Cerberus HQ, Training Facility: 936, September 2nd, Sunday, 9:00 AM.
Inside the metallic structure of headquarters training facility, Claire stood idle with her eyes closed in the middle of a circular arena of steel. Both pistols in hand, she inhaled calmly through her nose while huffing the air out with her lips. A small figurine of a Cerberus soldier was placed in front of her only a few feet away, and the lieutenant’s face grew frustrated with every second that passed—beginning to clench her jaw as her eyebrows scrunched down.
“Dammit…” she finally opened her eyes with a growl, unable to blink in closer to the toy by utilizing her spectral gear. “What am I doing wrong?” she muttered, guiding her eyes towards the distant wall to her right—looking at the one-way mirror of the inspector’s room, which remained empty during her training session. “…Let’s just try another time.”
With a long sigh of defeat, Claire took the figurine from the arena before striding her way towards the exit. The vault-like door slid upwards to allow her passage into the next room, which served as an indoors gymnasium for the company’s staff. The place was repleted by soldiers of white, blue, and red uniforms—with the majority of them wearing the cobalt colors of Hydra.
Claire threw the small toy soldier in a table near the vault door and proceeded to walk across the large room, packed with weights and machinery necessary to provide the officers with enough equipment to efficiently carry out their exercises. One pair running the treadmills next to each other shifted their eyes once the lieutenant entered their sights. A mature man and woman—nearing their thirties by their appearance alone, they wore shorts and topless tank tops, his of a cobalt blue, and hers of vermillion red.
“That’s her?” the woman said, her hair black as carbon, and eyes brown like coffee beans. “The ace of Cerberus is just an ordinary looking girl?” She mentioned with more contempt than curiosity.
“I know,” replied the man, his dark brown hair cut extremely short with a somewhat grown beard. “I heard she was given some special weapon to fight as soon as she graduated, at least that’s the word being thrown around. Would explain how someone so young could accomplish so much. I’ve been hearing about the girl throughout the entire year.”
“I bet you she can’t do anything without it,” the woman said while pressing the blipping buttons of the treadmill—increasing its speed. “Maybe I’ll challenge her for a friendly spar, what you think?”
“I think you should stay out of trouble. This is still unknown territory to both of us.”
Claire continued her stride towards the exit with no interruptions, keeping the firm and prideful posture of a soldier as she walked. Her eyes remained lost in the distance however, revealing her distracted and scattered mind. Eventually reaching the steel coated double door leading outside, a snarky voice called out to her from behind—prompting the lieutenant to look behind her.
Spotting a couple of officers—one from hydra and the other from Chimera walking her way, Claire stopped in her advance with a firm stare as she waited for the pair. While the man hanged back at a respectful distance, the woman stepped in closer to the lieutenant with a confident smirk in her face—prompting her to look up, as Claire’s height was considerably shorter than the Chimera woman.
“I’ve heard about you,” she said. “Would you mind a friendly spar with an ally? Hand-to-hand, no weapons needed.”
“I’m busy,” Claire replied immediately, turning back towards the steel coated door—which slid open to allow her exit.
“I’m talking to you, brat!” the woman lunged her arm forward to grab the lieutenant’s shoulder—caught half way by someone else’s hand. “Hey!”
Her companion—who shook his head cautiously, stopped her from making a scene in front of the watchful eye of not only Cerberus’ staff, but a small group of imperial soldiers from the gladean empire keeping a watchful eye on the situation.
“Let’s just ask another time,” he suggested—watching as Claire strode her way into the bright outdoors.
During the last days of August, news broke out about the return of King Date to Heildin—which had been managed by the young princess Euthemia in his stead. The presence of the giant King emboldened the continent into pressuring Cerberus out of the Deadlands, ignoring many warnings from the empire and the company itself.
Finding himself pushed into a corner, the CEO of Cerberus Arwen Rhys, opened negotiations with both Hydra and Chimera in order to strike a deal. While the company didn’t lack the resources, its moral began to free fall after the most recent events that afflicted them—losing many of its staff in the process. A collaboration between the three companies was born, and Cerberus gained extra backing to protect its independent status from Kaldstein’s and Heildin’s governments.
