Act 2 - Chapter 10, Part 2

***

"He flew through the forest!" Yorrin shouted as he huffed.

"He doesn't have wings?!" said Korra.

'Huh...'

Jack regained consciousness, half of his face hurt, and he could feel a cold chill against a scrape on his stomach. Leaves and sticks fell out of his hair as he pushed himself up. 'All I remember was focusing my spirit on my legs before I hit the ground... My legs took the least impact...' As he planted his left foot on the ground, the sides of his knee both throbbed as he pushed himself up.

"Why'd you try so damn hard to win!" Sarah scolded him, then offered Jack a hand. "Here, come on..."

Jack got to his feet, his leg shaking from the pain.

"Did you use Spirit Arts to get ahead?" Sarah asked.

"Well... Ajal told me to use Spirit Arts for movement... So I did... And, yeah it went... Better than I thought," Jack explained.

"Better than you thought? You can't keep your leg straight right now!"

"Yeah... I managed to do a really powerful Spirit Ignition..." Jack replied.

"That's... Really amazing, but you're an idiot for that," Sarah muttered quietly.

"Teach me how to do that! If I made myself lighter I could fly really- Ow!" Yorrin was cut off as his grandpa hit him in the head with a chop.

"Who won the race?" Jack replied.

"You were being competitive weren't you?!" Sarah shouted at him.

'Didn't you say you were faster than me...' Jack squinted at her but said nothing.

"Grandpa won," said Korra, she had been pouting about coming second last.

The old man took Yorrin and Korra's hand and proceeded towards Ketova. Sarah waited for Jack.

"Ajal can do them one after the other almost nonstop, I've been practicing a lot but can't get near that guy's level..."

"What do you mean! You're already better than Reinhardt, he can only do one strong ignition at a time. I can't even-" Sarah looked down.

Jack limped a few steps as his body got used to the pain in his legs. He followed the old man, and Sarah walked behind.

"It sucks you know..." said Sarah.

"What does?" Jack replied.

"Being weak... Ajal even told me I was weak..."

"Well... He didn't exactly say that."

"But it's true... At the angel's outpost, I lost to Bruno in one hit... That royal guard from Dorad in Logos was really strong too, and scary! I didn't stand a chance and I'm pretty sure she held back..."

"Hmm..." Jack didn't reply, he was unsure of what to really say.

"Did George and Reinhardt tell you..."

"Tell me what?"

"A week before we met you and Ajal at that outpost, the resistance ordered us to attack it to keep the angels and hybrids in Helios occupied... According to the guy that gave us that order... We were still expected to be there... Until we died..."

Jack raised an eyebrow when he heard that. 'The resistance... Ordered that? Isn't the resistance supposed to be good?'

"I'm sorry I called you weak when I couldn't believe you beat Alexander, it's pathetic for someone like me to call others weak... I don't know why you are acquainted with angels but I'm really sorry about that."

"I didn't- ugh..." Jack groaned. "Ajal couldn't even beat that guy... What makes you think I did?"

"Huh? But Franklin-"

"Franklin is stupid! Really stupid to be honest- I can't stand that guy!" Jack snapped.

"That- That is true..." said Sarah. "Then, what actually happened?"

Jack recalled the events from that day, his head throbbed as he remembered how afraid he was.

"I only had one friend in Logos, a girl named Carol. I don't know why she was so nice to me, she didn't seem to open up to anyone else..."

"Carol? What was her last name?"

"Endoran I believe, I only knew her for a few days... But she was sort of my only friend."

"Hmm, I don't remember anyone named Carol from the schools... The name Endoran does kind of ring a bell..."

"We tried to close the mines, we just wanted to do something, anything to end this misery... And of course, we paid the price."

"The angles executed-"

"Alexander didn't just execute her, he made an example out of her... Just like he does everyone else. He was ruthless... He was beating the life out of her in front of the whole village, and no one tried or dared to stop him, not even me... I can still remember how rigid my body felt as I froze that day, I was so afraid... Until I watched him plunge that sword through her stomach..."

