“That’s the cross then,” said WhiteOut as she tinkered with some device.

“Yes, I can feel its inner radiance, though it is yet to shine in my grasp,” said Aaliyah.

“So you can’t use it yet. Better than nothing.”

WhiteOut, Aaliyah, and Kenny had a meeting in the wrecked command center surrounded by soldiers still repairing the center from the attack on Olympus. They heard stomping in the stairwell coming toward the center.

“Speaking of nothing, looks like she’s awake,” said WhiteOut.

The door was thrown open with one hand by Hannah. Her head was bandaged and half bald, and her other hand was occupied with a smoothie.

“How could you!” cried Hannah before she sipped her smoothie. She continued to stomp on her way to WhiteOut’s seat, each thunderous plod shook the base to its foundations. She towered over WhiteOut, but the girl herself paid no heed to the woman and continued to tinker with her device. “You killed children!”

“It’s hard to take your indignation seriously when you’re drinking a smoothie. Who even told you this anyways?”

“Garrick told me,” Hannah put down her smoothie, “just now. Did you know, too, Aaliyah? Don’t you care?” Aaliyah tightened her grip on her cross.

“We already discussed those events while you were in bed and, well, it’s not really my place to make those judgments…” trailed Aaliyah.

“See she understands,” said WhiteOut

“What’s there to understand?!”

“That it was an opportunity to neutralize two high-priority targets, though it looks like one of them survived. At least I saw her face.”

“That has nothing to do with you blowing up an orphanage!”

“Mutants harbored and indoctrinated by terrorists.”

“They were children.”

“Maybe if you took out Angel when you had the chance, WhiteOut wouldn’t have had to pick up the slack,” said Kenny.

“Kenny, what are you saying?” asked Hannah, her voice wavered now.

“I’m saying that everyone else is risking their lives while you’re still pretending this is a comic book. We’re not invincible like you, we don’t get to play around. You didn’t take his head off and more people died because of it!” yelled Kenny more harshly than he intended. Hannah was taken aback by Kenny’s outburst.

“He’s correct,” said WhiteOut, “especially with Xiu Chen creating portals for them, we couldn’t contain them if we wanted to. Let me be clear: when it comes to mutants and terrorists, we can’t take prisoners,” WhiteOut waved at the ground, “Tartarus will remain empty for the foreseeable future.”

Hannah glanced around the room. Aaliyah could not look her in the eyes. Kenny glared at her. The soldiers went about their duties as they pretended not to hear. WhiteOut tinkered with her device.

Does anyone even care?

WhiteOut’s device lit up.

“What is that anyways?” asked Kenny.

“It’s a specialized radiometer. I was concerned about how easily those portals let the enemy get the drop on us. I set up devices on likely targets to find the wavelength associated with the portals. It’s supposed to give us an early warning even at great distances.”

“So the light means that it works, right?” asked Immortal from over Whiteout's shoulder. The soldiers raised their rifles only for Immortal to hold up the magazines in his hands and drop them on the floor.

“Oh, it’s you. Don’t you usually wear a coat?” asked WhiteOut.

“My daughter has it. Besides, there is no threat to me here.” The soldier’s around them fumbled with their magazines in their rush to jam them in the well.

Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

“Hey, what was that thing that melted me the other day? I felt something called ‘pain’ for the first time, and I hated it.”

“My late comrade inscribed a rune with his dying strength. Since you melted it means that this is a clone. A long-range one.”

“Guess you had me figured out then.”

“Like an open book, girl wonder.”

Kenny got up from his seat.

“You talk big but I bet this is just a clone too. If you wanna act tough you should come yourself!” said Kenny exactly as harshly as he intended.

Immortal removed his helmet. With one hand he set it down on the desk, the weight of it shook the condensation off the smoothie, all the while he did not break eye contact with Kenny. Kenny froze and allowed Immortal’s other hand to land on his shoulder. A warm smile crept across Immortal’s face.

“I’m starting to think I chose the wrong brother,” said Tyler, “he has ambition, but you are much more… audacious.”

“What are you talking about?” asked Kenny.

“You are much more decisive. You saw the enemy and you eliminated them. Especially with that affinity, you’re a born prodigy.”

