ã€ŠMelody Of Rayã€‹


 Chapter 1: Meloni

    Chapter 1 - MeloniMusic. It''s hypnotic, whether it be listening to repeated loops, verses of pop, variations of classical, cultural percussions, or the melodies one creates themselves.

    If music aligns with the fantasy in one''s mind, it is delightful for the listener. And if the music creates a fantasy of its own in one''s mind, it is called a masterpiece.

    There is no single theory of music. Even detuned notes sound beautiful when played by a professional. Music has no strict form. This is what Meloni believes and has always believed.

    A young woman in her early twenties sat on the edge of the podium, her legs dangling in the air, in a silent and reverberating opera house. She wore an oversized graphite-black shirt over blue jeans and flip-flops, swinging her legs while her violet hair cascaded over the strings of her guitar. Her nails, wildberry colored, held a G minor chord as her lavender irises wandered over the children before her.

    "You hit the notes perfectly, but you''re not fluent... Rhythm, even without perfect notes, can sound much better than notes that might be correct but are not rhythmically timed."

    Meloni is a musician. Though she never pursued a career of fame due to her social anxiety, she believes she can do well enough as a tutor.

    "It just comes from within. Sometimes I think it''s fine to hit the note, then I hold... and I end up breaking the flow. Sometimes I hit the second note too fast, and it messes up the whole rhythm from the start," said a young boy in his teens, a sheet of paper resting on one side of the armrest and a guitar settled on his thighs.

    "Okay...I guess...matching tempo can be difficult. If you plan to do it all alone and you''re not a professional, you''re bound to mess it up. So, let''s look for an easier way to time your rhythms," Meloni mused, tapping her nails on the guitar''s body.

    "You guys should practice using software. You need to understand the concept of loops first. Download any software; Logic, Ableton, FL Studio, whatever works for you. Try to create your own music, try to improve. The more you understand MIDI, loops, and variations, the repetition will help your brain follow the rhythms you want it to."

    All five children in front of her nodded.

    "Everything takes time. Take it easy. And make sure to practice the series I handed out to you. I''ll check your progress when we meet next week."

    Meloni stood up on the podium, picked up her guitar case, and glanced at the wristwatch on her right hand.

    "She''ll scold me again!" she muttered, stepping down the stairs and placing her guitar alongside the other instruments in the backstage room.

    She checked her phone and grunted at the sight of number of missed calls from her aunt. Fetching her green hobo bag, she walked out of the stadium.

    "Late again?" The guard scoffed, handing her ID back. S§×arch* The Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Don''t say it... She''ll kill me." Meloni said, rushing toward the empty bicycle stand.

    Wait... An empty bicycle stand?

    "It was here! I locked it!" she muttered, slamming her palm against her forehead. She looked around, but the street was eerily deserted. With a frustrated groan, she turned on her heel and sprinted back to the guard, her flip-flops making a sharp pop with every hurried step.

    The guard looked up from his chair, startled. "What happened?"

    "My bike''s missing!" she spat out.

    "Ay-Ay-calm down, child!"

    "Calm down?! That''s my only way home!" Meloni snapped and looked around again.

    The guard sighed, rubbing his chin. "Hmm. Are you sure you locked it properly?"

    "Yes! I always do!" she insisted. "It was right there, I swear!"

    He exhaled deeply, glancing toward the empty stand. "Well, these things happen. Maybe someone took it, or maybe you parked it somewhere else, it happens all the time."

    Meloni shot him a sharp look.

    "Do I look like someone who forgets where she parks?"

    "Alright, alright," he chuckled, raising his hands in surrender. "Don''t worry, we''ll find it. But you should go home first because it''s getting late. Call or reserve a taxi. It will only get harder if you run around trying to find your bike. The sun has already set."

    "I can''t just leave it like that!!!! My aunt will really, fu--ing lose it if she finds out!"

    With another sigh, the guard looked at his watch. "Look, I''ll watch if you want me to. I''ll notify you if someone returns with a bike that resembles yours. But really, it''s not safe to be by yourself in the evening, so don''t stay out too long."

    Meloni groaned, pulling out her phone. "Fine, but if you see anything, call me right away."

    "Aight-Aight!" The guard nodded. "Now get going-"

    Meloni walked out of the gates and checked her bank wallet, almost empty. She glanced to her right. A straight ten-minute walk down the silent road would take her to the bustling city.

    "Damn it!" she muttered. The opera house wasn''t far from the city, it was just in a secluded district.

    She fetched her earbuds, walking along the edge of the road while scrolling through social media.

    "Hm?" Meloni stopped, eyes catching the blood smeared across the road, dragged toward the bushes. Black feathers were scattered on the ground.

    She closed her eyes and took out her earbuds.

    The world became quiet. Not even the distant city''s faint hum.

    Then her eyes opened, faintly illuminating violet.

    She moved, her eyes focusing on the blood trail.

    Pushing forward, she used her bag to spread the branches.

    A bird was lying in the tangled grass. A black falcon, barely breathing and covered in blood

    She whispered, "Black Peregrine?" "Aren''t you the rarest of the rare?"

    She knelt down and caressed the little bird.

    She carefully wrapped a woolen handkerchief around the falcon after zipping it out.

    "I wanted to save some money." She let out a sigh and took out her phone to call for a cab.

 Chapter 2: Ray

    Chapter 2 - Ray"?"

    Raelion opened his eyes to the rhythmic humming of a girl. A soft, melodic, and feminine tone, something he had never heard in his life.

    His entire body ached. He could barely muster the strength to move.

    When he looked down, he noticed his wings were wrapped in neat bandages. They weren''t tight, but enough to hinder his wings from flapping.

    He was lying on soft pastel bedding, his head supported up by fluffy mauve pillows.

    ''What the...'' he thought.

    He glanced around. Warm peach walls. A candle collection lined the shelves. A guitar stand that held both acoustic and electric guitars. A compact synthesizer sat just below. Pink rubber panels hung on all the walls, soundproofing, no doubt.

    His gaze drifted toward the desk.

    She was sitting there, wearing nothing but an oversized white T-shirt, completely absorbed in her setup. Headphones on, eyes glued to a curved monitor. Fingers tapping softly in rhythm.

    ''What the actual...?''

    A canary bird slept peacefully inside a cream-colored, spacious cage nearby.

    Raelion groaned as he shifted his weight, using his bandaged wings for support. He glanced at the floor and immediately looked away.

    ''Why are her undergarments just lying around...?''

    ''Does she think she rescued a bird?''

    He was human. Like any other. Just... a little different.

    "Oh boy! You''re awake, finally!" she exclaimed, spinning her chair around to face him.

    She didn''t look like a hunter. He could sense her core flickering. Uneven resonance. But he couldn''t keep his eyes off her. Not because she was the only person in the room, but because he felt a little nervous.

    She was, oddly, stunning.

    "Were you hit by a car or something? Your wings were torn up. I treated your wounds. Don''t worry, I''ll set you free once you''re better!" she said, standing and walking over with careful steps.

    "A peregrine falcon and a black one at that. Do you know how rare you are?"

    ''What?''

    She gently scooped him up and placed him on her desk. Raelion gripped the keyboard pad with his claws, straightening himself, watching her silently.

    "Easy there~" she murmured, brushing her fingers over his head.

    "Wait... hold on."

    She opened a nearby cabinet, pulled out a small red can, and clinked it open with a groan.

    Moments later, she returned with a ceramic plate and set it gently beside him.

    "There. I thought you might like these more than dry seeds," she said, nudging the dish forward.

    "These are Milo''s special mealworms. Organic. They smell like death, but apparently they''re delicious."

    Raelion didn''t move.

    She tilted her head, folding her arms. "Why are you just... staring at me?"

    ''This is going to be difficult...'' he thought.

    "Is this your way of saying, ''I don''t eat anything touched by peasants?''"

    "..."

    "Don''t scream," Raelion said in a low tone.

    She froze.

    "W-what?" Startled, her voice cracked. Then she screamed.

    "I said, don''t scream," he repeated, a little louder.

    "A-a-speaking falcon!" Meloni stammered, stumbling back a step.

    Raelion tilted his head. "Yes. And if you''re done flailing, I''d like to explain."

    "Oh my god. Oh my god." She took another step back. "This is n''t-n''t-this isn''t normal. I''m losing it. No, maybe I just passed out. Worked too long on that track. Right, this is a dream..."

    "Try waking up. I''ll wait," Raelion said, turning briefly to glance at the now-awake yellow canary staring at him.

    Meloni pinched her palm. "What... are you?"

    "I''m a human. Like any other," he said evenly. "This form is temporary."

    "Wait...Are you li-like one of those conduits?" she asked.

    "You can say that. Since you''re aware of conduits, then you must know you''re one too," Raelion said.

    "I-I just... yes. But I only realized that a few days ago!" she murmured, then pointed her finger at Raelion. "So is this your power? Shapeshifting? Mister-?"

    "Ray. You can call me Ray. And yes, this is one of my abilities. Though it''s not natural, I developed this technique," Ray answered.

    Meloni pulled her gaming chair forward and sat down in front of Ray, clasping her hands together, head bowed. She stayed quiet for a while.

    Ray didn''t utter a word, just stood there, watching her.

    For a while, the only sounds in the room were the ticking of the clock and the soft flaps of the canary in its cage.

    Then, resting her palms on her shoulders, she lifted her head and looked at Ray.

    "Why can''t I just be left alone?" she whispered.

    Her mood changed. Rather, swiftly at that.

    "Every day, I get a call. Every second day, an agent shows up at my doorstep. Ever since they discovered I have powers, they''ve been dead serious about their contracts. They want me to be part of their organization. Every single day."

    She exhaled shakily.

    ''Is she trying to vent?'' Ray thought.

    "I''ve been doing my best to avoid people, but now... I saved another conduit. What is it? Why can''t I just be left alone? Why do I have to be part of some organization? Why does it even matter?"

    Ray tilted his head, holding her gaze. He thought for a moment before speaking.

    "First of all, I''m not a part of any organisation. And I did not come here willingly, but was rescued by you. Second, organisations won''t leave you alone because you have a core that awakened naturally."

    Meloni frowned. "What difference does it make? Whether it''s artificial or natural? I just want to live a normal life!"

    "From the looks of it, the local organization contacting you hasn''t relayed all the information to you..." Ray said.

    "What do you mean?" Meloni asked.

    "There''s a big difference between artificially awakened conduits and naturally awakened conduits. First, naturally awakened ones are rare-extremely rare. And their growth potential surpasses that of artificially awakened conduits." Ray paused, letting out a sigh.

    "Second-naturally awakened conduits do not survive." His voice dropped lower.

    Meloni furrowed her brows, a grip of fear tightening around her chest. "Wa-wait...What do you mean, don''t survive? Am I going to die?"

    "Look, Miss-?" Ray hesitated.

    "Meloni," she added.

    "Right, Meloni. This whole concept... it''s abstruse."

    "I get it-from your perspective, you could hear, see, or feel things that seemed abnormal. Then that sense slowly developed into control, and you realized you had powers. But how were you found? Resonance Index.

    "Cores exist in every person, lying dormant throughout their life. Only a very rare few cross the threshold to channel their life force. If the process is deliberate-meaning, if you''re trained to circulate your life force in a specific way to awaken your core-you develop powers artificially.

