Chapter 15 [Truth]

Jason stood silently below the night sky of the Origin Floor, staring off toward a dark alley, waiting. Beside him, a hooded, white-robed man tapped his foot anxiously and glanced toward the floating clock that could be seen even from this incredible distance. In his hands was a strange device that looked similar to a lantern, but instead of providing the usual light one would expect, a dense gray vapor was seeping out from within the glass.

“It’s almost time, Jason,” the man spoke quietly. His voice was raspy, as if he’d gone days without taking a drink. “If she doesn’t arrive within the next five minutes, I’ll have to start the ritual without her.”

For the first time since they’d arrived, Jason looked away from the alley and tried to peer into the darkness of the deep cowl obscuring the man’s features. He grimaced when he found he couldn’t break the hood’s Effects. “She’ll be here, Erol.”

The seconds ticked down, and Jason kept glancing at his old friend. His skin was tight around his hands, so much so that Erol’s bones and veins looked to be rubbing against one another. He looked frail, old… and his voice…

“You can stop looking at me like that, Jason. I know you want to ask, but I’ll tell you now… there are some answers you’re better off not knowing.” It was hard to tell with Erol’s voice being so far gone, but Jason thought he’d heard a tone of fear, maybe desperation—like the man was pleading with him not to pursue the matter further.

“Very well,” Jason acquiesced, but only because he could hear a set of footsteps coming closer. He didn’t even look at the newcomer before turning and walking toward the charred remains of what was once a large warehouse.

“Well, nice to see you, too, brother,” a female voice snapped from behind. “Ya too good to look at me now yer part of the damned white robes?”

Jason glanced at Erol, who was walking beside him, but couldn’t tell how the other man had taken the comment. Before he could turn to confront his sister, she’d already brushed past him, shoving his shoulder as she passed.

“She doesn’t seem to have changed much,” Erol croaked.

“You’re right.” Jason looked ahead to where his sister was walking confidently forward. Her long blonde hair swayed from side to side, slightly obscuring a few of the many ornate daggers that were strapped around her waist and thighs. Her black leather boots ran up to her knees, and she wore a similarly dyed set of leather armor, with metal plates fitted over the top of the vital areas. Jason sighed. “Serena hasn’t changed a bit.”

They followed behind the confident young woman, who was supposed to have used the Gray family’s influence to gather information and find the exact location their younger brother had been found. Jason didn’t doubt she’d succeeded—after all she had never been one to fail.

Serena came to a stop at the edge of a massive black ring with rubble strewn about the middle. After looking around for a few minutes, she seemed to have found what she was looking for and began moving further in, until they were standing at the outer edge of a small crater. Erol was tapping his fingers on the Relic he held while constantly glancing up at the clock.

“Tell me where, quickly,” he wheezed. “If we don’t set up soon, we’ll miss our chance.”

“Yeah, yeah. Should be right…” Serena took a few steps, held her hand out like she was using it to measure something, then walked forward and used her finger to draw a circle in the grime. Then, she pointed back in the direction they’d come from. “Here. His body was found over there, but this should be where he was… before…”

Her confidence wavered, and she failed to finish her sentence before stepping aside and allowing Erol to do what he needed. Seeing her with her head held down, Jason couldn’t help but feel saddened. Though the two of them fell apart after he’d decided to leave the family for the church, they’d been very close in the past.

“Look, Serena—”

“Don’t.” The young woman jerked her head up and glared at him. He could see that her cheeks were wet, and her dark brown eyes were red around the edges. “I’m not here for you, I’m here to see his final moments. And I’m still not convinced that what you said is true. First you say someone killed Camilla… and now Zachary… Why?! It doesn’t make any sense!”

She began sobbing quietly to herself, and Jason didn’t know what to do. He just turned and watched Erol, who had the cap lifted from the smoking lantern and a large Essence Crystal in the other. The man’s hood was facing the clock, and Jason thought he could hear mumbling from within, as if his friend was counting down.

It’s almost time. Soon… soon we’ll know the truth.

