Chapter 1: The little girl (1)

“Formed by the amalgam of twisted powers between two worlds, an accursed vessel it is.

Surges through its rotten veins, the tainted gore of the Dark it is born from.

Misguide the faithful toward impending doom, the profane words it spouts.

Spread the corruption, its mere presence infects all with depravity.

Such is the one named the Usurper.”

-Adage of the Ancients, First Verse - Grand Archives

* * *

In a faraway distant world where technology and science prospered while the old foundations of mystical forces and magic have long been gone from its surface, it was in this place that a new power would rise against the old order of the universe. A terrifying evil lurked among the common men, waiting for its chance patiently but surely. Such was the teaching of their god in the time of yore. Now, their god was gone along with their faith. How quick the mortal men came to forget the warning of their forbears.

And men continued to repeat their mistakes.

Just more than a few decades ago, the world was under the threat of extinction from an attack of creatures of unknown origin. These monsters, named Monochromes after their coloration, the likes of which history has never seen before, possessed an unnatural power that would put the modern weapons to shame. It was then that a group of humans possessing supernatural powers appeared and gave humanity a chance to fight back against the threat. These espers were later called the Greymen, an international organization specialized in fighting these abhorrent monsters across the globe.

But it would a delusional fantasy to think that the Greymen were invincible. After all, they remained mortal humans while their enemies were mindless killing machines with no weaknesses. Truthfully, all their victories were barely handed over to them simply because the enemies never really showed their true strength. And the Greymen knew this. But what could they do aside from praying that day would never come.

This faint hope lasted for a while. Until ten years ago when a massive scale attack of the Monochromes was unleashed upon the capital of the Alliance, it was then that the humans felt their true weakness. The army was disarmed, the Greymen powerless in face of the absolute power. However, a miracle happened: a mysterious individual appeared out of nowhere and defeated the threat, saving humanity from imminent destruction. Perhaps it was thanks to him that ever since that fateful day, there has not been a single attack from the monsters. It was as if they all vanished without a trace. Or perhaps they were waiting for something else.

“That is all we know about the situation.” A man in suit put down his paper after finishing up his presentation on a virtual screen, displaying a wall of intelligence information.

The room was dimly lighted. The main furniture was a large oval table surrounded by sitting old men in formal suits. Each of them, the highest person in the power echelon of their respective country, showed a great interest in the man in question. Some refused to believe that their savior was so young. Perhaps he had a special power that kept him from aging. Perhaps it was something else. In any case, whatever it was, they just didn’t know. In fact, there was very few things they knew about him, if not anything at all.

“So what? Basically nothing?” the middle-aged man sitting in the central seat grunted.

“Unfortunately, that is the case, Mr. President. Ever since the incident, our intelligence team has been cording with the intelligence community across the globe in order to find this individual. But as you know, the search has not been successful. Furthermore, we found no match in our database.” The orator explained.

“Meaning what?” the president groaned.

“It means he does not exist. Not in ours anyway.” The bald man from across the table intervened.

“What are you talking about, Mr. CIA Director?” an aged woman spoke in a heavy accent.

“I mean it by every word. We cannot find him because he does not exist in our world. He never did and never will. By that I mean, this individual came from another world.” The director explained.

“Is he an alien then?” another man with dark skin asked.

“Not exactly. Although, something from another dimension and an alien are not really that different. At the end of the day, both represent an unknown factor and that can compromise the security of our nations. Imagine if such an individual decides to turn on us! I fear for the consequences of such event” The CIA direction played a tape depicting the fight between the mysterious person and a horde of monsters. The video did not take end as the actions were over in just a few seconds. “This is a security tape we found recently concerning the event.”

“Remarkable!” the president spoke in awe. “How come that you only found it now?”

“That is because this video, along with many other evidences, were carefully removed from the evidence list during our investigation.”

“Someone tampered with the evidence?” the lady spoke with disbelief. “Who could do such a thing?”

“We have narrowed down the list of suspects and only one name came out as the most suspicious: doctor Vincent Wellington.”

The room fell into silence. As if there was anyone in the world who did not know that name.

“Vincent Wellington? The founder of the Greymen? Are you sure?” the black man insisted.

“I am afraid that is the truth. Now, I know that everyone of us in this room has personally known the doctor as someone who has greatly contributed to our countries. Even me, I consider myself as a close friend of his. You can imagine my reaction when I learnt that it was my own friend who committed this crime.” The CIA Director spoke with a sad tone. “But that is precisely why I cannot condone this criminal action. This type of action is inexcusable even for him. As a friend, I have to set him back on the right path.”

