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93.33% Legacies: Infinite Journey / Chapter 13: In Search of Solutions

Kapitel 13: In Search of Solutions

[01/02/2030, Salvatore Boarding School]

In his room, with the door leading to the balcony open as the cold winds of later winter entered the room, John sat by the desk in his room. He held a pen in his hand, with the object constantly moving as the paint from it gave color to the letters and images the boy drew on the blank pages of his book.

He enjoyed the silence which permeated the room, the silence that permitted him to think out loud his thoughts and not be disturbed. 

"Come in." He suddenly said.

Next moment, his door opened, revealing a beautiful and graceful figure 

All over the world, there were few people he wouldn't care to interrupt his studies, with the girl entering his room being one of them.

"Any progress?" Hope asked. Her words' meaning is obvious to the boy. 

"Nothing." John said, shaking his head. "There is no visible way to stop one of the Saltzman twins from dying in 6 years." He explained.

Two days ago, Hope's aunt, Freya Mikaelson, notified them of what is the curse that afflicted the twins of the Gemini Coven, also known as "The Merge". And the news terrified one of them, whilst the other faked his terror, but was genuinely worried about the twins.

"The Merge" can be said to be a curse and a tradition. Every couple of twins born in the Gemini Coven must merge at the age of 22 or before, resulting in the twins performing a ritual in which the winner absorbs the loser's magic and characteristics of their personality, with the latter dying in the process. 

The knowledge of the curse and what it is was enough reason for John to search for a way to find a way to break it without the need of hiding it.

However, it seemed even with him "knowing" about the curse was not enough for him to magically find a way to break it. Right now, he only knew one.

"However, that doesn't mean there isn't a way to break the curse." John leaned his body forward, interlocking his hands as he got Hope's attention. "They will die. But rise again as vampires."

Listening to the answer, Hope nodded in silence understanding why this would work. "The twins have until they turn 22 years old. If they stop aging…" 

"They don't have to merge." John said, crossing his arms over his chest. "And since they are siphoners, one of the twins would become a witch-vampire hybrid. This would probably be enough to break their link to the semi-extinct coven, and thus the curse as well."

"A new Heretic…" John's words suddenly reminded Hope of the coven described in the files of Mystic Falls, written by Alaric. Exiled siphoners from the Gemini Coven who would later be known as the Heretics, a witch-vampire hybrid coven. "How certain you are of that working?" 

"Sincerely? I have no idea." John shrugged. "We are lacking examples. Apparently, no member of the Heretics had a twin sibling, and the only hybrid who had a twin was Malachai Parker, but his situation is too complicated. Before he even turned, he had already merged with another twin from his coven and had to take the magic from his twin to successfully complete the merge. But, since our twins are siphoners, even if we had a willing to die gemini twin, the other couldn't hand their magic since they don't have one. In the end, one would have to die anyway." He explained, showing the problems his idea had. "Unfortunately, one of them becoming a vampire is the best option we have right now."

"I bet Dr. Saltzman already thought about it once. And knowing him, he drank the whole night to get that thought away from his mind." Hope commented, her expression a worried one.

Alaric Saltzman is someone who interacts with all supernatural species and is comfortable around them, but that doesn't imply he'd feel comfortable knowing one of his two daughters would become a vampire, an immortal being driven by bloodlust. The sheer fear of one of them becoming a ripper or someone as Klaus or Kol Mikaelson terrifies him.

"If one of them had to become a vampire, Lizzie would probably be the best." John said, his comment drawing a questioning look from Hope, as if she was asking if he was right in the head. "Believe me. Someone with a restricted personality like Josie would be worse. Imagine, someone like her who holds herself too much suddenly has all her emotions, sentiments and desires amplified by the vampiric nature. These amplified desires would be enough to break the barriers she put on herself, and to reconstruct them would be harder than ever." John commented, his words making sense to Hope now. "She probably would follow a path similar to Stefan Salvatore." He added.

Thinking about it, remembering the personality shown by the man in his diaries and how he was described in the files of the town, Hope had to agree there was this possibility. "You are probably right…" Hope said, letting out a tired sigh. "What are we gonna do?" 

"I know one thing we can do to find better solutions." John said, getting Hope's attention. "We need to know the origin of the Gemini Coven's Curse. We need to know where it came from." He stated with confidence, knowing they could learn more about the situation if they learned more about how the Gemini Coven was cursed.

And Hope agreed with him, knowing there was no better thing to do. "It seems like the best thing we can do right now. It may be hard since the coven is 2.000 years old and much of their ancient history is probably lost, but we can try to find something." Hope said, rising from the bed. "I am going to start now." 

"Wait, wait." John suddenly said. "Come here." He patted his tight.

Hope gave him a questioning and daring look. 

"What? We sleep in the same bed. Are you shy from sitting on my lap?" John said.

Rolling her eyes, Hope walked to him and sat down on his tight. "What is it?" She asked, putting her arms around his neck.

"I think we've been too focused the last two days about the twins, then I thought we could think a little about us, you know?" John said, his fingers sliding over her smooth cheek. "I was thinking we could take tonight to have some fun. We could go to the town and do something."

"I think you are forgetting that I am the lonely girl since you are apparently the former introvert guy. Even though you spend 90% of your time in your room, my room or the library." Hope said, a playful smile on her beautiful face.

Her words made John chuckle, agreeing with her. "I know, we are not the most socializing people in the world. But I also want to experience a few things with you. You know, having a date with the girl I like seems like a great idea to me." 

"Hm… then I am the girl you like." Hope teased him, her face approaching his as she closed her eyes, her lips touching his. 

Enjoying the feeling of her lips for a moment, John nodded his head when they parted. "Don't be silly. If I didn't like you, I would be the dumbest man in the world." 

"Yes, you would." She agreed, taking his lips for a brief moment once again. "Then, where are we going tonight?" 

"I was thinking about the Mystic Grill. Everyone talks about the place." 

"A family restaurant and a bar. How romantic…" Hope teased.

"You have no idea." John said, both of them engaging in a kiss again. This time, their lips were not the only part of their bodies who joined the kiss. Their tongues came in contact with each other as one or another invaded the other's mouth or clashed halfway. 

The deep kiss continued for a long time, enough for Hope to use her flexibility and strength to change her position from sitting on one of his tights to standing in front of him, her arms around his neck and legs crossed around his torso as he continued sitting on his chair.

"How about…" Hope said, her words interrupted before she completely retreated from the kiss. "We do something else?"

"Like what?" John asked.

"Tomorrow, me and you will go to Richmond. I will buy you a few things." Hope said, taking a look at his clothes.

"Hey, my clothes are fine." John said, faking taking offense.

Hope scoffed at that. "Yeah, if you consider all of them were worn by a magical hunter 15 years ago, they are in a fine condition." She said, "Not to mention there isn't one of them who seems about to rip apart every time you exercise." 

"Okay, maybe I could find new clothes." John said, agreeing with her. "I will give it to you. But, I am paying for the food. You are already doing too much for me." He added.

"Oh, and how are you going to pay for it, Mr. No-money?" Hope asked, mocking him for not having a single penny with him.

To that, John smiled mischievously. "I have my ways." 

"Okay…" Hope said, choosing to believe in him. 

Giving one last peck on his lips, Hope raised from his lap, swiftly moving her legs to stand up in front of him. "See you at 7:00 AM tomorrow? We'll rely on you to get there fast." 

"I will be up early." John said.

Looking at her figure as Hope left the room, John lifted his head and stared at the roof, thinking about one thing. I have to ask Alaric for a loan.

[Scene Break]

"No." Alaric said.

"Why not?" John asked.

"Because I don't want my student to repay me for taking gold out of someone's or the government's land." Alaric answered, giving him the reason why he wouldn't loan any money to John. "Look, if you promise to repay me fair and square, by working, I will lend you the money." 

"I'd rather fly to the nearest drug point and take their money before asking a vampire to compel them to find themselves a better life." John replied, not content by the idea of him working.

Right now, working would take him time from doing essential things, like searching for a solution to the twins' curse or his study about the physiology of the supernatural creatures. Which was progressing since he had plenty of examples. 

Not to mention he really had no need to work right now. He had a place and food provided, clothes and even a phone. 

"You will do no such thing." Alaric stated, taking a more authority tone.

"And I am not working either to pay a loan of a few hundred dollars." 

"Then no money." Alaric said with a shrug, acting as if he won. 

"You know I could just fly to international waters and extract some gold that belongs to literally no one and pay you, if you are so against me taking someone's gold, one that they will never learn about." 

"They will certainly not if you take it." Alaric said, a tired sigh coming out of his mouth. "Look, I don't want you to go out there using your powers. What do you think will happen if some satellite spots you flying over the ocean and taking out a few kilos of gold?" 

"Wouldn't happen. I can use my powers to spot artificial electromagnetic waves sent by the satellites and evade their scan or simply disrupt them. And if you don't think that's enough. I can go underwater and do it. It's not like a fucking sea turtle will report me to the government." John replied, giving more reasons why he could do it and for the man to accept his idea.

And listening to him, Alaric really couldn't think about one good reason for him not to do it but the usual excuses. 

"Sigh… You are going to give the same proposal to someone else if I don't accept, right?" 

"Right." 

"Is there some way for me to convince you to not use your powers?" 

"None if I don't really see any problem." John answered in a serious tone.

"Ah… I am getting too old for this bullshit." Alaric said, lying on his back on his chair. Then, he took his wallet and took out a few hundred bucks. He is the principal of a school full of witches from prominent covens, of course he is rich as well. "I want it paid with interest." 

"Okay, okay." John said, taking the money before storing it in his pocket, not even counting it. 

"You can go now." Alaric said, almost shooing John away with his hands. "I have work to do." 

However, John kept sitting on the chair. His expression changed into a serious one, the mood in the room immediately changing with that as Alaric noticed it. "What is it?" The Headmaster asked.

"Actually, we have one more thing to talk about." John said, interlocking his hands in front of him. "I know about the Merge." These words were spoken with perfect rhythm, with his voice not lagging on any part, just to show his seriousness about the subject.

And Alaric listened to him loud and clear, because his reaction was almost immediate as his gaze intensified. "How do you know about that?" He asked with authority, much clearer this time. To be honest, it was more of an order.

John didn't rush his words and calmly explained where he learned the knowledge from, recounting the story of how he figured out Penelope's tricks and Hope getting the diary. 

Listening to it, Alaric raised his hands to his head. His palms rubbed his temple and hair. "Does anybody else know?" 

"Only me and Hope. Penelope probably only knows it is a curse, not knowing the details, and even then she remained quiet. Everyone knows she is still into Josie and would prevent telling her something like this if the situation doesn't call." John replied to him.

"Good, good…" Alaric said, a little satisfied with that. "What… What are you gonna do with that information, exactly? Why did you tell me you know of it?" He asked.

"I wanna help." John said, leaning his body forward. "The twins are good girls, even if Lizzie tries not to." John decided to ignore Alaric's glare. "I don't want to see one of them dead. That's why I did some research the past few days." 

"And?" 

"Nothing." John shook his head. "I didn't find anything you probably didn't already do. The only possible way I could think of is one of them becoming a vampire." 

"And that's why you will never tell them about this, you understand me?" Alaric said, pointing at John. "I know my girls. They certainly would die for one another and become a vampire if that meant saving the other. Look, I dealt with vampires all my life. Originals, ancients, rippers. The last thing I want is for one of my daughters to live eternally drinking blood. Even the most remote chance of one of them turning off their humanity is enough for me to do unspeakable things." His words were heavy, carrying his intent in making the girls never find out about this possibility. Confirming something John already knew about, Alaric would do anything to save them and prevent them from becoming vampires.

"I know, me and Hope already agreed on that. Penelope is not a problem as long as we don't say a word to her. Keep her in the darkness. She probably thinks your daily behavior translates to the curse not being anything huge." John said, nodding his head. "As for your daughters becoming vampires, I don't wish that for them as well if it's not a very willing choice. That's why I decided to reveal to you that I know about the curse, so I can learn what you know and see if you have what I am after to find any information which can help." 

"And what is it exactly that you are after?" Alaric asked.

"I need to know more about the Gemini Coven." John replied. "It's a curse, right? So someone threw it at them. We just need to know who and how and we can see how to reverse it." 

"Too late on that. Thought of the same thing years ago." Alaric said, rising from his chair. He walked to one of his shelves and grabbed a book, tossing it on his table in front of John. "However, the history of the Gemini Coven is far too old. Much of it is lost. There are records of their history going as far as 2.500 to 3.000 years. However, everything after the 2.000 is basically speculation." Alaric said as he sat back, raising his hand to his chin, taking a contemplative stance. "And to make it worse, the Gemini Coven is dead. All great witch covens and even werewolf packs have tales, stories only told orally. Important ones about the coven and their history. And right now, all of those are lost as my psychopath brother-in-law killed them all." 

John listened to Alaric's words as he flipped the pages of the book, making use of his super speed to give it a quick look to see if he finds anything worthwhile. 

"But there are members, or at least former members, of the Gemini Coven alive, right? Valerie Tulle, one of the Heretics is alive, correct?" John said, asking a question he already knew the answer. As for implying Kai as well, he decided against it since it was never mentioned that Kai Parker was locked in a prison world again in the files compiled by Dr. Saltzman. For what everyone knew, he was dead. The only ones who knew he was alive almost forgot about him. 

"You deducted it from the books?" Alaric asked, referring to knowing Valerie was alive. He also didn't particularly imply she was alive. But he also didn't say the contrary.

"Yes." John nodded.

His answer brought a little smile to Alaric's face, satisfied by his student's deduction. However, that was not enough to overcome his own disappointment. "Unfortunately, as she was a siphoner, Valerie was kept out from the coven's traditions. She doesn't know any history I don't know." 

"Fuck." John cursed.

"Fuck it is." Alaric agreed, looking under his table and seeing the bottle of whiskey. Shaking his head, he returned to state at John. "Caroline is also searching for it. Something that could tell us more about the Gemini Coven's past. They are an at least 25 centuries old coven, their branches reaching every place in the world. Someone out there must know something about them. We just have to find it." 

"Hm… Ever asked for the Mikaelson's help? I know you and them don't get along but you also thought that a 1.000 years-old should know something." John said.

And to John's not much surprise actually, Alaric nodded. "I asked help from Hayley to see if they had anything when Hope enrolled in the school. Unfortunately, it seems taking everything away from everyone they killed didn't get them the knowledge I searched for." His words showed his disappointment. If his daughters could live because Klaus Mikaelson killed someone a few centuries ago and took everything away from them, he would honestly not care. He would gladly sleep with the weight in his consciousness if he knew his daughters could live happily.

