As reluctant as Everlearn felt, something in his heart told him her words were genuine and held their meaning.
He couldn't understand what she was hinting at — the path to growth being a system, and the system itself being a chessboard.
All seemed like very complicated mysteries from the lenses he could see through, but he felt it regardless.
That helped him lower his brewing thoughts of running away.
"What am I to do on the mission? What is my task?" he asked, watching her exhale as she turned to him, a slight smile on her lips.
"Why are you in a haste? Nervous?" she asked, watching him shake his head.
"I'm not nervous. I just prefer to prepare myself for things long enough before they happen. If we're going on a mission, which sounds destructive like you said, then I have to prepare for it before it happens."
She paused for a while before she exhaled.
"You're the thinker type, though I suppose that is reasonable," she said before shrugging.
"I have no plan, neither has the location to where the serum is been sent to me. Most likely, it will be known tomorrow, and we might embark the next day."
Ryuk's brow creased. That explained nothing.
"The only thing you need to prepare is your mind. Keep it sharp to receive instructions and don't get a headache on the day of the mission. Keep these two things, and you may be fine," she said without much bother.
Ryuk hummed silently. That was all he wanted to ask.
With that known, he remained silent, and both of them stayed atop the roof.
Rapidly, hours passed by and soon it became the dark of night, though that was hard to sense, for in the sky there were three moons, all shining brightly and at their full.
Besides, the mansion was illuminated, keeping things bright.
Ash eventually opened her eyes, noticing she had burned her box of cigarettes to the end.
She looked forward and found him staring silently at the far side of the place.
Rising to her feet, he seemed to sense the disturbance, and Everlearn turned to find her stepping away from the balcony.
"The house doesn't belong to me," she suddenly said. "It's in the organization's name, and simply dedicated to me for this mission. So don't be shy about using anything at all. Stay in whatever bedroom you desire and use any amenities you want, including the kitchen."
"Just two things," she said, pausing slightly when she reached the steps downwards. "Don't exit the main gate, and don't come close to the room labeled 1. That's all."
Her footsteps disappeared down the stairs, leaving Everlearn alone.
He sat silently, looking at where she had disappeared before reclining back upon the seat, exhaling softly.
His thoughts had been drifting here and there.
In a way, he was still numb to it — the quick change in the trajectory of the life he had planned out.
All he had wanted was to become a great mech designer. Studying hard to get good records that could place him in better schools.
Everything went smoothly, and his project in Mechara ought to have been a major push that would drive him into the beginning of becoming truly great in the field.
Yet, it had been the end of him.
And now, he was in Mechara, about to head on a mission he knew nothing of, with a potential path of joining a highly secretive organization.
Things were moving fast, and what was scary was that this wasn't how he planned things to happen.
"So life trajectories can really change beyond how we plan them, huh?" he thought, rising to his feet and closing in towards the railings that guarded the top.
From here, he could see more of Mechara — flying cars blitzing past the roads and larger buses below. Holographics filled the skies with models advertising objects and news.
Even at night, it was bustling with energy.
"Less scary than I thought," he mused beneath his breath. "Or maybe it's too early to judge."
Everlearn remained atop the roof for a long while, but when the night deepened, the cold came. In the end, he descended down, disappearing into the mansion.
Two Days Later
STEP.STEP.STEP.
The sound of footsteps echoed through the streets, drowned out by the sound of cars zooming past and other feet walking by his side.
It was around 8 PM in the evening, and among the crowds of Nvidians walking on the street, there was a figure that almost blended perfectly with the crowd.
He was a young man in a simple blue T-shirt with gray arm sleeves, wearing baggy gray jeans and a black cap over his face.
His face was slightly bent to the ground as he walked at the pace of the crowd. After about twenty minutes on the sidewalk, he took a sudden turn between the corners of two smaller homes.
The figure walked deeper into the alleyway, finding nothing but a dead end. There, he paused and raised his face.
It was none other than Everlearn.
His hands reached into his pockets, and he brought out a tiny dark pod, implanting it on his right ear.
Tapping it twice, it blinked a red light, and Ryuk spoke.
"I am there."
"Climb up…" the voice instructed, and Everlearn raised his head up.
The buildings on both sides were roughly the same size — about twenty meters tall.
Turning to look back at where he came from, the people continued their movement, not looking his way.
In the next moment, Everlearn took three simple steps backward before he suddenly sprinted toward the dead end.
Jumping up, he rose to four meters in height, kicking off against the wall and flying higher to seven meters.
His hands grabbed a balcony iron bar, and he swung himself upward for two meters, landing with both feet on an iron rail before kicking off once more to grab a random edge.
Three more jumps and grabs, and he was thrown high into the air, rolling twice before he landed crouched upon the roof.
"I'm up."
"You're not alone. Neutralize them."