Campaign 22

Erika was staring wide-eyed at the size of the facility before her. It was a bit after lunch when everybody had finally recuperated from all that running earlier, and Class 13 was brought to the kill house. Since it was Erika’s first time there, Malachi had to demonstrate what she needed to do to go through the course. Since the bolt-action rifle was not advised in the kill house, Erika had to get used to using the other weapons with semi-automatic fire.

At the start, she was directed to a board that displayed the rankings of those who had gone through the kill house. All of the spots from the fourth place downwards were taken by Class 13, since they were still the only ones utilizing the facility. The first was, naturally, Malachi, who still had a thick bolded record of 12 seconds on the board. However, beneath him was Arlianne and one other—Alexa. Malachi stared hard at Alexa’s name before moving on to advise Erika.

“As you can see from the board,” he began, “We focus on setting records here. The good thing about this facility is that the course will remain unchanged until I decide to change it. So far, I found no need, since the average is still above 20 seconds. Now then, like I have done with the others, I will show you how to go through the course. Although…”

Malachi looked at his classmates.

“Do you want me to show her my usual, or do you guys want me to show her my utmost efforts?” he asked them, “I don’t mind, either way, but what do you guys think?”

His classmates looked at one another. Arlianne recalled the time when Malachi achieved the 12-second record and, later, his chanting that he manipulated her performance with. The others recalled as they looked at Arlianne, who was looking at the records board, her performance once Malachi spoke strange words. They also recalled the time during the subjugation mission when he sang. Then, they looked at Erika who wondered what Malachi meant.

For the others, they were oblivious about the suspicions surrounding Erika. For Arlianne, she still remembered that Malachi and Eleazar were wary of Erika being an Imperial spy. Nevertheless, when it came to Malachi, the things that were meant to be hidden were openly revealed by him; just like the recent revelation of the new weapons which led to Eleazar spilling his suspicions.

In the end, it was by majority vote that Malachi would reveal everything he had. Malachi reacted neither positively nor negatively as he said, and went to the starting place with an engineer on standby. His loadout was standard—an assault rifle and a handgun. The others were brought to the catwalks to watch his performance. Once he stood before the starting line, he tapped his fingers on the rifle’s handguard with a rhythm and began whispering inaudible words.

Like before, a split-second after the signal, Malachi exploded forth from the starting line and left a cloud of dust. With each target that was downed, his voice became louder and more distinct. Still, the words could not be understood by the others, but his speed and reflexes left all of them as speechless as before when he assisted Arlianne. Now that he was using his abilities for his own benefit, the difference was just too much. As for Erika, she could only stare at Malachi’s performance as he shot, kicked, and punched each target like a maelstrom of flesh and steel.

And to close his performance, Malachi performed a forward roll to break his momentum and stopped right in front of the exit gate. Probably, because of the time he achieved 12 seconds, the engineers had enough initiative to actually react. The moment the watch was been stopped, though, the engineer holding it laughed like an idiot staring at the face of the watch.

“What the hell…? Haha…” laughed the engineer, “You… what the hell are you…?”

Arlianne took this as an opportunity to take the stopwatch from the engineer’s hands. When she took a look, she nearly dropped the watch in surprise.

“Malachi! How did you…?” she cried in exasperation, “11 seconds, Malachi…! 11 seconds!”

“Huh, must have been the forward roll,” commented Malachi, “Well, it was just a second shorter.”

Malachi just shrugged his improvement off like it was a matter of fact. While the others did not know what to say, Malachi took a look at Erika. However, rather than the eyes of awe, Erika held the eyes of fear.

“Oh…” uttered Malachi, “Damn… I know those eyes— Get me a medic, now! You! Grab an Eqari merchant or anybody that can speak the Imperial language! Move it!”

With Malachi’s sudden barking of orders, his class and the engineers did not know how to react. They all stiffened from the sudden change of atmosphere being exuded by Malachi. When Malachi noticed that none of them, his class and the engineers, were moving according to his words, he approached the nearest engineer and slapped their face.

“Get me a medic and anybody who can speak the Imperial lang—“

Just before Malachi could finish his order, Erika collapsed down to the floor and embraced her body with a scream.

“Ahhh!”

“Shit!” cursed Malachi, “Goddamned move it!”

Only when Erika screamed did the others snap out and scramble to get whoever or whatever was asked for. A nearby engineer even took the initiative to go to Eleazar to report the incident. Arlianne approached Malachi to ask what just happened.

“Malachi, what happened to her?” she asked, “How could she just collapse and…”

Malachi did not stop to answer and approached the screaming Erika. Instead, he embraced her from behind. Erika’s body reacted violently, and fought to get Malachi off her. Malachi persisted and whispered a few words into her ear.

“Sl—p… Sle—…!”

