Chapter 72: Black Smoke (Part 2)

Six people sit in the jet as they fly off to a place not too far away but far enough that taking a train would have cost many hours.

Gabriel: "This isn't the first time I am travelling on a jet but this experience never gets boring, does it?"

Abgere: "Yes, it does."

The two out of the six people who have the most animosity between them glare at each other.

Abgere: "What is so fun about this anyway? It's just a 40-minutes trip in the sky."

Gabriel: "Exactly! It's a 40-minutes trip in the SKY!"

Abgere: "Hah!"

Abgere mockingly sighs and looks away. Gabriel clicks his tongue in response and also looks away.

Despite his attitude though, Abgere doesn't seem to be that bored by the journey as he stares out the window.

Since his face has already been shown to everyone here, he isn't wearing his devil mask anymore in front of them and so, it is plain as day to see that this man is fascinated by the scenery he sees from the windows near him.

Sona: "So,"

Seeing their dispute being over, Sona intends to start one of herself.

Sona: "Where were you all this time, head of strategy department?"

She glares at the man who didn't participate in the whole gathering up and reassembling of the jet they are travelling in.

Ethan: "… I don't find any obligation to answer that."

He avoids the question knowing he can't let Bronzer's name slip here.

Sona: "Is that so?"

Despite being a hot-head though, seeing his uncharacteristically troubled face, Sona backs down.

Sona: "Fine then. But one of these days, you are going to answer all these questions."

Ethan smiles a bit as he says,

Ethan: "Yeah, one of these days, I will."

That leads to silence coming back to the jet.

And once more, unlike the five people who enjoy the silence, Ethan Kales finds it uncomfortable.

He isn't able to help but grip his chest as he tries to distract himself with his thoughts.

Kais: "You are not so hollow, you know."

And then, out of the blue, the man sitting across him says with a serious attitude.

Ethan: "…?"

Ethan sends a questioning gaze at him, which he receives and says,

Kais: "You are not hollow inside. There's far too much character in you for you to be considered hollow."

Despite the soothing words, neither Ethan's heart nor his mind feel elated at all. How can he, when he does not believe those words in the slightest?

Ethan: "You don't know me as well as I do, Kais."

He says without any emotions at all. But then, Kais sighs and says with a mocking smile.

Kais: "I don't need to know about everything in the container. Even if I just know about one thing inside of it, that is enough to say that the container isn't empty."

Hearing so, Ethan smiles and asks.

Ethan: "And what is that 'one thing' you know about me?"

What would it be?

That he is calculating? That he is manipulative? That he is a half-sadist half-masochistic asshole?

None of them can really convince him on this matter, none at all.

Kais: "I know that you are emotional."

Ethan: "What!?"

Kais: "You may try to pass it off as being impulsive but I can tell that is not all there's to it when you run off to do things that nobody predicts you'll do."

Ethan: "…"

Kais: "For instance, you had a peaceful conversation with Barry and Ro, who were supposed to be somewhat like enemies to you, back on the island. That wasn't just an impulsive decision. It was born from the emotions of being similar to Barry and having trust for him build inside of you because of it."

Ethan: "T-that's …"

Ethan Kales finds himself troubled, unable to deny Kais' words.

After all, this man promised to himself to never look away from reality. And so, when his mind wells inside him that those words are the truth, he cannot bring himself to refute them.

Kais: "Emotional – is someone far from being hollow."

Kais says with a cheeky smile, and Ethan can only lean back and sighs.

The rest of the group, somewhat at a distance, doesn't hear much of the conversation and doesn't take much interest in it either. And so, it stays between these two men who understand themselves much less than they think and understand each other much more than they realize.

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After a 42-minute journey through the air, their jet reaches its destination and as it starts nearing a hangar, they quickly begin their brainwashing process to manipulate all the officials on the hangar into letting them land safely and consider it a completely non-suspicious everyday landing that totally has nothing to do with stolen jets or anything like that.

Once they are done with that, Gabriel and Kais quickly disassemble the jet and teleport it back to the apartment complex.

With that out of the way, they head to the house belonging to the seer they want to have a meeting with.

And even with not much talking on the way, time passes by rather quickly as they reach the seer's house by lunchtime.

Kais: "Go ahead!"

Kais urges Abgere, whose aunt the house belongs to, to be the one ringing the doorbell and introducing everyone.

Abgere sighs and rings the doorbell.

After a few seconds, it opens and a slim woman in her fifties, with grey hair and grey eyes, appears before them.

Abgere: "Aunt Trisha, it's good to see you!"

He does his best to greet her in a 'normal' way and seeing that, his aunt, while somewhat overwhelmed, manages to return his greeting with a smile.

Trisha: "It's good to see you too, Abgere."

The others find themselves surprised on seeing even his aunt call him by that name instead of whatever real name he has.

Abgere: "Sorry to surprise you and all but,"

He looks back at the other five as he continues.

