๐๐ก๐๐ซ๐ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ง๐จ ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐๐ก ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐ฌ ๐ฃ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ญ๐ข๐๐. ๐๐ญ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐จ๐ง๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐๐ง ๐๐ฑ๐๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ฉ๐ฎ๐ญ ๐จ๐ง๐๐ฌ๐๐ฅ๐ ๐ข๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐ "๐ซ๐ข๐ ๐ก๐ญ".
๐๐ง ๐๐๐๐ญ, ๐ข๐ญ'๐ฌ ๐ง๐จ๐ญ ๐๐ฏ๐๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ฎ๐ง๐ข๐ฏ๐๐ซ๐ฌ๐๐ฅ "๐ซ๐ข๐ ๐ก๐ญ". ๐๐ญ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ฌ๐ญ๐ซ๐จ๐ง๐ ๐๐ฌ๐ญ ๐ฆ๐๐ง'๐ฌ ๐จ๐ฉ๐ข๐ง๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐จ๐ง ๐ฐ๐ก๐๐ญ'๐ฌ "๐ซ๐ข๐ ๐ก๐ญ".
๐๐จ๐๐ฌ ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ฌ ๐ฆ๐๐๐ง ๐๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ญ๐ข๐๐ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ ๐๐๐ฎ๐ฑ?
๐๐จ.
๐๐ก๐ฒ?
๐๐๐๐๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ ๐ฐ๐ ๐๐๐ง๐ง๐จ๐ญ ๐๐ฎ๐๐ค ๐ฐ๐ข๐ญ๐ก ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ฌ๐ญ๐ซ๐จ๐ง๐ ๐๐ฌ๐ญ.
๐๐ก๐๐ง ๐ฐ๐ก๐ฒ ๐๐ซ๐ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐ญ๐๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ฆ๐ ๐๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐จ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ฌ?
๐๐ซ๐๐ง'๐ญ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐ฌ๐๐๐ซ๐๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ฒ ๐ฆ๐ข๐ ๐ก๐ญ ๐ค๐ข๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ?
๐๐ข๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐ฆ๐?
๐๐จ๐ฐ ๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ฒ?
๐๐จ๐ฐ ๐๐๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ฒ?
๐๐จ ๐จ๐ง๐ ๐๐๐ง ๐ค๐ข๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐ฆ๐.
๐ ๐๐ฆ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ฌ๐ญ๐ซ๐จ๐ง๐ ๐๐ฌ๐ญ.
*slap*
"What the fuck have you done?"
Decey snapped back to reality. The pain just registered, and he whipped his head sideways in response.
He was at Lye's office, and there he was, absolutely furious.
"That kid.
Do you even know who the fuck he is?"
Decey's voice was shaking.
"No sirโฆ"
"His father gave his heart and soul to build this academy. He was expecting big things from me and from his son. What should I tell him?"
Decey wouldn't dare to look at Lye right at his eyes.
"WHAT THE FUCK SHOULD I TELL HIM?"
Lye slapped Decey again, knocking him out of his chair.
"And youโฆ"
Lye turned towards the kid himself. His entire jaw, dislocated. His nose, twisted in an inhumane manner. His entire face, pale.
His name was Jackson Arye. The Arye family was infamous for building half of Niels, and equally as infamous for corruption.
"Don't act like you're innocent too. God, kids these days think it's cool to talk about women like that. And evidently, you faced that punishment."
Decey slowly got back up and took his place.
"Zoโฆ Vat avot him?" Jackson struggled to speak without a tooth or two falling off.
"Do you think you're in a position to command me, Child?" Lye shot daggers with his stare.
He slammed his hands on the table as loud as he could.
"You can leave now Jackson. Rest assured, you'll get your compensation."
Jackson limped towards the door, gave Decey the middle finger, and left.
"Are you satisfied, Sirโฆ?"
"You know how difficult this situation is?
I couldn't care less about that little shit's family, but they have connections to the Herrscher."
Lye looked at Decey. It reminded him of his younger self.
"Did I hit you too hard?"
"Just a lil too hard. But it sold the act, so I'm not complaining."
Decey rubbed his redden cheek.
Lye stood up and leaned over the desk to face Decey head on.
"You didn't have to that hard. In fact, I never thought you would be that brutal."
Decey didn't have the answer to that.
"Lye, ever since I lost Mom, I've been this emotional pile of shit. I'll be honest.
Once the pair talked shit about me, I didn't care.
When it came to Heet-"
Decey stopped midway. He noticed tears dripping down. He was furious, yet he wished things went another way. He knew he did something wrong. Nothing could justify that. Yet, Decey felt as if he couldn't stop. Thoughts about how fucked up the world overflowed.
"Can't people just be normalโฆ?
She's my girlfriend. Doesn't that mean others should just shut the fuck up and move on with their lives?
Does this world not understand the concept of courtesy and honour? Not everything can be solved via family connections and whatever bullshit they use that's not theirs to begin with.
Why does beating people up make someone respectableโฆ?
I don't want thatโฆ
As much as I genuinely wanted to kill that Jackson asshole, fighting shouldn't be the reason why people should respect me..
It's too much, Lyeโฆ"
Lye got up from his desk and walked towards him. He hugged Decey.
"Child, you're meant to have fun, not worrying about this shit."
Lye broke the hug and held Decey by his shoulders.
"Listen to me. I'll handle whatever the Arye Family tries to throw at you. You just focus on getting stronger. Got it, Child?"
Decey nodded.
"LYDA. What are your thoughts on it?" Lye asked in order to cheer Decey up. He bet Decey was curious as hell.
"I was at first shocked. I never heard of anything like that. A replica of your conciousness and knowledge integrated in the training rooms. It being responsive is the coolest feature."
Decey cheered up slowly, Lye could hear it in his voice. Lye felt nostalgic. It's been a while since he's connected with someone like this.
Ever sinceโฆ
"I'll tell you how I managed to do it?"
>>
Heet sat in the second row of seats. They were all arranged in semi circles, with the board in the middle. She waited and waited for Decey to come, but he didn't. The class started, and as usual the teacher gave his monotone lecture on unnecessary bullcrap. All she could think about was December.
During training, her stats were 85% and 99.8%. She had god given talent in domain boost, which was a very good ego boost on her.
Her previous ventures to Niels usually involved sweets and trinkets for Decey to have fun with. She'd only dare to enter Zahl whenever the headmaster was out of town, or her brother.
Her mom works as an information broker in a secret underground society. So she usually gets scoops on everything that would happen days before they actually do.
Lye took this into account and talked with Heet in private. After he dismissed Decey on the first day, he'd called Heet to his office.
>
"Heet, I would like you to work for me."
"What do you mean?"
"Kela's job, after she resigned from her post as leader of the Real Set, was to kill off anyone who were disloyal to the Herrscher. She worked directly for him, after I trained her.
I want you to do something similar to that."
"What, you want me to punish people in our academy? Headmaster, is that necessary? We have the Primes for that reason exactly."
Heet was very cautious of Lye. She knew how scary he could be. As much she wanted to cuss, she knew she couldn't. Not that he did anything bad of course, she just loved to cuss.
"Who said anything about our academy? I want to train you to be my hidden dagger."
"But why me?"
"Ever since that day, I've been astonished by how talented you are at Domain Boost. You could easily become the fastest Defined to ever exist. On top of that, turning yourself invisible, making other thing's invisible too? Not to mention your combat skills are second to none. You're already the top candidate in your year Heet, including Decey.
I'll be giving you special training too!
So you up for it, Child?"
Heet thought for a while. She really wanted to excel in this academy. Most of all, she wanted to catch up with Decey. He's already been doing feats that she thought were impossible. His talent is like no other.
Maybe with his help, she felt a sliver of hope.
But,
"I have some conditions, Headmaster."
Lye laughed. The fact that she said that, knowing his personality, made him want to aquire her more.
"Tell me."
Heet started to speak more confidently.
"1. I want the same classes as Decey.
2. I want you to let us go outside one a week for exploration."
"You really want to go on dates with him huh?"
"3. Whenever my brother comes back from his raids, tell me. If he asks for me, tell him I'm in intense training. Do not let us meet."
"May I ask why?"
"You fucking know why."
Voices in her head began to grow louder. The voices begging her toโฆ
{Delete}
Heet took a deep breath. She smiled. A smile purely from her heart, so pure, it felt uncanny.
"Please, just do it."
Lye stood silent.
"We start tomorrow morning. I'll meet you at your training room."
Heet silently left the office, leaving no trace behind.
Lye took a while to register what had happened. He grabbed a mirror and looked at his eyes in the reflection, trying to make out of what he saw in Heet.
"So that's how you were dealing with it."
>
Heet saw some commotion outside. She stepped out the classroom and saw Decey from the bathrooms, being dragged off by two guards. Following him were the medical team struggling to keep two students in the stretcher. Lye immediately appeared, the decorations all swaying aggressively due to the wind. He looked at Heet, signaling her to stay quiet.
All the other students got up from their seats. The teacher asked everyone to sit down but no one listened.
One of them asked Heet from across the room.
"What happened out there?"
Heet was at a loss of words. She didn't know how to comprehend it. Decey wasn't like that. He wouldn't hurt a fly.
Heet completely forgot she was in class.
"My bad, professor. I'll take my seat.
>>>
Heet left as soon as the class ended, and rushed to the meeting place, behind her training room. She looked left and right, searching for Decey but no dice.
"Heet, I'm here."
Decey was sitting down infront of the enormous garden. Heet ran towards him and sat next to him.
There was silence between them for a while. That silence was enough for Decey to know that she saw what happened.
"How was your first class?" Decey asked her, still feeling guilty so he continued to look at the scenery.
Heet punched his shoulder gently.
"I should be asking you that. What happened near the bathrooms?"
He took a deep breath and exhaled.
"Those guys, I overheard them talk shit about me . And you. I couldn't control it so, I did that to them."
Heet looked at Decey, unsure whether she should be proud or concerned. This was very out of character according to Heet.
"I'm sorry, Heet. Lye saved me from further bs that could happen. The big kid, Jackson, he's from the Arye family."
Heet gasped. She knew what that was. The Arye family had been a long time contributor to her mom's buisness. She knew how powerful they were.
She rested her head on his shoulder.
"Hey, thank you for doing that. You should be more careful. What you did was good, perfect actually."
She looked up at him.
"Got it, you dummy?"
Decey held her hand and both interlock fingers.
"Yes ma'am."
Decey could hear her heart beat faster and faster. The same could be said about him too.
Heet wanted to tell him so bad about the job she scored from Lye. But, one of the conditions were that she couldn't tell anyone. Not her mom, not her boyfriend too.
She understood why she had tell her mom. She was surprised Lye had thought that far ahead. In the future, people will want information on a very infamous assassin. Where else can they get that from, if not the best information broker? Her mother could always manipulate the truth, not lie per say but, half truths. They may be half, but for someone as elusive as an assassin, it could be the difference between her life and someone else's.
She didn't know why she couldn't tell Decey, but had an inkling. All she hoped for is that she was to be proven wrong in the near future.
>>
Decey and Heet left for their next class, Practical Applications of Domain, or PODs. This was the first academic year where Zahl implemented this class for first years so they instead had the class done indoors.
The auditorium completely transformed into an open hall. It was massive, fitted with high ceilings. Perfect for a class which involves fighting.
Decey and Heet sat together, behind everyone in the provided chairs. Everyone stared at the two, which would make sense. They were the only first year Primes since forever, and they made it very obvious that they were a couple. Dean walked in and saw Decey.
Decey raised his hand to guide Dean. Once he found Decey, they dapped up.
"Heet, this is my roommate, Dean Lann."
Dean just waved his hand, he couldn't really talk. He was in a shocked state, shocked at how beautiful she was. He did notice her during the second semester announcement, but up close? Never.
He slapped himself immediately after that.
"Nice to meet you, Heet."
She simply nodded and allowed the two to talk.
Dean simply whispered to Decey.
"You're a legend."
"I know."
The Professor entered the classroom and everyone stood up. It was Professor Ash. He had red hair, a very stoic expression. He seemed as if he's seen it all. He also had a very projected voice to boot.
"Sit down everyone. You must all be surprised why we have this class in year 1. We already addressed the urgency of why in the orientation, when the headmaster explained to everyone."
Decey whispered to Dean.
"What's he talking about?"
"The headmaster gave a really frightning speech. Honestly the entire Academy became serious after that, to the point where even the noble brats stopped being annoying."
"What was it about?"
Ash saw the two whispering to each other. He was already tired after planning countless nights, on how to optimally guide these future warriors into the inevitable. This had ticked him off slightly.
"Mr. Oris, if you have questions to ask, ask me." With a very assertive tone. He made sure to get his point. Not that he wanted to be a buzz kill. He sighed internally. He finally understood how the Headmaster had felt while he was a student.
Decey quickly stood up.
"Sir, it's my bad. Won't repeat again." He sat down. Ash was somewhat delighted that student roll his eyes or any of the sort.
Then again, he felt slightly bitter. He was acting exactly like his professors, so he decided to be himself now.
"I'll tell everyone something. We started this for first years for a reason everyone's gonna know in a few years. We are expecting something big to happen. Something regarding the Complex Realm, as we all know.
