The next morning, Markus woke up in a familiar place. He was no longer bound by chains. He was woken by sunrise and the chirping of birds instead of whips and shouts.
He was free. Or at least more free than he had been in the month before. Being kept by pirates, slave traders and sadists had worn him down. But now, he was free from them.
But Anax's voice echoed in his mind.
"You will forever be in a cage as long as you serve her."
Markus could not discern if that voice came from himself recalling the past or if the Herald of Death was still taunting the teenager.
'Get out of my head, bastard.' Markus thought to himself as he got up
He bathed and let his body relax. His physical wounds were all gone. But as he soaked in the marble tub, he had to deal with his thoughts.
'I don't think I want to step foot in Stonebourne again…
No… maybe once to level that slave trade place…
But that will have to wait… considering how many elites there are, I'll have to at least be an elite myself. What do I need to do again? Synchronise with the wind and not lose myself in the chaos… doubt I'll have the chance to do it soon.
Right now I have to see what Elizabeth decides. It should be fine… I wouldn't have woken up if she decided that she can't trust me.
But why did she accuse me of siding with Stonebourne? She knew that I would be vulnerable and thought it the perfect chance to piss me off and see if I cracked? It worked a little too well then.
It should be late October now… my birthday is coming up. I wonder if she'll let me have some downtime until then… I don't think I'm rested enough to take up the cloak and become Immoriens again… why the hell do I keep coming so close to dying anyway!? It's just every damn time— I got my heart pulverised last mission and then nearly whipped to death. Starved too… damn the food on the way back was good. Or maybe I was just hungry… I'm getting hungry now just thinking of it. Enrique was so nice to me during the trip… I wonder if he feels bad and he's trying to make it up to me?
It wasn't even his fault… but it was the crown who sent me there in the first place so maybe he feels guilty. Still… it was nice.
If he really feels bad he maybe doesn't need to send me on a deadly mission. Maybe something tame right here in the capital. '
Eventually as Markus was soaking, he realised he was becoming pruney.
As he got out the tub and grabbed a towel, the door to the bathroom opened.
Instinctively he used the Wind's path to launched himself on the ceiling, wrapping the towel around his waist and hanging from the ceiling using essence shell anchors.
'Who the hell sneaked up on me—' he thought as he looked at the door.
A maid walked in and went over to the small puddle of water right outside the tub.
'I'm looking right at her and I still can't sense her with my essence… what the hell—' Markus thought
As he hanged from the ceiling however, water dripped down from him and onto the floor.
Plop. Plop.
The maid looked to her left where two drops of water just splashed on the floor.
Then she looked in the reflection of the puddle. The reflection of the ceiling.
"There you are." She said
Instantly she turned around and threw several daggers from her sleeves right at Markus.
He had already used the paths and held onto the towel for dear decency to get behind her and manifest a wind blade.
As he did she threw down a small pouch which exploded and released some type of powder that expanded into a smoke.
"Really?" Markus said as he kicked the bag away and used a strong wind to blow the smoke away.
He then drew a wind blade to her throat.
"So this is the queen's response?" Markus asked
"What?" She asked
"Don't play dumb—" he replied
"I'm here to get payback for my sister!" The maid said
"Huh?" Markus said, dropping his guard
Instantly his arm got grabbed and he got shoulder tossed on the ground with his own wind blade at his throat and the towel flung off. Meanwhile the maid was sat on his chest using both her hands to press the wind blade against his neck.
Markus, unimpressed by her poor attempt to kill an expert with his own weapon, was more focused on covering himself. Despite his tries, he pushed harder.
Ticked off, he dismissed his blade and reinforced himself with shell essence. Then he grabbed her by the neck and single handedly chocked her with just enough pressure to make her uncomfortable but not painful or break her neck. At the same time, he finally managed to yank the towel over his privates.
And it was right then when the door opened and Master Jessica stood in the doorway.
"Oh. Excuse me, I'll come back later." She said turning back
"Wait a minute— it's not what it looks like—" Markus shouted
"No really. I thought you'd still be down but clearly you're well." She said, chuckling
"She literally just tried to kill me—" Markus said, flinging the maid against the wall and knowing her out
"Easy there. You'll break them if you're so rough." Jessica said
"… please be serious—" Markus said, wrapping the towel around his waist.
"Look up there!" He said pointing to the black dagger in the ceiling.
