The academy cafeteria smelled bad. It smelled like cheap artificial meat and floor cleaner. Zen sat at a corner table, eating a dry protein bar. Valeria sat across from him staring at him without eating.
"Won't you eat?" Zen asked, feeling the weight of her red eyes behind her fake glasses.
"I'm not hungry " Valeria said with a sweet smile. "I'm just happy watching you."
Zen sighed. He was about to ask the System for an excuse to leave when a heavy hand slammed on their table.
"Well, well, well. Would you look at this," Kaelen Thorne sneered. His two cronies stood behind him laughing. "The F-Rank trash actually found a girl to sit with."
Zen didn't even look up. "Go away Kaelen."
Kaelen ignored him. He leaned over the table to look at Valeria. "Hey, new girl. I'm Kaelen. Mid B-Rank. I don't know why you're wasting your time with a shattered-core loser, but if you want, I can show you around the…"
He reached out to touch a strand of Val's hair.
The temperature in the cafeteria got cold in an instant. The cheap metal fork in front of Valeria twisted into a tight knot. Her sweet smile vanished, replaced by a look of pure anger. Golden Aegis mana began to crackle around her fingers violently.
She was going to rip Kaelan's head off right here.
"Val," Zen said.
He didn't yell; he just spoke in the exact same tone he had used five hundred years ago when commanding his Vanguard on the battlefield. The Emperor's commanding voice.
"Stop. Sit down."
Valeria froze. The golden mana instantly snuffed out. She looked at Zen in shock. A violent shiverr rand down her spine, and her cheeks flushed dark red. She slowly sank back into her plastic chair, looking submissive.
"Yes " Valeria whispered with a mix of awe and excitement in her voice.
Kaelen blinked, completely unaware of how close he had just come to dying. "What's wrong with her? She a freak?"
"Walk away Kaelen," Zen said coldly. "Before you get hurt."
Kaelen scoffed. "Whatever, trash. Keep your weirdo." He tuerned and left away with his goons.
Zen let out a breath he didn't realise he was holding. He had figured out how to control Valeria. She was obviously obsessed with him, which meant she was obsessed with his authority too.
Valeria leaned in from across the table, her red eyes analysing every inch of his expression.
"You sounded exactly like him," she whispered.
"Like who?" Zen asked, playing dumb.
"Don do that," Valeria said. Her voice dropped low. "That move you used yesterday to dodge the blast… the Emperor's Stride. And now, that voice. Who taught you to speak like that, Zen? Where did you learn the step?"
"I told you, I'm just a scrapper " Zen said. "I observe things. I learn fast."
Valeria didn't believe him. "No one learns the Emperor's Stride by just observing. I need to know more."
"There's nothing to know," Zen said, standing up and grabbing his bag. "I'm broke, I'm weak, and I have a Combat Theory assignment to finish. I'll see you around, Val."
"System," Zen thought as he walked away. "Calculate an escape route. I need to get to District 7 to buy a sword without her following me."
Over the next four hours, Zen tried to ditch her. Twice.
The first time was after lunch. The hallways were crowded with students rushing to their next period. Zen saw a chance and took it. He slipped behind a group of upperclassmen and ducked into a dark maintenance closet, quietly locking it.
He leaned against the wall, ket out a long breath in the dark.
Suddenly, the door handle shook and the door opened, letting in a sliver of hallway light.
"Zen?"
Zen blinked. Jax was standing in the doorway, holding a dirty mop and looking confused.
"Jax?" Zen whispered fiercely. "What are you doing in here?"
"I got assigned janitor duty for failing my Aegis practical last week!" Jax whispered back. "Why are you hiding in a mop closet?"
"Shhh… just close the door," Zen hissed, reaching out to pull his friend inside.
Before Jax could move, a pale hand landed gently on his shoulder. Jax froze.
Valeria's face appeared over Jax's shoulder, looking into the dark closet. She pushed her fake glasses up her nose and offered a terrifyingly sweet smile.
"There you are, partner!" Valeria chirped happily. "I was so worried you got lost. Come on, we don't want to be late for class."
The second time, it was free period. Zen decided to use pure logic.
"System," Zen thought. "Use Vanguard tracking protocols. Calculate her most likely search pattern and cross-reference it with current student foot traffic. Give me a physical blind spot."
[Calculating... Optimal path found via the eastern track field. Probability of intercept: 12%. Proceed with caution.]
