Published at 11th of November 2020 05:02:45 PM
Chapter 46
That Cold, Sweet Voice
Lynn darted all over floor 90, reaching out to Elios’s friends and acquaintances one by one, questioning them about his death in the hopes that someone knew something about the truth behind it .
He still hadn’t come to terms with the news of Elios’s death .
Just up until about one month prior, he had regularly talked with his dear friend . But now he was dead- just like that .
As he made haste towards the next person he was on his way to talk to, he went over the conversation that he had with Agul just a little while ago .
“Elios is dead? Agul,what are you saying! That can’t be…”
“I received word from the association, out of the blue . They wanted me to go collect his personal possessions . He must have put us down as the recipients of his personal effects in case of his death…”
“Why would he even need to make such arrangements in the first place?”
“It’s a custom for wizards on floors 100 and above . You see, when you reach floor 100, from that point onwards it’s not out of the question that you could die at any time . So in readiness for… For when it’s your time, I guess, it’s normal to designate someone as the recipient of your belongings . But I just can’t believe that he could just die like that . One minute he was here, and now he’s gone” .
As he spoke, his hopeless expression was not lost on Lynn . Elios had been a dear friend to many . For Elios’s friends, this would be a difficult time, and for them the world may as well have ended- one glance at their expressions was all it took to sense their heartbreak .
Lynn couldn’t find the right words, so instead he looked to Shila .
Her gaze was glued to the table, the way it had been the whole time . She simply couldn’t muster the will to look anyone in the eye in that moment, or talk, for fear of her voice betraying her emotions .
Moments of silence stretched out . Eventually Agul spoke again .
“We tried inquiring at the wizard’s association, but they wouldn’t tell us anything . There’s nothing we can do by ourselves to find out any information . All they told us was to ask the association branch on floor 100- they kept insisting that to be our only sensible course of action, even though they know damn well that we can’t go there! Isn’t it them who forbid entry above floor 99 to academy students?”
His tone became angrier the more he spoke .
“Anyway, we’re about to go back over to the association to pick up his stuff . I don’t really have the appetite for lunch right now . Sorry, I know you came today especially for us” .
He stood up from the table .
“No,” Lynn replied weakly, “don’t apologize” .
No other words found their way out of his mouth . All he was able to do was remain there, unmoving and silent .
After he had split up from Agul and Shila, Lynn had walked for a time . His feet below him felt distant, disconnected . His gait was somehow different from normal, but then again so was everything about the world that now flooded his senses . This world was not the same as it had been when he woke up that morning .
Shortly after leaving the break room, and after having wondered for a short time, he heard Theo calling his name .
“Hey, Lynn!”
“Oh, hi Theo”, he replied, his voice void of emotion .
“Have you heard the news? Elios is dead” .
“How do you already know?”
“The news has already spread around the academy like wildfire . It seems like it’s the nobility who started spreading the news . Those with connections on the upper floors heard through word of mouth, and it hasn’t taken long for word to reach us down here” .
“The nobles…”
He recalled the Speech Elios had given on the day of his graduation . He had called for a rebalancing of the disparity between the nobles and the commoners .
“Do you remember, Theo? What Elios was saying . He wanted to improve the social position and power of commoners in the tower- so that the great talents among the common class would be able to flourish, and great wizards would be able to rise from our ranks, instead of just from the nobility” .
Theo snorted .
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“His ideas were ludicrous . There’s no one but nobles up there on the upper floors . What he was thinking and saying was crazy- dangerous even” .
In that moment, Lynn broke off into a run .
“Hey! Lynn! Where the hell are you going?”
Lynn ignored Theo’s shouts of confusion and concern . He carried on running .
I have to get to the bottom of this . I have to know why . Why did Elios have to die?
At present, Lynn was roaming around floor 90, in search of the people who were present at Elios’s graduation .
However, no matter who he talked to, no one was able to tell him anything that he hadn’t already heard from Agul or Theo .
When the tally of people he questioned had risen to about 10, he finally realized that up until that point, the people he was asking questions of were limited to only commoners .
Of course . The upper floors are more or less filled with the nobility . So I just need to talk to some nobles who know people up there . They might be able to tell me more . So, among the nobility, who were on good terms with Elios I wonder…
Just as his line of thinking was at that particular juncture, just a little ways away from him came his answer . In the middle of a group of people walking together, Lynn spotted Kruga .
He called out to him .
“Kruga san!”
“Huh? Lynn… I’m sorry guys, you go on ahead of me . I’ll catch up” .
At his reassurance, the people he was with walked on without him, leaving Lynn and Kruga alone together in the corridor .
“Kruga san… I wanted to talk to you about Elios’s death…”
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As soon as Elios’s name left Lynn’s lips, Kruga’s expression darkened instantly, and he looked away .
“I’m sorry Lynn . I don’t know much about floors 100 and above, either . If you want to know such things, you’d have better luck asking someone else” .
He’s lying . His intuition told him so .
Kruga made to walk past him down the corridor, but Lynn quickly followed after him .
“Kruga san! On the day of Elios’s graduation, you called out to him to stop him, didn’t you? What were you about to say to him? Don’t tell me you actually knew it would end like this”
Kruga looked back at him, and shouted back in answer .
“Don’t be stupid, Lynn, I’m telling you I don’t know anything!”
Immediately after his outburst, he stopped in his tracks and looked down . They shared an awkward silence, before Kruga spoke again .
“I’m sorry, for getting angry like that” .
“No, I’m sorry . For hounding you like that”, he said in a flat tone .
“Anyway, like I said, I don’t know anything . I have to go” .
At that, he walked away down the corridor, leaving Lynn alone .
When Kruga had nearly disappeared down the corridor, Lynn turned to leave as well . It was at that moment when he just about caught Kruga muttering something to himself- something along the line’s of “I stopped him . It’s his own fault, for not listening to me . I tried to stop him…” .
He went down to the 50th floor, and on the way there it had become dark .
Since noon, he had run all over the place in search of answers . He had even skipped his class . In the end, though, he wasn’t able to find the information he needed .
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He cried out in frustration . What should I do? I don’t know any other of his acquaintances, for one thing . Some of the nobility might know something, but I don’t have any friends of that class…”
Then, suddenly out of nowhere came the coldest, yet sweetest voice .
“Would you like me to tell you?”
“Yuven” .
“It seems that Elios san met his end . What a shame… My condolences . I know how much you loved him, how he took you under his wing . It must be hard for you . And for someone to meet their end in such a way…”
“Yuven, do you mean to say you know how he died?”
“Why yes, of course . Among the elite, there’s not a soul who doesn’t . Did no one tell you?”
“Tell me . How the hell did he die?”
He was desperate for her to answer him .
Seeing Lynn’s desperation, Yuven smiled a cold, malicious smile .
“The thing is, I don’t feel like telling you . Why should I tell you, wanyway? You said you were content with your current living situation . If that’s the case, then why would you care about the happenings of the upper floors?”
He was speechless .
“What- Forget about that for a moment, Yuven . Just tell me what happened, ok?”
“Lynn, it seems I’ve lost all interest in you completely, as of late . I’ve no reason to talk to you at all, or even tease you- in fact I won’t do either from this point onwards . Please, tremble in fear and ignorance, the way someone of your position should . I bid you good day” .
Next time… Chapter 47, ‘The Academy’s Deceit’ .