• Chapter XII

    “Damn it, Cryon! Get out all ready!” commanded Advent. His laid-back demeanor was completely wiped up since his promotion. He was writing down notes about Los Menores down in Mabloru. “As you can see, I’m very busy right now!”
    “What are you writing about?” asked Cryon, ignoring Advent’s commands.
    “Nothing you have to worry about. Now get out.”
    “Not until I know what you’re writing about,” urged Cryon. Advent scratched his blue hair and passed the papers to Cryon. “Interesting.” Cryon was chewing on an apple that he has obtained in the cafeteria room at the west end of the mansion. “So Los Menores are taking their stand in Mabloru?”
    “Not a really smart tactic.”
    “Or is it?”
    “How?”
    Cryon tossed the core of his apple out the window. Advent gave him a dirty look. “Hey, it’s decomposable!”
    “How is it a smart tactic?” repeated Advent.
    “They have a bunch of Altair, right?”
    “Yeah, so? They’re just going to send them straight at any enemies. Altair aren’t the best fighters.”
    “But they do spy. And the team there does have an Emerald Reaper prowling around the outskirts.”
    “I see what you mean.” Advent continued to write on the paper, stretched his right hand, and continued to write.
    “So what was in that badge?”
    Advent remembered yesterday’s talk about the Omnic’s Ulticore supply. “Something Necro would probably want his hands on.”
    “Plutonium?”
    “Even better.”
    “I don’t understand.”
    “Ulticore.”
    “Omnic has Ulticore energy? Damn!” Cryon rarely curses, even when he is by himself. “Hey, before I forget: Eve’s going to become an elite member. She made Geist go on the run yesterday, so her mission’s complete.”
    “Really.”
    “The ceremony’s going to be in an hour. Get yourself washed, phew!” Cryon turned out of Advent’s room.
    Advent got up and stretched. He walked across his room and put on a fresh robe. After putting on his boots, he paced up the hall, up the spiral stairs, and turned left to the west-wing. The smell of breakfast made his stomach rebel. After getting himself a breakfast sandwich, he sat down on the table farthest from the entrance. The cafeteria was a large, porcelain room with white tables all around. Verna, Atomico number negative one, served breakfast at the serving table at the westernmost wall.
    “Yo, Advent!” called a familiar voice. Xavier. Advent turned around to see Xavier walk slowly towards him.
    “Xavier.”
    “So, what’s up, Master Advent?” teased Xavier when he got closer.
    “Don’t tempt me to destroy you where you stand,” warned Advent, both jokingly and seriously.
    “Sorry. Anyway, did you hear? Eve’s going to become Elite Number Eight.”
    “I’ve heard.”
    “Dude, you guys are close! You should be smiling like…” Xavier tried to find a good comparison.
    “Impulse can never be close, Xavier.”
    “Hmph. Negative.”
    “Former Numbers Seven, Eight, and Twelve learned that the hard way.”
    “Hey, I’ve only been here for three years. I wouldn’t know them.”
    “I thought Dante told you about that.”
    “Guess I forgot.”
    “Where is Sablic?”
    “Out on recon in Argonia. I wish I went there to settle an old score, but Necro and Annul said no.”
    “What score?”
    “Not telling,” teased Xavier.
    “How about Rina?”
    “Heard she went out on a search-and-destroy mission with Dilan.”
    “They’re going to kill each other.”
    “Not if Rina kills Dilan first. You know how hostile she gets.”
    “Yeah.”
    “They say Geist’s on the run again. Is it true?”
    “I believe so.”
    “That dude’s going to die soon.”
    “What a pity. We used to be good allies.”
    “Well you’ve said it yourself, Advent. Impulse can’t be close.”

    “So what do we do with him?” asked a dark boy. He sat on a bench across from a red-haired boy. Me.
    “Umm. I don’t know.”
    “Maybe we should free him?” suggested the dark boy awkwardly.
    “And how do we do that, Zeek?”
    “Why don’t you ask your girlfriend?”
    “My girlfriend-? Hey! Xiona’s not my girlfriend!”
    “You’re blushing.”
    “Well I don’t see you with…!”
    “Calm down, I was just joking. Anyway, this dude’s gonna rot here if we don’t get him out of there.”
    “Well what do we do?”
    “Good question.”
    “Ugh.”
    “On other news,”     announced Zeek when officials arrived while he and I were bickering. “Heard you were gonna help with taking down the mayor.”
