“They’ve disappeared once again. I’m sorry, Commandant.”

It had already been a long day for the Commandant. From the laborious paperwork to the sheer incompetence of her men, there was always something that needed her. Her office, once the crowning achievement of her career, was now a prison.

A prison of her own making, but that didn’t matter.

Looking at the hologram of the armored guardsman that lay on the desk in front of her, all she felt was… nothing. Even the perfect salute the guardsman gave her felt empty. Her usual pride in her guard paled in comparison to this confusion she felt from this report regarding those… fugitives.

Her fist lightly clenched against the armrest of her seat, hidden from view, as she reached for the Personal Operations Device that lay beside her. The report was already displayed, with all the important information concisely displayed, just how she liked it. But the data didn’t make sense. At all. Her eyes narrowed in disbelief as she scanned through the report. The execution was as flawless as she expected. But then what happened?

“Is that all?” she asked, as she scrolled through the rest of the report as quickly as she could.

The soldier’s hand didn’t flinch as they continued to salute. “I have no idea, Commandant. They were right in the middle of the field, perfectly within the activation range. All precautions were taken, yet they disappeared. Right into thin air,” The holocom crackled, the image distorting ever so slightly. “Commandant, I will personally rectify this. Allow me to take the blame. This is-”

She sighed, leaning back in her chair, tuning the excuses out. She’d deal with this later, as long as nothing else came up. “Alpha, you are to report back to Haven immediately.”

Silence passed as the guard stared back at the Commandant. “Commandant,” they began, their voice cracking, “I have served you to the best of my ability for many years. Allow-”

Her fist crushed the armrest it was clenching moments ago, splintering the polished wood into bits. “Quiet.” She snapped emotionlessly. “Return to Haven now. You are to report to my office in ten minutes.”

“Bu-” began the guard.

“Are you questioning me?”

As if an unknown force grabbed the guard, the guard froze, his posture drooping. Seconds passed silently, before the guard immediately snapped back to position. “No, Commandant. By your command.”

“Good. Dismissed.”

As the hologram disappeared, the Commandant frowned. The Containment Field should have shut down their cores, rendered them powerless to the Guard. Yet they’d slid from her grasp once again. Sighing, she looked down at her hand, lost in thought. As expected, her hand was completely fine. She shook her head, kicking away the mess of wood at her feet. Someone else would clean it up later.

And she had more important tasks at hand.

“Nine, go and take a second look at the site, and make it quick. Cursory scans are enough. I need more information. Now.”

The shadow lurking behind her desk vanished. She always could rely on her Numbers. It was a pity that they took so long to raise.

Placing her POD down, she stood up, slowly walking towards the wall window. Smiling, she looked at the brilliant skyline that lay below her. The silver citadels of the city of Triumph glistened with their billboards, as they always did, non-stop. Quite a pity the Guardians were removed. They were a comforting sight, back when she still patrolled the streets. Back when she didn’t know the horrors of this world.

Now, she had to deal with this nuisance. The President had been expecting for her to capture this man, if you could call them that, for years. At first, she thought they were just some illusion, some mythical boogeyman. But she learned. The cover-ups. The lies. It was infuriating. They were always in reach, yet always two steps ahead. Now with the anniversary of the Republic coming up, she had to show something. Anything. Should he continue escaping the Republic, there would be consequences. They were the only fugitive who had escaped her grasp in years.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

A shadow appeared behind the Commandant, in a flash of smoke, covering the ground in ash. It fell to its knees, in its hand a small gray metal cube, covered in intricate designs. The Commandant slowly turned around, grabbing it, before slowly moving towards the center of her office.

The two couches she set up for negotiations were always her favorite part of her office. As grand as her office was, it was nice to always have a simple place to rest. As she sat down, she waved towards the shadows once more.

“Thank you, Nine. Return and fetch me something to drink. Make it strong.”

As the shadow disappeared once more, she placed the cube on the table. Graphs and numbers immediately shot out from the cube, covering the room with a blue glow. Frowning, she stood up, studying the data. Something about the situation seemed fishy. Was someone making moves? Oldbound, perhaps? The Kingdom? The data from the site was too dense for it to be anything else. It looked like multiple traces of Aether covered it, as if someone was trying to hide something.

The Commandant’s frown deepened. Perhaps the video logs from the Guard would offer more explanation. As she turned off the cube, she reached towards her desk, despite being meters away from it. The POD suddenly began to rise into the air, before flying straight into her hand. As soon as it hit her hand, she tapped on the screen, causing the video she was looking for to appear in front of her.

On screen were a group of soldiers, all heavily armed and completely decked out with kinetic-defense gear, standing on a balcony overlooking the site. As the camera approached the soldiers, the ones closest turned, saluting the camera. “All preparations have been checked for the third time, Captain,” reported one of the soldiers as he flipped up the front part of his helmet, “The suspect is moving down the market, towards Checkpoint 1.”

Below the balcony lay the most famous gathering place of Triumph: the Red Market.

It was an integral part of the city’s culture. Everyday, so much trade happened, with the crowds enjoying the market like a festival. Families took their children to the market to enjoy the various amusement parks that lay scattered around the massive market. Even from their vantage point, some ten stories up, the market still stretched into the horizon, with only the occasional citadel pointing to the sky. The various streetlights were the only source of illumination, outside of the small shops that were in the process of closing that night.

The camera shook as the Captain nodded. “Excellent, Sergeant. You know the drill. Prepare to engage off of Alpha’s contact.”

Around him, the soldiers began to load their weapons and activate their equipment. With the camera’s night vision, even the movement from the soldiers in the citadel adjacent from them could be seen.

With a slight smile, the Commandant noted their eagerness to execute commands. Just how it should be.

The camera panned and zoomed to the center of the market. A single man, walking a few hundred meters away was almost gliding past the last market-goers. He wore a long robe and hood, one that almost dragged on the pavement below him. Suddenly, he stopped, his hood slowly turning towards one of the stands still open, before he made his way towards the stand.

Right when he stopped at the stand, a group of heavily armored soldiers, hidden a couple stands away, activated the large metal contraption that stood next to them. The man froze for a second, before taking a step backwards, causing the guards within the stand to burst out of hiding, stun-staffs at the ready. But right before they could strike at the man, he took a step backwards, vanishing, as if he stepped into the air.

“Where’d he go?” roared the Captain immediately into his comms. The various soldiers immediately sprung into action, with the soldiers stationed around the market beginning to clear the area. “Search the area immediately! He couldn’t have gone far! He’s powerless!”

Despite their best efforts, all they could find was… nothing.

That was curious, the Commandant noted. The elite B-class soldiers should have made quick work of the fugitive, especially if he was inside the containment field, which he was. The A-class Alpha was overkill.

Yet Alpha was unable to figure out what happened, much less engage with man. Curious. Perhaps there was something different about this man. Maybe he truly was what he claimed he was. If so, then the Republic had a much bigger problem on their hands. With those pesky politicians, it meant someone had to be blamed.

And that would mean the blame would fall on her, and that wouldn’t work. If word got out that she was unable to continue her perfect capture rate of fugitives, especially a fugitive that was this valuable to the war effort, then those cowards wrapped in honeyed words would attack. The prophets had already released their visions on the future, and it didn’t look good for the Republic. An old power would return, it claimed, trying to retake its rightful place in the universe. If any of the old powers that the Republic had fought for independence returned, then it was over for the Republic. They had already lost territory in their wars already. They couldn’t afford another Superwar as well. It was time for drastic action.

“Eight, fetch me the Aedificator. Authorization has already been given. Make it quick.”

If that couldn’t stop the so-called “Worldwalker”, then nothing could.