[ToG] Muse: Book 1 [Song of the Beginning]

Chapter 3 Exequies

Exequies: funeral rites

In which the title is homage to the 200 regulars that died in the test 

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Evolet’s POV

When I came to, Bam wasn’t anywhere near me and I was laying on what seemed to be a cliff. The announcement of the test started and I was worried. Bam could get hurt. I need to find him fast. Just as I stood up, I was immediately alerted of the presence of a sniper not so far from me. His bullet missed the mark a bit too close for comfort. I don’t need to draw attention to myself here; that would only prove to be troublesome later on. With that in mind, I rushed towards the sniper who clearly wasn’t expecting that but quickly overcame his shock and readied his aim once more. Wrong decision.

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3rd Person POV

As he shot, Evolet murmured something under her breath. You could hear the sound of the bullet colliding with something before it ricocheted; along with a soft groan as the sniper went unconscious from a chop to the back of his neck, courtesy of Evolet. If he was still conscious now, he would’ve seen angel-like wings on Evolet’s back. The lavender shade wings were floating behind her, not quite attached to her back. The wings showed no sign of damage despite how it just blocked a bullet. Sighing in relief, Evolet retracted her wings. She went back to her original place on the cliff, hoping to be able to pinpoint Bam from a higher point of view. Despite that, she still couldn’t find him. But she couldn’t just go off and blindly search for him either, not with how big this place is. Just as she was thinking what to do, a… crocodile-like man had walked up and stood beside her; although he didn’t seem to be aware of her presence. Deciding she really needed some help if she wanted to find Bam, she spoke out to the crocodile-man.

“Uhm… Excuse me!”

That got his attention. The crocodile-like man looked down and what he saw was a girl with lavender shade hair with the most mesmerizing yet innocent blue-violet eyes that he ever saw. The man’s instinct immediately registered the girl wasn’t a threat, nor was she a prey. Then it clicked to the man’s mind.

This turtle needs to be protected.

“What is it, purple turtle?”

Evolet wasn’t bothered by the way the man had called her and instead just asked “Crocodile-san, have you seen a boy around my height with black hair and golden eyes?”

“None that I know of purple turtle.”

Seeing how the girl seemed down and worried after he said that, the man continued “But you can count on me, the great Rak Wraithraiser to find him for you purple turtle!”

Evolet perked up on that and they went on their merry way to find Bam after Evolet introduced herself to Rak, not that Rak called her by name after that. Needless to say, they found Bam soon enough. Not wasting any time, Evolet immediately jumped off Rak and went over to hug Bam. “Are you okay Bam??! I’m sorry I couldn’t come faster; it took some time to find you. You’re not hurt are you?”

Bam nodded, relieved at the sight of Evolet. She finally realized the presence of the two other people in the field and she bowed politely to them, saying thank you for not hurting Bam. The blue haired boy raised an eyebrow in fascination before coming over to Bam and Evolet and slung his arms over their shoulder.

“Woah, a talking alligator; I wonder how much that’d be worth.”

Bam was startled by this action and hastily slipped away, taking a battle stance that was sloppy at best. Evolet made no move to get away from the bluenette but made a mental note to teach Bam self-defense later. “Isn’t this your pet?”

Rak was irked by this and he stomped his foot, making the three ‘turtles’ momentarily float. Rak took this chance to once again put Evolet on his shoulder while the other two fell down on the ground. And he kept stomping while shouting, quite angrily.

“I’m not an alligator. I am Rak Wraithraiser!”

“You can even introduce yourself?” the blue haired boy asked playfully while half laying on the ground.

“Um, this person isn’t-”

The bluenette cut off Bam before he could even finish the sentence. “I know”

Rak brought down his spear threateningly in front of them. “Blue turtle! I have no business with you!”

They stood up and a question was asked. “What are you planning to do with him?”

“Hunt him”

“Hunt…?”

“I become stronger by hunting!”

Honestly, the boy wasn’t impressed by that. After all he could see that the crocodile-man was yet another one who blindly follows the Tower’s rules. As Rak struck with his spear, the bluenette jumped up to avoid it then landed before casually saying “Well, I’m going now.”

As Bam took a sloppy stance, Evolet leaped off Rak’s shoulder once more and stood protectively in front of Bam with a frown. “I won’t allow you to hurt Bam, Rak-san. If you still insist to do so then I will be your opponent.”

Despite how Rak acts sometimes, the one thing that he always nails is gauging someone’s strength. Right now, the ‘turtle’ that he thought he needed to protect is standing in front of his prey. And while she doesn’t look threatening, Rak knew better. He could see the danger lurking behind that childish frown. She’s hiding her powers. Rak was cut off of his musings when his cape covered his vision and he fell down from a sweep kick. Not wanting to lose his prey, Rak hastily fixed the cape and gave chase to where he thought the ‘turtles’ escaped. As he went out of view, the other three emerged from their hiding spot behind the Da-an. The Da-an left soon after Khun explained how mild the Da-an tribe are regardless of the situation.

“Thank you for saving us, Blue-san.” Evolet thanked the boy, and Bam nodded along.

Said boy raised an eyebrow out of amusement from how she called him. “My name’s Khun, not Blue.”

Bam stuttered out. “I-I’m Bam.”

“And I’m Evolet. But feel free to call me Eve instead. I’m sorry for calling you Blue earlier; I didn’t know your name.”

Khun had extended his hand, silently asking for a handshake. Blinking confusedly for a moment, Evolet took his hand with some hesitation. Khun gripped her hand firmly but gently, and he let out a smirk. Evolet was pondering what the smirk meant, but she didn’t have much time to think before Khun tugged on her hand and pulled her closer to him, looping his free arm around her waist as he stared into her eyes. The distances between them were so close that he could smell the fragrance of lavender coming from her. Their eyes locked, and blue-violet peered into cobalt blue ones. Both were staring with fascination. One with how unflustered the other was despite the lack of distance between them; the other with curiosity, not quite understanding what was happening.

The silent moment was broken when Evolet was suddenly pulled away by Bam. Bam had a dark look on his face as he embraced Evolet tightly from behind, not letting go. Puzzled by Bam’s action, Evolet softly asked, “Bam..?”

That seemed to do the trick, snapping Bam back to reality. He saw Evolet’s worried face directed at him and realized how he was still hugging her. Blushing, he immediately let go of her and apologized. Khun grinned at the display.

This is getting interesting

“So Bam, where did you acquire the Black March? The weapon is granted only to the princesses chosen by Jahad, the king of this tower. How could someone who just entered the Tower, much less a man, have it? Not to mention you and Eve seemed to know each other; which theoretically shouldn’t be possible because acquaintances can’t take the same test together.”

Surprised by the turn of events, Bam and Evolet were avoiding Khun’s gaze. It was after a while that Bam finally answered albeit reluctantly. Wrapping up their brief explanation regarding their circumstances without disclosing the fact they’re irregulars, they’re now waiting for the thinning to end behind a boulder. Khun’s pocket revealed the numbers of the remaining contestants were only 268. “Just a few more.”

Khun’s pocket went back to invisible mode and he focused his attention on Bam who had just revealed he knew next to nothing about his past except for what Rachel and Evolet taught him. Khun raised an eyebrow at the new name.

“Rachel?”

“The person I want to see.”

Khun just assumed “Your girlfriend?”

Bam answered without hesitation that he belonged to her, surprising Khun with his answer. As Bam continued his answer, Khun looked over to Evolet who was sitting beside Bam. If she was bothered by it, then she must be an expert at hiding her emotions since she had a solid poker face on. But while it didn’t show on her face, Khun could see that she was gripping the sleeves of her dress as she attempted to curl herself into a ball. In the end he didn’t mention how he noticed her actions and instead just reacted to Bam’s answer.

“I get it now. She’s your rule.”

“Rule?”

Bam looked at Khun’s now outstretched hand quizzically. “Bam, let’s shake hands to cement our alliance. When I heard the rules of the test, I decided that rather than killing 200, I would find allies among the 200 who survived.”