Chapter 230: End Of The Beginning
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Stomp! Stomp!
''Why is this fucker not waking up?!''
Stomp!
Stomp!
Emir kept kicking Elijah''s bed, causing it to tremble as if experiencing an earthquake.
But even with all that power he threw at it, the bed didn''t dare break.
After all, most things they purchased for their house, furniture especially, were Emir-proof.
Arcanists reinforced them at production, in a simr fashion to the building material for the shops they owned.
The Arcanists ingrained Aether into them through a process called ''Aether Infusion.''
After that, the materials went through ''Aspect Imprinting,'' ''Materialization,'' and finally ''Stabilization.''
Thest process was what maintained the Aspect in the material even after the supply of Aether from the Arcanist was cut off.
Many factories skipped the Materialization process as it rted to further shaping the material, and it was a process only done for custom products.
Stomp! Stomp!
So with that in mind, Emir didn''t care for breaking the bed and went ham.
"Wake up, ya fuck head!"
"..."
"WAKE UP!"
Elijah didn''t even flinch at his screaming.
[Sweetie, you don''t need to be so loud, he''ll wake up.]
Emir scoffed at his mother''s words.
[Yeah, Mom... He''ll wake up alright, but not in the time for the academy!] Stomp!
[Calm down, bro, it''s his first day, he''ll get used to waking up early.]
[Your sister is right, listen to her for once.]
[Why are you guys ganging up on me? I''m right!]
Stomp!
[You are, but be lenient with him, he''s just a kid.]
[Mom, he''s fifteen, same as me.]
Stomp!
[Bro, mentally, you''re a dposing carcass.]
[Shut up you lil shit.]
[Language!]
Stomp! Stomp! Stomp! Stomp!
[Ahhhhh.... Ly, cut.]
[You can''t do that-]
[Done.]
Emir chuckled, but his feet never stopped kicking the bed.
[Thanks, did the guys leave already?]
[Yep, only Jamal is left.]
Stomp! Stomp!
[Alright, he''ll get me there, I don''t feel like driving today.]
[So Elijah''s going with Lily?]
Stomp!
[Yeah, we don''t need their transport anymore, you can send them instead.]
[Then wake him up.]
[I''m trying!]
Emir gave up on the bed and began shaking the hell out of the sleeping Reaper.
"If you don''t wake up I''ll tell Lily about your little crush!"
Elijah''s body immediately sprang up, before his mind even registered what happened.
He groggily looked at Emir for a moment, till a few words left his mouth:
"You''ll what?"
"Don''t mind that, and snap out of it, you''ve got MFT''s to burn."
"What to what?"
"MFT''s to burn."
Elijah tilted his head, his blue eyes twitching.
"MFT''s"
|| ||
"Burn?"
Emir nodded.
"Why?"
"You''ll know soon enough."
Leaving that puzzling statement behind, Emir kicked out one more time, this time attacking
Elijah instead of the bed.
"Augh!"
Elijah got pushed off and fell onto the ground while holding his aching arm.
"What the hell was that for?!"
"Get the fuck up and wash yourself."
Bang!
Emir exited the room right after, and a bbergasted Elijah remained.
"Is he on his period or something?"
While that wasn''t the case, mainly because it wasn''t physically possible...
Emir wasn''t as calm as he usually was.
It had been a few days since their visit to the graveyard and today was THE day.
More specifically, it was Monday.
Even more specifically, it was the first day of the semester for both students and new
professors.
The ''Born In Ruins'' novel had finally begun.
And it was time for him to face the reason he was created.
Arthur.
Emir had ns for him, but that was forter.
Now his mind was focused on the uing test.
He had prepared a lot for this test and even for his ns beyond it, especially in thest few
days.
Ting!
The elevator''s door opened to the basement floor where Lyra waited for him.
"Hey, prince."
"Ly."
"He awake?"
"Yeah, where''s Jamal at?"
"Down at the garage. You should join him now, you don''t want to bete."
Emir patted her head as he walked past and headed to the lobby''s exit.
"See you."
Teteet!
The reinforced door slid open with a soft hiss as it detected his presence.
It revealed the expansive underground garage.
The sight before Emir was rows upon rows of gleaming vehicles, both personal and military,
that stood in perfect alignment.
The ground was spotlessly clean, and the entire area was well-lit with panels embedded in
the ceiling.
On his left, a line of ck mechs, towering war machines, caught his eye.
''Those were tough to get, but with Lyra around anything''s possible.''
They got those from underground channels, specialized dealers in the ck market that sold
used military equipment.
One could call them leftovers from Apex Dynamics, one of the Big Eight who were responsible
for everything vehicle-rted.
When bought, they weren''t spotless like now, but Leo, Jamal, and Longshot had fixed them up
to perfection.
