Chapitre 8: To Find a Friend Part 2
Olivia knew that Joseph was the kind of person that would sacrifice even himself just so he could save someone's life. His mean attitude aside, he was kind and always worry about everyone around him deep inside. Perhaps it was because he was born a prince of the superior clan that he would mask his concerns with a snotty attitude.
As the lights of the city got brighter, the prince knew that he was close to exiting the forest. Although he couldn't help but feel like he was being followed. There were multiple pairs of eyes that were surrounding him, each different from the other.
Although he was scared that the eyes were from his enemies, they didn't try to attack him when he was alone in the forest. It was the perfect opportunity to ambush him because he was alone. The prince only shrugged the thoughts away, refocusing on his goal.
Not an hour of running, he finally arrived at the city. The palace was positioned on top of the hill where it was surrounded by a dense forest that was cleared of any dangerous monsters.
The bright lights of the city was mesmerizing for Joseph. The capital of Nevancier pride themselves with modern technology that consisted of holograms and drones, but Levinshire's capital was as grandiose as the former.
The streets were bustling with cars, skyscrapers touched the skies, and the people were littered on the streets— all minding their own businesses. The marvelous city was filled with joyful lives.
The prince took of the cloak so he wouldn't get any attention. He was lucky that he was one of the Golden Souls that were quick at diminishing their glow to match the skin of humans. It aided him in tasks such as this where he needed to blend into the environment.
"425, Mulberry and Seventh Avenue," Joseph recited as he navigated the humongous city. It took him half an hour of reading signs and asking people for directions in order for him to find the street that the head maid said where Elayne lived.
It was a tall apartment building that was on the upper part of the city. It was where most of the lower middle-class people lived and where crimes weren't as common, but wasn't so rare either.
The street itself where the apartment building stood was less crowded than the ones a couple of blocks away. It was just another indicator that this street wasn't a busy place and was probably filled with commoners' homes.
425 meant that the apartment unit that Elayne resided was at the fourth floor, second wing and fifth room from the elevator. As Joseph entered the building, he felt a cold wind blow on his neck. The weather wasn't cloudy and winter was months away, but the sudden cold breeze was odd.
The prince shook his head and entered the building anyway. The long hallway that stretched into two wings were rather empty. And it wasn't just because of the old dark gray wallpaper that was plastered on the walls or the flickering lamps that was hung on either side of the hallway. But the building itself was barren.
"Hello?" Joseph called out, trying to find out if there was a resident that was present. "Is anyone here?"
His voice only echoed through the empty halls. Joseph realized just how silent the building was, as if he could hear his heartbeat pounding in fear and worry.
Taking a deep breath, the prince mustered his courage and headed to the elevator where he pressed the floor Elayne's unit was at. He arrived on the floor, but it looked just like the one on the first. It was devoid of life, sound, and light. It was as if nobody has lived in the floor for weeks.
"Elayne?" Joseph called out. He was afraid that he couldn't get an answer, but he still tried anyway. There seemed to be nobody there, how bad could it be if he yelled outside their doors? "Elayne, where are you? I'm here."
21, 22, 23, 24. Joseph counted the numbers on the door, finally stopping when he saw the number 45. If the head maid was right on her report, then Elayne and her family is supposed to be behind the door. They should be busy trying to find a way to help the emergency that they called her back for.
Knock, knock, knock.
Joseph's knuckles gently tapped on the door for a couple of times. He waited for a response before knocking again, this time it was harder and louder. He wished that Elayne and her family was busy scrambling inside for whatever they were trying to do.
Seconds turned into minutes, but there was no response. Joseph could feel his knuckles slowly hurting, red from all the knocking. He could already feel the itch on his throat for all his screaming, trying to call the name that he wished the gods to answer.
But there was nobody there.
Nobody was inside the apartment. And nobody was inside the building. It was him that stood there, alone and cold from all the thoughts that entered his mind. He was scared that Elayne was hurt. She was kind to him, and one of the few maids that was not afraid of him.
"Where are you, Elayne?" Joseph fell to his knees. All hope was lost. He couldn't figure out what to do next. Should he return to the palace? Should he try and report the missing people in the building?
It wasn't until he saw a small detail on the door that he realized that he had another option. Joseph leaned closer, narrowing his eyes to determine if what he initially saw was true.
Sure enough, upon closer look, there was a small blood splattee on the floor. A sharp tip of the splatter barely passed through the wooden door, making it hard for anyone to see unless they inspect it closely.
"It's blood," Joseph whispered. He stood and stepped back, palm pointing at the door without a second thought. "Wary Wind!"
The wind whistled on his fingertips, spinning in front og his palm before forming a spinning sphere of air. Joseph grunted, launching the attack in front of him. The wooden door did not stand a chance against it, causing the door to beshattered into a thousand pieces.
Joseph entered the apartment and found a mess inside. Their entire unit was cluttered with chaos and blood. The prince could only gulp as he walked inside, looking at everything around him. "What happened to this place?"
The bulb on the living room was shattered, but there was a faint light that shimmered through the kitchen. Joseph walked towards it, seeing a familiar woman clutch her legs and cradle herself back and forth. There was a heavy sense of relief that washed over the prince. A small smile on his lips was etched with joy.
"Elayne!" Joseph cried out, walking closer to the woman. The smile on his face was ripped away when he realized that the woman sitting on the ground was not Elayne. "Who are you?!"
The woman looked up, and sure enough, it wasn't Elayne. It resembled her heavily, but was several years younger. She displayed a pair of glowing blood red eyes and her mouth were painted with blood that reached to her neck.
"Let the No Faced God bless you with his glory!" the woman screamed.
État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone