Chapter 5: The Light Of Death
Zain found himself pondering over the intentions of the deities who bestowed humans with the power to ascend the tower.
His confusion grew as he realized that he had never heard of anything related to climbing the tower in heaven.
Lost in thought, Zain stared blankly ahead until Riry's voice broke through the silence. "Zain!" she called out, shaking him from his reverie.
He turned his gaze towards her and responded, "Yes, miss?"
"Sigh, are you really alright? You are spacing out now and then," Riry said, sounding somewhat worried about him.
Zain offered a small smile and reassured her, "Don't worry, miss. I'm alright. Just a bit exhausted."
Although Riry had no familial ties to Zain and they had only recently met, she treated him with the utmost kindness and care. It was as if he were her own child, and Zain couldn't help but feel touched by her warmth.
If not for his mom, Zain would have become dependent on Riry for the compassion she had shown.
Zain stood up abruptly, realizing that he had taken up too much of Riry's time. "Thank you so much for your help, miss. I should probably get going now," he said quickly, trying not to impose on her any longer.
However, Riry had something else she wanted to discuss.
"Wait Zain, before you go, I want to test something," Riry said, quickly grabbing his left arm with hers.
She quickly put on a pair of gloves and retrieved a transparent, crystal-clear orb from her white bag on the desk.
"Zain, could you please hold this for me?" Riry asked, handing over the orb to him.
Upon hearing Riry's request, Zain gazed at the orb, hesitating to take it and refraining from asking any questions.
Zain was familiar with the orb as he had seen it many times before.
The crystal orb was a device designed to measure the type of magic and power possessed by angels. It was also capable of displaying the various classes that humans had created to categorize themselves based on their abilities.
Zain, who previously had no powers to speak of, could now feel a considerable amount of energy coursing through him, despite not having any real skills to wield it properly.
As he gazed at the crystal orb in his hand, Zain couldn't shake off the feeling that it might reveal more than he was comfortable with.
"Perhaps it's better to keep this to myself," he thought silently.
It was mandatory for all newly awakened angels to climb the tower, with a minimum requirement of 10 floors, the safety floor where fatalities were unlikely to occur.
The government had imposed the rule of climbing the tower to assess the abilities and talents of the awakened angels. This was done to determine whether they were suitable for recruitment into the Angel forces. Similarly, guilds also awaited potential talent to scout and recruit.
Zain had no interest in engaging in the seemingly pointless struggles required to climb the tower. He had more pressing concerns and could not afford to waste his time chasing after accolades or recognition.
Zain's voice was low but audible as he spoke, "It's no use, miss. I don't have any powers."
With a curious expression, Riry gazed at Zain and asked, "Are you absolutely certain that you have not awakened your powers yet?"
Zain's eyes avoided the orb as he spoke, "I have been here many times before, and every time we have tried to awaken my powers with that orb, but it has never worked. So, I think it's pointless to try again."
"Come on, who knows you could have gained powers overnight?", she asked, forcing him to accept it, but Zain simply did not take it.
Zain couldn't help but mutter under his breath, "As if that could happen..." Even though deep down, he was thinking, "She's quite a good guesser."
"Oof, come on Zain, please."
Riry let out a small sigh and pouted, her eyes pleading with Zain. But he remained resolute, unmoved by her persuasive tactics.
"Miss, I understand how expensive these orbs can be. And since they are single-use, I wouldn't want to waste any more of your hard-earned money." Zain stood up from the bed, trying to reason with her.
"I'm sorry, Miss Riry. I don't want to trouble you any further. But I promise to repay you for all the expenses you've incurred on me,"
Zain said as he made his way to the door, his tone filled with gratitude.
Riry stood there in silence, watching Zain walk towards the door.
Zain knew that he spoke the truth. A single orb cost a whopping 1,000 USD, which was a considerable amount of money. Riry had already spent around 9,000 USD on the orbs for him, which he had no idea about until recently.
Now that he had finally awakened his powers, Zain's mindset had shifted. He could no longer justify taking advantage of others, especially when it came to their resources or possessions.
"But Zain, you can't just leave like this…" Riry trailed off, her voice laced with concern.
Zain cut off Riry before she could speak, saying firmly, "Even if I had powers, I wouldn't reveal them to anyone."
"We both know what kind of chaos and trouble it would cause if news about my awakening were to spread," Zain stated firmly.
Zain's final words echoed in the room as he left, leaving Riry standing there in silence, lost in thought.
Riry's gaze shifted from the closed door to the crystal orb on the table, realizing the weight of Zain's words.
She had hoped to motivate Zain by helping him discover his awakened powers, believing that it would lead to a more comfortable life.
As she thought more about it, Riry realized that her intentions of helping Zain might have been misguided. If his powers were not strong enough, he could become a target for those who seek to exploit the weak.
As a human, there are many benefits, such as protection, regular income, and rations. However, as an awakened, no matter how weak, all these rights would be lost and they would become easy prey for the stronger ones.
