Prologue

The air was suffocating, and an immense sense of oppression filled the room.

The sound of creaking emanated from a massive staircase at the end of this room. At the top of the staircase, was something that looked to be a throne. Only, the throne was not anything grand, it was mechanical. It was practical. It was a chair made of solid alloy.

“So, those are your words?”

Atop of the metal throne sat a man or someone who looked to be a man. His face was obscured by the blinding light behind him. His skin… no, his body was pitch black. Only a vague silhouette could be seen. He spoke those words with a steady rhythm. His voice was calm but commanding. He did not need to belt out for his voice to reach the bottom of the staircase.

In front of him was another silhouette, only this time they were blindingly white. One could not look at them without suffering the consequences. It was almost like looking directly at the sun.

The shining being was also loud. Incredibly loud. A constant white noise emanated from them at sounds no human was meant to hear.

The radiant being nodded. “Spare them.” They pleaded, their voice easily being heard despite the noise.

The dark one walked down the stairs, slowly. Each step was utterly silent. Dead.

“Spare them? Why?”

The air grew thicker and denser as the man kept walking down the stairs. The man in black became even darker and a rush of wind seemed to head towards his direction.

“Blessings and curses, what were they but two sides of the same coin?”, he continued a conversation the two entities started minutes ago.“What could be a blessing for one, is a curse for another. The blessing of knowledge gave mankind the power to bring it to its current heights, while the curse of knowledge can also lead to its downfall. The knowledge of many great men has been used for greatness and destruction. Alfred Nobel’s dynamite, Fritz Haber’s fertilizer, knowledge can never truly be classified as ‘good’... The people you defend… cannot recognize this.”

         “They can get better with guidance!”, the radiant one pleaded.

“When? How many of my people have to die before then!” Suddenly, a powerful hurricane-like wind exploded outward from the man. The intricate weaves on the wall stayed still however only slightly moved by the wind.

Unable to respond, the radiant one sighed, “I see. It’s a matter of faith after all.”

The being coated in darkness clicked his tongue. It seemed he was disappointed.

“You will not prevent me from changing the world. A world with humans is a broken one.”

“A world with both humans and eulogists will be complete.” The radiant one retorted.

“See you… next time.”

Chapter 1 - You Really Believe That?

“For your Prima Missio, Divinagracia, we will send you to infiltrate a corporation’s headquarters and report what’s happening on the inside. We have noticed an unusual amount of Eulogists disappearing recently. Further details are within this file.

The large man dressed in high-ranking military uniform said, offering her a folder with pages and pages of files inside.

“Is that… all the mission is sir? This is my Prima Missio! There is no way it is that simple.”

The young woman spoke, she was around 20 years of age with a deep earthy brown hair color. She wore a simple sporty tracksuit with a jacket even on top of that. There were also two 8-round revolvers holstered on her hips. The one on her right was a deep navy blue, and the one on her left was a deep purple.

The man knew why the woman acted that way, he had known her long enough to know her quirks.

“Rest assured, we have a large amount of data that we have analyzed. We deem that you and your eulogy perfectly suits this mission. We have even matched it to your personality and attitude. This is all standard. Everything you have learned will be used in this assignment.”

“With all due respect, this is a severe underutilization of my abilities.”

“Like I mentioned earlier, we have taken that into account. There is nothing wrong with how we assigned your prima missio. You can take it up with the other Eulogy Officers.” The officer said.

Hesitating, all the woman said was “Sir, yes sir.”

“The agent we have assigned to assist you on your mission is Agent “Struere” Divinagracia. Your sister Reichelle.”

At that moment, one could see something rising in Michelle’s eyes.

“Why her?!”

It was confusion.

The Officer looked at a security camera in the room then sighed,

“First of all, mind your manners. You’ve questioned your superior officer several times now.”

“I sincerely apologize for that Officer.”

“Officer…?”

“Officer McArthur.” She scratched her cheek in embarassment.