    “Yeah.”
    “Mighty stupid, Xi.”
    “Why’d you say that?”
    “‘Cuz it’s dangerous, Numbskull.”
    “I’m not going to attack the dude.”
    “But it is treason against the king.”
    “The king can go pee his pants and flood the entire palace for all I care!”
    “Harshness.”
    “Whatever.”     We started to chuckle as the sun started to set.
    I woke up. Can’t believe I hated the king. Suddenly, a strange sleep befell on me.
    “Hello, Xilus,” chanted a voice. I was in my head again, but Schwarze’s presence was not near. Instead, a harsh presence blanketed the air, sucking all of it out of my lungs. I struggled to breathe. “It is no use. There is no way out!” The voice turned into a chuckle. It was jagged and sounded insane, as if some person from the Asylum crawled into my head.
    “Who are you?” I managed to question when I found my breath again.
    “Look behind you and you’ll find out!” answered the eerie voice. It was hoarse and semi-high pitched. I turned around to see a white haired teenager in a black robe. He moved forward, wraithlike.
    “Who are you?” I repeated, this time with force.
    “Isn’t it obvious, Xi?”
    My eyes widened. The boy’s phrase made my blood freeze. “Did you just call me Xi?”
    “Yeah, Numbskull.” The entity’s sarcastic tone was still not enough to lessen its hoarse, blood-curdling voice. It chuckled maniacally. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost. Oh wait, I am.” His tone changed to a seriousness that can destroy you with a single syllable. His skin was pale beyond any human paleness.
    “Z-Zeek?”
    “Maybe I am, but then again…maybe I’m not!”
    “Stop messing with me, Zeek!”
    “Don’t call me that,” whispered the boy.
    “What?”
    “DON’T CALL ME THAT!” In an instant, Zeek vanished into smoke and reappeared in front of me. In a blink of an eye, his fingers stabbed my stomach. I spat blood. “Because of you, I am stuck walking around this empty place that you call a brain! Because of you, I am no longer human! Because of you…” He hesitated as if searching for the right words, “Xiona’s dead.”
    The news struck me like an anvil on a plush doll. “What did you just say?”
    “What are your ears clogged or something? Xiona’s dead because of you, retard.” His tone has gone to pure bloodthirstiness.
    “Don’t call me a retard!”
    “I’ll call you what I want, Xilus.” He swung his fist and punched me hard to the stone floor of my inner-conscience. I staggered as I got up. The Paradox-Blade appeared in my hand. “That’s new.”
    “You know what else?” I added with a serious tone of voice.
    “What?”
    “This!” The floor started to wobble under our feet. The walls seemed to turn into liquid. “Hasten!” I commanded.
    “What are you talking about?” Zeek felt the changes. His feet shook. His hands started to move back and forth as if some invisible person started to push them. Zeek uttered, “Rewind!” The shaking stopped. “Are you trying to kill yourself? b*****d! If you do that, you will age, too. Both us will become dust in the wind.”
    “Then what should I do to eliminate you?” I whispered calmly. It was as if my weapon made me act older than I was.
    “Let me out and finish me there.”
    “What type of fool do you think I am, Zeek?”
    “The type who tried to kill himself two times already,” he answered, pretending to be concerned. “Come on, Xi. We are friends. The best of friends, remember?”
    “Not anymore.”
    He dropped his friendly tone. “THEN DIE WITH THE REST OF THEM!” Zeek summoned a large saber-like sword. His robe became a ragged, ripped up cloak. His blue eyes turned sullen and yellow. His straight, brown hair turned messy and frantic. He smiled evilly and eyed me. “I suggest putting your sword up if you know what’s good for you.”

    Advent stalked down to Dante’s room and swung around the bookshelves. “So, find anything new about the badge?”
    “Hello, Advent. No I have not. Were you expecting something?”
    “No, not really.”
    “Very well. I’m sure you have heard of the news.”
    “Yep.”
    “I’m sure you’re proud.”
    “That’s funny; I didn’t think pride was part of an Impulse’s roster of feelings.”
    “It is if you want it to.”
    “Hmph.”
    “You aren’t happy for your fiancé?”
    “She is not my fiancée; I just said that in the meeting room just to toy with Dilan. We’re nothing more than Master and Apprentice,” corrected Advent. He had no feelings for Eve at all. He felt nothing coming from her either. They just had a fondness for each other, that’s all. “Just like how Zorzec apprenticed me.”
