Chapter 30

William awoke from  his third nap that day. Having nothing to do while locked in a cage tended to do that to people. When he opened his eyes, he found himself lying in the middle of an ocean, looking up at a clear blue sky. Lunam wasn't where he expected it to be. Strange. He looked around as he stood, figuring out that he could somehow walk on water. The sea spread in all directions as far as the eye could see. "What the hell? Where am I?" It was clear he wasn't at Imperium anymore.

"William Doe." The voice came from all directions. It sounded like a compilation of many voices, all talking at once. Monotone. Orated. "You have been chosen for Ascension." It said, "Will you accept?"

William looked around again, looking for the source of the voices. He even looked down into the ocean's depths. Darkness met him there. "Who are you?" He said, giving up the search. "Where am I?"

The waters near him began to stir, creating ripples as a figure rose from the waters. The stranger wore a black suit that was the preferred choice of clothing for Royals. William wondered if the man was, in fact, a Royal, and this place was some sort of ability. The stranger stared at him with glowing golden eyes, but no mouth or nose. Yet when he spoke, it was clear he was the source of the voices. "We are Lunam." He said.

"Lunam?" William echoed. "As in, the second moon Lunam?" As if in answer to his question, the golden moon appeared in the sky above him in a flash of golden light. William had to shield his eyes from it. "Guess that answers that question." He thought for a moment, then realized; "Wait, so it's true then. That Lunam is a sentient being." He looked up at the stranger. "What are you?"

"We are Lunam." It said simply. Then, after a pause, added; "Will you accept Ascension?"

"Ascension? What's that mean?"

"You will be as divinity."

"As in god?"

"A god." The stranger, or was it more accurate to call it Lunam, said. "One amongst thirteen. Last request: Will you accept Ascension?"

William didn't have to think hard about his answer, after all, who wouldn't want to become a god? And considering what one can already do with the power of Aura, it wouldn't be hard to believe that with enough of it, one could, in fact, become a god. But he stopped himself from saying yes. "What's the cash? What do I have to give in return? I figure offers like these usually have a cost." 

Lunam said nothing, just waited.

"No." William said at last.

Then everything vanished. The ocean, the sky, Lunam. William was back in his cage, lying on the bed and looking up at the ceiling. He stood and switched on the light of his cell. A single lightbulb embedded in the ceiling. He walked over to the sink and washed his face. Was all that a dream? He wondered. It probably was, right? Still, he couldn't stop wondering what would've happened had he said yes.

"Psst… Will."

William looked around, startled. Maybe it wasn't? Though this voice sounded with a singular voice. A male one.

"William." It whispered.

William looked around his cell but saw no one. "Lunam?" He called.

"I change my answer. Yes, I'll accept your ascension."

"What are you talking about?" The voice said. Come to think of it, William could pin point the location of this voice. It came from his cell's door. And it sounded familiar. "It's me, Arlong. Here, inject yourself with this." On the floor, appeared a syringe with a golden  liquid.

William walked up and picked it up. He heard a clicking sound, then the cage door unlocked itself. "Arlong? What's this?"

"Your rescue." Arlong whispered, though William couldn't see him. He knew the general direction of his location based on the voice. "Now hurry it up, we only have a few hours head-start."

"What about the cameras, they'll see me."

"For Lunam's sake man, just use the serum and let's get out of here. The camera's been taken care of."

William said no more and injected himself on the arm with the syringe. He felt his Aura shimmer within him as the serum took effect. It felt like an Awakening, where one's Aura naturally awakens on your 13th birthday. It felt odd, feeling the familiar warmth and tranquility fill his body after days without Aura. Next to him, in a burst of light, a golden flame in the shape of a man appeared. It was Arlong's Aura. William wasted no time in manipulating his own to match Arlong's, copying the man's ability. He used it to turn himself invisible.

"I'm assuming you can see me?" Arlong said, "Cuz I sure as hell can't see you. I'll just have to hope you'll be right behind him and whisper if anything happens."

"Don't worry, I can see your Aura clear as day." William said. "Just lead the way. I'll follow."

If Arlong nodded, William couldn't see it. But he did see his Aura move. William followed it-Arlong-out into a hallway. They were careful to walk as quietly as possible as they passed the Royals walking about. William's never been inside Imperium, so he was surprised to learn that most Royals had their Aura's ignited as they moved about. He had done that a couple of times. Ignited his Aura on a slow day, and kept it burning throughout. It felt good. Walking around with your Aura Ignited was like walking around high with all the pros and none of the cons. In a sense, Aura felt like a drug without the side effects. Still, having it ignited for too long, meant it'll gradually burn itself out and leave you drained if overused. Much like one's stamina. It would of course replenish itself naturally while resting or sleeping, but if an accident were to happen. If you were to get hurt and your Aura is spent. Then it won't be able to heal your wounds. 