“Hold on a minute! Do you have any evidence of this?” the lady in formal cloth demanded.

“Yes, of course.” The director brought out a thick folder of various documents. “These documents are given to us from a reliable source. They detail all the missing evidences found on doctor Vincent’s personal computer along with several much more troubling matters.”

“Troubling matters?” the president asked.

“Have you ever heard of the project Orbis-Exeo?” the Director said. A simple silence and the confused faces of everyone else in the room were enough as an answer to his question. “To put in simple word, it is a machine that allows interdimensional travel.” The director pulled out another folder and put on the scheme of a spherical construct on the virtual screen. “After the incident, doctor Vincent reported it as stolen but never collaborated with the investigators to find it. I believe that the machine was never stolen but given to the target ten years ago. That would explain why we cannot find him even with our surveillance system. How can we find him if he is never here to begin with?” The direction passionately explained his theory.

But of course, such a farfetched accusation on such an important figure would raise doubt in anyone, even if it came from the head of the intelligence community.

“What do you think?” the president asked his colleagues around the table.

“I don’t know. It seems a bit….”

“We are talking about Vincent Wellington here. I don’t think provoking him is a good thing.”

“That is not enough evidence to prosecute him. Don’t you have anything else?”

“People, please! Calm down!” the president raised his voice before calmingly turning to the CIA Director. “I am sure you know that Vincent Wellington in under the protection of the GPA (Greymen Protection Act). Even if your evidence is true, you won’t be able to bring him to court, not unless you catch him red handed.”

“I am aware of this…predicament we are in. That is why I organize this summit with all the world leaders here.” The bald direction spoke.

“You can’t mean….you want us to veto the international act?” the lady shouted out loud.

“Yes. That is precisely what I am asking of you all. By removing the GPA, we can put doctor Vincent under investigation. This is also for the sake of justice and truth. If doctor Vincent is truly innocent, our justice system won’t abandon him. However, if he is indeed a criminal, then we must not let ourselves be blind by his accomplishments and let this situation persevere. Furthermore, this will also shed light on the matter of the mysterious individual ten years ago.” The CIA Director proudly proclaimed. “For years, I have been trying to convince your predecessors in this matter. However, they all feared too much Vincent’s influence. I implore you, do not succumb to cowardice and let him get away from the law! Our country, our constitution, our people cannot permit this. Now please, who is in favor of this proposition?”

“……” the politicians looked at each other for help. This was a major decision that could probably alter the political world and none of them wanted to be held accountable if something came out wrong. To be truthful, the doctor has been an eyesore for a few members after his continuous refusal to back them up. For them, this would be an opportunity to crush this opposition.

But the silence was broken by the man sitting at the central stage. The president raised his hand in favor. “I”

The leader of the strongest military in the world has spoken and his words carried weight. It did not take long for the other countries to start following him in agreement. Within a few seconds, all hands were raised.

“I believe we all agree on this matter. Please take care of it! If possible, do it subtly! We don’t want the media to catch on this until we have more evidence.” The president spoke.

“Of course, Mr. President!” the Director looked at the watch on his wrist. “I believe that concludes our summit. I shall get on with this matter right away.”

The other leaders started exiting the room one by one, leaving only the president and the director behind. They both had something to say and probably knew what the other was going to say. ‘Great men think alike’ were what they thought.

“Chris, I want you to tell me your honest opinion about the current state of our situation.” The president asked.

“I am not sure what you….” Director Chris Harvey reluctantly spoke.

“An honest opinion. That is all I ask.”

“If you insist sir. I believe they are a strain to the system.” Chris replied.

“How come?”

“Half a century ago, our government had no choice but to use them to combat the Monochromes’ threat. We were soft back then. Accepting a non-conditional agreement with those freaks instead of fighting the war ourselves only added more insults to the injury. We were basically handing all our power to them.

But the situation now is different. Our technology and weaponry have greatly advanced compared to the past. We could take on those monsters ourselves. Furthermore, ever since the incident, there has been not a single attack. Personally, I believe that the threat has been eliminated thanks to that Traveler.”

“Traveler? Is that what you call the guy who fought those monsters?” The president asked.

“Yes. It is the term used by Vincent in his report. There have been several occasions of Travelers coming to our world over the last decades. Yet, he never reported it back to us and went as far to conceal it. If these Travelers are indeed as powerful like the one from ten years ago, then adding them to our military would make a great difference.” The director spoke his mind.

“I see…I was right. You and I share the same ideal.” The president stood up and walked toward the wall behind the director. As soon as he got close, the curtain automatically rose and let the light in, revealing a prosperous city below. “Our great country has endured many wars, defeated countless foes. That is how we get what we have today. But we are not invincible. There are still a few battles left: the eastern frontier, the dispute in southern sea. Heck, even global warming which no one even paid attention to. That is how we ended up living in these bubbles.” The president referred to the transparent domes surrounding the city that controlled the weather and atmosphere inside.

“I understand sir.” The direction nodded in agreement.

“But that will change if we get hold of those godly powers.” The president clenched his fist with determination.

“Then we can take care of all the problems you just said.” Chris said.

“Not just them, Chris. You forgot one thing.”

“Sir?”

“To fight monsters, we created monsters of our own. But now that one side is gone, we can’t let the beasts roam free anymore.” The president declared.

“Mr. President, are you saying that…?”

“You know what I mean, Chris. I don’t care how you do it. Sometimes, it is better for the president to not know about certain things. It makes the job easier for me and more …..flexibility on your side. Just get it done!” the president sat down back in his seat.

“I understand, Mr. President. I won’t disappoint you.” Chris stood up and bowed to the president.

“Remember, Chris: as long as we have results, a few…unfortunate casualties will be fine. Just don’t attract too much attention!”

“Of course, sir! I will be on my way then.” The direction grinned with content as he stormed out of the office. He has accomplished his objective in organizing this summit with the world leaders. The man has waited for a decade for this chance and now it has finally come to him. Not because of what he did but because a different man now took office and his dangerous way of thinking coincidentally aligned with the direction.

Back at the office, the president laughed loudly, scaring even his bodyguards outside. Unlike the CIA director, this man has been aware of everything including the real goal of the director. He knew in advance what the meeting would be about and how it would turn out in the end. Everything was according to his plan.

“Soon, we will advance in a new age. With that power, my ideals can finally be reality.”

* * *

“Astora, are you there?” the voice of a middle-aged man followed the creaky sound of the wooden door opening.

“Uncle Kennedy, you are late!” a young girl stood in the middle of the hallway with a sulking expression, crossing her arms as her left foot taped the floor repeatedly. Ashen long hair to the mid section of her back, the little girl has already prepared for this long-awaited outing with a single white piece and a big milky sun hat. But perhaps the most striking feature she got was her heterochromatic eyes: flaming red on the left and azure blue on the right. This unique feature was a living testament of the blood flowing in her veins and of her unique ancestry, something that this world knew little about.

It has been more than half an hour since the time she was supposed to go and her patience was running out. In short, the girl was half sulking half irritated.

“Sorry! But I thought I sent Fiora a message about me finishing late.” Kennedy smiled apologetically. He glimpsed at his phone and realized that the message was never sent. As a matter of fact, his phone was out of service the whole time. “Weird…I thought I already paid this month subscription fee. Oh well! We still have some time though.” He told the girl. “Can you call your mother and tell her that we will be back by noon?”

“I already told her before she went away. But our phone is not working too. It is constantly beeping when I picked it up.” the girl said.

“Yours too? Is there a service cut right now? I did not hear anything about that…” Kennedy contemplated. For such a high-tech city they were living in, this kind of incidence should not have happened unless there was something major going on. Which was incredibly rare considering how there has never been a similar case for a decade. In the end, Kennedy just passed it as a minor thing not worth thinking about. “Let’s just leave a note for her then.”

“Okay!” the girl smiled happily as she rushed back into her room to find her notebook. But finding it would be quite a challenge for her because of the current state of the room. Calling it messy would be an understatement. Heaps of books about various subjects were stacked upon each other as if a storm has passed through here, something unusual for a girl or any child her age. Aside from this pile of books, the only noticeable furniture aside from her bed was a three-screen desktop and all those fancy equipments of a person who spent a lot of time on computer playing online games. Furthermore, the black curtains on the windows and many other items indicated the signs of a very recluse resident, someone who seemed to be cut off from society.

But would such a person be that happy when she was told that she would be going out with her uncle? Perhaps, it was not her choice in the first place. Perhaps, she wanted to go out as much as those her age wanted.

Alas, after leaving a small note on the kitchen table, the pair closed the door behind them and departed with excitement, not knowing that this would be the last time they ever saw that door.