Sector 7 is regarded as the home of Ragnarok's military. It houses almost all of their infrastructure, offices, personnel and camps; which are classified into their individual sigmas. [15-25], [26-50], [51-75], and [76-99]. It is important however to note that the 7th is also home to thousands of civilians, most usually the wives and children of our brave soldiers, be they dead or alive.
Lt. Colonel Amiri Hadjen.
Conquestia, Sector 7.
Year, 2257.
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General Lucas Deaton was a tall man, and although one would expect him, as a general, to have a commanding and overbearing presence, his bearing was more subtle, almost cowardly.
His pale skin seemed almost devoid of blood, sickly, but his eyes were the purest of blue, and like all Mythics, he had no pupils, but even without moving his head, Artemis could still tell when the man’s gaze landed on him.
General Lucas was the youngest general on the blandly named General Council, but was by far the most accomplished. Awakened with the rare concept of sketch, which explained the numerous portraits around them, the general preferred to sit and draw rather than shed blood.
For this reason, many considered the general weak, but Artemis knew better. General Lucas was a friend to his father, and if there was anything he’d learned from the man, it was knowing when and how to pick a battle as well as knowing when to retreat.
The general was an expert at seeming harmless, but Artemis considered him one of the most dangerous Mythics currently within the kingdom.
General Lucas led them up a series of steps, and despite the fact that he could have simply teleported them to his destination using his aspects, the general loved to show off his art.
As they climbed the stairs, Artemis and the others gawked at the portraits that lined the wall. As beautiful as the pictures in the main hall had been, they were mundane compared to the snowscapes, landscapes, and forests that now surrounded them.
When they stepped onto the second floor, Artemis paused, his hands reaching up to touch the last portrait, a life-sized sketch of the general’s daughter, Tarisai Deaton.
The sketch was unpainted and unfinished, yet it stirred his emotions so violently that he had to look away before he was overcome by the desire to rip it to shreds.
Tarisai had been his childhood friend, a light in the darkness of his early years. He’d loved her as a sister, and they’d been inseparable until death had separated them.
Artemis took a minute to compose himself, pushing down his grief, before following after the others. When they walked into the briefing room, Artemis frowned in distaste. The room was undecorated, and lacking any artistic touch save for an embroidered logo of the Ragnarok army hanging on the left wall.
A large holographic screen stood on the opposite wall, and a long wooden table edged with a dozen chairs stood at the center. Artemis immediately moved to the chair at the head of the table, his eyes hard, daring anyone to challenge his right to leadership.
Zero shot a sly smirk in his direction but made no comment while Geneva and Uduak glared at him. Ali and Matharantha ignored him, while the general simply sighed as he moved to stand before the screen and address them.
“First, I’d like to thank you all for heeding my summons on such short notice. The army—”
“I had to drop a well-paying job to be here.” Ali Hassani spoke for the first time, his head still bent. “Unlike my usual services to the kingdom, I won’t be undertaking this mission for free.”
General Lucas stared at Ali for a moment before turning to the other members, gesturing for them to name their prices. Geneva spoke first, gathering herself as if preparing for a fight. “I’m requesting for aid to be sent to Riverun, the port city of sector 6, who have suffered most from this war. I will only grant my services if I have your word that my request will be granted in a fortnight.”
The general gave a single nod. “You have my word.” He then turned his gaze to Matharantha, who simply shrugged. “I want nothing.”
Artemis frowned as the general’s gaze landed on him. There were a thousand things he wanted; chief among them was {Ethereal Ambrosia}, an extremely rare spirit plant that would push his spatial control even further if ingested, but he refrained from stating it and said Instead. “I’ll name my price after the mission.”
The general’s gaze lingered on him for a moment before moving on to Zero, who said the same thing. He sighed when Uduak spoke. “Before I name my price, I would like to know just how many rules we’re breaking with this mission.”
Artemis rolled his eyes as the general slowly replied. “I will not deny that this mission skirts very close to the boundaries that the law allows, but as far as I know, we will not be breaking any rules.”
