Chapter 62: Rhovan Torsk III
Rhovan’s eyes moved toward Marek’s backpack, which Marek noticed, and he immediately said, "No."
"I haven’t said anything yet," Rhovan defended himself. "You’re so cautious. Tsk, tsk. That’s not good for the heart."
Marek squinted. "My answer’s still no. Moreover, I am still 19. Don’t pray for my death yet."
"I was actually going to ask why you are carrying that many noodles," Rhovan replied nonetheless, ignoring Marek’s remark.
Marek slowly turned toward Nadia.
She immediately raised both hands, acting like she didn’t just laugh out loud earlier. "Don’t look at me like that. I just said that the noodles might be relevant to our search for you."
"Well, you found me and were even tailing me..." Marek complained. "But how are the noodles relevant?"
It concerned his sister. Of course, he would be alerted.
What if these people were to hurt his sister? That was why they were tailing him? He had not been betrayed before, but he felt the idea of betrayal from movies and shows. It would not hurt to be overly cautious, especially toward that man called Rhovanski or whatever his name was.
"Your reactions are much more visible when those you talked with mentioned your sister asking for noodles."
Marek’s jaw tightened, and he argued, "That doesn’t make the noodles themselves important. Are you af—"
He cut himself off the moment Rhovan looked at the bag again and said, "Apparently, they are important enough that you keep buying them."
"I just want this clarified, regardless." Marek’s closed his eyes and took a deep breath as he asked, "Are you after me or are you after my sister?"
Rhovan sensed the concern in Marek’s voice and reassured him, "Well, obviously, it’s you we’re after. As for the relevance of your sister and the noodles, they only served as reference. But I have a question for you."
"What?"
"The Exhibition Center," Rhovan began, and then his tone became serious, perhaps for the first time during his exchange with Marek. "The reports about your Mark don’t agree with each other. One person says you can and have removed injuries or so, as the reports claimed. Another says you are able to contain any condition. Then, somebody else describes you taking something from one person without really taking the entire manifestation connected to it. Even I myself am not clear about how the Thirteenth Sign works."
Marek just stared at him and said nothing.
"More importantly," Rhovan continued, "you kept asking questions before you did anything. You would ask what exactly the injury was. What caused it to become an injury. Or whether the condition belonged to the person or was merely affecting them. Things like that."
Marek frowned. ’He seemed to have investigated me so well that he knew all these things about me. Have they been to the Exhibition Center... wait... It’s reasonable that they did, and if they found that hatch and went through it, that might have led them to where I am... I should be careful about doing things from now on. I should not divulge too much, like the special abilities I have that other Ophiuchus-marked people don’t have—most especially the interface."
Marek’s mind wandered a bit. Rhovan also noticed the depth of his eyes. ’He’s thinking...’
"You’ve been studying the Ophiuchus," Marek said.
Rhovan did not deny it and said, "For a very... very long time..."
"Why? You look younger than I am."
Rhovan did not immediately answer. It was like his mind was trapped somewhere else instead. Then, he replied, "That would be a much... much longer conversation..."
"Convenient," Marek remarked.
"It genuinely is."
Marek had always disliked vague answers, but there was something different about the way the man said it. Rhovan seemed not to be pretending he was ignorant. It was like he was not pretending he did not know. Like he would willingly offer the answer to him. At the moment, it was just not the right time.
Still, he found it annoying, but he clearly saw the distinction.
Rhovan continued before Marek would decide to leave. "I also want to know what this Project Meridian did to your manifestation. That old man... I’m also curious about this Project Meridian... as to what it is and what it did to your Mark. I heard you were sitting inside a toilet that’s apparently also Meridian equipment, right?"
Marek, hearing all of these things from Rhovan, became still.
Rhovan noticed his reaction. Then, he said something that quickly woke Marek up from his chaotic thoughts.
"That Gemini woman... a Sovereign... traveling with your sister, Mara Vale, definitely knows you’re looking for them."
Marek’s bluish eyes dilated as he closed the distance between the two of them. He met Rhovan eye to eye and asked, "How do you know?"
"She asked whether anyone had been asking about Mara before changing routes."
"When?"
