CHAPTER 140: SILENCE

‎Aisha stared at the young assassin in stunned disbelief.

Xander soundlessly fell through the air, landing on his feet near Jamil with uncanny ease.

‎Jamil’s broken body lay lifelessly on the broken remains of the top floor of the Vogue, a growing pool of blood spreading beneath it from the gruesome injuries marring his body.

Of course, there was no coming back from this.

No talent in the world could revive the dead, at least none she’d heard of. And she was quite sure no Talented could recklessly expose such an ability to the World.

It’d sow unnecessary chaos and pandemonium.

‎Xander nonchalantly stood over the bleeding body, meticulously cleaning his blades, then sheathing them a moment later.

‎It was easy to forget that, despite his young age, Xander was a novice.

The young man’s calm demeanor and attitude could easily allow him to blend in with the rest of the teenagers his age without much fuss.

But beneath that guise resided an inhuman level of deadliness.

‎And while his level of control over umbralis was still undergoing refinement, very few assassins reached the level of novice. It could only be achieved by the best of the best, even among the Talented scions.

That feat alone spoke volumes about the youth standing before her.

"I wonder what the Videntis were thinking when they agreed to this..."

Jamil’s gutted body was a testament, a grim reminder of the deadliness of the Brotherhood of Shadows even in the light of their agreement with the Talented.

‎The youth casually turned his head, staring at Aisha with an easy-going smile.

‎The street below them was empty and strangely devoid of people.

‎Aisha’s calm mask was back in place

‎"Why did you come back?" Aisha asked, descending slowly to the broken rooftop.

‎Xander shrugged, slowly making his way to where she stood.

‎"We had unfinished business, he and I, and I hate to leave things to chance. Besides, I watched part of the fight. With all due respect, you did well, but he was much stronger. "

‎Aisha sighed, shaking her head slightly.

‎" While I appreciate the effort, our only lead is dead. Is there anything you have to say for yourself?"

‎Xander smiled, his eyes gleaming with a mischievous light.

‎" To be frank, you wanted him dead. After what I heard about your niece, I know that much. So there’s that..."

‎Aisha’s expression betrayed no emotion at the mention of Layla.

‎"Of course, since you’re the leader of the Zolaris branch, we can’t have you looking bad, it’d look in poor taste, if you murdered the scumbag out of righteous anger, but if I did it, well, then, an inexperienced tag-along assassin like myself..."

‎Xander grinned, raising his arms in a slight shrug.

‎"A costly blunder on my end, but a blunder nonetheless. Shall we say it was self-defense, yes? Albeit overzealously at that."

‎Aisha silently stared at the young man for a while, the light in her eyes dimming.

‎She quietly retrieved her glasses from a breast pocket, elegantly hiding her eyes from sight.

‎Seeing this, Xander continued speaking.

‎" And if it’s leads we need, I know somewhere we can get plenty of leads," the youth said with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

"The boy is right, sister. "

A green-eyed man in a suit calmly approached the two, casually gliding over the rubble and debris.

Xander calmly watched the man approach, his easy-going smile remaining in place.

The man’s striking resemblance to Aisha was undeniable.

"Your brother, I presume?" He murmured.

Aisha nodded.

" Xander, allow me to introduce you to Jax Lorke. He’s part of the bureaucracy."

"I’m also her darling little brother, and she cares about me more than she lets on. But enough chitchat, I’ll handle the mess here; you’d best get going. Those leads aren’t going to catch themselves," Jax said with a smirk.

‎Getting back to the old warehouse had been a piece of cake.

‎And now Aisha stood in front of Norvax, facing off against the beaten woman in front of him.

‎"There’s no need to prolong this fight any longer, Candace Red. The man you serve, Jamil, has been defeated."

‎The younger woman’s eyes widened slightly, her determined expression transforming into one of shock.

‎" How does she know my name? I didn’t feel any breach in my mental defenses... And what does she mean Jamil has been defeated?"

‎A faint smile appeared on Aisha’s face.

‎"It’s the gap in our abilities, child. Your resistance is futile. But if you doubt it, you can try to resist. I’m more than happy to oblige."

‎Candace snarled violently, her eyes blazing with a fierce violet light.

‎" I’m not going down without a fight."

‎Aisha calmly returned her gaze, rising slightly off the ground.

‎" Have it your way then."

