Jester raised a hand slightly. "Alright, alright. Calm down."
That did absolutely nothing. If anything, the chat sped up.
He sighed lightly, then added, "You people should relax. My sister and I are only sixteen."
A pause. Then he leaned forward slightly, voice turning half serious and half amused. "If you keep going like this, I might have to report you all to the authorities for harassnt."
For a brief second there was a strange lull. Then the chat exploded harder than before.
- ONLY SIXTEEN???
- EVEN BETTER
- SA AGE BTW
- IT'S FAIR GA
- don't threaten with a good ti
- REPORT PLEASE
- I CAN EXPLAIN
- WAIT NO I CAN'T
- FREE I DID NOTHING
Lily slowly turned her head toward Jester. "...You made it worse."
Jester stared at the flood of ssages for a second. Then sighed. "... Yeah. I can see that."
The chat kept going.
- BRO LOOK WHAT YOU DID
- HE SAID AUTHORITIES LMAO
- CALL THEM
- I'LL TURN MYSELF IN
- THIS STREAM IS DANGEROUS
- LILY SAVE US
Then the tone shifted.
- ngl being sixteen makes nervous
- sa
- I've been thinking about awakening for years what if I fail? I always imagined it but what if it doesn't happen
Jester's eyes flickered slightly as he glanced at Lily. She was sixteen.
He couldn't help but wonder quietly whether the cousin of his master would awaken a class in this lifeti.
He turned back to the chat panel.
- don't worry too much awakening is rare anyway most people don't awaken
- focus on cultivation instead
- yeah awakening isn't everything
- easy for you to say I'm 18 this year if I fail this ti it's over for
no fourth chance and my cultivation talent is trash I don't even know what I'll do after
For a brief mont the chaotic energy of the stream dipped.
"... You guys think too far ahead," Jester said.
The chat paused.
"Yeah, awakening matters," he continued. "But it's not the only path. If you want power, succeeding at cultivation is perfectly valid. More people walk that road than you think."
A few ssages appeared.
- easy for you to say you'll have an awakener big brother. I wonder what he's doing now. Are all awakeners that busy?
- lily is it true that you're about to beco an official cultivator?
- not only him but other popular ones from the exams are nowhere to be seen lately
anwhile, as the stream slowly found its rhythm, hundreds of ters away from Michael's house two figures stood concealed within the first layer of the void.
From that position the house below was clear enough to observe but distant enough to avoid imdiate notice. Neither of them extended their senses too deeply. That would have been reckless. At the level of people currently present around that house, probing too far into another's territory was one of the fastest ways to draw attention.
Even with restraint, they could feel enough.
"...Twenty at least," one of them muttered.
Their strengths varied, but none were below Rank 2.
"Just as we suspected," the other said, keeping his gaze on the house. "This place is heavily guarded."
"How many do you think are from the Federation, and how many from
the academy?"
The other considered it briefly. "A good number of the lower-ranked ones should be from the Federation. The higher-ranked presences, I'd say most of those are from the academy."
The first did not disagree. That had been his read as well.
For a few seconds both fell silent, simply observing. Then, almost at the sa ti, the corners of their mouths lifted.
"Soon it won't matter," the first said.
The other smiled. "Of course." His gaze sharpened slightly. "Did the Federation truly think that by slowly revealing the supernatural world
to Aurora's common people, they could hide us forever while also
painting our image black?"
A faint scoff followed. His smile widened. "Since the covers are
coming down anyway, we too will step forward."
The first figure's eyes glinted faintly in the void. "It is ti for a golden age. A ti where supernaturals are treated as what they truly are
and push this civilisation toward what it truly deserves." "It's funny," the second said after a mont, amusent touching his voice. "The Federation calls us fragnted, unstable, impossible to unite." He looked down toward the city below. "And yet they are the ones who cannot truly move as one."
That was the irony. The Federation was powerful, overwhelmingly so in so ways. But for all its strength it was also burdened by too many interests, too many factions, too many hands pulling in different directions.
By contrast, demonic supernaturals understood one another far more easily than the Federation ever seed to understand itself. Which was almost humorous, given what people believed about their nature, beliefs that also happened to be accurate in several ways.
The first figure let out a quiet chuckle. "They call us monsters, yet we are more honest about what we are."
The other nodded. Their attention remained on Michael's house for a few more seconds before the second figure spoke again.
"... Are we really going to kidnap ordinary people?"
The question hung in the void. To them there was no contempt in it.
Only a faint confusion. Ordinary family mbers. In their eyes, such people could hardly be counted as a true weakness.
The first raised his shoulders lightly. "If orders were given, then we do
it." His answer was simple and uncomplicated.
The other frowned slightly. "It still feels pointless."
"Maybe." The first did not argue. "But pointless or not, it costs us
nothing." His gaze shifted downward again toward the house below. "In the middle of chaos, when our underlings finish their preparations, taking a few ordinary people away should not be
difficult."
The second thought about it for a mont. That part was true. His expression gradually smoothed.
"...And if it works, the youth might beco easier to influence."
The first gave a faint nod. "Or easier to draw out."
A brief silence followed. Then the second asked, "Do you think he'll break over ordinary people?"
The first was quiet for a mont. "Whether he breaks or not doesn't
matter." He continued in the sa calm tone. "A genius is still only dangerous when allowed to grow properly. Disturb the rhythm early enough, and even a monster can be led."
The second figure looked down toward the streets beyond the house. "...Their preparations are taking a while."
"They're being careful."
"As they should." A faint trace of amusent entered his voice. "It's
quite funny, honestly. To think one of the summoning circles we laid down randomly years ago in a developing city will finally beco important enough to rival the major ones we planned deliberately. And if I'm not mistaken, this youth has so history with it as well."
He paused then laughed. "We might actually be fated."
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