14 - Facing the past to change the future
«Brianne, please, let me come with you!» I plead, dropping to my knees, my desperation clear in every word.
«Not a chance, Ren!» she snaps, crossing her arms and glaring down at me. «You've been recovered for an hour. You're not ready for patrol yet!»
«I swear I'm fine! I've never felt better in my life! Your blood was… miraculous!» I insist, exaggerating like a kid begging for a new toy. «Just look at me!»
Like a pro boxer, I bounce on my toes, throw a few air punches, and stretch. The pain? Gone. My body? Fully healed. Just hours ago, I was a wreck, unable to move a finger. Now? It's official: I'm a walking miracle!
Now I get why my crystal is classified as A. I can't create fireworks like Clare, move objects like Elaine, or summon hurricanes like Brianne… but I'm practically immortal! One drop of blood, and my body rebuilt itself from destruction—organs, muscles, everything restored. My strength and stamina? Off the charts. Honestly, I can't help showing off a little.
Brianne shakes her head, resigned. She won't admit it, but I know she's impressed. My regeneration is unique, and seeing me move so effortlessly makes her reconsider. Eventually, though reluctantly, she gives in to my pleas.
Tonight's mission takes us to the city's old quarter, a neighborhood frozen in time. Cramped alleys are lined with dilapidated houses, windows shattered or boarded up. Only a few older residents cling stubbornly to their brick-and-mortar memories. The place feels like an open-air museum—without anything worth seeing.
«Why do you let Gin get away with this?» I demand, my voice sharp with anger. That arrogant jerk acts like a despot, and no one dares oppose him! I don't care how powerful he is; I can't believe even the Secret Service hasn't stopped him.
Brianne sighs heavily. Her expression darkens, and I know I'm not going to like what's coming.
«What you experienced is just a fraction of Gin's true power,» she begins, her voice grave—almost fearful. «The tests he willingly took—probably out of some twisted curiosity—showed that his crystal, at full capacity, could level entire cities. He's a living atomic bomb.»
A chill runs down my spine. Gin… that deranged egomaniac… capable of leveling cities? The thought makes me sick. But Brianne isn't done. Her voice trembles, but she forces herself to stay calm.
«What I'm about to tell you is classified. The Secret Service forbade me from discussing it, but… I think you have the right to know.»
Classified? That's never a good sign. My heart pounds as she takes a deep breath. Whatever she's about to say is bound to shatter my world.
«You probably haven't realized it yet,» she begins softly, «but we're in the middle of a global war. What's happening here is just the surface. Out there, beyond what you know, governments, secret organizations, and Crystalbringers far stronger than us are locked in endless conflict—even right now. And Gin… Gin is the deciding factor. His power alone could determine the war's outcome. For now, he's on our side. But if we want to survive, we have to tolerate his presence—even his delusions of grandeur.»
A global war. Governments, secret organizations, and Crystalbringers fighting in the shadows. The world feels like it's shifting beneath my feet.
In my sheltered worldview, I never imagined Crystalbringers existed beyond our borders. And I definitely didn't think groups like the Black Jackets were just part of a much larger, more terrifying puzzle. Yet here I am, thrown into something vast and incomprehensible, my head spinning from the weight of it all.
Things have shifted from bad to apocalyptic, and I'm nothing more than a pawn—helpless and disposable.
«Two Crystalbringers at once. Looks like my lucky night.»
A cold, malevolent voice slices through the silence, sending chills down our spines. It echoes from a shadowy alley off the street we're walking.
Brianne and I freeze. A figure steps out of the darkness, rounding the corner with deliberate calm. He's around forty, tall and lean, with short black hair and cold, gray eyes like ice. Dressed in a sharp suit under a long black coat, he holds a device I instantly recognize: a Crystalbringer radar, identical to the one Clare destroyed in the abandoned factory.
Damn, no doubt about it—he's a Black Jacket!
Instinct pulls me closer to Brianne, ready to follow her lead. But one glance at her freezes my blood. Her usual fiery resolve is gone. In its place, I see pure, unfiltered terror.
Her body trembles, her breathing becomes shallow, and her lips part silently. Slowly, tears fill her eyes.
«Brianne, what's going on?» I ask, my voice shaky with alarm. I've never seen her this terrified.
«His eyes…» she whispers, her voice weak and unsteady. «Eight years… and those cold, merciless eyes still haunt my nightmares…»
In an instant, her paralyzing fear transforms into pure, unrestrained rage.
«THE EYES OF THE MAN WHO KILLED MY BROTHER!» she roars, her voice shaking the air itself.
The man smirks, a cruel, mocking grin that makes me want to shatter his jaw.
«I'm honored you still remember me,» he says, his voice calm but dripping with malice. «The name's Robert Lekhtor. And you must be… ah, yes, Chris Leviantis's kid sister. Am I right? Crystalbringers are rare, and the chances of two siblings both having one are nearly zero.» He tilts his head, his expression turning sadistic. «If I'd known, I would've killed you that night too.»
Fury surges through my veins like molten lava. It's him—the bastard who destroyed Brianne's life and took everything from her.
My teeth clench, fists tighten, my body moving before my mind catches up. Because of this scumbag, Brianne lost everything that mattered.
I'll kill him with my bare hands!
Without hesitation, I lunge at him, driven by a rage I've never felt. Every fiber of me screams for vengeance. I pull my fist back with all the strength I can muster, imagining his head shattering like a watermelon.
«Die, you bastard!»
My fist is inches from his face when—an ice wall materializes out of nowhere. I smash into the cold, transparent barrier, and though my punch is strong, it only cracks the surface. The ice's solidity throws me back, right to Brianne's side.
«What the…» I gasp, staring at the wall of ice.
He's a Crystalbringer. This old bastard has a crystal! But… how?
«Didn't you say Crystalbringers only appeared twenty years ago?» I snap at Brianne. «How does this fossil have powers like that?!»
She's as shocked as I am.
«That man…» Brianne mutters, clenching her fists. «He has the Ice Crystal—the same ability my brother had. Yet… when he killed my brother, he didn't use any powers at all.»
«What do you mean?» I ask, my throat tight.
«That night, he had a vial of crystals. After he killed my brother, I'm sure he took his crystal too. Which means…» She pauses, hatred burning in her eyes as she glares at him. «…the Ice Crystal he's using isn't just any crystal. It's my brother's. There's something happening here that even the Secret Services don't know,» she adds, her teeth clenched. «Damn it… he's figured out how to fuse crystals into his body!»
«You're quite perceptive, little girl,» Robert taunts, a sadistic grin curling his lips. «Too bad that secret dies with you!»
With a flick of his wrist, the ice wall shatters into countless razor-sharp shards. Under the dim streetlights, the fragments become a deadly hailstorm of crystal slicing through the air like shrapnel.
«Stay behind me!» Brianne yells, pulling me back.
With a determined sweep of her arm, she thrusts her palm forward, as if commanding the wind. Instantly, a vortex forms around us—a swirling dome of air, raging with fierce intensity. The icy shards bounce off the barrier, clattering against nearby walls.
Brianne's defense is impressive—but not perfect.
A few shards pierce the turbulent shield, cutting into her flesh like jagged needles. I see her body tense with each strike: one lodges in her side, another slices her shoulder, a third gashes her thigh. Dark blood oozes from the wounds, dripping onto the pavement and staining it crimson. Yet Brianne doesn't utter a sound.
The howling wind slowly fades.
Her jaw tightens, her eyes locked on the man.
«Ren…» Brianne's voice is thin and strained. «Remember what I told you about my brother's death… The Ice Crystal is Class A, incredibly powerful—but it has a weakness.»
The Ice Crystal's weakness...? Right! Brianne once explained it: the Ice Crystal can't handle two simultaneous attacks. Perfect. If we hit him from opposite sides, Robert won't be able to defend.
Our eyes meet. I give Brianne a small nod, and it's enough. We both understand.
Brianne steps back, her eyes burning with determination. I sprint forward, circling wide to flank him. On the way, I grab a street sign, yanking it out of the concrete in one swift pull. It's heavy—but perfect for my plan.
Meanwhile, Brianne clenches her fists. Air swirls around her hands, forming into a raging storm, a pulsating sphere of wind roaring like a hurricane.
Robert is cornered. Brianne charges head-on while I approach from the side, the street sign raised like a steel club. No escape. We've got him.
The wind sphere detonates, sending arcs of compressed air slicing toward him with a sharp whistle.
I lift the sign over my head, every muscle tensed for impact. Robert's gaze darts nervously between me and Brianne—he has to choose who to block. There's no way out. We've already won!
«Take this—»
But something's wrong.
The wind blades hit, slicing clean through Robert's left arm. Blood sprays across the pavement in a gruesome arc—but there's a second fountain of blood.
We missed a critical detail in our perfect plan: instead of defending, Robert went on the offensive. Damn it!
A sudden chill envelops me—unnatural and cold, like death's embrace. Robert's arm transforms into a lance of solid ice, long and deadly. The tip pierces my chest, ripping through my body and out my back, directly at heart level.
This is it, isn't it? Am I… about to die? At fourteen? The thought feels so surreal I almost laugh, if not for the agony crushing my chest. The crystal that saved me so many times is now demanding its price. Too high. Too unfair.
I don't want to die. Not like this. Not now. Why does it have to end this way? My body goes limp, strength draining, but one thought lingers, the final thread keeping me tethered to life.
Brianne.
I can't turn my head, can't move, but I hope—no, I pray—that she's safe. She must survive. Whatever happens to me, she has to live. Brianne, I never told you. Never. How much you mean to me, how grateful I am for everything you've done. My greatest regret is not telling you.
My vision blurs, the world fading like a painting washed away by rain. The pain fades, along with my body. It feels surreal—no more agony, just emptiness, as darkness consumes me.
I hear Brianne's screams, raw and desperate, before they fade away, just like everything else.
The last word on my lips is her name, echoing as the darkness swallows me.