The technological advances from Hydra, the scientific studies of Chimera, and the knowledge Cerberus held about the specters and the Deadlands. All combined to form a stronger front to maintain the demons out of the now large hellish zone, dividing their forces across its borders, as well as collaborating within the area itself during operations.
Despite growing in manpower however, tension between Cerberus and its new ‘allies’ increased by the day as the hound’s numbers fell short compared to the vermillion and Cobalt armies. Fights would break out all over HQ during training, lunch, and even sleep hours, creating a less than ideal atmosphere for their staff.
Cerberus HQ, CEO’s Office: 936, September 2nd, Sunday, 9:00 AM.
Sitting behind his desk, with a view of the snowy capital of Kaldstein through the window behind his back. Arwen read through the pages of a small notebook with unbreakable focus, attentively looking through every word at least twice before moving to the next page. The door to his office would slowly open with a screeching sound however, prompting him to unbury his head from the book.
“Arwen,” Sara Endel—CEO of Chimera, walked into his office. “Your Heretic unit has refused to return to headquarters under my request,” she said. “They cut communications with Hydra’s scouting party, and haven’t offered any response yet. I don’t need to tell you why this isn’t appropriate.”
Pressing his teeth with a low grunt, the CEO placed a small pencil in between the pages of his book—closing it for a later read. “Forget about them,” he told the redhead woman. “We should be focusing on rebuilding some of our outposts in the deeper areas of the Deadlands. Boris wants a testing ground for his new soldiers, something about automated units for Hydra...”
“Forget about them? Aren’t they Cerberus’ most efficient scouts?” asked Sara with protesting words. “I guess they weren’t called Heretic for nothing…”
“It should be fine. They might return on their own at a later time, that’s just how they do things.” Arwen reassured her with a node—knowing deep inside where Sebastian’s loyalty resided. “We’ll begin test operations in a week. You leave the south to us, just make sure our walls are well protected.”
Nodding with her usual stoic expression, Sara walked back into the hallway before closing the door behind her—leaving the CEO to his work. Arwen’s eyes stayed glued to the exit for a couple of second, slamming his forehead on the desk with a long sigh after making sure the woman was gone.
“I can’t do this…” his voice quivered and hands trembled, taking the pencil from inside the book as he scrolled all his way back to the first page. “Yeon… Sovereign… what do I do…?”
Its first page was mostly empty and only revealed its title, while the second indicated the purpose of the book. Its contents were written almost exclusively by Sovereign’s hand, with some parts switching to Yeon’s handwriting, leaving a message behind to the man named ‘Jacob Foley.’ From an extensive list of specters, their strengths and weaknesses, to a detailed map of the Deadlands with nothing but a blur at its center. The book had every bit of information necessary to hold off the demons as efficiently as humanly possible, with words of Sovereign at the end specifically stating ‘Rely on her, and my Bloodhound.’
Gently lowering the book, Arwen leaned his back on the office chair while taking a set of deep breaths—eventually lowering his eyes towards a cabinet under the desk. His contemplative gaze waited as his brain rewired into a working state, lunging at the wooden container before pulling it open. A pile of papers came into view as soon as the cabinet slid open, and Arwen began his search by burying his hand inside—pulling out a tiny steel container from the bottom.
Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
“Could I…?” Arwen peered at the small item, holding it steady in front of his face with two fingers. “This… the serum Sovereign wanted from Chimera…. Could I…? I could…”
Kingdom of Heildin: 936, September 2nd, Sunday, 11:30 AM.
At a peaceful riverbank deep in the vast woods of Heildin, rodents hid in the grass and scurried away while eating insects or chasing each other around. The birds sang happily, and the rays of the sun gently fell on the rich soil of the forest—reflecting the crystal-clear water of the flowing channel.