He tried to put Erika to sleep. Considering that Erika was able to converse in Perlasian, it might have been possible for him to hypnotize the girl into falling asleep. However, with Erika’s current condition, none of his words could get through and she still tried to get Malachi away from her.

“Goddamn it!” cursed Malachi, “I can’t get through to her with the Perlasian language, where the hell are the people I asked for?!”

As if on cue, a group of people appeared behind them.

“Malachi, what is going on here?!” roared Eleazar, “What is wrong with her?!”

“Gr—Headmaster?!” cried Malachi, nearly calling him “Gramps,” “Screw it, tell me! Do you know the Imperial word for ‘sleep?!’ I need to put her to sleep!”

“Sleep?” repeated Eleazar, “Wait, to sleep…?”

“Shuenebu!” cried Clara, “The Imperial word for sleep is ‘shuenebu!’”

Malachi looked at Clara, still struggling to keep a hold of Erika, if she was sure. Clara nodded.

“Growing up being surrounded by books is no joke,” commented Clara, “Though the academy library doesn’t have any Imperial texts…”

With no other choice, and the lack of any medical personnel, Malachi resumed trying to put Erika to sleep.

“Shu—bu… Shue—u…”

Malachi continuously repeated to chant the word into Erika’s ear. Finally, the girl showed signs of calming down. Now that he was certain of the word, Malachi continued the chant to put Erika to sleep. While he was busy trying to bring Erika under control, Eleazar was watching him with furrowed brows and narrowed eyes. Eventually, Erika fell asleep moments later, and Malachi let her rest peacefully on the floor.

Now that Malachi was free to answer any questions, the first person he answered to was Arlianne.

“If you want to know, I seem to have triggered a past trauma for her,” he said, “Not sure what, but it might have been something during my performance.”

He then looked at his grandfather who was still looking at him suspiciously.

“Anything you want to say, Headmaster?” inquired Malachi, “You surely have questions, considering how you’re looking at me right now.”

Eleazar closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and released a sigh.

“Come with me to my office.” He said. Without another word, he turned to leave and passed by a group of doctors and some Eqari merchants who came too late to assist.

Malachi turned to a nearby engineer.

“Take her to the infirmary, and tell the doctors about her having some sort of trauma,” he advised, “I would suggest that she rest for a few days, to recuperate, and to not shock her any further.”

–

In Eleazar’s office, Malachi was not accompanied by Arlianne. It was only him and his grandfather, though the outside was still guarded by a pair of officers. Eleazar was not seated behind his desk, but stood in front of a large window that oversaw the arid desert wasteland where the academy was situated, and his back was to Malachi’s. Malachi did not utter a word, sensing the grave atmosphere in the room, and waited for Eleazar to speak.

“Where did you learn to do that?” asked Eleazar, “Where did you learn to use words to manipulate the thoughts and movements of others?”

Malachi was surprised. Eleazar knew about his ability. This meant that he was not the only person to use hypnotic suggestion and manipulation to affect people.

“I learned from no one,” he answered, “I only realized it during the Fire Ant incident years ago.”

Eleazar turned his head a bit and gave Malachi a sidelong glance.

“I see,” he said, “You didn’t learn it from Bashia?”

“What are you getting at, Gramps?” inquired Malachi.

Eleazar heaved another sigh and turned to face Malachi. He left the window and went in front of the young man.

“Do you know how the Eskurs during the Uprising fought?” he interrogated, “They fought under the influence of a high-ranking Eskur clansman—a clansman with the same abilities as you, though not as profound to affect others of non-Eskur descent.”

“This is the first time I’m hearing this,” replied Malachi, “Considering you mentioned Mama, was this high-ranking Eskur clansman my other grandfather?”

Eleazar took a step back, went behind his desk, and sat down. He clasped his hands together, and rested his chin on top.

“Clan Skaria was a clan native to Perlas,” he began, “The previous kings considered the Eskurs as part of their kingdom, and I was good friends with those of my generation. That was until Ioshua, your grandfather, told me about a visitor from Clan Skali. There, everything changed.”

Eleazar closed his eyes to recall the past.

“It was 17 years ago when Clan Skali overthrew the Industrial Union of Merkas; which we called the start of the Eskur Uprising. When we first learned about it, two months had already passed…”

.

There were two people walking along a corridor and were accompanied by a number of guards. One of them was a Perlasian man wearing red and gold royal vestments. He had long graying hair that went down to his shoulders, and a similarly graying facial hair that covered much of his face. The other one was an Eskur man wearing a white cloak over a black and dark gray long-sleeved collared shirt. As an Eskur, he had white and well-trimmed hair, and a tidy moustache. The Perlasian man was Eleazar, back when he was still a king.

