Standing at the end of the long hallway, Luc had almost completed all of the cloaked woman’s directions except all that he had left to do was open the large double doors that were in front of him. He breathed heavily. Small hands pressed themselves onto the surface of a beautifully engraved stone door. The boy closed his eyes tight and with all his energy, he pushed the door open. The large stone door was hardly open with just a small unnoticeable crevice.
A moment passed until he finally let out the breath of air he was holding. Luc sighed in relief. At the moment when he had finally pushed on the door, he had realized he was going to get into serious trouble. If he were to get caught, sneaking into a political conferenceE#060;span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>
Now, after standing in front of the open door for so long, he was sure he was safe. The shock made his mind clearer. ‘Why am I doing this?E he questioned himself for these things he would’ve never dreamed of doing before. But deep down he knew he wasn’t going to stop, even if he was going against the rules. He can’t quite understand it but, something changed him after meeting the mysterious woman.
He placed two hands on the heavy stone doors and leaned towards them. He looked through the doors. It was a large meeting room. The large conference table was all the way into the middle of the room, but even from where he was standing, Luc could see that the chairs were empty.
‘Empty?Ehe couldn’t find anyone in the room and there were no signs of anyone present. ‘The meeting’s over alreadyE
He removed his hands from the door. He suddenly felt relieved, but the boy quickly held back. ‘What was I getting nervous for? What that weird woman said couldn’t possibly be true anywayE
“Lord Hikusaak.E#060;/p>
Luc almost shouted in surprise. Luckily he didn’t because the man’s voice came from within the room. The boy quickly peered into the room again.
“General Boldock. Why are you still here? The meeting has ended alreadyE
“The same goes for you, my lord.E#060;/p>
Nobody could be seen from where Luc was, but apparently Lord Hikusaak was still in the room, away from his view along with this General BoldockE#060;/p>
“Very wellEHow have my collection been doing?E#060;/p>
“CollectionEou mean your true wind and true earth rune holders?E#060;/p>
EE#060;/p>
‘That’s me and High Priest Sasarai, but why is he calling us his collection?E#060;/p>
“There is no need to worry my lord. High Priest Sasarai has yet to suspect anything. For all these years he still believes your disguise to be your real appearanceE
“That is good to hear.E#060;/p>
There was a short pause in the room. Luc was getting confused. He was confused not because he wasn’t able to understand what they were saying. He was a child that was blessed with much knowledge and was rarely confused with anything. But now he was confused about why the two were doing the things they said they were doing.
“…the little one howeverE
The general’s voice once again pulled him from his thoughts. “High Priest Luc is starting to suspect something.E#060;span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>
“He is starting to question why he isn’t allowed to see High Priest Sasarai in personEut I am sure it is just his childish curiosity at work. There shouldn’t be any need for concern.E#060;/p>
Luc’s heart skipped a beat. He didn’t know he wasn’t allowed to see High Priest Sasarai. He had always thought he would get to see him eventually.
‘Why? Oh please answer him. Tell me why I can’t see High Priest Sasarai!E#060;/p>
“Curiosity.E#060;/span>
A chuckle can be heard coming from the voice which belonged to Hikusaak. He took a deep breath. “How can the boy possess curiosity when he isn’t even human?E#060;/p>
‘Isn’t humanEE#060;/p>
A million questions passed through Luc’s mind, but the voices inside the room interrupted him again.
“Very well.E#060;/span>
“The boy wants to see Sasarai,E there was a peculiarly mocking tone to Hikusaak’s voice. “When all he had to do was look into a mirror!E#060;/span>
Luc was getting more confused by the moment. For some reason he felt dread towards what was about to be said next, but he couldn’t keep himself from listening. What he heard next tore his life apart.
“He and Sasarai are merely clones of myself. They have the same face, same mind, and same obedience towards me. They are my puppets to hold my true runes.E#060;/p>
Each word that was said struck Luc with such ferociousness, the boy was mortified. The next thing he knew, he was running down the hallway away from the conference room. When he reached the end he pushed the wooden door open with all his might. He didn’t care anymore if he got caught sneaking in.
Nothing mattered to him anymore.
He suddenly felt so empty. Luc kept running. He still wasn’t caught. The halls suddenly had no more guards. He didn’t really run that far, but there she was. The strange woman in the white cloak was standing in the middle of the hall, waiting for him. Luc ran up to her. He stopped in front of her with his head down. In a defeated voice, he told her,
“Take me. Do whatever you want with me. Nothing matters anymore.E#060;/p>
Luc doesn’t really remember what happened anymore. His eyes have become blurry. A white light was starting to surround him and the woman. Beyond the circle of light, he saw blobs of people in blue uniforms shouting at them.
“Stop you witch!E#060;/p>
“We found her! Hurry, bring High Priest Sasarai!E#060;/p>
“The witch Leknaat abducted High Priest Luc!Ewas the last he heard before everything faded away.