Teleportation was the ability to move from one location to another. At least, that was the definition commonly known for the word. In Astora, teleportation was often used to refer to portal devices and spells like the Gate or the portal created by Amelia. However, strictly speaking, it was an abuse of the term as these devices only created a small crack in space, allowing oneself to shorten the distance between two locations.

All objects, no matter how small or big, no matter what shape or material it was made of, had a mass and mass could not disappear into nothingness. Rather they could only transform into another state, which in some case were invisible to the naked eyes, leading it to be believed as ‘disappear’.

Teleportation was the same. It could not just make something disappear and make it appear elsewhere just like that. So scientifically speaking, did teleportation exist? If not, was it even possible? The answer might lie in the hands of the man named Kennedy. His talent, ‘Teleportation’ as he called it, however was very different from the commonly known form of teleportation. Instead of focusing on just the object he wanted to teleport, Kennedy must also perceive its destination, meaning he must have it in his sight. Then he could do the ‘teleportation’: by having two objects of the same mass, Kennedy could switch their location. Just like when before Jora was caught by the hand of the monster, the man was able to exchange her with a block of bricks, saving her from certain death.

But Kennedy didn’t just rely on his power to do the work. He also used a sniping rifle combined with knife for closing assault. Possessing a military veteran background, he was also a master in close combat and strategic warfare, making him an extremely valuable ally to have among the Greymen.

“Twelve o’clock incoming!” shouted Kennedy.

Immediately, the group jumped to the side, evading a flying truck diving toward them. It has been half an hour since they tried to deal with the Monochrome but the problem still lied in its regeneration capability. Burning, crushing, smashing, cutting, none of those worked. And they were all exhausted. Using their power for that long has imposed a great burden on their brain. Further use could prove critical and even endangered their lives.

“ *heavy breathing* We can’t kill it.” Pat gulped.

“We must retreat, old man!” said Edmur.

“We can’t. We are the only ones capable of stopping it. If we let it go, not just this district but the entire city will be obliterated.”

At that moment, a beep came from the speaking device of Jora.

“Captain Jora, why is the creature not exterminated yet?” a voice asked.

“The creature has an extremely potent regeneration, making all our weapons useless against him. We need another solution.” Jora reported.

“….Very well then. Retreat back to the outside the district! You have fifteen minutes!”

“What? But then what about the Monochrome? It won’t just sit there and wait for us to come back.”

“No one is coming back for it. We have decided to nuke the entire district E.” the voice announced.

“Nuke it? What about the radioactive agent? Are you trying to destroy the entire city?” Jora shouted.

“We have set an energy barrier capable of containing all radioactive agents as well as the blast in the district. That won’t be a problem.”

“But what about the people?”

“According to our report, 85% of the population has been evacuated.”

“And the other 15%? Are you going to just abandon them?”

“…Sacrifice must be made for the greater good.”

“You are out of your mind.” Jora shouted in anger.

“I have already informed you of the air strike. Whether you follow your orders or not depends on how much you value your life. I have nothing more to say.

The countdown starts….now! *beep beep beep*”

“Damn it!” Jora smashed the speaker with her hand.

“What should we do?” said Pat.

“I guess we really don’t have a choice….”

“No! We can still do it. If we kill the monster before the countdown’s end, they would no longer have any reason to nuke this place.” Jora spoke loudly.

“But how do we kill it? That’s what we have been trying to do but nothing works.” Pat expressed.

“Old man, what do you think?” asked Edmur.

“….I don’t really….”

BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP

A loud annoying sound came from afar as the four turned their head to the source: a black flying vehicle driving at full speed, only available for the Greymen. Did the HQ send another Greyman to aid them? But Kennedy thought aside from these four including him, no one else was in the city at the time…. Actually there was another.

Just before it passed the group, two shadows jumped out of the car and landed on the ground. As for the car itself, it continued its path and charged into the monster before exploding in pieces, not that it would do any good but at least it would temporarily disable the creature for a short time.

“Fiora? I told you to stay at the headquarter!” shouted Kennedy.

