I swerved my head behind me, frantically looking around for whoever said those words. Standing near me was a short child. Judging by their height, the child should be around the same age as Leo before he left. However, as I observed them, my instincts told me that underestimating this person because of their looks would be a fatal mistake.
"Who are you?"
Putting a little distance between us, I questioned him. Towards my suspicion, he just gave me a light smile, his eyes forming shallow crescents, before introducing himself.
[I'm Favian, a system. Do you want to sign a contract with me?]
"Contract..."
Repeating that word, my conversation with Oliver several nights ago where he shared with me the existence of his system replayed in my mind.
"Does that mean I have less than 20 years left?"
Favian didn't bat an eye at my words. Instead, he maintained his light smile and nodded his head.
[That's right. I'm guessing Oliver or Raven probably told you this, but usually we systems only sign contracts with those who don't have long to live. But depending on which system is looking at you, they may have some other requirements. For me, I'm from the Devil department. The hosts that I look for are usually those with high potential, that just need a little guidance to change their lives.]
[Right. Just like you.]
True to the name of his department, Favian's words echoed like the devil's promise within my ears, offering me a glorious future where I wasn't sidelined into helplessness by my own surroundings. Where I could do something, and not just watch as my whole life crumbled around me. It was practically all I had ever dreamed of, and yet.
"It sounds too good to be true."
I didn't have any clever ways to test his words, nor did I know how to trick him into telling me the fine print behind these promises, so I just said out loud what I thought. Hearing my words, Favian's smile brightened.
[It's alright, you don't have to decide now. I'm not here to pressure you into signing your life away.]
Casually closing the distance between us, Favian slipped his hand into mine and all too naturally led me toward the door.
[I'll let Oliver and Raven know that you've arrived, so you can wait here and think about what I said. If you want any extra information, you can ask any one of us.]
He let go of my hand, that superficial smile still on his face as he told me this before disappearing through the door. Left alone outside the research center, I leaned on the wall right beside the black box and let Favian's words run through my mind. After a while, my train of thought was disrupted by the sound of footsteps approaching the door and I pushed myself off the wall.
"Dan..."
Opening the door slowly, Oliver gestured for me to enter the research center with small moves. Closing the door, he fell into step beside me, leading me to the elevator.
"I heard about your contract with Favian."
Arms hanging loosely by my side, I nodded my head at his words while carefully observing him. Unlike the usual, Oliver's back was a little hunched, his face a little pale, and the corner of his eyes a little red. His hands were wrapped around his arms as if protecting himself from a deep chill that penetrated his chest. And as we walked, his hands would slip here and there, exposing the red crescent marks on that pale flesh.
Reaching out, I tapped his hand, dragging him out of whatever thoughts he was drowning in, and gently pried his hands from his arms and into my hands. Squeezing his palms, I gave him a reassuring smile as we entered the staff elevator and headed down.
"Dan..."
Opening his mouth, Oliver seemed to want to say something, but his words were stuck in his throat. Making a face of frustration, he avoided my eyes and stared at the ground, guilt, helplessness, and fury a raging storm in those dull obsidian eyes of his.
"Yes?"
Speaking as gently as I could, I waited patiently for Oliver to speak. Throughout the whole time I had known Oliver, bar a couple of moments, he always seemed so composed, so confident, that as someone who was two years older than him, I had always felt inferior to him. However, whenever I saw this vulnerable side of him, unlike the child genius that had become synonymous with his name, I felt closer to him. Like the two of us were partners, instead of the reality in which Oliver did most of the work and I just followed orders.
"...Do you blame me?"
After a couple of minutes of silence, this small question was released into the empty elevator. Looking at Oliver, I could see that he was still avoiding my eyes. However, through the reflection in one of the mirrors, his black pupils were trained on my features. Looking for any microexpression that would signal my feelings.
Smiling at this roundabout way of doing things, I squeezed that hand again and made eye contact with Oliver through the mirror.
"No."
He whipped his head towards me, his eyes wide as his guilt gushed out of him in tidal waves as words spilled out of his mouth.
