Chapter 22

Walking through the Council halls was a strange experience this time around. The walls seemed to have lost their splendour and the warmth I had felt in the headquarters the last time around seemed to have evaporated. Leaving me with an uncomfortable sense of unfamiliarity in my surroundings. Even the magnificent door to the headquarters that had fascinated me the last time I was here failed to hold my attention for longer than a glance.

I had been here just a few days ago, not accounting for my rendezvous through time, but the change I felt inside me seemed to take even me by surprise. I had become more jaded and couldn’t help but regard everyone seated at the Council’s table with a hint of suspicion. My paranoia seemed to be in overdrive and the thought that everyone before me wanted to obtain something from me refused to leave my head.

I had left these halls with a positive outlook regarding my experiences as an Untethered, with the promise of power and adventure, and all of it had been thrown out of the window as soon as Emma confronted me outside the doors of the headquarters. It felt like I had seen these people a lifetime ago even though it had only been three days.

“It seems like you can’t stay out of trouble for long, David. You left these halls barely three days ago and now, you have returned again, with one of our members exposed as a traitor and another Untethered possessing the ability of one of our legends.” All of this was said by Nova with a stoic look on his face. Making me feel like I had been caught stealing cookies.

With a wry grin on my face, I replied, “It seems you have gotten it wrong, Nova. It’s the trouble which seems especially fond of me. And it will continue to find me if the people I am supposed to trust the most are the ones who I should be most guarded against.” I failed to keep the accusatory tone out of my voice, totally indicating my displeasure towards the Council and the fact I hold them partially responsible for the whole Frost fiasco. Beside me, Samuel and Frank fidgeted awkwardly, having caught my insinuation towards the Council.

In regard to Frank, his powers had stopped affecting me almost as soon as we had entered the Council. Turns out, abilities are nullified in the Council headquarters except for some special areas like the arena. Frank had been initially displeased that his opportunity for revenge had been taken away from him. But he had been forced to stifle his frustration with the situation in the wake of the reveal of the existence of the Council and its history since the birth of the Untethered. To say he had been shocked would be an understatement!

Nova wasn’t pleased with my accusatory tone and he displayed his displeasure when he gave me an angry look, one that I had become very familiar with during our lessons. I wasn’t perturbed though, finding myself unconcerned with the Council’s ruffled feathers.

The Council was displeased with me too, my actions following my departure from the headquarters not sitting right with them. They were also thrown off by the standoffish attitude I was displaying, probably not used to being treated that way.

“What’s going to happen with Frost?” Frank asked, wanting to satiate his curiosity regarding Frost’s fate.

It was a member of the Council who I wasn’t really familiar with who answered the question, “He will be detained in the seventh level of the Void prison for eternity, destined to never see the light of the day again.”

Seeing our confused looks at his reply, he elaborated, “The Void prison is a special dimension created by our founder for the specific purpose of housing dangerous Untethered and miasma monsters. Nothing can escape or enter the Void prison, not even light itself, without the express permission of the Council.”

Frank, it seemed, wasn’t satisfied with the sentence. He asked, “Why wasn’t he sentenced to death? People have died at his hands.”

Nova answered his question with a firm tone, leaving no room for argument, “We can’t. This might seem unfair to you at this moment in time but there’s a good reason for why we are doing this. And no, you can’t be privy to that reason.” He added the last part when he saw that Frank was ready for an argument, regardless of Nova’s words or tone.

Frank could only grind his teeth in frustration in the face of such obstinate behaviour on the part of the Council. It seemed like the Council were insistent on keeping us in the dark regarding most matters, offering only that we weren’t prepared to learn all the facts. Such vague responses and an almost hostile attitude didn’t earn them any favours in our eyes. I found myself wanting to leave this place more and more with every passing minute.

I couldn’t hold back any longer and asked them, “Why are we here? It seems like you guys have everything under control anyways. What do you need us for?”

Shadow answered, “We are short one council member now and we would like to change that fact sooner rather than later. We have identified several candidates, of course, twenty-two, in fact, each chosen by one of the council members except for the leader. Our ideal replacement would be you though, Frank, seeing as you have been an Untethered for a long time and seem to have a good grasp of your abilities. It has also come to our attention that you were already dealing with some of the responsibilities regarding the Untethered under Frost. So, it is our wish that you stay here so that we can groom you for the position, while also teaching you to control your powers.”

Light also added his two cents in. Continuing from where Shadow left off, “Your second ability is the most interesting, Frank. As we have already told you, that ability seems to be the exact copy of one of our hero’s abilities. As such, we have some records that could prove to be massively influential to you in regard to learning about your ability. Your inclusion would also serve to increase the morale of the various Untethered who work under the Council. Their belief has been rather shaken due to the events of the past few days. It is our belief that you, much like your friend David over here, represent hope for a brighter future for the Untethered of our planet.”