"If it's in two years...there's not much time."
This was from Diane. She didn't seem as shocked as I was at hearing the news that the apocalypse was coming. Then I remembered that the young woman in front of me was attending University, with a Major in Trandsdimensional Magic Studies.
She gave me a small smile when she noticed me looking.
"I'm assisting one of my professors in studying the abnormalities around the recent Breaches. They haven't only been increasing in number, but also size. And they're no longer confined to Fault Areas, or the borders or Wildlands either. Major City States should still be safe...but if a Wane is the cause of these abnormalities, then..."
"Then nowhere in the three worlds will be safe," Dad finished for her.
"When are they planning to go public with this?"
"Next week. They plan to give an official statement at the end of the TriWorld Summit." Harry glanced at Dad. "I'm only telling you about this Greg, because you were asking about the rogue Anomaly that attacked Alisa. I poked around and...well, I found out that there was a new Breach in the area. They sent out an elite team to handle it discreetly, but it was outside of their expectations. That particular Anomaly slipped out of the cordon and happened to run into Alisa."
My father's face darkened. "Elite, you say. How can you call them elite if they can't even handle--"
"It was evaluated to be at Rank A-3. At first it was classified as a Breach, but the Anomalies came out almost immediately. They estimated a pack of 40 manticore-type Anomalies at maybe Rank B power." Harry paused, looking sombre. "We sent out a party of five Rank A and one Rank S Anomaly Guards. One was critically injured. Backup arrived, but one slipped past."
"Forty manticores? And they only missed one. I'd call that fortunate." Madam Josefa gave Dad a warning look, telling him to cool his temper.
"But things will only get worse. Your Guards need to get stronger."
"And that's why we're asking you to come in as a trainer, Madam. A Wane is coming. We need all the help we can get." Harry pleaded to his old mentor.
Madam Josefa regarded them solemnly.
"No."
This was a very serious matter. Definitely not something that should be discussed drunk. Then again, I could sympathize with Harry. Knowing that in the very near future there was a possibility that maybe half the people currently alive will most likely perish, and you're supposed to be one of the people responsible for preventing it, you'd want a few swigs of beer, too. That's how scary it was going to be.
Ever since the Gaia Incident, time and space and magic throughout the three worlds had been thrown off balance. It took a while for things to settle down and achieve a semblance of normalcy that could support a proper civilization again, but it did, because the universe has a tendency to balance itself out. But Gaia was a world so dense with magic, even five centuries after its self-destruction, its ripples could still prove disastrous. Imagine an earthquake of epic proportions as the Gaia Incident, and the aftershocks as the Wane. It will shake the very foundation of the world you live in, but you never really know when the next one will come.
The last Wane was three hundred and eighty years ago. The confirmed death toll had been a staggering one-hundred and fifty-million. And that doesn't include the number of people who disappeared and were never heard from again. Because the Wane is a dangerous period wherein the natural borders between worlds are severely weakened and brittle, spontaneous appearances of Breaches or formation of Gates increase exponentially and of course, so do the number of Anomalies. Most of the deaths were attributed to Anomaly attacks, but the missing people were theorised to have been pulled into unstable Breaches and shot into oblivion. That means they're all most likely dead, but it messes up the statistics if you assume that everyone who is never seen again is dead.
Anyway.
The point is that a calamity the likes of which had never been seen in three centuries is practically on our doorstep. And the woman whose abilities could possibly be the means of salvation of several thousand people just said no.
But Dad and Harry didn't seem at all surprised by her answer.
I studied the old woman. She didn't appear to be saying no out of malice or fear. In fact, I got the impression she said no because she thought it would actually be for the best. How weird.
She smirked at me as if she knew exactly what I was thinking. But her next words were clearly addressed to her previous students.
"Tell them I will give advice and only advice. I am much too old to be taming the unruly cubs you call heroes. Besides, they will need their claws and teeth and everything they have to face what's coming."
"Then if you never had any intention of being persuaded to help, why did you invite us here, Madam?" Harry asked in puzzlement.
Madam Josefa laughed. "Idiot. I said I won't train those little upstarts. But I didn't say I was never taking in a student." She turned to me and gently patted my hand. Her knowing gaze sent a shiver down my spine. I could feel the burden of her expectations on my shoulders and it was heavy.
"I brought you here so you could bring me your daughter. Your daughter will be the bait. The one I plan to reel in is someone capable of changing everything."
I looked at her apprehensively. "Madam...you don't mean..."
Again, she gave me that knowing smile. "Oh, don't play dumb. You're too pretty to be stupid, too. You knew, didn't you? The moment you saw him, you knew he was special. You have a better sense for these things than I do, after all." She laughed uproariously as if she were sharing a joke that only the two of us could understand. Well, yes, I understood perfectly what this old woman meant. But I didn't think it was funny.
