July 23, 2175
4:00 P.M.
"Wahhh~ What's up, Jack? The bot was awesome, I slept like a baby," Diana said, yawning. Her eyes were half-closed as she slumped onto the couch beside Jack.
"Good to hear that. Guess who's the sleepyhead now?" Jack teased as he closed the book he was reading.
"You are," Diana said as she drove an elbow into Jack's ribs.
"Ow."
Diana batted her eyes as she washed away her sleepiness. She looked around—the footage of the forest was on the holographic TV, the book Jack had been reading now lay on the table in front, and he was holding his sides, groaning softly.
Then her eyes landed on the new cavity in the wall that housed the staircase.
"Uhh, why do we have stairs here?"
"Oh, I added another floor. Wanna go check it out?"
"Sure."
Jack watched as Diana vanished upstairs. He hummed a soft tune as he waited for her return.
"Why do we have a bedroom there? Everything else was awesome as expected, though. Are we getting some company?" she said as she slumped back onto the couch after she returned.
"Yeah, guess what—I found some leads from Ethan."
"Oh? Your friend that used to live in Chicago?" Diana said, her curiosity piqued.
"Yeah. That guy really hacked into the main media network just to broadcast an encrypted message for us," Jack said as he showed Diana the message he had saved on his holo-watch.
"Whoa, he really did get the surgery for the advanced Ikanami. He has the psychic one like you, right?"
"Yeah."
"Hmm, that reminds me, how do you use your Ikanami? As far as I remember, psychic Ikanami can't create constructs. What do you grab on? Air?" Diana said, her eyes poring into Jack's as she finally got the chance to ask him the riddle she hadn't been able to solve.
"I don't know, to be honest. It just came as kind of a muscle memory, and when I tried it, it worked. And rule number one: if it works, it works. Don't mess with it," Jack said as he sighed and turned on the TV.
"Hmm, suspicious. The TV is back on, huh? What did you do with that tracking problem?" she asked, rolling her eyes at Jack's unsatisfying response.
"Yeah, just some simple VPNs did the trick, and our reliable Viora made it easier."
"Thanks for the praise, sir," Viora said slowly.
"Well, so what's the plan? What's Ethan up to these days—I mean, before the attack?" she asked as she watched the news on the TV.
"Hmm, as you know, he got the surgery for the advanced Ikanami. He now works as an ethical hacker—work from home. He's an employed shut-in at this point," Jack chuckled.
"Employed shut-in, huh? That's rare. But I think I now know why you've already made up your mind to have him join us."
"Indeed. We could definitely use some professional hackers. He's so efficient that he's called the Cyber Sovereign—like his father. His father was in the team of my dad, and he will be too. History repeats itself, indeed."
Ethan's father was in Jack's father's team when they infiltrated the Ortho Sapiens. Even before that, they were teammates and great friends. As a result, Jack and Ethan became friends in childhood because the Blake family used to visit Jack's house as far back as he could remember.
"But what if he refuses to come?" Diana said, her voice low.
"Well, then I'll just grab him by his neck and force him to. And why would he not join us? Stay there and wait for the Orthos to come find him?"
"Fair enough."
Jack gave a simple nod and focused back on the news.
"Well, so what now?" Diana asked, twiddling her thumbs in nervousness.
"Now, huh?" Jack said as his sight lingered on his left shoulder. "We will train and get stronger—strong enough to defend ourselves and other survivors we might find. And well, first of all, tomorrow we leave for Streeterville, Chicago."
"That's a really densely populated urban area. Are you sure we aren't walking right into trouble?"
"That way, it will be easier, since we'll be able to blend in much more easily in the crowd," Jack said as he got up.
"True. Where are you going?"
"Gonna go try some equipment from the arsenal. We need it. I definitely do," Jack said as he turned his gaze toward his shoulder.
Diana gave a soft nod, and Jack disappeared upstairs.
He entered the training hall, and on the wall at the end was the portal door—the door to the arsenal. He entered the arsenal and looked around.
His eyes lingered on the various armours housed in the arsenal, and then they darted to the shoulder through which the doctor had shot a hole right through.
"I definitely need one thing, and that is some armour," he thought.
He was walking around the arsenal, looking for a piece that would suit him, and slowly he came near the armour that was housed at the centre—the one that always seemed to whisper to him for some reason.
He heard it again: "O descendant of the royal blood, wield me. Let me protect you and fulfill the reason of my creation."