Either way, William liked it better this way. With so many Royals walking around with their Aura's ignited, meant that he was essentially walking  around a buffet of abilities to choose from. Any of which he could copy and use. He was about to copy an ability, but soon realized that the serum he took hadn't completely counteracted the nullifying effect of Lord Ruler's ability dampening serum. 

"This way." Arlong led him through another room, careful to avoid contact with Royals, and only opening doors where they weren't looking. They came out into another hallway that led to the elevator. William was about to ask 'what now?' when Arlong kept walking, passing the elevator by.

"Hold on, why not take the elevator to the first floor?" William whispered behind him.

"We will, but just to be on the safe side, one of Ada's Knight's will meet us on the stairs two floors below us and lead us out."

"I see." William nodded and was about to follow Arlong down the stairs when he noticed it. "Wait, hold on." At the end of the hallway was a door marked 'Do Not Enter'. William felt a tremendous amount of Aura emanating from within. Aura, that like mist, seeped out through the cracks. "What's behind that door at the end of the hallway?"

"That's the room where the Lord Ruler conducts his experiments." Arlong whispered. "It's where he keeps the superheroes locked inside a tank to extract their Aura."

It was true that William felt a variety of Aura types flowing out of it. But there was something else there. An Aura that had the same potency as Ada's. "I'm gonna go check it out."

"Are you crazy?" Arlong said. "We're on a time limit here. There's nothing new there. I'll show you once we're out of the building and safe at H.Q… William?"

"I'm going." William said. "You go on ahead if you want." And with that, he made his way to the door. It was locked. Shit. Then Arlong's came and unlocked it. "Five minutes." He said.

"Thanks." William smiled, then went inside, making sure no one saw the door seeming to open by itself. It took a second for his Aura enhanced eyes to adjust to the darkness. But one they did, he saw them. It was as Arlong had just said. The room was filled with incubator tanks, most of which held people inside. William recognized some of them. Superheroes and rebels who had been captured in the past. Their  Aura's were being extracted, running through some tubes that connected to a massive machine at the far end of the room. The machine resembled the cube-like object the Lord Ruler used to extract William's Aura. It seemed to pulse with Aura, sending ripples of golden mist, visible to William, that covered most of the room.

"See." Arlong said from the door. "Now let's get out of here."

"Hold on." William told him. "Something's not right."

"What now?"

"You can't see Aura so you wouldn't be able to tell." William explained. "But all of the Aura that's being extracted is being funneled into that machine over there."

"Obviously." Arlong said. "I know that already."

"But," William continued. "The machine itself is not just the container of that Aura. It seemed to be pumping the extracted Aura into something else. Something that's on the other side of that wall. I feel an enormous Aura coming from there." It felt similar in scale to Ada's, who's Aura was so massive, it could encompass an entire room. William checked for a hidden switch, or something that would open a passage to a hidden room behind the wall, but found nothing. "There has to be some sort of hidden room behind this wall. I'm sure of it."

"Hate to break it to ya, man, but I've thoroughly checked this room," Arlong pointed out. "And found nothing."

"There has to be-"

The noise of a door opening interrupted him. A Royal wearing a lab coat walked into the room, pausing at the entrance, then turning on the lights. William hid behind one of the incubator tanks, despite the fact that he was invisible and the Royal wouldn't be able to see him. He watched as the Royal checked on the tanks, then took notes. The Royal checked each tank, pressing some buttons on some of them, adjusting some settings. Then he walked up to the strange machine at the far back and typed something. There was a pulse of light, then the Aura from it began to flow through the wall, as if being sucked by something behind it. The Royal then ignited his Aura and walked around the machine. William mimicked the Royal's Aura before he walked through the wall.

"Holy shit." Arlong said. He was standing by the machine and had seen the Royal. "That's new."

"I got his ability." William whispered. "Take my hand, I'll get you through." William reached for the space where Arlong's Aura was, feeling the man's arm.

"Awkward, but ok."

"Then it's a good thing we're invisible." They walked through the wall as if it was nothing but an illusion. Behind it, it was like William had suspected, there was a hidden room, only accessible, it seems, with this Royal's ability to walk through walls. The Royal had just finished taking some notes and was walking away from another machine that was connected to a throne-like chair. He paused next to William and Arlong, as if sensing something. He looked at them, through them, then shrugged. "Must've been the wind." He said, and walked through the wall, out of the room.

"It can't be." Arlong said, after making sure they were alone in the room.

"The enormous Aura I felt before." William said, "It's hers."

The Aura that was being extracted from the cube-like machine in the other room was being pumped into the young woman sitting on the throne-like chair. She looked like she was sleeping. She was so skinny, she looked deprived, resembling a corpse. At first glance, one would guess she was dead. But the vital sign computer next to her was reading her pulse. She was alive, and likely comatose. Cables were embedded into her skin and Aura was being pumped into her body from another large computer behind her. Her Aura didn't just burn like everyone else's either. It flared, its golden flame had a hint of blue into it. It was more potent than even Ada's, filling the entire room in a haze of mist. William couldn't even attempt to mimic it. It was too large, too strong, for him to match. Still, just by looking at it, he knew what her ability was. People's Aura were like their fingerprints, and he knew how to read them.

