Lonestone City thrived under the late afternoon sun. A sprawling metropolis of stone and steel. Bustling with activity.
Racer Jack sprinted all around with almost impossible speed. He was a whirling flash of blades and fur. A goggled kamaitachi that defied gravity. A perpetual annoyance to local law enforcement. And a swift end to street-level crime.
His fame, or infamy depending on who was asked, grew with every sonic boom. Every snatched purse returned. Every flustered criminal left tied to a lamppost.
He traversed rooftops. Zipped through alleyways. And occasionally, even sprinted on the air above the bustling streets.
He was currently engaged in what he called 'random urban recon'... which mostly involved seeing how fast he could get from one end of the city to the other. Without hitting anything significant.
A blur of movement. A flash of dark grey and white. He was a self-appointed, chaotic beacon of judgement. And this afternoon, Lonestone City was his playground.
As he zipped past a particularly ornate lamppost near the city's heart, something caught his attention. Not a crime. Not a cry for help. But a flicker of familiarity.
Nearby, on the cobbled street, a horse-drawn carriage moved sedately. It was a well-maintained vehicle. Not overly ostentatious. But clearly belonging to a pretty wealthy family.
Seated within it were two small figures. Their faces were as expressionless as ever. Adam and Alice Lingreen. The strange twins from Highcliff Town.
Jack skidded to a halt. He remembered them, vividly. Not just because of their unnerving ability to see him when he was a faceless wisp. But also the brief, unsettling vision provided by Rainsister.
They were Fateless. Like him. Like Amaranth White. He had a task regarding them. An invitation.
He shifted his momentum. Becoming a ghost of motion. Sprinting up a wall. Trailing the carriage from the rooftops. Occasionally dipping into the crowded streets. Blending with the shadows of tall buildings. His speed lent itself perfectly to stealth when he chose to utilize it.
The carriage continued its journey across the city. Past grand public buildings and through increasingly affluent districts. Ultimately entering the Academy District.
He watched as the carriage turned into a grand boulevard. Flanked by meticulously manicured gardens and imposing stone structures. This was the Academy District. Home to the city's educated elites. And its most prestigious educational institutions.
The twins and their mother disembarked. The woman was elegant. Her movements were graceful. Her face was composed. She looked like she belonged in such a place.
The twins, as always, were miniature poker faces. Their eyes were scanning their surroundings with an unnerving stillness. Jack watched them disappear inside. The heavy oak door was closed with a soft thud.
He noted the security. The height of the walls. The general air of privacy. Getting in as Racer Jack would likely be loud. Disruptive. And ultimately counterproductive. He needed a different approach.
He quickly found a reflective surface nearby. A large, impeccably clean window. Perfect.
With a silent leap, he landed on the window ledge. The glass reflected his kamaitachi form back at him. Distorted slightly by the afternoon light.
He focused. Channeling his strange, innate ability. [Mysterious Mirror World]. The world seemed to shimmer. In just a blink of eye, he was already inside the Mirror Space. His personal Mirror Space. A safe place to...transform.
The transformation was almost instantaneous. The small, bladed kamaitachi dissolved. Replaced by a swirling vortex of shadow and phantasmal energy. When it coalesced, Jack Mystery stood in its place.
A tall, mysterious specter. The ghostly masked stage-magician. Cloaked in spectral finery. Shimmering with an otherworldly glow.
He turned invisible and floated through the Mirror World. Phasing out. Re-entering the normal world as effortlessly as stepping through a doorway.
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He was now an invisible ghostly figure. Silently drifting above the mansion's backyard. The grounds were expansive. Featuring a small, ornate labyrinth of hedges. A koi pond. And a section of manicured lawn where the twins were now.
The twins were seemingly engaged in a quiet game of tag. Their movements were oddly precise for children their age.
Jack lowered himself. Manifesting fully above the soft grass. A few meters behind them. He made no sound. Cast no shadow. Yet his appearance was sudden. Out of nothingness.
Any other child would have shrieked. Scrambled away in terror. Or simply frozen in shock. Not Adam and Alice. They merely stopped their game. Turned. And looked at him.
Their unexpressive faces remained fixed. But there was a subtle shift in their posture. A minimal widening of their eyes that suggested not shock. But acknowledgment.
"You took your time." Adam stated. His voice was flat. Devoid of surprise.
"We knew you'd come." Alice added. Her voice an echo of her brother's.
Jack felt a familiar prickle of unease. "Expected me, did you?" He mused. His voice was low, and calm. A stark contrast to his annoying chattering in kamaitachi form. "You're an unusual pair. Most people don't just 'expect' a specter to pop into their garden. In a daylight."
"We can see things, Jack." Adam explained. As if stating an obvious fact. "And we sense the shift."
"The shift of what?" Jack prompted. He remembered their unnatural sight. Their ability to perceive him even when he was just a formless presence.
"Of your form." Alice supplied. "You are more solid now. Different. But still you."
Jack considered this. They had seen him when he was a mere faceless ghost. Without a specific face or exact form. Now, he was Jack Mystery. A masked magician specter.
Yet they recognized him. It was unsettling how little effort it took for them. He decided to get to the point.
"Alright, you two. Adam. Alice. I'm here on official business." Jack stated. Raising a spectral hand. Seemingly from nowhere, a single, polished crystal coin floated into existence.
It was etched with intricate symbols of swirling water droplets on one side. And on the other side, a glowing string of numbers. It was the Rainsister's coin. A mystical artifact that served as an invitation for the Fateless Gathering.
With a gentle pulse of telekinetic energy, Jack nudged the coin towards the twins. It drifted slowly through the air. Landing softly in Adam's outstretched palm. He didn't flinch. Alice peered at it. Her head tilted slightly.
"An invitation." Jack clarified. "From someone similar to us. The numbers on the coin will steadily count down. When they reach zero, it will activate. It will invite you to a spiritual meeting. A gathering, you might say. For people like you and me. For the Fateless."
Adam ran a thumb over the coin's smooth surface. "Fateless?" He repeated. The word sounded alien on his young tongue.
"Those who do not have any fate. Well, simply speaking, real prophecy or fortune-telling will always fail if they target us." Jack elaborated. Simplifying it as best he could for children. "You, me, and several others."
Alice's gaze remained fixed on the coin. "We always knew we were different."
"Indeed," Jack agreed. "And now you have a path to understanding how different. The invitation will bring you to a place to share knowledge. Or perhaps find answers. Or just to confirm that you're not entirely alone."
He watched for any sign of fear or surprise. There was none. Only unblinking acceptance. He smiled. If only all children were like them...
"Alright, Kids." He said. "Don't speak of that coin to anyone else. Its function and purpose are for you alone."
Alice looked up from the coin. Her gaze was shifting to Jack. "The sea has been restless, recently." She said. Her tone was suddenly shifting. Becoming more like the cryptic pronouncements he remembered.
"Restless how?" Jack asked. Sensing the familiar preamble to one of their strange quests.
The last time he'd listened to them, he had to fight horde of mutated rats. But, because of that, he acquired his first artifact.
"Something in the depths..." Adam continued. Picking up the thread. "... was sending its children. Fish monster things. To the port."
"They don't belong here." Alice finished. Her voice was flat. But with an underlying current of disapproval. "It makes the port dangerous. More dangerous than usual."
Jack processed this. Fish monsters. The Lonestone City port. He had just a couple days ago dealt with a Blowfish Man creature. Was that what they meant? But Adam said children. So, there would be more?
It sounded like a perfect opportunity for Racer Jack to make more headlines.
"Why are they coming?" Jack asked.
The twins shrugged in unison. "Reasons known only to the creatures." Adam replied.
"And the one that sends them." Alice added.
"And why do I need to investigate this 'restless sea' and its 'humanoid things'?" Jack pressed.
Adam and Alice exchanged a brief, unreadable glance. "It will be bad for all of us if you don't investigate." Adam said.
"And curiosity is usually rewarded." Alice concluded. A flicker of something that might have been a smile playing on her lips. But it was gone before Jack could be certain.
He considered the implications. The twins had a habit of being right. Even in their strangeness. He might need to really investigate this.
But, dealing with sea monsters in the sea would be a new challenge. His current forms were primarily land-based. Racer Jack could move over water surfaces. So did Jack Mystery. And Jack Night, if he used his hoverboard or hoverbike. Follow current novels on NovєlFіre.net
But, under the water? Racer Jack could move faster than anyone. Judge Jack could smash anything. But that was on land. They weren't exactly aquatic. He didn't even know if he could swim in those forms.
Still, it was just investigation. His specter form should have no problem moving underwater.
"Alright." Jack said. His decision was made. "I'll look into the restless sea." He gave the twins a curt nod. Then he began to fade.
"Don't take too long, Jack." Adam said. Still holding the crystal coin.
"See you later." Alice added.
With a final, silent dissolution, Jack Mystery vanished from their backyard.