Once again wandering through the snow, this time not aimlessly, a clear goal in mind.
He threw a last glance at the abyss. Noctis thought about the numerous suicides that happen every year by jumping into it, and Siana almost became one of them. This was, in fact, one of the leading causes of death, alongside breaches and disputes between tenants of the city.
At least that was what the city's statistics said, but who could really tell if they were true?
Taking a different way from the one he had taken before, Nox turned a corner to see a place slightly better lit than where he was standing now.
The new setting brought a shift in atmosphere, and murmurs were heard in the distance.
Two people were having a friendly chat, not caring about Noctis's presence at all, almost as if he wasn't there in the first place.
What a peculiar time to go wandering, especially considering the surface wasn't the most tourist-friendly location.
Well, who am I to speak? I ended up here at this time as well.
Chuckling inwardly at his musing, Noctis asked himself. Why did I go out again, and why did this need partially disappear after that encounter?
Getting closer to the couple walking arm in arm, Nox silently listened in on their conversation while pacing by, his own doubts nawing at him.
Man: "Oh, come closer, you little minx."
Woman: "Ha ha, stop it, you."
Man: "Oke oke, have you heard the government started a big new construction project?"
"Hmm... Yeah, what was it again?" The woman asked herself the question, answering it with a bit of pride the next moment.
"... Right, they are planning to build a giant wall around the settlement."
These two were clearly quite close, speaking in a familiar tone and openly showing affection.
As he continued, Noctis was somewhat confused by their conversation. Is a new wall really being constructed around the city? And who would call this thriving metropolis a mere settlement?
According to my parents, the original wall was built around 200 years ago.
Is it going to be renovated?
What are they talking about?
Is there a second wall being built to expand the city? That doesn't seem right?
We have always built downward rather than expanding the city in breadth, as the terrain around the city has never been very suitable.
From north to east, there was a gigantic cliff, where Abyss City had reached the absolute limit. After all, the passage from north to east resembled more of a bridge than an actual part of the city, with the abyss on one side and the cliff on the other. There, at the cliff's edge, they had not even built a wall, as the cliff seemed more than enough of a deterrent, and building one seemed a difficult task with so little room to work with. The rest was surrounded by a kilometer of flat land, followed by a mountain belt.
The possibility of expanding there seemed feasible, yet that was only if one didn't know the whole story.
The main reason for not expanding was the beasts living in the surrounding areas, which made it dangerous to incorporate their territory into the city.
Not dwelling on it for long, since people could be strange, and Noctis lacked the context of their conversation, he moved on, his steps taking him into another span of the quiet night.
After a few moments of walking forward, Nox noticed that the feeling of having to go somewhere had fully disappeared.
Why all of a sudden?
Looking back to where the couple had walked a few seconds ago, there was nothing.
Have they turned a corner?
Feeling something off, Nox ran back, checking the nearby alleys, but found no trace of them. Their trail was hard to distinguish in the snowstorm, as it quickly disappeared entirely. Wearing a deep frown, he gave up on the pursuit as it seemed illogical and unlikely for him to find them, especially considering that he had little time left to spare.
Noctis let out a deep sigh and started walking back in resignation, with suspicion growing throughout the entire way.
After wandering back through the building, he asked the secretary to remove the armband.
This did not take long, since the elderly woman simply took out a card and held it against the armband, which promptly opened.
Nox clenched his hand a few times while rubbing his now freed wrist. There, two small marks, almost invisible to the eye, were now all that was left from the armband. Not sparing it a particular thought, he headed to his room to go to sleep and think about the happenings in a more private environment.
If his room could be called that.
At the very least, it did not seem to be under constant supervision, since someone would have contacted him about the abnormality by now.
***
Later, letting himself fall into the fluffy embrace of his bed, Nox noticed how quickly stress could build up once more.
Lying there, he started playing around with the thread he was able to produce, slowly trying to create a pattern once more. This had its uses, but in truth, he did it to calm his strained nerves and realign the accumulated, less-than-productive emotions as he tried to figure out the situation.