Uduak nodded. “I’ll name my price after the briefing, then.”
General Lucas shook his head. “Be rest assured that the kingdom intends to pay handsomely for this mission, whether it’s a success or not.” He raised a finger and glared. “Still, the army will not appreciate failure as this mission is of utmost importance to us.”
Artemis nodded as the general’s gaze landed on him once more. He was the leader of this team, and their success or failure was his responsibility.
The general nodded and continued. “I’m sure you all know each other by now, and I’m sure you’ll be best friends by the time our training period ends, but before we start, we need to learn about our enemies.”
The general began with a brief explanation of the nature of the Sunstonian agricultural sector, and its importance to its kingdom. “The third sector of the Sunstone kingdom is popularly known as its breadbasket, as it produces about 70% of the kingdom’s total food consumption each year and contributes 20% of the kingdom's gross domestic product (GDP), which underscores its economic importance.”
Artemis frowned as the general continued. It seemed this mission wasn’t quite as simple as he’d thought. The consequences of destroying such a place would cause severe food scarcity in the Sunstone Kingdom, causing them to become heavily dependent on costly imports from the central kingdom.
Their success in this mission would damage, if not cripple, the Sunstonian economy, causing social unrest as the price of food skyrockets.
The others seemed to have come to the same understanding, but aside from Uduak, who was frowning in distaste, the others seemed fine with it.
Why wouldn’t they? The Sunstonians deserved all they got and more for their treachery against the continent all those years ago.
General Lucas turned to the screen and it came on to reveal the images of several Sunstonian champions.
“Obviously," the general began, "you’ve all heard bits and pieces about these individuals; perhaps you've even come across them in the central kingdom, so if you have any information that we lack, feel free to state them.”
He gestured towards the images of five individuals displayed on the screen. “These are the champions currently stationed in the 3rd sector, according to our sources, and they’re reported to have an unusually fast reaction time, which means they’ll be our major problem.
Once we breach the barrier protecting the sector, we’ll only have a minute or two to get in formation before they arrive.” General Lucas swiped his hand across the screen, and the image of a stern-faced man zoomed in to occupy the entire screen.
The man’s face was devoid of any bloodline manifestation, so much so that he could have been considered ordinary, but a keen eye would notice the weird nature of his pupils, which seemed subtly to contract and expand at irregular intervals.
Artemis had never seen the man before, nor had he heard of him, but from Zero’s expression, it obviously wasn’t a shared sentiment.
“This is Wu Ming, code named Legion.” General Lucas began. “He’s popularly known for his cloning skills and is currently at the 85th tier of advancement. The current known number of clones he can create at once is just shy of five hundred, although we presume his actual limits to be far above that. Legion is a one-man army, dangerous both in large and small-scale battles, whose favorite tactic involves overwhelming his enemies with numbers. His clones have no special abilities and only rely on their physical strength so they're relatively easy to take out.”
The image changed to a clip showing Legion as he released a seemingly unending number of clones at the center of a battlefield.
“As terrifying as his future potential is, Legion isn’t quite capable of creating an unending number of clones without his partner, Ji-ho, who, as reports have mentioned, is usually never far away from Legion.”
The screen changed to display an image of Ji-ho, and Artemis’s eyes bulged at the amount of gems and jewelry the man was wearing. A polychromatic diamond the size of his fist hung from the man’s neck, and Artemis twitched uncomfortably as he fought the urge to teleport to the Sunstone kingdom and grab it.
“Ji-ho, codenamed Multiple, is an extremely wealthy champion with the elusive affinity of replication. His skills rarely lend themselves to combat, but they are devastating when combined with Legion’s. This duo is a force to be reckoned with in any context, overwhelming their opponents with quantity rather than quality, and they are nearly impossible to contain, but I’m hoping you—he gestured to Artemis and Uduak—can easily deal with them.”
Artemis nodded, although he believed Zero was a much better counter against the duo. In fact, Zero was a perfect counter to anyone, so perhaps it was wiser to place him against their most dangerous opponent.
