Chapter 54: It Feels Great
A bright, golden streak shot through the clear sky, landing in front of an impossibly large estate. Starlight dust glittered over the pathway, and a beautiful, ephemeral scenery came into view. The golden streak fizzled, revealing a tall, stern man with pure, white hair and red eyes.
Starlight briefly condensed on the man’s figure, then vanished. When he appeared, the people outside the estate immediately bowed, numbering in the thousands. The man gave a brief, indifferent glance at them before walking towards the gate of the estate.
A moment later, he arrived in front of the doorway.
Before entering, the man took out a bright, golden sword, shining with utmost splendor. This sword was bought by him for the price of a house in Magic City, perhaps he overspent, but only he could decide that.
Without wasting any more time, he opened the door, and his indifferent face immediately broke into a calm, soothing smile—a large difference from his earlier attitude.
Inside the estate, a handsome child with long, pure white hair and a distinct pair of red eyes was studying at the table. Upon hearing the door open, the child raised his head and saw the man, his serious face immediately turning into a wide, joyous smile.
"Uncle Alexander!"
Head of the Starlights, Alexander, stared at the little kid before him. After a brief scan, he gave a slight nod.
"Zeke. I see that you’re studying seriously. Good job."
"Hehe, it’s nothing. I’m Zeke Starlight, after all."
Merely 7 years old at this time, Zeke smiled giddily. He held up his chest proudly, showing a haughty attitude. His eyes stayed on Alexander, seemingly gauging his reaction.
"Hehe, that’s true. Come here for a moment, I have something to show you."
Alexander gestured for Zeke to come closer. Zeke raised a brow, seeing his uncle act mysterious. But without even thinking for a second, he dropped his pen and ran to Alexander at the door.
It was at this moment that Zeke felt strange. When he got closer to Alexander, a subtle sense of unease erupted in his heart. Something gnawed at him about his current situation, but upon seeing Alexander’s wide smile, those strange thoughts vanished.
It was his Uncle Alexander.
If there was someone he could trust... it was only his uncle.
"What is it, Uncle?"
Zeke got even closer, looking up to Alexander with sparkling eyes. He stood there quietly, waiting for Alexander to respond.
Then, Alexander brought out his hand from his back, revealing a sharp, golden sword. Upon seeing the sword, Zeke was shocked, recognizing it as the one that had put the entire city in a frenzy recently.
"T-This is...?"
"It’s yours, Zeke."
Alexander showed a gentle smile, patting Zeke’s hair. He pushed the sword towards Zeke.
Feeling the weight and splendor of the sword, Zeke hesitated for a moment. He raised his head and looked at Alexander. His lips parted in disbelief, and whatever he wanted to say was drowned out by the thrill and excitement he was feeling.
"B.. but..."
Suddenly, Zeke snapped out of his daze, seeing Alexander’s smile drop slightly. He realized that he was acting a bit out of line. He bowed slightly, showing a calm, yet quivering smile.
"Thank you, Uncle. I will treasure this."
"Excellent. You deserve this, Zeke Starlight."
Alexander said, patting Zeke’s hair. Then, he crouched down, lowering his level to meet Zeke’s eyes directly. When their eyes met, Zeke felt the gnawing feeling inside him return.
But before he could contemplate it, Alexander suddenly asked.
"Can I ask you a question, Zeke?"
"Please do."
Zeke replied immediately, showing a restrained expression. Alexander nodded slightly, then patted Zeke’s shoulders. His hand was not heavy, but with the gnawing feeling Zeke felt, something about it made him uncomfortable...
Coupled with Alexander’s quiet smile, he felt like the question that would follow was something important.
A few seconds later, Alexander finally spoke again.
"So? How does it feel?"
Zeke furrowed his brows, but then Alexander continued.
"To destroy a man completely, isn’t it fascinating?"
—A dreadful sensation washed over him.
***
In his apartment, Zeke woke up with a terrible expression, his eyes slightly dizzy. Sweat pooled behind him, drenching his shirt and the mattress beneath. Even if two fans were already pointed at him, he was still sweating like bullets.
When he saw the familiar plain ceiling, a relieved sigh escaped from his lips.
’...’
Zeke stared at the ceiling for minutes, and only when a loud, ringing sound echoed did he snap out of his daze. He turned his gaze to the drawer, seeing his Herta ID ring continuously.
Suddenly remembering something, he quickly stood up and looked at the time. When he saw it was still 7:00 AM, he sighed in relief. For a moment, he thought he was late for his classes.
He walked up to his Herta ID, realizing why it was ringing.
’Message from Professor Xavier.’
’Xavier: Zeke Starlight, come into my office when you’re free within this day. This is important.’
Seeing the message, Zeke felt a sense of unease. Had he done anything wrong? He quickly thought back to his actions over the past week, but aside from his actions against Franz, he didn’t do anything too outlandish.
’Is it because of Franz?’
Zeke thought quietly. But that didn’t sound quite right. The academy didn’t strike him as someone who cared about fights between students as long as they were done with moderation, or to be more exact, as long as there were no casualties.
Feeling uneasy, he decided to go to the academy early this day to quickly resolve this matter.
Perhaps, he was just overthinking it.
Zeke turned around, preparing to take a bath. But when he saw his reflection in the mirror, he stopped abruptly. He saw a man made up of red—with long, disheveled dark-red hair and quiet red-tinted eyes.
Yet for a brief moment, and by an inconceivable reason, he didn’t see himself...
But somebody else.
