The Zero Countdown

Chapter 27: Maiden of future

Waiting at the Silverfolsage Hotel's foyer in the dead of the night, Elyon's sitting beside the vending machine in the lobby, the dimmed orange lights would induce the guests into their sleep, yet his hands are crossed, he just gulped the coffee in a can in one down wide awake.

The charming red-headed woman walks past him, it was Elora and she went straight to the vending machine and got herself a nice cold tea to sober up.

"Want some?" Elora offered. She sat beside him carrying two cans of green tea.

"Nah. I'm good." Elyon declined. He surely didn't call her for them to share a drink when they should be resting at that time.

"I'll take these for myself then. Do you want to talk about the wall guy you said you and Brina have encountered? He really is despicable. No one in their right mind can violate the dead! He is nuts. He'd probably chase me to the ends of the earth if I'm alone."

She began resenting the guy who can walk through walls, contemplating how someone could get so strange and weird to the point they deserve disdain and hate.

But considering how his power works, being able to escape any situation no matter how grave a crime he commits, Elora reckoned if she possess a similar Fantasm Ability, she could have tried and seen the limits of her ability the same but not for wrong.

"Not about that bastard, rather, I want you to be honest regarding this one..." Elyon's sincerity calls for the truth, for he can attain it through Elora and her ability alone.

"Look, just tell me what it is. I can give you advice if you want to date a high school girl." Elora teases him so she can lighten up the gloomy atmosphere.

"Not that either. I mean, can you tell me what can Fantasm Ability really do?"

Elyon asked. He peers into the chasm he once ignored and tried to take his circumstances seriously than taking things for granted. And the first step he took is to uncover the true form of his ability from the Bearer of the Truth Foresight herself.

"So that's what you want to know. Now I understand why you've become a better version of yourself. You're the one who killed the Time Keeper and thus, your view of our world changed as well."

Elora was having speculations at first but now that she heard the fact from him, it confirmed her hypothesis that Elyon's rough transition was because of his latent power.

"You're aware then? My ignorance shows how I don't even know what I can do with my power nor do I comprehend it. Experience really is something." Elyon ponders into the unknown. He already knew the answer, Elora's proof is all he needed.

"I'll be real, probably most of the Fantasm who joined the game died because they don't have the slightest clue how their Fantasm Ability even works. Unless the Unknown Entity gave you a hint ahead like what happened to us as he or she straight up stated what we can get from this game."

Elora proved that the world is unfair, for even the entity that bestowed their power so they can be part of the Zero Countdown clandestinely offered a few extra steps on lucky players he chose.

Swiping up a few bucks from his pocket, Elyon got himself another can of caffeine as he's getting drowsy. His mind is in a haze and he can't think straight. His body became an empty shell devoid of nothing but the will to survive.

"He only chose those who despaired. Whatever reasoning that bastard has, it's clear he sees human suffering as some sort of game." Elyon's getting emotional. He can't help but loathe the one that trapped him into a prison of reality.

"Yeah..."

Elora agreed. She swept her hair behind her shoulders and threw the canisters she crumpled in her hands. The clanking noise on the floor indicates she failed to score in the recycle bin. She didn't bother herself to take it and dispose of it properly.

"The clouded perception I have in the world we believe has changed, but I know a thing for certain; the Unknown Entity isn't god, a demon, nor a founder of a nonexistent company, and rather, he's a being we can never hope to fathom."

Elyon shared his intake of the one who hosts the Zero Countdown. He came to the conclusion that going against such a being that can give them supernatural ability is never an option, even though he considered the probability at first.

"Now since you experienced what you can do yourself, what you have thought correct; the Fantasm Ability you possess enables you to see when a living person will die. And by altering their future, specifically killing a Fantasm yourself could allow you to witness what caused their death and the reason they lived..."

Even Elora can tell how heavy the guilt of murder is in anyone's heart. She had placed herself in Elyon's shoes, that's why she entirely wasn't candid when she first time learned of her Fantasm Ability.

"So my ability show reasons of my victim's past and death is like a coping mechanism to not blame myself? Who am I fooling?! I killed her so I can move forward... I killed an innocent girl who wanted love so I can survive!"

Elyon can no longer feel the pain of guilt. He fell into the abyss and let himself be consumed than adapting to the reality he had to endure.