“I come to bring help.” Fiora said.

“Help? Who? You?”

“Me and him!” she pointed to the small boy by her side. The group turned their attention to this strange boy who was staring at the monster. Why wasn’t he afraid? Anyone would panic by now if they laid eyes on such a monstrosity. Yet he remained calm, too calm for someone his age. The boy didn’t even look at them, as if out of disinterest.

“Are you out of your mind? Why did you bring a civilian and a kid at that, here out of all places?” Jora shouted.

“But he isn’t just a normal kid. He came from the rift just like the monster. I saw it with my own eyes. The computer also said that his power level is over nine thousand, much more than the maximum limit the system could measure.” Fiora explained.

“Have you ever thought that perhaps that was because it was broken? Use your fucking head!” yelled Edmur.

“But….”

“We need to bring him out of here. This place is going to get nuked.” Pat joined the fray.

“What?” Fiora uttered.

“No time to explain.” Jora put her hand on the boy’ shoulder and crouched down to his level. Perhaps he simply was too afraid and frozen in place because Fiora brought him here without reason. She must calm him down and bring him to safety. “Don’t worry, kid! We will bring you back to your family.”

“….It’s not him…” the boy uttered.

“What?”

“Fiora, this is not the monster I told you about. Mine has four horns of his head. This one only has two and smaller than the other one. It’s not him!” the boy spoke loudly.

“Fiora, what is he talking about?” Edmur asked.

“He was dragged into this world by a monochrome and now he is searching for that one so he could go back to his world. His appearance took place right after this one so I thought maybe this monster was the one he is looking for….But it seems like it’s not.” Fiora tried to convince the others that Alastor did come from the rift but no one seemed to believe her.

“And you believe what he says just like that? He is a kid. He could be imagining the whole thing.”

“No. I already checked with my Telepathy. He is telling the truth.”

“ *ROARRRRR*” the monster has recovered from the blast and was now moving toward them.

“Can we leave this for later? Because we have a monster AND a nuke coming out way right now.” Edmur spoke loudly.

“ *ROARRRR*” the Monochrome shrieked even louder as it began to run toward them.

“We need to move. NOW!!!!” shouted Kennedy.

“COME NOW, BOY!” shouted Jora. She could not drag him away from his position at all. Even though she tried all her strength, he wouldn’t even budge.

…..

“Loud….too loud” the boy glared at the monster charging toward him. “Annoying little shit! ”

A black orb manifested itself into Alastor’s hand and moved slowly forward until it touched the monster and expanded into a black hole before absorbing the whole thing alive into it. In just a few seconds, nothing was left of the monster.

“All right, now that things are quieter, you were saying?” the boy smiled at them.

* * *

Alastor was now standing in front of a tall building reaching up to the sky. The outer wall seemed to be made out of only glass, reflecting the beaming sunlight to its surroundings. The front gate had a large fountain shooting water at a rhythmic pace. An array of pole with each holding a different flag was erected between the fountain and the entrance of the building.

Just a moment earlier, Alastor was greeted with a flying machine, much bigger than Fiora’s vehicle. A group of men in black walked out with the last one coming out who seemed to be the leader. He had short, lightly spiky black hair and wore a blue neck tie outside his white shirt and black suit. One look at the guy and you would know that he was the uptight kind and probably the smug type.

“Is this the boy you spoke of?” the man spoke to Fiora.

“Yes sir!” Judging from her attitude, Alastor came to realize that this person was her boss or something similar.

“I see. Seize him!” he ordered the two men behind him. Immediately, Alastor’s hands were put inside a strange futuristic metal box. A stripe of red light trailed across the box, suggesting it was in lock mode.

“Wait! What are you doing?” Fiora, confused by the actions of her supervisor, rushed to Alastor’ side but was stopped by his bodyguards.

“Thank you for your work, agent Fiora! We will take care of it from here! Let’s go, people!”

With the boy in their custody, the men in black retreated back to their vehicle and took flight. Meanwhile, Fiora could only stand and watch as Alastor was brought away.

“I promised him that I would bring him home….” She uttered.

