May 11, 4021 02:00 [Filoc Valley]

The torrential downpour in Filoc Valley battered Indra’s head incessantly as he sat prone, shivering behind a small thicket of underbrush atop a craggy precipice. Cold droplets bit at his face, forming frost on his fingertips, disregarding the thermal suit shrouding his small frame and masking his facial features. Indra had been waiting for over five hours, scanning the muddy hills below for his comrade’s signal through a pair of night-vision binoculars.

“What the hell is Mirai doing?” he mumbled to himself. In the distance, past the liquidizing mounds of dirt, stood a large complex at the peak of the valley containing an array of buildings and towers looming over the land below. Mirai should have cleared the area in question and sent a message by now, but not so much as a peep had been heard over the radio. The mission was a simple surveillance operation that Indra’s team had been running along the Desolate Coast. Mirai’s job had been to clear security outposts of personnel while gathering technology and new information on Coalition activity; a routine order for a reconnaissance scout.

The Coalition moniker represented an insurgent group in direct opposition to Lunar Gate, the company Indra and his team worked for. ‘Employed by’ became the phrase he would often use when asked what his association with the company was, but truth be told, Indra had spent a great deal of his life raised in one of the military Matriarchs owned by Lunar Gate, as did the rest of his comrades. As a defense contractor, Lunar Gate had been tasked by the country of Yuèliàng to settle land and resource disputes, preferably using conventional means of mediation. However, should conventional negotiations fail, the company had been sanctioned to settle disputes by any means they deemed necessary.

Naturally, groups like the Coalition rose in opposition to independent contractors such as Lunar Gate in the “misperception that the company was overstepping its jurisdiction,” as Lunar Gate’s representatives put it.

There were always issues with one self-proclaimed humanitarian group or another. It seemed like every week a new rebel group sprouted up only to be culled the very next. The complex in Filoc Valley was no different, exemplifying yet another military base filled with a few thousand insurgent soldiers that needed to be quelled.

In order for the current operation to begin, Mirai had to clear out the surveillance outpost located directly in front of the complex so that an ambush fleet at the lower end of the valley could seize control of the Coalition naval base stationed along the coastline. Yet, after five hours of sitting in the rain caked in mud, suspicions that Mirai had been captured crept into Indra’s mind. It’s not like this is the first time he’s been taken hostage, even in training his camouflage works haphazardly.

“For a guy who's supposed to be good at sneaking around quickly, he sure as hell ain’t convincing me!” a voice erupted.

Indra turned around frowning disapprovingly at the source of the outburst. Sitting pressed up against a large boulder was a lanky-looking man dressed in a similar getup to his own, sporting a jet-black thermal suit crowned with night vision goggles. The man stared at a thin translucent strap that sat upon his wrist, projecting a map of their current location. His wispy white hair spilled out from underneath his hood as his pale face contorted into a grimace, flashing bright rows of serrated teeth.

“Keep your fucking voice down, Akula!” Indra stressed.

Akula flinched, looking up from the projection. “Sorry,” he mumbled sheepishly. “It’s just that he’s never taken this long. What if he got caught? You think we should notify Colonel Jìguāng?”

“As much as I would love to contact Jìguāng and have him chew us out for screwing up a simple mission, we can’t do that. They’re bound to have signal interceptors monitoring every frequency in this district. The moment we open up comms to contact him we’re gonna light up on their dashboards. It’ll be easy for them to pinpoint our location from there, not to mention that if we do end up connecting with Jìguāng the surveillance operatives will find out about the ambush fleet he’s leading. The only way to check Mirai’s status now is to head to the outpost…” Indra paused for a moment. His brow furrowed as he scrutinized the situation, trying to think of a way to avoid direct confrontation with the Coalition before letting out a defeated sigh, resigning himself to the inevitable conclusion he had hoped to avoid. “I guess we can just get him ourselves.”

Akula flashed a toothy grin. “No comms means you’ll be entering the field with me!”

“You were hoping for this, weren’t you?” Indra said deflatedly.

“Yep! I’ll take point on this,” Akula replied gleefully, motioning towards his nose. “If Mirai’s nearby I can track him.”

“I thought that only worked in water?” questioned Indra.

“Nah, as long as there’s blood I can pinpoint a scent,” Akula explained. “Plus—" He extended his arms outward gesturing at the rain. "—There's plenty of moisture here." Akula beckoned Indra to follow him. "Let’s move. Who knows? He might’ve finished the job already and got caught while looking for souvenirs,” Akula chuckled.

