The Unconventional Winner: Spectre’S Rise

By Krysis

The Sprachians are celebrating death...

Two investigators are trying to solve the mystery of the century the deaths of two terrorists, The Necromancer and The Crafty Queen. Their journey takes them into the past and reveals that The Necromancer could revive the dead with his AI and mind-uploading technology. He, along with The Crafty Queen, wanted to be the ultimate Gods of the world. However, the investigators find that this duo werent the only fighters for this crown.
Spectre - The Undead had defeated death and has since lived as a robot. His life had never been easy, but he hoped that being a machine would make his choices linear. It did. His past was a mystery, but his future had only one goal to defeat The Necromancer and take the crown of God.
In the end, only the unconventional wins the race.

"If winning this battle requires killing myself, then I would gladly do that." - The Necromancer

• Language: English
• Publisher: Partridge Publishing India
• Release date: Aug 10, 2018
• ISBN: 9781543703283

Krysis

Krysis is an astronaut at the Secret Association for Deep Space Special Tasks. A few life changing have events made him realize the importance of chiseling his name in history. Thus, he and his teammates contacted a future physicist Kartik Sarda through a space-time warp to write about their travel memoirs to five exoplanets.

Book preview

PROLOGUE

It’s time, whispered a rugged young man, with a thick beard complimenting the blackness of his neat suit. He was tall with a fashioned built, except his neck, which sometimes seemed too long even for his height. In front of him stood Thomas, his twin. They both wore the same attire and had identical physiognomy, including the beard. No one except them could have pointed out with confidence any difference between them.

Yes, brother. It surely is, replied Thomas. I have a desire, though, to see my beloved’s face one last time. Gordon, the other twin, nodded his head in affirmation to let Thomas go forward and meet his dearly loved wife, Lily.

It had been an eventful day already, but the major turn in their lives was yet to take place. Time was flying like a preying eagle, smooth and fast, and the tension surrounding them didn’t make it any better. The clock had already ticked nine in the night, but the procrastinating sun did not show the slightest signs to turn off anytime soon. Nor did the birds deem it necessary to finish their chirps and leave for their nests. The merriness in the cool Intellegrian summer atmosphere was only adding to the hardship of taking the longest step forward. What made it worse was neither of them had any idea how many lives would this single step change.

Thomas and Gordon usually met at their clandestine house in the woods of Amber, the capital state of Intellegria. The only people who knew about the twins were their dead parents and they themselves. Their parents, Kathy and Simon, worked in genetics forty years ago at a time when cloning was amongst the most fascinating things on the planet Sprachia. With the fire of Science Revolution still burning hot, they were not afraid of being caught, but still cautious. The new technology had enthralled the brilliant couple so much that they tried it on every animal they encountered, including humans, but with silent mouths. Their kin had always been a respectable family in Amber, and the scientists already had gained enough praise for their contribution to the field of science. Thus, no one had a reason to doubt them on ethical issues in experimenting.

During the joyous time came the news that Kathy is pregnant. The couple got closer to each other than ever before, as a new bud was going to blossom in their lives. They were at the peak of their experiments as well as excitements. However, the dark blot on their paper of life was not far away. Appalling for them, worldly ethical issues forced the Intellegrian administrators to ban human cloning from being practiced, which blasted a setback to the plans of the duo, halting their experiments. But the rules of society barely affected their intentions, and it was impossible to stop them after they got the news of their first kid. Thomas never had a twin, until the fetus’s genes were successfully cloned by his parents to give birth to Gordon.

This secret was kept over the years by the couple, displaying Gordon and Thomas to the world very cautiously. For the general public, the only son to the couple was Thomas. On the other hand, Gordon, who was about three months younger than him after being born to a well-paid surrogate mother, showed up when Thomas didn’t. The illusion was kept with such precision that no one ever knew about one being two, and the twins used this fact to scare people and conduct their magic tricks. Thomas grew out to be a brilliant geneticist, taking from his parents, while Gordon had his interests in chemistry and particle physics.

After Kathy and Simon became the victims of a bear’s attack, Gordon gave up his personal life to let his elder brother raise a family, while he went on to pursue his goals to discover chemistry in its depths. They both showed up at different times to Thomas’s wife and guarded their secret even from her. For the next eleven years, the scheme was practiced without a flaw, and every caution was smooth yet sharp as the edge of broken glass.

