He was a Witchcaster? He, Marcus Moon, now had wizard powers? This had to be some sort of joke.
Believing the supernatural existed was one thing—he'd seen them with his own eyes. Saying he'd been cursed was another thing he cojc ml lots mluld believe if the past ten years really existed. But that he now had powers?
That was a stretch too far.
Yet, despite how big a leap it was, everything he'd experienced thus far: the flaming girl, the giant frog, the fact that he was... alive. They wouldn't let him believe it was a joke.
"H-how?"
"The specifics are much more complex than you could understand right now. We ourselves can't fully pinpoint exactly why either—only theories," said the man.
"It could've been the moment you touched the soul stone or when you were inside that thing's mouth—but the fact that you were alive long enough for us to get you back here and heal you is proof enough," said the girl.
Marcus sat with a mix of emotions. Excitement was the strongest of them, then crippling caution, and then sizzling anger.
If everything these people said was true, then he'd be able to kill even more OCs—twice as easily. He could find that man and make him apologise in front of his dad's grave.
But he couldn't shake the feeling they hadn't told him everything.
His grades might've been below average, but he wasn't stupid. No-one, especially the government, would treat his injuries and offer so much information for free. They wanted something; he just didn't know what.
The thought pissed him off.
Where was the CC ten years ago when a six-year-old had to watch his father get ripped to pieces!? Where were they when he had to stomach down raw flesh from sewer creatures just to survive!? Where were they for the past ten years!?
"So what do you want with me?"
"You're a smart kid, I bet you can put two and two together," said the girl.
"You want me to join you?" he asked like the invitation was insulting. Why else would they take him to their base and explaine so much?
It didn't make sense for them to just go, "Oh hey, we saved you and you're a wizard. You can go home now." They clearly wanted something from him. But what?
"Naturally," said the man. "Your life has changed forever, even more than it did when you discovered the supernatural. You'll need guidance adjusting to your abilities and new life. If we let you go as you are, you could be a danger to society at large—especially your mother."
His mother?… He might hurt people?!
"So what? I'll set myself on fire by accident and burn the house down?" As soon as the words left his mouth, he saw a flash of anger on the girl's face.
Seems he struck a chord.
"You aren't capable of doing that as you are, and only time will tell if you'll be able to. But right now you're a walking weapon. And without proper training, you'll be an ignorant kid walking around with a ballistic missile."
Marcus paused, thinking.
He understood the analogy. It reminded him of the first time he hunted an OC: he'd stolen a pistol from Redrick's dad—a police officer—and tracked down a goblin.
Young, naive Marcus didn't know that goblins travelled in packs, or that shooting a gun required actual training and wasn't just a point-and-go-bang experience like the movies made it look. The image of the goblins chasing him with his own gun after he'd popped his shoulder trying to hit one gave him nightmares for months.
His anger was the only reason he'd pushed forward after that. Not even the hungry or pains.
"Who are you guys? And where the hell did a giant Loveland frog come from?"
The man scribbled something down on his clipboard. "My name is Parks," he gestured to the girl beside him, "her name is River. We're Witch—"
"Witchcasters, I know. But why was a Loveland frog that big? I've seen big OCs before, but Loveland frogs are four-foot-tall humanoid scum, not thirty-foot skyscrapers." He still wasn't used to saying 'OC'.
River tossed her gaze to the side. "Soul stones are valuable—and powerful. Some bad Witchcasters got hold of a bunch of 'em and we were deployed to deal with 'em and retrieve the soul stones before something bad happened.
"Our fight got out of hand and they fed a normal-sized Loveland frog a butt-load of soul stones. And then it… blew up," she said, her face contorted as if she didn't understand what she was saying.
"Soul stones can do that?"
"No," said Parks. "These 'bad' Witchcasters are experimenting with them for their own ends, weaponising OCs in their operations."
"Why?"
"We're unsure for now. But—"
"It doesn't matter where, why, or what they're doing! Whatever it is, it's going to end in more dead bodies if we can't stop them." River snapped.
"That's enough, River."
Marcus noted the obvious displeasure on her face. She clicked her tongue and turned away. He turned to the table.
"So the soul stone I absorbed… how dangerous is it?" If he'd wake up a giant one morning, that would definitely be a problem.
"Soul stones don't change OCs drastically like they did with the massive frog, but they do strengthen OCs significantly. Reason being why OCs are attracted to soul stones.
"That," Parks said, pointing at the soul stone on the table, "isn't one of the augmented ones, and neither is the one you absorbed. Your body will, and has already undergone massive changes. If something drastic was supposed to happen, it would've happened already."
"So I'm safe?"
"Yes," said Parks.
"No-one's safe…" River whispered under her breath.
He believed Parks so far, but River's last comment and general attitude made him second guess this whole thing.
Obviously, she was still hurting from her teammates' deaths, and in all honesty, thinking about it got him worked up too.
He could still feel the warmth of each body he'd carried on his skin. Four teengaers—three guys and a girl—that's how many lost their lives fighting that damned frog.
And the more he learnt about this 'CC' the more he began to despise them.
'Humanity's protectors,' they called them. So why the hell were teenagers fighting these OCs instead of adults!?
River didn't seem like she was being kept here against her will. If she was, he'd be already planning their escape from this place—wherever it was.
But she seemed angry at something.
Something more than her comrades' deaths.
The government wasn't afraid to lie when they needed to, so if the CC were the bad guys they'd never admit to it.
There was still too much he didn't know—too much he wasn't sure of. He grabbed the soul stone from the table as fast as he could.
Parks grabbed his wrist "Put it down, Marcus." Marcus's grip tightened, defiance in his eyes. "I know there's still a lot we haven't told you, but I will take that soul stone by force if I have to."
"You guys basically kidnap me and handcuff me to a bed to tell me I'm a wizard, and you expect me to just eat it all up and join you?"
"We are not the enemy—"
"You are to me if you—"
"Kid," River looked tense, "chill out, and put the soul stone down—"
"Would you quit it with the 'kid' already!? What are you? Secretly a thousand-year-old fire spirit?"
Everyone paused after hearing that.
Parks and River exchanged confused looks.
"None of you watch any anime?—"
"Marcus!" Parks squeezed his hand tighter. It felt like his wrist would snap in two. "Drop it!"
Marcus opened his palm and caught the soul stone in his other hand. "Like hell I will!"