• Chapter XI

    “Don’t tell me you haven’t noticed!” stammered Luke, rubbing his eyes with his tanned fingers. We moved to his private library at the basement of the northern wing.
    “Well how would I know? She’s been hiding from me this whole time!” I retorted. I was sitting on a dark brown chair at the end of a table that took up the space of the center of the library.
    “Imbecile!” he yelled. “Sorry. But how could you be so foolish? Even a man with a quarter of a brain would have noticed.”
    “Well then I guess I have less than that.”
    “Is something bothering you about that?”
    “Yeah! I don’t even know her and she loves me? Talk about shallow!”
    “Don’t you dare call my sister shallow!”
    “Already did.”
    Luke came up and slapped me. “Maybe love was a bit too strong of a word.”
    “You think so?”
    “Sorry, but she wants you.”
    Couldn’t blame her for loving me!
    It’s me you idiot.
    Your point?
    “Where is she now?” I asked viciously.
    “I don’t really know.”
    “Where would she usually be at this time?”
    “At the clock tower. It’s just five minutes north of here.”
    I got up and went for the door. “Good.”
    “Where do you think you’re going?”
    “To have a little chat with Her Highness.”
    “I will not allow you to…”
    I slammed the door behind me. Give me a break. I just want to take a little walk.
    What a peculiar character.
    What do you mean?
    Didn’t you feel the neutral energy that came from that Luke?
    How can you feel that? Who are you? What are you doing in my mind?
    The voice in my head fell silent. Hey I asked you something!
    Forgive me. I did not explain myself like I promised. My name is Shwarze Borhung. I am your conscience and I have kept you alive the day you were infected by the NecroCity apocalypse. I am a higher being. I can see things from different dimensions.
    Dimensions?
    Different areas in the fabric of space and time. The power of that explosion has ripped a hole right through the very fabric of space.
    It was that powerful?
    Sounds fantastical, doesn’t it?
    Sounds insane.
    I do not know what was in that reactor when it ruptured, but you are the only one who can help me figure it all out.
    You’re crazy. What is a kid like me going to do with a higher being like you?
    You’re still alive. That’s all I need to be convinced that you can do anything.
    Whatever. It was when I stopped speaking with Shwarze that I noticed I entered the clock tower. The inside of it was a tall, bronze room with gears behind barred doors and a bronze elevator. I walked towards the elevator. Breathing hard, I clicked the button that operates the elevator. In about two minutes, I made it to the observatory. Wind blew my scarlet hair in front of my eyes as I made my way around the top of the building. The city was shining a rich gold as the yellow sun set, giving the silver moon a ways into the scenery.
    “What do you want?” asked a girl wearing a purple dress. Her long, blonde hair moved with the breeze. Anne.
    “Heard you were here.”
    “I’m always here at this time.”
    “The city looks beautiful from up here.”
    “That’s why I like coming out here at this time. It’s the magic hour, the best time for photography. And for sightseeing.” She turned around and showed her face. It was neutral. Anything can set her off. The golden sunlight shined off of her violet eyes. “Your hair’s a mess,” she chuckled.
    “Yours, too,” I replied jokingly. We laughed in unison for a few seconds. “Your brother told me everything.”
    Her smile dropped. “What do you mean?”
    “Nothing. Forget what I said.”
    “Tell me.”
    Damn, I thought. Stupid, stupid, stupid! You got her smiling again, and now she’s close to killing.
    “Xilus?”
    “Um. How you lost somebody you once loved.”
    “Oh. Well that’s all in the past, right?”
    “Yeah,” I replied. I turned on my heel to leave, but she was clever.
    “That’s not it is it?”
    I stopped in my tracks. “No.”
    “What else?”
    “He said that you…loved me.”
    No response.
    “Anne. Don’t run away. I want to explain myself. And for real this time.”
    “I’m not walking away,” she replied. Her voice was warm, as always. But it was cold at the same time.
    “I lost somebody I loved, too. You remind me of her. She was my best friend, always happy. Always right.” I stifled a tear.
    Are you crying?
