Chapter 120: The Awakened
An hour after the barge left the area, another massive figure swam into the area. Clicking sounds were made, but no one responded. The creature let out a sorrowful wail, seeing neither a body nor the live dolphin; it turned away to mourn.
The barge, after the chaos had quieted down considerably. People are digesting what they have seen. Some are afraid, some have become fanatics, and others are simply curious.
There is, however, one person who appeared very disgruntled.
After steering everyone out of danger, Captain Gene stormed over to Kain and the others, demanding answers.
"What the hell was that?" He didn't control his volume. His voice echoed far and wide.
Kain, having meditated, looked lazily at the captain.
"And what exactly is Captain Gene referring to? The fact that we saved your lives?"
Captain Gene gritted his teeth. "Don't give me that. You know what I'm talking about. The ice, fire," he waved his hands around his face red with anger, "the levitation."
"Oh, that? Didn't that family tell you about it? I thought you and them were getting along really well. They even taught you their skills." He gave a mocking grin.
Learning they had left the captain in a lurch, Kain didn't mind driving the knife deeper. He was certain bringing up that family would make the captain even more irate. He was right.
The captain grit his teeth. His face alternated, changing colour, from red to blue. He wanted to hit Kain. But he knew if he did, he would never get the answers he wanted. Not to mention him, the others also wanted answers.
Because the captain was so vocal, a crowd of people was now surrounding the Nightfall crew. They didn't step as close as the captain, but they were all watching, waiting, listening.
Kain let out an amused exhale. "You're red in the face. Breathe, then ask again. The ship still needs a captain. You can't die on them now."
Despite everything, he knew Kain was right, so he stopped himself from going off the rails. He took a deep breath and let himself relax.
"Okay," he said. "I'm relaxed. Now, can you explain what just happened?"
He didn't answer right away. He scanned the faces of the people standing around them. He saw their eagerness, their trepidation, and their reluctance.
Rather than answer straight away, he asked a question, "You've watched fantasy movies or read fantasy novels, right?"
Seeing the captain's frustration, Kain quickly held up a hand. He didn't want to hear the long-winded speech.
"Just nod your head yes or shake your head no."
The captain nodded.
"Good. It's something like that. The air is full of energy, trying to get into our bodies. That energy makes us stronger. But it also means we can the elements. Some elements are stronger than others, but we can generally use them all.
These people are called Awakened. Of course, there are levels and such, but let's not get into that. Right now, anyone who has managed to use the energy is an Awakened. There are 5 levels, and then you become a Resonant.
How people become awakened, I don't know, do it like cultivation, I guess. Don't try to use the elements too early.
That's all I've got. Anything else you want to know?"
"So..." The captain tried hard to find the right words. "It's not just a strengthening technique, and everyone can use it?"
"Not everyone," Kain denied.
When the captain and others heard this, they couldn't contain their disbelief. The hope of becoming superhuman had dwindled. What they thought was 100% has now dropped by who knows how many times.
Kain almost laughed out loud, seeing their hopeful faces turn bleak.
"Is there a way we can know?" This question came, not from the captain but from Matlock.
His hopeful eyes stared at Kain.
"No clue," Kain shrugged. "But if you do try it, don't get too close to other people."
"Why not?"
"People who can't make it end up going crazy."
He dropped the words and left. The barge was in disarray, but it had nothing to do with him. What he cared about was checking on his children and seeing whether or not their homes were still intact.
The rest of Nightfall followed Kain. Faced with the colour palette of changing expressions, they shook their heads. It was expected that many would try, even at the cost of losing their minds.
Kain's voice was low, only loud enough for his own people to hear.
"If any Mindless pop up, just kill them. No matter who pleads for them."
Kain didn't look back to check their expressions. He walked towards the containers. Unsurprisingly, the containers were in disarray.
When he arrived, he saw the family of three. The parents were meditating, and their daughter was leaning against her mother. When they heard Kain and the other approaching, they stopped.
"Mr Nightfall, lucky you left us here, otherwise you wouldn't have seen the containers again," Julian greeted Kain and explained the situation.
"Good job," Kain said as if he had left them here the entire time simply to keep the houses from being thrown around. "Let me know if there is any reward you want."
Now that everyone was back, they made quick work of the mess. Less than fifteen minutes later, the containers were placed in their usual spot. The tables and chairs couldn't be salvaged. The electricity wasn't going to work, so Kain took matters into his own hands.
The first thing he did was to release the children. He had put them in the space in a hurry. Not everyone saw, but some did. He decided not to hide it anymore.
While he would not bring anyone inside just yet, he found no issue with them knowing he had a way to keep his children safe.
Next, he took out a generator and other items to repair the damaged bits and pieces. He also took out tables and chairs that were much sturdier than the ones the captain had given them before.