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As General Lucas went into details about Legion and Multiple’s known abilities, not that there was much to tell, Artemis began plotting and planning, searching through his status screen for skills that perfectly countered the duo. The fact that the clones had no abilities or skills of their own made things much easier.
The screen shifted once more to display the image of a woman dressed in priestly robes. The mark of a sunburst occupied her forehead, identifying her as a high priestess of Aeloria.
“This is Mei Ling, codenamed Warp, a reality manipulator who is considered the most dangerous on the list. Currently at the 90th tier of advancement, her control and manipulation of reality are reported to be nigh perfect, displaying overwhelming power leveraged with surgical precision.
She is considered the leader of this group, and you cannot afford to underestimate her.” General Lucas fixed them all with a pointed glare before proceeding. “We have limited knowledge about her skill set, and even the little we know cannot be trusted. Reality manipulators are ridiculously good at hiding the effects and nature of their skills. It is impossible to trap her, but that is not our mission. Keeping her occupied till the plague wraith activates is our main objective.”
The screen shifted again, and a jovial-looking man with platinum-gold hair appeared on screen. His white pupils were ringed with two bands of gold that gave him an eerie appearance, and a halo of light shone around him.
“This is Li Wei, codenamed Luminous.” General Lucas glanced in Zero’s direction and continued. “At the 87th tier, he may not be the most advanced person in this group, but his threat level is placed side by side with that of Warp. We have a good understanding of his abilities, but knowing what he can do and being able to counter him are two different things. His utilization of light is more conceptual in nature, as his skills are geared more towards ethereal, heat, and reverse-healing attacks.“
"Luminus is also known for an unprecedented level of control and is capable of light speed attacks. That puts the success of this mission at stake, and we cannot allow that. Keeping him out of the battle is the best tactic, which is why Zero must put him out of commission for the duration of those ten minutes."
General Lucas gestured towards the screen, and a video of Luminus perfectly defending against a battalion of Tier 75 advanced class, soldiers appeared on the screen, and Artemis frowned as he watched the man dodge, block, and redirect attacks without a frown or wrinkle of concentration.
The clip changed to display an old man with patchwork scars covering his entire body and the mark of a sunburst occupying his forehead. The man had a wide smile that stretched all the way to his ears, revealing all his teeth and giving him an insane visage.
This one Artemis knew, and he frowned in disgust. Patchwork was a champion he’d once met during a mission in the central kingdom. The man was insane, to put things mildly and feverishly devoutly to the worship of Aeloria.
“Patchwork.” General Lucas began, unable to keep the disgust from his face. “This champion has a flesh affinity and has obviously embraced the more sinister and offensive part of the affinity. He’s reported to be extremely brutal in his manipulation and control of flesh.”
The image on the screen changed, and a soundless video displayed patchwork as he stripped the flesh off a young man, exposing a ragged mess of bones and torn tissue before reforming the flesh again.
Patchwork let out a soundless scream when he failed to reform the flesh perfectly, and then stripped off the imperfect skin once more before reforming it once again.
The lack of sound only served to make the video more disturbing, and Artemis averted his eyes after patchwork stripped off the man’s skin for the third time.
“And they call themselves believers.” Geneva spat in disgust, a sentiment the entire team shared except Matharantha, who watched the screen with morbid fascination.
“As dangerous as he is, patchwork is easily countered by the use of a special runic armor that will be given to you on the day of the mission.” General Lucas turned the screen off and turned to face them fully. “These five champions are the ones who will most likely stand against us. Others may arrive, but we’re making plans to prevent that.”
Artemis understood that to mean a diversion, something to distract the Sunstonians while they wrecked havoc on the third sector.
“Now that we’ve gotten the first part out of the way, we need to plan our approach for the mission.” General Lucas said, locking eyes with Artemis who turned to his team, pausing briefly before looking back at the general. "When do we start?"
….
Three days later.
Artemis stood high in the sky above fort Dominion, dressed in light elastic armor covered in anti-flesh altering and minor defense runes. He turned to the rest of his team members, who floated behind him.
