"Is it really...necessary?"
"What is necessary?"
Lune tilted his head to the side and turned to face out the window of the moving car, his arms folded neatly across his chest. "An escort of ten," he said, taking Channing by surprise. "Are we not simply going to a 'school' where children attend?"
Channing glanced back at the road, his hands tightening around the steering wheel in bafflement. Sure enough, just a distance from them was the same five black vehicles from yesterday's dangerous exploit, two bodyguards in each car.
But how did he know?
"Well," he said. "You're right. It's not necessary, but this is what they're paid to do. They usually follow me wherever I go, because you never know what will happen."
Lune turned his head back, and he asked, "You are implying...that you are one desired target?"
Channing made a small noise of amusement. That was true, but no one had ever dared to refer to him as a 'target' before. "Yes. As one of the most successful people in the country, I am a wanted target. Either they want to kill me, bring down my company, they want my money, or something else."
The mysterious man let out a breath of content. "I see the worlds are not too different, after all," he mumbled under his breath.
But Channing caught it, and once more, it caused a surge in his undying curiosity. There always seemed to be a meaning behind Lune's words that he never understood, and it irked him. He wanted to know...he needed to know, and right now, while they were on the way to find the little girl, he wasn't going to let that chance go anymore.
He's going to ask.
But how was he supposed to word this?
"Lune," he boldly started, only to regret it right after. He cursed to himself, thinking about how rude that must've sounded for him to just call out his name, but Lune responded nevertheless.
"Yes?"
Thank the heavens.
Channing readjusted his grip on the wheel, staring at the road intensely as he opened his mouth to finally make his thoughts known. "I...I can't help but feel that you're somehow...different," he confessed. "But I can't figure out why that it is. Maybe you can tell me?"
Fucking bastard! Channing cursed himself once again, the tips of his ears burning with shame. Why did it sound so dumb when the question came out of his mouth?!
He held his breath when Lune didn't say anything, hoping that he did not just embarrass himself or put Lune in a tight spot.
Heavens, maybe he shouldn't have asked in the first place. There must've been a reason if he never shared personal information-
"I suppose it was quite rude of me to leave you completely in the dark, especially after you have seen so much," Lune suddenly said, a small smile appearing on his lips. "Just as last time, you asked who I was, did you not?"
Channing recalled that moment about a month ago, when they were inside the run down hotel right after the earthquake. Lune was speaking to him inside his head, and right after that, he had demanded him for his identity. "I did," he answered.
Lune's smile then disappeared, replaced with a more serious look. "I can tell you who I am, and I can even tell you about the world from which I came," he said. "Perhaps I will even show you... But there is one condition."
"What condition?" Channing immediately asked, impatient. The suspense in his words was getting to him so bad, that he was beginning to feel irritated that he didn't know. Who is he? What world? Show him what exactly?
"The condition-"
"Wait, hold on."
Channing slowed down the vehicle as their destination appeared on their left, and he pulled up into the school's parking lot. He parked his car right in front of the three-story building, and his escorts halted their vehicles all around them.
He stepped out of the vehicle and signaled for his men to remain in theirs as Lune exited right after him. Children screaming in the track field sounded in the distance as Channing made his way to Lune, only stopping when he was standing face to face to him, just inches away from each other's noses.
The president narrowed his eyes at the foreigner, at Lune, barely able to contain his excitement. "If I agree to this one condition, you will be honest? As in, from here on out, you can be yourself, at least around me, and you won't need to hide anything?"
Lune smiled. "Of course."
Channing grinned in return. "Alright. What's the condition?"
"...Everything estranged to human logic that you learn from here on out must be kept a secret unless I approve," Lune said solemnly, the sudden authority in his voice startling the mortal. "If you fail, there will be consequences. Do you understand? Please, take this seriously."
Channing stared at him incredulously. 'Estranged to human logic', he said? What kind of person was he for there to be such restrictions to his existence? No wonder he only introduced his first name when they first met, and no wonder when he tried, he couldn't find the slightest thing about this man when he was missing.
Then it must be a great privilege that he was being offered this right to know of his world, whatever it is.
And he was looking forward to the surprise.
"I understand," Channing finally said, voice firm. "I accept the condition."
The second those words left his mouth, a strong gust of wind picked up and flew past them, and Channing faltered unsteadily on his feet when the world suddenly flashed before him.
It was only for a moment, but right then, what he saw was unimaginable. Half of his vision blinked away, taking him somewhere unknown, while the other half stayed unmoving. He was looking into two worlds at the same time, their breaking points right in the center of his vision.
Lune stood still before him, but he wasn't seeing one Lune, he was seeing two, fused into the same body.
On the right half, he was the same; black blindfold, navy-blue coat, dark turtleneck, white pants, hair that was worn long and loose. He saw the blue sky and white clouds, buildings standing in the distance, and his car right before him.
