By the time Orion finished recounting his tale, even Elena's expression had softened slightly. Kalen looked thoughtful; Bastion looked torn between pride and exasperation.
It was clear they believed him - mostly. But one question remained.
"How did you get into the Veil?" Kalen asked suddenly.
Orion blinked. "The… what now?"
"The Veil," Kalen repeated. "That realm you were in. It overlaps with our world, invisible to ordinary humans. Exorcists use keys or gateways to travel between the two."
"Right…" Orion muttered. "So it's like some kind of supernatural Wi-Fi network that only you guys can connect to?"
No one laughed. Kalen's gaze was sharp. "You weren't marked, and you don't have spirit energy. That means you shouldn't even be able to see demons or be able to enter the Veil, let alone force your way in."
Bastion stepped in, folding his arms. "Forcibly opening a rift between worlds is forbidden. It lets demons through - they can possess or curse people who can't even see them. But we have detectors set up all over the place to catch that kind of disturbance..."
Kalen nodded. "If you'd somehow forced your way in, we would've been alerted instantly. And if you had a key, that would make you very suspicious. Keys aren't something just anyone can get. Perhaps your friend, the Warlock, lent you one?"
'Friend?' Orion thought, fighting a smirk. 'Does he really think I hang out with some dark magician exorcist on weekends?'
He shrugged casually. "You've still got your truth spell thing active, right? So you know I'm not lying when I say I have no idea how I got there. I just found out what the Veil is, and I still don't really understand what it is. One second, I was picking up my pizza delivery, the next there's a giant claw ripping through my house."
His bluntness caught them off guard. Elena glanced at Bastion, who rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. Kalen's eyes narrowed, his mind clearly racing.
Orion sighed, proving your innocence when you were innocent really was a hassle.
"Look, I didn't know demons or exorcists even existed until a few hours ago. I didn't know you were one either, Bastion. I thought you were just-" he gestured vaguely at his brother "-you know, a gym freak who got up to no good."
Bastion scowled. "You what?"
"Can you blame me? You're built like a tank and disappear for weeks, sometimes even months, without contact. It was either steroids, crime, or most likely both."
Elena's lips twitched - was that a suppressed laugh? She hid it well.
Kalen crossed his arms. "Be that as it may, your existence inside the Veil is an anomaly. Until we determine how it happened, you remain under watch."
"Of course I do," Orion muttered. "Because apparently existing's a crime now."
The binding vow still thrummed faintly in his chest, the pressure like a second heartbeat. He wanted it gone.
Elena must've sensed it because she raised her hand and murmured something under her breath. The invisible grip loosened, and Orion exhaled in relief.
She turned to the others, who nodded their heads in understanding.
"Give us a moment. We'll return shortly," she said to Orion, who sighed.
"Sure, take your time. It's not going anywhere."
As the three of them exited the cell, the door slid shut behind them, leaving a spotless metal wall, which fascinated Orion.
The engineering behind that didn't even make sense, but logic went out of the window when it came to the supernatural. He didn't dwell on it and slumped back against the wall.
Finally, there was silence.
'So, demons are real. Exorcists exist. My brother's built like a Greek god because he actually fights monsters for a living. And I've somehow been dragged into all of this because of… what, a floating eyeball and a cursed pizza order?'
He groaned and rubbed his temples. 'Happy eighteenth birthday to me.'
The walls of the metal cell hummed faintly, and his reflection stared back - utterly bewildered.
"Great," he muttered aloud. "Now I'm being interrogated by 3 exorcists, one of whom is my brother. I don't even understand what they suspect me of.'
But despite it all, he couldn't deny that above all else, he was filled with curiosity, fascination, and excitement. Not to mention the Exorcist System lingering in the back of his mind, which he couldn't wait to get back to using.
Thankfully, it seemed as though his interrogation was over, at least for the most part. All that was left was to decide what to do with the youth who was flung into the supernatural.
His fate was in the hands of the odd trio, and Orion wasn't sure he trusted their judgement very much...