Despite Ace's curiosity, Ashmeir did not answer him directly.
"It's up to you if you'll believe me." Ashmeir added.
None of them dared to reply, the hologram turned off. It left Ace with a vague view of what his father said. A retained memory kept through a tab was already unusual for him, and perhaps doing what Ashmeir just said was beyond his blue.
'I can't trust the Prime,' Ace thought of.
The whole operating room glowed in bright blue, monitoring cameras and allocated security systems filled every corner. While Ace was left alone, he glanced forward.
The very conversation kept on bugging him, sadly Pier wasn't there to listen. He crossed his arms while speculating. Trying to find a way to ease his own affliction. Ace was practicing deception into his own thoughts.
A minute more passed and Ace found nothing but the movements of animals and leaves, it was more boring than he anticipated. 360 degrees covered the whole house under protective software. Nothing will surpass without being seen. The uneventful affair turned Ace to look around and see if what the other holograms could offer.
His feet moved into pivoting sequence, and while he was turning, a vision was caught through his peripheral sight. Ace immediately turned back, the familiar silhouette and pacing made his jaw dropped.
"It's Pier!" He exclaimed.Warren and his friend was just approaching the near garden terrain. Their temperature got detected, red lights censored and warned Ace about their upcoming presence.
The two voyagers were no different from fatigued warriors, they were blessed enough to escape Caesar's guards. Pier moved to drag his whimpered legs, from his sight the gate and safety facility was withhold.
"Keep on going Pier," He tried motivating himself.Warren practiced the same thing. The whole run almost made him pass out, but the supposed patient was waiting. Warren can't give up. Along their sprint, Ace came dashing out of the door.
He opened the gate manually, rushing straight to welcome Pier.
"You're safe!" Ace exclaimed in joy.A few meters far from the gate, the three of them stopped. Pier tried to catch his breath with panting, sooner after the pause he realized that Ace was safer than they are. His forehead wrinkled in confusion.
"What and how? Your wound?" Pier looked down to Ace's leg, but he found nothing."Yvo, the Prime's chancellor went here. He and his medical team assessed and helped me." Ace replied.
Everything started to sound bizarre.
Pier grew more curious, 'Why on earth will the chancellor be here?' Even Warren began to garner hunches. It looked like many instances occurred while they were out.Warren spoke, thus diverting the unwanted attention to the doctor. "So Pier was only sent to save me, and not Ace." Things started to make more sense.
Before Pier and Warren could arrive, Ace was already treated. Details in their next move started to appeal like a flawless plan.
"Let's go inside," Ace welcomed them in. Warren and Pier followed his pace. They were nearly too tired to continue. Both eyes dried and shivered to blurriness. None of them can think straight.Their bodies settled inside the soft cushion sofa bed. There were no injuries, perhaps only fatigue. The last extent of their strengths finally came to its end, they did not even bother to rest inside the room. Pier's eyelids started to collapse, he was exhausted.
Warren fell into the same state. Both laid down in peace, Ace just stared at them with curiosity.
He asked, "What really happened to the both of them?" Snorting was sadly the most presented answer, they were too tired to even listen.Ace just shook his head. He probably needs to prepare for them before they could wake up. Neo's also resting, this served as a perfect time for him. The whole house subsided in silence, but his thoughts were not yet done. Everything was still surreal.
What Ashmeir said bugs him. Ace continued to wonder, he was physically fit but mentally absent. The kitchen was within his reach, but he was too preoccupied to even notice. Ace continued to walk and walk until he found himself bumping into a hard wall.
"Ouch!" He shouted.The AI laughed in a monotonous voice, making Ace roll his eyes.
"It wasn't funny." Ace murmured."Yes it was," the AI replied. "But what seems to be bothering you?" From a humorous setup, the system's programming switched into serious and sound.
Ace replied with a sigh, his bodily movements were analyzed and broken through. The AI predicted what was bothering him.
