CHAPTER II. EMPATHETIC BOUNDS
REARED BY WANING MOONS, REPELLENT TO THE BLIND EYE
ALLURE QUESTIONS OF A FRACTURED LIGHT GONE AWRY
FATEFUL THREADS ENTANGLED WITH AFFAIRS BY A SPECTATOR
ARE THY FLAWED TO WEEP AS WE REAP WHAT IS SHOWN?
DO INFER... BUT DON’T DIFFER
THEY STAY FLEETING AS THEY GO, BUT PROLONG MERIT AS THEY GROW
DOCUMENT: OPERATION XENYSIS (RATIONALE 3)
Taking quite a while to adjust to the situations warm reconciliation, Kanen’s puzzled look scanned Reiji’s appearance giving off dissatisfaction contrasting with hue’s of his apparent saviors delight.
In the literal definition of it all, gleamed bright rays onto that of which matched his mood. Tied back elegantly was hair collectively in numerous patches in comparison to that of a blanket with all one consistent color of black meeting at a bun standstill. Loosely, the thick braid attached from behind fell ending with a band like decorative icing on a costly cake. In front hung two strands, dangling over his light brown eyes. On each side respectively sturdy cheekbones supported solid weight of his eloquent grin flexed themselves according to his expression, acting as the metal bars to every insinuating appliance of his. Just below that rested a roughly patch of facial hair expanding off in opposite directions from his lengthy chin. After clearing his throat before responding to his young native friend, his curved eyebrows rose upwards conveying little shock.
“You don’t look too happy to see me? I mean is it my hair? Do I stink?” Reiji said, lifting his right arm taking a few whiffs of his armpit.
Kanen shook his head in confusion “Heh, It’s not that and you know it” he responded.
“What are you doing here? Does this mean what I think it means?” Kanen added.
Reiji closed his eyes and nodded, his grin sparking a bit vexation radiating off of Kanen. He kneeled fixating his height to match Kanen’s, laying his palm onto the boy's fragile shoulder he whispered “Don’t you think fifteen years is far too long?” Reiji spoke.
“What would the Velatum do without the star of their show?” he added.
Kanen looked below him to the ground, in an upsetting fashion he held his arm and shook his head “I’ve always expected it to come one day, and I want to make a difference, but-”
“But?” Reiji added. “It all starts with you kid, If it’s pressure you’re concerned about don’t be. What happens after this will not depend entirely on you, Madame Altragracia, all of us will support you until you’re ready” he continued.
“Your life begins today, and it is my responsibility to ensure that. Do not waver now Kanen we will lift you to the place you ought to be” he concluded.
“The place I should be? But what about everyone else?” Kanen responded
“The other prisoners, my people, where do they go from here? Is this their future?” Kanen added, his tone lowering with his head. “ I’m not even sure enough I have what it takes” he added pessimism doubting his value.
“Are we talking about the same boy here? Because the boy I’m referring to taught himself to read at the tender age of five years old all on his own, an age where both words and speech are of completely different worlds. This boy fended himself and a variety of prisoners long enough to create a diversion that would essentially make all the difference between life and death. A boy who thrived off of mere insects to satiate his hunger for years just because he decided not to enslave himself to the now natural flow of seunna and it’s sadistic ways. Besides, you’re the son of Noah Vann Hanassan, You’re telling me that boy doesn’t have what it takes to lead Xenysis into greatness? ”
“I-I don’t doubt that I can, but I don’t know if I will” Kanen responded, “Thank you, but without my people I don’t think I can move forward” Kanen replied, coughing slightly. “I can’t live with myself knowing others are in danger, it affects me as much as it does to them especially when I know it’s my own kind” he spoke, his accent being heightened by his mature dialect.
“Yup, you’re Noah’s son alright” Reiji said standing to his normal posture. “Just as I imagined he’d be saying at your age” he added.
“What’s going on Reiji? You’ve told me about the plan many times before, how the Velatum plan to rescue me from this prison, but how exactly?”
An abrupt cracking shot into the sky, ceasing their speech. One would swear that the inanimate such as the walls even trembled.
“That’s our cue” Reiji said to himself, forcing his helmet back on, grabbing Kanen to the side and swaying back onto the nearest enclosure. “I will fill you in when I get the chance, I promise” he said whispering to Kanen holding him close. Using his tall lean body to further conceal Kanen’s presence as he stood muffled by his protection.
