The informant took the bullet to the chest in silence. I grabbed the barrel and twisted it away from Powder's palm, disarming her.
"Wow, how did you do that?" she asked, bewildered.
I looked between the informant and Powder. "Better question, why did you do that?"
Powder's face scrunches into a frown as I check to see if the informant is bleeding. "Are you kidding me right now? She's a bad guy."
Seeing the hole in her shirt, I dug my finger in and felt a plate of something hard. Upon pulling my finger back, there is nothing but soot residue. I let out a breath, at least there will be no blood retaliation to worry about.
"A bad girl, actually, but that's beside the point. We need to get away from here." I instructed as I grabbed her hand and marched towards the Last Drop.
Powder was silent for most of the trip, eventually she spoke up.
"You aren't mad at me, are you?" she asked with shame in her voice.
I stopped and took cover in an alley.
"You aimed for the torso." I stated.
Powder looked confused. "Ugh, yeah? Where else am I supposed to shoot?"
"She wasn't a threat after I broke her arm and you knocked her out." I recalled.
Powder lowered her head. "I thought I was protecting you, protecting us."
"Killing is a last resort, okay? I promised not to do that anymore." I explained.
Powder's eyes burned with determination. "I didn't."
I grabbed her hands. "Whoever sent her after us is trying to destroy the life that we have. You understand? We can't risk destroying our lives by taking others lives."
"But, you did it." Powder reminded me.
"And my life was miserable before I met you and your family." I relayed.
"Did I...hurt her?" She whispered, looking down at our hands.
"Thankfully, no. Let's go home." I said as I pulled at her hand, but she didn't move.
"Please, don't be mad at me." Powder requested with quivering lips.
Way to go, genius.
"I'm not mad at you, Powder." I wrapped my arms around her. "I just don't want you to be me."
Powder then began to scratch at my torso like an angry cat, then punched my side, causing me to let go. I stumbled back, in disbelief at what just happened. She's fighting hard not to cry. Backing away slowly, she shook her head, then ran towards the Last Drop. What just happened? I don't want her to follow the path of blood. To start killing at all is unpleasant. It changes you, even if it was for a "just" or a "right" cause. There is a line to cross, and people like me cross it without acknowledging that it was even a thing. I began walking towards the Last Drop. Powder shouldn't have any reason to kill anyone. With what she can do, I just hope she grows out of her fixation with making explosives and finds something better to do with her time. What if I am the problem? What if she's inspired to be more like me because she either empathizes with me or wants to be me? What am I to her in her mind? Am I some sort of hero to her? Vi and Vander are my heroes, they literally saved me. If not for them, I would have been done for, with all the enemies I've made all my life.
"Owen, there you are." Vander called out to me.
Vander is standing behind the bar, cleaning a glass. Sitting across on the stool is him. Vander placed the glass on the counter and walked over to me.
"Let me introduce you to him, okay?" He asked with a face that tells me to be on my best behavior.
With my current state of mind, why not?
I nodded, and he guided me to him. Lifting me up by my arms, he sat me on the stool next to him. He kept his hand on my shoulder, just in case.
"Owen," he gestured towards his guest. "This is my longtime, recently reconciled friend, Silco."
I looked into his eyes, and he looked back at me. What I see is a once passionate man, scorned and betrayed by his brother, and it was all his fault.
"Hello, child, I believe we met under hostile circumstances, of course." He spoke with a smooth but raspy and controlled tone.
"Yes." I confirmed, not taking my eyes off him.
He nodded. "I've been coming to terms with the harm I've caused, all the lives I've ruined. I believed by focusing solely on building Zaun into an independent city, any deed was necessary to secure that future. But all I've done was spread poison and fear."
"And death." I added.
"And death," he repeated. "I don't expect forgiveness, only understanding."
"Zaun will never forget what you've done. I will never forget, do you understand?" I said, at the brink of uncontrollable anger.
He nodded thoughtfully. "Yes, I understand all too well."
I turned away and fell to the floor. "See you in the morning, Vander."