But on the left, the sky was a wild mix of light colors, from purple to pink to orange to red, and it was a brilliant glow. Instead of scrapers, there was a glinting river and tall, rugged mountains; and he saw what looked like the ancient traditional buildings one would see in a fantastical film, ones with great architectural design.
It was such a vivid scene, buzzing with life...and when his eyes finally found their way back to Lune's other half, he froze, instantly captivated.
He thought he was beautiful before, but it seems he was wrong.
Those elegant, shining, bright blue and silver robes suited him millions of times better than any modern-day fashion wear could, and the material swirled around him as if it were part of the wind. The silver and gold insignia caught his eye, for they were circled around the belt at his waist, the cuffs of his wide, open sleeves, on the hairpin that swept up half of his locks, and even the decorating the blindfold.
There were no words that Channing could use to describe the being before him. 'Human', definitely could not describe him, nor could it describe the overwhelming, imposing aura that he gave off.
Despite being vertically split between the two worlds, Lune's smile remained whole.
There was always something about that smile...
Suddenly, the world to the left was forcefully swept away, and Channing was brought back to earth in a dizzying spell. His hand flew to grip his chest painfully and he gasped for breath, slamming his other elbow down on the hood of his vehicle for support.
"That...that was real?!" he rasped, glancing up at Lune's calm stance.
He was whole and fully back in his coat and pants again, but some part of him longed to see his other half once more.
"Yes. Though only you were able to see it," Lune answered gently. "What you saw was a part of my world, in the upper realms."
Channing slowly fixed himself and straightened up, eyes still wide with shock. That...was not what he expected at all, not even close to the creepy space creatures and UFOs one would see in the movie theaters.
But then again, Lune had never given off the vibe, nor ever looked like the stereotypical wrinkly-skinned and slimy creature with the huge black eyes and head.
"T- then, who are you? Are you human?"
He watched as Lune dipped his chin, his right arm held horizontally across his waist as if he were just about to bow.
He didn't, but he reintroduced himself and said this:
"This immortal is born Lune, titled Lord and Deity, second only to Lord Quest the Grand General, and to His Majesty the Jade Emperor of the Heavenly Realm."
.
.
"Zhu Tingyao, please report to the administrator's office. Year One student Zhu Tingyao, please report to the administrator's office."
This was the third time the secretary had to call for the girl, and the tension began to rise as the principal of the school and his assistant cast unsettled glances towards Channing's displeased expression, more or less intimidated by the two guards he brought along rather than the president himself.
Did it really take more than thirty minutes to simply call a student to the office?
Yet Channing couldn't believe the fact that Lune was remained so calm, as if the school's incompetence to bring forth a single student didn't bother him at all. He stood there by the door, somewhat listlessly, his expression blank.
Damn it.
A Lord? Heavenly Realm? He could definitely see Lune as a person of royalty since that was close to what he had suspected in the first place, but there was still so much that he didn't understand, and he wanted to know more.
Why did that stupid hall-monitor have to interrupt them before he could barely process anything?
Channing crossed his arms and sighed, casting Lune an uncertain glance behind his shoulder before turning back to raise an eyebrow at the middle-aged man sitting at the opposite end of the desk. "Are you sure the student is not absent?" he asked.
The principal scratched the top of his head of gray, clearly confused himself. "Yes, I'm sure of it. Her homeroom teacher had marked her present just this morning!" he insisted.
Channing frowned, unsatisfied. "Don't tell me this school is not even capable of keeping track of their students," he retorted. "I-"
"Channing."
The president fell quiet at his name, which was said so naturally yet held a clear warning behind it. He watched as Lune stepped up to the desk and smiled to the head of the school, and scowled.
That man doesn't deserve his smile, why does he keep smiling at him? he grumbled to himself. That's not fair... Stop. Smiling.
"Is it alright if you give us permission to tour around the school?" Lune asked politely, his light words breaking the tension in the little office.
The principal and his assistant looked up at him in awe, staring with their eyes wide and mouths open.
Channing's scowl deepened.
The elder man caught Channing's glare and quickly jumped up from his seat, gathering his papers. "Of course, of course!" he hastily exclaimed, reaching for a pen. "I'll let the staff know there are visitors. Do you need a guide?" He scribbled some words on a piece of paper and handed it to his assistant, who then scurried out of the office.
"No need," Lune said. "We will leave after we are done."
"Eh? But what about the student you were asking for?"
"Ah, that can wait until next time." Lune backed away from the desk and turned for the door. "We will be going now. Have a good day, sir."
Seriously?
Channing pushed himself off his seat and stepped in front of Lune before he could leave the office. "What are you doing?" he hissed under his breath. "You came all this way just to leave?"
Lune tilted his head to the side, the friendly expression completely wiped from his face, frightening him.
[No.]
Channing stiffened as his voice echoed in his head. It seems that he will have to get used to this soon.
[We are not leaving.]
'Then why-'
[I sense traces of demonic energy in the area, and it is not something I can let be. You do know what a demon is, correct?]