The Exousia were monsters--ruthless walking disasters that destroyed anything and everything in their path. That was how the public viewed them. Kyros knew better than to categorize or profile people solely based on rumors and appearances. However, Exousia like Thelo didn't help their image.

It was painful, keeping a secret from his friends and loved ones for seven whole years. When Kyros first discovered his powers of precognition, he wanted to tell his comrades in the military. But, deep down inside of him resided a seed of doubt.

If he revealed his identity as an Exousia--would his country finally accept him? The man already walked on thin ice with the military and the nation. Should anyone learn of what he'd become; he dreaded the consequences. Execution would be a form of salvation to him.

“I’m not like them,” Kyros muttered, “I’m just an ordinary person.”

The military man repeated that to himself for countless nights--hoping that the mantra would fool his brain into actually believing him. But, there was no hiding what he was. Not anymore.

“Right. An ordinary person that can see into the future,” said Runa with a mocking tone of voice.

“I only use it when necessary. Unlike other Exousia that jumped at the chance to use their powers for their selfish needs, I’ve used my powers for the greater good. I’ve prevented over dozens of crimes over the past few years thanks to my abilities.”

“You almost sound grateful.”

“I’m not grateful for this curse placed on me.”

How could he feel grateful? Anyone that acquired vast power without putting any effort to obtain it would naturally succumb to hubris. And to make matters worse, the powers were given to people without discrimination or forethought.

The man thought back to the early days of the Exousia. People from different backgrounds and social classes marveled at their newfound powers and attempted to seize control of the country. They were soundly defeated and imprisoned inside of the maximum-security prison, Tartarus.

“So, you don’t plan on participating in the God selection? Why not kill yourself and get it over with? It would save us some time.” Runa moved the blade of her spear close to the restrained man’s neck. If he so wished, she’d end his life right then and there.

Kyros leaned his head back, cringing at the sight of the blade. One wrong move and it’d be curtains.

Sarra came out from behind Runa and placed her hand on the shaft of the weapon, moving it away from Kyros.

“Runa, you’re being rude.” She scolded.

“She’s far beyond the point of rudeness.” Kyros pointed out, earning himself a sharp glare from the blue-haired huntress. “Listen, I don’t want to participate. I’ve no interest in playing into that woman’s hands. However, if I’m to be attacked by an Exousia, I don’t plan on dying.”

His eyes burned with fierce determination and focus. Every single word weighed heavily on the shoulders of the Huntresses.

She couldn’t deny it anymore. No matter what excuses crossed her mind at that moment, Runa couldn’t ignore the genuine conviction in the man’s voice. He wasn’t like the others she had encountered—at least for the most part.

“Well said,” Runa looked over to Sarra then nudged her head in Kyros’ direction. “Cut him.”

“What?” Sarra exclaimed.

“Loose. Cut him loose.”

“Oh, right!” Sarra hurriedly approached Kyros, reaching behind her back for her dagger. However, Kyros shook his head and brought his hands out from behind his back. The Huntresses looked down and found the man’s restraints on the floor.

“No need. I already helped myself.” Kyros revealed.

“Show off,” Runa commented. “You could’ve done that from the very beginning?”

“Not immediately,” Kyros worked on the restraints to his legs. Afterward, he stood from the chair. “It took a few seconds to loosen the restraints.”

“I told you that you needed to work on your knots, Runa,” Sarra said.

"Not now."

“Anyway, is that it? You’re just going to let me go now?” Kyros asked.

“For now, yes. I know what your powers are, so you’re not that much of a threat to us anymore,” Runa concluded, albeit she still had some reservations about the situation. “Plus, you seem genuinely upset about being an Exousia.”

“Infuriated.” Kyros looked down at the palm of his hands. There they were—the brands--a constant reminder of what he was. What he had become. “So much has changed in the past seven years. The only thing threatening humanity were the Varvara and Jaya Acolytes. But now, this supposed “Goddess” appears out of nowhere and grants us the power to become Gods ourselves? Telling us to kill each other while she watches from the sidelines? Unforgivable.”

“The last eight,” Runa suddenly said, “only when there are eight Exousia standing will the God selection come to an end. And only one among those eight will have the honor of becoming a God.”

Kyros responded with a scoff of disgust. What an absurd concept. Countless people died around the world for such a ridiculous thing. If people were to learn the exact origin and purpose concerning the existence of the Exousia, there was no doubt in his mind that all-out war would break loose.

“I won’t let this continue. I’ll see to it that this cruel game ends once and for all.” Kyros brazenly announced to the Huntresses.

“How do you plan to stop it?” Sarra inquired.

A question Kyros had asked himself thousands of times over the past seven years. He racked his brain trying to find an answer that would spare as many lives as possible. In the end, he only saw two answers through his mental journey.

