Apocalyse: Marked by Chaos
Chapter 51 Mysterious Man (2)

Chapter 51: Chapter 51 Mysterious Man (2)

Deep within the heart of the maze, the air thickened. Silence stretched... until it was broken by the sound of crunching leaves under a heavy, unnatural weight.

Satyr stalked forward, its massive frame gliding between trees like a shadow. Its emerald eyes glowed with hunger and bloodlust. The target was close.

A figure stood in the clearing, his long coat swaying in the gentle breeze. He didn’t run. He didn’t flinch.

He waited.

Satyr growled, its claws digging into the soil, preparing to pounce—until the air shifted.

A violent wind burst between them, crackling with a strange, silvery energy. The figure remained still, his head tilting slightly as the monster lunged forward with a roar that shook the trees. Then...

Boom!

A flash of black collided with smoke and green light.

The forest trembled. And then... silence.

......

A week had passed, and Olivia was still trying to search for the mysterious man. But she had not felt his presence since the last time in the maze.

An unsettling knot formed in her stomach. ’What if he didn’t survive?’ She splashed water on her face, then stared at her reflection in the rectangular mirror hanging on the bathroom wall. ’He has to. I still have a lot of questions to ask.’ Her fingers clenched the edge of the sink.

"Fine. I’ll go search for him after school," she muttered.

The past week had been a nightmare. The students hadn’t made it easy for her. And she hadn’t been able to contact Diana and the rest of the team. But she was thankful she hadn’t crossed Alexa’s path. Her eyes dropped to her chest; a faint purple bruise stared back at her. She splashed more water on her face.

The higher-ups in the school had strangely not asked any questions about her unusual healing or her sneaking around. She hadn’t heard anything from Eritrea; her sea of consciousness had been completely empty.

[SYSTEM ALERT: You have a new mission]

Olivia hissed in annoyance.

[Mission: Uncover Alexa’s classified traumatic past and broadcast it to the elite student board. Failure to comply will result in emotional suppression protocol: You will no longer feel joy, fear, or love.]

[If you pass the mission, you will be rewarded with a 2-level upgrade.]

Olivia froze, mindlessly staring at the screen. Why does the system always push her to do insane and inhumane things? She didn’t know whether to cry or laugh.

[Do you accept the mission? If you deny the mission, you will lose 2 levels of your rank.]

Olivia scoffed. She didn’t know why life always loved to give her lemons, but she didn’t have the means to make lemonade. She pinched the bridge of her nose. None of the options were in her favour. If she said no, she’d drop back to level 3 and become weak.

’It’s better than 0, right? I can upgrade it again. This mission is ridiculously impossible.’

"I refuse to take this mission," she said bluntly.

[Excellent!!!]

[Your mission starts now! You have 71 hours and 59 minutes to complete the mission.]

"But I just said no, I won’t take it." Olivia’s throat tightened, her veins popping.

[Yes you did. You said and I quote, "I... take this mission."]

"Why the hell did you omit some words?" Olivia felt like she was losing her sanity. She tried to take a deep breath, but it wasn’t working.

[I don’t have time to argue with you. Your time starts now!] A smiley emoji appeared at the bottom of the sentence.

[Good luck!!!]

"Wait I..." The screen shut in front of her, disappearing into thin air.

Olivia tugged at her hair, a frustrated yell escaping her throat. She slammed her hand against the sink, her frustration spilling over. Then, she slumped to the ground, completely dispirited.

"Failure to comply will result in emotional suppression protocol: You will no longer feel joy, fear, or love." The system’s words echoed in her head. She flailed her arms in disbelief.

’Why does it have to do this to me? Why?’

At first, it shortened her life span. Who knew how many years she had left? She hadn’t felt the same ever since she left the land of ruin. As if that wasn’t enough, it had just given her a death sentence.

Even if she succeeded, Olivia would end up dying at Alexa’s hand when she found out what Olivia had done. At the thought, a cold shiver ran down her spine.

Knock. Knock.

Olivia snapped her head toward the door. "Are you going to take forever? I have been waiting for hours, and you’re still not coming out." Claire banged at the door angrily.

’Why can’t I even have a minute for myself?’ she cried inwardly, moaning her future demise.

....

The chatter of the students echoed in the air, but Olivia could not hear anything as she was lost in her thoughts.

How was she supposed to uncover Alexa’s traumatic past and broadcast it? ’She is the Sword Wielder for crying out loud. Isn’t that completely heartless?’ she cried inwardly.

Claire, Lily, and Emma had refused to walk with her. They were too afraid of incurring the wrath of Lydia Frankstone.

As Olivia walked mindlessly down the corridor, she stumbled into a wall. She tripped, but a hand caught her just in time.

A gasp escaped from her lips, his arms wrapped around her waist. Her pulse thundered in her ears. Her body froze against his well-sculpted chest. For a second, she forgot to breathe. She was completely dumbstruck by the sudden sensation. She could feel the heat radiating from his body.

And then, there was that intoxicating familiar scent. Damp earth, wood, exotic spices, and a blend of something unnatural, wild, and dangerous. The smell made her stomach tingle with butterflies. Her green eyes locked with his grey ones. A sparkling sensation ran down her spine. She couldn’t see his facial features as he was wearing a black mask.

Without a word, he suddenly let go and walked away.

Olivia stood frozen in place, her eyes slightly widening. This scent was exactly like that of the mysterious man.

"He’s the man." Realisation hit her like lightning. She took off after him. She couldn’t believe he was the one.