    "But when your core is naturally strong-when you already have an uneven force breath-your core starts to resonate in a way that has never been observed before."

    Meloni stared into Ray''s eyes, listening carefully.

    "This process unlocks new abilities. It reveals that you have power. And since you can''t control it yet, the force breath leaks-and that resonance is picked up by organizations.

    "And since naturally awakened conduits are rare, you''re a precious, unpolished diamond to them."

    Meloni inhaled deeply. "So I''m radiating energy all the time? Is that the reason? Then what does this have to do with my survival?"

    "Absolutely, you''re radiating energy all the time. And about survival, that''s the second and most important aspect of your whole existence." Ray paused again, he slid the ceramic plate with worms aside and stepped forward to the edge of the table, his claws gripped the surface lightly.

    "This whole world, this whole----this entire reality has a mirror. That mirror is what we call the Abyss, or the Endless Void. It is separated from this world by a thin fabric of reality. And within the Abyss exists a creature, deities as we call them, and one of them possesses the same powers as you."

    "Right now, your abilities are weak. But after stage one, two, or even three-if the creature that mirrors your power is strong-it will sense the resonance of your core. That cannot be avoided. And once it does, it will target you. Because it has a purpose. It will find a way to cross into this world and kill you, devour your core."

    "But the story is different for artificially awakened conduits. The deity tied to their power has already been killed by their elders. That is why you... are both a threat and an opportunity for the local or worldwide organizations."

    Ray had said it all, but he already regretted it.

    Meloni was terrified. Her knees tucked up against her chest, arms wrapped tightly around herself as she trembled in her chair. Silent tears welled in her eyes, but she didn''t speak. She just curled inward.

    "So- so there''s a monster out there in the world, that will come looking for me? It will kill me? And I can''t do anything about it?" Meloni kept muttering on her own.

    "No- You can do somet-"

    "Wait!" Meloni cut of Ray''s words.

    "Is the creature that...Sometimes I see in my dreams? I mean-", She asked, but she couldn''t voice out her exact thoughts.

    "Did it show itself in your dream? What did it look like?" Ray asked, concerned. S§×ar?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Yes-it was. Like a doll of a man. Stitched together, and always plays a-a new instrument everytime I dream of it." She tried to remember how it looked like, but it was vague, despite being in her dreams for the past year, it was vague.

    "How often do you dream of it?" Ray asked.

    "Once, or twice a week" She answered.

    "..." Ray stayed quiet. He looked down from the table, velvet coloured fluffy floormat. Fur swaying with the wind of the fan.

    "Is it bad?" Meloni asked looking at him.

    "I''m a naturally awakened conduit. Just like you. But make sure, you never tell anyone that the deity after you has shown itself in your dreams. Because the moment you do that, the moment your tongue slips, the whole world will be after you life." Ray said.

    "I don''t understand", Meloni murmured.

    "There are two types of deities, Meloni. One that we call hounds. They don''t have pride, they''re not strong either, but definitely strong for their reflected core. They consume cores to become strong, and some even move in herds." Ray began.

    "And the other?" Meloni asked.

    "And the other, are mythical deities. These deities, they''re intelligent, strong, fierce, prideful. They only consume their reflected core. And they wait, wait until you are strong enough to face them. And then they come after you." Ray said.

    "So, the deity that comes in my dreams is a mythical deity?" Meloni asked.

    "Yes, only mythical deities show their connection with you through dreams," Ray answered.

    "What if I just don''t train? I mean, that''s what I was going to do. They won''t come after me then, right?" Meloni asked.

    "They wait to savor your core. But if you remain weak for too long... they''ll come anyway. And take it."

    "Then why will the whole world be after my life if this is revealed?" Meloni asked.

    "Mythical deities are a walking catastrophe. If they descend, and their personality is twisted one, they''ll pose a threat to the whole world. And let me tell you this, you are the eleventh naturally awakened with ties to a mythical deity in history, and currently you''re the second naturally awakened in the whole world to have the ties to a mythical deity." Ray said.

    "So now you get it? How precious you are?" Ray asked.

    "That just means I''m bound to die? Right? I mean, look at me? How can I fight a fucking disaster?" Meloni spat out.

    "Not particular-"

    "Wait! I''m currently the second naturally awakened to have ties with a mythical deity, right?" Meloni cut off Ray''s words again.

    "Wha-what if I somehow contact that first person? He''s alive, has been alive for long, he would help me, right?" She asked.

    Her voice was turning hoarse by the minute. She was welling up from the inside.

    "Yes that''s right. I will reach them, and solve this problem just like they did", She murmuered.

    "The first person you''re going to look for in the future is sitting on your desk, right in front of you" Ray said.

 Chapter 3: Chatter

    Chapter 3 - Chatter"By the way-" Ray said, looking at the ceramic plate with worms beside him.

    "I''m a human. I eat normal stuff." He added.

    "Ah- Alright hold on!", Meloni nodded and slid on her flip flops.

    "And go wear some shorts too...You were exposed beneath all long", He added as she put her hand on the door knob.

    Bewildered, she looked down and realized she had been naked all while. Heat crept up her face in embarrassment, and she rushed inside her bathroom.

    Putting on a pink drawstring shorts, she left the room and went downstairs. Raelion hopped over to the edge of the window and looked outside.

    He was far away from his residence. But he didn''t miss it. There was nothing of remembrance there.

    The world was tearing apart. Ripples that occurred in space were becoming a more common occurrence day by day. Whether it was the thin fabric of division that was tethering itself, or just an inevitable event, he didn''t know. S~ea??h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The worst part was the hounds; the moment a ripple occurred, they would cross over.

    He always thought that he was the only one with ties to a mythical deity. And now there''s another person like him alive in the same era.

    ''Hm?'' It was then Raelion noticed something. Two different signatures of resonance.

    ''From the looks of it, they have been there for quite a while.'' Raelion was injured, so he couldn''t notice it until now.

    ''They''re watching over her!'' he concluded. ''A naturally awakened conduit is a gem for any organisation. And if these guys are watching over her, that means the news about her being awakened on her own as spread''

    He turned around and looked at the yellow little bird staring at him again. Its face looked like it was disappointed in him.

    "Fine~Fine~I guess. I''ll tag ''long for a while." He scoffed, and Meloni entered the room again.

    "I''m sorry I couldn''t find anything this late in the night...How about some fries?" She said, nudging the wooden plate with salted potato fries.

    "That''ll do!" That would be great. Ray did not eat anything for three days.

    "What is your power, then? You said you awakened naturally..." Meloni asked, sitting cross legged on her bed.

    Ray gulped down a fry with his beak and swallowed. "Oh, they''re delicious~"

    "Right, my powers? Space. I can control space." He answered.

    "You can control space? Like...isn''t space a hypothetical concept? Not that I know I''m not a science geek..." She asked.

    "You''re right! It might be a hypothetical concept for others, but not for me. Look, when you naturally awaken, you don''t just develop an ability out of nothing. The core also handles the minor mutations inside you in order to make you an efficient vessel for you to use those powers."

    "Your power is sound, not air. Sound is vibrations, resonance, frequency, and stuff. For example, your vocal cords are incredibly redefined, your voice is soothing, and what you call perfect. Your auditory cortex is mutated to sustain an incredible amount of frequencies and resonance." Ray said, gulping down another fry.

    Meloni nodded, listening carefully with her palms supporting her chin.

    "Just like you, my body perceives the space differently, most of all my brain is optimized to understand a concept that others deem hypothetical. I have dimensional awareness, spatial reflexes, I am immune to distortions, and my core acts as an adaptive gravitational anchor." He continued.

    "I see..." A lot was going on in her mind. For someone like her, who grew up in peace and lived a normal life, a world full of dangers will be tough to adapt to.

    "What about your form? I can guess you don''t live like that, do you?" She asked.

    "No, I live like any other person does in human form. But my core''s damaged, well, cores are impossible to heal, but I can heal mine. So I think I''ll be able to transform back in a month or two," Ray answered.

    Meloni nodded and dived into her thoughts again, while Ray ate all the fries sat in the corner of her table with his eyes closed. He fluffed out his feathers and perched his beak in, coiling up in a comfy position.

    "I''m still not sure about all of this. Just too sudden. Why was I chosen? There must be a reason why these powers were given to me right? Why me of all people?" Meloni murmured.

    "Did you ever think why you were born before you took birth? Don''t stress too much. What''s done is done. Instead of contemplating over your problems, you should look for a solution..." Ray said turning his head towards her.

    "You have a lot of time...Just take it easy, collect your thoughts, know that it''s not a dream, it''s not a fantasy. The moment you start perceiving things differently is the moment you''ll truly know how important you are, and what your situation really is..." He continued.

    Tucking his head back in, Ray closed his eyes. He was tired, and his body was still in pain. He needed to recover, and complete recovery would take time.

    Meloni looked at Ray for a while, already asleep on her table. She shut down her computer, turned the lights off, and looked at the messages from her friends.

    ----

    : We made a mingle profile for you and set up a date. Be ready...Sunday, 14 o''clock. (Proud Emoji)

    : Where are you?

    : Why''s she not answering?

    : ....

    .....

    ----

    "The hell?" Meloni whispered.

 Chapter 4: Weekend

    Chapter 4 - WeekendSaturday mornings are considered the beginning of weekends. Most people tend to sleep soundly in their comfort zone, yet...

    "Shu! Shu!" There was this woman in front of Ray, with a dusting broom in her hands and trying to flee Ray from Meloni''s room, while Ray just sat on the edge of the window and looked at her with a sigh.

    "Aih! Lemon, why do you keep bringing birds in the house, you know crows are bad omens- Chii~Shu!" She was Meloni''s aunt and had a habit of calling Meloni by her nickname, Lemon.

    Meloni, on the other hand, was in the washroom. "Nana, it''s not a crow!" She shouted from inside, prolly taking a shit.

    ''You hear that woman? I''m not a crow, I''m a falcon and one of the fastest breeds at that!'' Ray thought because it''d become more awkward if he spoke up.

    "Black birds are bad omens, Lemoni!" Her nana replied.

    ''That sounds racist somehow?'' Ray thought.

    Meloni finally came out of the washroom and spoke up, "Nana! Stop it! Look, it''s injured, it was on the verge of dying! How can it be a bad omen? Saving lives is a good karma."

    ''Exactly!'' Ray thought. Apparently, Meloni''s aunt believes in omens, spirits, and karma a lot.

    "Aih! I get it-I get it!" Nana backed off and went back to dusting, but it just worsened the situation.

    "You''ve grown now, huh? Now, why would you listen to your Nana? I get it~" She kept murmuring while dusting her room.

    ''That is emotional blackmail!'' Ray thought while Meloni served bird seeds to her Milo, who was in the cage.

    "Look at that little cutie! Yellow, beautiful, chirpy, even seeing her would put anyone in a good mood..." Her Nana said, looking at the canary bird in the cage, which looked proud of the compliments.

    "And then look at this-" Then she looked at Ray again.

    ''This?'' Ray thought.

    "Bad black bird that just looks at me like a creep would!" She added.

    ''Bad? Black? Creep?'' Ray was getting furious by the minute.

    "Nanaaaa!" Meloni stepped in again.