Sarah's covered her mouth, the story visibly bothered her.

"She died with a smile on her face, that's the last thing I remember," Jack lied, he didn't want to explain further.

"I was really insensitive all this time... Ugh I'm such an idiot, I'm so sorry."

"It's okay... Franklin is just an idiot..."

"Franklin is a dimwit... Ugh. Next time he says something like that, I'll kick him in the nuts!" Sarah shouted angrily. "And what's wrong with that king of the angels! Letting Alexander Rael do those things... They don't treat the other towns nearly as strictly."

"I doubt the king cares... I've only seen him once, he didn't even look at any of the slaves' faces, he was too focused on some girl he was with..."

"Sure doesn't sound like a king to me..."

Jack looked around, Ketova certainly felt different from Rea, he tugged his hood forward to make sure no one saw much of his features, the hybrids in Ketova varied in appearance and clothing. There weren't just descendants of Ophi around. Taller hybrids walked about among the descendants of Ophi clad in dark clothing. Compared to others, descendants of Ophi seemed to value stealth and keeping low profiles. 'I wonder what Celestial beasts the others descended from... This district is closer to Welis I think...'

"That's what I wanted to say though, I really am sorry. It's- it's why I asked you to come along too..." Sarah admitted.

'Oh... You could've just said-'

"Hey, there girl!" Someone approached Jack and Sarah.

A slim but tall man with brown hair walked up to Jack and Sarah, except he went right past Jack and straight to Sarah. The man walked away from a group of hybrids who primarily had brown hair, many of them hollering slurs at Sarah. The group seemed to be highly nimble with their bodies, some stood on the building while others hung off it with the help of a single foot or a hand.

"You're pretty cute for a black rabbit," the man told Sarah as he grabbed her arm.

Jack looked around quickly, past the gate to the town center were two guards. 'Avoid conflict... What if the conflict comes to us...' Jack thought as he was unsure of what to do. He focused his spirit into his fist.

"Hey, the guards are right there... I wouldn't-" said Sarah

The group of hybrids exploded into laughter and cut her off.

"Hey, guards?", "Shitty guards! Shitty guards!", "Were the women in the royal guard not hiring?!"

The hybrids exploded into even more laughter. The two guards reminded Jack of the guard he had encountered. Taller than Ajal, with large burly bodies, and stern faces with plain features. The two guards had different hair colors, one had white hair, the other black. The guards were ignoring the brown-haired hybrids despite the abrasive shouting and annoying remarks. 'Why are the guards not doing anything?'

"How about it girl? Want to spend a night with- Ow ow ow!" the man suddenly started shouting in pain.

The old man grasped the hand that held Sarah's shoulder. 'It doesn't look like he's squeezing that hard?' The man pulled his hand away, and the old man let him go. The entire group of hybrids stood up as they saw the old man. 'Aw crap... Looks like there's going to be conflict...' The man who approached Sarah had wide eyes, his jaw even wider as he looked up at the old man from the ground. He quickly scrambled to his feet and ran for his group.

"Oh shit... It's him! The red hare!", "Just go, just go!" the other hybrids ran across the rooftops to get away.

'The red hair?'

"Bunch of jerks... thanks old m- cool dude!" said Sarah.

"Grandpa once beat up a whole gang of people who stole my cand- Ow!" Korra yipped as Yorrin smacked her in the head.

"How many times do I have to tell you not to talk about that? Ugh... Big mouth," Yorrin scolded her.

The group continued forward, the old man pulled his hood on as he passed by the guards. 'I wonder who he is... That was all physical strength... All he did was just grab him?!' Jack continued to ponder. 'He doesn't seem strong, who is this guy...'

"Ugh... I really wanted to use Spirit Arts to kick that guy in the head..." Sarah muttered angrily.

"How is the training with Ajal going? You're learning something else right?" Jack asked.

