The next day, Julia fully recovered and Jason took her to the port base. As he told Thomas, Greg also went with them.
While Jason took Julia to show around the base, Greg went to the training hall where he was supposed to meet with Thomas.
Greg saw Thomas sitting on a chair reading the newspaper while the other four were busy training their powers.
"So, what did you want to talk about?" Greg asked.
"Yesterday's news aside, have you seen what's on today's paper?" Thomas asked.
"We just got here and it's still morning. You can easily guess we didn't have time to see the news yet. Would you mind telling me?"
"Several ships went missing without a trace in the North Pacific Ocean. That's what the news says. And some of the missing ships were as big as cargo ships."
"That's unfortunate."
"That's not the point. When you were teaching us about the possible monsters that might reappear due to the aether you didn't tell us that something this serious would happen so soon."
"Your point?"
"Then, doesn't that mean the worst possible outcomes will be happening way earlier?"
"You are not wrong about that," said Greg.
Thomas sighed.
"It seems your mind is in conflict," said Greg.
"It's just... I know why we aren't doing anything to prevent further civilian casualties but it also comes with the feeling of helplessness."
"It seems Jason was right about you. You are a lot smarter compared to the others."
"What else did he say about me?"
"Nothing bad, I assure you."
"It doesn't matter anyway."
"Anyways, how is your training going?"
"Honestly speaking, it's boring. Focusing the mind to channel the aether is exhausting. It's like doing meditation while listening to heavy metal. But all of us have made progress in these few days."
"Your analogy is as bad as Jason's. But neither of yours are wrong," said Greg.
The two of them continued their talk. After a while Jason called everyone to the hall. Greg and the others at the training field went back to the hall.
"So what's the matter?" Yosef asked.
"Let's watch the news together," said Jason as he turned on the screen on the table where everyone was sitting.
"WE BRING YOU THE LATEST INFORMATION WE JUST RECEIVED... APPARENTLY ONE OF THE PERSON ON THE MISSING SHIPS FILMED THE INCIDENT LIVE... THIS FOOTAGE MAY SEEM DISTURBING TO SOME VIEWERS...."
When the footage was shown it shocked everyone. The time the video was filmed was around midnight. A few dark figures in the water were surrounding the ship. That was when the man started to go live. At first he was showing around the dark figures that popped up from the water. He thought it might be some walrus. Suddenly the number of the dark figures started to increase. Around that time, there was a scream that was coming from behind the man. The way the footage showed it, it seemed that the man turned around to take a look. But as soon as he turned around there was a huge noise from behind and the camera shook as if the ground was shaking. He turned back with the camera and what the camera caught next was something that shocked Thomas and the others. It was a figure standing in the dark, quite large compared to a man. Only its glowing red eyes were visible in the dark. A huge roar came from that thing and the other figures also jumped on the ship.
"That's it?" Ashton asked as what happened next wasn't shown in the news.
"They probably couldn't show the next part in the media," said Abbey.
"That was horrifying," said Damian.
"What could it be?" Thomas asked out of curiosity.
"We still don't know. But that thing is huge for sure," said Greg.
"Apart from its size, its agility is the problem. Despite its size it seems to be quite fast," said Jason.
"So what do you plan to do?" Yosef asked.
"Me? Nothing. They are solving their own problems. Why should I interfere?" asked Jason.
"Who are you referring to?" Ashton asked.
"How do you think that the media company got their hands on that footage?"
"So that's what's going on," said Thomas.
"I am not following," said Ashton.
"That guy wasn't the only person to record the incident. The passengers of the other ships that went missing must have recorded some videos before and during the attack. And it seems the government didn't want to let the public know what exactly happened. Am I right?" Thomas asked.
"Indeed," said Jason.
"So you are saying that the government prevented those footage from going viral. And it was the government who gave that media company the footage. But why would they do that after trying to hide it in the first place?" Damian asked.
"They are trying to prevent the public from panicking. The reason they published that footage was to let the people know slowly. They can't eventually lie to the public for a long time. The other footage might have captured a more detailed description about the things that attacked the ship. Which is why they chose one with the least details to keep the public guessing while acting like they aren't hiding anything," said Thomas.
"Will those things appear here as well?" Damian asked.
"For now, they won't. There haven't been any movements in the Atlantic ocean yet. If they start to appear here we will know as soon as they make a move in the Mid-Atlantic ridge," said Jason.
"We will be fighting those things after our training, won't we?" Ashton asked.
"Not exactly."
"What do you mean?" Ashton asked.
"By the time you guys will finish your training it will already be around the Global Awakening. What's happening now is just the beginning. And by the time you guys will be ready to be sent into actual combat, those things will probably evolve into something much stronger and deadlier than they are now," said Jason.