Still a bit dazed from what had just transpired, Lucian didn't even see Ozzus sitting to the left of him on a barrel. He had a cigarette in his mouth spewing smoke into the air whilst having a large grin on his face.
Ozzus took the cig out of his mouth and pressed it firmly onto the barrel snuffing out the lit-up end. "It seems that Aurora has already taken a liking to you.", stated Ozzus.
"I've had people use their powers a lot with me in recent times", retorted Lucian while shooting a glare at Ozzus.
"It can't be helped; we need to show the newbie around here that we're the real deal."
Lucian tried not to cringe at the corny line. Out of all the Ethereals I've met, the only one that hasn't explicitly used their abilities on or near me would be the young woman with the short hair who was with Eliot the other day.
"What'd you do while you were out anyway?"
After telling Ozzus about his endeavor in finding a house and place of work, Ozzus seemed surprised. "R-really?"
"Yes-"
"They grow up so fast.", interrupted Ozzus with a dramatic tone.
So, he's also into the teasing. Like brother like sister, I guess. Lucian was about to turn away and head into the cabin, when Ozzus then put a hand on his shoulder. His stern expression already strewn on his face.
"Hold it, tomorrow is your first day as an assistant meaning you'll be going on a mission with one of the five Ethereals currently stationed here in Novus. You'll be briefed on details like what the mission is, the danger level, and the Ethereal who'll be with you before the mission starts so no need to stress."
Lucian should have felt worried when those words left Ozzus's mouth, but somehow, he felt a sense of anticipation instead. He had no idea why he felt this, but he chose to brush it off anyway and head to bed so he could wake up early.
***
The next morning, Lucian luckily woke up at 6:30 in the morning. Getting his formal clothes on, It seemed that no one had woken up yet, so he decided to head to the deck.
Pushing the door open, Lucian was hit with the cold freshness of morning air, the sun was slowly peaking over the expansive sea, giving an almost magical setting.
A few people and coaches could be seen moving about, most likely heading to work for the day, but there was one carriage stopped, it was the very same carriage that he had taken yesterday to formally become affiliated with the Ethereals. Lucian though it was strange at first, until he saw the man he took the coach with, staring up at him with a bright smile.
Lucian disembarked the ship and headed up to Eliot Forche wondering why he was here at this time. "Up early, are we? Sorry to say, but your teammate beat you to that.", said Eliot jokingly.
Teammate? That's right, Ozzus said that I'd be working with an Ethereal today.
Lucian tilted his head and looked at the carriage window to see the young woman with short chestnut brown hair side eying him with a sharp gaze, her cheek lazily resting on her cheek.
Eliot hopped in the carriage and held the door open, "Ozzus won't mind if your gone a bit early so you can hop in with us, the sooner that this mission's over the better."
I was looking forward to breakfast, but I guess it can't be helped. Though Lucian whilst entering the coach. It appeared that Eliot had finally stopped surveying his thoughts. Sitting down next to the rather serious girl, a jian sword resting on her shoulder caught Lucian's eye. The sheath was black with neat designs colored violet.
Once the carriage got moving, Lucian spoke up, "Ozzus said that I'd be briefed before the mission, correct?"
"Yes, as you've probably already figured out, this quiet young lady is your partner for today. She'll be doing most of the work since she is an Ethereal, being the assistant, your job is to be near her for a period of time long enough for her to fully use her abilities.
The reason for that is quite simple, assistants are sources of power for low to mid rank Ethereals. They absorb the three types of collective energy you have, number one being your physical energy, number two being spiritual energy, and number three being your life force, although number three has been banned for over two hundred years. I just thought I'd let you know."
"Once she is able to use her abilities, you're free to separate from her.", stated Eliot with similar seriousness to that of Ozzus.
The girl stopped looking out the window and straightened her posture, "What task have we been assigned anyway? I don't recall anything out of the ordinary happening in Novus as of recent days.". Her voice was almost like Aurora's but seemed as though it held more weight or authority.
"That is correct, but this has something to do with our own people. The two Ethereals we sent out to track down Mr. Kartour have been found dead. If that wasn't enough, the state their bodies were found in wasn't your average stabbing or shooting.
Your current mission is to find out the cause of their death. And if you find yourself anywhere near Mr. Kartour, you are to retreat immediately. There are unknown variables at play here."
Lucian's feeling of anticipation had disappeared completely, all there was left now was undeniable fear consuming him.
"And the danger level?", asked the girl.
Eliot fixed one of his cuffs, "We've estimated it to be intermediate as long as Mr. Kartour doesn't show. The bodies are currently contained at my house. Once we get there, you will conduct an inspection of each one. Then you will be brought to the place of mortality where you will attempt to find clues related to their cause of death."