"But if I wasn't adopted into your family, then you wouldn't have to be involved in all of this. It's my fault that High Street now has their eyes on you. I was only trying to help you, and yet somehow I've ruined everything!"
The elevator door opened with a sound, but the two of us stood there for a second. Then, reaching over to ensure the doors didn't close on us, I gently pulled Oliver out of the small space and into the wide corridor. Taking the lead this time, I walked towards the laboratory that Oliver and Raven had gathered inside before.
"You haven't ruined anything. I've always wanted to be part of a faction project. I've read newspapers, argued with my parents, and conspired with others who share the same passion and drive to do something, anything, to change the current status quo. If it isn't this project, it would be another. Don't blame yourself for this."
Observing his reaction from the corner of my eye, I breathed a sigh of relief when Oliver gave a small nod at my tiny speech and tightened his grip on my hand. Then, he lifted his head to face forward, the Molotov cocktail of emotions inside him subsiding, smothered by the familiar look of determination that I had grown used to seeing in those obsidian eyes.
Holding each other's hands, we reached the laboratory. Judging by how Oliver didn't correct my path, I was about 50% certain that beyond these doors were Raven, Ava, and Favian. Gripping the doors of the laboratory, I pulled it open and led us into the large white room. In the middle of this room were three people.
Hearing the doors open, Raven twisted his neck towards us. Beside him, the two systems were standing next to each other. On the left was Favian, his cold and slightly emotionless face pointed away from his fellow system. On the right, a tall woman uncomfortably fidgeted from foot to foot until she spotted us.
[Dan! Oliver!]
Bounding towards us, Ava immediately latched onto the other side of Oliver. Catching the corner of Oliver's shirt, she crumpled it slightly as she breathed a sigh of relief.
[Dan. Oliver.]
Favian turned his body towards us, the superficial smile back on his face. Getting closer to the two, we joined them at the laboratory bench and I peered over Raven's shoulder. Like the visit before, there were many numbers and graphs scattered on the screen. The only difference between now and then was that there were more dots this time, and the 'line' that they formed was easier to see.
"How did finding people to distribute the papers go?"
Raven put down the thick sheet of papers he was reading on the bench and turned around to ask me. Wiping his ink-stained hands on his not-so-white lab coat, he turned to wash his hands as he listened to my report.
"A shopkeeper in Middle Middle Market says she can spread the news to High Bottom Street. For Bottom Street, two groups said they would do it. The first group is Joel and Jade. The other group is someone from the Black Market Circle."
[Black Market Circle!]
"Black Market Circle!"
Whipping their heads towards me, two boys and two systems gave me a look of surprise.
"How did you get into contact with someone from the Black Market Circle?"
Wiping his hands dry with a paper towel, Raven rushed over to me and placed his hands on my shoulders with sparkling eyes.
Taking a step back to stabilize myself, I explained how I got to know Cedy from Camellia, and the stars in Raven's eyes grew brighter.
"That's great! If we can get into contact with the Black Market Circle, it'll be easier to distribute the drugs! With their wide reach, we can finally abolish the MDVA Prevention Act!"
Oliver and I exchanged glances at Raven's words. Similarly, I saw the two systems frown simultaneously. It seemed that everyone else in the room had understood the problem. Seeing this reaction, Raven immediately stopped cheering, and a sense of uneasiness spread in his eyes.
"Is there something wrong with what I'm saying?"
He let go of my shoulders, the previous joy evaporating as doubt set in. Favian gestured to Ava, to which Ava nodded her head despite slightly shrinking away from him. Reluctantly letting go of Oliver's shirt, she went over to explain to Raven the suspected unintentional consequence the drug may cause.
In the meanwhile, Favian came over to us. As he got closer, Oliver's face got more serious, and I could feel his shoulder start to tense up.
[Relax. I'm not going to do anything to Dan.]
Giving Oliver an unreadable look, Favian pulled out several sheets of paper and passed them over to me.