The two stood witness to a beating occurring as they lurked over the murky walls out of sight. Pained by the looks of it, Kanen fastened his neck collar as a means adapt himself with what he knew Reiji was well prepared for. With peace of mind left unchecked, the harsh maltreatment carried on.
A lash of leather flew up forming a serpent with its devastating impact. A hideously scarred man bearing a shade of skin interchangeable that of your typical native was shown falling victim to his aggressors attack. Blood soothed down his spine, mixing it’s tint into his crippled muscle making one think it belonged there.
“What’s there left to believe animal? Don’t play us like a damned fool” A guard said , standing below him watching him kneel in shame.
A second Imperium guard spat on him in a repulsive manner “If you don’t speak, I will lower you deeper underneath so that every time you squeal you’ll have no choice but to keep even your ant like relatives awake at night you foul piece of shit” he said stomping hard onto his skull clashing it against the cold ground.
The man remained silent, his eyes closed in an attempt to lessen the pain, using his unkempt hair for comfort, feeling as if his balding was stretched to it’s limit.
“A child Velatant escaped into these prisons at exactly twelve o'clock A.M. slipping through unnoticed. One with knowledge of said exits could only come from an inside source, you’re telling me a foreigner of these hallowed grounds could escape all on their own? And one still within the range of adult supervision at that?” the guard spoke, raising his voice with each word.
“Y-Yes, it has to be the only explanation , w-w-wouldn’t you b-b- believe others would follow after i-f i-it m-m-meant freedom?” The crushed native replied straining his rasp voice to utter words from his stuttering mouth.
“Child Velatant? No, it couldn’t be..” Reiji said under his breath.
“Hey, you there!” A guard called out from the hallway.
Noticing he had yet to be identified clearly, Reiji turned the situation into his favor by tugging onto the chain fastened around Kanen’s neck as he took one step out into the ray of light that proceeded to shun down on him the further he approached.
“Ack! Easy Reiji” Kanen whispered as he followed in as a runner up deluding the act along with him. He panted stressfully within line of each few footsteps to conceive his audience of his condition.
The Imperium guard withdrew an abstract device from his cloth pocket, as he peered to the right flashing a puzzling gaze at his comrade, who after being slightly perplexed by the state of his own contraption returned the look to assure their own misunderstanding was equal. Holographic glyph's materialized themselves from the forefront of each oval shaped device, ripples outwardly wavered against one another as buzzing emitted simultaneously from the physicality of what was held.
“We’re sensing clear seunna readings from you at a tremendously fast rate” the Imperium guard followed up with. “Mind if we conduct a quick search on our own terms?” he added.
“That won’t be necessary , see fellas there’s no need to hesitate. Unfortunately this native here is telling the truth. The Velatant you seek just happens to be left in my captivity”
Stepping to the side Reiji revealed Kanen to the two unnervingly stern gazing in one instant then asserting his attention back to Kanen, relying on his corresponding action. He tugged the chain with an act perceived to be rough but truthfully dull. The boy eased into the situation, mercifully locking eyes with men he’d grown accustomed to obey.
He coughed sickeningly to encourage the persuasion.
“Hmph, so Hanassan’s in your care? I suppose if Monarch Omnium entrusted you with the gravity of a task like that, you must be the real deal” the loyal Imperium guard to the left said.
“However, at this very moment he isn’t our concern nor our responsibility. A child Velatum had escaped unsupervised into these prisons earlier today as far as we’re informed. The reports were issued to all Imperium subordinates as soon as her location was spotted, I would have assumed you would have heard about it by now” the other followed up.
Perplexed by the scenario at hand, Reiji too felt out of place finding an area out of comprehension. To soothe his inferiority he continued
“I hadn’t received it, unfortunately monarch Omnium is quite a busy man. Fancying his own kind is an expense necessarily exchanged for the greater cause, you see I too have quite the understanding” Reiji lifted his mask, beaming his line of sight directly at the two.
They slightly gasped, still keeping their unruly aggression rested on the native man's skull from above.
Kanen took a stare at the native man that returned it with a sense of pity, it had sunk within him even deeper, the weight of carrying his kin as burden renewed itself.
“Reiji, as in Reiji Konwaku? “ The left guard said in shock. “We thought you were stationed in sector 6B to deal with this matter?”
