Chapter 8 Old Legend

Chapter 8

I got up from my sitting position and stood on the platform. Skyr jumped down first and looked up when I didn't follow. "Jump." He says. When he saw my hesitant look he added. "I'll catch you. Hurry." He ordered. The command in his tone gave me the last push I need as I jump. As soon as I did, Skyr moved to the side and I landed on my feet. I braced myself for the short tingle from the impact that was about to come. Nothing. My feet fully supported me.

I looked back at Skyr and glared at him for lying. In response, he simply shrug. A small hint of a smile on his lips. "Best way to learn is through experience."

I clicked my tongue. "Thanks, teach!" I said with fake enthusiasm. "You're the best!"

Skyr didn't say anything as he lead me to where Duncan, Rachel, and the guy named Byron were. As soon as we were in front of him, Skyr bowed his head in greeting like how Duncan did earlier. "I humbly serve thee, lord of the sea."

Byron started to rub his forehead in frustration. "Alright, please. Enough of that greeting! You guys are drawing a crowd around us." He hissed and turned to face the others who were giving him looks of admiration. He smiled and gave them a small wave in greeting. "Carry on guys. Nothing to see here." He pleaded. When no one moved it was Skyr who took command. He took a step froward and the people started to falter when they saw the general. "I will double your exercise for the day if I see you slacking off!" Everyone immediately scrambled to their feet at the general's warning.

Once everyone's eye was off of him, Bryon chuckled and turned to Skyr. "Damn, general. If you keep scaring the fronts they might go back. Get it?" He said and started laughing at his own joke. When no one seems to follow, he cleared his throat. "So, our new recruits?"

"Yes. The one you just save is Miss Rachel Howard." Skyr gestured at Rachel, who was now being forced by Duncan to go in front of Byron. She stood stiffly until Byron offered her a hand. "Nice to meet you, Miss Rachel. Welcome!" He beamed.

"R-Right. Thank you sir..." Rachel said uncomfortably and glanced at me for help. I avoided her gaze.

Well! That is my cue to leave. I am having bad feeling about this anyway.

I slowly turned my back seeing that they were still busy talking. The moment I turned my back and took a step, a hand suddenly grabbed the collar of my suit and almost choked me when they pulled me back. Not so gently if I might add. "And this," Skyr said as he pulled me beside him to face Byron. "Is miss Nathalia Trayce."

Byron's eyes lightened. "I saw you. You were a beast in that machine! Tell me, are you a runner back on the surface?" He inquired.

"N-No..." I said.

"Well!" Byron now stood beside and patted my back repeated. "I see we have some raw talent here." He chuckled as he kept hitting my back. It was my turn to look at Rachel for help. The blonde simply smirked and stuck her tongue at me. Touche.

"Lord Byron!" Several men screamed as they entered through the door of the glass walls that separated us from the other side. They started rushing towards us as soon as their gaze fixed at Byron.

"Oh shit." Byron cursed.

"Did you runaway from your training again?" Skyr asked. The look on his face looked like it wasn't the first time that it happened. Byron grinned and pointed both hands at him with is thumbs pointing up like a gun and clicked his tongue. "General Skyr, I'll get back to you on that." He said as started to run when the men started to case him. A few fallen equipment, splashes of water, and a more curses later, they were able to capture Byron.

Soon after that, our two instructors lead us towards the cafeteria. Rachel was ecstatic with the machine that delivered us our food and kept on making a fuss about it. Duncan and Skyr had to drag her away while I kept a few paces back so they wouldn't mistake me for being friends with them.

Unfortunately, I was wearing a red jumpsuit...and so was Rachel.

We met up with Jack, Emily, and Watson in the cafeteria, who were all waving at us from a big round table. They still wore thesame white jumpsuit that I saw them weear yesterday.

Skyr hesitated, but Duncan was already pushing Rachel and I towards them that he doesn't have a choice but to follow.

"Hey!" Jack beamed as soon as we were seated. "I see you've decided to join the fronts." Then his eyes switched to Rachel. "Who's this?"

