Chapter 85: Southwest, Then

’Same as what I did... but with another volunteer.’

She said that the chemical itself had already been washed away, and the burn had been contained successfully. The problem appeared whenever she tried to release it. Each attempt pulled the Condition back toward the same volunteer.

With the woman’s permission, after convincing her that he could control his abilities better than her as an Ophiuchus himself, Marek watched one failed release and identified the problem. "You already separated the burn from him. What keeps reopening is the path back. I can try closing only that connection."

She hesitated before nodding.

Marek focused on the same principle he had just watched at the flooded intersection. The woman already had a valid release point in front of her, which was the sterile pad. It should not go back to the original volunteer who had the burn. He only needed to keep the unnecessary route from reopening.

This type of control felt quite different from when he was working with his own Case. Instead of pulling anything into himself, he recognized the route. Then, he held one distinction in place: ’The burn could leave, but it could not return to the person from whom it had already been separated.’

Marek nodded at her and said, "Try releasing it again. Make the sterile pad your only established destination."

The woman’s red scale flashed. A brief red heat left it and settled into the sterile pad. It did not go elsewhere. It settled into the sterile pad.

Marek waited for several seconds before he allowed himself to relax. The warmth under his shoulder changed, becoming steadier rather than stronger.

[DEGREE III - STABILITY ACHIEVED]

[CASE CONTROL REMAINED STABLE WITHOUT DIRECT CUSTODY]

Rhovan noticed the change in Marek and nodded heavily. "As—"

Marek looked at him and quickly cut him off. "Do not start."

"I have not said anything yet..." Rhovan was disappointed. "It’s a pity I could not praise the Ophiarch that much for his greatness. The world should know that he is the greatest thing humans had not yet known—"

"Shut up." Marek frowned. ’This dude...’

He then focused on himself. The change from his advancement gradually settled, but something else did not.

’Anyway, I feel a bit strengthened. I also feel very light. Wait...’ Marek noticed something else. He shifted his attention toward the space surrounding him. ’Why do I feel like the space around me has become easier to distinguish? It feels like I could create a spatial node any time... but it seems like I can only create a very small one... but I don’t know how to use or strengthen it...’

He tried to focus his attention on one point on the table’s surface. Then, a dot-sized black hole-like thing appeared on it.

"Wow!" Rhovan exclaimed and looked at the thing that Marek made. "Amazing... so at Cycle I, the Ophiarch could control a bit of space already... I was not wrong about you, oh Dear Ophiarch!"

"What do you mean?" Marek asked.

Rhovan then waved his arm. For some reason, the small black circle on the table disappeared. "Well, for the record, I have never seen an Ophiuchus awaken this Sign Expression at Cycle I. Cycle I’s Identity is merely the Vacant Keeper. An Ophiuchus at that level can determine routes—for example, where a contained Condition may be released—but that is not the same as actually manipulating space. Yet you just created a spatial node completely unrelated to a Case. As expected of the Ophiarch... oh, hail the Goddess of Dreams... I hope I will not wake up from this dream ever again!"

"Sign Expressions?" Marek ignored his antics.

"Oh, I haven’t explained it to you, oh Dear Ophiarch. Sign Expressions are basically the different forms a Zodiac Sign’s Authority can take. Think of them as something similar to the magic types you know from Earth. Two people with the same Sign can develop different Expressions even though their powers still come from the same Sign. Yours, however, oh Dear Ophiarch, feels like an advanced version of what the Ophiuchus bearers I have encountered could awaken..."

He then hugged himself as he shivered. "Oh God! Hail the Ophiarch—"

Marek shut his ears once again. He could still hear him, but he chose not to listen.

[SIGN EXPRESSION AWAKENED: SPACE]

[REMAINING SIGN EXPRESSIONS TO AWAKEN: [UNKNOWN], [UNKNOWN], [UNKNOWN]...]

The woman and the volunteer just looked at them strangely. One of them had gold lights swirling around him. The sight attracted the attention of other people. Meanwhile, the other one miraculously made a black dot on the table, which somehow made them feel like they would be absorbed by it any minute.

"Oh God, when will this man stop convulsing? He’s quite handsome... but he definitely has a mental disease," Nadia muttered quietly to herself. "I thought this was a covert search. Look at how many people are watching you right now."

Rhovan immediately switched gears. His face fell flat and he coughed lightly. He then bowed to Marek and said, "I deeply apologize, oh Dear Ophiarch."

"No matter." Marek waved his hand without looking at him. "Let’s go to the registrar. We still need to find my mom’s traces."

When they arrived at the registrar’s table, the registrar recognized Amara’s name almost immediately and confirmed that she had passed through after the previous dark period. She had looked exhausted, refused a cot, and left a folded note within this cultural center.

He unfolded it.

Marek,

You actually listened to me and waited somewhere? I’m proud of you... but that is so unlike you that I’m suspicious.

Marek stopped reading for a moment.

’How did she know I waited?’

Indeed, his mother had asked him to remain somewhere for a few hours, but she had never reached the clinic while he was there. Unless she had arrived sometime after they left and found traces of him inside that clinic, there should have been no way for her to know he had actually listened.

’Did she reach the clinic after us?’

That was the simplest explanation. Still, after everything that had happened around that place, Marek could not completely dismiss the uncomfortable feeling it gave him.

Then, he continued reading.

I am changing direction. Southwest for now. Do not chase the last place someone saw me. Keep leaving messages that only we would understand. I will do the same.

And please stop making this difficult for yourself.

—Mom

The final sentence sounded exactly like his mother. He then folded the note carefully before slipping it into his notebook. Before leaving, he gave another note to the registrar. This time, however, his mother had to identify the category of a hospital problem she had complained about for several years already.

Nobody outside their family should know which problem he meant—the reason why he chose this.

When they finally left the cultural center, Marek looked toward southwest. Until now, every direction had been based on where someone had last seen his mother.

This time, his mother, Amara herself had told him where she was going next.

’Southwest, then. I hope you’re not lying to me, Mom...’