"Ashmeir and the Prime stood in great loyalty." It started the revelation. "He died September 16, before you even turned 13."The narration was detailed, he had no other choice but to listen and wait for what it may say. Ace wasn't yet contented with all the facts he heard.
"He died to save the Prime, and the Prime also risked his own son just to save him."All was fair, but not for this situation.
"He risked Neo?" Ace asked.The AI remained silent. It has said enough, Yvo programmed the whole setup not to reveal anything that may alter Ace's fate. Curiosity bombarded and tore Ace to tiredness.
"Insufficient data. Question out of coverage memory." The AI tried to reason out soundly.
Ace just groaned and complained. The Prime's plan was working. Even if he rejected the chancellor's offer, he was still unable to escape the thoughts of loyalty.
For the last time, the vice wagged the negativity off and continued to move on through the kitchen. It was a stylish techno type cooking area, food were preserved with nutrients. Fortunately, what Warren and Pier needed are inside the drawers.
Ace opened them one by one, he was hungry as well. A double door drawer appeared differently from the others. At first Ace did not notice it, but as he continued to move forward, it pinched his sight.
In a tilting motion, Ace draw his eyes unto it, "You look special."
Adrenaline kicked in with euphoria. Ace had no other choice but to satisfy his drive for answers, hands positioned themselves. He was ready to open the two door cabinet above the counter top. Quick phasing heartbeats accompanied the tension, it was nothing more but a peculiar phenomenon he wanted to escape from. To quit the excitement, Ace pulled the cabinet open. It revealed something far from consumable or edible. Things went even more odd when Ace finally realized of what was it. He concluded, "This came from the ancient Hemians," the story Ashmeir told him was still fresh from his memory.The box looked like a cube carved in intricate designs of ferns and curves. It was nothing more but ancient, Ace reached out to grab it. He had too many revelations for one day, but seems like the sun wasn't yet ready to set. Silence was still the most dominant sound, Pier and Warren remained asleep and resting. Ace continued to stare deeper to what he has at hand. "You were lost centuries a
"Pier, wake up." Ace continued to shake Pier's shoulders. He could no longer bear it, he needs to confirm or just either have someone to talk to. Ace hoped that he was just dreaming or maybe just under the severe influence of drug which Yvo injected him. Finally, Pier got snapped back from his sleep. He slowly opened his eyes from the beaming light flashing against the ceiling. The aflutter face of Ace popped in through his sight. "What's the commotion about?" Pier asked.Before Ace could even answer, Neo ran straight towards their direction, whooshing like an airplane. Pier immediately furrowed his eyebrows. He did not remember leaving Ace with a new kid to take care of. Pier immediately asked to confirm, "Who's that?" They caught each others gazes, none of the two can grasp for the answer. But the same conclusion arose from Pier, his eyes went down to Neo's wrist. "The tag..." Pier whispered beneath his breath but Ace heard it.His eyes did not move away from the toddler. Ever
"I understand Sir Warren, but remember that we'll see Claire very soon." Neo found the right words to uplift Warren's nearly broken spirit. A faint smile recognized the very same hope Warren held unto before. The Prime's son was indeed wise. Warren patted Neo's head, and replied. "Yes, very soon..." Despite the intriguing scene, Pier and Ace was still unsatisfied with what they heard, they were expecting more than that. The two voyagers almost forgot their tiredness, but their rumbling tummies reminded them. Ace heard the loud grunch of Pier's stomach. His friend hasn't yet eaten for a day, and the doctor experienced the same fate. "There's food inside the kitchen," Ace said. It relieved Pier, and even Warren's senses sharpened. They both stood up to eat, thus leaving Ace with Neo again. The whole living room was empty and silent, and only the beeping sound of the systems confronted Ace. He stayed with a plain stare dragged to the toddler. Neo looked busy on the other hand, his
