The Regenerates (23 page)

As Seer called out each of their names, they waved.

“I’m going to get to the point,” said Seer, “but I need you to promise that you’ll let me talk without interrupting me or this is going to take till tomorrow morning.” He paused for a moment. “Right. All of us are from Cor. We used to live there a long time ago.”

There was silence. Kayn looked as though he desperately wanted to say something but Seer began to talk again before he could.

“You’ve heard of Keepers, haven’t you?”

Kayn got to his feet, almost knocking the plate of food on his table to the sparkling marble floor.

“Not so fast,” said Seer. “I told you to let me finish talking. I promise I’ll answer whatever questions you have when I’m done.”

Kayn roughly shoved the plate of food out of his way as he sat down.

“Cross and his men called us ‘Esoteric Freaks.’ We were listening in on him. The term ‘esoteric’ refers to a type of energy. In Cor, that energy has a different name. It is a forbidden energy known as Haze.”

Coralie gasped and Kayn’s face slowly grew redder.

“In Cor, the idea of Haze is taboo. Any mention of it gets you an immediate sentence, whether it’s death on Abolition Day or imprisonment. Here, and for that matter almost everywhere else, Haze is studied and respected. Before I talk more about that, I need to mention someone else. He may or not be familiar to you. His name is Markis.”

This time it was Ven’s turn to get to his feet. “How–”

Coralie yanked him back to his seat before he could say any more.

“Yes, we know who Markis is and why he was in Cor on Abolition Day. It’s because we know who he is that we know who you are. I’ll explain all of that in a moment.” Seer bit into another slice of cake, then continued. “Many years ago, Markis lived with his mother and sister in the Drudger Quadrant. Life was painful and difficult for them. Food and employment was scarce, and every year he watched his friends resort to crime to sustain themselves, only to be sentenced and then executed on Abolition Day. One year, one of Markis’ closest friends framed his mother and sister as thieves in exchange for food. They were then sentenced and killed.”

Coralie buried her face in her hands. Ven glanced over to Kayn, whose face was expressionless and unsympathetic. Ven could have throttled him.

Seer continued, “Markis had had enough. He was weak and frail, the same as everyone in the Drudger Quadrant. He made up his mind. Better to die with his dignity and resolve than live a false life in grief. He realized that everything was wrong, the Stratum Order, segregating people based on their birth, the idea of public execution. How could anyone accept that? Markis climbed the highest tower on the tallest bridge in Cor, looked over the edge and jumped. He fell, and waited for impact, but it never came. Something saved him. When he opened his eyes, there was a shadowy being in front of him.”

“A Keeper?” asked Coralie.

“Yes,” said Seer. “The Keeper told Markis that he was going to be given the chance at a new life, on one condition: that he would agree to save Cor.”

“Save it from what?” said Kayn.

“I’m getting there,” said Seer. “The Keeper told Markis that a dangerous, mysterious entity had cast a curse on Cor that he believed would eventually cause the city’s destruction. Unfortunately, we don’t have the specifics of the curse yet. We only know that he’s using Haze energy.”

The room was silent. After a moment, Kayn let out a derisive laugh. “Do you have any idea how ridiculous that story is? A curse on an entire city? Sorry, kid. I don’t have time for this supernatural nonsense. I have one goal: take the dagger to Roth’s tomb and go back to Cor.”

Seer sighed. “The Keeper who gave Markis a second life and a new identity did so on the condition that he do a job for them. He was to pick and recruit seven of the Sentenced, seven individuals killed on Abolition Day, and give them a new life as well, so they could assist him in saving Cor from a malevolent threat. Those seven people are us. We possess inhuman strength because we have Haze energy inside us, just like Markis did.”

“What exactly is Haze energy?” said Coralie.

This time, Shen spoke. “I know we never learned much about Keepers growing up in Cor, but do you remember what you were told the one day of primary school when it was discussed?”

“Er, that Keepers are evil entities who possess dangerous power and can only be summoned by black magic.”

