- 5:30 AM - 6 February 2553
Jack woke up out of sleep suddenly, this made him think a little but it didn't push him to get up, instead he sat down to think reflectively.
｢...｣ He rarely had any memory of a dream and instead, such vivid images were burned into his mind.
Nothing special, his face submerged in the pages of a book.
His eyes conveyed a warm and honest vision, transparent and sparkling gems.
...
...
Jack stood up and with firm steps walked to the nearest mirror.
He bent down slightly until he could see his face fully.
Then, silence.
If the eyes are a gateway to the soul, what do such opaque eyes imply? With a minimal amount of sparkle.
Such rigid features and a fake smile.
He touched his cheekbones and laughed wryly.
｢Jeh.... An impossible sight...｣.
...
Jack's hands fell from their position and hung from his shoulders as if he had lost control over them.
｢... Why do I remember it?｣.
...
...
...
Wishes.
The greatest manifestation of human ambition.
What are you without wishes? Without any purpose to believe in?
Jack rinsed his face, the time spent alone making everything he had ignored explode right in front of him.
He watched the water flowing down the sink.... Meanwhile in his chest a whirlpool formed.
He dipped his left hand back in and rearranged his hair.
When he returned his hand to the water he noticed the hairs between his fingers.
It was impossible to ignore.
Something changed.
In which moment?｢｣.
A basic question.
What moment was he able to lose it?
As far back as he could remember he had never felt like this before.
Something lost triggered a change in his priorities.
He turned off the flow of water and switched the focus of his sight to his gun laid out on the small table beside his bed.
He approached it slowly and when he was able to take it in his hands, he held it, lying on top of his palms.
Maybe he got something new?
Jack shook his head and relaxed his shoulders.
He threw his gun onto the small table and laughed briefly.
No matter how much I think about it I won't get anywhere.... The main problem is｣.
His eyes moved quickly to the pile of ash in front of his bed.
Then he busted out laughing.
They slowly extinguished as he placed the fingers of his right hand on his forehead.
What a fucking joke!
Every single part of the last few days seems to have come out of a bad dream.
Slowly he drew back his hand, and in agreement he looked at his arm.
A body perfectly balanced and hardened for war...
He was late for the party, the hosts lacked the necessary tools and the guests wandered about consuming every available meal.
Items belonging to the fallen that grant you their power.
And nothing less than an omnipresent force that can be used to empower one's own power.
Perhaps the worst of the problems was his precarious equipment.
He took a deep breath. There was nothing to process, everything was at his fingertips.
Denying reality in front of himself would be no different from becoming hopelessly foolish.
｢Should i tell it to the others?｣.
"No" He said dryly ｢Something like that can't be trusted to just anyone. I don't even really know them｣.
At that moment his eyes startled he blinked a few times ｢Of course! I don't know them｣.
Jack immediately made his way out of his room.
His next destination was the training area where Zeke was.
"I thought you were going to spend the rest of your time in that place" He looked up to meet Jack's eyes.
Zeke found himself resting on one of the benches, in his hand lay a bottle of water about three quarters empty.
"I needed to get some things in order" He replied as he sat down next to Zeke.
"Who didn't" Zeke chuckled.
"Apparently everyone here" Jack rested his hands on the bench just behind his back and slightly dropped his head.
"Does it look like it?"
"..." Jack turned his head until he looked at Zeke "Who are you?"
Zeke lifted his shoulders in a rather smooth motion "What do you mean, haven't I introduced myself before?"
"You know very well what I mean. You're no ordinary man, yet you don't figure on any list" He turned his head in the opposite direction, pointing towards the ceiling.
"Is this because of what I said?"
"In good part."
Zeke was silent for a few seconds.
"I just guessed."
"Is that so?" Jack narrowed his eyes "You magically guessed classified data without making a single mistake?"
"Without a doubt" He replied without hesitation.
Jack sighed, "That doesn't work, you think I haven't seen you sneak up on me?
"Uck!" Zeke was surprised when he heard Jack's assurances.
But that was ephemeral, the surprise was quickly replaced by laughter.
Finally he placed his right hand in front of his chest and sighed in relief.
"This... Might not be a bad thing.
Jack turned his head again until he could see with his tired eyes Zeke, who slowly rose from the bench, placed the bottle on the ground.
Standing upright beside the bench he proceeded to bow slightly, placing his right hand in front of his abdomen and his left hand behind his back.
"Zekevrriel Vonhaz Nastryk, heir to House Nastryk. An ancient noble lineage" He said with a smile.
Jack adjusted his posture " What relevance does that have?".
"Can't you feel it? You should be able to feel something around me, faintly but feel it for practical purposes" Zeke pointed just below Jack's navel.
Jack snorted softly "Is that what you meant? I have to say it intrigues me but no, I haven't reached that point. After initiating I've been training."
"I see..." Zeke sighed ｢Deus.... How do you know then ｣. "I'm not able to tell how far you've progressed outside of loose estimates. Our paths differ, you could say we were enemies."
"Huh?" Jack stood up and again narrowed his eyes.
Zeke laughed wryly "Don't be so uptight, I said we were. I'm a wizard, you're a bríer. Our paths are very different."
He held out his hand in a gesture of confidence "We amassed power from the start, instead you guys are seeking to live forever."
｢So you thought your aura made me act? Huh?｣.
Jack was about to shake Zeke's hand when a thought stopped him.
"If you're a wizard why did you use inefficient instruments?".
Zeke snorted in disappointment "I thought whoever gave you the instructions was better than this? I think it should be obvious, but why do you think the common folk don't know about us?"
Then he brought his gaze back to Jack and added "In their case they walked away from our civilisation.... It still applies to them.