    “Are you troubled by Zorzec’s demotion?”
    “Of course, Dante. He was my old master, and I just replaced him. I could feel his hatred for me right now.”
    “I doubt he hates you, Advent.”
    “What tells you that?”
    “He only spoke about how proud he is of you.”
    “Another person with illusions of pride.”
    Dante rolled his eyes. He was Number Negative Two and he disrespected his superior.
    “Hey, don’t blame me for telling the truth.”
    “The truth is horrible, isn’t it?”
    Advent was near the doorway when he said, “Yeah. I expect you to be at the ceremony.”
    “I’ll be honored.”
    “Don’t fall asleep now,” joked Advent as he turned around the door. “Damn us all if anyone falls asleep.” He memorized the urgent letter in his notes that he hid from Cryon.
    CONFIDENTIAL: BE AWARE OF REBEL IMPULSE ATTACKS, read the paper. DO NOT EXPECT ALL MEMBERS TO LIVE THROUGH AN ONSLAUGHT. Advent shuddered. Surely Necro meant to protect all of the members and just wrote this in case all hell breaks out. Still, Advent cannot take any chances. He warned all of the members to be at the ceremony.
    When Advent finished half-warning all of the members, there were only five minutes before the ceremony. Advent hurriedly sprinted to the east wing and walked out of the mansion. The yellow sun shone today, bringing heat to the valley. The grass was green and the trees were tall, bringing sufficient shade to the area.
    “Master Advent,” said a voice behind Advent. Eve. She was the only one who Advent would accept the formalities.
    “Eve, are you ready?”
    “Of course. Ugh, I wish that last mission would’ve let me kill Geist.”
    “Patience, Eve. Remember what I’ve taught you.”
    “You also taught me to strike when the time is right.”
    “Geist is still strong. I can still feel his power, but it’s dwindling.”
    “If the mission to kill him comes, I’ll make sure you do the honors.”
    “Thanks.”
    “So,” sighed Advent. His laid-back tone came back after breakfast. “It seems like your promotion starts right about…now. Come, we have to get to the meeting place.”
    Like a master and his apprentice, the two walked towards the Necro’s meeting room.

    Our swords clashed, spreading sparks around the place. Zeek’s saber was obsidian and silver at the blade, white at the handle, and black at the hilt. After a few strokes, Zeek uttered a syllable, which sent four dark discs at me. I dodged them, rolling and jumping as the hit the floor and warped out of existence.
    “Come on!” he called when we had some distance from each other. “Are you scared?”
    “No. I’m being patient,” I replied. Zeek smirked. He disappeared and reappeared in front of me. A booted foot kicked me back a good distance.
    “Hehe. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!” His laughter was maniacal. He continued laughing as I stumbled to get up.
    “This is my chance,” I whispered to myself as I launched to Zeek, my eyes reflecting his image with burning fury. I swung my blade. A sound of metal slashing across flesh echoed across the room.
    “Dammit,” cursed Zeek as he clenched his chest. “Good thing I have this thing.” He reached into his cloak and dangled a necklace between his fingers. “You have that badge to protect you, but I have the Guardian’s Tear. It’s an accessory that makes sword slashes feel like punches and kicks. It still hurt, but not enough to kill me.”
    “I didn’t need a lecture,” I muttered.
    “Hehe. Of course you don’t. Then I won’t tell you about this!” The yellow in Zeek’s eyes widened, narrowing his pupils. His sword glowed with a purple light. He swung it hard against my blade, which I put up in defense. The defensive maneuver did not help. I was sent back another five feet. “Now tell me, Numbskull. Do you think that was the full strength of my attack?”
    It wasn’t? “Not anymore.”
    Another break into insane laughter. “A word of advice before you die, Numbskull: Never believe that somebody used their power to the max. If I actually used my full strength, there would be a great big hole right where you stood.”
    I grunted.
    “What? I’ve expect you to say something. You always did say something after somebody spoke to you, even if it was stupid.”
    I staggered up from the ground.
    “You’re getting up?” whistled Zeek. “And here I thought you’d give up right now. Just like you gave up hope that day when Xiona denied your invitation to that dance. I tried to hide all of my pride that day. The great Xilus Bloodheart falls head over heels for a girl that he has known his whole life.” He chuckled a little. And then his face turned serious. “I felt a great pity for you. We became best friends the next day. What a mistake for me!”
