Beneath the Cracks

Damien continued to stare at Eliot without change in his expressions.

Feeling awkward under the continuous stare, Eliot coughed a few times.

"Ahem…Ahem…"

Hearing his coughs, Damien came out of his reverie and spoke.

"Why are you here?" Damien questioned as he turned back to look out of the windows, not wanting to look at Eliot anymore.

"I am here to report about pressing matters." Eliot answered with a serious tone.

"Haha! Are you saying that the head of the wandering nova team is here just to give me a report?" Damien asked after a chuckle, his tone full of mockery.

"You still remember what my team does, yes?" Eliot retorted with a sharp edge of his own.

Hearing that Damien turned and looked at him with a small smile.

"Don't you run around looking for dream rifts?" Damien answered with a playful tone.

"I don't run around, my lord. I search for dream rifts." Eliot replied with a smile of his own but a vein could be seen on his forehead.

"It's the same thing, is it not?" 

"It's n-"

"Doesn't matter, continue with the report." 

A vein once again throbbed visibly on Eliot's forehead when Damien interrupted him.

Eliot took a few deep breaths before continuing.

"It's about the rifts-" 

And Damien….

"Haha! Well no surprise about that." Damien said as he started to laugh.

Hearing his laugh, Eliot clenched his fists and looked at Damien with a serious expression.

"Lord Regent, this is a serious matter." Eliot spoke with a bit louder voice.

"Hmm? I will decide if it's serious or not, Eliot."

Eliot lowered his head and continued with a solemn tone.

"The number of dream rifts are increasing rapidly and soon we won't have enough manpower to take care of them." Eliot took a pause as he began his thoughts.

'I am sure that after hearing this he will come back no matter what.' 

A grin involuntarily appeared on his face as he thought so.

But the next words from Damien popped his bubble.

"And?" Damien questioned, his tone still indifferent.

"M-my lord, you know what will happen if we don't close those dream rifts right?" Eliot spoke with a stutter because of how outrageously confused he became.

Damien however didn't answer and continued.

"I don't see it as a serious issue. The more rifts there are the more chances for Midnighters to break through." 

"But…" Eliot too turned silent on that.

"Isn't it good for The Star Council that there are more dream rifts?" Damien asked, his tone had a bit of confusion.

Damien couldn't understand why The Star Council even came to him after all the more rifts there are the better it is for them. But what Eliot said next answered all of his questions.

"The rifts… they are getting harder and harder to clear. Even a bronze rank rift requires nearly double the manpower now." Eliot answered, his voice becoming deeper with each word.

"I see…" Damien finally got the gist of the issue as he nodded to himself.

"That is why it's a serious issue, my lord." Eliot said, his tone nearly desperate as he tried hard to convince Damien.

"The more dream rifts there are the more high ranked Midnights The Star Council will have."

"But it will cause imbalance within Azor and The Star Council."

"It's not something we can stop now, can we?" 

"No…"

Both of them fell silent for a few moments.

"You may leave." Damien turned towards him as he said so.

"What would you do, my lord?" Eliot however didn't move and asked.

"What does The Star Council want me to do?" 

"They wish that you return to Azor as The Purple Regent, not as The Maestro of Space." Eliot answered without hiding anything.

"That is up to me to decide." Damien said, his tone as cold and sharp as the winds during winter.

"I know, my lord." Eliot bowed as he said that.

"Take your leave, Eliot." Damien said once again.

Eliot lifted his head and looked at Damien and nodded his head as he turned around to leave.

"Make sure not to snoop around here." 

Hearing that Eliot clicked his tongue and left the room.

A few moments later Damien heaved a sigh and moved towards his chair and sat on it.

"If what he said is correct then rifts may become a huge issue in the near future and that is not for Azor only. I have to at least attend the meeting regarding this." Damien mumbled to himself as he fell back on the chair.

"And then there's the meeting with Edwin Turner tomorrow…" 

Damien let out a tired sigh as he lay back on his chair and closed his eyes.

'I'll have to make sure that nothing goes wrong with the rifts till I find those pests and wipe them all out.'

He was deep in thought which was broken when his watch started to beep.

*Beep* *Beep* 

Damien took out his phone and opened his eyes as he looked at the name of the caller and a smile appeared on his face. He picked up the call and called out.

"Anna?" His tone was gentle and calm.

"Brother!" Anna replied with a voice full of excitement.

"Why did you call?" Damien questioned with the same smile on his face.

"Uwah! I can't even call my brother now?" Anna said with a fake frown as she rubbed her eyes like a kid trying to stop its tears.

"Haha! Of course, you can." Seeing her acting like that, Damien's smile widened as he replied with a chuckle.

"Hehe!" Anna too grinned widely and started to chuckle.

"But I know you tell well, Anna. So, tell me. Why did you call?" Damien questioned. 

"Yea, yea. So we are going to have a class party tomorrow and all of the students must attend it." Anna replied as she rolled her eyes and flickered her hair.

"I see…" Damien, hearing that, nodded and smiled as he asked.

"You called me just for that?" Damien asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I just wanted you to know about it." Anna replied with a tone.

"My little sister is so cute, huh." Damien said as he grinned widely.

"S-shut up!" Anna yelled with a stutter as she hung up the call and seeing that, Damien broke into laughter.

"Haha!"

A few moments passed in silence after which his watch once again started to beep.

*Beep* *Beep* 

Damien heaved a tired sigh and once again took out his phone and looked at the caller with a raised eyebrow, he picked up the call and called out.

"White?" 

"Young Master." White greeted him.

"What is it, White?" Damien questioned without waiting.

"It's about the college class party." White spoke with a solemn tone.

"I already know about it, White." Damien said with furrowed eyebrows. After all, it wasn't White's job to report such events to him, he already knew about the party. He just didn't want to say that to Anna.

"That's not the issue, young master." White however didn't react as he continued.

"What do you mean?" White's words piqued his interest as he spoke.

"It's too strange, the party is on the same day and time you would have your meeting with Edwin Turner at and there have been many people who have been following and keeping an eye on me for the last few days." White, finally, having the interest of Damien spoke with a heavy tone.

"Is that so?" Damien questioned.

'That's what I thought too but I didn't have any base for it, but if what White is saying is correct, The meeting tomorrow and the party both could be a trap.'

"I might be being paranoid here but I just don't feel like this is a coincidence at all." White, however, didn't know about his thoughts and continued.

"If that is what you think then I'll send Blake with you. Make sure nothing happens to Anna." Damien finally made a decision as he spoke with an authoritative tone.

"As you say, Young master." white replied as he hung up the call.

"I'll make sure to find out why they are behind Anna." Damien mumbled to himself as he closed his eyes.