“Ioshua, how are you not uncomfortable with your clothes?” Eleazar asked his companion. He was comparing what he wore to what his companion wore. “Looking at how thick your garments are, I can’t help but feel uncomfortable myself.”

“I have to say the same to you, my friend,” replied Ioshua, “Even if each layer of your vestments is thin, the number of layers should make it as hot as I could imagine. What say we go somewhere private to drop all pretenses and ditch this place already?”

Eleazar and Ioshua glanced at the security detail around them. It seemed that the few closest to them were scratching their heads from hearing Ioshua’s comment.

“You men don’t mind, do you?” inquired Eleazar.

Without a word, the soldiers around them saluted and stepped back to give the two some space. Seeing this, Ioshua let out a dry laugh.

“So they can leave us alone, but we still can’t leave?” he wondered, “Ah, well, better than nothing.”

Eleazar chuckled.

“Anyway, why did you come for an abrupt visit?” asked Eleazar, “Ever since we took over our respective positions, we rarely had a chance to meet outside of official discourse.”

“Ha! Sometimes I wish I hadn’t taken up my father’s wish to become the Clan Father,” commented Ioshua.

Afterwards, Ioshua became silent. Eleazar was about to speak up when Ioshua finally said a few words.

“Do you mind if I leave Bashia with you and Emmanuel?” asked Ioshua.

Eleazar kept his silence and turned his head to look at Ioshua with a raised brow. Ioshua did not meet his gaze, but he continued to speak.

“You have heard what happened to the IUM, correct?” asked Ioshua further, “Two months ago, Clan Skali overthrew such a powerful force and established a nation of Eskurs.”

“Well, yes,” affirmed Eleazar, “It is the story being told by all Eqari Union merchants. What about it, and how does that relate to you?”

Ioshua stopped walking, making Eleazar stop as well and face his companion.

“Hearing from the merchants, it would seem that the IUM had been exploiting the Eskurs,” continued Ioshua, “Years of slavery and forced labor seemed to have been the spark for their rebellion against the IUM. I am unsure about how they were able to overthrow the technologically advanced IUM, and I am also unclear why a member of Clan Skali had come for a visit.”

Saying the latter part of his statements, Ioshua looked at Eleazar with a grave expression. Eleazar also heard the latter part clearly, and had a face filled with bewilderment.

“I fear that Clan Skali plans to spread their clutch, further from their lands, and into ours.”

Eleazar was silent for a while before he burst out laughing.

“Nonsense, how in the world would Clan Skali wage war with us?” inquired Eleazar, “We are far, far away from Merkas—further away than from the central territories of the Empire to our west—and we have a large patch of deserted sands and canyons protecting our east. How can they bring their weapons here without us noticing? Are you sure that this visitor really is from Clan Skali, and not just some impostor?”

Ioshua stared long and hard at Eleazar. The king slowly went silent and met his friend’s gaze.

“You’re serious,” said Eleazar.

“Yes. You should already know that we Eskurs can understand what other Eskurs mean,” continued Ioshua, “We Eskurs are a strange kin; stranger than what we show to the others unlike our kin. There was a saying handed down for generations in all our clans: ‘the eyes are the windows to the soul;’ and we Eskurs know and adhere to that completely. ”

Ioshua pointed at his eyes.

“There was no deceit in that visitor’s eyes.”

Eleazar remained silent for a while. He knew Ioshua well, and because of their friendship, Eleazar was one of the few people who truly understood what and how Eskurs were. After a few seconds of silence, Eleazar faced Ioshua and nodded—agreeing to his friend’s request to take in Bashia.

.

Two weeks later, the first death in Perlas resounded ever so powerfully in the hearts of all Perlasians.

.

Three months into the Uprising, much of Perlas had fallen to the Eskurs. It was only after the Perlasian engineers came up with Steam Knights did Perlas have the chance to turn the tides of war. Eleazar, despite being the king and despite the persuasions of his subordinates, donned the first Steam Knight and went to lead the new army into war; to take back their lands, and to take back his friend who had assumed to be the master of the Perlasian theatre.

In a single month, the new Perlasian army was able to regain control of their lost territories, and to push back the Eskur war machines and beasts. By the end of that month, Eleazar had come face to face with Ioshua, who was fighting against his own self.

“Ioshua…” said Eleazar, “What happened to you?”

Eleazar was wearing his Steam Knight armor as he approached a strange Ioshua. Clan Father Ioshua Skaria was aiming a handcannon at his head and at Eleazar. From Eleazar’s perspective, Ioshua had seemingly gone insane.

“Eleazar—!” cried Ioshua, “Ki- Kill me—! I… I… While I still… have controoooooooool—!”

“What is going on?!” bellowed Eleazar, “What is wrong with you?!”

Ioshua struggled to speak, forcing his handcannon back and forth.