"Her name is Rachel Howard. She's the other freir aside from miss Nathalia.

"Welcome, Rachel." Watson said and extended his hand for her to shake. "My name is Watson. This here is Jack and the girl beside him is Emily." Rachel shook their hands one by one as each were introduced.

"How was it? Your training?" Emily asked us.

"It was fun!" Rachel beamed in delight. "I never went to the gym before but I can carry a barbell with one hand. Who knew!?"

"Yes, miss Rachel." Duncan said. "You even made a barbell fly and nearly destroyed a part of the training facility." He chuckled. "Lucky that Lord Byron was there." 

At the mention of the name Jack, Emily, Watson's eyes widened in surprise. "You met Lord Byron?" Jack gasped. "Did you talk to him?" Rachel and I exchanged a look and slowly nodded our heads. "Not fair!"

"What...?" I hesitated. "Is he someone special?" I asked at the same time as Rachel asked, "Can we also control water too?"

"First of all, yes." Skyr answered and pointed a fork at me as an answer for my question. "And second, no." He moved his fork to point at Rachel for her question. "Lord Byron is the only Atlantean with that magic. He's special because he is the reincarnation of the demi god, Lord Mereum." 

"Excuse me, a demi what?" I asked.

"A demi god." Duncan answered and glanced at Skyr when Rachel and I continued to share confused looks. "Should I do the explanation or should you? It's too early but they already seen it. It mean, it coulnd't hurt, right?"

"I guess so." Skyr stopped eating and placed his utensils on his plate before fixing his gaze at us. "There is an old legend here in Atlantis. It all started the moment that the Atlanteans started living underwater. Back then, there were creatures living underwater. Some sort of humanoid creatures that no longer live with us."

"Sea people." Jack whispered eerily and wiggled his fingers for more effect. Watson hit the back of his head to shut him up.

"Something like that, but more humanoid. From the legend it says that these people lived longer than the Atlanteans. Probably since the prehistoric times. It was because of this race that it was easier for the Atlanteans to determine all the edible sea plants from the poisonous ones." He said and gestured to our plate of salads. "These sea people had a lord who commands all -  sea creatures and gives life to water that he controls. Lord Mereum."

"Hang on. Where did this Lord get that kind of ability?" Rachel asked.

"It was said that he was blessed by the sea God himself. It was beyond the knowledge and understanding of science for us to make full sense of it. I mean, Atlantean genetics makes us stronger than regular humans. We can only assume that it was a higher form of evolution or that there is a possibility of magic in this world. Since both parties started living together, both of their leaders formed a very old practice of marriage to combine the two race. And that is what makes our genes so special. The sea people are also our ancestors. We are the new generation of Atlanteans."

I raised my hand to cut him off. Skyr nodded at me to ask. "Where are the sea people now?"

"They're gone." He says. "They have been gone for a very long time. Remember that ship that sunk? I believe that it was called Titanic? The sea people attempted to help them but they were capture and experimented on instead. Their Lord also died with them as well along with other Atlantean who tried to save those who are captued. With the death of their Lord, the great sea creature that he raised started going berserk. It started to attack humans and ships, sinking it to the sea and risking the existence of our world."

"What kind of creature was it?"

"It wasn't clear but it was mentioned that it resembles a giant sea serpent. It was said that only the Lord's strong communication ability can control it. But the sea people managed to lure it into a deep slumber somewhere far away. An because of that, the sea people don't live with the Atlanteans anymore. Instead, they guard the place where the sea serpent sleeps. But before they parted ways, they gave the Atlanteans a prophecy. That in 2 thousand years the lord will return - reincarnated into a different body. No one believed it at first until lord Byron was born."

"That guy?" I raised an eyebrow as I remembered my first impression of him. "No offense but he doesn't act like a reincarnated demi god."

"He's still young. About your age. 19. He still hasn't matured enough to get the ability to communicate with the sea creatures. Well either that or he just doesn't concentrate enough and wasn't taking his lessons seriously. But I assure you, despite all that goofing off, he is powerful and skilled enough."

Duncan snickered beside Rachel. "You guys should have seen how Lord Byron kicked the general's ass here when he-" He stopped the moment Skyr gave him a warning smile, daring him to continue. "You guys get the point." He finished.

"So the whole thing about him controllng the water earlier was..." Rachel swallowed as if the words itself was difficult to express. "It was all because he is the reincarnation of the demi god that once ruled the sea?" Rachel blinked as she processed the words from her mouth. "I'm sorry but the whole scenario of this Atlantean gene being superior is something like out of a science fiction, but now you want to add a slight hint of fantasy? I swear, if I hadn't seen him controlling the water I might laugh."

"Just laugh it off, sister. Just laugh it off." Jack says with a shake of his head and a slight smile. "It's not good to keep your emotions bottled up."

I jabbed my fork on a circular sphere plant and it popped, oozing some sort of purple liquid. I grimaced and moved it to make sure it doesn't touch the fish on my plate. "How did you guys feel when you found out about this?" I asked in an attempt to distract myself.

"Mmm!" Jack let out a pleasant sound as he ate that same green and purple sea plant that I just popped. "You guys are lucky." He said. His lips and teeth purple with the ooze from the plant. "The first time we heard of it was a week after taking a job. It's their way of letting us adjust to the whole situation of being...you know Atlanteans with enhanced genes. So anyway, Watson here started laughing."

"You're the one who laughed." Watson corrected him with a glare.

"Right. I laughed." Jack rolled his eyes at Watson. "I mean, I agree with Rachel, science fiction with a hint of fantasy. Come on! And I thought I was special." He chuckled and forked down another bite of the weird sea plant. "In any case. It was hard to swallow. But letting us adjust for a week really helped out a lot for us to easily accept our heritage. Are you going to eat that?" He said, eyeing the purple and gooey mess on my plate from the same plant that he was wolfing down on.

"No..." I grimaced and pushed the remainder of the vegetable towards him. "Ah ah!" I scolded him once he attempted to take the fish meat as well. "Just that weird plant. Not the fish." 

He pouted, but respected my wishes. "It's good protein." He shrugged and transferred the plant to his plate. "It taste great too."

"I'll stick with plants that I am familiar with at the moment." I took a slice of fish and started chewing on it. 

"At that rate you won't get stronger. How much weight were you able to carry for your starter?" 

"I haven't."

"Ooh. You probbaly shouldn't say that in front of the general. Don't let him find out that you are slacking off." He pointed at Skyr and chuckled as he took a bite out of the plants again.

"She wasn't. She was on the threadmill for 3 hours." It was Skyr who answered. There was a smirked when he saw Jack chocking on his food. "With a steady heartbeat if I may add." Now it was Watson and Emily's turn to be surprised. Now they were looking at me like I was some sort of monster.

"Were you a runner back on land?" Emily asked the same question that Byron inquired earlier.

"No." I answered. "Why? Is it really that uncommon?"

"Not really." It was Duncan who answered beside Rachel. "But it is uncommon for newbies with no training. And what's more is that your heart rate and vitals are like lord Byrons' when he started his training. But of course, not as impressive as him, but yours is still impressive. I could only guess that your Atlantean gene is strong. It is even showing up on your physical appearance. Your hair, eyes and skin for example."

He gestured for my brown hair and with streeaks of white covering my face. My purple eyes, the reason that I kept getting starred at and my very pale complexion. Well now I know where my genes come from.

But now that I think about it, my father doesn't have a distinct appearance at all so maybe my genes came from my mother. But if that is true then...

I started trembling. If my father doesn't have an Atlantean gene in him then is he even alive? As soon as the thought came I shook it out of my head. I saw a lot of people here with no distinct appearance. Maybe both my mother and father have the gene, but my mom has a stronger gene? 

Skyr suddenly got up and collected his tray. As soon as he did, the others followed except for Rachel and I. Then we heard a beep from our bracelet and I was about to ask what it was all about when Skyr spoke. "Get up. It's time for your afternoon training, newbies."