A few hours later…
Missio heaved a sigh of relief, leaning back in his chair.
It had been a long day for this poor soul. First, his nightmares had returned to torture him once more and now, he had to deal with the arrest of a National Assemblyman.
The Police force had agreed to carry out this arrest tomorrow. However, the Lieutenant General still had to call the Colonel of the Marshals to cancel the Assemblyman's protection as a government official.
Now, this was in the hands of the Police.
However, after the call, a thought had occurred to him. Why would the Prime Minister snitch on his own? The National Assembly is formed directly as a result of the Prime Minister's election and it dissolves after the PM's term ends.
'Why would he go through that much trouble just to rat out his own men?'
Missio stood up from his desk and exited his office. The steel door sealed shut the instant he stepped outside, making sure that no one would enter the Lieutenant General's office without permission.
He did not linger on that thought any longer. He didn't want this case to go on forever either. Otherwise, he would be having nightmares of that harrowing day every other night.
The Bereft strolled through the hallway, gazing at the distant sunset until dusk finally came. Entering the lift, he descended the tower and stepped off a few minutes later. He made his way to the lobby, passing every worker without even acknowledging their existence.
Finally, he felt a wave of fresh air breeze past him. Lifting his head, he saw skyscrapers that pierced the clouds, glowing and buzzing with advertisements and neon billboards. Colorful characters and flashy images were sprawled across the city, creating a captivating view.
Lowering his head, he drew his keys and unlocked his vehicle. Missio entered, slamming the door shut. Then, he reversed out of the HQ and drove off into the night. As he sped off, the starless sky flickered — just for a moment — as if reality itself blinked.
However, above the city, two individuals were standing on the side of a skyscraper.
One was a young fellow, who wore a black shirt with gray stripes. A gray jacket embedded with a black skull clung to his body and below, he wore grey trousers with dark accents that perfectly matched his shoes.
The other, older man, wore a black robe with red stripes while covering his face with a black mask.
The modernly dressed teen turned towards his elder and opened his mouth.
"Father Caesar, is this the person you were talking about?"
"Yes~" Caesar said in a teasing voice. "Do you like him?"
The other turned back, glancing at Missio. "He's interesting but…I do feel a bit bad for him, y'know."
"I know…" Caesar placed a hand on his shoulder. "But hey! It's not our problem so, don't give a shit."
"It is our problem." The boy replied. "We're the ones who started it."
"Ah! You're still too edgy, my child…" Caesar mumbled. "We'll start slowly then escalate until the next Golden hour tournament."
He then locked eyes with the teen.
"Which you'll be participating in…but don't forget, your studies are just as important. Don't let me see you slacking off. You've got a great future ahead of you."
"Don't worry, Father. My studies are going fine."
The two then vanished with a snap of Caesar's fingers.
***
Missio drove down the streets of the city, the buildings radiating colorful lights. He pressed the handle, weaving between cars under the dim moonlight. Eventually, he stopped at an intersection, the traffic light blaring red at his face. He groaned, leaning into his seat.
"Mythos, what time is it?"
The AI responded in a heartbeat.
[It is currently, 7 PM, sir.]
'7? How…?'
The bereft was utterly confused. He had just left the Black Ops HQ at 6:30 and his home was no more than fifteen minutes away even if he took his time
'Maybe, I just lost track of the time.'
Missio shrugged, thinking he had just slipped up.
However… that was not the case.
Time froze, coloring the world grey. Then, a small tremor shook the road. The universe began breaking, the sky flashed with rainbow, towers seemed to snap in half and rejoin at different points.
Missio's pupils dilated.
"Shit." He muttered under his breath.
The red light blaring at him shifted to blue. He glanced up, looking at the sight in distress.
The citizens began panicking, they knew what was about to arrive. Ignoring the traffic light, they sped off, passing each other without a care for the rules of the road.
Because in this situation, the state would not punish them.
Another tremor shook the ground beneath and cracks began forming on the surface. The street lights began to turn off one by one. The billboards flickered before closing completely. Eventually, the entire section became dark.
Missio gritted his teeth, gripping the wheel.
'What am I waiting for? Move!'
Pressing the throttle, his vehicle roared before blasting him out of the intersection. His car swerved, almost crashing into another rushing vehicle. The two vehicles passed each other, nearly grazing the other. Missio, however, did not have a care in the world and focused his attention on getting out of there. Something unfathomable began whispering in his ear, its laughter crackling like fireworks.
The Bereft then felt a strange presence at the center of the intersection.
Two seconds later, reality tore apart and a lightless void erupted from nothingness. Missio slowed down and turned around, seeing the infinite void with his own eyes.
Then… all hell broke loose.
The chaos fragment released horrifying monsters. Pale grey skin, crimson eyes and massive maws with jagged teeth – creatures that were dragged straight from the depths of humanity's nightmares.
Chaos beasts – monsters that came from the other side of the chaos fragments.
An enemy humanity had been fighting for millennia.
But before they could wreak havoc, the twenty shadowy figures appeared in front of the rift. The horde of beasts stopped and then…a sword pierced one of them straight in the heart. The beast cried out in pain as the blade was drawn. The other monsters howled, their eyes gleaming with bloodlust. Another shadow pierced another monster's heart.
Wielding the same blades as Missio, they looked towards the rift and readied themselves.
"The civilians have evacuated." A figure said, swinging his weapon.
"Right, Let's finish this quick." Another shadow spoke, unsheathing his katana.
Of course, with such supernatural occurrences, humans were bound to receive some boon as well.
So, they did receive something. The ability to wield the same energy that empowered their greatest nemeses.
These awakened individuals were called… Chaos incarnates.