“The legend of the Keepers’ Realm goes something like this,” said Seer. “At one point in time many years ago, humans and Keepers used to live together. There was a mutual respect. The Keepers were advanced, both in combat and knowledge of the universe. Because of their strength, they were asked to govern cities and protect people from danger. Humans respected them and sought their help and guidance, and the Keepers happily obliged. This went on for many years until slowly, some people began to feel jealous and inferior. Blinded by envy and ignorance, they believed that humans were just as capable of governing kingdoms as the Keepers were. Eventually, this seed of jealousy spread everywhere, throughout each kingdom, until the humans decided it was time to stage a revolution. Taking up arms, they sought to overthrow every single governing Keeper, without giving thought to the help they had received from them.”

“Wait,” Coralie interrupted. “You said that Keepers were advanced in every way, including combat. So humans decided to fight them knowing they would lose?”

“That’s just it,” said Seer. “They were foolish. In an actual fight, a human would lose against a Keeper in minutes. For hundreds of years, Keepers had protected humanity. They couldn’t, or rather, wouldn’t begin an all-out war with them. Doing so would mean the end of humankind as a whole. Instead the Keepers thought of a different plan: to separate themselves. They put an entire dimension, or realm of existence, between them and humanity.”

“A dimension?”

”Yes. Humans and Keepers were separated for good. That’s how the story goes, anyway.

”What the Haze Theory is saying is that it’s possible to interact with the Keepers even today, and borrow power from them just like humans did so many years ago,” said Shen. “This power could then be used to solve global problems. Haze energy is the source of this power that Keepers possess. It is an otherworldly energy that differentiates humans from Keepers.”

“So you’re saying that you have this power inside you?”

“Well, yes, as hard as it is to believe. We’ve proven it to you, haven’t we?”

Ven suddenly remembered what he and Coralie had read in that book back in Lamparth. As unbelievable as all of this seemed, it had to be true. There was no way a boy Seer’s age could throw a fully-grown man across a room unless he possessed inhuman strength.

He nibbled on the food in his plate, and glanced at Coralie, who shrugged.

“For the last time,” said Kayn, tossing his fork back on the plate of untouched food. “Keepers aren’t real. The Haze Theory is nothing but conspiracy and lies made up by rebellious Quadrants trying to take over.”

“Is that what you’ve been told?” said Seer. “No wonder you’re so annoyed with me right now.”

“Why should I believe a stranger, a child for that matter, over something I’ve been told since I was born? I have no reason to believe anything you’re saying. Some madman waltzes into Council Hall declaring an impending calamity with no proof and we’re expected to believe him? Who is he, where did he come from, why is he only coming forward now? All legitimate questions, and he gave us the answers to none of them. You can call me irrational and stubborn, but Markis didn’t give me or the elders a single reason to take any of this drivel on Haze seriously.”

Though Ven hated to admit it, Kayn was right. Even to him, Markis wasn’t exactly trustworthy.

“Look, this is really difficult to explain, especially to Cor’s future leader–”

“That’s it,” said Kayn, leaping to his feet. “Before I listen to one more word, I need you to explain how you know who I am and how you knew we were in that gangster’s hideout.”

Seer put down the cake on his plate. “Fine. I guess I’m not going to get much talking done with you interrupting me every five seconds. When Markis first recruited us, he told us that he would be going to Cor on instructions by that Keeper to get the Magistrate’s Dagger. We don’t know why he was asked to get it; we were just left instructions to await his return here. While he was away, we suddenly got an emergency message from him saying that he was nearing death.” Seer paused for a moment, as though he was thinking how best to explain himself.

“Those possessing heightened levels of Haze energy aren’t limited by space or time. They are able to separate their bodies from their souls and travel through various realms of existence. Our abilities are limited compared to those of a genuine Keeper, but in his injured state, Markis was still able to quickly relay a message to us saying that the dagger was on its way to Roth’s tomb in Hygon Pass. Whatever had caused his injury was strong enough to kill him almost immediately after that, and there was nothing more we could do.”

Ven frowned, suddenly remembering something that had been bothering him. “When Markis showed up in Council Hall a few days before Abolition Day, he said that Cor was under threat, and that it had something to do with the Haze Theory. He was arrested after that for causing an explosion, but I went to him for help to save Coralie and her parents from being sentenced. I didn’t know that the power he used was Haze energy. I just thought that since he was already a criminal, no one would suspect me. He said that he would help Coralie on the condition that I steal the Magistrate’s Dagger for him. We planned out everything, but after I had given him the dagger and the Sentenced escaped Cor, he brought me to the center of Stratum Square and stabbed me with it. I didn’t know what happened to him after that, or in between.”

