Vida sunk deeper into the abyss that was the ocean in her veil, waiting for that stupid-whatever it was- to show up. She was the owner of the veil, so she wasn't affected by the ocean, but she could see why people didn't appreciate being put in this spot. The water dragged her down like a bad secret-one that could crush her if she didn't let it out, that would drown her from its weight.

  She really didn't appreciate it. She suddenly felt for Ethan, who had taken it like a champ. The ocean was sentient, almost, if she waited long enough, it wouldn't care and let it out-

  She felt a ripple, faint, coming from something far away. She felt her heart rate speed up and freeze at the same time. The ocean had stopped caring.

  Looking to her side, she saw nothing but black, which she almost attributed to the deepness of the ocean.

  But she knew better than that. She knew that she was staring at a gaping hole, the size of a moon, where there was usually the place for an eye.

  She knew she was staring at Leviathan, the placeholder Divine being. Thinking about it, she probably rationalised that she was so calm because her adrenal glands had probably dried up.

  “Hello Levi,” she said to the blackness.”Fine weather isn't it.”

  They stared at each other for a few seconds, then a few more. Then, just as fast as the hole came, it left.

  Sooo…Is that a ‘we’re cool’ or something-

  “That name,” a male voice whispered in her ear, “call me that again.”

  “SHIT MAN, THE FUCK ARE YOU?” she jumped, landing on dry ground, which made her realise that she had been transported to a cave, deep inside, yet well lighted. The voice came from a 16 year old guy with black hair, black shirt, and black sweatpants. Cool attire. Shush.

  Oh, he had abs too. Which impressionable Vida noticed.

  “Levi apparently.” he ruffled his hair, his muscles were muscle-ing “That’s a really nice name-”

  “THERE'S NO WAY YOU’RE LEVIATHAN.” she stared at… his face, yes his face.

  “No, I’m Levi.” he reiterated “I had assumed that you would be more comfortable if I were humanoid.”

  “WHY.” She couldn't comprehend it, Leviathan was caring about her comfort.

  “Because I like the name,” he looked away nervously, “no one has never really cared enough to give me a name before.”

  I was improvising but okay.

  “Levi I need your help, Alice-”

  “Yeah I know. But no, I’m not helping you, even if it’s Alice of all people.”

  She felt her heart sink “Please, I really need this…” she tried the cute route.

  “Actually I have an idea, we do a favor system. I lend you 1 hour of my power, and you give me two, unrestrictive favors.” he smiled a charming smile.

  “What could you possibly want from me?”

  His smile didn't leave his face, but it started feeling like her veins were turning to brine “It’s an investment. Alice is waiting…”

  She grunted, realising how much time she probably wasted. “Fine.” she reached out her hand.

  He looked at her, her pupils now reminding him of the sockets she was used to meeting. “I’m assuming we have a deal, any counter offers.”

  She thought, are adrenal glands now functioning “wh-when you take a favor, It must not harm me in any way or put irreversible strain on my soul.”

  He smiled again, his teeth sharp and sharp like The cave became darker, and water started flowing in from somewhere, soaking her jeans. “Deal.” He took her outstretched arm firmly and shook it. She felt a rush on her face and saw a new layer of reality, lights of different colors flowing everywhere.

  “Veil energy. I’ll teach you the science later, but right now you need to go and save Alice.”

  She turned around and a whirlpool was created in the wall. “I owe you one-”

  “Two, actually.” he corrected.

  She smirked, “Yeah, two.” Then she walked through.

  Over in Haven, the soldiers sent out to tie loose ends would later report a blur and a gust of wind blowing by. Kent was dashing through, unable to move at his comfortable speed due to the parasite child on his back and couldn't kill the people for obvious reasons (see: the parasite)

  “So, why did you save me?” Nina asked on his back.

  “Because I was told to-”

  “Who?”

  “Who what?”

  “Told you to save me?”

  “Alice.”

  “So you would have kept walking,” she managed to sound judgmental “really”

  “I wouldn't have come her if not orders from Alice, nothing more, nothing less-”

  “So…If she threw a stick, would you chase it?” She interrupted, smirking so much that he could hear it.

  “I wont answer that-”

  “So yes.” she smirked even louder.

  “We need to pick up some stuff she told me to collect for her.” he sidestepped her partially true jabs

  “Do you have a key?”

  “Obviously.” he grunted.