    Ignoring Shwarze, I continued. “I don’t know what happened, but she disappeared during the explosion. At least, that’s what I think.”
    “You don’t really know?”
    “No.”
    “Oh Xilus!” Anne cried. She got close to hug me slightly. Hesitantly, I hugged her back. “You shouldn’t give up like that!”
    “She’s probably not in NecroCity anyway.”
    “But she’s probably not dead, either.”
    “Hopefully not.” She hugged me harder. Then she stared up.
    “Oh, sorry. I forgot…”
    “It’s okay. It was kind of comforting,” I replied. We laughed together a little.
    “Well you comfort me, too.”
    “How?”
    “When you told me how my powers aren’t bad. That they are gifts.”
    “Well they are. If you make it that way.”
    “Of course I want them that way!”
    “Then use them to help your people.”
    She hesitated, as if calculating something. Then she took a deep breath. “I’m going to use them when I go with you guys.”

    “No! No, no, no! I will not allow this!” complained a dark slim man in a gray cloak with red stripes. “You are lucky that I am here to fix this!” He had a long face with a skinny black moustache. His black eyes loomed over a collection of clothes that he had set on a table. “Worst of all, Advent, you have not used your battle gear. Instead, you have destroyed your leisure cloak!”
    “Big deal. I have more of those, right?” Advent replied indifferently. He set his pale hands on a desk to lean. He wore a black shirt with faded blue jeans.
    “Don’t you dare act like clothes are just trinkets that you can throw around! They are sacred!” stammered the slim man. He set his dark and smooth fingers on his desk. “And do not lean on my desk!”
    “Sorry, Your Clothingness!” replied Advent calmly.
    “Here!” He threw Advent a white and black cloak with a collar that extended upwards to protect the neck and mouth area. “You are Advent the Unvoiced. Your image should be shown to even the weakest Impulse.”
    “Yeah, yeah, yeah.” Advent slid the cloak on his body, struggled with the high collar and turned. “Oh, and Odziedy.”
    “What now?”
    “Here!” Advent threw his tailor a glowing badge.
    “What is this?”
    “I don’t know. Take it to Dante so he can figure it out.” Advent strode out of the tailor’s workshop and made his way down the stairs that were just around the corner. The silvery walls of the mansion turned into a monochromic gray. He walked down the gray stairs that winded downwards in a spiral until he reached the cool, damp basement floor. A great, wooden door stood at the foot of the stairs. It creaked open as Advent walked in. A long hallway with red wallpaper and gold lace was behind the door. He walked forward, passing red doors that had different numbers on each of them. Number eleven was the one closest to the entrance of the hall. Then the doors counted down to zero at the end, each one zigzagging parallel to the number behind and in front of them. Once he got to number zero, Advent took a deep breath and opened the door. A great pressure fell on him. Fighting the need to rip the fabric of space to feel better, Advent made his way to the center of the room. A red carpet marked the center of the room and ran from the white wall of the room and to a huge throne parallel to it.
    “Advent?” murmured a deep, old voice at the other side. The old man wore a purple cloak which concealed his face with darkness.
    “Annul. Where’s…”
    “He is not here. What business do you have with him?” demanded the old man.
    “Just have to clear out a few gaps in my job description,” joked Advent.
    Annul was not amused. “Well you will have to wait. I have important business to attend to.”
    “With what?”
    “The…others.”
    “They don’t do much, Annul. Might as well leave them to their original job: guarding.” Advent pointed his fingers to Annul, as if warning him.
    “The rebellion that has ended- thanks to you- has brought up a little controversy on the term ‘guard’.”
    Advent sighed. “What? They think that they can take those idiots on? Fine then.”
    “There is also the matter of your status as an Atomico.”
    “What?” shuddered Advent. His hands started to tremble. “What are you…?”
    “Your success was not a true success. You were to subdue them, not kill them!”
    “You know they wouldn’t stop anyway!”
    “Maybe so, but that does not mean that you should stray too far from the rules.”
    “Listen here!”
    “You listen: you will be demoted to a lower rank and that’s it!”
    “I am Xilus’s opposite! You can’t do this to me!”
