《BlackHeart》


 Introduction to the Man in Black

    Introducing the man in black:


    A mysterious black ship floats through space. It crosses great distance within the quiet of the void. The sharp black ship flies into a planet, with a purple atmosphere. The ship lands, and a man clad in a heavy black coat, and blacked out high-tech goggles walks out. He pulls out a device, and on it, an image of a man with a bounty appears. The bounty states the man is worth ¡°10,000,000¡±


    The bounty hunter exits the dock and starts taking a stroll through the city. He walks into a bar and slides the bounty to the bartender. The bartender ignores it until the hunter in black puts some cash on the table; metallic currency. The bartender reaches under the counter and starts writing on a sheet of note paper. He slides the note over the counter, swipes the currency, and goes back to his business. The hunter gets up, gives a thumbs up, takes the note, and leaves. As he exits the bar and the door closes, the man vanishes in a purple light.


    We catch the hunter teleporting from location to location, briefly checking the note, then analyzing each scene from afar. On the fifth stop, the hunter checks the note and looks back up, seeming to acknowledge that he¡¯s found what he¡¯s looking for. The busy warehouse seems to be running floating boxes and machinery in and out of the complex. The hunter casually infiltrates the complex undetected, as if it is the easiest tasks ever. He toggles the buttons and dials on his goggles as he tries to overhear some conversations. He makes his way deeper in the complex and spots his target, inspecting tech and giving orders.


    The man in black leans on some railings and watches as the target goes about his business. The targets eventually find himself alone as he walks to his office. His name is on the top of the door, Evan combu. The target walks In and takes a second before he notices a very large, ominous, grey skinned shadow of a man in his chair, feet kicked up, hands resting behind his head.


    Before he can say anything, he stares confused before the hunter gives a cold smile, and suddenly, the two are falling 100th of meters in the sky. Evan eyes widen as he slowly processes this new turn of events. He then starts yelling as he descends rapidly. He screams at the intruder to know what the meaning of this is and what the hell is going on. The hunter, unbothered, decides to open his mouth. ¡°To jumpstart my career.¡±


    Evan looks confused, asking what the hell he means by that. However, the man refuses to elaborate, as he takes an upright position; this only annoys Evan combu. Insulted, readies himself for a fight, ¡°You bastard,¡± he says angrily. Evan pulls back a fist. However, before he could do anything, the man disappeared.


    Evan looks around when he¡¯s suddenly spiked in the back by a diving kick. The kick sends the two crashing through some tall buildings. In a rubble filled alleyway, the man in black picks his target up by the back of the head and readies a punch. However, the palms of Evan start glowing orange hot, and a massive explosion topples the two buildings making up the alley.


    Evan quickly speeds out of the way of the falling buildings and starts running down the street, pushing people out of the way. He takes out his phone and tries to call his men, but suddenly the man appears in the air, unharmed, lands an incredibly fast kick to the back of the man head, making Evan eat the pavement. The man lands casually, without taking his hands out his pockets, a sign of disrespect.


    The target pulls his head from out the street and turns around to look at this menace. A crowd forms around the fight, and nearby law enforcement, known as the peacekeepers, start swarming in.


    ¡°Who the hell are you!!¡± Evan says with a mangled nose.


    The man¡¯s linear smile remains unnerving as he tilts his head up, ¡°Call me, Obsidian.¡± The crowd starts taking out their phones and devices to record the scene. Evan is dumbfounded. He¡¯s never heard of this *Obsidian*. Is he getting beaten up by some random. The peacekeepers raise their rifles.


    ¡°Stand down and do not resist,¡±


    The armored soldiers say.


    ¡°Pheonix Order? Tch.¡± Obsidian says, as the creepy smile widens. He teleports in a little cylinder device into his hand. He presses a button, and the handle part pops off. He drops it, and Obsidian teleports both him and his target to another section of the city.


    ¡°Grenade!!!¡± The peacekeepers scream, being left with an unnecessary gift.


    Upon the rooftops from afar, a large explosion is heard, but ignoring said explosion, Evan scrambles to get up and rushes at Obsidian. Evan runs in with an explosive punch. However, without flinching, Obsidian opens a portal, causing the explosion to go off behind the target. The two start a one-sided fight as Evan tries to fight back but gets completely outclassed.


    Evan throws a series of blows, some glowing orange ready to explode. However, Obsidian skillfully diverts every blow sneaking in precise punches that leave Evan weak with every strike. Obsidian strikes the joint of Evans arm, disabling it. He then hits him with a nasty blow to the gut and starts wailing on him, with one arm and a series of spinning kicks and knees. Evan tries to defend, putting his guard up, but then the blows start coming from different angles. He watches Obsidian go for a punch, but then he¡¯s hit in the back of the head.


    Obsidian starts abusing his teleportation instantaneously, zipping around while beating the poor man senseless. He¡¯s hit with one more blow to the gut before Obsidian roundhouse kicks him away. Evan weakly scrambles to get up. But as he looks up, Obsidian looks down on him.


    ¡°I get it now. You have a space warping blessing, and considering how talented you are, you are. you must be a Praw, but why would a Praw become a Hired gun! They¡¯re practically royalty!¡±


    Obsidian stares at Combu with that chilling smile.


    ¡°Gift.¡± Obsidian says


    Evan eyes widen in fear, seemingly knowing what that means. ¡°What did you say.¡± He says in horror


    ¡°It¡¯s a gift, not a blessing. And *Praw* is just for documents.¡± Obsidian crouches down. ¡°Though, I hope it doesn¡¯t scare you, not yet at least, let me see more of that will survive.¡± Obsidian takes an ominous tone, sending shivers down Evan spine as he begins panicking for his life.


    Evan starts trying to run away.


    Obsidian¡¯s smile fades a little


    ¡°Well, I suppose I don¡¯t mind a chase. I suggest you run with everything you have!¡±


    Evan looks back, and Obsidian has disappeared. Evan launches himself with his explosions to try and get away, but before he can get any solid distance, he¡¯s instantly kicked down through some buildings. Evan tries to limp away, but Obsidian continues to torment his prey. Obsidian kicks out his legs and punts himself into a building. Evan is left in a pile of rubble, unable to get up. He knows there¡¯s nothing he can do. If he has the gift of space, he¡¯s not bound by anything; he¡¯s practically the law of space itself.


    Obsidian walks him down with that same chilling smile. Evan starts truly panicking, and he tries everything to move, struggling and struggling. Obsidian looks down upon his target with a cold smirk, then he pulls out a hand cannon from behind his coat.


    ¡°Nooooo!!! Wait, no, please! 10,000,000, that¡¯s nothing. I can pay you 100 million, no 500 mil. Please just leave me alone!!¡± Evan struggles more and more he can¡¯t even defend himself from what¡¯s next to come. Obsidian puts a boot to his chest, and the smile fades from his face.


    ¡°Unfortunate, I swore you had a strong look to you. It¡¯s just another coward, weak, and worthless.¡±


    A loud bang followed by audible gasps from the crowd that has quietly formed around.


    The peacekeepers rush in swarming Obsidian. ¡°We got a hostile individual, going in for detainment.¡±


    ¡°Ooooo, Fun.¡±


    Obsidian says as he watches the PK¡¯s rush at him.


    Obsidian runs at the Pk¡¯s and drop-kicks the lead man. Touching a hand to the ground, he spins around, kicking one in the face. Jumping off that guy''s face, Obsidian knees another, grabs him but the head and through him into a crowd.


    More swarms In, and Obsidian gives a wicked grin. The area is filled with heavy, intense pressure. Suddenly, his hands engulf with a purple flaming aura, and two blades manifest from this aura in Obsidian¡¯s hands. In a blindingly fast move, every Peacekeeper is left dismembered.


    Obsidian makes the blades vanish and quickly puts Combu in a body bag and vanishing from sight.


    We catch Obsidian appearing on his ship. He puts the bag in a secret store hold underneath the floor of his ship.


    He makes his way to the cockpit and starts up the ship. But before the engines are ready, he notices an alert on one of his monitors. A bunch of peacekeepers are rushing in the dock. He thinks to himself, ¡°Shouldn¡¯t have left that big of a mess.¡± So, with a frustrated sigh, he teleports the entirety of his ship outside of the planet''s atmosphere. He blasts the engines.


    Hours later, we cut to Obsidian arriving at his destination.


    He checks in at the dock, and after he¡¯s allowed passage, teleports inside the agency building.


    ¡°Ahh, good God!!¡± The receptionist jumps back, startled out his chair.


    ¡°I¡¯m done.¡± Obsidian says impatiently.


    The receptionist gets up and has the prize taking away. He has Obsidian sit down while everything is taken care of, and they fetch his pay.


    While he waits, flicking through his phone, a woman in half black and half white business attire, using a cane, and smoking a cigar walks up to him.


    ¡°Wow, you¡¯re back so quickly, I thought you¡¯d have a hard time, but I guess not, newbie.¡± Says the lady.


    ¡°Hello, Zi,¡± Obsidian says


    ¡°Sheesh, show a little emotion.¡± Zi remarks at Obsidians cold tone.


    ¡°You know you¡¯re supposed to meet me before coming here, right? You¡¯re lucky I had some business here.¡± Zi says


    ¡°Why?¡± Obsidian retorts.


    ¡°Because I¡¯m your reader and superior. You got to talk to me instead of sneaking off and doing your own thing. Speaking of which, well done. Oh, and another thing you didn¡¯t have to kill your target, you could''ve got more if you turned him in warm. AND ANOTHER THING¡­¡± Zi rants on and on.


    ¡°Please shut up.¡± Obsidian gets sick of her prattle.


    She, frowns, and sits down next to him, blowing out a black cloud. Obsidian looks at the cloud in disgust.


    ¡°So, how was your first mission.¡± Zi questions


    ¡°Disappointing.¡± Obsidian brushes off the question.


    ¡°Really!? Evan combu, top dog of the Cruel Ashes, the biggest criminal organization in Great Smolder. HE was disappointing, I heard he---¡±


    ¡°Please. Shut. Up.¡± Obsidian cuts her off before she begins dropping more exposition.


    ¡°Alright, fine, but I got to know how you did it on your first mission.¡± Zi asks curiously


    Obsidian sighs. However, luck be on his side, his rewards are brought out, and his license was upgraded for his taking down of a high value target, bonus for being his first job. Obsidian checks and collects his payment, but before he teleports away, he snatches Zi¡¯s cigar out of her mouth and throws to the ground and stomps it out. He then teleports away. Zi leans on the receptionist desk.


    ¡°I''m going to have my hands full with that one.¡± Zi sighs


    The receptionist goes on break.


    As Obsidian strolls back to his ship, seeming to enjoy his long walk, we see the reality of this universe. The enforcers of law, beatdown and abuse its citizens, it¡¯s a world ruled by fear. The sick and homeless are dying like dogs on the streets, while towering building house the wealthy. It¡¯s like this everywhere from what Obsidian could tell.


    Obsidian passes a plaza where a strange ad plays on a massive screen.


    Ballad of the Phoenix King: In ancient times, on worlds still young, there reigned two kings. The king of judgment and the king of the free. One king sought order, and one king sought complete freedom. The kings would go to war and, in the end, found coexist, both order and freedom. And from this unity, the Phoenix king was born. Believe in the king, as he is the embodiment of order and freedom.


    Obsidian seems dismissive of the ad, like he knew it was a lie. There¡¯s plenty of order and freedom if you¡¯re strong. Obsidian reaches the port and watches as the poor and homeless try to pay their tithes and offerings to their rulers. Every time he overhears, *serve the eternal monarchy, all for the Phoenix king, obey the Phoenix order. *


    Obsidian simply skips past check-in, teleporting to his ship. Releasing the restraints himself. It seems like he¡¯s down these many times before. He¡¯s teleports into his ship, and without a sound, he leaves the port in his silent ship. We get to see a glimpse of Obsidian¡¯s ship as he walks around his ship, putting up his rewards. He gets comfortable and heads to his lounging area.


    His ship interior is a nice pale white. The lounging area has a couch that wraps around in a half circle shape. It''s cut off in the middle to make way for a back door. There is a round table in the center of the couch, a mini fridge, and a tv.


    He starts coughing and coughs up some blood. He looks at his hand, and the blood is a deep purplish in color. He clinches his hand and heads to the bathroom, and he stands by the toilet as he summons a canister. He opens It, revealing a medicinal needle. He takes a breath and sticks himself with it, jittering a bit before calming down.


    He tosses the syringe away in a bucket already filled with the same type of syringe.


    ¡°I will make that bastard pay. If it¡¯s the last thing I do.¡±


    High risk, high reward:


    Time has passed on Obsidian¡¯s ship, and he has plenty of time on his hands. He decides to browse the Gunner network to find a job to keep him busy. As he browses, he is immediately disappointed by the limited options, as he lets out a groan. Small assassinations, some escorts, and a few intel missions. None of them caught his attention. So, Obsidian gets the bright idea, to travel to a nearby library, a place for hired guns, and put his recon skills to good use.


    He boosts off in his ship and an hour later arrives at his location, docking and walking to the library. He walks in and sees a calm environment. There is an actual reading area, which is probably for public use, but there¡¯s also a bar area. Obsidian heads to a computer, where two guys are chatting on a lounge nearby.


    Pager 1: ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s pretty lame. Ay, what¡¯s that job you were assigned. The one by the books gave you.¡±


    Pager 2: ¡°Oh, that one, uuuuhhh---It¡¯s some kind of demo job. Some eternal order re-purposing factory needs to get destroyed.¡±


    Pager 1: ¡°You think you can handle that.¡±


    Pager 2: ¡°pfft, please, all I got to do is find the biggest battery and strap a bomb to it. Although I doubt, they have anyone that can hang with me.¡±


    The duo has a hearty laugh. Obsidian thinks that would be a much better mission than anything the computer could offer. Obsidian waits for pager 2 to leave. Then he follows him out. Obsidian stalks the man for a few meters without him noticing before teleporting them both to an unpopulated area. He keeps walking before noticing the scenery has changed. He looks around before noticing the man behind him. The man in black has a strange smile. He slowly reaches for the shotgun attached to his backpack


    ¡°Did you do this?¡± The page hunter asks


    ¡°I¡¯ve got a proposition for you.¡± Obsidian says, not breaking eye contact, to the point it¡¯s creepy.


    ¡°Hmmm --- ahh!¡± Suddenly, Obsidian teleports right in the man''s face spooking him.


    The man jumps back and pulls his shotgun.


    ¡°I get your job, and you get to live. Also, I will give you a portion of the pay. Out of courtesy.¡± Obsidian strikes an unfair deal.


    ¡°Hell no, who do you think you are! Actually, who are you!!¡± The pager says offended.


    ¡°Obsidian, I will give you 40%, and I get to do all the hard work. Doesn¡¯t that sound good.¡± Obsidian lays out the deal


    ¡°Who do you think you are, arrogant bastard. I should put you in the ground.¡± The pager gets hostile.


    ¡°You don¡¯t want to try. How about 30/70? Honestly, I don¡¯t need the money.¡± Obsidian gives him one more chance.


    The man blinks as he lulls over the deal. He lowers his shotgun to his hip and thinks, making sure to keep his guard up.


    ¡°This job comes from the Books, the top brass. If I give it to you, you will get us both in big trouble. Although I was gonna put a squad together so if you wan¡ª¡± The pager tries to understand Obsidian mind.


    ¡°I''m getting all the credit.¡± Obsidian interrupts.


    ¡°Huh --- wha --- you, you¡¯re ridiculous! I just met you and I already hate you.¡± The pager gestures his astonishment with his hands.


    ¡°Deal or no deal, I''m done talking.¡± Obsidian says, his weird smile fading away.


    ¡°God****, you¡¯re a piece of work, fine but I need to at least be there.¡±


    ¡°I think I''m gonna kill you.¡± Obsidian says, slowly losing patience


    ¡°Why---You¡¯re insane! Fine, I swear if I get thrown in the pit, I''m coming for you. Also, I want 20/80.¡± The pager pushes his luck.


    ¡°Deal.¡± Obsidian says quickly


    ¡°Well, alright then, deal.¡±


    The two shake hands.


    We cut to Obsidian flying off in his ship, the pager he struck a deal with watching him take off. The pager gave Obsidian the commission details and his information so Obsidian can contact him after it¡¯s over. Obsidian charts the course in his ships console, and he boosts off to the Shattered Nebula. Once he¡¯s out of orbit. The watching pager makes a call.


    ¡°Hello, this is Dominick, I¡¯ve got something.¡±


    We cut to Obsidian flying his ship. He reads the details from the mission. Simply, he needs to: confirm with the Revoltor commander on Ivan-IV and destroy the re-purposing factory in the clack district. Simple enough.


    As he crosses sector borders, he charts his autopilot for Ivan-IV, where his targets and soon to be clients are located. After a while of zooming through space, he enters an asteroid field. numerous fields like this one plague the Shattered Nebula, it¡¯s filled with ship, and space debris alike, remnants from an old war. Obsidian passes through a gigantic xeno warship carcass, a massive ship that looked formidable in naval combat, now just more wreckage for the trash fields. He flies through the massive hole in the middle of the warship.


    A beeping Is heard on Obsidians console.


    Suddenly, a giant space fairing mech appears right in front of Obsidian¡¯s ship. The mech raises its big rifle and fires plasma beams at Obsidians ship. Shocked but not unprepared, Obsidian teleports his entire ship out of the way, giving him some room.


    ¡°What the hells, a G.K.A.M.U doing out here.¡± Obsidian curses


    The two crafts engage in a rapid dog fight, as the mech remains of Obsidian¡¯s tail.


    Obsidian darts around the debris field trying to shake the mech. Obsidian spins his ship around and fires his ships guns at the mech. However, he darts away into the debris field.


    Obsidian gets sick of the games, and he summons a helmet, taking off his goggles. We only see the back of his head when he puts the helmet on. He puts his ship on auto pilot, as he then teleports outside. Using the KAMU is hiding in the field. Obsidian summons a massive plasma cannon. He lets it charge, clicks, and shifts into firing mode, revealing a giant barrel.


    Obsidian aims it forward, but the Kamu is not in his line of sight. The KAMU itself swings around trying to attack from behind. The cannons at full charge and fires a massive beam into space. The Kamu uses this as a chance to fire, but suddenly, a portal opens behind it, and the beam blasts a hole through its back, killing the pilot instantly, leaving nothing left of the waist.


    That¡¯s not it, as several other portals redirect the beam and strike the mech a few more times before its explodes and left completely unrecognizable space junk. The beam dissipates, and the cannon clicks back into its neutral state and is sent back to where it came. Obsidian goes back into his ship and cruises to his destination.


    Ivan-IV:


    As Obsidian flies into the pitch-black skies of Ivan-IV, he notices three blips on his radar. He¡¯s groans in frustration, but this time, he''s ready. He reaches below his console and pulls out a wide hard drive. He opens his console, showing intricate wires and technology. He pulls out the old drive and puts in the new one.


    Switching perspectives, we cut to blue and purple G-KAMU, flying alongside two fighters.


    Left jet: ¡°Whossss our target.¡±


    violet Kamu: ¡°Not sure, but it has an Empyrean signature. Treat it as hostile.¡±


    Both jets: ¡°Yes, sir.¡±


    Right jet: ¡°Wait, the signature changed. It¡¯s a hired gun. Who is this guy.¡±


    Violet Kamu: ¡°It could be our merc, but stay on guard. If he doesn¡¯t pick up our comms, he dies.¡±


    The three flyers boost off to meet Obsidian¡¯s ship.


    Back with Obsidian, the three flyers come into view. Obsidian decides to hold his trigger finger. He takes a breath, and the three fly right past him. Obsidian relieves, but that¡¯s short-lived, and the flyers come back around to hang beside Obsidian, leaving him cursing.


    ¡°Halt, what purpose do you have flying these skies.¡± Says the mecha pilot


    Obsidian drops his head on his console. He raises a hand to his console patches through the communication.Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    ¡°I''m here for the client Amir Caldor. There¡¯s a factory in need of annihilation.¡±


    Obsidian states in annoyance.


    A brief pause


    ¡°Are you Dominick Flay.¡± The Kamu pilot asks


    Obsidian thinks if he should lie to make things easier, but he really wants all the credit.


    ¡°Dominick couldn¡¯t make it; he sent me in his place.¡± Obsidian replies, honestly


    ¡°That doesn¡¯t make sense. Pull over so we can see your identification.¡± The Kamu flies in front of Obsidian¡¯s ship


    Obsidian groans


    they land in a secluded ruin.


    The Kamu pilot stays in his mech, and the jet pilot exit their fighters.


    A pair of reptilian twins, one has a crystal arm. They inspect Obsidian¡¯s credentials.


    ¡°Why would our hunter ssssend you? You only have a chapter 10 license.¡± The crystalline arm of the first twin blinds Obsidian, as the man hisses his words.


    ¡°I know, I only recently joined the agency, but I got a job from him anyway, that should say something.¡± Obsidian reasons.


    The second twin speaks ¡°So, you¡¯re inexperienced. How did we know you didn¡¯t kill our merc for his job, I¡¯ve heard it¡¯s not uncommon amongst you page hunters.¡±


    Obsidian rolls his head.


    ¡°You¡¯re just going to trust that I didn¡¯t. Patch me in with your commander, and once he confirms me for the commission, I¡¯ll get the job done.¡±


    The twins look at each other


    ¡°We do not know if you ssspeak the truth, but we¡¯ll give you one chance. One moment.¡± Says the crystal twin


    Soon after a moment, one of the twins brings out a communicator.


    ¡°Here¡¯s the commander, make it quick.¡± He hands Obsidian the communicator


    ¡°Is this the C-10 hunter, I was told of. I¡¯ll give you 10 seconds to explain why I shouldn¡¯t get rid of you and find someone else I can trust.¡± A smooth voice is heard on the other side.


    ¡°Amir Caldor. Give me 15 minutes, and I¡¯ll have the factory in flames. I don¡¯t want to meet you in person, I only need your word.¡± Obsidian cuts to the point.


    ¡°I see, I''m aware that chapters don¡¯t equal one''s strength. And you were apparently endorsed by our original client. However, I don¡¯t trust inexperienced men with big jobs.¡± Amir doubts


    ¡°I''m more than experienced.¡± Obsidian says sternly


    ¡°Obsidian Praw, huh. Alright, you sound confident, I¡¯ll humor you. You do this in under 15 minutes, and I¡¯ll make sure to remember you.¡± Amir metaphorically shakes hands on this bet.


    Obsidian smirks.


    We shift to a new perspective.


    A young man and a newly enlisted warrior, a pilot in training, or that¡¯s what he dreams to be. In reality, he¡¯s a worker in a factory, not yet ready to be a real warrior. His name is Prima.


    The day seems all too normal, moving around parts, disassembling Kamu mechs and xeno warships, and he can only dream about bigger things. We get to see him interact with fellow workers. They all know each other and are friendly with one another. Except for Prima.


    He struggles to carry a heavy large box, arms shaking, and legs stumbling with each step. Suddenly, he gets maliciously pushed to the ground by a co ¨C worker spilling the contents of the box. The Empyrean worker is much larger than he is, an imposing figure.


    ¡°You¡¯re moving to slow, pick all that trash up weakling.¡± Says the cruel man


    ¡°I would¡¯ve been just fine if you didn¡¯t push me to the ground.¡± Prima retorts angrily


    ¡°Don¡¯t speak pest, pick that shit up.¡± Barks the peer


    Prima glares at his peer before picking up the contents of the box. Once he¡¯s done, the co-worker yanks up the box and moves quickly.


    ¡°Asshole.¡± Prima mutters


    After a hard day''s shift, he heads to the lunch hall. He sits alone. No one wants to talk to the abnormality. At least the food is good. However, he¡¯s not alone for long, as a friend sits next to him.


    ¡°Hey, Domino.¡± Prima greets his friend


    ¡°Yo, what¡¯s up.¡± Domino returns the greeting


    P: ¡°Nothing much, just enjoying lunch.¡±


    D: ¡°Right, anyway, I discovered something about the Kamu.¡±


    P: ¡°Oh? What *fascinating information* do you have today.¡±


    D: ¡°A few of them have a personal AI built in, which is why most Kamu pilots are so efficient in flying.¡±


    P: ¡°pfft, duh, the UXR used AI for everything. It¡¯s the only way they could keep up.¡±


    D: ¡°True, but some are really advanced. We caught one trying to hide itself. Before we caught it and removed it, it¡¯s like it was afraid, which is cool!¡±


    P: ¡°I guess, but when I become a pilot, I won¡¯t need an AI.¡±


    D: ¡°Sure, buddy.¡±


    Just then, a trey comes flying in like a buzzsaw, aimed directly at Prima. Prima can¡¯t react in time, but domino reaches over and catches the tray.


    D: ¡°The hell was that for!¡±


    A group of tall Empyrean workers are chackling from the middle of the hall.


    ¡°It was just a test. Your Loverboy over there should¡¯ve easily caught that.¡± The group lets out an obnoxious laugh.


    D: ¡°he¡¯s not my. You¡¯re going to pay for that!¡±


    P: ¡°Domino back down, look at your hand.¡±


    Domino¡¯s hand is bleeding, but he doesn¡¯t care. He then jumps over the table and tries to start a fight, but Prima holds him back.


    A bit of a skirmish happens, but it¡¯s ultimately broken up.


    We shift perspectives


    ¡°You ever wonder why we¡¯re here.¡±


    Two lookout guards stand on top of a large wall.


    Guard 2: ¡°I don¡¯t know, man, I wonder so too. Was it our God¡¯s plan for us to be here, in this ruined land filled with war, or simply coincidence of the life he has given to us. I don¡¯t know, but I think about all the time.¡±


    There is a brief pause


    Guard 1: ¡°What? I was talking about why we¡¯re stationed in the middle of nowhere, re-purposing useless junk. What about God.¡±


    Guard 2: ¡°Oh, well, I don¡¯t know, I just.¡±


    Guard 1: ¡°Want to talk about it.¡±


    Guard 2: ¡°No, I''m good, just--- hey, what¡¯s that over there.¡±


    Guard 1: ¡°Is that a joke? There¡¯s nothing ¨C is that a guy.¡±


    Guard 2 picks up his communicator


    Guard 2: ¡°This is lookout south. We got an unidentified target, only about a few meters away, over.¡±


    ¡°Over, we¡¯ll intercept.¡±


    Guard 1: ¡°Should we try talking to it.¡±


    Guard: 2 ¡°Probably not. Wait. He stopped.¡±


    The mysterious man in black has reached about a point away from the main gate.


    Guard 1: Wait, he¡¯s raising his hand!¡±


    Just then, two massive portals open, and from it, two massive tanks roll out. The man then messes with his fore-arm, and the tanks turn towards the gate.


    Guard 2: ¡°Oh shit.¡±


    Then, the tanks unleash a barrage onto the wall, bursting the gate open.


    The man walks into the base with his tanks. Warriors storm out the factory to combat the man. What ensues is a big battle. The man stands on top of one of his tanks, summons two massive rifles, and starts raining rounds on the warriors.


    From inside the alarms blare red. In the barracks, Domino runs out to help drive away the attacker. As Domino leaves, Prima feels like this is his moment, to finally prove he¡¯s not weak. So, he sneaks out.


    Back in the front yard, the man has started engaging in excessive hand to hand combat. None of the warriors can keep up as he vanishes in and out of reality. The warriors are horrified as he blows holes through them with his punches alone, kicking off heads and slamming unwitting fools into the ground.


    The man messes with his gauntlets, and his tanks begin blowing up, all the machinery in the front yards, and the dismantled parts of the vehicles there. He starts to progress into the base, where the warriors make their stand.


    Back with Prima, he follows Domino in secret and watches as he and some fellow warriors make a blockade. Prima sees there are two warlords and assumes that there is no way the attacker makes it any further. But he was sorely mistaken. The man reaches their post and almost instantly tears through the entire blockade. Prima watches as the man in black pulls out a black twin bladed weapon from nowhere and begins cutting everyone down.


    Domino uses a special ability to hold the man in place, and he does get hit by one of the warlords. But the man just cracks a terrifying smile and turns the warlord into bloody cubes with a touch. Domino foolishly runs in screaming and guns blazing, just for the man to teleport a sword up off the ground, stab him through the chest, and pin him to the wall.


    The man walks off, and you can see the sick satisfaction on his face. Prima presses against the wall, almost sinking into, and the man turns to Prima but just walks off. Prima sneaks up to Domino and pulls him down, removing the sword from his chest. Domino struggles to breathe, choking on his own blood.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll get you some help, just hang on.¡± Prima says fearfully


    ¡°uggh. Hu, run, plea¡ªse.¡± Domino breathes his last.


    Prima feels a deep sorrow and then a violent rage. He lays Domino down. Prima takes off Domino¡¯s bandana and wears it. He picks up the sword that takes his life and runs at the man in black. He raises the blade for a swing, but the man just shoots Prima in the side with his hand cannon, barely acknowledging him. The man gets ready to put one between the eyes, but a group of warriors show up in the nick of time, giving the man a proper distraction.


    Unfortunately for Prima, that doesn¡¯t save him from getting kicked in the head and knock completely out.


    Prima wakes up, everything is red, his side is on fire, and his head is ringing. He struggles to stand, and he tries to hold his side. Suddenly, an explosion goes off and knocks him to the ground. He starts limping away, his side burning. Another explosion goes off, and the hallway catches fire. Prima starts running with all his might, he pushes the pain out of his head, as explosions go off left and right. He runs, runs, runs, and runs, and runs until he reaches the massive front door of the factory. He runs and runs until an explosion pushes him outside, and he watches as the entire factory goes up in flames.


    He shields his head on the ground, and when it seems like he¡¯ll be okay, he looks up and is horrified. What he sees is a battlefield littered with ice, fire, pillars of rock and metal, blessings of warriors, and a pile of bodies. Looking past, you can see two devastator warships, completely destroyed and engulfed in flames; they¡¯ve been split in half. Over it all, he sees the man in black lifting up a body, impaled on his twin blade. And that body is his father, war chief Gaban.


    We enter a flashback of how Prima enlisted.


    Prima: ¡°Dad, please, I''m an adult now. Let me join the order.¡± Prima begs his father, who¡¯s working at the moment, to join the eternal monarchy


    Prima: ¡°I want to be able to make a difference.¡±


    WC Gaban: ¡°For the last time; you are not ready. No matter how much I¡¯ve seen you train, you¡¯re not getting stronger. You¡¯ll get yourself killed, boy.¡±


    P: ¡°You don¡¯t know that; I could really make a change. I want to make people feel safe.¡±


    WC Gaban: ¡°That¡¯s impossible if you can¡¯t even protect yourself, and besides, no one has ever heard of an Empyrean who can¡¯t use spirit. You¡¯ll be a laughingstock. This is for your own good."


    Prima looks at the floor, mad his father won¡¯t see his way. But then he gets an idea.


    P: ¡°Let me become a pilot.¡±


    G: ¡°what that¡¯s even worse. You can¡¯t control the skies.¡±


    P: ¡°nor the battlefield, if I become a pilot, then it becomes a matter of sheer skill, and not strength. I will dedicate myself to studying all forms of aviation. So please, dad, let me join.¡±


    Gaban finally looks up from his paperwork and leans back in his chair. His son stands at attention. Gaban can¡¯t help but feel a little bit of pride. His son is so disciplined, he feels like his boy truly has potential, but he can¡¯t help but fear for his safety.


    G: ¡°Fine. I¡¯ll enlist you in the core, but I want you to become top of your class. If I see one low grade, you¡¯re out.¡±


    Prima¡¯s face lights up


    P: ¡°Thank you. Thank you so much, I promise I¡¯ll make you proud.¡±


    We cut back to the present, everything went wrong, and everyone was right. He was too weak. He couldn¡¯t protect anyone.


    Prima struggles to stand up. The man flings his father body off his blade and begins walking away.


    ¡°HHHEEEEYYY!!! DON¡¯T YOU JUST WALK AWAY!!!¡± Prima screams out, trying to get his attention.


    The man stops. He turns around, looking confused. Did he miss one? He takes a good look. He realizes it¡¯s just the guy who didn¡¯t have any spiritual presence whatsoever. The one he ignored.


    Prima stands up firm, breathing heavy. He grits his teeth.


    P: ¡°You, you killed everyone. Some of them were my friends.¡± Prima holds his head and touches the bandana. ¡°You killed my best friend! You killed my father!!¡± Prima begins to boil over.


    The man gives a dismissive look, smacking his teeth, annoyed he has to hear this. Just then, the man changes expression. He seems intrigued by something.


    P: ¡°I. I will avenge everyone. I will shoulder their rage. I will not let you leave.¡±


    Just then, Prima starts to emit a red and black aura. The flames of his spirit begin to spark. ¡°Today is the day you die!!!¡±


    Prima then explodes, his spirit filling the entire yard. In a torrent of energy, a giant figure takes up the scene behind him, copying his movements.


    The man smiles widely.


    ¡°Already? He can use that technique.¡± The man makes passing comments.


    He makes his blade vanish in his purple aura and ushers Prima forward. Prima rushes forward, and both him and the spirit land a blow to the sternum on the man, sending him sliding back. It was like punching a metal wall, not a bend, was felt around his fist. All he did was push him back, but that doesn¡¯t matter.


    The figure becomes the aura around Prima, who rushes in a blind rage, throwing a flurry of blows. Fast punches and jumping kicks. The man weaves and redirects Prima¡¯s attacks, grabbing his limbs and tossing him around. On one of Prima¡¯s blind rushes, the man hits Prima in the gut and kicks him away. Prima rebounds off the ground and runs in.


    The two repeat this song and dance for a while. As the man beats Prima down, he notices something interesting. Prima is adapting. He¡¯s learning how to fight. His power is rising.


    Prima realizes he¡¯s being toyed with, no matter what he throws out, he gets countered, but he won¡¯t give up. He must press forward. He must win.


