"A lot's changed since the last time you were here, back when you were just infants in your parents' arms," Hanniel held the unconscious Katie's right arm over his nape, Ace behind him with the other two girls limping,
"No shit... but what exactly happened? We were told the whole of the outside world was still intact- that ANZEN was an extension of the Government, a sole security organization dedicated to the safety of the people," Ace informed their new guide with a wince at the end of his dialogue,
"The hell's ANZEN?" Asked Griffith, just barely turning his head as he continued to walk,
"Ah... right. I'll tell you when we get to our 'lodgings', about everything we know so far," Retorted Ace to the older man, but just as they exited the neighborhood of the bordering houses carefully placed on the right and left, the remaining conscious Agents were met with the full sight of Evolutionary City.
A sprawling megapolis going on forever without end, replacing the calmed neighborhood of Upstate New York with these scraping towers piercing into the Heavens, just as Griffith stepped off the sidewalk- he instinctively stepped back. Hair whooshing into the air attached to his back, smile over his lips, the carriage zoomed past them standing by, and as the pegasus leading them ascended to shine in the sun's golden glow, their wings illuminated in the bright blue sky,
"Holy shit..." Whispered Ace, the reflection of the fantastical sight shining in the center of Divergence's orbs, even his weakened sister and lover couldn't help but gasp at it before their eyes,
"Freaky, ain't it?" Rhetorically questioned Hanniel to his followers, just like that, one half-second passed, and the red hand changed to a white figure.
Luckily for them, all it took was that, but a simple crossing of the street until they reached it. An odd shape, this hotel took. That of the Flatiron Building located in Manhattan, yet wider, bulkier than its inspiration, with the neon yellow sign that shone as bright as the moon in the dead of the night's infinite darkness. None of them needed to read it, for Griffith had decided to do for them instead,
"Welcome to Evolutionary City's highest-rated Hotel: The Hawk's Nest. Conceived and designed solely by me, Sir Hanniel Griffith,"
"'Sir'? What, you British or somethin'?" Sarcastically inquired the ginger of their guide with a smug smirk,
"British people don't exist anymore. Neither do the French, German, Russians- it's all one race," Griffith solemnly stated as they strolled into the entrance of the Hotel.
For such an enclosed exterior, it was unbelievable for it to have such a wide opposite, with the white keys of the piano clouding this room's atmosphere intact, the crackling of the flames singing away the logs of wood sent a feeling of nostalgia through Ace's chest. Memories of experiences that never happened; all flashing around his consciousness, he couldn't believe his eyes. Had something so amazing existed beyond the boundaries of that Island... an endless city that held no end to its beauty, as Kima's hand released from his palm, a blanket covered her chest. Of course, since it held room for two, June couldn't help but snuggle to her right and rest on her friend's shoulder, all the while Ace smiled at them both. Standing upright, just bending his back so he could kiss their heads, he turned tail and went to stare at the never-ending chaos those flickering flames produced just by brushing against each other.
It must've been a minute since he first turned from what Griffith asked of him,
"First time seein' a fireplace?"
The ginger couldn't help but laugh at it, shaking his head, eyelids shutting over the scarlet hue of his optics, he raised his hand, waving it around. At the same time, his lips parted,
"'Course not, I'm not a caveman. I guess it's just-" Why was the fire so captivating?
Entrancing him in its chaos, even as it began to calm from Hanniel's view, it kept Ace idle. Eyes peeking out below his tanned eyelids to reveal the emotion visible in the orbs' center, a smile curved upward on both ends...
"I've recently felt useless, I guess? Heh, it's hard to explain, but this place is... nice? I don't know how to describe it, but even as things are grim back on the Island, where my mentor is just about purposely killing himself, I can't help but smile here. Smile at my usefulness, compared to being back there, where I'd be trapped being useless. Is that selfish?" Ace turned toward their new helper, that smile as wide as the sky's endless azure palette, Griffith, too, couldn't help but share that same happy cadence,
"Guilt does not become you, Ace Wilder. Humans, even as hybrids as I am now, are selfish creatures that strive for their well-being over others,"
"Yeah, speaking of hybrids, you still need to tell me about this whole 'hybrid' and Evolutionary City thing. I thought humanity was... well, still human this whole time. We only just recently learned the Remnant World was a part of the Outside World," Ace explained to his new ally, to which Hanniel raised his hand, nodding his head,
"Yes, yes, I've not forgotten, believe me. However, don't you think it right we wait for the rest of your comrades to awaken before I explain?" Griffith gestured to the slumbering females regaining their strength with his hand,
"No. I don't plan on going on the same path as my sister and cousin. Tell me everything about Evolutionary City and the power necessary to defeat an Incarnated Requiem Artifact," Ace's words were as sharp as a newly-carved dagger edged to its peak, Griffith's heart dropped,
"How do you... why do you want this knowledge?" Hanniel quirked a brow upright over his right eye, to which Wilder's hands attached to his hips, shaking his head,
"Heh heh. I forgot we're both outta the loop, huh? Well, let's get this over with, then," Grabbing Griffith by the wrist, he dragged him right upstairs, the female behind the counter watching out the corner of her eye, she shrugged her shoulders.
