July 29th, 2023. Afternoon.
The Evolutionary Capital is located beside where New York City's Manhattan used to be. In other words, where Poughkeepsie used to be. However, besides that singular space, the rest of the cities that populated New York were demolished. When the Reaper assumed control of the Capital and started reconstruction, he decided to make use of all the space they were surrounded by. It was all greenery with city-like ruins overrun by wildlife littering the plains. They could use this to raise cattle and grow food using the unpopulated space.
Now, several Evolutionary citizens use this space and work as farmers, selling off food to other city-denizens traveling beyond the wall in search of something exquisite.
And now, that explanation brings us to today. The minimum of Riot gathered, the members watching as Rizia shook a farmer's hand before he was sent away and walked off-screen.
"Who was that?" asked Katie as the envoy stepped closer.
"Oh, him? He was just one of the farmers that work these plains. He agreed to let us use his land for this little experiment," Riz informed her.
"Speaking of which, you haven't filled us in on anything regarding this little 'experiment' you keep mentioning. Mind sparing us some details already?" Ace demanded strongly.
"Yes, yes. Follow me and I'll explain while we walk."
Rizia started moving, having already finished speaking with the two. Their arms crossed behind their back, guiding their students down the grassy plain, wind swaying the trio's hairs in tandem. Katie was taken aback by her environment's beauty. An emerald color so widespread that the eye's center can't get enough; wishing to stare eternally.
"This is so pretty…" She marveled aloud.
"It is. You'd never see anything like this on Riverton," He agreed with his cousin.
"I can't wait for you guys to see the outside world," Riz interjected, shifting their neck towards the duo, "There's so much more for you to see besides just this."
Ace and Katie temporarily halted. Having heard what the envoy said, Kate's eyes sparkled at the thought of more unimaginary sights like these. Her redheaded cousin looked at her amazed face and hid an obvious smile. Shoving his hands into his jeans' pockets, he called her.
"C'mon. Let's not lag, alright?"
Katie watched Ace's spiky-white hair sway in tandem with the summer wind's flow from behind. She stepped forward… then she stopped. Her memory flashed. That unfortunate scenery she would undoubtedly bring about surged to her mind's forefront. Clutching her head momentarily, her rapid ragged breaths faltered appropriately, only after she cleared her mind with one clear thought.
'I'll destroy everyone. Every last one of those animals that's in this world.'
Another future memory. She couldn't explain why but it oddly soothed her. All the incoming nerves plaguing her instantly vanished, leaving her idly standing. Shaking herself free from the trance, her smile stained her lips while she tumbled into a sprint following her ginger cousin.
The trio all walked across the dirt road paved into the grassy plain, some more casual than others with Ace's hands shoved into his pockets.
"You plan on speaking, mute?" He called out to Rizia's behind.
"I knew I was forgetting something. You see, everyone's known about Death's Source for quite some time already. However, there are only a select few that are sure of its origin. I'm sure you assume the little council that puppets the Capital is among those few. But I'm unlike them. I hate censorship and secrets," they said.
The group continued shuffling across the dirt road, turning their heads and noticing the barn they were bypassing. Katie couldn't help but smile as she glimpsed into the window and saw a young girl with headphones in, seated beside the border while drawing in her notebook.
'The innocence of youth is so beautiful.'
She ended her thoughts once her blue eyes shifted away from the 'window girl', focusing again on Rizia's tale and explanation while the envoy guided the two down the path.
"Unlike the rest of the world, the Capital is far behind in terms of everyday technology. They unintentionally make up for it by having advanced weaponry far beyond anything ever seen before in the form of the Requiems. Unfortunately, the Oracle of the Reaper's incarnation slipped into every Requiem Subjects' mind all across the globe. There's no hiding from anyone anymore."
The two reduced Kosuke's voice to muffling background noise, for the next sight they'd spot was unlike any other that came before. Venturing over the hill they inadvertently walked up, on the other side, there it was. An aviation vehicle unlike any they'd seen before nestled against the grass below them; the ship's metallic shine reflecting from the sun and then momentarily blinding them. Their arms covered their eyes in unison, hearing Rizia's voice bypass the both of them.
"I'm here to do you a favor. You all have the problem of Retly under control. Shortly, you'll be visiting the city and sometime after that, an attack will surely follow. However, if we're too slow to act, then Retly will victimize the Capital and the rest of the world would soon follow. So, you two are going to train. We'll be focusing on Territory Envelopment and strengthening your Artifacts. Let's start with Katie first," Rizia pointed upon mentioning her name.
They stepped back, waving their hands back and forth behind their build. While impatiently fidgeting as they awaited Katie to activate her technique, Ace stood casually beside her; hands still pocketed. With the two now outside her destructive rage, the envoy stuck out her thumb, leading to Katie's nodding head. From there on, she ripped out the Blackened Blade after easily summoning the blade's snowy sheathe. The darkened steel shone against the overhead glistening against the Earth.
"Is this what you wanted?" Kate turned toward the two, one hand on her hip.
Ace looked at Kosuke's face. They were scratching their chin all until the vital moment their fingers snapped. Free from their cluelessness, Rizia extended a hand and questioned,
"Katie, do you… know what your Artifact is?"
"Huh?" She curiously hummed.
"What the hell're you talking about? She wields the Blackened Blade, what's wrong with you?" Ace angrily interrogated the envoy.
"I'm talking about how the Artifact you called the 'Blackened Blade' isn't its true name. That katana… is the embodiment of Death's Source itself," Rizia explained, still pointing, but this time at the weapon.
"Wh-what're you talking about?" Katie confusedly asked, leaning forward.
"Some Requiem Subjects can glimpse into memories from the Old World via the nonlinear Seas of Time. It's said that during the climactic war that ended the Old World, the Destructive Advent, the Crow, and Requiem Reaper battled against the Prince of Hell. To do that, Azazel pierced himself with his weapon and… let's just say managed to touch the core of death itself. For a short time, before the Old World's end, he, too, was called the Source of Death."
The former assassin's clarification sent more memories to surge through Katie's mind, returning to her forefront. That unforgettable past scene replayed mentally, peering through her father's eyes and noticing the sharpness edged into his chest.
"How was he able to do such a thing?" asked Ace, his eyes wide.
"He was descended from demonic blood. Those blessed or cursed with the blood of demons and Angels can dive deeper into the core of their souls and activate their dormant innate potential. Requiems have a unique relationship with life. It's not a surprise that all Riveras are Requiems and most of them could manipulate it to some extent. But, for Karlos, while the potential was unrealized, it is entirely possible for them to have been able to utilize the dormant power of Death from the very moment Ryder Karlo was injected with demonic blood all those years ago originating from the Old World," Rizia finished their explanation and brightly smiled at Katie.
"I hope you got all that–"
"Wait, wait, so… this power is something I've been born with?" Katie asked, extending her hand to catch Rizia's attention.
"I don't think you were born with it considering the New World's unspoken laws. But, when you obtained the Artifact, you awakened something. Darkness that'd been quelling for what seemed like eons, finally conscious and ready to slaughter. That 'something' could have very well been your blood's dormant version of Death's Source," Riz further elaborated.
"That time in R'lyeh when you fought Cthulhu when you first obtained the Blade. Those were when you used Death's Source after first awakening it," Ace loudly discovered.
"Right, so…" Katie turned back to the envoy, "how do I control this exactly?" she asked.
"Well, that's easy. Over the next four months until the trip to Retly in November, I'll be training not only you but Ace too!" Rizia's finger aimed at the ginger.
"Why're you pointing at us so much?" he whispered.
"I dunno, it's kinda fun!" They excitedly responded.
Katie's head turned at the sound of their joyful voice, scanning over their androgynous features with soft blue eyes.
'I'd always thought the act of oppression to be unforgivable. Yet, here I am: about to be trained by someone who was formerly my enemy. I wonder… if anyone else were put into this situation besides me, without my background and my horrid experiences… would they feel the same way? Would they tolerate walking beside and talking to the very person they thought embodied everything… they despised?'
Katie lowered her head, venting out a sigh. Then, her skull raised, black locks moving in tandem once her azure retinas locked onto the snowy-white clouds littering the baby-blue airspace. She felt as though she could get lost in this color forever; spiral into a coma as long as this unimaginable beauty was before her eternally. But the real world didn't work out that way. Her eyes were always destined to divert from the sky.
Following another sigh, she chuckled and indistinctly muttered, "I'm such a hypocrite…"
The sound of indistinct conversation some feet away garnered her eyes. From behind, she watched her cousin and the envoy march down the hill. Katie lagged, accompanying them from a considerable distance.
Before they knew it, the moon had risen after the sun had fallen. Nighttime reigned over the baby-blue sky and all that remained were sparkling stars amidst the heavens. Unbeknownst to her cousin and the envoy, she leaned back against that same hill, admiring the darkness's unforgettable scenery widespread above her. To think that everyone on Earth slumbered under the same sky holding identical sparkles distant from their bodies. It seemed imaginary. Like the very world humanity existed within was something torn right from the pages of an inimitable fairy tale.
Katie enjoyed this brief peaceful moment. In the future, disaster's planted seeds would grow roots and undoubtedly seep into everything. She had to make the most of the peace she had before it would all be destroyed.
Under the night sky, laid flat on a grass bed, Katie Moon admired the exorbitant stars rapidly flickering and reflecting against her face. How beautiful the New World was. If only it could last like this forever.
Retlyian Invasion Arc - Start.
Trivia: Katie's Artifact is Death's Source. When in contact with the Blackened Blade, a vessel for the Source, she can utilize its strength to its maximum potential. The abilities of this Artifact were intended for Karlo family use so it's extremely lucky Katie managed to obtain it before anyone else.