Chapter 3: Beautiful day

Chapter 3: Beautiful day

Nero's cold shower lasted a little longer than he had anticipated, mainly because he got lost in thought for a good ten minutes before he remembered that he was supposed to be showering. Even the freezing cold water could not prevent his contemplation today. Besides, depending on what his ability was, this might be the last time he experienced the cold. If he unlocked an ability similar to his brother's, then he would forever be immune to its effects.

After cleaning himself thoroughly, Nero finally stepped out of the shower, brushed his teeth and put on his uniform. So distracted was he, that he did not even realise this was actually the second time he was brushing his teeth this morning!

Schools in Kolar were all public schools, excluding KMA, which was exclusively for those who wanted to pursue a career in the military rather than just serve their mandatory enlistment. But being a public school did not mean they were substandard - quite the contrary, in fact. The military had high requirements of its future enlistees, and if they fell short, then the ones to be blamed would be the schools, not the students themselves.

Discipline and quality were an integral part of life in Kolar, and for good reason. If they did not give the utmost, the chances of dying were too high. Even as things were right now, the average life expectancy in Kolar was 44. His father, who was 39, was already approaching that age.

Nero looked at himself one last time in his bathroom mirror and brought out his signature smile. As somewhat of an extrovert, if he showed his brooding side too often, people would start to notice.

He picked up his phone, ignoring all the messages from his friends, and stepped out. He took one last look at his room, marinating in the nostalgia and memories for just a moment, before he picked up the rectangular, metallic case on his side table and walked out. Right now, he was too young to appreciate old memories, and too impatient for the promise that the future held.

"Mom, Dad, I'm ready," he yelled as he climbed down the stairs and walked towards the kitchen. A breakfast consisting of extremely processed food was waiting for him - a luxury they could only afford due to his mom splurging from time to time. Today, there was even a glass of milk instead of calcium tablets.

Nero took a look around, making sure his parents were nowhere in sight, before he attacked his dad's breakfast plate first! He gobbled up the veggie bar without taking the time to taste it, before turning his attention to his mom's plate. That was already empty, so he could only return his attention to his own plate.

By the time his parents came down, Nero was laying back in his chair as if he had won a great victory, a silly smile on his face. That expression was more than enough for them to know what had happened.

"Nero, you know we're on food rations! You can't keep eating my meal! I'll die of starvation!" Edward exclaimed, his voice filled with longing and loss. Nero's smile widened.

"Come on, no time to dally," Marilyn said, ignoring the two. In the time that Nero took to get ready, both his parents had dressed up as well as prepared Nero's bag. His dad, who suddenly no longer looked so plain and simple in his fitted suit, his extremely well-defined muscles clearly outlined, looked longingly towards his empty plate but did not argue with his wife.

Nero also bolted to the door, impatient to be on his way, but stopped in the door frame. He took in a deep breath, filling his lungs with that cold, unfiltered and unsterilized air, which filled him with the excitement of the unknown.

He looked out at the front of their house and observed the monochromatic grey tiles leading up to the road. There was a slightly darker shade, indicating the walkway, not that it really mattered on tile, and another path leading to their garage on the left. There was not a single sign of any greenery or plant life in sight, and they had gone through great efforts to ensure it stayed that way.

After he was sure that there was no threat in sight, Nero stepped out ahead of his parents and walked towards their car, his pace measured and consistent.

When he was five years old, there was a Poaceae epidemic, which in simple terms meant that small shoots of grass had grown between the tiles throughout many neighbourhoods in Aetherpeak.

Now grass, in and of itself, was not dangerous, but plants and basically any kind of greenery were much more susceptible to curses than other living organisms. He had been playing tag with his brother, and had run outside the house barefoot. He was young, so he did not have the sense to analyse the environment for danger. Even if he did, and had looked out while running, it was likely he would not have noticed anything, for the grass shoots were too young and small.

All it took was one step. When his unprotected, barefoot made contact with the cursed grass, he was affected by the curse. To this day, Nero was unable to forget the pain he had experienced then. He had yelled so loudly he ripped his vocal chords.

But fortunately, the officials of Aetherpeak had detected the epidemic long before Nero fell victim, so just as they were getting ready to take him to the hospital, help already arrived. Nero's memory of his recovery was foggy, but he remembered the pain he felt that day well. It was a good lesson about the dangers of their world, Neire. He had faced many dangers since, and had once even witnessed the emergence of a Stygian Rift, but he was never caught so unaware ever again.

"Now don't keep dawdling here, go inside," his father said.

Nero still could not come up with the words to say, so he only gave them a very sincere 'thank you' before abruptly turning around and walking inside. His own personal journey had officially begun.

As Nero's figure disappeared behind the doors of the AAB, Edward and Marilyn's smiles vanished.

"You know what he's thinking, right?" Edward asked her solemnly.

"Revenge," Marilyn stated in a matter-of-fact way.

"Baelor is an Ascendant. He is too far out of reach for Nero, so he will aim for—"

"Jacob, yes, I know," interrupted Marilyn. "And if Nero targets Jacob, even in a few years, Baelor will not ignore it. But Nero is not the only one with revenge on his mind, Edward. They killed my son. I will wipe their family off the face of Neire!"

"Patrick is not..."

"It's been two years, Edward. Two years since he was sentenced to the front lines as a simple Neophyte, for crimes he didn't commit. You don't need to give me false hope. I know my son is dead by now. The only thing I care about now is taking care of Baelor and the rest, so that when Nero makes his own move, he won't need to face retaliation."

Edward and Marilyn had this conversation right in front of the doors of AAB, unconcerned about the guards standing right beside them. But then again, both of them were Arcanists, so why would they care about mere guards? They had the means of ensuring secrecy, even in a public place.

"Well, it's taken care of. After pulling a lot of strings, I've finally managed to get a favour from an Ascendant Orchardist. He can heal you, and then you can once again try breaking through to the Mystic level."

Marilyn nodded and then frowned.

"We've been out here for a while. Hasn't Irwin detected us yet?"

Edward looked towards one of the guards and asked, "Is the chairman of the AAB in?"

This time, the guards were able to hear them and the one who was asked responded with a hint of respect in his voice.

"Chairman Irwin rushed out a few hours ago, with a few of his assistants."

Edward frowned, but eventually shook his head.

"Let's go. I was hoping to have Irwin handle Nero's synchronisation himself, but since he's not in, we can only let the matter lie."

The two turned away from the building and returned to their car. Right before he got in, Edward could not help but notice streaks of red in the sky.