“Don’t beat yourself over this! There is nothing we can do about it.” Kennedy tried to console her.

“But he saved us. He saved District E. And what do we do to thank him? Throw him in a cell?” Fiora shouted.

“The Admins already got hold of him and they have a higher authority than us.” Said Edmur.

“And we are just going to let they do whatever the fuck they want?” the girl spoke furiously.

“…She is right. We can’t let they trample on us like this. We are Greymen.” Pat said.

“But what do you propose we do? Storming in their headquarters gun blazing?” Edmur proposed sarcastically.

“No! There is a much better way.” Jora said softly.

“What?”

“We go see the one person with an even higher authority than the Admins.”

“….You mean???”

“Doctor Vincent!”

…..

Back to Alastor, the boy has been strangely obedient, unlike his usual self. He simply followed what these men in black were telling him to. At the moment, he found himself in the middle of a large wholly white room. Nothing else was there except for the white chair he was sitting on. At one end of the room, Alastor could see a black rectangular glass wall that prevented him from seeing through, at least with the naked eyes. He also noticed that the people in this world didn’t have mana in their body so the only way to perceive their presences was to use his five senses.

On the other side of the glass, the man in black from earlier was standing together with two other men wearing a long white coat up to their feet. All of them were observing the boy curiously with fascination.

“So you are saying that this boy was the one who killed an S-rank Monochrome? Without even breaking a sweat?” said one of the men in white.

“Our video surveillance has confirmed that. From what I have seen, he can create a black hole out of nowhere and control it to his will. I am sure you know what that means.” The man in black said.

“By science!!! He could be the most powerful Esper alive. No…in history!!! How come we have never found him before?”

“That I don’t know. Perhaps he has only recently awoken to his power. But if that is the case, then he is even more than that.”

“Truly. To be able to control that kind of ability at such a young age….is simply unthinkable.”

“Hello?” a young voice came from the speaker. It appeared that Alastor was finally tired of waiting.

A short moment later, a door showed itself below the black window where the scientists have been watching from. With the door opened, a figure walked out, wearing a formal suit, and approached Alastor.

“Greetings! My name is Steven, head of the Admins. I apologize for the ‘harsh’ treatment you have been going through to get here but protocols are protocols. There is no way around it.”

“Hello! I am Alastor. It’s not a pleasure to meet you! So what happens now?” the boy said in an innocent voice.

Ignoring what Alastor just said, the man continued “…….You will stay here, helping us researching the way to counter these terrible monsters coming from the Rift. In return, we will provide you with anything you need. Toys, money, food, you won’t ever have to worry about any of those things for the rest of your life. That’s not a bad deal isn’t it?” Steven said.

“What exactly am I doing here again?”

“Help us fighting evil, of course! You will be just like a superhero like in the movies. But before that, we need to do some tests to make sure that you won’t be hurt out there.” Steven, still thinking that Alastor was just a normal boy and therefore susceptible to presents, hero obsession and toys, tried to tempt him. But that kind of thing was too obvious for someone like Alastor.

“So basically a lab rat. No can do. I already have plans so if you can let me go, I would appreciate it. Fiora has promised me that she would help me go home.”

Suddenly, Steven changed his tone and put his face right up close to Alastor’s “Listen here you little brat! I tried to be nice with you because you are a valuable asset but don’t think for a second that I wouldn’t dare do anything to you! You might have all those powers but these handcuffs are specially made to cancel all Esper power. With it attached to it, you are nothing more than a punk from the street. So behave!”

“ *sigh* Why do things always have to be so difficult?” Alastor muttered. “Listen here, dickhead! I have also tried to be nice for once because you seem to be Fiora’s boss and since she was nice to me, I would rather not get her in trouble. But my patience is running out. I saved your goddamn city so at the very least, give me something to eat before you fuck me over like you just did! By the way, I would rather fuck somebody instead of being fucked so you can take your toys and shove it up your ass.” Alastor fumed. He stood up from his chair, making Steven falling back and tripped to the ground “Oh and these cuffs *clang* TADA POUF it’s gone!!!”

