Everyone had their own little secrets. Rarely anyone was an open book, revealing their deepest secrets to the outside world. Michael was no exception. The only difference about Michael was that he declared just now that he had a secret…and it caused Zeke to frown.
Zeke Lavita had a rough idea about what happened to Michael's eyes, but he couldn't believe it. It didn't make any sense. It made even less sense that a silver ring appeared around Michael's pupils. Why did his eyes change so suddenly? What was actually going on?
"Can't you tell me?" Kaleb asked, his eyes resembling that of a kicked puppy's.
Kaleb was interested in Michael's secret, but that was not because of the same reason as Zeke. In fact, Kaleb could ignore the fact that Michael had secrets. To him, it was more about the feeling that his first 'real' friend was keeping secrets from him. Kaleb was not sure how to feel about that. Was he not trustworthy enough? Did Michael even think of him as a real friend? Why did it hurt so much even though he knew that everyone had their little secrets?
Michael bit his lower lip after noticing the change in his friends' expressions. He didn't expect Kaleb to be this hurt from hearing that he wouldn't tell what was going on with his eyes.
"I…don't think I want the Zenovia family to know," He responded slowly after a few seconds, "I think I can tell you if you made a Soul Pact with me, but I don't think that the Zenovia family would want that. If they find out that their beloved Heavenly Chosen made a Soul Pact with me to hide something they would get suspicious, don't you think so?"
Now that he thought about it, Michael figured that he could tell Kaleb about his secret. He trusted his friend enough. The problem was that if some problem occurred in his family, Michael couldn't be 100% certain that Kaleb would keep his secret hidden. It was just a possibility – a low one – but it could happen that Kaleb would spill the beans. The same applied to Alice as well.
Maybe things would change a little bit once he became a Higher Lifeform with dozens of Soultraits. His strength would be high enough to ensure that the Zenovia family, or any other family, would have difficulties causing problems in his life upon finding out about Extraction.
'It would be much easier if I knew more about the Zenovia family. Maybe I can tell Kaleb some things once I know for sure that the rest of the Zenovia family is like the siblings. If that's the case I might even be able to trade Soultraits and SoulStar Fragments with them in the future.'
But for now, Michael wanted to keep Extraction a secret, even if he believed that he couldn't keep the secret for long anymore. Maybe a year, two at most. He was changing too much, too fast, after all.
"But…" Kaleb didn't really know what to reply. He understood that the Zenovia family would want to know why he signed a Soul Pact – if he signed one. They would interrogate him and Michael until they found out the reason behind their secrecy. That was something Michael wanted to avoid. Nonetheless, it felt weird that Michael wouldn't share his secret with anyone without a Soul Pact. It meant that Michael was hiding something of utmost importance, something High Society would go crazy for.
"I am keeping my secrets hidden because I don't want to endanger those I care about by letting them in on the secret. I'm still new to this political stuff, and all I know is that everyone warns me to stay away from the High Society and how influential every big family is. So I hope you understand the reason why I won't tell you. It's to keep myself protected and those I would love to tell everything to. I really have nothing against you," Michael explained further.
He was sincere when he said that he had no idea how other families would react to his secret. If he told Lincoln, Zeke, and Kaleb, who knew what their families would do if they found out? Would they want Michael for themselves and obliterate each other to keep Michael's Extraction a secret from the rest of the world, or would they share him like a community slave? One way or another, Michael could only see himself as a marionette in the plays of High Society once they found out about Extraction.
Zeke was starting to get even more curious about Michael's secret, but he figured that he couldn't sign a Soul Pact to make Michael spill the beans. A Soul Contract might be fine, but a Soul Pact was simply too much. He was the heir of the Lavita household and couldn't afford to lose everything because of a Soul Pact. Knowing Michael to a certain degree, Zeke figured that his Soul Pact would be highly restrictive, granting no leeway to do anything with the information and secrets Michael might reveal.