    “We can and shall. It has been decided, Advent,” replied Annul, his calm tone shaking. Advent was now trembling all over. His hands trembled. His legs almost collapsed. Waiting for Annul to leave, he tried to calm himself. But how? It was the first time he ever felt fear in ages.
    When Annul finally disappeared down the corridor, Advent slipped to his room and waited for the inevitable. What rank number will I be? Will I be eleven? Or will I become a Menor? He tried to take the image of standing among all of those half Impulse, half Atomico creatures. He did not want to become them. He did not want his human-like body stolen from him. He did not want to lose his power. An hour passed when, finally, a servant came to him. It was a Meno, one of the lower ranking Impulse creatures.
    “Meister Advent,” she spoke softly. “The Master would like a word with you.”
    “Very well, Marta,” replied Advent, trying to hide his anxiety. He walked out of his white room, down the red and gold corridor, up the gray stairs, and went directly ahead to the great white door at the end of the hall. It was just pure white, except for the Atomico insignia, which became two strands of DNA crossing each other. It glowed different colors of the spectrum. When Advent got near, it turned pure black. The blackness then spread across the door, filling the chains that bind them with an ebony radiance. The doors opened. Advent took a deep breath and walked into the room.

    “Why?” I asked abruptly.
    “Because I want to be with you!” announced Anne as if the entire city would hear.
    “It’ll be too dangerous!”
    “I survived Eve didn’t I?”
    “The king will worry.”
    “My father will understand.”
    “Luke…”
    “My brother does not care for me.”
    “Yes he does,” I murmured. “He said he would do anything for his kingdom and his sister.
    “He lies then.”
    “I called you shallow and he slapped me straight across the face for saying that.” I pointed at the mark on my face, which was still burning. “See?”
    “That was my hand on your face.”
    “No. The mark left a while ago.”
    “Still.”
    “Ask him yourself.”
    “No. I know him well enough.”
    I groaned. “It doesn’t seem like it.”
    “How?”
    “Didn’t he burst into Sypras Manor just to save you?”
    “Yeah he did…”
    “And he did it without fear of almost dying.”
    “I suppose…”
    “So can you trust me, if not him, that he is a good person?”
    “I can trust you.” She rubbed her hand on my sleeved arm. I still wore the black cloak since the king’s kidnapping.
    “Then let’s leave. It’s getting cold.”
    “Yes. We should.” Anne made a movement to the door. Wincing at a sudden cold breeze, I walked leisurely to the door with Anne right beside me. There. Now we can finally live in peace. We stood in the elevator in silence.
    “So when is it time to leave?”
    “I don’t know. Spades probably changed his mind with the accident today.”
    “He probably has.”
    “Are you sure about this?”
    “Positive. Is there a problem?”
    I hesitated. “Yes.”
    “What is it?”
    “I don’t want you to get hurt.”
    She giggled. Then she gave a light hug. “You won’t have to worry. I’m pretty skilled in fighting, Xilus. What do you think I do in my free time? Braid my hair?”
    “Yes.”
    “Well I don’t!” The elevator made it to the bottom floor. We stayed in complete silence as we left the tall clock tower and made our way past the street between the tower and the palace. When we got to the palace grounds, a cool breeze that shivered my bones blew in. Anne took the opportunity to snuggle. Oh great! Now I’m a snuggle buddy.
    Don’t deny the fact that you like it, Xilus.
    Shut up, Shwarze.
    You are a rude one.
    I don’t like hugs and kisses either.
    I beg to differ.
    Ugh.
    Hehe.
    What happened to the stuck up voice in my head?
    I am not a stuck up fellow. I just do not converse with new beings unless I get to know them, that’s all.
    “Xilus,” whispered Anne when I noticed we were at the center of the palace now.
    “Yeah?” I replied, relieved that she was no longer hugging me.
    “I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?”
    “I guess so.” Not that I had much of a choice. I walked down to Luke’s library.
    Luke was still there, reading a book about Old Rotandum. “So. Did you speak to her?”
    “Yeah. And you’re right.” I paced to the wall. “Damn it, Luke! I’m not here for a commitment!”
