Chapter 7: - 7
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— The Clockmaker
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"Vyrin, I set up the beds since I was up there to get dressed anyway."
"Thanks. Now, we wai-."
*BOOM*
When Kace went upstairs to get himself dressed, he activated the machines to transform the massive single-person bedroom into a massive six-person bedroom. Transformation machines were usually supplied to military resources, however with enough money, a civilian could easily get their hands on them.
One walk-in closet was shared by the six inhabitants. It was big enough to fit six entire sections, as well as changing areas secluded from each other for privacy. This way, Kace was able to throw up his towel for next time he showered, undress from his red-and-black blazer uniform, and change into normal attire suitable for inside activities.
Once again, not a spec of dirt or unhealthy substances remained on the uniform. Thus, there was no reason to manually wash it.
Tessa proceeded the same way.
The small water droplets that remained on the tile glinted in Vyrin's eye. As Kace went upstairs, as well as Tessa, the water did not come in contact with the floor through supernatural means.
That being said, Vyrin could only imagine that Kace's short, comical outburst made him lose his concentration and allowed some liquid to touch the floor, forgetting to clean it up.
A small grin grew on the freshman's face as he glanced at the water droplets... and they were gone.
In fact, the tile was completely dry.
He pocketed his portable console after folding it, then proceeded to stand up, stretching for a moment before grunting and leaning against a nearby pillar that supported the ceiling. Another pillar identically far away from the couches was on the other side of the living room.
Following Kace, Tessa trotted down the steps and leaned against the same pillar as Vyrin, leaning her head on his shoulder.
This type of intimacy looked to be a normal act of affection for Kace this time did not reprimand her, and instead directing his focus onto Vyrin.
Now, upon Kace's declaration, and Vyrin's statement of there being nothing else to accomplish, the door flew open and made a loud *BOOM*. Granted, up to now the teenagers had not been affected by abrupt noises and actions (excluding Tessa's method of waking up Vyrin earlier), however even something to this degree was bound to raise some complaints.
Even so, nobody said a word.
The doorstop forcefully restrained the door's momentum as a young man with crimson hair and unnaturally yellow eyes lowered his foot that was suspended in the air and puffed out his chest victoriously.
His height was a decent five feet—eight and a half inches, however he contained the same erect posture, piercing gaze, lean frame, and athletic build as Vyrin. In fact, their figures were almost the same, although the latter's visibly held more experience and was supremely burdened than the former's.
The eyes of the door-kicker rolled over the inside of the house until landing on Vyrin. He breathed out after taking a deep inhale and scratched the back of his head with a disappointed look.
"You didn't like it? I thought it was pretty good..."
"If you didn't use your Filo to turn the knob before kicking it, I would've had to kick your nose in like you did that door."
To answer the red haired teen's question and audible thoughts, Kace directed a gaze so full of ruthlessness and brutality that it gave the young man shivers, then responded with a tone overflowing with fury so intense it was almost (?) comical.
The young man had the expression of a child who just pissed his pants.
"Ok, sounds good."
"We're home."
Proceeded by the high-pitched reply to Kace's threat and a half, a dull, monotone female voice performed an entering declaration. Everyone's gazes shifted to the front door (which was still open from the young man's kick) to see a young woman and a young man right behind her, with the latter closing the door on their way in.
"Ceres, did you really have to kick the door open like that? You could've broken it."
"Do you really think I don't know the strength of our own wooden door? This thing could tank a battering ram."
The young man who closed the door upon entering asked the red haired one in a mildly exasperated way, only to be responded with a know-it-all but calculated answer.
As if it was habitual, nobody even waited for the last person who was supposed to arrive as well. Their subconsciouses all collectively proceeded with the newcomers' welcomes... except Vyrin's. His eyes, with a hint of disappointment and gloom, squinted as the green-haired young man shut the door.
Noticing this slight negativity, Kace restrained his fury as he attempted to comfort his buddy.
"Don't take it personally, Vyrin. He'll be here soon, and when he does... I'm gonna show him my *appreciation.*"
Kace's comforting skills were not the most honed, but it was effective enough to give Vyrin a more confident, positive appearance in his face. The act of cracking his knuckles threateningly was also quite humorous.
When taking the earlier questions and answers from before Tessa's and the rest of the group's arrival into account, only one other individual remained in this situation: the one named Kent.
Unfortunately, his late arrival wasn't entirely new, so Vyrin's mind drifted back to his attendees.