Abgere: "these people want your help."

Trisha: "My help?"

She makes a confused face, as if to say that she being helpful to them looks doubtful. Seeing that, Abgere says with a wry smile.

Abgere: "They … could use a seer."

Trisha: "Ah, I see."

She smiles and politely gestures them all to come in.

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Sona: "For someone as edgy as you, your aunt sure seems nice."

Sona says as she sips the cup of coffee offered to her.

Gabriel: "Isn't that the truth?"

Gabriel asks with a mocking smile,

Gabriel: "Does she know about what you have been doing recently? Specifically, does she know about your house-visits to some of my colleagues?"

Abgere: "No, she doesn't. And if you dare tell her, you'll die."

Gabriel: "Oh, I'm so scared!"

While their hostile banter continues, Kais' and Sona's gazes turn to Ethan, who would generally be mocking them because of how cliché their banter is but is staying quiet.

However, when they see him staring at a purple crystal ball kept on the fireplace like a decoration, they don't say anything, thinking he might be busy analyzing it with his Eyes of Truth or something like that.

Trisha, then, comes back from the kitchen with a tray full of cookies and a warm smile.

Trisha: "Now then,"

She says as she sits on a rather comfortable chair herself.

Trisha: "who is it you all want me to Scry on for you?"

As soon as her question finishes, the answer comes from Ethan Kales.

Ethan: "If you actually go through with this, I should tell you – you'll be committing a taboo."

As all eyes turn to him and Trisha cocks her head in confusion, Ethan says.

Ethan: "What we want to know about is not a person but the location of a place. I am guessing you'd be able to make a list of all the people who know the location of that place through your Scrying. That is why we are here."

Trisha: "I see. And since you said earlier that doing this would be a taboo, I am assuming Vermillion doesn't want people to find out the location of this place."

With eyes turning slowly to Gabriel, he quickly starts denying that assumption.

Ethan: "Vermillion, officially, has no qualms with this. However, forces beyond Vermillion are at play here."

When he says so, the actual members of the third faction immediately think of the so-called god and the so-called devil and understand what Ethan is trying to say. The other three, however, remain confused.

Ethan: "It'll be too much of a pain to explain so the crux of the situation is that your life will be in danger 24x7 after you do this."

Even though Abyss wants them to find out the location of the Psychic Library despite not telling them himself, Ozyllus doesn't want to let them near the library. So, anyone who helps them on this endeavor could be targeted by Ozyllus.

Trisha contemplates for a moment about what Ethan says and then nods with a smile.

Trisha: "I'll help you, on one condition."

They all look at her for her to continue and so she does.

Trisha: "Let me Scry the heart of this man before."

She says as she points at Ethan.

Ethan: "…"

Dumbfounded, Ethan only gawks at her with a deadpan face while others agree to her condition without asking for his consent at all.

Trisha quickly brings the purple crystal ball from the fire place and places it on the table. Retaking her seat, she puts a hand on top of the ball and closes her eyes.

The others wait for something to happen as they look at the scene while Trisha keeps herself in that position for a good half a minute.

And then, the crystal ball finally starts glowing.

Trisha: "Yes, I see it now. I see your mind, clear as day."

She says with a faint smile.

Trisha: "You were once a shell but now are not. Yet, you still consider yourself one."

Ethan stares at her, wide-eyed, seeing for the first-time the extent of the ability called Scrying.

Trisha: "You were given a purpose by the god and the devil, and that filled the emptiness inside of you. Yet, the fact that you still consider yourself empty means that you want something more, something more than just that one purpose you have, the purpose of saving the world."

All of them stare at her, awaiting her words, while a little of their attention lies on Ethan as well.

Trisha: "The purpose given to you to fill that emptiness is not a solid foundation, not yet anyway. It is like a smoke that covers the darkness of your emptiness but that does not change its color, as it too is black itself."

Ethan almost asks her to stop when Trisha puts up a hand and tells him to let her continue.

Trisha: "But there is a man, within that darkness, with you. He stays in your memories, in your soul, in your heart."

Ethan: "…"

Trisha: "You try your best to not look at him, letting the smoke cover him up. But, the strange dim light coming from him does not allow you to do so."

Ethan Kales knows that the world is filled with monsters. And he prides himself to be a human standing among and maybe even above most of those monsters. But,

Trisha: "And even though you try your best, at the end of it all; you cannot help but fear that man, the only monster more human than you."

But, he knows – there is someone else in the world, someone who doesn't even have the Eyes of Truth he has, and still stands far above him, to the point that an entire race hands him their future in the hopes of winning an impossible war.

He knows this man, and he fears this man.

Ozyllus had realized 12 years ago.

Ethan Kales was not completely hollow. There was something inside him. But what was that something?

The answer to that he had realized back on the island.

It was fear, the fear of going up against the most monstrous human.

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