"See ya, Owen," he responded with wistful hope.
As I made it downstairs, I didn't know what to do with myself. So I decided to distract my mind by studying the journal. As I sat on my bed, I took a look around. Everyone stole a glance at me, except Powder, who is hard at work on another project at the bench. Not knowing what to do about her, I focused on the formulas in front of me. The first few pages of the journal held theories that are easily broken down and explained in detail. The handwriting shows signs of constant erasing and passionate writing. These pages carry battle scars that survived perhaps decades of page turning and abuse from lead scraping against them. As for the writing itself, it is difficult to follow. From page to page, there are formulas and theories that compare modern science with magic. Sigils, crests, runes, and otherworldly symbols were explained in such grand detail that I would have deemed this as nonsense if there weren't extensive notes explaining the significance of each symbol. By the time I was done reading, I'd reached the end of the journal. Is that it? So much information, but so few pages. If anything in this journal is true, then there has to be more, so much more.
"Hey." Powder stood in front of me. "Can I sit?"
"Yeah, sure." I welcomed her and placed the journal aside.
Powder lowered herself on my bed. Keeping her hands on her knees, it took her a while to make eye contact with me. "What I did was wrong."
"What exactly?" I asked, wanting her to verbally explain herself.
"The." She turned her eyes towards the others, who were talking amongst each other in the corner with the weights. "The gun. Me shooting her wasn't right."
I nodded. "Anything else?"
A tear rolled down her face, which she wiped away. "I hit you, and I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to. I just."
I watch Powder struggle to process her thoughts with her emotions. It seems she has trouble understanding how to express her ideas.
"What am I to you?" I asked.
"You're mine, you're special to me," she admitted.
"That's it? Just special?" I asked with a playful smile.
She shook her head. "What do you want me to say?"
"I must be more than special for you to hit me like you did." I speculated.
She rubs her arms. "You're everything I want to be."
"You don't want to be me." I stressed.
"People respect you. They're afraid of you." Powder is getting animated. "Vi is even afraid of you. Everyone in Zaun knows who you are."
My eyes fell to my hands.
"Owen, you have power in Zaun. I saw you talking to Silco," she disclosed.
I looked at her again. "You are sneaky."
Powder wiped her face. "I should have never hurt you, I wasn't thinking. You've been through too much."
"I forgive you." I said with sincerity.
Powder finally smiled. "Are we still, am I still special to you?"
"You will always be special to me." I stated.
She smiled and moved her hand towards mine, hesitantly. Admittedly, I'm hesitant to continue speaking to her. Completely cutting people off is a necessary skill that I have mastered, along with a handful of other social skills. But to do that to Powder, it would have to be permanent. She will always be my friend, and I will always love her as the family who accepted me into their lives when they didn't have to, but the betrayal of trust like this can't be ignored.
My hands remained steady. "Powder, what happened in that alley? I didn't expect that from you. That can't happen again."
She stopped moving. "Okay. I promise."
Appearing sheepish, she looked down at her knees again, then turned her right hand over and reached out in my direction. I dropped my fingers over hers, and she jumped. Our fingers laced into a firm grip.
She inhaled sharply. "I'll never hurt you again."
"I'll hold you to it." I affirmed.
We sat there for a while before I decided to show her what was in my journal, like I promised. After a while, Vi, Mylo, and Claggor dozed off to sleep, while Powder and I kept a small light to ourselves.
"It doesn't make sense, magic is forbidden, isn't it?" Powder asked.
"Maybe. Hal didn't make it known that he was studying magic." I revealed
"What? Why wouldn't he tell you?" She asked while trying to keep her voice down.
"Maybe, he wants to reel me in by feeding me these clues to 'the secrets of the universe.'" I bet he's trying to finish his own private project and use me as a fall guy when things go wrong." I theorized.
Powder went quiet. I looked over at her to see a worrying look on her face.
"You need to get away from him," she finally said.
"That's going to be a problem. He's sort of a big deal, you know? Being a professor and all." How do I turn off sarcasm?
Powder shook her head. "Be careful. I know reporting him won't do anything."
"Exactly. It's a game to these top-siders. The only two ways to win are to either not play at all or win." I explained.
"What's the prize for winning?" Powder asked with wide eyes.
"The universe." I answered as I ran my hands over the journal.
Magic has never interested me. Hearing about it seems impossible. I've never seen it in action. All I've heard of magic, before the academy, was of how powerful it could be. Could. In the wrong hands, magic can make things so much worse. In the hands of the ambitious, life could be a nightmare. If anything, magic shouldn't exist at all. But here we are, given the chance to shape the world with power that's beyond our control. Control, maybe that's the problem.
"Let's get some sleep." I suggested.
"Okay." Powder agreed but didn't move.
I didn't want her to go. Our hands didn't move either. So we just sat there. She then rested her head on my shoulder and squeezed my hand.
"Don't lose yourself," she whispered.
I didn't respond. My mind is consumed with the possibilities that were shown in that journal. What could Professor Hal want with me? I'm sure there are other brilliant minds in the academy. As soon as I thought about the possibility of smarter kids than me, I suddenly remembered why he chose me. Finding answers, being the knife. Zaun was my first mystery to solve: how to cure its sickness. I fought most of my life, surviving its poison. I fought the latter half of it being its vicious cure. With the assistance of Vander and his friend Silco, Zaun is finally cured. For some reason, my mind can't rest, it has to find another mystery to solve, to cure if possible. Magic, is it the next mystery or the poison?
"Owen!" Powder squeezed my hand, bringing me out of my problem-solving mind. I faced her, my mind finally slowing down as I absorbed her features.
"Stay with us," she requested.
"I will, I promise." I promised many times. Suppose it's necessary for me to keep making that promise. There's never a moment when the urge to break away is silent, it's always there. I want to be free from everyone to pursue the mystery. But I love them, I love my family.
Powder slid off my bed, finally breaking our hold. She stood there, deciding whether or not to stay just a while longer. Looking back at me, she gave a quick smile before tiptoeing back to her bed. I stretched my legs out on mine and closed my eyes. The formulas flooded my mind, their symbols as clear as day, screaming their meaning. I don't know if I slept the whole night off. As soon as I closed my eyes, it was time to open them once again. I kicked my legs, causing me to jerk awake before Powder could wake me. She's already dressed, looking at me as if I hit her. Then she recovered.
"Let's go, everyone's waiting," she said with a soft smile.
As she left for upstairs, I occupied my mind with how I'll approach Professor Hal. He's a disturbed and obsessed Yordle. Admittedly, he's a lot like me. Dealing with him should be as simple as looking into the mirror. When I threw my clothes on, I met up with the rest. Vi rested her hand on my shoulder as we walked towards the academy. Ekko and Powder carried on a conversation that I hardly contributed to. Mylo and Claggor discussed an unexpected interest in environmental cleansing. Vi is uncharacteristically quiet, choosing to be smothered within the vibrant atmosphere that we provided. Handshakes were given, and hugs were traded for see you laters.
Professor Hal wasted no time diving into the subjects of quantum mechanics. Despite us being too young to understand the subject. His enthusiasm and teaching methods made it possible to understand in simple concepts. It's going to be a slow and tiresome journey to break down every detail into consumable mind food for prepubescents. Somehow or another, he's thriving at the ordeal. With 401 years of experience, he'd better be the best teacher Piltover has to offer. To no one's surprise, Hal wants to see me after school. It doesn't help that he announced that in front of everyone. If anything terrible happens to the professors, my name will be whispered amongst them. Blackmail didn't bother me in Zaun, as then I had no one that could be used against me, and I was homeless. But now, in Piltover, blackmail is a dangerous and effective tactic that can destroy my family. Hopefully, the people of Zaun are generous. If Hal or any of his colleagues tries to use blackmail against me, I'll abandon Piltover for as long as I live. Perhaps I will even excuse myself to have a few accidents as I leave. Hal invited us all to the blackboard to experience the joys of shattering social anxiety. Displaying our flaws and ignorance in front of everyone strangely bonded us together. I've even made a few friends. It's still difficult to process that idea, that I am capable of doing that. Then the lunch bell rang.
