chapter 12 progress

I swing my feet back and forth aimlessly while sitting on the cold, unforgiving metal bench. My arms are wrapped around myself, trying to retain what little warmth I can. The dim overhead light flickers every so often, casting eerie shadows against the cracked cement walls. I look around the room for the hundredth time. The same dull, lifeless grey meets my gaze—the concrete floor, the rusting bars, the tiny, barred window too high to see out of. The air is thick with the scent of dampness and disinfectant, a mix that clings to my clothes. The silence is suffocating, broken only by the occasional distant voices of officers talking down the hall. Seeing the same depressing surroundings was driving me crazy, so I started thinking about anything and everything that wasn't associated with this place.

After what seemed like hours, a police officer swung open my cell door. "You're free to go," he said in a stern tone.

I jumped up and hurried out the door, following the officer to the exit where the others were waiting.

"DOM!!" Madison shouted, hopping into my arms with a hug.

"How are you doing?" Mr. Stone asked worriedly.

I sighed heavily. "Been better, honestly," I confessed, drained.

I scanned the room. "Where's L?"

They waved for me to follow them, and we made our way down the road past Market Street.

"Do you remember Nick, the commander of the G.O.M.?"

I browsed my memories until I recalled the blonde man with light blue eyes. I nodded. "Yeah, I do. What about him?"

"I asked for his assistance with this matter, and thanks to his rank and influence, we were able to sweep this under the rug," he said with an exhausted exhale. "But despite that, we should assume our enemies know about the awakening of L."

We reached the familiar trail leading toward the mansion.

"We're heading back home?" I asked, confused, as Madison linked arms with me.

"He's being treated here," Mrs. Dean said. "Thanks to Nick, we were able to get a healing wizard to privately work on him."

We walked through the front door and were greeted by the maids.

"Sir, L has stabilized and is awake."

I looked at Mr. Stone. "Can we see him now?"

He nodded and ushered us upstairs. His room was the one opposite ours. We knocked, then entered when we heard his voice.

The door opened to reveal him sitting up in bed.

"Hey, ha! I'm alive to see another day," he said with a corny grin.

I smiled and sat next to him. "How are you feeling, L?" I asked, concerned.

He looked up with a playful grin. "If I say 'shitty,' will you dote on me?" he said, laughing. I smacked his arm, annoyed.

"I'm a hurt patient," he whines.

"L, was it? We need to talk about your role now that you're going to be our companion."

The room falls silent, and all eyes drop on Mr. Stone. He tells L everything.

"We know this might be a lot to take in, so take your time healing and thinking about what you've heard," Mrs. Dean says, leading Mr. Stone out the door.

"Girls, don't stay up too late. Dominique, we have training tomorrow," he says, closing the door.

I look back at L and smile. "I'm gonna head to bed, L. Night," I say as I get up.

He grabs my arm, his grip surprisingly firm. "Wait, I have something to say to you."

I look at Madison, then back at him.

"She can stay too if she wants," he adds, his voice quieter now, almost hesitant.

The atmosphere shifts, thick with an unspoken weight. I steady my breathing and sit at the foot of the bed, waiting.

L takes a deep breath, his fingers tightening around the fabric of the blanket as if grounding himself. "I want to be transparent now that I'm a guardian too," he begins, his voice controlled but heavy with emotion. "My real name is Luca Blackburn, and I'm an abandoned noble."

Surprise spreads across our faces. I can see Madison stiffen beside me.

"My family orchestrated my murder by driving my carriage off a cliff," he says, his words coming out slower now, as if forcing himself to relive the horror. His hands tremble, and his jaw clenches, but his eyes remain distant, as if staring through the room and into the past.

A cold silence settles between us. I instinctively reach out and grab his hand, feeling how cold and clammy his skin has become. He exhales shakily, his body trembling like a leaf caught in the wind.

"All I remember is the sound of the horses panicking. The weightless feeling when the carriage tipped. The sheer terror of knowing I was going to die," his voice cracks, and he swallows hard, struggling to push the words out. "I hit the water. It should have killed me. Maybe I even wished it had."

His breathing is shallow now, uneven. His other hand grips his sleeve tightly, as if holding himself together.

"But why would your own blood try to kill you?" Madison asks, her voice laced with disbelief and grief. I can tell she's fighting back tears.

Luca lets out a hollow laugh—humorless and bitter. "Dom, remember when I told you I didn't have magical power? ...That's why."

