Allan remained standing beside his bed, staring at Nythar.
The conversation had answered some questions, but somehow created even more.
His mind kept circling the same things. Nythar had been an Awakened once; he had been betrayed; his body was dead, but his consciousness had somehow survived. He had descendants, and Allan was apparently one of them. Yet somehow, Nythar still wasn't telling him everything.
"You're leaving things out again," Allan said with a sigh.
"Yes."
The blunt answer caught him off guard.
"All of this is about me, and you're just refusing to explain?"
"There are things you are not ready to understand."
"And how do you know that?" Allan said while raising his hands in frustration.
"Because it's not time time yet...I'll explain in more detail when you awaken"
Allan frowned.
"That doesn't answer my question."
"It is the answer I can give you right now."
Allan clenched his jaw, clearly frustrated with Nythar's sudden attitude change. He wanted to argue, but he already knew how this conversation would go. Nythar had made it clear that he wouldn't reveal anything simply because Allan demanded it.
"Wait, you said that you were an awakened from a different time right?" Allan asked while tilting his head slightly.
"Yes," Nythar answered in a confused tone.
Allan then showed a confused expression.
"I thought that the awaken only appeared 80 years ago…and you also said you needed me," Allan finally said. "You said you've been searching for someone with a strong bloodline. Doesn't that mean I deserve to know what I'm involved in?"
Nythar remained calm.
"You deserve to know what will help you right now."
Allan raised an eyebrow at that.
"What about the rest?"
"Will not help you at the moment."
Allan stared at him.
"So I just forget about it?"
"For now," Nythar said with a shrug.
"You know that's not fair, right?"
"I know."
Allan looked down at his hands. There was something deeply unsettling about knowing that his life was connected to something that had existed long before he was born, long before the majority of the world was born. He didn't know whether to be angry, afraid, or simply confused.
Maybe all three.
Nythar stepped back.
"You are thinking too far ahead, kid"
Allan looked up.
"You have an Awakening to prepare for. Your life to live. Your family. Your education."
He paused.
"Don't worry yourself with things that cannot be changed tonight…alright?"
Allan sighed.
"I still don't like it."
"I know," Nythar said while glancing toward the clock.
"Now go to sleep."
Allan blinked.
"That's it?" he said incredulously,
"For tonight, yes."
He stared at Nythar for another moment before finally sitting back onto his bed.
"You know, I liked you better when I didn't know your name," Allan said while fully dropping onto his bed.
Nythar did not answer.
Allan pulled the blanket over himself and turned toward the wall. Sleep did not come easily. Everything Nythar said kept replaying in his mind for several more minutes.
Eventually, exhaustion overtook him.
The next morning, across the city, inside the municipal administration building, Garrick Veyne sat across from the mayor. The office was quiet, and a stack of investigation reports rested between them.
The mayor glanced through the papers before looking up.
"Five days," he said. "And we still don't have an explanation."
Garrick leaned back in his chair, then let out a deep sigh.
"We have explanations for some things." He said while glancing at the reports.
"The attack?"
"No."
"The rift?"
"No."
"The Voranth?"
Garrick's expression hardened.
"No."
The mayor sighed.
"And the assassinations?"
"Nothing conclusive yet"
He closed the report.
"The investigators have confirmed that both principals were deliberately targeted. Beyond that, we're still working with fragments." Garrick said.
"Any connection between the two?"
"None that we can prove, but only that the assassins used the same type of ability"
The mayor frowned.
"The same ability?"
"Yes," He said while staring directly into the Mayor's eyes, "space manipulation…I felt it when I arrived at the locations. It was the same as that day."
Garrick's voice remained firm.
"What I know for certain is that two district principals, my friends, were assassinated, and a Voranth appeared inside East Gate High on the same day."
The mayor folded his hands.
"I think ignoring the possibility of a connection between these events would be irresponsible." He continued.
The mayor looked down at the reports.
"What about the rift?"
"Sealed completely. No instability. No further manifestations."
"And the Voranth?"
"Escaped," Garrick said reluctantly.
The room became silent.
"Escaped?" the mayor repeated.
Garrick nodded.
"After our confrontation, it simply vanished."
The mayor studied him carefully and let out a deep breath. If Garrick said something escaped him, then it did.
"Could it return?"
Garrick's expression darkened.
"We don't know."
That answer seemed to weigh heavily on the mayor.
"And the students?"
"Safe, and are being monitored…most are recovering."
"Most?"
Garrick paused.
"Some witnessed things they shouldn't have, yet"
The mayor looked toward the window.
"Then increase security around the school."
"Already done." Garrick quickly answered.
"What about the Awakening Process?" The Mayor asked.
"Proceeding as scheduled."
The mayor looked back at him.
"Are you certain that's wise?"
Garrick's eyes narrowed slightly. "Stopping it would create more fear than continuing it."
The mayor nodded slowly; he agreed with that.
"I need answers, Garrick. You're the only one I trust with this"
Garrick stood as he nodded.
"I'm trying." He said in a reluctant tone.
He turned toward the door, but before leaving, he stopped.
"The assassination investigations aren't over until we know who ordered them."
The mayor looked at him.
"And you believe they were ordered?"
Garrick's expression remained unreadable.
"I believe someone…or something, went to considerable effort to keep me occupied and make sure those two never spoke again." He responded while fully exiting the room.
The mayor remained behind, staring at the reports. For the first time, the possibility that the attack and the assassinations were connected no longer seemed distant, but that also meant that there was something more at play that eluded him.
Especially after Garrick mentioned that 'feeling' he had at both sites.