CHAPTER 104: _AN UNFORTUNATE MAIN CHARACTER

Elian’s POV

*****

’I just got that odd feeling again where it’s like someone’s talking about me,’ he thought to himself, but alas, his thoughts weren’t a private affair.

["Odd feeling" or early stage schizophrenia? As if having a system tied to your soul wasn’t cuckoo enough.]

Elian shrugged off the feeling as he and the others finally settled around the table Lucian had saved for them. Axel cleared his throat, grabbed the bottle of moon dew and poured it into two glasses.

"Alright, you want to know about the Dark Hand." Axel began but before he could continue, Lucian spoke up with a frown.

"What? Who wants to know about the Dark Hand?"

Elian folded his arms in front of his chest, staring directly at Lucian. "I’m guessing you know about it as well."

"Elian." Axel chimed softly while Lucian’s jaw was tense. "You don’t expect us to tell you about every secret within the royal court, right?"

Elian rolled his eyes. "Right... Except this one’s not much of a secret since that bartender lady said the entire industrial district knows about them."

Aurora, who was already halfway down her glass, smiled with a giddy expression. "That bartender lady was really sweet though."

Elian blinked at her with a squint as she got on her feet, chugging down the rest of the drink with a satisfied belch.

"I’m going for another glass." She winked at them before turning away, her silver hair trailing behind her like a cloud.

Elian stared at her receding figure for a second when suddenly, a phantom ache surged around his right ankle, alongside a cold shiver that surged through his being.

But before he could find out what the heck that was, Lucian snapped his fingers in front of his face.

"You want to know about the Dark Hand? Fine." The Alpha Prince’s expression was solemn. "They started off as a mercenary organisation within the city at first. The empire and my father turned a blind eye to them. They paid taxes and ran things like any legal organisation."

[I smell a "but" coming in...]

"But," Axel was the one who dropped it, handing Elian a glass filled with moon dew. "Over time, they began spreading like a parasite. Surprisingly fast too. They went off-grid and cleared their tracks, cutting contact with even the royal court and Council of Fangs."

"But their influence is still felt all over the crime underworld of the empire," Lucian added with a stone-cold expression. "Criminals whisper their name with caution and dread. Some say they’ve dipped their hands into unnatural experiments which began right here in the industrial district. But they’re all rumours..."

Elian nodded slowly, taking a sip from his drink. But as he did, his mind trailed back to a conversation between Estella and Magnus.

Magnus had mentioned during an argument that his "organisation" only sent the first assassin after Elian... Not the second one.

Could it be possible that Magnus was involved with the Dark Hand?

"Pause..." Elian couldn’t stay in his thoughts anymore and spoke up, his eyes flicking from Axel to Lucian. "When I was kidnapped, Magnus mentioned something about an ’organisation’ which sent that first assassin yesterday."

Lucian’s silver eyes widened before knitting into a scolding frown. "Why the heck didn’t you say anything?"

Elian flashed him a sarcastic smile. "Oh, I’m sorry. It was my first kidnapping, and details like that tend to slip a traumatised mind."

Lucian’s jaw set but before he could say anything else, Axel held Elian’s hand with a reassuring look.

"Take all the time you need. You don’t have to relive the hell my sister and Magnus put you through." The Beta’s voice was even softer than his golden gaze, making Elian’s ankle wobbly.

Oh, wait... That wasn’t caused by the Beta’s voice.

There was still an eerie phantom ache around his right ankle, and it was throbbing now, becoming more obvious with its chilly feeling.

[Alright, enough of that. Conducting body scan... Standby.]

Elian drew in a deep breath, ignoring Lucian’s glare.

"The point I was driving at is what if the organisation Magnus talked about... Was the Dark Hand? I mean, it makes sense since they train mercenaries."

Axel squinted, glancing at Lucian who seemed to ponder it.

"I would’ve said that was a reach... But at this point, you might be right." The Alpha Prince nodded, his eyes lighting up. "And if the rumours about the Dark Hand are true, that’ll explain the Umbra beast sent after you. Magnus and Estella didn’t send it..."

A cold shiver ran down Elian’s spine as the pieces started falling in place, his heart beating heavily. His pulse hammered so hard in his ears that the music, laughter and clanking of bottles and glasses faded like background noise.

"The Dark Hand sent it. Meaning an underground organisation which is so mysterious that the royal court and Council of Fangs are clueless about them... Is after me." Elian’s voice was barely a whisper as he swallowed hard.

However, before he could begin wrapping his head around that revelation, the system rang with a ding in his mind.

[Uh... If you felt like an unfortunate main character, you might want to keep taking your drink to hear what I discovered while scanning you.]

Dear goddess...

[So you remember the Umbra beast attack? When it clamped its tentacle around your ankle? Well, it left some kind of phantom marking. Like a cursed brand.]

[It’s not deadly, of course. But it’s acting as a beacon and tether to the Umbra beast, wherever it is in this cesspool of a hotel.]

’Fuck me sideways!’ Elian cursed mentally, clutching his drink before downing most of it in one gulp.

His eyes darted around alertly, his legs trembling. Lucian and Axel seemed to notice his dread and were both about to lean in when suddenly, a blood-curdling scream echoed from the counter.

The music in the bar died almost instantly as all eyes turned to the source of the scream.

Elian’s existential crisis was put on hold when he saw Aurora crouched on the floor, her hands clutching her chest in pain.

A faint silver glow flickered from her heart before fading away completely, like a dying flame.

"Aurora!" Lucian yelled in a panic, getting up and running to his sister. "What’s wrong?"

Aurora trembled, tears streaming down her face, while Elian slowly got up as well.

"M–Magnus..." Aurora sobbed with a broken voice, shaking her head in disbelief. "My mate is dead."

Aurora’s sobs rattled the bar as Lucian crouched, cradling her.

Elian staggered back, his ankle throbbing so hard it nearly buckled beneath him. The phantom ache flared colder and deeper until it felt like something was pulling from inside.

The system’s voice dripped into his mind like ice water just then.

[Oh, shit. The beacon just activated.]