Chapter 2: To A Perpetual Journey

  She wore a nightgown defining her svelte features, had light-blue hair tied into a side ponytail, and she had crimson eyes. Another person with strange eyes. When did she come here? He wasn’t able to notice her presence earlier.

  “Can you stop staring at me like that?” Cerea said, covering her torso with her arms. “You’re creeping me out...”

  “Oh, sorry.” Karkus said, as he reached for her hand to stand up. Her hand was silky yet firm.

  Trakun snapped his fingers and said, “This girl is the one whom you’ll protect for the time being.”

  “What do you mean?” Karkus asked.

  “It is your duty to protect her until the threat that is coming for her is gone.”

  “You can count on me on that, that’s what I’ve been doing for years.” Karkus paused. “Why do I have to do that?”

  “Let’s say I am the scientist and you are the experimental subject. As the scientist, I am instructed to make observations on you, and find a crucial information that we need. However, this experiment must have you do things accordingly, and you are obliged to work under my instructions.”

  “If I don’t?”

  “You don’t have the choice, young man. With that measly power of yours, what can you do? And you can let go of her hand now.”

  Karkus noticed that his hand and Cerea’s hand were locked together. He let go of her hand and turned to her. Cerea was motionless. He waved his hand in front of her eyes, no response occurred. He poked her shoulders, her cheeks, and shook her a bit. He then stopped since no reaction came. It was as if she was a statue crafted by a virtuoso.

  “I see,” Karkus said, “this is what you did to me earlier.”

  Trakun began to walk around Karkus. “Not quite since she’s unconscious. You’re one of those rare beings that still has their consciousness intact after I used this magic. You are an interesting human, I praise you for still living after our attack. Your power is strong — you’ve expelled that miasma in an instant. There’s something that disturbs me though. It is powerful, but not once have you ever used it to slay those monsters or at least that’s what I knew from the witnesses. Could it be that you’re hiding it from them?”

  “Self-preservation. This magic I’ve gained is just for self-preservation. Nothing more, nothing less. You took my power so my vulnerability meter is at the peak right now.”

  “Whether it’s just a self-preservation magic or not, I’ll know in the future. There are many mysteries about you and your world, and my goal is finding the truth hidden.”

  “You said that you’re a Deity of Fate, couldn’t you just pry into my mind?”

  “Normally, yes. But you’re an eccentric. For unknown reasons, we, the Deities of Fate, can’t probe your mind, control you, or learn your Fate. We only know you through the people you’ve met. You’re a blank to us, a hollow human to us, and a person holding countless of possibilities so we have brought you here to narrow down the possibilities you make.”

  “The monsters—”

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  “We’ve dealt with them. There was someone or something that placed portals to Earth. The portal releases a miasma when it is about to open. Though I am quite sure that you already know that. Anyhow, there should be no more monsters there.”

  “Seems that I have no choice but to follow you then. I just have to protect this girl.” Karkus patted Cerea’s stonelike back.

  “Indeed. Also, there are some rules that you must know. Don’t kill her, don’t go beyond a certain distance from her—”

  “How far?”

  “You’ll know it when you notice a magical array forming in the sky. You will still see it even though it is blocked by a roof or anything that could block the sky’s view. This will form, too, if you killed her. And lastly, refrain from replenishing your powers unless you got the permission to do so. Why don’t you try it on her?”

  He (his body) resisted once and almost got himself killed. Karkus nodded. The Ethereal Threads appeared again, but this time all of them were still. They do not writhe or wiggle without great harm approaching. He pulled out a short thread and ate it. Tasteless, and he can’t even feel it cross his throat as usual. The faint light on his hand pulsed once.

  A miniature magical array formed in front of Karkus. The shapes in it moved, channeling the magic. Trakun stopped it before it fired while being stationary.

  “That’s what will happen, Karkus. The power of that array is relative to the amount of effect you did to the source’s destiny. It may seem like just a power source to you, but it’s more than that. Those threads are a part of the Fabric of Fate. Taking a portion means you are changing a person’s life which is the thing we are preventing. That’s why you’re here. To stop you from being a headache to us, and give us the information we need.”

  “You already know that I won’t speak, I suppose.”

  “We could do other things to squeeze information from you. I could torture you if you’re . . . into that.”

  Karkus folded his arms, tapped the floor with his right feet, thinking. “Nope, I prefer the former because no, just no,” He shook his head.

  As Karkus looked again at Trakun, he saw him hide a whip, handcuffs, and a bucket of water behind, and they vanished from sight in an instant.

  “Did you just?” Karkus asked.

  “So, Karkus, it’s time for you to know why you are here,” Trakun said as if nothing happened. “For years, Earth is ravaged by those monsters from another dimension, and you are there changing people’s true destiny arbitrarily. Are you aware of the consequences of your actions?”

  “No.”

  “Just as I thought. It’s impossible for humans of your world to know real magic, or know how to use it unless it’s a form of a supreme magic. Lying to me won’t be useful. I have placed a spell on you so whatever you’re thinking of right now and every thought that crosses you’re mind, I know it. As long as you think about it, I can know it. Others, I can delve into their deep unconscious. But yours, only the consciousness.

  Chapter 2; Part 5 End.