"But she didn't tell me anything!" As I walked down the stairs, I found him talking to aunty. He was standing right at the entrance to the kitchen while she was inside. Hopefully, he hadn't gone far, like I had thought.
Tho- what are they talking about?
"Really? But I thought she had something urgent to say?" Aunty said from inside.
And after hearing that I realised what they were talking about. Also what I was here for, in the first place.
I walked up to him and tapped twice on his shoulder from behind. I asked as he turned around to me, "Actually I was about to ask when are you going to take me to that lord?"
"Lord??" Auntie asked as she turned to us while cooking.
"Come on, Alvish!!" Reada said with an annoyed face "I have told you, first let me finish the anime I'm watching!"
"The whole week has passed, just how long is it that you still haven't finished?!"
"It has over a thousand episodes." He said proudly with a smile, like that show was a part of him.
And after hearing that I was speechless, left in a shock, "over a thousand episodes…"
Wait- wait, No. He's kidding, right? Nobody bing watches a thousand episodes of just oversized breasts jiggling around.
"But you can also watch your show after you take her there." Suddenly aunty said and then I saw a light of hope for me.
Yes, if I somehow get her on my side then he'll have to take me there!!
"Yes yes, aunty. Please tell him to take me there first." I said, trying to convince her.
"Yes, Reada. Take her there first. It must be something important. That way it will be more convenient." She said as she started coming up to us while wiping off her hands with a towel, after she washed them in the sink.
"It's not something important, mom!"
"It is!!"
"No, it's not!!"
"Okay okay, stop it and tell me first what it's about?" Aunty asked as she stopped beside us.
"A- Actually aunty, I've a little problem with my shade so he had said that he would take me to a lord who lives nearby." I quickly said after her, to mark it as my win as soon as possible.
"Oh..." She turned and asked Reada, "that lord is Flame, right?"
Flame?? Is that her name?
"Yes, it's that bitch!"
"Just how many times do I have to tell? Don't call her that! She's older than you!!" Aunty shouted as he called her bitch.
Well, now his behaviour doesn't even surprise me anymore. But to be addressing a lord with such a word in front of others and the fact that he also knew about her shade, I think they are pretty close.
"Come on, mom. She doesn't earn my respect just 'cause she was born before me."
"Whatever, just take her there already!!"
"Huh? But mom-"
"No! Take her there first!!" Aunty said as she didn't listen to him for one bit and then went back inside. And with that my victory was stated.
Reada was frustrated as he was unable to do anything about it and it was all visible on his face. He wasn't smiling anymore, that he usually does but was staring at me with eyes full of vengeance. But I don't care, it's just a small price to pay for my win. At least, he'll touch some grass like this.
But surprisingly after a little moment of brainstorming his face enlightened again and eyes widened. His smile started coming back on his face slowly, like he had got some kind of an idea.
"Alvish, you know?" He said sarcastically as he started grinning. "Today is Sunday and just what type of academy opens up on Sundays."
Damn!! How Didn't I Notice That??
He is right! Just how much of an idiot can I be?
*SMACK!!*
"AAAO!!"
"Stop Trying To Fool Her Already!! She Stays At Home Most Of The Time, Just Take Her There!!" Suddenly Aunty shouted again as she came out after hearing him and smacked behind his head.
So, he was actually fooling me…?
"Just why are you taking her side? I'm your son, take mine!!" Reada said as he cried out painfully while he looked back at her.
But she didn't listen to him and stomped her fist again on his head.
"Okay okay, sorry! I'm taking her there!"
"Good!"
And with that he finally accepted his defeat, this time without playing any more tricks.
Aunty went inside after that. But he had started looking at me more angrily now, even though he knew he couldn't do anything anymore.
"Did you even have your breakfast that you're so desperate about it?" He asked in a hateful voice.
Breakfast, why? Surely, he isn't caring about me with those vengeful eyes!
"Yes, why?"
"Would have been better if you hadn't!" Suddenly he said and started walking his way to the outside, towards the exit.
"Huh- hey wait? What do you mean by that? Is it something related to that lord??" I asked as I rushed after him while being confused.
But I didn't get any reply from him and he just continued going in a rush. He was walking faster than normal. Maybe it was because he was still mad at me? Or, he just wanted it all to end as soon as possible?
Yet anyways, after coming out of his home he agreed and guided me, while I followed him behind.
.
.
.
2 hours later (almost),
"Just how much, more, is it?" I asked while huffing as I stopped for a moment and placed my hands on my knees and took support from them while I looked down in tiredness, to him, who was walking in front me and had got me in such a state in the street. Yes, we are still walking even after 2 hours. More like he made me walk continuously for 2 hours straight actually. We live in the outskirts of the town and he took me deeper into it after we departed from his home. We walked past our school and the market area after that and many things happened which I can't even remember right now because of the lack of energy. But the thing is, we have walked so much that we have even reached the other side of its outskirts now and my legs are hurting like they would just fall off at any moment.
Seriously if this is what 'nearby' means to him then I surely live next door to hell.
