District 1, to the knowledge of all this dome is impenetrable. Housing the main forces of the Military of the Martian Human Colonies it is equipped with the highest level of security on the inside as to keep it’s habitants under total control and weaponized on the outside with a dome so thick that it can house a district of it’s own while being armed with the most powerful barrier and weaponry known to mankind.

Even for the Mechanized army of GAIA, District 1 was an impossible fortress to siege. It’s shimmering green barrier viewable from two districts away as it stood twice the size of any of them. Platforms that lay at the very edge of the barrier outside the district itself were armed with six turrets surrounding a bunker base, in total there were two hundred and fifty six bunkers all around the dome.

Each bunker had two long range energy piercing rail cannons that would effectively snipe any ship into swiss cheese, two scatter firing missile launchers armed with heat seeking missiles made for anti-personnel purposes and finally two rapid firing energy turrets that for as long as the bunker was online would never run out of ammunition and never stop firing at their 1200 fire rate.

Within each of these bunkers was a squadron of the latest mechanized unit the Military had at the time, robotic blood hounds that would stop to nothing at defending the dome.

Then there was the barrier itself, a marvel of physics and engineering. Weaponized energy that without a barrier surrounding the vehicle that would enter it of the exact same energy output down to the most miniscule difference would turn said vehicle into a puddle of molten liquid metal. The barrier also being energy and not physical went all around the dome leaving about 1 kilometer of open martian field in between or if underground 1 kilometer of dry stone.

The inhabitant of this district, the man that down to the last grain of sand owned Mars went to every stop at defending himself. Nobody knew what the inside of District 1’s dome was like, anybody that did was deemed nobody and never left.

Yet no matter what defences they established, no matter how many guns and walls they surrounded themselves with the inhabitants of this realm weren’t made privy to the reality at hand. As mana-less as this realm was, it was nothing more than a single realm in the vast multi-dimensional existence it was part of.

As Kyle stood mere feet away from the bright green barrier he sighed and glanced down at his own feet “Nobody has ever made it this far without being meant to.” He murmured to himself as he stood in open space, no dome around him or mask on his person. Kyle stood on martian soil with no suit or protection, were oxygen shouldn’t have been there.

And yet he could breathe, yet there was still the same gravity he was used to. Each one a bonus of not actually being in said realm as he stood in it’s parallel existence, the realm of the dead, the Spirit realm.

As he stood there glancing around he pondered on why there was nobody, ever since arriving he had yet to see a single literal soul. The Spirit realm of this existence was empty other than for himself and Karnage who stood closer to the barrier slowly raising her sword towards it’s surface.

Kyle knew something was very wrong about the emptiness of this realm, whether it was purposeful or coincidence it bugged him to no end. (“Focus…”) he told himself, being on edge ever since waking up from his short nap. His nerves were killing him, wanting nothing more than to get away from this world as quickly as possible.

In every sense of the word Kyle hated this world, he hated what people had made it, he hated what it stood for and he hated what it had done to him. Kyle was disgusted by humanity’s willingness to live like cattle, to live, eat, sleep and shit within the cages they called home. Yet he couldn’t blame them as even he had no interest of going against the Military, even he knew just how suicidal that frame of mind was.

But that was before and this is now.

Kyle was no longer your average human being albeit never actually being human in the first place. He now knew things about reality, things he would use, things he would abuse to build a path to his own ideal reality.

“It’s safe I guess?...” said Karnage as she poked one of her swords through the barrier, a black bladed silver sword with a dark grey handle that was fashioned around a blood red gem.

Kyle was brought back from his own thoughts as he refocused on the barrier ahead of him and the visible defences on the other side of it “Then let’s keep going.” He said with a step forward before Karnage stopped him.

“Are you sure you’re up for this?” she asked Kyle while holding her sword up ahead of him, looking straight into his eyes as he coldly glared back “I know you don’t want to hear this but…”.

“Then don’t say it.” He told her while rolling his eyes.

Karnage sheathed her sword “Your Aunt was right, coming was a bad idea. We don’t know what we’re up against here.”