  She stared at him with horror radiating from her face “How is that an obviously creep.”

  “We’re not doing this right now-” he started, exasperated.

  “Forgive me for knowing why some pretty boy has the key to my second home.”

  “Prettyboy,” he nearly stopped, never has such a true observation offended him ever “Aren't you like 4-”

  “Five-put some respect on the age.”

  “I’m already really tired of you” he passed the furthest side from the center to reach Alice's house to prevent encounters with lesser beings.

  Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

  “Why are you passing the long way-just go straight.”

  “Safety reasons.”

  “When was that explanation ever helpful”

  “When you don't want to interact with the other person.”

  After much more banter, they reached the house in way more time than they should have spent. Because they had passed around they had reached the front side of the house, climbing up the driveway to the front door, he sighed and started to set her down halfway-

  Then stiffened.

  “You're going to need to stay on my back for a bit.” he heaved her back up, but she had stopped crying and just wanted to sleep.

  “Your scent is too much.”

  “In a couple of years, you’ll swoon when you smell me.”

  “Creep.” she muttered and yawned.

  Alright then. He looked around, collect Alice’s notebooks and deliver them. On the occasion she’s MIA. Simple. The only problem is why I just felt an Existential level threat in the courtyard. He paused and asked if I could help her.

  No. You I shouldn't. He heard someone himself respond firmly.

  Opening the door, he looked around the living room to see if any one was in there. Nothing. he hadn't felt anyone’s presence, but knowing Alice, there are probably a couple of world-ending monsters in a corner or two.

  Walking into her office and to the bookshelves, he immediately picked a hardcover book with the title engraved in gold “Grade 1 Veil Theorems” and grabbed it. He was about to turn around and leave when he stopped, turned to look at it, and placed Nina on the couch to rest.

  He opened it. Any normal person would gloss over the book and assume that Alice, the greatest veil user ever, just kept it around to be humble or something. That was far from the truth.

  Veil sight

  For a split second, he saw different lights and mists flowing everywhere, then the world entered into a colour inversion mode of sorts.

  Now looking at the book, he saw a different text, now in white. Instead the table of contents had 10 names written on it, with space for more. He pulled out the journal with Vida written on it and put it on the page, it melted into it, with Vida now joining the table of contents. Scanning the list, he paused on his name. He started to reach for it-

  Alice said you we I shouldnt touch it until she gives it to us me. The voice he said to himself.

  So I can use everyone else’s book exept myself-

  Put $5￡)*it^￡)￡?￡4back It he became so frantic his mind couldn't keep up

  He flinched Nothing more, nothing less than what she said to me you us herself

  Closing the book, he silently looked out of the window into the garden for the first time since he entered the office. There was a lot of red. That's it. On top of the small hill overlooking it, he saw Alice, her eyes unfocused, with a man with blond hair and a blank face talking.

  He paused and looked up at the window.

  Nothing more, nothing less.

  Y￡S

  Focusing back on him, he saw that the blonde man had walked halfway to the mansion.

  Do not fight, she has a plan for us-me. He told himself and turned away to pick up Nina, when he felt a surge in veil power, but he had lost all energy to care. Then, he felt a wave. A wave of something that wasn't veil energ-

  Leviathan. She did it. He felt a sense of dread as he grabbed Nina, not caring if she was asleep-

  He hadn't noticed, but there was a low hum, a mournful below that he felt before he heard it. Then he heard it, the most wrong noise ever, a wave of white noise with so much weight that it should have had at least a hum, that flattened trees, and blew the soldiers on the grass every which way. Lucian stopped, choosing to deal with the crisis first.

  The barrier glitched in the distance, and the glitch started to spread, as if a whale was laying down against it…

  Then it broke, not tore open, not melted like water, but broke, and with that massive space in the barrier, rain started to pour through in torrents. This started to destroy the rest of the barrier, and Lucian braced himself for a downpour that would rip him to shreds.

  But that wasn't the atack.

  He was plunged into a tree by the force of a wave that moved through the trees, as if sentient. The pressure forced him back, as he gritted his teeth and reached for the hilt of his blade-only to remember he left it in the van.

  Fuck. Well, my hands will have to do it. How annoying.

  He took a deep breath and raised his arm. The water pressure started to increase, with a calm mind, he used his arm to smack the weather, causing a break for a split second. He escaped from its grasp and ran as focused beams of water shot at him, cutting through everything it touched. Wiping the blood on his face, he turned to face the beams as he remembered his objective: Collect Alice, who was still unfocused, oblivious to what was happening.

