They all exchanged looks though Argus didn't seem so surprised by what he had just heard. He knew that the weapons could only be used by those who possess the power of chaos. It was one of the main reasons Talon wanted him alive. He couldn't use the book without the power.
"And I have to stay here and keep an eye on the bow within the mansion. We are not sure when this Talon guy may try to take it." Leon went and immediately turned to Jack;
"You're in charge," he said, glaring at Jack with a tough eye.
Jack seemed so shocked by the sudden handover of authority,
"Okay..." he dared not to go against his father's words.
"This is the map of the possible universes the anchors may be." Leon continued.
The map would expand the moment he moved and swiped his hands in the air to display the map to all of them like a magical hologram.
"And my book?" asked Argus
"Am pretty sure it's still here somewhere in this world. Hayward couldn't hold chaos magic. he could only hold it for a while meaning that he could only use your book for a while. but he couldn't have used it because he was saving his chaos magic to perform the reality spell, he must have kept it somewhere....."
Argus was impressed by Leon's analytical thinking and planning.
"I sent Miranda, she is onto it so don't worry about that. Our main focus is on getting the anchors before Talon does and destroys our worlds,"
Leon explained to Argus.
"Why can't we jump to those worlds using Jack's powers?" Alex asked.
"Because the map will be scrambled with the use of spatial magic and Jack can't carry all of you with one jump I can't risk your brother's life. You will use gateways to cross between the worlds and they are all highlighted on the map. I will personally lead you to the first that will take you to the first world Trantor where my friend Uriel will be waiting on the other side to help you along the way."
Alex couldn't argue with her father, his plan was so well crafted and built she couldn't see a single problem with it. She took a clear look at the map may be trying to see the faults,
"Dad, are you sure this will work?" she looked at him, she was suspicious.
"Yes, Alex, it will, I just need you to stick to the plan."
He sounded so calm and confident about this and it bothered her.
"Now go get some rest we leave for the first gate tonight."
They all left the room, leaving only Jack and Alex who was still unsure of this plan. She felt pulled and confused about this like something was missing in this entire plan, but she wasn't ready to argue about that so it was better to move out and rest.
But before she could, she heard her father call her,
"Alex..."
she stopped,
"Don't be so worried, all is going to work out."
"Then why do I feel like you're not telling us everything. Like why do you have the map or why the bow is here yet only a chaos lord can hold it?"
Alex knew her father had a dark past and how he was so secretive about it. Leon said nothing. He just stood there glaring at her waiting for her next words.
Alex rasped after hearing no response from her father. That only meant she was right.
"As I thought you and Jack know something and you don't want to tell us," she spoke with anger, and with those words, she stormed out of the library.
"Should I go after her?" Jack asked his father,
"No, leave her be your sister is just emotional. She will be fine and it's better if she doesn't know what's truly happening," he said then turned back to his work with Jack.
.
.
.
.
Alex stepped into her room angrily, slamming the door behind her, and then threw her blade away out of anger. She was tired of being kept in the dark. Her father and Jack shared secrets that she couldn't access through mind reading no matter how hard she tried.
What were they hiding? Family secrets perhaps. There were times her father couldn't be trusted at all and times when he had to be trusted. She slammed her fist into the wall, forcing it to crack halfway.
"..."
She then pulled the blade back into her palm and stared at her reflection between the blade. It was a golden dagger with a silver crest of a dragon engraved on its hilt. it belonged to her mother and was passed down to her when she turned ten years old her father always said that that's what her mother would have wanted.
Though Alex couldn't remember much about her mom, she knew that she was from another world which explained Jack's unusual magic evolution abilities and her ability to control the blade itself when no one could, according to their father, she died of an illness that couldn't be cured and that's all he could say which regularly annoyed her because she felt like there was more to it.
She continued staring at the reflection. Till it just vanished and the entire room's atmosphere changed all of a sudden.
An image of a woman whose entire body was made from smoke appeared right behind her and whispered in a cold tone,
"What do you wish to know master? I sensed your need for me."
It sounded like an old woman whispering from a distance. The thing is, the blade was a living thing with a spirit of a witch locked in it who would feast on its user's desires, pain, and hate, and with that, its users had access to magic strong enough to kill a lord.
"I need to know where your previous wielder came from?"
The smoke loomed forward, closer to her face,
"Masssssteeerrr...Alex...your mother found me in a world known as Tecar the land of magic and monster and beasts my home."
"That's all?!"
"Yes, thee holder was looking for where to hide from her people, but she found me instead and I gave her the power to defend herself instead," it said, pointing at the blade in her hands.
The smoke flew closer to her this time face to face.
Alex got a glimpse of its eyes sparking with a flash of yellow lightning, its smoky skin, and its ugly female-like face. She didn't feel frightened at all though her instincts forced her to tighten her grip on the blade's hilt,
"Yourrrrrr.… weak," it said, "weaker… than your mother," It laughed as it pulled itself back into the blade.
She sighed with great relief and dropped the blade onto the floor. Her eyes were wide and her mind spinning from its words. This was the second time she had talked to it the first being the day he got the blade itself.
"Tecar, I have to go to Tecar," she concluded,
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.
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It was now nighttime in Switzerland and as scheduled by Leon they had to go to the first gate that was hidden deep within the mountains. Leon had led them through the mountains and finally to a cave that was filled with glowing rocks on its sides.
They slowly crept in and Scarlet began to notice the magical symbols that were engraved on the walls, each meant something different and was a possible rune that enabled universe jumping.
Her eyes had grown wide with excitement
"What is this place?"
"It's a pathway that leads to the gates. They were built by the chaos lord Atlas who was an architect and powerful mage. They say he built these to enable worlds to meet and he wanted to create a union of worlds. Like a government. "
Jack explained as they moved deeper into the cave, following the glowing runes.
"But he never lived long enough to see that day. These walls are infused with magic, so strong, that once absorbed by any of us, we might die by the first spell we cast," Alex concluded,
Scarlet remained amused by the wonderful designs and symbols maybe that was the only good that had come from this whole new life the curiosity that she loved so much because she was aspiring to be a scientist herself to grow more curious and discover.
But for Argus, it was different because he felt scared due to the trauma he had received from his friends being killed in a cave and this one reminded him of that. He could still hear their cries echoing through his mind. He remained quiet the whole journey.
They stopped at the sight of a huge glowing wall in front of them it was engraved with spells and enchantments to maybe keep intruders out and away,
"This is the gate to Trantor. Let's hurry up before anyone senses that we are here," Leon said,
"All of you move forward and Jack performs the spell."
Leon faced Jack. The rest moved closer to the wall and waited for him to work his magic.
He lifted his hands and the wall responded to his powers by growing a black hole-like spiral from the center. Jack moved a distance closer, trying to put his concentration on holding it,
"Go! All of you," he yelled, trying to hold the gate.
All four gave each other one last look before they all walked into the gate and disappeared the gate closed instantly once they were gone.