“Oh I do, I know exactly what.” Said Kyle with almost a growling tone as he glanced around at the tendrils of shadow that lurked within this realm “It’s faint but intoxicating, it’s scent. The signs are everywhere, just that warehouse back there was the last piece of the puzzle I needed…” his eyes briefly shone brighter as anger settle “How could Scythe gather so many non-human creatures? And not just that either…How could he, a normal mage warp the rules of an artefact? Summoning so many more than should be possible through it…”

Kyle lashed out at a tendril of shadow that lurked towards his face, his right hand swiping down at it as his sword appeared engulfed in white-blue flames that slashed through the shadows “How could Scythe, a human, stop himself from going all the way through a portal when even to me a Spirit Beast or Sly a Devil that journey seems instantaneous? Then how did he find his way through the veil? It’s obvious, he didn’t do it alone.”

Karnage’s eyes widened “It?...Kyle you don’t mean…you came even though…”

“I’m not afraid, I sort of expected this outcome to some degree…” Kyle took a deep breath and looked upwards, the dark sky full of stars and colours as the universe’s light fell upon Mars untouched by humanity’s lights “Even if it really is here…if it has a hand in all this…all the more a reason for me to step in!”.

Kyle stepped through the barrier with an expression of determination, his want to protect his friends, his dream to be part of a world of myth and legend drowning out his anger and frustration. Focused on the task at hand Kyle walked forward, followed by Karnage who continued to wear a worried expression they made their way through gloomy and deserted martian terrain.

When suddenly the ground trembled, several seconds of tremors shook the stone below them. Disturbed by the quake Kyle glanced back briefly, meeting Karnage’s she nodded back and they both charged forwards at top speed. Running and surging forward they both cut through the distance within a minute reaching the District’s outer dome.

Without stopping they rushed into the wall, going straight through like ghosts. Another set of tremors followed as they both emerged on the other side.

District 1 was vaster than the others, it’s outer sectors being completely militarized. Long metallic buildings stretched out to their left with wide roads in between them while to their right a vast field full of combat vehicles, mechs and transports lay.

Soldiers rushed around, Android and Human, to their left as sparks of violet lightning surged alive from over the field of vehicles. The lightning emerged out of nowhere and struck randomly around the area, toppling vehicles, destroying buildings or even killing several soldiers.

Suddenly the lightning began to form in a straight electrified line over the field, random strikes emerging from it still. Kyle willed himself to fly upwards, ascending into the sky he watched from above joined by Karnage “He’s here…”

The line of violet lightning stretched out as a rift of crimson opened up, a scar in reality about thirty meters long and ten wide. From within the scar a massive robotic arm emerged wielding a just as massive assault rifle, the Raider stepped through the rift and fell down to the ground crushing an entire tank as it did.

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The Raider looked around as if in both surprise and confusion before raising both arms, both wielding a single rifle in hand and began to fire. As the first Raider moved through the field destroying any vehicle that didn’t require manning several more Raiders began to emerge from within the rift until there was seventeen in total.

The Raiders spread out into three groups with a single one of them being unarmed by heaving a massive generator on it’s back, the generators hummed with energy as suddenly a black barrier of light with a hexagonal pattern formed around each of the three squads in a spherical shape.

The barrier was massive and apparently mobile as it began to make it’s way towards the buildings, nothing was able to make it through it not even light as it lay as a complete mass of black stopping anybody from seeing what stood within.

Kyle glanced away from the barrier and back at the rift as suddenly three vehicles flew out of it, two bikes of differentiating colour that immediately cloaked and a large military transport that seemed to have had seen better days. The Rider and two bikes turned towards the mobile barrier and entered it as it reached the buildings.

“Where is he?” asked Karnage as she stared at the black barrier in confusion.

“He’ll come.” Said Kyle as he watched the rift, it shuddered briefly and began to close on itself when suddenly another figure soared through it.

Engulfed in violet sparks of lighting Sly appeared in full Devil form, his long black-violet wings spread out as he glided through the air while the rift closed behind him.

