An empty alley somewhere in Katong…

The Riftwalker crawled forwards, searching for a place to hide until its rift energy had replenished. Casting a Totality depleted much of whatever that was left from its fight with Ryan, Kae and Jun. It laid in wait under the shade of the shophouses.

A pulse of rift energy burst throughout the area. The Riftwalker could sense it, and it knew the person that created it could sense it too. But there was nothing the Riftwalker could do. It was out of luck.

Two blocks down, a group of Class 1 agents had arrived at the scene of the original battle.

“Sir, I’m detecting the Riftwalker’s energy. It’s roughly 50 metres down the street and doesn’t seem to be moving. What’s our course of action?” The recon Class 1 Agent Lia reported.

The team leader stepped forward, surveying the now-quiet roads of Katong, dimly lit under the setting sun.

“Set up a monitoring Occlusion, roughly 100-metre radius. Make sure no civilians are near its location.”

After promptly delegating the work to his peers, he vanished instantly.

An occlusion is a Standard Prowess; abilities that are not unique to an Agent and can be learnt with practice. Occlusions serve a purpose akin to a “do not enter” tape wrapped around a crime scene. The larger the area covered, the less powerful the occlusion is. Lia, a recon Agent, is one of the few Agents who specialise in Occlusion-related prowesses. By increasing the radius, she effectively creates a ‘radar’ system that interacts with anything possessing Rift energy and alerts the caster. This way, she could quickly pinpoint the location of Riftwalkers in a certain location.

“Hmph. Always leaving the boring work to us.” Lia sighed.

The footsteps grew louder. The shadow that loomed down the alley became larger.

“There you are.”

The Riftwalker curled up in fear. This was no lowly clean-up crew; the Bureau had sent its best. The pressure from the onlooking Agent overwhelmed its own. His rift energy was much denser than that of the previous Agent who stole its power.

“Huh, deploying me might have been excessive. But you somehow managed to escape Kae, so the Bureau isn’t taking its chances.”

The Agent placed his palm over the Riftwalker’s face. It was helpless against him.

“Don’t worry, sending me here was a blessing for you. It's an instant, painless death you don’t deserve.”

The Riftwalker’s head flattened in a split second, before slumping over its neck like a bib.

“Oh right, the core.”

The Agent shoved his hand, imbued with rift energy, into the Riftwalker’s chest, yanking the core out with relative ease.

“Hmm, it’s damaged. Might not be as useful as we thought after all.”

He whipped out his phone.

“Lia, the job’s done. Send in the rest for clean-up. I tried my best to keep the place pristine.”

Holding the core in his hand, he walked out the alley into the afternoon light.

Meanwhile, somewhere in the depths of Hell…

Jun tumbled out the elevator in disbelief.

“Welcome back.” The two Guardians greeted Jun as he grumpily exited the elevator.

“Cannot catch a break ah?” Jun sighed.

“We understand these circumstances are tough for you. But you were sent here for a purpose, and it is our duty to ensure you are ready.” Horse replied stoically.

“Ready for what?”

“To fight Riftwalkers.”

“And why?”

“That I cannot answer.”

Jun frowned.

“Did you see how difficult that fight with that thing was? I nearly DIED! Some tongues aren’t going to kill anything, not even the weaker one.”

“And that is why it is your mission to conquer the Eighteen Levels of Hell. The first level, you were gifted. The rest, however, are trials that you need to overcome in order to become worthy of that level’s power.”

Jun’s curiosity was piqued at this concept.

“Join the Bureau and become an Agent. They have the facilities and people who can help hone your basic skills. After all, the pay is good, and you clearly have no career planned out yet.” said Ox.

“Wait, how do you know…nevermind. It's true after all.”

Jun had never planned out his future, thanks to his nonchalant attitude. This, was an opportunity to do something meaningful in his meaningless past few years.

“Alright. What have I got to lose anyway.” Jun accepted.

“Good. If you have any questions, we will do our best to answer within our capacity.”

“First thing. This is my Prowess, isn’t it? Like Ryan’s electricity, or Kae’s Equivalent Exchange.”

“Indeed. Your Prowess is the Eighteen Levels of Hell, and you will eventually attain the eighteen powers of the King of Hell.”

“Wait…I’m the King of Hell?”

“Large parts of human mythology are based on Riftwalkers. These mythical creatures whom humans have come to call legends and cryptids, are mostly Riftwalkers. The records of Hell in ancient Buddhist history are indeed based on this Prowess.”

This revelation struck Jun with awe.

“Huh, Buddhism. So this makes me Yama, the Buddhist god of the underworld?”

“Not quite. Your name…

…is Hades.”

That logic did not make sense to Jun at all, but he decided to just go with the flow anyways.

“Oh well, I guess I kinda got the gist of it. Let’s not waste any time, send me to the next level.”

“That’s the spirit.” Ox praised, snapping his fingers.

A trapdoor appeared under Jun’s feet.

“There has to be better wa-”

It swung open, and Jun plunged further into the depths of Hell, where the next trial awaited him.

“Always be ready, or you shall face imminent death.” Horse’s voice bellowed as he peered over the ledge to witness Jun’s unexpected descent.

Meanwhile, somewhere in the Rift…

A Riftwalker fell to its knees.

“What do you mean, Tacho’s dead? He’s one of the Embodiments! They aren’t supposed to go down this easy.” A humanoid figure towered over the downed Riftwalker.

“This was what was reported to me earlier today. I’m sorry.” The Riftwalker groaned, still visibly in pain.

“Who did this?”

“He was finished off by the first-ranked Agent.”

“HIM? The higher-ups orders were clear to all Riftwalkers venturing into the human realm; do not engage with that man! Trying to fight him is a death sentence in itself.” The figure was becoming increasingly agitated.

“Indeed, but it was these two who dealt the most damage to Tacho.” The Riftwalker opened his palm, rift energy coalescing into holograms of Ryan and Jun’s faces.

“We have not seen this second man before. Reports say his rift energy is immense, which is what made Tacho target him in the first skirmish.”

Riftwalkers are primal creatures; they aim for the person with the highest Rift energy. After all, it is them who wield the most energy that provide the most power.

“Investigate this man, but do not let this affect our preparations. The Event is in less than half a year, and we need all hands on deck.”

“Yes sir.”

To Jun, this may have felt like an insignificant decision; just one of the many he reluctantly chose.

Yet, this choice had set into motion an impact much larger than just on Jun, but the Rift, the Agents, the Bureau, and the future of Singapore.

Six months remain till the Event.

THE AGENT INDUCTION