    My anger smoldered. I felt burning tears welling up in my eyes. Tears of anger and grief.
    “Don’t ever say anything about us being friends!”
    “You regret it, too!”
    “I’m not regretting it. I’m laughing about it.” To emphasize that, I smiled just like Zeek smiled when he revealed himself. “To think that I was friends with you, a b*****d that is stuck in my head! You keep showing off how strong you are? Well, you’re still in here aren’t you?”
    That made him flinch. ”I am strong! I can rip you apart and get out your mind!”
    “Prove it,” I dared. Zeek launched himself to me. I ducked as he tried to tackle me.
    “Wha-?” he stuttered. I uttered a syllable and sent four black discs to Zeek. The first two missed the third zapped half of his body out of existence. The fourth finished him. Silence fell into the room.
    “Xilus wake up!” called an outside voice.
    I woke up in my quarters, on my bed, in my mortal body. “Devon?” My vision was blurred for a second.
    “Darn, Xilus! You almost gave us heart attacks! What happened?”
    “Nothing,” I replied dismissively. No one can know about Zeek. Then I remembered Devon’s ability. Damn.
    “Damn what?”
    “Hm? Nothing.”
    “Am I missing something here?”
    “No. Now leave, Devon. I’ll be out shortly.”
    “Fine then. See you at the audience room.”
    “Why?”
    “We have to make preparations for tomorrow, don’t we?”
    “We’re leaving tomorrow?”
    “Yep!”
    “Damn,” I muttered.
    “What? There’s a problem?”
    “No, no. It’s just I have to make quicker preparations, then.”
    “Hehe, me too.” Devon turned and left my room.
    “Where’s Luke?” I asked myself. After changing into my brown cloak, brushing my teeth, and putting on my boots, I stalked down to Luke’s library.
    “Ah, you’re finally awake. We thought we have lost you,” said Luke half-heartedly. “Did you have a bad sleep?”
    “No, I had a great sleep! But I woke up to find myself in my own brain!”
    “Quiet down. Now, explain.” Luke wore a gray robe under his shiny, gold armored arms and legs.
    “I woke up, but fell asleep suddenly. Then, I woke up in my mind. My old best friend was there.”
    “Xiona?”
    “No.” I sighed. “It was another friend. His name was Zeek. Apparently, he’s been prowling in my mind since the explosion. I don’t know how, so I hope you would know.”
    “Did anything else happen?”
    “We fought each other.”
    “I thought you two were friends.”
    “I guess he didn’t forgive me. I destroyed him, though. So, how can stuff like that happen?”
    “I’m not sure. Maybe you were just suffering from memories.”
    I rolled up my sleeve. “Is this a side-effect of remembering?” A scar that came from one of the falls I had while I was fighting Zeek showed on my right arm.
    “Hmph. I guess not. It is beyond my knowledge, Xilus.”
    “I thought you would know.”
    “Well I don’t know everything, do I?” Luke sat down on a chair. “Anything else.”
    As if I knew what he was thinking, I finally asked, “What did you learn from Anne?”
    “She loves you all right. But you know females her age, always falling for the good looking man who is so mysterious.”
    “You say it like you’ve gone through that kind of experience.”
    Luke shrugged the remark aside. “She keeps talking about how you are so inspirational. She barely mentioned how attractive you looked in the sunlight yesterday.”
    My cheeks lit up “She said all of that?”
    “Yes, she has.”
    “This isn’t good.”
    “Do you not like relationships, Xilus?”
    “I barely care about that now. I’m worried about Zeek being in my head.”
    “I thought you defeated him.”
    “I can feel him growing back.”
    “Now that is truly interesting!” Luke got up and started probing my head with the eraser of a pencil.
    “Stop that.”
    “Sorry. This Zeek character seems to be linked to you in a different way than being just friends.”
    A great pain buzzed through my arms. I lifted them and shoved Luke towards the table. He lay sprawled on the floor, looking at me wildly. “Don’t ever say that we’re connected in any way, or I’ll rip you limb from limb!”
    “X-Xilus control yourself!”
    A great weight lifted away from my body. “What happened?” I staggered.
    “You nearly killed me,” Luke sniffed as if nothing happened.
    “Damn, now he’s trying to take control!” He must’ve been what took me over at the prison and Sypras Manor.
    Be careful, Xilus.
    With what?
    I don’t know what it is, but a great force is acting on both of us. Zeek is the result of it.
    How do you know?
