Chapter 04- Back To The Roots
A few weeks later, the uproar of what was called 'Blue Oblivion's massacre' finally calmed down and people started forgetting it slightly. It was still talked about everywhere, but not on the same scale that it was merely a couple of weeks ago.
Besides, Axel's face was also less seen in the media now. By less, that means that it basically could be seen 95% of the time on every channel on the TV instead of being the only thing apparent on it 24/7.
Meanwhile, the culprit who was talking about the world and the same person who is chased by all the intelligence services in the world led by Russia, the USA, and many other countries, was inside a restaurant in the middle of nowhere.
"Brother, another serving, please."
"Y-Yes. For a lean man, you sure eat lots, friend." The old man who was the owner of the restaurant commented with a complicated gaze.
'He's going to finish all the food I have here. Hick, I'm so happy!' He thought with a satisfied smile.
But, he then remembered that he had to cook again so he hurried up to the kitchen as fast as he could.
Axel rested his back on the chair and looked outside from the window. His eyes seemed to be piercing horizon with how sharp they were.
"It's been 1 year, huh? I should've not waited that long." He muttered.
He was caught exactly one year ago from now. Well, the real fact was that he allowed them to catch him since he had something he needed to do inside the blue oblivion but it took slightly more time than he expected.
"Let's see. One month… I can finish all the necessary things I should before starting my search again. All of my books and belongings are also completed. It's only a matter of time before I find the first major lead to Midrora."
His hands were shaking slightly from sheer excitement. The thought of his long-lasting dream being this close made adrenaline pump into his blood and his heart racing.
Axel was born on a small island in the pacific ocean, the island was very small and had barely over 500 people living on it. A very good place to live where all the person could do was enjoy nature and the beautiful sea far from the shitfest that was the huge metropolitan cities.
His family was made up of his parents and one older sister. They were a happy family through and through and their parents doted on them greatly so his childhood was a happy one.
It was that particular period of time when he got really hooked on exploring the forest near his house. There was such an attractive feeling when he went deeper and deeper into the forest and discovered the unknown.
It was that addictive feeling that made him seek more and more that desire to see what he can't understand, feel what he can't know, and experience that feeling again and again until he feels tired.
The problem with that is that he never felt tired from that feeling at all. He got in danger countless times with animals and ended up being scolded by his parents more times than he could remember.
But, that obsession only intensified when once, he discovered a vase made out of marble that was a couple of hundred years old buried near a temple in the middle of the forest. The thrill from digging up that vase and the feeling of that object in his hand was like a lightning struck him. He had never thought discovering a piece of history was such a fascinating thing to do.
That was when he became fully aware of what he wanted to do for the rest of his life.
'I want to explore the whole world. Unravel every mystery it offers and see all the amazing things our ancestors did thousands of years into the past!!'
That love became stronger and stronger over the years and followed him till this point.
'I will definitely find Midrora!' He thought.
"Here is your food, friend! Dig in!" As he thought so, his food finally came and he returned to eating his fill.
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"Next stop, Grand Central Terminal." A voice said from the mic inside the metro.
Axel who sitting quietly suddenly stood up and walked to the door that started opening. Many gazes followed him as he walked, his face was obviously changed but he was still a very handsome man that could capture the heart of women with a gaze.
*Whistles*
Walking with his hands in his pockets, a woman passed beside him that also looked at him. But, her legs stumbled and she fell down. Axel grabbed her by the waist and looked at her worriedly.
"Be careful, M'am." His gentle voice made her freeze for a good second.
'His face is too close!!' She thought with a blushing face before replying.
"T-Thank you. I-I'm sorry."
"No problem. Have a good day." He smiled at her before walking away.
The woman kept looking at him as he walked away, her eyes were completely captivated by him.
'My… My prince charming.'
Meanwhile, Axel who vanished from the site looked at his hand with a small grin.
"This should fetch something. Enough to buy clothes and food for a while. I need a phone too."
In his hand was a golden necklace with two diamonds in the middle of it. He got it from the woman he caught as she kept looking at his face.
After walking for a few minutes, he reached his destination, which was a clothing store that was popular in the area.
Then, he bought new clothes, some formal, some casual, and some for the ordeals to come. The 'working' clothes per se.
After that, he bought a new phone with the newest edition. It was something he will have to eventually get rid of because of the relentless chasing of the world powers but it would work for now.
"Let's see, hope she didn't change her number in a year."
He dialed a particular phone, and after ringing for a few seconds, someone picked up the call. Axel smiled and said.
"Meet me at our 'special' place in 30 minutes. I will be waiting."
Then he ended the call without waiting for that person's reaction since he knew what she would say if he kept the call connected. To be truthful, he wanted to hear those words face-to-face with her.
30 minutes later, Axel was sitting in a small cafe on one of the calm streets of new york. This place was very secluded so the sounds of cars and traffic were basically nonexistent here.
Besides that, this same place was very special for Axel, that was because the person he was going to meet now was a regular customer at this cafe and that's where they met for the first time a few years ago.
Axel chose a tale at the back of the cafe that was facing away from the door. He was sipping a cup of coffee casually, enjoying the strong aroma of the coffee with a relaxed smile.
However, that calm atmosphere didn't last long as Axel felt a cold thing touching the back of his head along with the sound of clicking.
"Give me one reason not to blow your head off at this moment." An extremely cold yet incredibly beautiful voice spoke to him from behind.
"Didn't you miss me, honey?" Axel asked as he continued sipping the coffee.