"Her ability…" He said. "The dome. She created it."

"What?" Arlong said.

"I can't explain how her ability works exactly, but the dome is certainly part of it." All this time, William thought, still unable to believe it himself despite seeing it. All the mystery. All the speculation. Everyone wondered how the Lord Ruler had done it. How had he created the dome? A space that defied Lunam's Law of Aura. And it turned out to be just another ability, albeit powerful enough to encompass the entire city. This was it. This woman was the dome's weakness. Her ability is what kept the Lord Ruler and his Royals in power. It's what made the Royals. 

"Unbelievable." William breathed.

"We should get going." Arlong said after a long pause. "We've been here for a while now. If we're found out, this discovery will have been for nothing."

"Yeah, let's go."

After one last look at the comatosed woman, William led them back through the wall, and out of the room. They quickly and quietly made their way back to the staircase and descended two floors. They met with one of Lady Ada's Royal Knight's who was standing by the door waiting. William recognized him. The one that Ada seemed to always bring when meeting Claudia. Johnathan was his name.

"What took you?" He said, after Arlong had tapped him on the shoulder, as per the signal. 

"We took a detour." William whispered.

"Come on then. And stay close." They followed him to the elevator where. Once the elevator started moving down, Arlong spoke. "We just discovered the dome's weakness." Arlong said.

"With the help of the copycat, I presume." Johnathan said, looking at nothing in particular. William and Arlong were next to him, but were both invisible. "Lady Ada told me to tell you, that if you were to discover the secret, to also let your leaders know that she will want to have a conversation before your assault on Imperium."

William was about to ask why when the elevator door opened, though on floor 22. A young woman walked in. She greeted Johnathan with a hint of enmity, then pointedly ignored his gaze as the elevator started moving again. The silence dragged for long, awkward moment.

"Mila…" Johnathan said at last.

"Did you hear?" The young woman said. She must be a Commoner. William couldn't sense any Aura from her. "The copycat superhero has been captured. The Royals are saying that Spectre never had a chance. Their rebellion will end like all the rest. You must be happy, John."

"I…" William noticed the man was staggering on his words. There must be history between the two. A Commoner and Royal.

"You get promoted to Royal Knight and get to live a luxurious life." Mila said. "While we, the Commoners, get to keep on doing the Royal's bidding, else we get beaten up for the stupidest reasons." William couldn't agree more. It was fucked up.

"I'm not like that." Johnathan said.

William rolled his eyes, though he knew none could see. Every Royal that believed themselves to be good people were fakes in William's eyes. They claim they're not like the rest, yet they allow the Royal Hierarchy System to continue.

"Yet you allow the system to prosper." Mila said, as if voicing William's thoughts out loud. "Spectre was supposed to end the Hierarchy System. To put everyone in New Miami on the same playing field. Yet you do nothing to aid them."

Johnathan said nothing but it was clear what he was thinking; If that was the case, then why am I helping them right now in freeing the one person that gave Spectre their notoriety.

The elevator beeped and the doors opened on the 4th floor. Mila was about to walk out when Johnathan gently grabbed her by the shoulder. "Just do me a favor." He told her. "Two days from now, please don't come to work. Please."

How considerate of him, William thought. Two days from now was the scheduled Spectre assault on Imperium. 

"Whatever, John." Mila said, then walked out. The elevator doors closed behind her. 

"Girlfriend?" Arlong commented. 

"Just stay quite and follow my lead." Johnathan said. When they reached the first first, they got off the elevator into Imperium's lobby. Johnathan led past the counter where Royals were being screened before entering and leaving. That's when the alarm suddenly rang. It seemed the Lord Ruler had come to visit William and found he wasn't in his cage. 

Chaos erupted in the lobby as the voice in the speaker delivered the message. 'The Copycat Superhero has escaped. Lockdown the building.' ANd in a matter of seconds, Royals in uniforms locked the main doors and stopped allowing people to leave or enter the building. William looked at Johnathan for further instruction, and noticed a hint of relief in his eyes. Wait what? Still, William already had the ability to get himself out. He grabbed Arlong, spotting the invisible man through his Aura, and pulled him over. "Come on." He led them to the main entrance, and easily ran through the wall and out of the building.

"Holy shit." Arlong said.

"Keep running." They kept their invisibility on as they ran through Imperial Square, zigzagging through a mixture of Royals and Commoners packing after hearing Imperium's alarm. William had done what none had ever done under the Lord Ruler's reign; escape Imperium. Granted he had helped, but still. It felt good. And he couldn't wait to share his findings with his sister. They had done it. They now knew how to take down the dome and take away the Lord Ruler's control over New Miami. Spectre will win. The revolution will succeed.