Chapter 166

  Maul took a breath and calmed his trembling hands. He approached Celeste after an apprehensive showdown with Dreadus. Hound, who was sitting on the ground, was taking that wall for unexpected air, and this man was no different. It didn't attack or bark this time around, so Maul passed it further than necessary and sized that girl up and down.

  Celeste observed them at this point, as she heard their every word, even when judging those rocks. So when this old man, who didn't seem all that younger than Dreadus—as he felt older—she had her doubts about what to think and what to do.

  She didn't like his eyes for sure, or face, or... pretty much anything. Maybe he stunk? Was bathing a thing for people in white? That could be wrong; they couldn't possibly have the same kind of bath as she owned, but she saw those artificial rivers and even... the freaking sea spanning horizons ahead.

  Her body language expressed her thoughts when Maul approached her. He was even worse with children than Dreadus, and that was already a rather poor reflection on its own.

  Hands and fingers flinching, Maul stopped before her and observed her eyes, head, hair, skin, nose, and ears, and wished to see her naked for scientific purposes alone. Most of it was about that Emblem anyway, yet that Sea? Her lifeline? What else was he missing with eyes alone? Touching, weighing, and even poking or cutting were necessities, and Dreadus must know it all, which was one of the main reasons things were about to get complicated.

  There was a point in being a doctor for twenty years before bearing the fruit of inhumanity and becoming the Second Head of this corporation. Maul knew how people were and learned about Walkers more than any man should.

  “Hm. Hm. You have trouble speaking, is that so?”

  “Not because she likes to, I think,” Dreadus added.

  “Old leaf,” Celeste said, pointing at Maul's face without a care for the words.

  “Oh? Was that an insult?” Maul said in wonder, thinking she had a lot to learn. “At least the girl can speak. What else can she do?”

  “Old,” she repeated. “Go away. Hound... tears.”

  “Hm. This is going to be difficult, Dreadus. Also, take care of that dog. I don't want any trouble in this room.”

  “Hard stuff take some time.”

  Looking at them both, Celeste concluded that this old man was the help Dreadus had mentioned beforehand, yet what could he do to her? Dreadus didn't explain it in the slightest and brought her here after dressing her up to some standards. Or just to make her stick to this sick new world.

  Sure, it was true that not everything good seemed right. She learned it with difficulty or things that looked interesting, safe, or not at all great. It was a double-edged sword or a kitten that wasn't a kitten at all.

  Looking around, there was no corner or time to be afraid. She wanted to give Dreadus some reason to... think? Do stuff? He felt kind of upset yet trying, so she didn't want to be weak and make this whole tour worse. The world was already that way anyway, so she shouldn't cause more pain. She promised.

  “What is it?” she asked, with nothing specific.

  Maul gestured to her hand since Dreadus gave in her Emblem's Localization and a couple of suggestions about her.

  “I am Maul, by the way. A Second Head of this entire machine of science and research. I pry upon Walkers like fish for water. Am not one myself, I might add. There is a lot to say to that, but humans support Walkers, and Dreadus wants me to see you better. That could help you, as you are young and guilty of a very unreasonable life. There are some good and bad ways to make it happen. For the start, please, take a seat.” Maul pointed aside from him, but Reaz was already there for some reason, observing.

  It's going to be a very long day.

  ***

  Through persuasion, Celeste went through the most common test a child could handle. Blood was wet and red, which was normal, yet all sorts of reading and noise machinery—that she couldn't comprehend or like—were also there.

  It wasn't Maul's first rodeo, but it was a wild ride across many problems around this silly and poor girl. In some sense, she wasn't poor, evident by papers and flickering lights on computer screens she took for magic. Maul did not; the Sea might wait for a better time, after all, or no time at all.

  Something equally puzzling and interesting had come for him instead and knocked on his door. He should be glad for it since Dreadus had options yet quite simple views.

  Most foundation appointments were normal for kids and even young Walkers, as science already marked many points of Walker's lives. Pharmacy was also an ongoing endeavor, and diseases and infections still lingered in the air—some normal, others affected by Arcana.

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  In the Federation, where a lot of people lived, good health and hospitality were vital for some people. And even more crucial as far as the Walker society existed.

  Alas, the same with science and many professions, there were differences between everything, and what was abnormal or normal within some kids needed different kinds of doctors and factors.

  In Walkers, certain actions and results could be quite deadly when normal people have them. It wasn't too concerning. Who would even live with dense muscles or poisons or flames in their bodies and be called a hero?

  For the first example, Celeste's blood was extremely pure, flowing much stronger and showing rather weird stuff. There was no Arcana in a blood-syringe Maul got from her shoulder, and even a couple of rudimentary runs through some contraptions didn't clarify anything.

  “Yeah...”

  “What is it?” Dreadus wondered out loud, watching Maul judge some science vials and screens.

  “The faltering is exquisite. Filtering. Tiny. That's a word for wonders and dreams. Alas! This right here might be out of this machinery. She is still at Rank 0! I can attest it!”

  “Why would she not be?” Reaz asked them, sounding confused.

