Force Within

Golden Lake Arc: 3 | Encounter

"Avi!?"

The anxiety and wonder still hadn't left Zeke with everything happening. The sights he was witnessing were already grim, and suddenly, there was Avi. She remained calm, her gaze fixed on the group he had been observing.

"What are you doing here? Are you okay? Do you know what's happening?" Zeke whispered to her, noticing her intense focus on the force in front of them and the townspeople.

"Shh, I told you to be quiet. Look at the one on the other side of Marmaduke, the one opposite the guy with metal nails in his face," she said, pointing to a tall woman with long hair standing to the left of Marmaduke's throne. What was even more chilling about her appearance were the incredibly long, solid metal claws she had.

"She's part of the 2nd Division under Marmaduke. Her core is Vibration Sense. So, any noise we make, and she'll catch us for sure."

Zeke was both surprised and awed by Avi's knowledge. How did she know this? Had she encountered this force before? So, his suspicion was correct that the one with the nails in his face was the 1st Division of Marmaduke and the woman on his left was of the 2nd Division.

This was the typical composition of a force: the commander in the center with the right and left hand divisions on either side.

He had so many questions to ask Avi, but he held back for now because they needed to hide and remain silent. For now, all he knew was that he felt more secure and calmer, knowing he had someone to ask for help.

He couldn't help but think, this shouldn't be like this. A force's purpose should be meaningful, far from oppressing the townspeople like this. Forces like these only tarnished the reputation of forces among the people in Chrome and gave the higher-ups even more advantage, even if their operations were twisted and unjust. Because of forces like these, more and more people lost hope in forces in general.

Back to the scene, the oppression of this force's attributes continued against the townspeople, and they couldn't do anything as they were locked in what seemed like a massive metal cage.

Avi and Zeke found an opportunity to escape the horrifying scene when they noticed the top divisions of Marmaduke were distracted. They made their way back to the abandoned house where Zeke had taken refuge, still shocked by everything they had witnessed. His hunger and fatigue disappeared because the only thing on his mind now was to save the townspeople.

He didn't know how, but he couldn't bear to do nothing. He had encountered various forces in the past, but nothing like this. That's why you'd only see a few forces in crowded places; they had to hide and be cautious around the higher-ups.

When they reached his hideout an hour later, none of them spoke, at least not Zeke. He was lost in his thoughts, and Avi seemed worried about his well-being.

"So, are you okay now, Zeke? Maybe you should eat first."

He didn't know whether to be worried about Avi or amazed because she seemed unfazed by what they had seen. Given what she had told him earlier, he knew she had some knowledge about this force.

"Avi, how did you know those details about that force? Don't tell me they had captured you before?" he asked with concern, echoing his thoughts from earlier when he had returned here.

She fell silent for a moment and looked down. A sad smile touched her lips.

"Twice."

Zeke suddenly felt a heaviness in his chest upon hearing that.

"Please don't tell Granny and the kids," she added.

Avi had always been close to Zeke's heart as she was the first friend he made after he left his guardian's care. Knowing that she had been captured and possibly harmed by this force, he couldn't help but worry and shed tears for her. Even though she hadn't shared her experiences with him yet, he was already hurting for her.