a fugitives story

A new cold look washed over the old man's face.

"why they became fugitives." Chike's breath hitched. Though he had not expected a new information to more than what he hypothesize. He was more interested in the statement before that.

"The use of one's gift kills."

The words struck like a hammer. Chike reeled, his thoughts unraveling in a spiral disbelief. When he first encountered it, he felt the 'gifts' were a limitless gateway to power - something awe inspiring. Grey's overconfidence steeped in his mind, drunk on strength and certainty. Chike wasn't one to believe in perfection either. Somewhere deep down he knew there would be a cost. But death? That wasn't just a flaw - it was a curse.

His eyes flickered toward Peter, who was still focused, calmly managing the arcane doorways hoovering in the air around him. A while ago the boy was awed by his expertise and focus. Yet now he saw it differently. With each movement, each doorway. It felt like the man was burning fuel he couldn't replenish. Each passing hour closely bringing him to death.

Edward watched the young boy intently - It was almost like he was well aware of his thought process. Or it was the years of experience using his gift and dealing with young people, particularly in the Militia. However this was the first time he'd deal with someone faithless as the boy. The idea thrilled his core. Then he spoke.

The old man's voice pulled him back. It was steady, but there was something in it - something brittle.

"I told you I was desperate to prove my loyalty at every point - over and again. Because of the perceived flaw of my gifts. My superiors simply couldn't trust me enough." He turned to look directly at Chike as if measuring weather the boy could handle the truth. "that desperation, I was always the first to quell the fire of doubts within my ssubordinates. To punish blasphemy. Eventually my promotion was undeniable. Earning me a final recommendation."

Chike was listening now, completely.

"I was one mission short of promotion," Edward continued. "Just one. After that, I was to be named grand commander, with it came a seat at the table. We'd completed the assignment. Everything was perfect. My subordinates even started celebrating, congratulating me. I remember thinking I'd done it…"

His voice faltered for the first time.

"But as we prepared to leave, it happened - an anomaly."

He paused, half realizing he used a word Chike wasn't familiar with.

'We've been trained anomalies were rare. They only appeared when a demon possessed an inanimate object, causing it to distort, lash out. But this one didn't attack. It simply….pointed."

Chike's brow furrowed.

"A direction?" He asked.

Edward nodded. "Toward somethin. A path."

"Ordinarily I would have retreated and simply await instructions from my superiors. But I was in high spirit - I was soon to become of of those superiors. An anomaly was easy to deal with. And besides…" he gave a weary smile, "…you cant ask someone whose gift is knowledge too turn away from strangeness."

Chike's throat tightened. He knew the feeling all too well. Curiosity had always dragged him into trouble.

"So, I moved forward. Told Grey and the others to hold position while I investigated. I barely walked ten feet before the direction shifted - then pointed straight down."

A shadow passed over the old man's face.

"A gust of wind hit - violent and sudden. Distorting the visuals of all 6 of my men - leaving them blind in a mini sand storm.

But for some reason…I could still see clearly. And there it was. Carved into the earth, older than any shrine I'd ever seen, written in a script that hummed with power. "A seal for the old gods."

The firelight flickered. Chike's breath caught.

"With my curiosity piqued it was hard to control my gift as it soon kicked in. My mind surged with knowledge - rivers of it - more than I'd ever handled in all my life. Ancient history - long erased…. it all came rushing with storm."

"A strange resistance coursed through my body," Edward said, his voice heavy. "It was like my very flesh wanted to reject the knowledge, probably due to the chi induced in my nerve- thread. Already programmed to reject anything that doubted the faith. The doctrine they burned into us from birth…. slated my very essence to repel anything that questioned it. The moment my thoughts began to doubt, my body convulsed violently. I passed out. Heart flatlined. No pulse. When the dust cleared, they found me lying there - dead, or so they thought."

Chike leaned forward, the world fading around him. Though he had guessed parts of where this story might go, there was something haunting about hearing the story's depth.

"hen I woke," Edward went on, "my version of events didn't align with Grey's report - or the others. My subordinates had carefully omitted sighting of the anomaly, as it was a sign of disobedience with the law. And so the assumption came swiftly: I must've been possessed by the very demon, I claimed caused an anomaly,"

His jaw tightened.

"A few trusted colleagues - I started with but earned their promotion, thought about how I had been a diligent and a faithful soldier."

"But things truly began to unravel when I tried to explain what I'd seen. The seal. The message. The knowledge about the old gods - and a prophecy I hadnt known existed."

Chike tensed. That word prophecy. Had a similar feeling to what the being inside him had spoken of. A warning. A war.

"My superiors dismissed everything - an unusual eagerness to sweet everything under the rug. They told me I would be pardoned if I confessed that it was a delusion. A sickness. I was to denounce publicly, during a sermon on the biggest faith house in the capital."

Edward's voice darkened.

"But I couldn't. I'd seen too much. The prophecy…..it was too specific to ignore. It spoke of a time when the seal holding back the old gods would break - not by their will, but by a new god. One not of peace…but of destruction. One who would plunge the world back into war."

He shook his head, bitter laughter escaping his throat.

"I was a fool for not noticing the signs, seeing how eager my superiors were to bury it. No questions. No investigations. Just silence."

He fell quiet for a moment, his hands clenched into fists.

"On the day I was to give the sermon, I walked to the podium. The chapel was packed. It was announced that a new grand commander had been named after conquering an internal battle with a demon…." he sighed "….even my family members were fully present, as a silent warning I behave. I looked at their faces…and yet for the first time they all looked empty. Hollow. Their gazes long and lifeless. And in that moment, I knew - what I had seen was the truth. I screamed with all my might. We are all living a lie."

Chike held his breath.

"I kept shouting even as they bundled me. Soon I was cuffed in chains, said I was irredeemable. Possessed. They brought my family, to throw their spite at me. The look on their eyes. They hated me. And yet they gladly gave their life rather than been associated with me. My wife. My daughter. My son."

The old man paused. A new sadness washed over him. He didn't shout. didn't even flinch. But the silence that followed was louder than any scream.

Chike saw him in a new light. The man had gone through a torrent of sorrow. And all for the truth.

"I was scheduled to die the next day."

Edward placed a hand on Peter's shoulder.

"And that night, this man my most loyal subordinate broke into the prison and opened a door. A twist of fate from how I've always punished him for having doubts in the Faith."

Peter gave a quiet nod.

"We've been runing ever since."

Chike sat in stunned silence. The weight of it all pressed down on him. The story didn't just explain Edward's past - it framed his own. A feeling in his guts told him, he might easily be the old man.

The old man turned to him, his face now bore little hint of the sadness that trialed a while ago.

"what do you want to do now?" Edward asked intently, his eyes narrowing thoughtfully. "You are too young to be on the run with us."

Chike sighed, the weight of exhaustion in his voice. "First, I want to prove my innocence. To do that, I need to find my cousin, Emma. He's the only one who know what really happened.

A flicker of hope lit Chike's face. If Edward could know anything - then maybe - just maybe he could locate Emma. And Peter would simply open a doorway, they could reach him instantly.

But right after the thoughts left his lips. Peter barked.

"Are you that clueless, after everything you've been told you think proving anything matter. You'd only endanger the boy in this state. If a commander could be condemned to death, how much more a scared little boy."

Chike's head sank.

Edward moved closer and placed his hands on the boy's head.

"what you need is to get stronger."