章節 14: The Note
"And that's about it." Atlas finished.
So he did win, and it was against Zeff, it seems there's still a lot of mystery surrounding Atlas, what's his history with the triplets, and who is this girl he seems to care so deeply for.
I look back at Atlas, he seems to be waiting for an answer of some sort… his face looks nervous, is he thinking I'll leave just because he tried killing someone? From the way he told it to me it seemed that both were aiming to kill each other, so it's a fair reaction to fight back.
"Listen Atlas, as long as you're not killing innocent people I don't care. If you believe you or someone close to you is in danger, do what you must." I said, trying to be as forward as possible.
"…" he didn't respond, all he did was look down, covering his face with his hand, I could slightly see a smile.
"I'm the one that needs to step up, not once when I was fighting Zath did I intend to kill him… what exactly does being an adventurer entail," I said in frustration.
"The reason it's so dangerous is because of the people who can be adventurers, anyone from you ta a mass murderer can be one. It's the go-to job for people with criminal records. That may seem crazy but it's the truth, I have no idea why it's like that." Atlas explained with a perplexed expression.
Initially, I thought adventurers were there to help the people, not put them in danger…
"But what about adventurers like Laloo?"
*SCREEECH*
"YOU KNOW LALOO!!" Atlas shouted in excitement scraping his chair along the floor
"Yeah, he took care of me for a while."
"HE WHAAAAAAT!!"
Why the hell is he so excited… oh right, Laloo's famous, shit, I forgot about that… I think I've made a mistake.
"Ya, lucky son of a bitch!" Atlas said quite pissed off
I wonder if I should tell him about what happened back in Betwin… I better not, I don't want to kill his excitement, plus it might make him worried.
"He was actually the one that suggested I became an adventurer," I said.
"Really… incredible." He stared at me in awe.
…
There was a bit of silence.
"Well where is he now, is he in this town!"
My heart dropped… I need to come up with a lie, it's for his sake.
"Afraid not, we went our separate ways back in Betwin… said he had stuff to do there still," I said as convincingly as possible.
"Oh, then that's too bad." He said somewhat defeated.
"Hey, can I ask you something," I asked.
"Sure what is it?"
"You mentioned the other day you haven't had a good night's rest for five years, does that girl have anything to do with that?" I asked hoping I didn't come off as insensitive.
He sighs… it seems he was waiting for that question.
"It isn't because of something she did… it's because of what happened ta her. She was my only friend, and she got hurt because of me." He explained… I could tell he was struggling to contain his tears.
"But… she's not dead is she?"
He seems to smile at that question.
"No she's not dead, she's been in a coma for the last five years… I think the cause was blunt force trauma." He answers, not with sadness, but with anger.
I'm getting a feeling I shouldn't pry into it very much, I suppose I should wait until he's ready to tell me the entire story.
"I see… I'm sorry for that."
"Nah you're fine…" he looks at me.
"I have an idea!" he said excitedly.
"What is it?" I replied.
"How about next time I visit her you come as well." He suggested.
Would that really be fine… I guess he trusts me enough to even ask that.
"I may as well, seeing we'll be traveling together," I answered.
"Yeah great." He said smiling.
I think it's the first time I've seen such a bright smile come from him. This person must mean a lot to him… I try to sit up again.
"Ah!" I groaned, it was still a bit sore.
"How ya feeling?" Atlas asked
"I think I can stand now…"
I started to slowly stand up, using the wall as support… I managed to stand up and began walking around the room.
"Looks like ya fine now."
"Yeah… by the way, what even happened to me?"
All I can remember is that unbearable pain on the inside of my back.
"I'm not too sure myself… did he mention the name of the technique?" Atlas asked me.
"Yeah, it was something called Inverse Slash."
"Inverse slash!?" he said surprised.
"Have you heard of it?" I said.
"There's no way… there's only one person who I know that can use it."
Only one person? That can't be true, well not like I know much about this world… however, I do know that what Zath did to me was incredible.
"Who?"
Atlas looks at me with concerned eyes.
"The current highest-ranked adventurer! The one that holds the title of 'A'! A master when it comes ta swords!… nobody knows his real name."
The person who holds the A Rank! No one knows his identity… wait does that mean!