"Suppose that's it for now. Try not to forget the fun you had in here today. Next hour we'll pick up where we left off." Hal promised. Everyone got up to leave until it was just us. I approached Hal with the journal as he organized his desk.
"The formulas kept me up at night." I informed him as I placed the journal on his desk.
Hal stopped what he was doing, looked at the journal, then back at me. "Did they now?"
"Pretty sure that's not supposed to happen." I decided as I crossed my arms.
"But, you do understand them?" Hal inquired as he picked up the journal.
"Yes," I answered.
"If I were to quiz you on them right now?" Hal asked with a squinted eye.
"The answers would fall out of my head and cut through the desk." I explained.
That put Professor Hal in a wheezing laughing fit.
"My, don't you have a colorful way of speaking? Go ahead and eat, you need it. I'll have more material for you to absorb." He turned away towards his drawer, then paused in place. "That is, unless you've grown disinterested in the secrets?"
Whatever he's playing at, he's doing it well. Drawing me into a game where the stakes are high, if I lose, but the rewards, the secrets of the universe, are worth it.
"I want to know it all." I declared with finality.
Hal clenched his fists and nodded his head. It looks as if he's satisfied with my answer.
Upon turning around, he gave me his hand. "Together, we can understand it all."
His eyes bore an all-consuming hunger that no amount of secrets the universe has can satisfy. I shook his hand anyways. My fate was altered once before. I felt it the moment Zaun was healed from within. Now, I get the feeling that I have joined the sea of eternity. The lunchroom's more like a banquet. Large round tables are arranged in an organized fashion. Butlers and maids provided meals and cleaned dishes with unnatural fluidity. Unnatural to me anyways, as I have never seen people glide from table to table without spilling a single drop of food or liquid. It wasn't difficult to spot blue and white hair in a crowd of anthropomorphic kids.
"Hey, Owen." Ekko greeted me as he was in the middle of eating a dish that actually looked edible.
"Sup. That looks colorful." I observed while reaching under the table to grab Powder's hand.
She squeezed it quickly and beamed at me. "What did Professor Hal want?"
"We are going to be spending a lot of time together, I think." I assumed.
Her smile faded.
"You need tutoring already?" Ekko asked as he enjoyed a mouthful of his food.
"For the amount of extra work he wants me to do, oh yeah." I said as a plate of a properly prepared bird creature is laid in front of me.
"They're trying to fatten you up." Powder commented as a plate of seasoned grilled fish landed in front of her.
"You know, Piltover can't be that bad. Can't beat the food." I complemented as I destroyed every trace of flesh in front of me. This time, it's not tearing my guts up, imagine that?
"How long is lunch, by the way?" Ekko asked as he wiped his mouth, and a butler took his plate away.
"We got a whole full 40 or so minutes left." Powder leaned back in her chair.
"Why don't you show me that journal while we wait?" Ekko suggested as he moved his chair closer to me.
"Sure." That's when I remembered that I had already turned it in. "Aw, I already gave it back. But I can write what I remember down."
I grabbed a napkin, pulled out a pen, and began writing every symbol and explaining them in condensed detail. The words flew out of my mouth as soon as I tried to give MY explanation. The knowledge feels alive in my mind.
"Um, why don't you get a job here?" Ekko asked as he was distracted by the near uncontrollable word vomit that I was under.
"And be a little man like you? No, thanks. I have enough on my plate as it is." I complained. Powder tapped my shin with her shoe.
"What do you think, my blue-haired wonder?" I asked her as I showed her the napkin.
She glared at me, and I returned her glare with a wide smile. Then she turned her eyes to the napkin and looked over it with a bird's focus. Slowly, she shook her head.
"I don't like this." She leaned back in her chair. "Please don't get involved with this."
