The sky around them shimmered as Jason and Jairak led the crew through Flex City's streets, riding bursts of Deviant energy that flared like wings. They weren't flying to fight—just to watch.
Jairak raised a hand, his aura pulsing in steady rhythm.
Jairak: "Remember, this isn't rebellion. We're searching, not challenging. We're all Alliance—if they see us, they'll expect us to uphold the same order."
Eve Maid smirked, her hair flickering silver.
Eve Maid: "Search without rebelling? Isn't that a contradiction? I like it."
A few chuckled, tension loosening in the air.
But then the glow of uniforms came into view. The Deviant Alliance patrol.
Below, a group of people were being taken. Not dragged, not chained—just escorted. Yet the air reeked of judgment.
Banjo flicked his wrist, summoning a card etched with spirals.
Banjo: "Let's not spook them. Projection card—sharp vision, clean sound."
The card unfolded midair like a mirror, replaying the scene in perfect clarity.
POV SHIFT, Ground level
The enforcers stood in a semicircle. At their center knelt Carlin—broad-shouldered, his white-and-blue plate armor glinting with the navy fabric stitched beneath. He wasn't a brute. He wasn't snarling. He smiled as he touched a child's chin with all the care of someone holding porcelain.
Carlin: "Do you want a friend?"
The little girl nodded, eyes wide with curiosity.
Carlin tilted his head, soft voice carrying weight.
Carlin: "Do you want that friend to be your best friend?"
She nodded again, faster, her joy bubbling out.
Carlin smiled, satisfied, and pressed two fingers against her chest. Light flared—a radiant greenish-yellow glow, not searing but uplifting. Her feet lifted from the ground. Her eyes gleamed like glass catching sunlight.
Child (laughing): "You're right, mister! Omega Devia is my best friend! This is amazing—I'll never be sad again! Why… why did she stop me from having it before?"
Carlin's smile faltered into a sad shadow.
Carlin: "Because she was afraid."
Then his eyes shifted. The kindness dimmed. He turned to the rest of the gathered captives.
Carlin: "We are not here to punish you. We are here to understand you. You failed to accept Omega Devia during your Ascension. Tell me—why?"
A man stepped forward, voice trembling but steady.
Man: "Because Devia was freedom. Flexibility. But this… this is control dressed as choice. Omega Devia is self-deception. Avia is better."
The air cracked. Carlin's aura surged black, the ground trembling beneath his boots. For a heartbeat, he looked ready to tear the man apart.
But he inhaled, exhaled, and forced the black flame back into calm.
Another captive struck the protester on the shoulder.
Captive 2: "Shut up! Everyone knows you're too weak for Avia anyway. You didn't reject the ritual because of principle. You're just a coward."
The first man grit his teeth but said nothing more.
POV SHIFT, Jairak's crew, watching from above
Jairak's jaw tightened as the projection shimmered.
Jairak: "This… doesn't look like justice. It looks like confusion wrapped as mercy."
Jason rubbed his chin, flames curling like question marks.
Jason: "Confusion is still truth in the Free Abyss. That doesn't mean it's safe."
Eugene chuckled, flickering half in and half out of the projection.
Eugene: "Come on, what did you expect? Traxis doesn't deal in tyranny. If this were tyranny, the whole city would've warped into a cage already."
Banjo squinted at Carlin's smile. His fingers brushed his card deck.
Banjo: "Not tyranny, no. But faith this heavy? Faith can bend rules harder than any card."
Eve Maid gave a low laugh.
Eve Maid: "That's the Free Abyss for you. Freedom until it swallows you whole."
The crew exchanged glances, unease threading between them.
And all the while, down below, Carlin's calm voice echoed like a sermon.
Carlin's eyes snapped upward. His glare cut through the projection as if it weren't even there.
The crew froze. Banjo flicked his card back into his deck. Jason's flames dimmed instinctively. Jairak's chest tightened.
And then—Carlin's voice carried, clear as crystal, echoing up through the air.
Carlin: "Do you think Traxis would have been happy about this?"
The captives below stiffened. Their eyes darted among each other, then dropped to the ground, as if the weight of the question itself pinned them in place.
Carlin stepped forward, words flowing like steel wrapped in silk.
Carlin: "Do you think our godfather would have been content with your excuses? Do you understand the sacrifices he made, or were you too busy polishing your shame? He created this—this Flex City—not to control you, not to break you—but to see you breathe."
The enforcers around him nodded in unison, their faces glowing with inspiration, as though his words fanned embers into roaring conviction.
The little girl's smile widened, her aura flaring.
Child: "He did it for us…"
Carlin's tone softened, almost reverent.
Carlin: "Traxis' philosophy was never simple. Authenticity without flexibility is tyranny. Do you really believe he brought you here to shackle you? He became villain and savior both—because of you, because of us. Omega Devia is contradiction because he himself is contradiction."
He closed the space between himself and the captives, eyes burning.
Carlin: "If Avia was truly better… would it have embraced the broken? The confused? The shattered, the shifted? Would it have held those who had no sense of self?"
The captives trembled. Slowly, almost unanimously, they shook their heads. Tears brimmed at their eyes—not from pain, but from the sudden, overwhelming clarity that perhaps they had misunderstood all along.
Carlin (low, biting): "You have no idea what you do. You really don't."
One by one, the captives lowered their heads, shame folding over them—not for refusing Omega Devia, but for assuming Traxis was a tyrant waiting to punish them.
The air was heavy. Even Jairak's crew felt the weight seep through the projection.
Up above, the candidates exchanged glances.
Jason let out a sharp laugh, half admiration, half disbelief, flames curling lazily around his arms.
