"Blood heirs?", he fixed himself on Emily, who was closer to them.
"It's better you don't know, kid; people kill just for knowing certain truths"
She didn't bother addressing Jesús; her concern was placed on Kalika and her confrontation.
Without proving it, they were the most affected; after all, that knowledge was something jealously guarded by families with ancestral clans, a few in government, and possibly religions themselves. People might make a fuss when they find out what they are and possibly get scared.
That someone is different doesn't necessarily make them special; it makes them dangerous.
"We're almost the same age"
He didn't pay attention to the warning; instead, it irritated him that they treated him like a child who needs care.
However, before he got angry with him, Caleb stopped her.
"Wait, it's better you tell them"
He stopped and looked at the center, where there was a palpable pressure between Kalika and Heiss.
"They will face the districts, maybe not yet because they need training. They will inevitably get involved with some hidden or forbidden truth; it's better to prepare them, and more so because we still don't know if we're going to participate"
"Won't that get him killed?"
"Not knowing it will at some point"
He examined Caleb for a few moments; he knew he was telling the truth, it was likely they wouldn't return if they didn't find out everything. Heiss might tell them anyway, although it was still a good idea to try to keep them on good terms.
Finally, he changed direction toward Jesús.
"I don't know if you're worth enough"
She scrutinized him, trying to determine if he was mature enough. For some reason she didn't look at the rest, which made Jesús feel a bit annoyed.
He was trustworthy and mature enough to confront any secret, at least that's what he thought of himself.
"Alright..."
Despite the chat going well and that they felt they could strengthen their relationship in terms of trust, they had to stop because Heiss suddenly approached them.
That made everyone hold their breath, especially Rudolf and Cloe, who felt even more self-conscious from the sensation of suffocating pressure.
When he was close, he bent down and took a sword from the ground, and before returning, he made them a sign with his finger to keep silent.
A way of saying they had to pay attention to what would come.
One by one they swallowed saliva, and for Rudolf and Cloe it was even worse, they felt pale. For a few moments, both believed they saw that the gray eyes that had changed from personality #16, had turned off and formed a completely dark onyx color.
Equal to the one they both saw at the drug traffickers' base. One in his longest time when Peter arrived and was eliminated. He didn't say much; he was just cold and stoic, although it seemed more like nothing mattered to him, his life, theirs, and even his own. Cloe, on her part, was in the tunnels, when they warned her that if she got it in her head to betray, she would be burned at the stake.
They hadn't paid much attention before; they only believed it was a way of showing his claws. No matter how attentive and sensitive one is, one cannot easily determine a person's murderous thirst, and less when it has hints of being crazy and passive-aggressive at the same time. When they interacted with #3, it was the awakening of their consciousness against a person who mutates and is deformed in his different personalities.
They could identify that sensation; it was death, emptiness, chaos. They didn't believe they were in danger; however, they also didn't believe it was a good idea to move.
None dared to let out even a sigh when he walked away; the moment they prepared for combat was when they realized something was different.
At first they didn't ask themselves; it was at the instant the fight started that the question came to their heads.
'Why a sword?'
In the waiting room outside Kalika's office, they took the time to determine which of their bosses was stronger, a type of competition that started between Jesús and Emily, then everyone joined as a more serious debate. The only ones less interested were Rudolf and Caleb, which didn't mean they didn't have interest in which of the 2 would win.
Among that conversation, the topic of Heiss's personalities came up unexpectedly. They had promised not to talk to anyone; it was very personal and something that could backfire on them if they didn't handle it carefully.
Theories started to come out. Did he have trauma? How many personalities does he have? Are his abilities divided among his personalities, or do they share something in common? And most importantly, how should I act before a new, unseen personality?
Lucius and Marcus confirmed that the personality Heiss currently had was not the one he had at the beginning; it was as if he maintained himself under a mask for protection.
Of course, they didn't say it for simply being good comrades, but because they could get an idea that they really don't know the real Heiss, but were talking to one of his personalities, of course, if the one he showed them at the beginning was the real one.
This topic escalated a lot precisely because of what Cloe told them about the other personality that confronted them at the ship's stern; apart from the terrible news of the inevitable end, until now, they had only had time to analyze a bit about that strange madman, who sometimes stopped being one and became a fearsome being.
The battle was about to begin, everyone was expectant, Kalika's subordinates took a breath after the first round, but they were perplexed because the abilities with which they had fought were very different from the ones he used before.
And that was the hesitation and annoyance, that uncertainty about knowing what Heiss was planning.
Heiss held the sword by the pommel, maintaining an inspection on his opponent.
He raised his head upward, with his eyes closed; slowly he lowered it and opened them.
Unexpectedly, everyone stopped breathing after seeing it, and Heiss uttered the following words.
Personality #2: "Shall we begin?"
Personality #2: "I'll show you the difference between being awake to reality and living on autopilot"
'There they are! The ruby-colored eyes', they discerned between the silver gray eyes and the unsettling red eyes; they also noticed the change in atmosphere and essence of the person.