    Prima starts getting faster and faster, and his blows start carrying weight despite not connecting. Prima starts switching up his style. He remembers the feeling of the spiritual figure. He tries to use it once more. Extra arms made of his spirit erupt from his shoulders, every punch followed immediately by another.


    The man looks pleased. Prima darts back, staying close to the ground. Prima focuses deeply. The man notices the change but decides to let things play out.


    Suddenly, prima splits his physical body and his spiritual body, effectively making two of himself.


    The smiles widen even more, and he starts applauding


    ¡°You¡¯re a prodigy! All that potential condensed into one infinitely dense point; I can tell¡­¡± The man''s smile becomes devilish, ¡°¡­you¡¯re going to do great things.¡±


    Prima grimaces furiously. Both he and his spiritual body rush at the man in black. The two versions of Prima fight with fluidity, but not completely in sync. Controlling two bodies at once is strenuous and requires immense focus, something prima does have. The man seems to be giving Prima some wiggle room to figure out this new difficult technique, not punishing obvious mistakes and making passive comments.


    At some point, the man starts getting a bit bored. Prima¡¯s growth is incredible, but it¡¯s starting to slow down, and Prima¡¯s fatigue is getting the better of him. The man finally decides to stop playing with his new toy and starts beating the lights out of Prima. He lays down a sequence of rapid punches and knees. However, Prima doesn¡¯t give up, he tries covering himself in his spiritual body to protect himself.


    However, the man breaks through that almost instantly, and Prima endures a powerful barrage. The man punches Prima away, leaving him motionless on the ground. For a second, the fight looks over, and the man starts walking away. But Prima gets up. The man looks annoyed.


    Prima stands on his feet. He takes a deep breath. He rushes in one last time, determined to win this fight.


    The man takes his hands out of his pockets and throws a punch. It looks like Prima is about to get hit in the face. But he dodges at the last second and lands a punch on his enemy. He feels a surge of confidence and darts back.


    He rushes one more time, and he aims straight for the head. He throws a punch with all his might.


    When Prima wakes up, he¡¯s dazed. Everything hurts. He¡¯s coughing up blood, he feels a ringing in his ears, and he can¡¯t see out of one eye, like it¡¯s not there. He can vaguely see a man with brown skin and silky hair. He¡¯s doing some weird motion with his hands, and a vague figure is over Prima.


    Suddenly, Prima feels amazing. His vision clears, the ringing stops, and his body doesn¡¯t hurt. He jolts up.


    ¡°Oh hey... It worked.¡± The man who seemed to have healed prima has an unsure look on his face, like he didn¡¯t know his could do that.


    ¡°What happened.¡± Prima asks


    ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­ but we should go.¡± The silky haired man stumbles


    ¡°Ok.¡± Prima to still be in a state shock.


    ¡°That¡¯s a nasty scar. How¡¯d you get it.¡±


    Prima puts a hand onto his missing eyes and feels a large scar down his face.


    We shift back to Obsidian¡¯s perspective.


    He appears in a forest. He pulls out a device and calls his client. ¡°I''m done. That makes 14 minutes and 31 seconds.¡± Obsidian proclaims his success.


    ¡°Nicely done. I''m impressed, never judge a book by its cover and all that. I¡¯ll show up personally to congratulate you.¡± Amir Caldor answers in a jubilant tone.


    30 minutes later; Amir and a few of his men show up in an armored vehicle, specifically the lizard twins and another familar soldier.


    ¡°Hey there! Hope you didn¡¯t wait too long.¡± Amir steps out of the vehicle.


    Obsidian gets up from the rock he is sitting on.


    ¡°You will give me full credit. Correct.¡± Obsidian lists off his what he would get in return.


    ¡°Of course, in fact, you can get a little extra pay for doing such a good job. You and I should stay in contact; the Revoltors need strong allies.¡± Amir requests


    Obsidian takes a second


    ¡°Fine, as long as it improves my reputation.¡± Obsidian accepts.


    The two shake hands.


    Cut to Obsidian waking into his ship and taking off. The URs watch Obsidian leave.


    ¡°I have a feeling I hit the jackpot. The chief commanders going to enjoy this.¡± Amir and his men return to their base.


    A while passes, and Obsidian takes time to rest after a successful job. After he takes his medication, he returns to the lounge and watches a show on his laptop while drinking a soda. After a bit, he gets a call from the cockpit of his ship. He teleports to his captain''s chair and sees it¡¯s from Zi. He accepts the call.


    ¡°The Books need an audience, Obsidian.¡± Zi says in a serious tone.


    ¡°Great, this speeds thing up.¡± Obsidian says proudly


    ¡°NOT Great! You weren¡¯t supposed to take a mission that was assigned from the books, especially if someone was already assigned to it.¡± Zi is quite livid.


    ¡°From now on, you answer to me, you want a job, I¡¯ll give you a job.¡± Zi sounds like she¡¯s disciplining a child.


    ¡°Fine.¡± Obsidian doesn¡¯t bother to argue.


    ¡°I¡¯ll send you the coordinates. Do not be late.¡± Zi hangs up.


    ¡°This worked out better than I expected. However, this could have consequences. If the Books are mad at me, then I can¡¯t let them know what I found.¡± Obsidian thinks to himself about what he discovered below the factory.


    We flash back to Obsidian¡¯s assault from his perspective.


    We see from his perspective as he summons his tanks and blows down the gate. We watch him gun down, man, after man. He fights through powerful combatants that are no match for him. Obsidian¡¯s mind effortlessly calculates and clocks every enemy fighting style, strength, and ability he notes as blessings. A unilaw ice blessing pierced through the chest. A Translaw wolf blessing, hole through the head. A paralaw blessing that inverts a person''s senses, useless, he¡¯s dealt with quickly. He breaks into the main complex and destroys everything in his path. Cutting down man after man, he reaches a blockade and runs through everyone.


    Suddenly, he¡¯s frozen in place. The boy with a bandana has an unnatural paralaw blessing, a psychic restraint. One of the stronger soldiers, potentially a high-ranking officer, uses white tendrils to try and impale Obsidian. But it¡¯s useless, Obsidian protects himself with a spiritual Translucent chest plate. Obsidian frees himself by simply overpowering the blessings¡¯ effect and immediately teleports in front of the warrior.


    He uses a favorite technique of his spacial separator, and in a grid like pattern, splits the man apart. The psychic younger man runs in blasting his rifle, but a wall of solid space stops his bullets. Obsidian scoffs and teleports a sword on the ground into his hand and impels the boy on the wall, amused by the boys¡¯ recklessness. Obsidian walks away but notices another presence. However, he doesn¡¯t sense the boy because of his spiritual presence. The presence doesn¡¯t have any spirit. He can only sense the boy because Obsidian can feel the space, he takes up through his spatial awareness technique.


    Obsidian ignores the boy, and it can¡¯t waste too much time. It¡¯s been 2 minutes already. He walks off, planning on planting bombs in the generator room. But the boy charges at him sword in hand and wearing a bandana.


    Obsidian really wants to ignore the boy, but he simply can¡¯t let him run at him, so he shoots casually. Obsidian goes to finish the boy off, but he starts getting shot at. A smile crawls on his face. As he can sense some strong warriors in this group, he thoughtlessly kicks the boy and runs in.


    Obsidian dispatches the admittedly strong group and keeps moving. He cuts through a few barracks, the caf¨¦, and enters the main complex, taking and elevator, but phasing through the bottom to save time. He swings through an opening and into a clean gray. As we enter the factory, ships and mechs are hung up by metal cables, with ground assault vehicles at the bottom. The place is massive, and the bottom floor is deep below. He ran across the high up walkway, and before a group of workers noticed him, he slipped into the heart of the floor. He runs through at a blinding pace, instantly cutting down those in his way, until he reaches the generator room. He is met with massive pylons surging with power. The run seems well run workers there to ensure things go right. Obsidian summons four giant explosive devices and locks them down around the main pylons without being detected.


    He teleports out, and before he exits, the building picks up something strange. Movement, below the lowest possible floor. Obsidian decides to investigate, sticking his nose where it doesn¡¯t belong. A few teleports and portals later, Obsidian enters a mining area deep in the planet. The walks are mixed with metal and stone, and there are workers mining some crystals. Obsidian takes note that the workers are xeno''s, many different species.


    ¡°Profane workers?¡± Obsidian uses a unique term for the non-Empyreans.


    Obsidian notes that the crystals they are mining are not random. Those are soul crystals. Obsidian is confused about why they would need to mine soul-crystals, a very powerful energy source. Obsidian decides to wonder the mines a bit. He remains undetected, each step inaudible, especially amongst the drill and machinery. The xeno workers are being watched over by Empyrean warriors. He finds a control room. He opens a small portal on the closed metal door and peeks in. It¡¯s filled with officers and warriors.


    Obsidian wants to know what¡¯s happening, so one by one, he teleports in and snatches up each of the personnel and assassinates them. After they¡¯re all gone and their bodies hidden, he enters the room and begins, hijacking the main computer, the biggest and most important looking one. He summons a data strip and starts running through the information. He must crack through several security systems, which wasn¡¯t difficult for him, but he runs into one annoying firewall.


    After he gets past that, he gets to the real heart of the data. Apparently, some projects ordered by the king require tons and tons of these god crystals. Obsidian doesn¡¯t see any value in the data and just downloads the rest and teleports outside. With 7 minutes to spare, he runs into two devastator warships, blocking his exit and an army of warriors. Obsidian smirks and rushes in.


    We cut back to the present. Obsidian fiddles with the data-stick before putting away.


    Obsidian receives the coordinates, and his ship boosts off.


    We quickly shift back to the only survivor of Ivan ¨C IV¡¯s re-purposing factory, Prima.


    ¡°State your name.¡± We find ourselves within an interrogation room. Three men holding data pads request information from our survivor.


    ¡°Prima Brytus.¡±


    ¡°Prima, you are the lone survivor of a Unified Revoltor assault, on Ivan-IV re-purposing factory; 12x9f---¡±


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t Revoltors.¡± Prima interrupts.


    The investigator pauses.


    ¡°Would you like to repeat that.¡± The investigator requests.


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t revoltors. It was a hired gun.¡± Prima corrects the report.


    ¡°I see. However, thar is not important. Do not speak unless spoken to.¡± The investigator warns


    ¡°But how is that important, it''s the truth.¡± Prima sounds appalled.


    ¡°Prima Brytus. Do not speak unless you answer a question. We have no need for your opinion.¡±


    P: ¡°how is it an opinion, it''s a fact. thousands of workers and warriors slain by one man, they¡¯re family should know what happened.¡±


    Investigator: ¡°It seems you do not understand. The public will not know it was the act of a lone hired gun. That wouldn¡¯t elicit a favorable reaction. The hired guns are a necessary part of the monarchy¡¯s control. If the people¡¯s opinions became negative towards the Hired guns, it would look bad on the monarchy. Information is what the order makes it.¡±


    Prima sits in shock, the people are being lied to, and what other things s monarchy hiding. Prima can¡¯t argue with the monarchy itself, so he resigns himself to questioning.


    ¡°What was it like, during the assault.¡±


    Prima sits there, angry, confused, and scared. But he answers regardless.


    ¡°Like a hell, blacker than the void, came to swallow us whole.¡±


    We shift perspectives back to Obsidian. He arrived at the Hired Guns Library of Judgment and entered the two massive doors.


    When he enters, he¡¯s met with a large scenery of dark blue and brass columns and brown walls. There¡¯s a decent number of people moving in and out, with some interesting characters in the crowd.


    Zi walks up to him. She is not amused. She ushers Obsidian to walk with her.


    They walk until they get to a grandiose looking lift, where a mysterious flaming skeleton dinosaurs looking guy waits. He sports full black attire and a very unfriendly look.


    ¡°We will see the books now. You will show them the utmost respect.¡± The man says in a deep, gravely tone.


    The three enter the elevator, and the flame head enters a unique code that makes an interesting chime, and the elevator descends.


    ¡°Who¡¯s this.¡± Obsidian whispers.


    Zi leans over.


    ¡°Spectra Hail, chapter 1 page hunter, he¡¯s the Book¡¯s messenger.¡± Zi answers.


    ¡°So, he¡¯s, their lapdog.¡± Obsidian thinks to himself.


    The elevator takes some time, and Obsidian finds himself transfixed on the sway of the skeletal tail. Then, a loud thud signals they reach their floor. The lift door opens, and the walk down a brass hallway. Until they reach two massive doors. A floating ball-shaped droid comes down from the ceiling and scans Hail. The two massive doors open slowly, and they enter a massive dimly lit courtroom. Theirs a massive podium in the back of the court, the pitch black. Suddenly, a series of dim lights makes loud mechanical noises when activated, revealing panels that hide the higher up. Then the last light reveals a giant shadowy figure whose silhouette seems to have his feet propped up.


    Obsidian is a little taken aback. The seemingly main guy seems a little unprofessional, and he seems to be a giant. That species of xeno is incredibly rare. Only two planets are known to have them. Also, Dominick there, sitting in the jury, stands casually, smoking a cigarette. Obsidian and Dominick meet gazes, but then a man gets everyone''s attention.


    ¡°The books will now have this audience.¡± A man begins this meeting.


    ¡°Obsidian Praw, rank of chapter 10, you are being tried, for your disrespect of our system. You have taken a mission 7 ranks above your own, a mission such as that is restricted to your likes, what say you.¡± One of the top brasses finishes their monolog.


    Obsidian stares, with a puzzled face, trying to figure out which one said all that. Their silhouettes don¡¯t really move. He really wants to teleport up there but decides to stay professional.


    ¡°I believe someone of my caliber is far surpassed the simple rankings you all set in place. I completed that sortie in under 15 minutes, 10 spent picking fights I didn¡¯t need to.¡± Obsidian defends himself.


    ¡°Oh, he thinks he¡¯s a tough guy. Well, here what we say is that you have that license, so you follow our rules.¡± A different more rural voice speaks his piece.


    ¡°He should be stripped of his license. He¡¯s had it for one week and already proven to be an unruly menace.¡± A more bloated sounding voice speak their piece.


    ¡°I thought as a hired gun I¡¯d be able to have as much freedom as I wanted. If that¡¯s not the case, I¡¯ll be happy to do things my own way.¡± The way Obsidian speaks makes his words sound like a threat.


    ¡°Why you---¡± the bloated voice is cut off by a gesture from the shadowy giant.


    ¡°Obsidian, I hereby grant you the rank of chapter 5. Your license will be changed, and you will get the freedom you seek.¡± A mysterious androgynous voice comes from the giant.


    A collective gasp Is heard from the top brass and Zi.


    ¡°That is absurd." This must be a mistake.¡± ¡°Why would you take his side, sir?¡± A collective complaint is heard.


    ¡°Spectra, escort Obsidian and his reader. My verdict is set.¡± The figure waves spectra away.


    He bows and guides the two. Dominick exits the stands and follows them onto the elevator


    Obsidian glares at the figure. Who is this guy, and why would he let him off so easy.


    Obsidian slowly turns as he walks away.


    On the elevator.


    ¡°I can¡¯t believe he let you go, and he rewarded your recklessness! This is ridiculous, I¡¯ve never seen something like this, and I¡¯ve been a page hunter for as long as I can remember! What the hell does he see in you.¡± Zi rants angrily, confused and shocked.


    ¡°I don¡¯t trust that guy. They call him Black-Book Freddy, right? I need to watch that guy.¡± Obsidian glares forward.


    ¡°Why do you say that.¡± Zi asks, confused


    Obsidian looks at Spectra, who¡¯s burning a hole into Obsidian with his side glare.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it.¡± Obsidian keeps his thoughts to himself


    ¡°Ay, I got a bone to pick with you.¡± Says Dominick patiently, waiting for his turn to speak.


    ¡°I know you told the books about me.¡± Says Obsidian


    ¡°Huh, shit, how ¨C I mean¡­ nooo.¡± Dominick stumbles on his words.


    ¡°I don¡¯t particularly care now, but if I leaving you alone becomes a mistake, I will kill you.¡± Obsidian warns


    ¡°Obsidian, stop speaking with this man.¡± Zi jumps into the conversation.


    ¡°What! Come on, YanYan. You still don¡¯t forgive me.¡± Dominick says, defending his dignity.


    ¡°Don¡¯t call me that, you con-man, I hoped I¡¯d never see your face again.¡± Zi pulls him by the tie.


    ¡°Oh, come on, I keep trying to apologize, but you won¡¯t listen.¡±


    ¡°And I never will.¡±


    Obsidian tunes out their argument as Spectra¡¯s glare remains fixed until the lift finally stops. Spectra guides them out into the main lobby, where he ushers them to leave.


    ¡°I need to keep going up. That Freddy has information I want.¡± Obsidian says sternly


    ¡°Yeah, whatever, from now on, I pick your missions. Meet me in Great Smolder in the ninth. I¡¯ll give you a selection, but you only pick from my selection, got it.¡± Zi puts a finger in Obsidian¡¯s face


    ¡°Fine.¡± He sounds defeated.


    Obsidian turns to Dominick. He teleported a case of cash into his hands. ¡°Here.¡± he says.


    ¡°Oh yeah, I got demoted cause if you.¡± Dominick says, annoyed as he takes the case.


    ¡°Not my problem.¡± Obsidian starts walking away.


    ¡°It is too your problem! Hey! Don¡¯t walk away from me. You got to fix this.¡± Dominick yells but gets ignored.


    Obsidian returns to his ship, and on his way through the city, he passes a mysterious man taller than him and sporting a western attire, with a coat over his shoulders. The sound of his spurs is the only thing Obsidian can hear. He fails to make out his face as the top half is pitch black covered in shadow.


    Obsidian glares at the guy as he walks past Obsidian. He feels familiar, really familiar.


    Obsidian decides to teleport to his ship instead of walking and takes off into void once more.


    From deep in Phoenix Order-controlled space, a mysterious man in all white armor, contrasted with the black and gold coat over his shoulders sits in a war chiefs chair.


    ¡°Sir Poltergeist Zero, we got a report that a spacial gift user decimated a re-purposing factory in the Shattered Nebula.¡± A warrior brings a report.


    ¡°We believe he could be a serious threat to the eternal monarchy.¡± The warrior finishes


    We see his front; he sports an intimidating helmet; it design looks like crying. He sits hunched over in his chair, resting a very long sword in it sheathe on his left shoulder.


    He breathes heavily, with a hint of anger.


    ¡°We shall pursue.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir.¡±

 Golden boy

    On a leash:


    A week has passed, and Obsidian arrives in Great Smolder to meet up with Zi. He lands on the specified planet, heads through customs and enters the city. Obsidian wanders down a street. The city is filled with the poor and sickly. However, in contrast the city is quite luxurious, building made in a bright white, with streetlights of red. The street is filled with a delicious smell, this is the sector known for its stomach delights. The massive buildings are brandished with many ads, most are campaign ads for this planets squire; the representative of the planet, and its ruler. The ads are in poor taste, not very clever, no one knows why they even bother. Most *elections* are usually rigged in some way. Hell, most planets don¡¯t even get election from what Obsidian has seen in his time.


    Obsidian cuts down a corner and spots a dense number of warriors. This planet is heavily occupied by the Phoenix Order. He makes his way to a fancy diner. Inside, there¡¯s a reservation at the back of the restaurant. Obsidian finds her in a nice red booth, waving him over. Obsidian sits down and Zi starts a friendly conversation.


    ¡°Great, you made it, before you start you gonna order something.¡±


    Obsidian looks at the menu at his seat.


    ¡°How goods the booze.¡± Obsidian says staring at the menu.


    ¡°Pretty alright I think, don¡¯t try to get hammered, I need you a little of sober.¡± Zi says chewing on the straw of her drink, that she ordered ahead of time.


    The waiter comes by to take their orders. She notices Obsidian has gray skin and is quite tall. she assumes he¡¯s a xeno friend of the lady.


    ¡°Oh, I so your Ms. Zi¡¯s friend. What species do you hail from?¡± the waiter asks in a polite manner.


    Obsidian side eyes the waiter, making it obvious, through his goggles. ¡°You think me a profane.¡±


    ¡°Oh, sir, we don¡¯t use that, word around here.¡± The waiter says, taken aback, looking around to see if anyone heard that.


    ¡°Just take my order. I want your finest alcohol. Maybe some ribs too.¡± Obsidian says unapologetically


    The waiter takes their order and walks off, disgruntled.


    ¡°Wow, prick. Didn¡¯t know you were prejudiced asshole.¡± Zi comments


    ¡°What, it¡¯s just a description.¡± Obsidian says confused


    ¡°And it¡¯s offensive, to most species if not all species. You need to be more mindful about others.¡± she advises


    ¡°Why should I?¡± He says genuinely


    Zi sighs heavily. ¡°Maybe you then you¡¯d actually have friends.¡±


    Zi takes a large sip from her drink.


    ¡°Anyway, let''s go over these sorties.¡± Zi pulls out a data pad from her bag and slides it over. ¡°You got three choices on there, pick wisely.¡±


    As Obsidian looks over the sorties, he realizes that all of them are specifically high paying jobs. However, they are also jobs, Obsidian finds distasteful. An escort mission, a Revoltor commander assassination mission, and a Hit on random hired gun, who pissed off the wrong person. Obsidian makes an annoyed faced, as he begins thinking about the potential benefits of each mission. He finds the first one, the escort mission, to potentially be worthwhile.


    In the Gamma Bright sector, one of the 13 sectors of the universe, there¡¯s a lord facing potential assassination by Unified Revoltors. They are described to be a collective group of ragged fighters left over from the great black conquest, which concluded a little over 50 years ago.


    He takes notes of two things: the Gamma Bright sector is controlled by one of the 13 Black Knights. They are the king''s strongest warriors, and they rule each of the 13 sectors. To Obsidian the Black Knights themselves don¡¯t mean anything to him, besides a general distaste of the group, except for two of them.


    Which is where point two comes in. This lord, who faces potential assassination, is a very well-known hero, and widely popular. If Obsidian can build good relations with this lord, it would greatly benefit him in the future.


    ¡°I would like this one.¡± Obsidian points to the mission


    ¡°Oh, the escort. I thought you would take the assassinations; it seemed more your style. Any particular reason.¡± Zi questions curiously


    ¡°No.¡± Obsidian says bluntly


    ¡°That¡¯s fine, I¡¯ll put it in. After we¡¯re done eating you can head straight to Gamma Bright.¡± Zi puts the pad away.


    Just then the waiter brings the food, and the booze, and the two enjoy the rest of their time. Although Obsidian felt his drink tasted funny. He asks one of the waiters to bring a new drink, which tasted fine. Obsidian shrugs it off.


    Golden Boy:


    Obsidian cruises through the darkness of the void. He¡¯s currently watching tv now, just trying to pass the time. Strangely he insists on wearing shades in his ship. Obsidian starts coughing again, his cough sounds terrible, like he might spit up a lung. He heads to the bathroom in his ship. After a while he finally enters Gamma Bright. He comes out of his room fully geared up. He sits in his captain''s chair and puts in the secure communications code. The console takes a bit. Then someone picks up.


    ¡°Hello, hello, is this the contractor.¡± A wealthy but aged sounding voice connects to the line.


    ¡°Yes, this is the page hunter speaking.¡± Obsidian replies


    ¡°My apologies, I¡¯m not used to this sort of business. Are there any protocols or things I should know about before proceeding.¡± Responds the client


    ¡°No. Obsidian Praw. Pleasure doing business with you.¡±


    ¡°As to you. You may call me Para Dorado; I look forward to our meeting.¡± The client says gleefully.


    ¡°Same here.¡± Obsidian returns


    The call is hung up, and Obsidian blasts off to the predetermined location.


    From Mr. Para¡¯s perspective.


    We see a good-looking man with tan skin, and light faded blonde hair. He sports a fancy mustache, and a black and gold suit. He pushes a button on his phone pad.


    ¡°Dear, it seems we¡¯re getting the proper help we requested.¡± Mr. Dorado speaks to his wife, who¡¯s reading a hardback book, on a couch a little away from Para¡¯s desk.


    ¡°That¡¯s great love, I was worried our little boy wouldn¡¯t get his wish.¡± Ms. Dorado says looking up from her book.


    The young master, the son of the Dorado¡¯s, lays on his head on his mother''s lap while playing a game on his phone.


    ¡°Mother, I''m not you little boy anymore. Father, does that mean, we don¡¯t have to worry about those assassins anymore.¡± The boy asks


    ¡°No, my boy, if all things go well, my hands will be free.¡± Para calms his worries.


    ¡°Who¡¯s this mercenary you hired?¡± The young master says a little excited


    ¡°We shall see, my boy. But I believe he¡¯ll be a treat.¡± The father answers


    ¡°I can¡¯t wait!¡± The boy says delighted


    A day later, the Dorado¡¯s sit in the father¡¯s office awaiting their new bodyguard. The mother and son sit up-right and proper as they wait. They hear some chatter on the outside suddenly a tall man phases through the door, surprising everyone. The man sits down from across Ms. Dorado as he rests his arms on the head of the couch, crossing his legs. Ms. Dorado, kindly waves at the man and so does her son sit right next to her. Then the door opens. ¡°My lord, this is the page hunter, Obsidian Praw. It seems he was a little impatient.¡± Says one of the guards


    ¡°I see, that¡¯s fine, you may leave us.¡± Mr. Dorado says


    ¡°Yes, my lord.¡± The guard leaves.


    ¡°Welcome, dear guest, I hope you find my abode comfortable.¡± Ms. Dorado greets.


    ¡°It¡¯s too bright, but the infrastructure is sturdy.¡± Obsidian analysis


    ¡°Oh, I appreciate your input. Well then, I will have some snacks and refreshments and¨C ¡°


    ¡°No need.¡± Obsidian cuts off Para


    ¡°I see. Well then, in that case, let us begin.¡±


    ¡°Mother can I.¡± The son seems to want something from his mother


    The boy''s mother looks at Obsidians, she stares, and then she looks back to her son and nods. The young son of Dorado¡¯s gets up and sits next to Obsidian


    ¡°Hello, my name is Midas.¡± The young master puts out his hand.


    Obsidian doesn¡¯t shake it.


    ¡°Say, your quite tall mister.¡± Midas compliments


    ¡°For you.¡± Obsidian responds dismissively


    ¡°Oh... well, I also believe your coat is really well made.¡± Midas tries to make a good first impression.


    Obsidian side eyes the boy.


    ¡°It¡¯s made from iron horn hide and armored in titanic alloy.¡± Obsidian explains to the boy


    ¡°Whoa, that¡¯s amazing mister.¡±


    Midas smiles widely. Showing off his pearly white teeth


    Once Mr. Dorado is done watching his son get along with the page hunter, he clears his throat to get everyone''s attention. For the next ten minutes, the father lays out planned assignments. For the next week, the senator will be preparing to leave the Gamma Bright sector. Until the final day, Obsidian must protect the Dorados from enemy attack and potential assassination. As he knows the Revolutionary force, the Revoltors, have been attempting to take the life of Mr. Dorado. However unsure, he assumes that the Revoltors either want to send a message or have a more beneficial power taking his place. Regardless, the only thing that should matter to the page hunter is that there will be payment.


    We zoom outside of the mansion. We see that the Mansion, bright gold with white pillars, is on top of a hill, that¡¯s been converted into a grand casino. From sky scrapper about the same height as the mansion, on the top floor, a man looks through a sniper scope. Then translucent disks form in the air. They create a pattern that leads straight to his target. The sniper takes aim. Ready to fire. As he prepares to pull the trigger.


    However, when we see his face, we also see Obsidian is right behind him, squatting down. Obsidian gets up and walks over, raising his boot. But before he can crush this assassin, he pulls the trigger immediately, and the translucent plate, redirect the round right back to Obsidian. Obsidian ducks the bullet, but the elderly sniper, hops off the building, turning mid-air to snipe Obsidian.


    Obsidian redirects the round with a portal, redirecting the bullet at the assassin, who then uses his ability deflect it the side of the building. The man starts zipping through the air, bouncing of his disks at great speeds. He slows his momentum with his disks and starts running on building tops. He activates a distress call on his gauntlet. The man jumps from one building to another while hopping on his plates, but then a portal opens below him, and he ends up falling right to Obsidian. The man bounces away, but Obsidian teleports to catch him, grabbing him by the face and slamming him on the street. Obsidian goes to bury his face in the cement with a punch, but his punch gets deflected. Obsidians fist is sent flying back, and the sniper uses the opening to shoot Obsidian, but he stops the bullet in midair right before it hits him, and charges his fist with a purple aura, and shattering the deflection disks, caving the man''s face in.


    When the sniper comes to, his elderly face mangled, he¡¯s in a dark alley, and the man who slammed him, squatted in front of him.


    ¡°Hwoo, boy, you got me good.¡± The sniper says.


    ¡°Call your commander.¡± Says Obsidian


    ¡°Well sonny, I don¡¯t think I can do that now.¡± The elderly man says in a thick accent.


    ¡°That¡¯s fine for now. I know at least 600 ways to torture you until you talk.¡± Obsidian says coldly


    ¡°Yow! Not a very merciful man, aren¡¯t ya.¡± The sniper says coyly


    Obsidian teleports a micro drill into his hands.


    ¡°I¡¯ll count down from ten.¡± Obsidian warns


    ¡°10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2¡­ 1¡±


    Obsidian teleports back to the Dorado¡¯s office. The family seemed to have been anxiously waiting.


    ¡°Ah, you¡¯re back.¡± Greets, Mr. Dorado


    Midas walk over to Obsidian.


    ¡°If I may ask, how¡¯d you do that! You vanished into thin air! Ahem, it was quite impressive.¡± He clears his throat to temp his excitement.


    Obsidian looks down and sees the beaming light in Midas¡¯ eyes, its blinding.


    ¡°Never seen a spacial user before.¡± Obsidian question


    ¡°No sir.¡± Midas says smiling


    ¡°Hm.¡± Obsidian says a little dismissive


    ¡°Dorado, I encountered a sniper, he was highly skilled. I failed to extract any important information. He died before he talked.¡± Obsidian informs Mr. Dorado of his encounter.


    ¡°I see, well I''m grateful for your efforts. My deepest apologies for involving you so early.¡± Mr. Dorado bows


    ¡°No need sir. That¡¯s the job.¡± Obsidian deflects the unneeded apologies.


    ¡°Um mister, I have a request.¡± Midas pulls on Obsidians coat.


    Obsidian looks back down at the boy.


    ¡°What.¡± He furls an eyebrow


    ¡°I wish to see your equipment. You are a mercenary yes, then you must have very intricate gears, possibly even a ship.¡± Midas can barely contain himself


    ¡°No.¡± Obsidian says coldly.


    Midas wide smile wans a bit.


    ¡°Oh, my apologies. But I really want to see what it¡¯s like to be a real mercenary. It must be awesome, like the shows I¡¯ve seen. So please, mister, can I see your equipment.¡± Midas says spoiled


    Obsidian pauses for an uncomfortable second, staring at the kid. His brows curled, seemingly a little overwhelmed by the kid''s energy. ¡°No. You''re beginning to annoy me.¡± he says heartlessly


    ¡°Oh, I see, my apologies.¡± Midas walks back to his mother, trying to hide disappointment.


    ¡°I understand you may be uncomfortable here but try to speak carefully around my son.¡± Mr. Dorado sternly expresses his worries of Obsidian¡¯s personality.


    Obsidian glares at Dorado, his brows curl in annoyance. But he loosens up.


    ¡°You¡¯re right, I¡¯ll be more respectful towards your family.¡± Obsidian puts a fist to his chest and salutes.


    ¡°I thank you. Now then, if we have no further interruption, I¡¯ll have my friend Ben escort you to your staying quarters.¡±


    The family butler, Ben, walks up and ushers Obsidian to follow him.


    ¡°Ahh, one more thing, Mr. Praw.¡± Dorado tries to catch him before he leaves


    ¡°Obsidian.¡± He corrects


    ¡°Mr. Obsidian, I need to give you one more objective.¡± Mr. Dorado says


    ¡°Shoot.¡± Obsidian listens


    ¡°Please, protect my son, above all else. I love my boy, more than anything in this suffering universe, and I know, one day, my boy will ease that pain, even if it¡¯s just a bit. Can I count on you?¡± He puts a hand on Obsidians shoulder.


    ¡°If you so wish, I will comply. However, I will ensure none of you come to harm, so your worries are unnecessary.¡± Obsidian walks off with butler ben


    ¡°Sometimes, events remain out of our control.¡±


    Obsidian and the butlers arrive at Obsidians room for the week.


    ¡°Your room, sir.¡± Ben usher Obsidian in.


    Obsidian walks in and locks the door. He then roles back his sleeve to show one of his hi-tech gauntlets. Activating his ship. He then teleports away.


    We shift perspectives quickly.


    Two men walk down an alleyway. With flashlights in hand, they investigate the area. The men then walk upon a horrifying scene. Their friend, brutalized, covered in gore, missing his limbs, his eyes, his teeth, his nose, his stomach is open, and he¡¯s gagged, to drown the screams. One of the men goes to throw up.


    Soldier 1: ¡°Commander, we found Lieutenant Ire. He¡¯s been tortured to death.¡±


    Commander: ¡°damn it! What the Lieutenant running from, the devil!¡±


    Soldier 1: ¡°from what I see. But my guess, a page hunters involved. No one on Umbra is this¡­ violent.¡± The soldier closes his eyes, as his face scrunches in pain.


    Commander: ¡°I see, that¡¯s a reasonable assumption, we wasted too much time, and this is the price. I¡¯ll send some men to collect our old friend. You two take some time off.¡±


    Soldier 1: ¡°thank you sir. I wish we got here faster.¡±


    Commander: ¡°as do I. We can only mourn and keep moving forward. Heibarn out.¡±


    The soldier sheds a single tear and he and his partner walk out of the alley.