Indra clenched his fist, shaking it. “If that's true I'll beat the shit out of him. I’d like to get this mission over with, so we can head back home.”

“Homesick already?” teased Akula.

Indra frowned, staring at the ration pack slung across Akula’s back. “No, it's just that I’d like to eat some fresh food rather than shit boiled out of a fucking can right now.”

“Cheer up! We’ll mow through these guys and drag Mirai back home in no time,” Akula grinned.

"Fighting a bunch of self-righteous revolutionaries isn't exactly comparable to warm meals and a soft bed," Indra moaned.

The two made their way down the craggy outcrop, slowly shuffling over loose stone and muddy patches. Indra cringed each time they made a crunch over gravel or a splotch in the mud, but Akula seemed unfazed by the sounds, focusing intently on finding the scent of Mirai's blood. There’s nothing to worry about. Our footsteps would be nearly impossible to discern against this monsoon of a rainfall, Indra thought, attempting to calm his nerves.

As the duo approached the outer perimeter of the complex, reaching the surveillance outpost, an unsightly scene lay bare for them to witness. The entire complex was in disarray; the security checkpoint preceding the outpost’s large titanium structure had been decimated, covered in slabs of broken concrete blocks and slashed iron fencing that peppered the radius. The pavement leading into the facility had been ripped from the ground and strewn across the land. Gouge marks cut deeply into the green flora, exposing dark crimson-brown soil. The mountainous doors that adorned the entrance to the city-like complex had been torn asunder, like paper torn from a booklet. Smoke billowed from the subsequent rows of buildings. Crumbling towers teetered precariously as they presented visible gaps in their construction, caved in as if shot with a cannonball. Whatever or whoever had attacked this place kept a clear end goal in mind. Apart from the ruined front of the Coalition outpost and the smoking buildings directly behind the entrance, the surrounding structures had seen no damage.

Akula whistled in disbelief. "You think Mirai did this?" he turned to Indra.

Indra stroked his chin, mulling over the state of the destroyed complex. “He’s a specialist in stealth not fighting. If we wanted to do something like this we could have just brought some explosives. Whatever did this may still be here. It’s probably why Mirai hasn’t been able to contact us.”

“Huh, I figured as much.” Tapping his nose Akula’s face darkened, his nose wrinkling in disgust. “Indra, I’m picking up Mirai’s blood scent. Judging by the strength of it, I’d say he’s close, but I can’t pinpoint his exact location.”

Indra raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean you can’t pinpoint his location? He should only be within a mile’s range.”

“Yeah, that’s the problem,” Akula said through gritted teeth. “There’s so much blood in this area that I can barely pick out where his scent is coming from.” Sweat poured down his face as he gnashed his teeth anxiously. “There’s also this other scent; it’s completely overwhelming my senses. It’s beyond foul. I’m not sure what we’re dealing with right now, but I can tell you that this is far beyond the scope of our expertise.” Akula gulped. “There must be thousands of corpses here. Unmoving, freshly deceased corpses.”

Indra furrowed his brows. “Thousands? Civilian or revolutionaries?”

“I don’t know, maybe both. I’d say the scattered blood scents belong to the civilians. There must have been a panic that caused them to run around in disarray. The blood scents of soldiers appear to be concentrated in a few areas. We need to grab Mirai and get the hell out of here before we meet whatever caused this massacre.”

“Okay, point us in the general direction of Mirai’s blood scent. We’ll have to manually check each building but if we stick to the shadows we shouldn’t be spotted by any survivors or reinforcements.” Indra pointed to the sky. “Luckily it’s still dark and the moon’s covered by clouds at the moment.”

“I don’t think we have to worry too much about enemy reinforcements. These troops were shipping out of Filoc Valley, probably heading to the front lines. That’s why they were up here at the Coalition complex, leaving the remaining platoon to focus on fortifying their naval base at the bottom of the valley. They don’t have time to check up on this area.”

“Where’d you get all that information from?”

Akula looked at him incredulously.

“Do you ever read any of the mission briefs Aisha gives us? No wonder your sister is so fed up with you! Some field operative you are,” he scoffed, shaking his head. “We should be clear of enemy reinforcements. Just focus on avoiding the thing that destroyed this place. The sooner we find our scout, the sooner we can get out of this area.”

Indra and Akula tiptoed around the debris surrounding the destroyed buildings, avoiding stragglers and Coalition rescue crews as they scoured the area for signs of Mirai. As they approached the furthest end of the path of destruction, they could make out a large group of soldiers huddled around an old rundown building. The two quickly moved behind an adjacent building and observed the commotion coming from the nearby structure. The aging building had been caved in, similar to the rest, creaking and groaning as the decaying support beams struggled to uphold a downtrodden roof. Ripped-up novels and leaflets laid mixed among the debris. This must be an archive, Indra speculated.

The soldiers quaked in their boots, Virya rifles pointed towards the archive, faces distraught with fear. Their faded Coalition uniforms and posture informed Indra that they were older servicemen, not particularly accustomed to combat, but most likely trained nonetheless considering how they held their firearms. Despite their innate fear of the horror that lay within the decomposing archive, the soldiers’ aim remained steadfast with their index fingers lightly hovering over the triggers of their rifles, the safeties switched off. Indra and Akula watched with bated breath as a soldier closest to the crumbling structure relayed orders to the rest of his men who were keeping their eyes transfixed on the top floors. The soldier, presumably the captain, was small in stature, about Indra’s height. His head was draped over with an aviator cap and his lengthy white handlebar mustache flopped up and down while he spoke. The captain observed his men with a piercing gaze behind large aviator goggles, clomping back and forth in his leather boots.

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Indra felt a light tap on his shoulder and turned to face Akula whose skin took on a shade even paler than its usual porcelain complexion. “He’s in there,” croaked Akula, pointing to the decaying building which was now dangerously tilted. “Mirai’s scent is really strong, but the other scent is in there as well. Its miasma is permeating through the air… it’s not like regular blood. There are traces of iron and hemoglobin but it's getting mixed in with something else–” he wheezed. Akula was sweating profusely, his breath heavy, eyes sunken.

Indra looked at him, worried. “Just stay here. I’ll grab Mirai and then we’ll get out of this place.”

Akula didn’t respond, his eyes now shut, as his breath remained slow.

Indra patted him on the shoulder, then ran towards the soldiers after picking up a Coalition coat and a Virya rifle from a nearby corpse. The soldiers didn’t notice as Indra joined their ranks, their focus remaining fixated on the third floor of the decaying archive.

“Listen up, men!” bellowed the captain. “An unknown assailant has been cornered in our sacred archive; they have broken into our territory causing an insurmountable amount of damage to our homes and our people! We are the last line of defense as the rescue crews transport our wounded and our civilians to the bottom of the valley for naval evacuation! We will stand firm in the face of danger, as we have countless times before! Whether we face the oppressive world governments or their dogs-for-hire, we will not yield in our ideals, our people, or our freedom!”

A resounding roar of approval erupted from the Coalition soldiers as they seemed to reawaken with a rejuvenated fervor. None of the troops trembled now as a row of Virya rifles were aimed at the third floor of the archive, patiently awaiting the assailant to emerge. Indra stood silently alongside the other Coalition soldiers, peering down the scope of his rifle, analyzing the scene for any sudden movement. At the instant that the unknown being emerged from the depths of the archive, he intended to take advantage of the ensuing chaos and sneak into the archive in order to retrieve Mirai. It was by no means an airtight plan, but without Akula’s aid, surrounded by enemy troops, in addition to the presence of a dangerous unknown variable, it was the only coherent idea that Indra could come up with at the moment.

Suddenly, a low-gurgling noise began to emit from the archive. The noise grew progressively louder, shaking the ground, transforming into a guttural growl. The Coalition soldiers readied themselves, checking that the safeties of their rifles remained switched off. Indra followed suit, cold sweat accumulating on his brow. The growling became louder and louder, echoing throughout the complex. The thuds and cracks of splintering wood and debris could be heard amongst the terrifying snarls of the unknown beast, barreling ever closer to the entrance of the archive. It charged powerfully, indicated by the crashing of stone that reverberated throughout the archive as the beast burst through what seemed like wall after wall.

The soldiers remained steady, invigorated by their captain’s words. Indra, however, felt faint, he could feel the blood draining from his face and hands, cold shivers running through his slight body. His fingers trembled, hovering over the trigger of his rifle. Was this fear he was feeling? Or was it just the atmosphere around him? The air had grown cold and stagnant; he couldn’t shake the lingering feeling that a weight had been pressed upon his chest as his stomach contracted. He felt sick; it seemed as if his very breath had turned poison.