Rhovan gave him the details. Everything about the facility, the volunteer, and the route westward. This time, he let Rhovan talk. He did not interrupt. Only until the other finished talking.
"What is her name?"
"I don’t know. I haven’t seen her, but I know she must be strong."
"How strong do you think she is?"
"A million times stronger than you probably..."
’Damn.’
"What else do you know?" Marek asked.
Rhovan glanced toward the doorway and said, "I have the movement records inside."
"Bring them here," Marek said, his tone as though he was ordering them.
Rhovan shivered. ’Oh Holy Goddess of Shivers, is this the charm of the most unusual Thirteenth Sign I have ever seen?’
Then, he hugged himself in reverie, trying to imagine the majesty of the Thirteenth Sign. ’Oh Holy Goddess of Dreams... please let this be true...’
However, no one seemed to hear Marek’s order. Dario looked away. Nadia suddenly became very interested in the wall.
Eventually, Rhovan said, "No."
’What a sudden change of behavior. One time, he was hugging himself like he was daydreaming, and then he became like this...’ Marek found Rhovan stranger and stranger the more he talked to him.
"Why?" Marek asked.
"Because there are civilians out here walking past us, several of whom already recognize the greatness of my presence, and I’d rather not discuss it in the middle of the shelter corridor... it will further take their attention away from what they’re all doing... ahh! How great and considerate I am!"
That was actually reasonable, except for the fact that he was praising himself like he was some great god incarnate. ’A Certified Narcissist!’
"Where do we do it then?"
"To one of the empty rooms in this complex," Rhovan replied. "There are two doors and one broken window. I checked it beforehand."
"For me?" Marek’s face screamed every version of ’sus’ there was.
"Yes."
"Hmm..."
Rhovan explained, "I chose a room with multiple exits, basically because you don’t trust us."
"Still suspicious."
For the first time, Dario laughed.
Rhovan looked at him. He immediately covered his mouth.
Celeste finally spoke after a long time. "I don’t sense an immediate intention to harm you. It’ll be okay."
’Well, sure. Immediate.’
Marek looked toward the empty room’s doorway. It was just a few steps away from where he was currently standing. He then saw Rhovan move to the side instead of approaching him.
"Your choice."
Marek looked at the corridor and at the six people. The last time he saw them, they were like aimless detainees. Now, they moved together like people who actually knew what they were supposed to be doing as one of the Awakened. Well, obviously the man who transformed them into something like this—definitely Rhovan.
Afterward, he started walking. The moment he passed Rhovan, he stopped beside him and said, "One thing."
Rhovan was intrigued. "Hmm?"
"If you touch my Mark without permission, I’ll break your wrist."
Rhovan stared at him. Thereafter, his eyes brightened gradually. Dario immediately pointed at him.
"No," Marek warned.
Rhovan’s forehead creased. "I haven’t done anything."
"Don’t." Marek glared at him.
"I wasn’t going to."
"Your face... It’s irritating to look at..."
"My face? Is it irritating because of my greatness?"
Dario slapped his forehead along with Nadia.
Marek was still staring at him... intensely.
Rhovan looked genuinely offended. "I was considering the research value."
It had been twenty years, and Rhovan had found no lead about his research with the Thirteenth Sign, the Ophiuchus. It had been a thorn in his head just trying to uncover the secrets behind the said Sign. Old records contradicted newer ones. The Ophiuchus bearers he had met used their Marks, but they could not explain exactly the mechanics of the powers of the Thirteenth Sign.
’Even that old one could not.’
Histories also ended the moment he needed them to continue. It irritated Rhovan more than anyone. He had been spending most of his time trying to uncover its secrets—but to no avail.
Then, the Earth, this world, awakened into the Prime Continuum.
And he stumbled upon information about a nineteen-year-old who had just awakened. He watched Marek disappear through the doorway as a smile slowly crept up to his face.
Dario saw that smile and immediately sighed.
"What now?" Rhovan looked at him.
"Nothing."
"Liars go to hell... or so the Earth humans would say..." Rhovan’s voice trailed off as he followed Marek through the doorway.
When the doorway closed, Dario whispered to himself, "I merely think this is going to be... considerably more interesting than I expected. Rhovan finally found his match."