(24 hours later, Captain Kid)
Captain Kid's quarters were unusually quiet, but his mind was anything but.
The silence felt oppressive, amplifying every frantic thought racing through his head.
He paced back and forth, running a hand through his hair as his breath quickened. The looming deadline of 48 hours weighed heavily on him, and with every passing second, his fear of Leo's wrath only grew stronger.
"Think, damn it," he muttered to himself, his voice echoing off the walls. "There has to be a way out of this."
The obvious solution—to return the ditation manual—was not an option.
Handing it back would only expose him as the thief, and Leo's fury would know no bounds.
But doing nothing wasn't an option either.
If Leo didn't get his manual back within 48 hours, he would co after Kid with the shoeprint, and Kid didn't need to imagine what that would entail.
He paused, gripping the edge of his desk, and tried to co up with alternatives.
"What if I plant the shoes?" he whispered, his eyes darting to his distinct footwear tucked neatly by the door.
His shoes were a dead giveaway, a unique design issued only to the captain. If Leo matched the footprint to them, there would be no escaping bla.
Kid mulled over the idea of sneaking into soone else's quarters—perhaps Elandor's—and leaving the shoes there.
He could claim that Elandor had borrowed them, creating just enough confusion to buy himself more ti. But even as the thought ford, he knew it wouldn't work.
Elandor wasn't a mute, he would surely protest such obvious framing and it would make Kid look even worse than a thief.
"Leo isn't stupid," he muttered. "He'll figure it out. And if he does… I'm dead."
Dropping into his chair, Kid rubbed his temples, his desperation mounting.
Another idea flitted through his mind, one he didn't even want to consider but couldn't ignore: reporting Leo's violent behavior to the Universal Governnt.
He imagined filing a formal complaint, detailing how Leo had threatened staff and damaged ship property.
It would be enough to have him flagged as a potential threat, confined to a secure ward for the rest of the voyage.
But the flaws in this plan were glaringly obvious.
Confined or not, Leo's wrath would only grow. And worse, if the Mu Clan caught wind of the report, they would withdraw their support for him imdiately.
Without their backing, Kid's position would crumble, and his career as a Captain would be a thing of the distant past.
"No, that's even worse," he hissed, shaking his head. "I can't risk losing my support."
Kid slumped further into his chair, his hands trembling.
His thoughts spiraled, each plan he thought of seed more desperate than the last, but nothing made enough sense for him to take a shot in the dark.
His eyes darted to the hidden compartnt where the ditation manual was stashed, and he felt a fresh wave of panic.
"What if he doesn't stop at killing ?" Kid whispered, his voice barely audible. "What if he goes after everyone else on this ship, just to make a point?"
The thought of Leo, daggers drawn, carving his way through the Arc Ship's staff filled Kid with cold dread. His heartbeat thundered in his ears, and for a mont, he felt lightheaded.
His fingers drumd against the desk as he tried to calm himself. "Okay, think rationally. There's got to be a way…"
But no matter how many scenarios he ran through, the truth remained: his plan wasn't foolproof.
Leaving behind a footprint was a colossal mistake, one that could unravel everything if Leo connected the dots. And the more Kid thought about it, the more he realized just how precarious his situation truly was.
However, after hours of thinking, as he arrived at no apparent solution, he decided to do the only thing he could pray would work, which was to lie his way through this ss, while also revealing partial bits of truth.
The best sort of lie was always the one which was mixed with partial truths and hence Kid decided to do a bit of both to find his way out of this ss.
*********
(In the Captain's room, Leo's POV)
Leo entered Captain Kid's office with his arms crossed, his expression tense.
Thirty hours had passed since the theft of his ditation manual had been reported. Now, at last, Captain Kid had summoned him, claiming the manual was ready to be returned.
As he entered Kids cabin, he found the Captain sitting slumped in his chair, the ditation manual sitting safely on his lap, as he adorned a dark expression on his face.
"So….. my manual was indeed stolen! Who was it?" Leo demanded as soon as he saw the manual, as Kid grabbed it and passed it onto Leo, only to cling on to it tightly, once Leo tried to pull it away.
"Who stole it…. Is not as important as why they stole it. Can I interest you in a story, Leo?" Kid said, as Leo frowned at his words.
