What kind of a choice was that?! It was either accept the job offer or go die! Die as in, like, die for real this time around!
Begrudgingly, Noah had to acknowledge that most likely, he’d have to wave his idyllic idea of Haven goodbye, and go slave away for some kind of a shady organization that made shit up to scam pitiful little mortals…
But he was unresigned! Really unresigned!
His lips involuntarily pursed into a devastatingly charming pout; his gorgeous black eyes glared around aimlessly filled with grievances. He should at least know which specific spot to glare at!! They could at least give him that much, right?
Noah gazed into the darkness in front of him. “How long do you intend to hide in the shadows? If you want to employ me, you should at least show some sincerity!”
After briefly pondering Noah’s words, Black thought that he might as well oblige. Putting his future host in a better mood would surely make these negotiations easier.
Thus, in the space in front of Noah appeared a shiny crystal shard the size of a baby’s clenched fist. Most of its light blue, nearly white, surface was covered by a pattern of a darker shade resembling a circuit board.
“Blackie?” Noah tentatively inquired.
The shard shook violently, nearly falling out of the air, “Black! My name is Black!”
Noah looked at the pretty little shard, his eyes curving in a sweet smile, “I know. Blackie.”
Blackie, the respectable old-timer, who made sure to introduce himself as Black but ended up being called Blackie once again:
(ノಥ益ಥ)ノ ┻━┻
Noah reached to teasingly poke the shard, only to be avoided. “Blackie, are you not going to introduce the others?”
The space fell into silence again.
After a long moment, Blackie thickened his face and declared, “What others? There is no one else here but you and me.”
Noah nearly spewed out blood from the sheer shamelessness of the statement.
Noticing how Noah’s smile had stiffened, Blackie quickly added, “They were here before, but now they've returned back to their stations. It's just a couple of guys from the department who got curious and dropped in for a look..."
"Oh? Aren’t you guys a huge organization that manages countless worlds? You must be recruiting new agents all the time. What is there to be curious about?"
Blackie froze midflight and started to hem and haw. He was trembling in the air for a while before reaching sudden enlightenment: "To see who my next host is going to be! Being a host to a super powerful and well-known system such as me is a pie falling from the sky! Everyone is totally jealous of you right now! "
Noah: (눈_눈) ‘…Yeah… let’s go with that…’
Noah released a heavy sigh, now he just wanted to get all of this over and done with. “What is this job you are offering me? And let me tell you upfront, I will absolutely not do anything that goes against my conscience!”
“Don’t worry! What do you take the Bureau for? We are the good guys! An unshakable pillar of justice and morality! We will absolutely not ask of you anything unethical or immoral!” If Blackie had a human body, he would be thumping his chest vigorously right about now.
Noah: (눈_눈) ‘…those words would be a lot more credible if they came from someone who didn’t write a whole book of lies and called it the Holy Scripture…’
Blackie enthusiastically continued to sell his bullshit: “The job we are offering you is very, very simple! In fact, it’s so hassle-free that you won’t even know you are doing it! Ah, your luck is so good! This is a limited time offer, just for you! Best possible terms other agents can only dream about!”
Noah: (눈_눈) ‘Are you intentionally trying to sound like a scammer, or have you been scamming people for such a long time it has become second nature?’
Blackie finished his pitch with an irrefutable tone filled with confidence, “In fact, the terms are so favorable that all you have to do is live a long and happy life!”
“Uh-huh, riiight. So, about that reincarnation…”
Blackie’s small form jumped in agitation, “Wait! Let me finish! This is totally not a scam! We’ll just send you to many different worlds, where you’ll take the body and identity of someone who was just about to die. All you gotta do, is, well, not die. You are free to do with this new identity whatever you want and live your new life however you want. You don’t need to accomplish the original owner’s dreams and wishes, nor do you need to act like the previous owner would have acted.”
“Um…” Noah raised up his right hand like a good student asking a question in class, “I’ve got some ethical concerns about all this…”
“Like what?” Blackie asked, sounding genuinely confused.
“Like…” Noah drawled, “…the fact that this is a body and identity theft.”
Blackie shook in front of him with what seemed to be righteous indignation. “No, it’s not! We are no thieves! Not only did we get the original owner’s consent, but they have also been sufficiently compensated!”