"Huh- why is a mundane maid trying to kill an expert of the wind?" Jessica asked, curious
"It almost worked too- I always knew the awakened weren't anything special—" the maid grunted as she tried to get up
"Ha— the ignorance. A rank 3 could turn you into mist. Markus is a rank 4 and probably the most powerful rank 4. You would've died if he wasn't so careful." Jessica said, mocking her
"Hold on— who is your sister?" Markus asked
"Noe! I saw what you did to her! Then you ran away. But now that you're back I've been studying you— and then you ran away again! So when I heard you came back last night… I knew it was my chance!" She said
"Wow I think that's the first time I got a straight answer from someone who tried to kill me." Markus said
"Same here. She must've just lost all hope." Jessica said
"First of all— what happened with Noe was an accident! And we're fine now. Second— care to explain why I can't sense your presence?" Markus asked
"I don't care! You hurt the only person I have left in the world!" She shouted
"I can answer the second bit. She's wearing a ring of essence suppression. Mundane don't usually wear them since there's not much to suppress but it's actually a good tool to have to slip by undetected. Our essence brushes against the ring and the person wearing it but we can't detect anything." Jessica said
"How does a maid even get her hands on one?" Markus asked, looking at her hands
"They don't get noticed so they can get to a lot of places without raising any suspicion." Jessica said with a shrug, before taking the ring away from the maid
"I see… what do we do with her now?" Markus asked
"Kill her." Jessica said, extending her hand and throwing the ring in the air so that it wouldn't disrupt her essence
"No!" The maid shouted from the very bottom of her soul
Then without warning, the area swelled with essence and Markus and Jessica got pushed back!
Waves of essence flowed around the maid. Then Markus could sense it… a weak presence… of a water attuned rank 1: apprentice.
"Huh- isn't that something…" Jessica said, looking at the newly awakened maid
"Die!" The maid shouted as she directed all her essence at Markus
Instinctively he activated his essence shell and stood there, taking the jet of water, unphased. What was an apprentice to an expert after all?
"What…" she said confused
"You don't know the half of it." Markus said snapping his fingers and whacking he maid with a bat wind construct behind the head.
"Did she think that ranks are based on skill?" Jessica asked
"I think so? She's not wrong— but ultimately ranks are to distinguish the weak from the strong." Markus said with a shrug
"Indeed. Anyway, where were we." Jessica said extending her hand
"Wait—" Markus said
"If you want to save her then you have to beat me." Jessica said
"What!?" Markus said in shock
"Then just sit here and watch her die." Jessica said
"I said wait!" Markus shouted as he stepped through the paths and got in her face.
Clenching his heart, he looked Jessica in the eyes and willed her consciousness to be taken into the mental plain.
"Just listen to me—" Markus said
He had recreated the bathroom.
"Fine. Let's fight—" she said as her powers converged in the mental plain
"Oh f*ck" Markus said before vanishing
"Where did you go..?" She said, confused
"Ugh I hate this— I've dispelled my own body from manifesting. The problem is that it's really hard to focus without a body. Heh- must suck to be Anax right now." Markus said from beyond the void
"Is this your grand plan? Since we're in your mind, I wonder what will happen if I were to destroy this place." Jessica said as she slammed the ground with all her might
But there was no effect.
"I think that in here… I outrank you, Master Jessica. After all, what is a master to an emperor." Markus said smugly
"Excellent. When you face a master, I want you to do this exactly. This… and killing them." Jessica said
"You wanted me to do this..?" Markus asked
"I've been up all night thinking about how you could finally fight back against masters. You can just use—" Jessica began to say before finding herself in the bathroom, next to the maid and Markus right in front of her
"… did you run out of essence?" She asked
Markus face turned red slightly in embarrassment.
"As it turns out… pulling people in here against their will consumes a lot of celestial energy." Markus said embarrassed
"(Sigh) it was too good to last. You can use it in an emergency then… but you need to figure out how to increase your volume or decrease your consumption." Jessica said
"So uhh— how about not killing her?" Markus said
"Really? She just tried to kill you and you want to spare her? You need to be more ruthless. Mercy on your enemies will one day come back to haunt you." Jessica said
"It was my fault… and since she's awakened now— surely she can serve in the palace." Markus said
"Hmmm… how about you take responsibility for her?" Jessica said
"What— you want me to train her?" Markus asked
"You're a Special Agent without a squad are you not? She will be your first member. Call her— Agent Dagger. Commemorative of your encounter." Jessica said with a suppressed laugh as she pointed up in the ceiling to the black dagger
"You can't be serious—" Markus said
A few hours later…
"In the name of the crown, I name you Agent Dagger." Enrique said with a sigh in his office as the maid— as Agent Dagger, kneeled and accepted her new assignment.