She closed her eyes tightly, trying to hold back the tears that had welled up. But it was too late, a few drops escaped and ran down her face, leaving behind a trail of dampness.
Riry muttered to herself with a heavy heart, "I almost pushed him towards a greater hell." She regretted her actions and bit her lips in frustration.
Riry spent several more minutes quietly sobbing as she contemplated Zain's predicament.
Riry took some time to compose herself. She reached for a napkin and gently wiped away the tears, trying to calm down her emotions. However, she couldn't shake off the lingering feeling of sadness and decided to take a moment to wash her face and calm her mind.
She walked briskly into the washroom and turned on the tap, feeling the cold water splash against her face. As she looked up into the mirror, she took a deep breath and felt her mood gradually lift.
As she walked out of the washroom, she began mentally listing the tasks she had to complete for the day, but before she could even start on the first one, a sudden sense of dread overtook her. Her eyes widened, and she felt a cold shiver run down her spine.
Riry's eyes widened as she stumbled back a step, her heart racing as she looked at the unexpected sight in front of her.
"Wh-" she began, her voice shaking with disbelief. "What the heck?!" she exclaimed, unable to contain her surprise.
She stood frozen in her spot, unable to take her eyes off the orb lying on the bed, her throat parched as she swallowed hard.
She shuddered, her left eye twitching.
"Is this even possible?" she muttered to herself, her eyes widening with disbelief.
As she continued to stare at the orb, she couldn't help but think, "No way...this can't be real."
Her mind raced with possibilities, "Could it be a mistake? A defective orb perhaps?"
"Why is it emitting black light?" Riry wondered aloud, her brows furrowed in confusion.
The once innocuous orb now glowed with an intense, ominous black light that seemed to suffuse the entire room. The eerie glow was tinged with hints of deep purple, but it was the pure black and crimson hues that made Riry's heart skip a beat.
She approached the orb with caution, her eyes locked onto it as she carefully put on her gloves. Taking a calming breath, she lifted the orb from the bed, feeling the weight of it in her hands.
"Hmm, I have no other way but to do this…," she extended her bare hand towards the orb, inching closer and closer until her fingertips made contact with the smooth surface.
As soon as her skin made contact, a bright green-yellow light enveloped the orb, pulsating with energy. She watched in awe as the light grew stronger and stronger until the orb shattered into pieces.
"No, it worked perfectly fine," Riry exclaimed with a smile of relief. "It showed me my mana's colour before getting destroyed."
"Then the black colour couldn't have been a mistake." Riry muttered to herself, her eyes widening in disbelief. She placed her curled index finger on her lips, lost in thought. Her heart was pounding furiously, as if trying to escape her chest, and she could feel sweat beginning to form on her forehead.
So focused was she on the color of the light that she had completely overlooked a crucial detail - the identity of the person who had touched it.
As she probed the depths of her mind, the inevitable question arose in her mind, followed by a solution that she could apply.
"Let's see... How can I find the owner of this black mana?" Riry mulled over the situation, absently tapping her chin with her finger.
"Ah, I know. If I can get the owner to touch another orb, I'll be able to locate them." She paused for a moment, realizing that she still had a question to answer. "But how do I find the owner in the first place?"
"But, I only opened this in front of Zain…"
She tilted her head, perplexed. "But he never actually touched it," she murmured to herself.
"Wait a minute," she exclaimed, her eyebrows furrowing as she examined the room. "Could someone have snuck in here while I was in the washroom?" She pondered the possibility before her eyes caught a single strand of hair on the bed.
As she lifted the hair and placed it carefully in a small container, a flicker of recognition crossed her mind. Could it be? Without wasting a moment, she hurried to the school's storeroom, where many similar artifacts were kept safe and sound.
She lifted one of them, delicately placing the strand of hair on it with precision and care.
Riry's eyes widened as she lifted the strand of hair and placed it on the orb. As soon as it made contact, the orb emitted a brilliant black light, illuminating the room. A small smile appeared on her face as yet another orb started to glow with the same mysterious energy.
"Hair of angels is believed to be imbued with mana, but once detached from the head, it loses its mana almost instantly."
"But... this strand of hair... it's still radiating mana, even after being detached from the angel's head." A sense of foreboding crept over her as she considered the significance of her findings.
"If just a single strand of hair could emit such a bright light, how powerful could the person it belonged to be?" With that, she hastily retreated to her designated room.
*gulp*
"After today's sessions, I realize that only three students visited the facility. Surprisingly, all of them were humans."
As she gazed at the strand of hair, her imagination ran wild with the possibilities of what it could signify. "Did one of them awaken their powers?" she wondered.
"Among today's three students, Zain was one of them," she contemplated.
"Could it be that this hair belongs to Zain?" she wondered, a sense of conflicted curiosity washing over her. As much as she wanted to dismiss the idea, a small part of her couldn't help but hope that it was true.
A sense of urgency overtook her as she realized the gravity of the situation.
"I must find out," she thought.
"If this strand of hair belongs to Zain, then the implications are grave. I must confirm whether the Light of Death is his power or not, no matter the cost."