Silver and Woden were having a discussion.
"So?" said Woden.
They were in a private location within the underground base. A location that only high level personnel like Silver had access to.
"I found out a couple of things. There are tiers to powers. This is something very obvious that we previously glossed over.
The civilians that are awakening their power are not as nearly powerful as the one we have. As such, the two of us remain the most powerful here." said Silver. Within his mind, the image of Spring-Autumn's bright green eyes showed.
"The monsters are also getting stronger. I met quite the terrifying existence out there."
"Terrifying?"
"Yes. It was a dragon. A talking dragon."
"What?"
"Mr. Woden," Silver faced the middle-aged Woden. "We, humans, are no longer at the top of the food chain."
There was silence. The quietness in this private room was strangely eerie. Woden took a moment to process what was said. Within seconds, he recovered his calm.
"Go on."
"With our power, it would be easy to remain alive. We are easily stronger than any ability users in the base. However, what is the point of living if no one is next to us?
Mr. Woden, my pride does not allow me to abandon these people. I know that for you, your main priority is your family. For myself, I wish to remain patriotic to the nation and follow my duties to the best of my ability."
Woden looked off into the distance. His gaze was deep. "It's fine for you to remain the way you are. The danger is still present. There is no telling what will happen in the future. When the critical moment comes, I will choose my family over the others."
The two did not have a conflict of interest. One was a handsome, young man at the prime of his life. The other was a successful man in his later years with unshakable resolve.
They were certainly a mismatched pair that would not come together if the current circumstances were not present. One thing was undeniable though: they were a pair that would accomplish great things.
"One more thing," Silver said.
Woden nodded for him to go on.
"The guy with brown hair and green eyes who was with your family earlier. He's an ability user as well. Probably on the same level as us."
Woden took a moment to consider.
"Is that so?"
And with that, their meeting came to an end.
--
Back to Spring-Autumn.
He turned on his phone that had been shut for several days. There was a wall plug nearby that he was using.
The underground base had a huge generator so electricity was present. Although it was a luxury now, one would find it hard-pressed to use their electronic devices when most cell towers and other various things of the same nature were destroyed.
When his phone lit up, he was greeted with a surprise.
It was a message from about a week ago from his half-brother. It was a heartfelt message.
"The world has fallen into a chaotic state as of now and as your brother, I am truly concerned for your wellbeing. I do not know if you are alive or not, but if you are reading this message I have something for you. At this location I've attached below, I have purchased a plane and several other equipments in advance. I was planning to use this as a gift for some other time but I hope it comes in useful for you. If you are unable to stay where you are, you can come back home.
Your brother,
Winter Primo
Location.txt"
Spring-Autumn looked at the message with a bit of a strange gaze and thought, "It's nice to have a rich family."
Behind him, a fragrance came wafting. "What's that?"
It was Rainmist.
"Nothing much," Spring-Autumn smiled and said as he looked deeply into her eyes.
"Hmm? Keeping a secret?" Rainmist smiled back and teased.
"Perhaps. I am a young teen after all."
"A young teen would not talk like that." Rainmist covered her mouth and chuckled.
"Then what would you suggest I be?"
"Hmm…"
They were suddenly interrupted in the middle of their banter.
"Mom!"
Blue approached from a distance.
"What are you guys up to?" She asked innocently.
"Nothing much," Rainmist smiled at her daughter and said.
"Hmm? Keeping a secret?" Spring-Autumn repeated what Rainmist said earlier to tease her.
Rainmist, noticing what Spring-Autumn did, gave a laugh and Spring-Autumn laughed with her.
On the side, Blue was completely clueless about what happened. She gave a pout and said, "You guys sure do get along well,"
"Mhm, yes we do."
[Integrating… 90%]
"It's almost done," Spring-Autumn said, noticing that the blue window has reached 90%.
"What is?" Rainmist asked.
"Our little blue window friend."
---
In an unknown location.
A group of scientists gathered. After collecting data on how the world has changed, they noticed another interesting phenomenon: The evolution of the human body.
They surrounded one particular subject. He was a young boy they had been experimenting on for a few years. The reason for their experimentation was that he was a unique subject. His body could heal so fast that small cuts could be healed at a rate visible to the naked eye.
"Chief!" the scientist monitoring the boy's body called the chief.
The chief had green hair and eyes at about the shoulder length. It was unknown how old he was from observing him by the physical appearance. Lifting his glasses up, he walked over to the monitor.
"His energy levels are going up." The chief said simply.
As the boy's energy level continued to rise, there were no obvious changes that could be seen. Suddenly, he started to roar in pain.
"At this point, he should awaken an ability." The chief simply said again.
Thick, coarse hair started to grow all over the young boy's body. His originally dull black eyes turned a shade of bright red and hair covered his entire body. His limbs elongated, and his bones restructured itself.
"Y-YOU," The boy roared in pain and looked at the chief in the eye. "I-I'LL NEVER FORGIVE YOU. I'LL KILL YOU AND TEAR YOU LIMB BY LIMB,"
"Aren't you an aggressive one." The chief laughed lightly. He glanced over to his assistant. "How's it?"
The assistant checked the data and said, "His energy levels are still rising, chief. It's a good sign."
"That's good. I hope you don't fail me like the others, my little one." The chief chuckled and said.
Behind the boy's bed, there were several mutilated corpses. Some looked like him with a lot of hair protruding out, others had new limbs growing out or weird exotic features. The only thing they had in common was their badly mutilated corpses.
They were the test experiments that had naturally awakened their ability that the chief did some light testing on.