"Time is a concept that is not limited to the rising and setting of the sun, or the seasonal revolution of the earth around the sun. It is way more intricate than that. In every inertial plane, time is relative."
Hers was a sharp mind. So Eliana did not struggle to absorb this new piece of information. Instead, she linked it to, and juxtaposed it with the many theories she had heard on the subject. It actually makes sense.
"I see..." she said thoughtfully. "I guess Schrodinger, and Einstein, more than any other human, both ventured closer to the truth about the time-space paradox."
Alex looked at her blankly. "I don't know who they are. But if they're smart, they will confirm what I just told you."
Eliana opened her mouth to tell him that both scientists were long dead, but decided against it. She had just managed to escape from Hell, she was not sure she wanted to bring up the dead just yet. Plus, Schrodinger and Einstein were not her top priorities right now.
Scarlett stirred in her sleep, and her eyes twitched for a brief moment before fluttering open. Eliana immediately moved to her side;
"Sis are you okay?? Do you feel any kind of pain or discomfort?"
Scarlett struggled to sit up straight, and Eliana assisted her by placing her pillows behind her. "I'm good. Although I can't help but feel like I had the most vivid dream."
Eliana stole a quick glance at Alex, before proceeding to ask her sister;
"This dream...do you remember it all?"
Scarlett looked away for a brief moment. Then shook her head sadly. "No. Not really. I can get bits and fragments of how I felt, but I can't really pick out any details. It's just weird that I remember feeling trapped, like I could not breathe or something..."
She suddenly remembered that Alex was a lot more mysterious than he appeared. So, she looked directly at him and inquired blatantly;
"Did something happen? I mean, like happened-happened?"
She was trying to be careful not to expose him before her sister. But little did she know that Eliana was already in the loop. Alex replied her in the same evasive manner as before;
"Well, I guess you could call me a Shaman, or a mage, or a healer. Whatever peels your bananas. But one thing I will tell you is that most of the myths and legends you grew up listening to have some elements of truth in them."
Scarlett looked at him like had just said the earth was flat, or the sun was a man. But Alex was not deterred.
"...but of course, I'm not saying all of them are true. But a decent amount of them were founded on truth. Word of advice, try to keep an open mind. It would do you some good to detach yourself from the culture of cynicism that is becoming the rave now. Brace yourself..."
Alex spent the next half hour giving them a peripheral introduction of what was a lifetime worth of studies. From the first men, to the Egyptian civlizations, to the Greeco-Persian era, down to the most recent Roman empire and everything in between, he hand picked the key points and made some truths known to them that history did not tell them.
By the time he was done, he had managed to stir a dozen questions for every answer he had tried to make clear.
For a moment, there was a loud silence. Only the steady humming of the air conditioning whirred. A few days ago, if he had told her this, she would have most likely dismissed it as small talk. But as she looked at him, she could almost sense the truth lurking beneath the waters, like a great white whale. It took her quite a while to digest this ample bit of information.
While she was occupied with just how much of the world's mythologies were based on truth, Alex was more concerned with the state of her overall well being. And this was not limited to her biological health.
"Tell me Scarlett, have you ever signed a strange contract before? Think carefully, was there any contract that looked or felt extra weird despite looking meaningless?"
Scarlett had lived a pretty mundane life. There was nothing to think about as her transactions and business dealings had been simple. She had never conducted or got involved in any mega deal, or contract that had required the flamboyance of lawyers. So, she instinctively wanted to say no.
But something crossed her mind. She would have overlooked it, but considering everything that had happened recently, she thought it to be a bit odd.
"I don't know if this might actually be something, but when I first started at the auction house, I was asked to sign a non disclosure agreement."
Alex squinted his eyes, as a look of concerned overshadowed his gaze;
"Tell me, what was so peculiar about this NDA?"
"It was pretty standard stuff. I did not bother to read the fine print at the time, because they told me everyone who was currently working, or had previously worked there had signed one of those. But that was not the weird thing..."
She paused for a minute to inhale.
"The super weird thing was what followed. I was asked to present an ounce of my blood, and a strand of my hair..."
This revelation provoked Eliana into reacting. She blurted out violently;
"WHAT?!!! What for???"
Scarlett moved to explain;
"You must understand, I was young, and desperate for a job, so when they asked for that, I did not think too much of it, not until now anyway..."
But Alex had already moved past that disturbing piece of news, and was on to the next thing;
"Did they tell you what it was for?"
"Well, they claimed they needed it to build medical profiles for each of their employees...something about just in case of a medical emergency, or potential blood donors..."
Eliana hissed. "What a bunch of horse shit!"
Scarlett wanted to rebuke her for the salty language, but she ended up deciding against it. Eliana was right to be provoked. Something definitely did not add up with the whole thing. One look at Alex, and she knew that her suspicions were right.
"You think this is all somehow linked right?"
He nodded;
"Yes. Blood contracts are exceedingly powerful binding agreements. Funny thing about it is, it never works unless the person involves willingly serves up their blood, and signs the deal. That was a clever move by the New Order."
"But what does that mean??" Scarlett asked painfully.
Eliana had already caught up with it right from the start; "Don't you see??? Those creepy folks at the auction house had you sign a binding contract that was enforced by the seal of your own blood!! I might not be a mage, but even I know that that's bad!!"
Alex was impressed she had figured that bit all by herself. She really was an A-level potential. He looked at Scarlett and confirmed the whole bit;
"I'm afraid she's right Scar. It certainly looks like that non disclosure agreement you signed doubled as some kind of soul contract. The ounce of blood you provided confirms it all. I believe this is just one of the means the New Order uses to control its members."
Scarlett was not one to be easily shaken.
"So, I guess this means I am bound to them for eternity then? What happens now, are they going to kill me or what?"
"Not quite."
"Excuse me?"
He explained;
"The agreement you signed was that you would be imprisoned the moment you breached your contract. Of course, this referred to your soul, and not your physical body."
He glanced at Eliana who was also listening raptly.
"In a manner of speaking, you were imprisoned for quite some time. But you're free now. It's all over..."
Scarlett touched her chest as she struggled to digest this fact that had just slammed her in the face. It took her a minute, but it all began to settle in;
"So...that was what that coma was...? My soul was imprisoned???"
typically, Eliana was the talkative type, and normally, by now, she would have offloaded the narration of what had happened in Hell. But it had also been a traumatic experience for her as well. She definitely did not want to relive it in any kind of way. So she kept mum and allowed Alex to explain.