More than anything, Athan''s mind was all over the place from what was on the note.


    ''How did she—?''


    He couldn''t take his eyes off of it; only when Daisy knocked on the table she garnered back his attention.


    "You seem surprised; follow me." Even without understanding much of her words, her gestures beckoned loud and clear.


    Even at that moment, he thought of running away for it wasn''t that too difficult, to begin with— not everyone noticed their commotion and went on with their business.


    Soon as the chair creaked a tad bit against the floor, he slowly twisted his body, facing the door for a sprint.


    But before he could even, he noticed that someone blocked his face; apparently a man in a formal suit and tie with a large coat donned on his shoulders.


    ''Who is this man—'' His eyebrows snapped to an arch up when he noticed the familiar energy about a few inches away from him. ''This man is....''


    He looked up and noticed that he wore a gentleman cap and also aviator sunglasses. But from his angle, the rich aquamarine eyes and the slick iridescent azure on his hair finally confirmed his concerns.


    Ashtra was in his human form; other than his long hair got cut out short, he was all the same.


    "You! Why are you here?!" he breathed as he became too aghast from his presence.


    "Follow us. She''s called you."


    "Who?"


    "Her… You''ll know soon enough."


    Still taken aback, Athan wondered who he was about to meet; albeit deep down, one person came to mind.


    After all, Ashtra helped Mystique in one way or another.


    Upon bracing himself, he nodded and followed closely while Daisy instructed several servers to keep the dishes and put them in a food trolley.


    Right now, everyone looked at them with apprehension. Even Athan couldn''t help but get weary of it. Though she was there to pacify the situation with a clap as she had their attention.


    "It''s alright, everyone! Not a big deal; our VIP requests a special suite—"


    When everyone took a curt nod and stared at him with a deep curiosity in their eyes, most of them went into an uproar as they wanted it so much.


    Athan was in disbelief but got nudged at Ashtra to keep moving.


    "Don''t make the situation any harder than it already is..."


    A small glint came from his crimson eyes, retorting, "I haven''t done anything—"


    "You did."


    He was about to fire back at him when he noticed the gaze was still on him and that wasn''t near appropriate for a private topic; at this point, he didn''t know if he should be calm or get riled up from it.


    The noise from the crowd got muffled as soon as they walked into a private hallway inside the cafe that led to different rooms. Their steps got muffled and he couldn''t help but marvel his eyes around in subtlety.


    However, Athan kept the facade as though he had no idea what he talked about. "Are you perhaps reading my mind?"


    "While I take pride in it; I don''t need to— Not with the crazy technologies found here."


    "Hmm?"


    "Don''t try to hide it."


    After which, Ashtra stood in front of the door, knocking, before it got clinked. The one that greeted them happened to be Stravwuark, who wore a black cardigan, a white inner to pair with it, and jeans that paired with his boat shoes.


    Stravwuark and Ashtra went formal and casual, respectively.


    "He''s really here..." Stravwuark cleared his throat as he kept a cautious gaze at Athan.


    When they entered, Stravwuark then locked the door. Then they proceeded to go inside a private suite.


    In the guest area, his ears perked up by the sudden noise, coming from a flat rectangular magical box with a person opening her mouth with gibberish words. But his eyes widened at the gruesome scene that happened to the side of the lady.


    The place where murder rooted, and the culprit was none other than him.


    Without looking at Ashtra, Athan mumbled almost inaudibly, "Is this what you''ve meant?"


    Ashtra replied, "A mass murder by the 5th avenue of the Golden Cambridge City."


    ''So fast and convenient?!''


    This kind of technology was powerful, while something like this existed in the Empire, it wasn''t as realized as this masterpiece.


    Regardless he understood almost none of the words and the labels that were shown before him, the live imagery alone became too breathtaking, and none of it wasn''t far from reality.


    "We saw this news, about some patrols coming in and taking an investigation. While it was a bunch of bastards, the way they were killed were too brutal—"


    Athan snapped at Ashtra, "Though I''m not sure why as I''m not in there and now I''m the one to take the blame—"


    "Have you ever seen that kind of gruesome bite mark?"


    Everything before him was so transparent and he clicked his tongue like he regretted the decision he made and perhaps coming clean was the only way to deal with the problem at hand.


    "Right. I did it. They were pestering me… Not like I had a choice."


    "You could''ve run away if you''d like."


    "I''ve wasted so much energy for this day alone; you know nothing, alright?"


    Right now, Ashtra tried to read his thoughts, and Athan could sense it, which he then bombarded a lump of information to his head, making the ''Frost Wyrm'' hiss in deep pain.


    "So, you really want to pick a fight, is that it?"


    Although Ashtra released a wave of pressure, Athan wasn''t the one to back down, even with a slight crack coming from the marbled tiles they stood upright.


    Like carrying a thousand tons of weight in his shoulders, he clenched his teeth. "You''ve brought me— here to see— Mystique, where— is she?"


    Stravwuark tapped on Ashtra''s shoulder, and his power got negated in a matter of a few seconds. Then covered his mouth while he spoke on his behalf.


    "To be fair, Mystique is nowhere to be found."


    "What— you mean?" Out of rage, Athan broke free, and grabbed him by the collar. "Not you— being a clown— as well."


    That penmanship on the note was evident, not a forgery or the sort. It was especially clear with Ashtra present.


    While his clothing got tugged, it didn''t falter him one bit as he glared at him. "I dare not to— Look behind you."


    "We''ve... met again..."