The massive space station, Templar, serves as galactic headquarters for Providence, is one of the most technologically advanced marvels of engineering within Hyperion space. Built atop of a massive asteroid, the station consists of a mighty citadel with towers, weapon platforms, and other fortifications. The whole thing was the size of a small moon, with dozens of impulse nodes, positioned equidistant around the construct, making it the largest mobile artificial gigastructure in Hyperion.
It was almost impossible to believe that this imposing thing was built and paid for by just one family, and that family, with its vast wealth and resources, has controlled the upper echelon of Providence for over thirteen thousand years. The current head of Providence is the twenty-nine-year-old, Ryla Ayona, she had inherited her position when her late father passed away ten years ago, she had also inherited his throne as a Regis as well as the Prime crest that now adorned her body.
She was on her bed in her private quarters, spooning next to her latest conquest; an eager young recruit she had just bumped into earlier the previous day. The girl was probably a virgin from how timid she was during sex, and was now passed out and naked, tangled in the sheets as Ryla sat there, watching her sleep.
There was a knocking at the door and it opened to let in a woman who looked disturbingly like Ryla's twin, despite being almost sixty years older. She was dressed in a white blouse with a black pencil skirt and heels.
"Hello mother." Ryla greeted cheerfully
"Naked and still in bed at this time of day, was somebody having a good time?" her mother asked in a casual manner.
"Yeah, her." Ryla said revealing her bedmate, "she was a virgin, I don't get too many of those anymore."
"Well I'm glad you enjoyed yourself. Is she dead?"
"No, just sleeping,"
"I thought you'd have killed her by now?" her mother asked,
"Mom, that only happened twice before." Ryla whined "I don't kill every girl I sleep with, I just hadn't gotten used to my new powers yet and had gotten carried away back then."
"Well, I'm just glad I don't have to clean up another body." her mom said, "Enjoy your little friend for a while longer, but if you want to keep her, I'll have to make the arrangements beforehand, silencing the families of these girls isn't cheap, you know."
"But I like to surround myself with pretty things," Ryla replied, "and it's not like paying off all the families will put a dent in our monthly budget."
"Be that as it may, you already have too many girls with you as it stands, you're going to have to let a few of them go." her mother said, strictly, "Either you buy their silence or you terminate them, but we are downsizing."
"Boo," Ryla pouted, "alright, I'll give you a list of those I've grown bored with, have Lisa deal with them."
Her mother nodded, tapping into her data pad, "How is Arax?"
Ryla looked down at her left hand, at the blue crest that adorned the back of her hand, along with the matching tattoos that mass that went up her limb.
"He's still silent. Ever since this new Regis appeared, he's been silent." Ryla sighed.
When she first inherited the Prime ten years ago, she had been a scared little girl, but it had spoken into her mind, calmed her doubts, and been an ever-present confidante. Even though Ryla despised men, she almost missed hearing his voice in her head… almost. His last warning before going silent still echoed in her mind; Danger! A threat has appeared!
She knew that there wasn't anything wrong with the Prime, it would often isolate itself whenever an unexpected situation appeared. It would reach out when it was ready.
"Well one of our agents has a lead on another potential origin. We'll be buying the site under a dummy corporation, be ready to fly out once we have the confirmation."
"Yes mother," Ryla said, "what about this new Regis? What do we know?"
"Not much; our adepts placed her at the other end of Hyperion, some cosmetic planet that's been gaining popularity recently called Adryn-VI."
"Her, eh?" Ryla cooed, "I wonder if she's cute?"
"Easy, you still have a playmate there," her mother cautioned
"I want to add her to my harem," Ryla declared boldly
"You want to add this new Regis to your harem?" her mother said skeptically, but then started to consider it, "if you could pull of such a thing, imagine the advantage it'd give us."
