3 hours ago…
A figure was walking across the roof of one of the nine buildings arranged in a circle. At the center of which was something massive, a castle-like building, Khonshura.
Now he walked along the rooftop, heading toward a white figure who was sitting there, looking up at the sky. Her pale, luminous skin almost seemed to glow, as if it could light up the entire world.
"Hey, Gwen… we need to tell you something," Emil said, momentarily lost in her beauty.
Behind him, Emily and Dr. Turner stood as well. Dr. Aria was still behind, walking up on her own.
Gwen noticed their presence. She turned her head toward them, then rose from where she had been sitting.
"What happened?" Gwen asked in a calm, composed tone.
Dr. Turner stepped forward and showed her a link bracelet and a communication device.
"It seems Lysander… he's been taken prisoner by Sneha in Khonshura," Dr. Turner said in a grim tone.
She frowned. Taking the bangle and the communication device from his hand, she studied it for a moment… then slowly turned her gaze back to Dr. Turner.
"Any idea how they found out about this?" she asked, clutching the bangle and the communication device tightly.
"I do have a theory," Dr. Turner said. "It seems that the report about the second abomination was not sent to the main headquarters, which raised some serious concerns with the Essential. And that may be the reason they sent Lysander here. And for the people of Khnoshura, if they are all being controlled by Sneha, the one who will pose the biggest threat is Lysander. Not only is he nearly as powerful as a warden, though being a difference in ranks. He is also one of the few people that the Essentials trust."
He paused for a moment, trying to recall the details.
"They took him about an hour ago, telling him that he can now give the full report directly to the Essential from the Khonshura's direct communicator," he added.
She was still frowning, processing everything Dr. Turner had just said.
After a brief silence, she asked, "Did he say anything before going there? I'm sure he's not the kind of person who would just go wherever he's called."
"Actually… that's why we came here now," Emily spoke. "It seems Lysander had already calculated that this would happen. So he informed the Essential about everything beforehand."
She gestured toward the bangle in Gwen's hand.
"That bangle is actually a communication device to contact the Essential. And the other device… that's something the Essential made specifically for situations like this. Even if they use any kind of signal jammer, we'll still be able to communicate with him—but only if we're close to that building. Though the bangle communication without Lysander is only going to work once, he said to use it wisely."
She paused briefly.
"So before leaving… he handed all of this to Dr. Turner."
"There was one more thing he said…" Dr. Aria, who had just reached them, spoke in a huffing tone. "He said, Khonshuru… ninth stall of the washroom. That's where I'm going to put it—inside the flush tank. Ground floor."
'I guess he's smarter than I gave him credit for,' Emil thought.
"So I guess there's no point holding it back anymore… it really seems your vision is coming true," Gwen said, her head lowered, eyes fixed on the ground.
"Yeah… but I do want to make one last attempt to stop her from destroying everything all of us built together for years." Dr. Turner said. Anyone could see he was tormenting himself just to say it.
Then there was silence.
Maybe it was the calm before the end of something.
Or maybe it was the inability to accept the inevitable.
All of them were looking down. No one seemed willing to speak.
"So what do we do? What's the plan?" Gwen finally broke the silence, now looking more composed than ever.
"I haven't thought of one," Dr. Turner said, a frown settling on his face.
"Actually… I do have a plan," Emily cut through the conversation.
Now everyone was looking at Emily—except Emil. He already knew she had a plan. Not just one… two.
'You're really doing this, Em…' he lowered his gaze.
Gwen gave her a confused look. "Yeah, sure, Emily. You can share your plan… what is it?"
"Yeah, I think it's better if she devises the plan than anyone else here," Dr. Aria said, supporting both Emily and Gwen.
As Emily was about to open her mouth, suddenly a crumbling sound of black lightning began to roar.
'What is that sound? What is going on? Did they already attack us ?' These were the thoughts racing through the head of Emil as he began to shudder with cold and fear.
He looked around in a frenzy. His eyes were darting everywhere, that's when he saw inside the hand of Gwen, something was emitting light and darkness at the same time.
Her hand began to shake violently. With a gasp, she collapsed onto the ground. Emil ran before a thought could form in his mind.
He rushed to her, dropped to his knees, grabbed her hand, and tried to pry open her tightly clenched fist.
As her grip finally loosened on the things with the help of Emil. All of them were shocked to see a veil of darkness towering over the whole roof and also over all of them. Swallowing everything that stood in its way.
They were all confused but had different reactions to the thing. Doctor Aria was scared. Doctor Turner was confused, frenzied, and he stood paralyzed. Emily was looking over the growing shadows in the darkness with no expression on her face, but she was frowning. Gwen was in pain. And Emil was erratic, trembling, but still looking out for Gwen.
When the shadows finally stopped spreading, a strange fear gripped them all. As if something or someone commanded them not to move. They didn't dare to move. The veil had fully formed now. Not even a single photon of light from outside could enter.
The only things Emil could see were the faint white glow in Gwen's ethereal eyes… and his sister's glowing hazel eyes, barely visible in the suffocating dark.
They were looking out for whether someone or something was going to unleash a devastating attack on them.
And as both of them waited to watch out for the threats.
A chilling realization came into their mind.
Emil was the first one to say it," Did that Lysander sell us…out?"
The words echoed inside the eternal darkness of the veil, with no end to the distance they travelled.