Chapter 73

The figure moved silently into the room after that, letting the weight of his words hang on the air as the door closed behind him. Only once he reached Henry and JJ, did he stop walking. He glanced once more at JJ, then turned his masked face towards Henry, standing uncomfortably close to him.

“First, allow me to congratulate you on surviving this long. And, I appreciate the fact you have taken such good care of the Evil Eye I gave you.”

“Thanks, I guess? You have no idea how much trouble everyone’s given me over the Evil Eye.” Henry’s reply caused JJ to snort, but he didn’t get a single reaction from Loki. Not even a chuckle.

“Do you believe in fate?” Loki asked, voice completely devoid of emotion.

“Er, like, everything is predestined?” Henry had taken debate in high school, and they’d done some courses on philosophy.

“More or less.” Loki sighed. “I believe that while things aren’t predestined, and people, and the world, do indeed have free will. Actions and influences can push a world in a certain direction. If enough people band together, or enough forces push it, I feel the outcome, becomes determined.”

“Is that predetermined then? Or did it happen because people made it happen?” JJ cut in. “Because, that’s like, Nostradamus level logic man.”

Loki turned for a single moment towards JJ. “I’m not speaking with you, hunter.” There was chill on his voice, and JJ’s form stiffened at that. JJ was still in his Exorcist disguise. He didn’t even have any D.E.D. out. How had Loki known?

“My personal belief,” Loki continued, “is enough idiots messed with enough powers, that the world is currently on a one-way trip to extinction. Of course, those with power, won’t fall when the Old Ones come, but they’ve taken actions to not only wake up the Old Ones, but create for them a world that can power rifts greater than any ever before. The Old Ones, and their armies, will be able to move with ease to this world, it’s people, it’s technology, gifts for the Old Ones Favor for those elite few.”

“So, it’s inevitable? Is that what you’re saying?” Loki wasn’t often helpful. But now, he seemed even more cryptic. And Henry couldn’t help but feel like there was something different from the Exorcist. Though he couldn’t quite put a finger on it.

“Nothing is inevitable.” Loki replied. “Some outcomes are merely more likely to happen than others. That being said, I try to move with the flow of the world, and use what the world naturally gives me, to stop its own destruction.”

He paused for a moment, letting the words hang in the air. “Which,” he said just as Henry began to ask a question, “is why you have your Evil Eye.”

“You gave me an Evil Eye to save the world from destruction?” Henry couldn’t even hold his composure. Everything he’d read, everything anyone had ever told him, was his Evil Eye was weak. That leveling it was wasting his time. Hell, part of the reason he even still leveled it, was out of spite.

“The world decided it.” Loki said simply. “Immediately after you triggered your awakening by activating the app on your phone and I was directed to reach you, given your Triple S resonation tier, a rift appeared before me. From it, your Evil Eye appeared. He didn’t fight me; he didn’t try to run. All he said, was he sought to serve an Awakened One.” Loki’s tone changed subtly. “He came here, to serve you.”

“Hold on,” something came to mind about that. His Evil Eye had, indeed, called Henry an Awakened One. However, it had mentioned Loki was an Awakened One as well. Henry figured that meant they both had a SSS resonation potential. “My Evil Eye called you an Awakened One as well.”

Loki’s form stiffened, and then slumped. “I am. But not for long. My power, my potential. My very life is constantly being drained. I doubt I’ll be around when the Old Ones come. Meaning, this Evil Eye, fate itself, was giving you the key to the battle. I was merely a messenger.”

Henry thought back to the first battle he’d ever seen. To Loki’s monstrous D.E.D., Fenrir. According to Jewel, Fenrir was not…willingly helping everyone out. He was powerful, but he was also destructive. Fenrir destroyed those who used him, but they needed his power, Henry knew.

“What if you stopped using Fenrir?” Henry asked, moving the subject aside. “Surely if you stopped”

Loki’s hand came up, cutting him off. “If Fenrir isn’t fed, he feasts even more on his user. Save for his original user, Fenrir has constantly devoured essence from either D.E.D. he’s slain, or the one who is wielding his might. And the stronger he gets, the more strain he places on those who use him.”

