Chill crawled up Thomas' spine after hearing what Conrad said.
"W-What you say?" asked Thomas with a trembling voice.
Conrad looked again down at the ground he was standing on. There were traces of ashes and blackened scorched earth because the heat was too strong. Whatever had just fought here had absolutely devastating power.
"Fire..." Conrad's words trailed off because his mind was going elsewhere. He was experiencing a familiar impression now. Fire? Somehow, Conrad felt that this power was the same as what he had felt back then in the secret facility.
"A fight was going on here, Thomas. A big fight. I can feel it," said Conrad.
Thomas was silent, his forehead creased in contemplation. After a while he said. "Do you mean there are Elves who came here from that other world?"
"I don't know. But I know that in another world there are not just Elves."
Thomas swallowed reflexively. "A-Are they planning on a counter-invasion?"
"I don't think so. They are intelligent creatures. If they decided to attack they would target a better spot now.
They already knew where the secret facility was and destroyed it. So they must have known how to enter directly into the city center. Yet, they don't do that."
"You're right," Thomas said. "They've somehow been able to infiltrate deeper into our world than five years ago so if they decide to attack they'll be targeting a better place."
"Because of that, I think that the ones who attacked us weren't the Elves. Including the one that caused the chaos and possessed the president," Conrad said, his expression troubled. "But I don't know who it is."
"Let's check the rock formation." Thomas gathered himself and walked towards the rock formation. Conrad followed behind him.
As they got closer Conrad felt a different energy inside than before. If before he felt an aura full of hatred and destruction now he felt something quite the opposite.
They stepped into the rock formation and what Conrad was feeling became clearer. Thomas realized that from the look on his face.
"What do you feel?" Thomas asked.
"This is different," Conrad said. "There's something here."
Conrad walked closer to the direction his instincts led him, that is to the center of the rock formation. Conrad felt lucky because he still had sensitivity to Magic even though now the power had disappeared from his body.
He felt the Magic getting stronger. Conrad held out one hand. Seeing that Thomas felt anxious, what if Conrad suddenly held something that caused the destruction they saw behind?
When his hands felt like they were holding something hard, Conrad widened his eyes. 'This is it!'
"I found something here!" Conrad said.
Thomas immediately ran over. "What is it?"
"I don't know. I also don't know if it's okay if you touch it."
Hearing that Thomas stepped back without realizing it.
"What do you feel?" Thomas asked after feeling a safe distance from whatever it was Conrad was holding.
Conrad rubbed the invisible thing slowly until he finally got its rough shape.
"This is some kind of stake. They stick in the ground," Conrad said. "This is not a normal stake."
Thomas snorted. "No shit. That thing is invisible and... I guess it also emits Magic, right?"
"Yes." Conrad nodded then he stood up. The existence of this stake confirmed his previous conjecture.
"This place is indeed Adaeram. A point of power."
Thomas looked at him. "So, someone, or something, place the stake in here and made this mess? But for what?"
"I don't feel any negative Magic energy from this stake. But I can't really confirm it," Conrad said. "Based on what I've seen and felt until now, maybe the force that placed these stake fights the other force and wins."
"Are those who put up the stake good beings?"
"Maybe. In fact, the chaos that occurred in the city suddenly reduced drastically, right?"
Thomas nodded in agreement. He had already gotten a little explanation from Conrad about Adaeram. Power placed in those places will affect nature and creatures around. If what was installed there was evil Magic, then this mess would only get worse. But the fact that the chaos disappeared meant that whoever placed the stake meant well. It should be. Thomas hopes so.
"But who are they?" Thomas asked.
Conrad didn't answer right away. He stared at the carcasses of animals that had been butchered and burned.
"I have to restore my Magic ability," Conrad said.
"You can do that?"
"Should be able to. My sensitivity to Magic is still quite good. Bringing it back again shouldn't be impossible."
Thomas saw the resolve in Conrad's eyes. He also thought that it was the best decision at this time.
They left the place knowing what to do next. There was no possible answer for them if they remained in this place and no way to look for clues to discover who had placed this stake. What they had to do now was bring Magic Conrad back.
After that, finding answers should be easier.
~~~
Erend, Adrien, and Billy were in their car to go to the presidential palace. Erend started to explain what he heard from Conrad. He kept his meeting with Eccar brief because it seemed less important now.
He could already predict Billy and Adrien's reaction. They were taken aback but managed to quickly control themselves having expected that beforehand. Now what Erend said confirms that.
"Conrad still has that ability?" Billy asked with a confused expression.
"I thought Aurdis had eliminated his Magic ability."
"He doesn't have Magic anymore. But maybe because he has had it for a long time his sensitivity is still good," Erend said. "Anyway, he helped us a lot with spotting the creature that possessed the president."
"Do we need to tell the Elves about him?" Billy asked.
"Of course," Erend replied. "I told Aurdis about it last night."
Judging by her reaction, Aurdis wasn't too surprised so she must have known about the possibility that Conrad's sensitivity was still there. But she said that Erend doesn't need to worry too much so he doesn't. Even more important than that was the creature possessing the president.
"What are you going to do now, Drake?" he asked.
"Aurdis said they were thinking of a way to get the creature out of the president's body without killing it," Erend replied.
Hearing that Adrien and Billy sighed. If it was the Elves, they believed they could do it. But it also made Billy and Adrien feel like they weren't really that good. The Elves helped them all the time, you could even say that they were the ones who did a lot of the work. Apart from Erend, of course.
They arrived at the presidential palace and immediately carried out their usual guard duties. The job was starting to feel boring because the threats were far fewer. The other soldiers started talking about it a lot.
Even though they agreed that this job was not very useful, Erend, Adrien, and Billy felt that the most appropriate place to keep an eye on President Julius was near him. So they didn't protest.
They can only wait here until the Elves complete their plan to expel the creature on the president's body. Without knowing what is going on behind the scenes about the plans of the creatures of Chaos Realm.
~~~
Jason just woke up when it was noon. He suddenly opened his eyes wide in a lying position. When they opened, those eyes were already filled with cold white fog. Svaros don't waste time, he possessed Jason from the start he opened his eyes.
Jason still felt his soul in that cold, dark fog. Yet he knows that he has no control over his soul now.
"Who are you?" Jason asked the cold dark fog that surrounded him.
"Sit quietly there, child," a deep, hoarse voice replied.
Jason knew that it must be the voice of a powerful being who had helped him so he immediately obeyed what the creature said. Jason even felt happy because finally, he could hear the voice of the creature that had become his guardian and savior.
"What do you want to do?" Jason asked out of curiosity.
"I will teach the Dragonborn a valuable lesson," the voice replied.
Jason didn't know what he was saying. But he chose to remain silent.
Svaros, who had controlled Jason's body, was now moving towards the boy's computer. He already gained knowledge about this world from possessing Jason and other people so searching for the whereabouts of the person he wanted to find via the internet wasn't something difficult.
It didn't take Jason (Svaros) much time to pinpoint Erend's whereabouts. Ozynk had supplied him with detailed descriptions of Erend, Billy, and Adrien, allowing him to easily identify them.
"I've found you." A sinister smile crept onto Jason's countenance, casting an eerie glow upon his face. Accompanied by his eyes veiled in a ghostly white mist, the grin took on a chilling intensity, sending shivers down the spine of anyone who witnessed it.
~~~
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