    I looked around the edges of your mind and I can see that there are parts connected to where it should end.
    My eyes widened.
    “What is wrong, Xilus?”
    “You.”
    “What?”
    “You! You’re making me act like this! That neutral energy! The way that Geist just turned you into an Impulse! You’re the thing that made me act the way I have here in Arkalcus.”
    Luke snickered. His clothes turned into the familiar black cloak. His hair turned brown and messy and his green eyes turned yellow. His snicker became wild and insane. “And I bet you know who really made that deal with the Atomicos!”
    “Damn it, Zeek!” I summoned my sword and braced myself.
    “Of course, we were supposed to take over Arkalcus. But, Marbloru is good enough, right?”
    “Marbloru?”
    “Yep! Haha! Put down that sword, Numbskull, and let’s have a conversation.”
    Clenching my teeth, I dismissed my sword. “What are you planning?” I inquired darkly.
    “Pheh. Like I’d tell you.”
    “Damn you.”
    “Watch your language, Xi! We wouldn’t want the younglings learning from you, do we?”
    “Younglings?” A roar came up behind me. I summoned my sword and ripped a small creature in half.
    “Seeker Spawns. Weak Impulse when they’re by themselves. But when they’re in a pack,” Twenty creatures crawled out of the floor. “, they’re supremely deadly!” The Spawns launched at me. I hacked at four, but fell back when six of them bit on me. I stabbed one, slashed another, and kicked a third. All three disappeared into puffs of dust.
    “Worm hole,” I muttered. The air in front of me ripped open, giving space to an empty expanse of darkness. Where did I learn that? Four of the Spawns fell into the expanse. Their small, baby-like, silver bodies stretched as they fell in. Just thirteen more. “Rewind.” Another term that popped up in my head. Ten of the remaining baby-like creatures shrunk quickly until they became ashes. The remaining three lunged towards my hands. “Zeitstandplatznoch.” The creatures froze in the air. I destroyed each one.
    “More new moves?” Zeek smirked slightly, trying to hide his fright. His smirk turned into a grin. He pulled his scimitar from its sheath on his left side. He warped it into a large claw. A second claw appeared in his left hand. He put them on quickly and disappeared.
    “What? Where are you?”
    “Right here, Numbskull.” Zeek appeared behind me. I ducked, barely dodging his swinging claws. He crossed his arms in an X shape, as if he was protecting himself. “Now, Illusionist’s Blixt!” Lightning surrounded him, acting as a shield. “Go!” he commanded. The lightning outstretched like hands. I sprinted around the room, barely keeping away from the strings of lightning that outstretched towards me. Bookshelves and chairs burned and split from the impact of the strings. “Illusionist’s Inferno!” commanded Zeek. The lightning ceased, but balls of fire materialized around Zeek’s head.
    “Crap!” I cried as the fire balls rushed around the room, burning the walls, floor, chairs, and shelves they touched. Two almost incinerated me. “Zeitstandplatznoch!” The fire balls stopped their movement and then ceased to burn.
    “You seem tired, Xi! Just stay still! I’ll make sure you rest!”
    Damn! I can’t keep this on. If I do, I’ll be sure to be killed at any moment. I got up and smirked, despite my desperate moment. “Pfft. Maybe it’s you who needs to sleep, seeing that you’re so weak and all!”
    “I’m not falling for that again, Numbskull!”
    “Hmph. I thought so. But then again, I thought you’d be that stupid!”
    “Hehe. At least I’m not shaking here.”
    I drew my sword. “Paradoks!”
    “What are you…?” Zeek staggered.
    I felt my being split in two. I looked to my right and a clone of me stared back at me.
    “Xilus,” murmured the clone.
    “Schwarze?”
    “You’re there, but I’m here.”
    “I used Paradoks.”
    “What is that?”
    “I’ll explain after we finish Zeek.”
    “You are stupid!” announced Zeek from the other side of the room. “Do you think two of you can defeat me?”
    “We only have two minutes,” I whispered.
    “All right,” replied Schwarze. He sprinted to Zeek. Zeek smirked and zipped to his left. He shot black disks of energy towards Schwarze, who rolled and jumped. He summoned his own blade. It was golden and silver at the blade and black and gray at the handle and hilt. He continued to dodge black disks while I attacked my own target: more Spawns. I ripped them apart with my blade, spewing their black liquid around the room. It burned through wood and metal. When their threat did no longer exist, I lunged towards Zeek. He vanished into wisps of black and reappeared behind me. He swung a clawed hand at me. Schwarze blocked it with his sword. I jumped over Schwarze’s blade and slashed at Zeek. A stream of light followed my blade as it ran across Zeek’s chest. He fell backwards in staggering pain. Blood seeped through his cloak.