“Good, the second reason we chose her, besides being your sister of course, is because all of our other Agents are busy doing missions as well. And some are also assisting others who have just passed training. We would have selected Agent “Confindo” for the task, given your amicable relationship, but she is off somewhere else for an investigation. Keep in mind, this mission is vital.”

“What is she investigating?”

Also why her? She’s too strong for a prima missio! And so is Reichelle.

Officer McArthur sighs at the breach of Etiquette. But overall, just decides to ignore it.

“Top Secret.”

Michelle nodded, accepting the explanation. 

“The rest of the mission specifics are in this file. Look over it, paperwork should be ready by the afternoon. And the Mission starts anytime this week. It is not extremely time sensitive but do not spend more than a week preparing.”

“I’ve been waiting for this!” Michelle ecstatically exclaimed.

“…” Officer McArthur’s shoulders sagged.

“I apologize sir.”

Regaining his composure, officer McArthur continued.

“Also, do keep in mind, mission failure is the end. You are a Eulogist, failure is unacceptable. You may have to face public backlash depending on how poorly the mission goes. The response of the public dictates your punishment. The worse you perform… or the less secretive you perform your mission, the worse your punishment will be. Just keep this in mind as you partake in the mission.”

Yeah, I really don’t want that. Poor Jeff… I never really liked him. But still... Cruel world.

“Sir yes sir.”

Michelle nods with slight fear, remembering one of her former classmates from the program she is in.

“But if and when you do succeed, you may request anything. A house, an object. It can be custom-made or otherwise that will be granted to you. Just keep in mind the guidelines we have for procuring your item.

“I’ve been waiting for this!”

Oh my god I can get my dream baby girl! 

Her eyes almost lit up like sparklers when she heard what the officer said. 

“Can I request a custom sniper rifle?”

“If you succeed.”

“Thank you sir!” She bows.

Michelle turns to leave the room.

“Before you go, you might want to send in the specifications to the workshop. The Eulogists there should be able to get this done in no time. You may acquire it after you complete the mission. If it’s before, it will become a loan, failing your Prima Missio will force us to seize it or you will have to pay the loan in a different way.”

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

“Yes sir!”

Michelle then left office with sa mall smile on her face.

Right so Reichelle. They actually put her in this mission? Don’t they normally put someone else? They don’t think I will abuse her power? She’s one of the highest ranking Eulogists here! She’s a category six!

The directors must have approved this right? I doubt they’re stupid, so why did they send someone so strong to be my partner in my prima missio?

Michelle casually walked through the hallways of the base. She payed a minimal amount of attention to the paintings on the walls. Thwy were of various military officials throughout the history of the Grand Empire of Maharlika, her home country. 

She did not pay that much attention because she had been throguh these hallways hundreds of times before. 

While she minded these paintings, she pondered reasons why Reichelle was sent to be her partner. 

I know Officer McArthur said that the other agents are busy, but really? I guess I shouldn’t complain too much. It really isn’t bad at all. I should be grateful for this chance.

Michelle paused for a moment, then eventually decided to read the report given to her.

Confidential mhm… Investigate the Energaia corporation as five category 1 and 2 Eulogists have disappeared in REDACTED, REDACTED, and, REDACTED.

It has been determined by our analysts that a high-level response is needed to sort out this issue.

Missions Specifics:

Obtain information regarding the MIA Eulogists, and acquire object-496.

After reading the files thoroughly several times, she screamed, “What the fuck?!”

Then suddenly, a woman slightly taller than Michelle, but with much of the same features, excluding her more-oval face appears from a door to the right of Michelle. She’s wearing an elegant black suit, complete with leather shoes. All is well, except for one thing. She had a lead vest around her chest.

It’s Reichelle! I should ask her about this! This is outrageous!  Michelle thought

“Michelle, good morning, I look forward working with you on your Prima Missio.”

Reichelle looks down slightly. She has a soft smile on her face with her maroon colored eyes.

“Yeah about that. Uhhhhh why?!”

“The mission is actually meant for me, it says on the report that this situation needs a high-level response. They assigned me to take care of it, somehow.”

I may have spoken to soon when I said this was too simple… oopsies.

