The detonation came from a building complex that housed many denizens. When the explosion rang out, most had perished from the blow itself or were crushed under the crumbling structure. What had been but a peaceful day for others, had turned into a doomsday for these unfortunate souls.
Fire soon erupted like a gale. Hot and powerful, it scorched the earth and made the air suffocating. Smoke billowed, dark and dense, like a symbol of its fatality. The scent of blood and burnt corpses perfumed the air.
As chaos acted as the perfect distraction, a single figure moved with confidence, sliding swiftly through the shadows of a back alley. A smirk was plastered on his face at the thought of his successful explosion. But before he could bask in his triumph, he had to safely run away from the crime scene.
'All that money just for an explosion! Rich guys really do not know how to spend their money haha!'
The cloaked man rejoiced at the idea of receiving millions of Suros from such an easy job. Yet again, he did not feel safe as long as the cash was not in his hands.
He was already a few hundred meters away when suddenly, he heard a ripping sound from behind. It echoed eerily, giving goosebumps to the runaway.
He turned around in one fast motion, and he saw the very air being torn open. Space rippled, and the rift that had only been the size of a human hand, had expanded rapidly. Enough to fit the size of a normal person without a problem. Then as a confirmation to the man's thoughts, a foot appeared from the bluish tear, followed by a leg, a torso, and finally a head. A tall man who could only be described as the embodiment of darkness had passed through the broken fabric of space. He wore black from head to toe, black hair and black eyes. His gaze was cold and calculating, with such pressure that would make anyone buckle.
The poor man, now laid on the floor, felt absolute fear rising up to his throat like bile. His blood ran cold and his muscles did not answer his calls, totally paralyzed.
Thus the subject of his fear spoke with a grave, resonating voice, announcing the poor man's imminent demise.
"It seems we have found the rat."
***
Inside a certain luxurious restaurant, a woman was joyfully gobbling dozens of different dishes. The music had stopped, the people had left, and all that remained was the chews and slurps of Eliza savoring her food and drinks—
'Everything here tastes so good!'
Even though I was not paying any attention to my surroundings, I could not help but notice that I was the sole person that had stayed in the restaurant. All tables were empty of people and full of plates for some, having been left there mostly untouched. However, as I was looking around, I saw that I was in fact not alone. Indeed, one other person was seated at a table not far from mine, quietly enjoying his moment, ignoring the commotion outside and the heart wrenching cries.
I had heard a loud explosion, and there were still screams of terror that resounded from time to time, but that guy, just as I was doing, paid it no mind.
As if sensing my intense gaze, he turned his head to 'look' at me. At that moment, I noticed that his irises were a glassy, milky white and unfocused, while his sclera had a mild blue tint. There were odd metallic apparatus around both his ears with intricate designs, somewhat reminiscent of cyborgs or some people in the game 'cyberpunk'. He was dressed quite elegantly with a dark blue suit and a black tie atop his pure white shirt. His long brown hair flowed down his shoulders and he had hair stylishly attached in a bun on the back of his head.
Seemingly acknowledging my presence, he stood up from his seat thus abandoning his food, and walked straight to the chair across from my table. Thereupon, without asking for permission, he pulled the chair backward and sat. Curiosity tugging me, I halted my ravenous act as well and locked eyes with my new table companion. Looking closer, he had a few wrinkles and his lightly tanned skin was rough. If I had to guess, he was a bit under forty five years old more or less, depending on skincare in this world.
Then, seeing that my attention was finally entirely on him, the man opened his mouth to talk. "Greetings, charming woman, my name is Yoddewavhe. I am but a lonely old man curious about a strange person, eating unbothered by the chaos outside. Would you mind sharing a bit of your time with me?"
He had somewhat of a high voice, carrying a comforting melodious chime, but unsettling. Something uncanny crept as his voice lingered in the air, accentuated by the forlorn gaze that seemed to pierce right through my soul, even though he wasn't actually 'seeing'. He was definitely shady.
"That's such a mouthful! I'll just call you Yodde. Oh, and I am Eliza."
I met his stare with defiant eyes, clearly showing my distrust of him, although the glimmer of curiosity never vanished.
"If that is what you wish for, then feel free to do so."
"Great! By the way, Yodde, are you blind? You move as if you weren't, but your eyes look too strange to be functioning..."
My unfiltered words went straight to the point. It bothered me that even though he seemed to be blind, there was not even a single shift in balance when he moved. He was too poised for someone who should be unable to see.
He remained silent for a few second, taken aback by my directness, then his lips parted and voiced out a smooth apology.
"Oh my word... did you find my look uncomfortable? My apologies then, however, I am not exactly blind. Though I do not see the world through my eyes, I can perceive my surroundings thanks to ultrasonic waves, similar to how bats and dolphins do."
I stared eyes wide and full of awe, not hiding my surprise. Yet another thing that shows the technology in this world was way more advanced than on Earth.
I thought hard for a second, trying to find out how it would work. Were the machines around his ears acting as a sonar and converting the reverberated sound wave into information the brain could process? Or was there an implant in his brain that allowed him to comprehend those ultrasonic waves? Or else, was it thanks to a certain gene...? That was honestly quite incredible in itself, but I was too stupid to understand any of it.
"That's so cool mister! But wasn't it expensive? I mean the... 'treatment' that gave you this ability."
He chuckled, apparently amused by my naivety.
"I have no lack of money. In fact, material wealth may be the only fortune the world had granted me."
"Then you must be the Boss of some very big group, right?"
First Lothair, and now this rich old folk... maybe I had a knack for attracting big shots?
Hearing my pure and innocent words, a thin smile spread on his lips.
"In a certain way, yes. Though, that 'big group' is not exactly well known."
"Hmm... still, you are rich. So can you pay for my food? The guy I came with just left, so..."
The man just sneered at my shameless words and dodged the question.
"How ungentlemanly of him, to abandon such a fine lady in dire times..."
I answered with a shrug. I was not actually counting on him to pay for my food.
"Well, he is an asshole. But a strong one at least."
"How strong?"
"Dunno."
"I see..."
"Actually, you don't?" I scoffed, smirking smugly.
"..."
"..."
He scowled, "Joking about someone's disabilities is low".
I beamed, "Don't care".
He let it go with a small, resigned sigh, then shifted the conversation to a more serious one.
"Since you asked first about me, then could I know more about you in return?"
I waved my hand dismissively, "Be my guest".
I was confident he would not ask any shady questions like 'Are you a human?'. Besides, I had nothing much to hide except that I was affiliated with Arcane.
And indeed, his first question was nothing compromising.
"What do you do for a living?"
I could either lie, saying I was jobless or saying whatever job came to mind, or I could simply tell the truth. Nonetheless, the former did not appeal to me very much as it directly shot a blow to my pride. How could I ever admit right on his face that I was living by someone else's money?
Thus I opted for the last option, the road of honesty!
"I'm a mysthios, though I only got registered just today."
"Hmm, That is a dangerous job. Especially so for inexperienced people."
'I see, he was being a prick too.'
"Who are you calling inexperienced? For all you know, I could be a war master, toppling mountains!"
A low chortle escaped from his dry lips.
"Sure you are, simply your face screams how innocent you are."
He paused for a moment and muttered under his breath.
"Still, your words are much less innocent however."
"I heard that."
"I wanted you to."
Step—
Our conversation was interrupted by the low tapping of someone's footsteps, and I noticed Yodde flinch, albeit slightly.
Step—
Step—
As the sound drew closer, I turned around to discern who it was. Then recognizing the person that appeared from the entrance walking as if he owned the world, I spit scornfully.
"So the asshole has finally decided to come back."
*
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