Even the sun has gone up now!!
"We have actually reached it now." Suddenly he said and I looked up and saw that he had stopped.
We were walking on the left side of the road as per the road safety rules. But he had turned towards the right side.
"This is it!" He said while pointing towards the other side of the road.
"Hen? The academy?" I turned my head in surprise and weakness as I heard him and tried to look at what he was pointing at.
"Yes." He responded.
I was surprised because earlier, in these two hours, whenever I asked him this question, he was just answering 'a bit more'.
Well, if it really is it, good then.
He then started walking to the other side and I also followed behind him.
On the other side, there was a huge gate made of metal bars and after that there was a single storey bungalow in there, surrounded by a green grassed lawn for around 50 metres from at least 3 of its sides which I could tell from where I was standing, followed by big bordering walls that were twice of a human's size and had the gate we were looking through. It was a glassy and box style bungalow which was well architected and a luxury looking driveway was connecting the gate to it, proving that she wasn't being stingy on designing it. Though, I had thought it would be a big mansion or a building since it was an academy, which was a little disappointing.
On the wall, I saw a black marbled nameplate on the left side of the gate, which also had a milky mix in its color. It had 'Flame's residence' written on it with white fonts and a diagonal line of same colour separating each of the words from between them.
Oh yeah, I remember Aunty saying she mostly stays at home. So, this is her home?
Makes sense, makes sense why she doesn't have a building for her academy.
But still, I do think these walls are a little unsettling.
Suddenly my eyes noticed a white sheet of paper being glued on the wall while I was looking around, on the other side. It had 'notice' written on it with big, bold, black, uppercased letters as its header and a small paragraph with smaller text underneath it. I was trying to read it but Reada grabbed my hand and pulled me inside as he walked in, after opening the gate.
And so, I couldn't read it.
As we marched in, a girl in black shorts, wearing a black hoodie over a white t-shirt came into my sight. She was running towards us while bouncing a soccer ball up and down, between her hand and the driveway like a basketball.
Wait, that's weird, soccer balls don't actu-
"Oh, Kami-sama!!" Suddenly Reada said excitedly as he saw her approaching us and she immediately stopped some feet before us.
At first, I had thought she was the lord but after seeing her from up close here, I realise that she is a shortie. Also, she looks to be a little younger than us but older than Glem, around 14-15. Her height is around our shoulders.
So, I'm pretty much sure she's not her.
Well, in reality there isn't any required age, height or weight for becoming a Lord, but still people only apply for the entrance exam after they get 18 because it's said to be one of the toughest exams of all time. So yes, she's not her.
Additionally, I can remember that Reada was calling her 'Bitch' at home too and I'm sure he'll call her that again.
"H-ha… hii" that girl quiveringly said while she was looking down.
Why is she shivering? Is she frightened or something??
She had a slim body and shoulder length black hair, in a wolf cut. Also she had a lollipop stick coming out from between her lips. But still for some reason she was just continuously looking down while hugging that ball around her chest.
"Alvish, meet Kami-sama." Reada said as he turned to me while opening his arms towards her with their palms facing upwards, like she was an incarnation of a goddess or something. "And Kami-sama… you don't have to know this filthy useless creature."
"Hey, Excuse Me!!" I shouted but he just ignored me and went ahead, walking past that girl after saying, "Well then, Kami-sama, gotta go!"
That girl looked a bit aside as Reada walked past her while she was still shivering, unable to make eye contact with anyone. But after he walked away, she looked up at me and I saw her face which explained it all…
Her Face Was Completely Red! Freaking Red!!
And Cute!!
It wasn't fear but embarrassment that she was quivering and looking down.
"K…Kamika…!" She then said nervously and ran off instantly.
Well, that was weird…
Wait- was she introducing herself?
I turned around with my eyes trying to follow her as she fled away. And I saw her standing while taking support on her forehead against the wall we had just walked through. She was continuously kicking it while at the same time leaning against it, as if she had missed a precious opportunity or something.
Maybe she is one of those people who have a hard time socialising. Kamika? Was that her real name?? It's such a beautiful name. I really feel bad for her. Seriously, anyone would love to talk to a girl this cute but it's only because of her problem that she can't socialize.
Anyways, I continued going after Reada as I had my own problems to deal with and he took me to the left side's veranda of that house. The sun was on the other side so that side was in its shadow and there I saw a girl, looking to be only 4 to 5 years older than us, sitting on a white set of a circular table and chairs. She was wearing shorts and a very baggy denim shirt. She had dark orange mid back length hair, yet still for some reason her face looked numb like she was anxious about something that she was just continuously looking straight (not at us) with her maroon red eyes half closed while she was holding a cup of instant noodles on her one hand and a fork on the other that had noodles hanging on itself, a bit before her lips.
"Hey You, Bitch!" Reada called while standing beside me, like I was expecting as we were standing a bit before her table.
She looked up at us after hearing that and then again got back to the posture she was in before, without replying to anything while her numbness didn't seem to have gone anywhere.
