Chapter 7: Queen
Inside the damp sewer filled with darkness and dread. A lone figure could be seen holding a flintlock-like gun.
*Bang*
"Twenty-one" a soft murmur almost inaudible rang out as the Queen open her mouth.
*Clack*
*Clank*
*Chekuk*
She loaded her flintlock with bullet once again, as she aimed behind her.
*Bang*
She fired.
*Pak*
Look like she missed.
"Woah, calm down mis- I mean Queen, I'm not gonna bite ya or anything"
His hoarse voice bounce off the wall as he speak creating and echo chamber that quickly dissipate.
"Next time I'll not miss, so be careful of who you sneak up on."
Her voice is calm and filled with incredible coldness. As she speak she lowered her flintlock, at this moment where her guard was slightly lowered.
*Whoosh*
Wind screeched as the man moved his hand to attacked the 'Queen', an astonishingly fast jab aiming at 'Queen''s heart, unlike normal people she didn't die.
She didn't live because the jab missed or anything. No.
The attack simply didn't connect.
She has disappeared from her previous position.
*Clack*
The muzzle of the flintlock rested on the man head. He break out in cold sweat as he see death is near.
"Hahahah, calm down now missy, don't do anything rash, if I'm dead you gonna have to pay a very very big price, you know that right?" The man smirked, but cold sweat still trickled down from his nape.
He thought that taking her by surprise was a guaranteed kill, but he misjudged her wariness and Mark's abilities.
Even with his [Mark of Wind Speed], he couldn't even touch her clothes despite their distance was nearly point blank. He couldn't believe that such an insane evasive ability is possible.
Now his head is currently at risk of being blown out with a bang, he do want to go out with bang but not this literal.
"I wondered who are you working for. The Rat Colony? Or perhaps… the Church of Salvation? Maybe the Cult of Sancra"
'Queen' suddenly said the names of the three - almost - most influential group within the Darkside.
Every society has a darkside, even within the confines of the Wall. Where there are light there must be darkness.
Suddenly the cloaked man laugh as if hearing the funniest joke in his life.
"Kahahahahah, don't talk like you any better than me, you two-faced bit-" But before he finished that sentence.
*Bang*
"Nevermind that, I don't need to know."
Wiping herself with a white cloth, she moved her hand closer to the man heart.
*Riiiiip*
A yellow bead-like ball of light appears on her hand.
"Too bad I can't extracted the concept…"
She muttered disappointedly, shaking her head she then move on to the corpse of the mutant she just killed earlier.
"This thing, should have to concept related to earth."
She slowly dissect the creature, trying to find the bead of light. After a long while of finding she finally found it inside it's nose.
"Found it."
This time, a white light permeated from the bead, the light it's emit was more intense than the bead that Aeter previous found.
Touching it and pour out her energy to the bead-like object. A string of words appeared in her mind like a projection.
"Hoh, not bad! It been awhile since I see an Earth concept with a Movement concept. Look like today is my bless day." She rejoice with a satisfied smile.
With this she can elevate her concept and opening a new Path for her to tread on.
Then she put the two beads inside her side pocket. She scanned the area once again and then…
*Whoosh*
Her black hair danced in the wind then she disappeared like she was never there.
'Queen' left the sewer dyed with blood and decorated with corpses. Nobody know where she will go next.
***
Aeter open his eyes as the sound of metal clashing against each other intensified and a nasty pain on his back.
'Look like I passed out…' Even though Aeter rarely need sleep and only pass out occasionally when he too exhausted.
Today he experienced a weird dream. He went to the sewer meeting some monster, killed it by digging from the inside, and meeting a pair of weirdo who dressed in black cloak like some teenagers.
'What a weird dream am I right?' He snickered a little and turned his back to the chaotic sound clanking metal.
By turning himself to the left, he see it.
A bloodied bag make with dirty clothes, the smell is still fresh, and he knew it from his dream… no more like what he experienced wasn't a dream after all.
"Fuck…" biting his lip Aeter lament his bad luck or good luck?
He does come out alive and stronger than before after all. But now things is more complicated.
Before he has more time to think…
*Clank*, *Clank*, *Clank*
"Oi, Aeter you there?" A shout coming from the pile of scrap metal.
He know that voice and he was very worried in his heart.
What if she didn't believe him?
What if she know of this and laughed at him for only knowing this now?
What if she started invited him into some kind of cult worshiping some weird fate?
What if…
…
A thousand of what if scenario played out in his head at he looked at the bloodied bag.
… what if she killed me?
