My eyes shuttered open, and I faced the concrete ceiling. On my chest, Soho slept somberly, with my arm wrapped around her shoulder. I blushed and my cheeks warmed up immensely. Blurs from last night streaked across my mind.
Was that a dream, or…?
I lifted the blanket that slightly covered us, noticing that we were bare underneath.
Ah, not a dream.
I took a deep breath, and my chest rose high with it. Soho opened her eyes.
"Klyson…?"
"Hey."
"Good morning…" She rubbed her eyes. "How long have you been awake?"
"Just now. Did you sleep okay?"
"Mhm… How about you?"
I nodded, embarrassingly reminiscing for a moment. "I didn't know you could use your Fractal that way…"
Her eyes widened and her face flushed red. She covered it with the blanket. "Shut up…"
We both giggled, gathering closely in the warmth beneath the blanket. Pondering on what time it was, I looked around, noticing that light broke through beneath the room's door. It shone notice on a particular white envelope on the ground inside the room. Realization immediately made me alert.
"I got a letter," I told Soho. I got out of bed and picked it up.
"Can I read it with you?" She asked. I nodded and sat on the bed next to her. We opened it and there was only a single sheet of paper inside. We read it.
{ Hello, Klyson.
You've made a big scene for yourself at Cyber City last night, haven't you?
You may have eliminated Zion Alrano as instructed, but were hundreds of other casualties in a public space necessary? For that, you will not receive your commission of $25,000, yet.
What occurred last night requires discussion. Are you trying to sabotage Heathen's discrete nature on purpose?
The Grand Cordial, Floor 4, Private Unit #7.
Today. }
Soho looked at me with worry. "He seems upset about how things turned out last night…"
I scoffed. "As if it's our fault. How could we have expected an ambush and betrayal from Draz? Ian probably doesn't even know about Chrono."
"Are you going to tell him?"
"Not before I get a confirmation on what the Null is first, and my role involved with it."
"When are you going?"
"Now."
Soho leaned towards me. "I'm coming too."
"No you're not." I shook my head. "The Grand Cordial is a quiet place. There'll be too much commotion with the both of us. Just stay here and wait for me."
"But—"
"I'm being serious, Soho." I couldn't help but feel wary. "Last time Ian spoke with me in a public space, I was ambushed by a group of Absolutes. I'd rather you stay here where it's safe for now."
She nodded hesitantly. "Okay…"
I put on my clothes, holstered my hidden equipment, and left the storage unit with Soho in there. I was gonna go and seek out what Ian wanted to discuss.
I was gonna go and get myself the truth behind the Null.
I took the subway to the Grand Cordial, the same way I had months ago before starting my work with Heathen. When I arrived, the building from outside looked as large as ever, but this time, not as incomprehensible. I stepped inside and looked at every floor—the first, second, third, and fourth—from the ground in the atrium, and I realized one thing: that they no longer intimidated me. I made my way up the flights of stairs, wary of the noise I made with my steps to avoid disturbing anybody. When I finally got to the fourth floor, I recalled what it had been like all those months ago. The moment I had first stepped into that stage in my life, a place with nothing left to learn, but instead, to apply. The time I made my application for the first time through the Talitems, which would lead into the path I'd taken up until now.
This is where my life in Heathen began.
People were seated in the cubicles surrounding the perimeter of the floor, all with their heads down deep in their textbooks scribbling away at paper and tablets. I paced past them, quietly as to not disturb their study, and found the seventh private unit—a small, reservation-only, room meant for group meetings. The glass windows viewing into the room greeted me emptily.
Is Ian meeting me here? No… a proxy?
I went inside and sat down at the table, ensuring I sat closest to the door. There was a TV situated on the wall hanging above the table, a water dispenser and a coffee machine in the corner, and a whiteboard with markers along the side. Suddenly, the door to the room opened. I turned around and looked—it was a girl with professor-like clothing. Her hair was tied back in a ponytail. She wore grey business attire and black glasses.
"Oh, hi…?" I said, unsure if maybe I'd gone into the wrong room and that this unit was actually meant for another study group.
"Anderson Brass?" She said, looking between me and her papers. She closed the door behind her. "You reserved a tutor session here, am I right?"
I immediately shook my head. "Oh, my apologies. I must be in the wrong room. I'm not Anderson. I—"
"I know you aren't 'Anderson,' Klyson."
Her tone changed and it startled me. After she'd said my name, I immediately realized who it truly was.
"Haven't you already mimicked countless personas for your missions over the last few months? Seems like you haven't been able to adapt it spontaneously yet, have you?"
"Am I wrong for assuming I'd finally meet you in person, Ian?"
She shook her head. "No one in Heathen has ever met me, save for a small few. You are no exception."
I furrowed my eyebrows. "I'd like to think I am considering my role and its importance."
"Since when did you get so full of yourself? You may be Heathen's executioner, but you're nothing more. Don't get ahead of yourself like Enzo did."
"And where did that get Enzo?" I shot back. "He's at the top of A.X.A now, First of the Upper Four. Did you anticipate that?"
"Are you telling me that you're capable of doing the same thing, Klyson?"
I shook my head. "No. Not that. But maybe something else."
She giggled. "Are you trying to justify what you did at Cyber City last night? Your confidence seems to have substantially grown. Is it from the hundreds dead to your name from that club?"
"Those deaths are tied to Zion's name, not mine."
She smirked. "Maybe they wouldn't have, had you and your accomplice come up with a better plan to get rid of Zion immediately, before letting him activate his Fractal so freely."
"We had a plan and it was perfect. But we were set up, Ian. There was a fucking ambush. They expected us. They knew about Heathen."
Ian didn't reply.
"They knew I was an executioner for Heathen. They knew about your motives in depleting HP Fractals in Melysia. They knew about the Null."
"The Null?" She finally spoke up. "Who are they?"
"Chrono."
She exhaled. "Oh, them?"
"You know about them?"
"They made contact with Enzo years ago before he left. They wanted the Null back then, but it wasn't even fully developed yet. Obviously their efforts were futile."
I quickly felt invigorated, remembering what I sought out from this discussion. "I'm changing the topic here. What the fuck is the Null, Ian!?"
She put a finger to her lips. "Shh… Have you forgotten we're in a library?"
"I don't give a fuck! Why don't you just tell me what exactly the Null is?!"
"Chrono, what have they already told you about it?"
I shot her a glare. "Biological weapon that can suppress Fractals and erase them completely—only able to be used by Fractless people."
She nodded. "Anything else?"
"I learned about Chrono's motives with the Null."
"And that is…?"
I shook my head. "Give me what your motive is with the Null first then I can teach you a thing or two about Chrono."
She sighed. "Since when were you this annoying, Klyson?"
"Ever since I found out that you've been keeping shit like this hidden from me. If the Null is this so-important weapon that an entire other cult wants to get their hands on it, and it's specifically involved with a Fractless, then why don't I know about it?!"
"Because it's not ready yet."
I nearly slammed the table. "Cut the bullshit. It's been in development for over seven years. You probably even wanted Enzo to use it while he was still here. I bet it's the entire reason you came to seek me out in the first place—because you so-desperately needed a Fractless for it!"
"You're right. The Null itself is ready. But you're also wrong, because you aren't ready yet."
I was reminded of Draz's words. "My Fractless ability needs to be honed enough to use it, right? You're telling me that over 70 HP Fractals fallen to my name isn't enough?!"
"It might be. Let's say that, practically, you are ready. But with motive in mind, you are far from it."
"So what is your motive with the Null then, Ian? What exactly am I not yet ready for?"
"The philosophical part of it all. The annihilation of all Fractals."
I raised an eyebrow. "Aren't I already doing that?"
She shook her head. "The annihilation of all Fractals, Klyson. Not just HP Fractals. All Fractals."
Ian's words rung loudly through my head. "All Fractals? So even…?"
"Even the regular ones. HP Fractals are just the start. They don't require the Null. But once you are ready to use the Null, we will move onto the non-HP Fractals."
"What…? But I thought you just wanted to balance the scales of Fractals in Melysia, not remove them."
"Melysia will never be balanced unless Fractals are removed from existence, Klyson. Humans were never supposed to have abilities like these. Even if we got rid of the HP ones now, they'll continue to spawn with the reproduction of Melysians. The only way to prevent future catastrophe is to start from the root—to suppress the gene itself using the Null."
"Then why didn't you tell me this to begin with!?" I stood up angrily. "This isn't what we agreed on, Ian! You only told me it'd be HP Fractals!"
"You wouldn't have agreed had you known the truth. Plus, what are you getting so heated for? Wouldn't you prefer an outcome like this? After thorough use of the Null, everyone can become Fractless, just like you. Isn't that what you want?"
My head was spinning. Melysia without Fractals would just become plain, endangered even. The only edge we as a country have ever had over the rest of the world was Fractals. It defined the quality of our technology and organization as people.
"Melysia would be nothing without Fractals. We'd be weak. We'd get invaded immediately by countries like Invidan or New Zina. The world wouldn't fear us anymore."
Ian scoffed "Melysia would be nothing without Fractals? Is that how you see yourself, Klyson?"
I was confused. "What do you mean?"
"Melysia without Fractals makes it Fractless, just like you. Now tell me, do you consider yourself nothing just because you don't have a Fractal?"
I struggled to respond, mainly because the answer to that question was something I'd always struggled with throughout my life. Being surrounded by Fractals of all kinds, yet not bearing one myself, always made me feel like an imposter.
I always felt like I wasn't enough.
But it was different now. After realizing my latent potential as a Fractless and realizing that I could do the things I'd always doubted about myself even without a Fractal, I finally understood that I'd always underestimated myself.
I realized I never needed a Fractal to feel like I belonged somewhere.
"I don't need a Fractal to be considered something," I told Ian. "But that's me. I've been able to build upon that myself. All of these other people in Melysia, HP Fractal or not, live lives dependent on their Fractals because that's all they've ever known. Some of their entire careers are based specifically around their Fractal. We can't just strip that away from them."
"Sure we can." She stood up to level with me. "Fractals were never a human's right. They're a god's right. We aren't gods."
I realized in that moment that Ian's motive with the Null was a complete contrast to Chrono's motive.
"Chrono wants the exact opposite. They want the people to become gods."
Finally I'd gotten Ian's attention. "What do they want to do with the Null?"
"They want to activate everyone's Fractals, which would bring about something they called the Shattering—where the Human Realm and God Realm combine into one."
"That's against MONA's values."
"They said they could meet MONA doing that."
Ian was put into thought. "It's true, but that would be utter catastrophe. Do they not realize the God Realm holds not only MONA, but other, more chaotic gods as well? Plus, how did they plan on using the Null to activate everyone's Fractals? It can only suppress them."
"Apparently they too have a Fractless to bear the Null, but also have someone with a Fractal called 'Reversal' that lets them reverse any phenomenon of their choosing. They plan to reverse the effect of the Null into a weapon that can impose Fractals rather than erasing them."
"All this to meet MONA?" She asked.
I nodded. "I was told that Chrono started with someone who came from Heathen. That's probably where the MONA-related motive came from."
"Tsk… Then they would know that MONA would detest an outcome like the Shattering. They would know that humans are in no position to wield powers such as an Activated Fractal."
"But maybe that's what they want. Maybe they do want catastrophe."
She shook her head with disappointment. "Let this be an example of why I desire to have the country's people stripped of their Fractals. Because if left unattended, then outcomes such as Chrono's endgame could occur, spelling the end of the Human Realm as we know it."
I was stuck in a place of in-between—a limbo. Surely I did not want something like the Shattering to happen with Chrono's goal, but I was also against the idea of removing everyone's Fractals with Heathen's goal.
Can't there just be a medium? A middle? A place in the center where we don't need to oppose aspirations, but rather, come into agreements?
I was tired of getting caught in the crossfire of differing values. But I didn't have any choice. I was born with a trait I thought was irrelevant—to be Fractless—only for it to currently determine the fate of Melysia.
"What are you pondering about?" Ian asked me. "What is there to ponder about?"
I lashed out. "I don't know, maybe the fact that Melysia's future is currently at stake?! Maybe the fact that whether Chrono or Heathen uses the Null, Melysia is fucked no matter what?!"
Ian suddenly slapped me right across the face. I could see his disgust portrayed through his proxy's face. "Then let me make it easier for you to comprehend the situation at-hand. It's either Melysia is saved, or Melysia and the entire Human Realm is obliterated into nothing by a plethora of gods!!"
She was yelling in my face.
"What would you rather have, Klyson!?!"
I was rendered speechless.
"I…"
I realized in that moment that although both Chrono and Heathen had bad motives in mind, it was Chrono's that was truly more wicked. One spared humanity at the cost of Melysia's identifying traits, while the other eradicated humanity for the sake of meeting a goddess. I had no choice but to make a choice between the two. Both were horrible in their own right, but one was significantly worse. The answer to my morals was suddenly easy to choose.
"Is the Null ready?" I asked Ian.
She nodded. "It's been ready even before you joined Heathen."
"Then give it to me. Before Chrono can get their hands on it somehow, someway, give it to me so that something like the Shattering doesn't happen."
"I suppose that there's something you should be made aware of before accepting to take the Null in this quickly."
"What is it?"
She looked at me in a keen way. "You will lose that unique Fractless ability of yours—the one that uses the empty mind space—in turn for using the Null."
My Flow State?
I had to confirm. "The potential ability that allows me to keep up with HP Fractals?"
She nodded. "The Null is a biological weapon, as you've heard. It is not a weapon to be wielded in your hand. It is biological in the sense that it will reside in your body, implanted surgically."
I was reminded of another biological weapon from the past, also seemingly implanted surgically.
The Controllant…
"The reason the Null can only be used by a Fractless is because it can only be inserted in the same spot where the Fractal gene is absent. If someone has a Fractal, then that gene takes up the space where the Null needs to be. But for a Fractless, that space is free. That absent space is what results in your capability to think and react at an accelerated level. