Capítulo 14: Chapter 14: Back in Earth

A male employee of the NSA walked down the hallway carrying books. He arrived at his destination and knocked on the door. However, after a few minutes of no response, he pushed the door and peeked inside.

"Huh? He didn't come again? It's been three days already. What should I report to Captain Vanderheinz?"

The employee then walked away while scratching his head. He headed back to the office and saw a commotion.

"Hey, what's happening?" he asked to another. The latter was peeking above his desk partition with curious eyes, the same as him.

Without looking back, the other answered. "The daredevil is back, and he's making a ruckus after learning about the recent ZT appearing."

"What's wrong with it? Didn't the Kilo close it without any casualties?"

"I know, right? But I heard that he claimed ownership in that particular vortex. So, now he's mad that Commander Lan sent another team to handle it. Haa… they've been at it since earlier. What's with his obsession with that vortex anyway?"

The male employee gulped. He was tasked to monitor the progress of the newbie Seeker training under the said captain. How will he report it now that the captain was in a bad mood? Shaking his head, he sat on his desk and continued working, setting aside his worry.

The commotion finally died after an hour. The air on the whole floor was tense after Captain Vanderheinz walked out of the office of Commander Lan, followed by his team members. His face was indescribable, it was dark and clouded with his mist, covering his expression but anyone could tell either way.

The only reason the whole floor wasn't suffocating in that poisonous gas was the glowing green circle underneath his figure, following him as he walked as though he was an avatar in a game.

Behind was Allen Jose, looking exhausted. Floating above his right shoulder was a 2D green diamond-shaped the size of a card, and a circle on its center with the face of the captain. The circle underneath the target's figure was the barrier created by him.

The male employee gulped. If he wanted to avoid getting poisoned, he must report now while Seeker Allen was present. Determined, he stood and caught up with the leaving team.

"Ca…Captain Vanderheinz, e-excuse me, but I need to report something about Seeker Jade Dela Torre," the employee stammered. He made sure to stand behind Seeker Allen.

Mentioning the newbie Seeker, the captain halted. He looked at the nervous NSA employee. Some mist cleared the way, showing a bit of his infuriated face.

The employee trembled and quickly continued, "S-Seeker Jade hasn't come in for three days now, sir…"

"What do you mean?" the captain asked.

"He didn't come in for training, sir. I've been trying to contact him, but he's not answering. So, I think that he must have… uh, maybe fainted in your Sanctum, but I can't enter so…" the employee tried to explain calmly.

Sanctum – is a shelter provided by the UAO to special Seekers like Claude Vanderheinz. There are criteria to be 'special', but only the higher-ups in the UAO know what those criteria are. At present, there are only 17 Sanctums – owned by the Seekers considered to be at the top ranks.

In Alpha Team – 03 consisting of six members, four owned a Sanctum.

"Why would he be in the captain's Sanctum?" Allen, not one of the four, asked curiously.

The employee looked at Allen, baffled. He glanced at the captain but also looked away immediately.

Claude sighed. "He's living with me in the meantime. With how busy our schedules have been, I can only help him train his abilities at the Sanctum."

"But… won't it be dangerous training inside your shelter?"

"What's dangerous?" Claude scoffed. "Those blasted Sanctums are made of Stronixite. A meteor could fall on it and it'll still stand."

Allen hid his surprise. The UAO is very secretive when it comes to Special Seekers, and how they are treated is rarely in talks.

Stronixite is a metal, said to be the most indestructible substance that ever existed, and is impervious to any known force. It was reputed to absorb the impact of anything from energy blasts to seismic tremors.

So, to be living in a shelter made from that kind of material means they are protected by the government. One will think they are lucky, but why did the captain look as if he despised the idea?

"I'll check on him. But did he finish reading all those books already?" Claude asked.

The employee nodded. "It seems like he already did. I brought him other related books about Minders, but he didn't come."

"I see. Give me the books. I'll give them myself."

The employee fretted. "C-Captain, the books can't leave the building, so… I can't lend you them…"

The management is overly careful of leaking information, especially about Minders.

