"So, a lot of the things he's saying are dissonant?" Ark asked.

Melmarc nodded.

"And dissonant things are lies," Ark added.

Melmarc nodded, paused, then shook his head. "Not necessarily lies. Just things the person does not agree with or is not confident in."

"So, he could be lying and trying to rizz up the young mother?" Ark asked with a raised brow.

"While possibly lying about his trip to Tatelat?" Melmarc shook his head. "Lying about having to be in Tatelat or maybe even going to Tatelat is kind of suspicious, don't you think?"

They spoke in hushed whispers while Melmarc's mind continued to point out the man's unending dissonant conversation. Everything the man was saying was dissonant.

"It's a flirting strategy, Mel," Arks said. "Guys lie a lot when they're trying to get with a woman. What do you think it means when I guy tells a girl he just met that she's the most beautiful girl he's ever seen? Is she beautiful? Yes. Is she the most beautiful?" he snorted. "Please. There are supermodels on tv."

"Ark," Melmarc whispered harshly. "And what if I'm right?"

Ark paused to think about it. "Then the plane could be going down."

"And we don't want the plane going down." Melmarc looked around to make sure nobody had heard them or was currently listening to them. The last thing he needed was to have an entire flight of panicking passengers."

Ark sighed in resignation. "Alright, what do you say we do? Inform an attendant?" He looked up at the button above their seat specifically for drawing one of the attendants' attention.

Melmarc shook his head. "And tell them what? I think some guy is lying and is about to bring the plane down?"

"If it's an explosion, you'll probably survive," Ark said, thoughtful. "I know I will."

"And the mother and her kids?" Melmarc asked.

Ark shrugged. "They're too far away to get to, though. And… ohhh," he stretched the word in realization. "You're telling me so that we interfere."

Melmarc nodded.

"Dude." Ark shook his head. "We don't even know if he's Gifted."

Melmarc looked at the man, watched the mana particles in the air get sucked into his nose and come out with some slightly dulled particles with each breath.

"Very high chance that he might be."

"You can sense Gifted now?" Ark asked.

Melmarc shrugged. Their mother breathed in mana particles. Their dad, too. Mana particles refused to come near Uncle Dorthna, and they were kind of scared of Ark. Everyone else was just ignored by the particles.

"I've not completely confirmed it," he said slowly. "But it's something of a gamble that I'm trying to confirm."

Ark gave him a look. "Like the dissonance thing?"

Melmarc nodded.

"Okay, let's say you're right," Ark said. "How are you going to confirm it? Do you have a plan?"

As a matter of fact, Melmarc did. It wasn't the best plan, but it was a good one. The problem was the execution was conversation based. It required asking a question without asking a question.

"I do, but I'll need your help," he said.

Ark nodded as if it made perfect sense. "And does me helping require me to get up from here?"

Melmarc shook his head. His mind pointed out the dissonance when the man said something about hoping he could find love in Tatelat since he wouldn't mind moving there.

"Then what do you need me to do?" Ark asked.

"How do you ask a guy if he's going to bring down a plane without him knowing?"

Ark pursed his lips. "That's a big one."

"I know."

Ahead of them, the man complimented the young mother on how her children were beautiful. There was no dissonance. At least he was capable of telling the truth, which meant that his lies were most likely intentional.

Melmarc focused on his brother. "Anything come to mind?"

Ark shook his head. "Guys are usually very direct with each other. You know this."

"Yes. But I can't very well walk up to him and ask him if he's about to do something bad without alerting him into doing the bad thing he wants to do if he's actually trying to do something bad."

"I say ask him then pin him down if he tries anything he shouldn't."

"That just causes more trouble for me." He shook his head. "I need subtlety. What about women? Men aren't direct with women. Think of it as me trying to get a woman to lie about something without her knowing that I know."

Ark raised a confused brow.

"You know what I mean," Melmarc said in a sharp whisper.

Ark snapped his finger in victory. "I got it."