“He stabbed you with it?” said Seer. He looked at the others.

“Hold on,” said Rogin. “The Magistrate’s Dagger contains a power that protects Cor from harm, right? So none of the future Grand Magistrates would suffer like Roth had. That power comes from the pool in Roth’s Tomb.”

“That means Markis intended for the dagger to get there all along,” said Seer. He turned to Ven. “I think that’s why he stabbed you with it, Ven. He did it so that no matter what, the dagger would have to make its way to Roth’s tomb to be purified.”

“But why not just take it there himself?” said Ven. “I gave him the dagger and freed him. He could have left.”

“It may have had something to do with the injury that happened in between,” said Rogin. “His decision to use you to taint the dagger was probably a last-minute one.”

“You haven’t finished giving me your explanation, Seer,” said Kayn.

“Sorry, I’ll continue,” said Seer. “With Markis dead, we had no other information except that the dagger was now with someone else and that it was on its way to Hygon Pass. We did notice something interesting, though. The dagger possesses Haze energy. Since we’re still human, we can only sense Haze energy in the human world. We’ve been trying to sense the dagger’s location. If it’s too far away, it’s almost pointless to go looking for it even if we can sense it faintly, so all we could do was wait until it got close enough for us to pinpoint its exact location. Eventually, we sensed that it was close to Crion, but waited to see if it would get any closer, and it did! As soon as Cross snagged you guys, we were able to locate the dagger as well as you.” He took a deep breath. “There. Satisfied, Kayn?”

“For now,” Kayn huffed.

“So now what?” said Coralie. “The dagger is here. What do you want with it?”

“We wanted a bit more information, which you three have given us,” said Shen. “We now know that it has to go to Roth’s tomb. We just don’t know why.”

“We are going to be the ones to take it there,” said Kayn. “And after that I’m going home.”

“No one is going to stop you, Kayn,” said Seer. “It
has
to go there. But I don’t think you three should go alone.”

“We don’t need your help.”

Seer rolled his eyes.

“You know, Seer,” said Rogin, “the dagger is technically with us. We don’t have to give it back. We can take it there ourselves and bring them along. We’ll give it back when we reach the tomb. Kayn can purify it with his own hands and we can still be around just in case.”

“Hold on,” said Ven before Kayn could say anything. “Something happened to me a while ago when we were in Lamparth. I was wondering if you could explain it to me. Kayn was trying to choke me, and when I lost consciousness, I woke up in this strange library and there was this kid there. He told me he saw me about to die and wanted to save me, so he sort of…lifted me up to that place. When I asked him about it, he said he didn’t remember what that place was or how he got there. He said his name was Elias and that he was dead. When I asked him if I was dead too, he said that I wasn’t and that he had pulled out my soul and left my empty body behind.”

Seer raised his eyebrows.

“Do you know an Elias?” said Ven.

“No, sorry,” Seer said. “But that’s really interesting. What do you think, Shen?”

Shen was glowering at Kayn, clearly affronted by hearing that he had tried to commit murder. “I don’t think he’s a Keeper,” she said. “But at the same time, it sounds as if he used a similar method of soul travel to the one the Keepers use. Do you think you’d somehow be able to see him again?”

“I’m not sure,” said Ven. “As a joke, I asked him to save me again if I was in trouble, but that’s it.”

“I think it’s best we save that for later,” said Seer, putting down his finished plate of cake. “Now that the dagger is here and we know where it should go, we should make our way to Roth’s tomb. Get ready to leave tomorrow, you three,” he said to Ven, Kayn and Coralie.

Before Kayn could protest, Ven stopped him.

“They’re here to help,” he said. “Our job has just become a whole lot easier. We don’t have to worry about trying to cross Ellor Peak on foot, and this time we know we’ll be safe. You’ll still be the one to purify the dagger, so just cooperate.”

Kayn scoffed and left the room.