Terror Infinity Side B

Chapter 14, Real World I

Saki: They... They were creating soldiers. Soldiers who would one day enter God's Dimension as Players?

Sozin: Yes. Although they prefer the descendants of former Players above all, they acknowledge the fact that talent isn't always decided by bloodlines. The original members of the god like five member team who founded The Four Pillars didn't have any particularly special background either when they were first Players in that dimension.

Hikari: Something like this is really going on. Kidnapping, murder and brainwashing children into soldiers... Isn't this the real world?

Aqua: Don't look so surprised Hikari: Those kinds of things have alway been going on, but you just never heard about them till now. I've personally heard from a friend when I was in the army that he once had to face off against child soliders who were armed with guns. You more then anyone should know that evil has always existed, and this revelation just means that a portion of it has been caused by these Four Pillars instead of regular human beings.

Saki: This... Is shocking. I had an idea it was something like this, but not to such a level. I could reason that a group of former Players were up to no good, but nothing this large scale. Let me ask you Sozin, how were you related to all of this when you saved me?

Sozin: I am a member of Dove United and I was sent in alone to deal with the problem. I was sent in to rescue or dispose of the children being raised as potential Players for Mass Enlightenment and Blood Crusade, and also kill the researchers there. I am not one to kill little children, so I went in with the full intension to rescue and not kill, but unfortunately the enemy thought that I was also trying to get their research, so they killed all the children. The only one I was able to save in the end was you Saki.

Saki: I see, and thank you Sozin.

Sozin: Please don't. I regretted not being able to save the other children and was so glad to have saved you Saki and so many times, knowing that I saved you gave me peace of mind on the hardest of days, but for never checking up on you, that you remembered those event and were so obsessed with it that you became depressed enough to be invited to God's Dimension... To end up in God's world of horror movies and stories, it is just one more thing that I have come to regret in my life time.

Saki: Please don't worry about it. It was my own choice to pursue the path that I choose and no one else's.... There is no one to blame.

Aqua: I agree with Saki. Also, Sozin.

Sozin: Yes?

Aqua: The missions of God's Dimension has changed, so it is no longer the horror movies and stories from before. Now us Players are forced to enter into the the world of Manga, Anime, Novels and Video Games. Were you aware of this change or know the reason behind it?

Sozin: Sorry, but I do not know for the sudden change. I only heard about the this new format from my contacts in Dove United. What I have heard is that the rest of The Four Pillars have begun to take actions more aggressive in God's Dimension since they believe a change is coming to that unchanging dimension.

Saki: To bad we couldn't find out more... Then next question I have is this. When did you first join into this fight between the Four Pillars?

Sozin: That, huh. It was after my wife passed away. With her gone and the only child that we had already grown up and left home, I had no reason to stay on the island, so I went on a journey. During this time I was still hoping to run into my former friends even after all this time, but all that I found was trouble. By misfortune I ran into a fight between former Players in the real world, and at the time I had no knowledge of the the Four Pillers and their battles. I dealt with them with ease since they were causing problems for innocent people nearby, yet action got me on all of their radars. It was at that time a lieutenant of Dove United made contact with me and explained what was going on, and that now that I was on their radar it would be impossible to get off it due to my strength.

Shin: Why is that?

Sozin: I am very strong among the general Players with enhancements who have made it back to the real world and I've also unlocked up to the Third Stage of the Genetic Constraint. Even with the backing of the Four Pillars not everyone can unlock the Genetic Constraint and beyond the Second Stage is still very rare. Beyond the Third Stage is even more so. The Four Pillars see me as both an incredible asset and threat to be left alone.

Aqua: That was something else I wanted to know. How strong are the members of the Four Pillars with enhancements, and where do you yourself rank ? I want to know just in case we ever run into them in the future.

Sozin: That's a difficult thing to answer. Strength is relative among those at the top, although I believe I would be around the upper middle class which is still quite strong on this side to be a threat. In each organiztion, those truly stronger than me can be counted with one's hands if you don't count the founders. I also can't tell you how strong the leaders are as I can only describe them a true monsters beyond common sense, but the average level of those with enhancements wouldn't be too much stronger than Shin or Aqua including their Genetic Constraints.

Shuai: How is that possible? Didn't they collect enough points to return home to the real world by surviving the missions? They must have acquired powerful enhancements to do so, and as a result should be much stronger than us.

Sozin: Normally yes. God wants only one team in an era to survive and return to the real world, but the appearance of the Four Pillars who support hundreds of teams have changed things. With their knowledge of the missions more and more teams come back alive, and the reason most Players don't become overpowered is because of the Four Pillars as well. They don't want anyone not truly committed to their causes to gain power rivaling those at the top of The Four Pillars, and the Players know that if they try to become to strong without permission than the Four Pillars will hunt them down once they make it back. The Four Pillars want solider, not powerful warriors that they can't control.

Saki: Is fear also how they control those below them? When I was kidnapped I got the feeling that the two killed my parents and abducted me and everyone else were afraid to disobey their bosses.