Henry couldn’t fathom why the powerful D.E.D. had been utilized for so long, if that were the case. Especially given what he’d seen from people like Jewel and JJ. They worked hand in hand with their D.E.D. and wielded powers that surely could stop the lower tiered demons. So why rely on Fenrir? Why sacrifice those with such potential…

Henry’s mind reeled at a realization. Something the camo pant wearing exorcist had said suddenly clicked with Loki’s statement. Someone within the Exorcists, somewhere, was using exorcists simply as pawns. And they were draining the strongest Exorcists with Fenrir. But why? And to what end? This was too much for now.

“I see you’ve started to understand.” Loki said calmly. “And I am sure you also just realized your folly of walking about with so many D.E.D. out. It wasn’t just to keep people from attempting to harm you, to steal your D.E.D. It was to try and hide your status as an Awakened One.”

A cold weight crushed into Henry there. Realization flooded him. It…it was so much worse than even Emelia seemed to imply. And Henry had been putting himself out there in the open, foolishly.

“Your Evil Eye, by the way, isn’t useless.” Loki commented. “No one simply has the time to level one up, and unlock its full powers, anymore. The way the exorcists work, their common standard practice and training now, focuses purely on training up a select handful of powerful combat oriented D.E.D. In ancient times though, it was found all D.E.D. had varying degrees of powers, hidden talents, and even powerful transformations. Continue to grow your Evil Eye as you have been, and you will find out, eventually, what exactly it holds within.”

“Alright,” Henry said shakily. “I’ll do that.” He paused, looking at Loki. What was different about him? It was nagging him. Something was off about him. “What was the warning you had for me?” Henry said after another second. Whatever it was about Loki that was wrong, he couldn’t figure it out.

“The obvious one, which I hope you’ll listen too, especially given your relationship with the Hunters, would be, don’t trust any exorcists. I’ll help you, since you seem slow on the pickup though. The Branch Director is trustworthy. Jewel, while temperamental, is trustworthy. The newbies you met during orientation, probably still somewhat safe to trust. Everyone else, is a danger to you.”

“Even Jonathan?” Henry blurted out.

“Especially Jonathan.” Loki said, his voice dark. “Those with the sweetest tongues, are sometimes the greatest predators.”

Henry’s heart sank. Jonathan had been nothing but kind to him. And seemed a great mentor. And now…Loki was telling him the exact opposite.

“Anything else?” Henry asked crestfallen.

“Do not combine yourself with any D.E.D. until you’ve reached your full resonation. And, when you do, make sure you only do so with a Legendary D.E.D. Otherwise, you’ll never obtain the power you need to defeat the Old Ones.”

“What.” Henry could feel his face making all sorts of strange contortions as he tried to process that last bit. “Fuse with a Legendary D.E.D.? How? Where would I even obtain one?”

Loki shrugged and turned away. “If you are in a position to hear that advice, while I’m still around, I’ll tell you then. Otherwise, before I disappear, I’ll ensure you’ve got the hints needed, to reach that level. First though, you must continue to survive.”

A moment later, Loki completely faded. What had once been a solid form. A form that put off heat, a form that had a scent, suddenly, was gone. Henry was left staring at the absence, his mind trying its hardest to process everything, but failing.

JJ, on the other hand, seemed to recover first. He let out a low, appraising whistle. “Loki is crazy strong.”

“Well, yeah, I mean, he uses Fenrir.”

JJ shook his head. “No, like, you don’t even understand.” JJ sighed. “I know what that just was. In a sense, that was a projection of sorts, but a lot more powerful.”

“And?” Henry pressed. That explained why things felt off.

“Only a few D.E.D. have the power to do something like that. They are extremely rare, and extremely powerful. On top of that,” JJ’s voice got softer, “humans can only take advantage of that skill, if they’ve combined with a D.E.D. capable of using that skill.”

“So, Loki has Fenrir, and has fused with what, an Ultra-Rare D.E.D.?”

“Not Ultra-Rare,” JJ said, shaking his head. “Legendary.”