"Yeah, but... it feels like useless training, he said I could perform Spirit Arts techniques for healing others..." Sarah pouted.

"Huh- Healing? Like a doctor?"

"I don't know... he said I have a low affinity for fire, with a higher affinity for light and something like that..."

"Oh yeah, those affinities, I wonder what mine are..."

"He said I have to ignite my spirit in my head while focusing on my spirit where I want to manifest an ability. Which was weird at first, but if I do it really slowly it doesn't really feel dangerous or anything, but then I have to take what manifests and command it to do stuff which... I don't even know... If I say something I also lose focus... And then on top of that... What do I even say?!" Sarah explained. "What'd it look like to you? I have to close my eyes to focus hard enough, but when I open my eyes I don't see anything."

"Your hand looked brighter, there was a faint light glowing in your palm, and it felt warm," said Jack.

"That's what Ajal said too... Ahh! I wish I could see it!"

"There it is!" Korra shouted and pointed forward.

The group passed under a large green gate that stood about two stories high. It was made of two green pillars connected by a single beam with a sloped roof similar to the other buildings. Further ahead was another large green gate of similar design, just across the open street. The two buildings to each side of the gate seemed to connect over top of it, making more floors for both connected buildings. The design of the northwest district reminded Jack of Logos's design with concrete rather than dirt and grass, two sets of outer streets divided by buildings surrounding the district's center, just like Logos, the center of the city was a large open space where people gathered. Korra pointed at a tall building at the edge of the district's center, the sun hitting the face of the building, illuminating its windows and reflecting the bright glare from the sun at Jack's eyes.

"That's the library?" said Jack.

He shielded his eyes as he continued forward, the building was massive, at least three times the height of the gate, as they got closer the glare became less intense and Jack could see. There were six rows of windows, Jack looked up to the top and noticed a man behind the middle windows on the sixth floor.

"He could probably see everyone in the center of this district from there..." Jack whispered to himself.

The person in the window looked down directly at Jack, 'He's looking at me... There's no way he can find out I'm non-unified from there though.' Jack continued towards the entrance. Korra ran up the stairs two steps at a time. Sarah did the same, the old man continued at the same pace, as quietly as ever.

"Hey, mister! Stop!" someone shouted in fear.

"Huh," Jack looked down and noticed he was about to walk into an old homeless man. "Ah, sorry about that," Jack walked to the side.

"No problem young one, you almost kicked my knee, I woulda lost it ya know..."

"Eh..."

"Waha! I'm just kidding!"

The old man had a scruffy beard, he wore tattered robes as he rested in the shade of the library. 'Not all the hybrids seem bad...'

Jack looked to the right and noticed a pathway to the outer streets, to the left, was a tall building, even taller than the library. There were ropes between the building and the mountains in this district.

"Hey Yorrin, what's that building?" Jack asked.

"Huh? Oh, that's the information control center for Andurill. Each of the hybrid cities connected with the alliance has one, it's mainly for them to communicate without the resistance knowing, but citizens can use it to communicate with friends or family from different cities," the young boy explained.

"How are they communicating?"

"Oh, descendants of Wilo are born with Wilo's talon, a golden arm that can launch their hand forward. The hand is still connected to the wrist by a very strong fiber, but it's really tough and can carry heavy stuff. It also conducts electricity very well. The wires help transport power around the city. With help from descendants of Goku, they were able to turn it into a means of communication."

"Huh, sounds complex. You sure do know a lot..."

"Of course I do, my sister has no brain so I have to have two."

"Are there descendants of Wilo at the ends of those lines? They just stand there all the time?"

"No, the wires used are from descendants of Wilo who passed away. Not even fugitives have their arm taken from them, a person's Celestial gift is special after all."

Jack looked up at the wires coming out of the information control center. 'Their arms are where the wire comes from? That's... Kind of dark...'

