[καλως ορισες πισω]
[ο βασιλιάς μου]
The strange writing appeared in Elijah's eyes as he slowly opened them. He blinked.
"What?" Elijah's voice sounded hoarse.
He tried to block out the writing, but it wouldn't go away. His palms brushed over his face, but there was nothing there.
"Am I dead?"
The young man slowly sat up and felt a cold gust of wind. He looked around, it was pitch black. There was only a flat field around him, and smoke was rising from some parts of the ground. Then Elijah remembered what happened after he hit the detonator.
The sound of the explosion was so loud that it knocked him out.
There was no kind of dream or anything, Elijah just felt dark and then realized. Like in seconds, what he was experiencing. Elijah was pretty sure he should be dead, but somehow he was suddenly there in one piece. Even his teeth, which had been dislodged, were back to normal.
[καλως ορισες πισω]
[ο βασιλιάς μου]
The writing reappeared on the screen. Elijah grunted in annoyance, "In English, please."
And the writing changed to something Elijah could understand. He blinked in disbelief.
[Welcome Back]
[My King]
"King?"
Elijah's eyes were like a screen, and he saw another text appear there.
[καταβροχθίζω Ͱ 10+]
[αέρας Ͱ 2+]
[γη Ͱ 2+]
[Φωτιά Ͱ 1+]
[κεραυνός Ͱ 2+]
[τηλεκίνηση Ͱ 1+]
[νερό Ͱ 2+]
[επαναφόρτιση Ͱ 0]
Then it changed in seconds according to the text that Elijah understood. He saw some kind of state that he didn't understand at all.
[Devouring Power Ͱ 10+]
[Air Ͱ 2+]
[Earth Ͱ 2+]
[Fire Ͱ 1+]
[Lightning Ͱ 2+]
[Telekinesis Ͱ 1+]
[Water Ͱ 2+]
[Recharge Ͱ 0]
[Your Status, King]
[We wish you a good harvest]
Then the writing instantly disappeared.
"Harvest?" Elijah scratched his hair in confusion.
When his fingers touched the crook of his neck, Elijah gasped in surprise. There was something hard, like an embedded stone. He tried to pull it away, but instead felt a slight pinch that was painful.
"Am I dreaming or am I going crazy?" he complained.
Elijah took a long breath, then stood up. He had trouble walking because it was so dark.
"If only I had a little of Josh's power when I opened my palm and ...." Elijah opened his palm and spoke to himself. "A lumen will appear."
Elijah's hand glowed, then a bright yellow glow appeared in his palm. He gasped in surprise, blinking again in disbelief at what he saw.
"No way!" he exclaimed between shock and joy.
He walked through the field, leaving behind a stench that made his chest feel tight. It wasn't until he reached the edge of the ruined buildings that Elijah realized this was where the Orb had been the moment he woke up. Everything was lost and destroyed, shattered into pieces and the remaining ruins piled in random heaps.
Immediately, Elijah remembered his friends.
He saw the building where Bernice and Lucas had been, half destroyed. Elijah's body slumped to the ground and he burst into tears. He tried to accept the harsh reality that his friends were probably dead. While he was still standing there, in one piece, perfectly fine.
"God, this is the worst birthday of my life," he sobbed quietly.
*
Elijah was almost halfway to the Academy, worried about all the Academione, including the masters who were there. The explosion from the Orb did not reach the Academy, it only destroyed part of the city. Elijah was worried about the attack of dozens of ants that followed the Army vehicle to the place where he had lived for the past few years.
From the direction of the forest, Elijah saw a fire burning in the trees. He gasped in shock, then hurried to run in the direction of the fire. His footsteps were blocked by rocks and slowed by brush, but he ran as fast as he could.
Not far in front of him he saw a person sitting limply with a dozen dead ants on the ground around. Elijah stepped into the fray, immediately alerting the young man and drawing fire from his hands, which he aimed at Elijah.
Elijah quickly ducked. "Stop!" he shouted.
"Elijah?!" The young man gasped in surprise.
Isaac and Elijah looked at each other. Isaac just grunted in annoyance and remained seated without looking at Elijah.
"What happened?" asked Elijah as he cautiously approached.
"I managed to escape."
"From the Academy?"
"From those creatures. The Academy was destroyed because of them!"
"What?"
Elijah crouched down next to Isaac. "I'm sorry."
"They got inside and hurt everyone there. I escaped through the air ducts like you did before."
