Cyril Sarnath
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Chapter 177
🕑 Added 2023-07-21 19:25:02 +0000 UTCVivena woke up with a start and immediately knew everything was wrong. Her body didn’t feel right.
And she was handcuffed.
She looked around, slowly, as her vision swam any time she moved her head too quickly. She was lying in a hospital bed. Several thin cords connected her body to the medical equipment. Screens were turned away from her. A large mirror…a one-way window was on the rightmost wall, while a normal window was on the left. Aside from that there were two chairs and a small round table.
She could see that it was a day though the window covers restricted most of daylight. The other source of light were dim ceiling lights.
All of this quickly became irrelevant as Vivena considered the handcuffs. Why was she handcuffed? What happened to her? Whenever she tried to think back her head started throbbing. She didn’t remember anything after she had arrived in Geneva…
The door opened and a man wearing a doctor’s attire came in. He was young and had a smooth appearance that Vivena had seen among scions of the Old Blood families. Even so, she couldn’t make herself suspicious. Something was off. Why did she feel so? It was frustrating to not feel like herself.
“I see you are awake. Good.” His voice was as smooth as his face. His black silky hair grated on her nerves for some reason.
“Who are you? What happened to me?” She pulled at her handcuffs?
The doctor smiled in response then glanced at the screens.
“Your memory will soon return as the elixir of ease wears off.”
Barely a few seconds after his words, a feeling of utter terror and pain descended on her. She remembered her attack on Zimmermann’s mansion and killing Tyr and the CEO of Untainted Paradise. Then everything turned white.
An explosion…
She started to shake and needed a few seconds to force herself to calm down. She was alive. She survived it.
“Now that you remember, let’s talk,” the doctor interrupted her. Vivena glanced up, she already forgot about him.
“Who are you?” she said with more force in her voice, simultaneously, assessing her situation. Her dimensional pouch was gone. All her rift items were gone as she was in a hospital gown. Then came the shock that reached her face. Her spells were disabled.
“I see you’ve realised your situation. Good.” He gave her a cruel smile. “I am called Doctor and I’m in charge of the Institute after Lawrence Lowe’s betrayal and I’m here on behalf of the Solar Council. Also, I am the only reason you’re alive. No one below Level 8 should have survived that blast. Believe me, I am an expert when it comes to ascender’s anatomy. If you were a human essence ascender, there would be nothing left of you.”
“What do you want?” She pushed herself harder as she tried to access her spells.
“First, let me explain your situation in a bit more detail. The explosion you’ve survived wasn’t a simple one. It had a spirit-disrupting property, which made healing you impossible other than through a Talent. I don’t know how Wagner Zimmermann created something like this but he isn’t considered one of the smartest men alive without a reason. But I digress…” he said. “Your situation. Well, we found you on the brink of death; limbless, with many organs severely damaged, burnt. What a sorry view it was. We almost missed you in the rubble. But you were lucky. I was at the right time at the right place.
“I healed you, regrew your limbs and you are almost as good as new.”
Almost? Vivena knew that something was wrong but she couldn’t pinpoint it.
“You cannot move your legs. Some of the nerves remain disconnected. It is mostly for safety reasons. After all, you’re a rift essence Level 5 with a strong spiritual core and an absurd Talent. I don’t think even Hunter would want to deal with you.”
Vivena ground her teeth, keeping herself from voicing curses.
“As I said, this is only a temporary measure until we have an understanding.”
She contemplated asking about her spells but after he had mentioned her spiritual core, she realised that her spiritual aura was also suppressed and it was clear that the handcuffs were the source of the suppression. So there was no point discussing it. Instead she asked about something else.
“Understanding?”
“Yes. As the owner of major dominions and powerful Talent, and a scion of the Sael House you are considered a threat by the Solar Council,” Doctor said as if they were discussing the weather. “And the Solar Council doesn’t tolerate threats. So, we are offering you to join us.”
“If I refuse?”
“You will die, Vivena Sael,” Doctor said gravely. “While I healed you, I also made sure to leave something behind. Without my Talent, your condition will worsen irreversibly and you will die. Do you understand?”
Vivena’s eyes drilled Doctor with frustration and anger. Suppressed and disabled, she felt powerless. Was it how Keynes felt in the presence of Windsor Freeman? Keynes must die, she reminded herself. The thought made anger swell inside her and she felt her spiritual energy almost heed her call. The spirit suppressing handcuffs creaked under pressure.
For a split second, she regained connection with her dominion, but it was too short to glean any information from it.
Doctor’s eyebrow raised as he watched her with surprise but otherwise, he didn’t seem worried or scared.
“So what would you say?” Doctor leaned back, swinging one leg over another.
“What does joining the Solar Council mean to me and my dominion?”She asked, once she calmed down.
“Protection, privileges, freedom.”
She snorted. Did they think she was so naive?
“What will it cost me?”
Without breaking an eye contact, Doctor replied, “Your loyalty to the Solar Council.”
“I have one condition.”
“Yes?”Doctor’s eyebrows rose.
“I want Keynes Kid.”
