novelraw Chapter 139: The Architect’s Key
Chapter 139: The Architect’s Key
“Um… Eydis…”
“Mmhmm?”
“You realise that if you do this to anyone else, they’re going to seriously misinterpret things,” came the hesitant, ragged voice.
Eydis released her grip on the wood paneling just inches from the speaker’s shoulder and stepped back. One single pace placed her at the far end of the room. By “far end,” it didn't mean much. With her back against the door, there was still only an arm’s-length of space between them. After all, this was…
“A supply closet. I mean, pulling someone in here is a trope,” the speaker elaborated, sweat beading on his forehead as if she might bite. “Probably not the intimidating vibe you were going for.”
Trope? Vibe? What now? Why has he started speaking like Natalia?
Failing to see the issue, she crossed her arms and let out a performative sigh. It was mid-period, she had skipped lunch and had spent a better part of the afternoon hunting him down while dodging the hall hounds (meaning the teachers), and with neither private conference room access nor the staff room she used to enjoy as librarian.
A girl had to improvise.
“If you have a better suggestion for where we might have our little chat, do indulge me,” she replied, glancing down at her perfectly polished dark-plum nails.
Thanks to Lust, Eydis didn’t actually have to visit one of those pedestrian salons to inhale their toxic chemicals and the even more toxic prattle. She simply manifested the look she wanted, except for her clothes. It would only take one glitch to reduce her to an indignant, withering glare and very little else.
Deciding her Sin could finally do something useful than vanity maintenance, she wove an invisible illusion chamber over the closet to mask arcane signatures and seal their voices. With the Van Nassaus snooping around, she just had to be more careful. She’d deal with that green-eyed stalker later.
Right now, she had more curious matters to discuss with this deeper, and likely just as gay, shade of green.
(Yes, she said “gay.” You may gasp at your leisure.)
“Just… a chat?” he asked, visibly surprised.
She sighed. “Yes, Elias. Just a chat. I have a favour to ask.”
Elias looked straight into her eyes, his emerald gaze bright even in the dim amber light.
Ah. So that was the trope. She supposed it didn’t help that she’d cornered him against a shelf. Fortunately, Elias wasn’t interested in women. Probably. She’d give it seventy-thirty odds and remain mildly paranoid.
She almost missed the days when he treated her like a leper. Perhaps he had somehow miraculously cured his peacockism. Though, it was doubtful. She expected a hair flip, a languorous “name your price,” and—
“I accept,” he said without hesitation.
She narrowed her eyes. “I haven’t told you what it is yet.”
“I’m aware.”
“It could be life-threatening.”
Elias had the audacity to laugh, his shoulders relaxing, looking relieved. “You two are so different, but so much alike.”
“Who? And if you say Adam, I’m shoving you into the mop bucket.”
“Anyway, what do you need from me?” He changed the subject gracelessly.
Suspicious, but willing to let it go, she pulled out an encryption key and handed it to him. “I need you to get me into the Queen of Shadows' account.”
“With nothing but this?” Elias frowned, returning the key to her. “Even for me, that’s impossible. The Obsidian Legion is still functional today because its structure is airtight.”
Eydis tipped her head back against the door. She’d suspected as much. Then, she remembered when Natalia helped her unlock her phone. “What about a ‘forgot password’ option?”
“Access to the Legion Forum is by invitation only. A reputable member has to vet you and send the login details to a drop-points.”
“And?” Eydis wondered why Elias had suddenly become so open, speaking as though he assumed she knew nothing. Unless…
“A password recovery feature is a security leak, an attack vector. Only a noob would make—” he cut himself off, eyeing her cautiously.
“So there is no way around it.” She tightened her grip on the encryption card.
“Only the admins have that kind of access, and their identities are…“
“Unknown, naturally.”
Plan B it is, Eydis thought, before saying aloud, “In that case, I want every thread and every post the Queen ever touched on the forum.”
“I can do that,” Elias said. “But digging into someone as high-profile as the Queen… I’ll have to be extra careful. Don’t want to alert whoever’s already watching her.”
High-profile, even to Elias?
A question came to her mind. “Would a competent hacker store their… assets on the forum itself?”
“Ideally, you stay off the grid. But when you’re already being watched, a physical drive is a target. Given the lack of privacy in a boarding house, I keep a private partition on the Legion’s server instead.” He held up a hand before she could speak. “And yes, I know how that sounds.”