“Oh. So, it isn’t theft. Just lying and deceiving everyone in the world, including the government, the original owner’s acquaintances, family, friends…”
“You are overthinking it…” Blackie interrupted wryly. (◞‸ლ)
“But am I? Am I? AM I?” (≖_≖)
“Yes. Yes, you are.” (¬_¬;)
“Alright, I suppose I am. ╮(╯▽╰)╭ It should be fine if I make it up to them? It might be better for them to never know that their loved one is already gone.”
Blackie who was expecting a serious debate: ‘Oi, oi, don’t you think you agreed a bit too quickly!?’
“But!” Noah raised up his index finger for emphasis, “How did you get them to agree to sell off their body without any special requests? Not even asking you to look after their loved ones?” 🤔 ‘That’s totally weird, isn’t it?’
“…we might have assured them that the new body’s owner would be a morally upright person who knows gratitude, and will definitely repay kindness with kindness, so they can rest assured in leaving their loved ones in their care…” (; ゚ 3゚ )~♪
Noah: (눈_눈) ‘Ah, so not even the dead are spared from your scams…’
Feeling Noah’s contempt, Blackie jumped up like a cat that had its tail stepped on: “And are you not such a person?! We didn’t lie!”
Noah, who actually couldn’t say anything to refute it without slapping himself in the face:
(¬з¬) ‘Alright…I’ll let you win this one…’
“Alright, so, I will take on an identity of a soon-to-be-dead dude, and then will have to, well, avoid dying, right?”“Right! But don’t worry, host! You will receive the original owner’s memories, and you’ll even know the full details of how they were supposed to die! You’ll even have my full assistance! Avoiding death will be super easy!” Blackie assured with utmost confidence.“But what if I fail and end up dying
The all-consuming white slowly faded out to reveal pure white futuristic-looking skyscrapers, wide and clean walkways decorated with well-groomed greenery, and a cloudless sky the most beautiful shade of baby blue.Yet this idyllic and beautiful image was ruined by blazing red flames, nearly blinding in their intensity.Noah was surrounded by a terrified, screaming crowd. People were tripping over each other trying to run away, some were ducking behind whatever they co
Giving Blackie a middle finger in his heart, Noah returned his attention to the situation at hand.This wide-open area he was currently in was a Magcart station. It was like a subway station, but instead of being inside a dirty and creepy underground tunnel, it was out in the open. So basically: safer, cleaner, and most importantly – it came with free wi-fi that wasn’t shit and actually worked. Hurray for technology! (ノ*^o^)ノ*Oh, there was also the fact th
Blackie: (ꐦ ◠‿◠) “Oh? So you have the time to pity the bodyguard, do you? Unfreezing the time in three…”“Blackie!” Noah gasped out, then added, “It’s ok! I’m totally ready! ? You can skip the countdown.”Blackie: “…” Not quite the response I expected…
Time didn’t wait for Noah this time; while he was conversing with Blackie, his tumble-roll had finished, and he was now pinned under Trey’s body, the other’s big frame blocking the sniper’s line of sight to Noah.Noah’s heart thumped inside his chest as if it wanted to break out of it, time seemed to be passing excruciatingly slowly as countless thoughts flashed through his head.Why would someone want Aris dead? Aris wasn’t dangerou
What followed after was exactly as one would expect. Ambulances took the injured to the hospital, and firemen quickly put out the remaining flames. Policemen took Noah’s and Trey’s statements first, then proceeded to question other witnesses.The two were told that they would be contacted for follow up questions shortly by the investigator who will be taking over the case. And since Aris worked with the police regularly due to his identity and Soothing abilities, he’d probably just get a call from one of his inspector buddies.
When Noah touched his communicator, his sister’s bright voice immediately started replaying in his ear:“Sorry, brother. Can’t take you out for lunch. A bunch of burn victims popped in. ╮(╯▽╰)╭ My time is totally booked for today, and probably for the following days as well. A real pity…”A pity indeed. Noah nodded his head in agreement.
Astar Levi stood, leaning on a wall near the exit of the train station. The transparent screen projected in front of him by his communicator showed many new, just published news articles with new ones popping up every minute.“Cordia Aris saves the day”, “Horrifying power rampage in Concordia city”, “Over a hundred injured by a Blazer”, “This is why highly dangerous power users should not be allowed to roam freely”, “An accident or an act of terrorism” were some of the phrases his eyes caught while he scrolled.