Chapter 10

  The Half-Chosen

  The day before, Linart and Lunamilla hadn’t had the chance to give their surplus to anyone else. Especially since Lunamilla hadn’t accepted the idea right away. Only the one-week limit imposed by Linart had convinced her to give it a try.

  Today, Aaronn and the others kept mining, this new objective in mind.

  “You know, I feel a little guilty forcing Milla to go along with my decision. To be honest, this is our first mission for the resistance. Just like her, I want to see it through.”

  “You’re taking a lot of risks. Thank you. I promise you won’t regret it.”

  Linart answered with a smile before returning to his mining. For his part, Aaronn decided to pick up the pace so he could gather surplus during the day. He increased the force of his blows, making the entire wall tremble. Several chunks of stone collapsed to the ground.

  “Wow, where does that kind of strength come from?” his teammate reacted at once.

  “Arthemians are born with high physical abilities. Compared to ordinary Eleusians, I possess superhuman strength.”

  He was only half proud of his answer. Normally, his true strength reached far beyond that.

  “Looks like the people of the lower world just weren’t lucky enough to be born so… normal.”

  “Don’t say that. You’re far from imagining what you’re truly capable of.”

  The rest of the day flew by. A drone came to inform Aaronn that he had finished gathering his daily quota of amarite, then departed. However, a second drone had been drawing his attention since morning. It was monitoring his group more than necessary.

  “Do you know if the guards can take control of the drones?” he asked.

  “I think so…”

  “I believe one of them is watching us.”

  Aaronn kept his eyes fixed on the drone, as if to signal that he had noticed it. Linart did the same. The sudden pressure seemed to have an effect; the machine resumed its usual route.

  “I’m going to help Rin finish his daily quota,” Aaronn continued. “It’ll be like giving him my surplus. Try to find someone else once you’re done.”

  “I think it would be better if it were me,” Linart interrupted. “We already know each other.”

  “Sorry, but I don’t like that he’s got me in his sights. I want to build trust between us. And what better way than generosity?” he finished with a smile.

  He approached Rin, who was a few meters away from the group, moving slowly with his pickaxe lowered.

  “Hey. I noticed your hand is injured. Need some help?”

  Rin turned toward him, brow furrowed. He stood a head taller than Aaronn and was at least twice as broad. But Aaronn was used to looking up at men far more imposing than himself.

  “You’ve already filled your daily quota?” Rin replied, his expression hard. “There are still three hours left.”

  “Yeah. I’m doing pretty well.”

  Rin’s gaze dropped to Aaronn’s pickaxe.

  “I watched you mine today. You hit hard. Harder than me. Much harder than any ordinary Eleusian,” he finished, his voice low.

  An awkward smile crossed Aaronn’s face as he scratched the back of his head.

  “Y-yeah, I know. That’s why I came to offer my help.”

  “You’re part of it too? The resistance.”

  Aaronn’s eyes widened briefly.

  “You know about it?” he replied, glancing back at his teammate.

  “Yes. I’m the only one. And in any case, that information wouldn’t change anything for the other prisoners.”

  “Why?”

  A mocking laugh lit up Rin’s face.

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  “Are you from another planet or something? Almost no one on this planet believes in the resistance. It’s a lost cause. I’m sure the Eyes could wipe it out on his own. But…”

  “What’s stopping him?”

  “The resistance’s headquarters is untraceable. Even for him.”

  So allying with Linart and Lunamilla was more than necessary.

  “And you? Do you believe in the resistance?”

  Three strikes of the pickaxe separated the question from its answer.

  “Did Linart tell you why I’m here?”

  “No… Why are you here?”

  “The king took my son… He was a Half-Chosen.”

  Aaronn was dying to ask what a Half-Chosen was, but he held himself back. He didn’t want to arouse further suspicion.

  “I rebelled against the warriors who took him. As you can imagine, that didn’t end well, and I ended up here. After so many years hiding him, I couldn’t escape it anyway.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “Thank you.”

  Rin drove his pickaxe into the rock, sending fragments crashing down.

  “And you? Where do your powers come from? Sorry about last night—I can’t stand anything related to the Chosen and their so-called ‘superiority.’”

  Aaronn tightened his grip on the handle of his pickaxe. He couldn’t lie—he didn’t want to. Otherwise, he would receive something similar in the future. He had no choice.

  “I come from another planet.”

  Rin’s pickaxe remained lodged in the rock, unlike his laughter, which burst free and echoed through the gallery.

  “Alright, I get it,” he said. “I suppose you can’t tell me the truth. Since you’re with Linart, I’ll assume it’s tied to the resistance… I accept your help.”

  Aaronn exhaled in relief. He wouldn’t contest Rin’s answer. Sometimes, truth alone worked miracles.

