Present-day.
Thea gasped, opening her eyes with a breathless whiff after waking up from her sleep. Spontaneous Thea forced her body to rise to a sitting position after feeling uncomfortable with the bedding supporting her body since yesterday. Thea let out a long breath, while slowly looking at the armored white walls around her, then lowered her head, looking at her two wrists and feet that were fitted with silver bracelets with spell carvings around.
Thea flashed a faint asymmetrical smile, then shook her head. "The whole country knows everything about me, even the size of the underwear I wear," Thea murmured, in disbelief at the moment.
Yesterday, when she attended the opening of the Benes Gallery, she was arrested and locked up for nearly 24 hours after the Alpha Marc painting she touched fell off. Everyone knows, that the earthquake that occurred that day happened because there was friction between the Earth's plates in the Alras Sea at a depth of 150 kilometers from the earth's surface. Not only did the Alpha Marc painting fall at the time of the earthquake, but another painting that happened to be believed to have supernatural powers in it also fell at the same time.
For nearly 24 hours, Thea was locked in a special room called a panic room. Her wrists and feet were shackled by a silver plate with spell carvings around, even in the four corners of the room, the psychics were in awe, diving into all the abilities that Thea had, including finding out whether there were any unofficial hidden abilities recorded on the identification card that Thea had also on her birth certificate.
"Fortunately, the Moonlight Circuit suffered damage from the earthquake. I don't need compensation for not being able to do the first test drive in front of the sponsors," she murmured annoyed when finally able to meet with the four psychics in the four corners of the room.
"How much longer will it take to—"
Thea did not have time to finish her sentence, because the door of the room opened along with the appearance of Julien, Esme, Hugo, Artem, and Benedikt the gallery owner. The four psychics who accompanied Thea for nearly 24 hours rushed to remove the silver plate that shackled Thea's feet and hands.
"I'm not a criminal!" exclaimed Thea as the five people who had just entered the room approached her.
Thea looked at the five people one by one, then focused her attention on Hugo standing right in front of her.
"Thank you," she said curtly.
Hugo just nodded. Benedikt, the gallery owner, threw a warm smile as an apology.
"I'm sorry, Miss Maven. Just because the painting fell right when the earthquake happened, you became confined inside here since yesterday afternoon," Benedikt said with all the sincerity he spilled in his gaze and manner of speaking words. "I will compensate for all the losses I have caused. Also, I will immediately withdraw all the news that appears in all mass media in all corners of the country."
Thea nodded softly. "Thank you," she replied curtly.
"We hope that something like this will not happen again, Mr. Braun, Mr. Alexandrov," Esme told Benedikt and Artem. "It should be that the test results we brought can all be trusted, without the need to lock up our nieces like this."
Esme folded her hands on her chest, looking at Benedikt and Artem with her chin raised arrogantly, just like her gaze. Esme is upset that she has not handled to get Thea out of there since yesterday afternoon, although she and Julien carry Thea's id cards and ability test papers that show that Thea is a wolfless and a healer.
Esme and Julien even told of all kinds of abilities and all kinds of tests that Thea underwent, when they arrived and came face to face with Benedikt and Artem after getting an urgent call from Ava. Thea never even missed the routine tests conducted by the Kingdom which are usually carried out every 6 months, to find out the development of abilities.
All persons living in Alras, Freibruck City, in particular, are required to take a series of proficiency tests that will then be included in all identification, such as Identity Card, driver's licenses, student cards, worker cards, and other membership cards. In fact, in their birth certificate has been listed what status or ability each person has.
Unfortunately, the letters are not enough to be strong evidence that Thea is indeed wolfless and also a healer for Benedikt and Artem in particular. So, they decided to lock Thea together with four psychics and also installed 4 detector bracelets on both hands and Thea's feet to monitor the various hidden abilities that Thea had. However, Artem and Benedikt found nothing. The result remains the same, Thea is just a wolfless and also a healer. Not a summoner as expected.
"Thank you, Mr. Braun," Thea told Benedikt as she took her uncle and aunt away from the room.
Instantly silent. 7 pairs of eyes just meet each other without speaking. Artem turned his head towards the open door, asking Hugo to come with him instead of Benedikt.
"I need to talk to you, boy," Artem said as he reached the threshold, followed by Hugo afterward.
Meanwhile, Thea rushes into her room before Julien and Esme ask about many things that she does not understand. Thea even locked her bedroom door tightly when she heard Julien and Esme's footsteps approaching.
"Don't bother me. I beg you," Thea exclaimed from behind the door of the room. "I need to throw away my anger before talking to both of you."
Before hearing the reply from Esme and Julien, Thea went into the bathroom, stripping one by one of the clothes attached to her body since yesterday afternoon. By her words, Thea wanted to throw away her anger by shedding all that rage with water flowing all over her body.
Thea left all the water faucets in the bathroom on, even the shower she let wet the floor while she immersed herself in a bathtub that had just filled up by a quarter.
Several times she blinked when she looked at the ceiling of her bathroom. Slowly Thea closed her eyes, letting her head sink in the warmth of the water that began to fill half the bathtub. Thea brought herself back to the events before the earthquake occurred.
Thea found the painting with a silver frame studded with wolfsbane that managed to attract all of Thea's attention. For a long time, she looked at the painting. All parts in it she did not miss to be seen and observed in such a way, in a unique way and other than the observers of ordinary paintings do.
"Why are those soldiers in armor still brandishing their spears and swords at you?" murmured Thea as she looked at the group of people surrounding the only man still standing tall among the dozens of wolf corpses lying under his feet.
