Her teacher offered a smile back, the wrinkles on her face clearly showing. She wasn't exactly old—people would just assume so upon looking. Her long black hair was messy, her eyes always tired. Constantly being around Gifted would wear anyone down, especially a normal human.
It was also a compliment to Flora, though, since it showed how much she stood out from everyone else.
"Your Tavros just reached 7. This growth is much faster than normal, but it will eventually hold you back. You won't be able to use your ability to its fullest potential without adequate strength. Once this increases, you will be at the top of the Gifted at this academy. This will most likely allow you to graduate early."
Ms. Whitmorre tilted back in her chair, looking Flora in the eyes.
"You also have quite the sponsor. Lucas can't wait for you to graduate and join his team. He may even be able to pull you out early if he deems it necessary. Still, this shouldn't interfere with your training. He's busy now anyway."
Remembering this, Flora couldn't help but frown. The last time she had seen Lucas was on The Island. And he was still there, searching for Cullen while Flora lived securely at the academy.
"Yes, I hope to work under him someday. And don't worry—I'll train even harder for that honor."
While she had been attending classes, Henry had been studying on his own. While normal human relatives couldn't receive the same education as Gifted, they still had access to plenty of information. He read books and researched all different types of Abominations and Gifteds. And like Flora had done before, he learned about history, before and after the world changed.
For some reason, relatives of Gifted had a high chance of being chosen as well. While it was still rare, they often shared qualities that led to the same fate. This is why powerful families raised children with the hope that they would become Gifted. They thought that if they perfected their children's ideals and morals, they would gain fame and power from them. While the idea is corrupt, it has led to many Gifted soldiers today.
'There is an upside and a downside to Henry being chosen… I still don't know how I feel about it. If he is granted power, it will be easier for him to defend himself. I also won't have to watch over him all the time. However, Gifted often live dangerous lifestyles. If the city is under attack, they are the first on the battlefield to put their lives on the line.'
In the end, Flora decided to leave the decision up to Henry. Actually, it was mostly up to The God. She hadn't heard of a single person who had rejected the gift. If Henry were offered, he would most likely accept it due to his desire to be like his sister.
"Well, I guess you can return to your classes now."
Flora got up from her chair and headed toward the door.
"Oh, wait!"
Ms. Whitmorre stood up, seemingly having forgotten something.
"There's someone you need to talk to, from the government. He just wants to ask you a few quick questions; you aren't in any trouble!"
Flora looked at her strangely.
'The government? Who would want to talk with me from there?'
Then, her face darkened as she understood what it was probably about. After all, she hadn't received news about Cullen or Lucas in a while.
"I'll call him in here; it'll just be a few minutes."
Flora nervously sat back down, her mind racing with terrible thoughts. She tried to accept that she would most likely never see Cullen again, but her mind never changed. What if he had been caught? Would he hate her? No, Cullen's opinion of Flora was of the least concern. After all, he may not even be alive.
Sweat formed on her forehead as she anxiously waited. Her teacher flipped through pages, curiously reading like Flora wasn't even there. After carefully looking through each page, the sounds of pens scribbling against paper broke the silence, distracting Flora from what may come.
Then, the door behind her creaked open.
Before Flora could turn, the smell of cigarettes hit her like a slap to the face.
The man who entered the room could barely fit through the doorway, his large physique enough to intimidate anyone. Despite his build, his wavy brown hair and mustache added a hint of elegance to him. Sharp hazel eyes were glued to the floor, and the cigarette hanging from his mouth was still lit.
He spent no time looking around, took the cigarette out of his mouth, and spoke to Ms. Whitmorre.
"Can we have the room?"
"O-Of course!" she stammered.
After she hurriedly got up and left, the man strutted over to the seat in front of Flora and fell into it. Her nerves tightened as the man locked eyes with her.
"I'm going to get straight to the point. Yesterday, Cullen snuck into a building in The Island's center."
Flora's eyes widened.
'That means he's still alive!'
"It is unknown how he got in there, but he got caught while trying to escape. However, when fighting one of our Gifted soldiers, they attracted a very dangerous Abomination."
His rough voice sounded annoyed, like he was hoping for a different outcome.
"In the end, those two managed to defeat the Abomination. While the soldier's guard was down, Cullen took its ability, then used it to escape."