    Cutting back to Obsidian.


    We see his ship is docked within a hired gun hanger built on this planet. The place isn¡¯t very busy, only the staff populate the building. Obsidian uses the remaining night to research the potential threats on this planet. The revolutionaries in this galaxy are called Wild Game. They seem to favor strong guerilla tactics involving explosive sabotage. Keeping this in mind Obsidian finds out the Revoltor commander in this zone is named Heibarn Smith, he¡¯s famous for his destructive punches, especially back in the black conquest. Obsidian wraps up research and teleports out, to continue investing the planet.


    The next day, Para Dorado request Obsidian follow him to his personal docking port. Obsidian, Dorado and a bunch of his men arrive at the port, where a group of men and mechanics are working on the shuttle that will be escorting the lord off world. The supervisor there greets the entourage. He gives a run down on activity in the area.


    ¡°Greeting my lord, me and the boys are still modifying the ship to have the weaponry, and other modifications requested.¡±


    ¡°Very good. This large fellow is Obsidian, he is the page hunter I hired for the week, he requested to inspect the premises himself. Be good to him, and he¡¯ll be good to you.¡± Dorado side eyes Obsidian.


    Obsidian doesn¡¯t say anything and just walks past the supervisor and stands in front of the ship. From his perspective he scans the area with his spacial awareness, exploring every inch of the dock, like looking at a massive blueprint of the massive port. His search extends past the floor, and into the lower levels of the port, even down into the underbelly and the sewers. He finds there¡¯s tunnels below the port; he plans on going there after he¡¯s done with the surface. After 2 hours of thorough searching, Obsidian vows that the port is safe. As Mr. Dorado tells his men they¡¯re going to take their leave, Obsidian senses some unusual movements.


    Suspicious man: ¡°Sir, I¡¯ve spotted the monster that took out Lieutenant Ire. Cracker was right, it¡¯s a hired gun. Taller than an average Empyrean, further appearances: 10ft at least, braided long ponytail, all black attire, long coat ¨C wait ¨C gray skin, goggles. He¡¯s quite intimidating.¡±


    Commander: ¡°Thanks for the details, I¡¯ll have some of my men take him out. That should free up Dorado. Get out of there for now.¡±


    The man looks away from the hanger and begins walking off but bumps into something solid. He looks up, to see the tall, dark, and evil figure he just described.


    ¡°Shit.¡± He mumbles


    ¡°You mind if I speak with that commander.¡± Obsidian asks


    The man starts booking it.


    ¡°Commander, I¡¯m compromised!¡± He frantically yells.


    ¡°GET OUT OF THERE!!!¡± the commander screams fearing for his soldier.


    But the soldier doesn¡¯t make it far, in a single lunge, Obsidian punches him into the ground. Obsidian drags the guy by the leg to the group.


    They restrain him and begin questioning.


    ¡°Wake up.¡± The soldier is a little dazed, and see Obsidian crouched over him.


    ¡°Oh God no!!! Please let me go!¡± The soldier struggles in his restraints. Eyes closed, too afraid to look at his captor


    ¡°If you talk, I¡¯ll let you go.¡± Obsidian says assuredly


    Suddenly the captive is washed over with an intense rage.


    ¡°Yeah, like you let Ire go!¡± The soldier says enraged


    ¡°Who?¡± Obsidian tilts his head.


    ¡°Our Lieutenant. The one you Murdered!¡± The soldier yells


    Obsidian stares at him for a bit.


    ¡°Can you be more specific.¡± He says genuine tone


    ¡°You soulless bastard!¡±


    The man starts flailing.


    ¡°he¡¯s obviously doesn¡¯t seem cooperative, Para, have your men detain him, and question him your way. One warning, they seem particularly resilient to torture.¡± Obsidian with the straightest face imaginable.


    Mr. Dorado looks at the flailing, screaming, man getting escorted and he looks back Obsidian, who¡¯s still has that unflinching expression, and he realizes how actually insane his new *friend* is.


    ¡°Uh, yes ¨C um ¨C hm, very well. I¡­ I¡¯ll let my men know. But we don¡¯t really, do, torture.¡± He says in very concerned tone.


    ¡°Alright.¡± Obsidian doesn¡¯t pick up on this.


    After a while Obsidian teleports him and Dorado¡¯s group to the mansion. Obsidian teleports them at the mansion doors. The men of Dorado split of, and Obsidian follows Dorado to Ms. Dorado. Once they find her, she comes with them to find Midas, who¡¯s in his room studying to music. They walk into his room, getting his attention.


    ¡°Hello, my boy, I¡¯ve returned. Everything has been taken care of.¡± Mr. Dorado says joyfully


    Midas¡¯ face lights up ¡°Does that mean!¡±


    ¡°Yes, we can finally spend some time together as a family.¡±


    Midas hops out of his bed and hugs his father.


    ¡°It seems you have an agenda in mind. Mind running it by me.¡± Obsidian says


    ¡°Ah that¡¯s right, I never informed you.¡± Dorado stands up.


    ¡°I will be taking my family out for some fun across the planet. We were born here you see, so thought it¡¯d be great if we can take it all in one last time.¡±


    Obsidian twitches a bit. ¡°So. You plan on leaving yourselves exposed, facing potential assassination¡­ why?¡± He says making a confused face


    ¡°Well, if you put it that way, it sounds worse than in actually is.¡± Para says.


    ¡°Because it is.¡± Obsidian corrects


    ¡°Come now mister, fathers been so busy lately, we never got any chances to have fun.¡± Midas says


    ¡°Fun?¡± Obsidian eyebrows furl up, the goggles barely hiding his confusion


    ¡°I know it must sound absurd, to someone who must fight for a living. One''s life is always the priority in battle, I would know, I served in the great conquest myself. But one day, you¡¯ll find that special person, and you¡¯ll suddenly realize you¡¯ve put someone else''s life before your own.¡±


    Mr. Dorado says as he wraps an arm around his wife and pats the head of his son.


    ¡°You may not understand now, and that¡¯s fine, everyone discovers themselves at their own pace.¡± Mr. Dorado finishes his speech


    Obsidian stares at the family, his brain is processing the information he¡¯s just heard.


    //Put someone life, above my own? that''s so stupid// He thinks to himself


    ¡°My apologies, I must have irritated you with my rants, forgive me. Regardless, if me and my family put you in unnecessary danger, you may cancel anytime. I am more than capable in protecting my own family.¡± Dorado says with a smile.


    At some point Obsidian ceased rationalizing the scenario and attempting to understand the Dorado¡¯s. He decides to completely forget this conversation, and just go along with his employer wishes.


    Obsidian sighs. ¡°No sir, it won¡¯t be a problem.¡±


    ¡°Ahh, I¡¯m pleased. I won¡¯t lie I had my doubts, but you are a good man.¡± Dorado bows his head


    ¡°As my husband said, you may leave whenever you wish. We will reward you based on your time spent and labor exerted.¡± Ms. Dorado offers as she and Midas prepare for their family excursion.


    ¡°No, need. I¡¯ll see it through¡± Obsidian declines.


    ¡°I¡¯m grateful for your kindness.¡± She bows her head.


    ¡°Thank you, mister, I''m in your debt.¡± Midas adorably does a full bow.


    Obsidian walks off as the family get their things ready. Obsidian sits down in a living room and watches whatever channel the tv is currently on. Something about a rise in criminal syndicates but who cares the news is garbage anyway. Obsidian starts spacing out as he tends to pass the time doing. He thoughts dwell on Dorado¡¯s words. // You¡¯re a good man? What does that mean? // Obsidian thinks.


    Phrases sound in his mind: //it¡¯s the white demons! The devil¡¯s soldiers, their gonna tear right through us! You¡¯re an afront to every God there is. Soulless bastard//.


    Obsidian starts chuckling to himself.


    The next day, the family gathers their luggage in the living room. They pack modestly only the necessary items: clothes, toothbrushes, towels. Only the essentials, except for Midas who packs a game or two. Once everyone is ready, they all leave, taking the family jeep and the family begins their week-long fun time, plus their new friend Obsidian. Their first stop is an amusement park. They walk right past the check in desk, as VIPs, but Obsidian gets stopped. After the greenlight, Obsidian is let in, with a VIP pass. For around 30min, Obsidian watches the family have fun, while he zones out on a bench. At some point Midas notices Obsidian seemingly not having fun. He runs up to him.


    ¡°Hey mister! Huff ¨C why do you just sitting there.¡± Midas asks a little out of breath


    ¡°I¡¯m watching the premises.¡± He answers.


    ¡°How while you¡¯re staring at¡­ well, I can¡¯t tell, where are you looking.¡± He says as he hops


    up the bench to wave a hand in his face.


    Obsidian stops Midas¡¯ waving with a finger. ¡°I''m surveying movement in this area. It¡¯s one of my techniques. ¡°He explains


    ¡°Whoa, quite impressive.¡± Midas sits down.This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.


    ¡°But you should be having fun too.¡± He says as he splays his arms in a gesture.


    ¡°I¡¯m doing my job. There¡¯s no *fun* to be had.¡± Obsidian says coldly


    ¡°That¡¯s right my boy, let him do what he came to do.¡± Para approaches, with two ice cream cones. He hands one to his son.


    ¡°Speaking of, would you like a cone sir.¡± He asks Obsidian


    ¡°I''m good.¡± He says bluntly


    ¡°Suit yourself.¡± Dorado begins enjoying the ice-cream, handing one to Midas


    ¡°Alright mister, but one more question. Do you need to focus to use this surveying ability.¡± Midas tries for the last time.


    ¡°I¡¯ve automated it, but it¡¯s more efficient if I stay still. Right now, I can sense the entire park, and the surrounding cities. I could search further, but it shouldn¡¯t be necessary¡± Obsidian explains.


    Midas and Para are very impressed and start applauding. Then something clicks in Midas¡¯ mind.


    ¡°Well as you said, it shouldn¡¯t be necessary to look so far out. How much does it lessen if you preoccupy yourself,¡± Midas asks.


    Obsidian thinks for a moment.


    ¡°Around 300 meters, depending on what I''m doing.¡± He answers.


    Midas is shocked about the range Obsidian¡¯s abilities possess, but that only confirms his decision.


    ¡°Then surely if you enjoy the activities, it will only narrowly dampen your prowess. So please do join us. Won¡¯t you.¡± Midas says with the brightest smile.


    Obsidian stares at Midas.


    ¡°Alright.¡± Obsidian stands up, resigning to Midas spoiled request.


    Midas lights as he hops of the bench and ushers Obsidian to follow him.


    ¡°My apologies, he can be quite stubborn.¡± Mr. Dorado apologizes out of courtesy.


    ¡°No need sir, it hasn¡¯t bother me yet. Your son, he reminds of someone I know.¡± Obsidian reminisces


    ¡°Oh, pray tell. You mind telling of this person.¡± Dorado queries


    Obsidian smirk fades almost instantly. ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°Oh, my apologies.¡± Dorado is a little stunned from the abruptness of Obsidian¡¯s reply.


    Putting it aside, the Dorado¡¯s successfully invite Obsidian on the family fun time. They catch Ms. Dorado planning a shooting mini game. She hits a perfect bullseye on the highest valued target three times in a row. Obsidian is impressed, apparently Ms. Dorado was an excellent marksman in her past. She offers Obsidian a chance, but he turns it down. He thinks it¡¯s too easy. But after some nudging, he begrudgingly tries out the game. As expected, he aces the game, while firing from the hip. ¡°Is this fun?¡± He asks with sincerity. The family laughs. Obsidian is given a plush version of Para Dorado. Which he gives to Midas; he seemed to like it more than Obsidian did. Mr. Dorado plays a hammer game. With a quick swing he reaches the max score, then he offers it to Obsidian. Obsidian stares at it for a bit, before raising the hammer. Obsidian brings down the hammer, where he accurately hits the bell with the maximum amount force it can take, also getting a high score. The family applauds. ¡°I still don¡¯t get it. How¡¯s this *fun*.¡± Obsidian says


    ¡°Let''s go on some rides!¡± Midas says excitedly.


    Obsidian and Midas, go on a couple amusement rides. They would go on five rides; the first four didn¡¯t excite Obsidian in the slightest. That when Midas got annoyed and took Obsidians lack of enjoyment as a challenge. He would take Obsidian on the biggest Rollercoaster on the planet, a staggering 150 meters tall, with loops and gap and the whole nine yards. Once they got off, Midas was shaking. He found hard to stand and hand terrible motion sickness. But when he looked up, he saw Obsidian was smirking. Suddenly that terrifying experience was worth it.


    Midas celebrates the success with family photos. He takes a picture with his parents. After that, they take one with Obsidian in it; who was very uncomfortable. Then Midas wanted one with just Obsidian. Before they took the picture Midas told him to smile. Midas assumed Obsidian would have a normal average smile, even if it¡¯s a little forced. But after looking at the picture, Midas¡¯ face said a lot, let¡¯s just say he let Obsidian keep that one. The family had their fill of the amusement park and was ready to go to the next city over. But before they do, Obsidian had disappeared. They must wait for about 10 minutes before he comes back.


    ¡°May I ask, what took so long.¡± Mr. Dorado asks.


    ¡°Spy. Handled it.¡± Obsidian summarizes


    ¡°I see, may I ask what you did with them. Can I see them.¡± Para asks


    ¡°No point, they¡¯re Dead now.¡± Obsidian says bluntly


    Para has a surprised expression.


    ¡°I see, a believer in the *no prisoners* line of thinking.¡± Para describes


    ¡°When they refuse interrogation, it leaves me little choice.¡± Obsidian explains flatly.


    ¡°Well then, out of sight, out of mind. Let us carry on.¡± They all enter the family jeep and ride off.


    Day two, the family stops at a very fancy restaurant, the best on the planet. The family get an isolated VIP suite. As the family waits, for their orders, Obsidian watches the chefs. Nothing seems out of the ordinary so when the orders are brought out Obsidian sits with the family. The Dorado¡¯s all have extravagant, expensive meals. However, Obsidian sticks to a pint of booze, and a single burrito. The table Is quiet, enjoying the serene jazz in the suite. Although Midas looks like he has something on his mind. He strikes up a conversation.


    ¡°Hey, Mister,¡± Midas seems curious about something.


    ¡°What?¡± Obsidian responds


    ¡°I¡¯ve brought this up before, but I''m still curious. What is your arsenal, what gear do you use, for example what is your ship.¡±


    ¡°My ship?¡± Obsidian says intrigued


    ¡°Hmm, I too am curious. Mr. Para chimes in wiping food from his mouth. ¡°I heard every page hunter needs a ship, so I presume you have one. However, I didn¡¯t see one at the port.¡±


    Obsidian pauses a bit


    ¡°It¡¯s called the Deadspear. It¡¯s a modified Empyrean void strider.¡± Obsidian answers.


    ¡°Oh my, that¡¯s a fancy model.¡± Ms. Dorado says sounding impressed. ¡°How much was it.¡± She inquires


    Obsidian scoffs


    ¡°You think I bought it?¡±


    ¡°Oh my.¡± Ms. Dorado gasps


    ¡°Hmm, I can¡¯t say I''m surprised.¡± Mr. Dorado adds


    ¡°Whoa. Was it difficult.¡± Midas intrigues


    ¡°Midas, let¡¯s not glorify thieving.¡±


    ¡°My apologies, father.¡±


    ¡°It was easy.¡± Obsidian answers


    ¡°I expected nothing less.¡± Midas compliments


    The Dorado¡¯s just sigh.


    The family finish dinner and tip the waiter. They leave the restaurant, and stop at nearby royal hotel


    The family checks in to the hotel, however Obsidian has disappeared. They check him in just in case. Obsidian roams the golden cities of Umbra, he grows a little tired of spending so much time with such an, optimistic, family. That kind of atmosphere is slowly draining him, you can hear it in his breathing. He walks into an open plaza; the street is filled with people with places to go. People take glances at him; he sticks out like a sore thumb due to his height. He looks up to see a massive telescreen. It plays an ad, although this time the ad influences Obsidian.


    ¡°My beloved people of Gamma Bright. I have heard your cries; I understand that these *Revoltors* bring uncertain times. Now more than ever, we look for strength, for guidance. But do not fear; our King, the Pheonix King, the one who grasps it''s all in the palm of his hand, entrusts the peace to his faithful and every loyal. Black knights!¡±


    Images of abstractly stylized portraits of the king¡¯s knights appear behind the speaker, thirteen portraits.


    ¡°Our beloved subjects, place all your faith in us, for we will protect everyone. From the filth and the heathens that oppose absolute order. Each one of you, are thought of; by us, and the king. Your beloved senator, Sou¡¯wo Shine.¡±


    The ad ends with an automated voice approving the message, then it switches to a different ad.


    Obsidian notices a crowd dissipate from watching the ad. A vein pops on Obsidians forehead, and he grimaces. For some reason that man, Sou¡¯wo, has him steaming in fury; but he sighs heavily and carries on.


    After some more walking cools Obsidian down, he spots the local casino. He decides it¡¯d be a great time to fish for information; gamblers and drunks have loose lips, everyone knows this. Obsidian enters the casino. They ask Obsidian for his ID and if he¡¯s unarmed. He shows his H.G.A registration and he is in fact unarmed. He¡¯s let in and he hops about a few games. Blackjack, some lottery machines, and some native game where you must guess the weight of a stack of gold; Goldsden.


    At that point no one had been having a cohesive conversation, all focused on the gamble. So, Obsidian does one more stop at a poker table. Luck be on his side some phoenix order warriors are gambling their saving away. Obsidian over-hears them gossiping.


    Callous Warrior: ¡°Things have been getting a little to activate in the universe.¡±


    Retrospective Warrior: ¡°I know what you mean. Just in the last 50 universal years, Remnants of the UXR have formed a new militia, and the hired guns have been a lot more active, for better and worse.¡±


    Callous Warrior: ¡°yeah, those retards, the Unified Revoltors, have been slipping through the cracks for too long now. Have you heard, Criminal syndicates have started popping out of the steelworks too; just recently the two criminal syndicates have started a conflict in Great Smolder. What are the times coming too.¡±


    Retrospective Warrior: ¡°I fear for it myself, I heard they started hounding Quasar the Dragon to start looking into the Syndies.¡±


    Callous Warrior: ¡°he better be. That no good black knight thinks he can just eat his days away, that bloated belly bastard. It¡¯s his sector in the first place dammit.¡±


    Retrospective Warrior: ¡°ph-woo, if you got a problem with Quasar, better not let any of his Magmen hear that.¡±


    Callous Warrior: ¡°Whatever. Those guys are chumps, compared me and my boys under the great Zylazar. Their nothing.¡±


    A series of groans and sounds of frustration is heard, as the man in black wins another bid.


    Retrospective Warrior: ¡°that guy¡¯s good. He reminds me, of that *black demon* Obsidian Praw.¡±


    Callous Warrior: ¡°that up-start, I heard of em. He¡¯s been making a real mess of things. Apparently, he might have classified information, so he¡¯s starting to become a wanted man. I heard even the legendary Poltergeist Zero is after him.¡±


    Obsidian perks up at the name.


    Retrospective Warrior: ¡°oh shit, seriously. Oh, he¡¯s done for then. No one escapes Marshal Zero. I heard he slaughtered and entire city of revolutionaries in 5 seconds.¡±


    Callous Warrior: ¡°alright, now your bullshiting.¡±


    Retrospective Warrior: ¡°I''m serious, he¡¯s a dangerous man. I saw him once.¡±


    Callous Warrior: ¡°oh yea?¡±


    Retrospective Warrior: ¡°yeah! The War Chief had my legion single file, while we waited for his arrival. When he came down the line, we all saluted, and it felt he sucked the air from the entire area, I swear I couldn¡¯t breathe.¡±


    Callous Warrior: ¡°I think your just talking good cause he¡¯s the leader of the black knights. But that¡¯s neither here nor there. Although I do know one thing. I heard Zero was one of the Whiteknights.¡±


    Retrospective Warrior: ¡°really, you heard that. I did hear that he never retired. It does make sense; those guys were terrifying back in the black conquest. I never figured out why they stepped down. They didn¡¯t even do the announcement in person; the king himself announced it.¡±


    ¡°The White knights weren¡¯t retired. They were replaced.¡±


    The gambling group the table is left stunned looking at the man in black, who had yet to speak a single word since being there.


    Retrospective Warrior: ¡°what was that friend. Replaced?¡±


    Warrior 1 leans into his gossip buddy and whispers. ¡°Doesn¡¯t that fit the description of the Black Demon. He¡¯s even got the blacked-out goggles.


    Just then Obsidian wins as the bid again, back-to-back, and he takes his leave. Leaving behind a bunch of frustrated men. When he exits the two warriors follow him, but when they get out the door, he¡¯s nowhere to be seen. As Obsidian walks through the city, the warrior''s conversation about, zero and the knights seem to have wrung out some old feelings from Obsidian. His breathing patterns are irregular, and he doesn¡¯t pay attention to where he walks, bumping into unwitting pedestrians. He sits down on a bench and puts a hand to his forehead. He starts coughing, even though he took his dose earlier. Old memories start flowing back in. They overwhelm him, giving him a headache. The sound of static deafens him, and it fades into black.


    ¡°Brother, I have a question. If two armies converge on my squad''s position, what should I do.¡± --- ¡°Brother help me with something, the director wants me to lead a bombing, should I order the VT-2 to lead a carpet bombing. Or should I establish an artillery emplacement.¡± --- ¡°Brother, I can¡¯t decide, should I have seafood or ribs for dinner.¡±


    Two brothers who both bear the same unrecognizable faces. One constantly asking for the others opinion, who¡¯s recognizable feature being a bright smile, and the other doesn¡¯t express himself at all, yet his blurred static face bares a content smirk. But the good memories don¡¯t last. His memories distort, the static grows loud the background drips with red. 11 figures stand behind his smiling brother. His mind glitches and now all the figures lay piled in a mound of bodies, his brother covered in blood.


    The static face of the smiling brother becomes a black void, with a cruel terrifying red pained expression


    ¡°Brother¡­ This grievous sin¡­ you must¡­ please... KILL ME!!!¡±


    Obsidian snaps back to reality and shakes and grabs his head. He hyperventilates as he calms down. His eyes glow with a fiery purple surrounding his goggles. His neck has glowing purple cracks. All of it goes away as he comes to his senses. He notices someone spying on him. When they caught his attention, they fled. Obsidian decides this is a worthy distraction. Obsidian follows the person throughout the alleyway. They lead him down below the city. Obsidian follows and finds himself in an underground room. The doors close behind him, trapping him and he¡¯s surround by wild game soldiers. ¡°Commander, we got him surrounded. We¡¯ll make him pay.¡±


    Obsidian takes a good look around him. ¡°Thank god, I needed this.¡± He smiles devilishly and a surge of toxic, poisonous pressure fills the assumed trap, as Obsidian is engulfed in purple flame. A demonic face can be seen in the aura behind him, as he charges in.


    We shift to a new perspective.


    We look back at our old friend, Prima Brytus.


    After being interviewed on his survival of Ivan-IV, he was sent to a training facility where he was tested in combat due to being said he held his own against the black demon. After determining his strength, he was reassigned to a new post in the Shattered nebula as an official warrior.


    Unfortunately, that is not where his story picks back up. We find Prima in jail cell, detained for an unknown reason. Some guards come to escort him grabbing each of his arms. He walks with the guards, a collar around his neck suppressing his spirit, cuffs around his hands. He''s guided into an interrogation room and sat down.


    ¡°Someone of a high stature has come to see you. Be respectful bug.¡±


    Prima raises an eyebrow, who could want to see him, he¡¯s a nobody, right?


    Just then the room goes cold, really cold, freezing. He starts breathing a little heavy. Although the thermometer reads normal. He finds it hard to breath. What¡¯s going on?


    The door opens, and with heavy footsteps a massive man in full armor and a black knight''s coat walks in. His mere presence freezing Prima stiff. Prima starts coughing feeling dizzy.


    ¡°Poltergeist Zero will now see you.¡± The guard closes the door.


    Prima looks at Zero¡¯s helmet and see a nothingness in the eyeholes. With a flick of Zero¡¯s finger, the table slides graciously to the edge of the wall, free up a space in between the two.


    The moment Zero sits down, that intense pressure slowly vanishes. Prima feels normal again, clearing his throat. ¡°That was very weird.¡± Prima thinks.


    The two sit in silence for a while. Tension fills the air.


    Prima readjusts himself in his chair.


    ¡°Ahem.¡± He clears his throat. ¡°Sooo, what---¡±


    ¡°Prima Brytus.¡± Zero bellows


    ¡°Yes sir.¡± He sits up in his chair.


    Zero: ¡°I¡¯ve heard, your being detained for the assault of two of your comrades. Beating them half to death.¡±


    Prima gulps


    Prima: ¡°that was only because I was---¡±


    Zero: ¡°defending another.¡±


    Zero finishes Prima sentence.


    Prima: ¡°uhh---ye--- yes sir.¡±


    Zero leans forward resting his elbows on his knees.


    Zero: ¡°you were stationed on Ivan-IV correct.¡±


    Prima: ¡°yes. Yes sir.¡±


    Zero: ¡°encountered this, Obsidian Praw, correct.¡±


    Prima: ¡°yes sir, I did everything I could to bring him in, but he was too powerful. I''m sorry sir.¡±


    Prima can¡¯t look Zero in the face.


    Zero pauses for an uncomfortable minute.


    Zero: ¡°no one requested you to fight. Yet you did anyway. There¡¯s no need to apologize. You are a true warrior.¡±


    Prima looks up. Zero has his arm cross as he sits back in his chair. The slight tilt to Zero¡¯s head gives warm feeling.


    Prima: ¡°thank you, sir.¡±


    Zero: ¡°what did this Obsidian Praw look like. From your eyes.¡±


    Prima sits up.


    Prima: ¡°well sir, he was a towering figure, around your stature sir, maybe the same.¡± Prima exhales heavily. ¡°He had gray skin, jet black hair, goggles, and a braided ponytail. He wore an armored trench coat, and armored vest.¡±


    Zero: ¡°and what was his presence like.¡±


    Prima: ¡°suffocating, toxic, like I could die at any moment.¡±


    Zero: ¡°did he speak.¡±


    Prima: ¡°yes, his voice was like yours, no offense of course. But a little less¡­ sickly.¡± Prima closes his eye.


    There¡¯s a silence.


    Zero: ¡°thank you for answering my questions.¡±


    Zero stands up, towering over Prima once more.


    He walks over, and Prima straighten up quick.


    Zero stares for a second, and Prima starts sweating.


    Then Zero kneels and holds out a hand.


    Zero: ¡°join me.¡±


    Prima sits for second still overwhelm, until a wave of confusion hits him, and all his stress vanishes.


    Prima: ¡°huh?¡±


    Zero: ¡°I want you to apart of my personal squad. I already recruited your partner, Rhimsical was it.¡±


    Prima sits blinking, still in shock.


    Prima: ¡°are you sure, I''m a nobody.¡±


    Zero: ¡°life has a way, giving nothing value. Even the worthless have choice.¡±


    Prima sits quietly, as he begins processing things. Prima then throughs all his thoughts to the wind. He smirks and grabs Zero hand, becoming his subordinate.


    We cut back our main perspective.


    Obsidian feels a vibration in his pockets. He reaches and takes out his phone. When he raises to his ear, we catch a glimpse of the carnage that unfolded. He is covered in blood, of varying color, the room is splattered with this blood and stacked with bodies. Obsidian his holding the head of a bug man by the hair for some reason. He exhales and answers the phone.


    ¡°Obsidian where are you, it¡¯s been hours since you disappeared.¡± Mr. Dorado checks in on Obsidian.


    ¡°Huff, yea I''m here. I just got finished with some business I¡¯ll be back in five.¡± Obsidian answers, slightly out of breath.


    ¡°Alright, if you¡¯re okay, come back soon, we¡¯re about to hit the beds.¡± Mr. Dorado says, Midas can be heard in the background.


    ¡°Alright, Obsidian out.¡±


    Obsidian tosses the bug head, he takes a large, exhausted exhale, walks up to a device on the ground, and stomps on it, destroying it. In a burst of pressure, the blood flies off of him, and he teleports out. We flash forward to the end of the week. The family arrives home to the mansion. When they get home, they pack everything they need to leave the planet. After a while of getting ready, they tell Obsidian they¡¯re ready to leave, until Mr. Dorado gets a call. No one can tell what the call is for, but it seems urgent. Para puts on a smile.


    ¡°Dear please come with me. Midas, father has some urgent business to attend to, stay here and don¡¯t move, understood.¡± Para says urgently


    Midas: ¡°father, what¡¯s the matter.¡±


    Mr. Dorado quickly puts on his coat


    Obsidian: ¡°Sir, if you''re heading out, I should escort the two of you.¡±


    Para: ¡°Obsidian stay with Midas.¡±


    Obsidian: ¡°I''m aware you are capable, but I''m here for a reason.¡±


    Para: ¡°OBSIDIAN STAY HERE, THAT¡¯S AN ORDER.¡±


    Obsidian stares at Dorado, who struggles to hide his stress. Something shifts in Obsidian as he stiffens.


    Obsidian: ¡°yes sir.¡± He nods


    Para puts on another fake smile


    Para: ¡°Don¡¯t let Midas out of your sight, stay by his side. Midas sit tight alright, I¡¯ll give Obsidian a call and everything will be good to go, okay.¡±


    Midas: ¡°dad¡­ okay, I¡¯ll stay.¡±


    Para: ¡°That¡¯s my boy.¡±


    Para hugs Midas tightly and the Dorado¡¯s shut the door tightly behind them.


    ¡°Hey lets... Let¡¯s watch some tv.¡± Midas puts on a smile and happily trots over to the living room.


    Obsidian watches Midas march away and thinks to himself. ¡°Somethings not right.¡±


    Awhile passes and we cut to Obsidian and Midas watching tv, but Midas doesn¡¯t look very focused. At some point Obsidian heads to the bathroom. He closes the door and stands in the middle. He starts to glow a bright purple and speaks. ¡°Mirror Space.¡±


    The middle plane of Obsidian¡¯s cracks and splits the room in two. Obsidian peels his body from the middle plane, forcing his two halves apart, creating a doppelganger.


    The two speak in sync.


    ¡°Para is almost at the port, get there before he does.¡±


    The doppelganger disappears and the room goes back to normal. Obsidian goes back to the living room. When Obsidian sits down, Midas looks like he has something to say.


    ¡°Mister, may I ask. What¡¯s your story.¡± Midas asks


    ¡°My story?¡± Obsidian says unsure what he means.


    ¡°Yes, everyone has a story. I wonder what yours is. You¡¯re incredibly powerful, I can¡¯t think of anyone who can compare. How did you become the way you are. If you don¡¯t mind me asking, you don¡¯t have to tell me if you wish not to.¡± Midas says curled up on the couch, arms around his knees. He seems distracted.


    Obsidian remains quiet


    Midas: ¡°I believed so, it¡¯s fine, no need to tell me.¡±


    Obsidian seems like he¡¯s not listening.


    Midas looks up at Obsidian.


    Obsidian: ¡°you want a story.¡±


    Midas¡¯ eyes widen. He nods


    Obsidian: ¡°I''m game. Got nothing better to do.¡±


    Obsidian: ¡°Have you heard of the black conquest.¡±


    Midas: ¡°Yes, the Black conquest was taught in my school.¡±


    Obsidian: ¡°there was a time during the black conquest where the Unified Xeno Republic, had the advantage. 400 years after the conquest began, the Xeno¡¯s had created a virus, that had the sole purpose of turning Empyreans into monsters.¡±


    ¡°For 50 years the UXR was able to push back the Eternal Monarchy. However, during that time the supreme commander of the UXR, would be defeated by the Phoenix king.¡±


    ¡°This would be a major blow for the UXR, but fortune be on their side the virus they created, would spread more and more, forcing the Eternal Monarchy to pull back, leading to the Great Halt. A stalemate between both factions with no one able to make any moves.¡±


    ¡°During this stalemate, a group of 13 incredibly power warriors were born, and for next 50 years would be raised into the greatest forces of destruction ever created. The Whiteknights.¡±


    Midas gasps, as he listens intensely.


    ¡°The creation of the Whiteknights would singlehandedly break this stalemate. Their might was so great it catapulted the Eternal Monarchy to victory. Allowing them to take the entire universe itself.¡±


    Midas: ¡°Incredible, but what happened to the Whiteknights after the great war. Where did they go.¡±


    Obsidian takes a serious expression.


    Obsidian: ¡°their purpose was fulfilled; their existence was no longer needed. So, in act of foolish rebellion attempted to have more than they deserved, challenged their ruler. Because of their greed they faded away into obscurity. After everything was said and done, one was sealed away, four knights would be felled on the battlefield, two would abandon their comrades, not sharing their greed. Five would rebel against the king they fought for, after 500 years of war. And two would betray their comrades. In order to save themselves.¡±


    Obsidian scowls, seeming to take personal offense to his story.


    He sighs and goes back to his dead stare.


    Midas believing the story is over applauds.


    Midas: ¡°amazing tale Mister. I have a few questions: how do you know so much about the heroes of legend, and why they vanished. Or were you just telling a tall tale.¡±


    Obsidian remains quiet for a while.


    ¡°I know, because I was created at that exact time.¡± he says cryptically


    ¡°I see. So, you knew the Knights personally.¡± Midas asks


    ¡°More than you know.¡± he answers


    ¡°Incredible to be friends with legends. Wait but that was 600 years ago. So does that mean. Are you really 600 years old Mister.¡± Midas infers


    ¡°Yeah, you got a problem with that.¡± obsidian asks sternly


    ¡°No sir. It''s just that the normal life expectancy for an Empyrean is around 400. So, you must be incredibly powerful. Especially since you don¡¯t look that old. Well just a little.¡± Midas snickers


    ¡°What was that.¡±


    ¡°Nothing Mister.¡±


    We shift to the doppelganger''s perspective.


    He sneaks through the port, unable to be detected. He teleports up to the ceiling of the ports and hides in a gap above Dorado¡¯s personal ports. He waits for a while, before the Dorado¡¯s arrive. Their guards flood the port, a group of ten black and gold warriors. They stand attention as the Dorado¡¯s Walk past. They stand vigilant for a while until a small group approach from the shadows.


    ¡°Para Dorado! And Ms. Dorado! It¡¯s good to see the both of you, about ready to leave so soon are you, that¡¯s a shame.¡± A mysterious man greets para, dressed in an extravagant black three-piece suit with gold lining.


    A trio of well-equipped but dapper looking men walk behind the extravagant man.


    ¡°Senator Sou¡¯wo, for what purpose have you called I.¡±


    ¡°Well, you see, with you leaving Gamma Bright, I have to see you off personally.¡± He lets out a coy chuckle.


    ¡°Oh, and by the way, I know about your little helper. He seems top class. How much was he. I thought you were strong enough on your own, but that¡¯s just me.¡± He speaks in a playful but mocking tone.


    ¡°Senator, please get to the point.¡± Para, showing genuine impatience.


    ¡°Of course, I do tend to ramble. We need you to sign the new law. You¡¯re a dominant figurehead in the game. If you signed it, it would be all said and done.¡±


    ¡°Really. You called me for an old law?! You have the entire senate wrapped around your finger, do you not? You could¡¯ve forced it¡¯s signing a long time ago, why do I need to sign this ridiculous law.¡± Dorado shows visible annoyance.


    ¡°Because, lord Dorado, it makes things fair. I can¡¯t just throw my weight around. That¡¯s no fun.¡± Sou¡¯wo walks up to Dorado and gets in his face.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you like that, fairness, justice. To give everyone a shot at the goal!¡± Sou¡¯wo gives a dark smile.


    ¡°My husband has stated before that we will not sign Any your laws, or bills, or whatever you may be scheming.¡± Ms. Dorado speaks up for her husband.


    ¡°Para my friend, you should really teach your wife some courtesy. ¡° Sou¡¯wo takes a sterner expression.


    ¡°My wife speaks true. As do I, Senator.¡± Para defends his wife and his choice through gritted teeth.


    ¡°Are you sure that¡¯s the best option for your family?¡± Sou¡¯wo takes a few steps back.


    Suddenly an intense pressure is felt, and in an instant, the entire area is turned into pure gold, except for the people in it. It starts raining gold dust. ¡°I suggest you take your leave.¡±


    Sou¡¯wo stares through Dorado. ¡°Fine, have your way. But just know, the monarch always gets what it wants. After all, everything it grasps becomes eternal.¡±


    The doppelganger remains expressionless, as Sou¡¯wo begins to leave, the doppelganger fades away. When Sou¡¯wo goes to leave, he twitches and looks up to the ceiling. He smacks his teeth and leaves. The memories of the doppelganger return to Obsidian and suddenly he¡¯s violently angry. But he pushes it aside, since now''s not the time to act. A while passes, and Obsidian gets that call. Midas gets his bags, and gets back to Obsidian, who teleports them both to the port. They appear outside of the port, as Obsidian wants to check the perimeter. He teleports to several buildings and even below ground to inspect the tunnels. He teleports back to Midas after determining no irregularities in the area.


    Before Obsidian goes to teleport them to the port. Midas requests they walk the distance. Obsidian debates just teleporting; however, the coast is seemingly clear, and if they walk, he might be able to sense something go off if he takes his time. Obsidian decides it should be fine and teleports to the street and enters the port. As the two walk through the hallway into the Lord''s hanger, Midas strikes up a conversation.


    ¡°Mister, I must admit, I will miss my home.¡± Midas says


    ¡°Will you.¡± Obsidian responds dismissively


    ¡°Yes, I was born here, anyone would miss their birthplace. Don''t you?¡±


    ¡°Not at all.¡± obsidian says with disgust in his tone.


    ¡°Well, I''m sorry to hear that. I haven''t even got to say goodbye the friends I made, to the school I love. It¡¯s a shame we can¡¯t stay. But then I wouldn¡¯t have met you.¡± Midas says joyfully


    ¡°I guess so.¡± They walk a bit more


    ¡°Mister, did you have fun.¡± Midas stops and asks.


    Obsidian stops a little ahead.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. It was all new to me.¡± Obsidian answers


    ¡°Well, I hope you, figure it out.¡± Midas smiles wide.


    They enter the lords dock and Midas runs ahead and turns to face the entrance. Obsidian watches Midas run in, with a big goofy grin. With the job done, Obsidian wonders what he¡¯ll do next.


    But suddenly behind Obsidians goggles, his eyes widen in surprise.


    Suddenly there¡¯s a shockwave, as the audio receivers in Obsidians goggles deafen. Obsidian can feel the ship rapidly and unnaturally expand. He darts around the corner, and from his point of view the ship is engulfed in a fireball. He can spot Midas almost consumed in the flames. Quickly moving, he teleports grabbing Midas, for a second he tries to feel out for the Dorado¡¯s, but the flames completely fill in the space making finding anything impossible. He teleports him and Midas outside, atop of a far but high up building.


    His audio receivers readjust to hear the explosion. Getting a good look outside, a large section of the port is destroyed. As a mushroom cloud flings shrapnel into the air. Before Obsidian can make sense of things a second explosion erupts spitting up a pillar of flame. The explosion causes most of the port to collapse in on itself as it causes a massive sinkhole. Warriors and hazard workers swarm the scene to try to contain the calamity.


    Obsidian puts down Midas and teleports above the destroyed hanger. He descends the smoke moving around the space Obsidian is in. From what he can barely see, the grounds completely caved in. No matter how strong dorado may be, being caught off guard by two high-grade explosions, would kill almost anyone. Obsidian determines he has failed his mission and has bigger things to worry about before analyzing his mistakes. He teleports back to Midas. He¡¯s standing at the edge of the building, seemingly to shocked to move.


    Obsidian walks up and sits down on the edge of the building next to the kid.


    ¡°Mom... Dad... What happened??¡±


    Midas says as the event begins to weigh in. He reaches out and steps over the edge, but Obsidian catches him by the collar, as he dangles like a destroyed puppy. Obsidian lifts him back on the edge of the building.


    Like the fallen devastators that conquer the stars, the weight of this tragedy crashes down on Midas. He lets out a terrible wail, struggling to reach out to his parents, trying to free himself from Obsidian. Obsidian is beginning to get annoyed, so he teleports back to the Deadspear, and tosses Midas on the lounge, and sits on the other side of the circular couch.


    ¡°Where did you take me!!? We must go back; you can¡¯t leave them!!!¡±


    Midas jumps over the center round table.


    ¡°No point, chances of their deaths are 10 to 1, and there could---.¡±


    Midas grabs Obsidian by the collar.


    ¡°Your lying!!! There¡¯s no way there dead! My mother and my father¡­ their strong, that couldn¡¯t have killed them!¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t get it, if we go back, I''m putting you in danger. So shut up, while I---¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me to shut up! Don¡¯t dare tell me to shut up! You let my parents die!!!¡± Midas yells in Obsidian¡¯s face


    ¡°I didn¡¯t let anything happen, your father made a mistake not utilizing me to his fullest, he put everyone else''s well-being over his own, and even your mother was far to caring. They were fools, any other lord would¡¯ve sacrificed anyone for their own sake.¡± Obsidian coldly rationalizes


    ¡°How dare you! They are not fools!!!¡± Midas raises a fist and punches Obsidian in the temple.


    Obsidian grabs the kid by the tie, gets up, and slams him through his table, completely wrecking it and leaving Midas gasping.


    Kneeling, he raises Midas to his face not letting go of the tie.


    ¡°Listen, due to unforeseen circumstances, your father and mother are dead. Because of this now you''re my responsibility, until further notice, you listen to me. I will not hesitate to be rid you if you continue to be a nuisance.¡± Obsidian drops Midas and walks off


    Midas cries on the crushed remains of a table, the pain failing to register as his emotions spiral out of control.


    He tries to get up, but his body fails him falling on his hands and knees. He looks at Obsidian angrily.


    ¡°Like you care, they weren¡¯t your family, you¡¯re just a mercenary and that¡¯s it!!!¡±


    Obsidian stops for a second


    ¡°The dead remain dead after all. No point in trying to change it.¡±


    ¡°You bastard. I hate you!¡± Midas grits his teeth.


    ¡°But The time I spent here. It was intriguing, enjoyable maybe.¡± Obsidian walks off to the cockpit of his ship.


    Midas curls up on the floor, grabbing his head. He grips hard on the hairs on his head


    ¡°Why. Why did this have happened to me. I was happy. I just wanted to spend time with my father. Why!!¡± Midas quivers in anger.


    Midas''s mind grows darker and darker, his once bright, perfect life, now shattering around him after meeting that man. He was stolen from, the revolutionaries took everything, and he¡¯ll never get it back. His family, his home, his life, all of its ruined.


    ¡°I¡­ I must avenge them, The Revoltors ruined everything, they took it all from me, I must take it all from them. I must!¡± Midas bites his lip till it starts to bleed, the anger seething within him. His eyes start glowing a fiery gold, as they change from hazel to gold.


    Obsidian sits down in his captain''s chair and begins go over what happened in his head. If he didn¡¯t go on that vacation, he could¡¯ve monitored the port from afar, but he was out of range and distracted. However, Revoltors were all over the planet, so the only solution was to make them stay, which wasn¡¯t possible.


    When he checked the port before there was nothing wrong, of the must¡¯ve planted the bomb while he was away. There must¡¯ve been a bomb on the ship, the first explosion was far too quick, any slower and Obsidian could¡¯ve reacted. The second explosion came directly from underground, Obsidian could feel it tear through. The port was guarded 24/7 so the only way to sneak a bomb on the ship, was through an inside man. But Dorado¡¯s guard were loyal from what Obsidian could tell. Unless that Sou¡¯wo and his goons had something to do with it. Conniving bastard.


    While Obsidian was thinking Midas walks up to Obsidian.


    Obsidian glance at the boy. His pupils flaming gold. ¡°Obsidian.¡±


    ¡°Leave. Go rest your head or something.¡± Obsidian dismisses him.


    ¡°You¡¯re a page hunter; I have a job.¡±


    Midas¡¯ serious tone got his attention.


    ¡°What?¡± Obsidian lets him speak.


    ¡°You¡¯re good at killing people. Right?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s what I was created for.¡±


    ¡°Then I request, nay, a Demand. I want you, to hunt down every last one of those filth that believe they can take from my family and ruin my life.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t work for free.¡± Obsidian tests Midas, how will he pay.


    ¡°You will do what I demand, for I have nothing, but a rage that will not be quenched, until I see blood.¡±


    There¡¯s an uncomfortable pause


    Obsidian slowly takes his feet off the console and turns his chair to Midas. He leans down resting his elbows on his knees. He stares into Midas¡¯ eyes, and Midas glares into the void behind Obsidian¡¯s goggles.


    Obsidian scoffs


    ¡°You''re lucky, if it were any other, you would¡¯ve payed for your arrogance.¡±


    Obsidian gets out of the chair kneels.


    ¡°Alright kid, I''m a free man now, I could use some more work.¡±


    Obsidian puts his hand out.


    Midas grabs it giving a firm handshake.


    ¡°Pleasure doing business.¡±


    Obsidian smiles devilishly


    Midas¡¯ fury turns into a wicked glee.


    We shift our point of view.


    We move down into the port. A while has passed, and the smoke has cleared leaving the moonlight to shine bright. The sound of boots storms the grounds as Wild game Revoltor soldiers approach the massive hill of wreckage. A mound scrap, and rock cooled from the explosion. From the wreckage a figure with large shards of metal jetting out of its body bursts out. It stumbles over and starts rummaging the scrap pile. We get closer as the charred man pulls a charred woman from deep in the pile, the body is impaled with large scraps of metal.


    ¡°Mary my dear, I''m so sorry, I''m so so sorry.¡± He hugs the body.


    The soldier all take positions around the mound. One talks into a device. ¡°Commander targets still alive, moving in to finish the job.¡± The soldiers raise their guns.


    We see the man raise his head from wreckage.


    ¡°Hear me well. I, am Para Dorado, the Golden Lord.¡± He stands tall upon the wreck, his raspy and now grizzled voice bellows.


    ¡°You have made a grave error. RETALIATION IS AT HAND!!!¡± Dorado raises his hand to the sky, and slams it upon the mound, the entire area turns to gold.


    A handle comes out of the gold. He grabs the handle and from it a twin sided war hammer is created. He creates a second hammer from his golden aura. We see his face. One of his eyes his charred shut. He¡¯s burned from head to toe. But his eye, it burns fiery gold, filled with a rage and head strong determination. He throws one of his hammers and as impacts the ground, gold spikes break up the soldier''s iron tight formation. He¡¯s blitzes down and grabs his hammer. The soldiers open fire. Dorado turns his entire upper body into gold, shielding himself from the bullets. He swings at a soldier, cracking his body and sending him flying, he stomps down, and pillars of gold spike impale three soldiers. He guides the spikes to impale three others, but a swordsman dices up the spikes.


    The soldier regroup, and rush in. A big xeno soldier rushes in punches Dorado away. He lands on his feet and shields himself from a hail of rifle fire. A storm of spirit erupts from Dorado, as gold dust falls from the sky. The dust begins to clump up, and then multiple spike balls burst out stabbing multiple groups of soldiers. Dorado swings his hammer creating a massive tsunami of liquid gold. He swings his other hammer creating another wave.


    A soldier from a far with a high caliber rifle aims at Dorado. A massive xeno comes from up high and slams down onto Dorado. The two engage in a slug fest trading blow after blow. While he trades blows with the xeno bruiser, Dorado notices the shooter, but with the brute pressing down on him he can¡¯t react or defend.


    The soldier pulls the trigger, but it is he who is shot. From the mound of rubble Mary holds a smoking pistol in her hands. She limps over and grabs a fallen rifle and with great accuracy makes some of the soldiers fall back. Dorado, seeing his love fight till the end, burns with even stronger determination. Dorado takes a punch from the bruiser headfirst, combining his hammers into a great spear and impaling It through the Soldiers head.


    He then launches another wave of gold pushing the soldiers further back. And retreating to Mary. He creates a small fortress giving Mary a sniper''s nest, and he too creates a bow and arrow to fight at range.


    ¡°Damn it! How does he have this much fight left. He¡¯s already at death door!!¡± A soldier yell


    Keep attacking, focus the shooter, then he¡¯ll go down too.¡± Another yells.


    Now it seems the duo can¡¯t be defeated, until three mysterious figures leap from up high and start attacking Para. Para defends to the best of his abilities but the three are quite powerful.


    Making matters worse, a Revoltor fires a rocket collapsing Para¡¯s foot hold. Para falls into a group of soldiers, and with blades and fists start laying into Para. He fights and fights, not letting anyone gain ground on him. Things grow more and more dire, as one of the mystery warriors, charges a ball of energy, and blasts one of Para¡¯s arms clean off.


    But he won¡¯t stop, he uses the open wound to create spikes to push the man off him and cracks a soldier over the head with his hammer. He lets out a powerful war cry, giving this fight his everything.


    However, suddenly and from no-where a giant beam of light, completely eradicates the golden tower, Mary was in. Para looks behind him in horror. Then he looks up and a beam of light comes crashing down on him, completely engulfing him. As his body starts breaking completely apart, and he embraces his final moments, he has one last thought.


    ¡°Midas my boy. Mary my love. I am beyond grateful. Thank you.¡±


    The explosion causes all to fade to black.


    We fade into a new perspective


    ¡°Commander, the assassination attempt was successful. We were assisted by an unknown force.¡±


    In an underground base hidden from the surface, the UR plan their next move.


    Commander: ¡°Unknown force, run it by me, what happened.¡±


    UR soldier: ¡°three powerful shadow men came down and helped us.¡±


    Commander: ¡°I see, strange, anything else.¡±


    UR soldier: ¡°at the end, the Dorado¡¯s were completely eradicated by beams of light. It caused quite the collateral.¡±


    Commander: ¡°did¡­ did you say beams of light. Damn it all.¡±


    UR: ¡°sir.¡±


    Commander: ¡°Ignore me. Where¡¯s the son? Was his death confirmed.¡±


    UR soldier: ¡°No sir, his nor the page hunter''s bodies were found.¡±


    Commander: ¡°they must¡¯ve escaped somehow.¡±


    The commander stands up from his chair. ¡°I want the son captured or killed! We can¡¯t leave any loose ends!¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir!!!¡± A series of soldiers salute their commander


    We shift to one more perspective.


    In a new zone, on a different planet with a purple atmosphere, we see a ship land on a platform. The ship ramp opens and from it, senator Sou¡¯wo walks out, with his three men. He walks onto the platform, men in uniform, bowing at his presence. He and his men walk into an elevator that takes him up to a higher floor. His men split off as he reaches his office. The senator opens the door to his office, walks in and sits in his chair.


    Just then he gets a call.


    Sou¡¯wo: ¡°hello.¡±


    ???: ¡°we¡¯ve completed the mission.¡±


    Sou¡¯wo: ¡°I know, very good, thank you. That¡¯ll be all from you. Your men are free to go.¡±


    ???: ¡°thank you, sir, what about the survivors.¡±


    Sou¡¯wo: ¡°hunt them down of course, no need to leave loose ends, but I''m sure you knew that.¡±


    ???: ¡°of course, sir. Hopefully this will be our last call.¡±


    Sou¡¯wo: ¡°hopefully, I sick of working with you profane filth. Goodbye.¡±


    Sou¡¯wo hangs up the unknown number.


    Senator Sou¡¯wo sits back in his chair.


    ¡°I swear, everyone is so useless nowadays. But then again when my brother is the obstacle there¡¯s nothing you can do, that¡¯s the nature of us *white devils*.¡±

 Dulled luster

    Dulled gold


    It''s a new morning.


    The news reports that the port bombing has been determined to be a Revoltor terrorist attack, and the Phoenix Order will continue to crack down on these hostile guerilla factions.


    Young Midas is fast asleep, his mind unwinding from the overwhelming whirlwind of emotions, and it didn''t take long for him to feel exhausted. Obsidian is on a call in the cockpit.


    "Obsidiannn, you said this was going to be an easy and boring missionnnn." A mature sounding woman laments from the other side of the call.


    Obsidian: "You''re not incorrect. However, due to unforeseen circumstances, I''ve failed." Obsidian responds to the lady


    Zi: "That''s just fantastic, the Monarchy isn''t going to appreciate the loss of a lord, especially not someone as widely beloved as the Dorado''s. This won''t be good for your record. What are you going to do now." The lady asks


    Obsidian: "I''ve got a new job. I''ve been tasked with eliminating the Wildgame Revoltors."


    Zi: "Oh dear, of course you just, happened to pick up another sortie. Where did you even find one so quickly." She sounds disappointed


    Obsidian: "Midas Dorado, son of Para Dorado."


    Zi: "Aww, no the poor baby. Is he taking it hard." She says in a motherly tone


    Obsidian: "Something like that."


    Zi: "It''s a shame a boy so young is exposed to such tragedy. Alright, I¡¯ll let you have this one. Don''t go overboard. I''ll get it confirmed by the Books, for now don''t cause anymore more problems."


    Obsidian: "No promises. I''ll report when I¡¯m done, bye for now Zi." Obsidian hangs up the call.


    "Who was that." Young Midas awoke from his sleep, his eyes sunken and dry.


    "My supervisor, you could say, for now it''d be best I find you a place to lay low. I''ll retrieve you after I''ve finished the sortie."


    Midas glares at Obsidian


    ¡°What?¡± Obsidian asks in an annoyed tone


    "Do you not remember what I said. I want to see them burn with my own eyes." Midas sternly states.


    Obsidian spins his captains chair around


    "Of course you do however, you are a weak, fragile, and inexperienced, little brat. Unless you want to die, I''d suggest staying in the dark." Obsidian rationalizes


    "I¡¯m not weak! and I don''t care if I could die. I want to see this through. I demand it." Midas argues


    "Listen, you are just---."


    "No, you listen!" Midas raises his voice


    Obsidian reels back is surprise.


    "I don''t care how weak or fragile or inexperienced you think I am. My family was taken from me, and I''ll be dishonored not to see their vengeance unfold; I am the son of Dorado, and I must see blood." Midas'' eyes burn with unwavering determination, gritting his teeth in righteous fury.


    Obsidian sits back in his seat. His cold stare, unnerving, staring a hole straight through Midas'' soul. Midas sweat with discomfort, unsure what the mister is thinking. Midas opens his mouth, ready to defend his case further.


    "Alright."


    "Alright? No further concerns?" Midas says a little jarred


    "Sure, live or die, you''re not my responsibility. I''ll do this job, then I get rid of you, understood." Obsidian warns severely.


    "Those are acceptable conditions." Midas presses on.


    Obsidian turns back to his console and turns off the ship engines. They''re going to be there for just a little bit longer.


    Treasure Hunt:


    Obsidian: "Since you''re going to be following me, I need to know what you''re capable of. How good is your spirit control?"


    Midas: "Spirit control? Oh yes, I excel at spirit control. In fact, I am top of my class." Midas says proudly


    Obsidian: "Oh, how great, a prodigy boy." He rolls his head speaking in a demeaning tone. "Guess that means daddy taught you a thing or too then? You got a blessing."


    Midas: "I don''t believe so."


    Obsidian: "A gift?"


    Midas: "Of course not. Gifts are impossibly rare."


    Obsidian: "I wouldn''t say impossibly, I know at least 8 people with them. Although all of them are dead."


    Midas: "You know 8 people with gifts, How?"


    Obsidian stares at Midas for a bit.


    Obsidian: "Since your Empyrean, you should be pretty physically adept. You won''t be in the way too much."


    Midas sighs, he finds Obsidian to be so strange. "Yes, I am fairly fit. Physical education was another thing I excelled at."


    Midas crosses his arms as he looks at Obsidian, such an imposing figure, more than twice his own size, before he had such an intimidating presence, but now. He seems so aloof, like there''s no sense of urgency.


    Midas: "Hmm, if you''re so worried about me getting in the way, why not teach me some valuable techniques."


    Obsidian: "No."


    Midas: "For why? it shouldn''t be any trouble."


    Obsidian: "I¡¯m not wasting my time, on you."


    Midas: "Of course, because your time is so valuable." Midas rolls his eyes. ¡°It couldn''t possibly be difficult for you. You must have plenty of experience to share."


    Obsidian: "You''re right."


    Midas: "Well then, for what reason do you not train me."


    Obsidian doesn''t elaborate, only giving him a nasty frown.


    After some fruitless back and forth, they table the conversation and head out to handle more important things. Obsidian teleports the two into a neighboring city away from Dorado''s mansion. He takes Midas to a clothing store to pick out something less flashy as the extravagant attire Midas wears stands out a bit too much.


    Obsidian lets Midas roam around a bit while he picks out suitable replacement attire. Midas comes back with a black trench coat and boots and tries to show them off. Obsidian tells him to put the trench coat back immediately, although he lets him keep the boots. Obsidian picks out a hoodie and tactical pants. Midas begrudgingly accepts them, but before they leave, Midas picks out some gold aviators.


    The two would return to the ship, where Obsidian would take time, to put together some protective gear for Midas. He also hand picks a high caliber pistol for Midas to wield, giving him a holster belt; however it¡¯s a little big. Once Obsidian feels like Midas is well enough prepared, the two set out to gather information.


    Obsidian pulls up the location of the nearest peacekeeper post on his console, then teleports him and Midas to the determined location. They find themselves in front of a grey building, with gold lined doors. Obsidian tells Midas to keep his hood up and his glasses on. They enter the building; they are met with a fairly busy lobby. People reporting to officers in booths, people waiting on rows of chairs for their names to be called, and a meager security.


    He walks to the front desk and asks for recent information on Revoltor activity. Unfortunately, that is all classified information, but Obsidian isn¡¯t unprepared as he pulls out a pendant, the Dorado''s seal. The receptionist is surprised.


    "Where did you get this." Asks the receptionist.


    "I was given it directly from Para Dorado." Obsidian answers


    "I see. You must be that page hunter then. Unfortunately, that doesn''t matter. Due to the death of the Dorado''s the Eternal Monarchy has full authority of Umbra. Meaning any authority you may have had is now forfeit. My apologies sir, if there''s anything else you may need, I can attempt to assist you."


    Obsidian smacks his teeth and leaves the post.


    "More unfortunate circumstances. How shall we get the information you---" Midas before he can finish they teleport inside of the post. "Oh, of course."


    Obsidian walks into a run filled with department officers and computers. With a snap of a finger, everyone is teleported to a random location. He walks in and sits down at a desk and starts on one of the computers.


    "That was quite the showing. But how are we going to get into the compu-", just like before, Midas fails to keep up as Obsidian cracks the console with ease and begins his research.


    "Honestly, your efficiency is preposterous. And you refuse to teach me a thing or two." Midas scoffs


    Obsidian doesn''t respond, focused on his work.


    After a few minutes of hearing Obsidian¡¯s rapid typing on the keyboard, Midas gets a little curious. However, the console is too high up, as it was made for full-grown Empyreans. Midas then starts trying to climb the chair Obsidian''s sitting in. Feeling his chair jostled, he breaks his focus, looking down at Midas, confused and annoyed.


    "What are you doing?" Obsidian says annoyed


    Midas points to the screen, like it''s obvious that''s what he''s trying to see. Midas keeps trying to get a good foothold when Obsidian groans and picks him up and sits him on the air itself. Midas almost finds it more interesting than the computer, but the sound of the keyboard reroutes his focus. From what Midas can tell, Obsidian is researching recent incidents involving WildGame Revoltors. In the last month, the Revoltors have had many failed assassination attempts on the lords life. Weirdly enough, anything later has nothing to do with the Lord, whether it be supply raids or minor operations.


    Midas only gets a short glimpse as Obsidian takes out a data-key, grabs Midas, and turns off the computer, teleporting the two outside. Obsidian walks through the city carrying Midas like a duffel bag.


    "Are we outside again, goodness, why do you make it look so easy." Midas says in awe


    "Infiltration is my specialty." Obsidian informs


    "Fascinating. What other talents are you withholding." Midas asks


    "Weapons smiting, interrogation, and a myriad of ways to kill." Obsidian answers.


    "Hmm, should''ve expected as much." Midas say unsurprised


    The two walk in silence for a bit.


    "Um, mister, a quick query."


    "What."


    "Can you put me down."


    A brief pause


    "No."


    "For why!"


    "You¡¯re slow."


    "I am not slow, I''m only shorter than you."


    "Exactly, therefore you''re slow."


    "Well, I''m not very comfortable being treated like luggage."


    "Don''t care."


    Midas pouts and drops his head. As he dangles from Obsidian''s hand, the stares of people on the street make him very embarrassed. Luck be on his side, he then spots a restaurant, and a wave of relief washes over him as he convinces Obsidian to finally put him down for a bite. They enter the restaurant and sit down. A waiter takes their drink and will be back for their orders shortly. The two sit in silence for uncomfortable while. Midas can''t tell if Obsidian''s deep in thought or just spacing out. He decides to strike up a conversation.


    "How much longer will this *escapade* last."


    "Not much longer, I¡¯m close to pinpointing the command center. It''s most likely on Umbra. There''s no need to worry about that." Obsidian answers confidently


    "I see."


    Another awkward pause.


    Midas: "Humor me mister, you said you''d get rid of me after our mission is complete. I assume you have a plan for so?"


    Obsidian: "No."


    Midas: "Oh really, that''s unexpected. So, what, do you believe you can just drop me off on the next planet over."


    Obsidian: "yea." He snickers


    Midas: "I must be mistaken, you cannot be the same person. My name is Midas, and you?"


    Obsidian: "All right, smartass. You want a plan, let''s see. I''ll call up Zi. She seems like she''d be good with kids. I''ll let her relocate you. If she can''t, am dropping you off with the Monarchy. That is good enough for you." He smirks


    Midas sighs: "I suppose."


    Midas stares at his reflection in his drink. The glimmer in his eyes from a time ago has faded.


    They arrive back to the ship. It''s late at night. Midas tells Obsidian goodnight and heads to the lounge. Obsidian heads to his console, plugs in his data-key and begins shifting through the data he acquired from the Peacekeepers network. On his console, he finds some information on a supposed weapons dealing ring. After a bit, he finally gets up from his chair. He turns off his console and teleports away.


    He appears in a less extravagant city. You can tell that this is the other side of the planet, the city is far more low key than the capital, the gold that lined every street and building is a bit more sparse, only a few area are bedazzled and the buildings are much smaller. The rest of the city is either silver or gray. The people are just as shady as the city. Everyone on the street keep to themselves, wearing hoods or hats that hide their faces. Obsidian walks into a building. What he walks into is a well designed casino. Not as extraordinary as the capitals, but more calm and colloquial. He walks up to the bar area, where all the patrons watch dancers on stage. Obsidian sits down and orders a drink. Once the bartender slides it over, Obsidian asks a question.


    "Do you know where I can find Dominous Ash."


    Obsidian can feel a few eyes on his back.


    "Who may that be? why ask?" Says the sly bartender


    Obsidian swigs back his drink. He sets it down, making a loud clink.


    "That''s between me and him. If you know something, I''ll compensate." Obsidian says


    "In what way." The bartender says, cleaning a glass.


    "Name it." Obsidian says definitively


    The bartender puts the glass away.


    "I might know a thing or two. But words are quite expensive, especially around these parts. Go see Table 6. Maybe they''ll be worthwhile." The bartender walks off.


    Obsidian gets up and heads over to table six. A couple of scrooges are playing card games with a mound of metallic currency in the middle. Obsidian pulls up a chair, seemingly interrupting a very heated conversation as the men glare and make irk faces.


    "Don''t worry about me, finish the game." Obsidian says as he pulls out his phone to waste time.


    The men very slowly pick up the game until one of them seems especially bothered by Obsidians'' presence.


    "Ay bub, don''t know who ya is, but you needa scram." Says a blusterous scrooge


    "Fools don''t give order, I¡¯m exercising my courtesy by letting you finish your game. Now ignore me for now and finish the game." Obsidian commands


    "Ur not gunna just waltz on in and tell US to finish OUR game." The scrounge gets hostile


    "Oi Donno, chill out, would ya. Obviously, the bloke gotta screw loose, so let em be, I¡¯m trying to get paid." Another scrooge says, rubbing his hands together.


    "Whateva."


    The scrooges continue their game, but the mood is soiled. Once someone puts down their last card, a series of groans and a single cheer as the money winner is decided. The winner tries to hoard the pot and walk off as soon as possible.


    "Ha hay, I¡¯ll see you folks later, I gotta check in my mone--- Ahh!" The guy bumps into an invisible wall.


    "What the hell!" The curses as he tries to feel around, he''s simply unable to push past the invisible wall.


    Obsidian gets up from his chair.


    "Now that my courtesy has been expended, I¡¯ve got a few questions." Obsidian says.


    "Oi, dis your doing." Says the winning scrooge


    "You answer my questions, and their won''t be any issues." Obsidian proposes


    "Why should we -"


    "Question 1: Do you know who Dominous Ash is." Obsidian abruptly begins his questioning.


    "Why ya asking, how bout I give ya a knocking to ya nose and send to the back of ya he--."


    Obsidian pulls out his massive hand cannon from behind his coat and blows the mans head clean off, followed by a long mechanical bang. The casino patrons begin to vacate the area, screaming.


    "That guys voice was so obnoxious, he was basically begging me. So, does anyone else want to give a good reason?" Obsidian coldly intimidates the fools who continue to test his patience.


    "Ay, we don''t want no trouble. Ash, you said, normally he''s not here. But the word on the street says he was making a visit." One of the men blabbers


    "Oi, why are you flapping ya gums? You know what the boss does about snitches." Says the scrooge with an accent


    "Boss, noted, keep going. Where will he be as of this moment." Obsidian aggressively pointing his cannon.


    "Right, of course --- Mr. Ash should be in a mansion he owns somewhere in Silva town, he gonna finish some transactions or so I¡¯ve heard." Says the fearful man


    "You idiot! now you''re done for." Says the accented scrooge.


    "I''ll take my chances with the boss rather than the crazy bastard with a cannon. Oh shit --- I mean." The man let that one slip out.


    "Thank you for the information. Sometimes, a little cooperation goes a long way." Obsidian makes the cannon disappear behind his coat, and he turns away and vanishes.


    "Who the bloody hell was that bloke."


    His friend punches him in the face.


    Obsidian appears in Silver Town. As expected, there''s a lack of gold here as well. Still, it''s a relatively nice city, definitely not as dirty as some cities Obsidian has been in. He teleports high in the sky and surveys the land from above. He spots a humble gray mansion, and considering it''s the only mansion; take a guess. Obsidian teleports to its front door past the gates. Unlike the lords mansion, there are no guard or attendees. Obsidian realizes he''s trespassing, not that he''s particularly keen on following the law, but it''s better if he attempts a good first impression. He teleports to the front gate and rings the doorbell. After a bit, a speaker comes on.


    "Who." Says a disgruntled voice.


    "A visitor." Says Obsidian


    "Specify."


    Obsidian tilts his head. This is a character, that''s for sure.


    "I¡¯m looking for Dominous Ash, I have something to ask him."


    A brief pause


    "No." The speaker hangs up.


    Obsidian sighs. At least he was courteous


    He teleports inside the mansion, taking note of the monochrome black and white of the interior. Obsidian can feel the presence of people below the mansion floors. He senses one presence that seems to be settled in one place. He teleports down and finds himself in a dark office. The walls are black, and the furniture is burgundy. There''s a nice couch with an ash tray that seems freshly used. There are also shelves with trophies and family pictures on them.


