Chosen One

One minute ago is the past, the one minute to come in the future, the one minute we are living now in the present. Those words echoed in Elijah's mind. She repeated it and justified Sunshine's last words have meaning, that she should use her time and make decisions wisely.

"I've come this far. From the beginning, I wanted to know what happened to my mother. Why is she so attached to Underworl?"

After making such a question, Elijah raised a card. Elijah flipped it. The card page was as empty as ever. This time she was no wonder, she already knew how to play so she put it on the table, and as happened before, Sunshine tapped her index finger three times onto the surface of the paper, then a white flame began to appear. After that, the image appeared on the surface.

"What is this?"

"Blue fire pattern," Sunshine replied.

"This... This is what I saw on Max's body. What does that mean?"

"This blue fire color means Max has demon blood. You have it too. The pattern will vary from each offspring."

"And Max..." Elijah carefully showed her curiosity.

"Hell dog," Sunshine replied without enthusiasm.

Elijah was surprised. Her face implied something else. The thing mentioned by Sunshine was beyond her expectations.

"Looks like you're expecting something bigger than that?"

"No. I don't know. I was just wondering what it had to do with the ocean. It looked like there was an ocean. It's inconceivable to me that he is a hell dog, so he has three heads? The tail is burning, ah no, the tail is in the form of blue flames, so is it? Wait, isn't that hell dog a demon nation? The guardian of hell?"

Sunshine's eyes squinted. "Looks like you're a fan of mythology huh?"

Elijah sheepishly said, "Every now and then when I'm bored I find some books that my mother has and I read it."

"Oh...."

Elijah leaned forward and whispered, "So is that really what it looks like?"

Sunshine replied, "One day you will see for yourself what it is. Don't be surprised!"

Elijah pulled her body back. Sunshine's language is clearly a sign that she doesn't like to continue the conversation about Max's original form.

"You were hesitant, now you're interested in exploring it?" Sunshine saw an attraction in Elijah's face. This, according to her, could trigger a revival of the power buried in Elijah.

"About it... I really want to know why my mom went back to Underground, I mean to the underworld. Ever since Max told me that my mother was married to a demon, it feels like I really don't know my mom and what weighed on her all along. If my mother was really killed, I should know the reason why she was killed. If I can't accept that reason maybe I'll kill the person who killed my mother."

Elijah looked at Sunshine. It was her way of showing that all she said was sincerity. She didn't make up her wish just to be noticed.

"Besides, I'm curious about something. Did my mother really put me to sleep so I wouldn't hear her go or it was just my imagination? You and Max asked the same thing. If it is not intentional from the mother, it means that on that day something has happened."

Elijah then furiously looked at the tarot that was still piling up.

"I think I know how this tarot works. This Tarot translates my subconscious, doesn't it? It showed me the things I've actually seen. How to explain it huh? But I'm right, right?"

"It's connected to the subconscious, not just my memory. The details of this blue fire are more numerous than I remember, meaning it was my subconscious that took over the task of remembering and then reflected back here."

Elijah looked at Sunshine to ask for reassurance. At that moment Sunshine nodded. It made Elijah happy but the excitement happened for only a moment. She fell silent because she realized the power of the tarot was quite terrifying. She became stiff for a long time.

During that time, Sunshine observed Elijah. She tried to guess what was on the young girl's mind.

"Is there something bothering you?" Sunshine asked, pretending she couldn't guess the things that had tangled in Elijah's head.

"In that case, I can tell what happened that day, right? At least even if it's just a sketch?" Elijah asked in an uncertain tone.

"We can tell what creatures are affecting you until you think your mother put sleeping pills on you."

"So it's not a detailed event?"

Sunshine shook her head.

"Tarot does work to translate the subconscious, but it's not like a photographic camera capturing scenes, it's about capturing underworld creatures involved in your daily events. If I use it on humans, this card will show what kind of creatures control and possess them."

"A powerful subconscious can store data from thousands of years ago and these tarot cards are like a printing tool to see what kind of underworld creatures have been involved in life for thousands of years."

Elijah was so impressed by the greatness of the old card that she was speechless. She began to understand why only a true reader could see and translate the images that emerged from the card. She also began to assume that Sunshine's age was thousands of years old.

