It was a skyscraper, the building that the group had chosen as their new "hideout." It had about fifty floors in total, which wasn't that high compared to the average heights of this type of building, as they were typically over seventy floors most times.
Due to their absurd heights, most skyscrapers were usually outlandish structures, a living piece of creativity. The Fralles Ne Fragranc Hotel was an example of the bizarre concept behind such vast structures, having a branching form that spread out like the branches of a tree, with the main body of the structure itself being exceedingly thick.
Every single time a new skyscraper was created, the first thought that'd come to anyone's mind was usually, "Yep, he definitely was on that architectural high."
"Architectural high" was a slang term used to refer to when architects decided to make the greatest use of their free will.
This specific skyscraper that Jane had chosen to be their new "hideout" was one of those created by an individual on a high quantity of "architectural high." Although not as outlandish as Fralles Ne Fragranc, it still had its own eccentric features.
Deni Blanc had a somewhat hollow internal layout. A vast majority of the space within was made into something akin to a cylindrical skeletal system of support beams and rods.
When seen from above, Deni Blanc had the general shape of a five-clover leaf. Each protrusion of the clover was a balcony.
On one of such balconies, three individuals were currently in a heated discussion.
"It happened again, Jane. It has already happened not just once, but twice, Isabella! He is an unpredictable factor. Why the hell are we still making any excuses for him? The choice is blatantly obvious!" Adam slammed his fist on the guardrail in anger.
"Not making any excuses here, Adam. I'm merely stating the truth of what happened. He caused no true casualty. The only casualty was Alexander Warren. This, we already had as our intention. We never had any intentions of reforming that monstrosity. Andrew did nothing else after that. Even though Fragr is currently in ruin, this was mainly due to his clash with Alexander, not intentional destruction. So no, Andrew actually brought no harm this time. In fact, we could say he is the reason we won. Those things you still call people, Adam, are nothing but thralls. They have no soul. You wouldn't even call them 'people' had you seen what I saw," Isabella explained calmly, her expression unchanged in the face of the mounting pressure.
"But was he under your control? The Andrew that terminated Alexander didn't do it on your order. What if he had decided to turn against you? What if he had turned his aggression towards you, Isabella? I will say this once again, Andrew is an unpredictable factor that we have to take out of the equation. Isn't our entire goal to either pacify or terminate all chaos and bring order? Andrew can't be reformed. You were only lucky to have survived this time. The next time, we might all be at risk, and when that time comes – and it definitely will – which one of us can contend against his force? None!" Adam pointed out. He had calmed down as he tried to explain the rationality behind his opinion. He just couldn't understand what was so hard to comprehend about it. The Isabella he knew wouldn't have blatantly ignored logic the way this one was doing.
What happened to you? The question flickered through his mind before Jane's voice sounded.
"Isabella is indeed not wrong about one thing. Without Andrew there, she'd never have had the chance to terminate a terrifying threat like Alexander alone. Adam, you are also making a very good argument on your side. But for now, we'll unfortunately have to leave the matter of Andrew for another time. The newcomers should be our main focus. A Scion of the 'Fraglariss' House and an orphan. Interesting, to say the least." Jane was seated on a couch, the kind that could be found on all the balconies in this building.
Adam had a frown on his face since he knew Jane had made her choice known. Nothing was to be done about Andrew for now. He didn't understand how such a dangerous variable with an unbelievably volatile nature could be allowed to exist. He wanted to refute their decision, but it was two against one. There was no use in doing that.
"Tell us everything you know about them." Jane sat up to grab the cup of coffee on the table next to her.
Taking a sip, her blue eyes, hiding mysteries, raised to stare at Isabella.
*****
"The cafeteria is kinda nice. They still have some ingredients left. I thought nothing was going to be there, but it seems they are still stocked," Talen said to no one in particular as he left the kitchen of the cafeteria with three plates in hand.
"Who wants to eat? I know y'all must be starving. I've got some high-quality sandwiches here. Not to brag, but they are one of a kind," Talen announced as he walked toward the two individuals sitting at two different tables.
He reached Warwick first and placed a plate in front of him. "Enjoy."
"This is the most basic sandwich, Talen," Warwick said, unimpressed. A smile found its way to his face as he grabbed the sandwich and began munching on it.
"Made with a secret ingredient, bro. Do not be deceived by its mundane form." Talen chuckled as he walked past him and moved to Andrew, who wasn't far from where Warwick sat; about four steps away, to be exact.
"Yours." That was all Talen said. What more could he say to such a person? His understanding of who or what Andrew was had been shaken in a way he didn't think he'd ever recover from.
"Thank you," Andrew said with a smile.
Talen turned around and walked back to where Warwick sat. On the way there, he pulled a seat with him. Placing his food on Warwick's table, he set the chair down and sat.
"So, Talen, you haven't introduced yourself," Warwick said. He had finished his sandwich and was now leaning back in his seat.
"Um, let me finish this quickly, and then the rest of us can start with the introductions." While he bit into his sandwich, his eyes sneaked a glance at Andrew.
After two minutes, Talen wiped his lips with his thumb as he swallowed the last bite. "Shall we?"
"Go ahead," Warwick smiled.
"Ok, let's do this. Promise you won't overreact, ok?"
"Why would I overreact? This is just a simple introduction about yourself. I don't understand why you'd say such a thing, but I promise anyway," Warwick said, shrugging as he brought the cup of coffee Jane had offered earlier to his lips.
"Hmm, since I have your word…" Talen hesitated for a bit as memories flashed through his mind. Eventually, he steeled himself and spoke.
"I'm Talen Fraglariss."
Silence. No, the faint sound of Andrew quietly chewing could still be heard.
