XII. It was a simple matter for a thief of Diradem's talents to break into the Albertan Shadow warehouse. He slipped easily past the two Shadow thieves (Damn novices, Diradem thought, not for the first time tonight) and entered the warehouse. He stalked through silent piles of crates filled with smuggled goods: cigarettes, narcotics, Al de Baran wine, even fruits. At the rear, he found a locked steel door.
He peered at the lock, nodded. Skilled fingers selected two long picks from a pack on his belt. Within a few seconds, the lock gave a satisfying click. He pushed the door open and stepped inside.
The small room was bathed with a throbbing glow, emanating from a cylinder set upon a table in the center of the room. An open crate lay beside the table. Beside the glowing cylinder was a book and quillpen.
Diradem edged closer to the table. The crate was empty, except from some packing straw. It probably contained the glowing cylinder. He flipped the book open. It contained records of the warehouse stock. A new entry read:
Unknown Device #2874SP
Diradem focused his attention on the cylinder. His eyes found it hard to latch on to its smoothness. The throbbing glow seemed to come from inside it, and yet the cylinder was metal, opaque. So this must be the artifact Spinner talked about. What is it exactly? A container? He couldn't see how it would open though.
He picked it up and nearly dropped it as a rush of energy surged through him. He could feel the throb now, as if it was a tangible heartbeat.
What is this?!?
He turned it over and over but couldn't find any seams on it, no way of opening it, much less any idea how to destroy it. Finally, he slipped it into his backpack. He'd find a way to open it later, on the airship, when he's far away from here. Far away from the Shadows. Far away from Venris Dastonia. Irritably pushing that last thought from his mind—why is she suddenly invading my thoughts?—he slid out the door. And almost ran over the girl about to open it from outside.
For a moment, he stood in shock, staring at the girl's black robes emblazoned with a twisted circular rune. The young flame-haired Black Circle mage appeared to be in the same state of surprise. Diradem recovered faster. He spun low, catching the back of the mage's knees. The girl tumbled with a small scream.
"Thief!"
Leaping over the prone girl, Diradem raced through the crate-filled warehouse. Arcane words pursued him and he ducked just in time to avoid a blazing bolt of magical fire. Crates exploded in flames. He zigzagged through the warehouse, ducking behind piles of boxes, as the mage pursued her, destroying more crates with errant fire-bolts.
He broke through the last pile of crates, dashing for the warehouse doors. Just a few more feet, Diradem! The doors slammed open and two novice thieves stepped inside, knives drawn. Diradem pulled short. The pair blocked the only exit.
"Don't let him escape!" screamed the girl from behind him. A fast chant and then a wall of fire erupted right at the door, catching the two novice thieves in it. Their screams added to the mage's mad shrieks. Burning flesh filled the air. And then the mage launched into another spell.
Diradem thought fast. He must escape before the mage locked onto him with one of those fire spells! Sucking in his breath, he made his decision: he charged straight for the two burning thieves, knocking them aside as he dived through the fiery wall.
He landed outside, hair singed a bit, but otherwise unharmed. He rolled to his feet and ran away, not stopping until he was several blocks from the burning warehouse.
He walked briskly through Alberta, frequently looking behind him for signs of pursuit. Luckily, there was none. Soon, he saw the Kafra Airship docked in the center of a circular flower field. It was near dawn, faint tendrils of sunlight were starting to creep across the sky.
At the ramp leading up to the ship stood a Kafra girl, a representative of the Kafra Corporation. She beamed at him. "Good morning, sir! We're happy to be of service! Where are you headed?"
He scanned the list of destinations on a sign next to the girl. "Uhm, Izlude, please."
"Wonderful!" the girl cried gleefully. She opened a notebook and took out a pen. "That'll be 900 zeny, sir! I'll need your name too, Mister--?"
Diradem looked back at the city, taking it all in. He's free now. He's starting again. It's like a rebirth. All I need now is a new name.
"Uh…Mister--?" The girl repeated uncertainly.
He turned back to the girl, smiling. "Elenium. Fynn Elenium."
Alena: You know, the way Diradem says his new name for the first time reminds me of, "Bond. James Bond." ^.^ I do wonder how he came up with the name, though. Venris' made sense, but I'm not sure where Diradem got the idea for his.
Anyway, he lives, she lives, on to new lives and meeting again! *cheers*
