Book 3, Chapter 97 - The Mysterious Wolfblade (2/2)

But the wastelanders waiting for an audience weren’t just anyone!

Hellflower’s rise through the Dark Atom was hard won. As part of the leadership she now took its future seriously. Skycloud wasn’t going to simply forget what happened in the Blisterpeaks, and repelling another attack like the last was by no means a given for the rebel organization. These potential allies were integral for Nucleus’ continuation.

How could Wolfblade not recognize the importance of this?

Hellflower had more words of advice to give, but they died in her throat. Truth be told, whether it was the wise Roste or the powerful and unpredictable Caliph of the Sands, Hellflower was not one to bow her head in reverence. Her master had always been knowledge. If there was anything in the world she respected it was the pursuit of truth.

To her, staring at this casual-looking man, with his book of poetry and strange demeanor, was like trying to peer into a fog. She couldn’t guess who it was she stood before, but it wasn’t the same Wolfblade from before.

Wolfblade changed the subject. “I have been told that unruly youth you brought to me escaped the battle and saved a fair number of elysian soldiers in the process. Many of our people look upon him unfavorably. He is certainly adept at causing headaches, isn’t he?”

Hellflower paused. “You knew? You aren’t going to punish him?”

The gall of the wastelander in saving those elysians didn’t seem to bother Wolfblade much at all, which was uncharacteristic of what one would expect from the Dark Atom leader. Rather, he seemed to view it like the irritating actions of a naughty child, willfully releasing a host of ants.

“It is of no great concern.” Wolfblade even chuckled. “But you must understand that he cannot be allowed to become a lackey of the elysians. Perhaps in the future he may be one of us. I have prepared something for him – a method I have concocted that will both improve and mitigate the Trespasser virus. Bring it to him.”

The item he referred to looked like a small metal box. It was finely crafted, and inside rested a very peculiar looking syringe. The outside was metallic, which hid the contents from view.

The surprise this caused Hellflower was easy to imagine.

Cloudhawk’s condition was complicated, and Hellflower was still trying to puzzle out a solution. Trespasser had permeated deep into every part of him, so removing it was bound to leave Cloudhawk crippled or dead. Was this magical solution Wolfblade was offering really an answer to his problem? When did he work it out? Hellflower didn’t know.

“What is this? How is it able to improve Trespasser? Where did you get it?”

Hellflower was bursting with questions, a trait that was not surprising in a woman who had spent her life looking for truth. After acquiring all the collected wisdom of Roste and Three-Eyed Spider, Hellflower was confident there was no one else in the wastelands more knowledgeable than her. Yet she was proven wrong when Wolfblade flippantly presented her with this syringe, which purportedly was able to solve a problem whose answer eluded her.

How could this not surprise her?

Wolfblade shook his head as he replied. “It is a little unorthodox. This medicine will only benefit Cloudhawk. Used on any other, there would be no effect.”

Questions continued to bubble up from inside her. “What’s so different about Cloudhawk’s body?”

But Wolfblade was already stepping out of the library. “That is a question you do not need to know the answer to.”

His infuriatingly cryptic responses made her feel strange. For good or for ill, she had spent some time with Cloudhawk. Even physically! Yet apparently her knowledge of him was far inferior to the man before her.

Obviously, he knew Cloudhawk very well. Why, then, did he insist on pretending like he didn’t?

She couldn’t hold it back any longer.

“What are you?”

Wolfblade stopped, turned his head slightly to the side, and for the briefest moment something flashed across his one revealed eye. Something she’d never seen before.

It wasn’t cold, or cruel. More… majestic, completely foreign to the Wolfblade she’d once met. Hellflower felt her throat close up, and the prick of a thousand daggers pressing against her skin covered her from head to toe. She knew that if she made the slightest movement, her body would be torn to pieces.

“Do what you’re told, and do not ask questions about things that don’t concern you.”

Hellflower felt an irresistible force claw into her mind, forcing her head down. “Y-yes,” she muttered obediently.

The change was instantaneous, and gone just as fast. Only Hellflower knew. She didn’t know what the Dark Atom leader had become, but there was no question that he was very… very dangerous.