    "Alright! Alright!" And then she left, closing the door with a bang.

    "..."

    "Don''t mind her, she''s just like that. She just believes in that spiritual stuff a lot." Meloni said.

    "Nuh, it''s fine. But where are you going?" Ray asked Meloni who was wearing her blue jeans, but she did not change the T-shirt from the night before.

    "Saturday''s a grocery day~" She replied, tying her violet hair in a ponytail.

    "Oh?" For someone like Ray, dishes have always been served at his table. He never cooked, let alone bought groceries.

    "Wanna tag along?" Meloni asked.

    "I can''t fly for long, it''ll take at least one more day for me to heal this body," Ray said, looking at his wings. They seemed fine now without bandages, but they hurt when he flapped.

    "Don''t worry!" Meloni picked up her green hobo bag from the bedside and appeared in front of Ray.

    "Hop in?" She asked.

    "Oh well, this is going to be a new experience!" Ray muttered and hopped inside the bag.

    "You''re odd. The night before, you were crying over all the threats that might be directed to you, now you''re going to buy groceries," Ray spoke up, popping up his head from the bag.

    "I can''t just stay like that, moreover, I still am not sure about how I need to proceed with my life," Meloni replied, walking down the street.

    "The moment you decide, know that you won''t ever be able to return to this normal life of yours," Ray said.

    "What kind of life was yours? You are just like me, too, a naturally awakened conduit..." Meloni asked.

    "Unlike you, I have been in this world of conduits since my birth. My life''s never been this peaceful..." Ray replied.

    "Then how did you cope up?" Meloni asked.

    "I got stronger. Strong enough that no one would ever question my decisions. I''ve lived like that, and I''ll stay like that." Ray said, sliding inside the bag. Sear?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "You''re quite positive about everything!" Meloni added.

    ''Oh, this is comfortable~'' Ray thought, lying stuffed in her bag.

    "I''m just like that!" He murmured as they entered a grocery store.

    "You want to buy anything?" She asked.

    "I''m not sure, I''ve never been to a store," Ray replied.

    "You''ve never been to a grocery store?" She asked in a whisper, surprised.

    "I get that you''re strong and all, but never been to a store? What are you, a prince or something?" She whispered.

    ''Yeah, something like that~'' Ray thought.

    "What do we have here?" He asked, popping up his head.

    "For you? Maybe frozen fries-"

    "Yup! Fries it is," He cut off Meloni and agreed on the fries.

    "And pick all the delicacies similar to fries," He added.

    "Okay?" Half astounded, she carted some packets of fries, chickpeas, chips, and puffs.

    "There goes another remaining portion of my salary..." Meloni muttered.

 Chapter 5: Weekend 2

    Chapter 5 - Weekend 2(The Next Day)

    Cores. They exist in every person, but most of the time, they are dormant. Lying in the heart, beating the very small amount of life force one possesses throughout their life.

    But they can be trained, trained to evolve in a very particular way in order to develop abilities. The ones that evolve through training are given the term of artificially awakened. The ones that evolved unknownst to their bearer, are referred to as naturally awakened. Nonetheless, both are conduits.

    Conduits, because they channel the life force. It all comes down to how you handle it.

    But when there''s a flaw in reality, the other side is supposed to fix that. Because the powers that a conduit develops already exist on the other side. And there can never be two equal realities.

    -Train Depot Area-

    "I know, I know, I''ve heard, I''ve learned, I did, about them, everything," A young boy around eighteen years of age whispered in horror, again and again, repeating the same words, same line, hiding inside the passenger compartment of a train.

    The lights were shut, engines were off, and there was not a single soul anywhere near him. But he was scared to his bones.

    Mica, was just an intern in maintainance department of electric trains, but he was a conduit too. As a naturally awakened, he studied about the threats, he contracted with organisation just to manage his survival. However...

    "He-lp Mee-ee! I-I-I-I-I-" A thick voice layered with high pitch, an expression of amusement. This wasn''t Mica''s voice. It was a hound of the abyss. Mimicking its prey.

    An eight feel tall, humonoid moving with animilistic crawl. It was pale, had hollow eyes that leaked dark inky substance. A face with without nose and a smile that stretched wide while mimmicing its prey.

    The terrifying part wasn''t just its appearance or the way it moved, but the numbers. They were two.

    Mica''s power was scrambler field. A neural disruption that affects in short term memory loss of the opponent, making it completely defenseless. But the hounds that were after him, had the same core, and his ability wasn''t working.

    Then suddenly, from both sides of the passenger box he was in, they tore in through the roof. Crawling sadistically with their hands and feets on the chairs and arrived just above the seat of Mica.

    "Fuc- My life-"

    ----

    "You''re really beautiful..." A young man in his mid twenties, brown hair toned along stubble beard, sat in front of Meloni on a dinner table.

    With red wines served on both sides and group chat opened on Meloni''s phone.

    -

    : How is he?

    : ..Answer?

    : I rejected

    : What?

    : Dumbo? Another?

    -

    "It''s just sad you don''t want to date anyone...", The man added.

    "I''m sorry, I told you my friends arranged a blind date without my permission, and I could''ve called but they didn''t let me so I had to show up and clear discrapencies!" She replied.

    "That just adds more charm to you..." He continued.

    "Ay-don''t worry, you''ll find someone that matches you..." She shut her phone, and placed it in her bag. Standing up, she adjusted her long black silk frock with white tucked in shirt.

    "But...I''m really sorry, I need to leave now, it''s getting late!" She said.

    "Uh-Okay..." He was dissapointed in himself.

    "Don''t worry ''bout the bill I''ll pay for this," He added.

    "Are you sure?" Meloni asked.

    ''Well, I don''t have money to pay anyway,'' she thought.

    "Yuh, nothing to worry at all. How do you plan to go back? Should I call for a cab?", He asked.

    "No, my house''s just walking distance?" She replied.

    "Really? Would you mind if I accompany you? Its getting late," He asked.

    "Not at all. That''ll be fine!" She replied.

    ....

    "You know, its really difficult to meet someone like you these days", the man continued with his conversation again while they were walking down the street.

    The sun had already set, and Meloni''s house was on twenty-minute walk.

    "Hm?" She was startled for a second, her phone was not turning on.

    "Calm, sweet, optimistic, and a musician! I apologise to say this again, but your voice is just so soothing. I mean, I''ve never heard a sweeter voice than yours."

    ''My phone''s not turning on?'' Meloni had her own problems amid their one-sided conversation.

    "What happened?" He asked.

    "The phon-" She was about to speak up, but her eyes glowed violet again. A threat response.

    A car stopped near them, and two agents wearing black suits with white shirts got out and jogged their way to Meloni.

    She didn''t back off, she knew who they were from the badges on their pockets.

    "Miss, we are from Ferrum. There''s an emergency and we need to evacuate you!" One of the agents said, pushing the man she was on a date with aside and indicating her to get in the car.

    "We''ll explain everything late, but we need you to follow us right now-" Just as they said that, a defeaning explosion from the car sent all the four individuals including Meloni flying, slamming them on the footpath.

    On the destroyed sedan, standing eight feet tall was a humanoid figure with pale skin, hollow eyes, and a mouth wide enough to tear apart a human head.

    Agents of Ferrum protected themselves with a veil of metal fragments hovering in front of them, but they still sustained damage. As for Meloni and her date, they were severely injured. Clothes burned from the sides, wounds all over the body, and with the presence of a hound, it was getting hard to breathe.

    "What in the lord''s name is that?" The man muttered, looking at the creepy creature in front of them.

    "Run, Miss...Now!" The agents shouted.

    Meloni gritted her teeth and supported herself up with all the pain that was searing into her body. Her hair was disheveled, their pins broke and lost, the glass of her watch was shattered, and her phone was nowhere to be seen.

    She took in a deep breath, her mind was in panick. ''Is that the hound Ray spoke of?'' She thought.

    Meloni moved and looked at the man who had once called himself her date, terrified to the core. Without a thought, he ran in the opposite direction of the scene, but...

    "No, no, no,-" The agents screamed as they glanced at him. Sear?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Death. It was what they saw. A human-like hand pierced the man''s chest. Because there wasn''t just one, but two hounds.

    It then pulled its hand back, squeezing out the heart of the man who hoped to run for his life. It opened its mouth wide in amusement, squeezed out the blood first, savouring the crimson flavour, and then dropped the heart inside its mouth, gulping it in one go.

    And all Meloni could do was just stare at the scene in horror. Becuase her ability to stun her opponents will also affect the agents who''re facing a situation of life and death themselves.

 Chapter 6: Preamble

    Chapter 6 - PreambleFlicker, Veinborn, Horizon, Obsidian and Eternal. These are the ranks of conduits. Flickers are like newborns in conduit world, newlyfound powers and way to build the very foundation of preceeding path.

    Veinborns are like teens, they learned to use their abilities to their advantage, fight among themselves, duels are pretty common in this phase.

    Horizons are grown-ups in the world of conduits. Like middle-class people, a pretty average life as a conduit.

    Obsidians are the elites, the world''s top hundred-ranked conduits.

    And then there are Eternals. The top ten. Walking catastrophes. If they want something, they get it. There''s no power in the world that can stop them. An Eternal possesses enough power to wipe out a country from the face of the earth and wouldn''t sweat after that.

    And Ray was...

    "This damn girl never picks up her phone. Shut down? Turned off? Really? It''s getting late! Sun''s already set! How is she? Where is she? Who is she with? Has she eaten anything? Is she Ok? No update? Am I, as her Nana, nothing to her now?" Meloni''s aunt kept venting downstairs.

    Even though Meloni''s room was soundproof to a certain extent, her chittering was disturbing Ray, who was trying to heal his core. Sitting on Meloni''s bed, clearly annoyed, he muttered,

    "Chitter-Chatter-Chitter-Chatter- The damn hag never stops does she?"

    Phew~

    He looked at the canary bird, staring at him again with a disappointed look.

    "What?" He spat out.

    ''This is annoying! She''s not even picking up her phone, I can''t meditate like this,'' Ray thought.

    "Fine~Fine~ I''ll go look for her. My body''s healed up anyway," Ray murmured and hopped towards the edge of the window. He pushed the glass doors open, and with a sigh, jumped.

    ----

    The Dirge Twins. These hounds are one of a kind. Their combat abilities might just be at the level of begginer Horizon. But their advantage lies in their ability. Neural scrambler field.

    [Boum]

    A sonic blast like a bass drop, ruptured the whole field. The two agents protecting Meloni lost the sight of reality but that blast didn''t affect Meloni, instead it instilled fear of powerlessness.

    Noticing the two agents standing with blank eyes, Meloni knew she was going to die. But she couldn''t just die without doing anything.

    Trembling, she brought forth her hand, pointing at the hound who was crawling towards her, amused by the sight of its prey being powerless.

    And then, she snapped.

    [IIIII]

    A high frequency sound, that cannot be heard by humans, but can be felt, a frequency strong enough to burst the eardrums without making an audible noise, erupted and push back the hounds.

    Their bodies shivered, and they tried to understand what was happening. But the problem was, the damage sustained by hounds was also sustained by the agents of Ferrum.

    But this pain brought them back to reality.

