The two spent the rest of the day and most of the evening laughing and talking about anything that came to mind. Melodi shared her frustrations about how strict her parents were and how they always tried to overprotect her. It was understandable since the death of her older brother, but she still resented them a little bit because of it.
She was old enough now that she could protect herself, and she wasn’t some screwup like her older brother had been. Not to mention the fact that she was top of her class in every subject. In her eyes, her parents should be giving her more credit. However, she figured it was even since she was getting incredible training from evading her guards all the time.
Cypher, in turn, told Melodi about his own parents. His father had been the legendary Fenix Ceraunus, a genius Conductor, and the youngest in several generations to become a complete Rank-Four Conductor before the age of 25. His mother, Serenade, had been his second in command, and she had given up her title and inheritance as a member of a noble family in order to be with Fenix.
He also spoke a bit about his childhood and how he had suffered under the Galvan’s cruel thumb. However, now that he was a bit older and wiser, he looked at it as a sort of blessing in disguise. If he hadn’t been taken in by them and raised so coldly, he might never have become the man he was today.
Melodi agreed with him, nodding with approval at his optimistic outlook, and she mentioned how that was a good point. Of course, Molly had a huge part in his upbringing, and he was all too happy to talk about her. Melodi offered her condolences at her passing and Cypher wiped away a tear from the corner of his eyes, the pain of her loss still a deep ache that refused to fade away. A gentle silence soon fell over them as they continued to stare at the stars.
It was a peaceful night, but eventually, the two then headed back into the mansion, and Cypher prepared a somewhat shabby meal for the two of them. They ate happily and conversed some more, and Melodi soon realized how late it had gotten.
She bid Cypher farewell and nervously planted a small kiss on his cheek before turning to climb the ladder and head home. Cypher waited for a few moments and then followed her up. After all, she was wearing a dress, and he was well aware of that fact. It wouldn’t be very gentlemanly to climb up after her and he could almost hear Molly drilling those lessons of chivalry into his head.
She waved to him again and smiled as she took off at full speed towards her estate, and in the distance, Cypher could see Stubbs land next to her and begin to berate her. She took it in stride from the looks of it and the two vanished into the distance.
Cypher smiled wryly at that, leaning against a tree with a smug expression of satisfaction on his face. As he turned to head back inside a familiar presence stopped him. “So, how’d the date go?” said Alvin, a tone of amusement in his voice.
“You. Shut up. I don’t need to hear it from you right now. I’m in a good mood. Please don’t ruin it, Alvin,” Cypher said, a playful tone in his own voice. Alvin stepped out from behind a nearby tree and chuckled.
“Heh, you crafty fox! Well, in any event, I come bearing good news. You did want to know more about Elaine, right? It was all over your face when you saw her back in Sanctum, and it was obvious before you even mentioned it to me. Well, I can tell you where she lives, and you can pay her a visit.”
Cypher looked at Alvin, and his smile grew wider. Finally, some answers would come his way. Cypher paid more attention to Alvin at that point and offered for him to come inside. Alvin only shook his head and continued speaking, “She actually lives here in Seven City. Not far from here surprisingly,” Alvin stroked his beard and raised an eyebrow at Cypher.
“Come on, Alvin, just spill the beans already. Where does she live?” Cypher was still in a good mood, but his patience was running thin due to Alvin’s shenanigans. Alvin chuckled again and pointed up the road Melodi had just been traveling down.
“Straight ahead for about half a mile, and then it’s the purple-roofed house on the right. You really can’t miss it. She’s quite eccentric when she wants to be. Don’t let her stiff and uhh… abrasive personality fool you. Ah, but that isn’t all the news I have,” finished Alvin. Cypher only motioned for him to continue.
“You remember that belt you found in the ruin, right?” Cypher groaned and facepalmed.
“Oh, goodie, there went my good mood. Of course, I remember it. I couldn’t get it off my waist. What about it?” Cypher was indeed curious about it, but he didn’t want anything to do with it right now.
On the other hand, Alvin was excited about it, and clearly, he couldn’t wait to spew what he knew about it. “Well, you see, it’s obviously very ancient! I was poking around at it with various spells and tools, and it seems to be, as far as I can tell, made of an extremely dense Magickal alloy. I can’t even figure out what kind of metal it is. I’m taking it to an old friend of mine, and hopefully, we can sort it out, but I’m only partially hopeful about the results.”
“Okay, and that’s good news how?” replied Cypher. Alvin looked a bit dejected but perked up and continued.
“Well, it means we’re one step closer to figuring out what the thing actually does. Of course, I still haven’t been able to get it to attach itself to me. For some reason, it just sits there when I try to put it on, and I haven’t been able to figure out why. That said, I think it might have something to do with you.”
Cypher looked at him, curiously, “Why me?”
“Because it reeks of Null elemental energy. It seems pretty obvious when you think about it. That ruin was sealed behind a door only someone with a Null elemental affinity could open, and you put on the belt with your Null affinity. Logic then follows that you should be able to reactivate it!”
Cypher sighed and then said, “Yeah, but the last time I put it on, that thing ate up a rather large bit of my Zight. I’m not exactly thrilled about the idea of putting it on again. What if it kills me?”
