Chapitre 77: Micah - 8.0
The boy looked up with wide eyes, hesitating for a moment before speaking. I could not hear their words over the sounds of moving carts and people. The warden glanced down at the boy. He paused, shifting the weight of the crate on his shoulder before opening his mouth to reply.
The boy nodded eagerly, his short olive-green hair shifting with his movement. The warden turned slightly, scanning the area before pointing with a nod. He gestured directly toward me. The boy followed the warden's motion, his gaze pairing to my own.
I think they exchanged a few more words. Then, the warden gave a brief nod.
The boy took off, weaving through the debris and activity of the reconstruction , making his way toward me with some sense of agency. As he approached, he called out, his voice small but determined.
"Lucius Hadriana, it's m-m-my.. my pleasure, mis-mister…" The young man fumbled over his words, clearly nervous. He words carried a slight nasality to them, like he had a breathing sickness.
"Micah? Micah Morley," I replied, extending my hand. "Are you alright?"
"I-I-I-I am..." he said, adjusting his clothes and dusting them off. "I-I just s-so-sometimes."
He began to breath heavily, stumbling over his words with long draws of air. He cupped his hands over his mouth, green light peaking through the cracks of his fingers.
"I g-ga-ge-get s-s-stuck with my words." He paused to breath for several seconds.
Lucius glanced around, his eyes darting nervously over the bustling crowds that filled the streets. "W-w-wh-where will I b-b-be working from? F-f-f-few-er... distractions."
I noted the slight fear in his eyes and gestured for him to follow. "The workshop.... Follow me."
As we walked across the former city to the barracks, I noticed his incredulous look, sizing me up.
I entered first and cleared off my desk, pouring everything into the scraps of space left in my bracelet. The new kid followed behind me.
"Q-qu-quite the s-s-s-smell," Lucius disgustedly said.
He sent a wave of green light over everything in the shop, sniffing deeply afterwards.
"Quite the improvement." He mumbled.
"Well, Lucius, let's get to work," I said, rolling up my sleeves.
"Wait. 'Let's' as in 'let us'? No, no, no. No! Me. Just m-m-me. Alone. B-b-b-by myself. No one else," he protested, his eyes wide with alarm.
I raised an eyebrow, taken aback by his vehement refusal. "Don't like the way I look? We have a lot to do and not equivalent time."
Lucius shook his head vigorously. "I work alone. Too many people... it's distracting, and I can't focus."
I crossed my arms, considering his words. "Alright, I understand needing space to concentrate. I value it myself, but we need to coordinate our efforts. I have already been working on this assignment for several cycles. Trust me. I do not want a partner as much as you, but it is simply more efficient to combine our minds."
Lucius nodded, his expression sharpening. "I know. I-I... I just... I need t-t-to do things my way."
"And that's fine," I replied, trying to maintain patience. "Everyone needs their own way. If you insist that will take some time. Not everyone has their own homes, let alone commercial or auxiliary buildings. So you can work in here with me or outside on the street."
His eyebrows quivered, clearly flummoxed at being coerced into working with me. We stared at each other, refusing to yield our positions. I scratched at my chin, mulling over possible solutions. Master wanted this, not me. Of course. I built a basement once, and I can build a basement again. I cannot handle any distractions as well. I just finished the defense work and now I need to focus on my personal agenda. I will leave him with the chore of design as well as the blame for running past the deadline.
"No, you're right. Have this space. I will relocate," I said. "Aetherhaven, down to alleys, we need by the end of the week."
Rust my sword if he has the documents by then.
"S-s-s-sure," Lucius stammered.
He engrossed himself with his pens and papers, scratching down ideas and measurements. He unchained his compass from his necklace and began to clutch it as I closed the door behind me. I watched him for a moment, noting the way he seemed to draw comfort from the instrument.
Lucius's hands moved with surprising precision as he worked, his eyes focused and intense. Despite his earlier hesitation, there was a certain grace in the way he handled his tools, a clear indication of his expertise.
I spent the next few days digging out a pit, ten feet deep, ten feet wide, and twenty feet long. The work was arduous, each shovelful of dirt and rock a testament to my determination. The sun beat down mercilessly during the day, and the chill of the night seeped into my bones as I continued my labor. Sweat dripped down my face, mixing with the dust and grime that clung to my skin.
With each stroke of the shovel, I could feel the tension in my muscles, the burn in my arms and back. The rhythm of the work became almost meditative, a way to drown out the noise of the world around me. As the days passed, the pit slowly took shape, the sides growing steeper and the bottom getting deeper.
While I worked, I couldn't help but notice Lucius wandering the city. He moved with a frenetic energy, his eyes darting around as if he was searching for something just out of reach. He clutched his compass tightly, constantly checking it and making notes on scraps of paper. He looked like a madman, scribbling furiously as he muttered to himself.
I watched him from a distance, my curiosity piqued. There was something captivating about the way he moved, so engrossed in his work that he seemed oblivious to everything else. Every now and then, he would stop and stare at a building or a street, his eyes narrowing as he calculated angles and measurements. Then, just as quickly, he would return to his frantic note-taking, the compass always in hand.
Despite his odd behavior, I couldn't deny the brilliance that shone through his actions. There was a method to his madness, a genius hidden beneath the eccentric exterior. It was clear that his mind was constantly at work, piecing together the puzzle that was Aetherhaven's reconstruction.
I continued to dig, the pit growing larger with each passing day. The physical labor was a welcome distraction from the chaos of the city and my own thoughts. Each shovelful of dirt was a step closer to completing the task, a tangible measure of progress in a world that seemed to be constantly shifting.
As the sun set on the fourth day, I stood at the edge of the pit, looking down at the work I had accomplished. My body ached, and my hands were blistered and raw, but there was a sense of satisfaction in seeing the fruits of my labor. The pit was nearly complete, a marvelous finale to my perseverance and determination.
I glanced up and saw Lucius in the distance, still wandering the streets with his compass and notes. For a moment, our eyes met, and I gave him a small nod of acknowledgment. He paused, tilting his head slightly as if trying to understand the gesture, before returning to his work.
État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone