Divulgence (Song of Sophangence Book 2)

by E. I. McAllistair

  “I came to check on you. I wanted to talk. Can I come in?”

  Looking him in the face, focusing on his eyes, he found them to be as he had grown to love, icy grey, cold enough to even give him a chill, yet warmed by the greens and light browns swirled within them. As he peered into the crystal clear nebulas, a flash causes his mind to shudder, causing him to only see the dark pools he had encountered before, reminding him of the pain and anger he had been feeling. Without thinking, he punches Anaar with all the might he can muster, directly in his face.

  As the boy flies backward, he can hear the sickening shatter of bones breaking, only to be replicated as he crashes into the wall with such force it causes the building to shake, and the bones of his ribs and vertebrae to shatter as well. As he stands there looking at the boy crumpled on the floor, mind racing, emotions high, unsure of what to do. He chokes on the very air he is breathing when in less than a minute, the boy stands back up, shakes himself, and twists his head back and forth a few times. Moving to stand back in the doorway before the stunned Phavian, he stretches then rubs his face.

  “Feel better now? Ouch, that hurt. Even with my ridiculously high pain threshold I felt that shit. Good thing I can’t die, or you would have killed me with the punch alone. The wall would have just been an added bonus.”

  Eyes wide with shock, he looks at the rapidly colliding images of the person before him in his head. The meek, taciturn boy that does everything he can to not draw attention. The staunchly loyal friend that would do anything to help someone in need. The sex symbol of perfection that had enraptured almost everyone on campus. The callous and malevolent being that can slaughter countless people without flinching. Then now the seemingly immortal being, who shrugs off fatal injury in seconds like most people shrug off a bug bite. Which of these were the real Anaar? Which one had he fallen for? Then one final image hit him. The liar that intentionally betrayed everything he knew. The final image was the one that stuck in his mind, and with that he shut the door without another word.

  Huh. Not how I imagined that going. That went well.

  “What exactly were you expecting?”

  I don’t know? Gratitude, hot sex, fuck, just a hug would have been better. He literally killed me!

  “Attempted to.”

  Same thing. He didn’t know that wouldn’t do anything to me. I don’t think at least. He is the one who has been wanting to talk all this time. Here I come to talk, and he punches me in the face with the force of a missile! I guess I should give him more time?

  “Clearly.”

  Damn snarky AI… Anyway, I suppose I should say thank you for calling Ixnes, even though I said not to.

  “You were not thinking rationally. Family must intervene in these circumstances.”

  That is actually kinda weird you know. I have only ever had my mom for my entire life, and I was kinda okay with that, though I did wonder from time to time what it would be like to have siblings and a dad. Now how do I explain things? ‘Oh yeah, I have an older brother, he’s the world’s first artificial life form. Then there is my seemingly godmother who just so happens to be one of the most powerful people in existence. No big deal.’ Speaking of which, is she actually serious about trying to make me her beneficiary?

  “Mother does not speak about such things lightly. As I am not capable of inheriting her fortune, you are the first human relative that would outlive her. There is a high probability she is making plans as we speak.”

  By high probability, you mean she is literally making plans as we speak, don’t you?

  “Affirmative. Your immortality, combined with your relationship make you the perfect surrogate son.”

  What in the fuck is happening with my life?! My boyfriend, can I call him that? Gets kidnapped and almost beaten to death because of me, to which I respond by killing everyone in sight, which I also surprisingly don’t feel that bad about. I’m officially adopted by one of the most powerful people in the world after she learns of my secrets, and then said boyfriend, I think I like the sound of that, proceeds to murder me as a thank you for saving him.

  “Actually, manslaughter would be more accurate as I do not believe there was an intent to cause you mortal harm. Since you cannot die, it is quite a boon for Mr. Ingraham. If it makes you feel any better, it was a crime of passion it would seem, so the chances of it repeating are lower than if premeditated.”

  No! Why would that make me feel any better?!

  “Humans are illogical. Small details sometimes make the difference.”

  Hobb, sometimes you are seriously the worst. I guess I should go back to my room? I still have to tell everyone about my disappearance. I suppose Phavian will get the full story once he isn’t likely to murder me on sight… I wonder if he is going to tell anyone about me? I guess Codi would be the only person he would tell, though I’m not really in any position to be making any demands or requests he hold his tongue. Fuck… This might turn out to be a bigger mess than I thought. Way to go Anaar… Most relationships start with a date, or a kiss or sex. Ours started with murder.

  “Manslaughter.”

  Oh will you shut up already!

  “To be fair, you opened the door for the murder in the relationship by eradicating 44 humans after professing your love.”

  I did it for him!

  “That does not negate my argument.”

  Whatever. Let’s go see what messes we have to clean up. What a shitty day, and it isn’t even noon yet.

  4

  With only two days left before her own Mid-Year Melee, and the last for the school term, Codi refused to be counted out so early once again. Even without the top five people in her class being Titans, she still was eliminated before reaching them.