"Wait hold on! Zath said that his mentor taught him the technique!"
"Then that could only mean one thing… he's Zath's mentor!" Atlas said calmly.
Wait but if no one knows his name then what do they call him.
"Then what do people call him?" I asked.
"He goes by the fake name Ikura Mira."
(pronounced Ick-oo-rah Me-rah)
"But what does that mean, and don't adventurers need the identification card thing?" I asked again.
"Fuck if I know, there are some theories but none of them are logical."
Is this a bad thing though? It's not like Zath's our enemy.
" I don't think we should worry all that much," I said.
"Yeah you're right, there are other things ta worry about."
…
There was a moment of silence.
"Well, should we go ask about our tests?" I spoke up and asked Atlas.
"Yeah let's do that." He said as he stood up out of the chair.
We both exited the room and made our way down the long corridor… there were dozens of doors with numbers on them, I assume that's just how they know who Is in what room easily.
I look back at Atlas, it looks like his guard is up… does he still suspect our examiners are up to something… well it's better to be safe than sorry.
We reach the end of the current corridor and turn the corner… I spot Zath and what looks to be Zev in the distance, just standing outside one of the doors.
"Hey uh, Atlas…"
"Just keep moving."
Well if he says so…
As we get closer and closer to them I begin to feel anxious… suddenly Zath notices us.
He shoots a sharp glare at Atlas and Atlas alone until he sees me.
"Hey, it's you! We met back outside Movia didn't we!" Zath said happily, does he seriously not realize I'm the same person that was fighting him.
Atlas continues walking down the corridor without me.
"Yeah, I remember you."
"How have you been! Is Laloo still with you?"
Has anyone seriously not heard about what happened, I'm pretty sure Laloo was arrested.
"No not anymore, we went our separate ways back in Betwin."
"Oh I see… well anyway take care, I'm pretty sure I'll see you around!" he said excitedly.
"Yeah… likewise."
He then starts glaring at Atlas again, but Atlas doesn't seem to care as he never made eye contact.
"You better stay away from that guy, he's bad news," Zath said… my eyebrow started twitching for some reason.
"Haha, thanks for the warning," I said sarcastically.
I then catch back up with Atlas.
"What a fuckin dumbass, doesn't even realize you were the one he fought," Atlas said trying to hold back his laughter.
"And here I was thinking that I was still too obvious."
…
We both end up back at the reception desk after walking through many long corridors.
Atlas walks up to the desk and flicks something. It then made a loud ringing sound… I quickly cover my hair with my hood.
*creak*
The door behind opened and the examiner from before stepped out.
"You two are still here?" she said somewhat annoyed.
"Well yeah, we still have the second half of the test ta complete…" Atlas said as if it wasn't already obvious why we were here.
*sigh*
She sighs "Come back in seven hours… it is 3am you know." The examiner said in a tired and sleepy voice while closing the door.
Atlas and I look at each other.
"…"
There was silence… I guess both of us didn't know what to say.
"So uh, what now?" Atlas asked.
I have no idea, what is there to do? She did say it was three in the morning, would there be anything open… the library!
"Is the library open?" I asked Atlas.
"The library?… yeah, it's always open, but why do ya wanna go there?"
I've had two dreams now and both of them said to check the library in this town… there's got to be something there that I need.
"I'm just in the mood for learning," I said.
"Alright sure, follow me then."
We both make our way out onto the deserted streets… the night sky was like a void, not a single star was visible… only the moon.
As I followed Atlas I didn't see a single person anywhere. 'Although it's late, you still would think that some people stay up.' Looking around even more, not even any lights were turned on… it was like a ghost town.
"Hey, Atlas?"
"Yeah."
"Does something feel off to you, there's no one around and no lights anywhere?" I asked him, quite worried.
"It is strange… it reminds me of back then, perhaps something's happening." He answered, he looks to be reminiscing.
"What do you mean by back then?" I asked him.
I hope I'm not prying too much into his personal life… it's just that, it feels like we're being watched.
"News spreads quickly here. when word got out about what happened… everyone gathered at the scene, that's where I…" Atlas answered but couldn't finish as he started to gag. As if he was about to spew.