About ร."
Decey locked up. He couldn't move. The mere thought of thatโฆ
That entity.
It made Decey want to run away and hide. No matter how tough he had become. No matter how brave he was. Those days in Lost's memories were nightmare fuel to him.
He was bewildered..
H-
How does he know about รโฆ?
His breath began to shake, as his heart thumped harder and faster. Beads of sweat began to form, dripping from his nape along his back profusely.
Those days, those days of pure vulnerability.
Decey would do anything to get rid of those days in his head.
He knows he could never escape. That thought eclipsed every single good thing that ever and will ever happened to him.
He had expereinced hell.
He had experienced the Loss of Family.
He had experienced the want to die.
To end it allโฆ
He had experienced Death.
Memories of how He mentally tortured Decey, with just his presence, with his sickening laugh that ran through every single nerve like a forest fire.
What shook December up, was the fact that ร, in those memories, was him at his weakest. It was the limit of what a human could ever imagine. Even that couldn't properly pay tribute to how monstrous and nonsensical ร truly is.
"Decey, you okay?" Heet asked him. She had noticed he was spacing out while Professor Ash was talking the Battle House.
She placed her hand on his knee, and was deathly concerned. He was shaking.
"What happened?" She gently whispered.
Decey managed to muster up all of his energy to pull off a poker face.
"Stomach ache."
"They shouldn't be that painful."
"Easy for you to say. Woman and abdomen pain go hand in hand." Decey tried to not show Heet how scared he was. It was too late. The gears were turning in her head, and he could see that.
Decey closed his eyes and hung his head down. He needed to collect his thoughts.
{๐๐ฏ๐๐ง๐ญ ๐๐จ๐ซ๐ข๐ณ๐จ๐ง}
Lost had warned him about ร returning. That was understandable, he's a demi-god at that point.
Lye knew about this. How he knew was a mystery to Decey. It wasn't common knowledge in the world, but ร was a disaster. That was all people knew about ร. The questions inside Decey were driving him insane.
How does he know ร is approaching?
Does he know when?
Can we even manage to enter his presence without losing our humanity?
The dots were all floating around Decey.
The Primes, the training rooms decked out with impossible tech, this practicals class for first years.
Decey becoming a Defined.
Him meeting Lost.
These were the dots Decey could manage to scramble up. There was also another one. Decey was unsure if it would even be relevant.
Andrew Williams.
Decey asked himself. Was he really thinking it wouldn't be in this pile of dots?
Or was he scared. Scared that something might've happened to Mali. Scared that he might lose someone else.
Scared that whatever he discovers about Him, might come and haunt him for eternity.
Time began to pace up from a crawl, while Decey managed to calm down in that breif period. He acknowledged Heet and gave her a thumbs up. Decey wiped his sweat off with his sleave.
"So that's the outline of what we're going to do. Got it?"
There was a resounding yes erupting from the class.
They all were excited because this class would let everyone use their Functions freely.
"Let's start off with a small contest- A race!
I'll call upon some random people. Maybe 3-4 students. And we'll race you across the perimeter of the auditorium. "
Ash began to scan everyone's lack of enthusiasm and locked eyes with Decey.
"Ah, the two special kids. December and Heet, the new Primes. How about you too Dean?"
All three groaned and stood up. They went towards Professor Ash who showed them where the starting line is.
"You three, this is purely for testing the limits of your Domain Boost. So no attacking."
I'll try it now.
I know I am afraid of ร.
But,
This is going to be one of the dots I need to kill it.
Besides, I should surprise her.
Decey suddenly felt a freezing sensation where his eyes were. He tried to blink but his eyelids didn't let him. His eyes began to change color, into a more silver tint.
He looked around everywhere, and smiled as he succeeded in what Lye taught him.
As Heet and Dean stretched, Decey could see the spikes surrounding both of them. An icey texture from Heet and a polished crystal like texture from Dean.
As they got into position, he noticed he could do something with his eyes. He couldn't explain the sensation, but it felt like he knew this all along.
"On your marks!"
They each began to boost their legs and arms, ready to race.
"Get set!"
Heet suddenly felt something wrong. This never happened to her. Her ankles felt the same even after boosting.
"WHAT HAPPENED TO MY BOOST?"
She turned towards Decey, who had that look again. Dean, on the other hand, he had a similar to expression as Heet herself. She turned towards Decey, confused.
"Decey. Is this youโฆ?"
All he did was wink at her.
"Go!"