"It seems we are really out of options." John said, now his turn to let out a sigh as he threw his back on the chair's back. "This is going to be harder than I expected."

Alaric scoffed at John's reaction. "Believe me, boy. I tried and searched every single thing possible to try to break this curse. It's not because you know that the solution will appear out of nowhere." 

Listening to it, John started to nod his head in agreement with Alaric. However, midway through his action, his mind seemed to grasp something.

Yes. Maybe me knowing doesn't help. But someone suddenly knowing sure can help. John thought, his mind running miles as he thought of something to maybe learn more about the curse. Or maybe those trapped may know. Thinking of this, John faked a sigh and rose from the chair. "I will go back to my studies, Dr. Saltzman. If for any reason I find anything, I will tell you." 

"Thanks, John. This means a lot." Alaric said.

Nodding at him, John walked out of the office. 

As he crossed the corridors, his steps resounded through the corridors as John found his way to the school's library. Quickly, he was standing in front of one of the school's showcases, the glass box displaying an ancient dagger from unknown origins.

Suddenly, John's vision changed, with the world gaining new lights. And with it the dagger changed.

Its rusty and bent outer appearance now shone with a radiant deep blue light that condensed around the knife. On its blade, glyphs and runes of all types were carved into it, translating a spell that was engraved into it. As for which exactly, the boy didn't know.

If we don't know. What about some of the beings locked inside Malivore? John thought, staring intently at the dagger. 

——————————————————

Notice: Just a note to thank you all for the support the last few days. The fanfic has grown immensely and I wanted to thank you all. Even though I can't publish as I want due to studies and training, I am still happy with the development of everything. One more thing, I decided to change a few things in chapter 10. None of the plot, just a change of characters. I decided to change Kaleb for Dorian, because I think it makes more sense in what was written and what I plan to work with these characters in the future. That's it for now. Thanks for all your support and help, see you soon - Author.


Kapitel 14: False Emptiness

[02:15, 02/02/2030, Salvatore Boarding School]

Silence scattered across the Salvatore School, with nothing more than the sound of the wind making its presence.

Throughout the corridors, someone could see no light coming from below the doors of any dorm, a probable indication that all students were sleeping.

But if someone entered the last room in the highest floor of the dorms, they could see that someone, a boy, was still up and awake.

The boy was reading books at this hour, writing notes and thinking about theories, making use of the silence of the dawn and enjoying the chilling cold of the night.

Bzz!

However, his calm mood was broken when his phone on the table started to vibrate, dragging his attention to it.

Reaching out to it, John wondered who was calling him, since he had only six contact numbers saved in his phone. And looking at who was calling him, he immediately replied to the call. But before he could say anything, a hurried voice came from the other side.

"John, I need you to listen to me attentively." Rebekah's voice was concerning and rushed. Her tone worried. "This concerns Hope's life."

Her words also got all of John's attention, leading him to rise from his seat immediately. "I'm listening." He said.

"There is a vampire on your way. An ancient one. A former enemy of my brother. He wants to-"

"I already have an idea why." John said. He didn't need much more to know the vampire was coming for Hope's life. "Where is he coming from?" He asked seriously, opening the doors to the balcony.

"Northeast, we learned he just arrived in Washington D.C. Freya is preparing a locator spell to better track him." Rebekah said, preparing to say more when she heard something from the other side of the phone. "Boom!"

"John?!" Rebekah asked hurriedly when listening to what seemed like an explosion.

"I am here." He replied, already kilometers away from the school. "I am going towards Washington right now. I should be there in 10 minutes. maybe less."

The other side of the call remained silent for about two seconds when listening to John's words. Although the time is not long, considering the situation, it is overly long. "Rebekah? Are you still there?"

"Yes, sorry." She replied. "I was just not expecting you to be nearly as fast as us."

John understood her surprise and who she was referring to. "Let's focus on the problem now. I need to know the exact present location of the vampire."

"Call Freya, she must have performed the spell I requested by now." Rebekah said, but her words didn't end. "And John, let me remind you one thing. The vampire, Carcius is his name, won't hesitate to try to kill you and my niece. So, if you can kill him, kill him. Or at least hold him until we arrive, Marcel is already on his way." With those words said, Rebekah didn't wait for the boy to reply before she ended the call.

Her words made the running mind of John slow down a little, the thought of killing someone calming his mind in a strange way.

Am I ready to kill? John asked himself, the thought weighing in his mind.

However, things changed when he thought of something else. His mind started to play tricks with him, displaying the disturbing image of never seeing that figure again, that face. The smile that warmed the moon and the blue crystal eyes that cooled the most of the agitated minds. The thought of never seeing them again, of them disappearing into oblivion started to consume his mind. And that resulted in one thing, the sentiment of despair rising in his mind.

