"This doesn’t make any sense, how can he have so much food and water? Theodore doesn’t have this much! How did he become so strong and rich so quickly? What class does he have?" Celeste muttered under her breath and examined the food and water John gave her.
She inspected it and found no traces of poison or anomalies, and her suspicions grew stronger, "could he be part of the other group? Theodore did say they loot the dead and steal supplies..." she whispered to herself and frowned, her eyes moving towards the window, but John’s figure had long disappeared into the streets, leaving nothing behind but the supplies he gave her.
Celeste shook her head and carried the supplies back to the house.
John chuckled, watching Celeste from afar and activating the Web of Whispers, "damn, this skill is great."
Celeste’s actions didn’t match her words. John thought she looked suspicious, she had been glancing at the window ever since she came back home, as if waiting for him to reappear.
John sighed, things hadn’t gone as planned and he had to improvise. He didn’t know how long it would be until he could complete his quest. With any luck, he would be able to complete it before Theodore decided to attack them.
He heaved a deep sigh and put the matter on the back burner for now, he needed to gather more information and plan a strategy, he needed a way to get closer to Celeste without her becoming suspicious, and he had already started.
He smiled, satisfied with himself and turned his gaze towards the university. While he was scouting Celeste’s house, he planted a few webs on the university. It would be good to know what Theodore is up to.
John closed his eyes and concentrated on the Energy in his body. A light glow surrounded his body as Energy coursed through his veins, the world faded away as John focused on the university, soon, he could see and hear what was happening inside the university, and to his surprise, he saw Nova speaking to another Luminar.
John’s heart pounded in his chest, this was his chance to gain an insight into the Luminars and their intentions.
"Are you insane?" Nova spat with bitter sarcasm, "do you have any idea what would happen if we did that? What are you thinking?" Nova raged at the Luminar, but the other Luminar only scoffed.
"How long do you want to be on this planet of monkeys? Don’t you want to go back home? We need to speed things up and get the hell out of here," the Luminar said in a calm voice.
Nova gritted her teeth, "you fool! This is not the way! Didn’t you learn anything? We cannot force our agenda! Besides, these monkeys as you call them, deserve to live. You know very well what could happen if we abuse our power."
John couldn’t understand what they were thinking and he felt frustrated at their ambiguous language, but at least he gained something. What he could gather was that Nova was honest when she warned him about the two Luminar factions.
John continued listening until the two Luminars disappeared and decided to go back home and sleep. Things were becoming more complicated and John had many things to consider.
As John returned to his base, the Luminar that Nova was talking to watched him from the window of the university, their expression stoic and their eyes gleaming with hatred.
As John entered the kitchen, he found June sitting alone, sipping some coffee. She had a vacant look in her eyes and John wondered what was going through her mind. For as long as John knew her, June never asked anything for herself. When it came to her comfort or needs, she never complained or asked for anything.
She was quite fiery when it came to her friends, but to John, it looked like she had given up on life. Things between them were still quite awkward, and John wanted to make things right between them, but June kept avoiding him and she refused to talk to him whenever he tried to talk to her.
John sighed and sat down next to her, "would you like something to eat?"
June didn’t reply. She didn’t even look at him, she only took another sip of her coffee.
John shook his head and decided to cook something for her anyway.
John cooked a simple soup and served June. June hesitated, but she eventually ate it and left after finishing her meal, leaving John alone in the kitchen, wondering if he should go after her or not.
"Damn," John muttered, "things just keep getting more and more complicated," he sighed and shook his head, standing up and preparing to sleep.
As he walked out of the kitchen, Dalia approached him, "John," she called out to him and John frowned.
Dalia’s eyes were puffy and her face was red. Her usually neat and tidy hair was in disarray and she had a troubled look on her face. John was taken aback. What was wrong with her? Was she crying? John wanted to ask, but he decided to hold his tongue.
Dalia wiped her tears and smiled, "good night, John."
"Huh, what?" John stuttered, confused and Dalia turned around, leaving John alone in the hallway.
"Goodnight," he muttered.
He wouldn’t make a scene this late, but he would have a word with her tomorrow. She owed him an explanation.
John shook his head and proceeded to his room. He stripped off his clothes and crashed onto the bed, closing his eyes and drifting away into dreamland.
The following day, John woke up with the first light of the morning and decided to hunt. His strength was lacking and he didn’t have enough Energy to maintain his skills.
That day, he spent the whole morning hunting a nest of Wraiths in a nearby cemetery. He managed to increase his Energy stat by 4 and it would be enough to keep tabs on Celeste and Theodore’s shelter.
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As promised, he made his way towards Celeste’s house, but as soon as he landed in her backyard, he felt a shiver tickle down his spine and he ducked, dodging a blade by a hair’s breadth.