"Okay, I understand, thanks for telling me. I don't need to hear the rest."
The library wasn't that far from The Halls anyway as I could make out a bright light in the distance… it seems they have the lights on at least.
"Well, we're here," Atlas said as we entered the building.
"Good morning."
As we walked in we were greeted by an old man, he looked to be in his 70s.
"What brings you youngin's here this early?" he said in a relaxing tone.
"We just came from The Halls, our test was postponed, decided to come here for a little bit," I answered, there's no need for me to lie to him.
"Ah, I see! Trying to become adventurers are you… is there a particular reason?"
A particular reason? I haven't really thought about it… but I guess I just don't want to feel lost and confused, I want to understand this world… and…
"I kind of just want to do my own thing, and not trouble anyone you know," I answered as I looked back at the man… he looked shocked.
"Hey, are you alright?" I asked
"What's your name young one?"
My name? Why would he want my name… I guess there's no harm though, I'll only give him my first name.
"It's Auric."
He was taken aback… oh wait! Maybe he's seen the poster, it doesn't say my name but it describes someone with white hair! What if he's doing this to sell the information… I'm such an idiot.
"Have you heard of me before?" I asked him nervously.
"No, I haven't, it's just, that reason you gave, I've heard it before."
"Heard it before? What do you mean?"
Has someone else had a similar reason to mine in the past or something.
"I've been running this library for many years now… it was quite a boring job at first, but then, someone your age came in… 23 years ago. He was a quiet boy, he searched this entire library, it was as if he was looking for something. I asked him several times if he needed help, but all he kept saying was that he doesn't want to trouble me and that he was lost, but he reassured me that he'll find his way." The old man explained.
Could it be! No, it can't be! What if it is though!
"Did he end up finding what he needed?" I asked, trying to hide my excitement.
"I believe he did… on the last day I remember seeing him come up from the basement section, he was smiling, he waved to me and said 'See you old man! I won't be a bother anymore!' and that was the last I saw of him."
There's a high chance that this is one of the people that's been appearing in my dreams, but I'm not sure yet.
"Do you still remember what he looks like?" I asked, I want to know if he was covering his eye with anything.
"Not really, but the one thing that stood out most was the eye patch he was wearing on his right eye… I assume it was caused by an accident of some sort."
An eye patch! On the right eye! It has to be him! The person in my dreams!
"Hey, thanks old man!" I said happily as I made my way to the stairs.
"Anytime."
As I made it to the bottom of the stairs I start to look around… I realize that Atlas wasn't with me, 'perhaps he went off to do his own thing'
"Now where should I start," I said as I noticed that there had to be thousands of books down here.
That strange voice never said anything about where to look once I got here… well this is annoying.
…
For the next 4 hours, I practically turned the entire basement of the library upside down, obviously not making a mess, I don't want to bother the old man of course… but throughout those 4 hours, I constantly found myself back in the one spot, in the direct center of the room.
"There's nothing here…" I said to myself
There were many instances where my eye started wandering on its own as if it was looking at something… but it always ended up looking at the floorboards in the center of the room. The same spot I kept ending up in.
I crouch down and look closer at the floor, squinting my eyes I try and peak through the crack… it's too dark, I can't see. I try closing my right eye… still nothing. I then try closing my left eye and only looking through my right.
"What the hell… what is that?"
As I looked through my right eye, I immediately noticed a very thin pulsating blue glow… it looked like a bit of thread, I grab it with two fingers.
I then slowly pull it out of the crack… I started to see a piece of parchment, it looked old, I notice words on it… I start to read it.
"72 BME—
*THUMP*
…
"You've got ta be kidding me." I heard Atlas say suddenly.
For some reason I'm laying on the floor, I look around for the piece of parchment… it's nowhere to be seen.
"Listen, Auric, tell me if you're not feeling good," Atlas said as he helped me to my feet.
"But I'm fine, nothing's happened."
"Auric you fainted… ya mustn't have gotten enough rest," Atlas said
"Wait I fainted?" I replied, confused. I don't ever remember fainting, all I was doing was reading that letter… wait letter? What did it even say?"
"Here sit down for a bit, I'll go get ya some water," Atlas said as he helped me to a chair and walked upstairs.
