Ascent [III]

Not to exaggerate, but this private jet of mine was as luxurious as it was big. A seven-star flying hotel suite would honestly be a more accurate term for it.

Right outside my personal cabin, a sleek ramp connected to a classy lounge. 

The lounge was spacious, with plush sofas and a large mahogany center table positioned in front of a mini-bar.

The small bar itself was elegantly furnished and stocked with some of the finest, most expensive liquors money could buy.

Ah, the life of the rich.

How could I ever grow bored of wealth?

How could anyone?

Who said money can't buy happiness?

I mean, they were probably right… but it's better to cry in a private jet like this than on the streets, right?

Anyway, beyond the bar, separated by a sleek glass door, I was in the cockpit.

There were no pilots.

In this day and age, vehicles didn't need a human handler.

Artificial Intelligence did all the arduous work that humans were either too lazy or too inefficient to carry out.

The Third World War and the emergence of Spirit Essence, along with the Portals, set the world back a few years, but humanity recovered.

Adapting is what our race excels at, after all.

The humans used their newfound superpowers and the mystical resources from the Spirit Realm to enhance their technology.

Industries advanced, new developments cropped up, and the problems of the past seemed almost quaint.

World hunger? Energy crisis? Nine-to-five jobs? All things of the past.

Cities were maintained by worker robots, cars drove themselves, ships sailed on their own, and planes like this one could fly across the globe without anyone ever touching the controls.

That was how Juliana summoned this jet to the hospital where we had been.

A few taps on her communicator device, and the jet piloted itself to our location. After boarding it, she simply input the coordinates for Ascent Isles, and we were off.

Brilliant, right?

The world was a paradise.

…Only it wasn't.

World hunger was only a thing of the past if you were rich.

The energy crisis was solved, but only the elites reaped the benefits.

Inflation was still sky-high, and while the big cities were maintained, the slums were left to rot.

People still had to work. In fact, it was hard to find many mundane jobs nowadays, despite the supposed convenience of AI.

If anything, the gap between the rich and poor… luxury and struggle… had only widened.

The world was indeed a paradise…

But only for the top one percent of the population.

The elites.

The ruling class.

Only they flourished in this new age, profiting off the desperation of those below them, who clung to the fading hope of a better life.

The world was a utopia constructed on the foundation of crushed ambitions and broken dreams.

"I guess nothing has changed."

No matter the era, the world's always the same.

Shaking my head, I sighed and slumped down on the pilot's seat.

I tried sleeping earlier but couldn't rest for long.

I was growing impatient.

The anticipation of seeing the Ascent Isles and the famous Apex Academy was just too much. It was driving me insane.

I could hardly wait.

But there was still a little more than an hour remaining until we reached our destination

"What to do, what to do?"

In complete boredom, I began looking around.

The control panel was right before me.

…For some reason, my fingers were itching with the desire to touch something.

If I wanted to, I could fly this jet. There was a failsafe in place that allowed for manual control, just in case the AI malfunctioned.

The only problem was… I had no idea how to fly this thing.

Maybe Juliana did.

She was trained to operate all kinds of modern vehicles and weapons during her Shadow training.

"Juli!" I called out.

In an instant, Juliana appeared beside me, her head slightly bowed and her face framed by her snowy white hair.

"Yes, Young Master."

"Can you fly this thing?"

Juliana looked at me blankly then moved her eyes to the control panel.

"...Young Master, please don't touch anything."

I scoffed, feeling slightly insulted.

"I'm not a child, Juli! I know better than to— than to… touch anything…"

My voice trailed off as I caught a glimpse of a glowing red lever on the control panel.

Its handle pulsed with a soft light, drawing my gaze toward it like a magnet.

Juliana sighed deeply. "I'm just saying, be very careful. You have a bad track record of acting on your intrusive thoughts. But yes, I can fly it if necessary—"

"What does this do, then?" I interrupted, already reaching for the lever switch.