Nonetheless, the pieces of information Zeke obtained just now were enough to understand certain things. He made a few mental notes and decided to keep Michael's words in mind. The information would probably help him in the future.
Lincoln was also curious about Michael's secret. He couldn't help but feel like signing a Soul Pact with Michael just to relieve himself of the curiosity that had been tormenting him for quite a while now. Unfortunately, he couldn't sign a Soul Pact without consulting the household. That was not something Lincoln or Zeke wanted to do because they figured that Michael wouldn't tell them about his secret anymore. Telling their families about Michael's secret and that he demanded a Soul Pact was like revealing it to the entire world that Michael had something very very important to hide. That was counterproductive.
He wouldn't be able to trust them anymore if they were to disclose their families. That was something Lincoln, Zeke, and Kaleb understood very well. They figured that Michael had already begun to test their loyalty. He trusted them enough to tell them that there was a secret, but that was all they would get from him for now.
"Is there something you can…or want to tell us then?" Zeke gave it another try. He didn't want to give up. Meanwhile, Kaleb added, "Anything…"
At this point, Kaleb sounded a little bit pitiful, a bit desperate even. He hoped that his friend could trust him wholeheartedly. On the other hand, Kaleb understood why Michael was careful. If it was really important to hide his secret from High Society for his own safety, or those he loved, it might be better not to tell anyone. It was like his brain and his heart were at war right now.
"Well. The only thing I hope from you guys is to stay the same even after becoming part of your family's higher-ups. I don't want you to change. Maybe you can influence your families in the future. You guys are strong enough. Or…" Michael didn't speak anymore but the vigor in his golden shimmering eyes intensified. His expression turned more serious.
The others expected Michael to continue, but he had no intention to add something.
He ended up breaking into a smile.
"Let's not think about such depressive things. I'm already torturing myself enough because I want to disclose everyone about it. But…Forget it. We shall wait and see what the future awaits," Michael looked troubled for a moment but the smile returned to his face.
He cleared his throat and decided to depart from the group of 200 Alliance members.
"Since I'm a variable, I shall do my job properly. I'll take my leave and search for more Alliance members," Michael announced to his friends, who could only nod.
One of Michael's missions was to gather astray groups of the Tritan Alliance to make sure that their fighting power was gathered. Simultaneously, he ought to collect information about the Tekur, and the location of the remaining Dimensional Pillars. He couldn't stay with the others to do so.
"Take care of yourself," Lincoln said lightly.
Meanwhile, Kaleb looked at him, his expression much better than before, "I don't think you need to think too much about your secret. Just disclose us when you're ready… Sorry for pressuring you…"
Michael grinned and patted Kaleb's shoulder.
'He has matured quite a bit, hasn't he?'
"Alright. See ya!"
Michael weaved energy into his body and kicked the ground. He left the group of Alliance members and paved his way through the empty plains.
On his way through the plains, many thoughts popped up in his mind. Most of them were worries about his talk with Kaleb and the others just now. Fortunately, he could put those thoughts aside when he sensed the drastic transformation upgrading Eagle Eyes to Roc Eyes brought.
Now that his Soultrait advanced to 6-Star, Michael sensed various changes. First of all, Michael sensed that his physique was sturdier and that the origin energy inside his body had been purified, even if it was just a tiny bit. The transformation was not extraordinary, but it would be notable as he continued to progress on the path as an Awakened.
Michael didn't expect his physique and origin energy to transformation as Eagle Eyes evolved into 6-Star Roc Eyes. However, he recalled a similar scenario with the exact same results. It was when Extraction had been upgraded to 6-Star. His physique changed a little bit as Extraction reached 6-Star and the origin energy within him became purer.
'Upgrading all of my Soultraits would strengthen my physique and purify my origin energy even more. Once all of my Soultraits are 7-Star…I will probably be as strong as an Awakened of a higher Tier even if I don't use my Soultraits. That is not overpowered at all…of course, not…'
Just like that Michael found out about the hidden benefits of possessing a 6-Star Soultrait or above.
