Leveling up the World

Chapter 983: The Shadows Left Behind

It was ironic that flying back to his dorm took Dallion longer than it would have had he driven. The main reason was that the plane relied on power cables to move about, making traveling along a straight line impossible. Initially, Alien tended to take a slightly roundabout approach out of fear that the organization might suspect what they were doing. He was quickly dissuaded, though. As Dallion had explained, any organization that simply pinpoint his location based on the energy drain from the power cables.

The final stretch was done on what was left of the gathered gas. Everyone agreed that there would be an opportunity to get a lot more on campus.

Dallion’s intention was to let Katka do that while he placed a limiting echo within all the people that knew him well. As far as the world would be concerned, he had dropped out and gone off somewhere, possibly home. Using echoes in such fashion was the last thing he wanted, but it was better than any alternative.

As for Alien, given how sketchy the man looked outside of an awakened realm, Dallion decided to take him along. At least that way he could calm matters using his music skills.

“We start with my roommate,” Dallion whispered as he made his way into the building.

Alien was adamant that he had “fixed” the cameras so there was nothing to worry about, yet that didn’t prevent people from spotting them and calling campus security. Given that they had arrived late at night—out of necessity, rather than caution.

“If we’re lucky, he’ll be drunk. If he isn’t. Don’t engage him. He has a tendency to talk a lot.”

Emotions of annoyance kept on emanating from the mage, but he only nodded. When it came to awakened, he had a very good sense of preservation. Right now, Dallion had become the replacement of the Tamin Emperor, who was to be obeyed at all costs. One could almost pity Alien—awakening as a mage was the worst thing that could have happened to him.

Can you ever get rid of your demons? Dallion sighed internally as he reached to unlock the door. Before he could, it swung open.

“Dude!” his roommate said, almost as if he had been expecting him. “You alive? Been hearing—”

“Not so loud,” Dallion said using his music skill.

Concern and understanding flooded into his roommate who covered his mouth in “oops” fashion, then nodded.

“I thought something had happened to you,” he whispered. “Why the heck would you drop out?”

Drop out? Dallion froze. While that was his cover story, he hadn’t started spreading it yet. As far as anyone knew, he was off to see a distant family member with Atol… at least, that was what she was supposed to have said.

Mentally Dallion clenched his fists. He should have checked everything the woman had done. That way, he’d know what really was going on. Apparently, she didn’t think he’d be coming back. There were two ways to interpret this. Either the organization was going to make him an offer, or they were going to make him an offer he couldn’t refuse. Looking back, there was a non-zero chance that the bullets weren’t meant for Alien, but him.

“Family stuff,” Dallion lied, still using his music skill. And just for good measure, he also split into three instances while doing so. “I just wanted to pass by to pick up a few things.”

“What things? They packed your stuff days a—”

A purple zap struck the roommate, causing him to instantly lose consciousness and stumble backwards into the room.

“Alien?” Dallion hissed in all three instances. “What the heck?!” He grabbed the mage by the collar.

“For your own good,” the mage struggled.

The age difference didn’t make up for the difference in stats. Dallion had the feeling that if he didn’t restrain himself, he would crush the other’s neck.

“He’s a cultist!” Alien added.

“What?” Dallion loosened his grip.

“He’s an awakened.”

Dallion looked at the body on the floor. He hadn’t known his roommate much, but nothing had indicated that he had been awakened, let alone a Star cultist. Then again, nothing had indicated that Atol was setting him up, either.

Concentrating, Dallion focused on the magic threads of his roommate. They were barely present, made all the more difficult to spot because of the world’s limitations. Determined to know, Dallion pushed himself further. A dull sensation of pain emerged in both of his temples. The magic threads became brighter, moving throughout his friend like electric circuits. Then, he saw them—black threads of void. They were a lot smaller, wrapping the other threads like a thin layer of fat.

Damn it! Dallion closed his eyes.

Had this always been the case? For all Dallion knew, the other might have been awakened for years before they met. They hadn’t been in the same time—Dallion knew all human otherworlders. He had to have been born before.

“How long have you known about them?” Dallion turned to the mage.

“I’ve just heard rumors,” Alien lied. From what Dallion could tell, this was the first time he had actually seen one. More than likely he was merely being paranoid that they had to exist. It seemed that he had been right to be concerned.

“Think they’re part of the organization?”

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“We aren’t,” a female voice said.

At the end of the corridor, a girl stepped out of the darkness. Rather, it was more accurate to say that the darkness slid off her, making her visible.

“Jenna,” Dallion said. With everything that had happened, he had started to suspect that she might be involved as well.

On cue, Alien drew a thread of electricity from the nearest lamp, drawing two three-circle spells. The effect wasn’t apparent, suggesting that they were defensive spells.

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“That explains why you were so interested in me early on,” Dallion said. Strangely enough, he felt relieved.

“All that power and still so clueless.” She pursed her lips, then glanced at Alien. “If we fight here, I’ll lose, but you’ll attract enough attention for the watchers to step in. Feel like risking it, or we can talk inside?”

In his mind, Dallion went through variations of the fight. The corridor was wide enough for him to rush past Alien in an attempt to reach her, but even if he sprinted, it was unlikely he’d get to her before she could scream. Also, there was no telling what sort of void skills she had retained. The trick she had just done now, was that just a sort of camouflage skill, or was it the Star’s cocoon of void?

