A Tale Beyond Destiny

Chapter 32: The Organization (Caliana)

I was walking down the streets of Verlice - like what they call this city. I planned to meet with Connor again as I was determined to help them with their plans. The plans that he gladly told me, and the main reason why they had decided to live in this world, even though they badly wanted to return to our own world, unlike me.

Even though I had already run away from my responsibilities, I could not carry out the guilt that I would feel if this world were really in my Father’s hands. I would not let him lay a finger on anything and anyone in this world, because I already knew that he intended to do that.

He intended to do something to make them kneel, to make them follow him without any single defiance. That was why, even though I was still confused over too many things, I still decided to help them and stop my Father from doing anything that could harm this world. After all, I knew that every question that I had on my mind would be answered once we were in the process of figuring out how to stop him from doing anything to this world.

I can still remember the talk that I had with Connor days ago. I can still remember that he said to me that he was not the only one who knew about it, and he was just one of those thousand people of Asphodel who had decided to go out of our own world to protect this world from the King.

“The one that they were talking about to subdue was this world, and with that, they would be able to expand the land that he would rule over.” Those words were still swirling into my mind up until now, but I did not have time to process it because of what he said next. “That was why we are here, because we vowed to protect this world from his evil schemes. To protect this world from those special abilities which I knew the people in this world did not believe were true.”

I tried to process everything, but still, there was a question that was left unanswered to my mind, which was why I had decided to ask him, “Who are the ‘we’ you are referring to?” I looked at him straight into his eyes, and I saw that he was trying to figure out if it was just alright for him to tell this, but in the end, he agreed maybe because he knew that I would never tell this to anyone.

“The Valentin Organization, V.O. as what they have referred to,” he answered, and I tried to keep my silence as I waited for him to explain what this V.O. was doing in order to stop my Father from doing anything to this world. “This organization consists of all the people who decided to turn their backs at the King of Asphodel, because just like me, they had seen the evilness that Leonel has been keeping all this time.”

I wanted to laugh and make a joke that my Father has always been so evil, but then again, I knew that it was not the right time for me to joke around, so I just decided to keep quiet as I waited for him to continue what he was saying to me.

“We formed that organization almost fifteen years ago, the first time that we found out about his plans,” he explained, and it was as though he had remembered that time, though he immediately snapped out of his thoughts as he looked at me with too much seriousness on his face. “I was tasked to be a leader of this organization and I decided to keep this a secret to the people all over the world, because I knew that it would cause an uproar if ever we were not careful enough.”

I nodded my head at him because I knew how it would become too difficult for them if ever the people of this world found out about our people. I knew that they would never be able to protect them, and it would just be the total opposite of what they thought would be the result. After all, based on what I have seen in this world, I knew that they were bound to judge our abilities. They were bound to use it for their own good, without even thinking that it was already wrong. They were bound to do something that would just make the situation worse than before.

“Of course, we needed someone to back us up with this hidden organization,” he said, which made me snap out of my thoughts as I looked at him once again. “The moment that they made me their leader, I immediately contacted the agencies in the normal world so that we would be able to freely do our missions without any interruption.”

I could see in his eyes that it was never that easy for him, though I could also tell that he was thankful that someone had heard him and was kind enough to help them, even though it was really too good to be true that something like this was happening.

“At first, it was never that easy. They never listened to us. They never do anything that will remind us that somehow, they accepted us.” His serious expression was still evident on his face, though I still chose to stay silent because I knew that he still wanted to continue what he was saying. “But then, an incident had happened and they needed our help. No one, not even their most skilled agents, was able to defeat that person, because of his special abilities.”

My eyes widened because I never thought that something like that had happened even before I came into this world, but then again, I should have known better because, after all, Connor was the living evidence that something like that had happened in this world.

“We offered help, and they had no choice but to accept it, even though they still doubt that we really did it.” He smiled as though he was proud of that day, but it became serious again as he continued to tell me what had happened. “We proved to them that we indeed existed alongside with people of this world as we defeated that man. That was the moment that they finally agreed to conceal our identities so that we could do any missions that we needed to do. They also lend help whenever we really needed it, and they gave us a job which we can use as our cover for our true mission in this world.”

“That is why you have decided to cover as a policeman, even though you are not,” I finally spoke to him and he just smiled as he slightly nodded his head at me.

“That was indeed the reason why I chose this,” he said as he let out a sigh, before he leaned his back on the chair he was sitting on. “I think that this will be the best cover because I can have the information that I wanted to have. This would be the best job for me to do while I was trying to find something about your Father. Of course, I also help the people of this world if ever they really needed my ability, and it actually worked in favor of them.”

I gave him a warm smile as I tried to imagine the way he tried to help anyone in this world until he could, and until his ability would let him. Then, suddenly, I remembered something. “Is that how you met Caleb?” I asked him because I knew that the two of them were really close to one another, even though the age gap was too far from each other.

I could see that they could treat one another as friends. It was even more than that, because I knew that he was treating them like his little brother, or maybe, like a son. After all, I saw how he made sure that Caleb and Fabian were safe and nothing would happen to the two of them.