"I'm not thousands of years old. It is the knowledge that is of such old age!"

Elijah didn't know what to react to. She was surprised, Sunshine read her mind.

"This card is given hereditarily."

"Then why did it fall into my mother's hands?"

"This thing was once lost and I asked your mother to find it, as a hunter she knew ways to find lost objects. At that time I asked her to find it but after finding it I wanted her not to give it to me right away, I asked her to keep it because I wasn't ready."

"How long is this kept by my mother?"

"I don't know, she didn't tell me when and how she found it. I also just found out that she was already successful when you came and brought it."

"So my mother as a hunter her job is to find the missing items?"

Sunshine smiled sweetly. She condones Elijah's innocence in the world her mother lived in all her life. She also felt sorry for Elijah for having such a mother.

"In the simplest language like that, but in reality, the action exceeds that simple concept."

"What does that mean?"

"Searching for lost goods is only one of her duties."

Sunshine's remarks led Elijah to reread the allegations written in her head about the cause of her mother's death. As a hunter, she might as well be hunted. That's the conclusion in the meantime.

"Every hunter also has the possibility of being hunted. I also want to know who hunted her down and I think the answer is in your memory," Sunshine said, this time the pressure of her voice was very deep and terrorized Elijah. Elijah pressed her chest so that her heart would not come out.

"Therefore opening each of these cards will make us arrive at the figure that has been hidden in my subconscious mind?"

Sunshine nodded. The confirmation made Elijah hold her breath. She tried to control her own heart while strengthening mentally. She stared at the pile of cards that hadn't opened yet.

"Why didn't you say it from the beginning?"

"So that you don't get scared. Feeling the pressure can make the subconscious shut down."

"The subconscious can shut itself down?"

"Yes. In addition, the subconscious can also act outside the control of the mind. It can happen if you're so traumatized that your subconscious forms a self-defense system."

The rumbling inside Elijah's chest felt urged to get out freely.

"Then I have to continue."

Elijah took another piece of tarot card from the pile. At heart, Sunshine is looking forward to a plot twist.

The same thing happened when Elijah raised another card from a pile of unreadable cards. The card sheet is empty. The circle-shaped card is then placed on the table. She didn't have to wait long because Sunshine immediately performed the same action as before.

The index finger of her left hand was truly magical, Elijah thought.

A fire pattern appeared like the previous two cards. Then leave a picture. Elia observed an image of a human figure with a stocky, large, bald head. The man was wearing a singlet T-shirt and baggy pants. Both the pants and the shirt are white. There was a smoke pattern around him. The background is in the form of old buildings. It's a deep brown color, like a city that's burned out. In the man's hand was a knife. He has a tattoo on his left arm.

"Who is he?" Elijah raised her face. She was sure she had never known or met that person before.

"You've crossed paths with him, but you ignored him. Your subconscious takes over remembering that person because your subconscious thinks the moment is important to keep. If one day you see him again, the system inside you will raise an alert alarm in your brain, then even if you don't know why you are wary of this person, you will still follow your instincts."

"So he's dangerous?"

Sunshine looked at the reaction she had to give and then replied, "It depends on what the need is. If he thinks you are a target to be killed, then you must be killed. The figure that appears on your card is the city guard, commonly called Draft. This type exists in every city. He doesn't care what people do in their daily lives, in business, politics, or lovemaking, his main job is to secure the city."

Elija's forehead shriveled. She tried to recall when she had met that figure. Finding it difficult, she chose to ask a question. "Is he part of the underworld?"

Sunshine nodded.

"He's half a demon?"

Sunshine shook her head.

"He's human, but he has the power of borrowing. That power can be obtained from half a demon, a demon, or any other creature."

"Why does he need such power?"

"You think why?"

Sunshine hung her sentence as if reality was so clear in front of Elijah that it didn't need to be clarified.

"In that case, all Drafts definitely have borrowed power?"

Sunshine nodded.

"Especially if he gets elected or gives up being turned into a Draft."

"Then this Draft refers to all the city guards?"

"Yes."

"Then how do humans become Drafts?"