"Maybe we can find an origin that can control all other Regis, then I can make all of them pretty women and put them in my harem." Ryla said excited by the prospect
"That would be something, wouldn't it?" her mother mused,
Elsewhere in the massive station, in one of the many medical wards, a lykan –or what was left of one— was in the intensive care ward, being attended to by the medical adepts. By some twist of fate, he was still somehow alive, although his body was mangled to an unnatural extent.
"What the hell happened to him?" a doctor demanded to the woman who was waiting with him. "he's had eight surgeries and we're still not sure if he'll pull through… it's a miracle he was even alive when you brought him in."
"We were chasing a fugitive, an omen who stole a case from an executive," she explained, "we tracked him onto this star liner, the Elemental Queen, he had an accomplice with him, a vampire girl. They fought and when we got to him he was like this."
"A vampire did this to him?" the doctor asked incredulous, "how is that even possible?"
"As soon as we found him we pumped him full of ever stim and med gel we could find," the woman said, "there was a lot of blood at the scene, both his and the vampire's, whatever she did to him, he fought back, probably wounded her fatally."
"Well, whatever he fought, I hope it's dead." the doctor said, "I can't imagine what something that could do that to a person might be able to do if it somehow survived and got stronger." The doctor said with a shiver
The lykan in question was in an ICU medical capsule, hooked up to all manner of medical machinery within a medical fluid designed to aid in his recovery.
She waited at his bedside for several moments, just listening to the beeping of the machines that kept him alive.
"He'll pull through, right?" someone asked, drawing the woman's attention to the doorway, where a junior agent was standing.
"The doctor's aren't sure," She replied, "that vamp bitch's blood was apparently caustic, and did some extensive damage to him inside and out."
"I hope he gets better," the junior agent said
"Me too," the woman smirked,
"Um, ma'am?" the junior agent asked
"What?"
"Well, a bunch of us were wondering, you and the chief seem to be really close," he inquired
"We are," she replied, "the old bastard took me in when I was just a dumb kid, he practically raised me. He's the closest thing I have to family in the cosmos."
She thought back to the day she had told him she was going to enlist, he had nearly choked on his beer. She was still convinced that he had pulled strings to get her assigned to his squad when she first started out.
"Anyway," she said, bringing herself out of the memory, "were you able to track that voyager pod, Muller?"
"No, they turned off the transponder, it could literally be anywhere within a 10 liyes radius of their last known location with solar currents and cosmic tides."
"Well we have nav-buoys all over Hyperion space, ping every one in the local system around the cruise ship at the time they escaped."
"Right away, uh… chief?" he said saluting
"I'm not the chief, I'm just keeping us organized until he's up and about again." The woman said. "Also, tell Maeve to check with that star liner, see what she can find about that vamp; who she is, where she came from, and what she was doing on that ship."
"On it." The junior agent answered, "I-if that vamp is still alive, what do we do?"
"Then we'd better catch her quick," the woman said, "and if not, we better hope someone else manages to kill her for us."
* * *
Terror came too, finding himself handcuffed to a wall, as he shifted his vision he saw that Nya was restrained on a chair, wrapped in heavy chains that completely immobilized her. Smart.
"Oh, awake are we?" came a distorted voice
The sound of heavy footsteps attracted his attention to a person approaching, they wore a thick jumpsuit that hid their true form, thick metallic boots produced the heavy footfalls that reverberated across the metal grate floor, their face was hidden behind a heavy mask with tinted visors.
"Uh… who are you?" Terror asked
Their captor held their arm out towards Terror and their hand glowed with faint green. All of a sudden Terror was flung onto the ceiling, which increased the pain to his arm that was handcuffed.
"I ask the questions." Their captor stated as they brought Terror back down
"You're an adept?" he groaned
"What did I just say?" their captor barked as Terror was bashed against the wall
"Alright, alright." He said, "Just stop that."
"First question; who are you?"
"My name is Terrance Quinn, everyone calls me Terror." He introduced,
"Next question; what is that thing?" their captor pointed at Nya,
"That is my friend, Nya Crimson,"
"She isn't normal."