    "Ahem." A deep pitched voice clears his throat.


    Obsidian turns his attention to the man sitting at the desk doing some paperwork.This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.


    "Are you Dominous Ash." Obsidian asks


    "Get a load of this one. Asking questions right off the bat, like this isn''t my property." He lets out an exasperated groan.


    "One, who the **** are you, two how the **** did you get in here, and three why the **** are you here." Says the very obviously exhausted man.


    Obsidian takes intrigue in the man. He bares jet black, short spikey hair, and a large scar across his face that closes his right eye. He also has some of the worst dead eyes Obsidian has seen.


    "Obsidian Praw, Page Hunter, teleported." He answers accordingly


    "Page hunter?" The scarred man scratches his chin. "What? come for my bounty then." He says haphazardly


    "No, but depending on how cooperative you are, I might." Obsidian warns


    "Psssffft --- euughh. Whatever. Hurry up, I want you out of my office. You get three questions." Says the man.


    "Hmm, well then, question one: Are you Dominous Ash." Obsidian asks his first question.


    "Yes, next question."


    "Are you dealing weapons to Wildgame." Second question


    "Yes, last one." He says weirdly, honest


    "Are you going to meet with the commander of Wildgame." Last question


    "I will only answer that one if you can pay for it." Dominous says.


    "Hmm, how much." Obsidian humors


    "Let''s go 1mil." He says off the top of his head


    "Expensive information." Obsidian says coyly


    "Well, it''s been expensive business. Can''t pay. Get the hell out." Ash goes back to his paperwork.


    Obsidian gets out his phone and sits down on the couch.


    "How do you want it."


    Dominous looks up.


    "Seriously."


    "I¡¯m open to any option: Physical, digital. Stocks; whatever those are." Obsidian answers


    "Hmm, you serious, I just met you. I''ve personally never heard of this Obsidian Praw fellow. Why do you want this information anyway." Dominous asks


    Obsidian: "You know the Dorado''s."


    Dominous: "we were friends before, but that was a long time ago."


    Obsidian: "their son wants to avenge their murder."


    Dominous: "What, did he commission you to take care of Wildgame? That''s hilarious. Let me cut to the chase, then. The Revoltors are pretty big business partners of mine. unless you can prove to be more valuable than those guys, then maybe we can continue this conversation."


    Obsidian: "If I told you I could kill a black knight, would that do anything for you."


    Dominous'' eyes widen ever so slightly.


    Dominous: "Maybe. But I bet you''re talking out of your ass."


    Obsidian: "Trust me, those guys are nothing but cheap imitations. I could prove it, but I don''t have that kind of time."


    Dominous: "Hmm, big words. What rank page hunter are you."


    Obsidian: "Five."


    Dominous: "ehhuuugh. That''s not bad. How long have you been a hunter."


    Obsidian: "Around two months."


    Dominous: "Can I see your card."


    Obsidian pulls out his card and flicks it, landing in front of Dominous. He picks it up and sees what Obsidian has said is correct. The card then disappears from his hand, and he sees Obsidian put it away.


    Dominous: "neat tricks. Alright, I''ll bite. Form a contact with me, and I''ll let you have your way."


    Obsidian gives Dominous a copy of his official agency contact information. Just then, someone knocks on the door if the office


    "Boss, you meeting with someone!" Says a muffled voice.


    Dominous: "Give me a moment!"


    He gets up and sits on the couch away from Obsidian.


    Dominous: "I¡¯ll keep it short. In Brass Avenue, underground, a day from now, I''m meeting with a guy called Heibarn. He''s a bit of a legend. He has my money, 100mil, you get my money, and you can do whatever you want. That a deal." Dominous lights a cigar, taking one from the table, in between the two them.


    Obsidian gets up.


    Obsidian: "Thank you for your cooperation. I''ll have your money."


    Dominous: "One more thing, Wildgame is planning on seizing the Dorado''s mansion. Now, I don''t particularly care, but I''d rather Dorado''s property treated with a little more respect. Do with that what you will."


    The two shake hands. But before Obsidian leaves, he snatches the cigar out of his mouth and puts it out in the ash tray, then Obsidian disappears like he never existed. Dominous can barely process what just happened, but a knocking on the door draws his attention.


    Dom: "All right, come in."


    A man with slicked back hair and round framed specs walks in.


    "Who were you talking to."


    Dominous walks back to his desk.


    "A new business associate." He answers.


    Obsidian teleports back to the ship, and the crack of dawn illuminates the ships hull. Obsidian walks back and forth his ship, preparing for an excursion. He walks past a sleeping Midas, very comfortably resting on the couch.


    "Where are you going."


    Midas wakes up hearing Obsidians'' boots.


    Obsidian: "I''m heading out. Stay here."


    Midas: "Oh, wait, I shall to come with."


    Obsidian: "No."


    Midas: "You''re not going to attack the Revoltors without me, are you?


    Obsidian: "Don''t worry, when time comes, you''ll be there for that."


    Midas: "You''re underestimating me, aren''t you, I can handle anything thrown at me, I swear it."


    Obsidian: "Where that come from. Just stay here. That''s all I¡¯m saying."


    Midas: "Where are you going then? That''s why I can''t possibly come with you."


    Obsidian doesn''t respond.


    Midas grabs his coat.


    "Let me come with you, I''ll show you that I won''t slow you down."


    Obsidian stares at Midas. He tries to express his determination


    "No." Obsidian vanishes


    "God... dang it." Midas kicks his feet.


    But then he looks like he gets an idea.


    Cutting to Obsidian''s point of view, he stands a top building over looking at Dorado''s mansion. He teleports inside the mansion. He finds himself inside the old guest room. However, the door is open. He quickly moves out of sight and looks outside. When he heard that Revoltors took the mansion, he expected some numbers, but it seems the Revoltors are keeping this a secret takeover. With the coast clear, Obsidian decides to just walk around till he finds someone.


    Hopeful Rev: "Ay, you think the kid will show up."


    Doubtful Rev: "Huh, ehh, probably not, I mean, his parents just got X''d, so why would he come back here.


    Hopeful Rev: "You right, but still, I want something to happen."


    Obsidian appears behind two armed men conversing on a couch. Obsidian puts his hands on their shoulders.


    Hopeful Rev: "Ah, damn he got us."


    Doubtful Rev: "Ha, you''re so right. Ey good one."


    Obsidian gives a crooked smile. Then, they slam their heads together. After he restrains the two, he decides to hunt down the rest of the guards.


    We get a scene of guards wandering the mansion as Obsidian roams in the background stealthily taking out each Revoltors in brutal fashion. In one encounter, a guard turns around startled. Obsidian appears behind him. As the guard feels a tap on his shoulder, he turns to see no one behind him until he''s slammed into a wall.


    At this moment, the perspective shifts to Midas'' point of view.


    Midas paces back and forth in the ship. He wants to do something. He feels that Obsidian thinks very little of him. Midas decides he''s going to take a walk. He walks past the lounge to the back and walks through the door and climbs down a ladder, leading to the ships'' bottom hull, and exits ramp. However, on the outside of the ship, two men walk into the barely lit hanger.


    We catch the ramp descend as Midas walks out. Midas walks off into the hanger, adjusting his oversized belt. As the ramp of the ship closes behind him, Midas looks deep in thought. But it seems that the train of thought is broken once he sees the two men.


    ??? 1: "Is that who I think it is."


    ??? 2: "Holy hell, the Fox was right, that Hired Gun has the kid.


    The two men approach Midas casually. Getting a better look, the men are armored and armed with rifles. They sport capes and armored masks.


    ??? 1: "Hey kid, it is mean Ole page hunter keeping hostage, gone sell you for ransom, don''t worry, we''re gonna save you. "


    The man crouches to reach a hand out. But Midas steps back, reaching behind him.


    ??? 1: "Hey kid, no need to be afraid, I¡¯m not gonna hurtcha."


    ??? 1: "Now I take a closer look. What''s with the vest looks sturdy." The man tries to grab Midas.


    Midas then pulls out the gun Obsidian gave him and points it at the man.


    ??? 1: "Whoa, Lil buddy, where the hell do you get that."


    The second man raises his rifle.


    ??? 2: "Put it down now, or else."


    Midas starts panicking but bites his lip to focus.


    ???1: "Alright, easy now." The first man slowly takes the rifle sling off his shoulders.


    Midas looks at him, with a cold, serious glare.


    ??? 1: "No need to be so tense, I promise we won''t hurt you." He drops the rifle


    Midas: "Are you one of the Revoltors."


    The man is taken aback.


    ??? 1: "No, me and that scary fellow behind are not Revs. In fact, we were sent by the order. In fact, we were sent by the Black Knight of Gamma Bright Eh. How cool that. You''re the Lords son, right? I¡¯m sure your father was great friends with the knights." The man says enthusiastically


    Midas'' eyes narrow, and the intensity in his eyes startle the 1st man.


    Midas: "My father hated the knights. He told me they were uncontrolled plagues on the universe that did whatever they pleased."


    The second man''s eyes narrow behind his mask.


    ??? 2: "So that''s how it is, dumbass brat."


    The first man tries to grab Midas'' gun from his hands but gets shot in the shoulder. Midas makes a run for it, but the second man trains on him like a hawk. Midas points his gun at the second man and tries to cover himself. However, before he can shoot. He gets shot directly in the head, sending flying and hitting the ground hard. The second man lowers his rifle and holsters it to check on his partner.


    ??? 1: "Did you ****ing shoot the kid."


    ??? 2 "he got hostile. It''s basic self-defense."


    ??? 1: "Dude, that''s heartless. Did you at least keep it non-lethal?


    ??? 2: "There''s no such thing as non-lethal when your life is on the line."


    ??? 1: "Damn, whatever, man. It''s just that it sucks to youth die so early. Wasted potential and all that."


    ??? 2: "I don''t believe in wasted potential if someone''s future looks bright and is cut short. Then someone can easily fill their place and succeed."


    ??? 1: "That''s a pretty, cut-off way to look at it. Ay help me up would you."


    The first man holds out a hand. The second crouches down to grab it, but when he does.


    !!! 1: "Hey! BEHIND YOU!!!"


    The second man turns around and is then shot in the head. The first man quickly draws his rifle, getting one shot off, but getting himself shot and killed in the process. The assailant falls to the ground, holding his chest. And it''s Midas!


    He sits there trying to catch his breath, and we see a gold splat on his forehead. The sudden gold splotch on his forehead drops the bullet that it caught. And the vest that Obsidian made for Midas saved him as well as Midas tries to pluck the second bullet from it, but it''s stuck. Midas looks up and sees a silhouette made of gold dust, but it quickly disappears, and he shakes his head. It must''ve just been an adrenaline fueled hallucination.


    As Midas calms down, he realizes that maybe Obsidian was right. He might not be ready for this kind of action. He drags the bodies to a corner in the hanger. He also takes a rifle off of one the men, and after realizing he doesn''t know how to open the dead spears ramp, he hides in the hanger and waits.


    An hour later, the ramp to the Dead Spear opens. Obsidian storms out of his ship, frantically looking around. He can feel two body shaped objects in the hanger, and after teleporting to them, he sees the corpses.


    "Grreeegh, Midas!!!!" Obsidian yells out.


    "I''m right here."


    Jolts back, absolutely soul shaken, making a strange noise.


    Obsidian: "How did you do that." His pitch raised slightly


    Midas: "Do what."


    Obsidian: "Sneak up on me, of all people." He squats down to Midas'' level.


    Midas: "I''ve been made aware of my quiet footsteps before. It''s used to scare Ben all the time." He puts on a casual smile.


    Obsidian: "Hmm, noted. More importantly, what''s with the bodies."


    Midas: "The black knight of Gamma Bright sent some men after me. I had to fend for myself. I believe I was almost fatally wounded twice, but your vest protected me."


    Obsidian: "So you killed these men on your own?"


    Midas: "Yes, I... I... I guess I did." realization creeping in on his face.


    Obsidian stares at Midas


    Obsidian: "Very impressive. I hate to admit I really did underestimate you."


    Midas: "I knew it."


    Obsidian: "Hmm, it seems there is something on your forehead. A gold spot?"


    Midas: "Gold spot?" He tilts his head


    Obsidian: "Did you not notice a difference." He flicks the spot


    Midas: "No, I did not." holding his head. The flick hurt.


    "Well, in any case." Obsidian gets up and picks up Midas by the hood. "I better not let you out my sight again." Obsidian says.


    Obsidian and Midas return to the Dead spear and sit on the looping couch.


    "So, what happened? Run it all by me." Obsidian requests.


    Midas then gives a step by step explanation of his experience.


    "After all that, I got up, and as quietly as I could, snuck up and shoot them both in the head." Midas finishes his retelling.


    "I think I saw a ghost after, but I think I was just hallucinating."


    "A ghost?.." Obsidian puts a hand to his chin.


    "What is it? Were I not hallucinating?" Midas questions


    "Probably, but I''ve read tales of people seeing guardian angels on the brink of death. One was in non-fiction." Obsidian says


    Midas stares at Obsidian


    "Are you real? I didn''t think you believed in fairytales." Midas squints his eyes judging Obsidian


    Obsidian whacks Midas on the head. "People have hallucinations when death is near. These experiences end up leading to some form of awakening. That''s probably why you''re not dead."


    Midas eyes widen.


    "What, does that mean I have awakened?.. Awaken what; I¡¯m confused." Midas responds


    "Idk, a blessing, most likely. It has something to do with the gold that was on your head." Obsidian answers


    "Guess your daddy was covering your ass from the grave." Obsidian snickers


    Midas'' eyes slowly widen, and he gasps. He starts to cheerfully giggle to himself.


    Obsidian stares at the kid, confused. "What, why are you giggling? You look like a fatass jellybean."


    "What does that even mean. It''s just nice to hear something like that. Didn''t think you''d ever say something so sentimental." Midas says


    "I wasn''t being sentimental." Obsidian denies


    "Sure you weren''t." Midas snickers


    "You''re a weird kid." Obsidian says


    "You''re one to talk!.. Oh, I just remembered. Why have you gone for so long." Midas question.


    "Hunting."


    "Mister!"


    "Shut it. All I did was acquire information." Obsidian interrupts


    "Due tell. How did you acquire such information, and what information did you learn." Midas says coyly


    "Revs made a move on your mansion. So I cleared out the place. Some cooperative soldiers told me how they snuck a bomb onto your fathers shuttle and blew out the ground with a type-66 thermo excavator."


    "I see." Midas sighs.


    "Also some locations." Obsidian says


    "That''s good, then we can keep hunting till we find what we''re looking for." Midas hops of the couch


    "Except they were meant to mislead me, but I already figured out where to look."


    Obsidian gets up and heads to the cockpit. Midas follows close behind. Obsidian starts up the Dead Spears engines. He vanishes from his seat, and suddenly, a loud noise is heard as the hanger door opens. Obsidian reappears in his chair, and once the doors open, the dead spear takes off.


    The Shining Fox in a dark den:


    We shift perspectives. A man in a suit, wearing a mask, sits cross-legged within a ship. He gets a ringing in his earpiece.


    "Hello."


    "Fox, it''s the commander speaking, I''ve got something to report. I know we''re not in contact anymore, but I believe you should hear this."


    "This is Fox speaking. Go on."


    Commander: "As per your last request, me a my men have been searching for the boy."


    Fox: "Go on."


    Commander: "we planned on seizing the mansion and waiting for the boy return. But it seems that detachments be wiped out. We lost all contact.


    Fox: "Oh dear, that''s such a shame." He says in a mocking tone. "Why made you believe that the boy would even want to return."


    Commander: "Just insurance sir, it was a small detachment, but what could wipe them out."


    Fox, let''s out a huge sigh


    Fox: "Obviously, that hired gun who got in the way time and time again. luck was on your side that you succeeded in the first place. In any case, I believe it''s best if you call your men and evacuate Umbra for your sake."


    A brief pause


    Fox: "You heard that."


    Commander: "Sir, with all do respect, we can''t give up Umbra. This is an important position for the UR."


    Fox: "What makes you think you and your men can make I difference, especially when I command you. But if you don''t want to leave, then be my guest. Just don''t contact me again, not that you''ll be able to."


    Commander: "Yes, sir. This will be the last time. Heibarn out."


    Fox hangs up the call. The Fox slicks his hair back.


    "Lehahaha. Go on, brother, clean up this mess."


    We shift perspectives back to Obsidian and Midas.


    The dead spear lands in a civilian port, and Obsidian checks in under Zi''s name. Obsidian and Midas walk into the city and walk down the street until they enter Brass Avenue. Obsidian walks with his head down as he follows the sidewalk.


    "Hey, mister, are you ok." Midas says assuming he''s in a bad mood.


    Obsidian doesn''t respond


    "Are you perchance utilizing your technique. Spatial awareness, correct?"


    Obsidian makes a sharp turn into street, completely focused on the ground. He then makes a sharp turn into and alley way where he stops.


    "Have you found what you were searching for." Midas continues to question.


    Obsidian squats down and puts a hand to the floor.


    "Stand back." Obsidian commands


    Midas steps back.


    Suddenly, a portal opens up and reveals a gateway to a lower tunnel.


    "I''ll leave you the honors." Obsidian ushers Midas down.


    "Mister, I¡¯m not sure if this is wise." Midas says as he peaks over the edge. Just then, Obsidian kicks Midas down the portal, appearing behind him.


    The fall was instantaneous, Midas finding himself in a dark gray area. He looks up to see a long tunnel going both ways. Obsidian then makes a loud thud as he crudely hops down.


    Obsidian walks in front, already knowing where to go. Obsidian walks down the dark tunnel for a while until he feels the presence of two. He is about to mindlessly walk into the two presences, but them remembers the boy right next to him, so for Midas'' sake, he decides to focus a little.


    He vanishes from Midas'' side. Midas hears some grunting and then a loud slam, and turns to the corner to see one man dead on the ground and another bug like man squashed into a wall.


    "Mister, you leave quite a mess."


    Midas gazes upon the bodies of the soldiers. One has had his chest punched through from behind, and the other has his head merged with the wall.


    Obsidian looks back at Midas. "You wanted blood didn¡¯t you, you not feeling queasy?"


    Midas looks behind Obsidian to take one more look at the bodies. His face scrunches up in disgust, but he swallows down the feeling.


    "No I shall be fine. Perhaps." He says unsurely.


    "Well, better get used to it." Obsidian says not really caring.


    Obsidian and Midas take a very deliberate path through the underground base, taking out man after man. Every time, It sends a shiver down Midas'' spine. However, on Obsidian''s path of carnage, one of the soldiers witnessed one of Obsidian''s kills.


    "Commander, we have intruders, a tall man, and a small boy. They''re killing everyone they come across, sound th..."


    Obsidian appears in front of the man and punches his jaw into his throat, making a dent in the wall.


    "Must you make such a mess every time." Midas feels queasy


    Obsidian doesn''t say anything.


    Just then, the alarms to the base go off.


    Obsidian smiles coldly


    Obsidian hears a torrent of boots coming his way. Obsidian sighs and keeps on his way.


    In the main command center:


    Commander Heibarn: "Have we found the intruders."


    Officer 1: "We have pinpointed their location." Bring up the feed."


    Officer 2: "Feeds up."


    Officer 3: "There''s nothing there. Wait, look at our comrades, sick bastard!"


    The hallways lay litter with the mutilated bodies of soldiers.


    Officer 2: "He''s tearing through us."


    Officer 1: "Wait, there he is! He disappeared again!"


    Heibarn: "Wait on that screen."


    He points to a top left screen. The screen shows Obsidian staring at the camera. The pitch black tint of his goggles makes it feel like staring into the void itself. His smile slowly burning itself into the minds of the soldiers.


    However, that uneasy feeling is slightly broken, as the little teenage boy pushes the man in black and starts flipping off the camera, and sticking out his tougue. The man in black shakes his head and shoots the camera, pulling a gun from behind his coat.


    There''s a deafening silence.


    Officer 3: "Really. these guys are clowns! I want to go home."


    Suddenly, there''s a knocking on the door. The command center arms themselves.


    Officer 2: "Not to be a pessimist, but I don''t think we''re going home after this."


    A few officers slowly approach the wide door. Two take the left and right. While one takes the center and readies himself. Suddenly, a hole opens in the door, an arm with a gun pokes, through. The first officer is blasted in the head, and then as the arm pulls out, another arm comes through and grabs the second officer. All that''s heard is that officers muffled screams. Suddenly, the portal widens, and Obsidian steps through dual welding his cannons and rains a storm of metal hell.


    Obsidian takes out a large portion of the command center before quickly catching a lariat by commander Heibarn. Obsidian blocks the lariat but gets sent flying back. Obsidian''s feet slide across the ground, and he starts laying down fire into Heibarn. Heibarn''s arms emit a deep orange and red mystical flame and use these to block Obsidians gun fire.


    Obsidian makes his cannons disappear and takes a widened stance, putting his arms behind his back. Heibarn takes the first swing, throwing out a combination of blows, jabs, hooks, back swings, and uppercuts, Obsidian weaves every attack.


    Obsidian catches one of Heibarn s punches.


    "Not bad, for a human." Obsidian remarks


    "You''ll destroy my men no longer." Heibarn declares


    Heibarn jumps back, charging his fist and launching a blast of spirit.


    Obsidian dodges, teleporting behind Heibarn and goes on the offense. With his hands in his pocket, Obsidian begins throwing out a series of kicks. Heibarn blocks the first kick and has to grit his teeth, from the impact rippling through his body. Heibarn blocks the few follow up kicks, then Obsidian feints a punch and slips into a leg sweep, teleporting behind and punting heibarn back into the command center.


    Obsidian notices Midas getting grabbed by a soldier and summons a gun in his hand. But surprisingly, Midas head-butts his captor, frees himself, and punches the officer in the groin.


    Midas then pulls out his pistol. But the look of fear on the mans face startles Midas, making him hesitate. Midas starts getting shot at, but before he gets himself killed, Obsidian teleports Midas to him, holding him by the hood.


    "Focus, these guys killed your parents. no need to hesitate. You have plenty of reason to kill." Obsidian advises


    The soldiers start pouring out of the command center, opening fire on Obsidian and Midas. Obsidian puts down Midas and puts out his hand. "Impassable space." Obsidian says as the bullets bounce off of a wall of nothing.


    Obsidian starts shooting back, taking out a few soldiers, making the rest fall back. After a moment of silence, a loud crash is heard. Obsidian looks to his left and sees Heibarn slam through the wall and tackles Obsidian.


    "Hey brat! Use this time to train yourself, and make that blessing work for you." Obsidian says as he stops Heibarn in his tracks and knees him in the stomach, then tossing him away. Heibarn runs in and, after throwing a few blows, gets kicked through the ceiling by Obsidian, who follows suit.


    Midas looks into the center and sees no one in the center. However, that''s no relief as gunfire comes from the hole in the wall heibarn made. Midas makes a run for it, to the right tunnel, and the remaining soldier chases him down. Midas runs and runs, freaking out.


    "What the devil. mister!! I don''t even know how I awakened my blessing. you''re going to get me killed!!!"


    He runs and bumps into a dense group, takes a turn. Midas is shot in the shoulder and falls to the ground. It hurts, but it didn''t pierce him.


    A soldier shoots at him again. But Midas puts a hand to the ground and tries to shield his head, but nothing comes next.


    "Whoa hey! the hells all this!!" Says a soldier.


    "Gold, the ****!" Says a different voice


    Midas opened his eyes to see the tunnel blocked with gold. He looks to the ground, and the whole floor is gold. He looks at his hand, and that too is solid gold. Midas starts laughing in hysteria that he''s actually developing abilities.


    "The mister was right. I should never have doubted him."


    Although, due to the nature of thus awakening, the gold is quite weak, as a soldier uses their rifle as a club and shatters the wall. Midas yells and starts to run.


    We cut to Obsidian, who''s chasing down Heibarn, is faced with a large group of soldiers standing behind Heibarn.


    Obsidian stares them down.


    "Fire at will!" Heibarn commands


    The soldier starts laying down a storm of fire.


    Obsidian just stands there, hands in his pockets. Suddenly, a bunch of small portals open to defend Obsidian.


    Heibarn puts his fist up, signaling the end of the gun fire. Obsidian smile grows wider, as now all


    Small portals open up end points, and a hail of fire rains on the soldiers. Acting quickly, Heibarn engulfs his arm in energy and sends his own men flying, taking the brunt of most of the portal attacks. Now leaking blood from his body, he puts his duke up, ready to defend his men. He touches his radio.


    "Attention all WildGame Revoltors, this is Heibarn. Everyone must evacuate the base, effective immediately. Our opponent is too powerful. Live to fight another day. Commander out."


    Heibarn stares down Obsidian.


    "Let''s finish this." Heibarn declares


    Obsidian gazes menacingly


    "I won''t let you lay a finger on my men." Heibarn rushes in.


    Obsidian stops heibarn''s punch with one hand, yet the commander stays determined. He winds up a punch but, Obsidian front kicks heibarn back


    Back with Midas, he''s in the middle of playing dodging the bullets. He puts a hand to the ground and a bunch of gold pillars, beat and obstruct his pursuers. Suddenly, they get the speakers announce the evacuation order, and the soldiers chasing Midas look panicked and immediately run in the opposite direction.


    "Come on! the commander''s in danger!" Says one of the soldiers


    "Who here is blessed?! we need extra might." A soldier asks as their voice fade around the tunnels.


    Midas looks confused.


    Cutting back to Obsidian, heibarn is thrown through a door into a medical bay. And the two exchange blows.


    Obsidian starts beating the hell out of Commander Heibarn, upper cutting him into the upper floor of the base. Before he chases, he summons a grenade and drops it on that floor. He jumps up and meets Heibarn as the explosion goes off.


    "STOP! they leave my men out of this!"


    Heibarn cries out.


    Obsidian''s smile widens.


    "Due to the nature of my mission, it is unfortunate for you that I can not let a single one of you go." Obsidian pulls back his sleeve and presses some buttons on his gauntlet.


    He then snaps his fingers, and six flying drones are summoned. Obsidian slides his index and middle fingers across his gauntlet, and the six combat drones speed off in different directions.


    "Don''t you dare!" Heibarn tries to destroy the drones before they leave, but Obsidian grabs him by the throat and smashes him through a series of walls.


    Obsidian tosses heibarn down. Heibarn bounces up and charges at Obsidian once more and burning with energy. They both exchange blows some more. However, a group of soldiers fill in the tunnels to support their commander.


    "Open fire! Backup commander heibarn!!"


    The soldiers opening but Obsidian prevents stops the bullets in their tracks, with more invisible walls.


    Heibarn attempts to take advantage of this opening, but Obsidian throws a punch without looking, and heibarn dodges it, just to punched in the gut from a portal and sent flying back.


    Obsidian sends the bullets back, and the soldiers take cover. One of the soldiers comes out and sprays a stream of acid at Obsidian. Obsidian simply moves out of the way and rushes in to dismantle the soldiers.


    Heibarn is on his last legs, breathing heavy and struggling to stand. His vision is blurry, and his mind is frantic.


    "No. NO! I¡¯m the one you''re fighting." Heibarn says as he charges a punch and sends a blast forward.


    Obsidian teleports behind Heibarn, dodging the attack. With one blow, he punches out Heibarn¡¯s stomach, blowing out his side. Obsidian then kicks heibarn away into his men.


    "Sir, you need to get out of here. You can''t take much more." One of the soldiers demands.


    "There''s no point. Either I kill him here, or he kills all of us." The futility of the scenario is not lost on heibarn. He is fully aware of how foolish it is to continue to fight. But he knows it''s even worse to run away with his tail tucked between his legs, even though there is no escape.


    "One more attack." Heibarn charges his energy, his spirit burning red hot. His body is engulfed in his flaming spirit. The aura surrounds his arm and condenses. Harding into a Translucent Armor. Heibarn reels back. A wave of his spirit emits a powerful pressure.


    "Commander, please, there''s no need to keep fighting! You''ll get yourself killed! We need you!" Yells out his soldiers


    His soldier continues to plea with their commander.


    "SILENCE!!! I never taught you all to fear!" Heibarn shouts


    "I am but one man, fighting for a better future. There are thousands out there who share my dream. Millions!!!"


    "Commander, wait."


    "This is my last order. Run. RUN AS FAST AS YOU CAN! LIVE TO FIGHT ANOTHER DAY!!!"


    Obsidian looks at this display. Instead of his usual dehumanizing smile, he bares a smirk of respect. He shakes his head. He then coats his own arm with his spirit. The mystical purple flame rages and then solidifies into his own translucent armor. "You''ve had a great story." Obsidian remarks


    Heibarn blasts forward


    "This is it, you monster!!! DEVASTATORS WRA--" Heibarn gets cut off before finishing his attack name. the ultimate and heroic final moments of Commander Heibarn are unforgettable. Unfortunately, they were cut short. In the blink of an eye, before heibarn can swing his fist. Obsidian blitzes heibarn with a lariat to the throat.


    "My name shall mark its end." Obsidian whispers


    Heibarn hits the ground, bouncing off and slamming into the arms of his men.


    "Ough, huff*, I am... so.. rry."


    "Commander No!"


    Obsidian, scoffs, and summons one half of his twin blade. An intense pressure crushes Heibarns men, and Obsidian reels back his arm. The soldiers brace themselves, but Commander Heibarn gets up and charges his arms out of desperation.


    But it was ultimately useless.


    Obsidian swings his blade, turning his back, and everyone, heibarn and his men, get split in half. The only sound is their bodies hitting the floor. Obsidian looks behind him. "Heibarn. I''ll remember that one. Least I can do." Obsidian''s blade breaks down and disappears, and he puts his hands in his pockets.


    He checks his gauntlet. Two of his drones were destroyed. The others have racked up a total of 49 kills combined so far.


    He checks on Midas'' presence. He can feel the boys heart slow down and stabilize. He should be fine for now, as no one seems to be near him.


    Obsidian vanishes.


    10 minutes later, after screams and cries brutally sounded throughout the entire base, Obsidian appears in front of Midas, curled against a wall. He seems really tired.


    "Hey kid, you all right." Obsidian asks


    "Yeah, I¡¯m fi.. fine. I¡¯m a little tired can. Have you finished you duty." Midas says, breathing heavy.


    "Yes, 90% of the base has been wiped out. I came to check on you. What''s your status."


    "Yeah, I¡¯m fine, don''t... worry... ab..." Midas passes out.


    "Incapacitated." Obsidian sighs. He picks up Midas and tosses him over his shoulder.


    "I suppose we''re finished here. I would rather not leave things unfinished, but I believe you''re satisfied. Pleasure doing business with you."


    He teleports away.

 Fools Deal in Gold

    FOOLS DEAL IN GOLD:


    Within Obsidian ship, it¡¯s quiet. The silver interior shines as bright as new. Purple rugs line the floor, and streaks of purple add color to the walls.


    Obsidian appears in the middle of the lounge, carrying Midas over his shoulder. He grabs him by the leg and holds him upside down, letting him dangle. He shakes him up and down, trying to see if he''d wake up. Obsidian shrugs and tosses Midas on the couch and heads to the cockpit.


    He takes a seat in his captains chair and boots up the console. He then sets up a call.


    Obsidian: ¡°Is this Dominous.¡±


    Dominous: ¡°Oh, hey! If it isn¡¯t the home invader, I was beginning to think you weren¡¯t real. How ya doing.¡± He says with a new fervor, letting his real accent out.


    Obsidian: ¡°I have your money. Where should we rendezvous.¡±


    Dominous: ¡°well I¡¯ll be damned, it hasn¡¯t even been a full day; you¡¯re a beast. Me and my boys were just about to leave the planet. Meet us at Silvertown port. You can drop it off in person.¡±


    Obsidian: ¡°Copy that.¡±


    Obsidian cuts off the call and turns off his console. He checks on Midas, the boy seem to be having a rough sleep, holding himself tightly while grimacing. Obsidian makes an annoyed frown. Obsidian teleports a heavy cover over Midas, which seemed to calm him down a bit. Obsidian teleports away.


    Obsidian arrives at the entrance to the port, past the massive parking lot, and gates. He teleports a chair and takes a seat by the entrance opening. The sun begins to set, washing a bright, warm light over Obsidian¡¯s face. He watches cars come in single files through the toll gate, one at a time. It¡¯s quiet. Annoyingly so, Obsidian pulls out his phone to pass the time.


    About 20 minutes later, a black car pulls up to the toll. After the car passes, the toll gate lets through an entourage filled with armored black vehicles. The entourage line up in front of the entrance and a group of all black and dark blue mobsters exit their vehicles. They all line up as their boss is the last to exit their car. The boss walks up to the port where Obsidian is sitting by the entrance.


    The boss of the Blind Kings sports a blue rose patterned button up and a black vine patterned vest, with a long black coat over his shoulders. On opposite sides, he has one pant leg rolled up, and his left sleeve rolled up. He wears a glove on his left and rings and a bracelet on his right hand. Lastly, he sports an eye patch with a crown on it and a fancy hat.


    ¡°I know that silhouette. Obsidian Praw! Nice to see you in the light.¡± Dominous greets Obsidian.


    ¡°Same to you.¡± Obsidian responds. ¡°You look as shit as the first time I saw you.¡±


    ¡°Sheesh you¡¯re a rude fella. Sure I might not sleep as much as I should but I think I¡¯m still pretty handsome, if I do say so myself.¡± Dominous jokes


    ¡°Hmm.¡± Obsidian grunts


    ¡°Anyway, follow me, Let¡¯s talk in the hanger.¡±


    Everyone follows behind Dominous as they make their way inside the port. The group walks down to the hanger passing through reception like VIPs, and entering their special hanger. The hanger is large and imposing, with an even more intimidating ship, rectangular and sturdy in build, covered in decals, and sporting a primarily dark blue shell. The ramp of their ship comes down, and Dominous waltz up and stands above.


