Edward’s POV:


    I could hear a lot of chattering around me. My mind was murky, and my limbs felt heavy. How long has it been? Did Tom survive?


    It’s no use, no matter how much I tried to stimulate my brain, it always seemed to fall back into the murky darkness.


    Before me, there was a light. I tried to reach for it, but my limbs would not move. Weirdly though, I seemed to gravitate towards it, drawing closer and closer towards that speck of light…


    ------------------------------------------------------------


    “How is he?” There was no emotion in Tom’s voice.


    “He’s ok,” Selene’s icy voice answered.


    Stay still. I had been taught by my master how to not move the moment I woke up, and to trick others into thinking I was still asleep. This was to prepare myself for any dangerous situations, where I could pretend to stay asleep to formulate a plan.


    This was not a dangerous situation, but I needed to organise my thoughts before waking up.


    I recalled the duel. Tom had understood my sign language and sneaked up on the Architect before eventually slicing his shoulder.


    The plan was full of holes, and any external factor could have easily destroyed it, yet it worked.


    Why was that so? Why had the plan worked?


    Why was Tom, who was so agitated, able to sneak up on the Architect without him noticing?


    The answer is obvious-he emitted no energy.


    My master had once told me that all humans emit energy. When they are happy, when they are sad, when they are frightened, when they are angry, they emit different types of energy.


    Yet I have not sensed any type of energy from Tom.


    Granted, energy is incredibly difficult to sense, and most humans can only sense it faintly, and so most people call it a “presence”. Throughout my many years of training, I have only acquired the ability to feel someone’s energy when they are trying to genuinely hurt me.


    During my duel with Tom, I did not feel any energy from Tom. I thought this was because he did not truly want to hurt me, but I also did not sense any sort of energy coming from him even when he attacked me at the last moment.


    And during the duel with the Architect, he had managed to not emit any energy, even when he swung his dagger down upon the Architect’s shoulder.


    Is that even possible?


    Could he have been trained to conceal his energy?


    No, no human can possibly erase their energy. If they could, they would not be alive.


    Compared to that, the likelihood of even a glitch is higher. Though I find it hard to believe that he has a glitch, it is certainly possible for humans to attain glitch, albeit only a select few can.


    Normally, someone with glitch would emit much more energy, but if his glitch is to conceal that energy, that could explain why I did not sense any energy from him.


    ...


    Therefore, I conclude that Tom has a glitch that allows him to conceal his energy.


    “The Architect has woken up and wishes to meet you, Tom,” a male voice said.


    It was followed by a click from the door.


    The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.


    Opening my eyes, I adjusted to the light entering my eyes. Beside me sat Selene, and Conradin was leaning against the white wall. My sword lay beside me on the bed.


    “You’re awake!” Selene exclaimed.


    I immediately tried to sit up, but the pain from my wounds and Selene’s worried face forced me to lie back down.


    “Where did Tom go?” I asked.


    Selene’s face became expressionless, probably because she was not pleased that the first thing I said was about Tom.


    “He went to meet the Architect,” she replied coldly.


    “I see,"


    ...


    "He probably has a glitch,” I warned.


    Conradin and Selene were taken aback by my sudden warning, but seeing that I did not elaborate, they quickly nodded, to my relief. I did not want to expose the existence of energy, as they were one of my advantages in battle.


    “Edward,” Selene spoke up. “Why did you even let Tom have a duel with you in the first place? Could we not have just feigned ignorance? He had no evidence that we had stolen his money. Furthermore, we could have avoided this duel if we just used Tom’s money.”t


    “Selene,” I answered, smiling widely. “Did you ever consider why Tom has so much money in the first place?”


    “Not really, but that is not the main point…”


    “But it is. Only a noble would have such money on him, and no noble would be walking in the port by himself if he was not in trouble. That was why I decided to let him on board. Furthermore, he may be masking his identity through his speech, but the way he walks, the way he acts, down to the way he eats and drinks…they all point towards him being a noble.”


    “Now, as for why I decided to let him have a duel with me, it was to find out more about him-he is a very interesting man,” I winked. “Furthermore, I do not like lying.”


    So you condone stealing but not lying? I could see those words written on Conradin and Selene’s faces.


    “Finally, as for why I decided to not just use his money and instead chose to have a duel, it is because I want to use the money to control him. He, being a noble, probably understands the value of money. Hence, I can use it to get him to join us.”


    Selene furrowed her eyebrows.


    “So you want him to join us so much that you would fight the Architect?”


    “Exactly.”


    Silence filled the room.


    Before long, I had started to adapt to my wounds and was able to get up. I walked haphazardly towards the door.


    Selene and Conradin immediately came to support me.


    Walking out, I found a random doctor and immediately went up to him.


    “Show me the way to the Architect’s room,” I threatened.


    “I’m afraid I can’t do that, sir,” he answered calmly, adjusting his glasses. ‘Please retreat to your room.”


    “Conradin,” I commanded.


    Instantly, Conradin went towards the doctor.


    “H-hey! I’ll call the security guards, you know?” His earlier composure was all but lost.


    Conradin held the doctor’s hand tightly and started twisting it.


    “Ah…ah!” The doctor screamed in pain. The surrounding nurses quickly backed off.


    “I wanted to solve this diplomatically, but you refused to let me,” I told the doctor coldly.


    “Guards! Guards!” he yelled frantically.


    “P-put your hands up in the air!” a security guard shouted.


    I shot him and the other security guards with a menacing glare.


    “Mind your own business,” I hissed at them.


    “T-that’s the guy who defeated the Architect,” a security guard said softly before he took a few steps back in fear.


    The rest also followed suit.


    “Now,” I turned back to the doctor, who was still having his hand twisted by Conradin. “Show me to the Architect’s room.”


    “Oh, Great Lady…” he prayed, and Conradin twisted his hand harder.


    “I got it! I got it!” he squealed in pain.


    As we walked through the hallways, Selene inquired softly, “Was there really a need to make such a big scene?”


    Grinning, I replied as we walked past a group of alarmed nurses, “Do you realise that the people here do not treat us nicely, even before I made the large scene? It is only natural, as we have defeated the Architect. Therefore, this is not just to get to the Architect’s room, but also to assert our dominance, so that the people here will not hurt us, though they may hate us more.”


    “I see,” Selene replied curtly.


    We have finally reached the room. As I slid the door open, I pretended to tumble into it.


    Before me was Tom standing beside the Architect’s bed, surprised.


    I could not help but chuckle softly.


    Tom, why do you interest me so?


    Why do you make me want to uncover your identity so much?


    Do you have a glitch?


    Can you conceal your energy?


    Why do you entertain me so?


    I will find out who you truly are, you foolish clown.