Jack and Yorrin were the last to enter the library, a cool breeze sent a shiver up Jack's spine. Yorrin walked directly to the front desk. The ceiling was very low at the entrance, but the number of books already surprised Jack. The entire left side was composed of shelves filled with books of various colors, and to the right was a desk with a lineup of people checking them out. Jack thought back to the book Arthur had given him, and he looked around. Korra and Yorrin were at the desk with their grandfather, Sarah had begun looking around. Jack noticed more books on the other side of the first floor. 'How many books are there, can anyone even read all of these?'

As he walked through the library along the glossy marble floor, there was a strange scent he didn't recognize. It was a soothing, gentle scent that brushed through Jack's nose with a velvety elegance that comforted him and reminded him of the sweet foods the merchants from Logos sold.

In the center of the room was a statue of a little girl holding up a large globe. The sunlight shone down over the statue and made the boulder look incredibly large and imposing. Jack walked past the wall to the right of the entrance and realized there were books behind the wall of the front desk. As he looked around he noticed there had been bookshelves around every edge of the room, neatly displayed for the various hybrid scholars who were studying.

"Woah... There are books everywhere!" Jack said in a raised voice.

"Shhh!" several voices all whispered at once and startled Jack.

A hybrid walked towards him, it was a grey-haired old lady wearing a grey robe over a white blouse, she had a golden gauntlet attached to her right arm. 'A descendant of Wilo...' She pointed her golden finger at Jack.

"This is a library!" she whispered. "Be quiet! People are reading."

"Oh- okay, sorry," Jack whispered back.

She smiled softly at Jack and turned back to the shelves where her trolley awaited her. She picked up several books off the metal surface and moved them to the shelves. Jack approached the grey statue, it was carved out of a single stone judging from where the hands joined with the boulder the girl carried. She was young, her facial features lacked imperfection, and her calm stone eyes were closed as she held a gentle smile. As if the boulder on her back was nothing to worry about. Jack looked down at a plaque, it read as follows:

'The Deity of Rabbits, Ophi - May she conquer the burden of our sins with her grace.'

Jack looked down at the stone the plaque rested on, it wasn't the same, the plaque rested on a shining marble, similar to the design of the floor. Behind the statue was a staircase, 'Why is there a staircase in the middle of the room?' Jack looked up and his jaw dropped. Five more floors were above him, the tall shelves on each floor filled with books. He almost forgot to breathe as he gasped at the overwhelming sight, 'That's... A lot- no... Too many books!'

He looked left and saw Yorrin walking around the shelves near the entrance looking for a specific book. Korra was in the same aisle pointing and saying something Jack couldn't hear from where he stood. Jack walked up the stairs, and the pain in his knee became more tolerable. As he got to the second floor, he looked down, the height made Jack gulp. 'This goes pretty high...' He became curious and hastily walked to the next stairway to the third level, once there he continued to the next level.

Jack looked down and saw the old lady from the first floor, from this distance she looked tiny. As he reached the fifth floor he was now above the statue of Ophi. His legs ached from all the climbing, but he pressed forward, huffing with each step up the last flight of stairs. There weren't many people on this floor, Jack looked to the left, past the bookshelves where the windows overlooked the front of the building.

'I'm at the top!' Jack felt a strange sense of accomplishment.

He looked above the shelves and noticed some labels.

'History of Grelt.'

Jack walked between the shelves, the various books were organized to be side by side with other copies, he scanned the various titles, unsure of what to read while he waited for Korra and Yorrin to find the book they needed.

'The Battle of Cerulea', 'The Strife of Dorad', 'Arken's Life: From King to Fool', 'The Divine One.'

Jack stopped as he read that last one, he picked up the green book and looked at the cover, a single black skull beneath the letters of the title.

"Divine? Ajal mentioned that Grelt should have a divine being..." Jack whispered to himself.

