After the trace of the broken puzzle, which was never truly broken, continued to linger in Ariana's mind, she couldn't shake the thought of how she might track down the vanished pink thread.
If one thread had appeared at her parking spot, there could very well be more hiding somewhere, slipping out of reach the moment it was touched.
This obsessive thought kept her awake late into the night, and she woke up the next morning so late that she rushed to the agency, missing out on crucial points in the process.
In the Eclipse Nexus Agency, these points were vital—if even seven were lost, she'd be unable to attend the meetings for a whole week. And today, she had already missed one... meeting.
"Huh..." Ariana sighed. "What should I do to track this thing? It's been haunting my thoughts, and I can't understand why."
She kept thinking about the pink thread, unaware that her position in the agency was crumbling, that her focus was unraveling.
"Why does this thread keep bothering me? It's like it's something I'm supposed to track down, but why?"
Just as she was lost in thought, a member of the another agency walked up to her.
"Hi, Ariana!"
Ariana didn't respond immediately, her thoughts was too consumed by the mystery of the thread. The member tried again.
"Hmm... Hello?" he asked, but still no reply.
Finally, he had to raise his voice.
"HI, ARIANA!?"
"Ah!" Ariana jumped in shock. "Why did you shout? Senior... Jasper?"
Yes, it was Jasper Smith—a senior agent and one of the most respected members of 'CRUELWEAPONS.'
He wasn't the leader, but he was undeniably one of the most skilled and knowledgeable agents around.
He often gave tips and strategies to some random juniors, sharing his knowledge with anyone who could learn from him. Though he was generally unapproachable, Ariana was one of the few who had earned the privilege of talking to him.
"Yes, I said 'Hi,' but you didn't respond. You seemed to lost in thought," Jasper explained.
"Actually, Senior, I found something strange. Do you know the case my father's been involved in?" Ariana asked.
"The man in pink suit, you mean?" Jasper replied. "Wasn't that case solved already?"
"No," Ariana replied. "But I found something odd in my parking slot at home… It was a pink elastic thread, just like the slippery body of the man, which was briefly caught on the magic cameras before the footage vanished. There was no evidence left, just like the man in pink."
Jasper's face turned serious. "So you think you saw something that might be linked to him? But… wouldn't it be impossible to leave traces like that?"
"...But the pink elastic thread I held for just a second vanished, just like the man," Ariana clarified. "It's as though the same force is at play. And it's been nagging at me—I need to track it down, but I have no idea how. My instincts tell me it's something I must do, but I'm stuck."
She paused, looking frustrated, when Senior Jasper, who had been listening intently, spoke in a way that seemed almost cryptic but has a deeper meaning.
"You know what, Ariana?" Jasper began, his tone softening. "Sometimes, it's not the thread you hold, but the one that slips through your fingers. The answers lie hidden, in places unseen, where the visible disappears into the unseen."
He paused for a moment, letting his words sink in before continuing with a rhythm in his voice.
"To catch the fleeting, you must become the unseen, to follow without touch. The path of those who vanish, is not traced by hands, but by the mind that sees the unseen."
Ariana's brow furrowed in confusion. "What do you mean?"
Jasper's smile lingered, but his voice grew distant, like he was already beyond the conversation. "When you understand that which is hidden in plain sight, you'll know how to find what's always slipping away."
He gave her a nod before turning to leave.
"Come to me when you know what that means, Ariana. I believe you'll like it. More than you think."
With that, he left her with a sense of bewilderment and went off to handle his paperwork. His team was off for the weekend, so he'd been assigned the task of catching up on administration.
"I might like the idea?" Ariana muttered to herself. "No! I don't have time to sit around. I need to crack this down. Whatever Senior Jasper suggests, it's always the best idea."
Determined, Ariana rushed back to her office, scanning every possible piece of information. She used all kinds of cracking devices and tried everything she could think of, but nothing worked.
She sighed, exhausted and frustrated.
Then, a thought struck her—one of her unique abilities, the ability to visualize and solve puzzles under pressure, suddenly clicked.