"What do you want me to do?" Ace replied in a heroine poise. The wind almost blew his hair imaginatively, making his prestige stand look even more awed. Yvo finally succeeded in his mission. Over the other line he answered and dictated the exact thing which needs to be done. The enumeration started, "Leave the protection facility and head off towards the Grand Demesne." Yvo paused for a few seconds, "then meet the Prime's army outside the borderlines." The directions were clear yet a bit vague to Ace's perspective. 'Can't they just pick us up?' He asked himself.Ace do has his point. Reluctance reflected on his expression. Yvo immediately responded to his unspoken query."Matters will be explained fully open your arrival." It eased Ace, though the whole plan looked like a mystery, an inch of his heart called to trust the chancellor. A few minutes more, the call finally ended and Pier along with Warren went out to exit the kitchen after a satisfying meal. They grew curious of wh
"Sir, I followed Van." The orderly came back bringing good news. Caesar immediately turned around to face him, he plastered a poker face rudely despite the joyous ambience.The General commanded, "Resume." "Van Aeron was once part of the Prime's elite army," the guard paused, "his wife died at the course of the pandemic." Silence embedded the two of them, Caesar was still studying the given information. Based on the facts, it wasn't far from the conclusion that Van will rebel against Sydon. His facial expression showed discompliance during the grand speech of the Dragon. And both Caesar's instincts points out that the man will be one of their adversaries. The guard continued speaking, his revelation wasn't yet over. "The man was down and broken. Sir, we can use that chance to gain him." What he said does have a point, with a forefinger rubbing his chin, Caesar reflected more on the statement. For sure Van knew a lot about the Prime's army, Caesar can use those informations to gai
"The south demesne was breached!" A lieutenant spoke while panting. Caesar's attention was immediately caught, everyone's head turned towards the door. "What happened?" The General was still unable to grasp for the whole gist. On his knees, Keith looked up and replied. Events were pacing out quickly, even his professional style wasn't able to comprehend. "Two vigilantes were spotted. The red sparrow hacked the cyber software, unlocking the storage facilities for health potions, we are still unable to track the mischievous being." Pants went in between his words, he ran for 3 kilometers just to get to the tower. Everyone's jaw inside the room hung low. This wasn't their first time hearing such bad news, but it was the very premiere to hear that someone can actually hack into the cyberware. The technical team built it strong and sturdy, no ordinary citizen can break into the binaries. No one was able to respond. It was out of their perspective to think of any solution. The problem
Mom, the guards are back." Simon worriedly pointed out.For two weeks, the guards of Sydon kept on marching around the city. Hemians had no idea of what was happening, and Ace and his family was no different from the others. Ignorance ate knowledge and never spat it back.A declaration was issued, only one per family can go out. Everything sounded suspicious, but investigating will only lead the graves closer towards them.The young boy rushed towards his mother's arms. His fear sprang to life, the loud combat boots filled the streets, and the buzzing sound of drone scanners obnoxiously played with their hearing. The city's peace perished.Ace hoped that everything was just a dream, but the painful imprisonment pinched him more than to wake up. He couldn't do anything but sigh. A glance to his sad and anxious mother made his overthinking worse.After his father died, Ace became the head of the family. Their safety was heavily placed unto his shoulders, and now his biggest fear was yet
The forest settled in silence. Pain ate Ace, he escaped from the hands of Sydon but not from grieving. The awful deaths of his loved ones dragged him towards the pit. He wanted to jump, follow them but he couldn't.Light filled him, it was different from the first ambience, but he never felt uplifted. Everything was nearly as worse as his death. How he wished that he died with them.Tears flowed and the rain joined him. The silent clouds roared, it mourned with him. The arbor of the day sky was replaced by darkness. Everything reflected what Ace felt.Drops of rain showered over his body, the young man looked up. He wondered.'Why am I still here?'His family was the only thing he had left. Losing them means losing his life and purpose. Ace felt in vain, the scary fact of futility embraced him like captive cages. He wanted to run but he was too weak. Maybe accepting his fate was the answer all the time.Pier couldn't do anything but to stare at him. He felt his pain, but sadly, right