While he was at it, Nox began summarizing and grouping the events of the last few days, hoping to weave connections between them now that he could view them from a more objective perspective.
So starting, I met that man, who, for some reason, wanted to take me with him, whatever that meant.
He used some crazy reality-bending abilities and obviously had the opportunity. But... he just stopped in the middle of the process, saying something. What was it again?
Oh, right, he took too much time. Shortly after the officer showed up, but would someone like him really be scared of a random officer?
Denying that subconsciously, considering that the man had such abilities, and Nox could not believe that such a level was that common.
He also told me we would meet again. What did he mean by that? A cold shiver ran down his back as he considered. Did he mean he would come back for me?
The biggest problem was that he couldn't even tell anyone about the guy, as every time he even thought about doing so, the thought would immediately disappear.
Then there were those symbols surrounding me when I awoke.
Recalling some of them, but not all, as he did not have the time to study them, especially when they disappeared almost immediately after he noticed them.
Well, there are ritualistic languages, so maybe if I learn them, I'll be able to recall.
In truth, he had almost no point to work on or to figure out anything connected to the runes, so he was basically grasping at straws when it came to that matter.
Well, I would have had to learn these languages eventually, since they were part of the ritualistic system of magic, whatever that entailed.
Then there is the point of earning a bit through the class system, which rewards specialization.
If he were realistic, he wouldn't be able to get more this week, since he would get his share tomorrow and wouldn't be able to compete with the others in any fields.
Let's hope the newcomers get some compensation, given that the others will obviously have the advantage of experience.
Maybe I should start thinking about what to prioritize. No, that wouldn't make any sense, considering that I have yet to really experience all the categories to their fullest and dont know the exact grading system. How could someone play a game well if they couldn't even understand the rules?
Then there are the things I'll need to practice.
Merely at the thought, a grimace appeared upon his face. In the last few days, he had learned so many new things, and every single one of them required hours of practice, and that was ignoring the time he had to spend assimilating his Authority, which would definitely take a lot of time. Letting out another sigh, he then started thinking about the newest of his problems.
How exactly did I end up helping Siana, and what did that feeling driving me on represent?
The feeling weakened when he helped Siana and then disappeared when he listened in on that conversation.
Ignoring the latter, as there was simply too little to go on, Nox thought about what led him to that place or how he ended up there.
I was there because I was taking a walk, which is untypical for me, considering I'm a homebody. I took that walk because my head felt cluttered with conflicting thoughts, which made me crave some fresh air and...
Those thoughts came because I had that dream,... what was it about again?
Thinking back, everything seemed to go a bit too... purposeful. Everything led me to another thing, which, in the end, led me to meet Siana and that couple.
As if everything was fated to happen.
Considering he most likely had a fragment connected to fate, could that be why? Was he being guided to a certain outcome?
Or am I still being guided?
The thought alone made him uncomfortable. This could simply be Nox accidentally using his ability, but the thought of being under someone's control without even knowing it... It was, in itself, quite creepy. But it undoubtedly fitted fate-related abilities quite well.
Fate, after all, was the force that controlled all happenings.
Unsure how to feel about this, Nox simply procrastinated on addressing the issue, if one even existed in the first place.
He could be simply imagining things, and all of this could have simply been one big coincidence.
Realistically, I'm not able to do much on my own, but asking people about these dreams sounds quite risky.
What if I'm being manipulated by some eldritch horror, or someone plotting against the city?
In that case, there was little chance of surviving, the most likely case being ending as collateral.
I don't even know what's plaguing me for sure, and worse, I dont know how the government would deal with me once they find out something's wrong with me.
He had little trust in the government, to say the very least. Noctis had seen many atrocities over the years, and the government had done little to discourage people from murder, rape, and other cruelties.
Simply making sure that the bodies left behind by the chaos wouldn't be hidden or disposed of.
For now, it didn't seem to be harmful.
Let's first learn more about how the government handles irregularities.
If it became more dangerous to hide it than to tell the government, he could still change his mind later.
Making up his mind, Nox decided on how to proceed.
Do nothing and see how things develop.