Cullen's mind filled with questions, but there was no time to answer them. He swiftly ran to the other room, his heart beating loudly as he saw Char's unmoving body still lying there. Rushing to her side and pressing his fingers on her neck, a faint heartbeat sent a wave of relief over Cullen.
'I need to get her to a hospital…'
His eyes flickered toward Darron's body, but he couldn't bring himself to look at it. He already knew what he would see.
Just as he went to pick her up, the door behind him swung open. Startled, Cullen looked back to see someone walk through the door. A towering man walked through the door, his imposing body moving confidently and nobly. Despite his old age, he had defined muscles bulging through his elegant suit. His gaze scanned the room with a cold look, then his eyes landed on Cullen.
"Where is the Abomination? I got a report saying there was one in this library, and the wreckage proves this."
Cullen tensed, unsure of what he should reveal to the mysterious man.
'Is this the Gifted that was sent? If I tell him I'm a Gifted as well, he might start asking questions. It wouldn't go well if he found out I was a criminal.'
Cullen opened his mouth to answer, but the man spoke first:
"You're a Gifted. Were you sent here by the Government? I thought I was the closest to this area…"
Cullen froze.
'How does he know that? Can Gifted sense other Gifted? I don't see anything unusual about him… besides his physique and age.'
"I… I just got my powers. And I killed the Abomination- but that's not important."
Cullen fearfully looked back at Char.
"We need to get her to a hospital."
For the first time, the man's expression showed slight surprise.
"You killed it?"
He paused a second while examining Cullen.
"I need to confirm this area is secure before we send medical personnel. Where is the body?"
'…'
'Will he believe me if I tell him?'
"Actually…"
Cullen took out the black dagger from his pocket and showed it to the man.
"I'm not entirely sure… but I think my ability turned it into this after its death."
They both stayed silent for a moment. Now filled with curiosity, it was clear that the man was deciding whether to believe Cullen or not. Finally, he spoke:
"Take the girl outside, and I'll call for an ambulance. I still need to investigate further."
Cullen didn't argue. Lifting Char into his arms, he carried her out of the wreckage. Looking back, he saw the man standing completely still in the middle of the wreckage, almost like he had turned into a statue.
Five minutes later, the ambulance arrived. After they took Char, Cullen sat down outside the library entrance, unable to shake the emptiness that overcame him.
Arbor and Darron were dead. Char was barely alive, and he had no home or family to go to. Cullen would have gladly died in there if Darron hadn't left him with that responsibility.
'I can't go back. All because of one mistake, my life is meaningless again.'
Footsteps approached him from behind as the old man emerged from the building. His cold tone turned soft as it seemed he understood what had happened.
"Sorry about all this. Most of the staff made it out in time… but I found two casualties."
Cullen didn't respond, but the man already knew.
"I'm sorry for your loss. Do you have any family I can bring you to before we leave?"
Cullen blinked, the question catching him off guard.
"What do you mean, "before we leave"? Where are we going?"
The man exhaled, a regretful expression on his face.
"I hate to do it this way, but we require all newly Gifted to visit the Academy for an examination. Also, they'll want a report about what happened here. I can't let you go off on your own yet."
Cullen's chest tightened as his life—already flipped upside down —was still changing so fast.
'I don't have a say in this. This man is definitely a Gifted like me. Otherwise, how could he have known I was one?'
"They were my only family. I'm an orphan."
For a moment, the man just stared at him, sympathy showing in his eyes.
"Again, I'm sorry."
Then, he extended a hand.
"My name is August."
Hesitating, Cullen responded and shook his hand.
"Cullen."
August gave him a small, reassuring smile.
"I'll take you to the Academy now."
August led him to a black SUV parked by the curb. Cullen began to worry about making a mess with all the blood on him, but then he noticed people already in the car.
"Oh, and I forgot to mention… Before I arrived here, I picked up another new Gifted to bring to the Academy."