“I’ve thought of two ways to stop the God Selection. One, if I can find one of the Higher Exousia, I can use them to speak with Shura. Surely, they would be able to convince her to stop it.”

The Higher Exousia—entities of tremendous power that surpass the Exousia. They were the guardians of Shura and acted as the overseers of the continents. They would supervise other Exousia and ensure the God selection proceeded accordingly. From Kyros’ understanding, there were two ways for them to do that.

One, they would remain in the realm of Gods and look down on Exousia from there. Or two, they would wander around the continent and personally keep tabs on Exousia. Kyros had his hopes set on the second option.

“And the second?” asked Runa as she gestured for Kyros to continue.

“If that plan fails, then I’ll have no other choice than to play it smart and let the Exousia kill each other off until I’m one of the last eight remaining. That way once that fake Goddess shows herself again, I’ll take her down.”

“You do remember that she has those bodyguards with her, right? The Higher Exousia?” Runa reminded.

“That doesn’t matter. I’ll take them down too if they get in my way,” Kyros proudly proclaimed.

Bold, but foolish.

That’s how Runa classified Kyros. For a moment, yes, just a moment, she believed the man had a concrete plan to end the God selection. But, of course, he proved otherwise. She mentally kicked herself for having any sliver of hope.

She thought she discarded that foolish concept.

“Good luck with that. Perhaps Sarra and I will see you there as one of the final eight,” Runa said before she gestured toward the door with her thumb, “there’s the door. Let’s get moving.”

“Get moving?” Kyros asked. “Where?”

“Anywhere other than here. Until Sarra and I complete our mission and leave the country, you’re going to stick with us. We could use the help of a military captain.”

“Yeah, Runa gets easily lost. You could act as our tour guide.” Sarra added. Runa sent a sharp glare in the girl’s direction, but the little girl ignored it.

“I don’t mind helping out whenever I can. But, I’m still a military officer. I’ve my duties to attend to as well,” Kyros informed them, “so, what’s your mission in the first place?”

“We’ve been hired to exterminate the source of the Varvara infiltrating your kingdom as of late,” Sarra answered.

“Well, what a coincidence,” Kyros crossed his arms, “most of the recon captains in Zofia’s army have been tasked with the job of finding the source as well.”

“So, our jobs are the same then!” Sarra grabbed the hands of Kyros and Runa, placing them together on top of each other. “We’re like a team now!”

Her bright smile and enthusiasm radiated around the entire room. Kyros looked at Runa and smiled as well, seeing no problems with working alongside the Huntresses. Runa, however, didn’t seem as eager. If anything, she planned to merely use the man's connections to get places around the country. Plus, it never hurt to extort the man for classified information.

Runa pulled her hand away from Kyros then wiped her hand on her pant leg. “Has anyone in the army found any valuable information?”

After seeing the eagerness in the eyes of the Huntresses, Kyros felt reluctant to answer the question. So far, nothing concrete had been discovered.

“No. Nothing yet.”

“Let’s just go over what we know then,” Runa suggested. “Varvara are nocturnal creatures. They’re attracted to negative emotions and spawn where large concentrated amounts of it gather. Yesterday, they spawned near the hospital.”

“That was because an Exousia attacked the hospital,” Kyros added.

“Was it?” Runa wandered over to the table in the middle of the room. She reached into her bag and pulled out a few dark colored shards. She showed them to Kyros. “Before the Varvara attacked last time, I heard something shatter from behind the police barricades. After that, black smoke covered the area. Then, the Varvara attacked. Notice anything wrong with that pattern?”

“Yeah, Varvara don’t appear in smoke. They come through portals.” Kyros approached Runa and inspected the shards in her hand. He felt an ominous presence from them. “What are these things?”

“Beats me. I found them at the scene of the crime. Decided to take them with me.” Runa shrugged her shoulders then set the shards on the table. “I’ve got a feeling that these aren’t natural Varvara attacks.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“It's just a hunch. But, I think someone’s smuggling them here.”

Kyros’ eyes bulged in horror. It was one of the most absurd announcements he’d ever heard in his life. Someone smuggled the Varvara, enemies of humanity, into the country?

Insanity. All of it.

“That can’t be! No! Why would anyone run the risk of smuggling those monsters here?!” Kyros exclaimed, losing his composure.

“I haven’t been in this kingdom for very long, so I’m not aware of its history. But, does Soteria have any enemies that would wish to see it burnt down to the ground?” Runa took a seat on the couch along with Sarra.

Kyros ran his hand through his hair then heaved a sigh. Enemies of Soteria. A touchy subject for anyone aware of its rough history.

And that was putting it mildly.

Kyros mentally listed off the enemies that he could think of. It rounded up into the thousands, possibly even the millions.

