King Orlox's Palace
The air in the strategic chamber of King Orlox's palace was thick with a heavy, suffocating silence. The walls, carved from dark planetary stone.
At the center of the room sat a massive obsidian table, upon which a marble chess board was laid out. Valkhyre stood over it, his fingers closing around a white knight. With a cold, deliberate snap, he removed it from the board, tossing it aside into the dark.
General Xylo stared at the empty space on the board, his jaw clenching. He took a deep, shuddering breath. "I still can't believe we lost Xerxes. A pillar of our society... just gone."
"Yeah, I agree," General Vaxas muttered, leaning back into his stone chair.
"These humans are really something else. To believe they managed to take down two of our highest Commanders within the span of just two months. It defies everything our military history stands for." General vaxas said.
Valkhyre adjusted his silk tie, his obsidian staff leaning against his chair. He looked at the two generals with a calculating gaze. "I agree. We have severely underestimated them from the beginning. We treated the Border like a playground, and now we are paying for it in blood. I say we plan carefully from here on out to ensure a 100% victory, or the humans might just do the impossible. Especially the one who killed Magals and Xerxes... the boy named Elias."
"That boy should be killed before he causes any more trouble for us," General Xylo said, his voice dropping into a low, murderous hiss. "His power is an anomaly. If we leave him alone for another month, what laws will he break next?"
"I agree," General Vaxas said, rubbing his chin as he stared at the map of the human Border. "But at least the Xenocides' strongest asset is permanently off the field. Kaizen Flux is gone. His Evolith... that Probability Manipulation was really something else. I doubt I could have won a straight battle against him if he chose to skew the odds." He paused, looking toward the ceiling. "Magals got lucky by winning. I'm certain that was the only reason Magals was killed."
Valkhyre leaned forward, his voice turning into a quiet whisper that echoed off the cold walls. "You are right. It turns out Kaizen did more damage than we realized. According to the information I received , he used his manipulation to permanently stop Magals' core from healing. That is why Magals died. He died without even realising it.
And now, someone like him has arrived. Another rare, terrifying ability... Elias."
"Then we remove him from the field," Xylo stated.
The 10th Division Base:
Back at the Border, the sun was setting over the reinforced walls of the 10th Division headquarters. To the rest of the world,
Deep within the facility's specialized training sectors, a heavy, metallic hum vibrated through the floorboards. Inside a reinforced chamber, the gravity dampeners were shrieking under an immense load.
Renji was on his knees, his hands pressed against the reinforced steel floor. The gravity inside the room was set to 100x. Every breath felt like inhaling liquid lead; his ribs groaned under the crushing atmospheric weight, and his vision blurred into pockets of darkness.
He forced his eyes open. His Star Eyes spun violently, their edges burning a bright, bleeding crimson as he fought to maintain his composure. His body was trembling, his muscles tearing.
'I couldn't do anything against Xerxes,' Renji thought to himself, his teeth grinding together so hard they threatened to crack. 'If Elias hadn't been there... it would have ended right there. We all would have been turned to dust. It's not going to happen again. I won't be a bystander anymore. I'll get stronger... till I'm the best.'
Suddenly Nyx burst into the the base, her face pale as she ran toward the main lounge, instantly slapping her hand against the interface to turn on the primary broadcast monitor.
"Guys! Turn on the feed, right now!" Nyx shouted, her voice echoing through the metallic hallways.
On the screen, a breaking news banner flashed in bright red letters. The anchor's voice was frantic: "We have an official report coming directly from the Xenocides' central leadership, overseen by Dock Von. The Prime Minister is dead. He was assassinated during the incident in sector 1 ...".
Vela was sitting sideways on a plush leather chair, her legs dangling over the armrest. She didn't look shocked. In fact, she didn't even look up from the large, crumpled bag of barbecue chips in her lap. She casually reached in, pulled out a handful, and shoved them into her mouth with a loud crunch, her eyes fixed lazily on the flashing screen.
The heavy automatic doors slided open, and Captain Drakye Void walked in, his uniform slightly unkempt as he ran a hand through his hair. He looked at the television, then looked at the gathered crowd of soldiers.
"Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you guys," Drakye said casually, scratching the back of his neck. "The Prime Minister turned himself into some kind of monster. I don't really know how Vela ended up there, but she killed him."
The room went completely dead silent.
Vela didn't stop chewing. A small flake of salt fell onto her jacket.
"What?!" Mikasa screamed,
"Are you kidding me?!" Nyx yelled, her jaw dropping so low it looked unhinged.
Rook, Jaxen, Sloane, Cipher, and Kealen all stared at Drakye, then slowly turned their heads to look at Vela, who was currently tilting the chip bag back to get the crumbs at the bottom.
"Yeah," Drakye added, entirely serious. "He probably destroyed her food stall or intercepted her delivery order during the Sector 1 incident. I didn't ask for the specifics, but she dealt with it."
The entire 10th Division stood completely speechless, utterly unable to process how their most laid-back comrade had casually eliminated the highest political figure on the continent because of a food.
10:00 PM
The night air of the Border districts was cool and crisp, a sharp contrast to the smoke-choked streets. Far away, sat a small, restaurant. the owner is a good friend of Zane.
Elias sat at a low wooden table in the back corner, his hands wrapped around a warm cup of tea.
The wooden sliding door creaked open. Two figures stepped inside, their silhouettes tall and imposing against the streetlamps outside.
Tyson entered first, He unclipped his heavy leather coat, tossing it onto a stool, his expressions stoic but his eyes scanning the perimeter out of pure habit. Behind him came Zane, a faint, permanent smirk etched onto his sharp features, his dark cloak shifting like liquid shadow as he took a seat directly beside Elias.
"You look terrible, el ," Tyson said, his voice dripping with its usual playful malice. He leaned forward, resting his chin on his crossed fingers.
"Shut up, Tyson," Elias muttered, taking a sip of his tea. "I'm fine."
Zane sat down heavily beside Elias, placing a large, scarred hand on the boy's shoulder. The sheer weight of the gesture was grounding. "You did well in Sector 1,"
"Thanks," Elias said, his eyes reflecting the dark liquid in his cup. "I just... reacted. But I don't even understand what happened to my body. It felt like something else was pulling the strings."
Zane let out a short, cold laugh, pouring himself a cup of sake from the porcelain bottle on the table. "That 'something else' is the universe recognizing a threat and creating an equal and opposite reaction.
"So was it called".
Elias looked up, his silver eyes narrowing. "True evolution ".
Zane and Tyson laughed
"Did you come up with that by your self " Tyson said as he laughed
"Come on don't be like that ....it just came into my head " Elias replied
"Well it's not entirely bad " Zane said as he took another sip from he's cup
"Isn't the name cool". Elias said
Zane and Tyson laughed
Sometimes you are kinda childish
"It's not bad " we're just teasing you
They all laughed with each other and talked .as the moon shined bright in the sky .