The earth will burn before that happens. John thought. His mind displays an unfitting calmness to his words, just like the calm before the storm.

Going through his short contact list, John called Freya. And to his surprise, she didn't accept the call at first, worrying him.

Calling her a second time, John waited 20 seconds before she finally answered it.

"I don't want to sound rude, but why did you take so long to accept the call?" John asked.

"There was a problem with the spell." Freya said. In her house, she sweeps a single drop of sweat off her forehead. "There was a powerful spell around Carcius. I needed to change a few things to bypass the spell around him which was hiding his location from me." She explained.

But her words didn't bring much relief to John. "Then he has the support of a witch."

"More like a coven. The spell was no joke. I had to try a little to deal with it." Freya says, her words not arrogant despite saying she nulled a spell cast by an entire coven alone.

John remained silent after her words, deciding to speak only a few moments later. "There are a lot of people who want Hope dead, right?"

"Many." Freya said, her voice not the most joyful one when saying that. "There is no shortage of prophecies and rumors about my niece around the world. All of them paint her in a bad light. And considering my brother's retrospective, it's not hard for others to believe them. The problem is that my brother died. When Klaus was alive, few were crazy enough to attempt anything. The title of 'Great Evil' served for something." Freya actually chuckled at that. "However, now that the fact he is dead spreads across all continents, there are some crazy people who wish to make sure those prophecies don't become true. Whilst others just wish to end the bloodline of my brother due to his sins."

"That's what you guys have been doing all these years? Protecting Hope from all kinds of crazy people who wish to harm her?" John asked.

"She is our family. We will go through hell itself if it concerns her safety." Freya said, expressing her utmost care for Hope and her family.

And John must admit, her words sounded the most sincere ones he ever heard in all his life. Maybe it is because he watched what this family went through or Freya is just that good in expressing herself, but he didn't doubt her a single second after listening to her words.

"Change the call into a video one. I will share with you the map in which I cast the locator spell." Freya said, getting John's attention.

Listening to her, John did as she said.

On his phone, he could see a huge and detailed map of the east side of the United States, with a red line of blood crossing the state of Maryland and going south.

"Thanks, Freya." John said.

Suddenly, the air around him overlapped more onto itself as the pressure around him intensified.

Boom!

[Scene Break]

Whoosh!

An after image. That was all a human could see if they could even notice the phantom in the woods near Interstate 95, crossing the northern region of the State of Virginia.

Shit! I have to hurry. Marcel Gerard must be already in my track. Fuck! If they didn't run, I could've killed those three newborns before they alerted him. The vampire thought in a hurry as he used all his strength to run across the state. He could feel it, the mark in his chest lost its effectiveness.

However, he had a choice to make. Feed and get enough energy to run hundreds of miles without rest, or try to go after one of the newborn vampires whilst the other two alert Marcel. In the end, Marcel would be alerted anyway, the difference would be that by feeding sooner, he still had most of a chance to get to the Mikaelson girl and kill her.

And after killing her, Carcius didn't care about what happened to his life. Because for the past six hundred years, all he cared about was his vengeance. To the point he didn't care if the dry blood on his lips were from men, women, elder or young. All he cared about was his objective, his revenge against the man who took everything away from him.

The wait is over. He stated in his mind, the mere remembrance of that fateful day replaying in his mind.

Corpses everywhere, his parents, brother, wife and friends, all their bodies scattered across the family's state as that man stood tall among the bloody land.

"What a pity…." That man said, those words cursing him to this day. The anger those words brought to him made veins appear under his eyes and grit his teeth.

A pity an innocent girl will die for your fault, Klaus! Carcius clenched his jaw as he thought to himself, his intentions not meant to resound through the world. However, there was an answer to his words.

"I don't think so."

The sudden words stroke Carcius' mind, not understanding where those words came from.

However, not a second later, the source of those words presented itself as a strong grip surrounded Carcius' neck, his body coming to a halt as he was suddenly lifted in the air.

Looking down, Carcius froze for a moment when seeing the bright golden eyes staring at him. The black of his pupils seemed like a black hole, darker than the normal eye, sucking all existence around it.

"Who, who aare you?" Carcius pushed these words out of his throat, having difficulty talking due to the strength applied around it.

"Just a boy who cares about the girl who you were intending to kill." Those words brought a frightening dread to the vampire, and this sentiment proved true the next moment as a silencing pain striked his heart, literally.

Looking down, Carcius looked at the arm going through his chest, the blood dripping from the hole.

Raising his head slightly, Carcius stared at the boy. "Y-you know who she is? Wh-what she is?" He asked with a weak voice.

"Yes, I know." John nodded, his eyes locked in the injury he caused. "I also know who you are, Carcius." John said, his eyes rising to meet the vampire's. "You chose to hide from the one you hated, but decided to go after his daughter in an attempt to achieve a fake revenge. One you couldn't even think about when he was alive. This just proves how much of a small and weak man you are."

