Antoine walked into I.A.S' main headquarters past his coworkers. "News recently got back from our informant in Generil and he gave us his blessing to investigate. We've got the schematics and the layout of the main headquarters, this is a gigantic risk. You're two hundred percent sure about taking it?" Said the current director of the I.A.S as he held his hands behind him and looked at the staff of Aahdik. "My daughter had informed me what his prison is like and I don't fear it, I don't fear if I fail it could mean my death, sir." Antoine answered as he geared up with the pieces of the armor. "I'd rather send someone else for this assignment, if you fail this organization would be losing three important parts." Said The director with a low tone. "If I'm not able to come out on top, I'll flee, for the glory of the organization to be found another day, sir." Antoine reassured the old man as he finished equipping the armor and made his way to the staff. "You've grown up into the kind of man I hoped you would one day, now go and return home to take your role as the leader you are." The director commanded, sending him off to Generil. Antoine gripped the spectacularly powerful staff with both hands, focused his conviction and bonded with the energy of it and teleported himself to Generil where he found himself inside of a utility closet.
Nathaniel's best friend and one of the three cities' most esteemed medical professionals entered into the room where his boss was being held in his coma early in the bright morning. "Floquet, how've you been, friend?" He asked as he still had on his medical coat but wasn't surprised he was still at his bedside with his head down and his voice low. "Picked up my wife at the airport and now I'm here." Floquet answered. "I asked how, not what, though pal." Nathaniel replied with his same sullen tone. "I'm going to ask you about both right now, you were doing unbelievably well to focus on filling in for him with a busy schedule." Floquet reminded him as he placed his hand on his shoulder standing next to him. "The others are far more qualified to fill in for him but they refuse because he wanted me to take over if anything ever happened to him. I've actually been able to hide in Josue's room, rethinking… things, and reminiscing others." Nathaniel informed his best friend who is looking his age. "He was barely ever wrong with his choices and judgements. He must've seen something about you that the others don't necessarily have?" Floquet suggested as he scratched his chin. "He was wrong in the case of me, I'm practically a two hundred year old that acts twenty." Nathaniel admitted after his self reflection. "Sounds like you know exactly what you're meant to do now then." Floquet responded with a tone.
"Get into contact with the Gen-Oath, the city's police department and the other cities, warn them of the threat now!" A headquarter guard commanded his junior, who ran and took off after witnessing his commander charging Antoine who was cornered by thirteen at once and was taking them out with the staff, through its ability of extensions and concussive explosions. He heard sounds of vicious, wild animals behind him and screaming from his comrades as he sprinted to safety. He looked back and saw Antoine's supernatural and freakish creatures tearing through his comrades. Eyes widened but sprinting to warn them was his only priority, he was able to get into contact with the police department before his creatures tore him apart. It only took a few minutes to clear all thirty guards in the complex, only a few minutes to hack through their files and hard drive them for his organization. "The I.A.S' unsparing phantom semblance in the flesh?" Antoine heard from a mysterious voice coming from one of the computers. He was shocked someone knew him and his nickname around the organization but he kept his calmness. "I've already warned the last two cities and every squad of this raid, leave." The voice demanded while Antoine smiled before placing the bottom of the staff on the ground and leaving for the next location.
"The first beast I ever went against was in this steampunk dimension we visited. He needed to rescue me from it, he had burned its eyes out with intense blasts of light but I tried electrifying it. The first power I learned with my Kiya-eal. It was immune to electricity." Nathaniel reminisced with a soft voice. "The first can be excused, how many more times did he need to save you after that?" Floquet asked softly but with more curiosity. "Plenty. Not only him but the preservers too. I was once going to be beheaded by an orc-like creature with thick skin until Fitz had teleported me out of the way. I was grateful but it was embarrassing for me in regards to our practice." Nathaniel told Floquet as he looked up at him. "It's great that being the most perfect isn't a requirement in order to take up the role of leader." Floquet responded in order to cheer him up. A long moment of silence from Nathaniel as he was in his head thinking about that further. "In my view, the most perfect of all the options should take the role. Taking orders, giving orders, harnessing Kiya-eal, protecting the three cities from the threats that are soon to come?" Nathaniel argued as his confidence was dwindling. "Qualities that you can learn and grow as you proudly take your seat at the throne, make a better point." Floquet responded to his best friend. "Shut up." Nathaniel replies with a slight smile.
