SYSTEM ASCENSION

”Blur?” Anya was the only one who didn’t get it. ”What’s that?”

”It seems it got inside the academy already.” Tyler muttered, stepping forward to obvious the place.

The bed sheet the student had laid on, had melted with the rest of his skin and bones. Although a little part of his leg still remained, his face was gone.

”He didn’t yell or alert anyone, so the attacker started pouring it from his face.” Davon muttered. He looked around the room and began to walk in circles to look for clues.

Claude glanced at Fayera. ”Information.”

She shut her eyes and opened it right after. They were now blue in colour.

”Calv Bafman. Son of a mid grade merchant. B rank.”

”Nothing special.” Tyler muttered, stroking his chin. ”Another reason why it had to be him..”

”He offended someone important?” Anya asked. ”Like his family?”

”It’s a bit too far stretched to attack the son inside the academy for something the parents did,” Coco replied. ”it must be someone he did.”

Claude glanced at Davon who was still pacing.

”Wanna take a look?”

”I’d rather not.” Davon replied, but stepped forward anyway.

He shut his eyes and touched the bed.

”Ability activate. Memory lane.”

The air around them shimmered slightly, and Davon slightly tilted his head as he read into the past of the corpse.

Everyone stood still, saying nothing to interrupt.

A few minutes later, blood began to tickle down his nose, but that wasn’t enough to stop him.

It went on for twenty minutes before he pulled back and stood up.

”He offended a son of a large organisation aboard. I guess they really found him all the way here. A skilled assassin killed him. Poured the poison over his face before he even woke up. He escaped through the window right after.” He wiped his nose with a handkerchief Fayera handed to him.

”That’s surprisingly petty.” Anya snorted.

”Oh...I see.” Tyler mumbled.

”The person he offended must be connected to the terrorist organisation on the rise, seeing that they used this poison on him,” Coco muttered.

”The question is, how far are we digging?” Lane asked. ”if we make a wrong move, we have blur dangling over our faces.”

”We should first figure out if this assassin is still in the academy,” Coco said. ”It unlikely, but we can’t be taking any chances.”

The rest agreed with a nod.

”I’ll give a detailed report to the headmaster,” Claude walked out.

”Let’s spread out and search.” Fayera spoke calmly.

The rest agreed and walked out. Only Elias and Fayera stayed behind. While Elias stayed because he wasn’t interested in patrol, Fayera clasped her hand over the corpse.

”May Omeo guide your parts to the beyond. Amen.”

His expression didn’t change. He just watched her, and when she finally noticed him, she released a small smile.

”Since you’re still here, accompany me to break the news to his family.”

”Is that our job?”

”It is.” She walked past him.

He glanced at the bed a moment longer before following behind.

The student council got busy after that. The patrol for the assassin took three days straight without rest, while the rest of the school proceeded like nothing happened. The security orbs didn’t catch the image of anyone suspicious too.

Elias and Fayera left the school and travelled to sound city where they delivered the news about the boy’s passing to his parents.

Although they had yelled about security and trust, Fayera calmly pinned all the blame on the boy, and scolded the family for not raising him well and almost putting his roommate and dorm mates in danger.

It ended with a grievance.

At the end of three days—

”Aaarrrggghhh...” Kael collapsed into his bed as soon as they got back. ”Nobody told me that the council would be this hard!”

”Welcome back.” Haliad’s voice sounded.

Surprisingly, the male had not stepped out of the room for the past three days. Instead, he sat down on the ground, dressed in one of Elias’s hoodies, and reading a book.

Elias walked into the bathroom without another word.

With some time alone and zero Haliad distractions, Kael finally did some thinking. During the patrol, he did less work than everyone, and somehow got tired first. Tiana even carried Mona for three days and didn’t break a sweat. Everyone had used their abilities and communicated, but somehow he was left out of it.

The conversations even revolved around Elias who said almost nothing.

”How pathetic...” His eyes drifted shut.

It was about an hour later when Elias came out of the washroom. He wasn’t asleep yet, so he could tell. But what shocked him was Elias dressing up in shorts and Tanktop for another outing.

”Dude, it’s freaking midnight.”

Elias glanced at him. ”Get up. Let’s go.”

He sat up. ”Go where?”

Elias was already walking out, and he had to run after.

”You didn’t even let me bathe!”

”...”

”Where are we going? It’s almost curfew.”

”What happened to my sealing stone?” Elias answered his question with another unrelated question.

”What? The school safe...I guess? Since Claude was holding it, maybe...”

”Alright.”

Kael tilted his head. ”It shattered though.”

”As long as I am alive, it’ll keep coming back together.”

”...oh.”

Silence followed as they exited the dorm. Cool midnight wind hit them in the face, tugging their hair, before Kael remembered to ask again.

”Where are we going?”

”To the student council office.”

”What?!” He froze. ”Why?”

”To discuss Calv Bafman reason of death.”

”Reason for death?” Kael hurried his steps to catch up. ”But we already...”

”Davon was obviously lying.”

”Lying? Why would he lie...”

Kael’s brain pinged him. The main reason could be something so important that Davon had to cook up stories. It only means it was related to their status as an upholder.

’So Davon is one of us...’ he thought.

They finally arrived at the building. Unlike the normal hall with a table and chairs, they took an elevator into the underground building.

It was far more impressive than the building above. They were water tubes featuring strange dead and chemically prevised creatures. There were even vaults that kept important things.

After walking for a while, and taking a turn.

”It seems everyone is here.” Claude’s cheerful voice sounded. ”I was beginning to think you believed the story.”

Kael glanced at Davon who was leaning against the wall and back at the other who had responded to the invisible call.

’I didn’t even take a hint.’

”Now,” Claude stepped forward. ”Let’s begin.”

He raised his hand. ”Ability activate. The judge.”

He said calmly. ”Statute one: A formal introduction would now commence among everyone in this room, featuring your name and sector. Failure to do that. Sentence....”

They had expected him to say something but he just released a creepy smile.

”I’ll keep that to myself.”

A scale immediately materialized at the top of each of their heads.

Kael felt a chill up his spine. He realised that some of them felt it too.

”I’ll go first,” he offered. ”Claude Merrin. Sector one.” The scale above his head shattered.

”Elias Morail. Sector seven.” Elias leaned the wall as his own also shattered.

The rest were hesitant, especially how Claude refused to mention the sentence.

”Then,” Kael muttered. ”Kael Winger, sector three.”

”Tiana Ringoff. Sector four.”

”Ringoff?” Another voice sounded.

It was Tyler.

”You grew up in the Ringoff family? Uncle’s family?”

”Just a few years back.”

”Tyler Alaric Drevan. Sector twenty two.” He folded his arms and leaned against the wall.

”Your middle name included?” Claude tilted his head.

”So?!”

Someone spoke up.

”Fayera Kai. Sector fifteen.”

”Davon Grater. Sector eight.”

All seven scales shattered and Claude clapped languidly.

”Good good. Had there been a liar, we would have been cleaning up guts,” he stretched his hand to the chairs. ”Let’s begin.”