These words worsened the pain the vampire was already feeling, as if the one who spoke them just knew about what happened that day. He knew what these words meant to him.

"You…"

Crack!

Before he could continue his words, Carcius felt bones behind his lungs and heart breaking, the arteries of his heart ripping apart. Suddenly, going over his neck, he could feel the cold breath of death down on him.

"No…" Was his last word. His skin turned gray and black veins took over his body.

John remained silent as his grip over the heart of the vampire softened, the heart falling down on the ground before he retreated his arm, now covered in blood. The same of the grass beneath him as droplets of blood fell down on it, with the body falling down as well when the young man let go of his grip over it.

With the death of the vampire, an eerie silence prevailed in the woods. The only thing that could be heard was the wind howling as the young man stood there in silence.

As his eyes stared at the dead body of the vampire, the only sentiment John could describe having right now was emptiness.

And John was wondering to himself why the lack of it. He asked himself multiple times throughout his life what would happen if he killed someone some day and what would his reaction be. Sometimes, the answer would be sad, satisfied or even disgusted. And even nothing. But now that he really didn't feel anything, he was wondering why.

It took some time for him to understand why he was feeling nothing. Because of the scenarios he played in his mind.

He always thought that if someday he killed someone, it would be to seek revenge or even an accident in a fight. Who knows?

But now, when seeing the dead vampire on the ground and thinking over the reason why he did it, he understood why he felt nothing. Because he didn't immediately remember why he was doing it. The image of him killing someone blinding him for a moment.

He did it to prevent the image he saw present in the mind of the vampire from happening. To protect the smile that brightens every one of his days and brings a certain comfort and warmth to his heart.

When thinking of these reasons, the emptiness simply disappeared, replaced by what he could best describe as relief… He was relieved the one precious to him is safe now. He was relieved he was strong enough to do what it takes to protect the most important person to him in this world.

"Ah…" John let out a breath, raising his eyes to stare at the starry night above him. He contemplated the stars for a moment, something that always soothed his mind and heart, before his gaze fell to the ground again. "I should see if he has something important on him. Something that can lead to what witches helped him."

Bending his knees, John started to search through the vampire's body.

The vampire wore simple clothes and was barefoot, probably getting rid of anything that could delay him in his run. Enough that besides his clothes, the men only had two things in him, a daylight ring and a small, worn yellow paper.

Opening the folded paper, John saw a draw. An elegant woman in noble dress. And she was smiling.

The young man's eyes looked between the dead vampire and the woman in the paper, coming to an understanding of who she was.

After love, there is hatred. John thought, folding the paper and holding it for a while. In the end, he put it in his pocket. He did the same for the daylight ring.

"Nothing that seems related to the cloaking spell on him." John muttered, finding nothing else on him.

However, John didn't stop looking over. After all, from his recent knowledge, he could still find something in Carcius' body. And considering he was in search of something magical, there was still another possibility of him finding something not as simple as an object in the vampire's body.

With a hold over the vampire's shirt, John ripped the fabric, revealing the gray body of the vampire, but also something else.

"As expected, they engraved the cloak spell on him." John said, looking at the mark on Carcius' chest.

Immediately, John didn't recognize the mark. But after a few looks, he recognized a few runes and symbols which were part of the mark as a whole.

"Southern Europe? Maybe eastern too." John deduced, passing through the knowledge he had of what he could recognize from the small parts that made the entirety of the mark. "Hm…" John hummed thoughtfully. "Rebekah said he is an ancient vampire, so at least a few hundred years old? Probably. His name sounds roman. Magic from southern and eastern Europe… The chances of him being someone from the now extinct Byzantine Empire is high." Was John's deduction, his thoughts logical.

After guessing the man's origin, something he could already know if he had asked Freya earlier during the call, but he was so focused on the line of blood moving over the map that he just forgot, John stopped to study a little the mark on the man, trying to understand more of its capabilities.

But whilst he did it, John's hearing picked up a boom sound approaching his location, followed by a whooshing one coming from the same direction that Carcius did.

However, different from Carcius, the person approaching was considered someone really strong by John.

"I can say you are Marcel Gerard, Rebekah's husband, right?" John looked up, his eyes meeting the dark piercing eyes of the man standing before him.

He had dark skin and a strong toned physique, his stance tall and full of confidence. His face was well-defined, with a strong jawline and high cheekbones. His hair was neatly trimmed and styled short, enhancing his polished appearance. He behaved like a refined man even unconsciously, a second nature he acquired after decades in the position of a leader, a great one at that.

But his handsome features were not what caught John's attention the most. What did was the pure and strong magical energy coursing through his body, making him stand out like the full moon in the night in John's vision.

No wonder he is stronger than an Original. John thought, rising up. However, he is still like a candle compared to Hope's.

"And you must be the boy dating the girl I consider a sister." Marcel said, a charismatic smile on his face as he spoke out those words.

"I wish we would meet under better circumstances." John said, stretching out his hand. "John Neo, a pleasure."

