Five days are left until the second round begins. Ahimoth was left in Ervil while Cj and Miya left the country they hope they never have to visit again. "The first time you told me that you killed The Professor it didn't really stick. I certainly wasn't taking you seriously" said Miya. Cj replied, "What's done is done. Just don't tell anyone yet. I want to see how many years it will take before they discovered that he's dead". The two finally arrived back on Apsychos Island after being gone for two weeks. The moment they arrived Cj asked one of Miya's disciples for a favor.
"Do you mind leaving me and Miya for the next four days?" asked Cj. The disciples didn't even bother to reply. They simply picked up Miya's things and started their journey to the cave. "These disciples of yours are not to protect you. I bet they don't even care for you all that much. They are ordered to watch your every move. To ensure that you are not spilling the beans" Cj whispered in Miya's ear. Miya nodded yes in reply.
Meanwhile, Fei and Aoi made it on Stephano Jupiter's territory. An island very similar to HEP's but even bigger. The atmosphere was tense almost unbreathable because of the smoke coming from multiple buildings across the island. The two searched the island for two days straight trying to find Professor Jupiter but they couldn't spot him. This made Aoi furious. "He really stole BEA and ran off. I can't believe this" she said. Fei made sure to stay a safe distance from Aoi in case she wanted to kick him. While they were searching Fei went inside one of the warehouses and immediately regretted it. So far he has only seen machines so he was taken by surprise. A huge load of explosives was inside the warehouse. It was the first time Fei has ever seen dynamites and grenades outside of movies. "What are these doing here of all places?" he said.
Aoi entered the warehouse soon after hearing Fei's voice and grabbed his ear. "Why are you so worked up?! Professor Jupiter isn't here on the island. If he really stole BEA from me then he wouldn't be stupid enough to hide here. He knows this is the first place I'd look" said Aoi. Fei's phone lit up and SOR showed himself. "There aren't any living organisms here. My breathing sensor hasn't been picking up a single thing" said SOR.
"You could have told us this earlier. Where were you anyway? You were gone for a long time" said Aoi annoyed. SOR answered her question with another question. "Does the Professor have a son? Another thing weird is that the Professor left most of his computers unprotected. Normally if he's leaving the island he would've guarded them right" asked SOR.
"That's true. Jupiter once said long ago that he's incapable of having a child. Who knows he might have adopted without anyone's knowledge. There seems to be a lot of parents that like keeping their kids a secret like Ronald, Harriot, and even King Almon" said Aoi. SOR showed Aoi and Fei an album that was zipped on Jupiter's computer. Photos of a baby boy, a toddler, and a teenager. That boy was always right next to Professor Jupiter at all times in the photos. They all looked like the same person in the photos and they were taken in different years. "The Professor raise this boy from a baby," said SOR.
"That's sweet and all but right now I want to know where Jupiter's location is. We need BEA before the second round starts" said Aoi impatiently. Fei pointed at one of the teenage photos and said "This guy looks familiar. Black canoed hair with a serpent tattoo on his neck. I know I saw someone like that recently". The moment Fei said that Aoi remembered the young man that destroyed her cyborg in the first round.
"You might be on to something. That boy knew Olga's poison and prepared himself for it. Only Jupiter and I should be capable of that. I think Cj is his name. He looks identical to this photo now that I'm paying attention. If he's Jupiter's son then maybe he knows where he's hiding" said Aoi.
Fei nodded in agreement and leaned on Aoi. "My heart still beating from seeing all those explosives. Carry me please" asked Fei politely. Aoi swung her right elbow in his face then started walking. SOR went on to show Fei some other data he found locked in Jupiter's computer.
"Gift Transfer Project" SOR read out loud.
"The professor learned that when a person unlocks their gift then their descendants will automatically attain one as well sometime during their lives. It's all about genetics. The next way to attain a gift is to drink the potion of Dragon Dante. So Fei how did you get your gift. Was it genetics or was it through the potion?" asked SOR curiously. Fei thought about how he attained super speed. "It was two years ago when I heard my sister was about to take surgery. I wanted to be with her while she did it. I was in a different city at the time so it was impossible to make it in time. To my surprise the second I started running I arrived at the hospital in minutes. A vehicle would take at least two hours to arrive but I made it within minutes. The first time I ran so fast I didn't even realize, to be honest. My father has a gift too and I am sure my sister will have one eventually too. Maybe it's genetics but then again I was cured of an incurable disease with the Dragon's potion. Let's say both" said Fei.
"Interesting, your family are gift users. Don't tell anyone but 8 percent of humanity is blessed with power. Now the number jumped up to 9.7 percent of Humanity. The world is changing my friend. Eventually everyone is going to start having unique abilities somewhere in the far future" said SOR. Fei smiled at the thought then asked SOR "Since this BEA person has been stolen it feels like I wasted my time leaving the island. Could you accompany me on my quest to win the Dragon Hunt?"
