Chapter 9: Awakener's Nightmare

How long this talk would go? I get the gist of what they're trying to say already, but I don't get why I should be held responsible for something I don't even know about.

"With that condition, he's dangerous! We should keep him here—

The four-eyed doctor had been pushing my patience to the limit. How many times does he need to say the words keep him?

Before he got another chance, I spoke. "Maybe I used it unintentionally. If I remember, I felt something cool enter my chest a year ago, the day the first Judgement Day happened. I was at the station at that time, and one of the monsters attacked us before everyone who awakened went berserk. But now that I think about it, nothing happened to me. Also, just last night, a Seeker robbed the store I was working at. He tried to intimidate me with his Seeker's ability but he just ended up farting."

"Pfft." Allen coughed twice when I turned to him.

Judgment Day is what they call the first appearance of those strange beings. The evil was purged by the monsters, while the good was blessed with powers to fight them. It was an absurd theory. I remember my bully in college who got to be saved while other innocent people died from being clawed.

Now, that guy was working under his father's company. Life truly is unfair. I suddenly recalled that strange person in a princely outfit who saved us. I'm sure he said his name, but what was it again?

I heard heavy footsteps behind as if the feet were deliberately making noise to get my attention. I looked back and saw the captain walk to me, stop just a few feet away, and ask, "So, you've been using your ability unintentionally?"

I furrowed my brows. "That's what I said. That's also why, I think, am safe until now."

"Have we met before?" He suddenly asked. I was a bit taken aback.

"I don't think so."

The captain crossed his arms on his chest and glared down at me. What the hell is his problem?

"Think properly. I have this feeling I already see that stupid face of yours somewhere."

I smirked. "I feel the same way, but I don't really remember someone as unremarkable as you."

Captain Van glared at me. He pursed his lips, and stared straight at me for a minute, before turning away. "Dr. Sheila, does he need to stay here? If he is, we'll go back now."

"He doesn't need to stay."

Thank goodness.

"But chief—

Dr. Shiela interrupted four eyes and turned to the captain instead. "If he's using his ability unintentionally, it means he has no control over it. If he can't control it, then what happened today might repeat. Above all, what he needs to learn is how to control it properly, by that, his power usage will lessen and the risk of mutating will decrease. Training an inexperienced awakener isn't the job of RDC. He's going with you."

I balled my hand into a fist in success. The finality in her voice made four eyes slumped on his chair dejectedly.

"Captain Vanderheinz. Let's talk privately." Dr. Shiela approached and called the captain out. She briefly glanced at me before exiting the door, which seemed suspicious. I was about to follow them when Allen blocked my way.

"Isn't it great? You'll be able to go back home. It's such a relief that the captain quickly asked for an examination. If you go with your days without knowing you're awakened and keep using your ability unintentionally, imagine what will happen if you reach your limit," Allen remarked, sighing in relief and looking at me reassuringly. His slanted eyes were curved again, almost hiding his irises.

He had that kind of eyes that when you see them open properly, then it means you're doomed.

"Captain Vanderheinz really has a knack for finding unregistered awakeners. He kept dragging civilians here. Thanks to him, the DAM had always been busy." One of the researchers mentioned.

I listened to them complain about the load of work they had to do because of the increasing number of unregistered awakeners, but my mind was busy trying to remember where I heard the captain's name.

I'm certain I heard it before.

Vanderheinz…

'The captain used to have golden hair and blue eyes.'

'My name is Claude Vanderheinz of the Vanderheinz Empire, heir to the throne and hero of the kingdom.'

"Claude…" I unconsciously mumbled. At the same time, the door opened again and the two stepped in.

The captain stared at me with furrowed brows. His downturned lips, which obviously prove that he was annoyed at what conversation he had with Dr. Shiela, pursed tightly then parted, spatting a peeved answer, "What?"

I shook my head, without blinking or glancing away at his displeased countenance. He said nothing and turned away after declaring that we were leaving. I followed silently. The image of that cosplayer resurfaced in my mind.

I remember he spoke so formally, like he really was a prince, and he had a look of kindness and was very approachable, but came off like an airhead.

What happened to him? Did the weight of all that happened drag his kind and friendly personality in the mud? Or he'd gone through a traumatic experience that changed his attitude entirely?

"It seems that you don't treasure your eyes."

I blinked. "What?"

Allen laughed nervously. He maneuvered the car out of the parking lot while glancing at his captain seated on the passenger seat. Once the car was on the road, he glanced at the rearview mirror, which reflected my face.