Truth be told, he was not a least bit interested in why the criminal who stole his manual committed the cri, but looking at the captain's stiff face, he decided to indulge him nonetheless.
"Why was my manual stolen?" Leo asked, taking the bait, as Captain Kid let out a deep sigh, his acting spot on.
"Leo, do you know who gave you that manual? Do you know who your mystery patrons are?" Kid asked, as Leo shook his head in denial.
He had no clue who his patrons were, because Kid never revealed that information in the past.
"Your patrons are the Mu Clan, the sa clan with a historical background in Terra Nova Online and one of the most ancient powerhouse clans on the universal scale.
To claim that they enjoy the sa standing and benefits as the Universal Governnt would not be an understatent, for both are backed by True Gods.
However, all that is not important, what's important is that, it was the Mu Clan who gifted you this manual, that now wishes that you stop practicing it" Kid explained, as Leo felt genuinely puzzled by his words.
"If it was the Mu Clan who wanted to stop ditating with this manual," Leo began, his brow furrowed in frustration, "why gift it to in the first place? What's the point of all this?"
Kid exhaled sharply, leaning back in his chair as though bracing himself. "They didn't expect this outco, Leo. When they gave you the manual, it was supposed to help you progress as a warrior, nothing more. They never imagined it would awaken… sothing deeper."
Leo's confusion deepened. "Awaken what? Stop dancing around the point, Captain. What are you talking about?"
Kid leaned forward, his hands clasped together tightly. "Leo, have you ever heard of genetic awakening?"
Leo's frown deepened. "Genetic what? No. I've never heard of it. What is it?."
Kid nodded, taking a mont to compose his thoughts. "Genetic awakening is… rare. Incredibly rare. It's a phenonon where an individual's genetic code unlocks a hidden potential—abilities that go beyond normal human limitations.
Super Strength, speed, reflexes, endurance are common in genetic awakening—but so people even develop unique skills that are unbelievable."
Leo raised an eyebrow, his tone skeptical. "And you're saying I'm one of these people?"
Kid held his gaze. "Yes. I believe you might be. The signs are all there—your rapid progress in ditation, your heightened adaptability, the way your mind processes information beyond normal human limits.
It's not sothing we see often. In fact, less than 0.1% of the universe's population has the genetic makeup to even have the potential for awakening, even the most basic one."
Leo crossed his arms, his expression hardening. "And what does this have to do with my ditation manual?"
Kid hesitated but pressed on. "The manual was given to you to help you grow, but no one anticipated that it would accelerate you toward a natural awakening. Here's the thing, Leo: natural awakenings only unlock one ability. You are currently on the path towards unlocking one part of your brain that's related to faster information processing during combat, but we have no idea what other genetic abilities lie latent in your blood.
ALL the individuals that have the potential for genetic awakening possess special bloodlines, however, so just have the potential to unlock more, while so carry a thinner blood and can unlock only a part of their potential.
Currently, we have no idea what is your potential, but if you undergo natural awakening for just one ability, you will seriously reduce your chances to undergo more awakenings in the future."
"And?" Leo prompted, his tone sharp.
Kid's voice lowered, as though revealing a secret he wasn't supposed to share. "There's another type of awakening—a full genetic awakening. It requires the use of a genetic unlocking serum, administered under controlled conditions. A full awakening doesn't just unlock one skill. It unlocks all the potential you have within you. Every skill, every ability, every ounce of genetic power you were born with."
Leo blinked, processing the weight of those words. For a mont, the room felt stiflingly quiet.
"And the Mu Clan wants to stop because they think I'm about to trigger a natural awakening?" Leo asked, his voice laced with disbelief.
Kid nodded. "Exactly. If you awaken naturally now, you risk losing the chance for a full awakening in the future. They don't want you to waste your potential—they want to wait until you're in the right conditions to undergo the full process."
Leo's jaw tightened, his mind racing. The idea of sothing as monuntal as a "full awakening" dangled before him, but being told to stop his ditation for the mont felt frustrating.
"Okay, all that is fine, but how is it related to the theft? Us discussing all this is one issue, but stealing my manual is no way to stop from ditating…." Leo demanded, as he furrowed his brows and looked Kid square in the eyes.
Leo felt like Kid wasn't revealing the full picture and hence, he did not want to let off the pressure until he was told everything.
----------
Reviews
All reviews (0)