[This is the contract I want to sign with you. Usually, most contracts are verbal, since they're not legally binding, life-binding, or anything serious like that. They can be changed anytime-]
Favian gave Oliver a slight glance, to which Oliver stiffened before realizing that he had given the game away, and forcefully relaxed his body.
[-or broken if either side sees fit. It's less of an actual contract and more like a proof of exchange between two people. I'll help you with this, so you'll do this for me.]
Nodding my head at Favian's words, I skimmed through the piece of - paper?- quickly. Essentially, it stated that Favian would help me achieve my goals the best he could, while I would agree to help him achieve his goals as well. There were no details, no specifics, nothing.
"So what is your goal?"
After finishing the paper, I noticed that Oliver was still looking at it and handed it over to him. Taking it, Oliver scrunched up his face as he slowly went through the thing line by line.
[It's in line with yours. The main purpose of systems that are part of the Devil department is to ensure that the world is brought towards its best future. Regardless of the cost.]
Favian smiled as he said those words, sending chills down my spine. Although his smile was still as fake as plastic, it strangely held a sense of seriousness that was downright terrifying.
[Once you sign the contract with me, we can begin connecting the needed groups together.]
He pulled out a notebook from inside the vest he was wearing and flipped the pages. Stopping at one specific page, he picked up the pencil and started writing on it.
[I didn't expect you to genuinely gain a connection with the Black Market Circle so early, but that just makes things easier.]
Leaning forward, I sneaked a peak at Favian's notebook. Noticing my intention, he tilted it slightly to allow me to see it better. Scribbled neatly on the notebook were several names.
Emily, Flint, Zack, Jonathan.
"Jonathan?"
Below the names, a short description was written. Focusing on the description of this mysterious fourth person, I unconsciously reached out to take the notebook.
'Jonathan Atlas, second son of the Atlas Family, a decently large family from High High Street and ex-coworker of Emily from her employment at Love Research Center. Suspected to be courting her right until she was diagnosed with MDVA and taken away by the government.'
Lifting my head, I spotted Oliver peeking over at the note from beside me and lowered it to make it easier for him to read. Facing Favian, I then saw him nod his head as he noticed I finished reading.
[You were reading about Jonathan Atlas, right? He's a very important character needed to make a deal with the Black Market Circle. I've heard that they have been looking for scientists to migrate from High Street to Bottom Street. If we can get our hands on Emily, Jonathan may agree to move to Bottom Street to be with her.]
Favian folded his arms as he smiled, his eyes calculative as he stared at me. It was as if he was peeling my skin, flesh, and soul away, condensing me into a piece of information. A character in a book. Or a word on a page.
"You're getting ahead of yourself. This is only if Dan decides to sign this contract with you. He could always sign with someone else."
Closing the notebook, Oliver passed it back to Favian as he spoke to him in a warning tone. To this, Favian gave a half-genuine smile as he shrugged his shoulders and kept his notebook back in his vest.
[You're right. However, signing with me will be the best option. Since out of all the systems out there, I have the most experience doing this.]
With that one line, Favian looked at me, told me to think about the contract thoroughly again, and retreated towards the screen containing numbers. From a short distance away, Ava had just finished explaining things to Raven, and the boy was trudging his feet back to the bench, his head hung low. Spotting us, Ava flew to Oliver's side and latched onto him again.
"...I don't like Favian."
Once Ava had made herself comfortable, Oliver whispered to us as his eyes stayed locked on the system from the Devil department.
[I don't either. Those from the Devil department are scary. They are willing to do anything to get their way, and many of them have harmed their own hosts before. However, they're incredibly competent, and for such a large issue like this, it's impossible for them not to involve themselves.]
Giving an exhausted sigh, Ava whined as we observed Favian looking over the screen. He then walked up to Raven, stealing a glance at the paper Raven was reading, before raising a hand to comment on something to him.
Suddenly, popping out of thin air, another system appeared in the room. This system was around the same height as Raven, with crystal-like eyes and an infectious smile on their lips. Running up to Raven, he grabbed his arm and leaned his body on the researcher's body.
[Welcome back Elias.]