Alex jolted upright, immediately awake and alert. Something in him felt uneasy, causing his heart to ache. Something wasn't right. He could feel it. There was something very wrong, he just couldn't put his finger on what it was. The events of yesterday replayed in his mind, and he shook his head.
Though the assassination attempt was concerning, that wasn't the cause of the unease he felt in his bones.
His mind was rattled, but he managed to calm himself. It was best not to make problems out of nothing, and if there was something truly wrong then he could deal with it when it came up.
For now though, it was time to return home.
[Realm Walking skill cooldown: 10… 9…]
Alex already had his sister's apartment in mind, he was ready to be back on Earth. The cooldown timer hit zero, and he activated the skill.
Ancient power filled his body, coalescing into a single point in his mind. Golden swirls of energy mixed with trails of black surrounded him, and a blinding light erupted from his body.
[Realm Walking skill activated. Location, Earth. Realm locked, travel is not possible.]
[Error! Host has visited this realm before, restrictions overridden.]
[Initiating travel…]
With no further warning, Alex simply dematerialized and vanished from his room in the tavern, the only signs of him having been there was a small burn mark on the wooden floorboard.
Earth, Valdenci Territory, District 14
A warm gust of air greeted Alex as he materialized soundlessly, exactly where he had vanished from. Couch cushions had never felt so good.
"Amanda?" He called out, his voice echoing throughout the apartment. No response came, which meant she must be out at the moment.
He only hoped he could make up for being gone for so long. Disappearing in the middle of the night without any explanation surely wouldn't look good in her eyes, but given that he had explained being reborn it was likely that she would understand what had happened. Why was it was so hot in here?
He might not be on Vorcast anymore, but he still had to make sure.
Name: Alexander Khelton/Alex Khelton
Age: 20
Level: 5
Class: (LOCKED)
Race: [F] Human
Alignment: [Earth] Forces of Light
Titles: Lesser than Trash, Death Dancer
Available skill points: 0
Strength: 19
Dexterity: 17
Charisma: 19
Endurance: 20
Vitality: 23
Intelligence: 20
Wisdom: 20
Luck: 18
Health Point Total: 240
Mana: 200
Just as before, it was as easy as mentally willing the system to open up to display the information that Alex wanted. All of his info was there.
So he truly was getting stronger, and whatever gains he made while in WotR:O were carried over back to Earth. The only downside seemed to be that he didn't have his equipment with him.
There were still plenty of things he didn't understand about the system and all of the things it could do, but he wasn't going to complain about it.
He was just a human, how could he possibly begin to comprehend the complexities of the universe?
Just as he closed the menu, his ears picked up on the door to the apartment opening. "Amanda, thank god you're back." He stood up from the couch and made to meet her in the kitchen, "You won't believe what happened-" He cut himself off as it registered that there were two sets of steps being taken.
Alex frowned. This wasn't Amanda. But it was too late now to change anything, he had already announced his presence to whoever these people were. Making a quick decision, he stayed the course and crossed from the living room, stepping into the kitchen.
Two men dressed in gray suits of padded armor stood at the end of the hallway that was both the entrance and exit to the apartment. They had stun batons in hand, ready to face whoever had been in the apartment.
Enforcers. What were they doing here? "I didn't know the girl had a partner, intel suggested she lived alone. What do we do?"
The girl? Alex didn't have to guess long to figure out they were talking about Amanda.
"We already cut the power to this place, and the only one with a registered key was the girl." The two enforcers talked as if Alex wasn't there.
"Doesn't matter, we bring him in too." And that was that. They turned their attention back to Alex, who stood there like a deer in headlights.
"Sir, we're gonna need you to come with us. The tenant of this apartment is a criminal, and anyone associated with her must be brought in for questioning." Alex's heart sunk as he heard the words. He finally knew why he had felt so uneasy this morning. Something had happened to his sister.
