6 Conclusion of the Mission
The mission regarding the burst of unknown energy happened months ago, yet the conclusion was still unconceived.
The report for the mission had inadequate information surrounding the true objective of the mission. Therefore, many theories suggested by the headquarters' intelligence department could not be eliminated and many conclusions were suddenly raised from risky assumptions.
The headquarters had limited the major suspects of the burst of energy to three factors: the baby, the ritual, and the girl. The biggest suspect is the ritual, but the information is still pending as the request for information on ritualistic traditions is still unresponsive. On the other hand, the baby had no trace of magic, while the girl was easily discovered to be a magic user.
The discovery of magic from the girl further complicated the situation. Her appearance in the situation creates more questions than answers.
"If it was her who created the burst of energy, why didn't her grandmother and siblings die, but instead it was the cultists on the upper floors who had their heads exploded?"
"She might be controlling it to kill specifically the cultist."
"But why? And also how could she have that much control when she doesn't even know how to activate her magic yet?"
"Could the girl had acquire magic that is not received from birth and this is the effect of her transformation?"
"That's impossible. Magic could only be achieved from birth, and there are countless studies supporting this theory."
"Could it be that girl was there by coincidence?"
"I agree, it shouldn't be the girl, right? There was a ritual that was being performed during the burst of unknown energy, so it must have been related to the cultist."
"But what ritual was the cultist performing? Why isn't it in our records about traditions from other planetary systems?"
"Maybe the pattern of the ritual had something to do with the burst of energy."
"What about the baby within the center of that pattern? Where did they get the baby from? What is the baby's purpose?"
"Wait a minute. If the burst of energy was a result of the ritual, why didn't the baby die?"
"Could the baby be a higher being that was summoned by a ritual, and the burst of energy was the effect of his dissension?"
"What were you smoking to have concluded that?"
The questions continued to roll in like the waves of a tsunami. However, due to the limited research on magic and the unresponsive reply from neighboring planetary intelligence agencies, no answer could be provided temporarily.
Thus headquarters decided to approach it logically, concluding that the girl was there by coincidence and that burst was an effect of the cultist's ritual.
This conclusion left many researchers dissatisfied as there were many contradictions.
....
Within these recent months, Liliana had helped built Sirius's profile.
Sirius has been officially named "Sirius Evergreen", using Lady Liliana's surname.
Sirius was also brought to the local hospital to check for his potential health record. Upon finding out that he had no health records, he went through multiple checkups and tests. It was found out that he was about 8 months old and hadn't taken any shots that protect him from the numerous diseases in the five planetary solar systems.
Thus the local doctor advises Liliana for the baby to take multiple shots today since it was free. However, Liliana was afraid it would put Sirius in pain and asked for the shots to be taken across multiple days. The doctor agreed and soon prepared Sirius' first shot.
She left the room and came back with a little tray containing a small metallic case, a couple of wipes, and a little container of liquid that was letting out cold fog.
Liliana patted Sirius's head and gave him gentle shakes to comfort him. However, Sirius had a curious expression rather than one of discomfort.
Soon the doctor opened the small metallic case to reveal an object that resembles a pen but was thicker in size. One could also faintly see a sharp needle poking out the hole. She then installed the small cylindrical shape container of liquid into the pen-like object and wiped the hole.
After finishing the preparation, she looked at Sirius and smiled warmly while telling Liliana to roll up the baby's sleeves till the shoulder is exposed.
She then wiped the baby's shoulders with disinfectant wipes and gently pressed the pen-like object on the shoulder. With a click, a long sharp needle punctured the skin and administered the shot.
Sirius's eyes were squeezed shut, but not a single drop of tear leaked from his dull eyes. Not expecting the baby's reaction, Liliana observed Sirius with concern in her eyes.
"Umm, doctor, could the child have any mental problems?" asked Liliana hesitantly and worriedly, while the doctor was cheering Sirius with a colorful band-aid.
Liliana feared that Sirius might have been traumatized after being kidnapped from his parents and developed a mental disorder. However, even if he had any mental illnesses, Liliana would still take care of him like he was her biological son.
"I don't believe so. Rather I think that he may have not developed his sense of feeling, which is rare considering his age, but it could be developed if you show more facial expressions around him." replied the doctor.
Relieved by the answer, Liliana thanked the doctor and waved goodbye.
....
Despite the funding provided by the headquarters, only one child was sent to Lady Liliana's Orphanage. The only reason he was sent here was that the child was too troublesome for the larger orphanages to handle. It was noted that he was energetic and stubborn, but his tendency toward delinquency was the primary reason for his transfer.
Lady Liliana's determined and kindhearted nature made it impossible for her to reject anyone, especially a child that had been rejected by his original home. Thus, he was immediately accepted and Liliana was as happy as ever.
The boy was called Zenith Milsmore, he was around 8 years old, similar to Lily and Oliver, and was found starving in his father's house. It was said that his father had an affair with another woman, but was later found out by his mother. His mother murdered that woman and soon committed suicide. Zenith was left to the care of his father, who physically abused him and blamed him for this miserable life. Zenith was starved and beaten till he was as thin as a reed. Luckily his neighbors called the police after hearing the screams and the police arrested his father. Zenith was around 5 years old at that time and was admitted to the central city's orphanage. However, the orphanage's children ostracized him because of his skinny looks and would occasionally bully him. Many caretakers turned a blind eye toward this because of the amount of workload that they had.
Zenith's body eventually returned to normal, but it was already too late because he had initiated many fights with his bullies. This repetitive violent attitude gave him a bad reputation, which consolidated and solidified his aggressive nature.
Soon the only group of people Zenith could trust were local street gangs composed of kids like him. However, after the central city's orphanage found his connection with the local street gangs, Zenith was immediately transferred out.
Now Zenith was moving into this peaceful boarding house.
The child was appointed to come this morning and Liliana was extremely excited. She made everyone wake up early, except for the babies, and come to the front yard to welcome the new child. However, Sirius was extremely aware of his surroundings and woke up, thus he was also brought along.
Soon a car stopped near the green wooden fencing of the boarding house. A child with sharp eyes and short brown hair got off a car with a burly man behind him holding a medium size bag. Zenith was looking away from everyone's curious gaze and was surveying the surroundings of the boarding house. It was also evident by the manner in which he posed and walked that he was a brat. His hands were deep in his pockets, and his back was hunched.
"Lady Liliana, I'm afraid this brat might be your biggest challenge yet." said the burly man as he shook his head with sympathy.
"There is no challenge. Every child is to be welcomed and treated with utter respect."
"However, I don't believe this brat would accept any of your kind treatment. If he were to do any unspeakable act towards anyone of these orphans, you should call headquarters immediately and let us deal with him." the burly man initially thought the rumors were just exaggerated, but his experience had said otherwise. Immediately after meeting the burly man, the brat made a pathetic attempt to directly escape from within the car. Unfortunately, the burly man overpowered the child and locked the car's doors. From then on, the brat would spout out curses until he ran out of breath and started glaring at the smiling burly man.
Liliana attempted to talk with Zenith but he completely ignored her, turning his head away from her sweet smile.
An awkward silence ensued and the burly man shook his head in disappointment.
Suddenly a fierce but feminine voice rang out.
"Hey, brat! Lady Liliana wants to talk with you."
