NOVEL NEXT Chapter 42: A Mistake
"Before what happened?" Pixel asked, gripping onto his neck tightly—a response to the sudden black fading into the very air.
Before Logan had the chance to open his mouth for a response, color vanished, sizzled, and exploded back out to enshroud the two. This time, to a different scene—one of machinery.
Gray-tiled flooring expanded across from them like the vast wilderness, leaving the two confused for their location.
White walls panned all throughout, only ever getting disrupted by single, metallic doors that led into god-knows-where.
And there was, of course, a countertop standing at the very front, where a receptionist accepted incoming visitors with joy.
Logan's face lit. "Ah, so my mind has brought me here," he said, moving forward towards the receptionist.
"What is it?" Pixel questioned, helping herself up to a standing position, finding balance atop his bouncing shoulder.
"You're about to find out," Logan responded, moving past the lady, and over to the far-right corner of the space.
There was one door in particular that sat unabated.
Its hinges rubbed against hard metal, resounding a powerful shrill. Even the metal seemed to be corroded with terrible marks, like a beast had come to tear away at it.
"Who did this to pure metal?" Pixel asked—almost rhetorically—floating up ahead with utmost curiosity. Her body vanished behind the incorporeal door, leaving Logan by himself in silence.
Following in her footsteps, he stepped forward. The door squeaked open, leaving him bewildered at the sight ahead.
Selene shot up into the air, entire webs of mana trailing her arm like a whip.
With a single, quick swipe with her arm, hard pink swerved like crescents to cut away at her victim.
Thwam!
The thing crashed down onto the ground, causing virtual gusts of wind to swirl throughout.
Logan watched the construction carefully. It was a single mass of machinery, ragtag parts from a car engine supplementing its torso as arms, with a number of processors, motherboards, and hard drives whirring deep inside it.
With a great crackle, it tried to get up, then submitted itself in defeat—disappearing into the air.
"I've gotta say, even though we're the same age, you're able to take down Class Orange threats—an entire three levels above where I'm at. It's astounding," one boy chimed, glistening with admiration.
"Zack," Selene responded, dusting herself clean. "You're quite impressive yourself. You shouldn't be so self-deprecating."
"Yeah, you're both amazing!" another boy urged. It was a younger Logan, his shoulders broad and his legs taller. "I wish I had cool Gifts like the two of you!"
Both Selene and Zack turned to him, scrutinizing. "Well, you shouldn't talk as if we're that much ahead of you. After all, neither of us has your knowledge when it comes to technology."
Logan smiled to himself. Pixel looked back with inquisition. "What is this?" she asked.
"This is the battle simulative grounds that Spirit Executioners used regularly. Ever since Selene was awakened, father would always bring us here for her to train. It also helped out Zack, since he awakened just a couple months after his sixth birthday.
However, neither of us could never compare to my sister. After all, she was the genius who was on par with high-ranking Executioners." Groaning with pained emotion, Logan tapped his feet.
"We would always come here and watch my sister. It was astonishing, really. Perhaps a little too much."
Once again, the world churned. Light flickered, then another location.
This time, the bedroom again.
"What are you working on, there?" Selene asked, hovering over a wooden desk. Young Logan found himself at its end, working away at a tiny, orb-shaped bundle of wires.
"An IO-sphere," the younger him said. "They're the things that let you fight projections as if they were real. I've heard that tinkering with these was hard, so I put myself up to the challenge."
"Are you serious?" Selene jabbered. "I thought those were really hard to come by! How'd you do it?"
The younger Logan, in all his innocence, smiled back. "That's for me to know. All I know is that this will definitely impress father."
Selene's face went sour. "Logan, you shouldn't invest so much of your time into impressing my father. I'm considered the ace of my family, and I still hardly ever get a 'congratulations' from the old man."
Even despite Selene's warning, Logan's face was as bright as the morning star. "That doesn't matter to me. He definitely can't ignore something like this, so I just know he'll pat my head and be grateful I'm his son! That way, I won't be a burden on everyone."
Logan—the older one—frowned deeply, even letting a sigh escape his chest. Pixel asked him this: "Your father. I don't know much about him."
Before Logan spoke, the world dispelled again. Now, it was the living room—except, with two people at its center.
"Father, look at what I made!" young Logan exclaimed, holding up a vibrant and humming device. It was the IO-sphere from earlier, emitting a brilliant, white light. "Please, won't you notice me? I've been working hard to become just like Selene! I'm just as useful as she is!"
His step-father stood silent, then nodded. "Hm..." he hummed. Then, an outreaching hand. "Come here, Logan."
Before the young Logan walked up to his father, the scene paused. "You know, at this time, all I wanted was my father's attention. When he'd first picked me and my mother off the street, he reminded me of the light that guided the night.
Even now, I still see the way his eyes glow gold. It reminds me of his excellence—of the ceiling I wished to reach," Logan said, letting the world resume.
Pixel's mouth hung wide as she struggled for words to respond with, but by then, it was too late.
Smack!
His father punched the kid, sending him hurtling for the wall. Picture frames shook on the nail as the young Logan coughed for air, shuddering from the force.
"You, being comparable to Selene? Don't make me laugh, you're a Giftless mistake. It's a miracle that I've even let you roam in the same space as her, but for you to try to win my affection? It's pathetic," his father said, stepping just once in his direction. "Pthew!"
Liquid shot from his mouth, ending at the height of Logan's cheek. It bubbled, dripping down to his chin.
"W-why...?" young Logan asked, struggling to get up from his strained back.
"Because you were a mistake, Logan. I don't love you, and I never will. Now go on and beat it."