"Thank God for that."

"Go up to him and say, 'wouldn't it be nice if nothing could bring this plane down?' at least something along those lines. All cheerful as he is, he's bound to give an answer."

"Then if it's dissonant, then at least I'll know that he wants the plane to go down." Melmarc nodded in appreciation. "Thanks."

He got up and was moving when Ark grabbed his wrist, stopping him.

"You're forgetting one important thing, Mel," he said, voice deathly serious.

Melmarc had an idea of what it was, but he still asked, "What's that?"

"If he's Gifted, what's his rank?"

Melmarc had actually thought of that. This plane was going to the capital city of the Gifted. The city where most of the strongest Gifted liked to live. Not a lot of countries had such a place so there were Gifted from all over the world living there.

If the man was planning something bad and planned on surviving, he had to be strong or foolish.

"Even if he's an S-rank," Melmarc answered. "I don't intend to just roll over and die, even if I can't beat him."

"If we're going to die, we should at least go down fighting," Ark muttered. "Good point. I'm with you on this."

Ark released him and Melmarc walked down the aisle.

His steps felt very heavy, burdened by the weight of the possibility of what was about to happen. What would he do if the man truly had dark plans for the flight? If the man proved to have sinister plans and he did nothing immediately, what would he do?

He could report to the flight attendant. But what happened if for the rest of the flight the man did nothing.

Then you would've caused him great discomfort. You will apologize, and at least everybody would've reached their destination successfully. Including you and Ark.

That seemed like the less stressful outcome. But what happened if he was an S-rank Gifted? What happened if he also tried something immediately?

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The answer to that was a no-brainer.

You fight.

Two powerful Gifted fighting on a plane? There were bound to be casualties. Would the plane even be able to handle it?

Wait…

Melmarc's steps slowed down, and he looked around. He couldn't believe that he hadn't even thought about it.

He paid attention to each member of the flight, every paying passenger. This was a flight going to the capital city of the Gifted. There were bound to be at least a handful of other Gifted on it. He found them easily—hopefully. Men and women breathing in mana particles and letting them out.

Within his seeing distance, he counted eleven. On a normal flight, it was probably a high number. On a flight going to their destination, not so much.

As he completed the distance between him and the lady, only one question was left in his mind. If things went south, would they be willing to help without bringing the plane down in their chaos?

Melmarc got to the young mother and the man and put on his most amiable smile.

"Hi," he greeted.

The woman turned her attention to him. Her face lit up in a wider smile than the one she'd been giving the man.

"I just wanted to come over and say hi," he told her. "I'm sitting with my brother and he's kind of grown boring."

One of her children chose to wake up then. He was one of the two that had been playing with Ark at the airport. Melmarc only knew Aston, because his mother had scolded him by name at some point. The child smacked his lips as if he was tasting something sweet then reached up to play with—grab—Melmarc's face. Melmarc was too high up for him so his grip didn't reach.

"Hey, how are you?" the man greeted Melmarc with a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. "You're quite tall for a kid. Do you play basketball?"

Melmarc sized the man up. He was definitely taller than the man. The man probably had more muscle than him, though.

Could he take him in a physical altercation?

Melmarc shook his head in response to the man's question. "Wasn't much for sports."

He noticed the man's smile reach finally reach his eyes when he said it. This one was truly genuine. Melmarc doubted it was for him.

"I loved sports," the man said. "Always wanted to play basketball but didn't have the height for it. It's why I went into tech."

Dissonant.

"Tech?" Melmarc asked. "I've always wanted to go into tech…"

Dissonant.

Oh, shut up, I know I'm lying.

It was funny how his sense of his own dissonance was harder to shake off in certain situations. Maybe it was about the depth of intent? He would have to look into that sometime. Lie to himself in the mirror a few times and see what happens.

"I'm sure it's nice," he finished.

The man nodded. "I enjoy what I do very much."

"And what you do isn't dangerous at all, right? I've always wanted to know these things."

The man chuckled. "It's tech—"

Dissonant.

"—Of course it's not dangerous."

Dissonant.

Well, that told Melmarc two things. One, the man obviously wasn't in tech. Two, whatever he did was definitely dangerous.

"Anyway, wouldn't it be nice if we didn't experience any turbulence?" Melmarc continued, wincing as he realized that the change in subject was awkward and jarring instead of smooth and composed.

You just have to push through. You aren't really the conversationalist.

The woman gave him a soft look. "You don't like turbulence. It's normal. But don't worry," she reached up and patted his face kindly, "these planes that go to Tatelat don't experience turbulences. We're perfectly fine."

"She's right," the man added.

Melmarc looked back and saw Ark was now sitting on the aisle seat. It was the one he had been occupying.

"Besides," the man added, "I wouldn't want to be the one to try and take a plane like this down. Trust me, the flight is perfectly safe."

Dissonant.

Melmarc paused, turning his head back to the man slowly. That was all he needed to be sure of his suspicions. The question was why would anyone be stupid enough to try and take down a plane headed to the Gifted capital city?

"Why is that?" he asked. "Terrorists try to bring down planes every now and again."

They must've seen him as either a curious boy despite his height or a boy trying to satisfy his curiosity because nobody looked appalled by his words.

"Oh, that's easy," the man replied. "Every flight into the city has a designated air guard. They are usually B-rank and above."

"Yes, dear," the woman said. "It's in case anything goes wrong. It keeps us protected."

I wonder where the guard sits.

This piece of information brought new problems with it, though. If the man was comfortably plotting something knowing full well that there was a B-rank Gifted on board, then just what was his rank?

He could be stronger or the same rank. Or he could believe that whatever he was about to do, he would be fast enough to accomplish it before he was stopped.

Melmarc looked back at Ark again. Ark had his eyes trained on him while doing his best to look casual. The other passengers had no idea of what was happening.

"Uhm…" Melmarc scratched the back of his neck nervously as he turned back to the woman. "Remember how I said I was only here to say hi?"

The woman gave him a look. "You're not just here to say hi, are you?"

Melmarc shook his head. Beside the woman the man's eyes seemed to sharpen. He pretended not to notice it.

"Remember what my mom said about me and my brother?" he said with a sheepish smile.

"Your brother is the troublemaker and you're the one that keeps him out of trouble," she answered. "Is your brother about to cause trouble?"

Melmarc nodded. "I've tried to talk him out of it but I'm younger and he doesn't think I'm experienced enough to advise him on the matter."

"I could go talk to him," the man offered. "Maybe he'll listen to a guy."

Fuck.

"I think it will be better if he hears it from someone he's already acquainted with," Melmarc objected, trying to make his sheepish smile look embarrassed. "It's also about girls. I think he'll be more accepting if he hears it from a mother who must've definitely been a beautiful girl when she was his age."

The young mother blushed slightly. "Kids these days and their silver tongues. Alright, I'll go. Just stay with the kids until I come back."

Melmarc thanked her with a smile while he wondered how he would handle the children. The other side of the plane had two seats where the remaining two children were seated, sleeping.

The woman got up and he stepped aside to give her passage. He took her seat as she made her way to Ark. Melmarc caught the puzzled expression on Ark's face. He had no explanation to give, at least not from here.

He sat down and the boy wanted to climb onto his lap. Melmarc stopped him with a hand on his shoulder and a smile on your face.

"Won't you like to follow mommy?" he asked in a hushed tone. Kids liked to follow their mother. "She's going to have fun. Maybe even get sweets."

Dissonant.

He ignored the thought.

Please go with her.

He felt relief wash over him when the boy's eyes lit up at the sound of sweets.

"Sweets?" the boy asked as if he wanted to confirm what he'd heard.

Melmarc was already nodding. "Sweets."

The boy turned, looked at his mother's back as she walked away, then ran after her.

