Varaleh City. South end. The forsaken Quarter.
Order—having even the faintest trace of it—keeps us from descending to the level of beasts.
Without order, there would be chaos, and it is through chaos that a chain of events can be set off that can unravel entire civilisations. Only through order can there be peace.
It is the main driving force behind why all Elvenkind sworn to uphold it. After all, who understands the collapse of order into chaos better than an elf?
It is both a blessing and a curse, the ability to live for as long as they do. The concept of death, the one aspect of life no one can ever escape, is both as far back into the mind of an elf as it is their greatest fear. And just beneath that fear lies the countless hardships life throws on the long journey toward that inevitable end.
Being an elf pretty much guarantees living through both the best and worst of times. They witness near-perfect order crumble at the hands of chaos—swift, impartial, and impossible to comprehend until it’s too late.
Thus, it's no wonder that in most of the world’s major cities, law enforcement is dominated by elves—each one sworn to uphold justice with their blade when the situation demands it. Captain Cathleen Euliela of the Varaleth Peacekeepers' special ops and security forces is no different.
-~-
As the youngest of five and the only daughter in a respected, old-fashioned styled elven family from Fel-Grande, Cathleen's future seemed neatly laid out before she was even conceived: be married off to a suitable elf, earn a degree befitting a lady and settle into the role of a dutiful compliant housewife. Her parents' dream daughter was obedient and pretty, spoke only when permitted, and, above all, knew her position in life.
Cathleen, however, would meet this with nothing more than a raised middle finger from the moment she could comprehend the world.
From the day she was born, "ladylike" was never in her vocabulary. She spoke her mind without hesitation and had a stubborn resolve to live her life on her own terms, no matter how much it defied her family's expectations.
Between the ages of seven to thirteen years, Cathleen was already dominating every sport she touched, teaching herself a range of self-defence techniques and making it crystal clear to her parents that if they wanted a compliant daughter, they’d need to try for another. She would live by her own rules, even if it meant being disowned and sent away to survive on her terms.
Maybe her family thought it was all just a phase—a rebellious act that would eventually crumble, bringing her back apologetic, submissive and ready to learn some class.
Three and a half years later, they still do, even after they journeyed overseas to find her when they read in a newspaper about the ward ceremony where she was promoted to Captain … only to be met with such hostility. Yet, they couldn’t fathom why it was directed at them.
There’d been no further contact since that day—not that Cathleen cared. Oh, absolutely not. With her past properly buried, she had more time to focus on what truly mattered: her duties and surrounding herself with people who actually respected her.
She’d come so far that she’d unintentionally inspired a fan club of young elf girls, all eager to follow in her footsteps when they grew up. A few had even caught her attention with their impressive talents.
One in particular even offered a spot as a promising prodigy.
-~-
The Forsaken Quarter.
Tucked away in the southern stretch of Varaleth, it’s all that remains of what was once a thriving cityscape—now long eclipsed by Varaleth’s towering structures and grand design. Anyone unfortunate enough to wander near its decaying streets would likely have the same thought: old.
Not just in age, but in the way it stood. Steel, reinforced concrete, the occasional glass pane, and polished stone—materials laughably fragile compared to what stands now. It makes one wonder how these remnants haven’t crumbled into dust already, given how weak they are by today’s standards.
But that’s all that remains of the city’s former inhabitants—a graveyard of structures left untouched, preserved solely to uphold a bitter memory. A time of cruelty and oppression, now immortalised by steel and stone, reminders of a past that took unimaginable effort to overthrow.
A silent declaration that yesterday will never return in the form of monuments that housed such cruel oppressors.
And as with most monuments, the Forsaken Quarter is a no-go zone. Once deemed high-risk just for the emotional wounds, Now it's marked by a different threat—criminals crawling from its shadows, surfacing some time ago that a 24-hour surveillance act has been passed for the better of everyone, even the criminals.
“I’ve heard many stories about what this place used to be like…. Yet now I’m here, and it looks … relatively less spooky than I envisioned.”
“Trust me, girl, I felt the same coming here the first time when I was your age.”
With a handful of operatives posted at every known entrance and exit, a good few stationed with her, Cathleen adjusted her scope, sharpening her focus on the designated area of collapsed buildings. Beside her, clearly disappointed that the scene wasn’t as grim as she had hoped, stood a bright-skinned, slender elf with long golden locks—Amber, her newest protégé.
Despite being the youngest recruit from just a few months back, Amber had already proven her mettle. Her body bore the bruises of countless skirmishes, and her pride was palpable, the kind every aspiring special ops member needed in their resume.
