Soul's Requiem: B1 - 4. Apprehension (Patreon)

Note:  This chapter actually came about at the request of Achronia since she wanted to know how things went from Laurence's POV.  I hadn't written this, but really liked the suggestion and it provides some background info to the readers that Clover doesn't have.  Thank you, Achronia!

1:  Commander Laurence (General over the Medical Core of Western Skydream)

Soul's Requiem Index

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Commander Laurence watched Clover leave with Lilly, wearing a passive expression.

When the door closed, Melissa’s smile fell a little.  “What do you think?”  she asked, turning to look at the flickering monitors and graphs.

He didn’t respond for a moment, eyeing the charts the scientists were debating over; every one of them refused to agree on what they’d witnessed.

“We’ll talk in my office.  Have them transfer the data to my personal email; I’ll review it before sending it into Bloom City.”

Melissa folded her arms under her bust.  “Got it … She really might be strong enough to help us get back into the fight.”

“Time will tell.”

Laurence walked to the left corner of the control room’s door exit, pressing a hand against the side of the non-conspicuous metal to activate the hidden sensor.

The wall opened to the private elevator that would take him to his office; every floor had quick access for him to reach it if needed.  Getting inside, he rose to the top and entered the large room to take a seat.

Leaning forward while steepling his fingers and resting his chin on them, he let a low rumble shake in his throat; his eyes slowly moved between all the monitors lining the walls, showing Clover’s exercise.  The key moments that the scientists were picking apart with the data gathered within played beside each display.

She’s not strong enough to handle a Class-3 Transevil … Not with this performance, and none of her Spirit Attacks were what she used to defeat Isngneal.  Clover exhibits traits we haven’t registered in any Spirit User, though … Is she a Spirit User or something new?

Releasing a long sigh, he swiveled the chair to the right, grabbing his keyboard to control the information displayed.  Flipping to Melissa’s bodycam footage of the event, he used the bookmarks to jump to their flight from the beast.  The sound hadn’t been compiled and added from her earpiece yet.

He grimaced as a massive burst of violet light blinded the receiver, messing with the device until it spontaneously collected around a single point before shooting right at the beast.  The angle shifted from Melissa’s movements, losing track of the outcome.

Melissa lost several seconds; somehow, Clover caused a time contraction before sending a burst of Spirit Force at Isngneal.  It was certainly powerful enough to stop him, which could have drained her to the point of being knocked unconscious—which would affect this test.

Clover only had twenty-four hours to recover after passing out and still managed to break the coding, but that could be caused by the unknown factors of her Spirit Force … if it’s Spirit Force at all.

His gaze turned to the data on another monitor as more comments and information became available; the scientists were each adding their own interpretation on what they were reading.

The purple energy she uses is definitely her Spirit Force—that’s without question, which means the attack she used against Isngneal was standard to Spirit Users.  The issue is this blue force … absorbing Spirit Force and disrupting it.  It agitated the Blazing Anomaly itself, causing glitches in the programming we use to build the space.

Clover is something strange and doesn’t have the attitude of a Spirit User, yet uses their power.  She’s a wildcard, and that has its dangers.  The problem is how to report it—should I?

His solemn gaze shifted to the elevator as Melissa entered, having been granted access by him when she requested to permanently be stationed at Steel Box Bastion; she was by far one of the most potent Class-2 Spirit Users, which put Clover’s accomplishment into perspective, considering the blonde was so outclassed by Isngneal.

Standing in front of his desk while looking between the screens, she rubbed her left side while biting her lower lip.  “So … the preliminary data was sent.  Had time to think?”

Laurence reached into his desk to pull out a pipe, filling it with tobacco; he was trying to control his shakes.  Clover presented so many problems and possibilities that it was challenging to process.  “Not nearly enough time … What is your opinion of her?”

Moving to watch a loop of Clover spinning her weapon into a wide vortex to pull in the robots, Melissa hummed.  “I’m guessing you aren’t talking about her personality … Heh, because it’s very clear she’s a High Noble—without a doubt.”

Lighting a match, he stuck it into the other end of the pipe, puffing a little to work the flame in.  “Personality can be handled.”

“Right.”  Melissa turned to her fight with the Steel Boss.  “I think I know what you’re getting at … Clover’s a lot stronger than me, without a doubt, but … These kinds of attacks might be able to hurt Isngneal—only lightly, though.”

