Two hours later…
Time: 6:56 PM
"Forget about it. There's no use in leaving anymore. We might as well just deal with the issue, which I certainly don't think we can deal with. Oh, Andrew, what do you plan on making tonight?"
Talen was a weird individual. After waking up again, he didn't seem that offended and immediately accepted his unfortunate situation like it was a regular occurrence.
Andrew was about to respond to Talen's question when he caught Isabella's cold gaze. He promptly shut his lips and simply decided to enjoy the view of the setting sun's rays on the beautiful individual at his side. Thankfully, Talen was also within sight, so it seemed reasonable that Andrew was looking in that direction.
What is it about you that's so alluring, Isabella? Andrew sighed mentally in enthrallment.
"You seem to know something about Alex Warren. Your frantic reaction, the terror you felt–everything evidently points to you possessing a greater knowledge of this issue. What is it you know, Talen?" Isabella asked, taking the bag of chips from Andrew's hand while trying her best to ignore his "strange" gaze.
"I might, I might not. It really depends on what you already know, to be earnest. You're aware that potentially the entirety of the civilians in Fragr are now mere thralls under his control by means still very unknown?" Talen inquired, his hand moving dexterously to steal a few chips from the large bag–Isabella didn't stop him.
"Yeah. We know that. And as it seems, you know nothing else?" Isabella replied as her body slouched even further into the couch, enjoying the evening breeze that became more apparent as the orange hue of the setting sun dimmed.
They had taken a couch outside to have a little chat, which was also their way of informing Talen what they were here for, and possibly ask for his help.
Somehow, Andrew, in this city filled with humans no different from the dead, felt at ease. A peace he hadn't experienced in a long time. The scenery, the mood… everything was just plainly otherworldly, something he'd never experienced nor thought to ever experience.
Have you forgotten, Grandma? Have you forgotten the innocents you've taken away from this world in your madness? Have you forgotten what you've done? Are you really that empty, that shallow?
A voice, his voice, whispered behind him like the wind whipping against the body–a silent utterance in silence.
An orange shimmer flashed through his eyes, hidden by the weak light of the sun falling across his face. But within him, nothing could hide the inner turmoil. Memories flashed through his mind, emotions tore deeper into wounds that had never healed.
"Andrew?" Isabella called softly as Andrew felt a warm hand clasp his, sending warmth to his heart as the tumult in his mind found a fleeting placidity.
He turned to stare into her emerald eyes, which he noticed now, under the setting sun, weren't that bright at all but instead a leafy green, deep and equally mesmerizing. A green that made looking at her the same as staring into the personification of nature's beauty.
"I'm fine," Andrew reassured, pulling his hand away from Isabella's grasp–under the amused gaze of Talen, who noisily bit into his chips as he watched without a word.
"Who knows, I might know something else," Talen said, breaking the silence that was slowly pervading them.
Isabella shifted her gaze to Talen, a simple gesture that prompted him to sit upright and take on a serious expression.
"Clearly, I know nothing else. And you, Andrew, asking me why I'd desire to get the absolute fuck out of this nightmarish city… I have no comments. Any utterances of mine would earn me a beating. Let me try and spell this out for you."
Talen, now more serious, gestured dramatically with his hands, his carefree attitude stripped away as he began a lengthy explanation and lamentation.
"Alex, someone that now calls himself Morgur the Second, after the real 'Morgur, The Sovereign', managed in some unfathomable way to enthrall practically the entire population of Fragr. The means are mysterious, with no explanation anyone has been able to uncover. Even the military is afraid to send more forces into Fragr, because anyone who tries to set foot here faces immediate misfortune. And even if they succeed, enthrallment is inevitable. The mysterious nature of this entire event should already terrify you both–but it seems you're void of that."
"So yes, it never crossed my mind that I was in Fragr simply because you two didn't behave like Thralls. Well, I wouldn't say it never crossed my mind, the architecture gave it away. But I was shocked when you confirmed my suspicion. Honestly, all I can say is… I have one hell of a luck."
Andrew listened attentively to everything Talen said, but Isabella seemed already familiar with these details. She merely nodded slightly, her expression unchanged, showing that nothing he said was new to her.
