Kaid stood there dumbfounded but still maintained a stoic appearance.
"What kind of work?"
Arcadia seemed to be mulling the question over, thinking about whether she should answer it forthright. At this point everyone's attention seemed to be focused on the two of them. Once Arcadia noticed this she said, "how about we take this elsewhere. Would you join me for a stroll Mr. Solvik?"
"It would be my pleasure."
There was no way he was going to refuse of course. The offer she just made intrigued him and this was the best route to getting what he needed. She then proceeded to come up next to him and courteously wrap her arms around his, allowing him to walk her out of the room.
They made their way out of the room and towards the patio on the roof of the building.
Once on the roof she let go of his arm and gracefully walked around the patio taking in the night scene of the city.
"I must say the city is quite beautiful at night. I always find that it has an energy to it that you can't really find anywhere else."
Kaid just looked at her, not sure how to respond. He'd only ever seen the city from the ground, where all the trash and filth was, down below where you couldn't hide the dirt or grime or piss stains of the homeless that covered the sidewalk. Up here, in this tower built off the backs of those who were privileged enough to be taken advantage of, you couldn't see the darkness below as the lights created an impenetrable shield, forever maintaining this illusion in the clouds.
Kaid hadn't realized it before because he had buried his emotions so well, but he really hated this city. He hated the beautiful buildings that seemed to reach the heavens, taking people's eyes away from the hell below. He hated the lush gardens in the sky that were carefully tended to, while the soils below were water by the blood of the dead and dying. He hated the self-proclaimed saints who stood atop the pillars of society declaring peace and order while brandishing their whips of servitude and submission on the down trodden. Kaid hated this city.
He tried to look away from the city and focus on the person in front of him. When their eyes met once again Arcadia had a mournful look on her face as if she could see everything that was going on inside Kaid and she felt pity for him. 'No, It's not just that it seems like it,' though Kaid.
"You can read other people's emotions. No. You can feel them," said Kaid. He stated it as a matter of fact not giving any room for doubt.
Arcadia seemed surprised at first and then she started to smile seemingly happy with the turn of events. "Yes, that is correct. Although it's not quite the way you put it, the essence of it is still the same.
"I am able to share in the emotions of others, forever intertwining my soul with those emotions within this singular time in space. I can then give life to those emotions allowing them to escape the bonds of time and space, allowing them to return to their origin before once again reliving the circle and attaining their true self."
Kaid stood there, confusion finally breaking out on his face.
"You're not human are you?"
"And neither are you. Or at least not all of you. What surprises me the most is that I can't figure out what the rest of you is."
He wasn't really able to pick up anything strange from her except her uncanny eyes. He now knew for certain that she was definitely from a very powerful race. The ability of an empath isn't something that can develop amongst the common races, she was certainly special. Because of this he wasn't sure whether he should push the matter further or not. If he did she would likely ask him about the strange thing inside his body and why he wasn't fully human. There was no way for him to lie about that to her so the best he could do right now was drop the matter and focus on what's important.
"So what's the job that you wanted to offer me?"
Arcadia looked at him intensely for a second before responding, "I need a special person to find a special item for me."
"Okay, can you tell me why you think I'm a special person and what this special item is?"
"I think you know why you're considered a special person. As for the special item I can't tell you anything about it."
"Then how am I supposed to find it?"
"You won't find it. It'll find you."
Kaid stood there, eyebrow raised, wondering if he was talking to a sane person at this point.
"The item in question is something extraordinary that doesn't belong to any one world. It's constantly moving from place to place through time and space. Its movements are random except for a few instances.
"Those instances being when a special person makes themselves know to the world and their name becomes written in the annuls of history. I believe you are such a person and when the time comes for your name to be written it will appear. At that time, I ask that you lock it's movements to this plane of existence and bring it to me.
"For your work I am willing to make all my resources available to you. You may do with it as you like so long as you promise me that you'll part with the item and provide it to me once the time comes."
"Okay okay okay stop. Just stop for a second. I hope you realize just how crazy this all sounds. None of this is normal! Nothing about this is normal!"
Arcadia seemed a bit surprised by Kaid's reaction, but she wasn't the only one. Kaid was also surprised by his own strong reaction, but it did make sense that he'd react like that. After the death of his family he found himself being sent from one orphanage to the other sometimes having to go off world to a new place that would eventually reject him like all the previous ones.
He was able to escape that unending cycle because of a man who promised him freedom in exchange for small requests. That freedom was never given to him and instead he was used until he wasn't useful and subsequently thrown away. To say he was distrustful of those offering an opportunity that seemed to be too good would be an understatement. The only reason he'd not walked away yet was because of his circumstance and the nature of the person before him.
Kaid took in a deep breath as he got rid of all the unpleasant memories that were resurfacing before responding again.