"Sorry about that," Melmarc said, explaining why he had lied to the boy as he turned back to the man. "I'm just not a fan of—"

The man moved quickly, slamming his hand into Melamarc's chest. Pain pierced through Melmarc. He felt something hot against his chest. Smelt sizzling cloth. Burning flesh.

He grit his teeth as his hand grabbed the man's wrist, biting down the pain welling up inside him.

Gaze turned on the man, he saw the smile on his lips yet suspicion in his eyes.

"Thank you for sending the kid away." The man pressed his hand into Melmarc's chest. Pain grew. Flesh burnt. Melmarc's vision grew slightly blurry as he held on to the pain and his sanity. "I am not a fan of killing children."

Dissonant.

Melmarc pulled against the man's hand and relieved the pressure on his chest.

The man smiled. "Don't think your strength is giving you this freedom, kid. I'm only giving you some breathing space to think."

"Really?" Melmarc forced the words out of his lips.

"Really. Now tell me…" The man leaned closer in until Melmarc could smell his breath. "Good kid like you. How did you find out about my plan?"

The man pressed his hand a little closer. Melmarc felt the heat flare up against his chest. He'd been sparring with Ark for the last few days. He believed it was the only thing that made the pain bearable.

"Are you working with the guards?" the man pressed. "Is that it? You're certainly too young to be the guard. But you never know with you Tatelats."

He pressed his hand harder. Flesh burnt more. Pain grew in Melmarc's head to bursting. Yet he kept it trapped, fixed in place.

"Come on, kid." The man turned his head. "Hurry up before your brother, if he's even your brother, finishes getting here."

That got Melmarc's attention loud and clear. Ark was coming. He'd hoped that Ark would just think of how close they were as some kind of conversation. He was wrong.

The fact that the man didn't seem bothered by Ark's approach rung wrongly in his head. The man had a plan. What would he do when Ark got here?

"The guards?" he forced out through the pain, forcing the man to face him.

"I'm listening."

"They…" he struggled, tightening his grip on the man's wrist, "are the least of your problem."

The man snorted in amusement. "Cocky."

His hand shined bright and orange like iron left in the furnace too long. Then he pressed it into Melmarc's chest.

Melmarc put all his strength into his grip, hoping to break it.

"Goodbye, kid."

His grip didn't break the man's wrist, but it did stop his hand from going any further.

"I," Melmarc bit out, now angry, "was hoping for an uneventful flight."

The man looked down at his restrained hand, looked at Melmarc, then brought his other hand to bear. It was a bright orange. But Melmarc had anticipated it.

He activated his skill.

[You have used August Intruder skill My Gift to You]

He felt the blast leave him in a wave a moment too late. His plan was a success. It was also a failure at the same time.

The man's ducked his head in pain and a scream ripped from his lips like a wild banshee. He shoved his second hand straight into Melmarc's face.

[You have used skill Knowledge is Power]

The skill was simply insurance, in case he failed. He did not.

His other hand snatched the man's hand before it reached his face, grabbing the bright and hot hand in his. Pain tore through his fingers and this time he let his pain out in a cry on his own.

Ark was already there.

But he was too late, the man entire body shone a bright orange as he forced himself to rise from his seat.

The entire section of the plane broke out in panicked cries.

The only part of Melmarc's mind that was not consumed in pain was focused on something else.

He had used his [August Intruder] skill [My Gift to You]. It released his pain in a burst around him.

On the aisle next to him were two sleeping children.

He moved to push the man but was too slow. The man was already on his feet. He shoved Melmarc back with a kick to the chest. Melmarc rolled into the center aisle.

Ignoring him, the man turned to face the rest of the passengers.

"Today!" he declared orange and bright, his casual clothes burning on him. "You will know the existence of the league of the Bright Flames!"

Melmarc pulled himself from the ground just as Ark held his hands out, pointing at the man.

He didn't think twice.

Bright Flames be damned!

He rushed the man.

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