Chapter 3: Beautiful day
Nero's cold shower lasted a little longer than he had anticipated, mainly because he got lost in thought for a good ten minutes before he remembered that he was supposed to be showering. Even the freezing cold water could not prevent his contemplation today. Besides, depending on what his ability was, this might be the last time he experienced the cold. If he unlocked an ability similar to his brother's, then he would forever be immune to its effects.
After cleaning himself thoroughly, Nero finally stepped out of the shower, brushed his teeth and put on his uniform. So distracted was he, that he did not even realise this was actually the second time he was brushing his teeth this morning!
Schools in Kolar were all public schools, excluding KMA, which was exclusively for those who wanted to pursue a career in the military rather than just serve their mandatory enlistment. But being a public school did not mean they were substandard - quite the contrary, in fact. The military had high requirements of its future enlistees, and if they fell short, then the ones to be blamed would be the schools, not the students themselves.
Discipline and quality were an integral part of life in Kolar, and for good reason. If they did not give the utmost, the chances of dying were too high. Even as things were right now, the average life expectancy in Kolar was 44. His father, who was 39, was already approaching that age.
Nero looked at himself one last time in his bathroom mirror and brought out his signature smile. As somewhat of an extrovert, if he showed his brooding side too often, people would start to notice.
He picked up his phone, ignoring all the messages from his friends, and stepped out. He took one last look at his room, marinating in the nostalgia and memories for just a moment, before he picked up the rectangular, metallic case on his side table and walked out. Right now, he was too young to appreciate old memories, and too impatient for the promise that the future held.
"Mom, Dad, I'm ready," he yelled as he climbed down the stairs and walked towards the kitchen. A breakfast consisting of extremely processed food was waiting for him - a luxury they could only afford due to his mom splurging from time to time. Today, there was even a glass of milk instead of calcium tablets.
Nero took a look around, making sure his parents were nowhere in sight, before he attacked his dad's breakfast plate first! He gobbled up the veggie bar without taking the time to taste it, before turning his attention to his mom's plate. That was already empty, so he could only return his attention to his own plate.
By the time his parents came down, Nero was laying back in his chair as if he had won a great victory, a silly smile on his face. That expression was more than enough for them to know what had happened.
"Nero, you know we're on food rations! You can't keep eating my meal! I'll die of starvation!" Edward exclaimed, his voice filled with longing and loss. Nero's smile widened.
"Come on, no time to dally," Marilyn said, ignoring the two. In the time that Nero took to get ready, both his parents had dressed up as well as prepared Nero's bag. His dad, who suddenly no longer looked so plain and simple in his fitted suit, his extremely well-defined muscles clearly outlined, looked longingly towards his empty plate but did not argue with his wife.
Nero also bolted to the door, impatient to be on his way, but stopped in the door frame. He took in a deep breath, filling his lungs with that cold, unfiltered and unsterilized air, which filled him with the excitement of the unknown.
He looked out at the front of their house and observed the monochromatic grey tiles leading up to the road. There was a slightly darker shade, indicating the walkway, not that it really mattered on tile, and another path leading to their garage on the left. There was not a single sign of any greenery or plant life in sight, and they had gone through great efforts to ensure it stayed that way.
After he was sure that there was no threat in sight, Nero stepped out ahead of his parents and walked towards their car, his pace measured and consistent.
When he was five years old, there was a Poaceae epidemic, which in simple terms meant that small shoots of grass had grown between the tiles throughout many neighbourhoods in Aetherpeak.
Now grass, in and of itself, was not dangerous, but plants and basically any kind of greenery were much more susceptible to curses than other living organisms. He had been playing tag with his brother, and had run outside the house barefoot. He was young, so he did not have the sense to analyse the environment for danger. Even if he did, and had looked out while running, it was likely he would not have noticed anything, for the grass shoots were too young and small.
All it took was one step. When his unprotected, barefoot made contact with the cursed grass, he was affected by the curse. To this day, Nero was unable to forget the pain he had experienced then. He had yelled so loudly he ripped his vocal chords.
But fortunately, the officials of Aetherpeak had detected the epidemic long before Nero fell victim, so just as they were getting ready to take him to the hospital, help already arrived. Nero's memory of his recovery was foggy, but he remembered the pain he felt that day well. It was a good lesson about the dangers of their world, Neire. He had faced many dangers since, and had once even witnessed the emergence of a Stygian Rift, but he was never caught so unaware ever again.
His parents got in the car as well, and before long they were already on their way to the AAB, where he would synchronise his aether and begin his journey.
"Nero, you must remember to be on your best behaviour when you pass the Heralds," his father said. Nero already knew this, but often in such moments, common knowledge was repeated to fill the silence and abate any nervousness.
"I know, dad," Nero groaned.
The entire car ride over, which took nearly twenty minutes, was filled with the parents imparting their knowledge to their child, and repeated reminders to 'eat on time' and 'make friends'.