After a short period of silence, Talen began.
"So, both of you are trying to tell me that you plan on terminating this unfathomable threat?" Talen questioned, his amused stare lingering as he leaned back comfortably once more.
"You're correct, except for the part where you said both. I'm not going to do anything. In fact, I can only do as much as any ordinary man." Andrew clarified immediately.
"Huh? Aren't you a Chosen? Are your abilities really that terrible that you might as well consider yourself ordinary?" Talen deduced at once.
"That's one accurate deduction right there, man. Yeah, you're technically right." Andrew was genuinely impressed by Talen's deductive ability, he had hit close to the truth.
"Technically, you say? What are your abilities, Andrew? As you already know, mine are Rift and Nullification. Quite sure Isabella's is Rift as well, but as for the second one, I've no clue."
"And you'll remain clueless about it." Isabella replied without the slightest care.
Andrew looked between Talen and Isabella–though, of course, his gaze lingered on Isabella far longer.
The sun had vanished beyond the horizon, submerging the desolate city into a grey world. The full moon bloomed above, casting its own illumination. The Fralles Ne Fragranc Hotel, where they currently stayed, had become a tree of radiant beauty. Brilliant orange lights flickered on automatically, causing the unique structure of the hotel to stand out sharply against the world's gloom.
"My abilities are simply Visionary and Self-Causality. My honest opinion on them? Trash. I don't even know how to use them. Unlike your Rift, whose functionality can be deduced, both my abilities are rather… what's the right word… mysterious, confusing, unfathomable. I should've probably gone for the simpler choices."
Talen stared at Andrew with an expressionless face, unimpressed by his explanation. Slowly, he shifted his gaze to Isabella.
"Isn't that the same set of abilities Alex Warren could potentially possess? In fact, isn't it necessary for him to possess at least one of them for any of this to make sense?" Talen asked, his gaze darting to Andrew now and then.
"Yes." Isabella replied simply.
Talen fell quiet for several minutes, and the others embraced the silence, sinking into their own private worlds, each left to wrestle with their thoughts.
Nearly fifteen minutes passed before Talen finally broke the silence.
"Are you two aware of how many Chosens were chosen on day one?" he asked, ignoring entirely the matter of Andrew's abilities.
"Not certain about the number, but it should be slightly over three hundred. Why do you ask?" Isabella showed the slightest flicker of interest at last.
"Close! it was exactly three hundred and ten. As for why I asked, do you know how many remain among the original three hundred and ten?" Talen folded the empty bag of chips and placed it gently on the table. A strange, almost delicate gesture… but everyone had their quirks.
"Slightly over two hundred? I've heard of the casualties among the Chosens, but not much detail. From what I gathered, most deaths were the result of clashes between Chosens, not the people fighting back." Isabella leaned in with greater interest. Talen always seemed like a well of information, somehow in the know about matters others weren't.
Andrew, meanwhile, simply sat and listened. His ears attentive, his neurons firing rapidly as he soaked in every word between Isabella and Talen. He knew far too little of the current state of the world, absolutely nothing beyond the scraps Isabella had shared with him. He'd had no chance to ask for a deeper explanation of what was truly happening. Everything since six days ago had moved too quickly. His ignorance gnawed at him, and being ignorant was something he despised.
"What can the people do against forces who literally wield the powers of gods? True, there might be Chosens among us that mundane means could harm, but not many. Statistically, observations show most Chosen either possess Regeneration, Enhancement, or Adaptation as one of their two abilities. Any of those three alone makes a Chosen nearly invulnerable to mundane attacks–bullets, grenades, even missiles. Nuclear weapons, though? That I can't say, but even then I doubt it would matter, considering what I've seen fellow Chosens do with their abilities." Talen scoffed. "As for how many of us are left… a hundred and twenty-seven. And that number is still falling."
Suddenly, Isabella stood up, her gaze turning toward the interior of the hotel room.
"Someone's been standing in the corridor for nearly an hour now," she said out of nowhere, her eyes still locked in that direction.
"Huh?"
"What?"
Though they used different words, Andrew and Talen expressed the same confusion.
"I don't think it's a thrall." Was all Isabella said before vanishing from where she stood.