Hadea

"Where am I?"

Archer was floating in the middle of a desert - barren and hot. Even then, he forced to calm himself while looking around and realized that he was surrounded by sands as far as his eyes could reach. He remembered that he suffered tremendously right after touching the transparent orb, and he could not recall what happened next. The next thing he knew, he was now in this forsaken place.

"Anybody there?!" Archer shouted as hard as he could, only to be answered by still silence. The fact that he was floating scared him, and he wanted to call his father right now to find comfort but he knew that it was just wishful thinking. He tried moving but he couldn't; he was just like a statue in the middle of nowhere. No matter, he kept on calling for help until he noticed that something appeared before him, only to find out that it was the transparent orb that he touched earlier.

The orb zoomed toward him as it pulsated strangely, then became all the more visible as it began transforming into a humanoid shape.

Archer gasped when he saw that the humanoid looked like himself. Every small detail was accurate, except for the skin color, which was paler compared to his body. He felt creeped out when the humanoid kept on looking at him intently as if he was prey in front of a predator. Scared, he did not know what to do but stay still and wait for the time to end. He kept on waiting until he could not resist anymore and asked, "Who are you?"

The humanoid sneered after he heard Archer and replied, "I am your Ankh."

Archer's eyes widened, not expecting the answer of the humanoid creature. "Are you the transparent orb?"

"Yes. You may call me Rehcra if you are curious about my name."

"Why do you look like me?" Archer recalled what Melek had told him while inside the train and added, "I don't believe you. You are not an Ankh. Dad said that Ankhs can't have human bodies."

Rehcra folded his arms on his chest as he floated beside Archer and grinned. "I am telling you that I am your Ankh. Remember what you have done earlier? Did you not choose me while inside Margh?"

Archer recalled what he had done back in Margh - the outer area of the Orbus Major where the Orbitalization ritual happens - and realized what Rehcra was talking about. "But I was just curious. I never intended to have you as my Ankh..."

"Remember, nothing in this world is a coincidence. The fact that you were able to receive me is a big testament as to the credibility of my words." Rehcra swayed his hand as he said, "Look around you. This is Hadea, the opposite of Margh, the outer part of the underworld. Nobody can enter this realm unless you have received a Dark Ankh like me."

"Are you saying that you're not an Ankh from the Orbus Major?"

"Indeed."

"But...how did you appear inside Margh?"

"Because it is the right time..."

Archer frowned, becoming all the more confused with the new things he heard from Rehcra. "The right time for what?"

Rehcra smiled and slowly transformed back into a transparent orb while saying, "I am not allowed to tell you the reason to avoid changing the course of events. You'll know it when the right time comes. For now, what matters is I am your Ankh, and with the both of us combined, you can now harness my powers."

"Can I say no?"

"I'm afraid you can't if you want to get out of this place."

Archer sighed in exasperation when he understood that he had no choice but to accept his situation. "Then, what powers do you have that I can use?"

"Evolution."

"Evolution? What do you mean?"

Rehcra snapped his fingers and the five orbs that he saw back in Margh appeared before Archer. "Lucky for you that your talent is mediocre at best, because now you have all of these Spirit Ankhs in your arsenal, thanks to me. The more talented you are, the lesser the number of Ankhs you are going to meet in Margh. If you were a great genius, then you could have only one Spirit Ankh and that would have been a waste of my skill."

Archer now understood why Melek and Mark reacted that way when they saw his result. Even though he had his doubts, at least he knew the reason as to why he met the most number of Ankhs that one could meet in Margh. He did not know whether to laugh or cry because of this incident, but if Rehcra was telling the truth, then this must have been his lucky day. "How does your power comes into play?"

"As I said, dark Ankhs have the power of evolution. With my help, you can evolve these Spirit Ankhs to a greater form that no one expects."

"Then how was I able to possess all of these Spirit Ankhs? Isn't the body limited to only one Ankh per person?"

Rehcra snorted and gave him a disdained glance. "Is that what you people believe nowadays? So, history is indeed hidden..."

"What do you mean?"

Rehcra looked up the sky and said, "Time's up. Remember, do not tell anyone what you have heard from me, or you'll be in great trouble..."

Archer was about to continue his inquiry when Rehcra zoomed toward him and penetrated his chest, this time without the discomfort that he felt back in Margh. The remaining five orbs followed Rehcra and entered his body as well. The last thing that he heard before he became unconscious was Rehcra's words echoing inside his mind, saying, "Don't tell...don't tell..."

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Meanwhile, inside the hospital, Melek kept looking at the records that he received from Officer Derek while remembering the requests of the Orbus office. He exhaled deeply and kept massaging his temple because he felt confused and conflicted by Archer's situation.