"Keep your bow ready, Amber. My gut’s telling me something’s about to go down. And it hasn’t failed me yet—not since birth."
Amber swiftly readied her custom bow, its frame forged from the bark of the sacred trees in her hometown.
"Already on it, Captain. But do you really think he’s here?"
"He better be. Many stolen goods totalling thousands in gold and diamonds are in need of reclaiming, and personally, this game of cat and mouse bores me. Today, it ends with me sticking my tongue out at him, face-to-face, separated by nothing but glass he ain’t phasing through. Just like teasing a newborn pup!"
Cathleen holstered her custom long gun with a swift, fluid motion, cocking it with a sharp click, letting out a frustrated huff. Amber's eyes lit up, completely entranced.
‘Oh my gods, she's so cool and beautiful at the same time! That fact I’m not streaming this moment is eating me alive?!’
"Update!" Cathleen barked, pressing her earpiece. “Please tell me you have something!”
A flurry of voices chimed in:
"Position 1: No movement detected!"
"Position 2: Clear over here, Cap!"
"Position 3: Nada!"
"Position 4: Nothing to report!"
"Position 5: Sorry, Cap. Empty over here!"
"Damn it!" Cathleen growled through clenched teeth. "Of course, he’s hiding; he isn’t that stupid. But even if he is masking his presence, I ensured we were all issued sensors that could track him, even if he tried to play hide-and-seek." She paused, frustration simmering. "I need a new strategy."
Cathleen swung her head to the side, her long violet hair whipping through the air as she gestured toward Amber.
"Alright, you're up. Give me a new form of sight," she commanded, her voice sharp with focus.
Amber clenched her fist, barely containing her excitement. The moment she was hoping for today was finally coming to fruition. With a wide grin, she saluted the Captain.
"On it, Cap!"
She executed a flawless backflip, gracefully landing on one heeled shoe without missing a beat. Raising her arms, Amber became engulfed in a golden glow– her magic. A moment later, a pair of radiant wings burst from her back. Bending low, still balancing on her heel, she let the wings stretch and solidify before they began fluttering wildly.
“Ascend!”
With an explosive burst of speed, Amber shot into the sky, her wings cutting through the air as she ascended higher than the tallest abandoned skyscraper.
“Alrighty, let’s see if you’re as good at hiding as you think you are!” she muttered.
Amber reached into her belt and pulled out a cube-shaped device, gripping it tightly. Her fingers squeezed until the sides began to crack, and just before it shattered in her hands, she hurled it into the air. It spun rapidly before bursting apart mid-flight, releasing waves of life-force-sensitive energy that bathed the entire area in a shimmering light. Even the smallest of organisms wouldn’t be able to escape detection now.
“Captain! Aerial deployment complete!” Amber reported with a triumphant grin.
“Good,” Cathleen replied, her voice crackling through the comms. She quickly switched frequencies to address the entire squad stationed across the area. “Quantum cube has been deployed. Switch to ethereal vision.”
In flawless unison, every operative tapped the special lens on their scopes. Instantly, the world before they twisted and warped, colours reversing as the magical overlay activated. The forsaken ruins instantly became a vibrant, glowing landscape through the lens. What once appeared lifeless now shimmered with the radiant glow of countless microscopic organisms, each pulsing with their own faint magical essence. Thousands upon thousands of tiny life forms illuminated the landscape, their energy casting an otherworldly glow that actually made the ruins seem appealing. The sight was truly mesmerising.
“Anything yet?!” Cathleen barked as she turned to her operatives stationed with her eyes darting over multiple holographic screens projected from floating spheres hovering just above the operatives’ hands. The screens displayed Amber’s aerial feed—each hazy with the blur of countless tiny magical signatures, but none resembling what they were after.
“Nothing, Captain,” an elf with freckled skin responded, squinting at his screen. It showed only the chaotic swarm of small magic traces, nothing definitive.
“Amber,” Cathleen said, her tone sharpening, “Descend lower. The distance is distorting the signals.”
No matter how advanced, artificial magic sensing could be unreliable in detecting over long distances, unlike natural magic sensitivity.
“On it, Captain! Dropping altitude now,” Amber called back, beginning a controlled descent. The closer she moved, the sharper the images on their holograms became. Cathleen leaned in, eyes narrowing as something unusual caught her attention.
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“There!” she exclaimed, pointing at one of the screens. “Eight clicks west from position five. See that small cluster? They’re moving too smoothly together to be random traces.”