These mechs were equipped with the most advanced weaponry,ser rifles on each hand with massive Aether sters equipped on top.
They were used by the UEF Army at the frontlines, not the UEF Guard as hunters usually
confused the two.
To the right, Emir saw a line of cruisers and a single APC, all designed for long-distance
travel.
They were polished to the extreme, their bodies reflecting the overhead lights, almost blinding him in the process.
Further back on the left, light-armored vehicles were stationed, resembling agile and
compact tanks.
They were often used as the spearhead in convoys traveling from one sector to the next. These vehicles were highly customizable and suited for various purposes.
This included cargo transport and rapid response.
Emir smiled, happy with the purchases he made, and continued his way to the end of the
garage, as his footsteps echoed in the spacious area.
The scent of polished metal somehow smelled lovely to his nose, but his enjoyment grew damp as his ears picked up the sound of Jamal''s music thumping through the air.
Emir followed the rhythmic beat until he came across a vehicle that could only belong to his
loud friend.
It was a jet-ck sports car with silver ents, the embodiment of elegance and luxury.
Jamal sat in the driver''s seat,pletely immersed in the music ying through the car''sn/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
sound system that took the entirety of the back seat.
His head bobbed to the rhythm a little too fast, slightly off-beat as well.
? "At first, I felt love so true..." ?
Emir approached the car and knocked on the open door.
? "But now I just want to fuck."?
"Oi!"
? "Late nights thinking of you..." ?
Jamal''s head snapped up, and his dark eyes widened in surprise.
? "Until I bust my nut." ?
He quickly turned down the volume, and the music faded into a soft background hum.
"Bossman! You''re here."
Jamal eximed, a wide grin spreading across his face.
Emir leaned on the car''s frame, looking at Jamal with amusement.
"Yo shit face, what''s with the music? You trying to wake the whole neighborhood?"
Jamal chuckled while shrugging.
"...What neighborhood?"
"The rats outside."
"Heh, sorry about that, boss. Got carried away."
Emir shook his head, a faint smile ying on his lips. Jamal''s enthusiasm was infectious, and he had a way of lightening the mood.
"No worries. You know the n for today, right?" Jamal nodded, his demeanor shifting to a more serious tone.
"Of course, boss. We''ll be there on time, my girl''s fast."
Emir opened the door and sat shotgun. "That''s what I like to hear. Now, let''s get going."
Jamal revved the car''s engine, and the vehicle roared to life.
"You got a straight pipe? Seriously?"
Emirughed while adding:
"As if it weren''t loud enough."
"What can I say? I like it old-school, the new shit doesn''t evenpete with their fake
sounds."
"And unlike them, we drop a real gear and disappear."
Most vehicles of this type were electric, so Jamal buying a solely hydrogen-fueled type was
rare, as the Elite fought over them.
But why was that the case?
It was vintage, or so they called it.
And if they saw what Jamal did to something so exotic, then death would be the least of his
worries.
It was a masterpiece of design, even equipped with Aether-infused enhancements.
"Hey, Jamal."
Jamal put on his seatbelt and the car''s gull-wing doors closed automatically.
"Bossman?"
The car began to move, as Jamal maneuvered it to the front of the garage.
"You like rap?"
They passed by the lobby and soon entered arge cubicle-like structure.
"It''s my passion."
"Oh, so you''ve got a name?"
The cubicle had translucent walls, and as the car entered, the walls closed around them.
"Guess bossman."
Jamal pressed a button on the car''s central console, and the vehicle began to rise.
They were inside a massive underground elevator designed to transport their vehicles from
the basement garage to the surface above.
"Hmm... How about MC midnight?"
Emir watched as the garage disappeared below them, reced by the metal structure of the
elevator''s shaft.
"That''s a bit racist boss."
"I know."
"Please try again boss."
"DJ shadow..."
"Is that it?"
"Yeah. Do you want me to add another word or something?"
"I mean... I dunno, maybe."
"Oh, don''t tell me you want it to be DJ Shadow Binder? That''s trademarked, mate."
"Boss, move on, please."
"Alright, sure, so I''ve got a few more..."
"T-That''s okay, bossman-"
"No, quiet down and listen..."
"ck As Shit, Just ck, Darker Than ck."
They ascended quickly, and it wasn''t long before they saw a faint glow above, indicating they
were approaching the surface.
"BB Dweller, Big Charcoal, and... 12 Am."
Then with a soft whirr, the elevator reached the surface, and the walls parted to reveal the
city''s streets before them.
"...BB Dweller?"
"ck Basement Dweller."
"So? How are they?"
"...Just what did I do to you bossman?"
Emir chuckled.
"You know you like it... now shut and turn it up."
"Alright!"
As if he was waiting for themand, Jamal quickly increased the volume, and the same song
yed again.
A karaoke session soon began...
One that was never spoken of again.