    ¡°So where my money friend, I can see your empty handed, got another trick for me?¡± Dominous asks


    Like requested, Obsidian pulls out a briefcase from behind his coat.


    ¡°You a magician! You pull that out of your ass?!¡± Dominous lets out a hearty laugh and motions for one of his men


    Obsidian raises an eyebrow, and is taken aback by the comment. He hands over the briefcase to Dominous¡¯ subordinate, who collects the briefcase and opens it.


    ¡°Boss. He put in a little extra.¡± Says the subordinate


    ¡°Oh really?¡± Dominous peek over


    ¡°Ooooh, you put in an extra 1mill.¡±


    Dominous says, surprised


    ¡°For the information.¡± Obsidian explains


    Dominous smirks and nods. ¡°I think we¡¯ll get along just fine.¡± Dominous waves his subordinate away.


    Obsidian and Dominous shake hands


    Dominous walks up the ramp.


    ¡°Oh! One more thing. If you ever find yourself in Greatsmolder, give us a call. Might have a job for you.¡± He invites.


    The Blinds kings ship lights up its engine and begins its ascent. They take off into the sky, and vanish from sight.


    Deep, deep below ground, we find ourselves in the decimated wreckage of the Wildgame base. The walls are riddled with bullet holes, burn marks and dents. Wires spark and crack as there exposed, rubble makes loud bangs as the fall to the floor. Blood drips from the ceiling as bodies hang, and the hallways run a river of blood.


    All of the remaining survivors all meet up in the remains of the destroyed command center, the massive main monitor shattered, bluescreened and sparking in pain.


    ¡°Is this everyone!¡± A soldier yells out.


    Rows of bodies covered in white sheets lay on the floors. The remaining soldiers are mostly medics and laborers, only three men carry weapons. The mood is hopeless, as soldiers attempt to console one another, but they too are suffering.


    ¡°Sorry, old buddy, seems like I¡¯m the only one going home.¡± An officer, wrapped head to toe in bandages, lays a sheet over his partner, putting him to rest.


    ¡°What¡¯s the head count.¡± An intelligence officer requests


    ¡°Here¡¯s the report. Out of the 1368 soldiers stationed here. Only 20 of us are confirmed alive, and 10 are missing.¡±


    ¡°One man did all of this¡­ We¡¯re ruined!¡± The soldier throws a table across the room, making a loud crash.


    ¡°What now, who will lead us?¡± A medic hopelessly asks


    ¡°Who here is the highest rank?!¡± An engineer yells out


    The survivors form a crowd in the center of the room, looking at one another, writing down notes and asking anything that might help.


    ¡°How about Kline?¡± A soldier recommends


    Everyone turns to Kline, sitting in the corner, snacking on some rations, his eyes dry. His dark, crusted eyes widen suddenly.


    ¡°Huh?! Wait why me, I¡¯m no leader!¡± He stands up.


    ¡°Maybe not, but you¡¯re the highest ranking soldier here.¡± Calmly states an officer.


    ¡°Yeah! He¡¯s also the strongest here.¡±


    Another agrees


    ¡°We can¡¯t have Kline lead us, he¡¯s lazy and incompetent, he¡¯d get the rest of us killed.¡± A heated argument brews in the crowd, as they discuss other possible candidates


    Kline looks on in anxiety, watching everyone devolve into uncivilized yelling. Kline holds his head and squeezes his eyes shut. He¡¯s reminded of the screams of his comrades. He remembers the horrifying presence of the man in black, how he could barely stand. He stared down the barrel of the demon, and the only reason he lives now, is due to the sacrifice of his captain pushing him out of the way. He watched as his captain held his guts as they spewed out, and then his head be crushed under boot.


    ¡°Wait! Everyone I can¡¯t lead any of you. I¡¯m the useless one. I¡¯d only get in everyone¡¯s way.¡± Kline yells out.


    ¡°But we don¡¯t have anyone else qualified Kline! It¡¯s gotta be you!¡± An engineer yells out


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter what the rest lf us want, or who else might be better Because in the end, we¡¯re all the bottom of the barrel!!¡±


    Everyone looks at each other, they all nod in solemn regret. They all look to Kline.


    ¡°C¡¯mon, Kline by due process, you¡¯re a newly promoted captain. So what do you say.¡±


    Kline looks at everyone, conflicted on every end. He scratches his neck and rubs it unsure of everything.


    ¡°Alright, let me see what I can do.¡± Kline resigns


    The remaining soldiers cheer for the new captain. Kline wipes his face, he never wanted any of this. He closes his eyes and sighs heavy. He curses that black demon.


    In a purple flash, Obsidian teleports back to the Deadspear. He heads to his bathroom and takes a dose of his medication. He walks into the lounge and finds Midas snoring. He takes a seat and turns on the tv, laying his heavy coat on the table and putting his feet up. Obsidian starts to cough again, he coughs and coughs, hacking up blood. But its nothing new.


    The coughing seems to startle young Midas, waking him up. He groans as he tries to tuck himself in more.


    ¡°Are you okay Mister.¡± Midas says groggy


    ¡°I¡¯m doing fine.¡± Obsidian responds


    ¡°Very well.¡± Midas says trying to go back to sleep


    ¡°You¡¯re tearing up my couch with all that tossing. What¡¯s your condition?¡± Asks Obsidian


    ¡°I¡¯m fine. Thank you for asking.¡± Midas says quietly


    ¡°Don¡¯t patronize me, I can see your stressing. Tell me so you can sit still; that¡¯s a high quality couch you¡¯re ****ing up.¡±


    Midas sits upright, still wrapped like a burrito. He¡¯s got a very solemn and regretful look in his eyes.


    ¡°I can still see them so clearly. Mother, father. I can see them before me, happy as day. But they suffer, burning in wrathful fire, their flesh melting to bone. And there¡¯s nothing I can do. I want to reach out but no matter how much I do¡­ they won¡¯t come back. And then, there¡¯s blood on my hands; not once did I ever believe I would¡­ kill someone. My parents must be cursing me from the beyond, persecuting for I have failed them. What do I do mister, what CAN I do.¡± Midas starts to break down in quiet tears staring at the ceiling trying to hold them back.


    Obsidian side eyes the poor boy. He rolls his head, seemingly contemplating something. He makes a disgusted face.


    ¡°The hell you crying for, you just got the revenge you begged for?¡± Obsidian says harshly


    ¡°What? But¡­ you¡¯re right, I don¡¯t have the privilege to feel sorry for myself. I wanted this.¡±


    ¡°You act like a taking a few lives means anything, you¡¯re parents wouldn¡¯t give a shit or two.¡± Obsidian speaks in dry uncaring tone.


    Midas takes an offended expression.


    ¡°Death isn¡¯t something that meaningless. Its irreversible, I SEPERATED two men from the families, their loved ones, anyone that may miss them. I committed a grave sin; my father taught me that violence should always be the last resort. And yet I took it and it was the first thing that came to my mind. I ignored my fathers teaching because I let my rage control me.¡± Midas puts a hand on his heart.


    ¡°Dramatic. You got the wrong idea; you think those men had value. That their deaths mattered. Obviously not if they died to a child. You saved your own ass, which means your story isn¡¯t over. You should be prideful, ecstatic. You were superior to those men, your story will be worth more than theirs ever will be.¡± Obsidian says in a cold and malicious tone.


    ¡°How can you believe such a thing. I¡¯d never believe myself more valuable than another, we all were born in the same realm.¡± Midas says passionately


    ¡°Impressive, little rich boy think he can humble. You were born with one hell of a head start, and you think you¡¯re not worth than the common man.¡± Obsidian mocks


    ¡°Yes! My birth has nothing to with my worth as a man. The value of a person is determined by good merit alone. One can only be considered a man if they¡¯ve made a mark on the world for the better!¡± Midas stands on the couch.


    Obsidian lightly jabs Midas on the gut making him sit back down.


    ¡°Then that must mean I¡¯m worth nothing at all. But if that¡¯s true I don¡¯t give two shits. Because that just means everyone I kill is worth less than jack-shit. And that¡¯s pretty amusing.¡± Obsidian sinisterly chuckles.


    Midas reels his head back, staring confused and disgusted at Obsidian


    ¡°What?! No that¡¯s not what I''m saying at all!¡± Midas says wildly befuddled


    ¡°Don¡¯t back down now. It¡¯s the one thing I like about you. A smartass little brat, with a strong foundation of belief. If you think I''m lesser than trash then keeping thinking that way. Because someone like me revels in the fact.¡±


    The disgusted leaves Midas'' face, he tilts his head in even more confusion and concern.


    ¡°If you don¡¯t think killing is good, than keep telling me why. Because I¡¯ll have fun telling you how much I love doing it. And we can keep going back and forth, on and on.¡± Obsidian stands up and begins walking off. ¡°Of course I¡¯ve got a call to make. Soon I¡¯ll get rid of you, keep that in mind if you got anything else to say.¡± Obsidian walks into the corridor to the cockpit, but before he does he look back.


    ¡°Oh, you want anything before we leave here for good?¡±


    Midas looks at Obsidian so horrified, confused, and anything else to describe what he¡¯s feeling. He puts his hands to face and groans loudly. He wipes his face, and his expression is now exhausted and done. He sighs heavily


    ¡°Messiah save me. There are a few thing I want to take with me. Can we stop by to my home.¡± Midas asks in a dry tone.


    Obsidian smiles his creepy smile and heads to the cockpit.


    Obsidian and Midas appear inside the Dorado¡¯s mansion one more time. Midas walks off into the dark hall way. The mansion seems to be mostly empty, Obsidian can tell there are still people inside, but the family floor is vacant.


    Midas walks to his room, the door is locked. He looks down both ways of the hall. He then grabs on to the handle, and puts all his strength into breaking the door knob. With a metallic snap the door knob comes off and Midas trips. He gets up slowly trying to be stealthy; although he looks like a plum fool doing so.


    He opens the door and walks inside. It¡¯s dark, the lights turned off. He flicks on the light switch and room lights up shining bright with yellow walls and his many decorations: posters, action figures, etc. On his bed is a bouquet of flowers; his servants must think he¡¯s dead. He picks up the flowers, still fresh, and lively. A reminder of the life he must leave behind.¡±


    He takes one last look around the room. He spots what he was looking for. A family picture of him and his parents. He puts the flowers back and collects the frame. Before he walks out he spots the plush of his father, the same one Obsidian won at the amusement park. He pockets the frame and picks up the plush. The plush has a confident and motivating smile. Water droplets fall on the plush. Midas¡¯ tears wet the plushie¡¯s face, as he cries with a weak smile on his face. He hugs the plush tightly.


    We find Obsidian carrying out a box from the kitchen pantry. He walks back in and carries out multiple cases of alcohol and wine. He takes out a wine bottle and downs half the bottle. He sticks his tongue out in disgust. He stares at the bottle, then shrugs and downs the rest.


    ¡°Are you seriously raiding my kitchen.¡± Midas says with an annoyed tone.


    ¡°Sup kid, you look well.¡± Obsidian says sarcastically


    ¡°Really.¡± Midas responds in droll tone.


    ¡°I¡¯m taking food and drinks, I don¡¯t get many opportunities to go grocery lifting.¡± Obsidian says snapping his fingers and bringing out the well packaged meat in the fridge.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you mean grocery shopping?¡± Midas asks


    Obsidian looks at Midas with an obvious smirk.


    ¡°Of course, a great criminal you are.¡± Midas says exhausted


    ¡°Your parents had terrible taste, all they have is sweet ass wine, where¡¯s the strong shit.¡± He throws the bottle away and teleports his spoils away.


    ¡°My parents enjoyed the finer things, they had no taste for bottom barrel booze.¡± Midas says confidently


    ¡°Whatever, get what you come for.¡± Obsidian asks, pointing to the things Midas¡¯ is carrying.


    He holds his fathers plush, but also a briefcase.


    ¡°Yes, I am ready to leave now.¡± Midas sighs


    They teleport away.


    There¡¯s a lot of foot traffic in the civilian port. The Deadspear finally takes off leaving the planet Umbra.


    REUNION OF RETRIBUTION:


    Obsidian walks out of the cockpit. He walks into his room. He then comes out with a case. He brings it to the lounge and sets its it down. Midas, who¡¯s watching tv at the moment, takes interest in the case. Obsidian opens it and reveals a tool kit. He then teleports his two hand cannon, massive pieces of metal, and sets them down. He starts carefully and meticulously taking apart his guns. Laying their pieces in an organized pattern. Midas watches Obsidian tinker and swap out parts of his guns. He takes out a small capsule from each weapon. It glows with an evil blackish purple glow. He reaches for It but something tells him not to touch it.


    ¡°What are those?¡± Midas points to the capsules


    ¡°Spirit batteries. They allow weaponry and various other technologies to be enhanced by spirit; gives tech a little oompf. Don¡¯t touch mine; they¡¯re not standard issue.¡± Obsidian explains


    ¡°Fascinating. Do they have names, your cannons I mean?¡±


    ¡°why would I name them? There just guns.¡± Obsidian asks confused


    ¡°Well, in some shows, characters name their weapons, because they¡¯ll always be by their hips.¡± Midas answers happily


    ¡°I see.¡±


    ¡°Shall I give them names?¡± Midas asks


    ¡°I don¡¯t care.¡± Obsidian brushes it off


    ¡°How about, Ruination and annihilation!¡± Midas says proudly


    ¡°Hell no, that¡¯s trying to hard.¡± Obsidian rejects


    ¡°Fine. How about Twins of Ruin.¡± Midas says pouting


    Obsidian loses focus for a moment


    ¡°Twins of Ruin¡­ Better, guess by themselves they¡¯re the 1st and 2nd comings of ruin.¡± Obsidian jokes


    ¡°Oh yeah! That¡¯s actually pretty cool! See am I not just the best.¡± Midas playfully jabs Obsidians arm.


    ¡°he he, sure kid, whatever you say.¡±


    A roar is heard from the tv.


    ¡°What¡¯s on the tv.¡± Obsidian asks


    ¡°Oh, I brought some movies and games with me. This is a monster flick it¡¯s about a baby drago that was experiment on and now it rampages endlessly evolving.¡± Midas answers jubilantly.


    Obsidian nods in acknowledgement and continues building his cannons.


    ¡°Oh just remembered. Did you make that call?¡± Midas asks


    ¡°A few minutes ago. My supervisor found someone to take you in. We¡¯re heading to a rendezvous point now¡­ it¡¯ll be a while.¡± Obsidian answers


    ¡°Very well.¡± Midas sits back and continues watching tv.


    The Deadspear cruises through deep space passing through an asteroid field.


    A different ship cruises through space. A shuttle marked with the Black knight insignia flies through a bright and colorful void, filled with red blue and purple nebulae. It passes many bright white stars and far away celestial bodies.


    Inside, we find Prima, sitting in the passenger hull, across from him sits Zero the Poltergeist, arms crossed, motionless. Prima still can¡¯t get used Zero¡¯s presence, the intimidating coldness that surrounds him, makes Prima feel like a weak little rodent in presence of a great storm being held at bay.


    ¡°Where are you taking me?¡± Prima asks.


    He doesn¡¯t get a reply. The only sound being the shutter as the ship flies. The shuttle begins to shake as it enters a planets atmosphere.


    ¡°Entering Ironstar¡¯s atmosphere; landing t-minus: 30minutes.¡± Says the pilot from the intercoms


    ¡°We¡¯re in the Ironnova sector. The capital world is no less. Please, why did you bring me here?¡± Prima asks sweating profusely.


    No reply. Prima grits his teeth and starts to fidget in his seat. The shuttle rattles as it makes touchdown.


    ¡°Calm yourself, no danger will befall you.¡± Zero says calmlyEnjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.


    Zero gets up and walks out first, Prima following behind. When Prima exits, he¡¯s blinded by the bright white glow of the planet. The architecture is beautifully crafted with spiraling columns, bright white stone, and murals painted on the sides of each building, telling their own stories.


    Prima follows Zero until they are met with two rows of Silver and black heavily armored warriors in formation. A man, helmet under his arm, in full bright metallic silver armor with decorated robes overtop, and a large cape walks to the forefront. As he walks the warriors kneel one by one as he passes them. He then meets face to face with Zero, looking up at his imposing figure, with a snobbish smile. He then kneels at Zero''s feet. On the back of his cape, is the Black knights insignia and the word punish.


    ¡°Mhm, Greetings Great Poltergeist, welcome to humble Ironstar.¡± The man greets in an extravagant voice, matching his bright blonde hair, and strong facial features.


    ¡°Ahh, my liege, you grace me with your presence. For what business you have in my domain.¡± The knight praises


    ¡°Stand. Do not kneel before me.¡± Zero commands


    The man stands tall, and the rest of the warriors stand and face forward with synchronized steps.


    ¡°My squad is here. I request your training ground. For this one.¡± Zero steps to the side revealing Prima


    ¡°Ahh, I see. What a dashing young lad; my name is Roy Tenno, the Steel Guardian, and ruler of Ironnova.¡± He does a regal and flashy bow.


    ¡°Prima Brytus, warrior in training.¡± He shakes his hand, Roy¡¯s grip, strong and firm. Roy gives a wide uncanny smile, making Prima feel a little uncomfortable.


    ¡°Well, if you¡¯re here for training, I hope you don¡¯t mind, and allow me to be your guide.¡± Roy steps to the side and gestures the two to follow him.


    Zero and Prima follow behind Roy. Two of his silver warriors follow behind. They enter the main building and walk upon a beautiful path, filled with more of the planets gorgeous architecture and art. The building is a light with red torches, and white ceiling lights, creating a mystical atmosphere. Warriors patrol the many paths, and others hold posts like living statues.


    They make a sharp turn and enter a garage unit. Its filled with beautifully forged vehicles detailed in the wonder of Ironstar. They approach a heavy white, red and gold ground vehicle. Roy gestures for his guest to enter the vehicle. Zero and Prima sit in the back seat, while Roy takes the driver seat. The heavy jeep roars to life, as the engines run wild. His Warrior that were following behind, walk to exit, guiding the vehicle out of the complex.


    They ride out into a field of red grass, upon a stone road, driving smoothly on the pavement. They ride past many mountains, each with there own monuments and massive structures. They pass a mountain that¡¯s been carved Into a massive grandiose statue. The statue wields a massive glaive, a giant feather cape, regal armor and a fiery phoenix helm. The statue points its glaive to the east, depicted with absolute confidence.


    ¡°That statue, it¡¯s quite imposing.¡± Prima says enjoying the sight-seeing.


    ¡°Oh indeed, bask in it¡¯s glory young sprout. In fact I can stop for you to get a better look.¡± Roy says coyly


    ¡°No thanks.¡± Prima responds


    ¡°Ah but of course, a pathetic sap such as yourself, couldn¡¯t comprehend the glory that is the great All-King. Not even our best sculptors could capture his sheer stature, let alone presence.¡± Roy says in an honest tone


    Prima squints his eyes at Roy. ¡°I see.¡± He says


    ¡°Mhm, You¡¯ll never in your pitiful life meet him, but if you do, you¡¯ll feel what I mean.¡± Roy says, again in his honest tone.


    Prima blatantly notices the random amount of disrespect in Roy¡¯s speech.


    ¡°I would appreciate it, if you may. Avoid insulting me, sir.¡± He says as politely as possible


    ¡°Oh you find me demeaning, my apologies. Whenever I¡¯m in the presence of someone lesser it happens to slip, I¡¯ll hold my tongue if it makes you feel better.¡± Roy says in a sarcastic but proper manner.


    Prima smacks his teeth, he wants to say something else but he realizes he doesn¡¯t have standing to verbally retaliate. Prima folds his arms. ¡°I''d greatly appreciate it, sir.¡± He says through gritted teeth


    They enter a more rural part of the path. Now more and more buildings can be spotted, small towns and neighborhoods can be seen in the distance. Giant open roof buildings take up the background.


    ¡°What are those structures in the distance.¡± Prima asks.


    ¡°Hmm, those are colosseums. The pride of Ironnova. In the thousands of habitable planets in this sector, each planet has at least one; Ironstar being the home of the most and largest colosseums.¡±


    They continue driving until they reach the border of a massive city. They stop at the patrol gate. A man comes up to the window of the vehicle. Quickly noticing the ruler of Ironnova himself, who greets his subject with his wide smile, lets them in no trouble, making sure to lower his head. They drive through into the center of the city. They reach a massive colosseum, bigger than all the others. It sits upon a steep mountain, cars driving up and down the road. They drive up the side and enter the expansive parking lot, past the large outer wall. They all get out of the jeep and make their way inside.


    Prima rubs his eyes ready to blinded once again, as he has been for the entire trip. However he was not expecting the sudden contrast from the bright white sky a the dark and dimly lit inside. Prima is suddenly overcome with dread, as the walls are painted with the darkest of blacks, sporting detail, intricate art, depicting the glory of war and violence. Violet torches give a ghastly atmosphere, and the columns the hold up the ceiling are sculpted to look like various species and man holding up pillars while being impaled by spikes.


    They continue down the hallway, and on the way, loud, rowdy cheers can be heard. Prima lags behind as they pass a bright light from a window isolated from the darkness of the hall. Prima elects to take a peek, but his eyes widen, in horror.


    ¡°INHABITANCE OF IRONSTAR!!! TODAY WE BRING THE TRIAL OF FREDRICK BORE!!! REVOLUTIONARY COMMANDER!!!¡± A cheer sounds through the crowd


    ¡°FOR HIS CRIMES OF DEFYING THE GREAT MONARCHY HE SHALL BE EXECUTED. DEATH BY BEASTS!!!¡± The crowd roars even louder.


    ¡°Hmm, intrigued, are we?¡± Roy gets very close to Prima catching him gazing upon execution.


    ¡°I knew I shouldn¡¯t be here.¡± Prima says under his breath as he backs away from the window.


    ¡°Hoho, what¡¯s that look my boy.¡± Roy lets out a chuckle ¡°you should be elated to see true justice befall rebellious filth. Where¡¯s your eternal pride, hmm?¡±


    ¡°Why should I feel pride? I know prisoners here don¡¯t get fair trial, immediate imprisonment and execution isn¡¯t justice.¡± Prima says defiantly


    Roy leans in close, ¡°Mhm, bold words, but I suggest you watch you tongue. Before your head is put to stone, hehmm.¡± He turns and faces forward once more.


    ¡°Let us continue.¡± He instructs


    They continue walking. They descends down a spiraling stairwell, into a lower floor. They walk down a coldly lit hallway, and they reach a large door. Roy opens the door and ushers in the guests.


    The group walks In, and we find the room to be a quiet and comfortable resting area. The lights are a cold blue, and they¡¯re many ways to pass the time with warm up equipment, tvs, and a assortment of bookshelves. Already inside are three ladies all passing the time in there own manner. A beautiful, and professionally dressed woman with a coat over her shoulders seems to be working on a computer. A spikey haired woman with bandages for a top and an ankle length combat skirt, is going a few rounds on a punching bag. Lastly a young lady that has a hat with a talisman that covers her whole face, is laying on the back of a couch while talking to Rhimsical; the very same from Ivan-IV.


    However the young lady seems to be giving a very hyper energy, making Rhimsical very uncomfortable. Prima sweeps his eyes over the room, and seems curiously intrigued in what he sees.


    ¡°Is this your squad Sir Zero?¡± Prima asks


    The moment Zero takes one heavy step, the three ladies have their attention immediately drawn. The young lady appears in a flash at Zero¡¯s feet and bows on all fours. The rugged lady and the modest lady both stop what their doing and walk over. The modest lady falls to both knees and bows her head, and the rugged lady falls to one knee and bows her head.


    ¡°Welcome back our liege. I hope your journey was fruitful.¡± Says the modest lady.


    ¡°Lord Zero your back! I missed you¨Cwe¡¯ve been so very good!¡± Says the hyper lady.


    ¡°Quiet Zili.¡± Says the rugged lady.


    Zero stomps his foot once and the zip up, and stand tall.


    ¡°We have a recruit. Treat him well.¡± Says Zero says as Prima suddenly slides to the front, pulled by a strange power.


    Prima startled, waves awkwardly to the ladies. The girls inspect Prima from head to toe.


    ¡°Remarkably unimpressive.¡± Says the rugged woman.


    ¡°Aww, I think he¡¯s cute, liege Zero has excellent taste!¡± Says the hyper lady.


    ¡°Indeed Zili.¡±


    The modest lady approached Prima. ¡°Young one, welcome to the broken arrows.¡± The proper mistress gives Prima a firm but gentle handshake.


    ¡°Uh, Yeah, I¡¯ll do my best to live up to expectations.¡± Prima responds awkwardly


    ¡°Mhm yes, now that you have reunited with your team, do try to not be too rough with my grounds. Or my pets.¡± Roy says from beside Zero. ¡°I thank you once more for gracing me with your presence, lord Zero. If you have any request, I will personally see to it. Goodbye for now.¡± Roy closes the door behind him.


    ¡°Oh, who was that?¡± Asks the rugged lady.


    ¡°That was sir Roy Tenno dear, due try to remember this time.¡± Says the proper mistress.


    ¡°Bah.¡± The rugged lady doesn¡¯t seem like she will.


    Zero opens the door and begins to walk out. Before he does he reaches out a hand and with an invisible force, pulls Rhimsical from the back of the room and sets him outside. "All of you, follow me.¡± Zero walks off.


    They group quickly follows Zero, moving down another spiral stair way the lower floors of the colosseum. They walk down a wide hallway, and walk into one of the many large openings. They walk into a massive and dark stadium, shaped in a perfect circle with rows on rows of seats. There are four massive columns that reach the up to the ceiling. The massive stadium seems to be modeled after a large mountain range, with a moat around the stadium that cuts through the range acting as a river that splits the stadium into two halves.


    Prima takes in the grand sight, as suddenly the lights come on one by one. Making the stadium look like the outside with a bright white ceiling.


    The Rugged lady sits down on the wall edge. ¡°Alright rookie, I guess introduction are in order.¡± She says while scratching her head.


    ¡°Ooh ooh, let me do it. Can I do it?!¡± Says the hyper one.


    The rugged lady groans, and puts her and hands behind her head. Then she leans back and falls off the edge. Prima runs up to the edge about to jump in himself going to save her, but the rugged lady, kicks off the side of the stadium and disappears into the rocky range.


    ¡°huh?!!¡± Prima expresses in shock.


    The hidden faced lady starts laughing. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about her, she gets a little grumpy so times, but she¡¯s really sweetie.¡±


    ¡°Really, could¡¯ve fooled me.¡± Prima gives an uneasy chuckle. ¡°Who is she?¡± He asks


    ¡°Weeeell that¡¯s Raracka, Raracka Onryo, she¡¯s our muscle and she gots lots of em; ooooh! im so jealousss!¡± She squeals


    ¡°And you are?¡± Prima says as he steps down.


    ¡°Oh! Im Zili, Zili Jiangshi, nice to meet you.¡± She enthusiastically reaches out her hand.


    ¡°I¡¯m Prima Brytus. Likewise.¡± He shakes her hand, and she shakes his hand vigorously.


    ¡°Oh she¡¯s seems to be with the liege, but the tall pretty lady, is named Century Yungirin, she¡¯s our boss.¡± Zili playfully giggles.


    ¡°I see. Thank Ms. Zili.¡± Prima bows his head.


    ¡°Ooooh Ms. Zili; I like it! Keep calling me that.¡± She stand up and in an afterimage vanishes from sight.


    Her trail can be seen darting into the valley. Prima stares in awe, he realizes that these ladies will be his superiors from here on. Prima stands on the edge of the stadium.


    ¡°Um, what are you doing?¡± Asks Rhimsical.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you want make a good first impression. I want to show them I deserve to be here. This is my next step to greatness.¡± Prima says pumping his fist in a confident stance.


    ¡°Ok¡­ But can you jump that far?¡± Rhimsical asks.


    The realization hits Prima. He then looks down and judges the distance from the massive moat to the stadium floor. Suddenly all that confidence seems a little foolhardy. ¡°hmm.¡± Prima grunts with a foolish expression


    ¡°Also I think they¡¯re creatures in the water.¡± Rhimsical points out.


    Prima¡¯s face scrunches up.


    ¡°Yeah, yeah maybe your right.¡± Prima steps down from the edge.


    ¡°Getting cold feet are we.¡± As quiet as a mouse, Ms. Yungirin appears behind the two.


    ¡°No ma¡¯am.¡± Prima stands at attention. Rhimsical copies his peer.


    ¡°Relax, be at peace. There¡¯s no need to copy those two. We¡¯ll be sure to take things slow young laborer, and young warrior. You two, will grow into fine Swordbearers. Isn¡¯t that right Sir Zero.¡± Zero stands behind the two boys, completely silent until his name was mentioned.


    The boys turn around quickly, startled like they¡¯ve seen a ghost. A very tall and imposing ghost. Zero walks between the two boys and stands in front of century. He puts a hand on each of their shoulders.


    ¡°Sir?¡± Prima says in a cold sweat.


    ¡°Your pretty quiet my dude, it¡¯s spooky.¡± Awkwardly says Rhimsical


    ¡°Man, don¡¯t call the liege *your dude*.¡± Prima whacks Rhimsical on the head.


    ¡°Sorry, um, sir.¡± Rhimsical apologies.


    ¡°You can call me whatever you boys like.¡± Says liege Zero, as his grip tightens slightly, and he carries both boys by the shoulders.


    ¡°Ahhh! Wait, Sir, SIR!!!¡± Prima says flailing, as Zero holds them both over the side of the stadium edge.


    ¡°Not cool. NOT COOL!¡± Yells Rhimsical.


    Zero then winds back and tosses the rookies into the stadium. The two fly into the stadium, about to hit the ground at the speed of sound, but they suddenly slow down dramatically as the hit the floor only rolling off the ground. They roll and roll until they reach the feet, of Lord Zero.


    ¡°Ah geez.¡± Prima looks up. ¡°Huh?!! You just threw us how are you---.¡± Suddenly a unidentified object comes crashing into the group.


    ¡°What now! Rhimsical, Rhimmy, Rhim! You alright!¡± Prima yells into the smoke cloud. He looks forward and sees a massive shadow charging his way. He dodges out of the way, and as the smoke clears, Ms. Raracka is fight a massive scaled bull-like beast, punching its head as it charges into a mountain. On top of that Zili seems to be enthusiastically riding the beasts back.


    ¡°WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?!!¡± Prima yells


    ¡°Bro, I don¡¯t even know.¡± Responds Rhimsical.


    ¡°It is an Ironhorn.¡± Answers Century.


    ¡°Whoa Miss. When did you get here.¡± Asks Rhimsical


    ¡°But a moment ago dear. For now I suggest you step back, they¡¯re coming this way.¡± Just as she says, the rambunctious girls come charging in riding the Ironhorn and crashing into another mountain side.


    ¡°Oh hey Century! One minute, I need to deal with this!¡± Yells Raracka from the ironhorns head.


    The Ironhorn backs up and charges through the stadium, it passes, and bats away other smaller beasts. Raracka, riding the head of the beast, punches it over and over making it stagger with each blow.


    ¡°Go go, do your thang! Punch that beast I know you can!¡± Zili sings.


    Raracka raises both her fists, and slams down on the beasts head making it stumble and slow down. She then jumps onto one of its horns and wrestles it down slamming it to the ground and sending the beast sliding into the mountain side. The beasts breathes heavy as it¡¯s soundly defeated. Smaller beast creep up on the two girls and the beast.


    ¡°Oooooh we have new friends.¡± Says Zili sitting atop the Ironhorns side.


    The beast creep in, bearing their fangs. Raracka stares down the beasts with an annoyed frown. Her eyes glow a fiery bright green with red ends and with an intense pressure, she bears fangs of her own. All the beasts retreat in fear, whimpering in cowardice. Raracka ceases her spiritual intimidation, smacks her teeth, turning back to Zili.


    ¡°Aw, you scared away the playmates. Oh wait look.¡± Zili points


    Raracka looks down, then looks behind her and sees a little furry beast cub. It bears it¡¯s fangs at her seemingly resisting her intimidation.


    ¡°Looky, it¡¯s a little cutie!¡± Zili says squishing her face.


    Raracka kneels down and faces the cub. She bares her teeth, makes her hands look like claws, and growls at the cub. The little one doesn¡¯t back down.


    ¡°Well well, at least one of you has a spine.¡± Raracka says.


    She rubs its temple with her finger. It shakes its head away, not really liking the gesture. Raracka snickers and picks up the cub taking it with her.


    The two Ladies return to the main group.


    ¡°We¡¯re back.¡± Raracka says


    ¡°Howdy hey!¡± Zili greets.


    ¡°Welcome back you two. Have you had your fun.¡± Century asks


    ¡°I guess. Wasn¡¯t much.¡± Raracka says casually. She tries to nuzzle the baby beast with her finger, but it tries biting her.


    ¡°Whoa, what is that?¡± Prima asks, reaching out to the cub. It then tries to bite Prima, who reels back his hand.


    ¡°Idk, cute though.¡± Raracka says.


    ¡°That is a Razine cub. Very dangerous creatures when fully grown.¡± Century informs.


    ¡°Dangerous? Can¡¯t wait for this little guy to grow up then.¡± Raracka says holding the cub in front of her and scratching its head.


    ¡°Ok, I gotta ask. why are their so many creatures in this stadium. Why is it a mountain range?!¡± Prima asks


    ¡°Where do you think the people of Ironstar keep their animals when it comes time for an event. This stadium doubles as a sort of zoo.¡± Century informs. ¡°Not only that, but new warriors are brought here to battle these beasts, for training, not only for our people but for the beasts as well.¡±


    ¡°Training the beasts, really?¡± Prima says running out of surprise


    ¡°There are many powerful beings in the universe. It wouldn¡¯t be very entertaining, if the beasts were too weak, wouldn¡¯t it.¡± Century answers.