“We had assumed that was apart of your task to bring the native Velatant to his daily seunna extraction, 6B is located on the bottom floor of that area after all isn’t it?”
“That it is. Then thank the heavens you had arrived when you did. That god forsaken Altagracia, has already dispatched a search party to recruit the woman into the Velatum as we speak. She’ll have no choice but to bring her sick people into our domain, no matter though, it would be a most fitting place to perish” the guard on the right spoke.
“Yes, indeed but then who would be able to commemorate the murder? We must hang their bodies as a souvenir as proof of our affliction. Children from generations beyond will grow to hate them before they even utter their first word” Reiji responded
In forced negligence, Kanen shrugged of a chill he gained from Reiji’s lively act. He looked upwards at his elder comrade, twitching slightly at his smile.
“Do you recall the child’s name? Any valid description?” said Reiji
“Hmm, I’m not good with names, any lead?” the left guard asked his fellow partner
“Yes, I couldn’t forget. She was in fact female” he responded
“Right, Enriquarian the report said” spoke the other.
“An obese physique with a low cut hairstyle, casually worn at her age by her people” he exchanged words back to him
“Aliikai Hyongwa. Another victim at the grand scheme of our sinister velatum. At this point the destination is quite clear”
The two Imperium men nodded
“That sounds familiar enough to draw a lead from. We weren’t spared the extra details” the right one said
“Where will you go from here?” the left one asked
“My mind is set in stone. I’m returning Kanen to his extraction point as I was ordered to. Afterward, I’ll conduct a thorough search in sector 6B. Judging by her actions, it seems she’s headed towards the rationem chamber in search of something or someone. A child her age, has no place bunched into a den of undesirable prisoners. If you happen to come into contact with monarch Omnium please inform me. My calling line is 6893” Reiji stated and informed
“Yes sir, we will contact you as soon as we hear further word on the situation from Mr. Omnium” the left guard said
“Be safe Konwaku, we will deal with our little friend here in the meantime” the right guard looked below himself condescendingly.
“Make sure his screams are loud enough to shake the world” Reiji smiled back.
“Without a doubt” the right guard replied.
“All praise to the almighty Imperium” they both said simultaneously, bowing in unison.
Reiji returned the gesture.
“I’ll be back for you, I promise” Kanen whispered at the crippled native man
He kept silent in fear of a greater consequence befalling him.
“And if not, mark my words, I will put an end to this” he followed up.
The fragility of his structure shook as he leaned toward Kanen, grabbing his hands, with the palm of both of his. A smeared blood tainted Kanen’s colored skin “O-Oblivion, do n-n-not succumb to it, y-y-young one” he spoke slurring his words in his conclusion
Kanen watched carefully, before being pulled into what essentially what was hinted by Reiji as the next phase in their plan.
Following Reiji, stumbling behind as he took one final look at his suffering brethren before disappearing into the darker tints of the grim corridor ahead.
A pounding thud clattered against the cold ground, this time shattering what was a conscious thought before. The grimace carried on undisturbed, questioning words repeated themselves as if the night had dismissed it’s awakening call.
Slipping back on his heavy headgear Reiji spoke once more “The extraction point isn’t much farther, there I will explain everything, and liberate you from this demon's den once and for all Kanen, that I reassure you is a devoted promise I intend to seal with my very own blood”
“I’d rather them than me” Kanen muttered under his breath.
Catching wind to his words , he saved the essential response for a later time and shed concern “You aren’t feeling as ready as I had hoped? Are you still troubled by your feeling of abandonment?”
“Hmph, so what if I am? What can I do about it at this point” Kanen clenched his fist.
“Maybe we can do something together?” he added
“As much as I’d like to, as I said before it is out my power. Madame Delphina however would be keen to the idea though, I’m sure. Just be patient” Reiji replied
Steadily the two traced their path unseen until reaching a plain caged door in their sights. Reiji, opened it with ease after scanning a holographic card attached to his armor. Hissing murmurs were faintly heard, as will o wisps slithered into the air shining onto the square space provided below.
Kanen remaining silent, followed Reiji inside where a glowing white emblem sat within the center of the vacant room. Dangling rusted chains set the backdrop of an event permanently ingrained into the environments past. They glimmered red, once shed upon by the emblems immense light. Skeletal remains hung on all corners forming the dome shaped room. Few retained remains of inhumane disgrace as their last grip on the unruly veil of livelihood that degraded each passing minute.
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