The squad at position five, a group of werewolves, instantly trained their scopes in that direction. Their leader, a broad-shouldered wolf with lighter fur, growled in confirmation. “You’re right, Cap. We’ve got some movement, but it’s slow. Real slow.”
“Maybe it’s just some stray feral beast?” one of the other wolves suggested.
“Not a chance,” Cathleen snapped. Movements were far to precise. “Amber, lower your altitude some more and get eyes on them.”
“Already on it,” Amber replied, pulling out her bow. A specialised scope hovered before her eye as she focused on the faint movement below.
“There you are…” Amber muttered, her voice dropping into a hunter’s tone. “Come out and play—”
–Woosh!–
“Eh?”
Elves, at their physical peak, were said to react faster than the speed of light, though most had to rely on their internal magic to achieve such feats. Only a rare few could perform them without assistance. While skilled and exceptionally talented, Amber wasn’t one of those rarities.
–THUD!–
She never saw it coming.
–~–
“INCOMING!!!” Cathleen’s scream echoed through the coms as a colossal wave of debris rained down on them. In mere seconds, what had once been the skeletal remains of a three-story building and crumbling mountains of rubble had transformed into a deadly barrage threatening to flatten them all. It was like a silent explosion—one second, they had eyes on their target; the next, the ground seemed to rise against them — literally.
“Code red! I repeat, CODE RED!” Cathleen shouted into her earpiece as the chaos unfolded. “Elf down! I repeat, elf down! We are under literal heavy fire in the Forsaken Quarter—It’s Yokai Malik!”
Giant chunks of debris rained down relentlessly from all directions. Within minutes, the operatives stationed at positions one, three, and five scrambled for cover, abandoning their posts desperately to avoid being crushed.
Positions four and two weren’t as fortunate. Cathleen’s heart tightened as she witnessed the devastating impacts with her eyes– The sheer force of the falling wreckage was overwhelming – did they survive? It seemed unlikely.
“MALIK!!!” Her voice tore through the chaos like a battle cry.
Without a second thought, Cathleen hurled herself off the crumbling platform, diving headfirst into the chaos below. Her long gun barked with each squeeze of the trigger, shredding the massive chunks of debris that hurtled toward her. She moved with unrelenting precision, a streak of violet in the storm of falling wreckage. By the time she hit the ground, she was already sprinting, a blur of speed and fury carving a path through the destruction.
-BOOM-
-BOOM-
-BOOM-
Her gaze zeroed in on Amber’s motionless form. The shard of debris lodged in the young elf’s wing had been a cruel sight; one Cathleen wouldn’t soon forget. Channelling every ounce of her magic, she boosted her speed, closing the distance in the blink of an eye. Within moments, she was kneeling beside the unconscious blonde, her hands hovering over the young elf as her eyes began fluttering open.
"Amber, don’t move." Cathleen’s voice cut through the eerie silence, her eyes darting around the ruins, scanning for further threats. The barrage of debris had finally stopped, leaving only the unsettling quiet in its wake. "Everything’s going to be okay, you hear me. Just hold on.”
“C-Cap… tain…” Amber’s voice trembled, her tone weak and strained.
“Just hold on! Medics will be here soon!” Cathleen knelt closer, her gaze softening. "As well as a coroner for whatever remains of that spectral bastard when I’m done with him!"
Amber’s head jerked slightly. “...Cap…tain…you … y-you– truly are an idiot!”
The last few words came out different—distorted, deeper, drenched in malice.
Cathleen’s eyes widened. “What the—?!"
Before she could react, Amber’s body twisted unnaturally, the sickening snap of bones breaking, filling the air as her limbs bent at horrific angles. Her form contorted as if pulled by invisible strings, rising to her feet with an eerie grace. The cracks in her skin deepened, purple light flickering beneath the surface, and her eyes—now blackened with glowing violet pupils—locked onto Cathleen.
“Think fast!”
Without warning, Amber lunged, her bow drawn and aimed in one fluid motion. Cathleen dodged just in time, rolling to her feet to evade the glowing arrow and gaining ground as she levelled her long gun at the possessed figure.
“Well, well," Amber—or what used to be Amber—tilted her head, her lips twisting into a cruel grin. "You’ve gotten... predictable … haven’t you … Captain Euliela?"
Cathleen's heart twisted, gripped by a sickening realization. The voice that escaped the blonde elf's lips wasn't hers—it couldn't be. The raspiness, the way the words fractured between syllables... only one individual she knew had a voice like that.
"Malik...!"