Still, Elora also can't blame him, for she knew Elyon's Fantasm Ability: Fate Weaver is more than what she can see from its description. She barely could imagine what he felt when he killed a Fantasm, and the remorse weighing down on him because he's inherently a good person made it worse.

"I have no idea what past you saw from that child, but we can't defy what became of us. Learn to embrace your power, who knows what's in store for us in the future." Elora had no idea how to comfort men without using her s****l appeal, so she thought a few encouraging words could help.

"She's not a child, her name is Madela." Elyon reminded Elora of the girl's name.

"Right, Madela..." She began feeling uncomfortable as she can't figure out what kind of reaction she should express.

Either way, when the silence took over, Elyon left Elora and went to their hotel room ahead so they can avoid suspicion of colluding together.

She can't put up what's gotten into her, though, there is something that's troubling her mind.

"We can handle Elyon to a certain degree... But what secret does that high school girl Brina withhold? Especially when her Fantasm Ability is different from what she stated..." Elora tailed along Elyon, walked down the foyer, and went to the elevator afterward.

They shared a room for maximum security again and as usual, Brina completely seals her ears using her pillow so she won't hear the bed being humped from the background; the couple is doing their thing again even it's already past two in the morning.

"They are so energetic aren't they?" Elyon whispered. He also couldn't sleep from the loud moaning that permeates next door and potentially along the hallway.

"Stop that. You aren't helping at all. We should've gone into our room. I'm confident they are keeping us here so no one will interrupt their love-making session." Brina replied, rolling her eyes from disgusts hearing Elora and Ruther smooching.

She wanted to walk out from her mattress on the floor, but she knew the situation could get awkward than it's worth getting out for.

"But it's best this way. Our concern is that wall guy popping out of nowhere. His Fantasm Ability is truly proven hard to deal with."

Elyon had ignored the squelching noise in his head, mulling over how he can overcome someone who has the literal power of walking through walls as if it was some kind of cheat script inside a game.

Out of nowhere, the rocking bed halted and they heard Elora saying, "Really? You guys are chatting about possible strategy while we're at it?"

"And you're listening to us while doing your business. Just keep it down for heaven's sake." Brina had enough and so she called them out for their shameless behavior.

"I mean, we're keeping it loud suggesting you two can also do it. Who knows when will we cease to exist? So, as long as you're alive, live the best you can—ahh!"

The sudden groan on Elora's sentence was what killed Brina's last brain cells holding her remaining patience. She took her pillow wearing a blank face, her dead eyes were something Elyon saw and thought strange, before leaving the room going next door to her own private lodging.

"Hm... I'm sorry but I'm following her. Please be safe." Elyon bowed down in front of the couple having fun. He then left the room so he can check what has gotten into Brina as he's sure her lips turned pale for a moment.

"That girl—ahh!" Elora pinned Ruther on the bed and asserted dominance. She had enough of his antics. "And as for you, never interrupt me when I'm speaking! She had the eyes of a girl who's experiencing trauma for a second there."

"I went too far then? I'm sorry..." Ruther admitted her fault, his lover could always easily forgive him.

"I just hope Elyon could find a way inside her frozen heart who yearns for warmth," Elora muttered, she resumed their thing and hope they are fine for the better.

Nevertheless, Elyon turned the knob and crept in as silently as possible. He turned the lights on and rushed towards the bed, only to witness a scene he believed the brave Brina could never want to disclose.

"Brina...?"

Elyon stood still as Brina cowers in terror in the corner of the bed. Her flimsy hands trying to open a small pillbox, she took a few pills and shoved them in her mouth; her arms are shaking uncontrollably and her distraught face filled in dread.

He then realized the medicine she'd always carry for herself isn't for an illness or headache caused by her Fantasm Ability—it was all treatment for a post-traumatic stress disorder she suffers from.

As he could no longer see her in pain, Elyon approached her but Brina lashed him off. She calmed after a while, her trembling hasn't cooled down but he still laid her on the bed and covered her in a warm blanket.

"I almost forgot the players of this game probably experienced far more trauma than losing my family... But what kind of horridness could caused such a young girl to be that way? I'll never know..."

The longer he lives, the more he hated the world and its people. All he can do so he can fight back the harsh reality is to be present beside the maiden who gazes upon the future.