Thea then stretched out her right hand, touching the entire surface of the painting, including the figure of the Alpha who from the beginning became the center of her main attention when she found the object.
"Marc Sterling Gray," Thea read one of the captions in the lower right corner of the painting; the name of the prince, the Alpha who was besieged by hunters.
The sound of warning alarms echoed throughout the room, along with the arrival of an earthquake that made the painting detach from its hook and fall to the floor. Thea spontaneously kept her hands away from the painting, but it was too late, as some security officers as well as two psychics who had previously stood guard surrounded her while brandishing various weapons at her.
"THE SUMMONER!" everyone shouted in unison.
Thea rounded her eyes as everyone who shouted at her approached while pointing guns at her. "What the—?"
"SHE'S NOT A SUMMONER!" exclaimed a voice.
Everyone turned to the source of the sound. Hugo along with Pauline behind his tall body approached the officers who were brandishing various weapons at Thea.
Hugo slowly stretched out his smartphone in front of Benedikt Braun who had just arrived with Artem trailing behind him.
"There was just an earthquake in the Alras Sea at a depth of 150 kilometers," Hugo told Benedikt, repeating what was written on news headlines on his phone screen.
Benedikt put Hugo's cell phone out in front of him. Benedikt then gave the young man a nod of understanding. However, what he showed was very contrary to what he said next.
"I need to do a little check on this young lady," Benedikt said in a stern voice that echoed almost throughout the not-so-big room. "Anyway—"
"After all, this young girl has touched the painting of The Alpha," Artem cut as he stepped up to Thea, staring into her deep blue iris. "Isn't it written on the wall, that it is forbidden to touch paintings, young lady?"
Thea chuckled amusedly. Does touching a painting constitute a criminal act? Why is it so noisy just because of a small problem like this? Thea thought as Artem looked at her with such a disturbing probing look.
"Give me your id, and then follow us to the investigation room." Artem continued.
"I don't think it needs to be like this, Artem," Benedikt said as he watched several journalists enter the gallery. "We just need to see the id card that this young lady has."
Benedikt seemed worried when reporters mentioned the name of the girl they wanted to hold and his name as the owner of the gallery. Reputation. That's what Benedikt is thinking right now. He didn't want to make a fuss of any kind, at least not on the first day. But the existence of Artem makes everything small turn to be a big thing.
Benedikt believes that the alpha painting fell due to the shock of the earthquake that occurred at that time, not because of the girl's touch. Benedikt trusted the abilities of the psychics he leased, as well as the detector machine he deliberately provided at the entrance. Unfortunately, Artem couldn't believe what he believed. Although Benedikt insisted on denying it, Artem persistently took the girl to the panic room to be checked for her abilities until valid results appeared.
Thea opened her eyes as tightness began to fill her chest. She hurriedly pulled herself from the water, breathing the air greedily as she managed to lean her back against the wall behind her body.
Slowly Thea turned her head, and looked up to her right side, staring at the array of glass jars filled with soap with various colors inside. Thea pulled one of the jars and pulled out a blue ball from it, dropping the object into the water, letting the foam fill the bathtub, half of which was filled with warm water.
Thea washed both of her hands, letting her fingers dance around in the water that had now changed color. Blue is like an iris in her eyes.
"Marc..." she murmured.
Slowly Thea tries to remember the name arrangement that kept her locked up for almost 24 hours in a foreign place.
"Marc Sterling?" she murmured again. "Marc Sterling Gray?"
The two corners of Thea's lips slowly rose, forming a smile. "Marc Sterling Gray..." She said again, almost sounding like a whisper. Smooth, softened with all the softness she has.
Elsewhere, far from human civilization, there is infinite black space in another dimension, which is filled only with spheres of light of all colors and sizes. Each of the orbs of rays glowed, even mostly dimming every time something inside emitted a sound wave that propagated into the surrounding halo.
Of the millions of colors in space, there is the only flash of blue light as deep and cold as the deep ocean. The only blue color does not move in the slightest from where it is, unlike other rays that continue to move every time something in it or something in the surrounding glow makes a sound, they move because of the waves from the sound produced by the light.
The blue light even seemed so far away from the other rays. It was like being exiled or perhaps even deliberately alienating itself from the millions of other lights around it. However, after some time for how long the light was inside the infinite space, for the first time, the millions of colors around it dimmed together, almost merging with the color of the space, black. The blue became the only one shining in the dark.
"Marc Sterling Gray..."
A woman's soft voice echoed filling that boundless space, for the first time. The blue slowly enlarged, glowed, clinked, and trembled violently as another light slowly appeared even approaching the blue. However, as if to avoid the arrival of another, the blue slowly retreated irregularly, like not wanting to be approached.
"Marc Sterling Gray..." The voice sounded again. This time, it was louder even though it was softer than the previous call.
For the first time, the blue light rotated like the earth spinning on its axis in one day. However, the round of blue was getting faster and faster, every time the voice echoed again, calling his name. The light even clinked, glowing so dazzlingly, when it heard the call of the voice for the umpteenth time.
"Don't get me out of here!" the sound of the baritone wafting loudly from within the blue that was now all around him emitted a bluish-white smoke that froze the surrounding rays, as well as the blue light itself.
Silence swept through the boundless black space after the blue light shouted his request. But all the silence disappeared as soon as it came because the smoke surrounding the blue melted millions of light into tiny particles, much smaller than atoms after his exclamation echoed with a heartbreaking groan.
"I beg you... Stop calling my name..." he said. "Don't free me from this curse."