Those advocates for Awakener Rights will probably protest about how Minders are subjected to extreme ways to release contaminated energies they suck from a Seeker. But if the NMA limited the Minder's counseling sessions, then the possibility of a Seeker succumbing to his nightmare might increase.

Minders have to sacrifice for the Seekers that save the world. But not everyone can accept that.

Claude grimaced. He turned and walked away. The employee sighed in relief and went back to his work.

---

I tossed the book aside after skimming over it. I don't know how long I've been trapped inside this place, but I've managed to find a pretty stone displayed in a glass case. When I touched it, the symbols engraved on the podium magically translated into my head.

I could read it.

Rune of Babel – allows the bearer to understand and speak any language when activated.

It is what just I need. It's just a small stone—light, smooth, black, and the white, weird symbol engraved on it glows faintly. I pocketed it and decided to try. Soon enough, I was buried in these books.

"Those are section headers…"

I read the signboards stuck at the edge of every bookshelf. I've been reading books in the horror section, but I haven't found something interesting. Maybe there's no more terrifying than getting trapped inside a strange, eerie, library.

I walked around. I'm still wondering why I feel light like I can float anytime, and I don't even feel hungry. I don't get tired even.

"This place is so strange…"

I grabbed a book… from the romance section. All book covers are almost the same, just varying in the shade of color, and there were no images, just titles in different fonts. Even a blurb you're supposed to find on the back cover is missing, and there aren't names of authors included.

You have to open and read a few chapters, maybe up to ten or twenty, to finally get a picture of what the book is about.

"Man in Gorgeous Disguise. It's a romance book about a… wait, for real?" I leaned on the shelf and read a few chapters.

The first chapters talked about the tyranny of a prince who became king after slaughtering all men who carry royal blood, except one. A young prince who was raised as a girl—Ilya Noir Rozentine, aka Eleanor.

It's a thick book, and I think the one I'm holding is the first volume. I searched for the second one, but what I grabbed was another. When I skimmed over the pages, I was surprised to see that more than half of the book was blank.

"Is it unfinished?"

I turned to the last page with letters, but I almost screamed and threw the book after seeing the letters added to the last one as if something invisible was writing on it.

Stiffly and slowly, I closed the book, rubbed my eyes, and inhaled deeply, before opening the book on the same page… and words kept appearing, forming sentences, paragraphs, and soon jumped on the next page.

I was beyond astonished and… a bit frightened. I stacked the book above the books, not in its original place, but it flew and put itself on that spot.

"Hey… whomever you are… show yourself."

I walked backward, without my eyes leaving the spot I stood before. I kept calling out in the air, but only silence answered me. It's getting frustrating. If someone's here with me, I'd like to ask how to go back.

But only books moved and now they even became more aggressive. I ducked when a book almost hit my face. Then, I dashed to the round room and closed the door. Without anything to sit on, I slumped on the floor, panting.

My eyes roamed the room again, thinking about how it got brighter, but the torches remained the same. Only then did I realize that the gaps between the lid and the casket were glowing.

Slowly, I rose. I inspected the eerie coffin and then slowly lifted the lid. I was blinded by the bright light that came from below, and I felt like I was getting sucked in.

I tried to fight back, but the suction was strong. Before I knew it, I was lying inside the coffin, facing the mirror reflecting someone's face. My breath was caught in my throat.

I was like lying on top of a corpse! I pushed myself up, hard, but then, I just got dizzy after hitting the back of my head above.

The fucking lid was already closed! I flipped over and tried to kick it up, but my vision turned blurry and after that… I don't know what happened.

When I came back to my senses, I was on the cold floor, looking at the trusses. I heard footsteps, and then someone gasped and quickly knelt beside me.

"Sir Jade, the house isn't finished yet! But you're already sleeping on the rough floor, are you that excited?! Or you don't have a house? Don't worry, sir, we'll finish it as soon as possible!"

Damn. I must have looked like a desperate fool.