Democratic republic of Pelkesk, Kapono City: 936, February 13th, Friday, 5:00 PM.
Lucy stood at the edge of a twenty-story tall skyscraper. The rooftop was built into a garden with well-kept plants and pretty flowers, a stone path that toured the beautiful field and led to the entrance. People sat on the benches or stood gawking at the alluring charm of the garden, couples chattered and giggled with their partners.
The girl tenderly embraced the tiny core of a specter in her hands—holding it tightly near her chest. Down on ground level, her crimson eyes spotted chimera officers surrounding the building. Turning her head to look back at the garden, Lucy witnessed the small crowd of people going about their business without a care in the world.
A man dressed in a suit and white shirt talked on the phone to his client, a mother and her child shared a book together, groups of friends simply walked around and took on the peaceful breeze that caressed their skin—all completely unaware of her presence. The girl turned her saddened eyes back down at the crowded street, holding tightly to the core in her hand—her body mutating more and more into a spectral appearance.
At the ground floor of the building, the ample lobby was mostly empty with only a few people walking in and out—ignoring the Chimera agents making their way inside. A set of large stairs was located in the middle, leading to the next floor.
“The king’s orders are absolute, get out of our way.” One of Chimera’s soldiers demanded.
“King... in Pelkesk? Isn’t this a democracy, lad?” Tormod replied sarcastically. He faced the three heavily armed men with his fist raised, accompanied by Bianca who held her daggers high. Behind them stood Lucas, the man they met at the coffee shop who knew about Lucy and her specter.
‘Go, we will buy you time.’ Bianca wrote to him.
“B-but I can’t see her...” the man stuttered.
‘She listens to you. Think of something, go!’ she urged the man to leave.
Not wanting to get in the way any longer, Lucas raced his way up the stairs in search for Lucy—shouting her name through every floor in the hopes that she would at least receive the warning. The Chimera officers attempted to chase after him, but were stopped by the detective and the assassin.
Raising their weapons, the armed men opened fire against the pair—unconcerned about the safety of the public. Bullets flew across the large room as panic broke lose in a mere second—people left the building; hid behind whatever wall or item they could find and called the authorities. Tormod protected his face and heart with his arms, taking most of the damage on his legs, arms and torso as he rushed the group—thankful to have such a resilient hybrid body.
Bianca flanked the group in a quick rush, avoiding being shot at by one of the men aiming at her. With a skillful throw of her dagger, the assassin staggered her opponent as the blade plunged into his chest—continuing her assault with a leap towards the man and striking his face with the sole of her boots, forcing him to the ground. Tormod dealt with the rest, piercing through the armor of one of the soldiers with a straight punch of his right fist—crossing his left arm to the right side and grabbing the butt of his second opponent’s rifle; who attempted to bash him in the head.
“Help me out, lass!” Tormod requested, pushing the man away from him with a boot to the chest.
Bianca offered her assistance with a drop kick against the soldier’s back, hurling him back to Tormod. Reacting quickly, the detective enveloped his fist in a radiant azure light—releasing all the energy against the Chimera officer’s chin, launching him high into the air.
Before they could catch their breath however, a pair of hooded knights entered the building in search for Lucy. Both the detective and the assassin swallowed hard at their presence, still not fully recovered from their previous encounter with the gladean knights.
“Let’s play this smart, lass...” Tormod took position in Bianca’s side.
‘I’ll protect you, lad.’ She wrote to him, getting a quick laugh out of the detective.
Lucas continued his way up the stairs, willing to yell through every floor until a sign of Lucy was revealed. He was at the sixth story of the building and all he could see was people cowering and hiding from the commotion below—panting heavily as his unathletic body began fail from fatigue.
The nearby detonation of one of the windows startled Lucas, who protected his face with his arms—tripping backwards and plunging against the floor on his back. The few people around fled inside other rooms or further upstairs—frightened by the possibility of further gunfire.
A gladean knight kneeled in front of Lucas, slowly standing back on his feet—his intimidating tall stature and azure eyes looking down on him. Lucas attempted to drag himself away with a sharp sense of dread, but was caught by the neck in an instant. His efforts to break free were nothing compared to the inhuman strength of the knight, gasping for air as his face turned red and the veins in his forehead surfaced.
It didn’t take long for Lucas to begin losing consciousness, his inert hands fell to his side and his eyes closed—unable to find the strength to continue struggling. Shortly after, his life was taken away by the knight, lifting him in the air and smacking the back of his head against the floor—killing him instantly.
At the rooftop...