"I know! I… know!" she whispered to herself, a realization dawning on her. "I need to go to him. Now!"
She rushed through the corridors of the agency, not bothering to look back when she accidentally bumped into someone.
"Hey! Watch where you're—" Lyra snapped, then stopped herself. "Wait... is that Ariana?!"
"Was she in a hurry or something?" asked Selene, raising an eyebrow.
"I think so," Kiera replied. "Whatever it is, it's the reason why she's been so off these past few days."
"She's finally figured it out, huh?" Evelyn chimed in.
"Or… the solution to that tiresome mystery?" Selene added.
"Yeah, maybe." They all nodded in agreement, curious but also supportive.
Just then, a member from another team, who had seen them, piped up.
"What are you all nodding about?"
Their heads only, turned to him. That actually startled him the most.
Evelyn gave him a flat look. "You wouldn't understand, bro."
Lyra joined in. "Yeah, it's between us and Ariana."
The others nodded silently, but the stranger still didn't get it. "What?"
While Ariana kept running with a bit of satisfaction, she felt like she was finally on the brink of uncovering the truth... But what lay ahead was something she never could have expected.
At Cruel weapons' agency...
When she reached his office, she found it empty. It felt as though she needed to seek Senior Jasper like a shooting star—a fleeting moment that would be gone before she could catch it.
"Huh? Where is Senior Jasper?" Ariana questioned aloud, looking around in confusion. "Oh shoot! Was he gone on some mission?!" Disappointment crept into her voice as she turned to leave.
Then, out of nowhere, Senior Jasper appeared, his presence as unexpected as always.
"Ah!" Ariana gasped, startled, making Senior Jasper pause in his tracks, also caught off guard by her sudden reaction. "Senior! You surprised me!"
"I should be the one saying that," Senior Jasper replied with a soft laugh. "So... did you?"
"Hmm. I did it!" Ariana's excitement bubbled over as she grinned.
Without wasting a second, they both began discussing the matter at hand.
"Hacking Magic..." Senior Jasper began. "It's not something you can learn overnight. To master it, you need... a higher level of concentration, patience, and time. It's a slow process."
"How long...?" Ariana asked, her curiosity burning.
"A year...?" Senior Jasper guessed, his tone uncertain but thoughtful.
"Huh!" Ariana exclaimed, utterly deflated at the thought. A year felt like an eternity.
But then, Senior Jasper met her gaze with a knowing smile.
"But for you, it might not take more than a month," he said, his voice rich with conviction. "Your learning ability is far superior to most. As for your teammates, they'll likely take no more than two months. Your team has the advantage, unlike others. So..."
"So?..." Ariana trailed off, her eyes alight with anticipation.
"So, you'll be able to learn it quickly," Senior Jasper continued, "but you need..."
"A better concentration, patience for a long time, sharp learning ability, no excuses, no slacking off, no giving up...?" Ariana finished his sentence confidently, her voice full of determination.
"Huh..." Senior Jasper blinked, a little surprised by her enthusiasm. "Yes, that's exactly what you need," he chuckled, clearly impressed with her attitude.
Ariana stood a little taller, pride swelling in her chest. "So, what do we do first? The first step is..."
"Hmm... your first step is..." Senior Jasper paused, a mischievous gleam in his eyes.
Ariana's gaze was locked on him, her lips slightly parted in eager anticipation, waiting for the next part.
"It is..." Senior Jasper began.
"The first step is to clear your mind, Ariana," Senior Jasper said slowly, his voice full of weight.
"Hacking Magic begins with the ability to block out everything else—the noise, the distractions—and tune in to the very core of your surroundings. Only then will you be able to sense what's hidden."
Ariana blinked, the weight of his words sinking in, but she was sure if she fully understood the meaning behind them, it will eventually benefit her the most later.
"But that's not all. The real challenge lies in…"
Senior Jasper let his sentence hang in the air, leaving Ariana with a lingering sense of uncertainty.
—TO BE CONTINUED—