"You've noticed, huh?"
The person commented, bringing Ross out of his thoughts. He had never seen his assistant go silent on him like that. It once again increased his vigilance. He was now practically blind.
"Like I mentioned before, Alex just needs to take a small test."
Again, Ross heard the person mention the word 'test'.
'Whatever this is, it's not a simple stalker running around following Olivia. And who exactly is the 'we' he was talking about and what do they want with Alex?'
His thoughts raced with multiple questions and assumptions, but it was better if he just asked.
"You keep mentioning test, what do you mean by that?"
"My superiors need to confirm something about Alex, and simply asking nicely isn't going to cut." The person responded, slightly satisfying his curiosity. Since the person was also generous enough to talk, Ross decided to find out more.
At that moment, he knew he was no match. If he could not see him move, then there was no way in hell he could beat him.
"What's the content of this 'test?'" Ross asked for a follow-up.
However, this time, the person shook his head. "While I don't mind telling you as I am sure Alex would do so, I have a few questions for you."
Indeed, Alex would tell them everything when they reunited, provided what this person was saying was true.
"What do you think about our current universe and what humanity is doing right now?"
The question was out of place and context, given the situation they found themselves. Ross was speechless for a moment, thinking about his question and how it connected to Alex, but found no link.
"…"
Seeing his perplexed expression, the person spoke again. "Go on, anything is fine." He urged.
Ross thought about the question for a few seconds before coming up with his response.
"Our current universe is a mess due to the universal calamity and if not that it also brought magic to us, humanity and the universe would have been destroyed long ago.
"Of course, humans are doing everything to eliminate the threat that is the void creatures."
The person nodded, appreciating Ross' thoughts. His following words however brought a pause to Ross' thought process.
"What if I told you that humanity is fighting the wrong battle? That what we should be focused on are the tears in the fabric of spacetime?"
Ross tilted his head in confusion. Of course, the tears posed a great problem. It was where the creatures were coming from. However, there was nothing humans could do about that. The areas around the veil tears were dangerous to humans, just like the cosmic mana waves.
"The veil tears are in our universe is slowly leading to its demise and if nothing is done, we will soon be swept away."
Ross was still confused. While the tears in their universe were dangerous to man, all studies carried out since its beginning did not detect any signs of it leading to it demise. If anything, the universe had never been so sturdy.
The magical energy strengthened the fabric of spacetime, and although some laws of physics had been thrown out the window, things were relatively stable.
"And how did you guys or whatever group you're a part of know this?"
"It doesn't matter, now does it?"
Indeed, what Ross was interested in was how Alex was involved in all of this. Were they planning on using him for something nefarious? He wasn't sure, but his hands were tied. He could try fighting, but he was also realistic. He could only listen to the person's rumbling and also ask some questions of his own.
'Alex, wherever you are, be careful'
....
Alex was hot on the tail of his suspect. But even with his speed, the person was always ahead. This made him understand he was at least a Class E awakened. His frustration at not being able to catch the person was slowly getting to him. He gritted his teeth and followed suit.
They had covered a lot of distance and were even in an area Alex was not very familiar with. The city was very large after all.
Moments ago, he received Ross's suggestion and agreed, hoping it would help corner their target. His display had a mark on the current location of Ross and he made his way around, and it seemed he was on the right track.
Sometime later, they entered an area with minimal activity around, and his mind started to doubt what the person he was pursuing was up to. He could vaguely tell the person could have run faster than what he was currently doing.
Additionally, from time to time, he would look back and flash a smile as if to taunt him, and it was working.
Now, '…It's like he's leading me somewhere.' The thought came promptly, raising his vigilance. He wanted to test something and decided to slow down a bit, and like clockwork, the person was also slowing down.
He quickly stopped himself, coming to an abrupt stop. However, the area they now found themselves looked like a cluster of buildings meant for storage.
His target also came to a stop a moment later. Alex narrowed his eyes at this. He carefully looked around to see if there were others around. It felt like he walked right into a trap; like a planned action.
"Ross, where are you now?" he muttered, waiting for a response from him. However, the response never came. He looked at his display and noticed Ross' location had stopped broadcasting.
"Xex, why is Ross' location missing?"
[…]
Again, he received no response.
"You won't be able to reach your friend for a while." The person spoke as if answering his question.
Hearing his words, Alex thought for a few seconds, many things coming into play. A lot of things didn't make sense. He was too relaxed for someone who was being chased.
"And don't worry, no harm will come to him." The person tried to assure Alex of Ross' safety. Of course, Alex wouldn't just take his word for it.
He now considered returning, but somehow, he knew he was surrounded. And although he felt no threat, the feeling wasn't pleasant.
He decided to ask some questions while he made quick plans on how to get out of here.
"Who are you?"
The person in question broke out a smile. Now they could begin…