Antoine had Kacey Sarpong in his hands by the back of his neck questioning him before deciding that he was useless and would never break easily after a long fought battle, proceeding to knock him unconscious and tossing his body to the ground and respecting how he handled himself. "Don't leave too quickly." He heard from a youthful voice before stumbling into a glass wall that didn't crack. He felt and tapped it before turning his attention towards the voice, he tried to teleport out of his box using the staff but he was unable to, he tried to cause an earthquake using the staff by pounding the ground but it didn't work, his Jackal and Hyena still ambushed Codagan out of thin air. The box still didn't fall or weaken as his armor was getting bitten and they shook him by his arms from the ambush. "Poke my chest out for indirect attacks by this energy." Antoine reminded himself with the instruction of the director of his hidden organization. The glass he was trapped inside of began to be transformed into a green and gaseous form that trailed into the mouth of his armor's logo. He felt so strange that he froze with his head turned around and down, feeling it like it was wrapped around his skin. Codagan was shocked by seeing this as he was being shaken by their incredible strength. He punched the Hyena as hard as he could before kicking the Jackal in its snout and rolling backwards into a flips onto multiple of his glass platforms high above Antoine's unnatural creatures. Antoine's Jackal and Hyena leapt up and took Codagan down by his arms as he prepared to debut something brand new he learned he could do, unexpectedly. As he was struggling like before with them, Antoine slowly approached him before Kiyo crashed through the windows and restrained his pets, making them sit with zero difficulty before floating them to the ceiling. He helped Codagan off the ground but Seyort's inescapable ideal went to clash scimitar against staff with the I.A.S' unsparing phantom.
Nathaniel teleports Floquet and himself to the top of Generil's primary headquarters where his adoptive father watches his home. "He was the most lenient man I've ever met." Said Nathaniel as he leans over and sees the Trio running as if there were an emergency and gives a slight grin. "How?" Floquet asked as he couldn't enhance his vision like his best friend. "I restrain myself from combusting items like Aleph or the others occasionally do, I can't perfect the technique in any way. There was a village somewhere in Asia that was getting attacked by a monster. We answered, instead of combusting properly to stop… only it, I obliterated that entire village accidentally. He only gave me a stern talking to that made me think twice, about what I can and can't do on the field and if I'm not confident, then find another way. Aleph told me off like I was five, Fitz mind blasted me, Alyssa left me speechless and confused when she talked with me about the incident." Nathaniel answered with a shameful look on his face while Floquet stood with one of horror and shock. "That's what that was about?!" Floquet asked with a tone that made his reaction clear to Nathaniel without him having to look up or read his mind. "Come on more field missions with us from now on." Nathaniel insisted with shock in his tone by the fact he didn't know. Floquet rejected with a hand gesture. "If this encourages you to take the role he knew you'd grow into then I'll balls up and do it." Floquet replied with emphasis on "grow" and "balls up" than the rest of the words. "Let's head to somewhere more comfortable, the sky looks as though it's about to be very rainy today soon." Nathaniel stated before he teleported them somewhere more familiar to him.
"It's our first nimrod that decided he'd raid the most secure building in Generil!" Ember pointed out as she and Artus saw Lyle was gripped up by his neck off the ground with Generil soldiers laying in defeat. Antoine threw Lyle at Ember to silence her while Artus took advantage of his attention being turned away from him and blasted Antoine with one of his Ho'omake attacks. Antoine was blown off his feet and forced to perform a backflip before he landed on his feet, dodged Ember's plunging stab with her rapier after missing him he countered with an uppercut to her abdomen, she eased into a back stance with a bastard sword after she recovered. Artus spontaneously alongside Lyle began spraying their guns at this formidable intruder that dispatched every soldier in the headquarters alone. Artus was spraying bullets from his saw in a crouching position at the intruder's feet as Lyle blasted dual USP pistols for only half a minute of blocking his face their rain of lead before he used the staff's power to blow them off of their feet and send the two stumbling backwards before rushing at them, transforming the staff into a voulge. He was intercepted by Marcel, who had finally arrived and Ember who found her way back into the fight after her Brothers guns didn't work. Marcel and Ember fought out of sync allowing Antoine to give Antoine an advantage over them and take them down easier than their fellow Gen-Oath teammates in the other Databases, however Lyle and Artus were able to snatch his attention away from draining these two unlike the others. Antoine slams the staff causing winds to blow the squad away. Marcel and Ember were given the chance to gather themselves as all of their glares challenged his own. Suddenly the two least expected adversaries appeared beside this blonde raider they were facing, both had beaming smiles on them.
Nathaniel and Floquet teleported to Josue's private study, the Open-mouthed clinician couldn't believe what he was seeing with his own eyes. He couldn't help but wonder where they were, this study filled with books and a humongous training section. There were windows but it was only filled with the night sky with shining stars. "This is where we mostly trained and studied, where we talked to Josue, where we learned everything." Said Nathaniel as he went by on his way to find a book. "Where in the world is this place, this is like magic!" Floquet couldn't help from asking as he followed. "One of the safest places that could exist, a subterranean study, Josue's subterranean study specifically, so deep no known technology on earth could safely make it this deep. It isn't magic, it's the energy of Kiya-Eal." Nathaniel corrected as it was a journal that had his adoptive father's name on it. Floquet saw it and knew what he was going to speak about next. "I never got that he was the type to leave his feelings in a journal." Said Floquet as he crossed his arms and leg as he opened his ears. "He's not— this is a message that's addressed to the next head of the three cities, Nathaniel. Not a son. 'To the next head of the three cities, the world's going to be against you. The other nations see you as a menace to the world. You'll ask yourself how you can change their perceptions, change their minds, you won't succeed. Shift any of that thought into the citizens' well being, the cities' well being, you and your siblings'. There's always someone plotting someone's downfall somewhere, I know you'll overcome those who plot yours. I know you'll especially overcome those planning against the cities. You've got Aleph, Fitz, Conyrol, Alyssa and Floquet. You'll be fine, prove me correct. Take care.'". Nathaniel finished reading with a quiet tone to his voice toFloquet but he was stuck on the fact he mentioned him in his letter of encouragement to his best friend.
Antoine gave Dolion and Bacia a nod of approval before he vanished away and they took over the fight for him, Ember summoned herself a long sword and initiated a base stance as Dolion was approaching the Generil squadron nonchalantly. "Seems like there's history between you five that I'm missing?" Marcel questioned as he grabbed out his double bladed sword but had one side bladed and kept in the hanging left stance. "There's definitely something making this moment more awkward between them." Artus replied to Marcel before Ember sprinted with her sword and swung but missed as Dolion elegantly dodged away each one, he thrusted his sword but Ember moved and it slid along her blade before she delivered a spinning slash but he as swiftly turned around and blocked it with his gauntlets. She tried with all her might to push him away, however, the two separated from one another and backed away glaring.
Artus and Lyle kept their distance from Bacia but Marcel soared in with his sword in hand, ready to remove a limb, chop her up, she didn't hold back as he reached the area of effect of her fear inducing explosions around herself. She called all of her maggots to climb onto him, freaking him out further and compelling him to fly outside. Artus and Lyle stood nearby hiding and thinking of a plan to get around her inducement authority. Bacia teleported over and over in an unpredictable fashion in order not to get shot by Artus or her archenemy, enjoying their confusion as they couldn't keep up with her, until she appeared directly behind them. Artus swung but missed when she ducked, Lyle pushed his brother out of the way before teleporting out of her vicinity. She teleported immediately, the two kept up on their guard afterwards, ready to move.
Nathaniel and Floquet returned to the base's hospital Josue stayed within while in his comatose state, Nathaniel held his hand while assured him of his stable breath. "Things were better in those days, gosh, when did I become such a slacker?" Nathaniel asked Floquet from the other side of the hospital bed with his tone low. "We've known each other since I was about twenty, let me see?" Floquet replied before rubbing his chin. "We're back here because before I left, he whispered and ordered me to use his coat on my journey. Told me to keep it if something happened to him. He was terrified to face off against him. Advay, the only man he ever feared." Said Nathaniel as he stared down at it. "The Lore Vessel's coat and bracers." He thought in his head as he was recollecting being taught how to use it. Suddenly out nowhere, Nathaniel was sent flying into a wall and impaled by a spear pinned to the hospital wall. He teleported Floquet away somewhere safe then followed the same idea with Josue. Antoine only saw a brief moment of Josue's face before he disappeared. As the I.A.S's unsparing phantom approached The Three cities' Heir as he was struggling. "So, the rumors worked this well?" Nathaniel asked as he held onto the spear struggling. "Give in to your end, criminal." Antoine spoke with a soft voice. "I have a passionate and virtuous liberator to live up to first." Nathaniel replies before he teleports out as his escape but leaves the spear behind. Antoine walked up to his staff on the ground with Nathaniel's blood on it and counted to ten seconds before he followed.
"There is no escape from me, rubbish facsimile." Said Antoine with a cold tone, he quickly realized Nathaniel's wounds were healed but Josue's unconscious body was nowhere to be seen, it became his number one priority. Nathaniel was fixing the legendary piece of clothing and weapon that was passed onto him. The three cities' heir powered the coat, easing into his Forearm touching his elbow, it glowed green filled with splendid energy as he felt all of it and it changed form and size. "Escrima of Kiya-Eal." Nathaniel said to himself as he reached into his pocket, he reached into the coat's pockets that led into a vast space of infinite storage while using his telekinesis to pull them. "The war robe of the Lore Vessel?!" Antoine asked himself with shock after realizing it's never been seen but he's seeing all of the qualities from the organization's artifact index of the set, before he tossed the spear but missed the attack when Nathaniel saw it coming. The Three Cities' Heir pulled out a pair of legendary Escrima sticks that he saw Josue use when he was younger then charged forward but threw the sticks wherever he wanted since he knew they wouldn't stop until they hit their targets. "How cute." Said Antoine in response as Nathaniel released the sticks from his hands, spinning his staff of Aadhik to knock them away as he kept track of them while simultaneously keeping track of his powerful adversary moving in for more of a hand to hand bout. Antoine bashed and struck with his staff of Aadhik but Nathaniel deflected each before performing the cortado and delivering speedy kicks knocking the I.A.S' Unsparing Phantom and into the nonstop Escrima sticks bouncing around the path which clocked him in a shoulder. He held onto his painful shoulder and held off charging in again or attacking until he recovered and got a plan on his mind. The sticks came bouncing around towards him The I.A.S' Unsparing Phantom poked out his chest and Nathaniel realized he steals and absorbs all of it.
"You've gotten more remarkable with your sword work." Dolion complimented reverently, making Ember blush under her helmet as her Bastard sword and his Rapier met up close in hand with the two of them. "And you peaked in yours very young, do you ever stay on track and fight?" Ember asked as she tried her best to only let victory be on her mind. "I can, but it's typically tougher against charming women." Dolion replied while Ember looked around hearing gunshots moving all over the data center. She looked down and saw Artus on the ground panicking while curled up. The Blue-stocking Blade found her focus and got into a side stance searching for an opening, she recognized his guard was still up though it appeared it was lowered, he's a counter-attacker with lightning quick reflexes, opposite of her offensive. "Please, come back with me to the states, join my organization, you're wasting your potential as a criminal's underling." Dolion pleaded with her in a genuine tone. She began to grin before she laughed and snorted. "Count me as a lost cause." Ember replied as she took up her base stance again, before she could dash in for round two, Dolion was busy deflecting a familiar sword that appeared suddenly from behind him. "Go help, Artus with the fear trance he's dealing with, I can handle this joker." Ember assured Livia, she nodded having faith in her skill right before she looked over and saw Anastasius just arriving on the scene fully battle ready. Ember looked over to her side and saw her brother Lyle pointing his gun towards her before vanishing back on Bacia's trail. She dashed in towards Dolion much faster than a cheetah and began slashing. The cursed comic realized three members were gunning for him, against three swordsmen, two grounded and the other soaring, he rubbed his Nunchaku of Latence before transforming truly, the powerful winds from his hideous wings halted his assailants for a brief moment on their journey closer.
"I'm guessing you read my daughter's mind when she was incarcerated from suspicion, smart but it didn't matter, did it?" Antoine guessed and asked as he began spinning the staff to assist him in planning better much to the ignorance of his opponent. "Truly?" Nathaniel replied before he aimed his finger tips towards Antoine and let electricity burst out from them soaring towards his adversary's knees, knocking him face first to ground. Nathaniel sprinted towards his fallen rival with the intention of curb stomping but Antoine didn't allow it and recovered before he got close enough. He grabbed his foot and tossed him away but Nathaniel performed a flip off the wall. "Where's his body, tell me and I'll consider letting your death be swift?" Antoine offered as he gripped his staff and picked himself from one knee. Nathaniel created five clones of himself as he was in his stance, Antoine turned his staff into two battle axes afterwards, the clones split up and charged their opponents down with nothing but his defeat programmed into them. He swung his axes left and right directions, vertically and horizontally, the clones dodged his slashes until he landed them successfully. It was nothing but gore and blood but much to his annoyance in dealing with them, they healed from everything he threw, finally, he realized they were made from his energy and he absorbed them. He removed the arms of the final Nathaniel that he saw and thought it was the real one, not realizing he left until he finished absorbing his energy after breaking his neck. He gripped onto his staff and traced his target's energy again, fed up with the games. "I gave you—" Antoine was stopped dead in his words and left speechless by this new location he found himself in, filled with gray stone mountains, rivers and tall waterfalls with a dreary sky. "Let me give you something, this is where you'll be spending your life for your crimes and plotting against the three cities unless you tell me about your organization and who else you're plotting alongside." Nathaniel replied when he realized he was left speechless. "This protects me this well against his extraordinarily strange energy?" Antoine thought to himself as he looked down at his hands while Nathaniel was awaiting his response. "Sir, the remaining Gen-Oath have been neutralized, how should we proceed?" The A.I.S' Unsparing Phantom heard from his son through his earpiece smirking before he turned his face and realized he was too distracted.
"Artifact terrorism is definitely a threat, and the I.A.S working alongside the cities against it?" Nathaniel speeches as he blocked left and right attacks with his adoptive father's gauntlets "We could have made the most formidable force in protecting the innocent." Nathaniel finished as he performed a scoot full twist out of the Unsparing Phantom's range. "Where's your leader's body, your very final chance for me to grant you mercy, louse." Antoine offered assertively as he gripped onto his staff. "I'll find him later." Antoine decided after Nathaniel took too long to reply with words. Antoine spun his staff as he rushed towards his assailant deciding to utilize the staff's retractable blades poking on the two ends. The agency's successor swung to slice his opposition with his knack to calculate his violence but he couldn't land the slippery and swift Heir of the united cities. "I'm the leader now, you want to get rid of his then you have to best me before you can even dream." Nathaniel replied fiercely as he closed the distance between the two swiftly following up his words by gripping Antoine's staff as he caught him offguard by his speed, the two struggled to rip it out of the other's hand until Nathaniel broke up the short struggle by launching him with his Psychokinetic elbow, forcing his grip to break. Feeling a tapping feeling suddenly from behind him, Antoine thew a spinning back fist posthate which missed but an unexpected woman kicked him with an S-batido. He stumbled, feeling it, feeling the icy violet and cold chill spreading and wrapping his body until he was a violet solid block of ice. "He's safe and securely hidden, lil Nate. Good call." Said Alyssa Antanya as she rubbed her hand by Antoine's cheek as she was getting Nathaniel's attention. "Thanks. I called for the others but they haven't responded yet, I'm not even sure if they heard me." Nathaniel replied as he shook hands with Alyssa. "Give them time, you know what we do. I am curious about that, though." Alyssa responded after she began feeling the energy the staff was exhibiting out of nowhere. "I'm pretty sure this is the only way he has been following me, one heavily energized artifact, easily traced, from the days Josue always spoke about before the visit. Powerful enough that he doesn't require a portal to make it here. Just this in his hand." Nathaniel replied, astonished as he handed it over to her. "The ice is thawing, brief me on what this guy's about?" Alyssa asked as she began capoeira movements. "He can absorb our Kiya-Eal energy, he seems to grow stronger afterwards." Nathaniel informed her before she suggested they leave after realizing what he told her earlier. The ice reverted back into pure energy and was absorbed by Antoine but by the time he was free, his opponents were gone and he realized he was stranded in an empty primal world they use as a prison for the worst.
Nathaniel and Alyssa regrouped with their fellow successors, her fellow Gen-preservers after hours of waiting for them to complete their recent assignments. "You doin' alright, Nate?" Conyrol asked with the same concern in his tone he remembers, he nodded as he held onto the staff, Aleph noticed the staff's power at the same time as the others. "Have you finally accepted your role after this?" Aleph asked without his assertiveness from earlier questioning confident this was a wake up call, Nathaniel nodded. "I'll go put this in the storage center and Josue made sure to keep me filled in on studying the broken dimensional seal, I'll get started on continuing his work, hopefully make some progress." Nathaniel informed them in a low tone. "What should we do about the man in the A.I.S that raided our data centers and attempted to find our storage?" Aleph asked, expecting an order. "He's protected from our Kiya-eal, he's got the determined rebellion set. Nothing sticks, I couldn't read his mind, levitate him, combusting his gear, I didn't try everything but even my twins using everything I've got couldn't hurt him." Nathaniel replied with a serious tone that assured Aleph he wasn't kidding. "Nothing in this is likely a myth. Close quarters?" Aleph inquired from his experience fighting him. "I felt my energy slipping into him, it didn't seem to enhance his physical abilities but I'd say it's worth a try with the four of you without using external Kiya-Eal against him." Nathaniel answered his question before he left. "Without risking a war while returning the raid without the proper intel of the other empowered Artifacts in their grasp, stripping that empowered legacy gear from him through close quarters truly seem to be our only option." Aleph reasoned with his team. "I absolutely hate where we're heading." Said Conyrol as he removed his helmet and began scratching his itchy neck.