The northern Parts - Act 1: Part 3

I'll be publishing a new free book called https://www.webnovel.com/book/the-not-so-fun-collage_19601381205727305 so if you like my writing style, check it out. It's still in the prologue stage so I hope you'll sit back and enjoy it's development too along with this. Next update will be on 20/saturday)

The party of three was led through a lush green landscape. The place they had arrived at chartered to the standard Asian architectural features with matted flooring and wooden construction which was better suited for the terrain.

And it was not only the indoor which supported the whole idea. Once one exited the room, they directly exited into an inner courtyard with jacaranda’s blooming trees. The courtyard was painted purple with the petals shaded by the tree and even the slanting roof held the colour.

There was a little pond just adjacent to the trees with its surface covered by the floating petals and cassia fistula bloomed in bunches, floating above the sides of the pond.

It was a beautiful and calming scenery which was planned as a painting with a wooden frame of the house accompanying it.

“Here are your rooms. Please make your way to the council room as soon as you are settled” their attendant left them to the room directly facing the inner courtyard.

There were similar courtyards all over the place and special care was taken to maintain the standard of this place.

While Xiao steeled, Kei’s whistle attracted his attention.

“They really spend a lot to maintain this place. Wonder how much they pay the people actually doing all the work?” that was a jab at the nepotism of the upper leaders.

While most of them had a powerful force, there had been others that climbed solely based on the influence of others or had good convincing power. However, there was nothing anyone could do for them.

There a social hierarchy of having only suitable people be at the top, the more modern idea of equality and reservations had made its way in their world too. It had given rise to some of the cancerous parties at the top.

It was better not to comment on this in public though, some people were sensitive.

“Every place has its dark side. The director is doing his best to ensure quality over everything” while Xiao had said that, even though he knew his words rang hollow.

The director as they put it was nothing more than a puppet of the Council Head while elders struggled to maintain their own position. Everything was a tool to them and nothing was sacred.

“You should just break this system then. If you want, I can break it all down to how it was at the start. No power struggle, no plays - just powerful people at the top” Kei’s voice held a promise. Xiao was certain that Kei could do it if he really wished.

There was no greater power than the world tree’s on this side of the Abyss and those people would rather watch this world burn down than help it.

“No. peace is hard to come by as it is. I’m content with this standstill for now” Xiao consoled. While he would like to tear down this system, it was a social evil which had become a necessity.

Kei however did not agree he could just tell with a look. But whatever he thought he kept to himself as there were no further comments.

“Let’s go, we have a client to meet. Let’s get this wish over with” Xiao called out as he finished organising his things. Since they would be here for a while, it wouldn’t hurt to make it comfortable.

He looked over toward Kei who had not even started unpacking yet and didn’t look like he was going to either. At his look, the teen stared back.

“What? Unpacking is a pain and we’re here only for a while” Xiao just shook his head. Let the guy do whatever he wants. It's fine.

The pair moved around the house following the shadow bird through the corridors. While they had the contact information of their client, it didn’t feel right to use it right now.

There was just something in his instincts that told Xiao that the times were tense and he had learned to trust it over the years.

Soon they arrived at another courtyard which to an untrained eye looked the same as the previous few. The place had over 60 courtyards with minor changes and architectural changes.

That was because the whole house was designed as an array. The architect who had planned the house had been one of their own people and had worked out to incorporate the seal into a shape using the square-shaped structure, both in plan, elevation and details. The

The seal spanned in the layers of the house which supported different overall heights and details. This made the place especially difficult to maneuver since it was spread to different tops of the landscape.

But finally they were there in the right courtyard. There were quacks echoing around the place which while not recognisable still meant that they were at the right place. When a white spot flew toward them, they were more than sure that they were at the right place

“You’re here. Did my wish get fulfilled? I don’t feel any different though?” it was their client in all his duck glory. It flew toward them as soon as they had entered but landed after they had covered a significant distance.

“We got the thing needed to fulfil your wish. From here on, it's up to you” Xiao explained as he led the duck to an empty room. Kei followed them and closed the door behind him as soon as all of them were in.

Xiao took out the stone and placed it on the table before the duck. The duck jumped on the table and probed the stone with his beak but otherwise didn’t make any movement.

“What am I supposed to do with this? Where’s the instruction manual for the stone? Or a video guide? Don’t you humans have them for everything?” the image of a duck asking for an instruction manual made for a funny picture and Xiao almost laughed.

But he needed to keep it and concentrate on his work. He could laugh about it in solitude later. When there was no one around to judge him for it.

However, Kei had lost it and was rolling on the ground. He duck, graciously, ignored the teen and turned his beady black eyes toward him instead.

“A guide? A guide he said? A duck asking for a guide, what days?” leaving Kei to laugh and babble to himself, Xiao turned toward the duck and held the stone in his hand.

“You need to swallow this and allow it to dissolve its power inside you. However, since your anatomy is less than ideal, I'll dissolve it into a brew for you. Give it an hour to work around your system” Xiao summarised before he made his way toward the side room.

Kei had collected himself in the meantime and joined him in the kitchen. Miraculously, the teen had not spoilt his white T-shirt while rolling around.

There was a small kitchen in the side room as in every module of the quarters present. The whole courtyard consisted of small service apartment modules lined up against each other, with a common washing facility and dining area.

However, every unit was also equipped with its own necessities for more hushed activities. The walls were also lined with spells for different things like heating and cooling.

