The Bookkeeper

It seemed like Raiden suddenly ceased to exist.

For almost three days he remained dormant. The others checked on him constantly—his breathing low, pulse moving steadily, yet he showed no response. Even pinching his skin hard wasn't enough to wake him.

However, all Raiden saw was absolute darkness within, but it made his nerves relax, freeing him from the sharp pain and high-pitched sound of his headache. So he slept.

It was sudden, but he began to feel something inside him—a startling pull, slowly at first, but before he knew it, it became abrupt. He pulled himself up in his seat and began panting heavily. 

His bed was soaked in sweat as he stared at it, confused, before glancing at his body to see how pale and thin he had become. Blood stained his mouth and shirt as he tried to wipe it away.

Just as he sat there, he instinctively reached for his head, clutching it in agony, and then his stomach rumbled.

"How long was I out?" he muttered as he tried to get on his feet. He clutched his head even tighter. "Aw…" The sharp jolt of pain made him wince.

"It feels like I've slept for years…" he began making his way out of the room. "Did I somehow die again?" He smirked to himself.

"Leo?! Ash?!" Right at the top of the stairs, he began calling out names but got no response. Still, he shrugged and headed to the kitchen for some snacks.

"Levi?!… Aeris?!!" No response.

He returned to the living room, headed down the pathway to his right, and checked the training room. There was no one, yet he took the initiative to examine the floor closely. The floor was slippery, hinting at drops of sweat or water. He knew someone had been training recently.

He left the room and began making his way to the entrance door. This should have been enough to scare him, but he remained calm, eating his snack with sluggish movements as he made his way out.

The moment he stepped outside, sunlight scorched directly into his eyes, like sharp blades piercing through them, and he quickly moved to block the rays.

[Papa!] Ash dashed toward him and lunged into Raiden's arms, forcing Raiden to stop blocking the sunlight but squint his eyes instead. He began laughing as Ash's nudges felt ticklish.

[I miss you, Papa.] Raiden began patting her as he turned to the others.

He narrowed his eyes, confused, as he saw them standing beside a lifeless body.

"What's going on?" he asked as he approached.

"An assassin," Leo said as he looked at him, while Levi and Aeris walked toward the fountain and perched beside it.

"He attacked this morning…"

Raiden smirked as he began to feel proud of his team. "You all took him out?" He finally closed in and took a good look. 

The assassin was wrapped in blood, making his features hard to tell, but his crest was unmistakable. A yellow crest on his neck with the number 7.

"Ash detected him, but yeah, we worked together to defeat him."

"Impressive…" The moment he said it, however, his expression darkened.

"Do any of you know why a gold crest bearer would attack us?" He narrowed his eyes slightly, his confusion plainly obvious. 

"Or could they be from the Dawnbreaker house?" His head began to hurt again as he reached his hand up to massage it.

"I believe so…" Aeris spoke. For the first time, Raiden could see the sparks he always saw in her eyes before she betrayed him.

"Leo told us about it." She rose to her feet and began walking toward Raiden. "The gold crest bearers are unlikely to involve themselves in the book… they practically see themselves like gods."

So that was their first strike after all—Raiden thought, startled, as he walked past Aeris toward the fountain.

He turned back to Aeris and Leo. "Mind burning the body for me?"

Leo nodded firmly while Aeris shrugged, and they began dragging the body into the greenery, disappearing into it.

Raiden joined Levi and Ash instantly jumped to the floor, joining the others.

"Don't you think you should have been worried when you woke up and none of us were in there?" Levi asked, brushing his hand gently against his ponytailed hair.

Raiden giggled and turned to him. "You are here… I know nothing will happen to you guys with you here."

Levi laughed. "Did you trust my beauty or strength?"

Raiden gave him a lazy look. "Don't get too cocky."

Levi's expression darkened as he propped his elbows against his knees. "They are picking up, especially Leo." He paused and turned toward where Leo and Aeris headed. "He has this burning desire to excel as your apprentice…" he turned to Raiden. "I think you must make time for him. He trusts you."

Raiden smiled faintly, his eyes squinting slightly. "You don't?"

"Well, do I have a say?" He straightened up. "I am your slave after all… I am bound by oath."

Raiden didn't press the matter about Levi's words, but Leo was something he'd been thinking about. Right now, though, more pressing matters demanded attention.

"Who do you think sent this assassin? The Dawnbringers or the book hunters?"

"Hard to say, but I think this was one of my former colleagues… most of us were yellow crest bearers." He rubbed his nose. "With the palace traitor already giving away our location, it's difficult to distinguish between my old group and the Dawnbringers."

Raiden took a deep breath and rubbed his temples again. The headache wasn't letting up.

"What do you think about Aeris?"

"How long since we started training?" He searched his memories briefly. "Five days… She's been working hard, and she really knows her healing magic."

He glanced slightly at Raiden. "But I think it's solely because she wants to go home."

Raiden glanced back at him with an unreadable expression. He knew Aeris's effort wasn't solely because she wanted to go home. 

It was the power structure—she felt the need to impress Levi, and in that way, once Levi put in enough good words for her, Raiden would allow her to go home. 

At that moment he wondered: was this the power structure he wanted? A hierarchy or an equal power scale but with him at the top?

He sat there for a moment, collecting his thoughts. Then Leo and the others returned. He shrugged and glanced over.

"Hierarchy is better… as long as I stay at the top," he muttered to himself. "Otherwise it's just chaos."

Levi looked at him, confused. "What did you say?"

"…"

Levi exhaled in frustration. "Look, I know you don't want to deal with Aeris, but she should be allowed to investigate the elders." His expression turned grim. "Something tells me they're scheming."

Raiden met his gaze with understanding. The palace traitor remained elusive, which made Levi's counsel genuinely worthwhile. Even so, he felt compelled to exercise restraint—the moment for that move hadn't arrived yet.