Chapter 1364 The Mysterious Gift Author's Note: Unedited Chapter ------------- "The Xelios Tower!" Chatter! Chatter! Chatter! The place instantly turned noisy upon this revelation. It looked like a lot of them became skeptical the moment the place was mentioned. "Don't they have extreme requirements for dishing out information?" One of the Handlers in the vicinity retorted. He sounded concerned. "Handler 237... with our current predicament, do we really have the option to be picky?" Another Handler voiced from the sidelines. "I'm not sure this is a good idea," Another Handler spoke. "Fellow handlers..." Handler three called out, causing the place to quieten. "I very well understand the skepticism. The Ehrams in Xelios Tower are known for their unreasonable demands but one thing that cannot be disputed is their ability to source information. Their ability to see things that cannot be seen. Should we employ their help, we will be able to find the rest of our kin," Handler Three analyzed logically. Low mumbles were heard around but it would seem the other Handlers were considering this suggestion. How do we know their requirement won't go beyond our capabilities?" One of the handlers voiced. "To them, discovering the location of the rest of our kin is not an extremely difficult task. According to the laws of the Tower... the higher the difficulty of the request, the more cumbersome the requirement to fulfill it. We just need to pick a capable team and send them to the tower," Handler Three answered. With this, the Ozis began plotting how they'd go about this situation and who to send. ~ Hours later ~ Outside the establishment where the meeting was held, an Ozis shook his head in disappointment while staring at the distant stars. "It is such a pity that my people label Gustav Crimson as a culprit like the rest of the alliance. He saved a lot of us during the disaster," The Ozis stated. "You are still advocating for Gustav Crimson?" A voice was heard from behind, causing the Ozis to turn around. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂 "Father..." The Ozis called out. "Vilax..." The Ozis that had just arrived before him stared at him menacingly. "Do not let the other Handlers hear of the nonsense spewing from that mouth of yours," He stated strongly. "Gustav Crimson is innocent. You all should be pointing fingers in the direction of the beings we fought during our escape not him," Vilax voiced with a tone of certainty. "He attracted those creatures! If it wasn't for him they would have never come there! Gustav is to blame!" Handler Three said with a grudge-filled tone. "He is not to blame. Even with his absence, what happened would have still happened," Vilax shook his head once more. "How do you know that? How?" Handler Three shouted. "I just do." "Enough of this rubbish! Enough! We lost billions of our people. We lost Handler One... do you even care about the grieving ones who have lost their children, spouse, parents, or relatives? All you care about is that damn earthling who put us all in this situation!" Handler three yelled in anguish. His voice got louder with each sentence, indicating his rise in anger towards the one who made them lose everything they had. Vilax wanted to respond but seeing how his father's temper was rising, he decided to keep the rest of his words to himself. "A team has been put together. This team will be sent to the Xelios tower to get information on the location of the rest of our kin. You are joining them," Handler Three finally revealed the reason for his approach. "Do I have to join them? I was thinking of becoming a part of the AUA. I feel I can better help our people this way," Vilax said while raising his hand. "It isn't up for debate. You are joining them," Handler Three responded coldly before turning around to leave. ~ sigh ~ Vilax let out a low sigh before looking up at the stars again. ... ... ... ~Present Time~ [Planet Earth] "Man, that's the only thing we got going on right now," Within a fairly luxuriously furnished apartment, a dark-skinned male with bushy afro hair sat before a large desk with a piece of equipment positioned on it. "Is that all he mentioned?" A familiar masculine voice was coming from the device. "Yeah. The weird gift which he didn't think much of because his wife was having a baby. As the leader of the Tristan Empire, it was normal for people all across the world to send gifts since his wife was pregnant. Everyone wanted to bootlick to be in his good graces," E.E. responded. "And he mentioned his wife reacting oddly after touching that gift, right?" The familiar masculine voice questioned once more. "Yes, but he thought that was a normal pregnant woman's reaction and just took her to the hospital where she was said to have gotten a bit of heart congestion due to the pregnancy, so it confirmed his suspicion as it being a pregnancy issue. However he mentioned that nothing of that sort ever happened again throughout the duration she had Falco in her belly," E.E. explained. "It's not much to hold on to but this is something we can't ignore. Did you get the gift?" "No. He can't even recall what it was. He just remembers that it was a gift," E.E. replied. -"That is very concerning... a mysterious gift of which he has no recollection of its actual identity or content. I need you to dig more. Try to find out what that gift is and retrieve it. I know it has been twenty years so that is an almost impossible task but try." "You already said it yourself man but definitely very suspicious... Whatever that gift is," E.E. placed his hand on the desk with a troubled expression. "I'll take care of the rest when I get back." "Why do you sound like you're returning soon?" E.E.'s face suddenly lit up with a look of suspicion. "That is because I am." "Eyoo? Hold on hold on... you're coming back to earth soon?" E.E. questioned with a tone of concern mixed with excitement. "In a month, yes. I just need to get information from the Xelios Tower first. Currently on my way there. Once I finish, I need to head back to earth to deal with a disturbing situation." "Man as much as I am excited to hear this, it also bothers me. Wouldn't that be too dangerous?" E.E. said with a tone of concern. "I wouldn't have returned this soon if it wasn't important. This is something I need to take care of personally." "Hmm. I get it. There is a lot to catch you up on when you finally return. Something happened recently at an underwater research center or rather a former underwater research center where a Death Angel was being kept. They're trying to keep the information under lock and key but with the number of scientists involved in that incident, it is bound to spread soon," E.E. revealed. "The Death Angel Grand Commander Shion was captured?" "Yes, I will uncover information about what happened between tomorrow and the next few days." "Once you do, make sure you tell me everything." "Sure thing, man." "It has already been five minutes. Time to end this transmission before we get traced." "Yeah, stay safe out there man." "You too" "See you soon brother!" ~Zhhhrrrhhsshhh~ The transmission from the device on the desk ended in the next instant. An aura of loneliness and silence filled the apartment for a couple of seconds as E.E. stared into space. He stood up after some minutes and walked towards the balcony area of his apartment. The view of the night city came into his line of sight and he breathed in a wind that brought a smell of nostalgia to his nostrils. "Wow, Gus is coming back soon... how long has it been? It's going to be ten months by the time he returns," A faint smile appeared on E.E.'s face at this moment. "He'd better wife Angy up when we get her back," E.E. chuckled as he pictured a reunion in his mind. "Speaking of getting wifed up... What do I say to this?" E.E. had a look of confusion as he brought out a small triangular device. "This makes me feel feminine... Feels like she tryna wife me. shouldn't it be the other way around?" E.E. stared at the message on the screen before him while lightly scratching his bushy hair. If anyone could see him right now, they'd burst into laughter because E.E. wasn't usually the type to get shy. However, at that moment, he looked very shy and slightly embarrassed. "She really beat me to it... well, with everything going on now, maybe I need a little break," E.E. muttered while typing words on the device. He proceeded to send after typing and turned around to head back into his apartment. "I wonder what Aildris is up to these days," .... .... .... Within a massive abode with lots of greenery in the surroundings, a bunch of butlers, maids, and guards could be spotted moving across the surroundings. All sorts of exotic vehicles could be spotted in the vicinity as well as a massive stadium-sized building in the middle of it all.