Chapter 186

Reentry (I)

A shadow vaulted like mad over a pile of dust-covered bricks, lounging in a wide arc and landing squarely with a roll before swiftly sprinting forward, kicking more dust behind it. It continued running forward, glancing back stealthily just in time to see several more shadows leap over the bricks, chasing after. It sped up, a worried grunt escaping into the wind.

All surrounding alleys were narrow and dark, like a massive maze with neither the beginning or the end. Yet, the leading shadow seemed to navigate them perfectly, as though it had lived there its whole life; soon enough, it was cutting corners, rounding, going through hollowed-out buildings void life, slowly losing its pursuers.

Ten minutes later, it slowed and hid beneath a curbed pillar leaning onto a trashed wall of a building, reaching into its dark-jetted coat, taking out a small satchel and slowly opening it. Within, gems began to shine like stars, colors in the spectrum of a rainbow nearly blinding in their glow.

A hand reached up and took down the hood covering the face, revealing a youthful complexion of a man barely in his twenties. Bushy eyebrows jumped in childlike excitement, eyes shining nearly as brightly as the gems they were staring at, lips quivering and twitching. It was a haul of the decade -- one that could save everything.

Too jittery, he nearly dropped the gems before carefully tying the satchel back up, stuffing it into his coat and pulling the hood back over his face. He stood up, taking a deep breath and admiring his courage of a moment. Just as he was about to race off and change everything, a tiny, silver thread, almost invisible to the naked eye, whizzed silently in front of him, slicing through his throat in a swift, untraceable motion. He only felt a tiny prick, and then something warm on his throat. Before he knew it, something else back up through it, and he began to gag as mouthfuls of blood began flowing.

He slumped, clutching at his throat with widened and uncertain eyes. A moment later, he found out he couldn’t breathe; life, the precious thing, was seeping out of him. He felt it. With each trickle of blood that cascaded down his trembling fingers, and with each failed attempt to draw one more breath into his lungs... he felt his life fading. And, a mere few moments later... it all became dark, cold, lonely, and beyond comprehension.

**

The group took a deep breath as they stepped back into the Tower, their lungs revitalized by the scent of a slightly damp, Tower’s air. This time around, they didn’t wear masks -- it was clear that their identities were largely exposed, and it was pointless to purposefully hide them further.

The entourage consistent of the previous seven, that being Cain, Emma, Senna, Daniel, Jamal, Kramer, and Sigmund, and the newcomer -- Yuki. The highest pressure was likely on the last, since he was told only this morning that he’d be the group’s solitary support.

The young lad was currently shaking, and despite the words of encouragement from practically everyone, his nerves hardly settled. After all, this was, effectively, the frontier group -- the spearhead that explored the very depths of the Tower before anyone else -- and he alone would be in charge of their survival. Something that even an insanely talented healer, one even more talented than him, failed to do -- at least from what he picked up. Though he believed in himself and his talents, there was a point where that belief became arrogance -- and being chosen as the solitary pump of life for the vanguard group of humanity certainly was that point.

He shook every time he stole a glance at the surrounding faces, each more strangely calm than the previous; within their eyes, Yuki saw the determination the likes of which was nigh-impossible to resonate with. It was the fire of the thousand suns, and even the surrounding world seemed to cow beneath their gazes. He could only lower his head and walk forward with slump shoulders, the weight of the world crashing down upon him.

**

Lander paced hastily across his office, biting at his nails, the look in his eyes eerily bedeviled. It all failed -- months of planing, under-the-books deals, conference calls in the middle of the night, bribing, uprisings... the entire basket he’d fashioned out of every connection he’d made in business for decades... gone. In a single night -- no, in less than an hour, it was all thwarted. The hired group was either dead or captured, and, yet, the madman wasn’t coming. Over a week had passed, one he’d barely managed to get a wink of sleep. He even began to hope -- perhaps... it couldn’t be tied to him. Or the madman had already took it out on the foreign nations, but they somehow kept it hidden.

A cacophony of voices was telling him it was okay to stop worrying and start living; after all, he’d been coped up in this office he’d turned into a bunker of sorts for a week, cut off from the world save for the daily updates. A buzz woke him, reminding him that it was time for the daily update.

He sped to the barred doors, nervous still yet slightly excited -- if he still got the news that there were no movements... it would mean he was safe. Checking through the camera, he saw his personal aide, Liam, standing outside. He quickly opened the doors and, nearly forty-seconds later as all the locks came undone, he looked forward. There, Liam continued to stand, instead of walking in.