Standing at the edge of the bank was Atalanta, her azure eyes staring deeply into the running water as she kept her glaive in hand. Shrinking the steel pole into a small and portable tube, she tossed her weapon into the ground before turning around to face the bushes and trees—watching as a tall knight of dark hair emerged from within.
“There you are,” said Loki—raising one eyebrow with a curious expression. “Why did you toss your weapon away? Don’t tell me you actually want to rejoin the order.”
“No,” replied Atalanta. “I called you here for a different reason.”
“Uh?” his eyebrow raised even higher, accompanied by one corner of his lip.
Offering no explanation to the knight, Atalanta immediately unzipped her one-piece black suit from the back—allowing it to drop on the ground and revealing her athletic body to Loki. Her skin was of a fragile porcelain, and her hair gently waved with the peaceful breeze of the forest. Uncommon to her race, the blonde knight’s muscles were finely defined and showcased the power of a gladean knight.
Loki observed quietly as Atalanta moved backwards towards the riverbank, making her way to a deeper area of the water—reaching just above her knees. “You called me here to take a bath?” asked the knight with genuine curiosity.
“Get in,” requested the blonde knight—which caused Loki to click his tongue with a snarl.
“Whatever,” he said—proceeding to humor Atalanta as he took his clothes off as well.
His body exhibited a single scar in his right shoulder, running down at an angle near the center of his chest. The knight’s build looked more like steel than flesh, worked and exploited to near physical perfection—maintaining a somewhat lean appearance while not losing its strength and power.
Making his way into the water, Loki joined Atalanta in the riverbank before they sat down in front of each other. Despite the man’s protests about her intentions, the blonde knight insisted in remaining inside the water a little longer—running both hands through her gold hair and shapely figure.
“I’m getting tired of this,” said Loki. “What do you want?”
Knowing she couldn’t keep him for too long, Atalanta moved her gaze to stare into the knight’s impatient eyes with a determined look. Exhaling deeply through her nose, Atalanta stood once again before finally revealing her intentions to the order’s champion.
“I was thinking about what King said…”
“You actually want to—”
“No,” the blonde knight interrupted him in the middle of his sentence. “Loki… we are the last generation of knights left in this world.” She told him with a serious tone. “If we fail to stop Specter, then this world will be doomed forever…”
“Ah,” reacted the knight with little care while throwing his head back—lifting himself to stand. “That’s all then?”
“What do you mean that’s all?” she retorted in an instant. “We have to keep our species alive. it’s part of our duty as gladean knights.” Her voice grew urgent as she continued. “You and I were paired together by the order before the specter invasion, to breed stronger knights in case of failure. We still have our duty to carry.”
“Go ask someone else,” Loki replied coldly while crossing his arms—keeping a disinterested expression in his eyes.
“You too… I see no reason for you to refuse other than pride.” she scolded the man. “I know we waited years for him to appear, but look at what happ—”
“I was taken off guard,” Loki interrupted with a snappy reply—avoiding his gaze as he continued. “That’s all… I won’t fail a second time…”
“You don’t know that!”
“I do!”
“No, you don’t!” Atalanta stomped in closer—to which Loki instinctively took a step back. “You are being immature again, but this isn’t time to be acting this way.” She huffed through her mouth, calming herself. “The world is in danger, Loki…. This isn’t like before, where we could play around with our opponents, or try and get stronger in a battle. This is it… Specter has shown himself, and our chances for success had never been at its lowest.”
Loki scoffed at her in response while lowering his arms, glaring at Atalanta for a couple of seconds before replying. “Fine, you can have it your way then.” He said while raising his index finger, shifting to a snarky grin. “But only under one condition.”
“It’s not a problem, just give me your request.” Replied Atalanta.
A chuckled escaped the knight at her response, bending his knees to sit back in the water—quickly followed by Atalanta, who sat close in front of him. Her determined gaze stared deeply into a mostly uninterested Loki, ending the silence with a quick sigh before speaking.
“Let’s bath,” he announced—beginning to splash water on himself. “I missed a few spots.”