His mind was racing with possibilities. If they had taken her, then they knew something had happened to Kieth. Alex was the real culprit here, but because he had disappeared they only found Amanda as the lone person with any information.
He knew they couldn't pin anything on her, so the worst case scenario was that Amanda might have to do some community service, or work for a week as a servant for somebody.
It wasn't ideal, but it was better than getting sent off to a labor camp or a prison.
Alex threw up his hands in surrender. Resisting these guys would never end well, and they were the quickest ticket to finding Amanda. "Of course officers, I had no idea she was such a detestable person." He just had to play along long enough, and he would get to the bottom of this.
***
Similar to how they had treated Amanda, the enforcers led Alex out of the building in cuffs and brought him to the makeshift camp they had set up in the district.
They weren't necessarily rough with him, but Alex had a sinking feeling the whole time. This whole thing wasn't proper procedure for dealing with suspected criminals.
"Captain. We found this man in the girl's apartment." Alex was shoved forward into the command tent, where a dark haired man was busy signing documents.
He looked up as the two enforcers followed Alex into the tent, "Well done Clayton, you and Jones are dismissed." Heavy footsteps behind Alex indicated that he was now alone with the captain.
"So," Piercing dark-blue eyes met Alex's, "What do you know about Kieth Larkin?" The Captain's dark hair was unruly and scruffy looking. The slightest hint of stubble could be seen on his chin, and the white outline of a faded scar rested just below his right eye. He struck Alex as someone that didn't beat around the bush, all work and no play.
Alex shrugged nonchalantly, "Never heard of him." He studied the Captain, trying to work out how best to navigate this disaster. "Amanda invited me to crash at her place for a few days, I just got into the district." He decided it was best to act like he knew nothing. The more he let on that he was involved with Amanda in any way, the worse it would be overall.
"I see." The Captain narrowed his eyes at Alex, as if he was contemplating something, before he resumed his relaxed stance. "Well in that case, you're free to go." The man stood up and offered his hand out.
"If you hear or see anything, please report it to the nearest enforcer." Alex took his hand and shook it with a firm grip. Everything about this seemed to rub him the wrong way.
"Of course." Alex nodded his head, playing along with the Captain's words. "Though if I may ask. What did Amanda do that cau-"
Before he could carry on any further, a baton struck him in the back of the head and knocked him out. He collapsed to the floor of the tent with a thud. Clayton stood behind him, slowly lowering his stun baton. "What do we do with him, Captain?"
The Captain stared down at Alex with a frown. There was no info in the system about the man knocked out on the floor. "He knows something, I'm sure of it. We send him to the boss."
***
Alex woke up chained to the floor in a room of white, the fluorescent lights in the ceiling momentarily blinding him before his eyes adjusted.
A dull throb in the back of his head brought the memory of what happened rushing back. Those fucking enforcers. When he got out of here, he would repay the favor.
Speaking of here, where was he?
[I believe you are in the personal holding cells of Anton Valdenci, somewhere approximately 150 feet underground.]
The system's monotone voice startled Alex. Of all the questions it could possibly answer, that was the one it chose?
He waited, seeing if the system would answer that as well, but when no response was forthcoming he studied the room, silently wishing Virgol would come back soon.
The room, if it could even be called that, was a box surrounded by four white padded walls. There was nothing in the room that was worth giving any attention to, aside from the door with a small opening to look through. Was this where they were holding Amanda too?
[Correct. Amanda Khelton is being held in a room similar to this, though I can not detect where.]
Alex was about to retort back with a comment about useless remarks to rhetorical questions when a soft clicking sound got his attention.
The door unlocked and in walked an older looking man in a fancy suit. He was alone, but he held an air of self importance about him, which either meant he was a high ranking member of the family, or Anton himself.
"I bet you're wondering why you're here, young man." His voice was soft, but rich, and it held traces of a European accent that Alex couldn't quite place.
"Well, I'll tell you." He went on, not caring that no response had come. "You see, it's the damnedest thing in the world. You don't exist."
