Pre Chapter of volume 2: Aftermath in Eden
The bells of Eden rang like broken glass.
At dawn, their hollow clangs carried over the smoldering rooftops of the city, a fractured melody meant to call its citizens to prayer. But most of those gathered at the foot of the Tower of Seven did not have the look of the faithful.
Some looked tired. Others frightened. Some simply hollowed out.
The great square below the tower brimmed with people, packed shoulder to shoulder, their breath clouding the cool morning air. Even here, in humanity's last sanctuary, the air smelled faintly of fire and dust. The previous night's Akuma incursion had burned through three blocks of the outer residential rings, leaving dozens dead and hundreds homeless. Smoke still clung faintly to the spires, curling like black snakes into the pale light of morning.
Yet they had all come. Because they had been told to.
And because Luther was dead.
On the grand balcony above, Zero stood with his hands raised, his white robes glinting gold where the sun caught them. He looked every bit the prophet they believed him to be... his face calm, his hair immaculate, his eyes burning like coins of divine light.
Behind him, the other Observers stood in silence: Greed, arms crossed, his gaze hard; Envy, hands clasped tightly in front of her, lips pale. To their sides, hollow-eyed acolytes held shimmering banners of Eden's crest... half-shattered wings over a bleeding sun.
When the final bell fell silent, Zero spoke.
"People of Eden… hear me."
His voice rolled through the square, gentle yet commanding, carried and amplified by hidden vox runes in the walls.
"You stand here today not as mourners. Not as children of ruin. Not as the last survivors of a broken Earth."
He lowered his hands, gaze sweeping over them all.
"You stand here as witnesses. To a sacrifice so holy the heavens themselves shall quake to see it."
The crowd stirred faintly, as though a single heartbeat passed through them.
"Luther's death was not in vain. His light has become the cornerstone of our coming dawn. His core, though shattered, has left a resonance that has already begun to sanctify our city walls."
People murmured. Even whispered.
"You have heard the stories... how the Akuma grow bolder. How they circle like carrion, drawn to our divine spark. And yet we endure. We endure because our faith is stronger than their hunger."
He pressed one hand to his chest, closing his eyes.
"We will ascend. And when we do, we shall cast them down and reclaim not only this earth… but the skies above."
Cheers broke out. Hesitant at first, but spreading, growing, until the whole square rang with applause.
And yet, below the cheers, whispers threaded like smoke.
"Did anyone even see his body…?"
"I heard, it laid flat on the floor like us.. when shot by a gun..."
"I got a brother who works at security, he says akuma are rapidly growing around the Eden's walls."
"If even Luther was here, he couldn't kill all of them.. so how are we safe?"
"Did you hear about Sector 12? They broke through the southern gates again last night."
In the back of the square, a woman clutched a child to her chest, her voice bitter as she muttered to no one in particular.
"Maybe Eden isn't safe anymore."
...
Behind the grand balcony, in the cathedral's inner chamber, Greed and Envy followed Zero as he walked briskly through the golden-lit aisles.
"You didn't have to lie to them, should have told the truth... let them know like i would. " Greed said bluntly, his voice low.
"I didn't," Zero replied without looking back.
"His body was barely even recoverable," Envy added, her hands twisting at her robes. "And the core..."
"Damaged," Zero finished for her, his tone flat.
He stopped walking and finally turned, his golden eyes catching the light like molten coins.
"You think they need the truth? They don't need the truth. They need a reason to wake up tomorrow."
Greed's lip curled. "They're starting to wonder if we can even hold this place anymore."
Zero's gaze hardened. "And they'll wonder all they like. As long as they keep standing where I tell them to stand."
...
When the doors finally shut behind him, Zero stood alone in his private sanctum.
The silence was deafening here.
Gone was the prophet's mask he wore outside. His shoulders slumped, his breath came heavy, and his hands... steady only moments ago... now trembled as they reached for the altar.
Blood welled from his palm where nails had dug in too deep. The stigmata bled sluggishly onto the polished marble.
He fell to his knees, staring at the gleaming data-feed projected above the altar. Lines of divine code and resonance signals scrolled like a hymn.
At the center of it all was one name: Elian.
Signal stability: 85%.
Zero let out a shaky breath and leaned his forehead against the altar.
"If only Luther's core… hadn't been damaged," he murmured to himself.
His hands curled into fists.
*"If only he'd lasted a little longer. Just a little longer... Mr.P"*
The candles flickered as he whispered the words again, a prayer and a curse all at once.
"We have to hurry. This energy… is already eating me alive."
...
That night, the streets of Eden stayed restless.
Even after the ceremony, the whispers didn't stop.
Smoke from last night's fires still hung over the southern residential rings, curling between broken windows and blackened brickwork. Soldiers moved through the streets in tight formations, guns ready, eyes sharp.
Children clung to their mothers in the shadows of crumbling homes. Even the air felt charged, thick with something unseen.
"They say more Akuma have been sighted," a shopkeeper muttered, pulling metal shutters closed over his stall. "And closer than ever."
"And why not?" spat a man on the corner. "We're shining brighter than ever. They smell it. They're drawn to it."
"They say the Observers can handle it."
"They said the same before Sector 12 burned."
...
Genna the Wrathborne stood at the edge of the square long after the crowds dispersed.
Her eyes wandered up to the Tower's gleaming peak, but her hands wouldn't stop shaking.
Behind her, Sloth's voice broke the silence.
"You don't believe his little speech either, do you?"
Genna flinched slightly, but didn't turn.
"I want to," she said quietly.
Sloth stepped up beside her, folding his arms. His eyes were hard as steel as he glared at the tower.
"He talks about a dawn. All I see are more shadows."
...
Far below them, in the catacombs beneath the Tower of Seven, the hidden pulse of Elian's signal continued to hum through cold wires.
A silent figure stood before the array of screens.
White hair disheveled. A crooked smile playing at his lips, even now. Sunglasses reflecting the faint glow of divine code scrolling past.
Mr. P leaned back against the wall, hands shoved in his pockets, watching Eden tear itself apart piece by piece.
"You should thank me, you know," he said softly, as though speaking to the air itself.
His grin faltered just slightly as his gaze settled on the single word blinking at the bottom of the screen.
85%.
He let out a dry laugh, though his hands curled into fists in his pockets.
"If only your brother's core hadn't been damaged."
The lights flickered above him, and he closed his eyes for just a moment.
When he opened them again, his smile was back. Sharp as glass.
"No matter... I still in got what i wanted."
He straightened his collar and stepped into the shadows.
"The real game hasn't even started yet."
...
END OF PRE-CHAPTER Of VOLUME 2