***
A few weeks earlier in a different part of the world
Kora meditated in the corner of her cell. Fighting back would not work. Not only the cell was made out of Level 3 and 4 materials, but the whole structure was enhanced with runes and formations. Also, somehow, her kidnappers had access to spirit suppression magic. Her spells were suppressed and though she felt like she could overcome the suppression, she didn’t think it would make a difference.
On top of the structural enhancements, she sensed, albeit faintly, destructive energies running through the walls, the floor and the ceiling. She didn’t wish to test it.
In other words, she was stuck. At least, her captors didn’t treat her badly.
She felt gentle vibrations, then heard the opening of the door. The sheet of energy separated the room in two. It was always there, but to save mana, they kept it in a different mode. Its energy seemed similar to the destructive energies running around her cell.
Kora opened her eyes. She didn’t know the newcomer and the sheet of colourful energy blocked her spiritual senses from assessing his Level. But judging by the official apparel, she considered him someone important.
“Good morning,” the newcomer said. Kora had no way of knowing what the time of a day was. Her cell didn’t have windows. “I hope they treated you well.”
She almost nodded, but the time spent with Keynes had hardened her character and she remained silent and expressionless, giving no hints about her feelings.
“Right,” the man muttered, looking a little unsure. Kora didn’t know if it was an act or the man was indeed harboured some doubt. “My name is Andre Turtelli. I’m the chairman of the Solar Council and I come with a proposal.”
Kora shot to her feet.
“I won’t betray Keynes!”
Andre Turtelli almost took a step back.
“I am not asking you to betray anyone,” he said. “My proposal has nothing to do with Keynes Kid or Untainted Paradise.”
Kora approached the sheet of energy. She wished she was stronger. Level 5 was not enough. Even with [Empower], she would have a hard time surviving the violation of this thing. The first thing I must do after I get out of here is to level up. At the very least, twice!
“Then what do you want from me? Why did you kidnap me? And where is Pucci?”
He sighed.
“We didn’t mean to kidnap you. Pucci, on the other hand, is a different story. You don’t need to worry about him; he is too important to kill or hurt. As to what we want from you… We would like to employ your Talent for the upcoming battle. I promise it is not Untainted Paradise we are going to fight.”
The first thought that crossed her mind was: how the fuck did they know about her Talent? Talents were impossible to read. Unless there is a Talent or a spell that allows it. She glanced around. Who am I to say what is possible or not? Since the first outbreak, things have gotten crazy. Either way, she needed to be careful from now on. If they knew about her Talent, she had to assume they knew about her spells as well.
“Who are you going to fight?” she asked, fishing for information and at the same time, trying to figure out what next.
“Sandman. His continuous refusal to cooperate with us and the threat of his dominion, the Sphere of Darkness, forced us to take actions,” Andre Turtelli replied and after a short pause added. “The Solar Council is going to crush him. Your Talent would be of great help there.”
The conviction in his voice made Kora hesitate. Andre Turtelli sounded like a fanatic. She was all too aware of the conflict between the Solar Council and Untainted Paradise. It didn’t take a genius to understand what they were doing. By taking out smaller threats, they were preparing for the ultimate threat--Untainted Paradise. So by aiding them in the fight against Sandman, she was indirectly working against her company and Keynes. This was unacceptable.
“I cannot help you.”
Andre Turtelli opened his mouth but didn’t say anything. It appeared that her refusal was unexpected, which she found surprising. Why would she help the enemy?
Kora turned away and returned to the spot shed to meditate. She wanted to learn it as a technique but so far her efforts were fruitless.
“If you refuse, you will remain here indefinitely,” the chairman said. “If you’re hoping for a rescue then I can assure you that no one will ever find you here.”
Lem Solaris picked this moment to snatch Kora out of the cell.
***
“...no one will ever find you here,” Andrew said, boiling inside. He despised people like her, like Keynes Kid; who defied his authority… He blinked, not believing his eyes.
The cell was empty.
Impossible…
***
One moment Kora was about to sit down in the corner of the cell and the next she stood…above the planet. She was in space! Panic seized only to ease as she saw Lem Solaris standing next to her.
“The System won’t be happy about my interference but your friend, Keynes Kid, is in dire need of a company. That spiritual companion of his is more of a nuisance than anything else.”
Kora was speechless and though she hated to admit, Keynes was the last thing on her mind. She was in the freaking space and she still was able to breathe…
Lem Solaris rolled her eyes.
“You’re in my spiritual space. You are safe here. Now focus. I will return you to Keynes Kid but you have to ensure he remains committed to my quest of reaching the dominion boss.”
Kora could only marvel at the display of power before her eyes, still she nodded.
“Good. Now this is encouragement.”Two skill shards appeared in space before Kora.
“[Psychic Mastery] is for Keyens Kid. It will turn his [Telekinesis] into a useful skill and combined with your Talent, he should be able to affect live beings. To work this way without your Talent, [Telekinesis] must be merged with an offensive skill but it is too early for him to attempt anything dangerous like that. The other skill shard is for you. [Mind Fortress] will help you manage [Nature Aura].” Lem Solaris gave her a hard look. “Don’t fail, child. Power it getting to that boy’s head already.”
Without a warning, the world twisted and Kora stumbled in front of Keynes.
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