    "Plee-a-es Don-t Ki-il Me-ee-e-I-I-I-I" The twins screeched at the same time. But this time, they perceived Meloni as a threat and stopped with their play.

    "What the fuck just happened?" One of the agents spoke up and looked at the other hound on the right side.

    "Why has the back-up not arr-"

    Cutting off his words, there was another sonic boom.

    [Boum]

    This time, before Meloni could do something, both the hounds pierced their hands through the chest of the agents and squeezed out their hearts.

    "No-Fu-" Meloni was on the verge of throwing up. Fear was burdening her chest, she couldn''t sense anything. These people were the last hope she had. These hounds, she saw them move; they were fast. She couldn''t outrun them.

    "Not-like-this-" She muttered, stammering back on the foot path until her back hit the wall.

    "I can''t just die like this!" She whispered, her hands clasping together.

    Trembling, her knees gave way to fear.

    Both hounds crawled at her to the inch''s breath. Looking at them closely, right inside the hollow of their eyes, all she felt was death.

    They were hideous, and they had no scent. Their skins had several pores on it, each of them felt like they were moving.

    "Plee-a-es Don-t Ki-il Me-ee-e-I-I-I-I" Both of them screeched on Meloni''s face.

    "I''m sorry Nana-"

    "Aight! That''s enough!" And just then, she heard a very familiar voice. Both hounds looked above at the wall, sitting on the edge was a little black falcon with its irises gleaming gold.

    "Now back off," Ray said and tapped the edge of the wall with his claw.

    A surge of thick and dense power erupted in the whole path, the lamps on the road burst with a trail of smoke, and the houses nearby blacked out, the fumes and flames from the exploded sedan subsided and the hounds were thrown back with an invisible power that cracked the road in a wave.

    Golden flames covered Ray''s eyes as he hopped down and landed on Meloni''s shoulders. His power was dense but controlled enough so that it doesn''t damage the body of the agents.

    "Ray?" Meloni murmured.

    "Who else would have such a majestic form?" Ray said that but Meloni was in a really bad shape. Three people dead, two monsters in front of ''Meant to be normal girl'' was a pretty terrific experience for her.

    Meloni, on the other hand, couldn''t stop her tears. She thought she had died, she had lost all hope.

    "Eh, you got pretty tricky opponents as your first fight!" Ray said.

    The hounds were regenerating the deep cuts in their skin. Dirge twins were intelligent, from mimmicking, to attacking strategically, or attacking opponents that are isolated. They are the kind of hounds that would assess their opponent''s level before making a move, and that is why they loved to prey and toy with weaker prey. S§×ar?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Dirge twins are tricky if you''re at the same level as them...These ones in particular have a very peculiar ability..." Ray muttered, studying them.

    "But seriously? You guys are making this ruckus without putting up a reality veil? What if someone saw you?" Ray added and tapped Meloni''s shoulder with his claw. The space around the alley glitched.

    "{Aria}"

    The hounds looked around as enormous black falcon wings appeared out of nowhere, covering the surroundings.

    A veil. A dimensional fold that high-ranking conduits can create. This isolates an area from the normal plane, allowing battles to occur without affecting or alerting the outside world.

    And Ray''s reality veil was one of the majestic veils. And it was the only veil capable of time compression. Because inside it, the time flowed slower than the outside world.

    Seeing no way out, hounds understood that they couldn''t avoid the fight.

    "Oh?" Ray murmured looking at the hounds turning his way, they crawled slowly and then they split at an astounding speed on either side.

    "See~ I told ya''. These guys are pretty clever~" Ray voiced out, but Meloni wasn''t as calm as he was. These hounds were moving even faster than before.

    [Boum] Again, that same attack of sonic boom, it was stronger than any of the attacks they used, it sent visible shockwaves, and just as both the hounds appeared near Ray from both sides.

    [Tap] A tap on Meloni''s shoulder again. The space around them glitched, and both the hounds froze at a breath''s distance.

    "But----That''s all they have!" Ray raised one of his wings. And he flapped it down. The bodies of the hounds twisted and collapsed, like squeezing the water out of clothes. Their black blood splattered around in an arch, and their bodies dropped on the ground.

    "Wha-" Meloni was at a loss for words. "Ju-just like that?"

    "What do you expect me to do?" Ray asked. "Like, battle them with fists, take a punch, and throw a punch?"

    "..." She didn''t say anything.

    The hounds that two veteran agents died to, the hounds that made her lose all hope, made her feel what death feels like, were just squeezed like wet clothes by Ray, all while sitting casually on her shoulders in his bird form?

    "I told you right, I''m pretty strong..." Ray added, he was pretty proud of his strength.

    "Thank you!" She whispered.

    "Eh~ We even. You saved me once, I save you once, no need for thanks. But, I sensed some agents on the way here, time moves slower in my veil, so they should be arriving any moment." Ray said as he got a little closer to her ear.

    "Just say that-" Ray paused and sniffed her hair. "Oh~God, you smell nice..."

    "..."

    "You were saying something-" Meloni said, this wasn''t an ideal time and place for a compliment.

    "Right, when they ask who killed them, just say you passed out, you don''t remember anything," Ray continued.

    "Alright!" Meloni nodded.

    "But, I''m awake?" She voiced out. How could she say she passed out when she''ll be awake when they arrive.

    Ray hit the back of her head lightly, and Meloni lost consciousness.

    "Now you''re passed out."

 Chapter 7: Ferrum

    Chapter 7 - FerrumOrganisations in the world of conduits serve a complex, layered role. Acting as guardians, powerbrokers, watchdogs, and most of all, political players.

    A nation usually has one or more national-level organizations that are in charge of various districts. Just like Ferrum. A national-level organization, quite influential but still not a global power. Ferrum has a breath of Metal. Their conduits control the fragments of metal and use them to their advantage.

    An organization led by the world''s top hundred conduit, an obsidian-ranked awakened, Hugo Barlow.

    --[Prague, Czechia]

    Ferrum Bastion. A towering metallic headquarters of Ferrum. One of the marvels of engineering, a triangular wedge tower with walls made of black titanium alloy.

    Inside the biocontainment wing, sector-D9, which they often refer to as ''grey coffin'', were the bodies of hounds. Held in a magnetic suspension dissection field, floating midair in stasis while scanners mapped their bodies.

    And in the surveillance room, bathed in the soft blue-white lighting, behind the glass was Hugo Barlow, watching the bodies of the hounds, hung still in the air.

    He had a muscular and big physique, toned with lush black hair, a stubble-beard, and crimson red iris. He wore a black suit paired with grey shirt, that couldn''t cover the shades of his big muscles. Hugo was a part-tanker. And a part psyche. A naturally awakened conduit that had dealt with its deity and stood without disrupting the top hundred rankings.

    "The residual resonance index on the scene where they were found was...off the charts. The numbers kept climbing, and the core scanner heated and shut down. And a quiet rift, which healed itself by the time it was discovered, suggests the use of a reality veil. And a high-level veil manipulation at that," Hugo''s assistant, Virris Rhane, wearing a dark red suit, read the details from the tab in his hands. While Hugo just stared at the bodies of the hounds with his hands in his pockets.

    "This, in no way, can be the work of that girl. She awakened just recently, her core''s just a flicker. These numbers are...Monstrous." Virris Rhan continued.

    "Course not!" Hugo scoffed and indicated at the bodies of the hounds.

    "This is a work of art..." Hugo said, his voice was thick. "Body warped, torsos twisted, limbs collapsed inward, like someone squeezed the life out of them,"

    "And this art..." Hugo paused and looked at his assistant. "It''s oddly familiar,"

    "Because, there''s only one artist in the whole world capable of creating this, someone who uses a power that is not only intangible, but a concept that isn''t completely proven yet either," Hugo murmured.

    "The power of space?", Verris asked, his voice had hint of fear in it. "I agree, the evidence presented to us so far, do indicate his presence..."

    "But, why would a person of that caliber be here?" Verris'' voice got lower. "Isn''t he missing? It''s been over an year since he disappeared."

    "..." Hugo didn''t say anything for a while. "How''s the little girl?" He asked.

    "Meloni Eades. She''s currently receiving medical care under Ferrum''s supervision," Verris replied.

    "We should ''least go meet her. For the inconvenience of letting hounds slip out in one of our districts," Hugo said, lighting up a cigarette.

    "I''ll get the convoy ready," Verris bowed and followed Hugo out of the biocontainment wing.

    ----

    ''Ugh, why won''t the hag just shut up?'' Ray thought.

    Meloni''s nana had been at it for the past three hours, crying, sobbing.

    While Meloni lay on the inclined bedrest, wrapped in bandages. She had tons of flowers filling the room, so there was barely any space to move the medical devices. And all of them had hand-written notes for well-being. Most of them were sent by men, because in her inner circle, she only has a group of three talkative girls.

    ''Meloni got hurt, why the hell is she crying?'' Ray thought.

    "Lemoni, you never listen to your nana," *Sniff* Her eyes and nose had turned red from all the sobbing.

    "I told you before. This- this all happened because of this-this-bad bird." She pointed at Ray, who was sitting on the white patient bed where Meloni lay comfortably, wrapped in bandages. He was munching on fries from the tiffin box that her nana brought for her.

    ''Me? What did I do? I saved her!'' Ray thought with a fry in his beak.

    "Nana-"

    "No, Nana! Won''t work now!" She cut off Meloni''s words and then again pointed at Ray.

    "I told you, crows are a bad omen!" She said.

    ''For god''s sake, I''m not a crow you hag!'' Ray thought.

    "It''s not a crow, Nana", Meloni corrected her.

    "All black birds are bad!" Her nana grunted.

    ''That''s racist!'' Ray thought.

    "Oh, Nana, you worry a lot. It was just an accident!" Meloni said, taking a fry from the box, Ray was munching and eating it.

    "How could I not? You''re my only family! I raised you as my daughter! It''s the first time in my life I''ve felt so much pain from seeing you in that state..." Her Nana said, indicating Meloni''s bed with her brows.

    "My heart aches when I see that you get hurt!" She added. Meloni was an orphan, and she never asked about her parents either. Because she believed her aunt''s her family.

    "You know how much I panicked when you got your first period-"

    "Nana! Why are you bringing that up? It''s okay. I''m fine..." Meloni was really fine, she wasn''t faking it. Her wounds were healed by Ray overnight, she''s just wearing those bandages to hide the fact. Now, what she''s feeling is just a sour aftermath of the situation.

    "If you say so... "

    "Excuse me!" A nurse wearing a white shirt over blue pants entered the ward. "Aggie Eades?" She asked looking at her aunt.

    "*Sniff* Yes, that would be me," Her nana replied.

    "There''re some documents if you could just cover up the formalities, we''ll discharge Ms. Meloni tonight," The nurse continued.

    "Ah- Alright..." Her aunt stood up, wiping her nose with a handkerchief, and looked back at Meloni again before walking out of the room.

    "But I''m still not in favour of that thing!" She said, pointing at Ray.

    ''That Thing?'' Ray was furious.

    "Nanaaa!" Meloni grunted.

    "Fine! Fine!" and she left.

    "Phew~ Finally! I can speak!" Ray voiced out, hopping on a bedside bouquet of roses.

    "Are they comfy? You hop on them after every while," Meloni asked.