Zen crept behind the metal bleachers, moving silently from shadow to shadow to avoid the students practicing on the field. The rusted chain-link fence marking the academy's boundary was only ten feet away. He prepared to jump it.
He took one step out of the shadows.
A hand grabbed the back of his collar and yanked him backward so hard he nearly choked.
"Leaving so soon?" Val asked. She was leaning against the concrete pillar right behind him, casually examining her nails. "You really shouldn"t skip school, Zen. It"s dangerous outside."
Zen lied, straightening his jacket. "I just needed some fresh air."
"I can get you some fresh air," Valeria smiled. "We can sit on the roof together."
It wasn't until the final bell rang that Zen got away. Thousands of students were leaving the academy at the same time. Zen used the crowd to his advantage and escaped without Val following him behind. He sprinted straight to the slums of District 7.
He didn't stop running until when he was tired and his lungs ached. He hid in a dark, narrow alley filled with rusted scrap and burning oil barrels.
"I think I lost her," Zen muttered, resting his hands on his knees to catch his breath.
He stood up, ready to go to the black market when he heard a noise, like a panicked gasp.
Zen stopped. He quickly hid behind a massive dumpster as he saw Valeria walking by. He waited for her to walk past the entrance of the alley before peeking out into the street.
Her fake glasses was gone. Her dyed black hair was in a mess, and her red eyes had some kind of intesne dark glow to it.
"Zen!!" she called out softly, looking around. "Zen, where are youuuu?"
A local trader, an older man carrying a bag of metal parts, accidentally bumped into her.
Valeria didn't hesitate. Her hand shot out, grabbing the man by the throat and lifting him clean off the ground. The trader choked, desperately clawing at her iron grip.
"Have you seen him?" Valeria asked. "Zen, have you seen him?" Her voice was completely devoid of emotion.
"I… I don't know who that is, crazy lady. Let me go! The trader choked out.
"He's 180 centimetres tall," Valeria started. "Exactly 72 kilograms. He has black hair that are slightly curles at the ends. Pale skin. A small, faded scar right below his left thumb. And his eyes... his eyes look like they're tired of the world."
The trader looked at hier in horror. "You're crazy. Let me go! Help!"
With her free hand, Valeria slowly brought out a combat dagger from her skirt pocket. The dark metal glinted in the neon light.
"If you don't know where he is, then your eyes are useless to me," Valeria whispered, lifting the dagger.
Zen realized he can't escape her. If he keeps hiding from her, she was going to tear this entire district apart just to find him.
Zen stepped out from behind the dumpster. "Val! He called loudly "I'm right here."
Valeria froze. She dropped the trader carelessly on the floor. He hit the concrete coughing and immediately ran away into the dark.
She turned to Zen. For a second or two, she just stared at him.
Then she moved in the blink of an eye.
Before Zen could even take a defensive stance, she slammed into him, hitting him hard against the brick wall of the alley. She pinned his shoulders with her left arm.
There was a cold, sudden flash of steel.
Zen flinched as he felt a sharp sting on his right cheek, followed by a thin, warm line of blood, tricking down his jawline.
She had just cut him.
"You made me look everywhere for you " Valeria whispered, her face in front of his. She was breathing hard, her chest going up and down fast. Her eyes were wide and dangerously manic. "I told you not to hide from me, Zen."
"Valeria, put the knife down," Zen said, keeping his voice entirely steady.
She didn't listen. She pressed the flat of the bloody blade against his neck right over his pulse.
"You ran away " she breathed, her voice shaking as tears suddenly filled her eyes. "Why did you run? Do you hate being with me that much?"
"I had things to do," Zen said calmly.
"Then let me do them for you!" she yelled, pressing the blade a bit harder. "If you run away from me again, Zen... I'll cut your legs off. I swear, I will cut them off right at the knees."
Zen stared at her, trying to see if she was joking. She wasn't.
"You won't be able to walk " Valeria sobbed, though she was smiling a weird scary smile. "But that's okay. It's okay! I'll just carry you everywhere. I'll bathe you. Feed you. That way you'll always be with me. You'll never be able to leave me again!"
He remembered what the System said. He needed to seduce her to get his power back. He couldn't act like he's scared. He had to be the Emperor she thinks he is.
Zen didn't move away, from the blade. He slowly raised his hand, ignoring the dagger at his throat and wiped the drop of blood from his cheek.
He looked at the blood on his thumb. Then he looked her in the eye and smirked. It was an arrogant and totally fearless smirk.
"But you wouldn't kill me if I am who you think I am, would you?" Zen asked softly.