Our eyes met, and he smiled nervously. "You've been staring at the captain since we left the observation room, all throughout the way. If there's something you wanted to ask, Jade, ask away."

Ah… I did it unconsciously. I guessed I was trying to find where that friendly cosplayer went. Everything about him changed—his appearance, his personality, and even the air that surrounded him.

I'm quite amazed. Change is the most constant thing in this world, yet sometimes I feel I'm the only variable that remains the same—unmoved, while everything else drifts and transforms, as if I'm the stillness within life's endless tide.

But what do I know after talking to him for only a few minutes? Maybe this is his real personality after all.

I looked out the window and asked, "Where are we heading now?"

"We're heading back to the NSA."

"But I haven't decided yet whether to register as a Seeker or not."

"You will have to," the captain answered. So, he's not entirely ignoring me. "In order for you to get training, you have to be a registered Seeker. You will have to learn under someone and train on the Seeker's facilities. The NSA does not allow unregistered ones to use it."

Will I have to work as a Seeker too? That job is too tiring and dangerous, though it pays well, it's too bothersome for me. As long as I earned enough to get by and save a little, any job is fine. I'm thinking of applying at the UAO, but if I become a Seeker, then that means I'll belong to the NSA.

However, I never expected that I would end up with none of the two.

After I was left alone in the NSA by the two because they had somewhere to be, I was contacted by the UAO that my temporary housing unit was ready. I got excited; a free house was enough to excite me. I'm that simple.

So, I asked permission to go, and seeing that no one explained my situation to the NSA employees, they didn't stop me from leaving. I checked my new unit, ate lunch, and napped, but when it was time to bathe, I realized I had no clothes with me at all.

Buying new ones… requires money. So, I decided to go back to my old house, take a peek, and asked a Seeker nearby to check if my drawers are sucked in too.

That's what I planned, but what the heck? Not only did my entire house was missing, but the whole neighborhood was closed off due to a black mist spreading in the whole area.

"What happened?" I yanked one of the onlookers and asked.

"The team managed to close the vortex but I think the captain reached his limit!"

What? The captain… is it him? I remembered the smoke flowering behind him before, and I knew right then it was Captain Van indeed.

"But he was fine just a moment ago!" Oh, yeah, that was before noon. I had already eaten and napped, and it was already dusk. It's been hours since then. I didn't think he was so foolish as to jump inside a vortex when he was even stable in the beginning.

I glanced around, looking for Allen. But I spotted Terrius instead. I ran to him. "Hey, why are you all evacuating? What about your captain?"

Terrius dropped his gaze at me, confused. Seems like he had forgotten me already. Thankfully, he still answered, "No Minders can go past this mist. It evolves. Even gas masks melt within a few minutes of contact. We're sealing the perimeter to block the mist from spreading throughout the entire town. Move away."

He pushed me away. A single push almost made me tumble back, but I stood firm. So, they're abandoning him now? He's their captain, and he saves many lives, but if he continues to evolve, then his team will be the one to kill him soon.

This is why I don't want to be involved with Seekers.

It's like when God blessed them with powers, He took something in return—their compassion toward fellow humans. When you suddenly get thrust into an apocalypse, survival becomes the creed, etched deep. Sympathy fades, compassion withers, and pity turns cold. It's right, perhaps, to cling to your own survival, but to snuff out even a glimmer of hope in another… is that where humanity frays?

What hope I'm looking at anyway? If Terrius, who knows more than me, said that it was already too late, then what am I to do?

Bullshit.

At the back of my head, until he completely turns, he's human. He's a fucking human!

I threw my fucking everything and ran past the barrier the Aetherlock spheres were beginning to create. I heard Terrius yelling at me, but my principles were louder. I ran to the empty space where my house used to exist.

And there I saw him, grabbing his head as if he had monstrous lice on his scalp. I knew nothing about how to control this ability of mine, but when I ran inside this poisonous mist that could melt even metal, I only felt a hot wind passing my cheeks.

I know it's activated. So, I hope to continue that way as I grabbed his hands away from his head, and made him look at me. I shuddered at how his eyes turned completely black. He's fucking unstable, yet he still gave me that attitude.

What's next? What the hell should I do next to calm him? It's a relief that he's not attacking. I don't know what came to me, but I just hugged his cold, blackened body. I held him while we knelt, for I don't know how long.

What I just knew was my knees getting numb, and my eyelids closing against my will. I'm losing consciousness. I don't know if I'm dying, but if I am, what a relief… at least someone is with me.