Arael smiled faintly. His gaze sharpening. "I'm sure you don't. The problem is... you shouldn't have one in the first place. Ordinary's don't have one. Can't."
The silence thickened.
"I don't understand."
Jin has never heard of such a thing before. The term "Nexus" could only fly back as a strange word to him.
"Alright then I'll make you understand." Arael tapped the side of his temple. "The Nexus is a unique neural organ which exists inside the brain. Unique, as in, for the Vassari. And a Vassari who is born with a Nexus is what we refer to as an Exception."
"So what you're saying is..."
Arael nodded. "That's correct. You, Amakusa Jin, are an anomaly who was born as an Exception. A living contradiction that shouldn't even exist in the world."
Jin was silent. Not that he couldn't say anything, it was just that there wasn't anything to say. The word "Exception" lingered in his ears. He recalled reading a book about how Vassari's could do all these superhuman feats.
Run faster than a bullet. Control the weather at will. Magically create fire from thin air.
But judging by the way Arael phrased it, did it mean that those things the Vassari could do was possible for him too?
Well, his teleporting back to a previous place ability could already be seen as superhuman, so it was well within the realm of possibilities to consider.
"So what? Since I'm such a contradiction in your society, does that make me a threat? Are you going to eliminate me?"
After Jin said that, Arael's tone softened. Almost kindly as he spoke, "I'm not your enemy, Jin. I won't kill you. You have my word. You're a survivor. I respect that. But what you carry inside you isn't something I can simply allow to roam free in Osvain."
He leaned back slightly, eyes glinting.
"So, how about this? There's something I'd like for you to do."
Jin listened intently, leaning more forward.
"That is…?"
"In the next two weeks, I plan on moving back up to Halcendre. There's an academy there I wish for you to attend."
Jin's thoughts grew convoluted. An academy he wishes him to attend? For what was said, he couldn't possibly have predicted a scenario like this one.
Why would a Vassari want me to go to an academy in Halcendre? Jin wondered, mostly confused. I can't tell what this man is even thinking. He's unreadable.
"And why me specifically? Is it because I'm an Exception or whatever you like to call it? What do you even gain from this?"
"That's one part of it," he lightly chuckled. "Truth be told, I wouldn't have just asked you just because you have a Nexus. Simply is, I like your boldness."
"My boldness?"
"You wanted to steal from me. No one's ever tried that before. And you have the skills to back it up. Who'd be crazy enough to believe an Ordinary could possibly go against a Vassari?
There wasn't an immediate response for Jin. His jaw clenched.
"If that's all there is to it, I'm not going to entertain you. I'm not some silly circus for you to watch," Jin responded, heavily. "Halcendre already took my father away from me. And I'm not abandoning my mother alone in this cruel world. She's suffered enough."
Jin turned to leave. He didn't care if he didn't know where he was. What mattered was that he found his mother.
Mum could be anywhere in this city. I'll just have to use that all-seeing state to find her, he planned.
Arael continued.
"Ah, your father? His name was.... if I recalled, Amakusa Tomoya. I remember that man."
Jin didn't was surprised that Arael recognised Jin's father. But he didn't turn himself around.
"How?"
"The Surge, you people in Osvain like to call it, is how I know him."
It was a terrible memory for Jin which he didn't want to remember. The Surge was an incident that happened 10 years ago. When the sky burned and the air thickened with the smell of metal.
"I didn't bother looking into the aftermath that deeply, but your father's name was a prominent subject in your history."
Arael looked directly at Jin's back.
"I know I mentioned you were a living contradiction, but you weren't the first report that came by of an Ordinary possibly having a Nexus. Actually, it was your father."
Dad... was an Exception?
"Perhaps it was a passed down genetical trait or something else entirely. What matters instead is the fact that your father was taken all those years ago because of it."
".....Yeah, and that doesn't change a thing. He's gone. That's the present reality I have to face."
Jin was about to take his step forward to the door handle but then Arael spoke firmly:
"Your father is still alive."
Those few words was enough to put a stop to Jin. Slowly, very slowly, he turned his head. Eyes bulged. His pupils shrunken.
"…What?"
Whether he wanted Arael to repeat those words again or he wasn't expecting them, wasn't clear. Rather, he was frozen in place.
"I said your father is alive."
"No, no…" Jin shook his head bitterly. "You don't get to say that to my face. You hear me?"
He shot a finger straight at Arael with a glare that was filled with a tearful expression. Malice marred his gaze.
"He's dead. Gone! You people took him away from me."
Arael hummed as he reached to take a sip of coffee. He brought out your file and flipped a page. "10 years ago. Specifically the year 2105. Your father was taken to Halcendre."
"Shut up…"
"It was directly after the The Surge incident which affected the entirety of the lower strata."
"Shut up…"
"Under suspicion of possibly using liminal waves he was detained and finally—"
"I SAID SHUT UP, DAMMIT!"
Jin, in the blink of an eye, appeared before Arael, and slammed his palms against the wooden desk. Everything shook. Rage now brimming from Jin.
Arael was unfazed, standing himself up from his chair for the first time and matching up to Jin's eyes. Face-to-face, he gazed back with equal intensity but a level of calmness that was just as frightening.
"…There's more to this report you know? It's been stated he was in Halcendre for the first two months until he disappeared."
"He disappeared?" Jin asked, surprised.
His father disappeared? Wait a minute, after the first two months? That means he has been gone for a decade!
"I'm almost positive your father is still out there. If you do this, I'll do everything in my power to help you find him."
Jin was conflicted. 10 years. He's grown up more years without knowing his father than knowing him. He was practically a stranger.
When Jin resolved himself, he finally spoke.
"That's not something that concerns me anymore. For all I know, he could be dead right now. This deal is off," Jin closed. "I'll accept the punishment for stealing your stuff or whatever… just leave everyone out of this."
The deal itself wasn't a bad one. Jin really considered it for a moment. But, it was from a Vassari. He can't take his word for it.
It would've probably been a life-changing moment if he had said yes. But, Jin knew he still needed to take care of his mother.
He shouldn't believe in such things that could be fruitless.
Arael's voice grew cold.
"You know, Jin? There's many things you believe Vassari are which they aren't. However, you were right about one thing," he said quietly. "We Vassari hate being told by someone beneath us."
The door burst open.
Nozomi.
Taro.
Isis.
Their mouths were taped. But the muffled calls that they breathed as they saw Jin was enough to make him sick. Enforcers all aimed guns at their heads.
Jin staggered back.
"Mum…?! Taro...?! Isis…?! How did you—?!"
"Hmph, well, I'm sure you guess that we took your mother first. But those two came rushing to the scene like heroes. Such wonderful friendships you've formed here, Amakusa Jin."
"What are you saying? Just let them go!"
"I know I said I'm not your enemy, Jin. But I also never mentioned being your friend. You interest me. Which is why I want you in Halcendre."