Before she could stop me, I flicked it down.

Juliana didn't just face-palm…

She looked ready to smack her head against the nearest wall.

For a second or two, nothing happened.

Then, the jet lurched violently, and the next thing I knew, we were plummeting toward the earth like a stone dropped from the sky.

Apparently, I'd just hit the kill switch for the back thrusters.

In a blur of motion, Juliana yanked me out of the pilot's seat and took control to stabilize the jet and bring it back on course.

•••

It took Juliana a few seconds to restore the flight and another few to correct our course. 

Thankfully, she acted quickly.

Not that we would've died anyway.

The AI would have activated the thrusters long before we crashed.

Still, it was highly appreciated that she managed to stop the jet from spiraling down.

I steadied myself by holding onto the copilot seat, slightly disoriented by the sudden fluctuations in altitude.

"Okay… lesson learned," I chuckled nervously.

Juliana shot me a look that was a mix of exasperation and regret, as if she were seriously reconsidering her life choices.

She let out a long, suffering breath. "Young Master, please, just don't touch anything in the cockpit."

"Sure, sure," I dismissively waved a hand, a wide grin spreading across my face.

…And then, that grin turned sinister.

I stepped behind her seat while she was still focused on flying the jet and leaned in, wrapping an arm around to brush my fingers against the side of her face.

Her skin was soft and cool to the touch.

Her breathing quickened.

"...Young Master?"

I didn't respond immediately. Instead, I summoned my Origin Card.

Ten heartbeats later, a river of light particles flowed out of my body and coalesced into a golden Card that hovered over my shoulder, its surface etched with a mystical glyph.

Beads of cold sweat formed on her forehead, but I knew it was all an act.

She wasn't actually scared.

She knew I wouldn't do anything.

After all, if I truly wanted to hurt her, I would've used the BloodWorm implanted in her body.

The fact that I was using my Origin Card meant only one thing: I was putting on a show. And she knew it.

"Juli," I whispered her name, a sense of amusement in my tone.

"Y-Yes," she stammered, her voice trembling just enough to maintain the facade of a scared girl.

"You must hate us Theosbanes a lot, right?" I asked, my grin widening as I leaned in closer. "My father killed your dad. The servants at our mansion weren't exactly kind to you either, and I, especially, have tormented you the most. Isn't that right?"

She didn't answer, but her hands tightened on the control yoke, keeping the jet steady.

She was obviously surprised, caught off guard by my sudden shift in conversation. I could sense the infuriating memories surfacing in her mind, the ones she had worked so hard to bury.

"Tell me," I continued, my voice low and dripping with mockery. "When you look at me, do you see him? My father? Do you see the man who executed your family?"

Juliana's knuckles turned white as her grip on the control yoke tightened further.

The jet remained steady, but her trembling hands betrayed the inner storm raging within her.

She hesitated before replying, her voice even but icy sharp. "I don't… Young Master. You're not him."

A dark chuckle escaped my lips. "You've become so good at lying, haven't you?"

Before she could respond, I pressed on.

"I'm not him, that's true. But am I not cut from the same cloth? The same blood flows in my veins, the same cruelty. You, of all people, should know this."

Her silence was telling—a mixture of anger and resignation. She was beyond furious, but she also knew she couldn't do anything to me… not yet.

Her life and death were in my hands, as was her freedom. But she was completely oblivious to that last part.

To this poor girl, freedom must have seemed so tantalizingly close – a dream just within reach. 

She was blissfully ignorant of the harsh reality, and by the time she was going to realize the truth, it would be far too late.

Wryly, I decided to pour more fuel on the fire.

"Remember when you used to defy me? You had just started serving me back then. Oh, how proud and hostile you were. Do you remember what I did to make you obey?"

It was then I felt it—a slight quiver in her cheek against my hand. Not out of anger. Not out of lack of control either. This time, it wasn't an act.