  Rushing from class, she sends Phavian a message, as his attitude seemed to change overnight. While she had never been used to a mopey standoffish Phavian, Anaar’s rejection had changed all of that. Even Anaar himself seemed particularly distant, which she was not completely upset about though. Considering how much she did like Anaar, it did nothing to change the fact at the end of the day her allegiance stood with Phavian first and foremost. If he were to call her at that very moment to let her know it was time to snuff Anaar out, she would drop everything and would not bat an eye. She presumed Anaar could pick up on that energy, because outside of the cursory greetings and idle chatter in class, they had not hung out, or even had dinner together since his return.

  She was not exactly happy about everyone avoiding her like she had leprosy, but she figured once the two idiots finally hashed things out, everything could go back to normal. At least Phavian did not seem dead on his feet anymore. If anything, he seemed more determined than ever. Not trying to pursue Anaar, he seemed almost angry, with most attempts at interaction being rebuffed for his training.

  While the Melee was definitely important, she could not understand why Phavian was suddenly taking it so seriously. Though he was no slouch, he had never put so much energy into preparation before. With Anaar’s loss, however shady it was, perhaps Phavian was concerned he might be susceptible to a defeat finally as well.

  As she made her way to Simulacrum, a thought occurred to her. If Phavian felt someone might use the same tactic against him, she would indubitably be the target. With that thought in mind, she doubled down on her resolve to not only protect herself, but prevent her best friend from potentially losing his title because of her. The thing she feared the most though was that Phavian would not give up his title like Anaar did, which could put her in a serious predicament.

  Pushing that from her mind, she was happy to see Hadir manning the full dive pods, which meant she would have free range to them for the rest of the day. Pulling a piece of gum from her bag, she pops it into her mouth, checks her makeup in her mirror, then puts it away, giving herself a small pep talk followed by a deep breath. Casually walking toward the counter, she sees Hadir brighten visibly as she approaches.

  “Codi! Hey! Funny seeing you here!” He gives
a nervous chuckle as he begins to fidget.

  Thinking to herself that she had only been there every day for the past week, she puts on a big smile, batting her eyelashes. Assuming a voice that made her want to vomit, she leans back pushing out what little chest she had.

  “I know right?! Did you like, pick up an extra shift or something? You aren’t usually here on Wednesday, right?”

  He smiles bashfully, doing his best to remain calm. “You… You know my schedule?”

  Kicking herself internally, she smiles again as she plays with her hair. “Oh, you know me, I guess I’m just observant! So… How are the pods looking for today? I have a lot of training to get done.”

  “You and everybody else! More than half of them are taken up with classes right now. The rest are under strict time limits as most of the Juniors are trying to prep for the Melee. I don’t have to tell you that though!” He laughs nervously as he looks her up and down.

  “That’s right! Just how strict of a time limit are we talking about?”

  “Oh! You can’t log more than six hours this entire week in the pods, and no more than two at a time.”

  Wondering where this rule had suddenly come from, her mask slips for a moment. “Who the fuck came up with that bullshit?!” Noticing his shocked face, she clears her throat, breaking eye contact with a nervous chuckle. “I meant… does that start from today?”

  “Oh, no. It was supposed to start Monday, so anything from then carries over.”

  Bubbling on the inside, Codi pushes down the desire to simply paralyze him and go about her business. “Well that isn’t fair now is it? I would be extra grateful if you just looked past me for today. I won’t come tomorrow, that is unless you have something to do with it…” She flutters her eyelashes coquettishly, causing Hadir cough and sputter.

  “I suppose it can just be our little secret then…”

  Ready to be done with the charade, Codi gives a wink whilst blowing a kiss and scurries off. Once she had found a pod, she immediately loaded herself up, feeling the need to seriously cut loose after the stomach churning display from earlier. Initializing her recently favorite profile, she finds herself in the City zone of Tactics and Siege. Stalking through carefully, she peers down a darkened alley to her right, only to be tackled headlong by some extreme force from the left. Ramming her frail body into the wall of a building to the right where she was looking, she feels overwhelming pain as the collision occurs and her body falls limp. Just before she loses consciousness, she is able to roll over to spy one of the top ranking Titans in her class. Slipping into the darkness, the scene resets, with her standing again somewhere in the City zone.

  “Fuck!!!!” Stomping her feet in a little tantrum, the air around her crackles with static charge. “Hobb can you at least give me a warmup?!”

  “Apologies Ms. Aya. You have given me the strictest commands to accurately simulate the conditions within the Mid-Year Melee, with particular focus placed upon overcoming the number 2 through number 5 ranked students in your class.”

  “Yeah, but you didn’t even give me a chance to see him coming!”

  “Your exact words were, ‘Don’t go easy on me, even if I start whining like a little bitch.’” Shall I change the settings to take into consideration whining?”

  “No! Fuck this is annoying. If only I could just-”

  Without warning she is hit viciously on the back of the head, causing her instance to reset again. Once she recognizes what has happened, she jumps up and down angrily. “God damn it Hobb! We were fucking talking! That doesn’t count!”

  “Exposing yourself on a battlefield without regard to your surroundings is extremely dangerous Ms. Aya. Perhaps less shouting and more awareness may prove beneficial.”

  “Oh eat a dick Hobb! Pause the fucking simulation then!”