Since the ceiling was comparably high and the first floor was so open, the door looked kind of small, and the curved staircase to went up was especially enlarged in perspective. The elevator shaft's front was made of thick glass which allowed the user to see through it on the way up and down, as well as witnesses from below.
Due to these circumstances, ruining the delicacy of such a masterpiece by destroying the door wouldn't have blemished the sight *too* much, but the door wasn't his to begin with.
This was Vyrin's property, as stated before from Tessa.
"If you break Vyrin's door I'll have to punch you."
"Fine, Aleisha, fine. Eden already scolded me so you can calm down. Anyway... should we go now, Vyrin?"
The young woman's claim... or rather *threat* was acknowledged by Ceres as he patted the air in front of him as if to say "settle down". Ceres' next words were directed at Vyrin, but the others knew what he meant by "should we go".
The crimson in Ceres' hair was frighteningly similar to the scarlet light in Vyrin's eyes.
"Yeah. Let's make it quick, though. Williams' waiting."
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When one walked down the descending slope beside the humongous structure called a "house", a garage-like door could have been seen. If it was opened, the sight of a huge spacious area large enough to fit an entire building was imminent.
Due to its size, many accessories were able to fit snugly inside.
In one corner was the full-sized basketball court, with the turf soccer field in another corner, the pool in the third corner, and finally a secluded area surrounded by walls in the final corner could be seen. It's silver floor and blank interior indicated that it was some sort of practice room, or a training area.
The six teenagers entered the space.
Although the designated area was in a corner of the underground space, it was easily as long and wide as a halved professional basketball court, and the lights that shined up above made it glitter.
Taking Ceres' and Vyrin's words into account, it was not a complexity to presume that they were the only ones participating in the activity that was about to take place.
While Tessa, Kace, Aleisha, and the young man that reprimanded Ceres for his actions, who was most likely Eden, came to a halt on the sidelines, Vyrin and Ceres walked in separate directions until they were both at and end of the rectangular court.
At an exactly three second pause, Ceres disappeared.
Prior to this happening, the atmosphere was almost palpable, and the gaze that he directed towards Vyrin was a mixture of admiration and analytical elements.
His muscles were relaxed, however they were most definitely prepared, for anything.
The teenagers standing motionless to the side couldn't help but dart their eyes back and forth between the other two.
Upon Ceres' disappearance, the realization that he was actually in Vyrin's blind spot dawned on the spectators a second too late. His instantaneous departure left the onlookers speechless as he lifted his leg and performed an elegant roundhouse kick.
Granted, the silver space seemed like a location that could've been suitable for combat purposes, however the assumption converting into a provable fact was not the most expected outcome.
Ceres' lack of hesitation and his deadly gaze prior to the combative interaction was most certainly a slight giveaway of his intentions when he called Vyrin out.
Besides, the rest of the group did not react abnormally to Ceres' vague request back in the house.
Proceeding with a collective gasp from the group, the sound of what was comparable to a gun going off in an small space popped into the ears of everyone in the room.
The sound's origin was unmistakably the point in which Ceres' shoe came in contact with Vyrin's head.
In an instant, this approach would soon be revealed to be erroneous.
Blocking Ceres' shoe was Vyrin's postured wrist, restraining the kick's forceful impact with nothing but the bridge between the arm and the rest of the hand. Such a careless move would have inevitably led to wrist fractures, but on the contrary, Vyrin's dull expression as his eyes dug daggers into Ceres' with a sideways look expressed no signs of distress, pain, or discomfort.
Unexpectedly, Ceres' face did not recoil with shock or surprise, but instead gave a grin that silently sent a message, as if he was saying "as expected..."
For the next five minutes, Ceres striking Vyrin countlessly in various ways became almost rhythmical. Kicks were performed, punches were thrown, and elbow strikes were attempted. In an effort to seemingly incapacitate Vyrin, he did all of these things without the slightest hesitation.
What was more impressive to the spectators was Vyrin's passive play. Or, more specifically, his parrying, blocking, evading, and redirection of Ceres' attacks. Complete pacification enveloped his face as he prevented Ceres' attacks as efficiently as possible. He didn't even need to fight back; Vyrin just did not allow Ceres' fists and shoes to hit his body. Under normal circumstances, this sort of behavior was considered mocking, for the opponent was not even feeling the need to fight back since the attacker was weak.
Of course, this wasn't a normal circumstance.
Ceres' face was filled to the brim with determination and admiration as he threw a barrage of punches and kicks. Although he wasn't sweating or even showing any recoil from his movement, Vyrin's reason for not showering yet now made sense.
