A group of senior students at the Royal Academy of Martial Prowess were rushing through the western courtyard when one of them pointed at the gallery to their right and whispered, "Guys! Look!"
Another one gasped and said, "That's Master Baylis with Lord Primarch! Holy crap!"
"They're the top ranked, guys," a girl mentioned.
"Yeah, they're the strongest two Zaatsus. I haven't seen Master Baylis here very often. What's he doing here?"
She nodded saying, "Something big must be going down. And I bet it has to do with that bounty hunter Master Baylis has brought to the Palace."
The overseer of each of the 12 academies of Martial Arts inside the City of Ayn was titled the 'Exarch'. And the leader of the Exarchs was given the title of 'Primarch'. Hugo was having a discussion with the Primarch, Zaatsu Master Obadiah Moore – the only Zaatsu, apart from the Seear himself, who outranked him. The man with the silver manbun, mutton chops, and a broad-shouldered tall, strong frame was the strongest operative the Eye boasted at the time. The 40-year-old was revered as an expert Martial Artist, a stern commander, and a natural leader in line to be the next Seear.
The two had just come out of a meeting with Renekom and Hedish where Hugo was explaining how they could get to Derek through Vincent.
"Mystics say the disappeared Cults are simply hiding and preparing," Obadiah said, adjusting his robe. "But it's hard to tell what they are preparing for."
Hugo leaned closer, smirking. "Did they ask you to tell me that or are you telling me on your own?" he asked.
He smiled. "Come on, Hugo. Your team is leading this one. You should know." His smile quickly disappeared then as he nodded and crossed his arms. "Many Cults have been gathering weapons and amulets for the past couple of years." With a sigh he added, "They're afraid of something. We just can't understand what. But the good thing is, the Order is willing to lend a hand in retrieving the remnants."
"Nothing's changed, has it?" Hugo shook his head. "Even with Vincent behind bars, remnants are still getting stolen, and Keepers are still being attacked."
When the bounty hunter came under the Eye's radar, it was because of the remnants of the Xoitique Diamond. He was stealing them. But no one knew why. His motives and his employers remained a mystery even after he was captured. Yet, even with the bounty hunter behind bars, more remnants were still stolen, a Keeper was still attacked, and worse yet, remnants of the Celestial stone were fused.
"That's why I'm saying Vincent may not be the only player here," Obadiah said. "By the way…" he looked at Hugo, "Do you think the Spirit Morph will work? It's a risky technique."
A shadow replacement, or 'Spirit Morphing', was a spell whereby the caster would be able to superimpose a shadow of their spirit onto someone else's body and see, hear, and feel everything that they would. It required immense control of one's Ki flow.
"You saw him in the duel," Hugo said, referring to his bout with Vincent the day before. "With his Ki control, it shouldn't be a problem."
Obadiah leaned against the balustrade. "But what makes you think he'll cooperate?"
"I have a feeling he needs answers as well… he's after something too. But then again, it will be my shadow on him. He goes rogue and I pull the plug…"
"Well…" the Primarch sighed. "The whole thing is sounding the same alarms again, Hugo. Do you remember?"
Hugo looked away, saying, "How could I ever forget?"
"Yeah. And you used to work right alongside Marion as well." With a shake of the head, he added, "In just seven years we're right back where we started. Ambris, the Basilisk, they called him the 'apocalypse at the turn of the millennium'. And had it not been for the efforts of the Eye, he may very well have been that."
'Yeah, right,' Hugo thought as he dropped his head. 'The Eye…'
"And we've since been making every effort possible," Obadiah continued, "to stop anything like that from ever happening again. We've taken down miscreants and rogues, and we've kept the Cults in check and monitored the Order's movements. But we're right back where we were 12 years ago."
"One often meets his destiny on the path he takes to avoid it." Hugo smiled. "We've always found a way, Master Moore. Don't worry. We will find a way."