“So… why do I need to be in this mission? Don’t get me wrong, I want to work with you Reichelle. But, five separate category 1 and category 2 Eulogists just disappeared! And they based on the wording, the higher-ups are certain that this corporation or whatever is the one that caused it. I’m gonna shit myself.”

“Michelle there’s a couple of reasons, also language. The first reason is that this mission needs a stealthy hand, I do not have that kind of training. For the other reason… let’s find somewhere more private.”

“Ah okay, sorry! I’m just nervous.”

The pair of sisters quickly locate a small closet to discuss the specifics of the mission in.

“Look Michelle, if you really want to know why you’re with me, it is because I asked you to join me and make this your Prima Missio. That was an under the table deal. Do you understand? I just had to make a few concessions. I… don’t want you to fail the Prima Missio.”

Michelle stayed silent for a moment, processing what her sister just told her.

“Do you not believe I can succeed?” Michelle asked, with a somber tone.

“It’s not that,” Reichelle hurriedly replied. “I just don’t want to risk you,. that’s all. We’re family. Remember what our parents said?”

“Family protects family. And we are family, and always will be, no matter what.”

“There, you understand..” Reichelle patted Michelle on the head.

“Just get ready for your Prima Missio. With me there, it will be a piece of cake.”

“Okay.”

“Good, I will get going. I have a few more meetings to attend still.”

Michelle stood in the closet for a little longer, just trying to process everything that happened.

She… still obsesses over protecting me that much huh?

Will she ever stop being there?

Michelle’s heart filled with a weight, she felt guilty. It also felt slightly unfair. These were feelings all too familiar to her however.

“I guess that means I have privilege?” Michelle questioned herself, she decided to just accept it as fact and move on.

Michelle increased her pace until she arrived at another room. It was an expansive room, with vending machines, drink dispensers, tables, chairs, and even a Foosball table. It was the staff lounge.

She quickly grabbed a coffee, an iced double-shot vanilla mocha with extra milk. Tossing in 100 EuPesos The vending machines in this facility was incredibly high-tech and could make nearly anything an old-world coffee shop could and at a fraction of the cost.

After a she took a large sip of her drink through its straw, she started formulating a plan.

Energaia huh? They were military contractors for a couple of years I think. I just need to investigate the disappearance of the five Eulogists and acquire object-496. 

This was the gist of all the files given to her by Officer McArthur.

As she contemplated on the mission a little more, she started feeling a little uneasy.

Why and how did five eulogists disappear with this company? Like, actually how?

She glanced down and opened the folder with the files once more. Something struck out to her. This was the repeated mentioning of object-496.

Is this what these five guys were after?

Michelle tried to look for a physical description of object-496, which she did find.

There were no pictures of it however, only a text description.

A gauntlet with three large unique animite crystals attached to it.

“That looks like a weapon…” Michelle muttered

“What looks like a weapon?”

“AH!” Michelle screamed slightly, nearly dropping the papers all over the floor. With her quick reflexes however, she was able to quickly gather them all up before any of them fall on to the ground.

“Oh it’s been a while! Marquis, how are you?” She returned in also a cheerful tone.

“Whoops! Sorry about that. I didn’t think I’d startled you that much.” The man said with a teasing tone.

“I’m okay. I think. I barely succeeded in my Prima Missio. I had to fight a True Liberators aligned Eulogist. He was tough, definitely in the same category as me or higher. He could vibrate anything within his Animo to ridiculous frequencies and amplitudes. I only won because my partner finished off the rest of the rebels in the outpost, and he could assist me. If I fought using my human form my bones would have shattered every time he struck. I understood why they chose me to do this mission. My transformation pretty much negated any of the additional vibrational damage.

“It took me a month to heal. I’m here now though!” Marquis smiled, giving a thumbs up.

“That’s good to hear. I was worried. I guess Prima Missios is that difficult.” Michelle said, trailing off at the end.

“What do you mean?”

“I’m going to have my Prima Missio soon, like in this week soon. I’m honestly kind of excited. However…” Michelle fell into deep thought for a moment.

