Dreambreaker

Chapter 31: Elective [3]

Noah's POV:

What I am about to do, can only be considered as 'disgusting', at least from my point of perspective. After all, living with my malady gave me a certain freedom to empathize with other's pain more often than one could about their own self.

"Hah!" Exhaling a sigh I prepared myself mentally.

'Let's get this over with. Sooner the better.'

As I entered, my gaze fell upon the large expanse of the chemistry lab.

Before me were shelves lined with numerous chemicals, test tubes, and beakers, each with a different label giving off a distinct smell.

The room was brightly lit, with the windows partially blocked to prevent reflections and ensure proper lab conditions.

I could hear the hum of the fume hoods and see the myriad of tools and equipment that were scattered across the area. The lab was huge.

My eyes stopped on a man sitting on an armchair, his confident posture emanating an air of authority.

He had a chiseled face with sharp, defined cheekbones and a well-groomed beard that framed his cheekbones.

His hair was styled neatly, slicked back, and jet black in color.

Dressed in a crisp black suit, the buttons of his vest shining in the dim light as he held a paper in his hand, his eyes scanning it intently.

I cleared my throat with a soft, "Ahem!"

"Oh? It seems you have chosen the chemistry elective, I presume?"

His voice resounded in the otherwise silent room.

"Yes," I replied, scanning the empty lab.

"But there doesn't seems to be anyone else here. Did nobody else choose chemistry?"

The teacher paused, considering my question. "It's rather rare for anyone to join the chemistry elective," he admitted. "And all the students have already chosen their electives, so you are the only student, I presume."

Nodding my head, I asked, "Are you the one who will decide marks and credit points for the chemistry elective? Or is anyone else involved?"

The teacher's eyes flickered with curiosity as he watched me, but he answered my question nonetheless.

"Yes, I am the only..." His words trailed off abruptly as I moved towards the door, paying no attention to him.

I closed the door swiftly, shutting out the world beyond.

The teacher's expression hardened as he watched my strange behavior.

"What are you doing? Are you a student?" he demanded.

This time, I headed toward the window, the cool surface of the glass felt hard. I traced my fingers along its edges.

The teacher's gaze followed me, his eyes flickering with a hint of suspicion.

But despite his obvious concern, I continued to explore the classroom, my movement felt strange and erratic even to myself. Perhaps I was searching for some solace.

As my hand reached out for the curtain, I slowly began to close it.

"Whatever this is, I suggest you stop. I am going to report-" before he could finish, I cut him off mid-sentence with a loud voice, "Midvale's dark hour."

Just that magic word was enough to shut him up.

I continued to close the curtains, my focus solely on the task, not his now frozen body.

"Who are you?" he asked, his voice filled with uncertainty.

'I'm not sure how to answer that,' I thought to myself. 'I've actually given this a lot of thought, but something about it just doesn't sits well with me. It doesn't feels like the right thing to do.'

Taking a deep breath, "Huff!" I asked, "Nano?"

[Affirmative...]

The man continued to question me, his voice now low and gruff, emitting a chilling killing intent that put a lot of pressure on me. "I asked WHO.ARE. YOU?"

"Year 1977, a baby was born. Raised in the city of Midvale. He had a relatively normal childhood until tragedy struck when he was a teenager..." My words trailed off. I started strolling around the lab.

The sound of my footsteps reverberated off the walls, bouncing back to me with each step I took.

"Son of Max and Mary Wilson- Edward Wilson." I declared as my eyes locked with the man.

Five billion nanoscopic particles made their way towards Noah's iris, travelling through the intricate layers and interacting with the surrounding tissues, initiating a series of complex interlinking processes that extended to the very lenses of the eye.

Gradually, Noah's once dark iris transformed into a subtle grey shade.

"In a freak accident, Edward lost both his parents—Max and Mary. This traumatic event was Midvale's darkest hour, a rather tragic incident where many people lost their lives."

Edward stood there, his expression unknown to me, my eyes weren't even paying attention to him. He said nothing as I continued my story.

"After the tragic loss of his parents, Edward became an easy target for one of Midvale's notorious crime syndicates. The gang led by a man named Jackson."

Edward's body flinched at the mention of the name.

"Jackson, wasn't it?" I looked at him, trying to gauge his reaction.

In response, he opened his mouth to speak, but his words died before they could take shape. Only air escaped his mouth as he closed his lips, leaving behind an awkward silence.

Feeling the tension in the air, I averted my gaze from him and scanned the room, taking in the sight of the various instruments that were scattered throughout.

"Jackson took a liking to the skilled teenager and offered him a job as an alchemist in their clandestine operations. At first, Edward was hesitant to get involved in illegal activities. Still, his overwhelming grief and the desire for some semblance of family made him easy prey for Jackson's manipulations."

My gaze rested upon a steeling glass mirror in the distance.

"What a fucking fool you were, you almost remind me of someone", I let out, my eyes fixed on the lab's mirror that reflected my own image.

"How do you?" his voice barely passed through his lips.

'Tch! That's not what I want to hear.'

"Edward's rare talent caught the attention of the gang, who gradually leaned on him for their operations."

"But when tasked with developing the 'Mana Enhancer' drug, Edward's conscience was torn. He felt trapped between his morals and the fear of retaliation. Torn apart, Edward found the courage to make a bold choice - he ingested the drug, destroyed his work, and vanished from the sight of the gang."

"The drug had broken Edward's mana core"

"S-stop," Edward begged in a broken tone. The trauma of the memories phasing through the creaks of the past he moved on from.

"During his hiding, disgusted with his past, Edward fled to Crosston where he studied Alchemy and the art of engineering potions for the next five years as an apprentice."

"After finishing his Academy years, Edward decided to go to Krenada, where he had heard there were opportunities for work. It was in Krenada that he met Sarah."

"She is your wife now, isn't she? Does she know about your dark and shady past? Or should I tell her?"

"Stop! Don't bring my family into this!"

"In 2007, Edward got admitted to the prestigious Arcanum Blades Academy, and even got a beautiful daughter."

As soon as I took his daughter's name, the air around us became chilly as he pulled out a wand out of his dimensional bracelet ready to fry my brains open.

"What a happy ending to the story, right?" I said with a faint smile.

I looked at my [Mystery of Teleportation], getting prepared, just in case.

My smile faded as I explained, "But I will change that happy ending into a saaaddd ending if you do not comply with what I want."

"What do you want?!" he asked with a revulsive, angry face, his tone full of rage.

'That's what I wanted to hear.'

***