"Why in the world did my son suffer from Aethersia?" Melek asked himself, not minding the doctors that were passing by before him. He weighed his options and realized that he had to follow their advice because it was the safest thing he could do for Archer. He was about to stand up when he noticed that the Aether capsule's glass indicator was blinking intermittently, and opened after a few seconds. "My son?!"

Melek bolted to the capsule and saw Archer already awake. He hugged him for a long time before releasing him from his embrace and asked, "How are you feeling, son?"

Archer smiled vibrantly as he went out of the capsule, and spoke, "I'm feeling strong, Dad! I hope I did not make you worry..."

Melek ruffled his hair and laughed. "Of course, I am worried about you. But looking at how you move and act right now, I'd say you are as fit as a bull."

The doctor conducted several physical tests on Archer and passed it. He was soon released from the clinic and both of them walked toward the Orbus office to finalize Archer's certification that he was now indeed an Orb master.

Archer noticed that Melek was looking at him strangely and asked, "You want to ask anything from me, Dad?"

Melek nodded and patted his son's head. "Yes, son. And I hope that you tell me the truth. Can you promise it?"

Archer remembered Rehcra's warning and hesitated for a bit before saying, "Sure, I promise."

Melek stooped down and gaze at his son's face. "Tell me, what happened while you were inside Margh?"

Archer could not help but relay the truth to his dad because he could not afford to lie to him. If someone aside from his Dad would ask him about his situation, he would not dare to tell the truth. But he knew his dad would keep his secret, and he would not harm him because he was his son.

Melek was speechless when he heard the truth behind the fainting incident, and knew that the situation was direr than what he expected it to be. After his ruminations for a long time, he finally talked, "Don't tell anyone what you have seen. Even your mom. Promise me?"

"Sure, Dad." Archer could see the seriousness on Melek's expression and continued, "Am I in danger? Is there something wrong with me?"

Melek shook his head. "No. You're perfectly fine. Just...do not use your power in public, not until we can test it back at the hotel where no one can see, okay?"

Archer gave him a thumbs-up sign and grinned. "Sure, Dad."

Melek then brought Archer to the Orbus office and finally finished the certification without any trouble. They began to feel hungry and decided to pass by and eat at a restaurant near the hotel because it was cheaper, and eventually proceeded to go back to their rooms immediately, not noticing the men that were following behind them as they busily conversed with each other.

As soon as Melek opened the room, Archer rushed inside and plopped down on the bed.

"Feeling tired?" Melek asked as he set his son's knapsack on the only table present inside the room. "I thought you'd want to show me your Ankh?"

Archer's eyes were drooping and could not resist but yawn loudly, eliciting some laughter from Melek. Disgruntled because he was being teased by his dad, Archer gathered his strength to get up from the bed and said, "I'm not tired..."

Melek snickered by his son's action. "Don't force yourself. We can do it tomorrow if you're that spent."

"Okay..." Archer did not bother changing his clothes and lied down on the bed once again. After a few minutes, snoring sounds echoed inside the room.

"So lazy." Melek chuckled. He opened Archer's other luggage and pick out some clean clothes and changed his son's shirt and pants to more comfortable clothing. When he was done, he gazed at his son longingly, muttering, "I'll protect you from harm, son. I hope what happened to you does not create more trouble for the both of us." He walked to the door and closed it and went back to his room.

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"Officer, the target is now alone inside his room. Should we proceed with our plan?" the masked person dressed in black over-all said on the phone as he looked at the screen inside the hotel's monitoring room.

There was a still silence on the other line for a few minutes before it responded with, "Yes. With your power, you can easily kidnap the boy without creating some noise, right?"

"Of course. Consider it as done, Officer."

"Okay. Call me again after you are finished with your mission, Smoke. Over and out."

Smoke ended the call and turned off the earphone behind his ear. He looked behind and grinned at his companion. "Your ankh is useful in times like this, Screen. Easy spying."

Screen snorted and sat down on the chair, his eyes fixated on the monitor. "Don't waste my camera summons this time. Better make sure you capture the target without alarming anyone."

"Can they truly detect someone like me?"

"I guess not." Screen typed some messages through the keyboard and installed some wirings on the panel board. When he was done, he picked up the apple on the table and took a big bite. "I've heard you increased your Ankh's rank once again. How many hours can you sustain your smoke body without rest now?"

"An hour. And I only need thirty minutes before I can use my smoke body once again. Neat, ain't it?"

Screen snorted when he heard the smugness on Smoke's voice. "Then you better hurry up and finish the job so we can rest earlier."

Smoke conjured his blue Ankh, which disappeared as soon as he snapped his fingers. Not even a second had passed when his body transformed into a cloud of semi-transparent smoke, almost invisible in the eyes of men unless one had a sharp eyesight. As soon as he activated his smoke body, he floated toward the door and passed through the holes.