A dark aura, submerged in the deepest purple, began to seep from Amber’s slender body, curling around her like smoke. “Amber” tilted “her” head slowly, the unsettling crack of neck bones echoing as the corners of her mouth stretched back far too wide into a grotesque grin.
“In the literal flesh,” the voice purred, rich with malice. "And for that, I owe you my thanks, Captain Eulleila... it’s been so long since I last found a host, and this one—well, she’s a real catch.”
“You coward!” Cathleen spat, “Release her now!”
"Eh-hehe hehe-hahaha!" The possessed elf cackled, cracks spreading across her skin like spiderwebs as her eyes turned pitch black, vibrant purple irises glowing in the darkness. “And why would I do that … when I’ve just started feeling at home? … Though to be honest, she is a tad too … flat for my taste … but as my mother has always said, never be too picky with what you wear …... am I right?"
“Tch! Just how low are you willing to sink in this twisted game you force so many to play?!” Cathleen growled.
“As low as necessary,” was the oozing arrogant reply made. “I make use of whatever resources are at my disposal... It’s called strategy, Captain. Look it up."
Cathleen cocked her weapon, her patience hanging by a thread. “I won’t give you another chance, Malik. Let her go!”
“Oh? Or else what?” the possessed elf demanded, voice dripping with mockery. “You’ll shoot me? … Shoot Us? I’m aware of how you do things, Euleila … I know how you think … unless you have no problem with staining your hands in this girl's blood … you won’t shoot me.”
“?!”
'Amber' lowered her bow, spreading her arms wide in a grand, mocking gesture.
“ But … you know that I’m just too dangerous to be kept around without a leash … So I’ll give you one chance to turn the tide. … Go on, then! I’m all yours... End this twisted dance of ours. Finally, rid the world of me, once and for all!”
"You... you bloody—!"
Time itself seemed to freeze in that moment. If Cathleen hadn’t trained for this, her grip on the weapon might've faltered. The best chance to finally end her sworn enemy was just a squeeze of the trigger away. But that also meant killing an innocent—a young elf with dreams, one who had idolized her. The price wasn’t worth it.
"Hm?" 'Amber' tilted her head, a look of disappointment creeping across 'her' face as Cathleen lowered her gun. "Bah... even after all this, you still don’t have what it takes to finish the job–”
—Thud—
"Huh?"
'Amber' had dropped her bow, pouting before cracking her knuckles and neck with a huff. Without warning, she charged at Cathleen, flipping through the air. A booted heel descended fast, aiming straight for her head. Cathleen raised both arms just in time to block the blow.
“Ugh!”
“--I did all I did to get you here before me. I possessed your student and crushed your comrades–”
“Ugh!”
Cathleen grunted as she shoved 'Amber' off her, sending the possessed elf stumbling back. Without hesitation, the possessed elf regained balance and rushed forward again, movements unnervingly fluid, almost predatory.
“I possessed your student! … I crushed your comrades!”
Striking first, Amber’s body launched a swift flurry of kicks and jabs. Cathleen weaved between them, ducking and sidestepping, each strike narrowly missing her by mere inches. Her long coat and free violet hair fluttered with each dodge as she twisted, evading every hit coming her way.
“I’ve been a parasite in your life … from the moment we met … the least you could do is make like a white blood cell and retaliate accordingly!”
A roundhouse kick flew at her side; Cathleen spun out of its way, the force of the blow barely grazing her arm. With precise aim, she leapt and implanted her foot on the side of Amber's cracked face with just enough force to send the possessed elf tumbling.
“So you set up all of this! Just because you wanted me to snap! … To become like you!”
“That’s right!” Malik’s voice finally rasped from Amber’s throat. It sounded as if it were filtered through a voice changer and blended with an eerie concoction as cracked lips twisted into a snarl. "Now you're catching on!”
Another punch flew, and then another, and Cathleen barely managed to parry it, her palms smacking against ‘Amber's’ forearm before twisting away again. The ruins around them echoed with the sharp sounds of the impacts.
“The least you could do … with all the effort I put … is take up the bloody role!” Malik growled, frustration seeping through every word. Amber’s fists flew faster now, a sweeping kick aiming for Cathleen’s legs. She leapt back, flipping over a pile of debris, her boots skidding across the cracked ground. Malik followed in an instant, fists blazing with shadowy energy, as they hurled themselves at the violet-haired elf Captain, throwing a downward punch with all her strength.
--KA-BOOM!--
Cathleen dodged to the side, narrowly escaping the impact as dark magic erupted, sending rubble flying in every direction. She rolled to her feet, keeping her distance, her eyes locked onto the possessed form of Amber.
