Prophecy of the Nexus

Chapter 16

It was weird waking up alone in the dormitory, but I preferred things that way. I headed out alone to the canteen, my mind rattling with all the events of the previous night, with one clear aim. As I got my food, I noticed a weird mix of stares and murmurings. All the regular soldiers were eyeing Marcus and me, wondering why we were still here. Whereas the Arknights were busy whispering to one another and looking over at us. I didn't doubt Sir Atticus had already filed a report on what happened yesterday. But he didn't know the complete story. I sat opposite Marcus, who was enjoying his breakfast. "Atticus wants us to report to him at o-nine-hundred hours," Marcus said, finishing his orange juice.

"Good, I want to speak to him," I replied. I picked up a piece of toast and gazed at Marcus, wondered how I would proceed with my next question. "I also have a question for you," I added. Marcus raised an eyebrow. "Why didn't you tell the others that you had killed a demon?" I had been thinking about it since I had woken up. It had only dawned on me I had killed a demon too. So why hadn't Marcus mentioned it to the others?

Marcus chewed his food as he contemplated the question. "It's kinda an unwritten rule that Squires shouldn't have killed demons before being an Arknight," Marcus explained. "It's taboo."

"How comes?"

"Well, we're not supposed to go on missions at our age, so how would we encounter one? Besides," Marcus said, finished his food, "Killing your first demon after becoming an Arknight is like a rite of passage kinda thing. Looses all meaning if you've killed loads already. Or worse, too dead to become an Arknight."

I nodded. It made sense. We were in a weird situation where we had to face more demons in our lives more than we usually should have. I had only managed to kill ghasts at this point, but the fact I killed at least one was a good start. I perked up a little. "Well, that is one thing you outshone Sir Atticus at," I said, "you've already killed a demon before being an Arknight." Marcus eyed me with a look that reminded me who I was talking about. When spoken aloud, it was clear Sir Atticus had probably killed a demon before coming to the Mantle.

We headed over to Sir Atticus's office. The main Mantle building was busier than I had ever seen. A proper demon incursion into the city was nothing to scoff about, and people were flying down corridors with reports and intel for other members. I also noticed a lot more armed Arknights marching around the place. I didn't like how everyone was suddenly on alert. We knocked on Sir Atticus's door and entered at his command. Sir Atticus was bent over his desk, reading a map with stacks of reports next to it. He didn't even look up to tell us to be at ease. We sat down, and he finally looked up. "As you can see," Sir Atticus pointed to the load of paperwork to his sides, "last night has left a stir in the Mantle. A lost ghast or two was never something to worry about. But this was a strike group. I need to know everything that happened."

We told him what had happened. That the attack came out of nowhere, and we had done nothing to cause it. I informed Sir Atticus what the creeper had said and how we had defended ourselves till he had arrived. Sir Atticus stroked his beard. "I don't like it," Sir Atticus said. "This Fallen wants you, and we still do not know what your prophecy is." Sir Atticus sat back. "I'm afraid to say until we hunt down this Fallen, I can't let you off base," Sir Atticus said. I nodded. That wasn't the end of the world. I now had my contact with the outside, so I wasn't completely alone anymore. "If that is everything, you two are dismissed. You've earned a rest."

Marcus got to his feet, but I stayed seated. Sir Atticus frowned at me. "There was something else, sir," I said. Something had been gnawing at me since the conversation yesterday, and it had to be discussed. Anything weird that involved me had to be taken a little serious. "Last night, I was talking to my friends about our trial," I continued, looking up at Marcus. Marcus sat down again and nodded at Sir Atticus. Sir Atticus peered over at me, giving me his full attention. "And I described the person who ran our trial. However, the others didn't have the same description."