It was midnight when Luca jolted upright, alarm ripping through him. His breath came sharp and uneven as his eyes flicked wildly around, searching, disoriented.

For a moment, his thoughts drifted aimlessly in the air, but then the series of events rushed in his head and everything became clear.

He exhaled and scratched the back of his head.

"I must have fallen asleep after checking my Interface update." He turned to his bathroom when he suddenly froze.

The air smelt with something amiss.

The tip of his ears tingled and his hair stood on end. His Ego slowly crept out of his body and into the air.

’Wha– What’s this?’

With his title, Luca had grown increasingly sensitive to others’ egos and the energy wavelength that powerful people exude. And that ability had begun to spike since his Ego Core had raised tremendously in purity and score.

When he looked around, he was almost certain that the wavelength he felt was strange. Alien. Powerful.

Not the kind of Ego any Cadet should possess.

’Is this the reason why I woke up?’

It wasn’t like he wanted to use the bathroom.

He had just felt something weird and wished to attend to it immediately. And thus the reason he jumped to his feet like that.

A frown formed on his face as he shook the thought away.

’It’s probably one of the Instructors...’

He took a step to the bathroom door and halted in his tracks.

Suddenly, it felt like his insides were beginning to churn. As if it were reacting to the energy.

’This is different.’

Immediately, he headed out the door and walked out. Then slowly, followed the sensation that plagued him.

It took a while, but he soon found himself at a door at the corner of the building.

What he quickly concluded was a storage unit.

’I guess they have things like this here too.’

He looked around cautiously, then gripped the door handle, opened it and went in.

On entering inside, Luca’s breath hitched and his golden eyes flared. A rush of golden ego slowly coiled out of his pupils as a pear of lilac reflected on his irises.

Before him was a girl propped on one of the wooden shelves that had somehow fallen.

She sat with her legs crossed and her hand actively reaching her mouth as she chewed rigorously on a bun.

Her eyes were a vicious purple with black pupils and her hair flowed down like silky currents with a purple sheen.

From a small window by the corner, the moonlight suffused into the room and bathed her form in a regal appearance. But Luca was no fool.

This girl looked more dangerous than she did regal. Like an angel of death.

Her face was porcelain and her lips cherry red.

She had the kind of features that Luca was certain wouldn’t be found in a place like the Ostaria Federation.

Sharp eyes, dark folds and a mole under her left eye.

She was in a black, tight body suit that accentuated her slender, athletic curves.

Luca gulped as he locked the door behind him.

His gaze was fixed on the girl’s.

Even in that situation, the girl had not stopped eating.

A sheath with creamy buns stacked on top of each other was laid carefully on the fallen shelf and she sat down to her meal.

Eating them like her life depended on it while she stared directly into Luca’s eyes as if watching his every move.

’Well, I’m sure she is.’

He scratched the back of his head and slowly dropped to the ground until he sat on it.

’She’s unintentionally releasing quite a bit of Ego... who is she? Where did she even come from?’

His brows furrowed slightly.

’Is she a Noble’s daughter? A Royal perhaps?

What is she doing in the male section? Is she out of her mind?

Wait! More than that... where did she find those buns? The food stores are in the marketplaces!

The Institution only provides the funds, and housing, the rest is up to her.’

Other than his resource gains, he was also gifted 100 Staric Bronze Coins.

That was basically enough money to lucratively feed him for the month!

’But I’ll come to that later.’

He shook his thoughts away and just focused on the girl.

’Damn... she’s beautiful.’

Luca had seen many girls people referred to as hot or gorgeous in his time, but he had never been interested in such.

Heck, the only thing he found beautiful was new hoes and rakes.

After all, there was nothing like a sharp cutlass to cut down those stubborn weeds.

He scratched the back of his head again, intending to speak but refraining from it.

There were a ton of reasons why he decided to remain silent instead of alarming anyone or acting out.

One of the reasons was her Ego.

It wasn’t just vast... but it was deep.

The dangerous kind that reminded Luca of Invokers.

It was alarming that such a figure would appear now of all times when there were powerful folks within the Institution.

