As reluctant as Everlearn felt, something in his heart told him her words were genuine and held their meaning.
He couldn't understand what she was hinting at:
The growth path being a system, and the system itself being a chessboard.
All seemed like very complicated mysteries from the lenses he could see through, but he felt it regardless.
That helped him lower his brewing thoughts of running away.
"What am I to do on the mission? What is my task?" he asked, watching her exhale as she turned to him, a slight smile tugging at the corner of her lips.
"Why are you in a haste? Already Nervous?" she asked.
Everlearn shook his head.
"I'm not nervous."
"I just prefer to make preparations for things before they start."
"If we're going on a mission, which sounds destructive like you said, then I have to prepare for it before it happens."
"You're the thinker type, though I suppose that is reasonable," she said before shrugging.
"I have no plan, nor do I have the location where the serum is."
"I would most likely be given that information tomorrow, and we might embark the next day."
Evelearn hmmed with creased eyebrows. That gave him not much to prepare for.
"The only thing you need to prepare is your mind."
"Keep it sharp to receive instructions and don't get a headache on the day of the mission."
"Ensure that, and you may be fine," she said without much bother.
While he still had questions, like how powerful she was and what their chances of success were, he felt silence was better.
Rapidly, hours passed by and soon it became the dark of night, though that was hard to sense, for in the sky there were three moons, all shining brightly and at their full.
The mansion was also well illuminated, keeping things bright.
Ash eventually opened her eyes, noticing she had burned her box of cigarettes to the end.
She looked forward and found Everlearn's eyes still open and staring silently at the buildings in the distance.
He sensed the disturbance and turned to find her stepping away from the balcony.
"The house doesn't belong to me," she suddenly said.
"It's in the organization's name, and simply dedicated to me for this mission."
"So don't be shy about using anything at all."
"Stay in whatever bedroom you desire and use any amenities you want, including the kitchen."
"Just two things," she said, pausing slightly when she reached the steps downwards.
"Don't exit the main gate, and don't come close to the room labeled 1. That's all."
Her footsteps disappeared down the stairs, leaving Everlearn alone.
He sat silently, looking at where she had disappeared before reclining back upon the seat, exhaling softly.
His thoughts had been drifting here and there.
In a way, he was still numb to it, the quick change in the trajectory of the life he had planned out.
All he had wanted was to become a great mech designer.
Studying hard to get good records that could place him in better schools that would further his goals.
Everything was going smoothly, and his project in Mechara ought to have been a major push that would have driven him into the beginning of greatness in the field.
Yet, it had been the end of him.
And now, he was in Mechron City, about to embark on a mission he knew almost nothing about, with the possibility of either dying or joining a highly secretive organization at the end.
Things were moving fast, and what was scary was that this was never how he had planned for things to unfold.
"So life trajectories can really change beyond how we plan them, huh?"
It occurred to him, and he rose to his feet, closing in towards the railings that guarded the top.
From here, he could see more of Mechron, flying cars blitzing past the roads and larger buses below.
Holographics filled the skies with models advertising gadgets and news.
Even at night, it was bustling with energy.
"Less scary than I thought," he mused beneath his breath.
"Or maybe it's too early to judge."
Everlearn remained atop the roof for a long while, but when the night deepened, the cold came.
In the end, he descended, disappearing into the mansion.
___________
Two Days Later
STEP
STEP
STEP
The sound of his footsteps echoed through the streets, soon drowned out by the roar of passing cars and the shuffle of others walking beside him.
It was around 8 PM, and among the crowds of Nvidians walking on the street, there was a figure that almost blended perfectly with the crowd.
He was a young man in a simple blue T-shirt with gray arm sleeves, wearing baggy gray jeans and a black face cap.
His face was slightly bent to the ground as he walked at the pace of the crowd.
After about twenty minutes on the sidewalk, he took a sudden turn between the corners of two smaller homes.
The figure walked deeper into the alleyway, finding nothing but a dead end.
There, he paused and raised his face.
It was none other than Everlearn.
His hands reached into his pockets, and he brought out a tiny dark ear pod, implanting it in his right ear.
Tapping it twice, it blinked a red light, and Ryuk spoke.
"I am there."
"Climb up…" the voice instructed from the other side, and he raised his head.
The buildings on both sides were roughly the same size, about twenty meters tall.
Turning to look back at where he came from, the people continued their movement, not looking his way.
In the next moment, Everlearn took three simple steps backward before he suddenly sprinted toward the dead end.
He jumped, rising to four meters before kicking off the wall and launching himself higher, up to seven meters.
His hands grabbed a balcony iron bar, and he swung himself upward for two meters, landing with both feet on an iron rail before kicking off once more and grabbing a window's edge
Three more jumps and grabs, and he was thrown high into the air, rolling twice before he landed crouched upon the roof.
"I'm up."
"You're not alone... Neutralize them."