Chapter 6: Showing the Goods

As soon as they crossed the corner of the corridor, the first to speak was Opera who looked somewhat startled at the rest.

"What was that?!" The Planter whispered, screaming, "Does anyone know what happened back there?!

"No, but it looks like the Captain managed to control the situation. And judging by his smile, it looks like we came out all right." Sasha comforted the still-frightened Opera, who could only nod nervously.

"The boss always has a trick up his sleeve; whatever he did, it had to be very effective to make an Archbishop react like that," Charlotte added.

Grabbing her friend's shoulder, Fors brought her lips to the shorter one's ear and whispered, "Did you see anything of what happened? That lord went from all-powerful to a scary old man from one second to the next!"

Groaning at the whisper that was more shout than anything else, Xio turned her friend's face away, somewhat annoyed, "I didn't see anything. Whatever Mr. Kenway did was hidden by Lord Thaddeus..."

Fors felt a shiver run up her spine, and she could only look somewhat fearfully at the man's back in front of her.

"Mr. Adryan, everything was taken care of?" the calm voice of the gothic Sharron cut through the mood, and the rest of the team waited for the leader's response.

Sharron's blue eyes looked at the red-haired man, who turned around and gave a mischievous smile. The man waved the letter in his left hand.

"Oh~ You have no idea how well everything went, Miss Casper. I'll bring you all up to date as soon as we get to the room."

Turning around, Adryan hurried his pace, quickly followed by the rest. A confused Wraith looked at the man with a slightly raised eyebrow.

Who was Casper supposed to be?

Falling slightly behind, a nervous and slightly embarrassed Serena bent down slightly and whispered. "Did you understand anything they said?"

Jerry, also slightly embarrassed, could only shake her head. "No..."

...

After climbing another spiral staircase and passing through several rooms, Adryan finally stopped in front of an orange door.

Opening the envelope, he pulled out a simple key and placed it in the lock. The door opened with a click, and the red-haired man entered with a smile that grew as he looked inside.

A long living room greeted him. To one side were multiple wine-coloured sofas and a bookshelf full of books. In front of the couches was a small table with a vase of various flowers, other small books, and pens to jot down notes.

A few unlit lamps on the walls did not need to be switched on, as the sunlight coming through the window more than illuminated the whole room, giving it a warm and peaceful atmosphere.

Wasting no time, Adryan walked over to the long couch and sat down with a contented and satisfied sigh.

"Ah~ I needed this~" 

"..."

The group just stared silently at their leader, who didn't even take a second to get comfortable.

Not wanting to be left behind as a fish, Fors moved and quickly grabbed another couch and sank into it.

'Wow... they're reaaally comfortable.' The Writer thought already getting sleepy and wanting to take a little nap.

Rolling her eyes, Xio moved over as well and sat down next to her friend while poking her arm to keep her from falling asleep.

The rest of them soon followed suit and sat down on the couch. Next to him, Adryan now had a quiet but curious Jerry leaning on his shoulder, and next to him, a confused Serena. Charlotte also found his place on the couch a little further away.

Sasha and Opera were on the same couch, but to the giantess' bitterness, she had to get up as her weight almost broke it.

"It's not fair..." The Pugilist complained sadly, and Opera could only give her an apologetic look.

"Well, Mr. Adryan, I think this is a good time to tell us why we came here." The wraith asked, gaining the attention of those present.

Sharron was now sitting on one of the couches in an elegant pose. Maric stood behind her like a bodyguard.

Smiling at the ghostly woman, the red-haired man nodded and opened the envelope, pulling the letter from it.

"What we came here to do is obvious. Make more money and get them," he said, pointing to everyone except himself, Sharron, and Maric. "Up to date with their sequences. I want everyone to be at least Sequence 7 by the end of the year."

At his words, Maric snorted." By the end of the year? It'll be easier for the pigs to fly."

Ignoring her companion. Sharron raised a delicate eyebrow, "Mr. Adryan. What you propose is somewhat difficult."

Waving his hand in a 'doesn't matter' manner, the red-haired man smiled at the group in front of him, "Sure, that would be in normal situations. But I have a way to speed up their promotion."

"Oh? You plan on telling them that?"

"Sure, my team already knows about the method, but Miss Growing Pains, the writer, Jerry, Opera, and Serena haven't since they just joined.

"At least it looks like you guys are in the loop." He asked-not-asked in a bored manner, the answer being obvious.

Sharron said nothing more; she just gave a slight nod and closed her eyes. Her body remained extremely still, and the only thing that signaled her life was the rise and fall of her chest.

'They weren't exaggerating when they said Miss Casper looked like a doll. It's as if I was standing in front of a hyper-realistic sculpture of a person...' Shaking his head, Adryan looked at the confused Jerry and Serena with a small smile.

Clap! 

Adryan stood up from the couch and turned around, clapping his hands together calmly. Looking at the newest duo on his team, he began.

"Okay, Jerry and Serena. I'm going to explain to you how to enter cogitation. It is a method of calming the mind and spirit. This will accompany you all your life, and you will use it constantly in this world you are about to enter.

"As you may already know, there is a world hidden from normal people. This world is full of people like me, with mysterious powers and abilities beyond what a human can do." To give an example, Adryan formed an eagle of orange flames that rested on his shoulder.

While the duo had already seen his abilities and control over fire, both could not help but marvel at the scene before them.