“If that,” Laurence huffed.  “If she’d blown him away with that unknown blue force she uses, then I’d say it was in the realm of possibility, yet…”  He motioned the pipe toward the monitor.  “As shown, it was clearly her Spirit Force.  The only explanation is that she exhausted all of it in the process, which puts her on Class-3 territory after exiting the Great Void.”

Melissa nodded, changing locations to watch Clover perform her other Spirit Attacks.  “What do you think the blue energy is?”

“Too early to tell,” he sighed, puffing on his pipe.  “Lilly seemed like a good recommendation—although it could sour quite a few tongues.”

“Lilly’s a big girl,” Melissa whispered.  “I’m not one-hundred percent sold on the pairing, but it was the best we had … I feel for Clover.  At least she came out in Western Skydream.”

Leaning back and resting his hands in his lap, Laurence’s gaze drifted to the silver-haired girl’s face on a monitor, tracking her movements through the base; they were currently walking down the stairs.  “Should I report her existence to Bloom City?”

Melissa gave a start, turning to face him.  “Are you … Is that why you had the data transferred to you for approval?  How long can you hide her from the Order of Royals?”

A small smile lifted his lips as he blew out a long stream of smoke, watching it disperse.  “Technically, she hasn’t joined the SPU … Isn’t that something?”

The woman’s grip tightened against her left bicep.  “True… It is a bit strange.  She really doesn’t act like a Spirit User—especially if she’s a Class-3 or above, which…”

“Her clothes?”  Laurence asked, focusing on the rips in the girl’s outfit that could be seen from the monitors.  “Lilly will come to you for answers since she’ll know relatively little.  How will you approach the subject?  I know you were close to Shane and know a lot more about Spirit Users than you let on.”

A sharp hiss passed through Melissa’s teeth as she turned to face him.  “I’ll be honest with her—even if it hurts.  She needs to know what’s happening to her and how to control it.”

Laurence’s brown eyes hardened.  “You know the new Spirit User protocol.”

“I know,” she mumbled bitterly.  “She’ll learn about it eventually, but how she reacts will really depend on where her focus is—is that what you want me to learn—where she draws her strength from?”

He licked his lips, tasting the tobacco in his mouth.  “Clover comes from a very … rigid and orderly society.  She could become just like Wilfred and Ivan, falling into the order of things … And yet the Emberfields were not followers.”

His teeth clamped down on his pipe, glaring at the beautiful young woman.  “She could be just like Shane and McArthur—or something completely different.  Clover is an enigma to the known information we have on Spirit Users—in an uncomfortable way.  She’s not like you that will selflessly jump into battle to save a child or give her all for humanity … There’s a vicious beast in how she approaches things—a chaos that could be what we need or doom humanity.”

Melissa forced a laugh.  “She does seem like the type to not be told what to do—to resist authority.”

Laurence slowly shook his head.  “I wouldn’t say that … She adheres to another type of authority.  From what little I’ve seen … How would you compare her personality to Shane?”

She fidgeted a bit, trying to compare the two.  “I … only knew Shane a year after he exited, so I can’t say how he was just after leaving, but … hmm.  Now that you say that, Shane was kind of the same way, adhering to another type of authority.  Was McArthur the same?”

Laurence had only met the legendary Class-7 Spirit Emperor once, and it was enough to mark a place in his mind for life.  Shane had a similar presence—it was very different in many ways but nearly identical in one.

“I’ve met every Class-5, Class-6, and Class-7 Spirit User,” he mumbled.  “All of them wanted to save humanity at their base—yet, each had various ideas on how that would come about … Although, all of them fell into line with the Order of Royals … except for the Class-7.”

Melissa moved to lean against the wall with a deep frown.  “They never turned against humanity, though.  In fact, The Order of Royals are only in power because of McArthur providing a safe place and organizing people.  Oh, and without Shane, everything would have blown up.”

“Salvation,” Laurence muttered.

“What was that?”

He shook his head.  “Nothing.  Hmm … No, I don’t think I’ll report Clover to Bloom City until we know more.  Acting Deputy Commander Harris will want to pull her in to fight the Inferno Tribe, and we need things in Hollow Veil to stabilize.”