Jack flipped through the pages until he came to a picture. It was a sketch of a scene from long ago. The page depicted a large throne room, its banners displayed a triangle-shaped symbol with circles at each corner. A single man stood in front of an army. He held his massive great sword high, and the army of ghoulish skeletons did the same. The picture was black and white.

At the front of the room was a chubby man and a skinny woman wearing strange clothing. The skeletons had worn armor, but those two seemed to be dressed in clothes Jack didn't recognize, they were drawn so small it was hard to tell.

Between the two, however, sitting on the throne, was someone strange. A woman wearing armor, her mask had no features. The only detail Jack could make out was the emblem of a tree carved into her breastplate. 'Skeletons...'

"Wait a minute, we saw skeletons on the bridge..." Jack whispered as he realized.

"Go now, your vengeance awaits you," Jack's attention was stolen by a nearby voice on the same floor.

'Huh?' Jack closed the book and slowly crept over to the seats past the shelves in front of the windows, he peaked past the shelf and noticed a lanky man who stood at a height of six feet. Jack recognized him quickly, 'Wait... That's...' He had his black hair tied in a single ponytail that drooped down past his waist, he wore a sleeveless white coat, and he wore baggy black pants with the same rings around his ankle and waist. Right next to him were two children, one of them had their hands against the glass window, and the other clutched the tall man's coat in fear of something.

"Kill away," the tall man said with a wide grin that made Jack gulp.

The child at the window turned and walked towards the stairs, he had lots of thick brown hair around his face, and the boy's eyes were filled with intent. The other boy not so much, he simply shivered at the side of the tall man. Eventually, he too followed the order. 'Marina said the guard saw Geral Murdok... Then... Is that really him?!'

The tall man stood in front of the window and simply watched the front of the building with his hands behind his back. 'Why is he just standing there-' Jack gulped nervously when he remembered the person standing at the window watching him. He took a step back, a surge of pain from his knee made him wince. A small exhale left Jack's throat.

The tall man's entire body whipped to the left, he stared Jack in the eyes with an intensity he'd never felt before. Jack stepped back from the shelf. 'He heard that?!' Jack's body shivered in fear, he only felt like this when someone like Alexander Rael was near. 'I should-' Jack turned back to the staircase, only to see the man was in his path now instead of by the window.

"Hi there," Geral Murdok greeted.

"Hello," Jack replied nervously.

"It's surprising to see you here. I didn't get your name last time," the tall man asked with a smile.

"Huh? Uh- it's-" Jack stuttered.

"The divine one? Ah yes, the book about Oaraun. It's a good read, quite insightful."

"Yeah... I'm- I'm liking the book so far."

"I'm surprised."

"You're... surprised?"

"Yeah, I'm surprised you managed to get that close without me noticing."

"Uh... Okay?"

"Come to think of it, you're the one who looked up at me from outside..."

Jack started to breathe heavily as he knew something was wrong, 'He's just been standing at that window this whole time... Why?'

"Judging from how afraid you suddenly are, I assume you know full well who I am, who sent you?" the man asked.

"I- don't know what..." said Jack.

His cold fingers wrapped around Jack's shoulder, 'Why is he so cold?' Despite the normal temperature in the library, Jack could still feel the man's cold touch through his clothes. Jack took a step back, and another. He didn't notice the leg of a table behind him, and he fell backward, making a large thud.

"Hey! I can hear you from the floor below!" A guard shouted.

A pair of heavy footsteps climbed the stairs up to the sixth floor. Jack didn't move, his body was frozen in fear. He could only hear the large hybrid's steps as he approached. He looked up at the tall man, who was now looking toward the stairwell. The guard walked around the corner and approached the two.

"The higher floors are supposed to be quieter!" the guard spoke, ironically, he was the loudest one.

The guard stopped speaking. Jack gulped as he listened to a quiet silence that felt too long to be real. 'What... Why did he stop-'

"Hey... you- You're-!" the guard stuttered in shock as he tried to shout.

Jack blinked and Geral vanished. At the exact same time, the quiet sound of a blade piercing through flesh stopped the man's speech.