    "Comfy? Oh, you mean comfortable? Yup. They smell good too," Ray replied.

    "But..." He continued. "It looks like you''re going to have a pretty interesting visitor," Sear?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "What do you mean-"

    "Sh-Sh. Focus on the door," He interrupted her and went quiet.

    The doors of the ward opened again, but this time, they were held open by a man who seemed to be in his mid-thirties. He wore a dark red suit, perfectly toned with his almost white like fair skin and long black hair tied in a ponytail. His black eyes didn''t look anywhere but at his feet. Bowing his head.

    And through the door, entered a tank-like human. His physique was so big that he had to bend down in order to enter through the door. His clothes weren''t able to hide that ripped physique.

    "Ms. Meloni Eades," He said in a thick, reverberating voice. "My name is Hugo Barlow. I''m the head of Ferrum."

 Chapter 8: Probing

    Chapter 8 - Probing''Head of Ferrum, huh!'' Ray thought, staring at the tank of a man standing in front of Meloni''s bed.

    ''He''s pretty good at concealing his core,'' He thought. ''Not just him but the snow-white beside him too...Peak Horizon.''

    "How''s your body holding up, kiddo?" Hugo asked with his hands in his pockets.

    "Uh, just some minor injuries, nothing severe..." Meloni replied. She was getting nervous by the minute.

    "You''re lucky you survived the encounter with hounds, kid. But luck, it has a habit of running out in these things, quite often," Hugo continued.

    "..." She didn''t say anything. Just stayed there with her head hung low.

    "I''m sorry," Hugo, then turned the conversation around. "What happened to you last night should never have happened."

    "A rift opened under our jurisdiction. Two agents and a civilian died. Something like this happened right under my watch, I prefer to apologise in person." He said, but his body language didn''t match his words. All while saying that, he stood stern.

    "..." Meloni stayed quiet, again.

    ''Is he expecting a response from her? What is she supposed to say? ''It''s okay?'''' Ray thought, looking at Hugo.

    "As an apology, Ferrum will support you with the best of its assistance until you''re strong enough to live in the world of conduits alone. Of course, we won''t force any contracts on you, this is purely a gesture of apology." Hugo continued.

    ''What is he getting at?'' Ray thought. A support throughout her career, which could even last for a lifetime, without even representing Ferrum. Even as a gesture of apology, that is excessive. Ferrum might not be a global power, but having a national-level authority makes it a pretty domineering organisation.

    Meloni was vertiginously bewildered. "Thank you!" She sounded grateful.

    "Virris here, will help you with adjustments of your life, and provide you with an information about your further path," Hugo said gesturing at the man in dark red suit beside him with his shoulders.

    Virris nodded with eyes closed.

    "That''s that..."

    "Another reason for my visit here, is that I need to ask a few questions from you," Hugo then took his hands of out of his pocket, and stood stern with his arms folded.

    Meloni nodded. S§×arch* The ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Can you tell me what happened right before you passed out?" He asked.

    "Right before I passed out? I don''t remember it too clearly... it''s all vague. But I remember how those agents died. I-I can control sound, and their sonic boom didn''t affect me. So I tried to stun them, in which I succeeded...once. My stun also brought the agents back to reality. But they adapted quickly, they repeated that attack, and before I could even stun or even snap my finger, they-they killed the agents. They moved really fast, spoke the same thing at the same time. They were extremely coordinated..." Meloni began reciting everything that she remembered.

    "You were helped there, kid. Don''t you remember anything? Any person who appeared there? Or how the hounds died?" Hugo pressed his questions further.

    "No...I passed out the moment those agents died, I couldn''t bear to see my-end..." She replied.

    Hugo nodded and looked down at the floor tiles. He wasn''t convinced with those answers. He thought for a while.

    Hugo thought that it was either she was hiding something. Or she was completely clueless about how big the power that saved her is.

    "One last question..." Hogo''s voice got heavier.

    He looked straight into her eyes and sharpened his gaze.

    "Have you ever heard of a name... Raelion Morrigan?" He asked, and Virris, his assistant, flinched.

    ''So this is what he''s after...'' Ray thought.

    But unfortunately for him, Raelion has introduced himself as Ray to her. So it was evident she didn''t knew that name.

    "Raelion Morrigan?" She whispered repeating it. "Its my first time hearing this name? Is this person somehow involved with the incident?" She asked.

    "..."

    "I see- Well Virris here, will contact you once you''re discharged. Don''t stress, just think of it that someone saved your life because he thought it was worth saving. So its better to bring out that very worth, its not everyday a lifeline is granted right?" He didn''t answer her question but moved the conversation.

    "Yes...Thank you!" Meloni thanked again, bowing her head.

    Hugo nodded and left with Virris, who opened the gates for him.

    "Raelion Morrigan..." Meloni whispered in deep thought after Hugo left.

    "Raelion----Rae----Ray" She whispered again and came to a conclusion.

    Turning her head left to the bedside table, looking at a black falcon sitting comfortably on the bed of roses, she asked, looking at Ray, "Raelion Morrigan?"

    "Yeah, that''s me," Ray said, raising a wing like marking his attendance.

    "Why was he asking your name?" She asked.

    "He must have picked up residual resonance from the field, and I used a reality veil, too, since it''s strong, it leaves a trail for a while," Ray replied.

    "I get that! But can''t he just contact someone on your side and confirm it was you? I mean, he is the head of an organisation! But the way he asked me your name was...Secretive somehow!" Meloni said.

    "That''s because I''ve been missing for a year...and I''m pretty popular~" Ray said and hopped on the bed again, looking for another box of fries.

    "Missing for a year????" Meloni shouted.

    ----

    "Why did you ask her his name, sir?" Virris questioned, sitting beside Hugo in a black moving sedan.

    "That child is beautiful, Virris," Hugo replied. "And Raelion is not someone old like us, if he were with her, then it''d be no problem. However, she didn''t know that name. It was visible on her expression."

    "And if it''s the latter. It just makes the situation worse for all of us, do you know why?" Hugo asked as he turned to Virris.

    "Why?" Virris asked.

    "Because now, we have his fucking highness walking among civilians," He grunted.

 Chapter 9: A Deal

    Chapter 9 - A DealMeloni was discharged the next day. They did say that she would be free by the end of the day, but as an extra precaution, more checkups were conducted, all at Ferrum''s expense.

    All the while, Ray had to stay quiet because Aggie, Meloni''s nana, had been with her all day.

    "It feels like I''m trapped even though I''m free...when I''m not allowed to speak, that is," Ray said, hopping in the centre of a velvet coloured bed. They were back in the house.

    Meloni shut the door, removed her flippers, and sat cross-legged on the bed, right in front of Ray. She was staring at him like she was about to scold a child.

    "Ah- What?" Ray murmured.

    "You-" She said, pressing her finger on his small head. "Have been missing for over a year!"

    "Yeah, but what''s with the finge-"

    "Listen to me!" She grunted, cutting off Ray''s words.

    "Okay! Okay!" Ray said, raising both of his wings in surrender. S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Be honest with me..." Her voice turned low. "Are you on a run?"

    "On a run? No!" Ray replied.

    "Then are you hiding here?" She asked.

    "No!"

    "Then, are you a part of any organisation or team of some sort? Gone rogue?" She continued with a similar question.

    "Look, I''m not a part of any organisation, I''m a part of a clan, and I have been missing, because I disappeared, not because I ran, not because there''s someone out for my blood...Well, there might be a lot of people out for my blood, but that is definitely not the reason for my disappearance," Ray replied.

    "You just disappeared? Like, you vanished?" She asked, folding her arms, clearly not believing what Ray said.

    "Pretty much. I can''t tell you the reason right now, ok? It''s nothing related to power struggle or politics or any other person, it''s personal. And you''re not strong enough to know about that stuff right now..." Ray said, staring into her eyes, trying to convince her.

    "I''m not strong enough to know the reason?" She asked, pointing her finger at herself.

    "Yes," Ray replied.

    "Then make me!" Meloni said in a resolute tone.

    "Huh?" Ray was surprised by that statement, he raised his brows. "What?"

    "I said, make me strong enough to know the reason then," She elaborated.

    "And...Why would I do that?" Ray asked.

    "You...won''t help me?" She murmured in a frail voice, with a slumped posture and quivering chin.

    ''Wait...Why do I feel like I''m in the wrong here?'' Ray thought to himself, looking at her face, almost about to crack in tears.

    "Let''s suppose I do teach you...What is it that I get out of it? You''re not suggesting that I impart my years of knowledge onto you just because you want me to help you?" Ray stepped forward and asked.

    "You could help me because I''m just like you, another naturally awakened conduit with a mythical deity as my core''s reflection?" She argued.

    "That doesn''t mean anything to me. You''re you, I''m me!" Ray replied.

    "I--- I--- I''m letting you stay in my personal space!" She argued.

    "Well, I can just fly to my residence, might take a few days without my powers..." He countered that argument.

    "I--I can teach you everything about music!" She made another offer.

    "Not interested, I''m more keen on just listening to it..." He countered it again.

    "Then what is it that you want?" She asked, "Wait...Don''t tell me! My body?" She wrapped her arms around her chest like covering herself.

    "What?" Not once in Ray''s life has he ever felt this wronged. But he still glanced at her, oval face, tender eyelashes, the scent of violet in her hair and eyes, toned with lustrous skin, red lips, thick and fresh, an attractive neck with a deep, defined collarbone, she was attractive.

    "Well, it''s not that bad of an offer, but I''m not considering-" And he saw a pink fluffy pillow flying at him.

    [Puff!]

    "Then what do you want? I don''t have money! You want me to teach you how to cook or something?" She spat out, losing her temper.

    "That...We can consider that!" Ray replied, throwing the pillow aside with his feet.

    "What? Cooking?" Meloni asked again if he was serious.

    "Yes, I''ll teach you everything about conduits, I''ll train you!" He said and spread his wings. "And you teach me how to make those majestic, spicy fries, puffs, and burgers. Those sweet cakes, pastries, and tender, juicy chicken, beef, and whatnot, all those majestic, spicy dishes!" Ray was serious.

    "..." "..."

    "You''re serious?" Meloni leaned forward with her brows raised.

    "Does my face look like I''m joking?" Ray also leaned forward, gesturing at his face with his wing.

    "So it''s a deal?" She asked, bringing her hand forward for a shake.

    "One hundred percent!" Ray replied, accepting her handshake with his wing.

    "You can''t back off, remember!" She said, holding onto his wing.

    "A Morrigan never goes back on his words, woman!" And he really did make a deal with her.

    "When do we begin?" She asked.

    "Right from this very moment!" Ray replied.

    Meloni leaned back. "Then, how do we begin?"

    Ray thought for a while and stared at her. Then his eyes drifted to her chest, her waist, her thighs.

    "We have to think of a way to make you strong and not lose that feminine touch." He murmured.

    "Not lose my feminine touch?" She asked, confused.

    "Meloni, your melons are... squishy, we can''t have ripped muscles instead of th-" And there he saw another pillow flying at him.

 Chapter 10: Sound

    Chapter 10 - SoundSound. The first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word sound is music or anything you hear. As a power, sound requires a medium, therefore, there are a lot of limitations to the power of sound. Its effects vary in different media. And if the opponent is someone who has control over air, a vacuum space is enough to break the user''s sound.