Practically almost every next person was either an Egoist at least at the Reckoner rank or a Soldier using the state-of-the-art Mecha Armour.

So Luca was certain she was a powerful foe, and she may be contemplating whether or not to kill him for discovering her identity.

Another reason was his personal intrigue and curiosity. Who was she and what was she doing here?

While he should be scared and contemplating ways of escaping this mysterious girl if she does decide to kill him, another part of him simply wanted to watch... and see where it goes.

Luca was curious. And he was feeling emotions he had never felt before.

Plainly, he didn’t know what to do.

Time quickly went on and by the time the girl was on her last bun, she had finally moved.

Her cold gaze was now diffused with confusion and intrigue.

She glanced at her bun in one hand and then at Luca who sat by the door. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Then she held the bun to her chest.

"I’m not sharing."

Luca’s lips tugged into a smile.

"I wouldn’t dare."

The girl stared at him for a moment longer.

Like she hadn’t been doing so since the beginning.

She narrowed her eyes and took a big bite of her bun.

"It’s good. You should."

Luca shook his head.

"Not when you’re that invested in it."

Another pause. The girl seemed to be actively calculating something as she watched him.

She finished her bun, crumpled the empty small paper and licked her fingers clean.

"You must be either dumb... or dumb."

Luca chuckled and placed his arms under his chin.

"What makes you say that?"

The girl tilted her head.

"You– You can feel it, can’t you? The difference in our strength?"

Luca shook his head in denial.

He wasn’t planning on telling her the truth. No way!

"I didn’t think to use Identification... I would be dumber if I did."

The girl’s confusion grew.

"... I may be an enemy. No, I am an enemy."

"Of who?"

Her expression struggled to stay calm. Devoid of emotions as she had always done... but this boy. This child was making things difficult.

"Your people."

Luca shrugged.

"My parents?"

"You– Your parents? No... I don’t know your parents."

Luca nodded. "Exactly. So we’re not enemies, are we?"

Silence hung between the two.

The girl slowly raised her right arm in the air and moved her fingers in different, erratic positions.

Luca lifted a brow when he caught something reflecting the moon’s light.

On checking closer, his body tensed and an adrenaline rush spiked in his vessels.

Thin, iron threads were spread apart the entirety of the room. From the ceiling to the ground. To the shelves by the side of the storage room, all the way to the handle of the door.

It was a spiderweb network.

A dangerous, death-knitted system of iron mesh.

Luca gulped.

"If you had tried to leave the room after you closed it, your hand would have been cut off then I would have ended your life.

If you had attempted to attack me... well, you would have been torn to pieces.

And even now, as you’re seated, you are still under my sneer."

The coldness returned in her gaze.

"Do you realise now how dumb you are?"

Even in her threats, Luca didn’t seem frightened.

Of course, he was absolutely shivering behind his facade, but his mental resilience, thanks to his Null Resistance and plain logicality wouldn’t let him reveal it.

He simply continued to observe the girl closely.

Up to the point where her aura became visible to him.

Dark violent that danced erratically with a bright lilac. Her ego was a current of deliberate waves.

But Luca found it weird.

’She has two colours?’

Funnily enough, his forums mentioned Egoists who possessed more than one archetype and the possible features they may present with.

Luca’s was a special case... but this.

"You– Are you..." He hesitated for a bit, but his curiosity got the better of him.

"You have two Archetypes, don’t you?"

A silence that could kill descended, and then the shadows moved!

Sounds of iron flicking the air and subtle movement shifted in half the beat of a heart.

One moment, Luca was looking at a girl seated, the next he felt cold blood dribble down his neck. The girl sat on top of him, legs crossed around his waist and iron threads clasped around his neck like a choker.

She yanked hard, pulling Luca’s face upwards towards her.

Their breaths formed white wisps that coiled around each other before dispersing.

Luca could see his golden eyes reflected in her lilac’s like it were a mirror, and the girl saw the same.

Her voice was low and shrill as she said.

"Be careful now... any wrong word... and your head will be gone."

________

AUTHOR’S NOTE

Drop your comments, reviews, and don’t forget to vote. Support this Author and The World Greatest Egoist.

Creation after all, is hard.