Next morning.
An alarm blared through the entire ship. Everyone heard the King's raspy intonation call boom through the halls.
"Attention, all passengers. We've arrived on land. Please make your way to the exit shortly in a calm and orderly fashion. We repeat, please exit the boat in a calm and orderly fashion."
The boat's passengers poured out of the vehicle like blood from a wound. Meanwhile, the Kismet Fate users stood in the bridge, looking out at the land they arrived on.
Marie whistled. "Am I the only one seeing that?" She asked with a hand over her eyes.
"No, we see it too," the King said. He turned to Aella. "You have memories of this world. Do you remember something like this?"
Her head shook. "I don't remember much, nor have I managed to make up an accurate timeline from what I do. But even I can infer that it is something recent, though what it is—I can't tell."
"That's Fate. But an absurdly massive amount from the looks of it. If I had to guess, it's probably the accumulation of everybody's destiny in the outside world," Talen said.
The billions upon billions of standard Fate naturally ingrained in every individual's heart and soul unnaturally combined to create a beam shooting through the heavens. How such a thing existed—none of them knew.
Uriel looked at them all. "Alright. We need two things: information and shelter. Raven, Marie, you're with me. Valentina and Talen, you two are together. Alora, you go with Ava. I suggest you girls search for shelter. Alora is considered a special threat to Atlas so it makes sense she'd be recognizable to many of the people living there," he said.
Talen nodded. He looked at Valentina. "Let's go, mom."
She followed him out the bridge with a lowered head—vibrant irises reflecting the floor. While everyone else went about their missions, the mother and son simultaneously vanished. Instantly, the familial duo appeared inside the city, overlooked by apartment buildings with the sun gleaming off them. An endless amount of people continuously stepped up and down the sidewalks; cars occasionally zipping past down the street.
The lawyer gazed at his surroundings with curious emerald eyes. He shrugged. "It's not Barronia, but it doesn't look too bad. What do you—"
As he turned to his mother, he noticed her sour expression, for not even the metropolis's masterful skyscrapers could amaze the woman following the death of her son. It wasn't like he misunderstood. Archer was his brother. How couldn't he blame himself for the boy's demise?
He sighed, then averted his mind to a glimpse in the peripheral. "Hey." He elbowed her. "Follow."
She obeyed. Only after walking for a minute did her head raise, peeking over the man's shoulder.
"Mmm…" She hummed. "Where are we going?"
"To punch something," Talen responded.
They entered an alleyway, where a single man sat—legs crossed on the ground. As his eyes slowly opened, the Apex examined the colorful auras encompassing them both and stood, holding a sword close to his chest.
"I'm surprised there's a Fate user stationed so close to the edge of the city. No, actually… the more I think about it, it's probably most logical for you to be here. After all, it's the only place outsiders can enter from, regardless of if they can warp to other people's Fate signatures. Right?" Talen asked.
The Fate user had white skin and long blonde hair that went down to his waist, not to mention closed eyes to go with his tranquil appearance. With a black suit jacket and a turquoise-blue button-up under it, he scratched the golden triangle dangling from his ear.
"How right you are," he said. "You look different from any other invaders I've exterminated so far. Are you, by chance, Talen Amit?"
The Unconquerable smirked. "I thought you'd know who I am. That's why I brought her. Mom… go wild."
Valentina dashed down the alley, leaving nothing but light in the path behind her. She instantly landed before the Fate user, extending her hand for it to gradually pierce the air—grasping at his face. Unfortunately, Talen wasn't the only one he had information on.
"My name is Callisto. I didn't wish for something this terrible to occur, but it seems I have no choice." His arm slowly raised.
At that moment, both the mother and son's eyes widened. The abrupt spike in output mixed with an explosive blast as Callisto's Fate burst around him was enough of a warning for Valentina to retreat. As his hand produced a pure blast of light, the entire corridor was engulfed by Fate—mimicking an explosion to the civilians filling the streets. Expectedly, they started running from the implosion, spilling into the streets and other sidewalks while hysterically screaming into the sky.
Callisto waved away the steam on his hand, sighing. "Tch. My bad. I guess the technique's more powerful than I thought," he chuckled.
Valentina jumped back—landing beside her son.
"Did you see that?" She asked.
His head shook. "No…"
The woman squinted at their opponent. 'He said his name is Callisto. From the flow of his Fate, it's clear—this man isn't a Displacement. A human Fate user then? No, that doesn't make sense. A normal Fate user beyond the Empire isn't capable of power like this.'
"Mom, get serious."
She perked up—batting her eyes. "W-what?"
"This isn't an enemy we can afford to be battling half-assed. If one of us is gonna fight, we have to do so at full power. We'll use the chaos amid the battle to confuse the enemy forces and regroup with Uri. Don't worry about anything else, for now, Mom. Just let go."
Callisto didn't waste any time sending another blast from his hand down the alleyway. This time, however, Valentina flew through—slitting it down the middle with Fate enhancing her arm. He sidestepped away and unsheathed the sword, slashing up at the woman's skull.
She backflipped away, landing right on her feet as she fell to the ground. Peering through brown hair, Valentina glared at him. Humming under his breath, Callisto sighed, sheathing the sword—sunny Fate blazing around his build.
"What incredible output…" Talen muttered.
The crescent markings etched below Callisto's eyes brightened once his sword drew. 'Predestined Power: Lunar Heaven.'
Valentina raised her arms. Once the sword finishes stroking the air, the street behind her was enveloped by fire—the blast from his technique engulfing the vehicles parked in the road from the dangling red light.
Talen glanced at his mother's flying body. He sighed, crossing both arms. "You said your name was Callisto, right? You're not a Displacement. A human Fate user then?"
"Heh." Callisto shrugged. "Well, I'm not going to lose, so I guess I'll tell you. Apex #5, Callisto Bason. Nice to meet you."
"Apex..?" repeated the Unconquerable. Shrugging, he pointed at the Apex's chest. "Alright then. Thanks."
A beam pierced the air from Talen's fingertip. Just as it was about to cut through his chest, Callisto reacted; deflecting the blast by cutting straight through it. While the projectile detonated after being cut by his sword, smoke filled the air, leaving the Apex disoriented—searching around the area.
Once more did Valentina emerge, this time, uppercutting him in the chest. The thunderous blow boomed through the skies and sent Callisto into the air. Quickly, he fixed his posture, angling his sword before slashing down at the mother and son hidden by the mist. The cuts from his blade sliced apart the cloud to reveal them both simultaneously emerging to charge at the Apex.
He grinned. "How inspiring. A mother and her son fight together against an evil that threatens the world. So poetic!"
Talen's bulk was spontaneously struck by an unexpected weight. Staring at the slash sunk into his chest, the steam leaked off Callisto's sword once the Unconquerable crashed below.
Meanwhile, his head dodged to the side, quickly weaving out of the way of Valentina's enhanced punch. Regardless, she kept attacking. The more repeatedly he danced around her moves, the more openings he saw in the attacks.
"Hm."
He hastily sheathed his sword, drew it, and cleaved, all in one motion that cut apart Valentina by the waist. Before she vanished.
"An illusion?"
Valentina manifested behind the Apex. He was already too slow to defend himself with the sword and even more to detect her. The only thing he could do was gradually turn, raising an arm to shield his nape. Before it was quickly cut off. Callisto gasped—unintentionally coughing up blood.
"Are you skilled enough to fight with one arm?"
"Don't make me laugh." The bleeding immediately halted after Callisto's aura swirled around his arm—closing the wound with strands from his Fate.
"I thought as much. But that still isn't you being serious, is it? You have something more up your sleeve. Show me. Now."
The Apex nodded. Just like that, the thing hovering behind his head appeared, resembling a mythical beast akin to a Centaur.
Standing from the road he smashed into, Talen looked up, reflecting the unsightly view of Callisto's Predator.
"What the hell is that…?"
She squinted. "That thing behind you has an ulterior Fate. That must mean it's not a result of your technique. Odd."
"This is my Predator. It mostly relies on defensive abilities—like barriers. But mine's different. Like my siblings, my Fate is codependent. Though not to our older sister. To the moon. The night. As long as the moon exists in the universe, I'll receive its energy and become as powerful as THE NIGHT ITSELF!"
He dashed through the sky and cut Valentina's throat. The woman leaned back—managing to dodge the Fate-enhanced slice from his sword. At the last second, she spun around and her foot lunged forward, crashing into Callisto's arm to send the Apex through the skies. Eventually crashing into a rooftop, he looked up, reflexively stepping back as Valentina's fist destroyed the platform. The building they were fighting on sunk into rubble as the two Fate users leaped off; Talen watching from afar.
The continuous stroke of his sword swept past her face until she twirled, kicking Callisto once in the gut, making him spit up. Val took this chance to advance and grab the Apex's face, guiding the Fate user into another building's rooftop. After he fell through the structure, Callisto flew out the front entrance, spotting Val manifest before him at the last second--striking him with a single enhanced punch.
'Not yet. I can't die... NOT YET!'
In a last-ditch effort to save himself, Callisto succumbed to instinct. Unconsciously, the Apex's sword cut the air, inevitably ridding Valentina of the right hand she was using to punch. Just as she flew back following the tear, she caught a glimpse of his eyes... skidding to a halt in the street beside Talen. He kept staring up at Callisto.
"That guy... he has two techniques?"
"No," she said. "He said something about his other siblings wielding Fate to their 'older sister'. The monster lurking behind his head is a result of that woman's technique, but it's a byproduct of Callisto's body, so it obeys and defends him. Only when using its ability does his eyes open."
He glanced at her. "You got all that from the short time you fought him just now?"
"Mhm." She shrugged before stifling a chuckle, looking at her son. "You never knew I used to be a badass, huh?"
Tal smirked. "Mom? That's what you call being a badass? He's not even dead yet."
After cracking her knuckles, Valentina's eyes rolled at his comment and she started walking down the road. As usual, the plentiful civilians screaming all around them were ignorant of the situation. However, some didn't run. Some people decided to stay hidden behind alleyways and inside establishments for the sake of recording the chaos.
"Come down here and fight me!" She yelled up at the Apex.
"Where you have the advantage on the ground? Hah! I think not--"
"She wasn't asking."
Callisto's eyes widened. He struck the space behind him with one arm, but the perpetrator vanished at the last second. Reappearing before the Apex, Talen grabbed his opponent's arm, spinning around with the Fate user to smash the back of his hand into the man's skull. Falling back, everything slowed for Callisto, who accidentally dropped his sword.
'He's unbelievably fast! I think my skull is broken after a blow like that-'
Finally, Valentina's knuckles fell into Callisto's chest. As the shockwave resounded across the city, the Apex flew, but not through just one building. A whopping number of five buildings had a hole smashed through them from the simple strike from Valentina's punch. She turned around and waved away the steam, not even glancing at Talen as her lips parted.
"Wake him up."
He stepped forward and then, glanced back at her. "Feel better?"
"Yeah." She smiled. "Talen... thank you."
"You don't have to thank me, Mom. Find us shelter. I'll take care of the Apex scum."
The duo nodded and simultaneously vanished. A minute after they did so, the authorities arrived at the scene, their cars' blaring lights screaming through the city.
Luna's head perked up. Smirking, she rubbed her chin.
"Quicker… than I expected."