Jason: "Ha! Okay, I see you, Carlin. My fire tells me one thing—contradiction. Even conviction can't fathom this."
Jairak scratched the back of his neck, chuckling nervously.
Jairak: "I can't tell if I should be uncomfortable or… content. Either way… I'll be stronger for it."
Banjo exhaled slowly, shuffling his deck.
Banjo: "The best lies sound like truth… and the best truths sound like lies. This one? It's both. And neither."
Eugene phased halfway out of sight, his voice echoing between realities.
Eugene: "Reminds me of the Corruption Force. A utopia of insanity. Different wrapping, same paradox."
Eve Maid tapped her chin, eyes shimmering with silver mischief.
Eve Maid: "Honestly? It feels like… minimalism. Almost like it's…"
Androsha (cutting in, fog swirling around her): "Don't you dare say it."
Eve grinned wider.
Eve Maid: "Sedated."
The entire group groaned and face-palmed in unison.
Even the projection shimmered, as if Flex City itself rolled its eyes at her.
From below, Carlin's sharp voice cut through the hum of the city.
Carlin: "Hey! You up there!"
Jairak and the others froze for a second. The enforcers' presence below made it clear—this wasn't optional.
Carlin (calling again, louder this time): "Come down. Now."
They exchanged glances, a mixture of pride and nerves. There was no real choice. Slowly, they descended to the street, landing among the enforcers with cautious steps.
Carlin let out a low chuckle, eyes scanning them like a predator savoring the curiosity in its prey.
Carlin: "Ah… Traxis' nepo children… enjoying the show, huh? Don't tell me you were trying to spy on us…?"
The group stifled laughs, trying to act nonchalant—but the tension under the humor was palpable.
Carlin's expression sharpened, lips curling into a faint smirk.
Carlin: "Are you?!"
Jairak swallowed, raising his hands slightly in mock surrender.
Jairak: "N… no. No, we weren't. Just, uh… stopped by. Didn't know what was happening, so we thought we'd check… hehe…"
The others nodded, mimicking his casual tone, trying to seem like bystanders.
The enforcers exchanged quick glances, suspicion flickering across their faces. Then Carlin's gaze returned to the group of citizens below.
Carlin (voice heavy, resonant): "Mm… yeah, sure." He paused, eyes narrowing as he surveyed the crowd. "Anyway… are you gonna complain about a possibility that isn't even true? Or are you finally going to accept the inevitability… of Omega Devia?"
The crowd shifted uneasily, then—after a beat—nodded in unison. Their choice wasn't born of fear; it was born of understanding. They finally grasped the stakes, the balance of contradiction and conviction that Traxis had built.
Carlin's eyes then shifted back to Jairak and his crew, sharp and piercing.
Carlin: "And you… come with us. There are many things you need to learn… if you want to survive here, and more importantly, if you want to understand Omega Devia."
The group shared uneasy glances. Some excitement, some apprehension—but all understood that this was their next step.
Jairak (muttering under his breath, to Jason and Eve Maid): "Well… looks like lessons just got a lot more hands-on."
Jason (flames flickering lightly, amused): "Heh. I like hands-on. Let's see what this is about."
Eve Maid (soft chuckle): "Yeah… hopefully I survive the first lecture."
Carlin's smirk widened, satisfied with the reactions, and gestured for them to follow deeper into the streets of Flex City, where the reality-bending lessons of Omega Devia awaited.
But before that, he had to check on the citizens....since they've understood what was missing. However, they had to receive it's power and what it represents first hand.
Carlin (to the enforcers): "Alright, take the citizens. Spiral Chamber. It's time to begin the ritual—let them experience the Omega Devia flow firsthand. Remember… guidance, not force."
The enforcers nodded and started moving the group carefully, maintaining an air of discipline and precision.
Carlin (kneeling slightly to the child): "You… go see your mom. And if she… hesitates, if she disagrees with you receiving Omega Devia… do exactly what I said. Repeat my words. Make her understand."
The child's eyes widened for a moment, then she laughed softly, a nervous, bright sound.
Child: "O-okay… I… I'll try." She trailed off, still unsure, but trusting Carlin's calm demeanor.
Carlin straightened, brushing his hands lightly on his plates. His gaze swept to Jairak and his team, sharp and deliberate.
Carlin: "And you lot… come along. We have more hesitant citizens waiting. More minds to open… more contradictions to reconcile."
Jairak (exchanging a glance with Jason): "Uh… reconcile? That's one way to put it."
Jason (flames dancing lightly, amused): "Sounds like a field trip I didn't sign up for… but alright. Let's see what the fuss is about."
Eve Maid (smiling, folding her arms): "If these people are stubborn… well, I hope Carlin has more patience than all of us combined."
Carlin's lips curved into a faint, knowing smirk.
Carlin: "Patience… yes. But also clarity. Omega Devia doesn't demand blind obedience. It requires understanding. Conviction, contradiction… alignment. That's what I'm here to teach them… and maybe, a little bit… to test you."
Jairak (muttering to Eve Maid, almost under his breath): "Test us… right after witnessing a kid arguing with her mom about cosmic powers… sure, that sounds manageable."
The enforcers chuckled quietly, and Carlin gave them all a nod. Then, with a subtle lift of his hand, gesturing for Jairak's crew to follow, they began moving through the winding streets of Flex City.
Carlin (over his shoulder, voice calm but firm): "Hehe… keep up, or you'll miss the lesson. And believe me… you don't want to miss it."
The group exchanged smirks, half in amusement, half in nervous anticipation, trailing behind Carlin as the city seemed to bend subtly around them—streets stretching, neon lights flickering in impossible patterns—the chaotic elegance of Omega Devia in motion.