"Marcel Gerard, but you already know that." Marcel took John's hand, shaking it. Then, he looked below at the body of Carcius. "It seems he had no chance."

"Yes." John agreed. "I was searching for something in him. See if he had anything that can help us learn the witches who helped him."

"It seems you found something." Marcel said, bending on one knee to see the mark on the dead vampire's chest.

"I don't recognize it completely. Just a few things that indicate it's from eastern or southern european origin." John said.

"Your school is not exactly the greatest when it comes to teaching certain magical branches in it." Marcel said, standing up. "It is a 'Circle of Absence'."

"Care to say more?"

"I don't know much. You are right about its origin. The witches from the Byzantine Empire used it to keep themselves hidden during the dissolving of the empire to escape against possible hunts from enemy covens of other countries. They also used it to know if something happened to one of them, as their death would lead to the disappearance of the mark and thus alert them back." Marcel said, giving a brief explanation of what he knew about. "Also, it's effectiveness is good to the point the magic needed to perform is on the limit of being catalogued as Black Magic." Marcel said.

"Shit." John muttered, understanding the weight of Marcel's words.

If the covens were casting spells in the limit of what are considered Black Magic, that means they are on the brink of defying nature's laws, something sacred for witches and warlocks throughout the world, to kill Hope. Basically, they had almost no restraint on what they could do. And everybody knows that a witch without restraint is not exactly the easiest opponent to deal with.

"Yeah, things are not easy. At least that reduces the possibilities of who did this. Although many wish for the death of my sister, there aren't still many willing to go that far." Marcel said, grabbing Carcius's body and throwing it over his shoulder. "I will take the body to Freya. Maybe she can perform a spell to find who casted the circle on him. Thanks for the help, John." Marcel said, about to run from here.

"Before you go." John got his attention. "Tell Rebekah and Freya that if another incident like this happens, you can call me. After all, I also wish to see no harm come to Hope." John said, doing his best to convey how much he wished to help regarding any matters related to Hope.

And his words seemed to convey his thoughts as Marcel nodded. "We'll be in touch."

"Also… how did you do it?" John asked, with Marcel not following right after. "How did you run at the speed of sound? It shouldn't be possible, right? I mean, friction should be enough to burn you…" Explained the boy, remembering the sound of air ripping apart when Marcel was coming.

A look of understanding appeared in Marcel's expression, with him taking something out of his pocket. "Freya did it. It's an amulet which prevents my body from burning every time I run too fast. But the faster I run, the faster the magic in it depletes. And since I cause too much destruction with every step, I basically only use it when in uninhabited, or there would be holes in every street I run." Marcel said, putting back the amulet.

"How long has it been since you can run at the speed of sound?" John asked.

"Ever since I took the Serum to become the Beast." Marcel said. "But besides me, my wife and her brothers, there aren't many Vampires that can do that. Only those around 1.000 and 900 years old. And they don't even dare to use one of it. After all, if the magic in the amulet suddenly goes out without them noticing, they will burn immediately after and since they are normal vampires, they will die." He explained. "Any more questions?"

"Many." John nodded. "But, I know you want to go. So let's end it here for today."

Marcel chuckled at that. "If you are curious, just call. You have Rebekah's number after all."

"Okay. The same to you." John said.

"Then, I will see you soon. Bye, John." Woosh! And then, he disappeared. A few seconds later, John could hear the loud sounds coming from hundreds of meters away.

Amidst the woods, alone, John let out a single breath. "Time to go back."

Boom!

Following his words, he broke the sound barrier as he rose to the air.

[Later, 02/02/2030, New York City, New York]

In the "City That Never Sleeps", tranquility wasn't exactly one of its strongest points. Every day, every hour, something was happening in New York. From normal parties to huge events involving world famous figures, the city was always bustling with sounds and lights, showing the world why it was fit for its name.

However, contrary to the city's cheerful mood, a single room in one of New York's most expensive suits was silent.

That was, until the door to the main room opened. "Everything is done." Marcel said as he entered the apartment.

His words were directed at the beautiful blond woman standing nearby the room's great glass wall, giving her a perfect view of the "The Big Apple".

The woman stood there, in silence for a few moments. "How did he do?" Rebekah asked, her words calm.

"Carcius had no chance." Marcel said, approaching the drink trolley they had in the room. He served himself a bourbon, pouring the drink in a crystal glass tumbler. "Do you want one?" Marcel asked.

"Yes, please." Rebekah nodded.

Pouring another glass, Marcel walked to her side and handed to her the glass, observing her watch the content in it before doing the same as well.

"When I arrived, Carcius was already dead. A hole in where his heart should be." Marcel said, taking a sip from his drink. "Clean injury, and no sign of a fight around the place. That is, Hope's boyfriend dealt with a 600-year-old vampire with the same ease as we do."

"He is not her boyfriend, yet." Rebekah said. "Hope told me he hadn't asked her yet and neither did she. Which seriously, I think it's ridiculous considering both sleep on the same bed."