This whole time I've had no idea what this eye is, but all of a sudden, for some reason, I know now… it's like something just implanted knowledge in me.
"The Prismatic Eye huh…" I said whilst trying to remember the letter.
…
"Why can't I remember what it said… all I remember is 72 BME, what does that mean?"
I do believe that the note was telling some sort of story… it felt like it was a journal entry, is it perhaps the notes of the person who came here before.
*creak!*
Atlas arrived back downstairs and handed me a cup with water in it.
"Just drink it already."
"Yeah, thanks…"
…
We both sat there, none of us said anything.
"Hey, Atlas… why do you trust me?" I asked, I know he's suspicious of me. So I want to know why he hasn't betrayed me yet.
"You treated me like a normal human. That's all" he said depressingly.
"But I've been lying to you."
He looks at me and sighs.
"So what, everyone lies, But… there's a difference between bad lying and good lying. I know that you have a good reason for lying, so don't worry about it." Atlas said, reassuring me.
A good reason huh… I guess.
"Anyway! I have a feeling there's something you need ta do, I'll be upstairs when ya ready to leave." Atlas says as he walks back up the stairs, taking the empty cup with him.
"Oh… okay."
The room fills with silence…
Don't let the eye starve… keep it full… become one with it… accept your fate… it's not a curse… it's a gift…
"These are the thoughts filling my mind right now… I thought I would find answers, not more questions."
What I can guess is that the reason I've lost its ability is because it's hungry… but how do I feed it, and is it a separate living thing to me?
~~~~~~~~~
"From what I know every newborn has a test done, on what I believe is their eye to check if they pick up a certain magic or something, I don't really know."
~~~~~~~~~
That's right! I remember Laloo saying something about this power being its own unique magic… maybe if I can figure out how to produce it I'll be able to recover this ability…
"But as of now, I can't even use basic magic."
When it comes to Expel Magic it ends up knocking out anyone near me, the same happened with the knife, it might be because I couldn't control how much mana went into it… Enhancement Magic just ends up hurting me, very badly. The only instance where nothing went wrong was back when I got my Mark.
"… well I'm not going to figure anything out by sitting here!" I said confidently as I stood up out of the chair.
As I walked to the staircase I put my hands in my pockets.
*rustle…*
"Huh…"
There was something in my left pocket, I pulled it out… it was a folded piece of paper, this one looked normal, it didn't look new but it didn't look old either. I unfold the piece of paper.
It says something.
'If anyone reads this then I'll be very surprised… I would assume that the person reading this has that same stupid eye ability.'
What the hell, is this a note left by that guy the old man mentioned.
'Listen, I'm just as confused as you, when I turned 15 the ability awakened, but very quickly it began to hurt before it turned Grey and became useless… It's common knowledge that having this power is not allowed… but what am I supposed to do about it.'
So he went through the same thing as me.
'Recently I've started hearing a voice in my sleep, a voice of a crazy old man. He's telling me things that I don't understand, he was the one that told me to come here in the first place.'
Dreams!? So he's only been hearing the one voice… why am I hearing both of them?… it's like I'm reliving his memories.
'I don't know what to do now, but despite that, I'll still walk out of here with a smile. I don't want to bother the old fellow anymore… if anyone finds this, all I can say is good luck… why did I even write this, no one's coming to help me.'
So it is him, he left this basement just as confused as me… that lightens my mood a tiny bit… perhaps I should leave something myself.
"I would but… I don't have anything, wow I'm an asshole."
Instead, how about I come back, once I know more I'll make it easier for the next person. That sounds like a decent replacement plan.
I put the note back into my pocket and walk up the stairs, seeing Atlas sitting in one of the soft chairs I walk over… I glance over at the clock.
'We still have two and a half hours' I thought to myself.
"Hey Atlas, what are we going to do now, we still have some time?" I asked him.
He looked up at me.
"I'm getting a strange feeling, my gut's telling me ta pay the hospital a visit." He said in a stressed voice.
"I'm fine with that, did you want to get going then?" I replied.
"Thanks." He said standing up and walking out of the library entrance.
I go to catch up with him.
"Did you find what you were looking for?" the old man asked.