To my shock, he shook his head as he let out a fond smile as though he remembered those times when he first met Caleb in this world. “No,” he even answered me as he looked so distant as though he wanted to cherish that moment when the two of them met. “To be prank, I met him even before we had established the organization. He asked for help from me, even though he did not know anything about me. I witnessed how scared he was at that time, as though he could not figure out what he was about to do, as though the world had turned their backs on him.”

My heart shattered just the thought of young Caleb who was asking for help. I knew that he was trying so hard not to be scared, given that I knew that he was having a hard time trusting anyone. I knew that it was too difficult for him to find someone, but then again, he came and became the person Caleb could lean on whenever he needed someone.

“I can still remember the way he took all of his courage just to ask me for help, and I did not think twice to really help him until he could finally stand up and continue on living,” I heard him say, which made me smile even more. I knew that he was kind, and I was really thankful that a person like him was able to meet the young Caleb. “We became friends, and I even treated him as if he was my own son. It even got to the point that I felt so young despite my age, just because Fabian and him were dragging me on almost anything that they wanted to do.”

I laughed, a little, because of what he said, but I continued to give him a fond smile as I saw how much he cherished those moments. It was as though he wanted to keep those memories inside of him, because that was the best thing that ever happened in his life. They were the people who became an important part of his life, and that would never change, never.

After that, the two of us talked about what they had found out about my Father and his plans for this world, though I could tell that there was too little information, because they were never able to return to our own world any longer. It was as though my Father had already figured out that something was up, which was why all the security around Asphodel was heightened, and that resulted in all of them dropping the idea of returning to our world to get the information that we needed.

He even said that he was telling me that because he wanted me to become aware of my own Father’s evil schemes, though I already knew that he was capable of doing that because of how he had focused only on his power and nothing else.

I did not have to think twice when I said that I would help them in any way that I could think of, though I could tell that he was a bit skeptical about it. It was as if he was trying to weigh down the pros and cons of me, joining them in taking down my Father and stopping him in his plans for this world.

It was not until I said to him that I would never rest assured if ever he would not let me do anything that he finally accepted what I wanted to do. I even said that I would never be able to really calm down when I thought that my Father had some plan for this world, the world where my love is, the world where I was accepted for who I am and not because they needed something for me, the world that made me feel the freedom that I never had before.

He agreed with me, though he set one condition: That I should look out for myself because he never wanted to harm me in any way, and I accepted that because I knew that he was just worried about me. I knew that he just wanted to make sure that I was safe and sound, not just for me, but also because of Caleb, whom we both knew would be really devastated if something ever happened to me.

As of that moment, I was determined to meet everyone from the Valentin Organization just to make sure that it was just alright for them if ever I would join them in their plans. Of course, I never forgot to text Caleb because I knew that he would be worried if ever I would not be able to come back early. After all, I think that I have too many explanations to do for the organization, given that I am the daughter of their sworn enemy.

I had already talked about this to Connor, and he gladly said that I could visit their organization any time I wanted. I think that this would be the perfect time for me to pay them a visit because, from what I have heard from Connor, most of the members of the V.O. were on their base as of that moment because there were a few missions that required their presence. Not even the agencies of this world had called them, so almost all of them were on their base and were taking a break.

I called him earlier to inform him that I would like to visit the V.O. now and he gladly told me that he would accompany me on the way there. He said that he would meet me at the very same café where we met days ago, and I just agreed with him because I knew that would be alright as to not avoid any suspicions that something was up. After all, I knew that they wanted to keep our identities a secret in order for this world to live as normal as it should be.

In no time, I finally reached the café where we met days ago and I immediately saw Connor outside of the establishment, sipping a cup of coffee which I think he had ordered even before I came to that place. He immediately noticed my presence as he turned his head in my direction and gave me a smile. It even seemed like he wanted to bow to me once again, but he remembered that I did not like that, so he refrained himself from doing so. Instead, he just resorted to standing straight as he waited for me to get to where he was standing.

“I think that we should go now so that you can return safely, Lady Caliana,” he said to me as soon as I reached where he was standing and greeted him with a smile. I even wanted to point out that he should not call me Lady any longer, but then again, I resorted to just letting it go and never talked about it. I just decided to just nod my head at what he said, and I got shocked at what he said next. “Then I guess that we should just walk because our base was really near to this place.”

I raised one of my eyebrows because I thought that their organization would be located in a secluded part of this city. I even thought that their base might not be here and was located in some place far away from this city, but it seems like I was wrong because I could tell that he was indeed serious when he said that their base was just located around the corner.

It did not take long for the both of us to reach the place he was talking about, and I got even more shocked when I saw that we were in a dead end alley. It was as though he had forgotten the real way on their base, but then again, I saw that he was finding something on the bricks in front of us, and suddenly, a door appeared in front of us that made my eyes widen because of amazement.

Connor looked behind me and it was as if he saw the amazement on my face because I heard him laugh. “It was one of the abilities of our member,” he explained to me, and that was enough for me to know what he wanted to imply.

They had done it so that no one would be suspicious of their presence and so that no one would be able to find their base. It was a smart move, and I think that I should really praise whoever that person was, because I knew that it took so much time for them to master something like that.

He pointed the way he had made with his own hands as he said, “Then, I must say that both of us should get inside now, Milady.”