You’re bluffing, he told himself.

Star cultists didn’t have the conviction to fight to the death. The lower ones were greedy, with no will whatsoever, while the upper echelons would constantly backstab each other in their desire to rise up the ranks to the coveted rank of Star candidate.

“Let’s talk,” Dallion said.

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“After you.” Dallion stepped to the side.

There were a few questions he needed to ask.

The room was somewhat different from what Dallion remembered. All his things were gone. The second bed remained unoccupied, though his roommate was effectively using it as a storage dump. Books, games, and boxes covered half of it.

In a show of strength, Alien cast a quick spell that shoved everything on the floor. It was by no means elegant, but indicated he was not to be trifled with. In this case, his appearance was of benefit, for Dallion felt fear emanating from Jenna. He himself, though, chose not to take any obvious action.

Lux, Nox, be on guard, he ordered mentally.

“Any chance he’ll wake up?” Dallion asked, as Alien used a slightly less rough spell to move his roommate on to the other bed.

“Not in the next six hours,” Alien replied. “Plenty of time to talk.”

“Not that much,” Jenna said, keeping a brave front. “The watchers know you’re here. I’m sure they’ve already sent people.”

“You told them?!” Alien hissed through clenched teeth.

“They’ve ways of watching all the hotspots. Usually they don’t mess with us, but you’re different.”

“I keep hearing that a lot,” Dallion sighed.

“There’s something unique about you. It’s almost like you never left the world. Almost…” she hesitated. “Almost as if you could be the Architect.”

Both Dallion and the mage froze still. By the sound of things, there hardly was a person or guardian in the world who wasn’t aware.

“I know you can’t be. The Architect can’t have void.”

It’s not me, it’s my companions, Dallion thought, yet said nothing.

“When did you awaken?” Dallion asked. Even if pressed for time, he remained curious about the other world.

“Here or there?” Jenna dared to smile. “Here, it was close to a year ago. Near the end of high school. It helped mask the change. Everyone said that I had matured too fast, without knowing how right they were. There…” she shook her head. “There I experienced the fall of the great city, destroyed by the Moons.”

“The Fallen South?” That was unexpected.

“Yes, that’s what they called it. It was supposed to be the city of the future. I remember I felt so lucky living in a fantasy world with human technology. Of course, memory can be selective. The city was less than a fifth of its original population when I was born. There were nearby non-human races, but even humans were more abundant outside than in. I remember feeling surprised how few people cared. Everyone was so focused on the benefits that void-tech provided to bother with anything.”

Dallion had seen fragments of that period, yet he still couldn’t imagine what it must have been like. The devastation caused during the war of conquest must have paled in comparison to the destruction brought down by the Moons themselves.

“Even the end wasn’t terrifying, just sudden,” Jenna added. “I remember looking up in the sky and thinking, boy, the Moons must be pissed.”

“You’re void touched,” Dallion said. She didn’t have platinum blond hair, but there could be no doubt of the fact. The power he had seen could be said to belong to the Star, but it was more appropriate to say that it belonged to the overseers. “Was that why you got to know me?”

“Must it be one thing?” Embarrassment and hurt emanated from her even if her expression didn’t flinch. “I’m a recruiter. It’s my job to bring people into the fold. I wasn’t sure you remembered your past. Most don’t.”

She looked at Dallion’s roommate. If one didn’t know better, one could almost say that he partied too hard.

“Like him?” he asked.

“Very few things are worse than being affected by the void. Void touched, cultists… we all need help.”

“Like void anonymous?” Alien asked as spitefully as he could, earning himself a pair of disapproving glances.

Being who he was, there was no indication he cared in the least. Also, Dallion could see the fingers of his left hand constantly moving. The uninitiated might call him twitching, but the truth was that he was repeating the motions of a spell. Should things take a turn, all he had to do was draw some electricity and cast it in a second.

“It takes decades to get all the void out of someone. Before that, they must be made aware of what’s going on. It’s even trickier if the person doesn’t remember. That’s why the Network was formed.”

“Is that what you call yourselves?” Dallion mused. “It’s suitable.”

“Current and former void touched, seeking out other affected and helping them get rid of it. You can say we perform a service, but we also stick to one another. That’s why the watchers don’t mess with us. If there’s one thing the void is best at it’s hiding.”

Dallion could see that. Even back in the other world, it was exceedingly difficult to catch cultists. It didn’t help that parts of the Order were casting a blind eye. When it came down to it, Dallion himself never suspected that he had been affected until well after becoming a mage.

“So, what will you do now?” He looked Jenna in the eye. “Force me to join for your own good?”

The girl shook her head.

“Why?”

“The void can’t be forced out. The more one tries, the deeper it goes. There have been incidents in the past… it didn’t end well for anyone. We’re just here to offer help. You must decide to accept it.”

There didn’t seem to be any music or magic threads in the girl’s words. Concentrating, he couldn’t see any void strands, either. At the same time, he wasn’t inclined to trust her after everything that had happened. Too many people had managed to deceive him due to his own carelessness.

“I won’t be joining you.” Dallion leaned forward. “I’ll deal with my void on my own. But if you’re offering help, there is something I need a hand with.”