"..." Jack sighed at the statement "I guess there is unanimous agreement not to recklessly use their abilities."
Zeke wiggled his fingers as if he were holding a glass of wine. He was about to speak when Jack continued.
"However, I refuse to believe that in a situation where your life is hanging by a thread you would renege on your power."
Zeke laughed wryly and shook his head "My life never did hang by a thread."
Jack frowned.
Zeke rolled up the left arm of his suit to his elbow.
On his forearm, distinct branching lines began to glow gold in colour, making manifest from various origins traceable well beyond the elbow.
On closer inspection he could see that they were not lines but successions of characters forming a circuit.
"Is that it?" he asked genuinely intrigued.
"A curse of the highest order" After saying it the circuit vanished.
"A curse?" Jack wasn't sure whether to believe his words "In what way did that curse keep you from endangering your life?"
Zeke cleared his throat, ".... To us, a curse is a complex structure of recorded instructions that alter the composition and behaviour of another structure."
After sensing Jack's patient silence he continued his explanation.
"This curse modifies my body on a constant basis. It cleanses, fortifies and restores, that's what it boils down to."
Zeke opened and closed his right hand, squeezing it tightly "While my physical abilities are not similar to yours, at no time was I at a real disadvantage."
Jack sighed deeply "Well, you have a base but.... What about that time you got your ankle charred?"
Zeke freezes for a moment "It was a bad experience, but you came along and eliminated the need."
"I suppose you'll still refuse to use your power in battle."
Zeke smiled wryly and lifted his shoulders as his hands rose slightly, palms pointing upwards though slightly drooping "That's the answer."
Jack sighed "Somehow I feel like this whole thing didn't help at all."
Zeke laughed out loud "Interesting" He said as his laughter faded "You never suspected my alignment, that direct confrontation was for general information".
He snorted lightly "To you we're not much different from a group of strangers, to be expected, of course".
Jack brought his right index finger to his cheek and scratched lightly "Well, you can phrase it that way".
Zeke was silent for a few seconds ".... You should go with the others, there's no point in trying to dig any further into my life."
"Fine" After saying that, Jack disappeared from Zeke's sight.
Zeke went back to resting on the bench, filled with a defeated expression "To think that I gave up knowledge about something so important.... All because of baseless assumptions."
He lifted his gaze to the ceiling ".... I guess it doesn't matter" after saying that he tightened his suit, right in front of the centre of his chest.
｢ It turned out to be stranger than I thought.... A fake name would have been great comfort...｣.
Jack sighed as he walked down the main hallway, "I'll have to keep investigating why there's no record of him in his family."
...
...
...
Jack stopped dead in his tracks, an irritated expression forming on his face.
Then he pinched the bridge of his nose and retraced his steps.
Again he stopped, this time in front of a door.
As he was about to knock on the door, it opened.
In front of him stood Kelly who was staring not in front of him, but at his left pocket.
He searched the narrow passage for a specific object.
Jack immediately returned his hand to himself, however, it didn't stop them from crashing into each other.
He let out a gasp as he felt Kelly's head hit his chest lightly.
Surprised Kelly left her pocket, several coins fell out followed by the quick exit of her hand.
She took two steps backwards and looked at Jack, embarrassed she apologized "..... I apologise, I didn't see you."
"I could have noticed."
Kelly's pupils fluttered and her mouth twitched of its own accord "Would you like to.... Come in?"
Jack watched her reaction with a condescending smile "Sure."
He walked past her, as she froze.
Jack took a seat on the right cushion of the couch, patted the cushion next to her twice.
Kelly blinked strangely before laughing herself silly, then walked over to the cushion and plopped down on it.
Next? Awkward silence, Kelly ducked her head slightly as she rubbed her knees.
Jack sighed inwardly ｢It's getting harder and harder｣.
"I'd like to know more about you."
Kelly was silent for a few seconds before asking "In what way?".
"Anything, it doesn't have to be anything special? I just want to get to know you better."
Kelly gently scratched the left side of her forehead "I.... I'm not sure what to say. There's a lot of things I'd like to say... But..."
"Why were you on earth?".
"Well... Jobs on the land pay very well and I had to support my family."
"Hm? On your own?"
Kelly took a deep breath "My parents were in an accident while I was in testing. While they are still alive, they are in a deep coma" she gasped.
"I see, I apologize."
Kelly dropped towards Jack, resting her head against Jack's shoulder "There's no need."
Jack nodded slightly.
After a few seconds of silence he asked.
"So what's your reason for fighting?".
Kelly chuckled "The answer is pretty much the same as before, the last thing I would want is for you to get to my family."
At this point Jack raised his gaze to the ceiling. There was no need to know more, those answers perfectly complemented what he knew beforehand.
Nevertheless, he decided to probe further.
"Of all the jobs you could have chosen, why specifically did you decide to join the police force?
Kelly's eyes reflected a deep sense of irony "At first I thought that way I could help people and protect order...".
Then her gaze shifted away from Jack, she flashed a hollow smile as she continued, ".... Nothing more different, as much prestige as we have. In such a peaceful city the most we ever do is stop drunken brawls."
"Isn't that good?"
"I guess" She acknowledged, as she slowly curled up "However, I can't feel good about being treated like a hero without having done anything to rock that...".
"I understand-" Discomfort surged through him as he felt the growing weight on his shoulder, the warmth of prolonged contact - A now forgotten sensation accumulated a new piece to the mental tangle it stirred in him.
In between everything became soothing, the signals he had ignored piled up and became fuel.
In a soft, quiet voice she whispered "Right now - there's only one thing I want to deserve".
A single spark was enough to set the room on fire.