"I'm here live reporting on the construction site of the Rivera History Smithsonian, where a battle between the leader of the new crime organization the 'Murder of Crows' tangled with the Savior August Rivera and his young pupil Alexander Amara. Eyewitness reports indicate that the battle had no casualties and that the new CEO of his father's company tried his best to keep those safe. Though a question arises, with the threat of the Plague leader has risen along with the Wings of Darkness just a few days earlier, can the Emperor and the Capital truly keep the world safe for much longer?"
It was the same thing everywhere, different reporters stating information differently written by their writers behind the camera. Seated at the edge of the bed so he could gaze right at the screen with a heavy smile, where he appeared at the frame with his white hair having sparked to the air. August crossed over his chest leaning against the door frame, the young-looking man stated sarcastically without his father even turning toward this son,
"So, Mr. Emperor, you just gonna sit on your ass and watch TV? Man, you must be spendin' too much time with Mom,"
"I heard that!"
The yell of their mother in the bathroom, the shower running, entered their ears. The duo of father and son laughed at the sound of their mother interrupting their short conversation, Ben smiled playing with the remote spinning it with his strength at the tip of his very finger. The afterimage and otherwise as though giving the illusion of a basketball twirling at the tip of an extremity, the Emperor then caught it in his palm closing every single bit of his finger against the controller. Throwing it behind him, he used his left hand patting the unoccupied mattress opposite to his right, the white-haired man throwing back his coat so he could reveal his pants so he could press his bottom against the mattress.
It'd just been a day since the events, the Emperor, The Hunter, and the Empress meeting with the illusion of their mother created by their father. And the infiltration of the Smithsonian along with the total and complete destruction of the Murder of Crows. June 20th, 2059, 10:27 A.M. rays of the sun shining through the blinds tilted just a bit upright so that the side of the Emperor's face would be illuminated with the fiery glow of the star named Sol. Thinking for a second, Ben inhaled, chest descending in size before thinking a moment then turning to August placing his hand on his shoulder,
"So tell me; what've you been up to recently after yesterday, how you been handling the whole thing after... well, THAT, I guess,"
Ben's voice was soft and tinted with worry for his son, patting his shoulder again as the memory- meeting those monumental Titans flashed before his eyes. As if he were being haunted by the demons of hell itself, the way they looked as though they'd never even been human before, it was as if it'd been driving him mad. But his father was there for him, simply pulling him a bit closer and opening his arms as if he were waiting to be hugged, but the son didn't even register that. Shaking his head for a moment then sharing a laugh with his dad before they both laughed together, genuinely, Ben then... smiled, thinking about it. The memory he had as he spoke with his mother for the last time, truly it wasn't surely his mom, he knew that. And yet it felt good to unleash everything he'd been bottling up for what felt like millennia,
"I don't think I'll ever be over Celine, I only... was with her for about a week, really and still, it's just- the possibility. Still, it's just- I don't know, something about it, about her that I miss. She was a beautiful girl and she was so full of wit and everything, her hair, and all... all that,"
It was if he'd been on the verge of breaking down as his voice cracked a couple of times while he spoke to his father. Ben couldn't help but spare a half-glance just to see his lip trembling and the tear build up in the corner of his eyes. Inhaling for a moment as the breath began to surge throughout his nostrils and lungs, he breathed out for but a moment thinking back, he formed up what to say in his mind on a whim,
"It's a matter of thinking. I always thought I'd live forever when I was younger, that I'd always have my friends by my side. But it's different, the world we live in is so much more complex than just that. Innocents die, strugglers fight on but eventually, we all perish in the end. There's no other path ahead that doesn't lead to our eventual demise, August. The path led Celine's to her early one, and yours isn't over yet, her story is over. But yours... it's not nearly over yet, is it? We fight and we fight until the end. Never give up, stand up on your own two legs and keep walking, even if you're wounded. Even if you die, and even after you die. That's the way this world works. And I know it sucks but- what more can you do?"
Ben's words were that of an old man, yet not one that'd been displaced by time like he were his father. He was wise, the memories of his friends dying, of his own inaction, and everything around that's happened ever since then. The Emperor then stood up straight, wiping his nose for a second and sniffling about to head downstairs to get some food or make some before the younger vocals of his child reached out to him,
"Hey, Gramps-!"
Despite not being older than fifty, he turned around knowing there was no one else he'd been referring to. Ben stopped right in his tracks for a split second, turning his head just a tiny bit for the side of his smile and one of his eyes underneath his glasses could appear visible to the younger one of the two relatives,
"Don't die... Dad,"
With the new memory he'd been sent regarding the new date of the coming War, Ben saw to it that they prepare readily. The public having begun to distrust them, then the battle in the Smithsonian, the only ones they could rely on were themselves, it looked like. The Emperor rubbed at his beard for a split second deciding to then beckon his son to him so they could begin to walk down the stairs side by side. Rubbing his shoulder digging his fingers into the bone so he could feel the most ecstasy from the tips of his extremities, the soothing movements. Rolling his eyes as his son's satisfied moan from his self-massage, they began to reach the destination he'd intended to bring his boy to.
Standing in the center leading to the stairway, August stood with his hands in his pockets, turning his head puzzled for what came next. Just then, Ben tapped the side of his spectacles so the ground would begin to take them deeper below. The silence form the underground was oddly calming, the elevator descending them deeper, the walls revealing the outside paths carved into the rocky paths beneath. Like a sort of hot springs, the water was steaming hot with Jason there leaning back, his moans of pleasure inaudible but definitely visible as he took a simple bite of the pizza pie beside him.
Going a bit deeper below that, you would be able to see Beau flipping over an incoming slide of ice spiked at the tips then landing right on a rock made of magma. Boiling and illuminating with a blazing crimson glow, Edmund slammed his fist ahead so spikes like icicles would shoot toward Johnson. Spinning his feet onto the ground kicking the air, he stuck out his hand and slammed his sole right into the ground for a wall of ice to erect from below. Unfortunately, the elongated spikes of magma had been too hot so they immediately burned through the frost and went right for his throat. Catching the quick project with ease, he made one of the sides blunt so he could flick it back at Beau. Falling back dramatically, he moaned declaring Matt the winner, and finally, they reached their destination.
The elevator made a loud THUMP against the ground as it implanted its metal clampers into the soil. Metallic doors spreading wide and unveiling what laid inside, the steam hissed our and Ben walked first with his hands behind his back as if mirroring his dad's signature movement. August had just been following with his hands in his pockets and just then, he'd been met with a sight. Another meeting room, to which he just scratched the back of his head, asking loudly of his father,
"Was it really necessary to bring me all the way down here when we could've done this upstairs?"
August's voice was held with confusion yet from the way things looked in this enclosed chamber, he didn't mind. There wasn't really anyone there and it was just these two, except, that... there'd been someone else too. A third, sitting on a chair with his head rested against the table snoring loudly. Arms falling to his side staring at his sleeping underling,
"One, because it was dramatic and two... I'm lazy,"
Slamming his fist onto the table stepping from around the corner of the elevator's entrance and all, Alex jerked away yelping them falling right out of his chair from his abrupt awakening. August withholding a laugh at his protege, Ben shook his head while Amara popped right up from the previous laid down tumbling he'd taken once he fell to the ground. Rubbing the back of his head and nervously laughing,
"Heh... I have no idea how I got here,"
August waving over to his friend, both of them then quickly realized that this place had been deserted with no one remaining. Not Azazel, not Jason and not Rose, none of their usual allies had been called to this meeting. About to question him because of this decision, the Emperor circled around pulling the chair out from the head of the table as he began to explain,
"Yes, I realize that there's only us three here, I'm not stupid. It's like this for a reason. Things have become desperate, before, we had time. January 1st, I'd been gathering resources from other nations and otherwise to collect defenses for the Capital and everyone innocent Meta living in the districts around us. But... we only have three months, now. The bastards are hoping we challenge them head on with everyone else behind us, Matt, Ryder, Azazel, Jason, Madi. I know all you up care about your friends. We can't drag them into this, and I know I can't drag you two into this either but I have no other choice. We need to take the fight to them, just as we did when we annihilated Heaven before they could destroy us. We rebuilt the Government from the ground up and destroyed every remaining system that remained of the old ways. This is the New Era, and I am the Emperor of the True Kingdom. Come with me, and we'll find a way to finally end this, once and for all,"
There was no other way, if he were anyone else, maybe they would've declined, but this was different. The war ahead was that of imminent bloodshed and total obliteration, the laws of causality had willed them into this moment. The Three Requiems of Days Old banding together to destroy the Malevolent God, the Reaper and the Judge nodded at their superior and father as they shot out of their chairs. Alex spoke for both of them, hand on the shoulder of his master as he declared strongly,
"We'll make them pay, brother. No matter what,"
They'd die on this path, there was no other way for them to keep moving forward if not to their deaths. They had two feet, they couldn't stay in the same place and squabble like livestock being bred to die. Or rather, maybe they were lambs being led to their deaths by some otherworldly entity named Fate, either way, if this were the way it was supposed it go; then there was no changing the future as the laws of causality had willed it so. Maybe if the world had been different than the path they went onward onto would have led to another outcome... but this is no fairy tail. Jessica, Celine, Kuno. Motivators from a time long gone, the mother he'd lost that day, the girl he'd lost that day and the man that deemed him a weapon of chaos.
Nothing would have occurred if not for the Author, and so, the Requiems charged their fists into the air and damned that so-called Benevolent Deity. Cursing to the skies as the sun began to set over the horizon, the light shined against his face, his cloak surrounding his body. Celebrating their victory over the Crows unaware of what was yet to come, August's snowy hair glowed with the orange coloration of the sun hiding behind the mountains a distance away. Holding the tie in his teeth clenched together in rows, his fingers bunching it up together so his hair could be put into the bun tying it around there. Sighing in relief as he let go of if it so he could breathe properly, Amara was met with a question,
"Do you really think this is the right thing to do?"
It was though he was less confident in his own abilities, the road ahead them was long and dark and yet their destination seemed unknown. Where would they go and what would they see? It was unknown, but they had to struggle and fight, no matter how useless it seemed. Though he'd been the one to ask that question, August remembered his father's words... keep moving forward, no matter what. Having finished his hair and shadowed his face in the shade given by the darkness of the hood, he answered in a surefire way without hesitation,
"I think this is the only thing to do. Are you ready to die, 'nephew'?"
The duo shared a common chuckle as the dark clouds began to settle and the night began to set on this royal setting. The nocturnal chill of the night had sent shivers to their legs, and just then, inhaling with a smile on his face, August declared the same way, confident in his answer, remembering her face and everything about her...
"Always have been,"
Ben decided to take it upon him to say goodbye to his brother and sister at the entrance of the Castle. Both of their lips kissing against the die of his head for him to pull back and laugh, staring at them... it was if they didn't even need to say anything for what they thought to be shared. About to head off into the world with his son and his 'brother' by his side, his true brother stepped forward causing Ben to turn his head and quirk an eyebrow in curiosity. Getting on one knee to hold out the sheath of the Ketsueki blade right off to the man he'd been following ever since those decades ago they got their powers. Tearing up, he was hesitant to take it, it couldn't be his- swords were his thing, he didn't really.. he wasn't really into the whole thing. But just then, Jason and Ben made eye contact for one final time, which said all that needed to. If it was just going to be sitting around then it had no use, it was made to be used, to cut down heretics and apostles that dared threaten their way of life. His hand grabbed at the cover so the red would magically shift to a shade of azure, gazing into the eyes of his brother, they shared a final hug together. Madi then stepped down to push up his chin and fix the tie before he could abandon her, arms immediately wrapping around his neck to slam her face into her cheek.
Leaving a peck on the top do her head, his feet guided him to the others, soles pressing against the softness of dirt the road was made of. Grovel sticking to his shoes, he gave them one comment turning just a tiny bit so he could say,
"Don't wait up,"
Reaching out her hand to make a lasso so she could grab him and he'd be able to come back, Jason grabbed her wrist and hugged her. Resting his head in her neck, a tear streamed down both of their cheeks... their brother leaving with a smile, all of them waiting for him as he led down further down that path. The long ahead was long and dark but they knew where they were going, they alone would reach their salvation- as that was the truth of their determination. Keep moving forward and struggle, for what more can humans do... but continue onward, to the next day.
Hours later after everyone had gone and the party had finished, she stepped into the room to find a note tapped to the front of her door. Ripping it off then deciding to sit on the front of her bed as she ruffled her hair with a towel, she ruffled her hair and read it through. Who else had sent her but her husband?
"Hey, babe. It's Ben. You might question why I'm giving you this note, and this is why. I can't sit around any longer pretending they things are okay, preparing and defending when I know it'll be useless in the end. I might not return, and I'm sorry for leaving so suddenly but I can't look you in the eye saying I'm going to leave when I know I might never get to see you again. Emma, Gen, they'll get their own notes and they'll see them when I do. Contact me on the glasses, please.. I know I'll miss your voice. I love you, and I can't wait to see you again. See you later,"
She couldn't believe it, and her son was gone too, she could feel it in her heart; there was truly nothing he could've done. He made all these spells into superhumans for what reason, if he couldn't even use them? Just then, she realized... it was to protect them, so that if the threat ever came to them, they'd be able to shield themselves. The plan was never to create an army for himself, it was just- to save everyone. To avenge his mother and make her proud, that was his goal. Eyes watering, she appeared in the door and went over to her mom throwing her face in her lap, Emma unable to have any tears... for anyone to see, anyway. Tilting her head so the water could steam and look out from the corner, Genesis and Cecilia weeped together for the loss of their father/husband and son/brother.