A thundering roar erupted from the third floor of the archive as a horrific furred black mass crawled out of the orifice it had created within the building. Its body contorted and twisted into malignant malformations, its grotesque quadrupedal limbs balancing its continuously shifting torso. Large talons dug deep into the side of the building as its serpentine tail coiled around a pillar carefully so that the creature could poise itself upright. Its angular head pointed downwards directly ninety degrees, shrouding its facial features. Indra’s eyes bulged as he attempted to scream, mustering only a weak croak. A wave of nausea flooded his senses as a distinct miasma cut through the cold air. He could feel his esophagus closing, fear gripping at his throat, strangling him with its icy fingers, keeping him firmly cemented to the ground so that he couldn’t run.

“FIIIIIIRE!!!!!!!!” bellowed the Coalition captain.

Recovering from the initial shock of the shadowy creature’s emergence, the Coalition platoon that had been lying in wait unloaded their artillery upon the abomination. A cacophony of gunfire rattled the air, followed by a maelstrom of bullets that rained upon the shadowy beast piercing its flesh to reveal blood as dark as its fur. A non-stop barrage of ammunition pelted the creature, yet it stood still, making no attempt to defend itself, not a single sound escaping from its mouth. Indra fumbled with his weapon before managing to fire a few rounds into the beast, on account of his dreadful shaking.

After what seemed like minutes of shooting, the world became quiet once more. Three-quarters of the ammunition had run dry. As the smoke cleared, the creature remained still, riddled with holes, all oozing the same viscous black blood. The soldiers kept their rifles trained on the creature, unwilling to believe it dead. Indra remained glued to the spot, mimicking the soldiers. The air was tense as the minutes passed by, every moment seeming like an eternity, waiting for any change in the creature’s condition. Just as it seemed certain now that the creature had truly perished and the soldiers began relaxing their aim, it raised its head. A single word spoken by a gravelly voice pierced through Indra’s skull in that instant, driving its weight into his brain.

“Run.”

Indra’s cognitive functions ceased as his sympathetic nervous system took control. His head snapped away from the creature as he burst into a sprint in the opposite direction, towards Akula. Whatever is on its face, I don’t want to see it. The Coalition soldiers snapped their aim back onto the creature, unleashing yet another barrage of bullets.

Indra turned his head to look back as shrieks of sheer terror pierced the air, interrupted only by the crushing of bone and sinew, the tearing of tendons and organs as flesh was ripped from bone. He caught a glimpse of the carnage as the area became progressively redder; the creature had unfurled massive dark wings like that of a bird as it lunged at its prey. Indra’s lungs screamed for air as they burned under the strenuous pace he maintained. He reached Akula’s unconscious body, hoisting him up onto his shoulder. He no longer cared about being spotted, weaving in between buildings, passing civilians and Coalition rescue crews. Mirai was still trapped with the creature, but Indra could not go back and face the beast without reinforcements. He feared the worst but resolved to bring back reinforcements after radioing Jìguāng, hoping that they could at least retrieve Mirai’s body. Only the thought of survival raced through his mind as he struggled to keep pace under the weight of Akula’s body. Akula appeared to be a lanky individual, towering nearly a foot taller than Indra. However, despite his slim build, Akula sported lean muscle and weighed a great deal more than him. Indra scrambled through the dark with his infrared goggles searching for an unobstructed path to escape through.

An earth-shattering roar came from behind them. The ground shook violently from the force of buildings collapsing, toppling towards the two escapees. A massive mound in the ground burrowed out of the rubble making a beeline towards Indra as he frantically sprinted for his life, now dragging Akula’s heavy body. The burrowing mound increased its speed until it traveled ahead of Indra, cutting off all possible escape routes. As Indra screeched to a halt preparing to fight, the creature exploded from beneath the soil landing heavily in front of him. Every hair on Indra’s body stood up, goosebumps prickled along the length of his arms and the nape of his neck.

The creature craned its neck so that its head was low enough for its face to meet Indra’s eye level. Crimson blood coated the monstrous being’s contorted body, yet the most terrifying thing about this creature was its face. Its angular head housed only two distinct features: a mouth and a set of burning white sclera that seemed to pierce Indra’s soul. The monster peeled back its lips, curling them to reveal a hideous grin filled with a set of human-like teeth. This is it. I’m going to die. But if I’m going to die anyway, I won’t go down without a fight.

Indra lunged at the creature, grappling its enormous arm. He used the momentum and his body weight to displace the creature’s arm, throwing it off balance. The creature spun around, slamming its tail into his chest, knocking the wind out of him as it sent him crashing into the rubble. Indra gasped, trying to regain as much oxygen as he could. The creature slammed a hand down on Indra pinning him to the ground, its hideous smile growing even wider.