  “Silence! I still work!” Maul scolded them both and even gestured for them to shut up and let him alone. Both of them pretty much refused to do it, which Maul earned as he was used to it.

  The purity of blood wasn't an obvious perk of Rank 0 Walkers, as a point of purity was almost entirely meaningless. There were mashing elements and the crafts and mysteries of Arcana could be intense even within these kids.

  And Dreadus was near certain something special was going on with this girl, though he wasn't sure if she could be put in that bracket or if she was something new. He didn't dwell on Maul's words too much; they could change with further tests.

  And then some more tests.

  Arcana holds almost no bounds to what it could do or create. There was that subject with the Sea, making some actions known or changed, so Maul wasn't working with the most common problems since he wasn't familiar with them. This required some proper and daring looks and even some experiments.

  Blood was one such specialty, as it showed what fueled the muscles of this kid. Maul couldn't actually detect the forces of bodily transformation that her age could indicate. It was somewhere between fourteen and fifteen years of age at most.

  Celeste was young yet ready and absolutely curious about what was going on. Unknown matters were the most fun, so Maul grinned like a kid and worked how he wanted. That was either sticking some stuff to her arm and then waiting or touching her skin with further annoying objects. At some point, he even made some cuts and strained her muscles by cuffs or pressuring contraptions.

  Celeste quenched her teeth and endured this like staying in that small cave.

  Maul assumed her Awakening might not be simple since that Sea had somewhat affected her or changed her years ago. How? Where? He was bound to look for it and discover at least some answers.

  Sustainment. Nourishment. Time. These three words describe the needs of Rank 0.

  When Maul read her heartbeat, the digit within the minute wasn't as unexpected, but the first number was. It was well above two hundred, and she was relatively calm if one forgot her fluster by all these machines. Maul also kept talking, feeling she might attack him. He was nervous for a good reason, but Dreadus was right behind him.

  Hound was even closer, sitting and acting as the finest support she could ask for because he wasn't licking her face or growing.

  Half of the work was kept sitting in the chair. Reaz was also there, thinking there was no way Celeste was weak. At some point, she also got stubborn and didn't want to look weak in front of that hag who had all sorts of shits to tell.

  “Hm. Interesting...” Maul hummed after a while.

  “What is it this time around?” Dreadus asked.

  “I can't file a lot of definitive matters about her physical Walker Aspects or bloody principles of Rank 0s. Arcana isn't really about transparency, as it seems to desire, or as if the Emblem has already passed that final mark. I can't see what MUCH she could need even with this age thing. Is there a limit, or a new kind of manifestation method, or transformation? What does she do with it, or what does the body have to offer? What can be broken or making sense... Curious. I don't think this case has ever happened before, so that troubles my context.”

  Seeing him mutter a bunch of wonders, Dreadus tapped his back. “Focus! I am sure you can do better.”

  “OH! Better, you say? Let me tell you; her body is rather affectionate, bones and blood are off the charts, but the heart?! It is fast yet cold and the prison is... well, well beyond human conditions. Her heart is tough part of this process, with quick steady fast bloodstream, which makes muscles dense, clustered, yet very much starved and little. She hadn't feasted much at all, which is peculiar. She sustained herself...I know. She must've starved until her body acclimated and formed new rules.”

  “Is that so?” Dreadus asked Celeste, who hadn't responded a lot in the past few hours.

  “In conclusion, her central mass and gravity adapted until it couldn't be normal. Arcana hides in the Emblem while she kept it moving or stirring as it often does. How? Walkers, Dreadus! She is showing some of her marks. I can't say much else, or how she either trained a lot to live for this... thing, or lived in terrific conditions, or someone was taking care of her. You noted very few things about that point, Dreadus. I am curious whether you know something because she either lied or didn't say everything, despite being like this and safe and sound. Like you, yes?”

  “Hit the mark,” Dreadus said shamelessly and looked at Celeste, who was more than innocent and up for some peace. She wasn't bound to such talks, let alone pouring her heart out. She didn't have to talk about any of this since what was going on with her body wasn't even her fault.

  “Or... the Sea is the cause for everything. I haven't seen this many points in a youth in forever. Most Seas are unique in effects, ranging from sources and uses that don't make Darks or Walkers the same. Some might be dreadful and like a Trojan horse. This one was a gifting one for sure, but over time... or not, what is it?”

  “Hopeful at the lowest. I don't think it is that bad. I tried it myself.”

  “Exactly.” Maul hummed and then realized what he had said. “You did?! YOU!”

  “It wasn't a choice. Also, forget the explanations; just get going with more checking and give me what I want.”

  “You have no idea what this is about, do you!?” Maul asked a really good question, and Dreadus played the same innocent guy, but this time went with a little annoying smirk.

  “And” Dreadus was no scientist, but he knew Seas and knew even more stuff about high-rank Walkers and statuses around the world than this guy. It was a personal experience, as he too was Rank 0 at some point in his life.

  It wasn't much, of course. He wasn't some kind of free wanderer or seeker of the truth. He was a soldier, thus, he looked at the world with missions and stern eyes.