“I trained that girl myself, Malik.” Cathleen called out, “You’re not going to land a decisive blow on me using her body!”
“You think that’s my end goal? To throw a punch and hope it hits? Hah… you never were a smart enough elf to see the bigger picture.”
Amber’s body stretched unnaturally, bones audibly cracking as her wings sprouted from her back once more. The possessed elf was airborne in a single beat, diving towards where Amber’s bow had been discarded. With fluid precision, Malik snatched the weapon and took aim.
“And I fear you never will,” Malik sneered as an array of glowing arrows materialized. “All my efforts to wake you up… for nought!”
With a growl, they released the arrows, sending them flying toward Cathleen with deadly accuracy. Without missing a beat, the Captain sprinted forward, her instincts kicking in as she weaved through the barrage. Glowing Arrows rained down around her, the sharp hiss of residual magic filling the air as she gained momentum, leaping and diving through each strike with increasing speed.
–Boom!--
–Boom!--
–Boom!--
“I watched your mind, if you recall—back in the clocktower when I tried to possess you.” Malik’s voice oozed from Amber’s twisted lips, his eyes glinting with cruel amusement as her body advanced. “I saw the misery you hid… always striving for approval from those who only ever saw disappointment. For the first time in a long while, I found someone I could sympathize with.” His sneer deepened. “In that fleeting moment, I understood you—better than anyone else you’ve ever known.”
–Boom!--
–Boom!--
“Oh, Shut up!” Cathleen snapped as she dove to the side, evading Malik’s next assault. Her hands were quick as she rolled and snatched up her long gun, and with a fiery and literal glow in her eyes, her violet aura crackling around her, she levelled the weapon and pulled on the trigger. "Whatever you think you know about me .. is severely flawed!"
The resulting retaliation lit the air in explosions, a brilliant clash as her shots collided with Malik’s arrows, each impact sparking like fireworks in the night– and thus was not as appealing since it was the day.
“The difference between us, Malik, is that you never seemed to realise that not everyone is as fucked up as you are, and even if they did snap, wouldn’t be!! Your unsurprisingly pitiful attempt to make anyone –me in this case – turn out like you, just so you can go on with life knowing you're not the only lunatic in the world! It’s as pathetic as you!
"Oh, for the love of it all … can you start negatively reacting to my words and fight back … it would be well APPRECIATED !" Malik roared and dived down like a meteor at Cathleen, evading the shots coming their way as they implanted their blonde host fist deep into her abdomen.
“OOF!” The blow connected hard, and Cathleen’s body hit the ground with a brutal thud. The impact knocked the wind out of her, and blood splattered the pavement as she coughed. The taste of copper filled her mouth.
She spat to the side, wincing as she pushed herself to her feet, her entire body protesting the movement. “Whatever satisfaction you crave, yokai, you're not gonna get it.” Her voice was hoarse but steady. “I’m never ending up like you.”
Malik’s expression twisted with feigned pity as he touched down, panting slightly. He wagged a finger, an unsettling grin creeping back onto his face. “Oh, Captain Euleila…” His voice dropped into a venomous whisper, chilling the air around them. “Your stubbornness is truly infuriating… perhaps I was indeed a fool…” His tone darkened ominously. “Very well then… Plan B it is… Hnngh… Hrrrrgh!… HRAGH!--”
–THUD–
Amber’s body began to tense as if wrestling with an intense stomach ache before it then crumpled to the ground. The dark aura clinging to her began to rise, twisting and writhing into the air. In moments, it coalesced into a pulsing sphere of energy, expanding and transforming into a viscous mass that glimmered with ominous promise.
“Finally showing yourself”, Cathleen remarked, wiping some residual blood from her mouth… about time.”
From the edges of the liquid mass, grotesque arms with nightmarishly sharp, black nails erupted, followed by a three-pronged spikey tail that resembled cracked bones shooting from the bottom. The mass began to take shape, forming a hunched body adorned with erratic lines and jagged spikes jutting from its back. A head emerged from the shadows atop this monstrous figure, concealed by a naturally forming hood. Only a single, glowing purple eye pierced through the darkness, locking Cathleen with an unsettling intensity.
“There seems to be no more enjoyment to this game of ours …months of planning for a load of disappointment … so I believe it would suffice if I rid you from my sight for good … find something more productive to do with my life...”
“Heh.” The violet-haired elf captain chuckled. “I think that's the first time I’ve heard anything remotely agreeable escape that mouth of yours.”
“... And for you … it shall be the last …”
-~-