***

Serena clenched her fists so tightly her nails dug into her palms and cut her eyes at Jason, who was staring toward the clock. Why did I ever believe him? He abandoned our family, all to chase some imaginary, black-cloaked figures he saw after being heavily burned by the fire. He was delusional then and he’s no different now. Still…

She turned toward the cloaked man. Erol wasn’t someone she remembered well, since she’d ignored all of her brother’s visitors when they were younger, but he was the one that talked Jason into joining the Church of Liberation after the fire that Zachary started. The fire that broke their family apart. The fire killed Camilla.

Unlike her parents, it wasn’t Zachary that she blamed. He was just a child at the time. No, she blamed Jason, who should have been watching him. Jason, who knew what Zachary was like but still left him alone. All because he thoughthe’d seen someone peeking through the window. They had footage from the recording crystals. Nothing had entered or left their yard until the two boys had escaped the fire.

Zachary… You had the most potential out of all of us. Maybe if we’d spent a little more time with you… I could have taken you with me to the Fifteenth Floor when I took over the operations for father. You would have liked it there. Maybe even learned to be happy.

Staring at the ground again, Serena noticed that the strange gray fog from the item had expanded and covered her feet. Smoke constantly rolled from the top of the lantern, spilling over the sides and creeping out in every direction. Jason had told her about the Relic and what it did, which was why she’d decided to tag along, but she couldn’t help but feel slightly unnerved by how physical the smog felt as it rolled by and clung to her legs.

Then, as if it had received some unspoken command, the fog lifted from the ground and thinned out, forming a dome large enough to cover the blast site. The mist itself changed color and began to move, and the next thing Serena knew, she was watching herself measure the area, but she was walking backward.

As if the clock itself was rolling back, she watched as ghostly, distorted images of the three of them walked backward and left the area of the Relic’s Effect. The images seemed still for a moment as the blurry scenes shifted rapidly between night and day. Over and over the scenery changed until they could see multiple people scouring the area, and Erol twisted a dial on the side of the lantern, causing the process to slow.

“What is this?” Serena spoke softly, afraid of ruining the vision. “I could see myself clear as day when it first started, but now… I can barely make out the shapes of these people.”

Jason stepped forward, but Erol held out his free hand. “Not yet. This should still be the day after.”

He continued to wind the knob backward slowly, the image itself becoming even more blurred, but after a sudden flash, they could now make out the reds, yellows, and oranges of flame. Serena looked away from what the man was doing as the colors changed and she could see what looked like a dark figure leaned up against a brown background.

“Stop!” she shouted.

“This won’t last much longer,” Erol warned. “Jason!”

Serena heard her brother’s footsteps but didn’t look away from the blur before her. Then, suddenly, the image became crystal clear, and she could see Zachary, propped back against the wall with his body mangled and blood covering his clothes. He was looking forward… at something behind her.

It took everything she had to peel her eyes away from her brother, but once she did, she could see the back of a blurred, dark figure walking through the shadows cast by the many flames. The figure in question was at the edge of the dome of mist, one foot and hand already out of the smoke. Serena gasped.

That’s… Jason was right all along…

“Go back further!” Jason screamed, and she could see him glaring at the back of the mysterious person.

“I can’t. Your Card consumed too much of the Essence,” Erol complained.

Jason leapt up and sprinted forward, but as soon as he let go of the Relic, the mist started to move, playing the vision slowly from where he’d had it frozen while slowly shifting back to its original fuzzy nature. The man’s leg went completely through the dome, and her brother still hadn’t reached him. The speed was starting to pick up, and she saw Jason’s speed nearly double—likely from one of the Cards he’d received from the Church. Her brother reached the edge of the dome and spun just as the man’s face left the dome.

“Damnit!” Jason cursed, but suddenly, the figure’s stopped, and it turned around to look toward Serena…

No, he’s looking at Zachary, Serena thought. The face was too blurry to tell exactly who it was, but his glowing silver eyes cut through the fog as if it didn’t exist, and they looked… sad.

She wasn’t sure what to make of that as the man turned and vanished, then she looked back at her brother. The flames were climbing up his legs, but he was… smiling. It wasn’t his usual false smile. No, it was real.

Zachary… smiling?

Serena was even more confused than before. Then, she could see her brother’s lips moving… and the tears she’d been fighting back came rushing out. There was no sound, but she could see how truly happy he was… and could make out exactly what he’d said.

“Camilla…”