Madam O

"So that's what you had in mind," Mai mused as she recounted Aiden's words.

Jonathan on the other hand, seemed to be in deep thought as he stroked his chin.

Looking towards Aiden who had resumed reading his book, Jonathan finally spoke up. "Medusa huh, I never thought about it that way, but there is a high chance of failure, the syndicate could take another approach different from what you anticipated."

"Don't worry about that," Aiden said as he read the book, his voice bland as he added, "You let fear cloud your judgment, but you also know that my outside opinion is as good as it gets, after all in the face of enough profit, even the syndicate could cave."

Aiden had spent the last hour explaining his plan to Jonathan and Mai, and now he was observing their reactions.

Mai didn't reveal any particular emotion, while Jonathan seemed to be having second thoughts.

After a while, Jonathan spoke, "I'll start making arrangements to move our loved ones, all I need is your signature Aiden and I'll handle the paperwork necessary to move your mother."

Hearing this, Aiden nodded as he dropped his book. Turning to Mai, he asked, "What about you Mai?"

"There's no need, I don't have a single loved one," Mai's voice sounded out.

Hearing this, Aiden raised a brow as he asked, "What about your father, the one with a gambling problem, you mentioned him before."

At the sound of Aiden's voice, Mai was quiet for a bit before she said. "If he dies, he dies, it's none of my business what he gets himself into."

"Mai," Jonathan exclaimed sounding shocked, he wanted to say something, but Aiden interrupted.

"Ok!"

Hearing Aiden's words, Jonathan turned to him, his eyes widened in shock, but before he could say anything Aiden turned to him and gave him a knowing look, shutting him up immediately.

With nothing else to say, Mai laid back on the bed, while Jonathan turned back to his computer, meanwhile, Aiden resumed reading his book.

The room was suddenly plunged into silence as the group waited for the evening's occasion.

----------

(A few hours later.)

"Knock!"

"Knock!"

The sound of two short knocks startled Aiden out of his book, looking towards Jonathan who was at his computer, Aiden asked in confusion, "Are you expecting something?"

"Yeah," Jonathan replied while looking at the door, "it seems like the delivery guy is here," he added as he got up.

Looking up, Aiden watched as Jonathan opened the door while asking. "What did you order?"

Ignoring Aiden's question, Jonathan opened the door revealing a man holding two boxes.

He was a delivery man, wearing some kind of black uniform.

Seeing Jonathan, the delivery quickly handed him a notepad and said, "Sign here please."

Without a word, Jonathan signed the notepad and handed his card over to the delivery man who swiped it on the device on his belt.

After this, the delivery man handed Jonathan's card back to him along with the two boxes on hand.

"Bam!"

Jonathan closed the door before turning back to Aiden and Mai with the two boxes in hand, "it's time for you guys to get ready for the second part of your initiation."

Saying this he opened one of the boxes revealing a fine-fitted coat black in color.

Seeing this Mai raised a brow as she snatched the second box from Jonathan.

"Whoa!"

Jonathan exclaimed as he watched Mai open the box, revealing a black dress. Upon seeing the happy expression on Mai's face Jonathan couldn't help but smirk, his lips slowly curling upwards.

"You sure know how to give gifts," Mai's voice sounded out her voice sounding pleased as she glanced at Jonathan.

Hearing this Jonathan chuckled as he said. "You guys were mad at me for tipping off the disciplinary committee, so I figured an apology gift was in order."

Saying this, Jonathan turned to Aiden who flipped to the last page of his book showing no interest in the box in front of him.

Noticing Aiden's disinterest, Jonathan sulked and said. "Come on man, I'm trying to apologize."

"I know," Aiden replied as he dropped his book. "There's just one little problem, I'm not interested in your gift, on the other hand, I want you to teach me Detritus Inscribing."

Upon hearing this Jonathan looked a bit confused, his brows raised as he said. "Why would you want to learn Detritus inscribing? It's not like you-"

"You can see hell energy," Jonathan suddenly exclaimed cutting himself short as he watched Aiden in shock.

Hearing Jonathan's words, Mai also seemed surprised, but upon glancing at the clock on the wall she realized something and said, "I hate to interrupt, but it's already 4:00 PM, and the initiation begins in two hours."

----------------

(2 hours later)

The day was coming to an end, and the people, thankful for another year gone by prepared for the evening's celebration.

Slowly, the shadows marking the presence of human history became more apparent as the sun went down, swallowing the Shelter and leaving the street not only silent but dark, illuminated only by the occasional street light and complemented by the glow seeping through the windows of peoples homes.

At the Silence headquarters, one could see a group of people walking into a room with ambient lighting.

Light music, decorated tables, and the sound of distant chatter, all resonated to form an amiable atmosphere.

The inhabitants of this room were dressed in all forms of black clothing, highlighting the ever-seen importance of the Silence's dressing codes.

At this moment, two people, a man and a woman could be seen walking into the room, elbows locked.

The man, a handsome individual with long black hair tied in a ponytail, could be seen wearing a black shirt covered by a black long coat, his pants and shoes were of the same gloss, highlighting his affinity for the enigmatic color black, a color that was ever present within his eyes.

