Are You Crazy?!

What?

Ezra was confused.

"Your moves." X clapped. "Bravo. Whoever taught you must have been a master."

"What are you talking about?" Ezra frowned, staying alert. Who knew what trick this dude wanted to play this time.

X's casual applause echoed through the room, a stark contrast to the tension that hung thick in the air. With a dismissive glance, he turned away from Ezra, his attention shifting to Olivia and Genesis lying on the floor. "Are you two alright?" he inquired, his voice betraying a hint of concern.

Ezra's eyes narrowed as he watched X's every move, his mind racing with the possibilities. Should he strike now, while X's back was turned? The temptation was strong, but something held him back. A nagging sense of caution that whispered of potential danger.

It could be a trap.

Circling around X, Ezra approached Olivia and Genesis, offering them a helping hand.

"Are you guys alright?"

"Peachy." Gen chuckled as she stared at the ceiling.

As he assisted Olivia to her feet, she leaned in close, her voice a soft whisper in his ear. "Be ready," she murmured, her words sending a shiver down Ezra's spine.

But what should I be ready for? Ezra debated asking but a glance at X made him abandon the urge. He couldn't shake the feeling of unease that gnawed at him. The fight with X had ended so abruptly, he was still trying to regain his equilibrium.

Meanwhile, X turned his attention back to the table where the page was sitting innocently, his expression unreadable. "So, Olivia, will you be decoding the page now?" he inquired, his tone casual despite the gravity of the situation.

Coughing slightly, Olivia nodded in affirmation. "Yes, I will," she replied, her voice shaky.

With a sense of solemn purpose, X beckoned them to join him at the table.

Ezra helped the women limp to the table. He noticed that Olivia's red iris was now spinning like a fan gone wild. His gaze lingered on it before turning to Gen with a silent question.

"She's lost a lot of vitality." Gen answered, her own iris spinning less wildly. "She needs blood, fast."

This isn't the work of X's chains. The page must have stolen most of her vitality when she touched it.

"Here." With a wave of his hand, X materialized a pen and paper on the table and slid it to Olivia. "You'll be needing this."

Ezra's eyes widened in realization. X must have a creation monster or something! Based on what I know, vampires can't just materialize anything out of thin air. They need a monster for it.

This means… Ezra stared at X…He's incredibly versatile. He can materialize anything he wants. Ever need a table, he's got it. Need a chainsaw to saw off someone's bits, don't bother looking for one. Just call X.

Ezra took X in a new light. He's far more dangerous than we've all been thinking.

Olivia pushed away the offered paper with a firm hand, her expression resolute. "It's useless," she declared, her tone leaving no room for argument. "If the words on the page is copied onto any other surface, the surface will be burned to ashes."

X nodded in realization. "Oh. That way, the pages can't be copied. There'll always be a single copy of any page. Smart. Very smart. That's the progenitor for you. What do you suggest we do?"

Olivia lifted the pen. "I'll have to write on the page itself."

Gen's brows furrowed in confusion, her mind grappling with the implications of Olivia's words. "Wait a minute...."

"You want to desecrate the page?!" X rocked back in what looked like shock. "Are you crazy?!" He demanded, his voice tinged with incredulity.

Olivia glanced down at the page. "Most vampires have been looking at this wrong the whole time. This is not a language. It's a code. A puzzle that hides the real language. I'll have to write on the page itself."

A thoughtful silence descended upon them.

"I can see it." Gen hummed. "The progenitor was a smart guy. The fear of destroying the relic will make most people refrain from writing on the page. This way, people can possess the page, yet be unable to decode it."

"Are you sure this is the only way?" X leaned forward. It did seem like a drastic measure, one that he wasn't sure he was prepared to take.

But Olivia straightened with steely resolve. "Do you have any other suggestions?" she challenged, her voice unwavering.

With a resigned sigh, X relented. "Continue, then," he conceded, his tone resigned.

Olivia took the page, lifted her pen and began writing. X winced as the pen began scratching the page.

"Explain the process." X demanded and Olivia raised an eyebrow that screamed 'Really?'

"Despite what you guys think, I'm not a monster. I don't enjoy threatening people, you know. But I'm willing to do it to get what I want." X sighed. "Don't make me do it again."

Olivia looked down, thinking as she studied the page.

"It's a clever puzzle." She finally spoke. "Most people would think the lines and dots come together to create a single language. That's false. The lines are meaningless. The dots are the real puzzle. I have to connect the dots to reveal the real language."

Olivia slowly connected the first few dots to form a number.

14.

X inhaled sharply. "The last city." He breathed.

"The last city?" Gen asked and Ezra shot her a look.

Leave the mad man alone! Let him ramble. Don't give him ideas! What if he decides to do something life threatening again?

"Oh. You're young. You don't know the legend of the Book of Nightmares."

"The legend?" Gen asked and even Olivia lifted her head curiously. "Isn't the Book of Nightmares just a seven paged book created by the progenitor."

"Just a book? It's so much more than that." X lowered his voice. "Let me tell you a legend. A legend as old as the First City...."