Sozin: That is probably true. In case where normal peopel with no connection to the Four Pillars like your team are formed, the Four Pillars will find a way to contact you. They will agree to lend said team their support so they can survive the terrors that await them. Contents of the missions to lessen the dangers, Hidden Side Quest in the missions to acquire more points and rewards, loopholes to take advantage of, first rate newbies to join their teams and personal assurances that their loved ones in the real world would be taken care of... But in exchange they own them for life. Well, they are probably having some trouble with recruitment now that the format of God's Dimension has changed from Horror Movies to Manga and Anime, so they have less to offer to new teams as a result.

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Misaki: Sounds like extortion and blackmail. And do The Four Pillars really just leave you alone here on this island, Sozin? It sounds like they have a lot of manpower to spare to deal with just one person.

Sozin: Yeah they do, but I am no normal person. I can confidently say no number of cannon fodder can deal with me ( Badass ). To defeat me would require someone to send a team of similar level warriors to kill me, or someone from the top who has made a real name for themselves, but doing so brings other problems as well. If Mass Enlightenment or Blood Crusade brought out such a powerful card to deal with me, Absolute Reckoning and Dove United would make similar moves... And let's just say those kinds of battles later become the things you see on the news reported as natural disasters and such, minus the Four Pillars involvement of course. Blood Crusade and Mass Enlightenment love destruction, but they won't make such big moves unless what they get in return equals any potential losses they occur.

Kampa: I get that. Happens a lot in wars. No one takes a risk that don't have a high percentage of working out. Funny how that means that they are no longer taking risk. Anyways, what I got from what you just told us is that Sozin are strong, very strong, but not enough to for anyone to take a large risk in trying to kill you if you are doing nothing, but living your life on this island.

Sozin: Yes, and that is why I am safe here long as I do nothing, yet there was a time I couldn't just stay still on the island. It was the reason why I couldn't leave the fighting and eventually joined Dove United in the battle between the Four Pillars.

Misaki: Why is that?

Sozin: My son, Ken and Kaiyo's father had also joined the fighting. After leaving home he ended up in the war between the Four Pillars. I learned of this a little while after getting involved with everything. He had joined Absolute Reckoning. I joined the war since I wanted peace, so I joined Dove United and not Absolute Reckoning because I wasn't interested in their battles, but my son was drawn to them and no matter how much I tried to convince him to leave the fighting, I couldn't get through to him.

Kampa: What happened to him?

Sozin: ...He died. About seventeen years ago he had the misfortune of running into the elite unit of Blood Crusade that is directly overseen by its leader Wrath. He died in battle and his young wife who he had children with also got caught up in the aftermath and died as well.

Kampa: I am sorry to hear that. I too have a son and I can say I wouldn't know what I would do if something happened to him.

Sozin: Thank you, but unlike the time with my wife's passing I wasn't completely lost. I did indeed harbor thoughts of revenge towards Blood Crusade and the rest of the four Pillars, but I wasn't able to go through with them. My son and his wife left behind twin children. It was my responsibility to look after them. Also, I couldn't abandon them since they are special.

Saki: Special?

Sozin: Yes. Though not as much as my son, they did indeed inherited some of my enhancements. I said earlier that the children of Players make up a lot of the personnel for the Four Pillars, but there is a reason for that. When descendants of Players with strong enhancements, somewhere in the next four to five generation who still show strong traces of their powers, become Players themselves God will give those individuals benefits to them.

Shin: Like how. Do they start out with extra points?

Sozin: I am not 100% sure since I was never too interested, but I've heard if they follow the same enhancement path as their ancestors they will have less cost for their point and rank reward requirements. Sorry, but I don't know to what degree.

Shin: (How lucky and unfair. So what, do they get a discount card for their enhancements? If say my grandfather was a Ghoul with Ki would I get a cost reduction in those two enhancement paths... Just how many points would I have saved and could have used for anything else. In these first two mission I had acquired about 20,000 points and top tier rank rewards. If I was at least given a 50% discount on all my exchanges then both Ki and One-Eye Ghoul could already be at A rank and I could have obtained over a dozen useful Ki techniques.)

Sozin: That was why I also had to personally look after them. Absolute Reckoning would have attempted to raise them themselves, fill their heads with propaganda, praise for their own organization, tell them to seek revenge and then ship them off the that hell we know as God's Dimension and who knows what else. They don't do experiments like Mass Enlightenment and Blood Crusade, but despite preaching justice they are without a doubt a very extream group.

Shin: ( Human experimentation and child soldiers... Was the real world always this manga like? ).

Aqua: I have another question is you don't mind.

Sozin: Go ahead.

Aqua: What I, no what all of us need to know are more about Team Battles. We already have two members who have Unlocked the Genetic Constraint, so we are coming closer to that time. Please tell us anything that you know!

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Authors Note:

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I remembered that there were comments about how the organization/The Four Pillars were bad a recruiting, but the above is the reason why. With the new format they lost the incentives that they once had to entice new teams to their side. They can only offer good newbies in the future, but God only allows one person at a time to purposely enter God's Dimension per mission, but compared to the in depth knowledge that they once held about the missions, just that alone is lacking and wouldn't be able to win over Team Japan.