It's polarizing. On one hand, this could end quite badly, on the other, I'll discover something, and I don't know what that something is. What is wrong with me? The secrets of the universe—what if those secrets are beyond what I can handle? What if it holds every nightmare that I haven't experienced? Or has horrors that will make every nightmare I have ever had seem like child's play.
"I have a lot to think about." I spoke up.
"Do you?" Powder leaned in. "This isn't worth it. Whatever that is." She pointed at the napkin. "It isn't worth it. I don't like what I see, Owen."
I frowned as thoughts of all the things that could go wrong flooded my mind. "Neither do I."
"So, no job?" Ekko chimed in.
"Nope. Just going to be a broke kid." I said, but then an idea ignited in my brain.
I looked at Powder, she met my eyes with signs of realization. I looked at Ekko, whose expression told me that I'm slow. Why didn't I think of this before?
"We need to get better at making stuff." I proclaimed.
"Simple stuff?" Powder guessed.
"Stuff that won't blow up or bite fingers off—" Ekko listed off
"What happened to fun Ekko?" Powder whined.
"Hey," he shrugged. "It's a growing world. We have to grow with it."
"Spoken like a true man." I said as I balled up the napkin and opened my hand over the plate, nothing came out.
A hand reached beside me and took the plate away. I looked up to see a butler whose face is mostly mechanical. He walked away without saying a word of what he might have seen. I got up and walked out. When I turned into the hallway, I only stopped because of Powder and Ekko's hands pulling at my clothes.
"What was that?" I asked.
"I don't know, I was going to ask you!" Powder exclaimed.
"None of you are pulling any tricks?" I asked them as my eyes scanned their faces for any deceit.
"This time? No, it was all you. Are you pulling something on us?" Ekko asked as he eyed me with suspicion.
"No." I shook my head. "No."
I looked at my hand from front to back.
"This is getting freaky." I muttered.
As we returned to class to finish the day. I couldn't help but notice Professor Hal's behavior before I turned to take my seat. He held an expression that told me he knew. It might be all in my head. To be fair, to get that impression behind a face full of fur is a stretch. The hours ticked by faster than I liked. Despite the fright in the dining room, it excited me. It's all starting to fit together now. Putting my hands together, along with the formula I formed in my head, I brought back the napkin. This is it. Is this my next great project? Whatever path I take, it will be to bring greatness to my family. The bell rang, signaling the end of general education and, perhaps, the beginning of my true education. I approached Hal with purpose, which he picked up right away.
"Yes, young Owen? You have something to show me?" The glint in his eyes said it all.
Looking behind me, I made sure that no one but us was watching. Turning back to him, I pulled out the napkin and repeated the process of disassembling and reassembling the napkin the way it was. Hal clenched his fists, and for the first time, I saw his smile. His razor-sharp teeth glistened with pristine hygiene. What do you know, Vi is right.
"Come with me right away, young Owen." Hal marched off his table and collided with the floor, visibly unbothered by the impact. I will never get tired of seeing that. We made it to the same room in no time at all. All 22 professors are here. As we entered, the door shut tightly behind us. The sound it made as it slammed made it sound denser than wood, strange. Given the nature of the world that I just entered, no, it's not that strange at all anymore.
"Beside me, Owen." Hal whispered to me. I did as he said. We continued to walk until Hal stopped 4 paces from the bulk of the professors. They continued to discuss the nature of the formula I answered yesterday.
"He has arrived." Hal announced. All of their heads snapped to me, which instantly made me break out in a sweat.
The tallest professor in the room walked forward. "Does he have something to show us?"
"Indeed he does." Hal turned to me. "Owen?"
All the professors stared at me, awaiting the expected. I delivered what I have revealed to Hal. To my surprise, none of them are reacting in a way that encourages me to kick through that door and bolt home.
"Is he a mage?" the tall guy asked.
"Why don't you ask him? He has a mouth, you know." Hal slyly suggested.
Taking no offense, the tall man turned to me and asked. "Are you a mage?"
"No. I'm guessing mages are born with magic? No." I answered.