  Based on intel, the only person that has an ocean veil is Vida. But she’s a city block level threat. Nothing she can throw would even lay a scratch on this barrier. Paired with the deep energy concentration increase earlier, which had made me slower, It's safe to assume that-

  They merged into one large water beam and fired at him, jumping out of the way, he weaved through the trees, dodging the beams with precision.

  -she has made contact with the veil god, Leviathan. I’ll need to file so much paperwork later. Ugh.

  Straining to take a deep breath, he rushed through them, jumping over, weaving through, or barely dodging the beams, grabbing Alice without her having any indication that she felt it, and threw her into the back of a barely standing jeep. Refusing to let it die peacefully, he drove with such force that, even if the water did not reach the car, it would destroy itself. But it was in vain as the waves had stopped the moment he held Alice, he smiled as he realised it. Heaving and sweaty, he wiped more blood from his mouth.

  Vida is most likely closest to the break in the barrier-around north west-.So south-east it is. As he turned, with the beams still frozen.

  Objective complete. I’ll need to have some people look into the details of her and Leviathan's deal. He looked into the rear view mirror, where Alice was lying down, eyes still unfocused. And this one too.

  In front of the break outside the barrier, Vida knelt down, her heart pounding. She stared at her shaking hand as she felt…something building up in her, threatening to shoot out. It turned her vision deep blue, as if she was drowning.

  “Carry on.” the feeling stopped, as she looked at the source of the sound

  “You have got to be fucking kidding me.”

  There was a conch shell. With legs. It’s as simple as it sounds. I have no idea how it talks. It just does.

  “This is my comfort form-” It started.

  “Alice just got taken and you're here talking about comfort.”

  “This is the most emotion I’ve shown for anyone-This is Alice after all.”

  She nearly fell from whiplash “Leviathan?!”

  Then she stopped as she smelt a hearty, sweet scent and saw the pink and yellow flower petal.

  “You don't look as sad as I thought.” He looked down at her, carrying Nina on an arm. “Alice told me to tell you to continue as normal. That means going to school and Laying Low.” He stressed that last bit. “I wasn't told to protect you, so protect yourself. Do not chase Lucian. Understood? Good.” He dashed away as it started to rain. Leaving her there. She felt the tears form, finally having a chance to be sad-

  Then she heard it, a footstep walking through the rain.

  “The forecast never said anything about rain.” A man wearing a suit walked through. Slowly, as if someone had hurt him. He looked up at her, “I’m assuming that that's your fault.”

  She stood up and turned around. “Oh Aidan, you got out.” then she realised “how did you do that-”

  He raised his blade to his face “You would have killed me if I had stayed. I needed to leave.” He relaxed his arm and walked towards her “I will forever wish to put you in the same state.” He walked up to her, “I’m the reason why you couldn't save Alice in time, so I can't be angry. But have you ever been frozen.” his voice was steady “Even that wouldn't be bad, but you kept me alive, cold. Really cold. You chose to torture me.”

  “It’s not that bad.” She said casually, “I wanted to try something, that's why I did that. But I can see why a normal human would be annoyed. So sorry.”

  His striking red eyes started to glow “I see…Vida, I swear on Areola-”

  The rain stopped, as if it were never there, as if the world had stopped operating to Listen.

  “-I will do to you what you did to me. To make you wish you were dead, to-”

  “There's no need to be dramatic, It was just a little cold.”

  He appeared in front of her, something he was never strong enough to do before. “See you later Vida.”

  Then he disappeared. The rain started again as a flash of pure white lightning cut across the sky. The deal had been made. Vida stared up at it, sighed, then walked away.

  After hours of driving, Ethan woke up as he felt the car stop. Opening the door, he checked his surroundings. He was on a mountain, in a clearing of trees. He looked around and saw the outline of a small house. As he turned and faced his original direction, his heart stopped.

  He saw a salt and pepper haired man in a bathing robe. He was a bit short, and his hair was wet. The man smiled, a genuine smile, and held out his hand.

  “My name is Xavier. You should listen to me from now on. Understood?”

  Ethans resolve hardened the final time, his resolve to surpass Everyone.

  “Alright.” he shook Xavier's hand.

  His smile became cold. “Wonderful.”