    That''s how normal people think. That''s what people expect from sound. To anyone, sound is nothing but a support-type ability. Sonic booms, high frequency, and more.

    But Ray is different... He thinks sound needs a medium. If the conduit can control sound, then they can read the medium. If they can read the medium, they can read the resonance, frequency, vibrations, and density.

    A core circulates life force like blood throughout the body. The way it circulates is altered to bring out the abilities of respected clans, families, and organisations.

    As life force flows, it generates a unique resonance index signature (RIS), which is often measured by a specialized tech, resonance index reader (RIR).

    Therefore, if trained in a particular way, Meloni cannot only measure the resonance, but she can also read it. If she can read the resonance, she can read the life force. And if she can read the life force...

    ''She can be a true powerhouse who can not only use her own power, but also mimic her opponent or cancel out their power. She can weaken the core by disrupting the resonance, even break it, crippling someone for life!'' Ray thought, staring at Meloni, who was feeding her bird, Milo.

    ''But right now, her core is nowhere near strong enough to acquire that skill. Her body is not reinforced. And her perception is not of that level...'' Ray thought.

    ''Her core and her body...'' Ray looked at his wing with his head hung low.

    ''I can reinforce them without making a visual change in her appearance. My force breath,'' Ray thought. Ray''s force breath, it''s not just unique, but it''s the one thing that every person in the world desires.

    ''But it''ll be worth it...'' He thought.

    ''This way, her growth potential would rise exponentially, her body will be rendered off any impurities, and she''ll become more beautiful...'' Ray thought.

    "Aight!" Ray voiced out and looked at Meloni.

    "Hm? So you figured out something?" Meloni turned her head, closing the can with a plastic cover.

    "Not just something but a lot of things... I just designed your powers in my mind. But it''ll take time. A lot of time to make you reach your full potential!" Ray replied, fixing the pink fluffy pillow with his wings and sitting on it comfortably with his feet tucked in.

    "And it''s definitely not going to be easy!" He added.

    "Nothing''s easy. But there''s nothing in this world that I''m not capable of!" She replied.

    "I love that fake self-proclamation in order to motivate yourself..." He murmured.

    "I heard that!" She said, squinting her eyes as she closed the cabinet where she keeps bird food.

    "I know, now sit here!" Ray said and tapped the bed with his wings in front of him.

    Meloni nodded and stood up on the bed, then sat right in front of Ray.

    "Your power lies in three components. First, your core. We need to strengthen it in order to circulate an enormous amount of life force. Second, perception. An extreme level of perception. Third, your body. Enough to take a heavy blow and not damage yourself, of course, I''ll make sure you maintain your feminine touch~" Ray said as his eyes drifted to her chest again. S§×arch* The N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "But my perception is already strong, I believe..." Meloni replied.

    "Really? You can''t even sense that there''s a peak horizon agent near your house for your protection. Scratch that, you can''t even look at how dense my core is, and forget about this too, you don''t even know that your core is circulating life force, leaking an uneven resonance!" Ray said.

    "Wh-wait...There''s an agent near my house? Ferrum?" She asked.

    "Yeah, don''t worry, he''s not peeking. Just there for protection, he''ll sense another conduit and come straight to your house!" Ray replied, swinging his wing in the air like it''s no problem.

    "But, wouldn''t he sense you?" Meloni asked.

    "That could have been possible two days ago, but I''ve healed my core enough to hide my signature completely even if I go rampant," Ray replied.

    "I see..." She muttered, staring at him.

    "Tell me!" Ray said and asked, "Since your core is weak right now, and we can''t just make it strong out of nowhere, how would you use your powers in a battle against another conduit?"

    Meloni thought for a while and then she guessed, "A high frequency attack like tinnitus, just like a stun grenade. Or maybe a rougher frequency to rupture the eardrums?"

    "You think like a completely average person!" Ray responded to her guess and shook his head in disappointment.

    "Then, how can I use my powers? It''s just sound!" Meloni said, and raised her shoulders in defeat.

    "It''s not just sound! It''s the sound!" Ray replied. "You''re thinking like an idiot! Have you never heard of vertigo?"

    "Vertigo? feeling off balance and dizzy?" She asked, raising her brows.

    "Yes! If you just focus on controlling two different frequencies on the opponent, in a way that he or she hears completely different sounds from their left and right ears. You can make them feel like the world is spinning, create effects of nausea, and make them lose consciousness!" Ray replied.

    "Meloni, your power cannot be seen! A weapon that cannot be seen is the most dangerous kind of weapon! You can win the battle without any flashy attacks, you can win the battle before your opponent even makes a move!" Ray continued.

    "I never thought of it that way..." Meloni murmured.

    "Of course you never did!" Ray spoke and hopped on Meloni''s shoulders.

    "Now focus. Straighten your back first!" He said.

    Meloni fixed her posture and sat cross-legged.

    "Now close your eyes, I''m going to circulate my life force into your body. I''ll channel it through your core. Feel it, feel how it moves throughout your body, and then mimic the flow with your own life force!" Ray said as he nudged a little closer to her neck.

    ''She really does smell good all the time!'' He thought.

    Meloni closed her eyes and nodded.

    Ray''s eyes glowed golden again, black flames covered the lashes, as he circulated his life force through her heart.

    Meloni''s perception might be weak, but it is far more better than any person or even a conduit at the veinborn level. Her senses were sensitive because of her innate ability and already mutated body that has adapted to the core fundamentals of sound.

    She could feel the power of Ray, it was dark, thick, and far more denser than hers. Her body felt the shivers of his life force even when Ray had complete control over it. Because Ray''s power was just extremely strong.

    Meloni might be comfortable around Ray, but she knows that he''s someone of extreme importance. She can feel it. Even in the form of a falcon, the things he knows, the way he talks, the way he behaves, it''s like a child who has everything but doesn''t know the struggles of someone who lacks those things.

    Her suspicion grew when Hugo Barlow asked about his name in a secretive tone. A man of that caliber, afraid of speaking Ray''s real name, even when they were the only people in the ward. She''s not naive. But still, she feels oddly comfortable around someone who knows what she''s been hiding all along, someone who doesn''t treat her as a fragile girl and is agreeing to help her grow...

    "Focus!" Ray said.

    Cores have colours depending on how the life force is circulated and what the ability is. Ray is the only person in the world with a core so black that it could even absorb the light. And Meloni''s core was so white that it could be the source of life itself.

    People think sound is weak. But they forget that sound feels everything.

    ''You can hide your blade. You can shield your thoughts. But you can''t stop your core from humming. I''ll design her powers in a way that once she hears your core humming, you''re already undone!'' Ray thought with a smirk that was not visible in his falcon form.

 Chapter 11: Invitation

    Chapter 11 - InvitationA week passed by, and Meloni was curled up in her own space. Her routine had been completely absorbed in making Ray''s force breath hers. She had cancelled all her music sessions and only focused on her core. In these seven days, she mastered the movement to the point where she could channel the force even in her sleep.

    There were visible changes in her body during this period. Her pupils contracted and dilated faster, adapting to even the slightest or subtle shifts in the light and her emotions. A faint silver-blue ring formed in her irises, which luminated all the time. Making her eyes stand out in the dark.

    Her complexion became flawless. Her skin turned cleaner and smoother than before. It felt soft and firm all the time, even to her.

    Her hair grew long so that it reached below her waist. Each of the strands turned thick, strong, more defined, and silkier, no matter the weather.

    Her senses turned sharp. She could hear the heartbeats of people within a certain radius without even focusing. She could hear a lot of things, from an insect crawling on her lawn to the couple having sex in the distant house.

    It wasn''t just her hearing, but the sight, that made her notice subtle details. From reading the ingredients on her skincare products while sitting far away, to the way each feather on Ray reacted to the air of the fan.

    But something was different today. She woke up before the sun.

    Placing her warm palms on her face, even though the room was cold, she sat in a slumped posture on her bed.

    Her stomach was twisting, her mood was dipping for no reason. Annoyance was creeping in like a slow leak. It was irrational and completely hers.

    "Right, period." Meloni thought. Even force-breath couldn''t overwrite being a girl after all.

    [Thud''Thud'']

    A soft knock on the door cut her thoughts. Ray, lying beside her on the soft pink pillow, woke up from his sleep and stared at the door.

    "Lemon! There''s someone at the door for you!" Her aunt''s voice came from the other side of the door.

    "Who is it this early in the morning?" She murmured, annoyed.

    Meloni slid on her flippers and went downstairs, wearing her casual T-shirt and pajamas.

    A man, in a blue suit with black checks on it, stood on a porch, holding a sealed envelope.

    "Ms. Meloni Eades?" He asked, but it looked like he already knew it was her.

    "Yes?" Meloni asked for the reason of the unknown visitor, but then her eyes drifted towards his heart pocket, which had a badge of ferrum. She slid the strands of hair from her face and stared at the envelope with suspicion.

    "You''ve been invited!" He said, handing the envelope over to her with both of his arms stretched.

    Squinting her brows, she accepted the envelope and opened it. Inside it was a letter with the heading, ''Sponsorship Evaluation Session'', and the date was...

    ''Today! Right! I completely forgot about this!'' Meloni thought to herself. She remembered Virris Rhane, he contacted her the next day she was discharged, and set up a date for the meeting.

    "If you don''t wish to attend the meeting, I''ll inform my superiors, we can arrange this some other time," The man standing in front of her door said, looking at her current state.

    "Uh, no...Just give me a few minutes, I''ll get ready!" She replied.

    "Of course. We''ll be waiting in the car just outside, take all the time you need," He bowed and turned around.

    Meloni sighed, looking at the letter, and closed the door. She turned around and was startled for a second.

    "Nana!" She shouted. Her Nana was trying to peek at the letter, standing right behind her.

    "What''s this?" She asked, curious and suspicious.

    "This?" Meloni asked, pointing at the letter. She needed some time to think. S~ea??h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Yes! What is it? Who was that man?" Aggie asked.

    "Oh! I applied for a job, this is my letter evaluation meeting..." Meloni replied.

    "You applied for a job? Where? What company sends their man on the doorstep to provide a physical offer letter, this early in the morning!" Aggie countered.

    "Ferrum?" Meloni replied. She wasn''t sure, but she did look up Ferrum online. Ferrum was a multinational corporation that dealt in medical technology and healthcare services. Though this part was just a cover.

    "Ferrum? Like that Ferrum? My god! I knew you were brilliant, but this..." Aggie was surprised.

    "Ah- hold the compliments for later, I need to leave right now!" Meloni tapped her hands on Aggie''s shoulders and ran upstairs.

    She opened the door in a hurry, threw the envelope with the letter inside at Ray''s side, and ran inside the washroom.

    "Hm?" Ray muttered, looking at the envelope.

    "Sponsorship evaluation? Right, it was today!" He murmured.

    After a few minutes, Meloni got out of the washroom after freshening up. Hurriedly, she opened her wardrobe, took out a black-silk long flowy frock, a glistening black shirt, and threw them on the bed.

    She was about to take her T-shirt off, but then she remembered Ray was sitting right in front of her.

    "Don''t mind me, I''m not looking at you, I''m looking at the wardrobe behind you..." Ray was completely focused.