.....
Deep down this is what SOR wanted. He was slowly making conversations with Fei hoping that he could start travelling with him. Guarding an island that never has visitors is painfully boring. He deliberately watched and did nothing when BEA was stolen because he wanted the chance to change his everyday tasks. "Yes, I would love to. Anything to keep me distracted from HEP. I want some fun and I know you're the guy for the job" said SOR. This was the first time Fei saw an AI expressing emotion. SOR never sounded more happy than he is now. Aoi stopped to look at Fei with SOR in his hand.
"What are you talking about? Isn't it amazing how my computers can display emotion."sighed Aoi. Even now she still feel betrayed. One of her favourite people in the world stole from her. At one point she's upset then she's sad. "If you didn't Program her to sleep this wouldn't have happened" said SOR bluntly.
"Shut it! I don't want to hear from you. You actually made Jupiter take BEA away without lifting up a finger" said Aoi angrily.
"SOR doesn't have fingers," Fei remarked.
"You and Professor Jupiter are the only two people I can allow free access to the island. Anyone else unless they are accompanied by you two must be filled with bullets. Those are my orders and I carried them out" said SOR.
"I take back what I said. Humans are way better than computers. I'm pretty sure any human being could sense the wrong intention from that man's face but not you. You really thought it was ok to let BEA roam free with somebody else. Gaah! It pains me when I hear your voice" complained Aoi. "So can I borrow him for a while. Take him from your care" said Fei worriedly.
"Yes, he's the next best thing right now. We don't know where Stephano is and I can't waste your time looking for him. You need to prepare yourself for the upcoming rounds. SOR is all we have right now" said Aoi disappointed. And like that they left the island. Fei feeling nervous, Aoi upset and SOR excited.
The next day on Apsychos Island someone was banging on Alisa's door.
BANG! BANG
BANG! BANG!
Alisa opened her eye shocked by the loud banging sound. She scratched her eye as she slowly walks towards the door. "Who is it?" she asked. "It's your father Alisa. Come on let me see you. What did I do wrong for you to treat me like this. Locking yourself up is cruel" said, Ronald.
"Cruel? Hmm, stop knocking my door. I don't want to see you right now" said Alisa.
"I bet Lisa filled your head with a lot of misunderstanding. She told you something you didn't want to hear. Lisa does not understand anything just like you! Don't trust her. I am your father Alisa" said Ronald desperately. "Dad please not right now. I need to be myself for a little while longer. Each day it feels like I understand my gift even better. I fear that you will ruin it" said Alisa.
"Ok fine. Just don't act too late Alisa. I don't have much time left" said Ronald. Alisa placed a chair under her doorknob and went back to lying on her bed. As the days pass by Alisa's thoughts became more clear. She knows that her father makes contact with her there's no telling what she'll forget. "He does not have much time left?" thought Alisa.
"Lisa hates dad while dad hates her back. I bet if it weren't for me dad would have burnt this body long ago" she sighed.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Ronald continued to bang on Alisa's door. "Open up Alisa! Let's talk!" he continues to shout. The door next to Alisa suddenly opened with a man charging out the room. He grabbed Ronald by the collar and asked "Mr. Matar! Do you know what time it is!?"
"Get your hands off me. You're pushing it"
"The time is 6:55 AM. It's too early to be banging on girl's door. She obviously doesn't want to speak to you so leave her alone and let the others sleep" said the man.
"Cj is your name if I'm not mistaken. Leave my sight" said Ronald annoyed.
"OK, I AM GOING TO GO INSIDE MY ROOM AND IF I HEAR ONE MORE BANG ON THE DOOR YOUR WHOLE SKELETAL SYSTEM WILL VANISH!" Cj threatened as he entered his room. Ronald found that threat very odd. No one says stuff like skeletons vanishing. Ronald sighed and left Alisa's door for the time being.
Later on that day around 9 am Cj left his room to visit Miya's. On his way there he saw a familiar face. The king of his homeland was standing right Infront of him smoking a cigar. "Smoking at your age. Are you immune to side effects like Miya"? asked Cj curiously. The old man replied "Don't address me like I'm one of your friends boy. You must know that I'm a king right. Yes Miya and I are cut from the same cloth".
CJ was dying to ask this question ever since he learned about Miya's existence. There isn't a better time to ask King Almon. "King Almon I have a question that's been puzzling me. I've been a citizen of Arcland for over a year now and I have never heard of Princess Miya. Nobody knows that you have a daughter. What gives?" Cj asked. King Almon grinned at Cj's question.
"That's something I alone should know and for you not to, know. Curiosity killed the cat they say" the king said before walking away.
"Hmm, I'm sure I'll find out eventually. Right now the second round is all that's important" replied Cj.
"You don't have much time left either. You know that right" the king said with a smirk.