I groaned, putting a hand to my temple and massaging it.
"Why now and not when I woke up? Just so I can feel what I'm losing out on by being here?"
Mother shrugged her shoulders.
"I don't know how it works exactly, but it takes a bit of time to kick in. The weaker you are, the more time you have. You just became a Scion, so…"
"Great..."
I leaned back on my chair, looking at the ceiling.
"How did you know I lied about the laundry?"
She rolled her eyes. "Well… besides going into your room… Your town is silver."
I looked back at her.
"You mean… I have a silver tongue?"
"No, your tongue was silver coloured."
"What ?" I stuck my tongue out, but it seemed normal to me.
Mother laughed out loud.
"I said 'was' not 'is'." She shook her head, smiling. "A silver tongue is a clear sign of a Liar. That's how we call someone who chooses the Path of Control. You used it without realising it."
My face went through a multitude of emotions. Shock, awe, excitement.
Is this something that happens naturally? When I lie from now on, my tongue turns silver?
Does it have any special effects?
I got so caught up in my own thoughts that I didn't notice Mother's expression until now.
She had her elbow on the table, resting her head in her palm, a faint, soft smile on her face. It was a familiar expression.
"What?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Seeing you like this. Out of your depth, excited... It's refreshing. You just seem open. Like back before...everything..."
"Oh..."
She always did this whenever she was reminiscing about the past. The same expression. The same sadness, fondness and...love, in her eyes.
It made my heart ache, like needles poked at it.
I wanted to comfort her. To say something, — anything — but I wasn't sure what.
I could go and hug her, say that I feel the same or just nod in understanding. But that wouldn't be real. Hugging her would be empty. Speaking of a past I didn't remember, barely better than a lie.
Lying to her made me feel horrible.
The little, playful ones were fine. She would frown, but her eyes said otherwise.
Since the day I woke up without my memories, she showed me nothing but love and care. Put herself on the line for me, helped me with everything she could.
And I couldn't even call her 'Mom' without the word leaving a sour taste in my mouth.
Mother. That's all I could call her.
If I ever say I love her, comfort her, or call her Mom, I want it to be genuine. Without a hint of a lie.
Getting along with Lily was way easier.
I have known her since her birth. There were no memories she had of me before I lost all of mine. No expectations as to who or what I should be. To her, there was only one Alex. Her big brother.
And that was perfectly fine for me.
Eventually, I decided to be the one to break the silence.
"So...Liar?"
Mother shifted her gaze from the glass to me.
"Yeah. You are a Liar. I, a Vampire, your father, a Scholar. Each Path has its own titles and names."
"That...kinda makes sense. I get Vampire. I mean..." I motioned at her. "It's obvious. But why Liar?"
"Lies are the simplest way of controlling someone. With some well-chosen words, you can make others do whatever you want. That's the first reason. Second is the abilities you get."
"So... why didn't you start with those?" I asked impatiently.
"Because it wanted to save the part that's more interesting for later?"
"Ah...So you wanted to sound cool and knowledgeable."
She narrowed her eyes at me.
"You want to hear it or not? I can go back to sleep if you don't."
"I didn't say a thing."
"Good. As I was saying...The main reason is the abilities you get from entering the Gate of Control."
I leaned forward, focusing on Mother.
"But before that…"
"Oh, come on! Don't leave me hanging."
"Patience. I want you to do something else first. Close your eyes."
I grumbled and bit back a line of curses, but did what she told.
"The suppression in the city makes it harder, but the presence of mana is still noticeable. You felt it, didn't you? Should be quite strong still."
Now that she mentioned it, I did feel something at the back of my mind. An urge, a tugging feeling, as she said it.
"I think so…"
"Focus on it. Think of touching it. Or grabbing at it like a line, if that's easier."
I tried, but it was hard. How does one catch something that's only a concept or a feeling?
It was elusive, like grabbing air.
"Tch." I clicked my tongue in annoyance.