Kyle watched as Sly took a completely different direction from his allies, glancing around he took in the Districts surroundings more. Most of it was short but long metallic buildings or fields of vehicles that connected to tunnels which took underground yet three things stood out among this.

The first was to the left where the buildings suddenly got taller and taller like small houses taking into apartments before suddenly taking to skyscrapers. This was the direction the Raiders and their barrier were moving towards.

In the centre, the very centre of the 1st District was a massive beautiful mansion of red brick, three times taller than the military buildings it also had a vast field of cut grass all around with several patches of flowers and trees with intertwining roads around them. All around the mansion and it’s large garden was another barrier like the outer one, yet this one was much brighter and seemingly more solid.

To the right was one that didn’t stand out as much as the mansion but more than the sudden elevation of buildings to the left. A tall metallic tower stood far off from either the mansion or the dome, seemingly solitary among the short buildings it stood out due to it’s height and design. Gleaming blue lines of light carved their way up it’s sides, not straight but in a sort of a cornering pattern that snaked it’s way from the bottom to the very top.

Sly was flying towards that tower.

“Let’s follow him!” exclaimed Karnage as she flew after Sly before suddenly stopping to glance back at Kyle who was intently staring at the mansion.

Invisible to anybody else but Kyle, massive tendrils of shadow emerged from all around the mansion. Thicker than the wisps of shadow he had seen before, seeming more solid the tendrils reached out from their emerging point and bent towards Kyle’s direction as if calling out to him.

Kyle’s expression paled as he felt the lurking evil from that place, a disgusting and intoxicating scent that like perfume demanded his sense’s attention. Kyle shivered as he felt the darkness reach out to him, like hands he felt it’s presence all over his own body caressing him.

Like before every fibre of his being screamed at him to walk away, to turn around and run for his life. His senses told him that a being worse than death itself awaited him there, a creature so malevolent that reality itself turned dark around it.

“Kyle?” Karnage called out to him as she watched him stare off into the distance with a paling expression, his hands trembled as sweat dripped down his chin. The fear in him was so apparent that it became physically visible through his body’s reaction as she touched his shoulder.

Kyle hovered back a few steps suddenly as he swatted her hand away, eyes wide in panic as his fangs and claws grew out and Frostfire had suddenly emerged then engulfed him. He breathed erratically, glancing between her worried expression, Sly flying off in the distance and the eerie mansion.

He clenched his hands into fists, digging his own claws into his palms he grimaced and squinted at the self-inflicted pain “Go on without me.” He suddenly told her before rushing off, flying at top speed towards the mansion.

Continuing to inflict pain on himself by piercing his own skin Kyle made his way towards the mansion, his entire body shaking and trembling as he got closer and closer. As he reached through the barrier the tendrils of shadow reached out to him but were swatted away by his Frost-fire, as he reached the mansion’s walls the looming darkness around it reached out and tore away at his flames.

But Kyle kept going, following the scent, allowing his senses to guide him he moved through walls and long fancily decorated corridors. Constantly assaulted by shadows he made his way through the massive mansion like a ghost moving through hell, the tendrils of gaseous darkness tearing away at his flame.

Suddenly as his fire grew thin the shadows formed like spears, lunging at him they forced him to evade and dodge out of the way as they tried to spear him through. Kyle kept moving deeper and deeper yet the shadows only got fiercer and quicker, ultimately one pierced through his right leg causing it to tremble as pure agony flowed through him.

Kyle growled like a beast as his Frostfire re-emerged, empowered by his own rage the flames disintegrated the tendril that had pierced through him and the rest that reached out to entangle him. Even though the flames engulfed an entire corridor nothing was damaged other than the shadows, incapable of touching something that wasn’t actually there.