Every strike performed by Ceres had the power of 10 men, yet Vyrin's current passive style of combat was simply stopping each and every one. At this point, Vyrin's calm and collected attitude would have crushed his opponent's self-esteem, however Ceres had no intention of letting up... until their small amount of time was up.
When Ceres threw his last, superhuman-like kick, Vyrin blocked it... and then he was behind his opponent. In the blink of an eye, Vyrin had prevented Ceres' kick from hitting his body, however he had also, in an instant, stepped behind Ceres, as if to say that play time was over.
Seeming to understand, as the other teenagers watched without words, Ceres sighed in humble defeat and let out a chuckle.
"You really are amazing, aren't you Vyrin?"
"I'm not training you for no reason. You'll surpass me in no time."
"Dude, do you even understand how strong you are?"
To answer Ceres' questioning praise, Vyrin reminded him of his status as the latter's trainee. From this information, it was no task to determine that the two teenagers' moves (although Vyrin had not attacked in the interaction) were quite similar, but one of theirs was infinitely more experienced and absolutely refined.
Ceres' inquiry of strength was pointedly ignored by his opponent, or rather, his trainer. Vyrin walked over to the others along with Ceres and a smile bloomed on Tessa and Kace's faces.
"It's incredible."
"I know. It amazes me every time I see it."
Tessa's whisper was met with Kace's awe, while Eden nodded in confirmation and Aleisha, in the same monotone voice, gave a particular remark.
"Vyrin, your apostle is already strong enough to beat all of us in hand-to-hand, and he has a lesser potency of analysis then you do, yet you discredit yourself."
"Aleisha, the reason why you think my analysis is only 'lesser' is because this guy hasn't shown a fragment of it yet."
"I know but still-."
"Thank you for the praise, but I really don't deserve it. Williams' waiting for our call so I'll just shower afterwords."
Ceres' reply to Aleisha was deadly and calculated, accompanied with a wry grin and sharpened gaze that held a lot more elements than his outwards appearance did. The indication of Vyrin not being loyal to himself was almost as clear as day when put in such a blunt fashion.
Needless to say, this discredit was most likely connected to his secret... or at least a percentage of it.
Before Aleisha could finish her second sentence, Vyrin cut the both of them off modestly and immediately converted the topic of conversation to an important situation that he knew his friends would not be able to deny acknowledgement of.
Kace assumed the tone of "second in command".
"He's right. Let's go."
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The gigantic monitor in the living room that covered the length of the entire "U" formation of the couches was not for show. Its size was indeed disproportional to the quantity of inhabitants of the residential property, as well as the couches' size.
They sat next to each other in the order from which they arrived back home from left to right, excluding Vyrin who stood behind his group. Facing the blank screen, Vyrin spoke in a relatively piercing tone... *TO* to the blank screen.
"Sector Label: Sirius Williams | Overseer of the Seventh."
"Opening."
Vyrin's odd formation and use of terminology stemmed from an unnatural formality for his age and seeming-to-be lineage. This way of speaking was entirely too political for a mere teenager to adopt... yet he did so without any signs of being uncomfortable.
In reply, a robotic voice similar to Aleisha's stated what it was doing, following Vyrin's command. The voice was obviously more mechanical than Aleisha's, but their monotonous natures were indeed comparable.
The screen showed what looked like a logo, which was a blue tesseract in constant motion, before an absolutely HD photo of a middle-aged man with very neatly-trimmed facial hair appeared on screen. In the 28th century, video quality had advanced naturally, almost to the point where it looked fake.
Every strand of hair could have been counted; every eyelash was in the scope of examination; every blemish in the man's skin was exposed to the group.
He held no signs of contentment or the contrary, just gazing through the screen and into the teenager' eyes with his brown ones. His chiseled jaw and craggy face suggested he was at least older than 55 years old.
The background he resided in was unusually spacious and with black walls and what looked like a green monitor in the very back. The attire he wore was that of an executive, consisting of an impeccable suit and blue tie.
"Hello, Vyrin. You're looking well."
His voice was grave and the group of teenagers couldn't help but marvel at how dead he sounded. In contrast, Aleisha's voice was indeed flat, however he literally sounded *DEAD*, as in a walking corpse.
Vyrin's response was not deterred by these facts.
"Yes, sir. Kent's not here so would you like to start without him?"
A disappointed but habitual grunt could be heard through the surround-sound speakers.