By his side was a woman, eyes of crimson and hair as red as the blood flowing through her veins, she wore a black dress, a satin gown to be exact, strapless, flowing with her form like water.

To add a certain flare to her were matching elbow-length gloves with hills to die for, and to finish it off was a red gem necklace.

As these two people walked in, they couldn't help but look around the room, before finding a random table to sit at.

Of course, these people were Aiden and Mai and they were here for the final part of their initiation.

Looking around, Aiden couldn't help but feel a sense of nostalgia, the last time he had been to a party like this was when he was still with the Horatio family.

"I don't know about you, but I've never been to a meeting like this," Mai's calm voice sounded out, like a melody amidst the calming music.

Turning towards Mai, Aiden nodded while beckoning for a waiter.

As Aiden beckoned, a man in a waiter's uniform walked towards them, holding a tray with several champaign glasses on top of it, he stopped, his voice calm as he asked, "Complimentary Champagne sir?"

Seeing this, Aiden nodded his head and took two glasses from the tray, handing one over to Mai before raising his glance for a toast.

He did this so naturally that he seemed used to it, like an aged prince, and his movements sparked Mai's interest.

Raising a brow, Mai couldn't help but ask. "What's with the silence all of a sudden, come on, we're in the big leagues, beginning at the forefront of power and influence the least you could do is be happy."

Hearing Mai's words, Aiden let a wry smile escape him, his eyes hardening as he said. "When I was a kid we attended parties like this all the time, at first it's all glamorous, but the more you attend the more you see the myriad of hidden agendas hidden behind those smiles."

Hearing, Aiden's words, Mai was quiet for a bit before laughing a bit as she said, "Come on Mr. Sour pants, it couldn't have been that bad-"

"That's where you're wrong," Aiden interrupted his eyes narrowing as he looked around the room. "I was a foster child for a rich family, just an ordinary kid, and in the world of the elite you don't go far by being ordinary, in a place like this, an untalented foster child would be eaten up, mocked, and bullied by his peers, so I stuck with the adults, at least they had their public image to maintain, they wouldn't just do anything they wanted to do to me like the kids."

As Aiden spoke, the lights dimmed and changed color as an aged woman walked into the room, but Mai didn't care, instead, she continued listening to Aiden as he spoke.

Looking into Mai's eyes, Aiden smirked as he continued speaking, "It might have been because I was a kid, but the adults seemed to let their guards down around me, I've heard plots, and strategies that for some reason I wasn't able to forget, at first I didn't understand what those big words meant, they just stuck at the back of my mind and I sure as hell couldn't ask about them, I would be whipped, and I certainly wouldn't be able to sit with the adults again, as I grew and got a better education, I slowly understood what those big words meant and that's when the pieces started to sink in, like a black die spreading slowly in my system."

Pausing a bit, Aiden stared straight into Mai's eyes, his gaze diluted as he said, "Mai I've heard so many terrible-"

Aiden suddenly paused, and as though realizing something he took a sip of his campaign to calm himself down.

Seeing Aiden's state, Mai's gaze couldn't help but soften as she stretched out her hand grabbing Aiden's arm firmly before saying. "I've seen you struggle Aiden, having your very flesh peeled and your bones shattered to reach the level you are now, I may not have known you for long, but the short moments we've been together tell me a lot about you, and I know you're not getting beat by a random party."

Hearing this Aiden chuckled, before shaking off Mai's hold.

"That's more like it," Mai muttered as she redrew her hand, and just at that moment the sound of a microphone being tested could be heard.

Looking towards the source of that sound, one would notice an aged woman with grey hair and black eyes standing in the middle of the room with a glass of champaign in hand.

She wore a traditional business suit, making her look quite bland, but her bland appearance didn't hinder the aura of power that emanated from her being.

The music suddenly quieted down before stopping entirely, and the woman spoke, her voice slow yet firm. "Good evening ladies and gentlemen, and happy Barrier Day, I suppose congratulations are in order for those of you who made it to this point, some of you may not know this but you're currently at the front door, and in front of you lies the amazing and dreadful world of Contractors, the route to true power, don't let anything else fool you-"

The aged woman suddenly stopped before chuckling a bit. "Haha, it appears I got carried away, let's continue shall we."

"Clap!"

"Clap!"

She clapped twice and from the entrance of the room, one could see a group of waiters flooding into the room, they walked with grace, holding up trays of whiskey glasses and dropping one in front of each Contractor.

"More drinks?" Mai muttered as she lifted the glass in front of her.

She wasn't the only one, as Aiden looked around he could see the other Contractors murmuring to themselves in confusion, they already had drinks so why bring more?

As Aiden looked around he spotted Bruce and his team at the far end of the room, for a split second, Aiden and Bruce exchanged glances before looking back at their drinks.

Before anyone could say anything the aged woman who had also been given a glass suddenly picked up a spoon from one of the tables.

"Tink!"

"Tink!"

She hit her glass twice before lifting it in the air as she said, "A toast, to power."

"A toast!"

