Conspiracy

A thin string in my soul, constantly suspended with Emovi balancing upon it. Heavy air filled the atmosphere around her. And then… the string snapped and she fell. 

How many people are gonna cut the strings of my family? Why is my family in an eternal state of suffering? What did we do to deserve all of this? I still couldn't believe Devina would just take Emovi and the rest without saying anything. She doesn't have any motives for doing so, there is nothing for her to gain by kidnapping them.

Then why run? She can't be caught by the police, she has money and security, then what is making her do this?

I couldn't take any of it anymore, I stood up and decided to walk out of the mansion. The others watched as I was about to die.

"Where are you going kid?"

"Dragonscale or whatever it is called."

Zyo flung a knife with a piece of paper towards me. Dodging it, and then looking at the piece of paper I realized it was a map.

"Dragonscale is all the way south, there is no way you are making it there without proper planning."

I scrutinized it and saw that the area around it was completely surrounded by endless desert. For days you would need to travel through Sub-Saharan temperatures to reach one of the cities. It would take additional days to reach the capital of Dragonscale.

Wow, so nice of Devina, to teleport everyone to a frickin desert. 

"Don't you want to save your little sister?"

His confident tone irritated me. My face twitched before one of my feet turned left, making a squeaky sound. 

I looked back at Zerstörer.

"You will continue letting the curse run if I don't go with you right?"

There was a long silence before he responded.

"You can save her."

The blood from my hands continued to drip, forming puddles below me. I raised both my hands, looking at the red lakes forming in my palms. I turned my body towards Zerstörer and looked at him. I was just thinking about my family. Ken, Lan, and mother. They sacrificed their own lives to save me. Why was I hesitating to save my blood?

The mark of freedom appeared on my cheek. Eminating ominous black light. It then started blinking. Zerstörer looked at me with a grin on his face. Upon seeing my mark for a second time, Viego tried rolling back his chair while Zyo laughed at him for panicking.

Zerstörer with heavy steps walked up to me and gave me a shoulder tap. 

"Good to have you aboard."

The mark of freedom exploded across my whole body. Roots manifested throughout my limbs and chest. It was as if I knew I was trapped, but this time I wouldn't let it escape.

I reached out my hand towards Zerstörer inviting him for a handshake, he smiled and with tension gone, he gave me his hand.

But as his hand was to touch mine, I took it back and gut-punched him. With the energy from the mark of freedom enhancing my physical strength, he got sent back a few meters, but he still stood firm. 

"That's for cursing my sister."

"Good to have you kid," he repeated.

I sat down with the mark receding into my body, I asked them how we were supposed to get to Dragonscale. Zyo said it would be a one-man mission. 

I raised an eyebrow and asked her what she meant. 

"Viego and I don't really have a thing to gain from going to Dragonscale but someone is."

I glare at Zerstörer who gives me a bright smile showing his white teeth. 

"The only thing he wants is Sekito. So your mission is to bring Sekito back to us. And then he will release the curse on your sister."

There was a long awkward pause. 

"If he's so strong why can't he go pick her up himself?"

Everyone looked at Zerstörer, he started fiddling with his fingers and started to look around the room.

"He doesn't want her to hate him I guess." Zyo let out a tiresome sigh.

I responded nonchalantly,

"She already hates you though?"

Zerstörer fell to his knees and started to act like a kid. Then he started sulking in one of the corners.

"What are you even planning to do if you got with her?"

"I would give her presents… give her hugs… take her out on walks…"

"But what if she doesn't want that and runs away from you?"

"I will never give up on her!"

He stood up proudly and looked at Zyo. With eyes filled with determination, he put both his hands on my shoulders. 

"I can count on you right, kid?"

I pushed his face away from me and shoved away his hands. 

"Fine fine, the only thing you need is Sekito right?"

He nodded like a toddler who had just been offered candy and started to shake my hand up and down as thank you. 

"And for capturing her… you will use this."

He handed me a piece of metal, it was some sort of collar. Big enough to fit a human neck. It had gray flowers engraved on it with sophisticated patterns. 

"What does this do?"

Zyo started to explain that the collar had been infused with Zerstörer's mark of Breakage and those who wear it will constantly suffer from breakage. Unless Zerstörer decides to temporarily disable it to make it comfortable for the victim. 

"Remember that Sekito's main ability is unbreakable chains?"

I nodded. Zerstörer can accelerate the time of an object he decides to put his mark of breakage on. 

"Meaning?"

No matter how tough the chains are, they aren't gonna last for infinity, time itself is infinite and therefore he can accelerate the chain's age to infinity, destroying them. 

"Isn't there any downsides to this though? Like Viego's special explosion but he needs to exit his acclimation which can be stopped."

Viego turns his eyes away from me.

Zyo looks at Zerstörer and signals to him to explain to me. But he seemed a little occupied thinking about someone else. He was completely zoned out.

"Ahem?!?"

Zyo throws a wine bottle at Zerstörer's face and wine drips down onto his clothes. 

"Oh right…"

With wine dripping down his body, soaking him in red. He told me that he hadn't met anyone who had been able to reverse the breakage so he had no clue how his ability could be stopped or countered.

"Well then…"

Zerstörer slowly approached me and ushered me to go do my mission. 

"He gave me a bag of money and told me to hurry up because my sister would be dead in days."

I walked out of the mansion, scratching my head, thinking how I was supposed to go to Dragonscale. Then, I suddenly got an idea.

I ran back to Devina's house and opened the door. I saw Aylin there sitting on the sofa, waiting for me to come home. I opened my mouth and asked her a few words.