Grand Ascension-Chapter 87: Knock Him Out
The cold bit first.
Metal against skin, metal tight enough to bruise. Makun tried to move, but his wrists would not budge. His ankles were locked in place and something wrapped around his throat. It was not choking him or tightening around it. It was just there.
It felt like a reminder that breathing here was a privilege.
Darkness pressed against his eyes like physical weights. He could not see any shapes, or any shadows. It was just absolute darkness that swallowed sound itself.
Then he heard it.
Thud! "Makun, Makun"
GASP!
Makun sprung awake, gasping for air with sweat covering his body, from head to toe.
This same shit! Fuck! He cursed as he tried regaining control of his breathing. Then he looked up to look at Mark who stood just in front of him.
What is he doing here? He wondered.
He was having his usual nightmare when he heard his name being called. That pulled him out of the dream.
"Makun, Jorg sent me to pass a message." Mark said. "We need to head to the VEB."
Makun looked at Mark, his expression blank. What kind of bullshit is this?
Who is going to believe such a thing?
It made no sense to Makun. Why would Jorg look for him at... he pulled his phone out and it was 1 am. Why would Jorg look for him at that time?
It made no sense. If Jorg had needed him, he should not have let him go. And if he really needed something, he was sure the VEB had collected his contact details by now.
They could just text me.
Makun looked from the phone to Mark.
Why is he here then? He thought.
"What are they looking for me for?" Makun asked.
Although he was skeptical, Mark was still an agent of VEB. Maybe he had really been sent by Jorg.
"It is about the MIO," Mark said. "I have been sent to inform you Yime asked for a meeting."
Yime asked for a meeting?
That sounded more plausible. However Makun was still skeptical. It was plausible but made no sense. Unless there were some changes in plan, and he was not informed of them.
What can it be? The night market of today? Or are we departing?
Makun was beginning to connect dots together. Maybe Mark had no ill agenda towards him and was just here to do his work.
"I am leaving first. If you want, don’t follow me." Mark spoke, disinterest thick in his voice.
Makun looked at the departing Mark, his spirit eye active. He felt like things were not right. He needed to see if there was anything amiss, but he saw nothing.
No change in Ashe.
No dark energy like he had seen on Joe when he fought against Shane.
No presence of entities from the Deep.
Mark was normal.
Makun had no idea Cheryl camouflaged the eerie dark energy that comes as a result of Puppeteer’s Dominion.
But he did not care either way. He had grown a lot in a week and Mark who stood at the third grade of Tier 1 was no match for him.
If his paranoia ended up being justified, then he could just overpower him and search for an exit.
As such, Makun sprung up in the middle of the night. Some gazes from homeless people sprang open, lingered on him before going back to sleep.
He quietly followed after Mark who was already at the door of the shelter.
Mark opened the door.
Fooooooo!
Fresh air hit Makun, brushing away the stink of the shelter.
"Let’s head west." Mark said.
He started walking in the direction of the parking lot, heading for the factory that lay west of Hope Rest Shelter.
Makun quietly followed, not a word exchanged between both of them.
....
In the Factory
Cheryl sat legs crossed in a lotus position. Beads of sweat were on her temple as a frown appeared on her little face.
Using her skills as a puppeteer, she had taken control of Mark and sent him inside, with a script to follow.
What she did not expect was for her to partially lose connection the moment he entered the building. She still had control but could not listen to what was being said in the building.
This made her uncomfortable.
"Bol, something doesn’t feel right." She said, wiping sweat off her temple while pouring more Ashe into her porcelain doll.
Bol had been observing her from the beginning and could tell something had happened. But he was not sure what had happened.
"Where are they?" He asked.
"They are heading in this direction." Cheryl said. No giggle this time. This was the moment they had waited and worked for.
If they succeeded, it could grant them a pass.
At least then, they were going to have one of their wishes realized, something they held dear.
"Can you see through Mark?" Bol asked.
"I could not before, but I can now." Cheryl confirmed. "The person with him is exactly who we are looking for based on the information received from the neighbors."
"Good." Bol said before falling deep into his thoughts.
After some time he asked, "Can you confirm his grade and tier through Mark?"
Cheryl shook her head. "No, I cannot. I camouflaged my energy. This weakened the control I had over Mark Kane. To confirm his tier, I should remove the limiters."
Bol nodded. It was to be expected. "OK. We can be sure he won’t be stronger than him. He just got initiated."
Bol said, having deduced the timeline of Makun’s initiation from all the information they had gotten.
He was very professional, but what he failed to realize was the fact that he could have asked Mark about Makun’s tier and grade and route. He had been preoccupied by other thoughts, forgetting this question.
Maybe the only logical answer was for Makun to be a first grade Initiate.
Or maybe he did not care because whatever Makun’s tier was, he could not be stronger than them.
However that little bit of uncertainty might just be what could have changed the operation they were carrying out now.
"Cheryl, if Makun is suspicious of where Mark is bringing him, he might make things difficult for us." Bol spoke.
He knew someone waking you in the middle of the night and taking you to an empty factory was suspicious.
And if he could get suspicious, then Makun could.
This might lead to complications.
Cheryl’s eyes narrowed. She understood Bol’s insinuations.
"Knock him out. He won’t stand a chance against a third grade Initiate."