"Congratulations Special Agent Immoriens, you now have a squad member." Jessica said
"Alright now leave me. I've more important things to do. Actually— Immoriens, stay for a moment." Enrique said
Agent Dagger and Jessica stepped out.
"Her majesty… has temporarily suspended you. She is still thinking about… the matter. So now you are suspended. It means that you cannot venture outside of the capital and that you are not permitted to venture in the Underworld until your suspension is over." Enrique said
"I understand… but Enri— ahem, Lord Ballion, are we actually serious about Agent… Dagger—" Markus asked
"Yes. From what Jessica told me, she either takes that assignment or is executed for attempting to kill you." Enrique said
"Understood." Markus replied with a sigh
"Dismissed." Enrique said
Markus stepped out where he saw Jessica and Agent Dagger stand outside the door.
"Don't you have somewhere to be?" Markus asked Jessica
"The Princess is studying with friends." Jessica replied
"Maybe they're dangerous people—" Markus said
Jessica rolled her eyes before taking her leave.
"Thank you… Master Jessica. I really can't thank you enough for helping me… so at least I'll promise you this. When I become a wind master, I'll return the favour." Markus said as she took a few steps
"Normally when you hear a mere expert talk about reaching the rank of master, it's all talk. But if I'm certain of something, Markus, is that after you advance to elite rank, it won't be much longer until you become a master." Jessica replied, taking her leave
'What does she mean? Is it to do with the principle of mastery? Now I'm curious what the last principle is? I asked about it when I got to the capital but she told me that if I knew what it was I would never make it to elite rank." Markus thought as he looked at her walk away
Then he looked at Agent Dagger.
"What is your name?" Markus asked
"Lila…" she replied sheepishly
"I'll give you the choice, Lila. You either serve me as Agent Dagger, until the day you die, or you die today as Lila." Markus said
She was silent for a few minutes. Opening her mouth to speak but no words actually came out. Eventually though…
"… what even is an agent? And will I be able to see Noe again?" Lila asked
"An agent is an operative sent by the crown to achieve a goal. But agents are disposable. Agents never exist in the records.Nobody will risk their life to save you because you never existed. And you will be sent to deadly places with me." Markus explained
"Weren't you just rescued?" She asked
"I'm a special agent. Your direct boss. And also the crown has invested quite a lot in me. It would be a waste to let me die." Markus replied
"You didn't answer my question… will I—" Lila asked
"As long as you stay alive. But it will be harder than you think. The world you are about to step into is merciless and dangerous at every turn. However… yes… you will see Noe if we come back from our missions alive." Markus said
"… fine. I accept…" she said, looking away
"Then henceforth… you are an agent serving Special Agent Immoriens. When we are away from missions… you can rest… or resume your duties as a maid to disguise yourself. Whatever you want." Markus said
"…as you command." She said
"Dismissed…" Markus said
'I better not get you killed like the Deltas… Noe would never forgive me…' Markus thought as he watched her walk away
Days passed. Markus asked for Agent Dagger to be professionally trained and taught about all things related to awakened.
"So… most people never make it beyond the rank of Learned? And the next rank, of expert, is actually a respected position? I've always thought that since elites and masters look down on experts…" Lila said to her aged tutor in the training room
"You can consider that there are bands of recognition. The apprentice and learner ranks are at the bottom and anyone can walk themselves to that point by living a normal life. Their powers are only meaningful against an unawakened person. The next band, is for the learned and expert ranks. The most noticeable difference is that at these ranks, awakened have enough power to impact their environment. Then the third band, and most prestigious, is that of elites and masters. They affect the world around them and thus have the most influence. The reason you see them often looking down on experts is because experts dare to raise their ceiling and aspire for those heights. Ultimately, very few do. And nobody likes a loud mouth who fails." The tutor said
"So then… what are the proportions? Out of a million awakened…" Lila asked
"Well they change… but if I were to estimate, 100,000 would be apprentices. 400,000 learned. 400,000 learned. 90,000 experts. 10,000 elites." The tutor said
"So 9% of people become experts." She said
"You can think of it like that. But in the grand scheme of things, experts can be raised for all elements except wind." The tutor said
"How do you mean?" Lila asked
"The fourth step for all other elements is an internal development. When you will try to become an expert, you will have to rethink of yourself as a vessel that changes shape. A flame attuned would have to burn themselves through combat and endure the flames. A stone attuned must attach themselves to the environment. A wind user in the other hand, must follow an intuition that is not quite their own. That intuition comes from wind itself. Therefore, one may never become an expert if they never receive the wind's guidance." The tutor finished
"Thank you." She said, as she deeply thought about the information she had just learned
Markus on the other hand, was writing a letter.
