Nullspace Penitentiary is an impenetrable prison between the corporeal and incorporeal aspects of reality. No one has ever escaped because the jail itself is entirely nonexistent. In other words, it's entirely beyond the realm of which Fate can be used to defy physics. For this prison… was akin to limbo.
Devoid of color and reasoning; a white space where everyone who resided within lazed about and dragged themselves across the ground, except for one. One strong enough to withstand the nothingness of his imprisonment, lying in wait with interlocked fingers and a lowered head. The only one capable of thinking while enchained.
The worst of all Fate-users: Apollo Moloch, a Displacement tormenting the modern age.
Uriel, coat swaying in the chilly summer winds, gazed up at the castle from a rooftop lower than the peaks of the structure. His head slowly lowered, and with a long sigh venting from his lips, his eyes finally closed.
Maire exited the shadows behind him. "Hey."
At the sound of his sister's voice, his head turned. "Couldn't sleep?"
She shook her head. "You neither, huh?"
"Of course not. The future weighs heavily on me, as always," he said.
The boxer walked closer, now standing beside him on the edge; hands pocketed. "Whaddya mean?"
"Ten years ago, I could never even fathom doing something like this. I followed the rules like a good little Prince all my life and it was undeniable I would've been rewarded for it. Being the lapdog of the King was great and if I'd never been sent on that mission, I still would've been beside him. Or rather, not just him, but…"
Marie's yellow eyes briefly darted to her brother's face, spotting the sadness painted all over. Her attention diverted to the castle above her. The past came flooding in like chaotic waves rustling through the ocean; childhood in which she was so obviously ignorant. Her shoulders rose, then with one deep breath, they sunk back into the darkness of her skin.
"Do you hate him, sister?"
She looked down at the city below them. "Not really. Do you?"
"Not particularly. I guess that makes sense though. I feel angry toward him for your sake but I have nothing to be mad at him about. I don't wish to fight him. He is still our father. Having said that, I still…" Uriel violently shook his head with gritted teeth. "I still can't ever forgive him…!"
The length of her snowy strands flowed in front of her face as her sunny eyes reflected the flickering lights of the kingdom below her. With chilly air blowing onto her, she blinked but once before she fell onto her rear and sat upon the ledge. Amid the silence between the siblings, Marie laughed.
Uriel sniffled, curiously staring down at her.
"Y'know, when I was younger, I never thought my distant big brother would ever share his feelings with me. You were always so busy, whether it be with Dad or Tal or anything else. I always saw you through my eyes. Nothing more, nothing less," she said.
Listening intently to the past she retold, the Prince sat and dangled his legs off the edge beside her. Staring directly at her, her eyes still reflected the endless lights of the eternal city until the moment came when she inevitably faced her older brother. The usual tension in her countenance had all but faded. For the first time since childhood, he witnessed his little sister smile…
Tears bubbled in the edges of her eyes. She looked away.
"I'm glad to have the chance to be with you now, brother. It's hard for me to admit but despite the amount of time I spend alone sometimes, it's hard. It's hard being alone, thinking no one loves you."
As she told him the truth, she turned back to him with a sad smile; wetted from the endless downpour.
Uriel grinned, throwing his arm over her neck to pull her closer. "It's alright. I know how it feels. But don't worry… even if the future spells doom for us, we'll always have each other regardless. The rest of the world could fall before but we'd still be together. I love you, sister. Not because I have to. Always remember that, okay?"
Marie slowly nodded, nuzzling into her older sibling's arm. Slipping from the sleeve of her jacket, Uri grabbed it by the collar and draped it over her resting body. Within the warmth of familial love, the girl's vibrant eyes grew heavier. As she resisted the final push urging her to slumber, a final question slipped off her lips.
"Hey, Uri. How did you come back to life anyway?"
Hanging off the rooftop overlooking Barronia's masses, Uriel stared ahead—constrained white hair breaking from the tie to fleetingly fly beside his face. To that question, the Prince had but one answer.
"I… have no idea."
May 15th, 2022. Evening.
The gate to Nullspace was locked behind an impenetrable vault with multiple Fate-user knights and monstrous Displacements stationed throughout numerous corridors.
Entrance without clearance is practically impossible. However, the guards have grown lazy. Though they wield insurmountable strength in the form of Fate, most knights don't even wear their helmets as they smoke and play cards in the corridor they're stationed in.
In this hall, an armored man with a beard looked up from the pile of cards he was crouched in front of. Removing the cigarette from his mouth, he pointed to the loner idle in the corner—helmet hiding the contents of their face.
"What's up with them?" He asked.
His buddy glanced behind then shrugged. "Newbie. We all got first-day jitters, y'know?"
"Tch, what's the point?" The armored man vented smoke from his mouth and stuck the cig back between his lips. "Nothing ever happens here anyhow…"
He returned to playing cards with the rest of his friends, the lone knight in the corner of the passage leaned against the wall bordering his comrades and the Displacement beasts. Unbeknownst to them all, underneath his helmet, dark green eyes procedurally darted as they continuously scanned the layout of the room.
Finally, he closed his eyes and sighed deeply. Standing up from the wall with a lance in one hand, he started walking toward the exit.
"Going for a coffee break," he announced.
Despite his declaration, nobody listened. Across from the wall he previously slouched on opened another stone wall, revealing an elevator within that opened at the recognition of the knight's retinas. Only seconds after stepping into the chamber did the door shut before him, the fake wall following suit.
Yanking the helmet from his skull, the knight vented a sigh of relief; showing his messy black hair and dark green eyes.
"God, how do they breathe in these things?" Talen asked through panting breaths.
Cracking his neck, then his knuckles, the lawyer threw his arms into the air—enjoying the sound of all individual joints satisfyingly crossing. Pushing two fingers to his head, he tapped the device lodged into his ear.
"You guys hear me?"
Anthony, on the other side of the earpiece, received the transmission.
He put his hand to his ear. "Loud and clear, Tal," Tony answered.
"Remind me again why we're not all knights on the same shift," Alora complained from beside him.
Tal groaned, tearing the metal sleeve from his arm. "Because if my hunch is correct, Uriel will need more allies to enact this war on Christmas this year. If he's truly seeking Violators as teammates, it's indisputable he'd seek out Nullspace as his prime target. And if he does invade, there's no doubt he'd sense us almost immediately. We should split apart for this one."
"Noted." Tony removed the hand from his ear, turning to Alora. "Looks like we remain on alert."
She scoffed. "Let's take a break. Tal's gonna be doing his thing anyway."
"Uh, is that a good idea? I mean, do I get anything out of it?" He teased through the helmet.
Alora started to walk. "Depends on what you want." She continued walking, holding the spear over her shoulder.
Anthony's eyebrow raised momentarily.
He jogged to catch up with her. "Hey, speaking of which, I wanted to ask you something. If that's okay, I mean…"
"'Course. What's up?"
"Why did you come out of nowhere yesterday and offer to go on a date with me?" Anthony asked.
"What do you mean? I wanted to so I did, there's nothing more to—"
"Don't give me that. We've known each other since what happened with Uri ten years ago. For the last decade, you didn't say anything. Not one text, call, or anything. Then you suddenly see me in person again after who knows how long and you're suddenly interested in me? What's that about?"
Alora's eyes widened. "I-I… didn't mean to—"
Tony shook his head. "No, it's fine. I'm just confused. Are you interested in me or do you just want to make yourself feel better?" he questioned.
"Where is this coming from? Do I seem like such a shallow person?"
Anthony and Alora continued arguing indistinguishably, still clad in their knightly disguises. From a stalker's overhead view, it seemed normal. Uriel stood from his crouch and turned to the subordinates behind him. After nodding only once at them, their cloaked silhouettes exited the shadows and jumped into the air above.
Their shadows illuminated but briefly under the moonlight until the pivotal time arrived when they snuck into the facility of the King's royal castle. But while they contemplated the mission of the Angel, Uriel leaned on his knee and leaned over the edge; squinting at both knights below him.
'There's something… familiar about those two.'
Anthony's helmeted face was mere millimeters away from touching Alora's. With this closeness, the veil of anger could finally drop.
"Did it work?" She whispered.
"Definitely. I sensed multiple unique auras jumping over me."
He moved away and looked over his shoulder—at the rooftop directly overlooking them.
"But…"
Uriel's eyes widened. 'They can sense me too? Interesting.'
He dropped from the summit and landed flat on the platform before the castle's main entrance, trench coat momentarily swaying behind him.
Their eyes both wide in shock, Alora and Anthony's silver helmets reflected the menacing form of the white-haired mastermind in the guise of their former friend.
Tony's red eye violently quivered. 'That's—!'
'Uriel…' Illustrious finished; teeth gritted.
The Prince scraped his soles along the concrete below, reaching a terminus some few feet away. Long black coat moving with the wind in tandem with his hair, Uriel pointed two fingers at Alora and Anthony.
"You two are abnormally strong for entrance guards. Did you know we were coming?"
Alora scoffed. 'If we blow our cover, Uriel will know Talen came! If both of them know the other is here, that spells disaster for our mission! Ugh, what a troublesome situation. So, what should we do? I can't risk revealing my technique, he'll recognize it the second I invoke my aura. If I'm forced to remain idle, I can only hope Tony can come up with an ideal solution!'
Tony stepped forward. "Prince Barron, we thought you were dead! What's happening here, Your Highness?!"
The Prince's eyebrow quirked.
Alora stifled a chuckle under her helmet: correcting her hunched stature once Tony's voice assured her.
Uriel nodded. 'A diplomatic solution is always ideal.'
"I've come to take the throne! If you wish to stand in my way, remain there—I have no qualms disposing of ants! But if you believe in my rule as King, stand with me against my father's idiotic use of the all-powerful Crown!" He loudly proclaimed.
Without hesitation, the farcical knights stepped forward.
"We'll join you, Angelic Prince Barron!!" They declared their loyalty simultaneously.
Uriel put a hand to his hip and scoffed. "Yeah, alright," he uttered.
Reluctant to waste any more time, he marched ahead—allowing Alora and Anthony to follow him from behind while knowingly glancing at one another. The ploy was inevitable, he lied for a reason. But while the fib in it was a gamble, the hardest part was finding an opening so he could attack! Then again, infinitely deliberating would be the worst option.
Without speaking, the knights decided that any moment before they reached the castle entrance would be the best moment to ambush the Prince!
Then, he stopped. Anthony maintained his composure while his partner stepped ahead.
"Is something wrong, sire?"
"Not really, I'd just like you to answer a question." Uriel turned and pointed over their shoulders. "Can you see those things?"
Stabbing deep into their faces upon peeking over their shoulders was none other than the conformed embodiment of Heaven's divine angels; blessed with four wings and two heads. The unfathomable amount of eyes spread across the angelic-white face simultaneously blinked once locking gazes with the knights' helmeted cheeks.
The mastermind smirked, turning with one hand pocketed.
"So you can see them. You see, revealing one's technique can strengthen the power depending on what type it is. The ties of Fate are always ever-changing, nothing is set in stone. But causality is always at its strongest when a high risk of death lingers near. It's one of life's greatest principles. High risk, high reward. That's the way the world operates."
Before either could react, they both received a punch in the chest, sending them flying back to where they once stood. Unfortunately upon landing, both helmets came off—revealing the countenances beneath those formidable knights. Uriel nodded with closed eyes, stifling laughter.
"Ah, it's all starting to make sense now. Anthony Whitlock, Alora Illustrious. What a blast from the past. It's so nice to see you all again."
Tony tore apart the armor from his chest and threw himself upright as Alora beside him revealed the shape of her bladed familiar.
"If only we could say the same about you…"
Trivia: For those who aren't Fate-users, the normal jobs within Barronia mimic that of the real world. Doctors, firefighters, police officers, lawyers, veterinarian. However, specific jobs involving Fate that do not involve combat are optional too. Such as using healing-Fate to bypass physical limitations and manufacture new vaccines to combat rampant bacteria. Fate-user construction workers were also contracted by the King and influential individuals across the Empire to make the buildings that make up the cities. Such as the King's ginormous castle.