*Click*
"Ok, ok… Wait! So cold, geez." Axel muttered with a difficult smile.
"At least sit-down and let me speak."
"A worthless scumbag like you isn't worth my time." The woman replied as she pulled the gun away.
"Come on, honey. You didn't come here just to point a gun at me, right? You expected something, didn't you?"
"I expect nothing from you. I only came here in hopes that I get that bounty on your head. I am contemplating that idea seriously now."
"Damn, it's barely a few billion dollars. You don't need that small amount of money."
"Sigh, I don't even know why I came here. Never speak to me again and delete my number or you will regret it."
The woman then started walking away with the sound of her heels getting further and further away. But, Axel didn't feel rushed as he simply put the cup of coffee down and muttered.
"Even though I found a strong lead to Midrora."
The woman heard those words and halted her steps before turning around and asking seriously.
"You are lying."
"You know me too well, Elize. I am sure you already know that I don't lie when it comes to this matter."
After that, he flipped the coin he had toward Elize. She caught it casually and inspected the item thoroughly.
"No way…"
"It's the real stuff. A coin from the era of the first founder."
"We searched the whole world for one of these but we found none. I was sure to look everywhere. How did you-"
"It came to me. I am the protagonist after all." He replied jokingly.
Elize knew very well how cheeky that piece of trash was so she ignored his joke and focused on the item.
"Would you sit now so we can talk like proper human beings?"
Elize didn't reply immediately as she contemplated something. But, soon enough, she gave up with a sigh and came forward to sit in front of Axel.
Her apperance was also finally revealed to Axel who for some reason didn't want to look back at her at all.
Beautiful and long dark brown hair, two clear blue eyes that looked like two priceless pearls in the heart of the ocean, a fine nose, and two small yet also plump lips that looked so attractive to the eye.
Her figure was tall and had all the right curves in the right places. She looked stunning, to say the least. A beauty that could make models cry on their beds.
"You have 5 minutes to speak then I will leave. You can consider this meeting something that never happened before?"
"Do you hate me that much?" Axel asked as he rubbed his chin.
"With a burning passion. You don't know how strong the urge I have now to jump on you and strangle you to death."
"Kinky, but I like it. I will let you choke me any day of the week, honey." Axel winked at her with a flirtatious look.
*Click*
"Stop pulling out the gun on every occasion for fuck sake. God, one can't even joke properly these days." Axel muttered with a sigh.
"Hurry up and spit it out!"
"Fine. Anyway, you know why I went to Blue Oblivion, right?"
"Didn't you get caught?"
"Elize…" Axel said her name.
"Fine, fine. No one can catch you because you are the worst scumbag in history. A filthy thief that has some skills."
"I am not a thief… A treasure hunter. Besides, the things I take aren't the property of anyone. If they can keep it so do I."
"Whatever, you are still a waste of space."
"Calm down with the insults for a second."
"Calm down? You want me to calm fucking down?! You fucking betrayed me, took advantage of me, and then threw me away and you want me to calm down. You should've been thankful I didn't kill on the spot when I saw you."
Axel looked down and didn't reply for a good second before looking up again and saying.
"Let's forget this topic for now. Anyway, the first founder had left many objects scattered around the world that he, for some unknown reason, didn't include in his fortune. These items are of course well-hidden but I was able to find one of them. Two if you include that coin. The other is basically under Blue Oblivion."
"Did you get it?"
"Not quite yet. The cell I was put in was made out of 10 layers of tungsten. I couldn't dig properly."
"How are you going to get it?" She asked.
"That's why I called you and I have a good plan."
"So basically, you want me to help you?"
"Pretty much."
"I'd rather kill myself a million times."
"Come on, Elize. This is our dream, you can't just ignore it because of a personal matter."
"I can't trust a traitor like you. You could run away after using me, AGAIN."
Axel rested his back on the chair and looked at the ceiling for a few moments. His eyes flickered with a weird light before they returned to their normal look.
"How about a deal?"
"A deal?"
"You are sitting in front of a guy with a plethora of skills up his sleeve. I don't want to brag, but I can do anything you could imagine." Axel boasted proudly.
However, the only reaction he got was a cold glare from Elize. Unfortunately for her, she knew this man way too well and she was aware of how capable he was as much as she hated him.
"Listen, Elize. I know you hate me to the bone and I understand that. I didn't do anything good for you. But, trust me this once. We complete the deal and you will never see me again. I swear on my dream." He said with a rare serious look with no mischievous jokes and corny lines.
Instead, what he got was a sigh and Elize stood up. Axel thought she was about to leave so he hurried to call for her.
"Hey-"
"I gave you my trust before. I even gave you my whole life. You will never be able to get it back. Not in this lifetime and not in any other lifetime. But, I'm a businesswoman and making deals with scumbags is nothing but another day at work for me. Tonight, my company, I want you there by midnight. I have work for you."
Then, without waiting, she walked away from the cafe.
Axel stayed motionless for a few minutes after she left, his face was hidden under the shadow of the wall. After that, he stood up, put the money on the table, and walked out of the place. No one knew what he thought of.
After walking for a while he stopped near a wall and rested his back on it. For some reason, that day, the sun vanished and grim clouds covered the visible sky. There was no rain, just grey, ugly clouds.
"Sigh, she's still as sharp as when we first met." He muttered under his breath as he gazed at the sky. His eyes were lost, hesitant, and filled with complicated emotions that even Axel didn't know how he could deal with them.
"Now for the harder part."
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