Chapter 382 - 382: The Devil
"They did so many things that I don't even remember most. Since I was so young, I couldn't even control my shadows always. Most of the time, they moved on their own in front of the priest. In the end, you know what the priest said?"
"What did he say?"
"He said that the Devil has completely taken over me. In fact, I'm the human avatar of the Devil. Now that I look back at it, he was such a stupid person. But my mother listened to him," Kellian answered.
"In fact, my mother listened to him so much that she even accepted the suggestion to kill me," he added, smiling.
"Kill you?!"
"Yeah. Kill me. That idiotic priest was convinced that I was the Devil. We lived in a small town which wasn't connected to bigger cities either, so there were a lot of superstitions there."
"They didn't know that most of the world was going through a similar phenomenon of awakening."
"Convinced about his theory of me being the Devil, he told my mother that I needed to be killed. He said that if I were allowed to grow up, I'd become more like a Devil and that I'd kill everyone in the town."
"And thus, my death verdict was declared. I was to be put to death in the morning. The priest made sure to tell this to my mother when I wasn't there. He didn't want me to know that they were talking about killing me, but they forgot one thing," Kellian said.
"What did they forget?" Lucifer asked, immersed in the story.
"They forgot I had my shadows. And one of those shadows happened to be in the room where they were discussing such things. Because of that shadow, I was able to hear everything," Kellian replied.
"What did you do next? Did you kill them?" Lucifer asked.
Kellian shook his head. "I didn't kill anyone. I simply ran away, scared."
"Even I started to believe these words that I was the devil; I still didn't want to be burned to death. So I ran away. For the next two years, I didn't let anyone see me. I ran from city to city, hiding. I thought that people would kill me if they found me.'
"Sometimes I slept on the grass under the moon, other times I slept in abandoned houses. I ate whatever I could find, mostly the waste food that was thrown out by the restaurants."
"For the next five years, I lived like that, all alone. Only I and my shadows accompanied me. It was so lonely..."
"I did learn to use my shadows throughout those five years. It was only when I met Uprising when I was fourteen years old that I understood the truth. It was only then that I realized the truth. I wasn't the devil, and there were more special people like me, with different powers."
"The rest is history. Since then, I've stayed with Uprising. The Alpha Squad became my new family... My real family. This is my true home, and I can never abandon them just to save my life, even if it meant death!"
"So it's true that I didn't listen to you, and I apologize for that. But I am sure you can understand my side now."
Kellian finished his story with an apology.
For a moment, silence filled the room. Lucifer didn't say anything, but he understood Kellian's side. This story also made him trust Kellian a little more. Kellian was the type of person who wasn't going to leave him behind. It was the same for Cassius.
He wondered if he was really getting people he could genuinely trust. All he knew was that Kellian, Cassius, and a lot of the others who sided with him were different. They were different from the people that only thought for themselves.
After a moment of silence, Kellian stood up, understanding that it was time for him to leave.
"I'll take my leave now. I need to finish some work."
He started leaving. The sound of his leaving footsteps fell in Lucifer's ears, who was looking down.
He looked up and glanced at Kellian. "Kellian?"
Kellian turned around, stopping at the door which he had just opened. "Yeah?"
"From what I heard, you didn't kill your mother. She is still alive. Did you never meet her again?"
"Why would I meet her again?" Kellian asked. "She stopped being my mother the moment she decided to kill me. That's also the moment she died for me. I don't have a mother anymore. Whoever that lady is, she's just a stranger now."
He left the room, closing the door behind him.
Lucifer laid on the bed, sighing.
"One dreams to meet his mother while the other detests his mother," he muttered, lying on the bed.
Clearing his head, he went to sleep.
...
It was seven in the morning. The capital city was finally returning to its former glory after the chaotic week.
People had started going to work, and offices were open now. The buildings that were destroyed during the takeover were being constructed again, from scratch, but there was one more thing that was being constructed.
A massive headquarters was being built for the Uprising. It was being built to contain all the facilities possible. Most of the technology that was employed in the construction of APF headquarters was being used here as well.
The only security feature which wasn't being used by them was the fingerprint system.
Since Lucifer couldn't use that, they decided to keep it out. Instead, there was a passcode system. Everyone was to be given a code depending on their level of authority, with Lucifer having the highest authority code.
That was all for the future though. At the moment, it was just a plan as one the excavation had begun. The construction itself was going to take close to a year.
As for where the headquarters was going to be made, it was decided that the center of the city was going to be selected. Fortunately, the building which was occupying that space had already fallen. The space was completely clear.
Lucifer woke up from his sleep. After taking a shower, he went straight to meet Salazar, who was supposed to be up by now.
Salazar Lucia was being kept in a room that had no windows. It only had one metallic door, which couldn't be broken unless a person possessed powers.
Two powerful Warlocks were inside the room, staring at Salazar.
Salazar had woken up long ago, but unlike Ayn, he wasn't stupid enough to try using his powers again before understanding what had happened to him.