Time struck again as using his knowledge in chemistry and in particle physics, Gordon discovered a reaction that was exergonic enough to match the standards of thermite at an economical and environment-friendly cost. His hunger for fame and recognition grew, but for the world, a geneticist could not have discovered the complex reaction. The public face of Thomas was becoming a problem for the bright future that Gordon now held for himself.

"I was the one who gave up all the warmth in life just so you could lick its sweetness. You are the man with a family, and that is only because of me and my sacrifices, Thomas. Now it’s time you pay me back. You must know how it feels to be in the shadows in a world full of bright opportunities. It’s time for you to return a favor to me, brother. You must die," Gordon had said to Thomas when they decided that their identity should now be hidden from the world. People, including Lily and her daughter, should think of Thomas as dead so that Gordon can have the opportunity to create a new name and identity for the world to recognize him.

With the smoke from the science revolution still floating in the air, it should not have been a difficult job. Most governments, barring Intellegria, were still trying to teach themselves the technology that they had so courageously discarded. It was important for the brothers to give up on the small family for the sake of perfect anonymity, yet the stone on Thomas’s heart was beginning to weigh too much.

He and Lily formed an adorable couple. It had been ten years since the first time they shared their love, and eight years to the blooming of a flower in their lives – the birth of their only daughter. Till now, life was nothing less than heaven for the couple, with the feast of affection occurring everywhere. Nothing was wrong in Lily’s known world, and life was a happy chandelier, until today. This illusion was just another magic trick the brothers have been doing for so long, the only difference being that the audience would never know it as a trick.

Take care of our girl while I am away. It will take me some hard time before I can see her beautiful face again, said Thomas, grief circling him all over. He lied to his wife about a genetic research going on in Krriff, the next advanced country on Sprachia. His easy story was that being one of the most renowned scientists, he was recommended by the Intellegrian government to attend the conference at any cost.

I’ll make sure of that. It’s going to be a hard time for her too to not see her father’s face for one year. Once your project in Krriff is over, we both might shift there along with you, said Lily in her innocent lovely voice. I hate the sunny nights of Intellegria anyways. On top of that, Amber has been having too many rebellions lately. Once you are settled, we will join you.

Of course, sweetheart. Trust me, it hurts me more than it hurts you to leave today, but what should be done has to be done. Now it’s time for me to leave. Take care, my love, after a soft kiss and a tight embrace, Thomas left her on the gates of their warm wooden cottage and waved a final goodbye.

The streets were empty, except for a man walking slowly on the sidewalk that was covered with a carpet of slippery ice. Chilled air filled with tiny flakes started blowing in his ears. The birds had stopped chirping as if they were concentrating hard on the events that were going to take place soon. In the lonely streets, one could see a car parked at some distance from Thomas’s house. After shifting his luggage, he opened the gates of his car and waved a final goodbye to Lily, who stood still near the front gates of their house.

It was one of those moments when a lot of events happen so fast that time tends to slow down. Something similar happened to Lily, as she saw her life break into pieces in less than a minute. As soon as Thomas entered the car, the man walking on the street, dressed as a rogue, shattered the windshield with a metal rod and jumped into the car. It was Gordon, the other protagonist in the play. He pointed a gun over Thomas’s head and shouted at the top of his voice to hand over anything he had in the bags and leave the car.

Lily, coming out of her frozen instinct, started yelling and crying to gather the attention of any human that might pass by, but the streets were as lonely as the desert sky. She ran towards the car, yet before she could do something, the sound of a gunshot echoed all over the place. The birds once again started their loud chirping, but their singing had nothing but melancholy. Lily lost her balance and started wobbling in the middle of the road. The rough rubble scrubbing her desperate knees did not bother her, as tears ran down her cheeks, their warmth fading and turning to ice when exposed to the Intellegrian atmosphere. She could hear the engine shot up, and as she raised her head, she could see the car, along with her dead husband and the rogue, racing away from her at full pace.

Two days of police investigation found the car deep inside one of the frozen lakes located near Amber City. The luggage – along with the documents proving Thomas’s identity – was intact in the car, but no corpse could be tracked. They had no idea where the body was, and Thomas was assumed dead, as patches of his blood could be detected on the driver’s seat. For months the investigation went on, but without any outcome. The brothers had succeeded in making the world believe that none of them now existed. They had turned into shadows – mere ghosts that were ready to occupy any identity they want.

1

MYSTERY OF THE CENTURY

"Warriors, on whose authority is this mission being carried out? Why wasn’t I informed about this earlier? Do any of you realize the magnitude of impact nine hours can have in this case? None of you had a shred of responsibility to notify me before taking any actions?" roared a tough woman at the top of her authoritative voice. Her blue-and-white police Intellegrian shirt neatly pressed against her chest and was tucked tightly under the blue trousers that held to her waist by the belt that had her badge. Seven golden borders on her shoulders along with the navy blue star studded on her belt-knuckle marked her designation as the Officer of Law in Amber State. Nevertheless, her strict voice and steady stance were enough to prove her mettle.

Her deportment could tell a lot about her at one glance, especially the fact that one should fear having any confrontation with her. Eight years of hardcore training revealed results in the form of a brave, smart and stunning woman that Reena was. Having an above average IQ in the country of the intelligent while possessing the build of a professional wrestler told volumes about her dedication and entrenched talent. As one would expect, most officers went silent after her rebuke, except for one named Marcus.

Uh… I apologize on the men’s behalf, officer. I sent Jacob to your apartment after failing to contact you via telecommunication. It was my decision to not wait for you, and I led the men here and carried out the initial investigation, Marcus said. His courage was as big as his tummy, which made it clear that he was not made for legwork. A short man of about thirty, he had his face covered in an unshaved beard that had occasional white strands hanging around. A bulky police officer, he had been serving his country for more than a decade as an investigator, which rewarded him with the echelon six position of Supreme Investigator.

I believe he is still doing his assigned job. That’s why I can’t see him around. Maybe I sleep too tight, eh? came a sarcastic shot at Marcus’s bravery.

But… We didn’t have any time to waste. Quick action was required, officer. If we would have missed the only opportunity to catch this devil, then the regret would have buried us deep, this was probably as polite as he could get before disrespecting Reena.

Dead corpses don’t fly, Marcus. You could still have updated me. Anyways, we have been together a long time, and your title speaks for your abilities. I believe you might have applied all that you learnt from me in this new leadership role you chose for yourself? the condescendence was in her tone rather than her words.

Eight hours was how long it had been since the Sprachians were hit by the biggest news story of their lifetime. It was midnight in Intellegria, and Reena was fast asleep at her home when she finally heard the call that woke her up. Apparently, it was a journalist rather than one of her warriors that gave her the shocking bulletin. She had taken a sick leave for the day, but this investigation had pumped enormous energy into her. For some reason, all the remedies she was taking made her situation worse and changed her sleep schedule altogether. However, she could not have missed this opportunity in any possible scenario.

I can assure you of that, Reena, replied Marcus. "While I was sincerely cautious about the crime scene, I cannot guarantee the eagle’s eye that you possess. When in your shoes, I made sure to allow not a single man near the dead bodies until we got your opinion, and took enough pictures to fill a few family albums. I have compiled my observations in a small report. I would be honored if you decide to move forward with any changes slash additions you want to make in it."

Slow down with the sugar, Marcus. Let me take an unbiased glance and then I will read through what you have, Reena shot back cynically. How is the media doing, by the way? They definitely did a better job than our Jacob at waking me up, but I hope those rat-heads are barred from visiting the crime scene. I can expect that from you.

All was taken care of, officer. I removed all the unwanted rushers before they got too excited about this blissful demise of the devil, he said. Just take a look at that contended face. Seldom do we encounter such evils who do not regret their crimes in the final stages of their lives. We’ll have to clear all the mess that the rodent had created with his ugly acts.

Justice and time always win, Marcus. We finally caught the hidden man behind all those gruesome scenes. The reason for such a misuse of their knowledge is beyond my understanding, Reena commented, glaring at the dead body in front of her. What did the wild scientist gain, after all? Death? Remorse? Pain? His name and face will be spitted upon for centuries. No one loved him, and no one ever will. Did he even have anyone to care for?

Knowledge is never misused, in my opinion. Neither is it ever wasted. It’s just the case that every person uses his or her gifts for their own welfares, he added. And no, he didn’t have any known relatives other than Kate. We barely had any information about her either, except her face was enough to confirm her identity.

Oh yeah, the infamous Crafty Queen. Where is her body? she asked, as Marcus took a second to acknowledge his surprise towards the casual attitude that her questions displayed. Most of the times, Reena behaved like a tough woman who can handle anything that life decided to throw at her. Knowing her past, Marcus was never surprised at that.

She had been handling violence since childhood. When she was eight, her father’s mysterious murder had caught her nerves to become a top police official. Though a kid, she was determined and mature enough to understand the circumstances. She knew what sacrifice meant when most kids her age were still playing in the parks. She made the tough choice of leaving her mother, as she cut through the thorny bushes that laid in her path to becoming an Officer of Law. Now, after eighteen years since his death, she still searched the ruins of her past to find the felon. Never ever did she stumble on her hopes, and determined as she was, she led her subordinates in every case she had handled to a successful end. With a hundred per cent success rate, she was the topmost official anyone could ever find in any heart of the world.

She has been shifted to the mortuary. What a waste of talent, Marcus sighed. At least her beauty was preserved till her last breath. Not a single wound has been reported by our experts, internal or external. My initial bet was poison, after finding two glasses half filled with wine. Well, at least I tried.

Not a good idea to conclude before we have the data, remember?

"Of course, officer. I am the Supreme Investigator, after all. Seems like you have been reading Sherlock Holmes now. Hopefully, you will be good at detecting sarcasm now," Marcus gave Reena a smile, as she replied him with a dispassionate stare.

That’s great, she added. Now, let’s get back to Kate. Give me everything you dug up about her. I am yet to read the reports, but a brush-up in your voice always turns out to be a good trick for remembering details.

"Yes, I collected all the information I could gather in the time I had, while also avoiding those stupid cameras. I would have expected this job to be of secret-service standards, but turns out the guy who called us also informed top news agencies in Intellegria. All things aside, I was happy enough to reach Bear’s Paw before them," Marcus said, as his experienced eye saw Reena getting impatient. Consequently, he switched back.

"Anyways, the last records that the government had about her are dated six years back. I’ll give you a summary… Kate Augustus, born on twenty-first June, revolution 3043. She was a brilliant student since childhood; a prodigy, as many report. Started her education early, and joined the State University of Amber, Amber City at the age of fifteen to start her research on biomolecules. She was a postdoc student before she disappeared. Her love for tennis was noticed by many, as they reported that every loss to her was an invitation to her wrath in the next set. She also reportedly won fame in the university ’coz of her beauty. Some fellas also gave her a name ‘Crafty Queen’ due to the rumors of her intimate involvement with seniors for the sake of success. Nonetheless, she was someone who would reach the top of everything one could possibly imagine, no matter what the cost."

Seems like someone is a fan, Reena joked.

Oh, I am just reading what others said, he replied. She was a bright student of biochemistry and mathematics on paper. Her browsing history that was gathered during a previous investigation after she went missing revealed her interests in machine learning.

Interesting.

Yeah, she had one hell of a personality, he commended. "When she was twenty, as reported by her professor, Dr. Maxwell, she got an anonymous call from a scientist. She never took his name, but told the professor that she was being approached by a person called ‘The Necromancer’. That is where her story ended on the official side. After that, she left Intellegria without anyone knowing where the hell she had gone. At least the police thought she left Intellegria as she was not detected by The Circle. To this date after that day, the government has no data at all about her life or activities. She became a shadow of the Devil, only leaving her evil insignia after every crime they committed."

I assume you gathered this information as soon as you matched the face of Kate with our system records? I mean, the whole world knew less than nothing about the Crafty Queen, and now you suddenly have the knowledge about her previous professor, her personal life, etcetera, Reena said, embarrassed by the fact that she herself had been too lousy to collect all that information. The Necromancer was the greatest criminal mystery in the world, and not recent. People had been searching for this man from the past half-decade, but they landed nowhere. Marcus having all this info was quite brow kinking. I’ll have to look into that investigation after she fled. I remember reading about it years ago.

Let me take you through this step by step, Marcus offered. As you already know, a man called us informing that he had found the Devil and his Queen; the only problem – they were dead. He said we’ll never be able to track the call, and that he didn’t know anything about these guys except their faces. Of course, we tried to track the call and reached ten different places, all being old age homes or orphanages.

That’s so clichéd, she commented.

"I know right. Anyways, a team of investigators reached the spot we were informed about and found two dead bodies. We checked our records and matched the faces with the criminal detecting algorithms. Indeed, we found out Kate, but no records at all about the dead man, he paused for a breath. After knowing whom the Crafty Queen’s face belonged to, it was easy to track her past through our system records, like you mentioned. Her parents had long been dead. Her father died when she was still a child, while her mother had abandoned her in grief. The closest person in her life was Dr. Maxwell, and once that guy told us about the call from The Necromancer, it was confirmed that the dead man was him."