For hours the Masters tried to defend the Academy with the remnants of the Army hiding behind the buildings, but the defenses were broken. The Academione were like prisoners in a cage, unable to fight back at full strength. The children's superpowers were held back by bracelets that controlled the powers, which could only be used for study. The same thing happened with the Masters' powers.
So it was easy for the ants to slaughter everything there.
That's what Isaac told Elijah as they talked in the middle of the forest.
"They could break down doors and walls, and some even chased me here. I almost died," Isaac said. "Then they suddenly fell to the ground when I heard the explosion from over there."
Isaac pointed toward the city. Elijah wondered in his heart, could that be what happened when the Orb exploded?
"Just died like that?" Elijah asked, checking himself.
"I wouldn't have survived if they hadn't died suddenly."
Elijah nodded. "Well, we better get out of here."
Then Isaac took something out of his pocket. "This is a device Bernice made, can you get this bracelet off my hand?"
"Sorry, Bernice knows how."
Then Isaac came to his senses. "Then where are your friends?"
There was a weak shake of Elijah's head. "They didn't survive."
"God," Isaac muttered in disbelief.
Elijah stood and held out his hand to Isaac. "Let's go back to the Academy."
"It's all gone."
"Come on, I need to make sure there are any survivors."
Isaac took Elijah's hand and stood up. Then they were out of the woods, following the paved road to the Academy. After thirty minutes, they arrived and saw the battered outer gate.
Once inside, they saw blood everywhere and bodies lying on the ground. Most distressing of all, the bodies of the Academione had their arms and legs severed. They had most likely died of blood loss and shock.
But what Elijah couldn't accept was that the ants had not attacked the vital organs, so the superpowered children had to be alive and suffering for some time. That was what Elijah couldn't understand. Why would the Academione be treated so violently?
The two of them entered the hall with bodies lying on the floor and the fishy smell of blood. Isaac looked devastated. Even Elijah couldn't bear the tragic sight, but he tried to pull himself together. There were ant carcasses as well.
At the bottom of the stairs, they saw Halsey slumped over, her arms and legs cut off. She was still breathing, though it sounded so faint. The two rushed over to Halsey.
"Elijah, Isaac ...." Halsey's voice sounded so weak, and the bitter smile she showed.
"Master, hold on. We'll save you," Elijah half panicked.
Halsey shook her head. "Go to my office. You'll find a map showing the location of the Orb, the headquarters, and ....." The woman coughed. "Take it and get out of here."
"But what about you?" Elijah started to cry.
"You know I'm going to die, right?" Halsey looked at the two young men in turn. "No more fighting, you understand?"
Then Halsey's eyes began to dim and close for the rest of eternity. Both Elijah and Isaac tried to control their emotions as best they could. Isaac stood up and hurried to wipe away the tears.
"We have to bury them properly. I don't want to see our friends abandoned," Isaac said.
Elijah agreed. Although it would take them who knows how long to bury them all in the Academy.
"I'll check Master Halsey's office," Elijah interrupted. "Then we'll collect the bodies."
Isaac nodded. "All right."
Elijah moved away from the deceased Halsey and entered the Master's room. The door was smashed and the inside was a mess. Elijah didn't know where to begin to find the map Halsey had mentioned. He examined each of the papers scattered on the floor. Then he paused.
"Even this is taking time," he complained.
Elijah's eyes scanned the cluttered room and his mind wanted to put the table back where it was. Then suddenly the table moved, slowly following the young man's thoughts. Elijah gasped in surprise. He looked down at his palms, which showed no sign of anything.
"Telekinesis? Can I really do that?" he muttered in disbelief. "Does this screen show the power status I have?"
There was the sound of approaching footsteps, and Elijah saw Isaac's figure coming. Looking into Halsey's office, Isaac's brow furrowed slightly. "It's going to take more time to find the map," Isaac said.
"Yeah, you're right. I guess we'd better bury the people first."
Elijah started to get up, then he heard a 'click' coming from one of the wall closets. The two of them immediately stepped back, alarmed. A small door opened slowly and a tiny figure stepped out, clutching a piece of paper in one hand. It was a girl, perhaps three or four years old.
"Map," she said.
Elijah and Isaac's eyes widened.
"Map," the girl repeated, staring fearlessly at the two young men standing not far from her.
Elijah's and Isaac's eyes met. They had nothing to say. There was one other survivor in the Academy, a girl they had no idea who.
"This is crazy," Isaac hissed.
"Okay, we're her babysitter. Whether we want to or not."