Meski Z merasa pertarungan itu sudah berlangsung lama, sebenarnya baru beberapa menit berlalu. Bahkan dengan dia menahan diri, ditampar berulang kali oleh kartu yang diperkuat kekuatan garis keturunannya membuat Sean dan anak-anak lain tergeletar di tanah dengan wajah bengkak, tak bisa bangun.
Heidi justru diam seperti patung.
Bukan ketakutan yang melukis wajahnya, tapi keterkejutan! Sean dan yang lain memang tidak selevel Alexander — jujur saja, siapa yang bisa? Namun mereka tetap punya kedudukan cukup baik di Akademi Troy. Kebugaran fisik mereka tinggi, mereka jago olahraga, dan semua pernah mengikuti pelatihan tempur.
Pernyataan Z soal bertarung hanya dengan satu tangan jadi lelucon. Dari awal sampai akhir, dia tidak bergerak sedikit pun.
Heidi mengertakkan gigi, tapi seberapa pun dia tak ingin merasakan sakit, situasi genting itu membangunkannya dari kemarahan yang dilahiri hak istimewa. Samar-samar, beberapa nasihat ayahnya melintas di benaknya, dan, seberapa pun dia membencinya, dia melangkah maju.
Kemarahan, frustrasi, pahitnya di wajahnya justru menambah kesenangan penonton. Seperti menonton adegan drama. Kebanyakan mereka bahkan tidak tahu apa yang memicu pertarungan, tapi itu sudah tak penting. Dalam situasi seperti ini, pemenanglah yang benar. Mereka menunggu apa yang akan dia lakukan. Apakah dia akan menyerang? Berteriak? Menuduh dia curang?
Keputusannya mengejutkan semua orang. Saat dia cukup dekat dengan Z, dia menekan semua perasaannya dan memaksa dirinya berkata, "akhiri saja. Aku tak mau menyerah, dan aku tak mau dihina dengan cerita 'aku tidak memukul wanita'."
Z, yang sudah merasakan butir keringat melorot di dahinya, juga tak sabar menunggu pertandingan berakhir. Seperti kilat perak, kartu itu melesat di udara, diikuti suara gemuruh guntur yang datang dari tamparan di wajah Heidi.
Begitu dia terjatuh, dia tidak berusaha bangun, hanya fokus menahan air mata yang menggenangi matanya. Dia mencari di kerumunan hingga matanya bertemu Pamela.
Dia pernah mendengar banyak orang bilang rasa sakit hati jauh lebih pedih dari sakit fisik, tapi pipinya yang terasa perih dan berdenyut justru terasa lebih sakit dari rasa malu apapun. Tentu saja, gabungan malu dan sakit pasti mengungguli semuanya.
"Aku minta maaf karena telah menghina mu," katanya sambil mengertakkan gigi. "Ini kesalahan ku untuk menyimpulkan terlalu cepat."
Z mengangguk melihat dia meminta maaf, lalu turun panggung memastikan Pamela baik-baik saja.
Heidi, belum juga selesai. Dia lalu menoleh ke Pengelola Inn yang menonton dari langit dan berkata, "Aku minta maaf atas perilaku ku. Aku gagal mengendalikan emosi."
Pengelola Inn hanya mengangguk pada permintaan maafnya, lalu pergi. Meminta dia meminta maaf bukan bagian dari taruhan, dia melakukannya dengan sukarela. Lex jelas tahu dia memaksa diri, tapi fakta dia melakukannya sudah hal besar.
Tak mau jadi pusat perhatian lebih lama, Heidi langsung pergi dari Inn.
Penonton kecewa pertarungan berakhir begitu cepat, tapi karena sudah berkumpul di sini, banyak yang memanfaatkan kesempatan untuk mempromosikan diri. Rival menantang rival secara terbuka, dan beberapa ronde pertarungan lain cepat dijadwalkan.
Lex, bagaimanapun, sudah tidak memperhatikan itu lagi, karena perhatiannya beralih ke Ragnar. Jenderal itu tampak mood-nya bagus, perubahan yang menyegarkan. Biasanya, kaus orang mencarinya, itu karena kabar buruk.