"To: Helen Aquabourne.
Student Council,
Academy of Tuatri,
City of Tuatri.
Hey Helen,
Guess who's back from his first mission. In one piece at that! I went to Stonebourne and did some crazy things. I even got hunted by a master— well his underlings but I'm sure he was not far behind. I'm pretty sure he was using water strings of essence to control his underlings. Maybe you could try it like some sort of trump card. But I should mention his strings kind of evaporated in sunlight so you know- don't use it against flame users or something.
I saw the sea to the east when I was on a ship. The breeze was nice but the motion was horrible. Still, I took it like a champ and got used to it in no time at all. I tried all sorts of food when I was there so I'm having a good time— don't worry about me okay?
I'll visit Amy soon. I have some time off in the Capital so I guess I'll just explore for a bit. Oh and now I have my own subordinate. And guess what- she's water attuned like you! But don't get jealous— you'll always be my favourite water attuned subordinate.
But then again I'm not your president anymore… oh well. In my heart I'll always be your superior. If you want that to change you'll just have to best me properly. I don't see you doing that anytime soon though. I'm out here fighting everyday and slowly approaching the rank of elite whilst you're probably still filling in paperwork for academy events! Ha!
I'm running out of space on this page so it's probably my sign to end it here. Be quick if you want me to read your letter before my next mission.
Your eternal superior
Markus Windwave."
After Markus finished writing the letter, he neatly folded it into thirds and placed it in an envelope. Then he took a wax seal and sealed it.
He wrote the same delivery details as he did on top of the letter and then handed it to Noe to send it off.
After that he took a stroll about the palace quarters. The royal palace was a massive structure that had separated areas for public and private affairs. Markus naturally was living in the private areas of the palace but these were so massive and accommodated that he never felt like he was restricted. The only condition is that he had to wear a royal court suit. This was a majestic black suit with gold trimmings. This outfit allowed him to pass as an attendant for the crown. After he wandered aimlessly for a bit to kill time until it was noon, he decided to go to the royal academy to visit a friend.
As he headed toward an exit, a crystal mirror rose from the ground and reflected her majesty. He sighed inwardly before kneeling.
"Where are you going?" She asked
"The royal academy. I want to visit my friend, Amy Rilan." Markus replied
"Very well." She said
Then the crystal mirror shattered into a million pieces and vanished into the ground.
'It seems she knows about everything that takes place within the palace walls. And she should have crystals all throughout the city. This truly is her territory.' Markus thought as he moved past
The royal academy was not far from the royal palace so Markus arrived there before long. Naturally, he went through the front gate. Sneaking into this place was theoretically possible but realistically there was no need.
"Mr Windwave, are you here to meet with Lady Rilan?" The guard asked Markus at the gate
"Yes." Markus replied
"Come on through." The guard said
'And to think- the first time we nearly took each other's heads off.' Markus thought as he walked past the now friendly guard
Markus walked around the campus until he saw a familiar face.
"It's been a while, Lady Rilan." Markus said from behind Amy
"Mark?" She said as the turned around
"You're back! You're alive!" She said quickly running at him and hugging him
"Do you think there's something out there capable of killing me?" Markus teased at her worry
"Didn't you almost die everytime you went to a competition?" She retorted
"Almost doesn't quite count." Markus said with a cough
"Sureee. It's good to see you, Mark." She said honestly
"Ahem- Amy- your friends are staring." He whispered
"Let them." She said unashamed
Eventually, Amy brought Markus over.
"Hey everyone, this is Markus. You just missed him before he left for an assignment." Amy said to her friends, a group of three girls and two boys.
"Uhm- hello." Markus said awkwardly
"So it is you." A young man's voice resounded from behind Markus and Amy
Markus turned around to see a man step right in front of his face, inspecting him.
"You ascended, curious." The young man said
Amy and the others bowed to the young man.
"Good afternoon, Mr President." They said together
"Ah- where are my manners. I am Langley Le Lustrada. President of the Royal Academy student body. I am 17 years old and a rank 5: elite of the stone." He announced proudly