    “You sound like an old man.”
    “You sound like an older man.”
    “Touché. But Xilus, is this really bothering you?”
    “Yes!”
    “Why is that?” Luke sounded perfectly calm as opposed to my frantic speaking.
    “Because…because I don’t know her.”
    “There is such thing as love on first sight, Xilus. It’s something else. Something…deeper.”
    He got me. There was no other place to hide. “Fine. I used to know this girl. Xiona was her name. We used to be the best friends. I’ve told Anne about this.”
    “But you didn’t explain the whole story, correct?”
    Damn. Damn, damn, damn it! He’s good. “We were close. Anne reminds me of her. She always tries to help people.” I continued to talk about how we were close and how Anne is just like Xiona. “On the night before the explosion in NecroCity,” Before I condemned us all. “Xiona offered to help me. She pleaded- practically begging- and cried. I’m glad I didn’t tell her to come. She’s probably alive somewhere. But that uncertainty…it’s, it’s…”
    “That’s enough,” dismissed Luke. My eyes were near pouring by then. “So what happened up there?”
    “Anne practically called me her boyfriend.”
    “She was always quick to conclusions.”
    “I don’t want her to get hurt because of me,” I murmured abruptly.
    “What?”
    “I’m letting her get closer, and she’s happy now. But what happens when I shoot her down?”
    “Then don’t let her get closer.”
    “She’s still going to get hurt!” My voice was raised.
    Luke closed his book. He got up and checked me up and down. “You are different than that mongrel who broke out of prison a few days ago. You seem more…emotional.”
    “Probably because I’ve worked with this before and failed!”
    “Listen, Xilus. I will speak to Anne to here her side of the story.”
    “I doubt she’s going to tell you anything.”
    “I can urge her to tell me everything. I read books on many things, Xilus. They have lectured me on many things. Now you go do whatever business you need to attend to.” Luke walked to the exit of the library.
    As soon as his footsteps were gone, I let my tears out. Xiona, I’m sorry.

    “You have failed us all, Advent,” announced the man on the tall, golden throne at the end of the long, immaculate room. It was not completely white, though. There were black markings like chains extending from behind the walls. “Not only have you nearly killed yourself, but you, indirectly, caused Los Menores to believe that we are weak. We cannot let our lesser believe that we are weak, can we?” The man had a black cloak with red lining the hood, sleeves, and legs. The cloak was opened from between the legs downwards, making mobility easier for its wearer.
    “No, sir,” replied Advent. His voice was almost a whisper. Any show of disrespect can doom him.
    “Do not take this as a condemnation. Take it as concern.” The man had messy, white hair and cold, red eyes. His gloved right hand was supporting his head, making him seem bored. He smiled, hardly creasing his pale skin. “Now, explain what exactly happened.”
    His calm, emotionless voice pierced Advent. His superior was the only person who can frighten him. “The rebels were ruthless, sir. There were Poltergeists and Arbol. They were easy to destroy, but…”
    “There’s that word: destroy. Those are our forces, Advent. Can you not see why I can condemn you for treason against the Atomicos?”
    “Yes, sir.”
    “Continue.”
    “Seekers attacked from behind.” Advent hesitated. “An Altair was present, as well.”
    “An Altair?” echoed his superior. “Intriguing.”
    “Sir,” said a voice from the entrance of the room.
    “What is it, Zorzec?”
    It was the Master. “Forgive me for the intrusion, but Xilus just had another mental break through.”
    “We are doing progress, then. You are dismissed, Zorzec.”
    “Thank you, sir.”
    “I meant from the Atomicos.”
    “Sir?”
    “I no longer need your assistance if Xilus can work without a force propelling him, do I?”
    “But, sir!”
    “Are you questioning me?” inquired the man, still calm. A high pitched noise sounded from nowhere. Advent watched in disbelief as Zorzec fell to the ground on his knees, clutching on to his ears. Advent was not affected by the noise. Zorzec started to scream in pain as the noise grew louder. Then it stopped abruptly. “Well?”
    “I did not mean any disrespect!” cried Zorzec, still feeling the stabbing pain in his ears.