“Liam?”

“I’m... I’m sorry.”

“... Liam?” a gunshot later, blood sprayed out of the man’s side as his body fell down. Lander screamed as he fell back, in his horror forgetting to even try and lock the doors. A moment later, a stream of men clad in kevlars and guns came rushing in, one after another, rapidly securing the office.

“It’s secure, Sir,” one of the said. “You may enter.” Lander was shaking, pined like a cushion behind the sofa, eyes glued to front. A moment later, a familiar face enter -- Rick’s. Rather than his customary smile he always sported, his expression was cold and lifeless, as though he’d stopped being a human for a moment.

His footsteps were even and quick, reaching Lander just a few seconds later, looking down at him. “Sit him up,” he said as he walked around and sat into one of the chairs, while two armed men propped Lander up and dragged him over to the sofa opposite of Rick.

“Lander, Lander, Lander,” Rick mumbled, chuckling right after. “Look at you. Sweating like a pig in front of a butcher.”

“R-Rick... this... this is unexpected.”

“Really?” Rick glanced around. “’cause from the looks of it, you’ve been expecting it for a while. As such, I must apologize for having you wait. I’ve had a few things to iron out.”

“...”

“Before the Towers,” Rick continued. “When it was just business, I tolerated your nonsense, Lander. Business espionage, trying to sabotage my companies, trying to outbid me, always show me up... you were like a young brother trying to prove to the older one that he’s finally got it. It was... cute. I mean, you were clearly insane, but you weren’t harming anyone -- not really. But now, Lander... what’s wrong with you? Partnering up with foreign nations to commence a terrorist attack on U.S. soil? Whatever differences there are between us, you have either gone completely off the rails... or I’ve completely misjudged you.”

“... it’s... it’s easy for you to judge, Rick,” Lander said, laughing strangely for a moment. “You got a jump on this whole thing. By the time the rest of us could even wrap our minds around the fact that humans can use magic... you... you had everything. You had the land, you had the government, and you somehow even had the strongest people eating out of your hand. You left nothing for the rest of us. NOTHING.”

“Nothing?! If I wanted, I could have ended all of you within the first week!!” Rick replied in kind. “But I didn’t! I left you alone because this thing -- this whole thing-- it’s bigger than all of us. Than you, than me, or the governments of the world. Yet you... you kept poking and prodding like this incessant tick that you can’t swat away. Trying to get my friends to turn on me, sending in assassins after me...”

“Well, you sure as hell retaliated--sending that maniac--”

“MANIAC?!!” Rick roared, suddenly crossing the distance between the two and grabbing Lander’s throat. “You made him into one!! That single act... saved millions, if not billions of lives, Lander!! We both know armies were gearing up for war because of the Conquerors!! But... when they saw him do that--they got scared shitless. They realized... they wouldn’t stand a chance--so... they set up a meeting instead.”

“A meeting he ruined!!” Lander cried back. “All they wanted--all they wanted was assurance, Ricky! Not from some fucking lunatic with magic, but from people with a brain! They wanted U.S. to send some fucking ships or missiles to just pretend to protect them! But he--he fucked up!”

“No, he gave everyone that umbrella -- but... you lot became terrified again. Tonight... he was ready to go to war, Lander,” Rick withdrew and sat back down. “No armies, no conquerors, no nobody could have stopped him. Your little band could have costed us this thinly veiled peace that we barely maintain. All the same... I’m too tired, Lander. Too tired of letting this go by.”

“... what? You think you’re a saint, Ricky?! Spare me your fucking morality! You’re doing this just to save your ass and to hoard even more wealth! You even stole my own people, Rick! One thing, one thing we agreed never to do -- we’d bribe and try to get secrets from them, but never use them against each other.”

“Yeah, well, it’s not a game anymore, Lander. It’s not just worthless money that’s at stake or a few pointless properties or boats. Every decision, every decision we make now impacts millions upon millions of souls. And yours, tonight, could have ended the world as we know it. All because you threw a childish tantrum at not getting what you wanted. Well, I’m sick of them.”

“At least have balls to end me yourself.”

“You think I won’t?” Rick said with a chuckle, suddenly drawing Mana into his fist. “He’s a good kid, Lander. And he’s trying to be better. He’s really trying. That’s why, I’ll take on all the demons for him. Especially ones worthless like you. Enjoy the trip Lander; I’m sure hell is beautiful this time of year!”