Chapter 1.5: Mr Ambiguous

On the little island of Aogashima, Tokyo, a particular Felix Lee was very busy with his work. He was pacing about with a can of soda in one hand. With the other, he conjured a ball of fire and tossed it into the air. Closing one eye, he made a finger gun, aiming at the floating ball of fire and shot it down with a thick stream of fire. He laughed to himself and took another swig of his soda, casually putting the needle of his record player on the vinyl as he passed by it.

“I'm ready for some action… Are you ready for perfection…”

Felix swayed his body to the music, pulling his binyeo out of his bun and shaking his hair loose. When the chorus was about to start, the door to his room burst open. In the doorway stood Lady Meng Mo Wang. Her chest heaved, her face locked in a tight wince.

Felix perked up, and he hit pause on the music. “Meng Meng, you’re here!” he sang cheerfully. “Wassup?”

“Don’t ‘wassup’ me, I’ve been looking for you everywhere!” Lady Meng blew her hair out of her mouth and adjusted her golden poppy hairpin that usually sat pretty on the left side of her head. “The Sanctum is in chaos, but you’re here having your little karaoke session.”

“What happened?”

“There has been an anomalous surge in Essence levels-”

“Reawakening,” Felix said, waving his hand dismissively.

“If it were somewhere where sorcerers and their families are based, then yes.”

Felix raised his eyebrows. “So, it’s a no?”

Lady Meng pinched the skin between her eyes. “The Beacon in Singapore returned these signals. They have cross-checked it,” she said quickly as she shoved a report in his face. “They checked it thrice. It has to be right.”

Felix took it from her. “I thought the Beacon located in one of the Pits wouldn’t detect anything other than Cursed Essence," he said and flicked the report hard. “The armpit of South-East Asia has finally stopped stinking.”

The Pits were places where even sorcerers refused to reside. Cursed Essence levels in those areas were ludicrously high. Singapore is a tiny country state well-known for its pressure-cooker lifestyle. Sorcerers would only be dispatched there if and only if something had gone terribly wrong. The same applied to the other Pits.

“Rather unprofessional coming from an Elder. Be reminded that there are Edgerunners under your watch," Lady Meng said in a reproachful tone.

“Don’t call me that. Makes me feel old even though I just hit the big three less than two weeks ago.” Felix dropped the paper onto the table. “Also, I was just stating the truth! No sorcerer in their right mind would live in Singapore. They would die from exhaustion! Have you not heard of how stressed out everyone there is?”

“Uh-huh.”

“As for the Edgerunners,” Felix pressed the heel of his palms against the edge of the table and stretched his back, “they are having the time of their lives in Bhutan. Man, I wish I were there. Imagine being able to play Dance Dance Revolution all the time! Being exiled isn't that bad after all!”

Lady Meng let out another sigh. “Let’s just get back to the more important topic,” she said. “For starters, the Cursed Essence levels in Singapore have been stable for a decade until today’s anomaly. We should take it off the list soon. Second, we have to find the sorcerer who caused it as soon as possible, which is now.”

“That’s why you came looking for me?”

“This is an Aberrant we are dealing with, of course. The top brass has issued an order for a Rank 0 sorcerer to take this on.”

“I don’t recall doing that.”

“Good that you are self-aware,” Lady Meng retorted. “It just so happens that the nearest available sorcerer is standing right here in front of me.”

Felix feigned a huge yawn, much to Lady Meng’s chagrin. She stabbed him in the ribs with a finger. He yelped and pouted, “Sometimes I wish you weren’t re-classified.”

“I may be a Spectral, but I’ll still be tagging along,” Lady Meng supplied with a slight curl of her lips. “So, get changed. You aren’t going out with a tank top and shorts, Supreme sorcerer, or should I say… Venerated Elder Lee.”

Felix rolled his eyes. That meant that Lady Meng was following him as a Witness. The mission was important enough to make the other Elders sit up. Within mere seconds, he changed out, whipping up a gust that nearly blew the hairpin out of Lady Meng’s hair. “Could you not do that in front of me?!” she exclaimed as she rushed to shield her eyes. “I don’t want to see your dick out!”

“It’s not like you haven’t seen me naked before,” Felix winked and proceeded to tie up his hair into a bun.

Lady Meng clenched her fist and exhaled sharply. “I would rather eat shit than work with you.”

“Have some class while standing in front of an Elder.” Felix patted Lady Meng’s head, trying to rub in the fact that he was much taller than she was. “C’mon, give me the deets. How were the Essence levels like after the presumed Awakening occurred?”

"After the spike, it went back to normal."

Felix snapped his fingers with glee, delighted his hunch was on the money from the get-go. "Anyone who Reawakened would be using their powers immediately. Who wouldn't be? They don't have to rely on the crappy Wills they inherited."

"Speaking from personal experience, hm?" Lady Meng scoffed.

"Of course!"

"But..." Lady Meng trailed off, her tone growing uneasy. She placed a hand on the back of her hip, the spot where she usually kept a pistol hidden. "Should we be prepared?"

"It's alright. I have faith that we are dealing with an innocent who doesn't know that they were chosen." Felix placed a reassuring hand on Lady Meng's shoulder. "Should anything go wrong, I'll use everything I have to hunt this Aberrant down. Singapore is a tiny island, after all. All I need is one second."

With that, Lady Meng's shoulders relaxed. "C'mon, Fireboy. Let's go hunting," she said with a slight tightness in her voice.