Organisations 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,"
"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."