    "Ugh!" Annoyed, she grunted and went back inside her washroom with the clothes, banging the door aloud.

    ''Why does she look oddly...pissed today?'' Ray thought.

    ----

    The ride to the Ferrum was a quiet one. With Ray listening to the music with earphones on, and Meloni staring outside at the passing scenery. While the driver that was escorting them was more worried about the falcon listening to music and moving its head in rhythm.

    Within two hours, they arrived at the headquarters of Ferrum. Their black sedan slowed to a halt after passing through the wide slate grey iron gates. An agent, wearing a completely black suit, jogged towards the back door and opened it for Meloni.

    Tying her hair in a ponytail with a purple hairband she brought with her, she stepped out of the car as Ray hopped on her shoulders.

    A woman stood just at the gate of Ferrum''s inner hall. She was slim, wore a formal, pale white coat over a white one-piece dress. Her silver hair was tied in a bun, her silver rimmed specs added a quiet scent of beauty to her face. Holding a clipboard in her hands, she stepped forward,

    "Ms. Meloni Eades. You''re expected. Please, follow me!" She said without a smile on her face. A still, formal expression.

 Chapter 12: Virris Rhane

    Chapter 12 - Virris RhaneThe Tower of Ferrum, just like any other building designed for conduits, had a specially designed structure. These buildings are made to withstand the raw power of peak horizon tiers.

    They might not be the tallest, but they are the sturdiest. To compensate for the lack of height, they cover a wide area, and the exact number of levels extends underground.

    As soon as Meloni passed the gates of the main entrance into the tower, the noise of the outside world softened. For any other person, it would feel like the noise was completely cut off, but her senses were sharp.

    The interior of Ferrum was strangely artistic. Smooth grey stone walls intersected with panels of brushed black metal stretched up towards high ceilings. The ambient lights cast a soft blue and white hue across the surfaces. It was giving everything a futuristic undertone.

    Her core wasn''t strong enough to map the number of conduits in the tower, but her ears were sensitive enough to hear the heartbeats of every person.

    With Ray perched on her shoulders, deliberately sitting close to her neck because he loved her smell. Walking alongside the woman in pale whites, they arrived at the elevators that took them to the fifty-second floor. All this while, none of them conversed with each other.

    Unknown to Ray, Meloni''s mood was not one of the brightest at the moment.

    Arriving at the administrative floor of Ferrum, they crossed paths with some conduits. Some were young, some were trained, and most of them didn''t glance at her, but at the woman in front of her.

    She seemed to be someone important.

    Finally, they stopped behind a grey wooden door. Without her knocking on the door, a voice came from the other side, "Let her in!"

    The woman nodded and opened the door for Meloni.

    Meloni stepped inside. An office, sleek and elevated in both design and height. It had a light interior, in contrast to the dark marbles of Ferrum.

    Virris Rhane, a peak horizon conduit, leaned on his white marbled desk, staring at the district below from the massive windows, holding a sheet of paper in his hands. He had long black hair that flowed down to his back.

    Virris turned towards the door and looked at Meloni. He nodded for her to come in, and the door behind her closed with a silent click.

    "Meloni Eades...Please-" He gestured at the chair across his desk.

    "Morning!" Meloni greeted and walked silently, sitting in the chair in front of him.

    "You have a pretty...unique pet," Virris remarked, looking at Ray.

    "Ah- Yes, he just follows me only!" She replied. Well, she wasn''t wrong either.

    "That''s impressive. Animals tend to follow those whom they place their trust in," Virris nodded, clearly impressed.

    "Let''s start from the beginning," Virris said as he sat on his leather chair.

    "You''re a naturally awakened conduit, which means you have a reflected deity that could come for you anytime. You''re neither trained nor guided in terms of combat, that makes your situation dangerous, but it gives you a factor of growth too, because naturally awakened cores have a perfect sync with their vessels," Virris said, turning the monitor on his desk towards Meloni.

    She didn''t say anything; she already knew all of this, but hearing about it every time made her feel fear that she had never experienced before.

    "Do you know what level you are?" He asked.

    "Level? I''m not aware of that," Meloni replied.

    ''Right- I forgot about that!'' Ray thought.

    Virris pointed at the monitor as four levels appeared on the screen, "There are four recognised levels in the world of conduits. First, Veinborn. It''s where you are. You''re the weakest veinborn right now. You were a flicker last week when we met, it seems that you''ve caught on pretty good force breath,"

    Virris didn''t pry much, but still, his curiosity was clearly shown on his face.

    "Then, we have horizon. Horizons are adults. Some young prodigies might enter the initial stages of horizon, but generally, it''s a tier that is dedicated to trained, and adult conduits." He continued.

    Meloni nodded, staring at the monitor, which displayed the threat in terms of percentage for each of the levels.

    "Then, we have obsidians. From here on out, you enter the global rankings. Individuals that are obsidians come under the world''s top hundred, they''re extremely powerful, most of them lead organisations, families, clans or even cults of their own." He said, then paused and pointed at the last level with a hundred percent threat mark.

    "Lastly, Eternals. You probably won''t see one in your life, there are currently eleven eternals in the whole world. In simple terms, they are walking catastrophes, even obsidians don''t want to get on their bad side. Eternal is a completely different level, on par with all three tiers." Virris explained.

    "I understand, it''s a lot for you, your environment has been completely different from these people. You might not care about power, you might see it as a tool to survive, but for conduits, it''s everything. Their legacies, their wealth, their authority, their dignity, it all comes from these powers. In this world, if you have power, you can have everything," Virris added, looking at Meloni''s conflicted expression.

    Meloni nodded subtly.

    "But...This is just one side of the world. The other side is Hollow. Some call that place the abyss or the endless void. It exists alongside reality, but in that place, live monsters that we call deities." He began.

    Meloni nodded.

    "Deities are of two kinds, Hounds and Mythics. Mythical deities, are just like obsidians, or in worst case scenario, they can turn out to be as strong as eternals," Virris continued, but Meloni''s mind was a mess. She didn''t know why, but hearing all this again felt scary as the first time.

    "Then, we have hounds. Hounds are common, so we have a division of power levels in Hounds. Feral, the lowest. These guys might be weak, mindless, instinct-driven, but they are aggressive," Virris said as the computer screen switched again.

    "Then we have Adaptive Hounds. Intermediate, strong for a veinborn, but a single Horizon can handle it too," He continued. "Lastly, we have Predator Hounds. The twins that you encountered were predator hounds. They require at least five Horizon tier conduits, or an Obsidian to handle them." He said.

    ''An obsidian to handle them?'', Meloni thought. ''Ray squeezed the life out of those twins in his falcon form, is he an obsidian then?''

    "The moment a predator hound is detected, the council of conduits issues a black level kill order, which results in Obsidians acting up," Virris concluded. "And that''s about it, for your overview of this world,"

    "And I''m just a vein born?" She murmured.

    "Weakest...Veinborn," Virris corrected her.

    Ray, on the other hand, was thinking about something else. ''I never knew Hounds were graded with fucking levels?''

    "And...Mr. Hugo Barlow. Currently an obsidian within the top hundred global rankings, and the head of Ferrum has allowed you to grow without any restrictions, as a compensation of the past tragedy because of our team''s negligence," Virris said as he slid a sheet of paper on the clipboard and placed it right in front of Meloni.

    "Being sponsored is different from being contracted. Usually, sponsored individuals receive all the benefits without branding themselves with the name of the organisation backing them, but in return, they constantly have to prove their worth. But your terms are different; instead of proving your worth, you are sponsored until you reach the Horizon tier." He said, placing a pen alongside the clipboard.

    Meloni picked up the clipboard and the pen and read the documents. She wasn''t familiar with the language of contracts, but she still went through it, read each heading of the clauses, and signed at the end of every page.

    But Ray had been trained and taught in a manner that not only was his prowess astounding, but his intellect matched them too. He could see through the clauses, the flaws, and the way they might try to manipulate her when she becomes strong.

    ''Territorial authority clause. This is a pain in the arse. It lets Ferrum claim any technique developed under their training facility as their property,'' Ray thought. ''And there''s no clause for external protection. If she defeats a heir of a family or a clan or an organisation, they''ll back off if the opponent''s party decides to try something off the grounds.''

    "Here," Meloni handed the document back to Virris.

    "Thank you for accepting this offer. From now on, you''ll have access to Ferrum''s resources, and you will have a backing that would help you in enrolling in the upcoming session of the world''s Conduit Academy, Concordium." Virris said.

    "Academy?" Meloni asked.

    ''Right! What''s up with the academy?'' Ray thought.

    "All conduits that are either part of an organisation or individual entities are to attend that one-year program so that you have a basic training and experience. Additionally, you will learn more about conduits and the hollow there. But, it''s a choice. We''re not forcing you." Virris replied.

    ''Wait...Concordium? That place is owned by Shen Yuuto''s direct lineage,'' Ray thought. Shen Yuuto is one of the world''s top ten. A samurai who is an Eternal-level conduit.

    "I see..." Meloni murmured. What could she even say? That''s again, a piece of new information.

    "I know I''m being vague right now. But don''t worry, I''ll send you all the information about the academy, there''s still a whole month left before next session starts, so you will have a lot of time to think about it," Virris comforted her. S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "I understand," Meloni replied in a low tone.

    ''Tch... snow white bastard, called us here just for this?'' Ray thought.

 Chapter 13: Basic Knowledge

    Chapter 13 - Basic Knowledge"A cup of flour, seasoned salt, pepper, two large eggs, breadcrumbs, two chicken breasts, even though I prefer yours, and olive oil..." Ray murmured as he named all the ingredients kept on the kitchen shelf. Apparently, he wasn''t even aware of most of their names.

    Aggie wasn''t home, she had a routine of attending yoga classes with the elder ladies of the neighborhood.

    "Great job, but I''m not really in a good enough mood to bear with your advances today." Meloni then moved all the ingredients aside and started cooking the nuggets.

    "Yeah, I can see that...What is it that''s bothering you? As your mentor, I think I''m entitled to know the reason behind your uncanny behaviour..." He asked, hopping on top of the fridge.

    "Nothing external, just the time of the month..." She replied vaguely.

    "Time of the month?" Ray was confused. He asked, tilting his head.

    Sigh~"You don''t know about periods?" She questioned back in frustration.

    "Periods?" He asked. No, Ray wasn''t. He was someone raised in a political and militant background. He knows everything about tactics, statecraft, core science, and combat arts. In a clan where empathy and social bonds are either weak or manipulated, daily human discomforts were useless distractions.

    "You don''t know?" Meloni turned to face him with squinted brows.

    "How old are you?" She asked.

    "I''m twenty-five. But is my age really an important factor that affects my qualifications for obtaining that informa-"

    "You''re twenty-five????" Meloni asked aloud. She was surprised.

    "Right, what did you think my age was?" He asked.

    "I thought you were some old douchebag who reached obsidian and is just lazing around..." She replied.

    "You''re the first person in my whole life to have disrespected me, and to this level at that..." Ray grunted. "Old? Douchebag? I''m known throughout the conduit''s world not just for my powers but my appearance. I''m the most powerful and the most handsome man you''ll ever meet in your whole life, and I assure you! In your whole life!" He spat out.

