The Inferno Ascending

Who are they?

(This chapter contains a description of strangling, read on with caution)

***

A day had gone by,

Ms. Tank had calmed down a little. Jax tried to initiate a conversation in the hope that he wouldn't spank him.

If he had been asked what the woman meant by Anti-imperium inquisitors, then he'd have been speechless. Although he was speechless, he needed answers to his questions.

He walked over to the distraught woman who was seated on the balcony of her bistro. Jax inhaled and exhaled before he took his next step.

“Ms. Tank, would you like me to—”

“Go away!” the gruesome woman snapped without looking in his direction. He wondered if the young man they had taken was her son. He didn't want to conclude, since the woman hadn't mentioned it yet.

“I apologize!” he said calmly, sitting next to her. “Why did they take Noa? He's a good person, isn't he? Is he your son?”

“You know nothing.” she barked at him. “You don't give up easily, do you?” she sighed wearily, fiddling with the hem of her dress. “Noa is my nephew! He is the only family I have left but those… monsters took him away for a crime he didn't commit.” she finally let out, her voice shaking.

Noa’s mind bridled with chaos. He needed to know why she referred to them as ‘Monsters’. It was also clear that he could sense her vulnerability. He figured that she was only a lonely and empty woman who had longed to feel wanted.

Snapping out of his thoughts, he asked again.

“Anti—”

“Anti-imperium inquisitors are a league. They are against super-humans…” she explained shortly.

“Why? Are superpowers not a gift to keep the balance?” he asked innocently. Although the woman was baffled by how intelligently the nine-year-old spoke, she probed carefully. “I mean, should it be a problem that someone… has got a—”

“Such a naïve boy you are, I see!” She wryly smiled at his curiosity, her face loosening. “In the city of Pax, our rulership forbids the use of superpowers, didn't you know that?! As you know, not everyone is endowed with such an advantage and so the city officials have decided that such people should be captured.”

“What happens when they are captured? Are they tortured?”

She turned to him. “We have no idea what would happen to them, they are taken and never allowed to return. Pax’s officials believe that if such people are found, they must be deprived of that advantage. In order to bring balance and equality.” she explained further, which piqued his interest.

A strike of familiarity struck a chord.

“Aren't you going to do something about Noa then?” he asked offhandedly.

“Death. That's the only way to get out of it. Like I said, no one knows what happens to such people with special abilities. Whether you surrender or not, no one knows what happens to them next. It's just… balance and equality! That's all I can say!” She heaved a deep sigh and took off her gaze.

“I'm sorry about Noa, one day, I'm going to get Noa back! It's going to be—”

The woman cracked up like she hadn't been sobbing earlier, interrupting him.

“I'm so impressed with your… guts, but you need to stop daydreaming, it's not even nighttime.” she let out, waving off his words. He felt a pang of disappointment. He stood up to leave but halted again, staring at Jax carefully.

“Where did you say that you're from again?”

“Kistan!”

“Hmm, I see! How cruel they can be. The Khai clan members are superhumans, aren’t they?!”

Jax nodded lightly.

“I heard what happened to Lord Zane, the lady, and the children… his household. Fire outburst, they say, how cruel. Did you know that too? You seem to know a lot for your age. And you seem to know nothing at all as well!” her smug smile resurfaced.

“That’s… right, Ms. Tank!” Jax added.

Without an added word, the conversation ended.

Not that it didn't matter to her why a young boy like Jax would ask such questions, she figured that he wasn't as naïve as she had imagined him to be.

“Come eat soon, you've worked too hard today!” she said to him with a dry smile. However, it was still strange to Jax how nice she had suddenly become

He gave extra thought to the things that the woman had mentioned. He knew that he wasn't safe. At least he was extremely young to find a way around the city or even adapt to their standards. He knew that he had to be more careful and extra vigilant to stay alive.

*

Times on!

He strode down a tranquil alley that reeked of dense machine oil and sand. Jax wanted to explore a little part of Pax City. It was a bustling city with orderliness just like Kistan, his birth city.

His eyes settled on a mini-store that seemed to be run by an old man who sold a variety of fruits, and just like every business day, he seemed to have a lot of customers flocking in and out of the store.

Jax sat on a slab by the wall a short distance away from the store. He seemed intrigued by the view.

He's never been allowed to step out of the manor back in Kistan because of hundreds of prowling eyes that were set to attack him.

Being the only son of Kistan City, an heir of the Khai clan, and the only one who had extraordinary superpowers was a lot to keep up with.

From the clattering of hooves on the pavement to the revving of engines, and then the indistinct chatter from the crowd across the road. Jax watched and observed eating from the fruits Ms. Tank had given him earlier

Among several indistinct chatters, a conversation between some boys slightly over his age drew closer to where he was seated. He could sense trouble, he could read their intentions the moment two boys stood in front of him. And there was a girl with them. Strange, he thought.

“Aye, little punk! Hand the apples over. NOW!” one of the tall, pale-looking boys demanded. Jax ignored the boy’s blustering and bit the apple step by step.

“I said… hand the fruits OVER!” the boy blurted behind gritted decayed teeth. The boy looked at his company and back to Jax. He spat on Jax's face.

Jax fisted, his brows squeezing. “Go!” said Jax.

“Make me!” the boy laughed mockingly. Jax didn't react but rather gathered himself until he was standing, then he began to walk away.

The boy didn't give up, he grabbed Jax by the arm. Jax veered swiftly as the wind, shoving the boy to the ground. The boy’s friends were amazed and confused.

The boy got up instantly, jerking Jax by the collar, pinning him against the wall. It didn't take a minute before Jax ticked off, breathing heavily, his body shaking like a vibrating metal. Jax's fingers clutched the boy’s neck tightly, applying so much pressure that the boy could no longer withstand Jax’s grip.

The boy released him but not Jax. The boy was out of breath as if counting his last days on the planet.

They could see his life leaving his body, but Jax was too furious to let the boy go.

“Hey, you're going to kill the guy! You hate him. We hate him too but don't… kill him!” the other boy said to Jax. Since Jax could sense honesty when people were vulnerable, he released his friend while the bully gasped for air frantically

“I can't wait to see the next person you pick on!” Jax warned the bully and left while the other boy and girl stood speechless, their gazes hooked on Jax.

“Hey! You over there, stop right there!”

A loud voice from behind called out. Jax knew that he might have gotten into trouble already. He slowly turned around. He realized that it was one of Pax’s patrol soldiers. “All of you are in deep trouble!” the man in a black and yellow power armor suit said to them. The man wasn't alone. He had five other soldiers with him.

When the man got very close to Jax, he sniffed him like he sniffed a flower. Jax tried to keep calm since he suspected that the man could be from the Anti-Imperium League.

“You?! Who are you? Aren't you Jax, the son of the fallen… Lord Zane?” the soldier smiled dryly, sarcasm and curiosity creased his face.

“N-no, I'm not. I'm only a—”

“Let’s find out!” The man’s wicked grin didn't look like any good news. He tightened his grip around Jax’s neck to see the boy’s reaction.