Tyler Everfell's life has ended. Heavy chains bound to his ankles and wrists, he is led forward by the soldiers surrounding him. His whole head is enclosed in metal; no sight or sound gets in. The soldiers lead him on, pushing him forward and righting his steps before falling. They do not do this for his safety but their own. He knows all that awaits the end of his trip is death. Because Tyler Everfell is a Deforchunae, and all Deforchunae must die.

I do not know how long we've been walking before my chains jerk me to a stop; we must have arrived. I'm led to a seat of some kind and feel my bindings tightened. I hear a faint noise, and then my headpiece is removed. It takes me a minute or two to adjust to both the noise and light of the room. I notice five Justicars in the room with weapons drawn at the ready as I look around. Standing taller than any man and covered in deep purple armor, Justicars are the elite of the Strakken Empire's forces. They are the best of the best, the chosen ones who defend and protect us all. Every person looks up to them and appreciates their sacrifice. Two Blademasters, two Defenders, and a Captain make up the squad in this room. Blademasters are lithe, seven-feet tall, and make no noise despite being covered in armor. The Defenders are eight-foot-tall mammoths with arms thicker than my torso with spikes covering their armor. Finally, the Captain, smaller than the others but still towering over me, wears his station's gold-trimmed black cape. A rapier and a pistol at his side. What could I have done to require this kind of escort?

The room is entirely white save a metallic table and two chairs. The Justicars force me into a seat and loop my chains through a ring on the floor. Across the table sits a middle-aged man in a suit holding a briefcase. His eyes scare me, and it's as if he's not even looking at me but into my soul.

"My name is Judge Trafford, and I will be presiding over your case. Tyler Everfell, you stand accused of conspiring with the Dark Ones, murdering three of your classmates, and being a Deforchunae. The sentence for which is death. How do you plead?"

Deforchunae; the word used to describe those that the Dark Ones have corrupted and given demonic abilities. They are amoral monsters in human form. They cause chaos and sow depravity in the name of their evil masters. How can I be one of them? Wouldnt I know if I had powers? I still feel like myself, like Tyler Everfell, son of Maria and Draven Everfell.

"I have not conspired with any Dark Ones as far as I know, umm, sir. And I don't think I'm a Deforchunae. Wait, what do you mean murder?"

"Playing dumb, are you? You have already fallen for their wicked lies, you traitor. But fine, we'll pretend you don't know what you did."

He pulls out a piece of paper from his briefcase.

"This is the report filed at the scene today. Witnesses say that the victims were eating lunch when another male classmate attacked them, tearing the three boys into pieces using unknown methods. The suspect is thought to be a Deforchunae and should be terminated immediately."

My mind is racing. Why does it say I approached them; is this the effect of the Dark Ones. I remember Connor and his cronies insulting and hitting me when I wouldn't respond to their taunts. The last thing I remember was being so angry and wishing I could make them stop. Have they altered my memories?

"I killed them?" I ask, almost whispering.

"Yes. The boys' families will have to have a closed casket funeral. You killed them in cold blood, you cursed creature, you Deforchunae". He spits the last word at me.

I look down at my hands chained up and around at the Justicars. It hits me; they're here to protect him from me. I'm a danger to everybody, just like I learned in school. As a citizen of the Strakken Empire, I must die to protect the rest. They cannot allow chaos to reign uncontested. Resolving myself to my fate, I finally answer the judge's question.

"Okay, I plead guilty."

"Good. It looks like you at least haven't forgotten your duty to our great and glorious empire."

He starts signing some paperwork when the Justicars all look towards the door. For the first time since we got here, one of the Justicars speaks. It's the Captain. He speaks with a calm voice devoid of emotion.

"Tank One and Two protect the judge. Blade One and Two watch the prisoner."

The Justicars move swiftly. The two Defenders arrive next to Trafford and force him to the back of the room. They both press something on their gauntlets, and a red hexagon shield forms. I'm so fixated on them that, at first, I don't notice the Blademasters arrive next to me and pull out their swords, beautifully crafted six-foot long obsidian-colored blades. The only light comes from the sword's superheated edge, which cauterizes as it cuts. The Captain walks to the door's touchpad and then jumps backward suddenly.