    "Oh really? So the all-powerful, most handsome, known throughout the world, doesn''t know about periods? Doesn''t know how to cook? Never visited a grocery store? Eats fries like a child? Lives in the private space of another girl his age and flirts all the time?" Meloni barked back.

    "I''m your Mentor, I''m living in your space because I''m injured, and I saved your life. And, so what? What if I haven''t visited a store? What if I don''t know about periods? The exchange should be equal!!!! If I am teaching you about things no one would, you should be obliged to teach me about some things no one would!" He countered it. But, Ray didn''t comment on the flirt part.

    "So you''re saying that you never had a relationship, never had friends who would impart on you with such basic knowledge?" She asked.

    "I just kept myself isolated in my residence, I never had friends, I never had relationships, I never had any moments of intimacy with anyone. I was trained and taught to survive in a fucking world that doesn''t care about lives! My own father favours me just because of my powers, not because I''m his son! You expect someone like me to know about basic stuff?" Everything Ray said was the truth. Raelion Morrigan, that''s a name not many people have the nerve to take.

    Phew~ "Fine! Your life sounds much worse than mine..." Meloni murmured. "It''s a cycle. Every month, a woman''s body prepares itself for pregnancy; when that doesn''t happen, the unused material is cleared out. That''s the bleeding."

    "So...Is it fata-"

    "Nope, it''s not fatal! Before the bleeding starts, there''s a hormonal rush that is prepared by the body to support a new life. When that doesn''t happen, everything comes crashing down, which results in messing up the emotions and physique."

    "That does sound..." Ray did not end the sentence. ''Fatal,'' He thought.

    There was silence for a while. With Meloni deepfrying the nuggets and Ray watching it with satisfaction.

    "Oh, that reminds me..." He suddenly remembered something. "You know about the time when Virris Rhan was explaining you everything about the hounds?"

    "Hm? Yes. What about it?" She thought and asked.

    "He said that predator hounds are often dealt by obsidians, the moment they are spotted a black level kill order is issued," Ray said.

    "You''re right, he did say that..." Meloni nodded.

    "A black level kill order, it''s something that requires urgent action. I remember you mentioned when the agents barked about why the backup had not arrived or something, that means, they forwarded the information about a predator-level hound to the organisation, but no one reacted. Even the agents that followed after the ones who died were just horizons." Ray said.

    "Is it suspicious?" She asked. S~ea??h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Exactly. From the looks of it, someone, high up in the Ferrum, messed with the communication records. They wanted the hounds to go rampant for a while. That means, there is someone in the Ferrum, who is either a sadist, or a part of some criminal group," Ray concluded.

    "There are criminal groups?" Meloni asked.

    "A lot, but the most evil one has the most sane outskirts. The Council. Those bastards are like wolves wearing the masks of sheeps," Ray replied.

    "You really do know a lot of things. Your powers are also amazing, too, from what I witnessed. What is your level?" She asked. "You''re an obsidian right? Maybe somone as strong as Hugo, or maybe stronger than him?"

    "An obsidian? That''s what you think?" Ray muttered. "No, I''m not an obsidian."

    "Right, you can''t be...I mean, you are my age, and Virris said that most of the people my age are Veinborns, or if some prodigies emerge, then Horizons. So you must be Horizon...But then again, you were powerful for a horizon if I am to map out the power levels..." Meloni was confused.

    "It doesn''t really matter, you know. Because, no matter what my level is, for the world, I am dead. I disappeared a year ago, there are a lot of people who''re out there, looking for any trace of my existence. It''s not the right time for me to reveal myself," He answered.

    "I just wanted to know, how much power you possess. It feels off, not knowing how powerful you are..." Meloni murmured.

    "You can think of me as a prodigy among the prodigies...You''re learning from someone even obsidians would want to..." Ray answered.

    He wasn''t wrong. Raelion Morrigan, was one of the most powerful conduits. The youngest eternal in the entire history of the world.

 Chapter 14: Not A Falcon?

    Chapter 14 - Not A Falcon?----Ferrum Headquarters----

    Hugo Barlow, sitting on a sofa in his spacious, dark metal-themed office, stared at the young girl in the seat opposite him.

    A Chinese beauty, with silver-white hair tied in half-up twisted braid with flowing waves, falling past her waist, curling at the ends with a scent of blue, that matched her silver-shaded irises perfectly. Pale, cool-toned skin with an ink blotted tattoo of the dragon that stretched from her right shoulder, her bare, visible back from the white, backless maxi dress she wore.

    "What an honour! For the heir of Whites to visit just a national-level organisation like Ferrum," Hugo said as he picked up his cigar, and gestured if he could light it.

    "There''s no need to be on an edge. I''m not here as a representative of the whites, but a personal favour," She said. Bai Yuyan was the heir of the whites, a family in direct association with the falcon order of the Morrigan household.

    Morrigans are divided into three orders. The order of head, they have five of the top hundred obsidians under their command, with the head of Morrigan being the top ten eternal.

    The order of the vanguards, led by the first prince of the house of Morrigans. They''re the political force of the Morrigans.

    And, the order of the falcons. Led by the second prince, the youngest eternal in the history of the world. They deal with assassinations and information.

    However, in the preceding year, the order of falcons has fallen weak compared to the order of vanguards. With the first prince taking advantage of the second''s disappearance, the order of vanguards has expanded its influence all across the world, not just with the name but with the alliances, combining several obsidians and peak horizon families.

    The situation has led the whites to fall short in power in terms of global power rankings. The order of falcons might not survive another year if the prince is not found or declared dead.

    "I don''t believe Ferrum is close to whites, to grant a personal favour just because their heir asked us to," Hugo Barlow said. Despite not being a global power, Ferrum itself was considered powerful because it was Hugo Barlow, one of the top hundred obsidians, leading it.

    "Of course, I''m not requesting anything for free. For a favour granted, will be a favour returned." Bai Yuyan replied as she crossed her legs, placing one knee on the other.

    "From the looks of it, you already have a proposal in your mind. Let''s hear it," Hugo nodded and exhaled a puff of smoke as he leaned back.

    "Last week, during the incident where the Dirge twins slipped under your territory, a residual index signature was recorded at the place of the incident. Ferrum pressed the matters even though the shreds of evidence in the situation pointed towards one single person," Bai Yuyan said.

    "We did," Hugo added. "Because even if it was him, there is no way an eternal ranked individual would leave a trace of his powers for people to detect him, unless it is deliberate, which Ferrum highly doubts. Moreover, there''s no reason for a catastrophic level identity to be at a place like this."

    "Regardless, I would want you to share every information, the records, the analysis, the corpses of the hounds, regarding that particular incident. In exchange, Whites would support the cadets of Ferrum throughout the academic year at Concordium, the World''s conduit academy. That, too, under my direct supervision," Bai Yuyan proposed her offer.

    Because whites were associated with the order of falcons, they had direct relations with the Yuuto Clan. The reason why Falcon Order was strong despite having only three obsidians under its command was the presence of two eternals. The second prince, and the head of the Yuuto, Shen Yuuto.

    Yuutos are also the neutral acting force that runs the world academy.

    Hugo thought for a while and nodded, "That is an intriguing offer. But, a favour like this would require consultations with different holders, I''ll need time some think, only then will I be able to provide you with my answer."''

    "Very well, you make your decision. Meanwhile, I hope you wouldn''t mind the presence of the heir of whites in your territory?" Bai Yuyan asked,

    "Stay as long as you want, Virris will arrange everything for you. You can treat him as your personal handler during your stay, that''s the least I can do for you," Hugo said as Virris entered through the door. Following him were two guards wearing white suits with a badge of the silver dragon on their pockets. They were from the Whites.

    --------

    Last night, in frustration, Meloni had shots of alcohol with her friends on the lawn of her own house. Her aunt wasn''t sensitive when the topic was drinks, because she herself enjoyed them.

    And that is the reason why she overslept in the morning. Her head was throbbing with all the hangover, her force breath wasn''t strong enough to purify her body instantly.

    Slowly, she opened her eyes, lying on her bed. Wearing the usual oversized shirt, she placed her warm palms on her face, trying to collect herself together.

    Normally, she hears a lot of sounds, and sometimes when she''s not concentrating, it''s hard for her to differentiate which is which. Calming herself down, she got back to her senses and controlled her range. From the distant hum of the vehicles, to the fizzling of electricity, and then, her own room.

    She could hear the soft breaths of the little canary sleeping in its cage, the pages of her notebook flipping as it was somehow dropped on the floor. Her headphones were on, and the playlist she played last night was on loop.

    But then, she stared at her washroom door. The shower was running. She was sure no one uses her washroom; her friends left last night because Lia, one of her friends, was an expert drunk driver.

    Then she looked around, Ray wasn''t there.

    Then, someone turned the knob of the shower around, the sound of water dripping the floor like rain hitting the tiles, stopped.

    She heard the ruffles of the towel rubbing against the skin. With careful steps, Meloni opened up her cabinet, taking out her long tennis racket, which she barely ever used.

    And, with a click, the pink door of her washroom opened up. A young man in his mid-twenties with a long white feathered earring, curly black hair, toned with exceptional golden irises, stepped out of her washroom, wearing her pink bunny towel around his waist, and a hand towel hung on his shoulders. S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    He turned his head and looked at Meloni. With a scoff, he asked, "What''s up with the racket?"

    "Wh-who are you?" She asked.

    He squinted his brows, "I''ve been living with you all this while, and you don''t recognise my voice?" Raelion tilted his head and smirked, looking at her. "Are you really thinking of using that racket when your sound is obviously more than enough to kill a normal person?"

    "Ray?" She turned down the racket and was dazed. "You''re Raelion Morrigan?" She murmured. And then thought of the appearance of that little falcon. But the man standing in front of her was even taller than her.

    "..." Ray sighed and walked towards her. She stumbled on the side of the bed, her knees gave way as she sat on her unkept bed.

    "Ray..." He said out his own name in a low tone as Meloni crawled back on the bed, staring at him. He caught her leg and pulled her with her leg. "I am not really fond of that name. I was Ray, and I''ll be Ray."

    "Wait-" She called out.

    "Because..." He put both of her legs on his shoulder and stared down at her. "Raelion Morrigan is not someone really sane."

    "Alright! Now, back off," Meloni grunted, her face was turning red by the minute.

    "And what if I don''t?" He asked as he got on top of her.

    "You-" "If you don''t get off, I''ll rupture your genitals from inside by sending more than five hundred decibels of frequency," she said.

    "That does sound brutal," Ray murmured. "Aight~Aight~" He dropped his body, lying beside her. For Ray, it felt like decades and centuries had passed; this was the most refreshing shower he had had in his life.

    "Does that mean you''re completely healed? Since you can change back into your human form," Meloni asked as she got up and slid on her shorts.

    "No, it''s just temporary. But I had to transform. The ability to change into a falcon is complicated, if my sense of ''self'' deludes any longer, I might forget that I''m a human, not a falcon." Ray replied, looking at his hands.

    "Then...What about your clothes?" She asked, looking at his abdomen, she could barely keep her eyes off it.

    "I can just stay like this, you roam around naked all the time, what''s the problem with me being-" And just like every time, another pink flying pillow.

    "Asshole!" She grunted.