Chapter 93 Groom The Flame I



Groom The Flame.

That was what I called my plan to get to know Ember. 

I meant it was not like I like her or something. It was just that I was curious, wanting to know what her real identity was.

Was she a reincarnated person, or not?

I had spent a week planning for this since the announcement of the midterm ranking. And starting today, it finally began.

I didn't want this to be like I was stalking her, so after the class ended, I always came to her for a small talk.

Like 'How are you?', when she definitely looked fine and healthy as usual. 

Or 'The weather is beautiful today, isn't it?', when the sky was dark, about to rain I suppose.

Well, those two interactions wouldn't work that much because of how dumb it was sound.

But, there's a saying that when small amounts accumulate over time, they can result in a significant or substantial amount.

In other words, even small and seemingly insignificant actions or interactions add up to a larger whole.

Well, I did admit that the first day of the operation was a failure.

Ember was seemingly to listen to me at least. The expression she was making at that time, what was it like? A pity? A pang of guilt? 

I was not sure. So, I would come back tomorrow and continue with my plan. 

But for now, since the day had been replaced by the night, I returned to my room.

"Fuu…"

As soon as I settled on the sofa, Reina came out and embraced me in her unusually warm temperature. Day by day, her human form became a real human. At first, her body was cold as a metal but now, it had the warm in it.

I ruffled her hair. When I did that, she looked at me with a pout. I knew what that meant.

Chuckling lightly, I gave her the tablet and she quickly immersed herself in the cartoon movie.

Staring in Zia's direction, I found her bed covered by the curtain for the first time.

'Is she sleeping?'

If she was, then it seemed rude to bother her. So I left her alone.

My eyes drifted to my Nova Watch as I felt it vibrating.

Lumi sent me a message, telling me that the Catalyst Potion would soon be put up on the market. Her barrage of messages, followed by various emojis and stickers told me that she was very excited and happy about the whole thing.

My class group chat had a '999+' unread messages icon on the top of the group chat's picture. It had been a week since I didn't partake in the group chat.

Feeling curious, I opened the group chat and read only the new messages. They even mentioned me.

— Kris: I saw Zio and Ember together LOL. Do you think he likes her?

— Mann: LOL really?

— KYuuki: Is that true? @zvar

— Mann: LMAO why are you tagging him? I doubt he gonna read this. Just look how many times we tagged him a week ago, he didn't come up till the end.

— G.rald: Are you sure? Because I see him online and he's among the one who has recently read our messages LOL

— Kris: Oh shit! You're right! Hey dude @zvar

— Mann: I think you should stop doing it. It's for your own good bro @zvar

— Joooo: Yeah. Better be safe. She won't accept you no matter how good-looking you are LOL

— KYuuki: If she rejects you, don't worry. I'm willing to be your GF instead!

— Paprika: No Yuuki. You're still too young for that, let me do it instead.

— Mann: Nah girls. I doubt he even cares, why don't you girls date me?

— Kriss: Bro's smooth yet idiot…

— G.rald: *Sips coffee*

Hmm. Why did everyone like to bother with other people's affairs? Well. Not like I was bothered by them.

While I read the group chat as a silent reader, a notification message popped up. When I read the name of the sender, my eyes slightly widened.

***

Quietly engrossed in reading her books, Ember multitasked by typing on her Nova Watch.

'I can't continue like this. I feel sorry for him…'

Ember messaged her classmate, Zio Varrez, expressing her desire to speak about something.

'Let's meet up this weekend at these coordinates.'

After closing her chat with Zio, Ember sent another message to a contact named 'Silver Hound'.

Just as she hit send on the message to Silver Hound, the window on the library's fourth floor emitted a creaking sound.

Standing on the windowsill was a figure draped in a black robe.

Their features were concealed beneath the garment, except for their gray eyes, tinged with a faint bluish glow in the darkness.

"Now isn't the right time to tell him, Ember. You know that."

Their voice was gentle and soothing, carrying a sense of tranquility amidst the chilly night air.

"Silver Hound…"

Ember's words trailed off as she observed the figure jump down from the windowsill to the floor. They didn't make any sound as their feet stepped on the floor. Stepless. Just like a skilled assassin.

"Just hang in there, Ember. It just 3 months left before the new year. The date on which he told us that the world will start to change."

Ember sighed. "Fine… But, what should I do with this?"

The figure raised their eyebrows.

"What do you mean?"

"I've already sent him a message to meet me at the warehouse location."

The figure pinched their nose as they heard it.

"Why do you even choose that location for your meeting?"

Ember fidgeted her fingers, her face looking away at the window while occasionally peeking at the figure.

Suppressing their frustration and disbelief, the figure shook their head slowly.

"Fuu… Anyway, just cancel it. Or you can just tell that you want to hang out with him and change the meeting location. Here, I have a list of which places will make him happy…"

Thus, the conversation quickly went stray from its original purpose. 

But thanks to that, Ember gained knowledge that was actually not important to her but at least it would serve to be useful for some cases.

***

Billowing ominously against the horizon, the acrid smoke rose from the ruins of shattered buildings, transforming the once-vibrant blue expanse into a foreboding, charcoal-colored sky. 

The devastation was palpable, and the lingering haze cast an unsettling gloom that seemed to suffocate the remaining fragments of hope. 

It was as if the very atmosphere mourned the loss, serving as a chilling reminder of the destructive force that had laid waste to this once-thriving cityscape.

Each plume of smoke told a tragic tale of lives shattered, dreams reduced to rubble, and communities torn apart. 

The charred remnants stood as silent witnesses to the chaos and despair that had unfolded, while the darkened sky echoed the collective anguish of the survivors. The air hung heavy with the weight of loss as if the very essence of the city had been altered irreversibly.

Amidst the destruction, small sparks of metal clashing with each other were visible. But, at the end of that, the sound of a sharp blade stabbing the human flesh was echoing, followed by a sound of grim devastation of death.

"Why have you become like this…?"

The man had a sword stuck in his chest, he was laying down on the broken terrain of a destroyed city. Sitting beside him was a woman, the one who killed him yet tears were streaming down her eyes.

The man stared at the sky with blank eyes. His life was fading away, he couldn't see or hear anything.

As the light disappeared from his deep black eyes, and so did his life.

The darkness contained in his eyes was no mere darkness. It was darker than anything humanity had ever seen. 

Everyone who had ever seen his eyes would call it 'The Eye of The Abyss.'

***

I woke up immediately after having that dream or sight, whatever it was it got my heart beating so fast.

The image of the man's black eyes was deeply etched in my mind, making me shudder every time I recalled it.

Though it resembled my eyes in color which was black. That man got a pattern on his eyes, and that pattern was something that resembled a black hole.

And the woman who killed him, no matter how hard I tried to recall her features, I couldn't seem to remember it. 

Though I saw her wearing a red robe that looked like it had its own life. The robe was blazing as if it was a flame.

I had thought that was Nuria Crimson. But again, who was the man? Garuda?

No. I don't remember there was even a scene like that in the novel. And the destroyed cityscape too didn't look like it came from the earlier era of the Enhanced age, around the 90s to 2000.

Shaking my head, I put the thought away from my mind. Though the image of the man's eyes would still appear occasionally, I tried my best to ignore it.

For now, I'd got something more important. My plan to uncover Ember's secret comes first.

When I do something, I'll make sure I get the job done!