This coat of armour belonged to Jack's grandfather—an armour completely black, with a longcoat thrown over the battle armour. It definitely looked like the most intriguing piece of armour in the room.
Jack reached his hands towards the armour. The glass casing shrank away, leaving the armour completely vulnerable to contact, and when Jack touched it, something happened that he hadn't thought would.
The armour wobbled like a fluid and shrank to the point of contact. It wrapped itself around Jack's hand, and then it slowly slithered up Jack's body, spread around, and covered it completely. Jack could feel his muscles extending, his body strengthening, and something slipping inside his skin from the outside.
He opened his eyes. The armour was no longer on him, but he could feel something stir inside of him—something slithering inside his body, making its way to his Dantain.
It reached his Dantain. Jack could feel a large amount of his Kana energy being consumed in an instant, and when the movement stopped, Jack heard the voice.
"If it isn't the young master," it said.
"Huh? Wha—?" Jack said, flabbergasted.
"Ah, pardon me. Where are my manners? My name is Orvenak, but you can call me Enak. That's what Master Rick used to call me. I am the armour that can only be wielded by those of the royal family. If I didn't sense the royal lineage in your Dantain, I would've blasted it on the spot," said Orvenak.
"That's... intense, I'm glad I didn't get Diana to wear you," Jack said slowly.
"Well, I do ask them to put me off, once though."
"That's not much, is it? People tend to label some random voices they hear suddenly once as a making of their mind."
"The insolence of even putting up the lord's armour should get them executed. This much liberation is because of Rick's persuasion."
"I see. Ask three times from now," Jack said.
"Why?"
"Because I, your new king, said so," Jack said, trying to sound as arrogant as possible.
"Oh please, says the king that can't even wield the authority right now. Young lord, I do respect you, but remember this—you are not my boss. My master will always be Rick Hauston, not you. Order the new consciousness you will awaken in this armour, not me," Enak said, his voice mocking.
"Respect me, huh? That sure doesn't show from the way you talk to me," Jack said curtly.
"Respect is earned, young lord. Show me something worth respecting, and I will give it to you."
"Alright. And what did you mean by 'awaken a new consciousness'?"
"Seems Master Rick didn't tell you. Well, when the wielder of the suit gains the authority, the old consciousness gets cleared, and a new consciousness is born—a new life dedicated to protect the new king that arises. And another thing—this armour takes a lot of Kana energy, so its full extent cannot be utilized unless you wield the authority."
"Hmm, so you are saying that I can also gain the authority."
"Yes, you will. If you don't awaken it automatically, then you will awaken it once you are 21."
"I see. Any tips on unlocking though?"
"Not much, but just remember—true power isn't given when the trigger is need of it for fulfilling your duty, a duty to protect, a duty that's noble enough for you to deserve it. Recognise who you are. Recognise what you ought to do when you have the power. Recognise yourself," Enak said, his voice tender and soft for the first time.
"I— I will."
"You can talk to me without speaking out loud. Just mumble in your mouth without sound."
"Like this?"
"Indeed."
"Well, it's time to test how the armour looks."
As soon as he said this, the black material surfaced up from underneath his skin, and as it glided along his body and distributed throughout, the armour took shape—the majestic and elegant design now worn around Jack.
"Good. I feel stronger and faster," Jack said.
"Indeed you do. I will be seeing your memories now. I need to look for the reason to something I found inside your Dantain."
"What did you find?"
"Can't tell you. If Master has a reason to do it, then I will abide by his insight and not tell you."
"Grandpa did something to me?"
"Yeah. Rick always tells if it's needed, or otherwise, if he keeps it hidden, it's for the betterment of the bigger picture. So I'm just gonna scrounge your memories to check if you hadn't just forgotten it."
"Okay. And why did you just call him by his name? He was your master, right?"
"He is, was, and always will be. He might be my master, but he asked me to treat him as a friend, and I will abide by that."
"Okay."
"Now let me concentrate."
The armour withdrew, and Jack was left there, standing in still silence.
Jack went back to his room, lying on his bed, wondering what he had gotten himself into with this parasite—or whatever—armour.
"Hmm, curious," Enak said suddenly.
Jack jumped. He definitely wasn't used to having a talking ghost with him all the time.
"What is?" Jack said, his uneasiness visible.
"Can't tell."
"Why the secrecy?"
"Rick, I hope you are right this time too, or this will be the biggest mistake ever."