"Lama tak bertemu, Jenderal. Apa kabar?"
"Bagus," jawabnya sambil menyeringai. "Usai Vegus Minima, kita sudah merebut kembali Vegus Prime. Sekarang hanya tinggal Vegus Maxima, dan kita seharusnya bisa mengembalikan kendali dalam beberapa minggu lagi."
"Bagus kalau misimu lancar, tapi aku kira terlalu cepat kalau kamu datang untuk liburan. Ada apa yang bisa kubantu?"
"Ha, liburan! Aku nggak ingat kapan terakhir kali liburan!" Jenderal itu tidak bisa menahan tawa. "Memang, aku butuh bantuanmu soal urusan sensitif. Dan aku minta maaf dulu kalau ada tindakanku yang menyinggung."
Lex mengangkat alis penasaran. Ragnar, meski bereputasi, terlihat pria ramah meski posisinya tinggi.
Dia menjelaskan, "Selama Midnight Games, aku punya kesempatan bertemu iblis Loretta dan rekan-rekannya. Aku gunakan kesempatan itu merekam aura dan tanda energi mereka. Perekaman tanda energi itu sendiri tidak melukai mereka, tapi memberi potensi untuk melacak mereka, atau paling tidak mengidentifikasi mereka kalau mereka menyusup ke aura yang sangat aman. Kekaisaran juga punya kegunaan lain untuk itu.
Loretta target bernilai tinggi, meski aku sendiri tidak tahu kenapa. Aku duga setelah aku lapor, aku akan dihubungi utusan, diminta kembali ke salah satu planet utama. Karena ratusan tahun terakhir, aku di misi reklamasi — pada dasarnya merebut kembali wilayah yang hilang ke tangan iblis. Tapi yang terjadi bukan itu.
Bukan dipanggil, perintahku yang sudah ada justru ditimpa dan aku diperintah mengakhiri urusan di sistem Vegus dalam 6 bulan, setelah itu seluruh armada dan aku diurutkan ke garis depan galaktik."
Saat mengucapkan kalimat terakhir, wajah Ragnar sangat muram, dan tanpa dia bilang, Lex paham maksudnya.
"Kamu kira seseorang mengirimmu ke tempat berbahaya untuk mungkin melukaimu, dan mencegahmu menyerahkan tanda-tanda yang terekam?"
"Ya. Sebagai jenderal, rantai komando di militer transparan, jadi mudah melacak asal perintah. Tapi perintah ini tidak berasal dari angkatan darat, tapi dari kediaman seorang Duke tertentu. Otoritasku di Kekaisaran biasanya lebih tinggi, tapi di masa krisis, otorita bangsawan administratif lokal meningkat drastis, jadi aku tidak punya pilihan selain taat. Menjaga galaksi dari invasi prioritasnya di atas merebut kembali beberapa planet."
"Kamu curiga Duke itu?"
"Tidak, aku rasa kebutuhan Duke itu sah, tapi aku kira keadaan dimanipulasi untuk menciptakan kebutuhan reforcemen secara buatan. Aku juga kira seseorang memperhatikan informasiku di hadapan Duke, mendorong dia memilih aku dibanding pasukan lain yang lebih dekat.
Mungkin ini konspirasi, mungkin tidak. Tapi aku ingin menitipkan aura yang terekam padamu sampai aku ambil kembali, atau kalau aku gugur, penerus yang ditunjuk bisa mengambilnya."
"Sayangnya Ragnar, aku tidak bisa menitip barang untukmu," kata Pengelola Inn dengan nada meminta maaf. Tapi sebelum dia kecewa, lanjutnya, "tapi aku bisa jamin kalau kamu sewa kamar dariku, dan tinggalkan barang apa pun, tidak ada yang akan menyentuh barang-barang itu selama kamar itu milikmu."
Ragnar tersenyum lebar dan langsung menyewa kamar.
*****
Pelan-pelan, Rafael membuka matanya. Karena tubuhnya baru pulih, dan ini pertama kali dia sadar setelah lebih dari sepuluh tahun, kepalanya agak pusing, dan ingatannya belum kembali.