Lucy’s watery eyes kept staring down as past memories rushed through her mind, memories of the sister she parted with a long time ago. Viktoria was the only person she ever had in life, living on the streets with no parents to take care of them.
One day, an older woman approached them while they begged for food outside of a restaurant. Lucy—while still a child—was a little younger than she is to date, meanwhile Viktoria was at the end of her teenage years.
“Here, you can eat this.” the woman said, offering them both a pair of takeout lunches.
Viktoria accepted the woman’s generosity and, in typical form of an older sibling, gave a larger portion to Lucy. “Thank you, can you tell me your name?” she asked the older woman.
She had fair skin, short black hair that was growing gray with the age and dark brown eyes under a pair of round glasses with stylish red frames. The woman had an elegant and refined air to her, dressed in a red office suit—her voice was soft but not quiet and her smile radiated with confidence. “Mairead,” she answered. “Mairead Foley.”
“Thank you, miss Foley.” Viktoria offered her a smile in gratitude.
“No need to thank me,” Mairead chuckled. “Do you live nearby?” she asked in an attempt to make small talk.
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Viktoria shook her head, “we don’t have a home.” she replied. “And jobs aren’t easy to come by either I’m afraid.”
Mairead placed her hand on her own chin and hummed. She proceeded to take a tiny notebook from her vest’s pocket—writing down on a page with a small pen strapped to the book. “Here you go...” she ripped the page from the tiny book and handed it to Viktoria. “I believe you’ll be able to find something with them.”
Looking at the note, Viktoria read what seemed to be instructions to reach a building in the middle of the city, ‘Chimera HQ’ was highlighted on the page—above the woman’s signature.
“It’s a pharmaceutical company, but you may be able to find something there.” Mairead claimed with a smile. “If you’ll excuse me, I’m in a bit of a rush.”
Saying goodbye to the kind woman, the sisters partook in a delicious takeout lunch—it was the best food they’ve ever had. The next day, Viktoria arrived at Chimera HQ with Lucy and presented the note to the red armored staff guarding the entrance. Recognizing Mairead’s signature, they allowed her entrance to the main building—where she would be given a job interview right after.
Late at night, the sisters located an abandoned building to spend the evening. Viktoria felt overjoyed at the opportunity she received, having successfully completed the interview and be given the role of janitor.
“A stable source of income...” she smiled with teary eyes. “Lucy, this is the best moment in our lives!” she hugged her sister tightly—who returned the hug with a beaming smile. “I will buy you so many things, I’ll take you to so many pla—I’ll save money...” she stopped herself. “If I do well, I may even get a promotion... Lucy, this is amazing!” Viktoria jumped and laughed with Lucy in her arms, overjoyed by the positive turn in both of their lives—a short lived happiness that spearheaded the sisters’ downfall.
Later in that same night, a group of heavy armed men dressed in red combat armor surrounded the building—the moving light of their flashlights leaking through the open windows. While unsure of the situation, Viktoria took the safest option and hid inside a wooden closet with her sister. She soothed Lucy’s nerves by stroking her head gently, giving her a reassuring smile.
A bright light pointed directly at their closet however, the sound of footsteps approaching got closer and closer. The door suddenly opened and the girls were blinded by the armed men’s flashlights, Viktoria covered her face with one hand and Lucy’s with the other. The pair was forced out of the small space and thrown face to the ground.
“We found them,” one of the men reported through an earpiece.
“Leave her alone!” Viktoria yelled at the soldiers, trying to break free from their clutches. However, a strong blow to the head by one of their rifles knocked her out cold in an instant.
That was the last time Lucy saw her sister—she was blindfolded and taken to an unknown location. There, her body would go through many rigorous experiments as time passed. Losing the track of time as her mind, body and spirit were shattered by the scientists of the unknown facility.
She remembered her last day clearly. She was strapped on a bed in front of a large machine with a long needle—injecting a strange substance into her chest. Lucy felt an unbearable pain as the liquid found its way inside her body, she cried and screamed at the piercing sensation all over her—losing consciousness after agonizing minutes.
She could’ve sworn she died that day; her mind drifted away into empty thoughts and hopeless dreams of happiness, only awoken by the soft voice of a man she couldn’t even see—her foggy vision could only make out a glimpse of his silver hair swaying gently with the wind.
“Don’t worry...” the voice said to her with a soothing tone. “I will protect you... that’s a promised I made to your sister... Viktoria.” he concluded.