Terror remembered that adepts were strongly connected to the mana stream, which permeated all things, so they could sense things about people, things even some omen couldn't.
"I don't know, we just met a few days ago." he shrugged
"You said she was your friend?"
"When you help someone out of a life-or-death situation, you tend to become fast friends." Terror answered
"What were you doing out in the middle of nowhere?" the captor asked,
"We were on the run from Providence," Terror said, "We didn't have navigations so we were lost,"
"Then it's a good thing you crashed into my rig." Their captor said dryly.
"Your rig?" Terror asked looking around, "Last thing I remember we were being eaten by a sweeper, are we inside it?"
"Now, final question; is she dangerous?" their captor asked pointing at Nya
Even through the terribly distorted sounds, Terror could sense something in their voice.
"Yes," Terror answered honestly, "She is extremely dangerous to her enemies. But she's been fair to me… for the most parts."
Their captor murmured something that came out as inaudible static.
"Why are you wearing that mask?" Terror asked, "It's making it very difficult to understand you."
"You're an omen, she's… something else. You can't be too careful." Their captor said, as they removed their mask, to reveal they were a she.
Her face was angular and small with a fair complexion, smudged by grease and oil, her eyes were a non-distinct color he couldn't identify, and she had choppy dirty blonde hair.
"Stars above it is hot in this thing, " she complained, zipping down her jumpsuit to reveal a lean physique, dressed in cargo shorts and a simple top.
"I'm Kiva, by the way." She introduced
"So is someone going to explain to me what happened?" Nya asked, her face an emotionless deadpan. It was so sudden that it startled both Terror and Kiva. When had she woken up?
"Nya, you're up?" Terror said, "It's alright, I'm sorting things out with Kiva here,"
"Good for you," Nya said as her body was suddenly engulfed in her blood aura, which tore through her chains like they were made of paper.
Kiva jumps back, scared, holding her arm out to Nya, threateningly, "S-stay back!"
"You're an adept?" Nya said cocking her head to one side as Kiva's hand glows, "that's interesting."
"Nya stop," Terror intervenes, "she's friendly. This is her rig."
"Alright," Nya shrugged extinguishing her blood aura and looking around, "So this is the inside of that sweeper that destroyed our pod?"
"I thought it was junk until my scanners detected… off life signs," Kiva said slowly
"That would be me," Nya said, "I was your off reading,"
"Yeah, I can tell," Kiva whispers as she put her hands down.
"So, what now?" Nya asked
"Well, your pod is kind of scrap now," Kiva said, "So I guess you're welcome to stay, at least until I next make landfall."
"Sounds fair," Nya shrugged
"Hey, mind if I have a look at our wreck?" Terror said
Kiva looked reluctant to be alone with Nya, "Uh… why?"
"I left something in it, a data drive." Terror said, "It was really important and we really don't want to lose it."
"No need," Nya said as she holds out a hand, and the data drive appears from her Crimson Void, "I grabbed it when I noticed things were going south."
"That was pretty sly," Terror comments
"Now, I'd like to ask Kiva something?" Nya said
"Um, what?"
"What are you running from?" Nya said standing right in front of her and staring right into her wide eyes.
"W-what makes you think I'm running from anything," she swallows before saying
"Several things, really. Terror sounded quite incredulous when he said that this was your rig, which leads me to believe that he isn't used to the concept. Sweepers don't come with pilots, do they?"
"Not really" Terror said, "they're like giant automated drones, they follow a preset route. That's why ships avoid them; you don't want to be in the way of something that doesn't really think."
"Which would also make this the perfect disguise, someone sees this rig coming and they instantly avoid it. So once again; what are you running from?"
Kiva looked at the enigmatic woman before her, the way Nya looked at her… it was almost like she was reading her very soul with eyes that said 'you can't lie to me'.
"I'm in hiding," Kiva admitted, "I ran away from home, got stole repurposed sweeper from some smugglers, and I've been hiding out here ever since."