Penglihatan kaburnya hanya menampilkan langit-langit, dan waktu terasa bergerak lambat. Suara berdenging tumpul memenuhi telinganya, meski dia tidak sadar, dan beberapa menit dia tetap begitu.
'Di... mana... aku?' pikirnya, butuh waktu cukup lama untuk menyelesaikan pikiran itu. Tapi begitu pikiran itu lengkap, kenangan mulai menyerbu ke benaknya. Bukan hanya kenangan sebelum 'kecelakaan' itu, tapi kenangan seumur hidupnya. Orang tuanya, teman-temannya, harapannya, mimpinya...
Air mata mulai mengalir di wajahnya saat dia mengangkat tangan gemetar dan menghadapkannya ke matanya. Tangannya yang muda, bebas bekas luka dan keriput, memenuhinya dengan kegembiraan yang tidak pernah dirasakan seumur hidupnya.
Saat itu, pintu kamar terbuka, dan kedua orang tuanya tertegun melihat anak mereka menangis sambil menatap tangannya. Mereka kira dia kesakitan, atau trauma oleh kecelakaan, dan bergegas ke sisinya. Mereka memanggilnya, dan mencoba berbicara, tapi Rafael tidak mendengar kata-kata mereka.
Dia hanya menatap tangannya dengan kegembiraan tak berujung, dan berpikir, 'Aku tidak percaya ini berhasil! Aku lakukan! Aku benar-benar kembali ke masa lalu!'
While Z felt that the fight had gone on forever, barely a few minutes had passed. Even with him holding back, being slapped in the face repeatedly by a card reinforced by his bloodline power made Sean and the kids lay on the ground with swollen faces, unable to get up.
Heidi instead, stood frozen.
It was not fear that painted her face, but shock! Sean and the rest may not be at Alexander’s level – to be honest who was? Yet still, they had a decent standing within Troy academy. Their physical fitness was high, they excelled at sports and they had all taken some form of combat training.
Z’s statement about fighting with only one hand had turned into a joke. From start to end, he had not moved an inch.
She grit her teeth, but as much as she didn’t want to feel pain, the dire situation had woken her from her privilege induced rage. Vaguely, some of the things her father told her flashed in her mind, and, as much as she hated to do it, she walked forward.
The rage, the frustration, the bitterness on her face only accentuated the audience’s enjoyment. It was like watching a scene from a drama. Most of them did not even know what had prompted the fight, but that no longer mattered. In situations like this, the winner was in the right. They were waiting to see what she would do. Would she attack? Would she scream? Would she accuse him of cheating?
Her actual decision surprised everyone. When she reached close enough to Z, she suppressed all her feelings and made herself say, “end it. I refuse to give up, and I don’t want to be insulted by some ‘I don’t hit women’ speech.”
Z, who could already feel a bead of sweat roll down his forehead, could not wait to finish the match either. Like silver lightning, the card flashed through the air, followed by the resounding sound of thunder that was caused by the slap on Heidi’s face.
Once she fell on the ground, she did not bother getting up, and only focused on holding back the tears that were welling up in her eyes. She searched the crowd until her eyes landed on Pamela.
She had heard many people say that emotional pain was a lot worse than physical pain, but her stinging, throbbing cheek felt a lot worse than any embarrassment. Of course, the combination of being embarrassed and being in pain definitely superseded all of them.
“I apologize for insulting you,” she said through gritted teeth. “It was my fault for jumping to conclusions.”
Z nodded, at seeing her apologize, then walked off stage to ensure Pamella was alright.
Heidi, though, wasn’t done yet. She then turned towards the Innkeeper who had been watching from the sky and said, “I apologize for my misbehavior. I was not able to control my emotions.”
The Innkeeper only nodded at her apology, before departing. Having her apologize to him wasn’t a part of the bet, she did it of her free will. Lex could clearly tell that she had forced herself, but the fact that she had done it all was a big deal.
Unwilling to stay the center of attention much longer, Heidi directly left the Inn.
The crowd was disappointed the match ended so quickly, but since they were all gathered here anyway, many people took this opportunity to promote themselves. Rivals began challenging each other in a public way, and another few rounds of fights were quickly scheduled.