It had been three days since their first briefing with General Lucas, and during that time, they’d trained relentlessly under his tutelage. The general had focused mostly on their teamwork, and although he hadn’t cursed their fathers, he’d had no qualms cursing them to oblivion whenever they had made mistakes.
The whole thing made Artemis feel like a student again, but compared to the Tier 147 general, he was practically a child stumbling in the dark.
Living together with the team had been a disaster at first, but breaking a few bones and punching the hell out of each other during the training had done wonders for their dynamic.
Artemis had made it a point to smash Zero into the concrete floor every time they came close to each other. Zero had tried to avoid him, but with Artemis’s mastery over space, he was practically inescapable.
He’d taken just as much damage as he’d dealt, though, as Geneva never failed to attack him at every opportunity. It was almost like she wanted him back.
By the end of the first day, Artemis had a broken arm and was covered in bruises; Geneva had two broken legs and a dislocated shoulder; and Zero was blackened and bruised from head to toe.
The next day had gone slightly better, and after the training ended, General Lucas dismissed the team and ordered Artemis into a portal that led to one of the many underground facilities within the 8th sector.
“This is Alpha-117, the facility responsible for the production of the wraiths.” General Lucas had announced the moment they arrived within the facility, and Artemis was struck by the sheer scale and intensity of activity going on.
The main assembly stretched endlessly, filled with rows of massive robotic arms that moved with precise coordination. Mechanics, dressed in heavy-duty gear and welding masks, moved swiftly between workstations, checking blueprints and adjusting machinery.
A gargantuan ship hung from the ceiling, held by several metallic wires and covered in a thick haze of red energy. Sparks flew as plasma cutters sliced through it, and the sharp scent of molten metal filled the air.
A man descended from the ship immediately after he sighted them, but unlike the other workers, he was dressed in a white lab suit, and the double rings around his gray pupils identified him as an advanced-class individual.
Artemis peered at the words written on the man’s ID as he approached them, but he needn’t have bothered as General Lucas introduced him. “This is Supervisor Kalu Actus.”
Supervisor Kalu gave a deep bow to the general before speaking. “Welcome to Alpha-117 champion; I take it you’re here for the wraith?”
“Indeed.” General Lucas responded. “And the armor I commissioned.”
“Come with me.” The man led them past the assembly hall, and Artemis let out a pulse of {Spatial Scan}, needing only a rough outline of the facility.
Supervisor Kalu turned, moving through so many hallways that it was impossible not to get lost without a guide. They came to a halt in front of a thick metallic door several minutes later, and supervisor Kalu had to provide several means of identification before the door opened, revealing an empty hall save for the metallic contraption standing at the center.
Immediately they walked in, they had all paused, even the general, as they’d been suddenly gripped by fear and a feeling of imminent death. It had taken a moment for them to realize that the intense wave of killing intent hadn't been directed at them, and it was only then they’d deigned to move closer to the wraith.
The spider-like construct stood tall, about fifteen meters in height, and a thick aura of death emanated from it. The wraith was a twisted amalgamation of metal and corrupted energies. Its spider-like frame was lined with intricate runes that pulsed with dark light, and its round head was equipped with a ghastly mask that gave it the semblance of a face.
“We are unable to contain the aura yet.” Supervisor Kalu began as he placed a hand on the sinister-looking construct. “Time has constrained us.”
“That is understandable.” General Lucas replied as he also walked towards the wraith, leaving Artemis standing several meters back in caution and fear. The general frowned as he caressed a metallic limb. “This aura…how?”
“It’s a side effect of ascendant candidate Mordok’s death essence, as he’d insisted on imbuing the wraith himself.” Supervisor Kalu replied, understanding General Lucas’s poorly formed question.
Artemis relaxed slightly; the imminent sense of death made perfect sense now.