The sincerity in those compliments made Kenny nauseous.

“What the hell are you talking about!? Do you even care that people are dying because of you!? Do you even care that your own soldiers are dead because of your war?”

“I rarely give orders. Sister Teumess and Brother Four-Leaves decided to take this mission of their own volition. They chose to be warriors because that is where their hearts brought them and they died fulfilled in their duty.”

“What a load of crap! You had them throw their lives away like they were nothing to you! Is that how they did it in your clans?” said Kenny in a nasally, accusing tone.

“No. Unfortunately, the other families held onto their selfish sentimentality. That weakness always caused more suffering. I was born to ensure that humanity never suffers another failure. A hero must be strong and impartial for the sake of the greater good. Besides, I don’t see why I should feel guilty. I’m not the one who killed them.” Those last words sundered the righteous fury Kenny had propped up in himself at the moment. He unconsciously stumbled back but was caught by Aaliyah. “They were so concerned about your brother that they let you go when they thought you were running away. Even when you came back, they just wanted to scare you off. That kind of sentiment is why they’re dead.”

“That’s enough,” stated WhiteOut before even Galvangal.

“That’s just what a Little Birdie told me. But Kenny is right. This bloodshed is a terrible tragedy. That is why you should all throw your weapons into the lake and surrender. In the name of peace.”

The soldier’s surrounding him wanted nothing more than to pull the trigger on their now-loaded rifles. After all, he was only a man. Yet, even as their finger rested in the guard, they were kept still by a chill that ran through their bodies. They could only move to accept WhiteOut’s order to stand down.

“Your mom said you intended to give this relic to Aaliyah eventually? Why?”

“Once the war is over, she will have the experience necessary to unlock the relic’s full power and make it her own. She will be a great teacher and healer for the future.”

“And what is this future you have in mind? What’s the point of all this?” asked WhiteOut.

“I want to restore magic to humanity and colonize hell,” stated Immortal.

“Is that all? If you led with that, we could have avoided all this y’know,” said WhiteOut.

“We both know it wouldn’t be that simple. Every nation would squabble with each other if I tried to negotiate; after all, it’s what they always do. The true purpose of this war is to ensure that my forces have unilateral control of hell. Otherwise, we would end up just like Horatius.

We will develop portals that are capable of mass transit between this world in the next. That is how we will facilitate the colonization efforts: in hell, my warriors will expand and extract resources that they will trade with Earth for necessities; on Earth, the nations who receive those resources will develop industries that depend on those resources. The nations will be more concerned with not falling behind each other than in uniting to stop us. Your people, just like the clans, wanted to control something you did not understand. My plan is to ensure a future where humanity will conquer its daemons once and for all.”

“Really now? Because based on Aaliyah’s report, just a small portal brought down a room full of men even with her blessing. Is it safe to open up more of those?” asked WhiteOut.

“No, it isn’t. That is why it must be tamed, and released slowly so that humanity can be reacclimated to magic to the point where everyone has an affinity. The world, socially and physically, will be reorganized around magic.”

“You don’t have any magic yourself despite being exposed to it. How are people without a mutation supposed to gain one? Are they just going to be left behind?”

Kenny was in a daze. All he heard was ringing in his ears. The only thing that woke him up was an unfamiliar color in an all too familiar shape. An emerald flicker, no bigger than that of a lighter, came to life in the palm of Immortal’s glove.

“My ancestors had a ritual that could bond souls together but brought with it the whole weight of another person. It was reserved for marriage, burdening the husband who had joined the wife’s village in the same way that the wife would carry the husband’s child. It was meant to profess love, but I can use it for so much more. And this,” his other open palm spilled golden vapor, “is only the beginning,” he clenched both hands to snuff out the magic, “do you have any further questions? If not then I think I’m done here.”

“You said you want to teach us, right,” grumbled Kenny, “then train me! Just like you did with Hannah!” he demanded. He stomached the sight of that sickeningly sincere smile once more.

“Kenny, I don’t think that’s such a good idea…” started Hannah.

“I have to get stronger somehow!” snapped Kenny, “especially when we can’t rely on you.”

“If it’s alright with WhiteOut,” said Immortal, as he put on his mask, “we can step outside right now.”