    “Good. If you feel so strongly of being an Atomico, you are now rank two. Advent you are promoted to rank one.”
    “Sir?” staggered Advent, surprised.
    “Your prowess as an Atomico is amazing, even for a man who has half-failed a mission.”
    “Thank you, sir.”
    “Zorzec, leave.”
    “Yes, Superior Necro,” murmured Zorzec. He got up from his knees and walked quickly to the door.
    Necro turned his head towards Advent. “Now, tell Annul to have your gear moved to Room One.”
    “Yes, sir. Thank you, sir.” Advent got up and paced towards the door. That went differently than I had expected, he had thought to himself.
    “What happened?” inquired a chilly voice. Cryon. He was leaning against the wall to the right of the doorway.
    “I got promoted.”
    “Rank One?”
    “Yeah.”
    “That’s great. Why do you seem so melancholy?”
    “Because I have to be near Necro all of the time now. And I have to work double: papers and field work.”
    “That’s it?”
    “How am I going to face Xilus when the waiting is over?”
    “You won’t get to that time.”
    “What do you mean?”
    “He’s off of our protection now. We may do what we want to him.”
    “But he has to win until the final hours.”
    “If the plan holds and Xilus has not been overestimated.”
    “Hmph.”
    “Just move to your new quarters, Master Advent.”
    “Don’t call me that.”
    “Whatever,” said Cryon jokingly. He always knew how to poke at people’s senses. Advent walked down the spiral stairs and paced towards Room Zero.
    “Annul!” he demanded when he got inside.
    “Yes?” Walked out from behind the door across the room.
    “I was promoted.”
    “That is good news. What does Necro say?”
    “Move my belongings to my new room.”
    “Very well.” Annul made for the door. “Your gear will be in shortly.”
    “Fine,” yawned Advent. His fear exhausted him.
    “Odziedy would like a word with you,” added Annul as he passed through the exit.
    “What does he want?” groaned Advent to himself. He made his way to the tailor’s shop.
    “Ah, Advent,” whistled Odziedy with his accent. “Dante wants to speak with you.”
    “Why didn’t he call for me himself?”
    “Because he is busy in his lab. Now go.”
    Rolling his eyes and snorting quietly, Advent went to the room to the right of the shop. This room was dark with only one light on at the far end. “Advent.”
    “Dante.”
    “I have checked that badge you have sent for me.” Dante turned on the lights. The laboratory was now shown in full light. There was a shelf full of instruments on the left and a large white board at the right. The lab table extended from the back wall to the center of the room, where shelves of books were lined up vertically, in line with the entrance of the room, and stopped at the left wall. “It is an Omnic badge.”
    “You mean that corrupt company?”
    “Yes. It gives the user enhanced abilities and a higher percentage of living through a mortal blow.”
    “So it is...?”
    “It is coated with the mineral Ulticore. It is very rare and powerful, so powerful that the Old Rotoandum shamans locked the largest shards into the deepest reaches of Uhilinughan.”
    “So they were bold enough to actually get in there?”
    “Uhilinughan was just like Rotandum in those days.”
    “Pheh,” grunted Advent. “I don’t know my history, Dante, so don’t bore me.”
    “You should,” retorted Dante. “Where did you come across such a fine piece, anyway?”
    “Found it while I was scouting with Rina in Arkalcus.”
    “Very interesting.” Dante seemed to reflect the Prince of Arkalcus in every way. He moved carefully, but deliberately. His voice was quiet and moving. He was never one to talk, but if whenever he did, he always sounded intelligent.
    “So what are you going to do with it,” sniffed Advent.
    “Lock it up just like the shamans.”
    “Why?”
    “Why not?”
    “You said it yourself: it is very powerful.”
    “And very rare. If I just put it into someone’s custody there may be a chance it can be lost.”
    “Then mass-produce it.”
    “Impossible. Out of the question.”
    “Fine,” muttered Advent, feeling no need to argue any longer. “I’ll be off to my room. I’m tired.”
    “Have a good night, Master Advent.”
    “Don’t tempt me to knock that thing down a cliff,” warned Advent as he swung around the corner.