Alvin smiled, “Well, I don’t think it’ll kill you. Buuut just to be safe, I’ll have Zight reserves on standby just in case. Would you please stop by my office soon? I’d really like to examine the belt while it’s active. It would help in figuring out what the hell that thing is for. Then I can leave you alone about it.”
Cypher sighed again and nodded, “Fine, how about the day after tomorrow? I’m obviously gonna be busy tomorrow talking with Elaine.” Alvin stroked his beard again and nodded back.
“The day after tomorrow… Yes, that will be fine. Alright, I’ll see you then, sometime around noon, okay? Please don’t be too late,” replied Alvin.
“Yeah, yeah, I’ll be there. Goodnight, Alvin!”
“Good night, lady killer!” replied Alvin. Cypher quickly spun to throw a rock at him for his teasing, but he found that Alvin had already vanished.
Cypher chuckled softly and then returned inside. He had the urge to tell Alvin of what had happened in Finn’s Deep, but his fear got the better of him and he forced that memory back into the recesses of his mind. Perhaps he would bring it up when they met in two days. Now certainly wasn’t the time for that despite its urgency.
In any event, the next few days would be quite interesting regardless of what he chose.
Looking back over the last couple of weeks his life had changed dramatically. Sanctum, the Order attack in the ruin, and the events of Finn’s Deep, all of them had pushed him further along in his Conductor’s journey but he found that the timing of these events was very convenient. It was strange how so many important events had happened one after another and he wondered if things would continue like this.
Had his mother foreseen any of it? If so, why hadn’t she bothered to warn him? He could understand not upsetting the timeline but even a small warning could have made all the difference. He paused, letting out a sigh as his mind worked to make connections. If she had known about any of those events it was very likely that she wouldn’t have said anything.
If even a small warning could have changed the outcome then would her warnings have mattered? Furthermore, would things have happened the same? He brushed a hand across his head as he let out a sigh. Time travel, seeing the future, all of it was so confusing and he didn’t even know the limits of her abilities. There was also the matter of that strange dream that he had experienced.
Even now it bothered him despite so much time passing. It could be reasoned that it was brought on by the events that had occurred in Sanctum. But was it really as simple as that? Bad dreams were a staple of his existence. However, that one had been in a league all its own. It had been too realistic. Too… visceral.
Cypher headed back into his house too tired to continue thinking about all of that. With a meeting with Elaine on the horizon it was more important to focus on his future than to worry about the past. He could revisit those concerns another time. For now, he wanted only to enjoy the memories he had made today with Melodi.
Still, so much about his life was changing, and quickly at that. His concerns were shifting all over the place and despite his best efforts his mind wandered back to the threat that Louis had issued as he collapsed onto a couch in his living room.
‘Rest assured, we will meet again little mortals, that I promise you. You would do well to increase your power before that time comes. Next time I won’t hold back.’
The opening of that dark sarcophagus had heralded a swiftly approaching change in the world. The effects of that change hadn’t quite manifested just yet, but Cypher was sure that eventually, it would be something that he and the rest of the world would have to contend with.
The Minus had returned, and even if it was only one of those dangerous beasts from an age long since passed, it was still enough to leave even the most powerful of Conductors wary of that threat. With one of those powerful creatures returned to the fold it wasn’t impossible that more of them might find their way back into the world.
Cypher let out a worried sigh. The Order of Eternal Night and the Minus. Two threats had appeared in his life, both with world-ending potential and a horrifying thought occurred to him.
The Order of Eternal Night was already spreading as much chaos as it could throughout the world by riling up Zightbeast packs. What if they had somehow been responsible for the return of the Minus as well? Minus were also Zightbeasts, although they were far more powerful than the standard monsters that roamed the world.
Louis had been an outlier. Vampires were already similar in nature to humans, but they still fell under the category of ‘Zightbeast.’ Even now they existed in various parts of the world hunting their prey and leaving death in their wake. They could even convert normal humans into vampires which was their primary way of increasing their numbers.
That was issue enough, but one that was not beyond the realm of containment. Minus on the other hand were far more powerful than your average adventurer or Conductor could face.
Was it such a stretch to think that the Order would be bringing those creatures back from beyond the veil of death? Was it possible that Louis, like his vampiric compatriots, had the potential to convert others into vampires as well? More terrifying than that, if it was possible, would they too be Minus? Cypher shuddered at the prospect of the Order and the Minus working together.
All the more reason that he needed to inform Alvin, the headmaster of the Academy, or someone else he could trust of their return.
Cypher sat up and rested his head in his hands as he stared at the floor. The danger was mounting. Threats were popping out of the woodwork left and right and he found himself situated directly in the line of fire from all sides.
With that in mind, he once again resolved himself toward the goal of getting stronger. His mother had mentioned that someday his strength would be needed above all others, and it seemed to him that the time was swiftly approaching. With so much happening all at once he worried that he might not be up to the task. Still, he would do what he could. At least now he had many allies he could count on. He wasn’t alone anymore.
Tomorrow he would speak with Elaine about how his father had gained so much power so quickly. Tomorrow, he would face the challenges troubling him and, with a little luck, come out on top.