About to leave work after a hard and annoying day behind the desk, the lights began to flicker and his watch began to do the same. Turning his head and stopping the packing for a moment, he leaned back as the transparent body of his partner was projected from the technology into the air around them. Not expecting anything bad, Azazel didn't have to read the words in the voice of his partner... for he said it on his own, gesturing and moving his body while the words were vocalized into the air,
"I thought it was right you get to hear my voice just one more time before I decide to do this.. but I won't... be back. I'm sorry, but Natalia, I saw them, those monsters. The nightmares of the Incarnations towering over me as if I were nothing but an ant on their playing field. I can't stay like that any longer, Azzy, you know I can't just wait around when I can do something. I know they'd just send more people, they'll rise and just challenge the Empire time and time again. But I'm done putting lives I care about at risk, I can't lose you the same way I lost Celine... you're my brother. I care about you, I love you. If I die, then at least I'll have gone out fighting. See you, Azazel, don't wait up for me... and goodnight,"
It was though he was in shock, eyes watering staring at that message, it had to be dream, right? He'd been wanting him back here for over twenty years and then he goes and disappears, right when he could die? Karlo fell to his stomach collapsing out of his chair, head slamming against the desk before the blood would drip out from his forehead and soak the floor in the thickness of the gory fluid. He'd passed out; from shock at the loss of his lifelong partner. Not once, but twice. And in the Void of his mind, the spirit of his mother coddled him in her arms as he sobbed on the inside for the man he named.. his brother.
"I'm sorry, Rosey. I'm sure you'll understand, more than anyone. I can't keep running from this, staying here and pretending like everyone can help me when I can only help myself. I might die but at least I'll die happy... thank you for everything. I love you, Rosalyn Karlo. Goodnight,"
All of them had left goodbyes to those they cared, Rose took it the best, all she did was cry tears of joy drip onto the paper and smile. He wouldn't be here and that was okay, he could die and that was okay; as long as he was free, and happy, then that'd be okay. She wanted the best for her lover, she always did, and as she saved the note pressing it against her mirror, she walked over to her window to stare out it pulling up the glass so the wind would push back her hair. The future looked grim but as they got onto that train and the green glistened in the moonlight ahead, their tickets checked out, Alex took one last look on the past with the lights of the future shining on his face.
"Come on, the doors are going to close!"
Beckoned August to his young pupil, and just then, as he disappeared behind those metal doors- shutting and emitting steam as they slid against one another; Ben pointed to some seats in the other car. Arms crossed over his chest, the white-haired Reaper felt the cloak close around him to shroud him in the black shade of the ripped cape,
"Whenever I take trains, it scares me. Speaking of which, remember when you were fighting those angels with Godma, Uncle and Artie? How did you get pinned down by that Archangel, Dad?"
After finding a spot for them to take a seat at, Ben sat at the middle between them both deciding to take off the coat as he answered his son. August on his left ripping off the cloak from the magnetic pulse it was attached to on his back so it could shrink away for when it was needed or wanted because it looked cool, and Alex on the right of his 'brother.' Using his hood pulling at the strings so his face would virtually disappear, he crossed his arms once more so he could lean further back resting against the oddly soft padding of the locomotive,
"Cuz Metatron is a pain in my ass and I was only like 30-something back then or something. Bet I could take him in one slice now, don't you think, Al-?"
About to include him into the conversation audibly, Rivera heard the snoring sounds of his younger ally to his right staring at his peaceful expression. Chest rising and falling in accordance with his breathing soothingly, Ben couldn't help but smile, his son tumbling out of balance so he could simply rest on his father's arm... cheek pressing and squishing against the softness of the suit. Keeping his arms in his lap, he smiled, and nodded, so, that night, the night of their first journey- he kept watch as the boys slept on his arms and dreamt. Rest- they all needed rest, and so, for a short while as they began to venture towards their destination with each passing hour, they rested.
And as the train traveled further down the trail, submerging into the deep for a patch of grass to begin to arise, the metal vehicle vanished as if it had never been there in the first place. The stars twinkled above aligned together on top of the darkness of the night, the future laid ahead and there was no other choice, no other path but the one ahead of them all. Struggle and fight. There was no way to win if you didn't fight, fight... fight.
FIGHT!
And with that; The Ruler of the Righteous Empire Arc has begun.