Returning to Tingen

It was still June 27th, the day Klein kills himself, along with Welch and Naya… if Max remembered the names correctly. The latter two were rather forgettable characters to Max, despite being rather closely involved in the entire conspiracy of Volume 1.

Max alighted the steam locomotive and stepped onto the platform, breathing in the much fresher air of Tingen; the city of universities. Without much thought, Max continued to walk as memories passed in his mind. 

He remembered the scene of his parents being killed and his capture into slavery. He remembered his death, coinciding with the death of Samuel, before their souls merged into his body and his miraculous revival. He remembered sneaking into the city and hoodwinking an old man into taking him in. 

He remembered the few weeks he had spent with the old man, how he had taken care of him like his own grandson. He recalled how he felt when he realised the old man was leaving. 

'Who was I kidding. I didn't want him to leave not because my survival chances reduced, but because I just did not want him to leave…' Max thought to himself as he realised that he was indeed a lot more emotional than he had previously thought he was. 

It was just that he used his rational mind to make excuses that justified his emotional reactions. This was especially the case when he left the many Pounds in the safe, and how he had helped the old man with all he could think of, and even went to the extent of finding the Knowledge Magisters and telling them of the situation with their leader and his old man. 

He could have easily gone to Backlund and then found the item, but instead he took the risk to reaching out to them. Not because it was the best or safest course of action. But because he hoped that they would be able to find their leader, and by extension, his old man.

Without realising it, Max had reached the Entwine Café. Its lights were out despite it being near the evening, the point in time where the rush of people just getting out of their jobs would appear and cause a huge flood of customers. In fact, Max noticed that there was a considerable amount of dust and dirt collecting around the windows and door of the Café. Through the dirty window, Max could also see a considerable pile of letters.

*clip-clop*

Pedestrians and carriages passed by Max as he was lost in memory for a while. Soon, however, his will became resolute as he nodded to himself and turned around, and began walking with purpose. 

However, on the way, he felt as though he was being watched, and his Spirituality was also telling him that someone was watching him. Not a moment of concentration later, Max could not hear a faint set of footsteps, deliberately set to match his own, as the person moved closer and closer to Max from behind.

Holding his very important briefcase in his left hand, Max reached into his overcoat pocket with his right, and grabbed one of the few bullets he had taken from Backlund, before grasping it tightly in his hand. Carefully he pulled it out and acted as thought he was just casually appreciating the warm summer weather of Tingen.

After finally, Max found a rather secluded alley, one which allowed the building next to him to cover a portion of it inf complete darkness. One thing Max had observed from the novel was that things like divination only portrayed a particular image, and in many cases, this image only involved what was visible to the naked eye.

As such, if he and his face was hidden under darkness or a mask, it was much harder for an enemy diviner to find him.

Suddenly, Max pivoted on his left foot and dashed into the alley to his right that he had just scouted out, leaping swiftly into the darkness, and keeping his palm open facing the entrance of the alley. The bullet lay levitating at its centre, also facing the entrance.

Max's control over his powers had grown significantly, but he had yet to actually understand what his acting method could be. A Bender was not exactly an occupation like Seer or Hunter that were easy to understand.

The footsteps grew closer; however, they did not increase in speed as Max had thought they would, which irked him even more. A calm opponent was definitely more dangerous than an angered or flustered one.

Soon enough, Max saw the silhouette of the person who had been following him, he shot out the bullet with his full power without hesitation. Although there was no noise resembling that of a gun, the attack power behind it was just that, making this attack even more deadly than a traditional gun.

However, the bullet just passed through the person as though he did not exist, but he was clearly right there. The person did not stop walking and Max began to internally panic, however he did not show any of it. He knew one thing, the person in front of his was a Beyonder, and at the very least a Mid-Sequence one.

Max let go of his bag for the first time. While his right hand reached into his right pocket for another bullet and pulled it out for an attack, his left hand reached into his other pocket and pulled out a crystal monocle.

This action had a visible effect on the person, making Max curse under his breath. The only people who were scared of this monocle were high-sequence Beyonders. In fact, only angels and kings of angels were actually afraid of this, ultimately resulting in only one suspect that was following him.

As though to clear his suspicions, the person restarted his walking and finally walked into the light for him to see. It was a young man in stature, but a mature adult from his face. He wore a simple white cloak, with golden hair and a beard. He wore a silver cross on his neck, just like any ordinary priest. His pure and innocent eyes were like that of a child, but when they scanned Max, various emotions rushed passed them faster than Max could even notice.

It was none other than the Angel of Imagination; Adam.

As it turned out, Max's foolproof plan... was actually full of holes.