“How uncharacteristically reckless of you.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment.” Elias nodded toward the card she held. “But look, this key is cryptography and is required for every session. Just as I’m locked out of the Queen’s account, no other member can touch my data. I’ve reverse-engineered the logic. The admins built trust by stripping themselves of any backdoor access.”
If that was true, the teenage Eydis might have done the same. It would explain why she hadn't found anything unusual except for the key itself.
The key was not useless then.
“So, because the passcodes are randomised,” she mused, “even the architects themselves would need this key to get into your partition.”
Elias smiled at her. “Sharp as always. The admins might hold the keys to the login database, but they lack the ‘god-mode’ access to bypass the encryption itself. In my line of work, I don’t bank on trust; I bank on a system that makes us untouchable.”
“And yet you trusted me enough to tell me all this.”
His smile broadened, appearing more genuine. And there was a thumping sound. Against his chest. Was that his heart pounding? Elevated heart rate, shimmering puppy eyes…
Please no.
As a reflex, Eydis tried to step back when he leaned in, only to remember her shoulder blades were already pressed against the door.
She needed a better scheming spot. And while she was at it, she definitely needed to re-evaluate her ability to detect romantic inclinations, because this entire moment felt like a mome—
He took her hand with a slight tremor, pressing a kiss to the ruby on her finger before looking up. A suspicious sheen of sincerity glistened in his damp gaze. The “gay odds” had just dropped drastically. Perplexingly.
“On second thought, don’t answer that,” she tried, letting her face broadcast the cringe outward.
“But I want to. After all, Your Majesty saved my life. Perhaps twice,” he whispered softly. “I don’t like to carry that kind of debt.”
Oh. That.
Relief lasted barely half a second.
Elias straightened to his full height, leaned in, dipped his chin and lowered his voice. The tiny space instantly swapped its lemon-scented disinfectant for the freshness of natural pine and wilderness.
“You don’t have to trust me, Your Majesty, but your secret’s safe with me. Please, feel free to call on me whenever you need my help.” He set his hand on the door handle. “I’ll be back with more information about this realm’s Queen of Shadows.”
Eydis watched him leave. So her suspicion had been correct. Even while brain-dead, Elias had overheard her exchange with Envy.
What a curious power. And what a messy complication. She wondered if it was limited to just shapeshifting, or if there was a larger scope, like those EM Gifts.
She traced the wood paneling where he’d stood, channeling Cerberus to catch the scent of his arcane trail. The residue was stronger than it had been at the library. And that had been a direct contact.
He’s growing claws, she thought, eyeing the encryption key. I’ll have to see if he intends to use them for me, or against me.
Without a password, she’d only gain surface-level information about the original owner of this body through Elias.
It was time to find the architect of the Obsidian Legion.
Who would be resourceful and competent enough to bypass both the Council and the Van Nassaus for decades?
Perhaps only one person could help her find them—Him.
Astra.
“What a messy complication,” she sighed.
Elias’s heart pounded heavily against his chest as he walked away from the supply closet Eydis had pulled him into. He tried to act calm, but knowing what she was capable of…
He felt like he was flirting with a sleeping dragon. Every word he’d told her had been sincere, yet it was hard not to feel an instinctive self-consciousness in her presence. In that liminal moment between life and death, with every cell clawing at the last scraps of oxygen, he had been aware of everything.
The way she had so easily sent… was that the Sin of Lust? …scurrying away when it had overpowered him without effort. He would be an idiot not to put two and two together.
The Seven Deadly Sins. That was not a power that belonged to this world.
Eydis was a myth. And the extent of her power was incomprehensible, even to him.
And what did that make Astra?
Was he now caught between two goddesses who could end the world with a flick of their fingers, both independently asking for his help in secret?
With a deep, tired groan, he swung his bag over his shoulder and headed toward Economics class. Stepping out of the main building, he pushed open the door to the smaller red-brick Maths and Commerce building.
Faintly curling through the air was a scent.
Pine wood and untamed nature. It wasn’t perfume. It was the scent of arcane.
It was deeply familiar.
His tanned Oxford shoes stopped dead. He froze before quickening his steps. He threw himself through the corridors and turned right, rushing down the narrower path to the basement, where the technology teacher’s voice could be heard faintly from a lab.
Nothing.
The scent was gone. There was only the smell of pressed rosemary, as the class was practicing perfume making.
His heart pounded so violently he thought it might leap out of his chest.
Had he imagine it?
Eliana.
Is she still alive?
Is she here?