BOOM.

For the last 3000 years, Gabriel Sol has had a singular task; protecting young Forchunae from persecution. The Strakken Empire is the worst offender. Their ass-backwardness prevents them from understanding how beneficial it would be to nurture their citizens who have the Gift. Instead, those zealots murder anyone even suspected of having it. They even changed the name from Forchunae to Deforchunae. Once Gabriel was alerted that a new Forchunae had awakened, he formed a team and set out to save the kid.

The Strakken Empire is a walled-off militaristic city-state that does not let anyone leave or enter. They don't trade or negotiate with anyone else, leveraging their technological superiority to keep others out. Getting in is easy; getting out will be difficult.

Gabriel leads a small team of three to infiltrate the building where the new awakened is being held. The building is plain, the kind of place you'd overlook if you saw it. He brings along Veaos, a bald, bearded mountain of a man. Sporting a scar over his left eye and covered in various beasts' furs and leathers. He wields an axe as large as himself. Gabriel looks over at their other party member Marissa, a young woman far too serious for her age. She has two pistols holstered at her hips and extra magazines hidden within the coat she wears.

"Don't hesitate, you know what we're up against. Get he kid and get out," Gabriel tells the others before they enter. He trusts they'll perform well and accomplish the task, but if Gabriel has learned anything in his very long life, it was that things always have the potential to go wrong.

"Relax, gramps, we know what we're doing," Veaos replies with a grin.

"Affirmative, Mr. Sol."

"You don't have to call me Mr., just Sol is fine. How long can you channel for now?"

"It lasts for about four and a half minutes now, Mr. err Sol, sir."

"Then we have to be in and out before your time is up."

Veaos swings his axe, cutting the eight-inch thick metal door in half. Marissa activates her Gift and then becomes more than she was before.

Marissa steps forward with both pistols at the ready. "Follow me."

Sol and Veaos follow behind her as they make their way through the building to the elevator that can take them down. Marissa expertly dispatches every Justicar they run into with a single shot through the glass visor of their helmets before they can even react. Justicars, the backbone of the Strakken Empire, lying face down dead on the ground as blood fills their helmets. An angel of death has descended on this facility, and its name is Marissa.

The trio makes their way through the building quickly and without stopping until they reach the elevator. Marissa deactivates her ability to save time on it as they head down.

"There shouldn't be that many more Justicars left below, but there will be a Captain, so both of you two watch yourselves. You're both young and have full lives ahead of you. No unnecessary risks." Gabriel finishs his speech as the elevator door opens. What lies before them is a small hallway ending in a door with a touchpad.

"Where the hell are they? I was hoping to get to fight something," Veaos complained.

"Veaos, door duty. Marissa, how much time do you have left?"

"I have exactly thirty seconds left, sir."

"Wait to activate till Veaos goes through the door, and don't worry about the Captain. I will handle him."

"Whether it be a horde of beasts, a full squad of Justicars, or even the world itself. I do not stop. I ADVANCE," Veaos roars as he shoots forward at the door, sending it flying inside. Gabriel and Marissa follow right after him. Veaos ignores the Bladesmen, confident in Marissa's aim. Instead, he chargs directly at the Defenders and judge. He brings his ax high above him and smashes it against them. Swing after swing, he pushes them further and further. The judge behind them stumbles backward to avoid being trampled. Their shields' can't hold up against the onslaught and are starting to fade. A mad gleam shines in Veaos' eye as he finally breaks through and cuts one of the Defenders from neck to waist. Blood spurts into Veaos' mouth as he throws his ax at the other, lodging the blade in his head. Veaos finally turns to the judge smiling like a madman with blood dripping out of his mouth.

"Afraid, are you? Good. That's what you all deserve." Veaos grabs the man by both shoulders and pulls, ripping the man in half.

