CHAPTER 52: GHOST TOWN.

Doran’s street.

It was an hour to sunset. Kneeling in front of Hadrian was a rank one space path mage.

He was a mage of short stature and robust build. Their fight and chase had ended up in this alley and Hadrian summoned a similar rock dome.

The mage looked up to the two youths in front of him, who’d overpowered him, his breaths heavy.

"Done?" The girl asked.

The mage sighed in defeat.

"They told us you might come."

"I came." Hadrian said with a smile.

The mage shifted, but a moment later winced as the rock moulded around his body pressed harder on him.

"Not done, I see." Alia said.

"What is it you want?" The mage spat.

"Where are they?" Alia asked.

He’d been back here looking for clues for Haldon’s whereabouts, and in two days, this was actually the first mage he’d seen.

"Where do you think? you ugly bitch."

The mage’s face had a twisted look.

"Why thank you." Alia said.

It must be embarrassing, and an attack on his manhood, to be bested by fifteen year olds.

Hadrian thought.

Well, ever since Hadrian started turning people into vessels and rewriting the vessels bodies, age wasn’t such a direct thing to him.

Alia squeezed him harder with the rock and the mage let out a groan through gritted teeth.

Turning the mage into a vessel would only give him glimpses of memories, and it might not be the memories he needed. So, questioning like this was best.

After a few more curses and groans, the mage finally broke.

"Fine.... " he said with sharp breaths, "fine, I’ll tell you. Just.... "

"Promise to let you go? Sure." Hadrian cut him off.

The mage took a few more breaths to calm himself.

"The Registrar." He said. "They’ve gone to the central district to comply with the decree.... "

Hadrian wasn’t really surprised.

A pardon of all past crimes and a role in restructured governance isn’t a bad deal at all.

Central district.... Huh.

"Have you already sworn the oath?"

"No." The mage answered, swallowing.

"Then why are you still here?"

"We had to make sure business wasn’t affected."

"We?" Hadrian raised an eyebrow.

"Only a handful. We would go on the next rotation." the mage said, calmer than before, but still struggling to speak.

Alia relaxed the pressing of the rock.

"And your mob’s top brass went in the first rotation?"

The mages lips were parted and brow slightly furrowed, he looked to not know how to respond.

Taking some steps to the left and away from the mage, Hadrian laughed.

"Am I free to go?" The mage muttered.

"No." Alia said.

"But you said."

Hadrian’s lips pressed together and he shrugged.

"At my current state, it seems I can’t have too many mage vessels."

The mage’s brows furrowed. "Vessels?"

Hadrian seemed to ignore him. "You see, while I don’t rise in rank like other mages, I think I have my own tiers to climb."

"Before, when it was just basic lifeforms, it felt limitless. But now, with rank two cores, there seems to be a threshold until I break into my next tier."

The mage’s heart drummed in his chest.

"So you see, I’m better off taking your core."

Saying this, the rock moulded around the mage’s chest extended a sharp rock spear through the mage’s throat.

Hadrian’s eyes twitched.

The rock dome broke down and cool air blew on his skin. Under the dome, it hadn’t been hard for Hadrian to breathe since his vessels outside could breathe for him.

I suppose that’s why the mage seemed to struggle to speak. I’d actually forgotten to note such a thing.

A few minutes later, he watched as the manifestation of the mage’s essence core rose from his corpse.

The main Hadrian vessel walked up closer and grabbed it in his hand.

With physical touch like this, the disorientation effect was stronger. It was a space path rank one core.

He studied its physical manifestation for a moment then called at its essence.

The main Hadrian vessel, who carried the other rank one space path core, could accommodate this second one since they won’t repel each other.

It seems I’ll have to make use of Baruch going for that oath.

As he made his way to a restaurant, his consciousness descended into Baruch.

It wasn’t that Hadrian was respectable in not keeping his eye on Baruch every hour of the day, but Baruch liked to indulge himself, and Hadrian would rather not watch.

After his encounter with Hadrian, it seemed that Baruch was rejuvenated with life.

Even now, he prayed not to catch him in the act.

Currently, Baruch was outside Hadrian’s control range, in the next district over which Hadrian had run to after the fight with Haldon.

To his luck, Baruch was having dinner with his family.

Initially, Hadrian had been scared to "speak" to Baruch, since he wasn’t sure which voice Baruch would hear.

When Hadrian thought to himself, he thought in his own voice, or in the voice he thought sounded like him.

If he tried "speaking" to Baruch and it was the voice of a child, it would only be embarrassing.

Luckily, he’d found a way through this.

He could simply show Baruch "revelations" through mind images.

...

Baruch ate his food, in a rather dissociated state from the conversation being held on the long table when suddenly, his spoon dropped into his soup.

The others turned to him.

Baruch cleared his throat, dismissive of the looks they gave him and spoke.

"I’m a mage, and I’ll be going to swear the oath tomorrow."

Now, it was the turn for the rest on the table to have the stupified looks.

"While you might still act like a child, I’ll remind you you’re twenty years old, well past the age of awakening." His uncle said.

He was a man with short cut hair, and looked to be in his forties.

A short laugh travelled through the table.

One of the reasons Baruch had not told them the past two weeks, was simply because he had not wanted more responsibility to be given to him.

As the laughter died and the clanking of spoon on bowls resumed, Baruch raised his hand and twisted it in a disgusting unnatural manner.

There were screeches of seats as some stood up with gasps.