Not even waiting to calm down Kyle continued onwards as the pain lingered in his leg, as the anger only grew within him until finally he emerged into a large room dimly lit room. Like a king’s bedroom it was exquisitely decorated, from the magenta walls covered in a golden pattern of branches and vines intertwining with one another, pearly black stone carving separating the walls from the ceiling and floor, a bright cherry wood flooring made into rectangular tiles and the ceiling…

The entirety of the ceiling was one massive painting, as if the room was made just to accompany it. The painting portrayed a city of marble in flames as women and men dressed in dull cloth rushed around in tears begging and pleading, some carrying their children while others lay on the ground with their corpses as armoured soldiers with long spears and rapiers cut them down and took the young.

“Quite the dull sight isn’t it?” spoke an almost choked voice.

Kyle turned away from the painting only now noticing the man that stood in the very middle of the room, old beyond counting his skin was the colour of dirt and crumpled up. The man had short grey-white hair and wore a just as grey suit with a white button up shirt underneath and a black tie around it’s neck.

“The Massacre of innocents it was called, a masterpiece made in the 17th century back on Earth. It portrays soldiers from the beyond ancient roman empire massacring citizens of a city named Bethlehem.” The man continued to speak as suddenly a crooked grin curved it’s way up his saggy lips “It is a dull sight yet I find that I quite enjoy it, it furthers my belief that no creature is ever made equal. That the strong are the ones that will survive and the weak the ones that shall be trampled and made into a path for us to step on.”

Kyle growled “Even the weak can surpass the strong, if they work together even monsters can be brought down.”

The man chuckled, a weary yet hearthy chuckle “Ah foolish child, to call a creature such as yourself weak…” he turned to face Kyle, his eyes dark brown as tendrils of shadow flowed through their whites “I am only human and look at what I have accomplished, even though incapable of continuing my family’s dynasty I made a pact with the Devil itself to do so from the afterlife!” he exclaimed while opening his arms wide.

Kyle grimaced “That thing is no Devil but a monster far worse, you sold your soul and will gain nothing from it.”

The man chuckled again “Gain nothing? Fool I will stand by it’s side as it unleashes it’s power over existence itself! We shall become the new Gods! Not even this broken body can hold me back anymore!” his expression became maddened, eyes wide and wearing a crooked grind he chuckled.

Kyle’s eyes shone brightly as he clawed at the air in front of himself, “Then allow me to relieve you of that body.” tearing away at the thin veil between this realm and that he opened a rift and stepped through it.

“You wish to kill me? Go for it then! Death means nothing to me! I’ve served as it’s connection to this world for decades! Not even you will be able to withstand it for much longer ‘Chosen’! To think that it’s perfect container is such a childish fool. It is all too late! Gerik is readying the portal and we shall release it from it’s bound realm!” The man exclaimed as he took a step forward towards Kyle’s approach.

Kyle momentarily stopped his approach as he emerged from the rift, his eyes widening as his hands trembled “Then if death won’t suffice, I will simply snuff out your very existence.” He growled while showing his set of fangs.

The old man’s eyes suddenly widened as he took a step back but Kyle was much faster, surging forward his eyes turned bestial as he pounced onto the weary old man sending him crashing to the ground. Kyle lay over him, snarling down at his wrinkled and wide-eyed face as he reached down with clawed hands to the man’s chest.

Kyle held him down as the man panicked, suddenly and without flinching Kyle lunged down with his right claw and reached deep into the man’s chest. Frostfire engulfed the both of them as they lay on the ground, blood began to pool up on the floor around them as a dim red flame licked around Kyle’s bloody arm.

He pulled out his hand and the flame alongside it, the man immediately going limp as he did so. Standing up Kyle shivered as he stared into the small weak flame, his Frostfire hungrily surrounding it as he did so. He took a deep breath then raised the flame up to his open mouth, as he swallowed it whole Kyle instinctively took in another sudden breath as the rush of devouring a soul settled into him.

Shaking off the strange sensation Kyle stared down at the broken man, his soul had barely nourished him with any Spirit yet it’s taste was something he would never forget. Like when he had devoured the dungeon’s soul Kyle started to feel a hollowness inside, a need to be satisfied. He had acted on instinct alone and eaten the man’s soul, unable to resist it’s sight.

Kyle sighed “Maybe I am instead the monster…that needs to be brought down.”