  “Then let’s get to it.”

  He began mining alongside him to help him finish his daily load.

  At the end of the day, Aaronn climbed back up the gallery to retrieve his meal from the central platform. But the moment he stepped onto the walkway, a guard slammed him against the wall. He immediately recognized the one from the first day, still wearing the same frozen expression of anger.

  “You think I don’t see you plotting with Linart?” he snapped. “I’ll say it again—escape is impossible. The Eyes sees everything.”

  “Then why are you watching me?”

  The guard’s lips curled into a contemptuous smile, anticipating the predictable reply. He pressed his elbow harder against Aaronn’s throat.

  “If what you said yesterday is true, then your powers can be learned, right? Show me.”

  Aaronn frowned. The guard’s aura flow was even more disturbed than the day before. He must have been replaying their discussion over and over all day.

  “I refuse. It would take far too long under these conditions, and I don’t want to break the rules. Guards and prisoners are supposed to keep their distance, aren’t they?”

  The guard released him and stepped back sharply.

  “That’s what I thought. You were lying. Watch yourself. I see what you’re planning,” he finished darkly before walking away.

  Aaronn was already fed up with this guard. If he wasn’t careful, the man would ruin their escape plan.

  After collecting his meal, he went to the former lair of the crackmendres and sat on the edge of the vault, facing the abyss as he unwrapped his sandwich.

  He could tell the galleries had been sealed—no draft rose from the depths. To escape, he could likely move through the void and carve his own tunnels using his powers, but he wasn’t sure he could evade the Eyes that way. Without all his abilities, it would take far too long.

  Moments later, Linart and Lunamilla joined him to eat. He told them what had happened with the guard.

  “I know him,” Linart said after sitting down. “I don’t think we need to worry. Once the hundred kilograms are gathered, we’ll be able to escape very quickly.”

  “As long as he doesn’t find the bottomless pouch,” Lunamilla added.

  They did need to be careful about that.

  “Other than that, your plan will be hard to implement, Aaronn,” Linart continued. “The other prisoners are reluctant to accept our help. They think we’re offering it with ulterior motives.”

  “Aren’t we?” Lunamilla countered.

  “More or less,” Aaronn admitted. “And that’s why you have to detach yourselves from any potential gain. I expected it to go this way. And they’re not wrong to react like that.”

  He finished the last of his meal. Lunamilla interrupted him while his mouth was still full.

  “So what can we do?”

  He shrugged.

  “I hate forcing people to do something against their will. Try to find someone who truly needs help.”

  “We’ll try,” Linart replied. “How is it going with Rin?”

  “He told me why he’s here… because of his son. What’s a Half-Chosen?”

  Linart’s eyes dimmed briefly.

  “In the eyes of the Chosen, we are inferior beings. That’s why the king allows himself to abuse his power over us—in the name of ‘peace.’ But the Half-Chosen are despised even more than we are. They are Eleusians born with a single silver eye. Their physical abilities are enhanced, but they possess no divine power.”

  Aaronn’s brows knit in a brief spasm.

  “I don’t understand… isn’t that a good thing for them? They don’t want to consider them Chosen?”

  “No. At least not as long as the Half-Chosen are born only from perfectly ordinary Eleusians.”

  Linart smiled at the irony.

  “Yes… the current king and all his predecessors have refused to admit that it’s possible. They claim it’s ‘a mistake of nature.’ Once a year, they inspect the citizens of the lower world to collect the Half-Chosen born during the year.”

  The exploration team’s report hadn’t mentioned this. Still, Aaronn was glad to learn of the Half-Chosen’s existence. It reinforced his belief that ordinary Eleusians could awaken.

  “What happens to them?” he asked.

  “They are killed,” Lunamilla answered coldly. “The king will not, under any circumstances, allow the divine nature of the Chosen to be called into question.”

  “I see…”

  It was worse than he had thought. The answer saddened him deeply. How far would a man go to silence the contradictions within his own truth?

  “It’s been twelve years since the resistance was born,” Linart continued, “after that terrible discovery. The royalty claimed they were taking the Half-Chosen so they could live on Eile?n as Chosen. Of course, that was false. We owe that revelation to the one who now leads the resistance.”

  “What has the resistance tried since?” Aaronn asked.

  “It took time to organize,” Linart replied. “They attempted attacks on the palace, uprisings, resistance against the abductions of the Half-Chosen… But now, we have a real plan that could bring down Eile?n. It has to do with—”

  He stopped when he saw Lunamilla’s stern gaze. He had said almost too much. Raising his hands in apology, he added:

  “I think I got carried away. Sorry, Aaronn. You won’t be learning about it today.”

  “It’s fine,” Aaronn replied. “I understand.”