"I know we are not the best example of a healthy normal couple, but don't you think that's too fast?" Marcel asked, turning his head to her.

Looking at him, Rebekah chuckled. "I don't think so… Actually, ever since Hope and John have met, you can see the difference he made in her life. Through the words she types, her voice in the calls or her expressions in video calls." Rebekah trailed her finger over the edge of the glass in her hand. "She is happy, Marcel. Happy in a way she hasn't been in a long time."

"Yeah, she is…" Marcel nodded. "Let's make sure her happiness is not disturbed." The man said, raising his glass.

Rebekah smiled, and raised her as well, a tingling sound spreading through the room as both glasses clashed softly.

After taking one more sip from her drink, Rebekah returned her gaze to the city below. "Do you feel a little guilty? By purposefully letting Carcius pass by our defenses to see if John had the guts to kill for Hope?" She asked.

"If we did it for any other reason, I would feel guilty. But for this one, I actually feel completely fine with our choice. We needed to make sure he was ready to protect Hope if we can't." Marcel said. "The attacks may have lessened in the past two years, but we can't let our guard down. We both know most of Klaus' enemies are still out there. They may have forgotten things in the last centuries or at least have the decency of not executing their revenge on an innocent girl, but we must prepare for the worst. And if it means we forced a young boy to kill for the first time, then I think we made the right choice."

"You are right." Rebekah nodded. "How was he when you arrived? Was he shocked by the sentiment of taking a life?" She asked after a few moments.

"He seemed… relieved. I don't know why, but it seemed he had come into an agreement with himself." Marcel replied, his mind replaying his memory of the boy's expression.

Listening to this, Rebekah nodded. "That's good." She said.

"Do you think he will figure out all of this was a plot?" Marcel asked.

"If he is as smart as Hope describes him, he probably will." Rebekah nodded, a small smile on her face. "I just wonder how long it will take for him to figure it out."

[Salvatore School]

With his feet touching the floor, John silently landed inside his room, not making a single sound to wake his neighbors. Thankfully, I used magic to prevent the sound of breaking the sound barrier reaching the school. John thought, using his senses to make sure no one was awakened throughout the school.

Immediately after, John started to walk to his bathroom. Taking out his clothes, he quickly found himself under the cold water coming out from the shower.

The low temperature of the water cooled his mind, the instinctual and sentimental thoughts about protecting Hope no matter what started to scatter. His mind becoming more logical again, and his mind returning to this state led to a thought surging in his mind. What happened tonight… I think they planned all of this. This theory, the more John thought about it, the more he believed in it.

Marcel's speed, Carcius' speed, the location of both when Rebekah called him, considering all these variables and more, John was sure that the Mikaelson Family didn't need his help. Even with the cloaking spell over the vampire was not enough to stop Freya from locating him quickly. And even if she couldn't, since they knew who the target was, Marcel could arrive at the school first before Carcius and work from there. The spell only worked to stop someone from locating the other through Magic, it didn't hide their presence or anything, as John located Carcius immediately as soon as his presence entered the range of his senses. So, as long as Marcel arrived at the school, he could use his senses to locate Carcius and kill him.

No matter how many times he replayed this scenery in his mind or tried to think and included possible variables that could possibly appear, the Mikaelson Family never needed him to kill Carcius. They could deal with it just as easily as him.

Then, this could only mean one thing. I was being tested? John thought, finding the idea the most probable of all.

Did they want to see if I was willing to kill to protect Hope, or if I had the power to do it? John thought calmly. Normally, when guessing they were being tested in such ways, others would probably get mad or lash out at who tested them. John, however, wasn't bothered by it.

Well, maybe a little since it involved Hope's life. But regarding him, he was in fact thankful for this. Because tonight, he learned more about himself. He answered a question that always stayed in his mind. Tonight, he learned he had the will to kill to protect those he cherishes. And for that, he was thankful for the Mikaelsons, it being a test or not. In the end, it doesn't matter. Carcius wanted to kill Hope. She is safe now, that's all that matters.

After a few minutes, John left the shower. Using his abilities, the water on him dried immediately.

He grabbed a single pair of shorts in his closet before wearing it and jumping on his bed, the comfort of it calming down his mind and relaxing his body.

I should sleep. I have a date tomorrow. John thought, quickly falling asleep on his bed.

———————————————————

Sorry for the lateness for a new chapter. Busy week and lot of tests. Could finish the chapter just now and had to take a look at it to correct a few things. Also, I am thinking over at what things I can change in the world, making certain characters more worthy of their statements. I think that's the word. I am also thinking of things about the world development and what I can do considering all possibilities. Anyway, I have many ideas and trying my best to integrate them at the story. If you also have some, share it here so we can discuss. Anyway, thanks for the support these past few days. You guys don't know just how much it improves my day seeing you guys commenting just a "thanks for the chapter" or donating power stones. I am grateful for that. Will try to upload more chapters this week. Thanks for everything - Author.


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