A young man came out of the driver's seat and swung the back door open, revealing a blond girl and a small boy by her side.
"This is Flora."
In the car, August sat in the front passenger seat. His assistant, an emotionless young man in his twenties with blond hair and eerily dark eyes, drove the car leisurely. Cullen was in the back with Flora and the boy.
Flora had striking violet eyes and blond hair, her expression delicate yet determined. The boy next to Flora was younger than both of them, probably 11 or 12. Cullen assumed that he was Flora's little brother. After driving for a bit, August began to explain what would happen:
"Both of you are now Gifted, which means your lives will change forever. While you gain a lot, you also lose equally as much. Even if you choose to leave the government, you will be monitored 24/7 to ensure safety."
Cullen looked at Flora, who had her arm wrapped around the small boy.
"While you stay at the academy, you will be given an apartment to stay in. Normally, we permit the Gifted's blood relatives to live with them, but you both don't have any parents. Of course, Henry can still stay with you as he is your brother."
'So he is her brother…'
Cullen thought he should say something, but he didn't feel like talking. He usually wasn't good with new people anyway.
"The person here driving is my assistant, Greye. You can rely on him if I'm not around."
The strange man's pitch-black eyes stayed focused on the road, not even acknowledging that his name was mentioned. Greye's calm demeanor scared Cullen, making him wonder if he was trustworthy.
'This is bad. If I get questioned by the Government, they probably have ways to tell if I'm lying. That means they'll figure out that Arthur's transformation is my fault… and everything that happened after.'
Flora spoke for the first time, her soft but determined voice catching him off guard.
"What exactly will I do at the Academy? I'm not interested in being experimented on—I only wish to get stronger and fight Abominations."
Cullen was surprised by her resolve, but also a little disappointed.
'Only wish to get stronger? Who would willingly want to fight one of those?'
August laughed wholeheartedly before answering, "I understand. Don't worry about being experimented on; we don't really do that. Our goal is to turn you into soldiers to protect humanity, so you'll get your wish. All newly Gifted enter the Academy as students and are trained to fight Abominations. After you attend our classes, we have a test every year to see if you are ready to be sent out on missions. If you fail, you will have to take more classes until you pass."
"How far away is the next test? Do I have to take classes, or can I take the test right away?"
Cullen was growing increasingly annoyed by the girl.
'Why is she so eager?'
"We'll see after you get examined. In order to enter, there is another test you must pass. This is where you'll show off your ability and be placed into classes. But I guess… if you show off enough, maybe they will accept your request to take it right away."
For some reason, Flora still didn't look satisfied. After a moment of silence, Cullen finally spoke, asking a question that had been bothering him for a while.
"August… with all due respect—what took you so long?"
Cullen tried to stay calm, but his tone rose as he spoke.
"It was at least fifteen minutes before you showed up. My friends died because no Gifted showed up to save us. If I hadn't gotten my powers, two more of us would have died as well."
When he finished talking, he noticed that he was yelling. Stopping himself, he tried to relax in his seat.
The car was silent. Cullen's words even grabbed the attention of Flora, who was staring at him with a side eye.
"Again, I'm sorry about what happened. Like I told you, I was the closest Gifted. We usually have more available, but there have been issues throughout the city. I'm not permitted to talk about them right now, but I imagine you'll find out soon. I hope you can accept this answer for now."
The mood in the car was solemn after that. Cullen didn't know whether to be mad or scared.
'What could be happening that requires that many Gifted to abandon their duties? We've been driving for a while, but I haven't noticed anything unusual…'
Cullen looked out Flora's window and saw a beautiful beach and the blue ocean. Well, it would be beautiful if it wasn't ruined by the warships off the coast. There had to be hundreds of them, all watching to make sure no Abominations approached the city from other continents.
Then, something caught his attention.
A black mass, almost like seaweed, emerged from the waves and crashed onto shore.