  With her words, everything returns to white, then she flops angrily down onto the floor. Taking a moment to breathe deeply, she thinks about her current situation. She chose the City because there would be a good chance her showdowns with the Titans that continue to block her path would occur there. Theoretically speaking, she should be at an advantage in the City zone, that is suspecting she was near a building with electricity she could easily siphon from.

  Gathering charged ions in the air was usually more than sufficient in normal operation, but she had come to realize her class’ top Titans had not gotten to their ranks without reason. It was in that moment she more than ever wished she was a True Quintessence, but no one had ever mentioned a True Air being capable of manufacturing electrical current like they did wind. As she sat grumbling on the floor, she wished for Anaar and Phavian to make up, as she was sure the boy would have an answer. If nothing else she could send him on a mission to the old man from Exploration to find out.

  As she sat pondering how she could make that happen, she realized it did nothing to help her situation, considering she was powerful, but no True Quintessence anyway. Rethinking her options, she thought maybe having a constant electric field around her might help, but against Titans of her class’ caliber, it would do nothing but drain her before an actual fight broke out. Grumbling, she stands up annoyed, wondering why she, being possibly the second smartest person in the in school, could not figure out a way past this puzzle after all this time. Restarting the simulation, she refocuses her mind, doing her best to make sure she is not taken unaware again.

  Once again creeping from wall to wall, she kicks herself for having no clue what her synesthetic capability was, since being an audial Synestate, even a weak one would be really effective in these types of situations. Remembering something Anaar had said once, people presume synesthesia only comes in the five cardinal senses, which for the most part is true. He made a point to clarify that there are many more senses out there, some are even specific to certain people and their other traits. Perhaps her innate sense of even the slightest ionic fluctuations was more than just a product of her Electrokinesis, and was actually her synesthetic ability. More things she would have to add to the growing list she had prepared for him once she got the green light from Phavian to go back to normal with their relationship.

  Just as she was rounding a corner, she comes face to face with the number 2 in their class. After a brief standoff, she takes off running at a clip, the large woman taking off after her. Doing her best to keep up the distance, she knew she was much faster, but her endurance would leave her exposed if she did not come up with something fast. Steadily drawing on every bit of charge she could, she found it was much slower going than she would have hoped being in an urban landscape. Finally nearing her limit at full sprint, she turns on her heel abruptly taking aim, releasing a concentrated blast of current that would easily immolate any normal person. Unfortunately for her, the woman in front of her was anything but normal. Shrugging off the blast with only heavy scorch marks to her chest and a brief stutter, the woman picks up speed, coming to barrel toward Codi with all her might.

  “Fuck me.”

  With the instance resetting, Codi found herself trying over and over again, each time failing to stop the raging human seemingly made out of insulated materials from taking her down. After hours of failed attempts, she found herself mentally exhausted. Stretched out on the endless white expanse, she once again goes back to her strong suit of thinking.

  Seeing Maggie take down the man everyone thought would be the number two Freshman, as he was easily on par with the top Titans in her class, if not better thanks to having the Invulnerability manifestation, had given her soaring hope and confidence that she could do the same. Maybe she just was not as good or as powerful as she hyped herself up to be. With Phavian it bothered her, but her love for him and connection gave her more insight into just how amazing he was, often holding back rather than needing to find ways to get stronger. In that way he and Anaar were so similar it was scary.

  How must it feel to constantly remind yourself to not instantly kill people because your levels were just that different? Maggie on t
he other hand seemed much closer in strength to her. Codi understood Maggie was tough as nails, which gave her an additional edge over her, but to still come out on top of someone she herself would have no chance against continued to bother her. When the fight had started out, it was clear Maggie would lose, yet somehow, she had found a strength to overcome in the end. When she asked Maggie about it, she had only said Anaar gave her strength by reminding her she still had a job left to do.

  She and Phavian had years together, yet she never felt Phavian push her to another level of ability. She knew Maggie had a different kind of love for Anaar than she had for Phavian, but could that really be what was missing in her life? She had her fun, and lots of it, but she could not think of anyone she would give up everything for, or she could feel inspire her to greater, more devastating heights. The Freshmen by all accounts easily outpaced the other classes, at least the ones she knew. If she looked at her growth from when she started Sophangence to now, she found she had not made very much progress in terms of her skills, despite being so reliant on them.

  Having no defense whatsoever did not help her situation either. When she looked at the Freshmen she knew, all of them had made years, if not decades worth of progress in mere months it seemed. Could Anaar be the cause of all of that unbridled growth? He alone stood at the pinnacle, but was the difference between him and Phavian simply he had the ability and willingness to share his greatness with others, thus bringing them closer to his level?

  She had always wondered what made Anaar such a magnetic force, drawing people into his orbit without any extra effort on his part. Maybe it was the simple fact that he cared. Not exactly happy about the idea of asking an underclassman for help, especially one that dethroned her from being the smartest in the school and also caused serious harm to her best friend, she contemplated whether she would be able to swallow her pride and ask for his assistance in her own stagnation.

  Just then her instance terminated, and her pod opened. To her groggy eyes she awakens to see a remorseful looking Hadir, and someone peering down at her who looked far above Hadir’s pay grade.