I had so many questions running through my mind.
How did she know? What did she mean by bait? What exactly does she expect me to do?
My discomfort didn't show on my face, though. I am a phenomenal actress, after all. Hiding my real thoughts and feelings and only showing what I wanted others to see, was as easy as breathing for me.
I made myself laugh. "That's a tall order, Madam. He doesn't even know I exist."
Dad was looking at me with a small frown on his face. He obviously didn't like where this conversation was going. Harry and Diane looked completely perplexed. Madam Josefa took pity on them and said in a conspiratorial tone, "Alisa found herself a young man. A very interesting one. Daddy Bear over there isn't quite convinced he's worthy, though, so he's not happy to hear me praising the other party. But since you've never even met him, I don't think you should judge him too harshly, hmmm?"
I wasn't quite sure whether I should be cheering for Madam Josefa whose opinion is worth more than gold in front of my Dad, even if she's complimenting Jester. I'm happy that she thinks I should pursue a relationship (Ha! Pursue what? I barely even started anything yet) with him, but her earlier comment about reeling him in like a fish obviously means she's got ulterior motives.
"Who's this interesting fella you're talking about, Madam?" Harry asked.
"Jester Lee." Dad said his name as if it were a bitter candy.
Harry looked at him incredulously, before a wide grin spread across his face.
"Well, I'll be damned. He was involved in clearing that Breach in Puerto Princessa. So that's why you were nagging me about it! That kid really has a knack for getting involved with things normal people won't dare to. Ahahahaha!"
"Do you know him?" Dad asked, his frown deepening.
"You've been a suit too long, Greg. Everyone's heard of him. He's like the rising star of the Adventurer world." Harry gave Madam Josefa a sidelong glance as he reached for the beer, and when she ignored him, he took a healthy swig.
"Personally speaking, I've never seen him in action myself. But a lot of people have, and his record is impeccable. And he does all this as a Freelancer, and solo to boot. Although, being a Necromancer, he's not literally alone. I've been told he can summon hundreds at a time."
"A Master Necromancer at the age of twenty-three. And handsome as the devil himself," Madam Josefa chuckled, apparently enjoying my father's sour face.
"What do you want with him, Madam? If he's a Necromancer, it means his abilities are most likely runic and symbolic in origin, rather than mystic." Dad asked her, referring to Madam Josefa's clairvoyant abilities.
Yes, that was something I wanted to know too.
But of course the old lady wouldn't give us a straight answer.
"What I want to do with the boy doesn't concern you."
"It does, if it has something to do with my daughter."
"Your daughter is already an adult. As her father you should support her chosen partner."
"Partner?" Dad spluttered. "She's only met him once--!"
"Can you please stop talking about me as if I'm not here?" I interrupted, trying to sound calm and reasonable.
But inside my head was reeling and my heart was going crazy. Partner? Me. And Jester. Partner. Oh my god. Does that mean what I think it means? This is Madam Josefa we're talking about here. The most accurate clairvoyant in the known worlds. And she said we were PARTNERS.
!!!
Calm down, Alisa. Calm down. Madam Josefa is just trying to make a point. And maybe she wants to meet Jester so badly she'll say anything to get me in on her plan. But---!!!
"I don't want to get ahead of myself," I told Madam Josefa, quite composedly. "But I admit I do think he's interesting. I want to get to know him first."
Madam Josefa chuckled. "I wish you luck, dear. And if Papa Bear gives you trouble, I'll smack him. Hahahahaha!"
Dad was not amused. He grabbed a beer and emptied it in one go. His cheeks were red and his frown had turned into a pout. The effects of the purple cake must be wearing off."He should declare his intentions first. I'll meet with him myself."Huh. Well, that would prove difficult, since I don't think Jester is aware that he had any intentions to declare at all. Dad seems to be forgetting that I am still in the 'unrequited crush' phase of our relationship. Even calling it a 'relationship' was seriously stretching the boundaries of the word.This was getting quite embarrassing."Dad, I think we should discuss this when there's actually something more substantial between us to talk about. I mean, I think I like him, but he doesn't know that yet." I winked at Harry, who was chuckling silently in the corner."Mister Rosche, Madam Josefa, Diane. Thanks for keeping us company. I think we should be leaving now."