Maybe he has stumble onto something he shouldn't, and she will have to silence him.
Maybe she in the same group as the cloaked figure than he see in the sewer.
'No way right?'
'She can't possibly kill her brother, the same brother who took care of her since five right?'
That was what he believed.
They have always trust each other since they are the only people that they can rely on, but… what if she has joined a gang and decided that he know too much.
He… he is now lost, should he trust her or not.
Trust her.
That was what his intuition telling him.
'Right there no way.'
He shouldn't underestimate their relationships, in his world there two things that are absolute, first is death, second is his bond with Kaula.
He rose up from his position and picked up the bloodied stash of mutant's body parts.
'Ouch'
He looked down and see a bunch of metal part creating a naturally uncomfortable and unhealthy bed.
'So that why it hurt so much'
Anyway.
He hoped that his intuition didn't screwed him over. He has seen plenty of families killing each other for food or wealth, but he trust his sister. He just wish that his belief would reward him.
"Kaula! I'm here"
He signal her to his location, there only the two of them in this scrapyard after all, he can be as loud as he can until 7 am where people starting coming to work.
That was also the time where he and his sister go out and find or steal some necessities.
"Aeter! Why the…*Hah*… heck are you the and…*Hah*… not the usual place?" Kaula asked in a loud shout. She seem out of breath but still decided to climb up this mountain and give Aeter a mouthful.
"I'm passed out mid-way okay" Aeter shouted back this time even louder like competing who have a bigger voice.
But as she climbed the metal mountain she realized her mistake.
"Shit, *Hah*, *Hah*… why…*Hah*… are you so…*Hah*… high up?"
Kaula was already very tired due to her excessive exercise trying to find Aeter previous, now she is having difficulty breathing because she have to climb up this mountain of metals.
Her Mark doesn't give her a physique buff after all so she is very have a body of a mortal despite wielding the power folding.
"Wait let me jump down!" As he said that he jumped down from the pile of scrap metal.
A thought suddenly pass his mind as he quickly accelerated.
'Why am I on this tall pile of scraps in the first place?'
*Crack*, *Crack*, *Crack*
But before that thought escalated, several of his bones broke, the pain assaulted him like a yandere in love chasing her dream man.
"Shit!" Aeter cursed.
"Hey! Cushion me!"
Too tired to hold on, Kaula said and prepared to let her hand go.
"Wait! Don-"
Before he even finished his sentence, Kaula already jumped. With a high velocity and a weight of 20~30 kilograms, the impact of the fall can be described with one word.
Devastating.
*CRACK!!*
His ribcage has been crushed by the weight of his sister
"Yep…, look like it's time to die, goodbye cruel world." Like that Aeter pass out again due to pain and his healing factor keeping him unconscious for treatment.
"I'm not THAT heavy right?", Kaula question before princess carry Aeter to his bed.
"Well, at least he passed out now, that more convenient for me."
She looks at the bloodied stash with an unchanging eyes, there were no emotions in those eyes.
"Fold"
Rapidly the bag began to fold into a shape of a card.
"Attract"
With the command issued, the card immediately fly into Kaula's pocket.
Spreading her hand in front of the space before her.
Two hundreds and around fifty meters is the distance between here and their home.
'Fold'
Space stared become twisted and break down due to the insane command of the young girl.
But before it's completely break down and destroy the time-space continuum. A wave of blue particles keep the space around her staple and soften.
Like a folding flat blanket, the space neatly bended like a blanket. Space stacked up on each other and slowly condense into a card.
Before reality can comprehend what has happened, a small void was created, inside it was absolute nothingness, but beacause there was nothing inside she can travel aross the two hundreds and fifty meters in an instant since the distance between her and her home essentially become null.
But before reality can restored and patched the error, Kaula took a step.
She teleported.
"Attract"
The card contains the space that she has just folded fly from the metal mountain to her scrap car where she usually sleep.
It's covered a 250 meters distance in a flash and float into her pocket.
"Haiz, you know… you give me quite a big problem today, big bother… shouldn't you be more dependable?" she chuckled a little entertaining the thought her older brother will become more reliable.
She look up at the beautiful sky, today the full moon shine through the black sky, giving off a light fill with warm and tranquility.
A smile unconsciously formed on her face.
"Tomorrow, will be interesting don't you think so too Mrs. Moon?"
Inside her golden eyes the shining moon was reflected with a pinch of amusement.
Tomorrow will be a crossroads, whatever path does Aeter take will make his life change forever for better or worse, no one know. Not even fate.
Chapter 7: Queen