"Yep!" I said with a smile
"I've left the place how I found it so don't worry," I added
He smiles at me.
"That's great to hear, good luck."
After hearing that I quickly follow Atlas out the door and catch up with him, he seems to have a habit of leaving me behind.
"It's just around the corner up here," Atlas said.
"Oh, that close," I said in surprise… there's still no sign of anyone around.
However, before we reached the corner Atlas took a turn down the alleyway.
"Hey, I thought you said…"
Atlas then climbed on top of something and then over a wall.
"Hey wait up!"
I followed him over, it led to what looked to be some kind of park, it was like someone just left a forest in the middle of the town.
"Where are you going?" I asked but got no answer.
He continued walking until we reached a big building with dozens of windows leading into different rooms.
*RUSTLE!*
I notice that he started searching through a random bush… he then came out holding what looked to be a terribly crafted ladder, he placed it against the wall of the building. It was high enough to reach the fourth story.
"Atlas, what are you doing?" I said with a judging tone.
He began to climb the ladder.
"Because everyone thinks I was the culprit, of course I wasn't allowed ta visit the victim ya idiot." He said with a tired expression.
"Oh yeah right, that makes sense," I said, realizing my stupidity.
Atlas then climbed all the way to the fourth-story window and opened it… 'I'm surprised it's unlocked' I said to myself, he then climbed inside before looking back down at me.
"Ya coming in?" he asked.
"Yes! Right!" I said after zoning out.
I then proceeded to climb up to the top and entered the room as well… once I got in Atlas told me to close the window, and after doing that I turned around… and that's when I saw her.
She looked to be around Atlas' age, she had long bright blond hair, it wasn't until I focused on her face I saw it. I look at Atlas.
"It's horrible isn't it." He said while covering the scar on his face.
Albeit a lot thinner but… she had the same exact scar that Atlas had. The same scar that started from the middle of her forehead down to her collarbone.
All I could do was stand there, I didn't know what to say nor what to ask.
"I'll introduce you… Auric this is Fraya, Fraya this is Auric."
After saying that I could make out a slight movement in her eyes… it seemed Atlas noticed.
"She's probably shocked I'm hanging out with someone," Atlas said with a slight chuckle… I could tell he was holding back tears.
Well, I guess I should help him out.
"Well it's nice to meet you Fraya, like you heard, my name's Auric, and well…" I wrap my arm around Atlas' neck.
"I guess you could say I'm Atlas' friend," I said with a slight laugh trying to lighten the mood.
"Ahaha!" Atlas started laughing.
"Thanks, Auric, I appreciate that."
I smiled at those words.
…
"Hurry up and sit down Auric, don't just stand there," Atlas said to me.
I sit down in the chair next to Atlas… we both sat there in silence for a few minutes.
"Even though she's getting the best treatment in this town, it's still not enough," Atlas said, breaking the silence.
"What do you mean?"
"She's the Knight Commander's daughter, the second richest under the mayor in this town."
The Knight Commander's daughter… I see, that makes sense as to the way he treated Atlas back when I saw him. But then why hasn't he… wouldn't you expect him to want to kill Atlas for what he did.
"He doubts the story," Atlas said interrupting my thought process.
"Huh?"
"There's a part of him that wants ta believe it isn't true." He clarified.
"How do you know that?"
"He told me, five years ago." He answered.
It seems that a lot of stuff happened to him back then, I want to know what happened but it's not exactly my place to ask.
"Hey Auric, would you help me save her?" he asked me while looking at her.
"Yeah of course I will."
Isn't it obvious that I would help, he's my friend after all, who doesn't help their friends.
he lets out a sigh with a smile
"Then I guess I have no choice… I'll tell you what happened… five years ago…"
創作者的想法 
Baitozz
Baitozz i smell a backstory coming, hehehe.
i'm trying to ramp things up right now, you could say we're nearly entering the final stages of this story arc.
be warned again, next chapter will be told from Atlas' point of view.
i hope it's not to jarring. i do also hope my writing has become more clear in showing the characters emotions.
other than that i hope you enjoy
this is still my first draft btw, expect the final product to be 10x better, writing wise of course.
每周推薦票狀態
-- 推薦票
榜單 
-- 推薦票