Jace awoke to a plain white ceiling. He shifted on the sheet, struggling to take a look at his body. Two tubes were attached from his left arm, one connecting to a clear colorless liquid. The other connected to a red viscous liquid–blood.
Jace shifted slightly, his sides hurting. He twisted in the bed, trying to get himself comfortable in the light green sheets. A tiny railing at the edge of the bed stopped him from falling but also shifting.
He turned to the left, noticing someone lying on a chair at the wall. She slumped, her head resting against the chair's arms. Her golden hair had fallen, obscuring most of her face.
"She waited, you know?" Jace turned forward as a nurse walked in, gray hair poking underneath black. He wore scrubs, black complementing his bronze skin.
He smiled gently, feeling Jace's pulse as he fiddled with a nearby tab connected to the side of the bed.
"How long have I been here?" Jace asked softly, his gaze still on Elena's slumbering figure.
"Not long, give or take a day," He nodded to Elena.
"She's been here since last night. The minute she finished her shift she rushed to you."
Jace stared at her as the nurse spoke, his mind pondering. Why, Why was she so obsessed with him? Jace knew he was handsome, intelligent even. But that wasn't it? Somehow, Jace struggled to understand why she seemed to care so much about him.
"Kano," Elena muttered, her tone barely a whisper. Jace frowned. Somehow, that irked him. The nurse smiled faintly, still doing something on the tablet. That smile irked Jace too.
"Your body's remarkable," The nurse stated, "You healed faster than expected. Most of what you needed was just blood and a few stitches."
"Thanks," Jace replied awkwardly, his mind moving to the 'Corrupted' in his screen. The nurse stopped tapping Jace's tab and smiled politely at the patient.
"Can you open up your shirt? We need to check the bandages."
Jace obliged, holding up his shirt as the nurse hummed. "You can drop it."
He stated, his lips curving. "Everything looks good so far. With everything, you might be able to leave in time for classes tomorrow."
Jace nodded just as the nurse glanced at Elena. Finally, he cautioned "Be careful. She's running from something. I don't know what but there's something. Be careful not to hurt her."
Frowning, Jace watched the nurse say some of the most cliche things he had ever heard, before walking out, tapping Elena awake as he did.
The young girl sprang up, her eyes still drooping. She gazed around her, almost out-of-it, before noticing Jace. She rushed up to him as Jace struggled to smile.
"Who did this?"
Jace almost laughed. "My executioner,"
Elena sighed as she heard that, silence filling the room. Jace himself felt lost for words. What could he talk about? Her knowing what he did to Bill, the kiss.
It just seemed so…ridiculous. Then there was Kano. Jace had no idea who he was, if he was a person, but somehow that seemed to be the driving force of all her decisions. Including the one to kiss him.
It felt like a sick joke. Elena was doing all she did because of someone Jace didn't know. Their relationship, if they had one, was based on a mysterious figure. It was sickening.
"So, Ka–" Jace started but Elena cut him off.
"I'm really really sorry but I'm still working. My shift is starting in less than an hour and I've no–"
Jace forced a smile "It's fine, everything's fine. I'll see you later."
Elena nodded, walking out the room slowly, as if waiting to be called back.
The door closed behind Elena as Jace let out a sigh. He laid back on the bed, twisting to his side to check his wounds.
As the nurse had said, his side had been stitched up. The skin around the stitch looked whitely pale, a feat considering his ebony complexion. Sighing, Jace turned back, allowing his back to rest on the soft sheets.
The dull ache of his wound continued as Jace finally sat back up. He needed to think and..
plan.
With the military aware of Bill's…death. With them being aware of the student's death and Jace's part in it, Jace had assumed they would kill or at least take him away.
But they hadn't. Adding in the Instructor's vague words and the literal motto, Jace lingered on the idea that they had deemed his life valuable, or at least more valuable than the corpse's.
Jace would have been jumping for joy if not for the strings he could feel being placed on him. The Military was ruthless and efficient. Somehow the thought that they had swept everything away simply to garner his admiration or interest felt wrong.
No. They already had the death hanging above Jace's life and they could play it as they wanted. For all intents and purposes, Jace was trapped and subject to the Military's wills.
