As previously stated, Nocturne was not my cup of tea. I lost count of how many, ah, questionable establishments we passed by. I wanted to burn them all down, I knew that if I ever had children, I would not want them to end up in places like this.
Anyway.
Needless to say, we sped-walked through the streets toward the administrative building to try and get this over with.
We got to the front doors of the building, and I was immediately struck by the lack of guards.
"Something's wrong," Bricin whispered. "Where are the guards?"
"Out with the military perhaps," I muttered back.
Bricin grunted in something between skeptical agreement and flat-out disagreement.
"Can I help you gentlemen?"
Both Bricin and I froze and turned.
Behind us was a young man dressed like a bell boy, but I could tell that he was no bell boy. He had some kind of experience beyond what even Orion had. He looked so young too. Only eighteen or so. But there was a sad kind of experience in his eyes, and he gave off this aura of quiet power and authority.
It was bone-chilling.
"Can I help you?" He asked again.
"No, I don't think so," I answered. I had a feeling that was the wrong answer, but it didn't matter to me because I had a feeling this guy just wanted to fight.
He arched an eyebrow. "Really?" He asked.
I nodded.
"Well then, you must've already known that all of the guards were out helping with the military campaign, and that right now the current Entertainment Master is being blackmailed into supporting Latorakena. You ALSO must've known that his family is on the third lower level of the building with heat and motion sensors to deter any rescue attempts," the bell boy said. "Surely if you don't need my help, then you must've already known that."
"How would you know tha-"
"Ah! Would you look at the time!" He said, checking his watch. "I have to go, or I'll be late. The acts lately have been top-notch. I'd hate to miss them. Good luck!" And with that, he ran off.
"Should we trust his word?" Bricin asked.
"By all rights, no, no we shouldn't." I turned my attention back to the building.
"But you're going to anyway, aren't you?"
I sighed. "Yeah,"
I summoned my sword and flew through the front door. The glass shattering and flying across the room. I shot up the stairs through each floor and cleared them all of any enemies. Then I went downstairs into the lower levels mentioned. There was a plethora of strange machinery on the first and second floors, but I would worry about that later. I tied up the scientists and researchers there for interrogation and killed the guards.
The only floor left was the bottom one. Lower level three. I was curious about this security system, though I doubted it was fast enough to stop me.
I blew through the doors and freed the woman and young girl trapped there. Picking them both up and fleeing the room just before the trap triggered and the room exploded.
I managed to flee up the stairs and close the doors behind me. Luckily, they seemed to be blast proof.
I put the two down and then fell to my knees. My sight was getting blurry. The sound everywhere else but my brain was muted. I looked at my hands; they were completely gray, and the cracks were deep enough that blood was running down between my fingers.
"Traveler!" I heard Bricin call for me. But it sounded distant.
"Traveler!" He called again. I tried to reply but the words got stuck in my throat, so I tried to put a hand on his shoulder to communicate that I was okay. As soon as I went to lean forward, I fell onto my stomach.
Was this the price of this terribly destructive power?
I slowly started to recover. The sound was no longer so distant, I could move and speak. Normalcy was sweet.
"A normal human would've died from such exposure to that power," Bricin commented.
"What exactly is this power?" I asked.
"We can talk about that later," Bricin brushed off the question. "While you were out, I found the Entertainment Master and brought him down. He has been waiting to speak to you."
"While I was out?" I echoed.
Bricin looked at me, confused and said: "Traveler, you were passed out for nearly three hours."
I was shocked. It hadn't seemed like that at all. I shook my head to clear it.
"Bring him in."
The Entertainment Master stepped in. He was a portly man; however, he seemed kind. He had thinning salt and pepper hair and a scruffy beard.
"Thank you, Lord Scribe, for saving my family," he said with a small bow. "I would like to return the favor in kind."
"All I ask is that you aid us against Latorakena."
"That is already underway," he said. "However, I would like to repay you otherwise simply because Latorakena's alliance with me was forged. Nocturne was to remain neutral in this war. He has successfully ruined such an endeavor, and it is not in his favor."
I nodded. "This is good to hear. Then I have no other requests of you."
"If you are certain, Lord Scribe, then I am satisfied." He turned and left.
I looked at Bricin. "This power is excruciating." I told him.
"I would imagine so," he said. "The power comes from the Delamorts' curse. And their curse is that of death."
"Death?"
"Indeed," he said with a nod. "Death comes in many forms. In the same way, the curse always manifests in a unique way in each individual. Yours manifests likely in the same way that Fleur's did, yes?"
I looked away and nodded.
"That is likely due to your ability to claim your opponents' powers. I would wager that her brother's manifested very differently. Who knows, maybe one day, yours will evolve beyond Fleur's as it becomes yours and not hers."
"You should collaborate with the Entertainment Master," I said.
"Traveler-"
"Leave me," I ordered.
He sighed. "Very well." He left the room.
I rose and looked out the window over the city-line. I was at loss for words. What was this terrible feeling in my chest? Was it apprehension? Nervousness? Dread? Or perhaps despair or sadness?
No. None of those really matched the thing I was feeling. What was it?
I searched for the words to describe it thinking that maybe if I described it out loud, I would understand.
"I don't know."
Those were the words that left my mouth, so I decided to roll with them.
"I don't know, Lord," I said, beginning to pray. "I don't understand what is going on. I don't know what I am feeling. I don't know what your plan is. I only know what I know. I would love to say that I have complete confidence in this moment despite all of the unknowns, Father, but I don't. I am afraid. I need to know if I'm doing the right thing. And more importantly, what I should do next."
There was nothing. Absolute silence. And then it was like the Rift sighed and an idea came to mind out of absolutely nowhere.
For those who didn't pick up on this, I am a Christian. I believe in the God that created everything in seven days, and who sent His Son to die for me and you.
Trust me. When you deal with the Rift long enough, it becomes quite evident that there is something bigger than humans and monsters out there. Something or someone larger than even the Outer Gods.
All of that aside, I knew what I had to do. And I knew Bricin wasn't going to like it.