CHAPTER 26: The Energy That Changes
He placed one hand over the holographic map. His wings folded into light and vanished, and his eyes began to glow with divine fire. The energy in the room started to twist — even the computers flickered. Everyone stepped back.
"I will search for it myself," he said quietly.
A white pulse spread across the city map a wave of divine detection that could sense magic over miles. Darius eyes could see everything, his expression unreadable. His voice came out calm and deep.
"There's power near that school… but it's strange," he muttered as he pointed the location of kelvin school. "It keeps changing forms light, darkness, nature, chaos, even life and death. It's… unstable."
The officers stared at the screen as the energy signals flickered like heartbeat lines.
"Can you locate the user?" one of them asked.
"No," Darius replied simply. "Whoever it is… they are masking themselves, maybe they're using an S- rank artifact."
He straightened up. "I'll find them. But if this person loses control, your whole city could collapse in seconds."
The officer swallowed hard. "Then… what should we do?"
Darius turned, his eyes sharp. "You'll do nothing. Just pay me what was promised and double it if I find and stop the source."
Without another word, his wings burst open again, and he vanished through the ceiling in a flash of light.
AT THE SCHOOL
The bell rang loudly across the campus. Students ran out of class, laughing, shouting, and gossiping.
Among them walked Max, his backpack half-torn, his shoes covered in dust. He looked like someone who had stopped caring.
A group of boys followed him, grinning.
"Hey, Max! You still chasing after Grace?"
The tallest one laughed and shoved his shoulder. "She already told everyone she'd rather date the janitor than you!"
The others burst into laughter. Max tried to ignore them, but one of them snatched his bag. "Give it back!" Max shouted, trying to grab it, but they kept throwing it around like a game.
"Look at him, man," one of them said. "He's so weak he can't even defend himself."
Finally, they dropped the bag into a puddle. Max sighed and picked it up quietly. "You guys done?"
The boys laughed again and walked off.
" Too bad your loser friend kelvin got kidnapped, he would have been more fun to play with" One snared.
Max walked to a bench behind the school and sat down, staring at the wet bag. The rejection and bullying were normal for him. Every week, it was something new; someone insulting him, someone calling him a loser, someone pretending to be his friend only to make a joke later.
He remembered that morning when he finally tried to confess to Grace. He had written a letter not fancy, just simple words.
But when he gave it to her, she laughed. "You? Seriously?" she said in front of everyone.
The class laughed so loud that even the teacher heard it.
Now, he sat there alone, kicking a small rock, whispering under his breath. "I wish Kelvin was here…"
[Max POV]
Kelvin, the only person who had ever treated me like a real friend. We met back when he was still just a newbie in the school.
He used to help me with my test and assignment so we became roommates and best friends.
But then Kelvin left.
That crazy bastard left me with a stupid excuse that I had to improvise.
Although I know his coming back I had to lie to everybody that he got kidnapped, the only sensible excuse for someone who will be ditching school for three months.
Kelvin usually gets bullied the most because of his naive and child-like behavior and now that his gone the bullies are now coming for me.
[Third person POV]
Max sighed and put his hand on his head
"kelvin hope you have a good story when you come back."
MEANWHILE.
Inside a dark warehouse at the edge of the city, the air was thick and still. Broken windows rattled every time the wind passed through, and the only light came from a single hanging bulb that flickered like it could die at any moment.
At the center of the room was a corner with strange glowing light that seemed to be buried.
Under it, the egg that had been silent for days began to shake. A small crack formed on its surface. Then another. The sound was soft, like glass breaking under a pillow.
The crack spread until a thin line of pale light slipped out from inside. The egg pulsed once, as if something alive was breathing inside it. Then it broke open.
A small piece rolled onto the dusty floor, followed by a faint, wet sound. Something was moving inside, slow and crawling. It pressed against the edge of the shell and then slid out of the ground.
For a moment, the bulb above flickered again, throwing light and shadow across the floor as the creature moved. What came out was long, dark, and shiny, but its body seemed to change shape each time the light blinked. When the light steadied, it wasn't there anymore. Only a trail of thin, glowing marks led into the shadows, like something had dragged a line of light across the floor before disappearing completely.
The warehouse went silent again. Then, from the dark corner, a faint clicking sound echoed.
Creek....Creewk...CREEE
The unknown creature began eating, absorbing and digesting all the artifact stored there.
It's movement soo fast no one could notice it's presence and when it was filled and satisfied it decided to find its master.
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At the school, Max sat alone on a bench, still thinking about Kelvin. His wet bag rested by his leg, and he kept staring at the ground. His mind was full of memories and questions. Why did Kelvin leave so suddenly? Why did everything fall apart after that?
He stood up and walked toward the hostel area, dragging his steps through puddles. When he turned the corner near the back building, he froze.
Grace was there. The same Grace who had rejected him in front of everyone. She was standing with a few boys and two girls under a broken street light. They were talking quietly, but Max heard his name.
He stayed hidden behind the wall.
"I didn't want to embarrass him," Grace said. Her voice was shaky. "I wasn't going to say no to his letter, but you all kept saying he's a loser. You told me he'd ruin my reputation if I did."
One of the boys snorted. "Come on, Grace. You can't go out with someone like that. Everyone would laugh at you for weeks."
Another boy leaned closer to her. "Then again, if you really feel bad for him, you can make it up to us another way."
Grace stepped back. "Don't touch me."
The boys laughed. One of the girls smirked. "Grace, just drop it. He's not worth it."
Max clenched his fist so hard his knuckles turned white. His chest burned. He wanted to run in there and scream, but something inside him moved first.
He raised his hand without thinking. A spark flashed in his palm. Then a small ball of fire appeared, glowing like a burning marble. It grew to the size of a tennis ball.
Before he realized what he was doing, it shot forward.
It hit the first boy right on the head, making him fall back with a yelp. Smoke rose from his hair.
Everyone froze. Grace turned and gasped. The boys stared at Max.
He stepped out of the shadows, his eyes dark and shaking with anger. "Stay away from her."
"Oh look what we have here " One said as he pointed him to the other. "We've got fat Max here to have his revenge."
"I'm going to beat all of you up," he said rage clouding his judgement.
Then the boys started laughing.
"Beat us up? You?" one of them said. "Don't make me laugh. You're still the same loser as before."
Max didn't answer. The fire in his hand flickered again.
The laughter grew louder.
And Max couldn't hold back his anger