This time, she was genuinely terrified. Well, almost.

Juliana was assigned to my service when we were still just kids.

Back then, she didn't know how to act.

She didn't know how to conduct herself as a glorified slave.

Coming from a high-noble household as the first-born daughter, she was too proud for her own good.

She openly showed her disdain for our family and struggled to hide her feelings of revenge.

She was foolish. Almost feral.

But I didn't care. I never wanted a Shadow. The very idea of slavery didn't sit right with me. So, I let her act out.

At some level, I even understood her hatred for us. How could we expect a girl to comply when we had killed half her family?

If I were in her position, I would have hated us, too.

I understood all that… but I wasn't in my right mind for a few years after awakening my Origin Card.

I used to be angry. All the time.

My father had begun training my sister as the next Duchess, my clan had practically unacknowledged me, and I was going through a lot at school.

Life wasn't working well for me.

And so, I started taking all my anger out on the easiest target available – her.

After an act of rebellion at a public event, where she dared to ignore a simple order I had given her, I decided to teach Juliana a lesson.

Later that night, I summoned her to my chambers.

No words were needed.

I simply activated the BloodWorm and the effect was immediate.

Her chest tightened, and a wrenching agony tore through her body. It must have felt like hundreds of needles piercing her heart, a sharp, excruciating pain that forced her to the ground.

She collapsed, writhing helplessly on the floor.

Her screams and cries echoed off the walls, but I was pitiless. I let the pain consume her until she was on the brink of passing out.

Until she begged me to stop.

Then, I repeated the process.

But once wasn't enough. She defied me again.

And every time she did, she met the same fate.

Gradually, she became more submissive, at least outwardly. She learned to lie and act, enough to fool everyone around her for years.

But at her core, she still resented the Theosbane family. Perhaps now more than ever.

"Do you hate me, Juli?" I asked, leaning closer, my breath warm against her ear. "Do you wish you could slit my throat while I sleep and be done with it? You do, don't you? How could I trust someone who could betray me so easily?"

Her breath hitched slightly, but she didn't flinch. 

"...I won't, Young Master. My sole duty is to serve you."

"Ah, yes, duty," I murmured, tracing a finger along her jawline.

She tensed under my touch but didn't pull away.

"Should I test your loyalty then?" I smirked. "You know I could freeze the moisture on your skin in a second. Would you still uphold your duty? Or would you try to fight?"

Juliana remained silent, her face a perfect mask of obedience. But beneath her cold blue eyes, I could see the simmering rage she kept so carefully hidden.

Eventually, I broke the silence with a hearty laugh and dismissed my Origin Card.

"You're too serious, Juli!" I said, still laughing. "I was kidding. I know you won't betray me. Rather, you can't."

My smile stayed wide, but there was no mirth in my eyes as I looked down at her. "Or I'll just kill you. I can do it whenever I want."

Her lips pursed into a thin line, and her eyes clouded with deep shadows. She lowered her head slightly and nodded.

Ah, so easy.

It was so easy to get under her skin. She might have been a master manipulator in the game, but it was only because no one knew her any better.

I did, though.

I knew all her triggers.

I knew just what to say to break her composure.

Above all, before revenge and even before the annihilation of the Theosbane family, what this young woman craved most was freedom.

She was the type of person you couldn't possibly cage. The more you try to suppress her, the harder she will bounce back.

In the story, one of her main goals at the start of the game was to find a cure for the BloodWorm so she could get rid of it and finally be free.

There was some trouble, but eventually, she achieved her goal.

And that was exactly what I wanted from her.

I wanted her to try to escape my clutches.

All this rage she was feeling now was just the catalyst that would push her toward her desired goal.

Then, the first step of my plan would begin.

"Anyway," the callous smile on my face melted into an amicable one. "I'm going to try to sleep again. Wake me up when we get there."

She replied with another silent nod and I walked out of the cockpit.