‎Candace lunged forward, subconsciously reinforcing the mental barriers around her mind.

‎"This old hag, spouting all that nonsense to make me drop my guard. It’s definitely a lie. It has to be."

‎With a shout, a burst of flames erupted from her palms, scorching everything in front of her.

‎"You think you can trick me with your filthy lies and cheap tricks!"

‎Her eyes gleamed with a maniacal light, crazed laughter bursting forth from her lips.

‎With a frenzied sweep of her hand, she unleashed an inferno of vivid crimson flames, indiscriminately targeting everything around her.

‎A cacophony of screams filled the derelict, battle-torn space, her flames washing over the nearby Talented foes and allies alike in one brutal wave.

‎Candace spun around in a frenzy, laughing manically.

‎"Yes! All of you disappear!"

‎Through the din of the ensuing chaos and flames, Aisha calmly woke forward, telekinetically shielding Norvax.

‎With a sweep of her eyes, she located Alissa, drawing her unconscious form to where Norvax stood.

‎Norvax frantically checked the unconscious girl for injuries, noting in quiet relief that, except for a few bruises a scratches, she was ok on the outside.

‎"She’ll probably still need to recover from overusing her ability like that."

‎In the next moment, she stepped calmly forward, walking through the barrage of red-hot flames like an otherworldly spirit of light.

‎Her eyes glowed with a gentle white light, flowing erratically in sporadic bursts of light.

‎The flames harmlessly washed over her without doing any real damage.

‎Seeing this, Candace’s eyes widened slightly in stunned disbelief.

‎"Get away from me!"

‎Candace furtively glanced at her trembling arms in shock, her lips quivering slightly.

‎"Don’t come any closer!"

‎Aisha rose into the air, silently gliding over to where Candace stood, hovering silently in the air in front of the bewildered woman. Her braids fluttered slightly in the wind, her eyes boring into Candace’s violet eyes.

‎"This is the difference in our abilities, could. You should have surrendered when you had the chance."

‎The Talented around them watched the scene unfolding before them in a shocked silence.

‎With a snap of Aisha’s fingers, Candace’s entire body went rigid.

‎" What the hell?! Why can’t I move my body?"

‎Despite her best efforts, her body remained immobile and unmoving. A moment later, she silently fell to her knees.

‎Then everything went black.

‎Norvax stared at the woman’s unconscious form on the ground with an inscrutable expression.

‎In the next moment, Aisha rose higher into the air, staring down at the Talented on the ground.

‎Her voice echoed through the air with authority, washing over the battlefield with sobering clarity.

‎"I’ll give you all a choice like I gave both of your leaders. Both of them have been defeated. All of you can surrender now and end this meaningless violence. Or we can continue fighting, and even then, you’ll still inevitably face defeat. The choice is yours."

‎In reality, Aisha spoke directly into their thoughts, her ability washing over the small crowd of Talented.

‎Norvax shivered slightly, staring up at her.

‎" She’s as scary as ever; that much hasn’t changed."

‎Just then, one of the Talented lunged forward, jumping through the air with a shout. A split second later, the man froze mid-air, his whole body convulsing strangely, then growing eerily still. The glow in his eyes faded just as fast, his body dropping to the ground with a dull thud.

‎"Anyone else?"

‎A still silence settled over the battlefield, gazes shifting warily towards the hovering woman and the motionless Talented on the ground.

‎With the announcement and realization of the futility of continuing the battle, the remaining Crows quietly surrendered, deactivating their abilities one by one.

‎Aisha floated down to the ground, turning her attention to the underground vault with an aloof expression on her face.

‎"I’m glad to see you too," Norvax bit out sarcastically.

‎" Breaking the artifact took some time on our end, but the good news is you’re still in one piece, and right now that’s all that matters."

‎Norvax rolled his eyes, lifting Alissa off the ground in one motion.

‎" Sure thing..."

‎He turned to leave, his eyes glowing brightly with the activation of his ability.

‎Aisha sighed, turning to him, her expression softening slightly.

‎"Norvax, thanks. We couldn’t have done this without your help. With this, we should be able to get to the bottom of whoever’s behind the Crows."

‎Norvax shrugged.

‎" I definitely hope I won’t be returning to Zolaris for the foreseeable future."

‎A split second later, he disappeared into the distance, vanishing from sight, leaving only the sound of silence.

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