    ¡°Of course.¡± Prima drops his head


    ¡°Alright, boss what do want for the rookies.¡± Raracka asks Zero.


    ¡°Stamina and endurance. A warrior cannot collapse on the battlefield.¡± Zero turns his back and vanishes from sight.


    ¡°Where did he¨C¡°


    ¡°Alright you heard the boss. I want 100 laps around the entire stadium.¡± Raracka barks.


    ¡°I believe that might be too much dear.¡± Century tells


    ¡°Hmm maybe, they are pretty scrawny. Alright, make it 50. I¡¯m not going lower, you get an hour.¡± Raracka corrects her orders


    The boys stare blankly at the spikey haired Ms.


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­ not physically possible.¡± Says Rhimsical.


    ¡°Oh, you being defiant, good for you¡­ But I¡¯m not asking, I¡¯m ordering you, NOW GO!¡± Raracka barks once more.


    ¡°But---.¡± Rhimsical is then punched in the stomach, making him collapse and sputter.


    Raracka looks over to Prima, however he¡¯s already gone.


    ¡°Seems your friends gotta better head on his shoulders than you do boy. And he moves boxes; NOW GO!!!¡±


    Rhimsical staggers up and starts running, as best as he can.


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t suggest scary off the recruits.¡± Century suggests.


    ¡°Eh, they¡¯ll just to suck it up.¡± Raracka retorts


    ¡°Go Go, you can do it!!!¡± Zili cheers.


    Zero walks down the coldly lit halls of the colosseum. As he walks, he passes a mural of two warriors, both blue in the painting, they go into battle together, invincible in combat. the warriors are separated by the battle, facing enemies depicted in red paint. The warriors are then reunited however, now on opposite sides, depicting the other with red arms and eyes. The two would clash. At the end of the mural, the warrior who in blue, defeats his fallen comrades and the army he led by himself. Zero stops at the end where the blue warrior holds his fallen brother.


    Zero gets a call, a ringing in his helmet. He picks up the comms.


    ¡°Sir Poltergeist, where are you right now.¡± Asks a calm deep voice.


    ¡°Ironstar, Ironnova sector.¡± He answers


    ¡°Sweet, then this shouldn¡¯t be a problem.¡± Says the voice


    ¡°Continue.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve stumbled onto some intel, my network informed me some syndics and some revoltors are sharing some profit. In the outer rim of Shattered Nebula, mind having a look boss.¡± Requests the voice


    Zero is quiet for a moment


    ¡°Thank you for your efforts. I shall depart immediately¡± Answers Zero


    ¡°No prob boss, Raun out.¡±


    Zero then presses a button on his helmet. ¡°Century, I will be departing for Shattered Nebula, keep the girls in line while I¡¯m gone.¡±


    A brief silence


    ¡°Very well sir, happy hunting.¡±


    Zero vanishes, kicking up dust as he disappears into the dark of the hall.


    We return to the perspective of the rookies. A large crash is heard and Prima goes flying across the stadium. He rolls of the ground, but bounces up and keeps running. A giant two legged beast, with a giant sharp maw and leathered back, chases Prima. Raracka, who¡¯s standing atop the beasts head holds a microphone. Also the cub she seems to have taken a liking to; she holds it gently by her side.


    ¡°Hurry up brat! 30minutes left!¡± She says into the microphone.


    The beast lunges at Prima, but he slips into the gaps of a mountain, and rolls down into a cave. He gets up, dusts himself off, and walks deeper within, using the time to catch his non-existent breath.


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t suggest hiding. You still got 39 laps to go!¡± Raracka barks from outside.


    Prima walks in deeper and finds a little lake that¡¯s nicely lit by glowing blue flowers. He sits down by a rocky wall, and too his surprise. Rhimsical is sitting right next to him all curled up.


    ¡°Oh shit, what are doing here.¡± Prima asks


    ¡°Oh you know¡­ just trying not to be eaten.¡± He answers


    ¡°Same. Uh, mind if I call Rhim?¡± Asks Prima


    ¡°Uhh, I mean. I guess I don¡¯t mind.¡± Answers Rhimsical


    Prima: ¡°Cool. How many laps you have left.¡±


    Rhim: ¡°49.¡±


    Prima: ¡°Messiah have mercy, we gotta get back out there.¡±


    Rhim: ¡°No man, I can¡¯t do this, she¡¯s gonna kill me.¡±


    Prima: ¡°It¡¯s not about if we can, we don¡¯t have a choice. Don¡¯t you want to get stronger.¡±


    Rhim: ¡°No. I''m content how I am.¡±


    Prima: ¡°well I¡¯m not, I¡¯m pathetic, Ms. Onryo is out there riding those monster, while I run from them. I refuse to let myself be looked down on anymore.¡±


    Rhim: ¡°Dude, it¡¯s really not that serious. Maybe they¡¯ll realize were not up for the task and let us go back to our previous posts.¡±


    Prima: ¡°No! I refuse to go back.¡± He snaps


    Rhim: ¡°wow, calm down, I know being a laborer isn¡¯t glamorous. But it must¡¯ve been cozy at least.¡±


    Prima: ¡°Cozy, you thought it was cozy. I was a the punching bag, the boy with no spirit, how pathetic is that; an Empyrean with no spirit, I was a disgrace.¡±


    Rhim: ¡°wow, no spirit? how is that even possible.¡±


    Prima: ¡°That¡¯s the damn point, I was an anomaly. I was weakest Empyrean ever born and that just meant I was everyone¡¯s target. Every day, I was beaten down, and pushed around because I was as lighter than a feather.¡±


    Rhim: ¡°Oh... I guess you really wouldn¡¯t want to go back then.¡±


    Prima: ¡°Astute ****ing observation.¡±


    They sit in silence for bit.


    Prima: ¡°I¡¯m heading back out, only a few more laps to go.¡±


    Rhim: ¡°how many?¡±


    Prima: ¡°39.¡±


    Rhim: ¡°What¡¯s the point, you can¡¯t get 39 laps done in 28 mins.¡±


    Prima: ¡°watch me, I¡¯ll shatter every one of my limits.¡±


    Rhim: ¡°What? that doesn¡¯t¡­ whatever man, you can live your fantasy. But, seriously, it¡¯s not possible, just take a breather¡­ what¡¯s even driving you so hard?¡±


    Prima: ¡°I watched my only friend die in my arms, because I was weak. I couldn¡¯t even have avenged him, I wasn¡¯t even worth killing. But no more. I will change. I¡¯ll build myself from the ground up. I will make sure no one ignores me. And, I¡¯ll make HIM pay. After that I won¡¯t lose anyone else. I will be the one at the top.¡±


    Prima stares into the flames of his newborn spirit, his eye burning a bright red.


    <Gammabright>


    The ship known as the Deadspear, Obsidian¡¯s vessel, flies into a purple planet, many massive trees and great purple seas that can be seen from orbit.


    The Deadspear lands in a dense forest, beast and creatures crawl around in the shadows of it¡¯s greenery, but they all scatter and scurry as the ship, touches down.


    Midas wakes up from the couch, he stretches, and hops off. He looks around the Dead spear, looking for Obsidian. He¡¯s not in the cockpit. He¡¯s not in the kitchen, nor the bathroom. Midas can¡¯t seem to find Obsidian anywhere, although he hasn¡¯t checked one place yet. He goes up to Obsidian room door, which is always closed. He knocks on the door, but there¡¯s no response.


    He doesn''t know where else Obsidian could be, but then his curiosity strikes. If Obsidian¡¯s not in his room then nothings stopping him from, investigating. Midas reaches up to the panel on the door, however he''s little too short to reach. He keeps reaching until he suddenly gets taller. He looks down and sees his legs have turned to gold, and have extended. Midas finds this development to be incredibly exciting, then he realizes he might be able to use his blessing further. He puts a hand to the door and it turns to gold. He pulls at it and the door opens slightly. He slips in and the door returns to normal closing itself.


    Inside Obsidians¡¯ room its dark, and it¡¯s got an ominous vibe, the entire room just feels dangerous. Midas finds the light switch and can finally properly see what¡¯s in the room. He can see a work desk it has a large rifle on top that¡¯s been disassembled, a neatly made bed, and a big closet. He jumps onto the bed, it¡¯s very uncomfortable like sleeping on solid stone. He looks over to the dresser and sees a picture. He picks up the photo. It is a group photo of 13 young adults, they stand in line, holding up name plates. They¡¯re labeled subjects: 1, 13, 34, 45, 56, 63, 66, 72, 79, 81, 99x, 99y, 100. Two of the kids bear a resemblance to Obsidian: 99x - 99y. And a one seems to be wrapped head to toe in a strait-jacket: 100


    ¡°Why are you in my room.¡± Obsidian appears behind Midas


    Midas slowly looks up and makes a cheeky face.


    Obsidian picks Midas up by the shirt, and takes the picture frame away. ¡°Don¡¯t lose your head looking where your not supposed to.¡± He puts the frame back, then teleports away.


    Midas is taken aback by the absolute vastness of the massive forest, trees and vines reaching the sky. Obsidian puts him down and starts walking.


    ¡°Where are we?!¡± Midas says in awe


    ¡°Democ ¨C 5. It¡¯s a terraformed world.¡± Obsidian answers


    ¡°Is this the rendezvous, your supervisor bequested.¡± Midas asks


    ¡°Affirmative.¡± Obsidian answers


    Midas stares at Obsidians back. He looks down, reminiscing on their very short adventure. He then remembers that picture in Obsidian¡¯s room.


    ¡°Mister, may you humor a question.¡± Midas asks


    ¡°Sure.¡±


    ¡°What was your family like. They seemed like a strange bunch.¡±


    Obsidian slows for a moment, before continuing to walk.


    ¡°Careful. That curiosity of yours can be dangerous.¡± Obsidian says.


    ¡°If you do not wish to tell, I will accept that as well.¡± Midas cautions


    Obsidian doesn¡¯t say anything.


    Midas sighs, and looks at the ground, unsurprised.


    ¡°You¡¯re right they were, a rough bunch.¡±


    Now that was surprising. Midas perks up.


    ¡°Rough you say? What were they like. I doubt they were like mine.¡± Midas says, smiling


    ¡°Dysfunctional, to say the least. We were all beyond insane.¡± Obsidian answers


    ¡°Really, I suppose some families can be crazy. My auntie would always collect the most horrifying taxidermy animals.¡± Midas chuckles.


    ¡°Ever seen orgarian get taxidermied.¡± Obsidian says casually


    Midas stops a little horrified.


    ¡°No! Why would I!¡±


    ¡°A brother of mine told me it was fun. Although I couldn¡¯t get into it. I¡¯d wouldn¡¯t leave enough pieces intact.¡± Obsidian says, with a chuckle.


    ¡°I pray that¡¯s a joke, mister.¡± Midas says appalled


    Obsidian doesn¡¯t answer. Midas runs in front and sees Obsidian smirking a bit, leaving Midas to believe that might not be a joke. They reach an open field filled with bright yellow flowers and blowing wind. The two see a massive ship in the middle of the field and a trio of men in black. Obsidian teleports them both down there.


    ???: ¡°I assume you¡¯re Obsidian Praw.¡± Says an ominous monotone voice


    A man with a wide brim, circular hat completely hiding his face; dressed in a long black trench coat. Two other men who look completely identical to the speaker, stand off to the side.


    Obsidian: ¡°Correct.¡±


    ???: ¡°You have the boy. Good. We will take him, and you shall receive payment.¡±


    One of the men displays a case filled with metallic currency.


    Obsidian stares at it


    ???: ¡°Is this sufficient.¡±


    Obsidian: ¡°it¡¯ll do.¡±


    Obsidian starts staring up into the ship.


    Obsidian: ¡°There¡¯s someone still on the ship. Is that the contact.¡±


    ??? 1: ¡°That is not your concern.¡±


    Obsidian: ¡°I believe it is my concern. If the contact refuses to show his face, I can not confirm his credibility.¡±


    ???: ¡°I assure you, there is no need to¨C¡±


    ???: ¡°Now now, no need to argue. I¡¯m more than happy to show myself. My apologies, for any inconveniences.¡±


    Midas immediately feels a suffocating aura, a heavy, poisonous presence, similar to what he feels around Obsidian, but far more tempered. We see the back of the man as he comes out of the ship. He wears a gold and black coat over his shoulders that says *Greed* engraved on his back. The masked man, rocks an intricate full black suit, black gloves, and an orange tie.


    ???: ¡°So, after all these long years. I once thought you had died long ago. I suppose you are cunning enough to fake your own death, Ceil. Or is it Obsidian now. I wonder why Praw of all families; do you crave riches perhaps.


    Obsidian stares coldly. He begins emitting a terrifying aura as his spirit begins to burn. His face contorts in rage as he grimaces violently. He spirit then explodes engulfing the entire area.


    Midas: ¡°Mister, what¡¯s going on.¡±


    Midas can barely stand as he starts coughing, his nose starts to run, and his eyes start to water.


    ???: ¡°what¡¯s with the hostility. Have I, done something to offend you.¡±


    Obsidian takes a single step, and the beautiful field of flowers wilt and decay in an instant.


    ¡°Take off that mask, Sou¡¯wo. Don¡¯t cower behind your old self, traitor.¡± Obsidian scowls


    Sou¡¯wo looks confused, but suddenly, in a flash, Obsidian encases his arm in flaming translucent armor, and blitzs forward throwing a powerful punch.


    Sou¡¯wo turns his forearms into light and cross his arms to block Obsidian¡¯s punch. Sou¡¯wo¡¯s arms start to shine brighter as the emit a blast of light that pushes Obsidian back. Obsidian burns hot with violent spirit


    Sou¡¯wo: ¡°What the hell is your damage, are you mad!!!¡±


    However, Obsidian gives no reply and, with a snap of his fingers, teleports the coughing Midas away, imbuing his other arm, and throws another punch.


    Sou¡¯wo now on guard, blocks the punch with one hand. Sou¡¯wo staggers a bit, pushing against the heavy blow.


    ¡°Fine, it seems I¡¯ll have to knock some sense into you.¡± Sou¡¯wo explodes his own spirit shining bright like a star. His spirit is focused onto Obsidian¡¯s arm. He then charges a free hand with light, and fires a beam that knocks Obsidian back. Obsidian shakes of the attack and charges in for another attack, which Sou¡¯wo blocks. Obsidian starts chaining together blow after blow, forcing Sou¡¯wo to defend himself. He blocks one last punch, before exploding in a ball of light, pushing Obsidian off him.


    Sou¡¯wo: ¡°Alright, that¡¯s enough! You shall explain yourself at once, are we not family!!!¡± He puts a hand on his mask, and one on his chest.


    Obsidian growls, but he temper himself. Enough to say a few words.


    Obsidian: ¡°Your betrayal shall be paid in blood, traitor to the brave.¡±


    Sou¡¯wo¡¯s eyes widen behind the mask. ¡°What could you possibly mean, I never betrayed you. Stop talking nonsense.¡± He flails his arms


    Sou¡¯wo readies another blast, but Obsidian teleports further back.


    ¡°I witnessed everything. You know EXACTLY, what I mean, coward.¡±


    Sou¡¯wo¡¯s eyes narrow, he takes a serious expression, and stands up tall. ¡°I see. If that¡¯s the case, I assume there will be no further reasoning.¡± He says ominously as he takes his hand off his mask, and steels himself.


    They have a proper face off. They both erupt in a clash of spirit, Obsidian¡¯s mystic flaming purple pushing against Sou¡¯wo¡¯s divine gilded yellow spirit.


    Their eternal bodies reveal themselves, avatars within their spirit. A faceless, long flowing hair, four-armed, horned demon, in armor covered in spikes, bears red eyes and a terrifying open grin. It looks as if it were cackling as it flourishes Obsidian¡¯s twin blade. Sou¡¯wo¡¯s eternal body, a golden deity, with hundreds of arms that all have no hands. It¡¯s sits crossed, and enlightened, however it bears the face of a demon, an oni.


    In the dark of the forest, where light refuse to crawl, a mysterious white cloaked ghostly figure watches, the ensuing conflict. Their ragged cloak sways in the wind. From above this figure, a pair a bright sharp red eyes pierce the darkness, observing intently.

 The Undying Past

    GRUDGE DEATHMATCH:


    Obsidian reels back his fist.


    Sou¡¯wo fires off his blast.


    Obsidian punches through the beam of light, and Sou¡¯wo moves out of the way. Sou¡¯wo raises his leg and coats it in light. Obsidian throws another punch and the two clash blows. A shockwave shakes, and sends ripples through the ground. They both fly back, Sou¡¯wo tosses his coat and it disappears into light. Sou¡¯wo charges up and in an instant launches an arrow kick, landing on Obsidian guard sending them flying back into a cliff wall. Sou¡¯wo follows up by throwing a kick up, and launching Obsidian through the rock side, through trees canopy, and into the clouds. Sou¡¯wo gives pursuit in a yellow streak of light, appearing in front of Obsidian and kicking him down.


    They both land within in a large lake, the speed and pressure of Obsidian¡¯s landing, blows a massive hole to the bottom of the lake, leaving a large stage. Obsidian lands with his feet dragging up the ground, refusing to land on his back while Sou¡¯wo lands a distance away. Obsidian presses a button on his goggles. The goggles decompress, and he takes them off, showing whirring metallic bright purple cybernetic eyes. The rage in Obsidian¡¯s eyes strikes at Sou¡¯wo¡¯s core. He throws them into a portal. The water of the lake splashes against an invisible wall.


    ¡°Don¡¯t look at me like that. I did what was best for us!¡± Sou¡¯wo yells out


    Obsidian teleports in Sou¡¯wo¡¯s and strikes down upon him. Sou¡¯wo guards with his forearm, Obsidian hits his guard again, then grabs his forearm and throws him to the other side of the area. Sou¡¯wo dashes back in, but Obsidian throws another punch from afar. Sou¡¯wo stops in his tracks prepared to block the punch that was coming from a portal, aiming for his gut. Obsidian throws a gatling of punches that pound on Sou¡¯wo from every possible direction.


    Sou¡¯wo begins to glow, then explodes in a flash of light. In the confusion, Sou¡¯wo comes from behind and kicks Obsidian in the middle of the lake. Sou¡¯wo starts circling the outer edge of the water wall in a solid ring of light. Obsidian gets up, disoriented, barely able to keep track of Sou¡¯wo¡¯s movements. From random direction, beams of light attack Obsidian. Obsidian¡¯s unease disappears as he dodges and blocks every beam that comes at him with confidence. As the beam rises in frequency, Obsidians¡¯ metallic eyes start to radiate, whirls, and starts to glow brighter. His eyes pulse, and time seems to slow down from his perspective.


    One of the beams is Sou¡¯wo himself coming in with a flying kick. However, Obsidian dodges, grabs his leg, and slams him on the ground. Sou¡¯wo breaks into light and reforms from a distance, blasting a beam of light to cover himself. Obsidian puts his hand and blocks the beam, but Sou¡¯wo appear in a flash above and go for a downward kick, rupturing the ground.


    Obsidian teleports out of the way and tries to counter, with a hook. Sou¡¯wo darts behind and goes for a kick to the head, but Obsidian grabs his leg again, slams him to the ground, drags him, and tosses Sou¡¯wo as hard as he can into the sky. As Sou¡¯wo break the clouds, Obsidian teleports up, he brings up his fist and gets ready to slam down on Sou¡¯wo. But when Sou¡¯wo reaches Obsidian, he breaks into light fragments and reforms a distance away. Obsidian steps down on the air itself as a foothold.


    ¡°Those damn eyes. What was the Director thinking giving you those. You would¡¯ve been better off blind!¡± Sou¡¯wo complain


    ¡°Would you shut up already?! All you do is complain! Take some damn initiative for once!¡± Obsidian grimaces.


    ¡°I complain, because I can¡¯t catch a GODDAMN BREAK!!!¡± Sou¡¯wo blasts off in a beam of light, he spirals around before launching a kick at Obsidian. Obsidian blocks the first kick; it carries incredible weight behind it. Then dodges the second. Sou¡¯wo begins a barrage arrow like kicks from every direction. Sou¡¯wo darts back and launches a light wave with his kicks. Obsidian teleports in close, bypassing the light slashes, and grabs Sou¡¯wo by the collar and punches in the mask sending him flying down.


    Sou¡¯wo launches a light wave kick as he descends. He uses it as a distraction, as he uses a technique. ¡°Blackout curtains.¡±


    Sou¡¯wo crosses his arms and all the light within the area, begins to be pulled away. The light is pulled away from Obsidian¡¯s eyes leaving him in total darkness.


    Sou¡¯wo launches a light wave kick as he descends. He uses it as a distraction, as he uses a technique. ¡°Black-out curtains!¡± Sou¡¯wo crosses his arms and all the light within the area, begins to be pulled away. The light is pulled away from Obsidian¡¯s mechanical eyes leaving him in total darkness.


    In the pitch black, Obsidian can¡¯t feel Sou¡¯wo¡¯s presence. He stays focused and waits for his moment. He reels back a fist, it begins to collapse in on itself, pulling in space and condensing it, glowing a bright purple. At that moment Obsidian feels Sou¡¯wo¡¯s presence reveals itself.


    Suddenly, Obsidian teleports above Sou¡¯wo and readies his attack. Sou¡¯wo however predicted this. He holds a ball of charged light in his left hand. The light travels through his body and he transfers it to his right hand and blasts Obsidian. However, the beam warps around Obsidian, as he finishes charging his attack. ¡°Warp punch: spacial impact¡±, Obsidian punches through the beam and lands a brutal punch on Sou''wo''s face, cracking the mask, and bring back the stolen light. Space itself converges, then rapidly expanding and shatters as it makes contact, then as Obsidian fist instantly unravels Sou¡¯wo is sent flying towards the ground, clearing every cloud in the sky.


    But before he hits land, he turns himself into light and explodes on the ground. He reforms from the impact, and shakes himself off. He then collapses to a knee. He removes his masks as blood starts to pour out of his nose and his eyes are bloodshot. His vision remains blurry as Obsidian teleports right in front of Sou¡¯wo. His fist radiating violent flaming spirit. Sou¡¯wo dashes back as he holds his nose and stand up.


    ¡°I¡¯m curious if what you claim is true, and you truly did bear witness to that day. Why didn¡¯t you help us.¡± Sou¡¯wo snaps grabbing a handkerchief from his suit pocket and wiping himself clean.


    Obsidian stares at Sou¡¯wo with a cold glare. ¡°You fools thought you could do battle with the King. I knew you were all full of shit, but you didn¡¯t listen. But of course, I¡¯m supposed to be the crazy one, and Pinnacle was the one who knew what he was doing.¡±


    ¡°Ah yes, WE were the fools. Knowing this, you willing watched us die, despite believing you already knew the outcome. By that logic, you¡¯re the real traitor.¡± Sou¡¯wo says chuckling.


    ¡°I¡¯m not the one who shot his own brother in that back! Don¡¯t lecture me on loyalty, snake tongue!¡± Obsidian yells out.


    ¡°I HAD TOO, HE WO---.¡± Sou¡¯wo is interrupted by Obsidian, who teleports in his face and throwing an axe kick that sends shockwaves through the ground. Sou¡¯wo breaks into his light form and disappears from sight.


    Obsidian looks around, then he senses something coming from above. Sou¡¯wo does a motion with his hands and a ball of light charges up behind him. ¡°Light rain!¡±


    Sou¡¯wo fires a barrage of light beam at Obsidian. He teleports away as the beams devastate the lands, leaving behind a barren crater.


    Obsidian appears beside Sou¡¯wo, who throws a light coated kick at Obsidian, but it cracks the space between them. Obsidian punches Sou¡¯wo in the gut sending him flying away. He teleports below him and kicks him in the spine. Sou¡¯wo recovers and blocks Obsidian¡¯s next attack. The two begin an exchange of precise attacks. Sou¡¯wo throws a flurry a rapid and coordinated kicks and a jabs. Obsidian counters and blocks and throws a series of heavy strikes, that Sou¡¯wo dodges and defends against. The two end this exchange with a clash of a punch and kick, the two go flying back.


    Obsidian recovers and summons his gigantic arm cannon. It whirls alive as it fires a giant plasma beam. Sou¡¯wo spirals around the beam and tries to point blank Obsidian with a beam of his own. Obsidian creates a portal in front of his face, making Sou¡¯wo hesitate for a moment. Then the plasma beam strikes from behind forcing Sou¡¯wo to dart out of the way. The beam begins chasing Sou¡¯wo dodging it from every direction. Sou¡¯wo darts into a forest, lighting it up as he streaks through the trees. He enters a rocky part of the planet. Obsidian finally cuts off the beam, and Sou¡¯wo leads it directly into a mountain side, where it completely blows off the top of the mountain.


    The base of the mountain then erupts with magma. As Sou¡¯wo watches the lava flow, suddenly reality seems to warp around Sou¡¯wo and dimension flips upside down. The lava begins to pour upwards towards Sou¡¯wo, as do other things not tied to the ground in a 100-meter radius begins to fall towards the sky. Sou¡¯wo gets ready to move out if the way, but he¡¯s suddenly trapped within a grid of impassable space. A line begins to flash and suddenly Sou¡¯wo is vertically split in half. Sou¡¯wo¡¯s eyes widen, but then he takes a serious expression. Sou¡¯wo¡¯s halves become balls of light. These balls then explode into beams of light that begin bouncing off the walls of the grid. The balls begin to grow and grow, but when they do, they¡¯re cut down by the grid, splitting off into smaller beams.


    *This hurts, every separator hurts. Why did I have to fight him, him of all people. I¡¯ll break this stupid grid if it¡¯s the last thing I do. * Sou¡¯wo thinks to himself.


    From Obsidian¡¯s perspective, he holds put his hands as they burn with spirit. His nose starts to bleed, and he starts coughing. He begins putting more power into his technique, and his spirit burns brighter.


    The space separators start attacking Sou¡¯wo at greater frequency, bisecting each of his clones at the same time. All the fragments then all collide in the center of the grid and Sou¡¯wo begins to gather all the light in the area, but the separators continue in ferocity. He starts to glow a bright golden yellow, then pure white. He then blasts off, drilling into the top of the dome, trying to get back into the sky. The lava begins drip falling upon Sou¡¯wo, and before it can reach him, he breaks the grid and goes flying and instantly enters deep space.


    Sou¡¯wo floats around, taking in his lack of surrounding. Then he remembers he can¡¯t breathe in space. He gets ready to head back, when Obsidian teleports in, and grabs him by the head. Obsidian teleports and slams Sou¡¯wo onto a massive tree destroying it. He teleports again now at the bottom of the deepest sea, he teleports away and lets the water pressure crush Sou¡¯wo. Obsidian watches the sea intensely. A spot of light appears. Obsidian teleports a massive cannon onto his shoulder, and he fires it into the sea. A massive explosion goes off creating a massive mushroom cloud of evaporated moisture. Suddenly a streak of light passes straight by Obsidian. Sou¡¯wo starts flying high reaches the edge of the planet''s atmosphere. Sou¡¯wo begins siphoning light from everywhere possible. From below Obsidian sees the darkness creep up around him, above him a blinding star. Obsidian''s eyes widen with realization; he grits his teeth. He then summons forth his twin blade and then flares his spirit in a torrent of purple flame. He begins spinning his blades above him creating a tornado of spirit.


    At the peak of his Sou¡¯wo¡¯s eternal body reveals itself and thousands upon thousands of swords made of light form in rows, within the darkness. like a painting on a black canvas, Sou¡¯wo announces his technique. ¡°FALLING HEAVENS!¡±


    The swords rain down. The swords come down so fast that by the time Obsidian¡¯s unique cybernetics slow down his perception, they¡¯ve already reached him. With little time to react, Obsidian stops his own technique and starts rapidly teleports, avoiding as many swords as possible. The swords come down relentlessly, the swords that miss, sharply change direction and track Obsidian like missiles. Obsidian dodges and dodges, but eventually a few hit their mark piercing through Obsidian. But Obsidian doesn¡¯t even flinch, a blade blasts right through his side, but he barely reacts, and continues to dodge. Obsidian begins fine honing his cybernetic eyes. He can''t use them to much as if he perceives light to slowly, he won¡¯t be able to react to the next attack. But the swords are coming down too fast for Obsidian to naturally react too, he walks a thin rope between life and death in this very moment.


    Obsidian finally finds a good opportunity to put up a bubble barrier of impassable space giving him time to breathe, as the swords lodge themselves within the wall of space. Unfortunately, he could only exhale as Sou¡¯wo bring forth two long swords, bigger than the falling blades, and begins spinning. He launches down upon Obsidian at the peak of his powers, and slams down on his impassable barrier. Obsidian only has a nanosecond to bring up his twin blade and coat it in spirit as Sou¡¯wo shatters his barrier and crashes upon Obsidian blades. Obsidian grits his teeth with widen eyes, as the weight of this attack was like nothing he¡¯s ever felt. By the time Obsidian can process the weights, he can feel the ground caressing his back. With absolutely no other options, Obsidian begins to shine bright with spirit, completely engulfing his body. His eyes begin to burn red, as the ground begins to fold in on itself like rubber. The ground then shatters in massive plane of broken space, causing both Obsidian and Sou¡¯wo to disappear from reality.


    Everything goes quiet, Midas lays on the couch within the Dead spear, the surrounding area untouched this entire time. He looks like he has a fever as he holds his head, and his skin is turning gray. He notices the sudden silence, and opens one of his eyes. His eye is bloodshot, becoming black with a violent flaming orange pupil instead of the shining gold he naturally has. ¡°Please mister end this quickly. I want to go home.¡± He says weakly


    Obsidian comes flying out of nowhere, shattering the plane of reality on his way out. Obsidian goes flying and crashes into the ground, entering a village, traveling great distance before stopping. A shower of light comes through the hole in space, like a beautiful meteor shower. The villagers run in fear, with a few sneaking peak, others saying prayers. Sou¡¯wo comes down like one of the streaks of light lands down, in a gust of wind. He stands tall before staggering a bit. He grips his twin swords tightly, lengthy black single edged blades. The guards in the shape of an open ring, the handle wrapped in burgundy and red runes on the sides of the blades.


    Obsidian stands back up and dusts himself off.


    ¡°How much longer are you going to continue to waste my time.¡± Sou¡¯wo says annoyed, his eyes shaking and his stance weak.


    ¡°Till you die.¡± Obsidian answers


    Obsidian starts coughing badly. He looked at his hand, and he coughed up at a lot of blood. Then the cracks begin to show on his body, and his spirit begins flaring again, particularly around the chest area. He then throws up a lot of purplish blood as it begins to burn away the ground like acid.


    Sou¡¯wo reels back in horror expressing a face of fear and worry


    ¡°Brother, what is the matter, this is not natural, you look terrible. You must take better care of yourself.¡± He says with a shaky voice.


    ¡°Do not speak as if I consider you, my brother. You¡¯ll pay in blood then; I¡¯ll give my other his due. Only then will take my death with open arms. That is my duty as the executioner.¡± Obsidian says with vitriol.


    Sou¡¯wo contorts into rage and frustration.


    ¡°WOULD YOU GET OVER YOURSELF!!! You act like I feel no remorse for my deed. I care more than you¡¯ll ever know and that is no lie!!!¡±


    Obsidian quick draws his hand cannon, interrupting Sou¡¯wo¡¯s speech, who slashes the shot with a swing of his sword. Obsidian composes himself. He makes the cannon disappear and raises his twin blade and points it at Sou¡¯wo.


    Sou¡¯wo¡¯s face then softens with regret. ¡°If you continue down this path, you¡¯ll only find untimely demise. I ask you please forgive---.¡±


    ¡°SHUT THE HELL ALREADY!!!¡± Obsidian screams out. He takes a breath. ¡°No more words. You shall die here with honor, and there will be no other options.¡±


    Sou¡¯wo sighs heavily and readies an offensive stance. Obsidian does the same. The two brothers clash blades once more, the force from the clash decimate the village, unending the houses, and blowing away the villagers.


    we¡¯re taken into a distant memory.


    ¡°Ceil, the Director wants me to give a speech to the corps, but I don¡¯t know that to do, I can¡¯t give speeches. Crowds make me nervous.¡± A younger unconfident looking boy talks to a long-haired boy that looks like a younger Obsidian, who seems to be ignoring him.


    ¡°Shut up, Sou¡¯wo if the Director wants something, you just do it, ain¡¯t gonna kill you to talk to a crowd.¡± Another boy intrudes in the conversation. For some reason he carries a trident resting on his shoulder.


    ¡°Pinnacle, I don¡¯t need your shitty mouth right now, I hate crowds, I hate talking to people in general. This is ridiculous, you should do the speeches, you¡¯re the so-called leader of us.¡± Sou¡¯wo respond annoyed.


    ¡°The Director didn¡¯t ask me, he asked you. So do it.¡±


    ¡°But I. don¡¯t. want. To.¡± Sou¡¯wo pats his chest


    Sou¡¯wo and boy named Pinnacle get into an argument.


    The boy named Ceil starts to groan.


    ¡°Would you two shut up. I don¡¯t care about your speech, so go complain elsewhere. And pinnacle no one even mentioned you. **** off would you.¡± Ceil says in a gravely and raspy voice.


    ¡°Huh?! What was that, I couldn¡¯t quite hear you. Maybe you should speak up. And say it to my face.¡± Pinnacle grab Ceil by the collar.


    Ceil pushes him off.


    ¡°You want me to speak up? Ahem. No one ****ing cares about you! Maybe you should take over the speech, so the guys realize how much you ****ing suck.¡± He says harshly


    ¡°Ohhh, sounds like someone is blind to my overbearing superiority; sou¡¯wo get this peasant out of my sight.¡± Pinnacle does a shoo-ing motion and chuckles.


    ¡°Aye aye, sir.¡± Sou¡¯wo does a goofy salute. Sou¡¯wo grabs pinnacle. ¡°Ceil, help out, would you.¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡± The two pick up pinnacle and trot off.