"What happened?" Suddenly he asked, in a serious tone this time.
I guess, even he felt a little uneasy after seeing her in such a condition.
"He was cheating on me." She replied.
"Huh? And I call you a bitch!" His uneasiness went away after hearing that and he said sarcastically as he got back to his carefree self. "Well, I had told you, he was a whore!"
"Why are you here?" She finally asked the question a normal person should be asking.
"Oh yeah, about that!" Reada answered and went and sat on a chair beside her, on her right side. "It's about her." He then turned to me and said, "Alvish meet Flame, the person you were yearning to meet. Now, explain yourself!"
Seriously, why did he have to use such a word as yearning. It feels weird. But well it can't be helped anymore.
"Hello miss, I'm Alvish and I'm his friend. I have a little problem with my shade and so I wanted to meet you because Reada had told me that you help beginners improve in using their shade and also that you have the shade of Netveldiya." She turned and looked at Reada as I mentioned about her shade. I think that she didn't want me to know about that since lords don't reveal those kinds of things mostly. Anyway, I continued, "Actually, I have the eyes of Salowon but whenever I activate them everything, including my body, just except my consciousness, stops in time."
"What??" She exclaimed unbelievingly and turned to me as she heard that, all of a sudden. The tension from earlier on her face had disappeared in that shock and now she was looking at me with squinted eyes and her mouth wide open in surprise.
"What? Can't believe her bullshit, right?" Suddenly Reada asked her.
"Of course, I can't, not even in the hell I would believe that can happen. She's clearly lying." She turned and said to him.
Wait- No No! This isn't how it's supposed to be going. She is thinking I'm lying…
"No miss, I'm not lying, it really happe-"
"It's freaking universal level that you're talking about, not even the first lord can do that. Still, why do you expect me to believe it?" She turned to me and said in an annoyed voice while looking at me with irritated eyes and that shut me up.
She is not believing me… she's my last hope. Without her, how would I be able to get over this problem… I won't be able to… become a lord like this.
"Because it had happened!" I said while holding back my tears as it got me emotional. "That day on alliance war! I had seen everything frozen in time, for hours until my shade deactivated!!"
"Oh really! Then, how were you able to see if everything including the photons had stopped too!" She said back in a high tone as she got up from her seat and stood in front of me. But this time it didn't break me into tears or get me angry, rather it got me thinking.
She was right…
I know how the sense of vision works. So I know, she is. It was me who just never noticed it.
But yes, point to be noted, I had also seen One moving that day. So, deep down I knew that things never actually stopped in time but had extremely slowed down. And since nobody said to have noticed it, I started calling it universal…
NO!! It's not the time to be diving into these thoughts. She's not believing me! My last hope! I'll have to convince her somehow!!
"Time doesn't stop but slows down, okay. I accept that. But they are the same thing. Also, shades don't follow the laws of physics, so they can do anything." I said in my defence.
"Shades don't follow the laws of physics but their consequences do." She countered while standing in front of me and I was left speechless again after hearing that. I had nothing else to say this time. I understood everything that she was trying to tell me and they were defying my logic. She had explained everything with just those few words, but they were still so complex for me that my words weren't enough to explain them. "We don't know the boundaries of the universe too, so how can you be so sure when calling it universal? Also, you are calling an almost absolute. How are they the same??"
"Stop arguing with your soon to be student, bitch. Rathe-"
"You Shut Up!" She quickly turned to Reada and shouted, who was cutting in.
No- but, he's right. Her fighting with me, won't help me, nor my arguing with her and trying to state my point true.
Yes, if I really want to become a lord then I'll have to throw away this attitude of mine.
"I understand it now, l wasn't able to think this way before but now I can after hearing you! But still, I don't know what is wrong with my shade or me that I can't use it properly. All my theories have been proved wrong by you, yet I still wish to know the real reason behind it, because I want to learn using it." I said as I pushed back my right foot and got its knee on the ground. So, this is the level of a lord. And while taking support with my elbow on my other knee and my other hand's fist on the ground, I requested while bowing my head down, "So, Please teach me, ma'am."
"The day you teach yourself something, that's when you improve as a learner." I heard her joyful voice saying. "Now activate your shade and let me see what kind of world you actually stop!"
I looked up after hearing her permitting me and saw that her right eye had activated, into Netveldiya.
Honestly, I have always been a bit afraid of the world that I see after activating my shade. But this time I didn't hesitate even a bit to activate it, because this time I knew I had her.
I activated my shade and saw everything stop, my body and her too. And soon I started to feel like losing my senses of smelling, hearing and touching.
This was the feeling I have always feared. Even though my eyes are seeing, my body is touching, my ears are hearing, even if I want to blink my eyes I can't do that. Sensing the same thing continuously, makes your mind go numb, and so makes you unable to sense anytime passing by too. This is the feeling I've always wanted to conquer. This is the state I've always feared…
The feeling of falling into a bottomless void. The fear of falling… into the deep unknown darkness.