Sighing, Jace shook his head. He collapsed back down, the corner of his eye catching his reflection on the steel railing glaring at him.
He turned, paying it more attention as his reflection donned a mocking grin, "Did you miss me?"
Jace forced a small smile, laying his head onto a pillow. "If i say yes?"
The devourer ignored Jace's answer as he pondered aloud. "Your friends. What were their names? Ah, Jax and Silas. Wasn't it? I quite like their bodies. I think they'll do nicely as hosts. Of course I'll have to kill them."
"Carry on," Jace replied in a weary tone. The devourer skipped over Jace's response, continuing.
"Or maybe I'll tear off that pretty girl's face. Elena, was it?"
"Really," Jace spoke, struggling to keep his anger. "I'll kill you before that happens. I will make you suffer, make you dread, make you beg for when I kill you. All so that–"
Jace stopped, realizing his reflection had went still. The entity was gone. He let out an angry sigh, punching his bed.
"Status," Jace commanded, eager to get his mind elsewhere. The familiar screen materialized.
[Name: Jace Vicea] Lv.5[<50/500>]
[Age:17]
[Race: Human (90%), Corrupted (10%)]
[Abilities: ???Fog?(Grade 6), Dark Energy]
[Bloodline: Vicea(Partially locked)]
[Titles: Marked by Fate, Invisible to Fate, Masochist, Killer]
[Strength: 14] Health[<20/20>]
[Speed: 13] Energy[<20/20>)
[Resistance: 10] Dark Energy [<25/25>]
[Stamina: 11]
[Reflexes: 15]
[Perception: 8]
[Ability Usage: 5]
Scanning through it, Jace mentally compared it to the screen from before his 'execution'. His ability usage and energy had increased but aside from that, it was the exact same thing.
Starting from scratch, Jace's gaze moved from top to bottom, lingering unnaturally at the 'killer' title. He considered something, choosing to click on it.
[Killer: Blood drips from your fingers, your heart is burdened by the weight of your sins. Your salvation is both near and far, and you have been condemned by all you touch. For all eternity, you shall forever remember the name of your victim: Bill.]
Jace read through the poem, his eyes glazed over. Finally, he shifted away, choosing to focus his attention elsewhere.
His mind moved to his ability as a new screen popped up, obscuring the previous description.
[???Fog?: A symbol of fear and despair, a prison for warriors and scholars alike. Sealed at the moment of awakening and left to fester in the body of a child, something darker rears underneath and wishes to be released.]
Sitting up, Jace read through the description again. And again. He sat up, his sides hurting as he rose yet the young boy's focus remained strictly on the screen.
He reread the last line, making sure to note every word. Theories sprang up, some about the mysterious fog, some about the 'child', and some about what was present below.
Abilities couldn't be sealed. It was one of the few things Jace had learnt in his…past. Studies had tried, tested and finally shown that no matter how strong the individual involved, one's innate ability couldn't be changed or suppressed.
But more than the sealing, was the chilling description in the first line. It had called the fog a prison. Jace recalled the sensation of the battle.
He recalled how the fog wrapped around, how it slowly enveloped the two warriors. Jace's finger twitched as he struggled to think back. In the end, Jace recovered nothing.
At the moment of his awakening, he had been bruised and bloody. Most of the likely effects of the fog could just have well been attributed to the loss of blood.
Pushing the thought away, Jace glanced at the two new additions, his second ability and the Corrupted race.
[Corrupted Humans: A race of people, human yet not. These mysterious beings, owners of 'dark energy', had no choice but to follow the rules of the word placed into their mind. That one word determined their social standing, abilities and everything in it. The more you follow it, the more you become it. The more you become it, the stronger you are. Remember: Obey Fate, Worship Fate, Love Fate.]
Jace dismissed the screen as he lay back down. He grunted as he grabbed his pillows and twisted them, shedding away frustration.
It wasn't as a result of the corrupted description or the fog one. It wasn't the Devourer. Hell, it wasn't Jace thinking about his increasingly bleak future. No.
It was a voice in his head. The voice decreed, its tone indicating that word was law.. And the word repeated, over and over and over. It slammed against Jace's mind like an anvil against metal and mocked him. And it repeated.
'Cursed.'