“C- Clan Skali…” he uttered, “Claaan Skali—! Strange abilitiessss—! M- Mind coNtrOlllllllllllLlllLL—! KILL ME—! ELEAZAR—!!”

BANG!

Ioshua’s hand shook, causing the handcannon to discharge, and narrowly missed his head. Ioshua violently threw the handcannon at Eleazar, who did not even avoid it as he stared at his deranged friend.

“KILL ME! ELEAZAR!” roared Ioshua, “LET T- THIS WARRRRR E- END—!! KILL! ME—!”

–

“I found the reason for his change when I went to his room,” finished Eleazar, “Ioshua had kept a journal, detailing the past months when he had control of himself. That’s where I learned about Eskurs being able to control the thoughts of others.

Eleazar returned his gaze at Malachi who silently listened to his story. Malachi just stood there, looking at him, despite hearing how Eleazar had to kill his other grandfather. Eleazar had to reassess the strength of Malachi’s mind.

“Are you not angry?” he asked, “Angry at me for killing your grandfather; for killing Ioshua?”

Malachi sighed.

“And what?” replied Malachi, “Will you be satisfied if I became angry at you? Will you get a burden off your back if I tell you that I hate you? Grandfather’s death was a necessary evil. It had to be done if you wanted to stop the war. As for that mind control, it didn’t seem to be perfect. Clan Skali’s hypnotism was too imperfect if grandfather was able to fight against it long enough for you to end his suffering.”

“You mean to say, that your hypnotism is perfect?” inquired Eleazar, “How is it that someone as young as you does not flinch at the sight of blood. You do not retreat at the sight of near impossible odds. You also know more than any of us had ever known; your teachers were all shocked at the extent of your knowledge. And your experience… how do you know that Miss Li had a traumatizing experience that led to her being crippled?”

Malachi went to a nearby bookshelf, and pulled out a number of books. When the books were removed, he was greeted by a pair of eyes, hidden behind the shelf. It was a Shadow. The Shadow retreated from his position, and disappeared.

“Since you’ve told me about my grandfather, I suppose it is only fair that I tell you my secret,” he said, “But, before that, I have to trust you to trust me, and to have the others hidden around us to leave. What I am about to say, will only be for my family—and my family alone. Do we have a deal, Gramps?”

Eleazar stared at Malachi before letting out a sigh. He snapped his finger, and the sound of feet shuffling from all around them was heard, and slowly disappeared.

“Well, will you tell me now?” he said.

However, Malachi was still looking at a place behind Eleazar. Eleazar noticed it as well, and could only stand up and open the window. On a ledge of the outside wall was another Shadow.

“There is no avoiding this,” said Eleazar, “Malachi has become too sharp for our own good, and can find anybody we hide.”

The Shadow nodded before leaping off the ledge, down to the ground below. Once they were truly alone, Eleazar returned to his seat, and Malachi began to share his tale.

“I am not of this world, Gramps,” began Malachi, “I am a soul that was lost, and found my way here.”

The only reaction he garnered from Eleazar was single raised brow. Obviously, Eleazar did not take it easily.

“Explain to me in words that is easily understood for people like me,” requested Eleazar, “From what you’re saying, it seems that you are not my grandchild?”

Malachi smiled.

“No. You and I, we are connected by blood,” he said, “I am your kin, just as Mama and Pops are my kin; my blood parents. Alexa is my cousin, and Prince Elijah is my uncle. What I am trying to say is… My mind, my soul is not of this world. My ‘self’ and Malachi’s ‘self’ are two different people that have become one.”

Malachi looked at Eleazar, but his grandfather was still confused.

“Do you know reincarnation, Gramps?” he asked, “It is when the soul of a person in one life transfers over to another life as another person or being. In the world—in the life I came from, there was a belief that souls reincarnate depending on the actions of their past lives. A cycle of life and death for a soul; a sort of… purification, until the soul has become good enough to reach a state of perfection.”

As Eleazar listened to Malachi’s explanation, he also slowly understood what Malachi meant. At the same time, his jaw also dropped bit by bit from hearing how unbelievable Malachi’s words were.

“The weapons I’ve created,” continued Malachi, “Their basic principles aren’t mine. They all came from the great minds of my past life, only altered to my personal tastes. And the things I know, all came from my past life, albeit changed to suit this present life.”

Malachi watched as his grandfather’s eyes shook from realization.

“I am your grandson, Gramps,” he added, “I am still your son’s, Emmanuel’s, flesh and blood. What only differs would be the soul—the self; my ‘self,’ and nothing about it will change my—our kinship. As far as my mental age goes, I should be as old as Pops.”

Malachi held the desk with his hands, leaned on top of it, and bent closer to Eleazar.

“And my ‘self’ in my past life was extremely similar to the Eskurs of this life.”