    ¡°Hey! How dare you, unhand me! You two are beyond beneath, you don¡¯t have the privilege to carry me. I order you to put me down! Hey are you listening! Heeeyyy!!!¡±


    Returning to the present, the two return to where they started; in front of Sou¡¯wo¡¯s ship, crashing into the wilted field of dead flowers. The entire planet is devastated, the lakes have been emptied, the lands molten, and the mountains uprooted.


    Both are completely exhausted. Sou¡¯wo is tired and sick of fighting, and Obsidian¡¯s condition has reached a point of no return. One of Sou¡¯wo¡¯s three men appears behind him. Sou¡¯wo, looks back at his ally. ¡°You¡¯ve wasted too much time here. We must leave.¡± Sou¡¯wo nods and he makes his bladed fade away and summons his coat from the light it once was and flourishes It over his shoulders. Obsidian tries to get up, but he spurts up blood as his body fails him, his eyes and chest engulfed in mystic flames.


    Sou¡¯wo puts his hands up.


    ¡°I concede.¡± He says calmly


    ¡°What.¡± Obsidian says quietly.


    ¡°I¡¯m done; I refuse to fight you anymore. I''m done.¡± Sou¡¯wo emphasizes


    ¡°No. I say when we¡¯re done!!!¡± Obsidian drags his twin blade from the ground and launches a spatial separator.


    Sou¡¯wo stand there and braces for impact. But it never comes, Obsidian realizes Sou¡¯wo wasn¡¯t bluffing and made his attack disperse before it hit.


    ¡°No, NO!!! You arrogant ****! It can¡¯t end like this! Die your death with honor, like a true knight!!!¡± Obsidian yells out.


    Sou¡¯wo breathe a sigh of relief. ¡°You can hate me all you want. You can hate me for all of eternity. But I will never regret my actions.¡± He relaxes he then whispers something to the man in black behind him. The man then leaves and head into the ship.


    Obsidian sits there and stares enraged, confused, and¡­ disappointed


    The man that went into the ship, comes back with a briefcase and a metal container and hands them to Sou¡¯wo. He walks up and carefully lays them down in front of Obsidian.


    ¡°Goodbye brother, try not to cause me any more trouble. I am a very busy man.¡±


    Sou¡¯wo walks away up onto the ramp of his ship, now covered in dirt.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you run. WERE NOT FINISHED HERE!!!¡± Obsidian yells


    ¡°Oh, I believe we are! I¡¯m done fighting!¡± He pulls out the mask he wore at the beginning. ¡°You know I wore this because I was afraid of facing you after everything. Good to know I was right.¡± He enters the ship. The ramp closes, and the ship takes off.


    Obsidian stares at the ships trail. His body pulses as the cracks have reached his entire face. As he calms down, he clenches his chest, as his body pulse harder and harder. Then the cracks seal them themselves and his wounds heal. His shakes violently and groans as his body breaks from the inside out as it repairs itself. Obsidian¡¯s body finally settles down. He makes his blades vanish, and He teleports away, holding on to his grudge.


    DROWNING IN BLOOD:


    Obsidian teleports back to his ship. He walks into the lounge and sees Midas breathing heavy, his skin gray, and coughing. He ignores Midas as he forces himself upright and walks to the cockpit. He activates his ship, and it takes off. It flies out of orbit and into space, with no destination in mind. Obsidian puts his ship on autopilot and stumbles to his room. He collapses at the door and starts coughing. Obsidian stumbles into his bathroom. He gets up to the mirror. He looks terrible. He starts coughing, violently. He starts to groan in pain. He then violently vomits purplish blood into the sink. He falls to the floor, and he grits his teeth. The sink begins steaming as the blood burns through the material. He summons his medical syringes. He takes three of them, but it only makes the pain worse, as his body starts seize up and bulge, his condition only gets worse. He lays on his back and starts to cough up more of his toxic blood. His mouth begins to fill up with blood and he starts to choke.This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.


    Obsidian finds himself in a dark place. He feels weird, he doesn¡¯t feel anymore pain. He walks around casually in the dark just trying to understand what¡¯s happening. ¡°What the ****? Am I dead?¡± He scratches his chin. ¡°Sweet, the afterlife is just a void. And here I thought I would end up facing judgement or some lame shit.¡±


    Suddenly a child appears from the darkness. Startling Obsidian he quickly turns around. ¡°Midas?! Wait you''re not the brat. Who are you¡­ you look familiar.¡± Obsidian scratches his head and squats down. He notices the child bears an uncanny resemblance to himself. With blank uncaring eyes, but a hint of innocence.


    ¡°Your hair is styled to much like mine. Me? But that¡¯s¡­¡± his thoughts trail off.


    ¡°If you could be anything, what would you want to be?¡± Asks the boy.


    ¡°What?¡± Obsidian says confused.


    Obsidian falls into a deep sea, and he starts to drown. Confused and disoriented, he tries to teleport, but he can¡¯t do anything; he¡¯s helpless. Light begins to fill the void as he can feel the world be flipped upside down. Suddenly Obsidian takes a very deep inhale. He¡¯s back in the bathroom, face down in a pool of his own blood. He gets up quickly and holds his sore throat.


    ¡°Mister... Thank goodness. I thought... I was going to be alone.¡± Midas, who had just saved Obsidians life, collapses to the floor.


    ¡°Kid?!!¡± Obsidians yells


    ¡°The hell. Wait you... Shit!!!¡± Obsidians stumbles over his words.


    ¡°I refuse to owe you anything, you little ****!¡± Obsidian summons a medicinal syringe and jams it into Midas''s neck. Midas jerks and seizes up.


    ¡°C¡¯mon you son of a *****!¡± Obsidian curses as he removes to syringe.


    Obsidian collapses weakly unable to endure his own suffering. He braces himself against the bathroom wall breathing heavily. He watches Midas for what feels like hours. Suddenly Midas takes a deep breath gasping alive. He sits up quickly hacking and spluttering. His skin starts to return to normal and his symptoms go away.


    He looks over and sees Obsidian Breathing heavily. He gets up and darts over.


    ¡°Mister, are you okay! You---¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t touch me.¡± Obsidian says calmly.


    ¡°My apologies. But what illness befalls you.¡± Midas says tears welling up in his eyes.


    Obsidian proudly smirks.


    ¡°I don¡¯t owe you shit now.¡± He says as he tries to force himself upright.


    ¡°What?!!¡±


    Obsidian staggers to the lounge


    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t move so much! You¡¯ve lost so much blood!¡± Midas says more than just concerned


    ¡°I¡¯ll be fine, I just¡­ need a nap.¡± The moment Obsidian sits down, he passes out.


    Midas stares at Obsidian incredibly confused and worried beyond comprehension. Then he feels a sharp pain in his right eye. His eye has a patch of gray skin, and his eye remains black with an orange pupil. He doesn¡¯t pay much attention to it, but it does give him a major headache. Midas decides to sleep it off, after making sure the Mister is still breathing.


    Within the ship of the Shining Fox, he sits in a secluded room by himself. He sits in a chair, in the corner of the room, crossing his legs, and staring at the shattered mask.


    *I have to do something about, Ceil, or *Obsidian.* Sou¡¯wo think putting a hand to his head, his hair a mess.


    Sou¡¯wo¡¯s mind vaguely flashes back to the event that destroyed their family in the first place.


    We get a smoky image of five individuals. They¡¯re represented by their spirit pigment. Sou¡¯wo being the gold yellow. There¡¯s a green one in the front, leading the group, confidently wielding a trident in both hands. There¡¯s a bronze aura by his side. Sou¡¯wo stands in between a dark pink and bright teal. The smoky figures stand against, within a pitch-black void, a white figure, with flaming orange eyes. And behind that figure is an inferno, an endless blaze, that could consume them all. But the green figure remains steadfast, pointing his trident forward, ordering an attack.


    What happens next is a quick summary of the battle. Yellow, pink, teal, cut down by the white figure. Bronze engulfed in the blaze.


    The sound of a trident banging the ground. Rewind. Yellow, pink, teal, cut down by white. Bronze engulfed in the blaze.


    The sound of the trident banging the ground. Rewind. Yellow, pink, teal, cut down by white. Bronze engulfed in the blaze.


    The sound of the trident banging the ground. Rewind. Yellow, pink, teal, cut down by white. Bronze engulfed in the blaze.


    The sound of the trident banging the ground. Rewind. Yellow, pink, teal, cut down by white. Bronze engulfed in the blaze.


    The sound of the trident banging the ground. Rewind. Yellow, pink, teal, cut down by white. Bronze engulfed in the blaze.


    THE SOUND OF THE TRIDENT BANGING THE GROUND. REWIND. YELLOW, PINK, TEAL, CUT DOWN BY WHITE. BRONZE ENGULFED IN FLAMES. REWIND!!!!!!


    Then¡­ yellow with a raise of his hand, kills green; a streak through the head. And everything fades away.


    Sou¡¯wo is left in a cold sweat unwillingly remembering that awful day. He throws down the mask shattering what¡¯s left of it. He sighs and puts a hand on his forehead.


    *I must keep him at bay. He¡¯s too unstable. *


    <A month in time has passed>


    Sou¡¯wo and his mysterious confidant walk into the Hired Guns main agency. The scoundrels and hunters in their retreat in his presence. He is let into the special elevator and descends, having his ally wait up top. He reaches the ground floor, and with a confident march, enter the court of the books. The book panels light up, and their silhouettes flash onto the screens.


    ¡°Senator Sou¡¯wo Shine, the Shining Fox. For what purpose do you request our presence.¡± One of the books questions


    ¡°I have a page request. It¡¯s a special one.¡± Sou¡¯wo answers


    ¡°You could¡¯ve done so through easier means.¡± Says an overconfident voice


    ¡°This is a direct request, one that shall be fulfilled effective immediately. Am I clear.¡±


    There¡¯s a brief pause.


    ¡°State your request.¡±


    ¡°I need a page placed on Obsidian Praws head. Dead or alive.¡±


    ¡°For how much.¡±


    ¡°1 billion sharix.¡±


    ¡°THAT IS ABSURD!!!¡± One of the books yells out.


    ¡°It shall be effective immediately, or the Monarchy will take action.¡± Sou¡¯wo threatens


    ¡°A beginner bounty being 1 billion is far too high, especially in sovereign currency. For what action could be so grievous.¡± Says a different book.


    ¡°That is none of your concern. It shall be done, am I clear.¡± Sou¡¯wo say a final time.


    Their a brief pause


    ¡°The page shall be set, 1 billion sharix for the capture or head of Obsidian Praw, chapter 5 hunter.¡±


    Sou¡¯wo turn his back and storms off


    <Democ ¨C 5>


    The mysterious white cloaked figure walks into the field of decimated flowers. It¡¯s face concealed with the darkness of it¡¯s hood. They kneel down over a pool of purple blood. A pitch-black slender hand reaches down with a vial in hand. It takes a sample of the blood and stand up.


    ¡°66, you have claimed the sample. Excellent, return immediately.¡± A communication crackles on, and a cold voice speaks to the white cloaked figure.


    The white-cloaked figure, known as 66, begins to leak a black liquid from below their cloak. It makes a wide puddle of pure darkness. Tendrils begin to wrap around them, pulling it into the puddle of darkness.


    ¡°I remembered, I should mention something. DO NOT, interact with subject 99x, we have more important tasks at hand.¡± Says the cold voice.


    white-cloaked figure growls unnaturally as it sinks into the darkness, disappearing, like they never existed.


    RED DRAGON OF DEATH:


    <Great Smolder sector>


    On a distant planet, in a quiet city, the wind blows calmly. It''s quiet, far too quiet. Like no one ever set foot in its streets. We catch a glimpse of armed men running through the street into an alleyway. From street level, we spot a group of similarly dressed armed men hopping the rooftops. From a skyscraper building window, we see a group of men taking over a top floor, kicking out all the citizens inside and taking positions. We see from a selection of views that we see a massive wide and short building surrounded by guards and armed men in white clothing. We see a group of men in black and dark blue suits take positions in an alleyway close to the guarded building.


    One of the men makes a gesture to a purple skinned black-eyed xeno, and he nods. The xeno turns invisible, and the men keep watch. We see two men guarding the gate in white attire, keeping watch. Suddenly, one of the men has an invisible force stabbed through the back.


    Chaos erupts as armed men storm in, taking out the guards with a storm of bullets. The men in blue run up to the gate, as gunfire could be heard from all over the city.


    ¡°Seems the parties started.¡± Says one of the men.


    A different group of men in blue run up to the gate, and one of them stands in front.


    ¡°Ready.¡±


    ¡°Go!¡±


    The man in front of the gate charges his spirit and kicks it off its hinges. He steps to the side behind cover as his ally''s charge and start an all-out gun fight with the guards in the yard.


    A top view of the city shows trails of gun fire and explosions happening all over. A news broadcast reports it¡¯s an all-out war between the criminal syndicates: Blind Kings (black and blue) and the Grimwal Cruels (white).


    We cut to many different fights. In most, it seems the Blind Kings have the upper hand. Guns, blades, blessings, and fists fly in the city-wide conflict.


    We cut back to the main battle, with the yard secured, a small transport shuttle lands in the yard. The door opens, and out walks the boss of the Blind Kings, Dominous Ash. He seems exhausted, yawning as he steps foot on the grass in the yard.


    ¡°Boss, everything is going as planned.¡± One of his men asks.


    ¡°Great work, trusty as always Dean.¡± Ash says


    ¡°I¡¯ll take point. By night, this whole planet will be my territory.¡± Dominous gives a wicked smirk.


    He walks up to the main door. He puts a hand to the door. Dominous then emits a dark blue aura with hints of black. His aura spreads like tendrils across the door. From the other side, the door breaks down into pieces. Dominous is faced with an empty lobby. He sighs and takes one step. Suddenly, the Cruels men jump up from the woodworks and opens fire. Dominous creates a wall of his spirit tendrils, and as the bullets pass into his spirit, they lose speed and energy, bouncing Dominous and his men like harmless pellets.


    The Cruels sling their rifles and pull blades from sheathes. They rush in, and Dominous blitzes past all of them. As the Cruels take forever to react to his speed. Dominous palms one of them by the face.


    ¡°For me? You shouldn¡¯t have.¡± As Dominous says that the man''s spirit, a lime green, is siphoned; stolen by Dominous. His spirit becomes Dominous¡¯ spirit as it flows from his face to Dom''s forearm changing pigmentation. Once the man is dry, Dom tosses him to the side.


    ¡°Terrible, not even a mood booster.¡± He scratches his neck.


    The Cruels rush in at Dominous, and he welcomes them.


    Deep with the building a man in decorated white and red sits on a throne.


    ¡°Monsieur Rojio, our forces are being crushed as we speak. What shall we do.¡±


    Rojio starts biting his nails.


    ¡°This is Grimwal territory, fools who even dare to take what¡¯s ours. Must die!¡± He slams his arm rest with his fist.


    We cut back to Dominous, storming the hallways like a man on the hunt. Cruel syndics run down the hall, attacking on sight. Dominous rushes forward, bouncing off the walls and dispatching the enemy with a series of claw like strikes, fighting like an animal. The Blind Kings make it deeper inside. Another group stands in their path. Spirit tendrils manifest from Dominous¡¯ hands, and he fires them forward, catching a line of enemies he slams them against the wall and drains the life from them. As he walks past, they fall one by one. He walks into a large room, and his men spread out, taking ground.


    ¡°The Blind Kings! You bastards. How dare you make moves on our territory!¡± Yells, Rojio


    ¡°Let¡¯s just say I felt inspired by someone. Now come down here already. I got better stuff to take care of.¡± Says Dominous


    ¡°I¡¯ll gladly take on your business. After you die!!!¡± The boss of these Cruels jumps down and rushes at Dominous starting the fight. ¡°Please, you¡¯re no Grimwal. Don¡¯t act tough.¡± The Cruels and the blind kings engage each other in an all-out battle.


    <Within deep space>


    ¡°Sir. A planet close by, Carna, has erupted into chaos.¡± Says a warrior officer


    We see a man in a decorated commander¡¯s seat snacking on chips of some kind.


    ¡°Huuuh!!! Oh, come the **** on! ****. Alright, whatever, change course for **** sake. What¡¯s the news say.¡± Says the loud leading man.


    ¡°It¡¯s a war between syndic factions.¡± Answers the officer.


    ¡°Pfft, ****ing syndies! That¡¯s pathetic, not worth my time!¡± He goes back to snacking


    ¡°Sir, if we get another negligence report, we could get court Marshaled.¡±


    Warns the officer.


    ¡°Why the **** would I care *****.¡± The leader says rudely


    ¡°The you would be under sir Shtorm¡¯s orders again.¡± Says the officer


    The man stands up, instantly putting down the chips.


    We see his back. He¡¯s wearing a black knights coat. Black and red; Rage engraved on his back. The sleeves of his coat are cut off replaced with sharp fur, same with the collar of his coat. The last detail of note is the dragon heads on his shoulders.


    ¡°Magmen. Turn this ***** around! We¡¯re nipping this syndic **** in the bud.¡± Yells the black knight


    ¡°Yes, my lord! It shall be done!¡± The crew yells out.


    Back to Dominous¡¯ battle, the Blind Kings have won the infantry battle and await their leader. Dominous zips and dashes around the Cruel captain, sneaking in powerful blows from his blind spots. Dominous kicks out the back of Rojio¡¯s leg and darts around to give him a machine gun of punches to his face. On the last punch, he grabs his face and lifts him up.


    ¡°Checkmate.¡± Dominous says as he drains the life from the boss, putting him down for good.


    ¡°Alright, that¡¯s that. Men back up any forces in need of assistance, and then drinks are on me.¡±


    A surge of cheers can be heard from the entire room. Outside, the tiny fires are all over the planet are being put out. A shadow is overcast as the warship of the black knight slowly and ominously approaches. On the side of the ship, there¡¯s a flaming emblem with the word Dragon embezzled on the side in bright red.


    Dominous comes outside and watches the prisoners of battle being brought to the main building of the Cruels now underneath the Blind Kings.


    ¡°Sir, we¡¯ve got a major issue.¡± Says a Blind King''s officer.


    ¡°Please, no. I''m tired, Stagner.¡± Says boss Ash.


    ¡°It¡¯s the Phoenix order. Black knight, Quasar is approaching atmosphere.¡± Says the officer panicked


    Dominous¡¯ exhausted eye widens, now fully awake.


    ¡°Get me comms Stagner ¨C get every to evacuate now ¨C get to the ships.¡± He says in a hurried tone


    Dominous is brought a communications device


    ¡°Phwoo. ALL MEMBERS OF THE BLIND KINGS AN UNFORESEEN CIRCUMSTANCE HAS OCCURRED. BLACK KNIGHT QUASAR IS APPROACHING ATMOSPHERE, EVERYONE NEEDS TO EVACUATE CARNA EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY OR FACE DEATH!¡± Dominous hangs up the announcement


    ¡°We move now!¡± *And pray we run fast enough. *


    THUNDER MAW, BITES THE DOG:


    <Storm hold sector>


    An empyrean officer walks through a white hallway. He passes other officers and warriors. He reaches a door guarded by two warriors with lightning patterns going down one half of their armor. They let in the officer, and they walk into a command center, with many officers, working on computers, and doing some kind of investigation work.


    Officer walks through the middle of the room, and reaches a door.


    ¡°Officer, Lorewell: code 23589. Requesting audience.¡± Says the officer


    ¡°Granted.¡± Says a artificial voice


    The door opens and the officer walks up a set of stares into an dark office.


    ¡°Sir Xolotl, I¡¯ve come with a the detailed intelligence report.¡± Reports Lorewell


    ¡°I see, read me the most important detail; I¡¯ll look over the rest.¡± A cold, gravely, and robotic voice comes from a dark silhouette sitting in a grand chair. His visage is blocked by a massive monitor he sits behind.


    Lorewell: ¡°Very well, if I may: The Brimstone¡¯s Hatred, has begun to mobilize, they¡¯re heading to Great smolder.¡±


    Xolotl: ¡°I see, inform Quasar and have him handle said group.¡±


    Lorewell taps on his datapad.


    Lorewell: ¡°A Page hunter by the designation of *Obsidian Praw* has engaged Sir Fox in combat, casualties: 17,760 civilians; both combatants confirmed alive, however the entirety of Democ-5 is now inhabitable.¡±


    Xolotl seems to pause for a moment


    Xolotl: ¡°This information is dangerous. Purge this encounter from all databases. Arrange a meeting with Fox, and mark Obsidian Praw for the blacklist.¡±


    Lorewell taps on his datapad


    Lorewell: ¡°lastly, a new coalition of hired guns has stolen from a creation facility, on Magnograd. They¡¯ve stolen blueprints for a type-3 Invic furnace Cyberframe, a star-core, and multiple highly sanctified weaponry. They are designated the Seven Leaf Clovers.¡±


    Xolotl growls a furious robotic noise of frustration, his fist sparks.


    Xolotl: ¡°Mark the coalition for termination, and send a team to retrieve MY stolen goods.¡±


    Lorewell taps on his datapad for the last time, and a datastick, ejects from the pad. He takes it out, and lays the pad on the desk of Xolotl.


    ¡°Lorewell I shall follow all orders.¡± Lorewell takes his leave.


    After the door closes behind him, Xolotl sits in silence as he takes the datapad and overlooks it.


    Suddenly a surge of lightning erupts from Xolotl scorching the office.


    ¡°SILUS! IM GOING TO ******* KILL YOU!!!¡± roars Xolotl.


    ZERO HOUR:


    A sharp and angular ship flies at great speed through space. It bears the insignia for the broken arrows. It enters an asteroid field, it darts around able to change directions on a dime.


    Inside Zero sits completely motionless in the passenger hull, unaffected by the speed his ship moves at. ¡°woowee, the fields are rough today. But that just makes it a hell of a time. Ain¡¯t that right big boss.¡± Says the rowdy pilot on the ships internal comms.


    ¡°Indeed, I shall always praise your flying. Streko.¡± Says Zero


    ¡°Aww, you really know how to make this old man blush, hehe.¡± Chuckles Streko.


    Suddenly Zero perks up.


    ¡°Streko, make a right, 90 degrees.¡±


    ¡°Aye aye, bossman!¡±


    As Streko makes the sharp turn a wave of electromagnetic energy barely misses the ship.


    Streko: ¡°Whoa! What was that.¡±


    Zero: ¡°We have flown into an ambush, listen to my commands.¡±


    Streko: ¡°As ya wish, my ears are open.¡±


    From behind two large asteroids, two G-Kamus dart out.


    Kamu 1: ¡°Damn it, how¡¯d he know, we had every advantage.¡±


    Kamu 2: ¡°Should¡¯ve expected as much, no one can catch the Poltergeist off guard. We have no choice but to kill him here and now.¡±


    The Kamus fly out and open fire upon Zero¡¯s vessel. Zero¡¯s ship moves unbelievably fast, out pacing even the Kamus at every turn.


    Kamu 1: ¡°it¡¯s not scientifically possible! How are they moving so fast, their movements make no sense!!!¡±


    Kamu 2: ¡°stay on tight. There¡¯s nothing Zero can¡¯t do.¡±


    Suddenly Zero¡¯s ship disappears.


    Kamu 2: ¡°Shit!¡±


    Kamu 1: ¡°What happened to stay on tight.¡±


    Kamu 2: ¡°Shut up! We have to find him, we could be dead before we even blink!¡±


    As the Kamus dart around the asteroid field. Zero¡¯s ship hides upon a large asteroid.


    Sterko: ¡°alright big man, get on out there boss.¡±


    The door of the ship opens and Zero steps out into space. In calm white spirit, Zero summons forth his empyrean blade; a long straight blade, with a angular hand guard, within a sheathe. Zero draws his blade and lets his sheathe float around him. Zero then darts off like and arrow, making a sharp turn without any foothold.


    Kamu 2: ¡°We¡¯re running out of time, starts blowing up the field.¡±


    The Kamus open fire on the asteroid destroying a good number. However one round from their massive rifles strangely made a 180 degree turn before blowing up a specific asteroid. The Kamu pilot that fired that round dodges his own projectile.


    Kamu 1: ¡° What th¨C¡°


    Suddenly from the darkness of the void, Zero comes through and cuts off both of the Kamu¡¯s arms.


    Kamu 1: ¡°damnit! My arms are gone!¡±


    Kamu 2: ¡°get out of ther¡ª¡±


    Zero then comes within Kamu 2 vision, and separates the mech¡¯s head with a single swipe of his blade. He follows up with a series of precise swipes, cutting off the arms, legs, waist, and only leaving the chest of the mech. Zero darts off and chases down the other Kamu, slashing its booster, and cleanly splitting the waist. The last thing the mech pilot sees is Zero reach his blade across and swiping taking of the mech¡¯s head, leaving both completely disabled.


    Zero the appears back inside his vessel.


    ¡°We may continue.¡± Says Zero speaking to his pilot.


    ¡°Hot damn! That took 10 seconds; you never disappoint.¡± Praises Streko


    ¡°I¡¯m getting rusty, I should¡¯ve done it in one.¡± Zero says pained


    Zero¡¯s vessel takes off once more, speeding off.


    In a command center, Revoltors of different kinds stand around a round display table. On it, the signatures of the pilots are lost, replaced with x¡¯s.


    ¡°damn! The ambush failed, get ready to defend the base.¡± Orders a decorated commander.


    Soldiers, all of different species, rush throughout the base. In the yard, machines of war get into position. Soldiers take up arms and line the base walls. Two ships land with the bases runway. The doors opens and out steps Kline, the new captain of Wildgame, the rest of the remaining members exit, along with a few Blind Kings.


    ¡°Thanks again for helping us out, I don¡¯t know what I would¡¯ve done without the you Syndics.¡± Thanks Kline.


    He speaks to a man with round spectacles and slicked back hair.


    A month ago back on Umbra, Kline met with the captain of the Umbral Blind Kings. He got on all fours a begged for them to escort the last of Wildgame, off world.


    ¡°Remember the deal.¡± Says spectacles


    ¡°Of course, I¡¯m sure the Just-Hands would love to set up negotiations with a syndics as powerful as the Blind Kings.¡± Says Kline


    A group of soldiers sprint up to the crafts.


    ¡°You guys came at a bad time. We¡¯re preparing to intercept, the Black Knight Zero the Poltergeist. You all should leave as soon as possible.¡± Says a soldier.


    ¡°HUH?!!¡± yells in shock


    ¡°What have you done.¡± Grimaces spectacles


    ¡°I didn¡¯t know. Trust me!¡± says Kline freaking out.


    ¡°As I said you all should leave now.¡± Says the soldier.


    ¡°But my men have no where else to go!¡± panics Kline.


    ¡°Wild games on their own.¡± Says Specs


    ¡°What! But a Black Knight¡¯s on their way.¡± Stresses Kline.


    ¡°Exactly.¡± Specs announces as he rounds up his men and the Blind Kings take off.


    ¡°Oh no, no no no no no NO! This isn¡¯t supposed to happen. Why is this happening!!!¡± Kline is on the verge of a breakdown.


    ¡°Well to late to evacuate. On the honor of the Just-Hands, we¡¯ll do everything to ensure your men¡¯s safety. Come with me.¡± The group of soldiers collect the Wildgame remnants and head inside the base.


    Out in space the Blind kings get ready to enter god speed.


    ¡°Fool. How dare he bring the Blind Kings danger.¡± Scoffs specs.


    Suddenly the arrow like ship of Zero flashes by the Blind Kings ships. Before they know it both of their shuttles get disabled.


    Specs sits in disbelief. The rage slowly creeps on his face.


    ¡°Fu¡ª"


    Inside the base, soldiers line up guarding each entrance. Everyone does their last round of checks and set up.


    The comms then sound on.


    ¡°The Poltergeist has landed, I repeat, the Poltergeist has landed. All units defensive positions.¡±


    A large detachment of soldiers guard a hallway leading to the main entrance.


    There¡¯s a deafening silence for what feels like hours.


    Suddenly one of there personal comms comes on.


    ¡°HE COMING!!! AHHHH!!¡ª¡± it abruptly cuts.


    Every soldier within starts to panic, and hyperventilate. *How, did he get through so fast. They prepared for everything right?* everyone has the same exact question.


    A knocking on the blast door can be faintly heard. No one moves.


    One soldier gets cold feet, and begins to run away. Some soldier get ready to yell at him to get back to his post but then.


    The blast door bursts open, and the soldier that tried to run gets pulled outside by an unknown force, screaming. No one can tell what just happened, a bright light floods the hallway, as outside looks strangely peaceful. Not a sound was made.


    One soldier takes point and creeps outside, checking his corners. He looks left all clear. He looks¡ª


    He¡¯s dragged into the light, and silenced.


    Loud footsteps can be heard as a tall shadowy figure steps into the light. Holding a long blade.


    ¡°OPEN FIRE!!!!!¡± the soldier the light up the entrance holding down their triggers with the tightest grips they ever had. The entrance is completely covered as the trails block the entrances.


    The most frontline soldier raises his fist ceasing all fire. He walks forward to inspect the body. We he steps outside his met with nothing but dismantled machines, diced weapons, but a not a soul in sight. He looks down, and sees¡­


    ¡°ITS NOT ZERO!!!¡± the soldier is horrified to find, the bloody mess of one of their own.


    Everyone panics looking everywhere for Zero. Suddenly a soldier far in the back, is picked up. ¡°HELP!!! HE¡¯S GOT ME!!! Everyone turns around to find Zero far behind holding a soldier by the neck.


    Everyone aims their rifles, but can¡¯t get a clean shot.


    ¡°My upmost apologies. But this will be the end, please, do not struggle.¡± Politely says Zero.


    Zero then drops the Soldier and cuts him down.


    ¡°NOOOO!!!!¡± all the soldiers then open fire upon Zero.


    Zero walks down the hall, as every bullet fired warps around him. He walks up to each soldier, and cuts them down one by one. One by one by one by one by one, each soldier falls cleanly cut down by Zero.


    A soldier runs up screaming, and tries to slash at Zero, but he smacks away the soldiers knife, and cuts him down. He picks up the soldier and throws him into another. Five, four, three, two, then only one remained.


    The last soldier drops his rifle and runs with all their might, they run and run and run, until they bump into a steel wall.


    ¡°no no, please, wait!!!¡± he looks up and the last thing he sees is Zero raising his blade.


    Within the command center, the commander tries to keep track of everything, but every single position falls in the blink of an eye.


    He stares at his display table in disbelief. ¡°No, but he said¡­ He lied, we weren¡¯t ready at all.¡± Just as he says there¡¯s a knock on the command door.


    ¡°LET ME IN!!! HE¡¯S COMING! LET ME¡ª¡­¡± silence


    The commander takes off his cap, and his coat. He pulls out his pistol. He makes sure it had ammo. And points it at the door. He stares at the door, with unwavering focus. He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. He opens his eyes¡­ and there¡¯s a blade at his neck. He looks to his left, everyone lays motionless. He looks to his right, they lay like ragdolls. The blast door is completely gone.


    He stares into Zero emotionless helmet. The only thing he can see, is the stream of black tears detailed on the helm. He points his pistol in Zero¡¯s face; and he lets out a war cry.


    Zero walks out of the base, blade sheathed. He stops to look at the sun. He presses a button on the side of his helm.


    ¡°Streko, have you gotten word from the Cemetaries.¡± Asks Zero


    ¡°Oh yea big boss, they''re on the way clean everything up. You can come on back and we can head home.¡± Says Streko proudly.


    ¡°Good, request the survivors get fair treatment. Direct orders.¡± Zero says solemnly


    ¡°Well aren¡¯t you kind, I¡¯ll put in the good word boss man. That¡¯s why you¡¯re the best of us.¡±


    ¡°thank you.¡± Zero hangs up communications


    ¡°You mean well, but I know. Your words are wasted upon me. Old friend.¡± Zero vanishes, like a streak in the light.


    STEELWORKS:


    <Storm hold sector: northern sector>


    We see a man walking down a grey street. In full white and purple business attire, a long coat, a round bowler hat, square spectacles, cowboy boots, a briefcase, and a cane. He walks into the lobby. Bow his hat to the nice receptionist lady, making her giggle. He takes the elevator up to the top floor. He walks to the back of the building and is met with a large door. He walks through and enters a meeting.


    ¡°Ah, the man of the hour.¡± Says a furry xeno in a business suit.


    ¡°Mr. Mexorrth. Thank you for having me.¡± Says the professionally dressed, gray suited man


    ¡°Of course, Mr. Devrin, it¡¯s always a pleasure to hear one of your amazing ideas.¡± Say boss Mexorrth


    Devrin takes a seat on the other end of the long table. He sets down his briefcase and opens it. He spins it around and shows off a cylinder with a cosmic black orb in the center.


    ¡°This is the singularity imploder; Si45. Once the set time has expired, the black mass will condense into a singularity dense enough to break the strongest shields. It will then implode into a tiny super-dense black hole for maximum destruction. It should linger for 30 seconds before dissipating.¡± Devrin introduces his invention to the room.


    ¡°Very impressive as always, Mr. Devrin, your genius knows no bounds.¡± The room applauds


    ¡°How much are you willing to let it go for.¡± Mexorrth asks deviously


    ¡°I''m willing to give up the blueprint for 1,598 billion. Imperial credit.¡± Says Devrin


    ¡°I see. Quite expensive.¡± Mr. Mexorrth laughs a wealthy laugh. ¡°Is there any way for us to lower the price, anything you desire.¡± Says the boss


    Some suited men start to encroach behind Mr. Devrin. Suddenly they fall to their knees, then all fours. Then the crash through the floor, down to the building lobby. The room audibly gasps.


    ¡°There¡¯s nothing I desire more than for my creation to be recognized for their worth. I will accept nothing less.¡± He says stoically.