"Usually they have a desire, in summary, there are those who invest in wealth, health, for family financial support, some want to live a long life."

"In that case, every power he receives is in accordance with his request?"

"Yes."

"Instead they should take care of the city?"

"Not really, depending on the agreement he agreed to."

Sunshine pointed to the figure on the card.

"He became the guardian of the city."

"It's strange, what kind of system is this? What of them is there asking not to die?"

"Maybe this illustration will make it easier for to you understand the system. Once upon a time there was a man who needed money, he had worked hard but his need for money was not fulfilled, then he found a magical way to earn money easily. He met one of the demons or half-demons. He said his request and the creatures he encountered were fulfilling it but in return, the man would later work on the demon or half the demon who gave him the financial guarantee. And everything that goes from human to follower is called Draft."

"Then their duties are determined by the sound of the agreement. Most become guards. The draft that appears on your card is a city guard. It means that he meets a demon or half a demon who controls the city, whether in business or politics, but in the meantime he meets the half-demon who rules the city through his business. Maybe he's a conglomerate in the city."

"In short, he thickened himself," Elijah's words sounded soft. She made a conclusion for herself. Then she looked again at the picture. She realizes the background of the city he sees is similar to the city she just left with Max.

"This is Max's domicile town."

Sunshine did not react. Meanwhile, Elijah continues to remember how she crossed paths with the Draft.

"I remember I passed someone when I came out of Bar Jam. I didn't know it was Draft, I just caught a glimpse of the tattoo. More or less like that."

Sunshine sighed.

"It's good that you finally realize one by one your unexpected encounters with the underworld," Sunshine said as she poured tea into her own glass. Sunshine offered Elijah tea without speaking. She simply raised the kettle near Elijah's teacup. Elijah received the services of Sunshine.

"Go on again, if you already don't have any questions about the Draft."

Sunshine spoke as she put the kettle on the table.

"It's still there," Elijah hurriedly replied. She then revealed her question in a huff, "In that case, this Draft is actually dead?"

Sunshine seemed to remember something sad but not too sad. It was as if he was sympathetic to Draft's fate. "For his family, he was already dead, his death manipulated when the deadline had come," she said.

Elijah was stunned.

"Any assistance provided by its ruler is accompanied by a contract agreement. Remember, I explained that the time limit of his life was in accordance with the employment contract?"

Elijah could only recall Sunshine's previous explanation. At the same time, there was something else that attracted her curiosity.

"What can all demons and half-demons do?"

"No, the ability to turn humans into Drafts includes limited abilities. One thing that is certain of any creature that can do it, has the innate power to do so."

Elijah was horrified and at once fascinated by the caption.

"Isn't that against the rules of nature?"

"No, innate immortality means that the creature has that ability from birth. This means that ability can be used. How the creature going to use it, it's up to them."

Elijah felt that the level of natural genius could be very dangerous.

"Why should something like this exist?"

"I don't know either."

Elijah was silent again. Sunshine is looking forward to the next question. When Elijah came across another question, she immediately raised her face.

"Then in B'Tavia City, is there more than a Draft?"

"Yes, although the creatures that have the ability to turn humans into Drafts are limited, the number is the same as the number of conglomerates in the human world. It's also hard to predict their activities."

"How many people are in the underworld actually?"

This question was basic, but Elijah felt the need to know in order to be better prepared to face them.

"You can't imagine it."

With such an answer, Elijah could only be stunned. How much is directly involved in world politics and the economy, Elijah asked in her own mind. She then remembered something, so she asked, "You said humans are drafting in two ways, some are because they were selected and some are because they give up, what's the difference?"

Elijah was looking forward to Sunshine's reaction. Elijah hopes Sunshine doesn't shut up on this.

Sunshine crossed her legs. Elijah felt no need to rush to what she wanted to know. She just needs to follow the flow.

"There is nothing specific. The difference here is of course the content of the agreement."

"What do you mean?" Elijah felt that wasn't the answer. The information from Sunshine had not eliminated her confusion.

"For example, you have children, and you are so eager to be rich, you meet the creature, in the deal you yourself are not willing to be their follower, and then selfishly thicken your child, from the perspective of that covenant then the child is chosen."