“I don’t know. It feels oddly easy? But like in an unsettling way. I just made a connection right before you startled me. I can’t share it though, top secret.”

“I was gonna say something but it looks like you already have an idea on how to solve it. I will leave you to it.” Marquis said with finality.

“So what are you doing right now?” Marquis started.

“I do not know.” Michelle's eyes lit up like the night sky. “Wait no! I do know! Let’s go to the workshop! I can put in my item request!”

“You're a little excited, aren't you? Can I join you? I actually did not put in my request before I did my prima missio.” Marquis said with slight resignation.

“Sure, it'll be a bit fun discussing it on the way. Let's go!”

They eventually made their way to the workshop. Talking about what they wanted to get made.

“So I’m gonna get a sniper rifle! The standard-issue ones are well… lacking. They lack firepower, they lack mass, they lack range, and well yeah. Having a sniper rifle tailored to me would also do wonders for my own security. “

“Damn, that's cool. I think I should get something that would improve my attack capabilities.”

“You didn't think about what you should get?”

“I did but I couldn't decide until now. Claws would be perfect I think. I already attack using my crappy teddy bear claws but well. They could be better. The only reason I'm able to attack with them is my sheer strength. “ Marquis flexed his bicep.

Michelle chuckled a little.

“Well alright then. I’m gonna continue. My sniper rifle is gonna be a railgun. I consulted an engineer ages ago. I simply can't get it off my mind!

“So anyways, the bullet is a one kilogram slab of Animo-Enhanced Tungsten. Expensive as hell to run but it's not like I need to fire like a machine gun. The engineer said that with enough power it can have a muzzle velocity of mach sixteen!”

Michelle raised her hands and pretended to shoot using her massive rifle, completing it by producing railgun noises with her mouth.

“Which is probably overkill. For some Eulogists. We're just that durable though.”

Michelle beat her chest, somewhat as a response to Marquis flexing.

“I’m not going to question how you got it to reach mach sixteen, but don't you think that the sound will like… Expose your position? I'm no engineer but the emissions of that gun would make stealth sniping kinda useless.”

“Not an issue, they were able to add a kinetic-thermal transmission system to other devices. I don't know much about it but what it does is turn any noise or movement into heat! I can turn it off at any time too.”

“How about thermal imaging? Every military has thermal imaging as a default. How will you counter that?”

“Liquid Helium cooling system. It's part of my motorcycle already. As long as my bike isn't exposed it should be fine.“

“There’s gonna be a physical pipe? Connecting them?” Marquis genuinely wondered whether this was a good idea or not.

“I can disconnect it for missions that don’t require nearly as much stealth. Plus, the approximate range of this is 20 kilometers! Even if they have orbital strikes or extreme long-range defense systems, it’s useless if they can’t detect me.

“If I’m close, I don’t need so much power unless I’m facing a really strong Eulogist. So I don’t need the cooling system. I also have closer-ranged options.” At this, Michelle unholstered her two revolvers.

“Oh yeah, your two revolvers. What did you call them again?” Marquis scratched his head.

“The blue one is Divine Judgment, the purple is Merciless Grace,” Michelle smirked.

“I love these bad boys. Their power is unmatched!”

Only against human equipment. Still love them though.

She holstered her guns again.

“Oh shit did I talk too long? Sorry.”

“No, it’s fine. I think it’s really fun. My request is well, yeah kinda boring. It really is not much compared to yours. I guess since I’m going to request, I might as well give it some ranged capability or utility. Chain claws don’t seem too bad. Yeah, let’s go with it.” Marquis chuckled. Slightly embarrassed at how little thought he placed into his own weapon’s design.

Michelle though for a bit, and said, “I think it charming. It’s nice and simple. Guns are a hobby of mine so I want everything. You’re just not me, that’s all. Oh, we’re at the workshop. I should have written all my requests on paper before hand. I have a lot.”

“I’ll go first then. Shouldn’t take me too long.”

And so, the pair went on to put their requests. Leading to some chaos where the clerk almost screamed at Michelle for her request.