Before he could finish mentally preparing himself for his inevitable demise, Indra’s thoughts were interrupted by a voice. The voice sounded like gravel, an unpleasant depth echoed from it.

“You heeded my warning. Gooood,” the voice echoed around in his head.

“W-who? Who's there? Help us! Please!” yelled Indra, keeping his eyes transfixed on the smiling creature.

“I can help you. However, there is a price to pay for the safety of your comradesss.”

“I-I’ll do anything. Please! There’s another person still in the archives. I don’t know if they’re still alive–”

“Ah, yesss, the other one, he is safe. I have collected him. No harm will befall your comradesss. But, in exchange, you must be willing to offer me something of equivalent value. Hmmmm, how unfortunate. Two lives, but you have nothing to offer. You must choose one to leave behind.”

“N-no! Please, wait! There must be something I can offer you! My life, the knowledge that I’ve accumulated, something! I’ll give you everything I have. Just, please, help us,” Indra pleaded with the voice, his own voice breaking.

“I have no need for your knowledge, nor do I want for your life. I am in need of a vessel, a container for my soul. I am weak. The chains that bound me to this mortal realm have been broken, yet their presence still lingers. I need time to regain my strength. Time to understand this world again. So that I may finally kill them.”

“Kill who? Who are you? What—”

“—Never mind who I am or where I came from, they are not your concern. You will die shortly without my help. Offer your body as a vessel for my soul. Our being will become one; I will no longer remain as myself and you will no longer remain as yourself. Together we will become something more, a single body shared by two souls. To do so means to throw away your humanity, your individuality. Your secrets, your memories shall become my own. Nothing is yours to keep anymore, you will never be fully in control again. Are you prepared for that?” questioned the voice.

Indra grit his teeth. “It’s not like I have much of a choice, right? I accept,” he answered resolutely.

The creature edged closer towards him, boring into his skull with its leering blank eyes, its grotesque smile dripping with blood. Indra called out to the voice.

“You said you would help! It’s still coming closer!”

The creature stopped within an inch of his face. He could smell the metallic odor of blood on its breath, resisting the urge to gag. Then, to his horror, it spoke in the same gravelly tone as the voice in his head.

“You made a wise decision, Vessel,” said the creature. “We will form a contract regarding the terms we have discussed. Under the condition of preserving the lives of your two comrades, Indra Krodha, do you agree to uphold this mutually binding agreement witnessed by Chandra the Cursed Celestial?” The creature pointed at the now unobscured moon, casting an ethereal glow on the Earth around them.

“How do you know—?”

“—Your name? I know a great many things after peering into your conscious mind. A given name is simple enough to acquire yet true names hold tremendous power if spoken into existence. Although your true name lies within the deepest subconscious of your mind; not even I can access that,” the creature mused. “Do not test my patience any longer. Do you agree to these terms?” snapped the monster, still smiling.

Indra closed his eyes, steeling himself. I have to do this for them. There's no other way out of here. He sighed. “I agree.”

The creature released him from under its hand and extended its enormous arm towards Indra, opening up an enclosed palm. The creature brandished its blood-stained talons, almost a meter long. Underneath the creature’s ribs, in an inconspicuous pouch consisting of membranous tissue, laid a boy who appeared to be no more than fifteen years of age. He was unconscious, enclosed tightly by the pouch, his pale face shining visibly against the beast’s black fur. His sharp eyes appeared softer when closed, his unruly straight black hair lost amidst a sea of black fur, but there was no mistaking the boy’s identity.

“Mirai!” exclaimed Indra.

“He is unharmed,” the creature reiterated.

Realizing that its talons would cleave Indra in two, the creature retracted them, motioning for a handshake. Indra extended his own arm, reaching for the creature's hand.

“The contract is complete. With this, we seal our fate. Your body will become my vessel, and your comrades will remain protected.”

“One more thing.”

“What is it?” the beast replied.

“Why did you choose me as your vessel?”

The shadowy creature’s grin grew even wider, its eyes crinkling in genuine amusement.

“You heard me speak. In seven thousand years, no one has been able to hear my voice. You are a most unusual specimen,” the creature stated.

Speak for yourself. Indra looked incredulously at the creature. “What should I call you?” he asked.

The shadowy being pondered the question for a moment and then replied with the same skin-crawling smile.

“The next time we meet, I will tell you my name.”

With that final statement, the creature extended its talons, driving them through Indra’s heart. And the world went dark...