Everyone echoed while lifting their glasses and in one smooth motion, everyone swallowed their drinks In one gulp.

As soon as Aiden drank his drink, he immediately heard Landon's voice in his head. "A foreign energy has invaded your body, the energy had been devoured, soul energy recovered by 1%"

Upon hearing this Aiden's first instinct was to look toward Mai and sure enough he found out that she was holding onto her head, she wasn't the only one, other Contractors around the room also held onto their heads as though they were in some kind of pain, the only people in the room who seemed totally unbothered were Aiden and the aged woman."

Mai felt as though her head was going to explode, she felt a splitting ache assault her, it was disorienting, but she bore with it, and just when it became unbearable the pain started subsiding.

Just as Aiden was beginning to get worried, Mai recovered trembling a bit as she sat up, but she wasn't the only one, all the Contractors around them slowly recovered.

The room was engulfed in a momentary silence, until one Contractor spoke, "What's the meaning of this?"

"Are you trying to kill us?"

"What was that?"

"What the fuck?"

Questions and curses spawned all over the room as it became rowdy.

"Boom!"

Just when the room was beginning to get noisy an oppressive aura burst forth like a rising tide shutting up everyone in the room.

Looking towards the source of this aura with his energy eyes, Aiden noticed that it was coming from the aged woman who had an amiable smile on her face as she spoke. "To answer your questions, we're not trying to kill you, at least not all of you."

Upon hearing her words Aiden and Mai glanced at each other with raised brows, their confusion evident, but just when they were about to speak.

"Argh!"

They heard the sound of choking from the table behind them.

The sound attracted gazes from all over the room, and immediately they noticed a man in a business suit holding onto his throat as he choked.

"Cough!"

"Cough!"

The man gasped for air but no one came to his aid. Eventually, he fell to the ground with a thud, red foam escaping his mouth as he stopped moving.

The man had died, and Aiden was sure about this because he could see the whitish orb floating above his being

Seeing the man slump shocked everyone but before they could reel in from that shock, they heard a similar sound from another part of the room, then another, and another after that.

People were dying, but nobody did anything about it, Mai sat frozen while Aiden narrowed his eyes as he glanced around the room.

The aged woman on the other hand, still had that amiable smile on her face, it was as though people weren't dying around her like a bunch of houseflies.

"Argh!"

Aiden suddenly heard a sound from a part of the room that shook him to his core.

Snapping his head at Bruce's table, Aiden saw a woman with blonde hair, choking.

He wasn't the only one who noticed this, upon noticing this Bruce stood up, his hands shaking as his eyes widened.

"Arlet," he muttered, before shouting, his eyes widened in despair, "ARLET!"

Despite his shouting, it didn't do anything to stop Arlet from slumping to the ground, her lips curling up when she saw the expression on Bruce's face as he caught her.

"No, no, what is this, SOMEONE STOP THIS!" Bruce shouted his voice cracking at the end of his sentence.

Meanwhile, as Aiden watched Bruce's expression his eyes trembled, he was tempted to help but when he saw the still-smiling woman who stood in the middle of the room, he sat back down with a sigh, watching as a whitish orb floated out of Arlet's body.

Bruce's current state shocked Aiden, he was kneeling on the ground holding onto Arlet's lifeless body his eyes as though he'd lost his world, Aiden knew that Bruce was a caring person, but he also knew that Bruce was though, a man who could handle the pain of losing someone, but that wasn't what Aiden was seeing right now, what he saw before his eyes was the sorrow of a man in love.

"You monster!"

Bruce's voice suddenly sounded out like a growl from the abyss as he snapped his neck at the smiling woman.

In that moment a reddish aura visible to the naked eye seeped out of his pores, intensifying with every breath.

"Bam!"

In a flash he moved, leaving Arlet on the ground as he launched himself at the aged woman, throwing a deadly punch.

"Shred!"

The force of Bruce's punch tore his very suit, and left waves in the air causing Aiden to narrow his eyes as he thought, "he also held back during our fight."

"Bang!"

A collision that sent larger waves flying knocking down the surrounding tables could be heard as the woman suddenly grabbed Bruce's fists suspending it midair.

It was a terrifying sight, the woman who seemed so small and frail leisurely stopping a giant like Bruce.

"Bang!"

"Bang!"

"Bang!"

Three bangs could be heard in rapid succession, and in the next moment Bruce was on his knees.

No one knew what happened because they didn't see the aged woman move, but all could tell that she had somehow attacked.

"Thud!"

The sound of a thud could be heard as Bruce passed out, slumping on the ground as well, Ignoring Bruce the aged woman spoke. "Such a talented lad."

Saying this she raised her head at the rest of the audience. "Now let's begin for real shall we, what you just drank, were antidotes to Whisper's poison, but as you all know not all of you were given antidotes."

Glancing at the dead bodies on the floor, the aged woman laughed before adding, "I must say, our investigators caught quite a bunch of you resistance flies, as for those that haven't been caught, we're watching you, now onto business. Ohh where are my manners I've yet to introduce myself, I'm Madam O, one of the captains of the disciplinary committee, and I'm your host for this evening's occasion."