It was a completely different pressure.
Subsequently, he took the sword with one hand.
"Let's begin," Kalika muttered, moving her body to advance.
Unfortunately, Kalika was about to evidence the difference between forces.
When her body took the first step, it was the last; she didn't continue.
Her eyes opened completely.
Heiss was already at her side, with the sword descending, ready to reap his enemy from this life.
Kalika spun her body as fast as possible, with the hope she could block the sword that was falling. And she blocked it, or at least she believed at first she could block it.
The sword kept advancing, as if it had nothing blocking it. It wasn't just a slash, it was the great slash; it wasn't any wielded throw, it was an overwhelming force, as if his authority told him what the true limits for his body were.
In an attempt not to let the sword fall on her, she used every muscle fiber, position in her arms, feet, hips, knees; every essential part that was used in fencing.
With all the strength she could gather, she deflected the attack to one side. That force was enough to leave her unbalanced and unprotected.
Personality #2: "Good defense, on the contrary, it's insufficient"
This time he didn't finish her off directly; instead, he raised the sword smoothly at the height of his shoulder.
Kalika could have intervened and attacked; despite this, she couldn't move. The force he used to attack her left her dismayed, besides badly positioned.
'When did he get to my side?'
It was a superhuman speed and strength, and he exercised it without much difficulty.
The next thing she did was unconsciously raise the sword to defend herself from the lateral attack that hit her like a car.
"CLANK!" "THUD!"
Kalika's body was thrown toward the room's wall; she could block the sword so it wouldn't hit her, although that didn't prevent her from continuing her path and propelling her like a catapult.
"Crack..."
The glass on the right side, tempered from the shake, it broke, showing cracks that went down and expanded from the upper lateral part. In its reflection, Kalika could be seen crashed into what would be an aesthetically elegant and appropriate wall for a training room.
Luckily, it was a resistant material and not decorative, like in most cases.
"Koff!..koff!, koff!..koff!"
He lowered the sword, waiting for her to catch her breath; the blow against the wall must have knocked all the air out of her.
Personality #2: "Many don't understand the difference between being alive and living; it's as if they thought not having speed, strength, and skill force was normal because that's how we got used to it. That's how we end up living on autopilot, complacent with our boring life"
Personality #2: "However, not everyone has those blessings"
Personality #2: "Stop measuring me, girl of blood descent; show me what you have or simply die here"
"It's true that the districts created some monsters...koff..koff"
She got up with the help of the sword, using every fragment of strength she could.
Personality #2: "You're wrong; this is what humanity should achieve with their own forces. No longer consider this a practice; fight to demonstrate why I should help you eliminate your family"
He advanced with bearing, as if his authority, that of a king, accompanied him.
Personality #2: "If you expect this body to help you like a puppet, then it's a destitute way of taking advantage of the resources you have, girl. Don't be conformist"
A second later, he was at her side again.
Personality #2: "Wake up already"
***
In her long fight against the tyranny of her adoptive grandfather, few times had she felt powerless when it came to combat strength.
Of course, when she arrived, she was very weak; still, her determination pushed her not to let herself be tarnished, no matter how many times they stepped on her. Her determination was absolute revenge.
Her sadness was the reason to endure the wounds; the hatred wasn't being unfounded. She channeled it and regulated it to make it as sharp and poisonous as possible, so when she had to attack, with just one wound she would be capable of eliminating her prey.
With all that, she didn't expect to receive such a debacle.
She had no idea why there was so much difference between the two; maybe it was the environment? The instructors? The intensity of the training? No, she trained more than anyone when she was young and had the best resources invested by the patriarch, so what was it?
The battle continued in a crushing way, although Kalika could see the attacks, a part of her told her it was because he let her see them clearly when he executed them, because that didn't explain the abnormal speed when moving and approaching her.
'Will I really have to use it? But...'
There was a reason why she didn't use her last card, and it's because she would be totally defenseless. The last time she used it, she was bedridden for a week; it was an absurd and very dangerous form of demand on her body, especially because she couldn't control that force well.
It was like turning on a switch, but the one that was supposed to be the regulator was damaged, because it couldn't be regulated in that state. Despite this, it was the only way she had to be able to win.
That's how she decided to advance through the cliff, no matter the consequences.
The sword came in strong slashes, and the last one, in contrast with the others, was blocked, not only that, also repelled.
Heiss observed her with an impassive calm; there was only a brief pause, as if he examined her, then he decided to continue with the attacks, but now with greater speed.
And beneath that dark, disheveled hair, two onyx iris eyes peeked out, completely black and open, seeing each attack arrive with an almost terrifying calm; her expression was creepy.
The attacks that before she struggled to avoid, she defended and repelled with greater ease than a few moments ago; it was as if her body could handle the terrifying force that her opponent wielded, but that wasn't the only change.
Kalika, for the first time in the battle, was the one who took the initiative to defend and attack. She pounced on Heiss, as if she didn't fear his speed or his cuts.
And for a moment, a slight gesture stood out in her facial gestures.
It was a slight smile.