Lucy stood at the edge of a twenty-story tall skyscraper. She held her tiny glowing crimson heart in her hand, looking down with watery eyes. Lucy never asked for anything in her life, she never wanted anything more than to spend time with her sister—yet all she knew and wanted was already gone. At this realization, the girl couldn’t bear the thought of going back to that hell she was put through—making up her mind and letting the tears flow down her cheeks.
With quick motion forward, the girl took a deep breath and closed her eyes—holding tightly to the core in her hand near her chest. She felt the cold breeze of the wind against her face as she allowed gravity to take her, keeping her mind occupied with a life she could’ve had, a life she dreamed of having—but never will.
She kept falling for what seemed forever, she heard sirens in the distance and the swooshing sound of the wind. The strong breeze hitting her face suddenly stopped however, she felt a strong grip holding her wrist and desperation overtook her mind. “They caught me...” she thought. Opening her eyes—devoid of all emotion—she stared down at the ground from the sixth floor of the building. A strong force pulled her back inside through the window—she didn’t attempt to run or struggle—in her mind, the fight was already over.
“I'm with you...” the rough and distorted voice of a man spoke to her. Unknown, yet familiar to her ears.
She looked at him with a shocked expression, her heart beating out of her chest as she tried to remember his face. The man wore a black hoodie and a black cap that concealed his eyes, he had messy short black hair and carried an amber ring on the index finger of his left hand.
“I’m here, Lucy.” he told her with a reassuring smile.
The girl cried her heart out at sound of his voice. She didn’t know why, but the man’s presence brought a much-needed peace to her mind—as if her sister was standing right in front of her. He took her hand gently and retrieved the core—slowly fading into embers in his hand and supplying him with its energy.
He picked her up in his arms and kindly stroke her head, “my name is Sovereign by the way.” he told her with a smile. The sobbing Lucy shrunk in his arms and smiled back with her eyes closed—feeling a sense of security.
“Hey you!” a police officer approached them both. The girl opened her eyes and flinched at the sight of the man, but relaxed quickly at Sovereign’s hand gently rubbing her head. “There are two criminals on the loose, we are evacuating all residents in this place!” the officer told them with urgency.
“Thank you, we’ll head out immediately.” Sovereign replied calmly.
“Hm?” the officer reacted to the tall man approaching them—his intimidating glare fixed on the man holding the small child.
The gladean knight stomped his way in front of Sovereign, towering over him by a wide range. He stared at the girl for few seconds, quietly inspecting her every feature—her dark brown eyes filled with horror. After the quick inspection that felt like an eternity, the knight left for the upper floors without a word—leaving them both behind.
“What was that...” the officer said with an open mouth; he shook his head quickly—focusing on the situation at hand—urging the pair to leave the building. “Go on, evacuate the place!” he led them towards the stairs.
Walking through the exit and into the rowdy streets of Kapono, Sovereign left the conflicted part of the city with Lucy sleeping in his arms. A vehicle stopped near him as he continued on his stroll through a more desolated area—pulling down its window to reveal the woman sitting on the drivers sit.
“I’m not going to chew you out just yet...” Yeon tried to keep a calm tone. “Just get in, you are making me nervous...”
Sovereign entered the car and exhaled loudly through his mouth, leaning back against the sit. “Thank you, Ki-Joon... and sorry for worrying you.” he thanked his friend with a worried smile—his voice no longer rough sounding or distorted. He accommodated Lucy in his arms and took the black wig off his head, revealing his natural silver hair. “This is Lucy, Ki-Joon.”
Yeon sighed to release the built-up anger inside, taking a look at the slumbering girl through the rearview mirror. She couldn’t help but smile at the peaceful expression on Lucy’s face—the snuggled-up girl sleeping calmly in Sovereign’s arms. “How cute...” she huffed laugh.
“King...” Sovereign said under his breath, making his voice loud enough for Yeon to hear.
“So, he is working with Chimera.” she mentioned.
Sovereign nodded with a serious expression. “Not just that... it seems like Pelkesk is his whole playground at the moment.”
Yeon flinched at his words and directed her eyes towards him—using the rearview mirror. “What do you mean?”
“This place is under his control, Ki-Joon.” he began to explain. “His... people are all over the place.” Sovereign stated, avoiding the word ‘knight’ to refer to the hooded figures. “I think I know who is behind all of this... I’ll have to confirm it during the meeting.”
“Should we be worried?”
Sovereign leaned back and looked out from the window of the car—no visible emotion in his eyes. “I’m only afraid of two people in this world, Ki-Joon...” he claimed, looking at the distance. “King is not one of them.”
END OF CHAPTER