A bright smile lifted Melissa’s lips, and she saluted him.  “Thank you, Commander; I feel so much better with Clover nearby!”

Laurence waved his pipe toward the elevator.  “Mhm.  Get back there and continue your duties; just remember, Clover will come looking for answers, sooner or later, and Lilly won’t have them.”

“I won’t let you down!”  Melissa grinned, heading for the device; she paused at the open doors.  “Umm … what about the other two Spirit Users that exited the Great Void?”

Laurence puffed out another long stream of smoke.  “No news yet, and we can’t be sure they’re Spirit Users.”

Melissa licked her lips.  “Oh … right, I’ll be careful.  Thank you, Commander.”

He watched her exit with a brooding stare and pressed a key combination on his keyboard when she left.  Laurence waited for the response, studying the data as the facility's power continued to fluctuate.

“Recon Command, Sir!”

“Any new reports?”

“Sir, we’ve searched the western part of the Destruction Zone again and found more dead Class-1 and Class-2 Wolf-Type Transevil—something’s taking them out from a long distance.  More are swarming the area, so we need to retreat—orders?  Over.”

The crimson light fell in that direction, yet no person was found?

“I see, get to a safe location.”  His jaw tightened.  “No Spirit Users?  Over.”

“Signs of ammunition being used to kill the Class-1 and Class-2 Transevil, but other than that, no, Sir.  We searched around the area with what time we had but other than the bodies, no other signs of life were seen.  Over.”

Ammunition … against Class-2?  Interesting.  Class-2 Transevil swarming isn’t good, though … Did Clover destroy Isngneal or just weaken him?

“Isngneal’s corpse?  Over.”

“No corpse was found at the GPS location you sent me, Commander.  There were signs of a struggle between Class-2 Spirit User Erin Tolvic and Isngneal, but that is it.  We confirmed the corpses of the Class-1 Transevil mentioned in Captain Melissa’s report and gathered them for transport.  Over.”

“Good.  Did you get the Transevil that were killed by munitions?  Over.”

“Four were recovered before scouts reported the Class-2 Transevil heading to the location, and we were forced to retreat.  Over.”

At least we have something.  And what about the green light?

“The unit sent to search for the light that fell to the south of the Destruction Zone?  Over.”

“It will take another day for them to reach the area and follow the coordinates.  Over.”

“Understood.  Send me a more detailed report when you get a chance to compile them.  Out.”

Laurence rubbed his forehead, leaning back while yawning; he’d been awake due to the lights for over thirty-six hours.  Pressing a few combinations on his keyboard, he let the back of his seat lower as the lights dimmed; if anything of importance required his immediate attention, he’d be woken by the alert he programmed.

Attempting to drift off for a few hours of sleep, he let his tired mind work on the issues tormenting his brain.

If Isngneal’s corpse is gone, Clover utterly destroyed him, in which case there should be significant damage to the area that wasn’t present, or … he’s still alive.  The fact there are Class-2 Transevil swarming shows there’s still a chain of command.  Strong Class-2 have been known to lead packs, but nothing as big as Class-3.

Clover will want to rush out and attack more Transevil—textbook Spirit User urges, yet there’s a selfish desire for her to feed on them, too.  She’s an enigma with enough known traits to make it acceptable … a dangerous combination.

Drawing in from the pipe, he sampled the tobacco on his tongue and down his throat before streaming it out.  Eyes closed, Laurence tried to visualize the possibilities, but it was too difficult with so many unknowns; he could only predict so far.

Clover Emberfield … She's no different from what I’ve heard and expect out of a High Noble, and that’s the disturbing part.  Everyone that exits the Voids changes to be less selfish—more giving—to the point humanity can take advantage of them in many ways.  Is she a response to some of that?  If so, why in Western Skydream and not Eastern … Was it because of Harris?

If this is the start of a new wave of Spirit Users—a far less selfless and self-sacrificing breed, then it could drastically change the playing field.  Given the Spirit Armament, realistically and logically, Clover should advance to at least Class-5, yet who can tell with this unusual feeding ability.  Could she turn that against Melissa and the other Spirit Users?

“Hmm…”

Not opening his eyes, Laurence used his muscular core to lift himself up and dump the pipe out in the ashtray before settling back down.

She needs to be observed more, and I need a clear mind.

It didn’t take long for him to drift off to sleep.

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