The two then parted ways. But as he left, the captain of the Zeta Squad could not help but wonder about all the mysteries that were piling up.
'Are the Cults seeing something even the Parliamentarians missed?' he thought. 'Is something coming? What is Vincent's role in all this and why is he willing to help us?'
The clock was ticking. Mystics of the Parliament had been looking everywhere, but it had been weeks now and nothing had been reported out of the ordinary. They could sense spirits of the flames and the streams calm within their dominions while all metaphysical beings had begun retreating deeper into the shadows just like the Cults. Yet the world remained so very quiet. Whatever was approaching, if it was approaching at all, remained invisible to even the custodians of the arcane.
9 a.m., Hugo teleported out to the 'Zeta point' – a spot under the shade of trees, on the hilltop at the northern border of Ayn facing the Siberian forests. This was where most meetings of the Zeta Squad were held.
'Did I convince him, or did he convince me to take him along?' the Zaatsu thought as he sat down leaning against a tree trunk. He was at the edge of the hill. Twenty meters above the city, he could see a good portion of the northern and eastern quadrant from up there.
He breathed a sigh of relief. 'It looks so quiet and peaceful...'
Keeping himself, his intentions, and his motives hidden from Mystics was not an easy task even for Hugo. Even the slightest shiver in the masking spell he wore at all times, and they would decipher him like a confession etched in glass.
"Am I a liar?" the Zaatsu whispered, looking up at the overcast sky. "Why did they choose me?" He shook his head and closed his eyes.
Still loyal to the disbanded outfit antagonised by the Eye for their alleged crimes, Hugo was never an official part of the Outsiders. Being a prodigy, he was taken under his wing by Warren Ford and trained for two years. Since then, he became a set of eyes and ears of the Outsiders inside the Palace.
But Hugo was also a man of principles. He felt caught between two worlds – being forced to choose what appeared right and what he believed to be better. He was nervous.
It began to drizzle faintly. Strong winds had already cancelled most outdoor sparring sessions in the academies that morning. Hugo opened his eyes and looked at the sky again. Fallen leaves blew past him and the gusty winds hit him in the side with more than a tender push. The temperature had dropped to just below 13 degrees Celsius, and visibility was dropping. A storm was approaching.
He looked at his watch then. 'Five past nine,' he thought. 'Camille should've been here by now…' Undeterred by the weather, he waited calmly.
The youngest Baylis soon arrived with Ella and Marcus. They dragged their captain to a café away from the chilly weather. Ella and Marcus were then sent to fetch supplies and the remaining members of the Zeta Squad.
As soon as the duo left, Hugo turned to Camille. "I told you to come alone," he said, grinding his teeth.
Leaning back, the slightly intimidated sister quickly asked, "W-what happened now?"
They were at a corner table under the window.
Hugo looked out and took a deep breath. "Nothing," he said. "Sorry."
"No. What's up?" She leaned in again. "You look more worried than yesterday."
"We have our next assignment."
"And?"
"And…" he looked at her. "We are taking him along again."
"What is…" She paused. "How is that worse than the last time?"
"I feel like we are not looking in the right direction. There's something else going on."
"What do you mean?"
He shook his head. "Well… for starters… why have the remnants never been a target before?"
"Bro…" she smiled. "I'm not the high-ranking expert here."
"Tch." Hugo shook his head once and leaned closer. "Think about it. An Alchemist is alive and well, right? Well, that means the art and study of alchemy is also very much alive and well."
"Ok. So?"
"So, why has no one ever tried to merge the remnants before?"
Camille's gaze widened as she kept staring silently.
"Just think about it." He continued. "The last Alchemist was killed more than 300 years ago which is a unanimously accepted truth. The only available alchemical literature is historic in nature and remains safe with the Parliament."
"So, how's there an Alchemist alive today?"
"Like I said…" Hugo looked out at the rain-streaked window. "There's something else going on here."