“What? How? Security!!!!” Steven, sweating in fear that the beast has been unchained, shouted out loud to the window as he walked back in reverse with his hands to the door. If someone like this boy went on a rampage, it would be the end of everything. As regrettable as it may seem, he must be purged. But despite his shouting, no one answered nor did the alarm system go off. “Why? Are you just letting him kill me here? I am your boss!!!”

“We might just let him do that.” A voice spoke gravelly.

From the door Steven entered through earlier, two figures walked in, or rather one walked in while the other rolled in. An old man sitting on a wheelchair which seemed to be able to move by itself entered the room with a woman by his side. Upon seeing her, Alastor recognized her immediately. It was Fiora. But who was that old man who looked like he has already stepped one feet into the grave? He had a fringe of grey hair around the balding of his head. His age was shown clearly through his wizened face and thin body, mostly bones and skins. Wearing a white coat and a metal monocle attached to a side of his head which hided more functions than just a simple eyewear, he held another metal staff between his hands, which was weird as if he had a wheelchair, why would he need a staff?

“Dr. Vincent! What are you doing here?” uttered Steven.

“To teach you little rascals the difference between a bacteria and a giant. Because that’s what is happening here. But I already saw how your tiny little brain couldn’t process that information even though you have seen the evidence with your own eyes. Such a disappointment for the head of the Admin department.

Now get out of my sight! Can’t waste anytime to interact with some half-witted like you!” the old man spoke with annoyance. That alone was enough to show who was the real boss around here. Without any other choice but to swallow his exasperation, Steven silently left the room.

“And you boy, sit down! I have a few questions for you!” the old man turned to Alastor.

“I don’t really see the change in attitude here.” Said Alastor.

“Alastor, please! Doctor Vincent is here to help you. He might not be kind with his words but I can assure you of his intentions.” Fiora tried to convince Alastor to be more patient.

“…Alright! I will bite. As long as you help me getting home.” Alastor dropped himself on the chair.

“Fiora told me that you came from the Rift. Is this correct?” the old man asked.

“Yes. I was dragged into the rift by a …’Monochrome’ as you called it in your world.” The boy answered.

“Another world….So you are a Traveller then.”

“What’s a Traveller?” asked Alastor.

“Someone who is able to cross the barrier between worlds. We call them ‘Travellers’. This makes you the Third Traveller ever to be recorded in our world.”

“The third? Does that mean there were others before me?” Alastor jumped from his chair, surprised by the news.

“Yes. Although don’t put too much hope in yet. We don’t know if they even come from the same world as yours yet. Which leads me to the next question. What is the name of your planet? Or your world I mean.” Vincent asked.

“We call our world Astora.”

“Astora…..Then one final question. I want you to be as honest and as precise as possible. Can you do that?” the doctor insisted.

“Ok. Ask your question?”

“…..Does the name Marcus ring a bell? Marcus William!” the old man asked the question.

“…..Nah. I have never heard of that name before. Why? Is that someone you know?”

“Yes, an acquaintance. But since you don’t know, it’s not important. Now, since you are hungry, I assume a meal is to be in order. Come to my house! We will discuss on how to find a way for you to go home.”

“Wow you are much nicer than the other guy. Alright! I will take you on your offer. I hope you prepared a lot because I am starving.”

“Haha! Eat all you like! Join us, Fiora! It has been a while since you didn’t come home.” The old man turned to the woman by his side. “You know ever since she joined the Greymen, she hasn’t come visit me once. Even though she used to spend the whole day in my study, begging me to tell her stories.”

“Grandpa, don’t speak of me like that! I am a grown up now! I can take care of myself!” Fiora blushed.

“Alright alright! Let’s not make the boy wait any further!”

As the three walked toward the door, a thought came to the doctor’s mind. A memory of the past.

“Oh my how could I forget it? Marcus has another alias.” The old man hit his fragile head with both his frail hands.

“Grandpa, what’s wrong?”

“Alastor, I must ask you again. Do you know or have you ever heard of someone called ‘The Artificer’?”