The words hang in the air, suffocating.

I think about my own family, my own pain. And yet, even with everything I've endured, I realize that some people have suffered even worse. The scars I carry are deep, but Luca's are jagged and still bleeding.

I squeeze his hand, hoping it's enough to remind him that he isn't alone anymore. "Is that honestly all it took for them to abandon you?" I say under my breath.

Luca lowers his head, his fingers gripping the fabric of his sleeve as if holding himself together. His eyes glisten under the dim light, but he blinks rapidly, forcing back whatever emotion threatens to spill over.

"Well, there is another reason, but I don't feel comfortable talking about it yet." His voice is quieter now, almost fragile, as if the words themselves could shatter him.

We sit in silence for a moment, the weight of unspoken pain settling between us. Madison sniffles and wipes her tears before finally breaking the tension.

"Why did you introduce yourself as just L?" she asks, puzzled.

Luca's gaze falls, his expression unreadable. For a moment, it seems like he might not answer, but then he exhales, his voice laced with quiet sorrow.

"Because my name is a reminder of how much my parents hated me," he finally confesses.

The words hang in the air like a ghost, lingering long after they've been spoken. A hollow emptiness fills his eyes, and for the first time, I see just how deeply the scars of his past have been carved into him.

All I know to do is hug him. His body tenses for a brief moment before he finally relaxes into the embrace. His arms wrap around me, and Madison joins us, encircling us both in a silent promise that, whatever happens, we won't let him carry this pain alone.

After a while, we wave goodbye to him and return to our own rooms.

I lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, my thoughts tangled in everything that had just happened. I think about the other guardians—who they might be, what they could have been through. What kind of burdens did they carry? As exhaustion tugs at me, I hear a voice.

Soft. Kind. Familiar.

"Look within... call upon your core."

My eyelids grow heavier as I try to understand what it means. Just before sleep claims me, a sound drifts through the ship.

A low, humming noise.

At first, it's almost soothing, but as it lingers, it shifts—distorted, unnatural. It crawls along the metal walls, seeping into the floor, echoing from ceiling to floor in an endless loop. There's something unsettling about it, like a whisper too quiet to understand but too persistent to ignore. The air feels colder, and the shadows in the corners seem to stretch just a little longer than they should.

"Sir, I set the coordinates to Alice," a man with a mousy-sounding voice says, his words barely breaking through the droning hum.

"Our arrival from ONYX to ALICE is looking to be two months," the mousy man squeaks.

The humming continues. Then suddenly stops. As if his ears had caught the greatest piece of news, Jojo laughed wickedly, a deep, twisted sound that echoed with dark delight. His laughter was low and dangerous, growing in intensity until he bit into his lips, drawing blood, savoring the sting. The twisted pleasure that flooded him turned his laughter into strained, breathy moans. Between those moans, he muttered nonsensical gibberish, the words slipping out of him like a chant of obsession. "Be a good girl and wait for me," he whispered, his voice heavy with dark promise.

He took a deep, shuddering breath, eyes closing as he savored the thought, the very essence of desire consuming him. "I'll bring death to you... nice and slow," he purred with ecstasy, his voice trembling with a mixture of hunger and satisfaction. His bony fingers flexed, itching for the moment when his fantasies would become reality. "I want you," he whimpered, almost pleading, as his nails dug deep into his leg, drawing blood. The pain seemed to intensify the longing inside him, the twisted craving only growing stronger.

His pants tightened, hispenis bulges as his body reacted to the dark thoughts of her screams. They fueled him, turning his mind feral, imagining her lifeless body going limp in his arms, the lightbeing snuffed out of her eyes. That image, that thought, was his driving force. Nothing else mattered anymore. Small fish no longer satisfied his insatiable hunger. He had found something bigger, something better. Something that would quenchhis appetite.....for now. The hunt had become his obsession, and going back wasn't an option—not until he caught this whale.

"Almost forgot, this whale is human... but does it really matter?" he mused aloud, his voice dripping with longing. "it all goes down the same, and as my reward, her face will be mine," he sang, the words dripping with possessiveness. His bloody, red-painted lips curled into a smile, a smile that was both predatory and suffocating. His black tongue flicked across his lips, savoring the thought of the power he would wield. "Full speed ahead." I gobbled down my breakfast while chatting away with Madison and Luca. "Ready to train, Dominique?" Mr. Stone asked, walking in with Mrs. Dean close behind. I nodded, collecting my dirty dishes, only to have the maids beat me to the punch. I'm still not used to them cleaning up after me. "We will be down there all day just so you know" he says

"Can I come watch?" Luca asked curiously.