“Call an attendant if you don’t feel comfortable doing this alone. There should be no complications tough” Xiao commented as he looked around for the kitchen.

Finding a kettle was easy and soon the brew was ready. The stone itself dissolved as soon as it touched the water and gave it a bluish colour. Once it was poured out in a bowl, they took their leave.

Whatever happened next was not for their eyes to witness. Getting back to their own courtyard was more challenging than finding this place.

Luckily, they had someone with them with a keen sense of responsibility and Noah found them before they reached the rooms.

“Done yet? Let’s go then, I’ll show you the way toward the black branch” he didn’t wait for the confirmation from the pair as he made his way toward the nearest exit.

The landscape outside was no different than inside. However, the addition of rocks made for a big change in the monotony of the inside. In front of them were stone stairs they had to climb down and soon the trio was walking toward the forested area.

“It's beautiful yet so lonely” the unconscious thought left Kei’s lips.

“Yes, it is” Xiao commented back. A lot of manpower went into maintaining the blooming forest they had entered. All around a theme, different shades of colour mixed together with yellow-flowering vines hanging everywhere.

The forest floor was almost unseeable with all the petals covering the path and trees twisted everywhere, their branches a combination of soft and sweet.

However, the place was lonely. No bird sang there and no animal greeted the place. Since it was an artificial creation, animals didn’t survive long here. They were introduced ever so often but due to no availability of natural nutrition, sustaining them was not possible.

Not that the elders cared since they could just introduce new ones.

The forest was also strictly out of reach of common people and heavily guarded. This was all but a jail, a beautiful one, but not less than a golden cage.

As they moved further, Xiao could feel it. The oppressive feeling of the world tree had been a part of his life. In front of him, in a clearing, there was a small tree trunk with branches coming out, purely made up of black crystalline substance.

There were tiny buds visible on them and all around them butterflies flew. Their wings flapped into the air, content to not leave the vicinity of the tess.

Before they could take any steps further, their attention shifted toward the party standing further away in the clearing, just outside the circle. Following it, it could be seen that it enclosed the black tree and the small butterflies.

“Noah, you’re here. The situation just got worse. A cat ate one of the leaves which blew out due to wind. I admit it’s our fault and we’ll add it in the clearing soon but we no longer have a way to research without samples” the one coming toward dressed in a lab coat was none other than the captain of the northern scientific branch.

Dr Sui had been in the field long before Xiao took over this body. He had also been one of the chief investigators of the hunter’s technology and had worked a great deal in making it as safe for everyone as it could be.

In his hand, he held a cage that shook violently. He had the cat inside there which was too excited. He held it out toward Xiao, which was the smart choice in this case.

“We’ll take it from here. Noah, why don’t you take everyone inside. I’ll take a look at the branch and provide you with a summary” that was the normal route.

Noah agreed and even if he passed a curious look at Kie who made no move to follow him, he didn’t comment. Dr Sui looked not to be happy since he clearly wanted to be involved but there was too great a risk.

He didn’t get a chance to comment on anything since he had to follow the obvious command Xiao had given. While Kei moved to do what he had to do, Xiao decided he could let the cat out.

The poor creature had been given quite a scare already. Normally the infected animals were no danger to anyone and only lost their mind at the time of bloom. But people were still afraid of them for a good reason.

The cat was pure black and some of its parts had started crystalizing, like the nails and the top of his ears. However, he still had his soft fur for the most part which had a shine to it now.

“It's so cute” Xiao unconsciously muttered as he held the cat which for the most part seemed content to stay in his arms. Normal animals didn’t like his aura much since it was too overbearing to his senses.

Small ones ran away and the bigger ones attacked him.

However, the contaminated ones really stuck to him. There was a feeling of rightness in between their auras and hence they were much more docile.

“Do you like it like this? I suppose I could preserve it for you. Here let me” Kei said as he took the cat away from him. Xiao quickly gave a look around but there was no one there.

Kei had convinced them to leave. Now that there was no danger around, he felt much more confident letting Kei be more reckless.

“Be careful, what if someone sees. And what do you mean by preserving?” Xiao asked as he handed the cat to the younger. The cat made a little fuzz while leaving his arms but soon settled down in Kei’s who looked as unbothered as ever.

“I don’t care if anyone sees me. I was not trying to hide my powers anyway” he said as he stroked the cat carefully. All the while Xiao could feel a subtle flow of magic in the air which was very familiar.

“Here, I sucked out the residue power is accumulated. It won’t move further so it would be safe” Kei handed the cat back to him and he held it. The feeling of the world tree’s contamination was no longer there, however, the cat still retained the changes.

It stunned him to see such a display of power. His own were undiscovered and unused in a large capacity, but Kei was a totally different branch of work. Xiao could never interfere with the living energy directly unless he was wished upon.

He was limited by the world tree, another price for his unwanted position. Another shackle that bound him. And another grievance he left him with.

However, he had seen Kei originate the butterflies so there should not have been any doubt there. He had those parts of his powers, but surely there was a limit to it too.

He let the jump from his arms as he made his way inside the circle and toward the black branch. The butterflies around him were docile and the pair easily made their way toward the branch.

“Should I do something about the butterflies?” Kei asked and he nodded. As docile they were, he would prefer them out of his way for now.

Kei extended his arm out and the butterflies which were till now flying around began migrating toward his arm. He really had control of them. Perhaps even more so than the world tree and it was a terrifying thought to have.