Hmm… Necromancer. I would have wanted to see that man alive, ask him what joy he got from killing innocent children, and kill him with my own hands. Disappointing for me, yet I’ll take it for the happiness of the rest of the Sprachians, Reena said in a dead tone. So here we find two young scientists, corpses without a wound. One is reported to be a most wanted criminal, and the other known to be an assistant to the devil. Six years can change a person drastically, Marcus. Maybe the shine with which Kate glowed drew the attention of this villain.

Reena bent down to examine the body closely. The lone odor coming from the cadaver was of fresh flowery scent, with the breeze gently shoving it into Reena’s face. She touched his pink palms to feel cold touch through her gloves. Every part of his body seemed perfect. There was not a mark of wound visible to the naked eye on the outside. She scanned the place they were in - a small cottage near Bear’s Paw in Amber. How the hell, and who the hell, created this hut, thought Reena. The frozen town was a decent tourist attraction, and it was impossible for a small house like this to go unnoticed by the officials.

The room they were in was piercing with chilly air. The whole cabin consisted of just one room, which had a wooden table, two wooden chairs, a few car batteries and an electric heater. The table had two glasses and a bottle half filled with red wine. Except that, the whole place was as empty as a haunt, with a blurred window covered in condensed water droplets facing the hills. Without a single weapon of any sorts around, it seemed improbable for them to die if not for poison.

Reena… Marcus came close to her and whispered in her left ear. The person who called us did inform me that The Necromancer could even manipulate the minds of souls as constant as the northern star. However, I found his personal diaries. There are about six for each gone year, but that’s not all. After unlocking his personal safe, I found a different one-volume book. It has the whole of his life recorded within.

Where did you find them? And why would a person carry his life-story to a place like this?

Marcus bent towards Reena and spoke in a hushed voice, "Listen, Reena, I hid something from all the other officers, but I am telling you about it. I have no idea why he did this, but while investigating I found a small piece of paper inside his pockets. It said the batteries have my story. I took the batteries for inspection, and it turned out that they were just plastic boxes with these books inside. I then replaced them with other new ones that I took from my own cars. For once my passion for cars brought something good. The batteries you see here are the exact replica of what we found when we first arrived here, but…"

And you did all that in just four hours, without anyone noticing? Reena asked, growing a feeling of suspicion.

Oh yes. I have been really busy all day sneaking around. I sent Donald and Xhao to carry out some legwork, and when I got the opportunity I replaced them.

You do realize that you have confessed a federal crime to me, right? Reena was on her feet once again.

"Actually, the most important line in the Intellegrian constitution, which makes our country different from the rest, states that common sense and common knowledge will override any laws written in the big book. I thought it best to hide these books from the hands of people who might misuse it, and until we, the officers in charge, know what is inside, we keep them secret. I think the judiciary should be able to put that under it. On top of that, we might want to make this investigation private," Marcus replied. Even though he was not exactly accurate, he still had a point to fight upon in legal matters. The Intellegrian government, after the Science Revolution, had made sure to give their judiciary the power of common sense even if it disobeyed the constitution in some way. This way, no one could bend justice, even if they somehow bent the law.

I know, but next time be careful about your attitude in cases of this magnitude. I am your friend, but before that, I am your superior, and you do not take such actions without my consent. Is that clear? she said sternly, as Marcus nodded his head like an obedient child.

Reena could hear her heartbeat. Of all the cases in her life, this was probably the most electrifying one, next only to the mystery of her dead dad. She had another look at the corpse of that evil, lying on the floor with a creepy smile as if he was content with all his deeds. His face had such a charm even after death that Reena had to hold back her temptation to love it. Evil, she thought. It’s calling me to make me one. But I’m no commoner.

I’ll keep the book of his life, you keep the diaries. Okay?

As you wish, officer. I’ll follow your orders, Marcus replied. "I think you should leave this eerie place. It’s already too late. I’ll handle the minions. But remember to visit my cabin and take the book from the safe. Here’s the key. And just for a warning, it is really heavy and has more than a thousand pages."

Sure, Marcus. As much as I hate admitting it, I think you made the right choice of not telling about these books to anyone but me. That is very kind of you. I am sure you’ll carry out the formal proceedings at your level best, Marcus sometimes thought it was easier to solve international murders than to figure out when Reena was being sarcastic. Just keep informing me about every happening until I get the forensic report. Till then, I’ll read The Necromancer’s story. See you, then.

Goodbye, ma’am. Wish you a calm night, Reena threw back a polite smile to Marcus’s well wishes. Although