"Of course! Even though you're recovering, you can still learn," Mrs. Dean said, adjusting her glasses. We all headed to the basement. Mr. Stone took out the robotic tools from last time.

"Remember, this training is to find your magical ability," Mr. Stone announced. I took a battle stance, ready for them to jump into action. The three bots rushed me, their mechanical feet thudding heavily against the ground. The air around me seemed to grow tense as the first bot lunged, its glowing red eyes focused on me. I jumped back just in time, narrowly avoiding its sharp, claw-like fingers.

Madison tossed me the staff, and I caught it just in time to block the strike from the second bot. The force of the impact rattled my arms, but I held firm. The third bot circled around, trying to get behind me. Without thinking, I dashed out of the way, my heart pounding.

I summoned water from my palm, watching as it twisted into a sharp, icy lance. With a fluid motion, I shot it at the first bot, the ice slicing through the air with a sharp whistle. The bot let out a mechanical screech before freezing solid, its joints stiffening.

The remaining two bots closed in, relentless and fast. I threw the staff at one, striking it in the chest. The bot staggered back, but didn't fall. In a split second, the other bot lunged at me, its blade arm raised high. I barely managed to dodge, the blade missing by inches, but the wind from its strike cut through the air like a whip.

Panic surged in me as I realized I was out of time and options. Then, the voice I'd heard last night echoed in my mind. Call upon my core.

Time seemed to slow. The world around me blurred as the final bot raised its knife hand to strike. My breath caught in my throat. I whispered, "My core?" It was like the words were a key unlocking something deep within me.

In that instant, the ground beneath me trembled, and a rush of energy surged through my body. I felt something powerful stir inside, something ancient and raw. A deep, resonating hum filled the air, and then—it happened.

From my back, two massive angel wings erupted, bursting through the fabric of my shirt in a cascade of light. The wings unfurled slowly at first, stretching outward like a beacon, their sheer size forcing the air around them to crackle with energy. They glowed a brilliant white, each feather outlined in a soft golden light that flickered like fire. The magic radiating from them was so intense, it felt like the room itself was warping.

The light was almost blinding, and the air around the wings shimmered, as if the very fabric of reality couldn't handle the magnitude of their power. The wings flapped once, sending a shockwave of wind through the room. It was like a storm had suddenly swept through, the force of the gust knocking the remaining bot off balance.

I turned to face the bot, my eyes locked onto it as the wings beat again. The wind was so strong it swirled around me, like the calm before the storm. The robot, now visibly shaken by the sheer power emanating from me, raised its knife hand again.

With a flick of my wrist, the bot crumbled into ash. The air crackled, and with a final, powerful flap, the wings dissipated into thousands of shimmering sparkles. They lingered in the air for a moment, like magical dust, before vanishing completely.

Everyone was silent. Mr. Stone's mouth hung open as he softly muttered, "My word!" He took off his glasses and wiped them, staring at me in disbelief. Mrs. Dean's jaw was dropped, sweat beading on her forehead. Madison and Luca stood frozen, their eyes wide in shock.

"What was that power?" Madison finally asked, her voice barely a whisper.

"I... I don't know," Luca responded, his voice shaky. I collapsed to my knees, my body drained of energy. I felt as if I had just run a marathon, every muscle screaming in exhaustion.

"Whatever it was, it seems to take a lot of magic," Mrs. Dean said, walking over to check on me. Her footsteps were light, cautious, as if she was unsure whether I was truly okay.

My legs felt like jelly, and I could barely keep my eyes open.

"Well, other than vaporizing, it also heals," Luca said, examining his body, a puzzled expression crossing his face. We all looked at him, confused.

"Let me see?" Madison asked, stepping forward with a sense of urgency. She began inspecting him carefully, her eyes scanning every inch of his skin.

"Yeah, he's right," she said, her voice filled with awe. "They're all healed." She looked up at us, her expression one of pure shock.

"Fascinating. So that ability can both heal and incinerate?" Mr. Stone asked, cutting in, his voice filled with a mix of admiration and concern. "It's too early to tell what it really does for now. Good job, Dominique," Mrs. Dean compliments with a smile, her eyes warm with encouragement. "Hey, now that I'm feeling better, I'd like to try my hand at magic," Luca asks, stretching his arms above his head. Mr. Stone walks over and examines his robots, his eyes scanning the various mechanical parts.