"Remember when…" I hear Mother's voice from next to me. "Lily wanted to give you your glasses, but was too tired to bring them down? She just threw it over the balcony railing for you."
Those glasses were something Mother got me for my birthday. I didn't really need them; they were just an accessory. I did like them, though. They had a handy little function that turned them into sunglasses when you tapped the frame three times.
"Yes?" I answer, unsure.
I wanted to open my eyes, but Mother covered them with her palm.
"You jumped up from the couch and dove to catch them. You hit your head in the process, but you caught them."
"I remember…" I could still recall how much my head hurt. " But what does that have to do with this?"
"Think back to how you felt."
I took a deep breath.
Because I wasn't good with feeling, whenever I had strong ones, they left an impact on me.
I replayed the events in my mind. How it felt to see my glasses falling. How I hurried to catch it. The desperation to catch them, to save the things precious to me. To not see them destroyed.
"Okay, I got it. Now what?"
"Replace the falling glasses with the tugging feeling you want to catch."
"Oh..."
It was surprisingly easy. Visualising things was something I was good at — especially if I had a reference.
And so, in my mind, I dove after the tugging feeling with the same urgency as I did for the glasses.
There was… a sudden hit of warmth in my palm, like I put my hand over a fire. It lingered for a second, then vanished, as did the tugging.
When I opened my eyes, I saw…
"A book?"
There was a small, barely palm-sized book floating in front of me. It was silver-coloured, with a small colourless gem in the middle and a metallic shine to the cover.
"You see it then?" Mother asked from next to me.
"Yeah. You don't?"
"Nope. It's yours. Only you can see it."
I reached for it and held it gently.
It felt so real.
"So...What's this?"
"It's your Journal. But you can think of it like a game interface."
So, this is what Father was talking about. His words echoed in my mind about how I could find more info in this.
"A game interface?"
"Yeah. As you get stronger, gain more abilities, and gather insight, it will all be recorded in this. Helps you keep track of your progress."
I whistled and smiled.
"Cool."
"Put it away."
"Uh...Why?" I arched an eyebrow. "I can just look at what abilities I have in it, no?"
"Oh? So, you would replace your helpful and kind mother so quickly?"
I looked up, pretending to think hard about how to answer.
"I mean..."
"Hm... Guess someone doesn't want coffee tomorrow morning."
My gaze snapped to her figure standing next to me. My expression was as serious as it could be.
"You wouldn't dare."
Mother grinned and arched an eyebrow.
"Want to bet on it?"
Not even a bit.
"So… how do I put it away?"
"Throw it, drop it, crush it… Whatever you want."
Glancing first at Mother, then at the book, I shrugged my shoulders. After that, I just threw it away. The little book fell apart in a haze of silvery particles.
"Why make me summon it in the first place then?"
"Because many struggle with it for the first time. Now you won't have that problem. Gets easier every time."
She sat back down, facing me.
"As a 1st Order Scion, you don't get much. Think of it like a trial stage. Since the entrance was easy, the reward is on par with it. Most of the focus goes to your body. It heals and grows stronger, faster, more resilient."
I nodded as she explained. My body being different was something I already knew.
"Of course, every Gate leaves its own mark on your body. In your case, the boost to your agility is greater. You might have noticed your reflexes got better, too. Ambidexterity?"
"Yeah. I got those. But why?"
"Don't know. I'm not a Liar."
I looked at her with a deadpan expression. It made her smile.
"You could say it's so that you can run away if you get caught lying. Anyways… The fun part. Silver Tongue."
I leaned forward with eagerness.
"When active, its effect basically makes your voice sound more convincing and pleasing to hear. The ones affected don't even notice it most of the time; their minds relax. Hell, they might even become addicted to the Liar's voice. They just want to keep listening to it."
Keep listening to it...
I could almost hear the laughter in my ear.
I felt my mouth run dry and my heartbeat quicken.
Those were my own words.
The ones I used to describe the hooded spectre's voice.