'So Cullen stole another ability? And it seems to be a powerful one…'
"Why are you telling me this?" Flora asked.
After the government decided to keep her in the dark about the search for Cullen, she knew it was unlikely that this would happen unless they needed something. Even so, Flora had nothing to offer.
"To be honest, I thought you'd care a little bit more." The man grunted. "Whatever. The government has become increasingly aware of Cullen, so we need all the data on him we can get. Unfortunately, nothing about his past or his ability is easily available. We need you to tell us everything you know about him."
"I don't know anything." She interrupted. "We didn't talk about our pasts or outside lives on The Island. And I already told you about his ability and personality. You can ask Lucas the same thing!"
The man narrowed his eyes.
"Yes, but you spent some time with him before meeting Lucas."
Flora tried to explain how she barely engaged with him. She only argued with Cullen before he walked off, then Lucas came falling from the sky in a matter of minutes.
"Was there any time you spoke with him after, maybe behind Lucas's back?"
Flora shook her head.
"We were always together from that point forward."
As she finished speaking, a cool gust of wind somehow formed in the office.
"You're lying."
'W-what? What is he talking about?'
"You told me that you spoke with Cullen while Lucas was sleeping. Was there something within that conversation you wished to hide?"
Flora was taken aback, trying to make sense of what had just happened.
'How does he know that? Is his ability a lie detector? That wouldn't explain where he got that information from… can he read my mind?'
She desperately tried to find an excuse, previously unaware of the danger this man posed.
"L-Lucas always said that he was awake even while sleeping. I'm pretty sure he could hear us anyway, so I didn't mention it."
He said Flora told him that information, which makes his ability much more complicated. If he was telling the truth, that meant he spoke with her while she was oblivious to their conversation!
'Wait… I know this man! Just like how I knew Lucas, this man is a famous Gifted! What was his name…'
While Flora couldn't remember the man's name, she could remember his bizarre ability. After all, this power was what convinced the world how crazy Gifted could be!
'In short terms, his ability is to split reality into three different pathways. He can choose what to do in each one, then, after a small period of time, select which one he wants to have really happen!'
Flora came across this Gifted while studying a while back, and it took time for her to completely understand what his ability truly was.
Say that man is playing rock, paper, scissors. Right before he picks which signal to use, he could split reality into three paths. He would pick scissors in one, paper in another, and rock in the last. After figuring out which would win, he would select that path to become reality!
This is one of the strongest abilities humanity has ever seen. In fights, he can choose three different attacks, or perhaps three different directions to dodge, and greatly increase the chance of success! Of course, there are a few weaknesses.
First of all, there was a limit for how long he could keep reality split. For obvious reasons, the government didn't directly say how long it would keep his privacy. Flora assumed that it was close to five or ten seconds, then he would be forced to pick a path.
Also, there were no redoes. If he fails to find a way to succeed or faces an attack certain to hit him no matter what he does, his ability would be useless.
'So this is how he knew about my conversation! He retains his memories of all the other pathways that don't become reality, so he must have asked me different questions to find the answer! I never even thought of using his ability that way…'
This made Flora a bit uneasy, since he could have easily tortured the information out of her, and she would never know.
"Whatever. The government still wants you to go and answer some more questions. There are people there who can make sure you tell the truth, so I would avoid hiding anything."
The man stood up and immediately headed for the exit, signaling for Flora to follow.
"We can go now."
Flora carefully got up, feeling like she could get in serious trouble any second.
'I need to calm down… It's not like I'm hiding information anyway. I should try to set rules for myself so that I don't spill any more secrets. This way, it will be impossible for him to find out—even in different realities."
First, Flora decided not to tell him anything about her past before she became a Gifted. Second, she didn't want him to know anymore about her ability. And lastly, she would try to hide her reasons for becoming a Gifted and what she planned for the future.
In truth, Flora had already told them everything about Cullen. Maybe she left out a few things, but her intention wasn't to hide anything.
'I should be fine now... My next problem is the Gifted, who can tell if I'm lying.'
Flora continued walking behind the man, whose name she still couldn't remember.
Suddenly, he stopped and turned around.
"So, how long ago did you figure out who I was?"
'Crap.'