"Couldn't we just revive them and obtain answers to how they died? Even if we do it with an inexperienced Ethereal, they still remember up to their cause of death.", spoke Lucian in a confused manor.
"I wish it were that easy. You see, we can revive regular beings that haven't been touched by the gods and goddess's grace. Those that have been, like Ethereals, aren't permitted another chance at life in this world."
"Understood", said Lucian as hands couldn't stop trembling. When he looked over to Eliot, he showed absolute composure, his gaze as disciplined as ever, but when he looked over at his teammate, he could see her grip on her jian sword tightening considerably harder.
Good to know that at least it's not just me. Wait, now that I think about it, I've met and got to know almost every Ethereal besides her so why has she been chosen to by my teammate? It would have made more sense to put me with Ozzus or Priscilla.
Eliot's expression changed to that of realization but quickly changed back as if he was trying to hide something. "Ah, I forgot to formally acquaint the two of you. Lucian, this is Jade Victoria, she's a bit of an introvert so she a bit shy.". Jade pursed her lips and directed a threatening glare at Eliot. "Jade, this is Lucian Crowe, he's an amnesiac who can play a decent game of chess."
So, you were still prying into my mind, weren't you? Thought Lucian as he stared at Eliot who kept a composed face fanning ignorance.
Lucian extended his hand out, "It's a pleasure to meet you, I look forward to working with you.". Jade was a bit hesitant but still gave Lucian a proper handshake. Her hands felt a bit softer than he'd expected of a swordswoman. Just why in the hell does she have a sword in the first place? There are far more useful weapons like guns. How is she going to handle the situation if someone is in possession of a gun?
For some reason, Eliot seemed a bit surprised. Was it because of the handshake?
A few minutes later, the coach stopped at Eliot's abode. Exiting, Lucian didn't smell or see anything, but he did sense that something was definitely wrong. If the poor shape Eliot's house wasn't enough then the new grotesque aura the inside gave off made Lucian a bit fearful.
"Drink these, the scene that you're about to witness isn't for the faint of heart.", exclaimed Eliot as he handed them each a vial containing a navy-blue liquid. The taste was awful, but after a couple seconds, Lucian's fear somehow disappeared entirely.
Once they entered through the wooden front door, the stench of rotting hit them. There in a room across from where Lucian had sat yesterday, were two mangled corpses.
The first corpse had his entire lower torso missing, although it didn't look like it was sliced. His torn skin and muscles protruded outwards as his organs leaked out. It seemed as though a bomb had gone off within his intestines, but there was no evidence of a bomb being even remotely close to him. There were zero burn marks anywhere.
The second corpses gender was unrecognizable. The smashed in bloody pulp of what was left of a head was put next to the splintered neck. From the torso down the bones and muscles were completely ripped out, some organs missing while others looks as though they were torn to shreds by a bear.
By now Lucian would have been vomiting, but somehow, he didn't feel a hint of disgust. The weird drink he had was probably the cause.
Jade kneeled down and took a closer inspection at the bodies. "What do you think?", asked Eliot.
Jade stood back up. "The first body is of some sort of supernatural death while the other is a mix of that and mauled to death by some creature. Spirits can't do anything like this, they could control the body to kill the person, but when the body dies, both spirits are ejected. A death like this was not through spirit self-harm. My guess is that it was one of two options. The first being that Mr. Kartour somehow got hold of Ethereal abilities which is highly unlikely or he's allied himself with the holy mandate."
"My thoughts exactly on the matter."
Lucian still partially confused said, "Pardon my asking, but what is the holy mandate?"
"They're an alliance of every religion built for the sole purpose of hunting us Ethereals down to extinction. They are covert just like us because they wish to avoid letting the government learn about us Ethereals. A few people within the government have discovered the existence of Ethereals but have been swiftly silenced, not by us, but by the holy mandate.
As I have said before, the government would attempt to turn us into weapons if they were to learn of our existence while the church wishes for our eradication. One would need us alive while the other wants us dead. If a war were to break out among the two, it would be cataclysmic but would only affect a small portion of the world. If it were to break out among all three parties, it would mean the end of all."
Got it, so were just teetering on a rope that could snap at any time.
"If you have finished inspecting the bodies, you'll now be taken to the place they were killed; Mr. Kartour's manor. I urge you to use extreme caution when exploring that house though, we haven't been able to figure out what happened in there yet.
"I take it you're not heading back to the carriage with us then?"
"No, I have other things to attend to. I wish you the best of luck.", stated Eliot with a half confident half serious smile.
Lucian and Jade were left going back to the coach with a feeling of uneasiness. The ride was long and filled with silence, but eventually, they made it to Mr. Kartour's manor centered straight in the middle of the nobility district.