“This will change everything.” General Lucas muttered, obviously referring to the war, but the supervisor misunderstood him and chuckled. “It already has, general. The wraith is an ingenious fusion of technology and corrupted energies, and already, scientists have begun experimenting. We’re focused on the corruption of energy for now, but we intend to explore their uses very soon, maybe even begin experimenting on the underlying concepts involved with the—”
“Sorry to cut in.” Artemis interjected and took a step forward. “But I'm curious, how do you corrupt the essence of an element?”
“It’s a very complicated process of course, but the basics of it involves mixing two opposite essences until you strike a balance.” Supervisor Kalu chuckled. “Almost all of our previous experiments ended in explosions, and this wraith is our first success.”
Artemis wanted to ask more questions, but General Lucas cut in. “Supervisor Kalu, please educate us on how to activate this monstrosity.”
“Ah, yes.” The supervisor placed his hand on the third metallic leg and gestured for them to come closer. “There are two switches here, one to activate the wraith and the other to miniaturize them.”
He clicked on the second switch, and the wraith immediately collapsed, folding in on itself in a very unpleasant way until it was reduced to about half its original size.
“Sadly, we were unable to reduce its size further, but I’m aware you have a runic engineer in the team; a delicate application of size configuring runes should reduce the width to about a meter or so.” Supervisor Kalu chuckled and clicked on the switch again. The wraith unfurled and the deconstruction process reversed, filling the hall with the grating sounds of metal as the wraith put itself back together.
“That’s not disturbing at all.” Artemis muttered to himself as the supervisor asked him to try. They had studied the wraith for a few minutes, and supervisor Kalu had even provided a piece of paper tape to mark the right switch for miniaturization.
After miniaturizing the wraith for the third time, Supervisor Kalu provided a special spatial ring to house the wraith, and in a grave tone, he had said, “Under no circumstances should the activation button be touched before it is needed; we were only able to condense enough essence for a single activation.”
After that, he had provided the anti-flesh-altering armor, and they had then returned to Fort Dominion. Now, a day later, the wraith floated above Geneva’s palms, encircled by half a dozen rings of size-altering runes, and as his gaze swept across his team, he asked. “Are you all ready?”
They all nodded, and Zero replied. “Ready whenever you are.”
Artemis nodded and channeled energy into {Spatial Transfer}, but kept the skill just a hairbreadth from activation before turning back to Zero. “I’m ready.”
Zero released his aura, and immediately, an invisible haze of null energies spread to engulf them all. Artemis grimaced in discomfort as he was suddenly cut off from his core. Several murmurs of discontent rang out from the others, but they had practiced this very move several times already, and although they all hated it, it was a necessary evil for their plans to succeed.
Artemis forced his mind away from his core to avoid tearing through the restrictions the null aura had placed on it. As potent as it was, the fact that its effect was spread out among six people made it easy to shrug off.
The aura tried to nullify the skill he’d kept from activating, but Artemis pushed through the effect with a flex of will, and when he was sure none of their aura or presence was detectable, he released the skill, and a vacuum of compressed space swallowed them whole.
Even without access to his energy, he was still able to slightly manipulate their trajectory, and the next instant, they appeared in the sky above the agricultural sector of Sunstone.
As expected, a runic dome protected the entire sector from spatial intrusions, and just as they’d practiced, Ali broke through the restrictions of Zero’s null aura and dove forward, his fingers coated with black void tendrils.
Ali smashed his fist against the barrier, and as the runes began unraveling, an alarm blared out, alerting the Sunstonian army to their intrusion.
““Shit,” Geneva cursed as she silenced the alarm with runes, but the damage was done—their actions could no longer be concealed.
“Quick, the barrier is trying to repair itself!” Ali shouted, channeling more void tendrils into it. The opening he had created was only about four feet in diameter, forcing Uduak, Zero, and Matharantha to squeeze through.
“I can’t hold it any longer,” Ali strained as the gap began to shrink. Geneva moved her hands in a bizarre pattern, and a dozen runes shimmered into existence. They blazed like suns and, with a clap, melded into a single grand rune that stopped the barrier from closing.
They dove through the gap immediately, and without the void infusion to sustain it, the barrier snapped shut, cutting off a large chunk of Artemis’s hair in the process.