. Although, it is rather cute how he steps forward.
“Monster? Like what?”
“They’re all kinds of sizes. Darker than the night with blue eyes. If you ever see one, make sure you run.”
“Oh, um…” The boy fiddles with the hem of his t-shirt. “I’ve seen them, they’re scary.”
Even here people see them? Jace isn’t sure why but he gets a sinking feeling in his gut. He’s never asked questions or tried to learn anything other than what Charmilla told him about. At that moment, he knows he’s a fool.
He knows better than to follow blindly lest he is led off a cliff to his own demise.
Jace kneels down before the child. “You have to stay away from them as best you can okay? If you see one, wish really hard and we’ll come help you.”
“Do you mean it?”
“Of course.”
“How do…you fight them? Can’t I—”
“We have magic. But even then it’s still dangerous.” Jace demonstrates by holding out one hand, palm up, and summons a small orb of fire. Doing so has the child transfixed. “Can I ask you not to tell your parents I was here?”
“I don’t know. That’s lying.”
“I understand. Then can you wait until I leave?” The fire snuffs out as he curls his fingers to his palm. Standing up, he’s already summoning a portal behind him. “Be good and protect the ones that can’t see what you can, alright?”
“Mhm!”
Stepping back into the portal, Jace gives the child a smile before he vanishes from that world. He doesn’t bother going back to see if the Nether is still there waiting. There’s no point. He has other important matters and one of them is getting his head on straight.
The child reminds him so much of his littlest sister. So pure and innocent while also being far too trusting for her own good. It reminds him he has to hurry and take care of things, and figure out how to keep all these souls safe so that the child and everyone else doesn’t have to suffer as much.
It’s why part of him still believes in Charmilla’s words. She is right. It’s their job, their duty, and all their true goals need to be is keeping the souls safe.
Yet at the same time, he knows she wasn’t looking at the bigger picture. She couldn’t see the forest from the trees. That there are small holes in their ship and it’s slowly taking water. Holes that he has to patch so that they all have a boat to come back to.
Stepping into the living room of the cabin he’s been revitalizing, he sets the books down on the ground before lighting the fireplace for some light. For once he’s glad he left some logs in there. Jace plops onto the hardwood floor in front of them and shucks his jacket off. The bandanna is next as he wraps it around his wrist instead.
“I need more allies willing to fight, just Hax isn’t enough.”
The mumble to himself does little as he realizes he can rip the seal on the documents. Inside are two notebooks that have nothing on the fronts to give away what they are. The light from the fireplace flickers as he picks one of them up.
If there’s one thing he’s grateful for it’s that they’ve been given the ability to understand any language put before them. Especially since Hax seems to have written in many different ones throughout the book. Flipping through does nothing, therefore he settles back at the beginning and starts to read.
It’s not like a normal journal or diary. There are entries about places, people, findings, and ramblings about what he’s found. Once he starts, Jace can’t stop. He’s not sure how long he sits there by the light of the fire. All he does know is he’ll have to go get more wood if he’s to continue here for the night.
The most important facet is that Hax was never attempting to increase Nether population like Charmilla suspected. He’s been trying to control it. It’s all in an effort to find out why they form, how long it takes, and what can be done to prevent it.
However, that leads to giving human souls a touch of their power. It’s from Hax himself at first and then a select few that he’s worked with. None of the names sound familiar, leading Jace to believe they’re no longer around.
The only problem is there’s a side effect to giving shreds of power to humans. The ability to see and sense Nether as well as a chance of them appearing in the individual. It already has him thinking about those he’s met that have.
This is proved further when the following entry includes an excerpt about finding a world he can use. A planet with a race that has a ravaging disease, albeit controlled, that the mortals can’t fix.
‘I hope that by giving them some power it can serve as a barrier, a chance that maybe they will survive against the Nether. As well as not spawn any more…one day, maybe.’
The line at the end of the page hits Jace rather hard. It has to be— there’s no way it wouldn’t be the same world. Not when Earth was always one of Hax’s favorite places to meet.
At the beginning of the next journal is when chills race up his spine. His skin crawls and he grips the book harder than he intends to. The description of the location and people hits him hard.
It’s his people. Jace’s home. This small side entry has him more than frustrated. It details how the Nether are spawning at a ridiculous rate for an island of its size. Even with the populace gone, wiped out completely, they still spawn and wander the stretch of the island.
‘I can’t keep coming back and cleansing them. There are so many…hundreds… There’s no one here anymore, maybe I should give up. I’m not sure what to do. Perhaps there’s a rip in the veil, a way for Nether to get here. Charmilla won’t listen, says to leave it be and the world will restart itself in time.’
At the back of his mind, Jace can hear a few messages from Callua and Gray. There’s even one from Hax. But he can’t, he refuses to stop until he’s through the short stint of the second one. In fact, there are more diagrams and illustrations than words. Not to mention how much is scratched out and rewritten.
It details what Jace was hoping he wouldn’t find. The connection; Lyra Rigel. A young, frail woman with a bright soul. A Chroma as people call them there. The clarity of her soul shocked him to the point where he had a Nether watch over her.
However, he didn’t do as he would to others because she was with child at the time. Afraid that too much would have an adverse effect.
‘The child already has the feeling of an old soul. Strong and able to handle more than what I’ve given others. Maybe…maybe he’d be an option.’
Skimming a bit further down through the rest of the details up to the child’s birth, Jace can’t take it. He knows who it’s about and he can’t help himself. Throwing the book to the ground, Jace runs a hand up over his face. Fingers comb up through his bangs and clutch at the strands.
“What the hell is everyone thinking?”
It’s driving him crazy just reading Hax’s words. While he was bowing his head and doing as he was told, there’s been all of this.
Charmilla and her desperate attempts to keep the status quo. All to protect those she’s duty-bound to. Even if it meant turning a blind eye to other possibilities.
Kerse and her search for whatever it is she wants or needs. He isn’t nearly close enough to her to know what’s going on with her.
Then there’s Hax and his research into just what he is and how everything works. Surely there are better ways to do what they need to. A bunch of schemes bundled up in a savior complex.
Not to mention the real wildcard and problem child, Soren. Jace knows he needs to be dealt with soon. His schemes are close to his chest and it worries the Keeper.
Jace slowly leans back until he’s lying flat on the floor with the final log burning bright. It crackles and pops, giving him enough noise to not lose his mind.
He has so much to talk to Callua about.
So much to tell Zye about once he can get to him. Will he even want to stick around in this mess once he knows what it’s really like?
ns 18.68.41.174da2
