Evander scurries through the fridge looking for something to eat. He flicks his wrist, throwing Kiara a soda can. She leaps off the couch like a football player, crashing into the small living room table with a big thud.
"Thanks for the enhanced reaction time, Evander," Kiara says, opening the can. It bubbles and violently sprays the contents all over her. She licks the droplets of soda off her face as she scurries to her room to change clothes.
Evander's gaze narrows, remembering when he reunited with Hirano. They just randomly met across the bustling city streets out of nowhere.
Imagine trying to wander down the streets doing a grocery run, and you run into your immortal colleague.
[A few weeks earlier]
"You know, Evander, I'm surprised you're doing pretty well in modern times," Hirano says, wiping his gloved hands.
"Here's your order," the waitress says politely, handing the two their dishes.
"Yeah, I've found a place to crash for now," Evander comments, sipping on his soup. "How's everyone else?"
"Kawata is still the cheeky runt he is. Lilith is apparently our new mother/sister figure," Hirano explains, grabbing a wing off the plate. "Amateus–he wants us to be a family."
"Never thought Amateus could soften like that," Evander says. "Times have changed since 6000 years ago."
"Didn't we teach humans how to build the foundations?" Hirano scoffs, throwing the wing bone on the plate. "Dumb animals."
Picking up a wing, Evander bites into the unknown, savory and tangy flavors.
"Surprised Elusives still plague this age," Evander chews, nodding his head. "They're more animalistic than I recall."
"That's because you've been in suspended animation in a talisman," Hirano murmurs, leaning his head. "Elusives are still disgusting creatures."
Evander stays quiet, tapping his finger on the tablecloth.
"Hey Hirano, there's something you should know," he says, tapping his finger on the cloth table. "I'm kind of soul-bound to a Warden. She kind of lets me live at her house; I train her and she makes me do chores."
Hirano's gaze hardens.
"Soul-bound?" he questions, voice sharp. "You let yourself be tied to one of them? A human–more specifically, a Warden."
Evander stays quiet, nervously smiling.
"It's a mess, also she broke the talisman and somehow got the soul bound punishment."
Hirano leans in, voice full of disdain.
"You know how Wardens are–jump headfirst and die young. Always the same."
"Somehow, that is Kiara for you. Either reckless beyond saving or stupidly lucky," Evander grumbles, voice mellow. "She broke the talisman, Hirano. She found me when no one else did—Warden security is actually crazy secretive. She lets me have a place to stay around just by training her and me not killing anyone."
"Do you still want to?" Hirano asks.
"Yes, every day. It's getting to me," Evander bluntly utters.
Hirano's voice drops, sharper and quieter like a knife. "She'll die. You'll die with her, Evander. You once taught kings how to write laws. You taught some of the greatest generals their most prized battles. This is what you're worth?"
Evander doesn't answer immediately, taking a sip of water. "Don't remind me, I haven't forgotten, even then, Kiara is currently finding a spell in the Warden temple's archives and library to free us."
Hirano rises from his seat, picking through his wallet to pay the bill. "I wouldn't ensure that; lots of spells were lost over history. Remember, most soul-bounds didn't last long, and a spell to undo it most likely got forgotten or lost as well."
"If you need any help, come visit us sometime. We live on the outskirts of the city," he finishes, paying the tip like a good citizen. "Maybe bring that Kiara girl with you. If you need help with situations with that Warden, too bad Amateus doesn't want us interfering with human problems, so you're on your own."
The two men shake hands, a firm agreement and reunion, before going their separate ways.
Without Kiara, I'll still be rotting in stone, Evander thinks in the present, sitting on the couch. Should Kiara meet the other Ascendants? Can Ascendants and Wardens coexist despite everything?
He lifts his head up, thinking about any possible conclusions.
"Evander? Did you pop out an eye of my idol cutout?" Kiara cuts in, rushing down stairs, mildly confused and interrogative. "I was wondering where he went, and I found him stuffed, creased, and had a hole in his face in the back of my closet."
Evander presses his hand next to his chin, remembering what happened a month ago. He gently tapped the cutout's head, accidentally breaking a hole in the idol's face.
"I have no idea what you're talking about," he lies under his teeth.
Kiara crouches down to inspect the damage. "Look, it looks like someone poked a sword through his eye."
"Or someone flicked it," Evander mutters, trying not to act suspicious.
"I don't understand how anyone could do this. How–" Kiara's expression drops to a cold, flat face, staring directly at Evander as if he did something wrong. "Really, Evander, you didn't have to shove him back in my closet like that."
Evander whistles, pretending to act serious.
Meanwhile, in an abandoned orphanage, deep underground, its foundations, rows of stasis tubes cast deep, illuminating shadows over the walls. A bone white glow radiates off the glass tube, with a pitch-black watery fluid condensed inside.
Only the growing Elusive's white eyes pierce through the darkness, showing only a pair of white dots. A faint hum of machinery lingers in the air, gears and tubes slowly turning in the silence.
A soft orchestral music echoes through the chamber, the melancholy of the soft piano crashing with the drums and flutes merging together.
Merrick sketches a blueprint of an Elusive–with wide shoulders, standing up straight, armor covering its body like a samurai. He erases the blades poking out of its shoulder blades—too much detail.
He blows off the pencil scratch and eraser shavings as he looks at the incubators of multiple Elusives in stasis tubes, and hundreds in embryo stages locked up in a cold freezer drawer. He picks one embryo with a pair of tongs, taking notice of the translucent flesh like an egg.
He walks through the endless rows of stasis tubes in development, arms crossed behind his back as he walks past his children. Two full-grown Elusives follow his path as they leave the underground bunker, shutting the door in an eerie silence.
Azrael and Trajan watch the TV, mildly bored and confused.
"Why don't you leave your girlfriend, Masto?" the friend character questions. "What part of your relationship is going well?"
Masato turns his head, drool leaking down his mouth.
"I love it when she gives me that dirty look and…talks down to me," he moans. "Something about that is so hot."
"Well, that was a shift in tone," Azrael comments, one leg draped over the other. Trajan wraps his arms over the leather couch.
Merrick walks into the room, hand tightly tucked in one pocket.
"You two watching TV?" Merrick asks.
"Apparently, it's a romance, and its emotions evoke some sort of—" Azrael begins.
"It's very bad, boss," Trajan interrupts flatly.
Merrick picks up the remote, turning the TV off. The two men turn their heads in perfect eerie unison. Clasping his hands together, Merrick takes a long look at his two creations.
"We're taking a big step forward, you two," he says. "Soon we'll have peace."
"Warden Society?" Trajan questions.
Merrick's expression remains emotionless. "In due time, we'll divide and distract them."
"We still don't have the numbers necessary to challenge the Warden Society yet," Azrael mentions. "It's a global institution with Wardens from hundreds of counties"
"Remember, as long as we convince the people that our ideals improve the world, we seize the minds and the populace," Merrick cuts back smoothly. "Their faith and their future."
"Are you going to show us the stuff?" Trajan raises his brow. "The game plan."
Merrick shrugs, casually walking away.
"That's all I wanted to tell you guys. You two have to give me a break," Merrick walks off, waving a lazy hand behind his back."Byeeee."
Azrael and Trajan sit in eerie silence.
The TV still remains off.
Merrick has taken the remote with him.
"..I wanted to know how that trashy romance ended," Trajan mutters.
"It usually ends with the girlfriend and main character being a happy couple," Azrael sighs. "It's a common trope in romance shows where–"
"Shut up," Trajan cuts off, leaving the two men looking at the blank screen.