An Illusion of Will

Chapter 37: Meeting Raul Del-Santos

Back in the 15th Blood Ring, Al, Cesar, Ellie, and Jin returned after leaving Kesha near her home, which was swarming with police officers. They currently engaged in a conversation with Aliyah, who held the artifact they had retrieved from the church. Aliyah had also witnessed the events through Ellie's C-stone recordings.

"So, let me get this straight," Aliyah began, repeating Al's words to confirm her understanding. "You guys not only fought against a Dawn-keeper, but you survived and managed to kill it?" She couldn't help but feel incredulous. Even if her team, the '15th Blood Seed,' which consisted of Recognized Disciples, were to face off against a Dawn-keeper, the battle would be incredibly challenging.

Jin swiftly interjected, eager to provide further context. "We were on the verge of certain death, but Al annihilated it with a single attack." Aliyah found herself even more bewildered, as she was well-acquainted with Stubborn Will users such as Al and knew their offensive capabilities were generally lacking.

"Al, how is that possible?" she inquired, inspecting the distorted knife chained to his ring. "Could the sun and moon armillary have erred in determining his Will? No, that's impossible; otherwise, his harvest wouldn't have been successful. Could his Stubborn Will be a variant, some kind of mutation? It wouldn't be unprecedented, but it still doesn't explain why the armillary would classify a variant as Common, considering all variants are inherently Exotic."

After scrutinizing Al, she decided to let go of her thoughts and dismiss them. What astonished her the most was what they had witnessed in the room, kept under the control of the Dawn-keepers, and the overwhelming power it displayed when it broke free.

"I'll speak to my Captain and see what he says for now. You all should rest and consolidate the progress you've made," Aliyah advised, acknowledging the individual advancements each of them had achieved. 

After bidding Aliyah farewell, Jin and Ellie turned their attention to Al, who then looked at Cesar. "Well, you heard her. Let's go get some rest and regroup before we meet again," Cesar suggested, echoing Aliyah's words.

And so, the weary quartet made their way towards much-needed rest. Al found himself back in his housing unit, utterly exhausted. For the first time in what felt like an eternity, he could drift into a peaceful slumber. There were no dreams, just a dark abyss where he found solace and rest. 

Unfortunately, his respite was abruptly interrupted, as it seemed like only a minute had passed when he was roused from his sleep, someone was knocking.

"What could have possibly happened in such a short time?" Al wondered as he opened the door to an exuberant Cesar. "Wow, you look well-rested for the first time in a long time," Cesar exclaimed, genuinely amazed. Al, with a hint of annoyance, retorted, "Haha, very funny. Get to the point." 

Cesar began walking, with Al trailing alongside him. "I'm serious! Did you actually sleep the entire time, it's been 2 hours?" Cesar asked. Al shot him an irritated glance and checked the time on his C-stone. All he could manage was, "Oh! I guess I did sleep that long. Haha. Anyway, where are we going, and where is everyone else?" Al inquired as they ventured outside the burrows.

"We're heading to the Exchange Center to meet with Aliyah. She specifically asked me to bring only you along. It's a bit strange, right?" Cesar informed him. "Yeah, that is a little odd. Hopefully, they have something good planned for those damn creatures. I didn't even get to say goodbye to my mom," Al confessed, his voice wavering slightly. However, he quickly regained his excitement and asked with a peculiar look, "Do you think Aliyah's Captain will personally meet with us?"  

Cesar responded, "Uhh, I am not sure she didn't say but maybe.", Cesar contemplated, "Perhaps it's for the best that I remain Captain." He recognized that Al, like a ticking time bomb, had a tendency to suppress his emotions. Nevertheless, Cesar held a profound respect for Al.