"How long have you been in hiding?" Nya asked
"Not that long," Kiva said with a shrug, "for about t-ten or so years I think."
Nya narrowed her eyes at her, she was lying.
"Alright, that's all I want to know right now." Nya declared
Kiva looked at her, shocked, "W-what? That's it?"
"We need your help, forcing you to reveal uncomfortable secrets that do not concern us is not the right way to earn your trust."
"R-really?"
"Yes, but let me make one thing clear," Nya said getting uncomfortably close to Kiva, "be straight with us and I'll treat you well… but if you try to fuck with me in any way, I will eat you alive."
Kiva gulped. Nya was obviously the youngest of the three of them, yet she was –without a doubt— the most terrifying. What kind of monster was behind those mysterious blue eyes? What kind of life could create such a thing?
Left with no other choice, Kiva nodded.
"Good." She smiled calmly, flashing her fangs, "Then it is a pleasure to be travelling with you for the immediate future."
* * *
For the next few weeks, Nya explored the rig. It was interesting to say the least; most of the craft was taken up by the large hollow where all space debris was collected, which left what remained for the actual cabin space, which wasn't much. From what Nya saw, Kiva had a thing for nature, she had several potted plants all around the cabin, on shelves, hanging from the ceiling, etc. Vines growing through the prefab frame, and through the corrugated flooring, giving the whole place an earthy scent. Sweepers had a hull made of an extremely durable metal called urm, one of the strongest materials in Hyperion space, that not only protected them from whatever debris they couldn't eat, but also acted as pretty good shielding.
Terror spent most of the time either asleep or staring at the star map, and Kiva spent as much time away from the two of them as she physically could.
After traveling for a few days later, she told them that she would be making landfall soon.
"Where are we going?" Nya asked
"Draxia Urma," Kiva said, turning to a screen on the wall with a map of Hyperion, "I have a contact there that would trade a full haul of space debris for supplies."
"But the Draxia system isn't even in this galaxy," Terror commented, "even at its fastest, this thing probably won't get anywhere close to it for at least a decade."
"Not when you know the shortcuts." Kiva said as her hands ran over the controls, "You might want to strap yourselves in; it's going to get very bumpy."
She turned some knobs and switches on her console, on the headrest of her seat, two prongs extended on either side of her head and she attached two electrodes from them to her temples. After imputing a final series of commands, the engines changed pitch. Right in front of the rig, a swirling vortex was forced into existence.
The sweeper was pulled into the singularity, swallowed into the horizon within and the vortex snapped itself shut.
"What the hell is this?" Terror demanded
Kiva didn't answer, her face was strained with concentration, her eyes glowed brightly with power as her hands held onto the controls as if for dear life.
After what felt like a dozen minutes, the sweeper was spewed out of another vortex and into normal space. Kiva let out a groan as she removed the electrodes and let the prongs retract into the headrest. She was soaked through in sweat, and near exhaustion.
"…just need a… minute… to catch my breath." she replied as she reached into a compartment to her side, which held a refrigeration unit full of bottles of translucent blue liquid. Kiva quickly downs two whole bottle in quick succession, then she closed her eyes and leaned back into her chair.
When she was feeling better, Kiva opened her eyes to see Nya and Terror staring at her,
"What happened to you?" Nya asked
"It takes a lot to force my way through hyperspace," Kiva explained, "my rig isn't really hyperspace capable, but the urm hull does provide adequate shielding, so I just need to make a hole and push us through, which is quite tasking." Kiva explained
"You're an astropath?" Terror asked,
"Among other things," Kiva sighed, "I don't really have the full setup of a pathfinder, so I can't stay long in hyperspace. But I developed this technique that allows me to skim between hyperspace and real space, like skipping a stone across the surface of a pond. Another hour and I'll be ready for another skip."
"Hmm," Nya said to herself, "You're lucky you haven't killed yourself in the attempt."
"It isn't luck if I'm just that good." Kiva said, subtly wiping away a trickle of blood that just ran from her nose.
Many many skips later, they were once again spat out from hyperspace, before them was a massive planet about twice the size of the Earth, with three moons in its orbit. There seemed to be one large central continent surrounded by hundreds of smaller islands, but most of the surface was covered in vast oceans. Even from here the clusters of cities scattered across the continent in a messy web was evident.
"Draxia Urma? We're here already?" Terror gawked
"I told you," Kiva said, "I knew what I was doing. Anyway, give me an hour to rest before we head in, then you can find other transport and I can trade my junk."
Taking the sweeper down to the planet's surface, they touch down by one of the islands, at what may have once been an old space port, Kiva starts to offload the haul from the ship's hold.
"Last time I was here, tensions were very high with the constant turf wars," Kiva informed them, "Once you help me with this, I'll take you to the main ports where you can find a ship."
"Alright," Terror said,
"I'd advise you keep a low profile; we don't want to attract any unwanted attention to ourselves."
"I'm fine waiting with the ship," Terror said, surveying the wary eyes of the locals,
"No, that looks suspicious to the locals," Kiva said, "you should both come with me,"
"I see no problem with that, plus I'm curious about your business dealings." Nya said,
"Let me just cast a disguise on you so you don't stand out. Terror has that bracelet of his so he can pass as normal, but you…"
"Hmm," Terror bristles to himself,
Kiva raises her hand, which glowed a faint green, waving her hand over Nya, the hybrid is enveloped in what appears to be a haze of green glitter that clings to her form. She doesn't feel any different, but when she catches her reflection in a blank monitor, she notices that her eyes look normal, her blackened claws appear like normal nails, even her ears are human.
"Huh, fascinating." Nya comments, examining her appearance in the reflective surface.
"It's just a simple glamour," Kiva states, "it should last a few hours at best, more than enough time to get you on your way. C'mon, my contact isn't very far, we can get there on foot."
Only the fae were mana sensitive, and thus could become adepts. Omen weren't mana sensitive, and as such, were incapable of becoming adepts, though some scholars believe that omen phantasms are an evolutionary response to this disparity in mana sensitivity. There are still ongoing debates on the true relationship between omen, fae, and the mana stream.
As they proceeded on foot from the ship, Nya discovered that her vampiric aversion to the sun was significantly weakened, her skin still felt raw under the harsh light of the sun, but at least she wasn't burning alive. This was most likely thanks to the lykan genetic factor now in her DNA, being a hybrid had its advantages.
"So, you mentioned something about a turf war?" Nya asked
"Yeah, this planet is rich in mythril, and naturally, everyone wants in on it. There are dozens of mines all across the planet." Kiva explained, "The individual mining companies then started fighting one another for control over each others mines, eventually the social order broke down and it quickly devolved into fighting warlords vying for power, taking control over which mines were in their territory."
Mythril was one of the most valuable minerals in all of the cosmos, not only was is useful in magecraft, but it was also the key component for generating a potent and stable form of energy known as plasma. Plasma was a common and efficient power source throughout Hyperion and could power everything from vehicles and small firearms, to entire cities, ships, and even whole space stations. Mythril, as a resource, was also renewable, so a mythril-rich planet like this one would naturally replenish itself over time as long there was still mana in the environment.
"I'm guessing territory frequently changes hands around here?" Nya asked
"Yes, but there aren't any mines in this area," Kiva assures her, "this place is mostly stable,"
"How does such a volatile society even function?" Terror asked
"Hell if I know, but they're good at surviving." Kiva said
"Still, this place seems like a nice town," Nya comments, looking at the idyllic coastal town,
"It looks nice, but the locals like to keep to themselves." Kiva explained, "My buyer's up ahead,"
They came to a stop at a large fenced-off area, the gate and fence were covered in scrap metal. Above the gate was a sign that read 'GARO'S EXOTIC MATERIALS' and there was a camera at the gate that looked at them.
"Garo, I've got a fresh haul." Kiva said as she waved at the camera
"WHO'RE THE TWO WITH YA? I AIN'T NE'ER SEEN 'EM BEFORE." Came a static-filled voice from a loud speaker
"They're just some add-ons I hired," Kiva lied, "I got a lot of stuff, it'll take a while to offload without help."
There was a long pause, before they heard loud rumbling of an engine. The gates opened up, and Nya saw what she knew as a massive truck roll out on a dozen wheels.
In the cabin in the front was an elderly man with scruffy white hair and dusty clothes, "Get in." was all he said to them as he waited.
"Interesting friend you have there," Terror commented
"He's a decent guy who doesn't ask too many questions, keeps me coming back." Kiva shrugged as she climbed the ladder leading up to the cabin. The cabin was surprisingly cozy for such a huge beast of a machine, but they all managed to fit.
"We need ta be quick," Garo told Kiva, "There's a new embargo on off world ships."
"Don't worry, we can get our business done before the local war lord or bandits sniff us out." Kiva said, she was confident that she'd be on her way well before then, and Nya and Terror could hold their own against the war lord's forces before they find some other transport off the planet.
"A lot's changed since you were last here." Garo informed her, "World Lord Davos is in charge now, he put an end to the turf wars and is now the strongest power on the planet."
"Wait, wait, wait… World Lord Davos?" Kiva exclaimed, "Since when was there a World Lord of Draxia Urma?"
"Like I said, you've been gone a long time," Garo said, "The World Lord's been in charge for the last two decades."
Nya noted what Garo said, but didn't comment.
"What happened?" Kiva asked, not even realizing she'd been caught in her lie.
"Davos was an up and comer around the last time you were around, not one of the big timers. Then, all of a sudden, he now has enough power to topple every other warlord, and seize control of the whole fucking planet. Weird thing is though, one day all the war lords are dead and their people join up with Davos."
"That is weird," Terror comments, "but at least the turf wars are over?"
"Yeah, that Davos is something," Garo comments,
From what Nya understood, there were many power players in Hyperion who were regarded as nobility, people with excess wealth, power and influence. Most were just superficial titles like Duke, Baron or Count, which signified social status among the nobility, however, the title of World Lord signified someone with control over an entire planet, or multiple planets, it was essentially royalty. Someone's status as a World Lord depended on the quantity and quality of the planets they owned. Regis were considered a separate privileged category, different from the other nobility.
"How're things with him in charge?" Nya asked
"Well for starters, there're no more bandit raids or violent regime changes," Garo said, "he's done a lot of good, putting money into rebuilding, though he prioritizes the bigger cities on the continent, so places like this are left on their own."
"That sounds rough," Terror sympathized, while Nya showed little interest.
"Though everything isn't as great as they'd make you believe." Garo said, "I've heard that basically a dictator, with his military goons all over the place, dissenters are forced to work in the mythril mines and refineries, though most of that mythril goes off world, only his cronies get to reap the benefits though, and they only leave scraps for the rest of us."
They took the truck back to where the sweeper was landed.
"C'mon guys, let's get this load onto his truck." Kiva said as she Nya and Terror got out.
With their superior strength, moving the scrap collected by the sweeper was easier and didn't take that much time.
"I feel sorry for the people of this town," Terror notes as he moves a chunk of space debris onto the back of the truck. "I mean, with the World Lord they're in no better a place than during the reign of the war lords."
"Meh, life goes on," Nya shrugged, "at least they can get by."
"How can you be so cold?"
"These people don't mean shit to me," Nya said bluntly, "I don't have the luxury to feel sorry for every poor bastard with a sad sob story. So what they have it rough? That's called life."
"That is a very apathetic view of life," Kiva commented
"Not everyone can run away from their problems," Nya replied, staring pointedly at Kiva, "some of us get broken and have to find a way to live with it."