    “Damn you!” he cried as Schwarze finished him with a stab. Zeek grunted. Defeated, I thought to myself. Finally. Zeek started chuckle as he staggered up from the floor. “I am not done yet,” he murmured. “Auburn Reaper I summon you!”

    “Congratulations,” said Advent as the entire team walked out of the meeting room. Eve walked next to him in a white cloak with purple stripes.
    “Thanks,” answered Eve. “Now I can fight alongside you guys.”
    “Let’s hope Xavier and Sablic can catch up, too,” joked Advent.
    “Eve may I have a word with you?” demanded Necro from the meeting room.
    “Yes, sir,” replied Eve. “I’ll be back, Advent.” Eve walked towards Necro, where they started their conversation.
    Hmph. Now I have more to worry about, thought Advent jokingly.
    “What the hell was that!” yelped a boy. Advent turned around to see Xavier kneeling on the floor, holding his head and grunting.
    “Xavier are you okay?” inquired Sablic, who stood next to him.
    “Does it look like I’m okay?”
    “What’s going on here?” asked Advent when he got close. He felt a great weight fall on him. “Damn! What was that?”
    “You feel it, too,” remarked Xavier. He leaned on the wall for support. “Dilan do you feel that?”
    “Weaklings like you are so sensitive,” scoffed Dilan as he passed by. He held the wall suddenly. “Rrgh. That power.”
    “Somebody is ripping a passageway for a Reaper to come,” announced Annul. He stood straight in the middle of the hall. “Necro and Eve have gone for shelter. I suggest you go if you value your lives.”
    “A…Reaper?” grunted Advent, trying to hold himself up.
    “Yes. Now go before you are obliterated by the pressure,” grunted Annul. The power’s gone to him now. He turned and stumbled down the southern stairs.
    “Well you guys heard him. Go!” commanded Advent. Sablic carried Xavier down the stairs. “Dilan. What are you doing?”
    “This power is too…powerful.”
    “That’s why we don’t use Reapers.”
    “Right.” Dilan limped to his room. Advent sprinted towards his room, nearly falling down the stairs every time the power grew abruptly.
    “Whatever Reaper is, its master is in huge trouble,” grunted Advent to himself.

    The floor rumbled. Books fell off their bookshelves, bricks fell off the walls. The air around us vanished and came back, almost suffocating us from time to time. Soldiers barked orders outside. The city around the palace bustled with panic. “What are you summoning?” I demanded. Schwarze fused back into my body. I took in a heavy breathe as the air came back into the room.
    “The Auburn Reaper. I got it from the forbidden realm of Uhilinugahn. I believe I deserve respect for that,” answered Zeek as he healed his wounds with a dose of Illusionist’s Aqua.
    “Respect for summoning something this powerful?” The air vanished again.
    Zeek smirked. The air filled the room again. “I would like to destroy you right here, but I have important matters to attend to. Make sure my pet has fun wrecking your city.” He sank into the floor, not without playfully waving at me, and left me to my wits in the library. The self-destructing library. I ran to the exit of the palace, dodging falling pillars and frantic soldiers. I tried to piece together everything that I heard today, but stopped when I bumped into Melissa.
    “Ow!” cried Melissa. She got up and brushed dirt off of her robe. “Xilus?”
    “It’s me.”
    “Good. Where’s my uncle and Devon?”
    “I don’t know. I was a bit busy with…”
    “With what?”
    “Nothing. Come on! We have to get out of here.” I grabbed Melissa’s hands rushed us out through the northern entrance. The palace ground was filled with utter chaos.
    “Get all civilians to safety!” cried one guard over the screams and shouts of other soldiers.
    “Sir all the tailor shops are engulfed by strange energies, according to one of our mages,” reported another.
    “All of them?”
    “Yes. There are no survivors.”
    “How are the royal family members?”
    “Just Prince Luke is missing.”
    “Bless them all.”
    Do they even know Luke never existed? I thought to myself.
    “Luke never existed?” inquired Devon from behind. Spades was panting next to him.
    “I’ll explain all of this later.”
    “What is going on?” questioned Spades. Despite his panting, he was pale.
    “Zeek summoned an Auburn Reaper.”
    “Zeek?” echoed Devon.
    “I’ll explain that, too.”
    A ground-shattering roar ripped through our ears. Another sound- this one was the ripping of fabric- sounded from the center of the yard. The air above of the stone dais marking the center of the yard seemed to blow in a cylinder-like formation. A black, tear drop shaped gap started to grow in the swirl of air. Another roar erupted. A battalion of guards rushed to the fissure, holding their polearms and getting ready to attack whatever was emerging from the hole.
    “Are they this powerful?” yelled Devon over the sound of howling air.
    “I’m not sure! But this surely dwarfs the power of the Nero Reaper we subdued earlier!” replied Spades. I turned my head to focus on the fissure in the air. The guards in front of it lie on the ground now. One was bloodied. Another was barely breathing.
    “What the hell just happened?” I cried.
    “NIAHAHAHAHAHAHAH! Prepare, Xilus and co. to witness the power that the Impulse truly hold!” announced a maniacal voice. I turned around and Zeek was sitting on top of the arc of the entrance. He stared back with excited, yellow eyes. He grinned, showing his fang-like teeth.
    “I thought you had important matters to attend to!”
    “I do, but I can’t just miss this, can I?”
    I glowered at him. He showed a smug grin. The wind stopped howling. A stomp echoed through the air, which stood still.
    “Is that an Auburn Reaper?” asked Devon stutteringly. He pointed his finger towards a tall, skeletal creature. It wore a brown cloak and had chains dangling from its wrists. The Reaper stood hunched and glared back with crimson eyes.
    “I think so,” I answered, staring at the wraith-like creature. I looked with the corner of my eye to Spades. His face told me that this creature was to be reckoned with.
    It started to move, seeming to be floating over the grass, and stuck a bony hand out to us. The Reaper swung its left arm, jingling the chains on its wrist, and launched the end of the chains- which was pointed with a knife- to Spades. Spades hastily drew out a Queen of Hearts and used the ink to turn it into a heart-shaped shield. “Move, now!” commanded Spades as the creature started to attack rapidly with its chains. Melissa, Devon, and I ran around the shield towards the Auburn Reaper.
    “Devon you distract it!” I commanded. Devon nodded back and ran directly to the Reaper. “Melissa I need you to blast around it to confuse it.”
    “Right!” answered Melissa. She ran towards the energy source that emitted out of the creature. It was just a few feet taller than Devon and almost as wide as he was.
    Devon hopped around the creature, jumping back and forth as it tried to smash him with its massive chains. “I can’t keep this up forever, Xilus!” he called over his shoulder.
    What are you trying to do, exactly?
    I need to get Zeek to dismiss it. It’s way too powerful to fight.
    Ah, you are thinking.
    “Zeek! Come on! You and me,” I demanded. Zeek stopped watching the battle and turned to face me. He jumped off the arc of the northern entrance and summoned his claws. I summoned my sword.
    “Alright then! Let’s start!”

    “What do you mean one of our own summoned that?” blurted Advent. He stood in front of Necro, who sat on his throne, in Room Zero.
    “Why does this bother you?” Necro inquired calmly.
    “Only the Atomicos are able to summon something higher than a Martyr-class Impulse. The Reapers are way above even the Omega class!”
    “You are a great scholar Advent. But the person who summoned the Reaper is not truly one of our own.”
    “Of course he is! He is a Menor-class Atomico!”
    “Number Twenty-Two is not a part of the Atomico Numbers. You know very well that we only go as high as Number Nineteen. The Menores are not of my concern for now.” Advent looked back with a horrified face.
    “So, you stationed them in Mabloru…just for them to die?”
    Necro smiled eerily. “Yes. But you should not care. Once you seehow the death of one goes, you will love to see the death of all of them.”
    “You’re expecting Zeek to die first.”
    “That is my plan.”
    “Why?”
    “Because the Menores, just like us, play a great role in our plans. Their role is to die.”
    “But you know what happens when a Menor-class or higher dies, don’t you?”
    “That is a risk I have to take.”
    Advent staggered. No, I can’t let this happen. I must intervene, or they will attack. He got up slowly. Without looking at Necro, he murmured, “Thank you for informing me, my lord.” He turned and walked out of the room. The rumbling stopped, leaving an uncomfortable calmness in its wake. I have to stop Xilus from killing Zeek, or we are all doomed.