Chapter 8 - The Next Step

"That story I told may affect you in any way. I hope there is an end. Arcadia may still be alive roaming in this world."

From what I heard, this Arcadia is sort of different than the Arcadia I have heard. During my time, that could have been his father's doing and Alex is fulfilling his father's destiny. But at what cost and motive?

"So the rocket that took everything from me, is the result of you people failing the mission. The organisation that serves and protects failed to stop that rocket."

Vulcan suddenly becomes rebellious and points the blame towards the already guilty Raz, but I get his point. He had every right to be angry, but knowing about the current threat it is best not to blame anyone at this point.

"I could have stopped it, if it wasn't for the massacre. I did not know Alex was that strong."

Raz decides to defend himself, but the guilt has already consumed him. He has no way to turn back anymore. Not after what he had gone through.

"Nonsense. Even if the massacre did not happen, you would all still fail."

"VULCAN, ENOUGH!!"

Kyro screamed so loud that it surrounded the room. One is surrounded by guilt and one is in total disbelief. Either way, they both have to settle this before the next mission. After the shout, Vulcan then storms out of the room and slams the door.

"Kyro, take care of General. I will be going towards Vulcan and try to persuade him."

I then make my way towards Vulcan. Surprisingly he made his way outside already. I could see him walking outside via the glass elevator. As I made my way outside, I called out to him so that he would wait, but he kept running away. But I know one trick.

"Got you!"

"How did you- It is unfair."

"To have such ability. It is fair enough. Care for some talk?"

Vulcan looked away for a while and eventually accepted my offer. We then made our way towards a nearby park and sat at the bench to begin our discussion

"Sir, I am sorry for my ignorance back at the office."

To be fair I kinda get it. But the arguing part doesn't seem to make sense to me. Why argue over something that cannot be undone and had already happened?

"Well I forgive you, but I am not sure about General though. He had been through a lot. So it is best to actually give him some space."

"Please will you relay my apology to the General."

I can't do it. Whoever is in the wrong have to apologise to whoever they have done wrong, at least that is my principle of life. At such a young age, that needs to be thought. Otherwise, society might not even accept him.

"No. You have to say it yourself. You made a mistake, you have to admit it."

"But it isn't totally my fault that tragedy happened. That is why I snapped."

This kid is still young. He had not fully understood the way of life even though he lost part of his life to an unprecedented tragedy due to an unforeseen threat. No matter what, he needs to understand it right now.

"Look here Vulcan. Sometimes, in an argument it is not who is at fault. But the ability to ask for forgiveness gives you the highest advantage to end it."

Vulcan looks down

"Sir. I know it sounds absurd, but I should have protected my parents back then. If I had discovered my true Metavoid potential, then I would have protected them."

I then stood up and began to talk to him in hopes that would enlighten him a bit.

"I have indeed made the same mistake when I was young. Indeed we have the same fate, but our path differs. You lost everything, but I received hope at the time. I lost my parents somewhere in my twenties. But that incident gave me hope as I looked towards the bright side."

The Light Transformer, my goal and what is currently happening is all part of my hope. My Metavoid may not be of much help, but it could ease some burden that couldn't be borne by others. With my Metavoid, I have helped a driver whom I barely know. With my Light Transformer I am able to fight those who oppressed others. With the goal in my mind, it gave me the motivation to remain alive till the very end. With the current situation, it gave me an insight that whatever happens is part of fate.

At least that is my true intention

"But what remains important is that..."

Suddenly, I couldn't speak. Instead, flashes of some sort of flashback came and surrounded my vision. I try my best not to make any noise so as to not startle Vulcan. But what I saw is indeed a bloody mess. The sight of a certain man who seemed familiar wielding a sword and sliced a person with it, ended that tragic vision that I did not expect even came to me. Is this some sort of a premonition? I broke free from those scenes after Vulcan shakes my arm expecting some sort of answer from me.

"I.....I am sorry Vulcan. Anyways, what is important is that the past is indeed a painful story to be told, but it gave you important lessons that could not be taught no matter how. There is no point in regretting about the past and worrying about the future, but there is some point in thinking about the present. No matter what, there is always hope in you."

Vulcan looked at me and finally smiled after some time. He seemed to have understood what I said, but his next step is all on him. Whether he decided to end the argument or to change the fate of himself. If he continues this argument, he will not receive the support he needs, but if he chooses to maintain a bond with Base Zero, he shall reach his goal. But what he is about to say next shocks me more than before.

"Hey, sir. May I ask you something?"

"You could, but push aside the formality. Just call me Rilles."

"So, Rilles. Your Metavoid is actually to stop time for a certain limit, right?"

He guessed it. With a high accuracy of such answer. My identity may be discovered soon enough. But weirdly enough, I trust Vulcan in protecting my secret. This kid is bright and have a potential to make Azalea a better place, but what he needs is hope.

"I don't even know how you guessed it correctly, but listen, kid. Keep that a secret will you?"

Vulcan left a smile and walked away to explore the park. Moments later, I was a bit shocked by Kyro's voice calling out to my name.

"Hey, you manage to persuade the kid?"

"Not sure if he understood or not. But I need to tell you something."

"Something about the kid?"

"That kid is dangerous. I don't know how and I don't know why, maybe I haven't fully understood my own ability. While I was persuading him, I had a vision of him creating a mass war against Arcadia."

Kyro seems shocked. But of course that would be how someone would react when hearing a delusional vision.

"Arcadia? You haven't even met him. How sure are you that it is Arcadia?"

"I don't know, but he screamed the name Arcadia before he sliced someone to half."

To be honest, while I was explaining, I saw the vision. I felt scared, but I kept myself cool so as to not scare him in any sort of way. First of all, what is that vision? Second, is this my true Metavoid potential?

"Oh by the way, the General called. And bring that kid in."

"Oh he needs to. He had something to say to the General."

"What, he wants to pressure the General more with guilt?"

"Not exactly."

"Not exactly? So there is a chance?"

I ignored that question with a grin on my face and brought that kid into the office to meet the General. I really do hope that kid apologises. As we meet Raz once again, Raz is still sitting on his table with both his hands on his chin as if he is thinking about something.

"General, I believe Vulcan has something to say to you."

"General, I would like to apologise for what I have said to you. I'm really sorry."

Raz stares at him for a second. He had no choice but to accept what is good for now.

"Vulcan. I can forgive you. But this is not the time for this. The only way you can redeem yourself is to provide us with all the information you have about the recent encounter."

Well, that could be a solution, but I get the urgency. The situation had escalated to such a scale that one couldn't even comprehend. My goal is still in question. Where are Elita and Ativa? What is my Metavoid's true potential? Which Arcadia even is this? I need answers, but where should I even begin?