"This world is far darker and more dangerous than you can imagine; madness and threats will always be behind you. Death is much closer as it will be embracing you and whispering things in your ear." 

Looking at the duo, the red-haired man spoke seriously. "You have already had your encounters with this world so there is no need for me to explain the danger of it, just take my words as a reminder.

"Yes, sir." Both women nodded seriously. 

The red-haired man only looked at them for a few seconds before nodding. With a thought, the fire eagle vanished from his shoulder.

"These powers come from potions. Anyone who takes the potions will automatically become a Beyonder. Someone who has begun to abandon being human.

"The potions are divided into 9-to-1 sequences. You start in sequence 9 and work your way up the steps.

"The potions are divided into 22 Pathways. Contrary to popular belief, these potions can be exchanged in Sequence 4 for the adjacent pathway with very few exceptions."

"WHAT?! YOU CAN SWAP PATH- MMM!!!" 

Pausing his explication for a moment, Adryan turned around with a flat expression and a raised eyebrow.

Xio gave him a nervous smile even though she was clearly shocked by what he said. She was able to control herself better, unlike Fors, who the Arbiter was shushing with her hands over her mouth.

"Sorry to disturb you Mr. Kenway, please continue."

"Mmm!" the Writer tried to squirm, but the grip on her was iron and would not budge a single step in the face of her attempts.

"They're so gay I don't even know what to think. Kiss each other already." Flora commented nonchalantly, and Adryan had to make a tyrannical effort not to burst out laughing.

"As I was saying," he continued, the corners of his lips twitching," the potions will put you on one of these 22 paths once the decision is made. Your enemies and Allies will already be decided as well."

This time, the red-haired man focused on Jerry. "In your case, the decision has already been made for you.

"You noticed, didn't you? How you were different from other kids your age and even adults? How could you see things that others couldn't? When are they lying to you or telling the truth?

"You were born a Half-Spectator, so that's the pathway you'll have to follow. At least until sequence 4, if you want to change it with one of the adjacent ones."

Adryan paused his explanation so he could let the youngest of the group process the information he had just said. 

'She was already born a Half-Beyonder?' Xio found herself surprised by this and couldn't help but look at the little girl with empathy and understanding.

She knew how hard it was to be born one; she was born a Half-Arbiter. Luckily, the furthest she got was breaking the arm of one of her schoolmates.

Jerry lowered her head slightly, her brow furrowed and her mind complicated. All the questions she had about why she was always so different had just been answered, but unlike what she had expected...

She didn't feel better or more complete. She just had a lot more doubts.

So, in a weak, high, fearful voice, she asked.

"My father passed this on to me?" 

Adryan shook his head softly. 

"No, your father was a normal person. Your mother must have been the one who passed on the characteristics to you."

A weight Jerry was unaware of was lifted from her chest and the little girl couldn't help but let out a big sigh of relief.

"That's good..."

"Emm... Excuse me, Mr. Kenway." With a raised hand, Serena caught his attention somewhat nervously.

"Yes, Serena. Do you have any questions?" Adryan asked with a sweet smile, evoking the image of a preschool teacher teaching the multiplication table to the little ones.

A small blush formed on the cheeks of the woman, who lowered her gaze slightly but still asked her question through shyness.

"You mentioned something about characteristics... Could you explain what that is, please..." 

'Oh? You're more attentive than I thought. You won't be as hard to sharpen as I expected~' The smile on his face grew a little, and Adryan gave a nod.

"Sure, I was just about to do that, Serena. But good job for noticing, you deserve a star~" The redhead laughed softly in amusement, and the blush on Serena's face grew even bigger.

"Thank you..." the woman murmured.

"You would have had a future as a primary school teacher; you have a way with children like a good princess," Flora commented.

Ignoring his apple worm, Adryan began.

"The characteristics are the potion without the supplementary ingredients that either one: a Beyonder leaves when they die, or two: one of the parents has a child to bring out the extra traits they have.

"Of course, a Beyonder in low and medium sequences can't control whether their child inherits them or not. Only by starting in Sequence 4 can they control that.

"It's not to defend your mother or anything. It's just to avoid jumping to conclusions." 

Adryan finished calmly as he watched Jerry only nod weakly, a confused and complicated expression gracing the young face.

Xio on her side, immediately understood what that meant. Her face paled, and her brow furrowed slightly in disgust to Fors' confusion.

The red-haired man waited a few seconds before continuing his lecture. Finally, getting into the 3 Beyonder Laws.

Who didn't understand what he meant by characteristics. Now surely did, Opera almost fainted when she understood while Serena and Jerry almost vomited at the implication of cannibalism.

Adryan, for his part, smiled darkly inside.

He was absolutely certain they were being watched right now. 

He couldn't see or feel them, but they were surely using some kind of ability to watch him.

And he wasn't the only one who thought so as he could see how Maric was slightly tense and Sasha and Charlotte looked a little nervous. Sharron was as composed as ever, but Adryan knew that she shared his thoughts.

And Adryan planned to make the most of it! 

'Observe all you want~ Look at our knowledge and bathe in it. Use those arrogant minds and imagine!

'If we can share this knowledge without caring who might be listening, what else do we know we're hiding? Let that curiosity itch! Let it sting until you can't stand it any more!'

'And when that happens, I'll gladly lend a hand~'