"Yes, let's do that. How was your first day?"
"Nothing totally unusual, although there is a member of the Torence, the Lorenzo, and the Kreel Family."
"Are they close enough to cause problems?"
"The Torence is in my class, and the Kreel is the Student Council President."
"And the Lorenzo?"
"Freshmen representative."
"I see. Not as bad as I thought, then."
The man named William asked Vyrin about his day, which was answered with a matter-of-fact fashion as he listed the name of the Prime Orders whose descendants he discovered in his education facility. Instead of getting worked up like Kace did, William's reaction was rather stony, unchanging from his flat personality.
After the two replies to William's next couple of questions, a slight loosening in his shoulders was visible enough for Vyrin to give a reassuring nod.
His eyes glazed over and rested on the collection of young men and women sitting down in front of the screen.
"How about you guys?"
"We also have a Prime Order descendent in the Student Council; Bahamut Family to be exact."
"That's not a problem. It seems that you had very fortunate scenarios."
When the group was asked about their status, Kace answered in the utmost formality as he could possibly muster, speaking firmly.
With a mild glint in his eyes, Williams let out a phrase of positive conclusion.
Vyrin, however, held the same look in his eyes as before the good news was shared.
"Williams, did you hear any word from *her?*"
"No, not as of yet, but I will let you know. Now, onto the main topic; there's been some ruckus in the former Carolina area, particularly the southern portion. I'd like to request-."
"No."
Vyrin's emphasis on the simple word "her" was enough for his group to breath in sharply and dart their eyes towards him. When Williams answered this, slight fortune-relieved undertones were detected, however his next statement was immediately cut off by Kace.
It seemed as though Kace was unconditionally pissed. The reason for this was unknown, but considering his attitude and lack of formality that even Vyrin showed the middle-aged man, it was unmistakably clarified just how much Kace did not take a liking to the man to whom he spoke with.
Vyrin's eyes shot over to Kace's figure but the blue-haired young man did not stop.
"Concluding activities regarding civilians in the Gate is the police's job, yes? What makes it necessary for Vyrin to go?"
"This doesn't concern you, Kace."
Kace's questions were deflected with a blunt reminder of his status in the current conversation. Williams' tone took a more serious, harsh adaptation.
In return, Ceres spoke in a low, threatening voice that caught Vyrin's attention as well.
"Sirius Williams... What gives you the authority to order one of the most valuable assets around like he's your pet?"
His inquiry contained restrained anger that was clearly held back for much longer than the current day's meeting. Grudgingly-harbored emotions swirled subtly in Ceres' voice.
Williams' smirk showed confidence in himself. His eyes showed belittlement and fury beyond comprehension.
"Now, Ceres. You mustn't defend the failure of a Puppeteer such as him. Doing so will-."
*Beep*
Williams' condescending statement was laced with malice and disappointment. At this moment, it was clear just how much restraint the group of friends surrounding Vyrin had. The light mood that had settled before the meeting was certainly a façade.
The sound of the monitor powering off, revealing the same black screen as before, could be heard. Tessa's eyes were hidden underneath her bangs.
Since the technology was voice-activated, deactivating it would need vocal command, but taking her lack of speech into account, supernatural means were the last option of utility.
Grave expressions harboring immense hatred was displayed on everyone's faces... except for Vyrin's, who looked surprised at their attitudes.
"Why did you-?"
"We won't let them use you... Not again..."
Tessa's trembling body and voice in response to Vyrin's unfinished question caused the questioning young man to grunt in surprise.
The image of total chaos enveloped his senses. Fires burned, buildings were demolished, smoke rose up, and a single figure stood above it all, looking down at the carnage from atop a pile of rubble.
This image was no doubt correlated with Vyrin in some way.
A thankful grin spread across his face as he met the familial gazes from his peers. Unnatural determination glinted in their eyes. It was as if they had a mission—a task—that somehow involved the red-eyed young man. Their hard expressions held perseverance beyond normalities.
This perseverance on its own did not worry Vyrin... however the lengths that such a virtue might be taken were endless, thus he worried about its potential as a fault.
He did not want them to convert the positive feature into a negative one.
He did not want harm to come unto his peers.
He did not want to be the subject of protection.
The same look of determination flickered across his face so fast it was hardly perceivable. Nobody noticed this spark.
His eyes hardened.
His lips tightened.
'I know your intentions are good... But do not prohibit me when you might need me. I won't let that tragedy happen... Not again.'
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