She couldn’t remember much of that day.
All she knew was that she was bedridden for almost a month.
But of course, she survived.
She couldn’t go to school as she recovered, so she was put under Jake’s care whenever Heila and Dany were working. She mostly stayed in a wheelchair in the children’s section of Portal and read books.
Sometimes, when business was slow, Jake would sit next to her and tell her stories. Stories from books that couldn’t be displayed in the shop.
Stories from a long time ago, before the first apocalypse.
Before their kind had to leave a completely destroyed Homothea for planet Earth, all thanks to none other than the Mastermind of Chaos and the Mastermind of Light back then…
She learnt that Portal had a secret archive of those manuscripts, which The Oracles had entrusted to him for safekeeping. The few records that survived…
“Tell me about him again,” she told Jake.
“Him?”
“The Mastermind of Light.”
Jake chuckled.
“Again?” He had a big smile on his face. “Alright, then. Back on Homothea, the Mastermind of Light ruled like a king. It was necessary, everyone agreed that the only one who could keep the peace among all races and kinds was the one whose sole power relied on law and order. He was a noble and just man…”
Masterminds, Writers and Witches… also known as Keepers, Creators and Healers, respectively, were three completely different kinds, each powerful in their own way, who had to live together on the same planet.
One would have thought that a civil war among the three of them would have led to the apocalypse.
But no…
“Besides, he was the most powerful being in Homothea. In fact, no one could match Light’s power, except his direct counterpart, the Mastermind of Chaos. And it was their inevitable meeting that was the trigger to the first apocalypse…”
Jake started pacing around her and waving his hands around. He always got excited whenever he mentioned that part.
“Was it hatred? Or was it love? Did it turn into a war? Or into a forbidden embrace? A fight for the throne of Homothea? Even those of us who work as historians for The Oracles nowadays can’t say for sure. Very few records were made of that fateful day. Very few could be saved from the unstoppable force of destruction that was unleashed. And that is why, to this day, as the threat of a second apocalypse grows closer, The Oracles have been working hard at making sure that Light and Chaos don’t cross paths ever again…”
“I’d like to think it was love,” Nya said.
“A romantic at heart, aren’t you? I’d like to think so too but only because it turns the story into a beautiful legend. A story of forbidden love, a power too strong for us to survive it…”
“I hope it was hatred,” someone said behind them.
Jake and Nya turned towards Ash who was standing by one of the bookshelves. They hadn’t heard him come in.
The Mastermind of Moon was known to be silent and discreet.
Jake smiled at him. “And why is that, young Ash?”
Ash put his school bag down and sat next to Nya. It was already afternoon.
“At least if you hate someone, you can easily avoid them. Then it will be easier to stop the end of the world.”
———
Ash had been right of course.
If Nya ever met the Mastermind of Light, she had no idea what would happen. They were meant to be total opposites… but on equal ground.
Would their powers react immediately when faced with each other?
There was only one way to find out.
She could barely control her powers… It seemed like it was too much for her body to handle. She felt that to overcome this struggle, she needed to find someone who could understand exactly what she was going through. It wasn’t enough to be trained by a regular Mastermind like Dany.
It’s been eight years since they had been trying and it wasn’t enough for Chaos.
“Hey, K. You okay?”
Jack had left the dancefloor and found where she had been hiding.
She looked up at his sweaty flushed face.
“I’m fine.”
He frowned. “Don’t lie to me. Your mind is elsewhere. Are you thinking about her again?”
Her…
In one gulp, Nya finished the remaining punch in her glass.
“Jack, I know what I want to do after I graduate.”
He stared at her for a few seconds only to end up laughing. He leaned against the wall next to her. Their shoulders touched.
“That’s… unexpected, wow, is this what you’ve been thinking about all by yourself with such a serious face? So, what is it?”
She could feel his eyes staring at her, but she kept looking away.
“After we graduate… Will you help me look for the Mastermind of Light?”
Jack didn’t respond right away. She didn’t want to see what kind of expression he was making. But she knew it wasn’t a good one.
“Why? Do you want this world to end that badly? Although, come to think of it…”
“No, that’s not why.”
“Then?”
“Meeting Light… might be the only way to learn how to control my powers.”
“What are you talking about?”
“My gut feeling tells me this is the only person in this world who could be going through exactly what I’m going through. And it could be the only person from whom I can learn how to control myself. I know this sounds counterproductive but… I think that if I learn from an equal, I’ll be more equipped to prevent any disaster… even if that same person is the trigger…”
She turned to face Jack. “I’ve got to give it a try.”
“Hmm.. and what if that Light guy is also not able to control his powers? You’d just be accelerating the apocalypse.”
“Does it really matter?”
“What?”
Her fingernails dug into the palms of her hands as she tightened them into fists.
“No one foresaw the first apocalypse, but this time, we’re pretty much all preparing for it. If something were to happen… we’ll be faster to react. And if I gain control of my powers, maybe there’s a way for me to lessen the impact. And of course, I’ll protect you and Ash. As long as you’re with me, I won’t let you die.”
“Well, if you put it that way…”
“I just… I just can’t sit and do nothing when everyone else is working so hard. Every day when I wake up, I think to myself, what if I messed up in my sleep and just destroyed everything without me knowing? I’m just a bomb waiting to explode… and I feel powerless… against myself.”
Jack sighed.
“Okay, I’m too drunk to think straight, but you know what? I always keep my promises. So I’ll help you no matter what.”
A wave of drowsiness suddenly took over her. She relaxed her shoulders and wrists. Her now open hands hung by her side, limp.
It felt good to be a little less alone.
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