Bo opened his eyes smoothly and found himself under drips. He blinked and rubbed his eyes then saw the Aligners badge. It was on the curtain was saying that he got back home but he didn't remember what happened to him. He remembered that he crossed the shield and then nothing! It was all blank as if a missing part of a puzzle.
The rain was kicking the window strongly seemed it didn't like to hit any obstructive factor between itself and the ground. Bo couldn't hear any other voice except the wind howls and the savage pouring. He glanced at the clock that was saying the night is still young.
He surveyed around to see Beta but he wasn't there. Going after the dog, then the rest of his memory gone pale again. But near the crack, he saw a masked man who blinked at him with those yellow eyes!
Separating the serum from the hanger, he stumbled a few steps forward then straightened his shoulder. He wanted to become an Aligner like his father, a rider one, that could drive the amazing IQB9 cars.
They had an energy cube internal quantum binary central engine core. Their speed could go on 600 km/h. He couldn't disappoint his father more than that and had no intention to act like a goofy boy that only provoked mess.
He glanced at his wounded arm, sighed, and winced out of the room to find his father and Beta. Outside of the room, he witnessed a mere solitude in the corridor.
He kept walking until the end of the corridor where one side was going to the left and the other one to the right side. He glanced at the guide board and at the same time, the windows rattled and distracted him.
"Why should it pour like this?" He continued his path to the left side until reached the pillars on either side of the walls where a huge vase was on a white stone table, filled with Lilly flowers, and behind it was a crimson curtain. He heard some voices and slipped behind the table.
Taking hold of his serum, he sat there mutely. Eavesdropping wasn't a good state of manner but he didn't want to get back inside the care room.
"The Anonymous creatures and their sparrow king doesn't like Vita so why would one of them save the boy's ass!" That was Eric's voice, his father's man.
Bo frowned! Was the masked man an enemy? The one, who took him back home, was an enemy! He thought to himself.
"For gods' sake how dare he showed up here? Maybe they caused the crack on the shield to hurt or cause us trouble."
The other Aligner blurted, Bo didn't know his real name but heard that his teammates used to call him Bigfoot Mat! He didn't need to guess why they called him that way! The man was a big masculine man with big feet!
"Mat, you got to be kidding me! Neither of them can make malformation into the shield! They can't even cross it! There must be a defect in the powerhouse of the cube that caused the crack!" Eric disapproved of the guess.
He was a mechanic that graduated from Science Academy then went to Aligners Academy! He knew better than Bigfoot Mat.
"So gods showed mercy toward Commander's boy! If it wasn't for this crafty juggler, he was among us as an Emulatorus, a servant of Lashuka." Mat kissed his necklace of Ishrab that was a circle then recited some words.
"Damn, Man bite your tongue! Even the thought is trashy."
"He is a half-blood fay! A werewolf, so Vita court might show him some nice face." Mat mentioned.
The things scared the hell out of the boy! He was about to offer his own body to a Lashuka servant and this masked person was a werewolf! Crap!
The door that they were guarding got opened two men came out of it; their legs touched the black carpet with red margins.
He peeked at them but he noticed the masked man's eyes were fixed on him so snuggled and glued his knees to his chest! Why was he still there?
"Eric, Mat, please take the juggler out of the Lake Vita. He has an invitation from the Moving City of Hekhamen. The king of Vita personally sealed the invitation. I was lucky that he found my son." Commander Jiaheng Wong Commanded.
"He is under the protection of Aligners so make sure that he is crossing safely. Take him with my car to the middle Sea without stopping. He is in hurry."
The men wondered and exchanged a meaningful glance.
"Yes, commander Wong." They both said.
"Please tell the kiddo to keep the Queen card with him!" The masked man said while gazing in Bo's direction.
He unintentionally touched his chest and felt the card inside his nightclothes' pocket, taking it out, watching the glowing queen illustration.
That day he watched the man took his leave and didn't ask any question from his father. On the other hand, his father didn't speak a word about it. Even didn't scold him for causing trouble but took him back home. His mother said nothing after his father talked to her.
After that, he used to watch the card and tried to remember what had happened inside the shield but neither of his attempts worked that well! Moreover, he never heard about the juggler anymore. He shared it with his close friend Delun Lee and he said that he shouldn't dangle himself to elders business until he grew up.
***
Days and nights passed, they brought changes to his life, bitter and sweet all at once, and ten years later when he was inside the garage of TECO Company, sitting on a chair, peering at the Queen card, and wishing that something comes out of it. A light wiggled out of it, he jumped up on his chair as the shelves began to quake. The light brought a strong wind with it then rushed to his head.
The eighteen years old Bo was frozen, ignoring the noises that every device and tool on the shelves were made, the light reflected in his iris and brought him back a missing part!
He felt a pain in his heart that was pressing his chest with his left hand, he knelt on the ground, clenching his fist letting his tears spreading on the floor. Right after that, a figure appeared in front of him.
"Are you ready?" The soft voice of the figure asked.
"Why does it hurt so much, Ai?" Bo was trying to wash the mass of darkness that flooded within him.
"I have warned you that summoning the content of that card might hurt you, this is how the truth is sometimes. It bitterly hurts but you don't let it ruin your strength." She got closer, grabbing his chin, gently pushing his head up.
"Are you ready to take your next mission, Bo Wong?" The stunning Crane Lady in the white uniform of shadow Aligners said.
"I am ready, Ai! I won't let this knock me down."
"Win this race and bring us honor in those harsh tracks." She stated then blew into a cloud of golden dust in her palm, helping the boy to be free of his bitter emotions, and left the garage the way she had come surprisingly.
This immortal fay of immortality court was a fan of him anyways, but she came to motivate him before the competition. She knew what would the young mortal experience after summoning the card in his hand.
Everything arose a memory to his mind, three years ago, when he was standing on the top of his father's grave, Master Karmalin arrived. The manager of Aligners Academy and the owner of Immortality court. The old fay took a place in his life as a father and offered him a great title.
He gave him the power of diamond although knowing he was a human and made the boy a powerful member of Aligners shadow squad that used to capture the wraiths. He couldn't let the past hunt him down. He was a dark wraith hunter now. They couldn't attempt to kill him anymore.
The diamond of the fay power had chosen him and no one could change this. He gripped the card.
They trusted him, made him an Aligner to protect himself and others with a great power that not everyone could gain.
Bo got up to his feet. He heard that the audiences were cheering for him. People had come from each city of Vita to watch this Auto race of TECO Company. The company that was protecting them from the menace beyond the shield.