"After witnessing the reaction you had there, I doubt I’ll be able to believe whatever you speak," she said, her tone tinged with amusement, but her eyes still sharp, an observer’s eyes dissecting every twitch and word.
Aziel sighed, tilting his head, his expression torn somewhere between defeat and mischief.
"Fair, I suppose. But for the record, I only panic when someone throws my classified information across the room. You’d do the same if your privacy was on public sale."
"Except mine isn’t," Lycoris replied flatly, folding the paper neatly before handing it back.
Aziel awkwardly accepted it before tearing it to pieces, as they exchanged a weird look.
Alkroz, who had been silently watching the exchange with a faint, entertained look, rubbing the bridge of his nose, finally spoke.
"Good. You two are already at each other’s throats. That’s a promising start."
Both of them turned toward him simultaneously, equally unimpressed.
"Promising for what?" they said in unison.
"For cooperation, obviously," Alkroz replied, completely unfazed by their synchronized hostility.
"If you can argue this well after a minute of meeting, imagine what you could accomplish once you actually start working together. Have a seat first, and then we continue our conversation."
Alkroz said this, gesturing loosely toward the chairs.
Both of them slid into their seats almost at the same time, a synchronized motion that neither intended yet somehow mirrored the other’s rhythm.
They leaned back, relaxed, though their posture betrayed the sharp awareness that filled the air.
Ignoring Alkroz, Lycoris’s gaze fixed on Aziel.
"So, are you the one causing all the noise lately? The defiant one?" Her tone wasn’t accusing, more like she was trying to confirm something she hoped wasn’t true.
Aziel’s expression faltered for just a heartbeat before his usual composure returned.
"I don’t know, maybe. Anyway, if just in case I was that being you’re talking about, would you turn me to the authorities? I wonder if I really was that being, would I have told you anything."
Before Lycoris could respond, Alkroz cut in, sounding half amused, half resigned.
"Though I’m sure you are. You don’t want to lie to her, she’s deceptive and observant too."
A sharp pulse of pain ran through Aziel’s head, fleeting but distinct, before Lycoris continued.
"I’m not interested in that kind of thing, worry not. And my relations with the authorities aren’t any better either. But still, why do you look so different, like me."
"Like you? Well, let’s just go along with it, even I don’t know much about it," Aziel said, his tone easy, but the flicker in his eyes betrayed a hint of unease.
Lycoris gave a small, acknowledging nod before speaking.
"What’s this deal about? Did you really escape from there?"
"Not exactly. I was called in the Farlands, after all." Get full chapters from NoveIＦire.net
As those words left Aziel’s mouth, Lycoris’s posture stiffened for a moment. It wasn’t obvious, but the shift was there, the faint tightening of her jaw, and the brief flicker in her eyes, as if something within her had just betrayed her calm.
"How should I say, that’s new. Must have been tough on you," she said, her tone softer, but still measured.
"Well, what do you plan to do now? You must have a goal or something, like returning back?"
Aziel smirked faintly, his gaze sliding toward Alkroz. "Yeah, I do. But first, tell me — as long as I remember, Frickon mentioned that plasmas aren’t generally keen on coming here. So why is it that it looks like you two know each other quite well?"
"Well, we crossed paths long before, yes. Long story though, not one that fits in a single conversation. And I think she isn’t keen on sharing it either. Just assume she was interested in what we call science and got along with me fairly well."
Alkroz said, pinching the bridge of his nose, a habit Aziel had noticed whenever the man was reluctant to elaborate.
Aziel’s eyes drifted toward Lycoris. She seemed unbothered, arms loosely folded, gaze fixed somewhere distant, as if none of this particularly concerned her.
But there was a faint tension around her lips.
"Well, for me," Aziel said after a pause, his tone low, deliberate, "let’s just say I plan to bring down the current hierarchical structure. That’s when I’ll consider returning back."
Lycoris’s gaze sharpened, her earlier detachment faltering just slightly. "Bring it down?" she repeated, her voice soft but edged with curiosity.
"You mean the entire hierarchy? The one that’s been standing since, well, forever?"
"That’s impossible," Lycoris said, her tone suddenly heavier, the faint traces of amusement fading from her voice.
"Not because you aren’t capable of it, but because you normally can’t."
Aziel frowned slightly, his tone taunting. "Can’t? And why’s that?"
Lycoris leaned back, crossing her legs, her gaze fixed on the distant glass wall rather than either of them.
"How do you think the social hierarchy functions? You think it’s built on politics or power? No. Let me tell you, this society is ruled by what you humans call the Conservatives."
Her words seemed to hang in the air, carrying a strange gravity that made even Alkroz look up from his absent-minded scribbling.
Lycoris leaned forward slightly, her elbows resting on her knees, voice lowering to something calm but laced with weight.
"You know, the ones who refuse to acknowledge and adopt new ideas, and cling to older ones. Something like that. It’s difficult to bring them down, not because of their strength, but Plasmas believe and have faith in their ideology, and it’s considered the most sacred one."
Her eyes drifted toward the floor for a moment before rising again, faint light reflecting off the sharp edge of her gaze.
"And yeah, since you met Frickon, I’m assuming he told you everything, so follow along with me."
Aziel’s brows furrowed slightly, but he said nothing.
"Why do you think we Plasmas, even after being significantly less in number compared to the human beings, couldn’t all find a vessel for ourselves?"
"In the Farlands, you must have noticed some discharging their energies in the form of an energy storm. That’s because the Conservatives believe that the Lake of Harbinger should not be used for greed, but only in limited capacity."
A faint bitterness crept into her expression.
"They believe that using it frequently, and summoning humans at once in mass numbers, should not be allowed, as it affects the sacred Harbingers somehow.
And along with that, it was never once mentioned in our old scriptures that we could summon more than one human at once."
Is the story engaging enough, till now? Not getting that much of a response.