His words made Atalanta flinch in surprise, scrunching her eyebrows in shock. “What? That’s your condition?”
“Yep.”
“What are you playing at…”
“Nothing, go ahead… wash yourself too.”
With the knight’s unknown intentions in mind, Atalanta simply listened to his request and began to bath next to him. Neither of them uttered a single word during their time together, with The Golden Lightning’s curious gaze fixed on an indifferent Loki. Their bath done, Atalanta waived her long hair to help it dry—immediately pushing her companion down into his back, and kneeling on top while facing him.
“What the hell was that for?” asked Loki with a growl.
“We are starting,” Atalanta claimed with a nod. “Your request is done.”
Throwing her aside with both hands, the knight pulled himself back into a sitting position as his companion splashed water during her fall. She quickly pulled herself up to sit, and her furious stare did not escape Loki’s unconcerned azure eyes.
“I did what you wanted, Loki!”
“And I will do what you want,” he replied nonchalantly as he stood back on his feet.
Turning his back on The Golden Lightning, the knight began to walk his way back towards ground—planting his feet on the dirt, and retrieving his cloths. Atalanta quickly followed behind him, her stomping steps splashing the water under her before reaching ground.
“Then what is it? Let’s begin.”
“Right now?”
“Wh— of course!”
“Really? you didn’t really specify when.” Loki shrugged while dressing himself in the middle of the argument.
“It was already implied, Loki.” She said in between gritted teeth.
Turning to smirk at the fuming blonde knight, Loki huffed a chuckle before pointing towards Atalanta’s suit with his chin. “Well… you should’ve been clearer with your intentions then.”
“Why?” The Golden Lightning asked as her brows furrowed with concern. “Loki… I don’t want our race to become extinct… We’ve been alone for too long, and I will not allow things to end this way.”
“Tcha!” her grieving words erased the man’s confident smirk, leaving a frown of contempt behind as he clicked his tongue. “You know… for someone who left the order in protest of its ways. You are still very diligent to their beliefs.”
“What?”
“Listen here… the only one who will end Specter’s life, is me.” He pointed at his chest with one thumb—leaning his face closer to the woman’s. “My name will be written in every book, and my statue carved in every continent, city, town, and corner of this planet. That’s my purpose, that’s why I was born and trained, that’s why I exist.” He told her with a scolding tone. “Whatever this baby of yours will be I couldn’t care less, but he won’t take my spot as the true champion of the gladean knights.” He crossed his arms while leaning back into a straight position. “This is why you were always in second place, think about yourself and what you can do for once. To hell with the order and what they want.”
“…”
“Well, I guess that’s it.” With a last scoff, the knight turned his back on the woman once again. “I’ll tell you when I’m ready, but it won’t be anytime soon so don’t be waiting.”
“You’ve changed… you know.” Atalanta spoke with a calmer voice—prompting Loki to turn and look at her from over his shoulder, spotting a warm and somewhat embarrassed smile in the blonde knight’s expression.
“What are you on about now?”
“I don’t know, you are similar to Ninigi… in a very strange way.” She spoke. “I didn’t notice it before, but I feel like you’ve calmed a little. Is it because of the doll? You never said what it was.”
“I’m not talking to you.”
“What? Hey, do it for an old friend.”
“We are not friends you and I. Go put your clothes on already.”
“Hm… now that you mention it. We were always comrades in battle, but I never actually thought of you as friend…” she said more to herself than to the knight. “We bathed together with the others during our time in the order, ate together, fought together…”
“Leave me alone.”
A quick chuckle escaped Atalanta, nodding grateful to the knight. “Thank you, Loki.”
“I said—”
“I’ll go back to Ninigi,” she interrupted the man. “And will do anything I can to put an end to Specter, and if I must… kill the god once and for all with my own two hands.”
“Tsk! As if you could…” Loki mocked one last time before striding away towards the woods, offering no further words as the shadow of the trees hid him away from view.
END OF CHAPTER