35 days after our Fated Encounter."Are you sure about this?" Bea asked me. "Because it's not too late for us to cancel.""Oh, yes, I'm sure. I finally found a window of opportunity after waiting so long. I'm not backing out now." I smiled confidently, twirling in front of the mirror to check my outfit: a calf-length brown pencil skirt, a plain white turtleneck, my favourite black stilleto boots, and a dark-brown fur-trimmed coat (its faux fur, of course, I don't wear clothes made from real animals. I'm not a barbarian) draped over my shoulders. My hair was done up in a casual high ponytail, with a matching brown satin ribbon holding it in place."Oh, I don't mean the date. I meant moving." Bea clarified, handing me my purse."Oh, that. I don't see the problem. Where I live is my business. And besides, the view is so pretty--""There are literally hundreds of other places that could give you a
He should have known something was wrong the moment he stepped into the cafe.First of all, he had never seen the place so full. Almost every table was taken, and his gaze immediately zeroed in on his favourite spot in the corner, hoping it would be empty. Thankfully, it was. He had been looking forward to having a cup of Arabique coffee that he had been craving for the past few days. Of course, he could just order to-go, but sipping coffee while doing some casual reading in his favourite cafe was something that always relaxes him. And boy, did he need some down time.The past week had been a blur of subjugation requests and raids and rescue missions and paperwork. If he had known how much paperwork he had to go through every time he finished a mission, he would never have accepted the Chairman's offer of enlisting as an Anomaly Guard. Well, at least they allowed him to have an aide. He spared a moment to appreciate Boris' hard work and sympathize with hi
Humans are not as compatible with magic as elves or dwarves. Something about inherent biological capacity and environmental exposure. Earth was naturally devoid of magic, and if it weren't for the Gaia Incident, humans probably would be in the same oblivious bubble of ignorance they've been enjoying for the past few millennia.But things did change, and in order to survive, humans had to evolve and adapt to these changes. Nowadays, roughly sixty percent of the human species can be considered Mages. Now, for every three hundred human Mages, one is bound to develop some sort of supernatural ability in addition to their inherent magical abilities. There aren't a lot of them, and their abilities are so unique and varied, that it's hard to categorize them. So, they are generally known as the Gifted.Although magical ability for the Gifted are less than for ordinary Mages, some of them have Gifts so powerful that it can't even be considered a disadvantag
I had been sitting on pins and needles the entire time I was waiting for Jester to email me the venue for our date.I couldn't even vent my stress by picking out an outfit, since I don't even know where we were going to have dinner. Bea said I should email him to follow-up, but I said I didn't want to sound super desperate or something. And part of me was worrying that maybe he wouldn't reply (that would be embarrassing!) or that maybe he'll go back on his promise and cancel on me (I don't think he's that type of guy, but then again he was the guy who gave me a fake number).So, to ease my frustration, I asked Mister Louie to install this tracking spell and sync it to my holo screen so that I can see in real time where Jester might be. Mister Louie assured me that although it was totally illegal, it was also untraceable so I won't go to jail for it, but he did say I shouldn't mention (especially to my Dad) where I got it from.
I hop from one world to another constantly, but I have always found Earth to be the most beautiful of the three (no bias, seriously). Oren has its charms with its soaring mountain ranges that far outsize anything that you could see on Earth, their cities usually twice or thrice as large as any City State anywhere else. For some reason, dwarven architecture focused on space--creating as much of it as possible, and filling it up with anything you can possibly imagine. Very much like a beehive or an anthill. I've been to Mister Louie's place in New York a few times, and let me tell you that if you ever find yourself invited to a dwarf residence, it's best to stay put unless you have someone who knows the place guide you around. His wife (who is human, BTW) says that the confusion grows on you, and I'll have to take her word for it because she says she only got lost during the first few weeks of their marriage.Ellenis is more surreal, with pockets of dense forests, sur
"Why are you interested in me?" Jester asked shamelessly. As if he were asking me why I chose to wear purple today, instead of asking me to reveal my deepest desires. He probably didn't realize his first question would be something impossible for me to answer at the moment. I told him so, and he said, "But you promised you'd answer me honestly--""As honestly as I can, yes, and I am honestly telling you that I cannot fully explain it right now." I looked him in the eye (bad idea, it was like looking at roughly cut diamonds) to show my sincerity."All I can tell you is that I think you're different. And that you are someone I would be better off knowing, than ignoring.""How can you say that?" he persisted. The potato salad and lamb chops arrived, coating our conversation with the heavenly smell of herbs and sauces.I chewed thoughtfully for a moment before answering. I am not very good at giving straightforward answers (
There was something in the way she told him that she had seen terrible things, too, that made Jester believe she was telling the truth. And it made him wonder, not for the first time, what other secrets Alisa Vega had.And strangely, a small part of him wanted to know more than just her secrets as well.This small part of him was telling him that there would be more to benefit him if he befriended her. Her looks aside, her power and the resources available to her could prove useful in accomplishing his goals. He didn't know what she had in mind, but before the night is through he was confident he'd find out. If what she wanted from him was his power, he could definitely find a way to use the situation to his advantage.And if she asked for something he couldn't or wouldn't give, well, then he could deal with that as well."What are you planning to do next?" Jester asked directly. He could tell from the light in her eyes