Lex, however, was no longer paying attention to that any longer, as he had turned his attention to Ragnar. The General actually looked to be in a good mood, which was a nice change. Normally, whenever someone looked for him, it was due to some kind of bad news.
“It’s been a long time, General. How have you been?”
“Great,” he replied with a smirk on his face. “After Vegus Minima, we’ve retaken Vegus Prime as well. Now, only Vegus Maxima remains, and we should be able to regain control in a few weeks at most.”
“It is good that your mission is going well, though I expect it is too soon for you to be coming for a vacation. What can I do for you?”
“Hah, vacation! I don’t remember the last time I had a vacation!” the general could not stop himself from laughing. “Indeed, I do require your aid in a sensitive matter. Furthermore, I have to apologize in advance if any of my actions offended you.”
Lex raised an eyebrow in curiosity. Ragnar, despite his reputation, struck Lex as a very friendly man considering his position.
He elaborated, “during the Midnight Games, I had the opportunity to encounter the devil Loretta and her counterparts. I used that chance to record their aura and energy signatures. While recording the energy signatures themselves do not in any way harm them, they provide us with the potential to possibly track them, or at least identify them should they infiltrate some highly secure auras. The Empire also has a few other uses for them.
“Loretta is a high value target, even though I myself am not privy as to why. I suspected that once I reported the matter, I would be approached by an envoy, asked to return to one of the main planets. This is because for the past few hundred years, I’ve been on reclamation missions – essentially taking back land lost to demons. Yet that is not what happened.
“Instead of being summoned, my existing orders were overridden and I was ordered to wind up matters in the Vegus system in 6 months, after which my entire fleet and I were ordered to the galactic front lines.”
As he said the last line, Ragnar’s face was extremely grim, and even without him saying, Lex understood what he meant.
“You think someone is sending you to a dangerous place to possibly harm you, and prevent you from passing on the recorded signatures?”
“Yes. As a general, my chain of command in the military is transparent, so it’s easy to track where my orders come from. Yet my orders did not originate from the army, but from the home of a certain Duke. While my authority in the Empire is usually higher, in times of crisis, the authority of local administrative nobility is increased drastically, and so I have no choice but to obey the orders. Keeping the galaxy from being invaded takes priority over reclaiming some planets.”
“You suspect this Duke?”
“No, I think the Duke’s need is valid, but I think circumstances have been manipulated to create the need for reinforcements artificially. I also think someone brought attention to my information in front of the Duke, prompting him to choose me over other nearby forces.
“Maybe this is a conspiracy, maybe this isn’t. Either way, I would like to deposit the recorded aura from you until I take it back, or in the case of my demise, an appointed successor might collect it.”
“Unfortunately Ragnar, I cannot hold an item for you,” the Innkeeper said in an apologetic tone. Yet before he could get too disappointed, he continued, “but I can guarantee that if you rent a room from me, and leave any belongings, that no one will touch those belongings for the duration that you have the room.”
Ragnar grinned and immediately rented a room.
*****
Slowly, Rafael opened his eyes. Because his body had just covered, and this was the first time he regained consciousness in over a decade, his head was a little groggy, and he had not recovered his memories.
His blurry vision just showed him the ceiling, and time seemed to be moving in slow motion. A dull, ringing sound filled his ears, though he did not seem to notice, and for a few minutes he remained like that.
‘Where… am… I?’ he thought to himself, taking quite a while to complete the thought. But, as soon as the thought was complete, his memories started rushing back to him. They weren’t memories just of right before his ‘accident’, but the memories of his entire life. His parents, his friends, his hopes, his dreams…
Tears started falling down his face as he lifted his trembling hand and brought it in front of his eyes. His youthful hand, free of scars and wrinkles, filled him with more joy than he had ever felt in his entire life.
At that moment, the doors to the room opened, and both his parents were struck by the sight of their son crying as he looked at his hand. They thought he was in pain, or that he was traumatized by the accident, and rushed to his side. They called out to him, and tried talking to him, but Rafael did not hear their words.
He only looked at his hands with unending joy, and thought to himself, ‘I can’t believe it worked! I did it! I really came back in time!’
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