"Stop wasting time flappin' yer gums and get this crap loaded up!" Garo yelled from the cabin.
"Sorry," Kiva apologized.
Shortly afterwards, they saw a swarm of flying crafts approaching from the air.
"Shit!" Garo cursed as he took off, leaving the truck behind.
Some of the crafts surrounded them overhead, aiming guns down at them, while some landed and let out a number of soldiers dressed in brown uniforms.
"UNAUTHORIZED SHIP, YOU HAVE VIOLATED THE EMBARGO AND HAVE BEEN SUSPECTED OF SMUGGLING. YOU ARE UNDER ARREST!" Came a resounding bellow from a loud speaker.
They were forced away from the truck and sweeper while the soldiers went through a search. An officer approached them, his uniform was much more ornate than the others, he even had a cape.
"I am Captain Saloa." he introduced himself as soon as he arrived at the scene.
"F-forgive me," Kiva said, "I was unaware of the embargo on off world ships,"
Kiva presented a card and a sheaf of folded papers from a pouch on her belt and hand them to him
"So what is your purpose here… Kiva Weren?" he asked,
"I was just stopping to exchange materials I'd collected from space for supplies." Kiva answered, "I was going to leave as soon as I was done."
"And what about these other two?" he turned to Nya and Terror
"Th-they're just extra hands I hired to help with moving the materials."
"Hmm," the marshal sounded as he scrutinized the two, "Scan them."
"What?" Kiva asked
Kiva started to get nervous, the disguise she made for Nya was just so she blended in, and even Terror's bracelet wouldn't hide his true nature against proper scrutiny from a trained adept.
"I-is that really necessary? They're harmless, really." She tried to dissuade the captain
"Adepts, read them." The marshal ordered as three soldiers dressed in dark robes in addition to their uniform stepped forward carrying staves.
The adepts concentrated for a second before shocked expression overtook their faces.
"Omen!" one yelled.
All three adepts then struck their staves on the ground as the tops glowed in different colors. Suddenly, Nya, Terror and Kiva was shrouded in angry red energy that made them fall to their knees in agony, the glamour that covered Nya and the disguise of Terror were stripped away.
"You were trying to smuggle these omen? That is a serious offence. You will all be taken to the Hall of Judgement to await your fate." The marshal said as the red energy intensified.
Highly disturbed by the red energy, Nya summoned her blood aura, sprouting massive blood red tendrils that quickly takes out one of the adepts, ripping him in two before absorbing all his blood. The sudden violence caused the other adepts to hesitate which allowed Terror and Kiva to break the agony of the red energy. By now, soldiers started to close in, so Terror and Kiva tried to fight back and get away.
Unfortunately, their escape was interrupted when reinforcements arrived quicker than anyone could anticipate, the soldiers were suddenly much stronger than before and overwhelmed them. Kiva and Terror were overwhelmed and restrained by the soldiers despite their struggling, while Nya was fired upon using tranquilizer rounds supposedly strong enough to put down an elephant.
"You think this is going to stop me?" she demanded as she pulled the bard out of her neck and grabbed the soldier who just shot her by the shoulder before ripping his throat out with her teeth.
More tranquilizers were shot into her after her violent and graphic display, and eventually even she was subdued by sheer numbers.
"You need to restrain her quickly!" one of the two remaining adepts screamed as she and her surviving colleague focused their red energy on Nya.
"What are you doing? We have her incapacitated." The major demanded
"This omen isn't like anything we've ever seen before." The other adept added, "it will kill us all if we aren't careful."
"What, isn't it just a vampire?" another soldier noted as he went to restrain the other two.
"A vampire that can walk about in the light of the sun without any hint of burning?" the adept soldier snapped, "I don't know what it is, but it's a monster."
"Whatever it is, restrain it as tightly as you can, it shouldn't even be able to turn its head." The major said, "And someone inform the World Lord about this abnormal omen."