"What is it that you're actually looking for? What could be so important about this item that you'd be willing to give a complete stranger your full financial backing?"
Arcadia could tell from looking at Kaid that he was not someone who'd be willing to accept this proposal without giving him something close to the full truth.
'How peculiar, usually they agree quite readily to such proposals. It seems I may have to reveal a few things in order to convive him. However, It will be worth it. I'm now more certain that he will be able to accomplish what the others could not. The stars around him are now dying and collapsing in on themselves. Soon a new generation will be born,' thought Arcadia.
"The item I seek holds within it the secrets of all. It has the capability to communicate with the one above all, bringing it's knowledge onto this plane of existence."
As she continued on with her explanation Kaid started to notice an inhuman aura surrounding her, slowly getting stronger as she spoke, enveloping her words with power.
"The item carries with it the capability to both destroy the universe as well as creating a whole new one. If knowledge is power then this item holds power absolute. Knowing that do you then think the price of all my fortunes is to great?"
At this point Kaid was completely enveloped in her aura. He could feel the strength of her souls as her words seemed to manifest with them a force unyielding. Despite all of this Kaid didn't feel the slightest hostility but was instead finding reverence in her presence.
"I'm still not convinced but I'm not in a circumstance where I can refuse such an offer outright. How about this, since I don't know your full intentions if I manage to somehow acquire this item I won't turn it over, but I will allow you to use it."
Arcadia seemed to be mulling the question over. "This is certainly an interesting proposal. You are both offering me the object of my desire while still maintain some semblance of control. I must say I quite like such a proposal; it allows me to restrict myself from being further tempted by the item. I believe we are in agreement then?"
She put out her hand for him to shake. With a second of hesitation he shook her hand sealing the deal.
"I must say, I look forward to seeing your exploits Mr. Solvik."
"Just call me Kaid. Getting called Solvik feels a little strange to me."
Arcadia smiled at him, "Alright then Kaid, in that case feel free to address me as Arcadia."
With their meeting seemingly coming to an end they both headed downstairs and were subsequently met with eyes that looked eager to question the two about the nature of their meeting. Kaid silently made his way back to his post ignoring the questions of the other waiters. Arcadia was subsequently being bombarded by her acquaintances as she had now become the center of attention.
Although the matter of getting a green UII card was seemingly solved, Kaid felt unease for some reason. He couldn't identify the source which further amplified his unease. 'Something's about to happen. I need to be ready,' thought Kaid.
---------------------------
Kaid had made it safe to the hotel he'd been staying and started to grab his few possessions. He frantically looked for everything, double checking to make sure he had not left anything behind. The sense of unease he had been feeling hadn't dissipated but instead seemed to have grown with time. With every second the feeling got stronger and stronger. At this point he was furiously packing everything and was about ready to bolt out the door when the door it's self was blown of its hinges and in walked two gentlemen.
Kaid immediately recognized them as the bodyguards from the VIP banquet. Before he could think about the circumstances of their arrival in walked the half giant he'd previously seen followed by two more bodyguards.
He could instinctively feel that all four of them were very dangerous. The system further cemented that fact.
[Analysis
Human
STR: 152
DEX: 166
AGI: 171
STM: 156
INT: 74
WILL: 103
Additional information.
Life force: 700
Energy Source: 55]
This was the strongest one and seemed to be around rank [R-03]. Kaid knew there was no way he could fight or run away from them. He instinctively retreated as they walked in.
The half-giant stopped a few feet towering over Kaid.
"Kaid was it? I have a few questions for you which I hoped you had the time to answer."
Although this was framed as a question the half-giants tone made it very clear that not answering was not an option. At this point Kaid was against the wall and he was completely surrounded by the five of them.
"First question. What are you? Second question. Why have I been getting the feeling that I need to kill you the moment I saw you?"
Although he didn't understand the context for the questions, Kaid knew very well that there was no answer he could give that would keep him from being killed in the next few minutes.
[--Convergence Anomaly detected--]
[Recommended candidate action. Termination of target.]
'If I could do that I wouldn't be in this situation,' retorted Kaid.
[Capabilities to low. Finding solution...]
[Solution found.]
'Great, tell me' thought Kaid.
[Requesting control of candidate body.]
'What!?'
[Requesting control of candidate body.]
Before Kaid could retort, the half giant seemed to have grown tired of waiting for a reply and gave the signal for his men to finish Kaid off as he left the room followed by two of the bodyguards.
'Shit! I grant you access!'
Kaid hadn't noticed the guard's fists that had instantly appeared next to his head and was now a split second away from making contact. Luckily for Kaid the system had taken control a fraction of a second before impact.
[Access Granted.]
[Running Artemis program.]
[Objective: eliminate targets and escape]
[Artemis program online.]
[Assuming control.]
[Commence soul burning.]
That was the last thing Kaid heard before the world seemed to become a blur and he lost consciousness.