Talen and Warwick stared into each other's eyes. No words seemed like they would be uttered anytime soon.
"The Fraglariss?" Warwick asked, confused.
"Um-hmm." In the moment it took Talen to make that response, Warwick had already blasted off his seat, diving over the table between them as he closed the distance instantly.
"This is exactly why I didn't want to say anything," Talen sighed as Warwick grabbed him by the collar of his shirt.
"Do you know what you people have done? Do you know how many lives you could have saved but chose not to because of that twisted superiority complex of yours? You people aren't humans; you're monstrosities wearing a human facade. Monsters." There was a wrath in his voice that Talen had grown all too familiar with whenever he revealed his identity.
"What now? What are you going to do, Warwick? Kill me for what my people have done? Go ahead." Talen didn't put up any resistance; he merely stared into Warwick's eyes without the slightest bit of fear.
"You won't. You can't do it, Warwick." Talen grabbed the hand that held him by the collar and pushed it away. "Because you promised them that you won't use your powers for evil."
The air grew tense, but silence reigned.
"Your death would be for a greater good, Fiend of Fraglariss. But I shan't. Though your kind are defiling fiends, I hope you aren't the same. You don't give me the impression of a Fraglariss, and I hope it will remain that way. I know 'Talen' and not 'Talen Fraglariss'." The tension disappeared as Warwick took a step back.
"Oh, and pleased to make your acquaintance, Talen."
Throughout this entire incident, Andrew merely watched from the sidelines without the slightest intent to interfere. His gaze showed nonchalance as if the matter was akin to the bickering of younglings.
"And you? I hope you don't mind introducing yourself?" Warwick suddenly turned to Andrew.
"Andrew Starfield," he answered as he lifted his mercury-like eyes to meet Warwick's.
"You are interesting, Andrew." Warwick began walking toward him, while Andrew stared back with a slight frown as he approached.
"This isn't a good idea, but fuck it," Talen mumbled to himself as he grabbed a seat and moved to join them.
"Really? What about me could you possibly find interesting?" Andrew played oblivious.
Warwick pulled out a seat and sat down. "Everything. Your powers... they don't seem too similar to ours. You know what I mean, like your ability doesn't seem to be among the thirteen options," Warwick said vaguely.
"Fifteen. There were fifteen options," Talen corrected as he joined them at the table.
"Huh? No, I can clearly remember there being only thirteen options." Warwick frowned, adamant about the number.
"Nah, Talen's indeed right. There are fifteen options. If I had to guess, the remaining two you're unfamiliar with are my abilities," Andrew replied.
An expression of bewilderment appeared on Warwick's face. "What? Then how am I unaware of this? I only saw thirteen options."
"This is quite common. Most Chosens I've interacted with, which isn't a lot, are actually unaware that it's fifteen and not thirteen. It's still a mystery why there's such a discrepancy," Talen shrugged.
"Leave solving that mystery for later. There's a mystery we can solve this instant, and I yearn for those answers. What are your abilities, Andrew?" Warwick's tone was full of curiosity, his gaze seeming to stare into Andrew's soul.
"Visionary and Self-Causality Manipulation. I don't have much idea how they work though. It's only now that I've begun to grasp Self-Causality Manipulation. As for Visionary, I don't have the slightest idea what it does. Sometimes I question my choices." Andrew gave a chuckle that sounded like self-deprecation.
"Wow. Now I'm even more intrigued. I don't know if this is asking too much considering we just met, but you said you've started grasping your Self-Causality Manipulation. Could you please explain it? Of course, you can't give such information for free. In exchange, I'll explain my Adaptation," Warwick offered. He really was curious.
"Hmm, this is a very good deal. I think you should agree, Andrew," Talen leaned toward him and whispered. Warwick still heard him, considering Talen merely had the pose of whispering; his voice was anything but a whisper.
"You aren't offering anything too? Since you'll be listening, you should also offer something, Talen." Warwick caught him before he could freeload on their exchange.
"Of course, of course... I'll give some information pertaining to my own abilities in exchange." Talen sighed with a false sad expression.
"But before that, gentlemen," Talen stood up promptly. "A cup of coffee and some side dish would be great for this conversation of ours, don't you think so too?"
"Indeed!" Both Warwick and Andrew replied.
Together, they left to prepare something for themselves.
*****
"At least they aren't trying to kill each other," Ashran muttered as he stared at his monitor, which showed multiple live CCTV feeds of what was happening within the Deni Blanc building.
"And Andrew is still Andrew," James added from the side. He seemed busy with something.
"True," Ashran laughed. "So, how's it coming along? You got everything prepared?"
"According to my estimate, it should be ready in five minutes," James answered.
"Alright then," Ashran replied, turning his attention back to the screens to continue observing what was happening inside Deni Blanc.
*****
"I learned one thing about corruption today, and that's that we really don't know what it is.
Corruption, though often tied to negativity, isn't necessarily about tainting something in a bad way. That's more in the realm of Defilement.
Another misconception is that everyone assumes corruption moves slowly. No, it doesn't! Absolutely not!
Corruption, from what I've experienced, can take many forms. I can't even begin to list all its possible natures.
But one thing is certain; corruption is a lesser component of Change. The essence of Change pervades it, and like Change, it's neutral in its alignment.
To be blunt, you could even say corruption is simply the other face of Change… and that wouldn't be wrong.
Anyway, I still have a lot more to learn.
Eternity, Judgment, Death, Mundanity, Profanity, Fear, Pain; these are all things I still need to understand better.
I think two Epochs should be enough… right? Right?!"
—Ascendant Larlnazra, Records Of The "Children".