"Aw, if only you said it just a little louder, you may have caused me an inconvenience, that's all your life is going to end for unfortunately," Geral whispered with a malicious smile.

Jack looked to the right and his heart started to beat rapidly. Geral stabbed the short dagger horizontally through the middle of the guard's neck and grabbed his collar to keep him still. A line of blood ran down from the wound. The guard reached for the blade in his neck as he tried to breathe, his hands shaking from pure shock as he didn't know what to do.

"Guh-" the guard tried to call for help.

"There, there, down you go," Geral whispered.

The hybrid was a large man at least eight feet tall when he stood, he had a green robe over his black polished armor. The man's eyes stayed open as Geral pulled his blade out slowly, and the guard's arms fell to his sides. Geral held his collar with a clenched fist, and the guard's body fell forward as he went limp. Before he could slam against the table Geral grasped the back of his collar and slowly lowered him.

"Can't have him making any more noise. Now... Now that you know who I am... I'm quite interested in you. Even for a slave, you don't panic or scream at the sight of someone being murdered in front of you. How about you tell me your name?" Geral said menacingly.

"My- my name?" Jack hesitated.

'Why does someone on a different continent know you!' Arthur's words rang in Jack's head.

"Uhm- Eckleflor?" Jack lied.

Geral raised the knife by the handle and Jack looked down in fear, he walked towards Jack. A whooshing sound of his blade followed by splatter made Jack's heart skip a beat as he thought it was the end. However nothing happened, Jack opened his eyes and raised his head to find out Geral had returned to observing the front of the library.

"What's your name?" the leader of the hybrid resistance asked once more.

"Huh?" Jack stuttered.

"There's only one person in Logos named Eckleflor, but he prefers to be bald," Geral gave Jack a sly smile.

Jack's heart beat rapidly, 'He knows I'm lying... What'll he do if I say Jack...'

"I-" Jack carefully considered how to answer. 'What would Ajal do...' "I got dragged into coming here... I didn't really, want- to come to the library..." Jack nonchalantly told him the truth, the last part extra quietly.

"Pft- Hehe- Hah-" Geral held in his giggles. "Seriously? What kind of answer is that? Are you being serious? Why do I feel like you're being serious?!"

"I am serious..."

Geral covered his mouth. "That's funny, really funny actually, I didn't plan to be here today either. It seems like fate has dragged us together once again. Would you like to see why I'm here? Slave of the angels," Geral pointed to something in the front of the library.

Jack walked up to the window, "I'm not a slave anymore..." he muttered.

Jack looked down at the large center square of Ketova. Geral pointed towards the two guards who ignored the thugs that bothered Sarah earlier. They were beating up the scruffy old homeless man in ragged clothing. 'What...' They slammed their black steel boots into the homeless man. 'Huh... Why are they bothering him...'

"Why... He wasn't doing anything?!" Jack put his palms against the cold glass as he leaned forward.

"They have to keep the square clean, it's their job. That homeless man from Welis has been here a few times, continuously preaching about the sins of the Lithonians," Geral explained.

"Lithonians?"

Jack's breath was close enough to leave fog against the transparent window. Geral's hand gripped Jack's shoulder. 'Huh...' Jack glanced to his left, his heart beating faster. Geral had a malicious grin spread from ear to ear.

"Watch carefully, the best part is about to begin," said Geral.

'Best part?' Jack looked back to the violent scene. Several hybrids were watching the man get beaten by the guards. It reminded Jack of the violence in Logos. One of the guards turned around, and the other lifted the beaten and unconscious man by the arm. At that exact moment, two children walked out of the crowd, the guards were unaware of them.

"That boy's name is Timari, and his brother's name is Jamar, both descendants of Goku from Welis. Their father sold medicine from the remnants of Bluewood Forest here, it was a trade he inherited from his father before him, and it was all he could do to support his children on his own. The guards of the city recently apprehended him for it. I was a friend of his," Geral explained.

