James made his way to Xavier's penthouse. The same security guard who had denied him last time quickly moved to the side and let him walk through with a fearful gaze. Not bothering to pay him any attention, he got into the lift and slowly made his way up, the doors opening to Xavier holding two glasses of wine.
"Thank you for your work." Xavier held out a glass for James. Rolling his eyes, he walked past, taking a seat where he had last time, and gazed towards the TV. Although the news of Chicken Heads' action should have been the main headline, it was overshadowed by the Mayoral election as the vote was hours from opening.
Xavier shrugged, drinking James' glass of wine and taking a seat opposite him. Following his gaze, he looked at the screen and smiled, "Worried that Hopkins will get the vote." Xavier leaned back and looked out the window, enjoying the sight of the city, "You should be. It will be a landslide."
"What did this guy have on you to warrant his death?" James asked. He had thought it over numerous times and could only assume it was information on Xavier. Xavier sighed and swirled the glass of wine in his hand, subtly pushing the other towards James.
"Someone knew where I kept what was stolen. I had thought about it, and I could only assume it was Charles. How did he know?" Xavier paused to take a sip of wine, "Well, he has his sources."
"You couldn't have just used your power to see. I always found it strange, you say sometimes you can see and other times you can't, but what does that even mean?" James leaned forward before Xavier could speak, "Tell me the truth, trust goes both ways."
Xavier's gaze didn't leave the city, "It's like I'm in a dark swamp." That wasn't enough for James, and Xavier sighed, "I can see the past, present and future, but just because I can see, it doesn't mean I know what I am looking at." Xavier took a sip of wine and shrugged.
"Then why can't you see sometimes?" James froze up and looked at him with a strange look, "And I thought you said it was foresight?"
"Close your eyes and tell me what you see. You're not going to be because the answer is clear; you see nothing. Many things block it; I'm not omniscient. Artefacts, certain abilities, or a lack of information. The people we are going against have all three on their side." Xavier hovered a hand over his eye and smiled, "As for what I said before, I learnt how to access the other two. Put simply, they evolved."
James nodded, understanding. He knew that abilities could change with enough training; it wasn't weird for a person like Xavier, whose core belief system was a way to attain Godhood, to put in that effort. "Then what you lost?" Moving on, James finally couldn't resist the urge to have some wine and took a sip, relishing the taste he'd had yesterday. "They put it somewhere you can't pry?" Xavier, with a stiff smile, shook his head.
"I couldn't look into its past even when I had it. Zoktis's Home is a myth, but one with truth. New Horizon learnt of it in its early days. This was when it was mainly an occult group, but the point still stands." Xavier paused, letting James digest what he said, "Now, what Zoktis's Home is, we don't know, but that relic I lost was part of it, the key to accessing it, we assume. Based on the story you read, I am sure you understand why I want it back."
James took a deep breath and a sip of wine, "You said New Horizon believed God could be created through belief, so why do you need this key, as you call it. Why do you need access to the Door to Heaven?"
"Although we don't know what it is, we believe it is directly associated with the existence of abilities in the world. We have always assumed the world is alive, not in the human sense, but that it has a will. The evolution of abilities was the proof of this." Xavier replied.
James nodded and looked out the window. Activating his eyes, he saw the rainbow fog that blanketed the world and couldn't help but feel there was some truth to it. He had always had a feeling that the fog had more to do with the world, different places having a more prominent colour, such as the sea having a serene blue cast over it and in it.
Turning his eyes off, he turned to Xavier, "So you feel that only by getting the source of this power can you achieve the end goal."
"You can never direct millions into believing the same concept of what they want a God to be. With control of Zoktis's Home, maybe we could bypass the collective thought needed and use that in its place. But this is only if what we know of the place is true." James took a sharp breath. Every time the topic of Godhood came up, he found Xavier slightly insane, and he couldn't understand how he could say it with the usual calm he did.
"Then where is it?" Xavier tilted his head and looked at James like he was an idiot.
"Have you still not realised?" James looked out at Newport and gulped, "We can't be sure, but our guess is it somewhere around here. Maybe not Newport, but near it."
"Or under it," James said under his breath, remembering the line from the book he read. Xavier looked at him and nodded.
"Or under it. It's why I'm here. My abilities are quite good for figuring things out and avoiding danger." Xavier leaned forward, "But all is not lost. We know who has it. The Gentlemen is a dangerous man, but not undefeatable." James nodded and pulled out his phone. Opening the picture of Cain with Otto, he slid it over to Xavier.
"I figured out who he is. You couldn't have told me earlier."
"That was quick." Xavier said with admiration, "He is quite dangerous." Xavier paused and looked at James. He understood him and knew that although James was smart, he could be impulsive. "Has he seen you? Don't tell me you sought him out?"
"He saw me." Xavier leaned back and let out a weary breath. Grabbing James' hand, he stared deep into his eyes, the silver in his own growing brighter and brighter. Xavier's lips twitched as blood poured from his right eye. Letting out a deep breath, he picked up a napkin by the side and wiped his face, putting on his usual smile as if nothing had happened, his eyes returning to normal.
"You are an idiot and very lucky someone around you is smart."
"What did you see?" James asked, hearing the dread in Xavier's voice.
"Our actions influence the future. The moment I say, it changes." James frowned, unsure now if Xavier had told the truth earlier about not being able to see. It was a good excuse if he didn't want James to change the path he was trying to create.
"What can I know?" James asked. It was one thing to walk blindly, but knowing Xavier could see and chose not to tell ate at him.
Xavier looked to the ceiling, smelling his glass of wine before taking a sip, "Fortune and misfortune walk hand in hand." Looking down at James, he carried on, "You will experience great misfortune and from it come out blessed." There was a weird excitement in Xavier's tone. James wanted more but knew he wouldn't be told and could only click his tongue.
Yet James took away one point from his words. 'I won't die.' That was enough for him. If he wasn't going to die, then he didn't need to know.