Without her boss here, she could slack off, and that meant she could use one of her spider legs to hold the phone as she scrolled through social media. Needless to say, without anyone watching the unconscious girls, a certain blue-eyed one was able to sneak upstairs while the door closed behind Griffith and Ace.
The lamp lit by the pull of a string, Ace stood by the window unfurling the blinders, and though he'd just come in from outside, it couldn't be mistaken. The marvelous nature of this location, for someone like Wilder, mature as he was, he still acted like a child, unable to avert his eyes when something was 'cool.' Hanniel shedding the cloak off his chest, white feathers descending to gather around the wooden floorboards, Ace turned to widen his eyes,
"Woah!" He yelled in astonishment while Hanniel unbuttoned his shirt, revealing his pale back... Wilder couldn't believe his red eyes.
These wings were like that of an Angel's, illuminating in the sun's rays leaking through the window, though it was just that, with those beautiful eyes, that flowing hair, he could even be mistaken for that of a God, in the flesh,
"Something wrong?" Queried Grif to the ginger, to which Ace just sighed as a response, sliding his shoulders back, he turned away to stare out the transparent border; sounds from outside muffled,
"Nope... how do you know what an Incarnated Requiem Artifact is? And why did I know that you knew?" The first weirdly-worded question came from Ace, even he stood baffled at the way he said it, whispering to himself,
"The hell did I just...?" As if he didn't understand what he said while Hanniel laughed in the background, leading the Reaper's son to turn,
"That's easy. There are those from Old World who were incarnated into the New when the Forced Evolution occurred six years ago. No one lives from the center, but legend goes some huge beast released forbidden energy into this world that spread across Earth's ev'ry nook and cranny. Not only that but released the Old World's spirits into this as well, in fully adult bodies with no prior history however with memories from their old lives. The new species of people are called Evolutionaries altogether, but some aren't Hybrids, so there are other kinds of Evolutionaries except for Hybrids. Does that make sense or did you jump out the window? I can't see, I'm changing," Griffith threw another shirt over his chest to cover his bulging muscles, one with the proper holes in the back so his wings could spread free,
"Unfortunately, I got all that, even though I only asked one thing. Also, that 'huge beast' was most likely Cthulhu: my sister, cousin, and girl, they all killed him," Ace explained, still looking out the window while Griffith shoved pants down his legs, leading the ginger to groan,
"Y'know, this woulda has been a lot easier if you just changed before you came to meet us," With an obvious vein protruding out the corner of his head, withholding an irritated scream, Ace stated this,
"You are indeed right, however, I could never rob you of this awkward moment. I digress, though. If you seek to mimic or challenge the power of an Incarnated Requiem Artifact, then you will have ease in the training leading up to it, for you are the son of the Requiem Reaper and the grandson of the Emperor of Time. The feat of channeling your inner power locked away behind mental barriers should be easy, however, the training…"
"I don't care about the training, however grueling it may be. My power alone is unable to even rival that of my grandfather's, for my old man is split between my sister and me. I know there's a catch- someone I have to kill,"
Ace turned his head around, scarlet eyes' essence flaring up while the sun's rays on his red hair shone onto his back, all the while Griffith zipped up his jacket to his neck. Casually placing his bottom on the mattress, a sigh slid out his lips to blend into the room temperature, eyes stood directed downward to gaze. These swirling shapes stabbed into the rug below his soles, he could feel his mind spiraling, twirling endlessly at a 360 angle.
That pit in his stomach; the urge to puke suppressed, Griffith's eyes held that look of reluctance, gazing right back at that Requiem descendant. There remained something indescribable in those eyes, the center of Divergence- that scarlet hue, was it always so mad? The same coloration of blood's thickness, or was HE the one going mad? No, it couldn't be. For, without a shadow a doubt, as Ace stood in front of the sun's leaking rays through that see-through barrier, yellow lining brightening his rear, those crimson orbs reverberated a sickening sensation directed inward. Ace's containment of this feeling was for naught, as streams of hate poured out every nook, every cranny, Griffith felt as though the room was covered in that red.
This feeling was determination, the ability to pass through anything, to give away anything for the sake of yourself, however, that is not the true definition. Determination could be limited to caring for others; determined to ensure your friend gets that job they want, but this was more than that. Like the Devil themselves had been restrained within the confines of his barred soul, the Son of the Reaper, Ace Wilder, had that look of fiery determination flare in Divergence's bloody core. Yes... 'Dark Determination.'
"Someone you have to kill..? How old are you...?" Queried Hanniel, sweat dripping down his face with a worried tone audible in his vocals,
"Answer me, old man. Who do I have to kill- to be useful?" Ace stepped forward with a rasp in his voice, the sort of itchiness you'd hear in a killer's voice, begging again to feed that craving, however silently,
"Heh. I can see I don't have a choice, huh? The one in possession of the power capable of rivaling that of an Incarnated Requiem Artifact is a criminal group. They've wanted fugitives whose bounties surpass about $1,000,000,000 if you add all of them up. They go by the name...
The Jester's Deck,"
To Be Continued.