The man started pacing around the room, inspecting the walls as if they were more interesting to look at compared to Alex.
"No records, no credentials, no money deposits, nothing. It's like you suddenly poofed into existence in that girl's apartment." He stopped pacing, standing a few feet away from Alex and fixing him with a stare.
"And you're going to tell me why that is if you want to leave this room alive."
Alex couldn't very well tell this man that that was exactly what had happened, but he also couldn't explain that he had been reborn either. If anyone ever learned about what happened to Alex, he would probably be thrown into a lab and get tested on.
Besides, he didn't want to tell this arrogant prick anything. If he was involved in Amanda's capture in any way then Alex would make sure he would burn.
"Try as you might, you can't set me on fire with your mind. Though it is amusing to see you try. Perhaps you need… motivation."
The old man reached into a pocket and pulled out a small screen recording device. It was an older piece of technology that had quickly been outdated as time went on and more technological advances were made.
It functioned similarly to a camera, though it was just a translucent screen that could fit in your hand. One button would take pictures, another would record, and the last one would delete things. It was simple, but effective.
Alex watched as the man tapped on the screen a few times with his glove covered hand and then set it down in front of him. The screen flared to life and showed off another room that looked exactly like the one Alex was in.
The big difference came in the form of the two figures in the room. One was the older man, in a different suit, but it was definitely him. The other was the very person Alex wanted to have a conversation with. The one person he was doing all of this for.
"Amanda, Amanda, Amanda." The man's voice came through the speaker, slightly distorted by static. "I hear you're giving my boys a hard time. Let's talk."
What occurred next was anything but talking. Alex stared wide-eyed as the man beat Amanda. He was going to kill this fucker. He was going to make him beg for a mercy that would nev-
Amanda's scream drew Alex's attention back to the recording. Anton had just broken the first finger. Another scream, another finger broken. Though he was sure he was imagining it, he could hear the cracking of a bone being broken.
Alex tried to shut it out, tried to think of anything else, but all he could hear was his sister's screams. All he could imagine was the pain that she was in. And all he could feel was shame. She was here because of him. She was suffering because of his actions.
Kill him
Like a ghost whispering into his ear, the voice in Alex's mind bid him to do the one thing that would bring him peace. Alex glared daggers at the older man that he now knew was indeed Anton Valdenci. Pure white-hot rage was consuming him
Kill him.
The screen shut off after the last of his sister's fingers had been broken, leaving the two men in silence. "So. Ready to talk now? That poor girl has another hand intact if you're not feeling sufficiently inclined to talk."
Kill. Him.
Alex couldn't see beyond the hatred filling his vision. His heart was thundering in his chest. "I do wonder. She often called out a name. Alex." Anton grabbed the screen recorder and put it back in his pocket. He had succeeded in his task of pissing off Alex.
KILL.
"But why would she call out for her pathetically useless dead brother? She should know that he was worthless. A piece of trash not even worth remembering." He shrugged his shoulders without a care in the world, talking about their lives like they were insignificant. "Maybe she knows she'll be joining him soon."
The voice went silent and Alex went deathly still. Though he didn't like it, he could handle being insulted. He could take a beating. He would endure pain because it was something he was used to.
But going after his sister was crossing a line.
Not having a connection with Amanda was the one regret he did have from his previous life, and this second chance was the perfect opportunity to make amends for all of his mistakes.
The chains in the floor rattled and shook as Alex strained against them in an effort to grab Anton. They held him secure however, and he only gained a little bit of ground before the chain's slack went taut and stopped him.
His hands were mere inches away from wrapping around the old man, but he didn't flinch. Instead, he just let out a low chuckle.
"Touchy subject I see." Alex would see that this man suffered for hurting Amanda. For every pain he inflicted upon her Alex would return ten-fold. "You seem to care a great deal for that girl, but I digress. Tell me what I want to know, and I promise I'll make her death swift and painless."