"Well, it might have to wait until tomorrow. These guys need a tune-up," he states with a sigh, clearly discouraged by the condition of his creations.

"You can go a round with me if you'd like?" Mrs. Dean offers, a playful glint in her eye. Luca's face brightens, and he grins, his excitement bubbling over. He leaps at the opportunity, hopping from one leg to another like an eager child. I sit on the ground next to Madison my body slouched as I rested, my head leaning against the wall. "You, okay?" she asked, glancing at me with concern.

I nodded, though I felt the weight of exhaustion pressing down on me. "Yeah, just... tired."

We sat there in silence for a few moments, the sound of our steady breaths filling the space. I could hear Luca practicing as Mrs. Dean explains how to tap into his magic. His excited energy was contagious, even from a distance.

"You've been working hard," Madison says after a while, breaking the silence. "But I know you can do this." She smiles at me, her eyes bright with encouragement.

I smiled back, grateful for her presence. "Thanks, Madison. It's just... a lot to take in. The magic, the training... I feel like I'm barely scratching the surface."

"I know. But you're making progress," she said softly, her voice laced with tenderness. She shifted closer, wrapping her arm around my shoulders. "We'll get through this together. You're not alone."

I leaned into her, letting myself relax for the first time that day. Her warmth was a comfort, a quiet reminder that even amidst all the chaos, I had someone by my side. We sat there for a while, watching the hours pass by in silence, letting the world outside fade as the exhaustion took over. Eventually, Luca's voice called out through the room breaking the stillness.

"Alright, I'm ready!" he shouted, his voice full of excitement and energy.

"Focus on channeling the magic throughout your body," she instructs him with calm authority. Luca nods eagerly, closing his eyes to center himself. His hands tremble as he concentrates, a wave of energy beginning to stir from within. The magic was so concentrated and strong that it became visible, flowing through his veins like liquid light. He raised his palms, and two green magic circles appeared above them, pulsing with raw energy.

The air shifted, growing heavier. A low hum filled the room as powerful gusts of wind began to gather around him. The wind swirled violently, whipping into spirals that twisted and howled through the room. It was no longer just a breeze—this was raw, elemental force, and it filled every corner of the space, pushing against us.

"THREAD MAGIC—" Mrs. Dean shouted, but she was cut short as the winds intensified, blasting all of us backward. The room erupted in chaos as boxes, papers, and anything else that wasn't tied down were lifted into the air, colliding with us. Madison landed on my head, Mrs. Dean was thrown beneath a pile of debris, and Mr. Stone clung to a pipe, his lab coat caught in the gusts.

"Why don't we call it a day?" Mrs. Dean mutters clearly flustered. She pushes herself up from the wreckage, wiping dust from her face.

After we finally managed to clean up the basement, we made our way to our rooms. I threw myself onto the bed, my muscles aching from the exertion of the day. "It was definitely a long day, but you managed to find your ability," Madison says cheerfully, her voice a little too bright for how exhausted I feel. I kick off my shoes and pull off my pants, collapsing into the covers with a sigh.

"I finally feel like we're becoming stronger" I mutter, pulling the blanket over myself. I curl into the warmth, feeling the fatigue settle in my bones. She lays next to me, her presence calming, and flicks off the light.

"You're doing amazing, Dom," she gushes, her voice soft and full of admiration. "We just need you to find the other guardians and defeat the landlords." I nod, too tired to reply, but I can't stop the fluttering in my chest at her words. I close my eyes, feeling my lids grow heavy.

As sleep overtakes me, I drift into a dream. It's the same one I've had for so long—the man with the midnight blue eyes. I feel a pull toward him, a connection that runs deeper than I can comprehend. His eyes—those deep, mesmerizing eyes—hold a tenderness that makes my heart ache. I grip the covers tightly, as if it will bring me closer to him.

He's so vivid now, even though I still can't see his face, he's more than just a fleeting presence in my dreams. It's as if we've met before, as if we share some unspoken bond that transcends time. I can almost feel the touch of his hand, the way he looks at me like he's been waiting for me, just like I've been waiting for him. It's all so familiar, yet so distant.

My thoughts drift, and I smile in my sleep, yearning for the day when I can see him in real life, feel his presence beside me. The dream is more than a vision—it's a promise. I know, deep down, that he's out there, waiting, just as I am.