"Apprehended him for- selling medicine?" Jack asked.

"Yeah, it's an illegal product, a special root only grown in regions controlled by descendants of Tilill. Descendants of Tilill are a non-neutral clan, in opposition to the alliance. For that sole reason, those disgusting traders from Lemen don't want it being distributed freely. That homeless man is their father," Geral revealed.

"That's..."

"For him to get to Bluewood now, he'd have to go around. He'd have to travel even farther and longer, all the while his children starve for several days at a time. Feast your eyes... We shall witness the glorious justice he deserves," Geral raised his arms as he grinned.

The man's wide smile still made Jack nervous. One of the kids had started sprinting towards the guard who held his father. Timari jumped and plunged a knife into the middle of the guard's black armor, between the plates and into their flesh. The people started to scream, and Jack couldn't take his eyes away. The other child, Jamar, was still hesitant. The other guard dropped their father and grasped Timari. The eight-foot man easily grasped the boy's entire head, however, green lightning crackled around his arm and the guard let out a painful shriek. The guard let go of Timari, however, Jamar had run to his brother's aid and stuck the guard with another knife. He pulled it out and stabbed the guard again. Then again. And again. while they couldn't hear the violence, Jack felt like he was listening to each of the hesitant child's grunts of rage as he plunged the blade into the guard with both hands. The other guard scrambled to his feet and tackled the kid.

"Holy shit-" Jack covered his mouth as he watched.

Geral giggled maniacally. The father of the two kids was left completely speechless as he watched more guards storm into the square to apprehend them. Jack just watched with wide eyes. 'The kid... Stabbed him... A kid...' The two reminded him of himself and Carol. He stepped back from the window.

"Why did-" Jack tried to ask, but could barely form words after witnessing that.

"Now that I've shown you why I was here, answer my question already. I wouldn't say I like talking to someone whose name I don't even know," Geral asked again.

"But..." Jack replied.

Geral looked down at Jack with a confused look.

"Those guards..." Jack stuttered, still focused on the event that unfolded in front of the library.

Geral let out a disappointed sigh. "Welp, you have no intention of telling me your name, you seem like an interesting fellow though, I won't kill you," Geral walked away.

Geral walked away with a smile on his face and his hands behind his head.

"My name is Jack..."

Geral's footsteps came to a stop. Jack could see the reflection of the library in the glass, Geral's head turned the moment he heard that.

"What was that?" Geral asked, suddenly interested.

"My name... Is Jack Eldritch."

Geral's eyes were wide, and his mouth hung open in shock when he turned around towards Jack. He simply looked at him for a moment and then looked down as he thought about something.

"Hah... Hahahahah!" Geral cackled out loud for the whole library to hear.

Jack continued to look at Geral with a worried expression.

"Quiet! "You're too loud sixth floor!" "Ugh, I thought the guard dealt with this! I'm trying to study!" Multiple upset mutters came from the fifth floor.

"Fate... How interesting," Geral said to himself before he looked at Jack with a look of confidence.

That was all he said as he turned and walked away, as he reached the stairs he stopped and looked at someone, he grinned at the person he saw on the stairs. He glanced at Jack once more, as if he was even more sure of something. A rush of footsteps climbed the stairs as Geral went down, Jack saw the old man with wide eyes and a worried expression on his face. He saw Jack, still taking in what had happened. The old man walked over to Jack, he stopped as he turned and noticed the dead guard in a pool of his own blood.

"Oh man, that's a lot of stairs... That guy had a cool Jacket... Hey Jack you were up here all along?" Sarah called. "We were about to leave-"

She walked forward and noticed the old man looking at something, she glanced at Jack who looked in the same direction.

"What's up?" Sarah asked as she walked over. "Ho-!"

She covered her mouth as she witnessed the dead guard just inches away from Jack.

'Fate.' The words repeated in Jack's head as he looked at the blood spread through the carpet.