Marissa feels her stomach turning as they exit the elevator. Nervous excitement filling her. She likes her Gift and finds it helps her react better to the world and her problems. She has always had a keen eye for detail, and her Gift further enhances that. When activated, it's like she has all the time in the world. She takes a deep breath and quiets all her thoughts except for ones pertaining to the mission; it is time to Focus. No Traps. Six enemies; Two Defenders, Two Bladesman, a Captain, and a noncombatant. Target is chained to the floor, young boy. Both guns loaded—priority Bladesmen. Leave Captain to Sol. One-shot one kill, right between their eyes. Targets dead. Weapons untouched. Marissa feels her Gift wane. Her thirty seconds are up, precisely as she watches Veaos rip a man in half.

Gabriel quietly chuckles as he watches the young man charge ahead. Not young in the usual sense of the word, Veaos is in his 50s but compared to himself, that's nothing. Gabriel has been alive for over 5000 years, watched kingdoms rise and empires fall. Buried countless friends and lovers, even some children. At a certain point, he realized he needed a purpose, a reason to get out of bed, something to strive for. So he chose to dedicate himself to teaching others how to embrace their ability and control it. He would find other Forchunae and protect them until they mastered their abilities. He would raise them to be capable of anything they wanted. That was Gabriel's mission, his reason to Live.

Gabriel may have started this quest, but tonight something more is needed. Tonight requires a monster, a boogieman who could steal a child and leave uncontested, someone who could strike fear into an empire that had gotten used to feeling safe within their walls. Tonight they needed the Immortal King Sol.

The Justicars are prepared for them. Most likely, the Captain has felt them coming. Justicar Captains' ability to sense Forchunae is a mystery he still hasn't solved in all his years. But being able to sense the Immortal King and being able to deal with the Immortal King were two completely different things. The Captain recognizes Sol as the more significant threat and immediately unloads his pistol into him. One in both eyes, five in the head, and the rest into his chest. Explosive rounds tear into him, punching holes in his body as the bullets blow his brain out the back of his head. Sol's bleeding body continues towards the Captain as if nothing is wrong. Blood and brain matter pool together from all over before flying back into Sol's body. Skull fragments fused as flesh knit itself back together until he was whole again. The crushed shells from the pistol slowly extrude out of his body, clanging onto the floor.

Realizing bullets weren't working, the Captain throws his pistol at Sol and points his rapier at him. The Captain is very fast and a dangerous swordsman, but that means nothing against this threat. Every lunge gets pushed aside by the tip of Sol's fingers. No pierce finds purchase against the immortal. Sol quickly realizes he can't let this continue any longer and puts his palm forward, allowing the blade to sink to his elbow. Gripping the sword, Sol presses on and began striking the Captain. First, a kick to the kidney, then another kick aimed at his knee. A strike to the rib as he yanks the rapier out of the Captain's hand. Tossing the sword onto the ground, he continues the onslaught. Sol won't claim to be one of the physically strongest Forchunae, but he is one of the most knowledgeable. He's been around long enough to know how to hurt, maim, or cripple someone. He beats the Captain down and reaches for the rapier, stabbing the Justicar in his lung and pulling his helmet off.

"Fucking Deforchunae. You demonic scum, you will not get anything from me. Kill me. You creature of darkness," gasps the Captain as blood begins to fill his lung.

"I don't want anything; I don't need any information from you. I'm not even going to kill you. I'm going to leave you alive to tell them what happened here. Tell them of me, of what I can do. I am the Immortal King Sol, a proud Forchunae, and I am eternal."

Sol turns to survey the room and finds his allies have no wounds. It's time to rescue the kid and get out of here.

I can feel pee running down my legs as I stare at the monsters that just eradicated all of the Justicars. If ever there was a doubt about the Deforchunae being demons in human form, there is no longer. What are they going to do to me? Will they rip me limb from limb before eating my heart? Right before I pass out due to fear, one thought races over and over in my mind.

My name is Tyler Everfell, and my life has ended.