"Len! Mom! Where are you, dammit! Len!"Lars searched high and lows for his family. He ran around Algedi trying to pick up any semblance of their presence. He went to MSC headquarters but stopped by the guards. He went back to their old home but found no one there. He even went to Brodie's apartment that he visited once but told by the landlord he had already moved out.Lars had no clue where to look. He was exhausted from all the running, panting and sweating. His muscles screamed at him to stop but he didn't listen. Lars wanted to fly but thankfully, he still had common sense to not reveal his Scion Force for the world to see. However, even if Lars wanted to fly, he was too spent for it."Len... Mom... "Lars' aimless search led him to a playground. It was late at night at the time, and the playground was completely dark. The night wind picked up and the swing's chains softly rattled. Lars took a seat on one of the swings, and he poured it all out in the darkness.That day
Lars watched the sunrise from his room window with a somber look. There was not a hint of joy or anything remotely light in his heart. He went back to bed and pulled the blanket over his head.Despite he was aching for it, Lars couldn't sleep. The bed was nice and soft, the room was warm and cold whenever it needed to be, and everything was of highest luxury in his new room in Calendula Residence's mansion. Still, the comfortable room failed to give Lars a good night sleep.Lars feared the nightmare. Staying awake was torturous enough for him as his brain kept retracing that day on Mt. Alnath and the news of his brother's disappearance. He remembered his whole life with Len. He remembered how Sophia looked under the sunlight and when she saved his life. He remembered he couldn't save them.For the past three days, Lars was still far from being alright. Since Sophia's funeral, he cried once in a while and his supposed rest only made him even more drained. His pillows often wet by
After showering, Lars stared at his reflection, something he avoided for a while. He was unchanged. No facial hair grew out of him despite how badly he wanted to someday. His hair had stopped growing and Lars wondered if he chops them off would they grow back, but he wasn't about to experiment on it. The physical stagnancy of becoming a Scion was still something Lars needed to adjust to.Lars put on Len's zebra - printed hoodie and finally went out of the comfort of his room. As he walked down the carpeted hallway, Lars appreciated the regal beauty of Calendula Residence. The main building was a five storied mansion, and the interior was modernized by luxurious aesthetic of suedes, velvets and gemstone ornaments.The mansion was enormous and Lars wouldn't dare to end up in a wrong room. He realized of the mansion's security from his first night here. The maids and butlers who prowled around the mansion was no ordinary folks. Lars sensed them as possessing great aura of arcane power
"Good morning!"Lars jerked and his eyes snapped open. Vayu stood on the side of his bed, smiling cheerfully and carrying a tray of foods with delightful aroma. Lars rubbed his eyes and groaned groggily. Morning light from the window gleamed the star necklace on his bare skin."Hey," Lars said between his yawns. "When did you got here?""Just now," Vayu said. "Let's dig in while it's still warm, shall we? I got here as fast as I could for these."Lars shook his head as he smiled and he scooted over so they could have their breakfast in bed. One bite on a tuna sandwich from the platter was enough to send a distinct spark of joy for Lars. He could recognize the crisp deliciousness of it from anywhere."Is this from... Angel's Snack?"Vayu widely smiled. "Auntie Quinn said hi."Lars felt a gripping pressure in his heart and his eyes turned glassy. The name and the flavor brought him back to simpler times when he still had Len by his side. It felt like such a long time ago fo
The assembly had begun. The Scions had disclosed everything to the Alliance. From the discovery of Sovereigns, alien material, and up to the battle of Mt. Alnath. Some gasps and murmurs were heard as they learned of the treachery. By the end of it, after Rachelia summarized everything, the chaotic chatter from mythfolks, djinns, depthdwellers and magi couldn't be contained anymore."How absolutely despicable!" Sir Ragdorius' booming voice echoed. "How could the Scions do this? How did any of this get by us?"The audience erupted to louder blend of noises. Lars' heart went faster as he looked around, expecting there might be a riot soon. Rachelia took the matter at hand by snapping her fingers. A faint wave spread out and the entire place was silenced, regardless of whether the audience still moved their mouths to speak. Soon enough, they stopped trying."Now can we please continue the discussion in an orderly manner? Thank you." Rachelia snapped her fingers again, and the audienc
In the span of a week since his capture, Len had been subjected to many things that no man should ever experience, regardless of their innocence. As the result, Len had become nothing more than just a hollow husk of what he once was. On his calmer hours, he just stared on the wall, wishing for death that was even too luxurious.When not being cruelly toyed with, Len was kept in a dungeon deep underground. He had no idea where he ended up and where they put his mother away. He was left in a narrow space where the only way out was from a hole on the ceiling, essentially an oubliette.The oubliette was extremely narrow, leaving Len with only few inches to move around. He could try to sit, but the stench of his cellmate would be even unbearable. Len's only company in his moments of dark tranquility was a messy stack of human skeleton. Its muscles, skin and organs had long liquefied into dark mushy red on the floor.Sometimes Len talked to himself, but mostly he was busy staring at ev
Lars tried to make as little sound as possible climbing up old creaky stairs. He didn't want to alert the arguing parents that he heard from the inside of apartment. The stairs led to a rooftop where Lars was presented with breathtaking sight of Rukbat region that looked like spangled with thousand stars.The buildings looked come to life with their colorful signs and lamps, lighting up the nightfall. However, contrasting the bright starry city, the sky was bleak with thick clouds hovered above, once in a while beating with thunder.Lars gazed at the dark clouds that slowly pushed to east by unseen wind, and wondered whether it was an ill omen. He quickly shook it off and held his star necklace, praying that he could successfully do his part on that decisive day."You're ready?"Lars turned to Wilhelmina who just arrived from neighboring rooftop. He gave her his best smile that could convey confidence. The maid in blue smiled back and nodded. They had been assigned on a team to
"Um... who are you people?"The little boy stood before the three intruding Scions with his head tilted. Lars stammered to answer and he just looked at his teammates who were just as dumbfounded. They had expected something more malicious confronting them instead of an innocent looking boy.Lars turned to Wilhelmina nervously. "We're... uhh... the new cleaning service.""Really? You look at me and that's what you - oh what the hell, yes we are, sweetie."Edwin nodded a bit too much and too fast. "That's right. Your dad gave us his key and told us to look after you and the apartment while he's busy.""Oh... okay," the boy said.Edwin crouched and talked to the boy as Lars and Wilhelmina went to the bedroom and gone through Arjan's stuff. They checked the wardrobe, nightstand, drawers, everywhere that that could possibly hide something important."What the hell is up with that kid? I can't sense him," Lars whispered."I have no idea. That can't be Mr. Ramamurthy's son. As