Nero could not help but crack a few jokes at his own expense, and sometimes at the expense of his father. It was the very picture of harmony, but only the occupants of the car knew that there was one voice missing in the car. They did not talk about it.
Just as they were about to pull up, Nero looked out towards the Aether Mountain range. Aetherpeak was at the base of a valley, and so the mountains surrounded it from the south and the west. Even to the east, far off in the distance, the range could be seen, so when the sun rose, it rose from the mountains, and when it set, it set behind the mountains.
The sun was already visible in the light blue sky, just above the mountains in the distance, with streaks of pink and red seemingly shooting out of it. He was glad it was such a beautiful day today. After all, he was going to look back on this day for many years to come.
Just as Nero had that thought, they arrived at the AAB, a tall building with many steps that led up to the front door.
Although Nero was mentally prepared, his heart started beating faster, and he felt a sense of apprehension in his chest. But Nero was not the type to dwell on such things, and fear especially aggravated him, so after scanning the road, sidewalk and steps for any kind of vegetation, he bolted from the car and ran up the steps as fast as he could.
The icy chill in the air stung his eyes, causing them to water, but he did not blink until he reached the top and stood before the double doors of his future. The two guards standing by the door gave him an odd look, but did not comment. A glance was all it took for them to understand the situation.
He did not enter, and just stood there waiting, looking at the door. In a short while, his parents reached him as well.
"This is where we'll see you off, kiddo," said Edward, as he placed a hand on Nero's shoulder. They would not hug in public, or be overly affectionate. It was not the way of things.
Marilyn handed him the bag and smiled. Nero felt like he should say something, but the words escaped him. Amidst the beating drum that was his heart, his countless, chaotic thoughts drowned out anything sensible he might have thought to say. As if aware of her son's conundrum, Marilyn pulled out something from her purse and held them out for Nero.
"These are for you, son. We gave your brother a pair as well, on his special day, and now it's your turn."
Nero's eyes were fixed on her hands, and all the noise in his head disappeared as he was shocked at what he saw. Of course he knew what they were. They were 0 star cards made from his parents' innate abilities. His mom giving him one was still understandable, and even somewhat expected. But the golden flame drawn on the second card made it all too obvious that it was from his father.
"Is that? But you..."
"And who's going to tell them? You?" Edward said and winked at Nero. Technically, under the rules of the Whisper Guard, Edward could not give out any cards based on his innate ability, as even the effect of such cards was supposed to remain a secret. Nero had never seen his father break the rules of the Whisper Guard before, but now he was learning that this wasn't even the first time! Had his father's goody two-shoes behaviour all been an act?
"Go ahead, take them."
Nero woke from his surprise and grabbed the two cards before carefully placing them in the rectangular, metallic box that he had. That brief moment of contact was enough for him to know that the quality of these two cards already surpassed any of the cards he already had. But then again, that was only to be expected.
"Now don't keep dawdling here, go inside," his father said.
Nero still could not come up with the words to say, so he only gave them a very sincere 'thank you' before abruptly turning around and walking inside. His own personal journey had officially begun.
As Nero's figure disappeared behind the doors of the AAB, Edward and Marilyn's smiles vanished.
"You know what he's thinking, right?" Edward asked her solemnly.
"Revenge," Marilyn stated in a matter-of-fact way.
"Baelor is an Ascendant. He is too far out of reach for Nero, so he will aim for—"
"Jacob, yes, I know," interrupted Marilyn. "And if Nero targets Jacob, even in a few years, Baelor will not ignore it. But Nero is not the only one with revenge on his mind, Edward. They killed my son. I will wipe their family off the face of Neire!"
"Patrick is not..."
"It's been two years, Edward. Two years since he was sentenced to the front lines as a simple Neophyte, for crimes he didn't commit. You don't need to give me false hope. I know my son is dead by now. The only thing I care about now is taking care of Baelor and the rest, so that when Nero makes his own move, he won't need to face retaliation."
Edward and Marilyn had this conversation right in front of the doors of AAB, unconcerned about the guards standing right beside them. But then again, both of them were Arcanists, so why would they care about mere guards? They had the means of ensuring secrecy, even in a public place.
"Well, it's taken care of. After pulling a lot of strings, I've finally managed to get a favour from an Ascendant Orchardist. He can heal you, and then you can once again try breaking through to the Mystic level."
Marilyn nodded and then frowned.
"We've been out here for a while. Hasn't Irwin detected us yet?"
Edward looked towards one of the guards and asked, "Is the chairman of the AAB in?"
This time, the guards were able to hear them and the one who was asked responded with a hint of respect in his voice.
"Chairman Irwin rushed out a few hours ago, with a few of his assistants."
Edward frowned, but eventually shook his head.
"Let's go. I was hoping to have Irwin handle Nero's synchronisation himself, but since he's not in, we can only let the matter lie."
The two turned away from the building and returned to their car. Right before he got in, Edward could not help but notice streaks of red in the sky.