"He can visualize formulas and use them as a conduit." Hal explained.
I can.
"A conduit for what?" the tall man asked.
"The answer for that can be as vast as the universe itself." Hal continued.
Another professor approached us as the rest returned to the board and erased until they had enough space for new formulas to write down. This professor standing next to the tall one is of slightly average height for a male, but he has, or had, feathers on his face and hands. It looks as if they've been plucked clean for aesthetic purposes.
"Visualization is a part of the formula," he stated.
"It seems so, however, we are getting ahead of ourselves. Owen here still has much to learn. It would be unwise to rush into the unknown unprepared." Hal suggested.
"Sounds about right. I want to know exactly what I'm getting into before I agree to anything." I demanded.
The two professors looked at me in shocked offense but backed down as I stood my ground. They returned to the other professors, no doubt to tell them about their new discovery.
"Hm, that was rather bold of you." Hal complimented.
"I never enjoyed being taken advantage of." I confessed as I kept my eyes on them.
"You'll get used to them and the others. In fact, in this room, we battle with wit and ideas." Hal disclosed as he bore his eyes into me.
"What about secrets?" I asked as I held his gaze.
He softly chuckled. "We all have them."
Suddenly, my mind is filled with pitch blackness. I am thrust into a world of utter darkness. What is this place? Wait, his eyes are always dark. Black is not his true eye color, this is what's sitting in his very soul. It's so congested with darkness that it has reached his physical eyes. As I stare around, within the void of darkness, I can feel those cold eyes looking back into mine. It's wrong in here, beyond wrong. No one should carry this much darkness within them. Calm, remain calm, and think. The equation is simple. You should have tried harder, Hal. Sol. The formula of pure light purged the darkness around me and brought me back to my being. Hal stumbled backwards and shut his eyes closed.
"Agh." He rubbed at his eyes and chest. "You have a quick mind."
The other professors stopped their theorizing and looked at us.
"And you're filled with darkness. What happened to you?" I asked, still feeling a bit off from equilibrium from whatever that was.
Hal inhaled. "My journey into the universe led me to unimaginable wonders and horrors."
I walked closer and knelt in front of him. "You expect me to walk with you on this journey?"
"And why wouldn't you?" Hal opened his eyes, and for a moment, I saw his true eye color before the darkness consumed them again, like ink bleeding through paper.
"So far, it seems like your club is nothing more than a fight pit for thinkers." I observed as I looked over the professors who returned my glare with equal intensity.
"Each member brings something new to the fold, a new perspective could change it into something better. You understand that, right?" Hal expressed.
This is the first time I've heard Hal sound somewhat vulnerable. If anything, this is his manipulative tactic to fish for anything he can find. And it's working. He has shown me the wrongness in him, just as he sees the wrongness in me. I can't withstand the desire to free him of his affliction. The same was done for me. Now, it's time for me to return the favor.
"We'll explore the vastness of the universe to its ultimate conclusion." I declared as I held my hand out.
"You have a foreboding way of speech, you know." Hal reached out and shook my hand.
"So I've been told." I stood up. "What other surprises am I in for?"
The professor with the thin and angular features approached me. "You have a sharp mind and a strong spirit."
"And you have a strong personality, you didn't even say hello." I joshed.
She lowered her head. "Although it isn't typical for us to disclose our names freely," she leaned close to my ear. "It's Errat."
As she drew back, I waited to hear the familiar turning gears of doom, but there's nothing.
"What is it?" she asked.
"Oh, nothing, just." I exhaled a breath of relief. "Was expecting someone to blast the door down. Don't mind me. Now what were we going to do"
"Well, new initiates are pushed through a trial of sorts." Errat began to explain.
"Let me guess, I get to do more of those mental battles?" I inquired.
"If that's what you would like to call it," she accepted.
"Because that's what it is." I decided.
"It was pretty mental." Hal chimed in.
Errat clapped impatiently. "Alright, let's get started."
In that instant I am once again thrust into a world of unknowns.