“The number is vast. There are the Titans, infamous criminals down in Tartarus, the Beastia race, Cyclops race, other countries around the world.” Kyros listed off a few. “But, your theory is flawed. The Varvara attack all living creatures besides themselves. It’s impossible for anyone to smuggle them.”

Impossible. A common word people fell on to describe things they weren’t willing to accept. But, not Runa. In her life, anything was possible.

“After having supernatural powers for seven years, anything is possible.”

“Okay, I’ll give you that. But, how would anyone smuggle Varvara into the kingdom without anyone knowing?”

The weight of the conversation took its toll on the military captain. He heaved another heavy sigh then took a seat on the chair he was once held captive on.

“Maybe there’s a mole in your military?” Runa suggested.

Kyros’ expression turned grim. Once again, another absurd suggestion reached his ears. It took every ounce of his strength to control his temper.

“There’s no mole. The brave men and women in the military would never do anything like allowing those monsters into Soteria.”

“Mole or no mole, it doesn’t change the fact that the Varvara are here,” Runa stated. “I’ve seen the damage they’ve caused. Wasn’t one of your villages reduced to dust thanks to them?”

Runa recalled the moment she and Sarra first set foot within Soteria. Utter destruction greeted them. There was once a small town at the forefront of the kingdom named Salus. However, the Huntresses never got the chance to see it.

For when they arrived at the area where it should have been—all that awaited them was a vast, empty wasteland. Not a single structure could be seen for miles. It was as if the town never existed in the first place.

“I don’t think the Varvara destroyed Salus. I think an Exousia was behind it.” Kyros theorized.

“Yeah, perhaps the Exousia from yesterday was responsible.” Runa agreed.

“I won’t lose another town. No matter what, I’m going to put an end to this.”

“How’re you gonna do that?”

“When my powers suddenly activated on the rooftop earlier, I saw a vision of us fighting against the Varvara in Elpida Town,” He answered, “I don’t know when we’ll confront the creatures, but that place is my next destination.”

“Elpida Town?” Runa leaned forward and interlocked her fingers. “How accurate are your visions?”

“It depends. The future’s subjectable to frequently shift due to my knowledge of the events to come. Accuracy’s not much of a problem rather than relevance. Sometimes my visions are entirely unrelated to situations that I wish to see.”

“That’s quite the drawback you have,” Runa commented, an arrogant smirk soon formed on her face after hearing some of the flaws in his power.

Perhaps the single digits weren’t as powerful as she was initially led to believe. After all, she subdued Kyros, the First Exousia, quite easily.

“If the Varvara are gonna attack that town, then we need to stop them!” Sarra’s eyes beamed with sheer excitement as she jumped to her feet, all too eager to face the dangers that lied ahead.

Runa reached out and grabbed Sarra’s braided ponytail, pulling her back onto the couch. “Let’s not do anything rash until we come up with a plan.” She grabbed her spear then pointed it at Kyros. “Since you know where the next attack will take place, you should tell your superiors about it. Have them prepare countermeasures.”

“I already intend to do that. I’ll request for multiple units.” Kyros said.

“Good. Go pack your bags, Sarra.” Runa ordered.

“On it!” Sarra jumped up then headed to her room as instructed.

Afterward, Runa glared daggers at Kyros. A chill ran down his spine, and he froze again.

“Let me tell you how this is gonna work. Right now, I still don’t trust you. You know we’re Exousia, and you’re also in the military.” Runa said. Unsure of where Runa was going with the conversation he decided to keep quiet and listen to what she had to say. “I know this country’s severe hatred toward the Exousia. So, if you let it slip that Sarra and I are Exousia, I can only imagine the worst possible outcome. So, if our identities are exposed and we're gonna go down. I'm taking you down with us.”

For once possible throughout the entire encounter, Runa averted her gaze from Kyros. He saw it. The genuine concern on her face. Runa’s gaze rested on Sarra when the young girl entered the room with a bright smile on her face as she carried a backpack.

It was at that moment that Kyros understood the reason behind Runa’s cruelty. All she wanted was to keep that little girl safe.

Understandable.

Kyros knew that if information leaked about Runa and Sarra being Exousia, the authorities wouldn’t hesitate to have them captured, incarcerated, or executed. Soteria showed no mercy towards criminals or those that they deemed to be criminals. Exousia were classified as criminals.

“I assure you that I’ve no intention of telling anyone that you two are Exousia. You both seem like good people.” Kyros said.

“Well, just to be sure, Sarra and I will shadow you. Try anything funny…” Runa raised her spear again in a threatening manner.

“Okay, okay, I get it. Message received. I’ll be sure to be careful.” Kyros raised his hands up in a defensive manner, showing that he wasn’t a threat.

“If you don’t screw things up, we should get along just fine.” Runa set her spear behind her back then grabbed her bag. “Lead the way to Elpida Town.”

Kyros nodded then led the way as instructed. With that, his partnership with Runa and Sarra began.