Chapter 4: The Messenger
-Meanwhile on Earth-
--Zeal's Perspective--
"Ah! Welcome back Mr. Zeal!" Ruby said to me. As my assistant, Ruby always greeted me when I arrived or said goodbye when I left. She kept the city under her surveillance when I wasn't there, and she had a natural charisma to her that better fit the role of the mayor of the city constructed under my rule. In all honesty, I plan to retire from the position to her within the year.
"Can I offer you some tea? A bath? Anything you need?" She asked me, holding a clipboard in her hand and eagerly awaiting orders.
"I need you to take the day off, go do whatever you please, I'll take things from here, Ruby," I told her. Ruby's eyes sparkled within the afternoon sun, and she quickly thanked me and exited the room.
"Now then… that Seventh White Stone." I peered my eyes to the alleyway around the corner, I knew he would be there…
I slowly and silently approached the man hiding in the alley and summoned the Strands out of my left hand, catching his collar before he could run away.
"Genesis… you're not sneaky enough to get past me. I assume you heard me mention the new White Stone?" I asked him. Genesis put down his cloak and his bleak smile answered that question for me.
"I don't know why you're so concerned about it… I ordered Talion to handle it. And if he can't, then Orion will take it. It's about time that I relax on Earth. I've been out and about with Ruby and with the other White Stones recently." Genesis nodded.
"I understand but… it seems like a bad time to tell you that Xian wants to meet once more." I sighed, I bet that was the reason Genesis was smiling in the first place.
"What does he want? Shouldn't Elo, Demos, and his stay on their respective desert of an isle?" Elo and Demos, former habitants of my city on Earth, had gone up to the Scorched Isle to assume some form of balance within power. They slowly remove tyrants from power within their respective cities, and do good deeds for the citizens, but to want to have an audience with me… what could they possibly want? A better question would be, what's going wrong?
"It's about the Isle's themselves… it seems that while Elo was on his off-day, he managed to catch a glimpse of The Isle in the distance…" Genesis explained.
At first thought, it didn't seem like much of a concern, until I realized that the isles aren't supposed to be connected.
"What? Are you sure it wasn't a mirage? Was Elo's ability running rampant and causing him to hallucinate?" My tone of concern was starting to get louder, disrupting the flow of normal life in the city. I quickly apologized and led Genesis back into my home next to the Transporter.
Genesis shut the wooden door and sat at the kitchen table.
"Look, it's my job to just relay your messages, I don't have any direct authority in this city anymore, that would be you. I told you what Xian wanted me to tell you, that's all the information I have." He smugly said. I clicked my tongue in irritation, pouring Genesis a glass of water and sliding it across the table.
"His System Flaw may be acting up… his Flaw is a hard one to follow." Genesis suggested.
The Flaw he's talking about is Elo's Flaw of Death. Each of the White Stones seems to have certain events that trigger 'System Corruption' something we are all told to avoid by nature, just like how we have to drink water to survive, that's how naturally it comes.
My Flaw is the toughest to follow, Imperfection. I'm not allowed to witness any Flaws take place through the White Stones, causing me to retreat from risky scenarios. Xian, the Second White Stone, has a flaw that involves Scars. Xian is not allowed to inflict wounds that cause scars, which is why he fights with his fists alone. The list goes on and on, but Elo's Flaw is Death.
When Elo witnesses a death, his System Corrupts. Because of this Flaw, Elo must wear a blindfold at all times, except when looking through lenses. Elo hasn't used his sight in so long, his mind may be playing tricks on him.
"Well, whatever. I'll go to meet with them, but not today. I want to take a day off after today." I scanned the inside of my fridge for any food to eat, but I couldn't find anything.
"Welcome home Dad!" Ophelia, my daughter, caught me in a hug from behind. "Ah! Ophi! How was school today?" Ophelia told me all about her day and Rudy patiently waited in the back to tell me about his day.
"That's so good honey! Now, Rudy, how was your day? And after you tell me, you can tell me what you'd like for your eleventh birthday!" Rudy began to smile once more, and I began to hear about his day. Per my request, Genesis disappeared from the room once my children entered, so he was no longer anywhere to be seen.
Rudy finished telling me about his day and I finally managed to think about something to eat. "Is your mother still in bed? Let's make her some lunch, shall we?" Both Ophelia and Rudy nodded and helped me make my wife, Alba, some food.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone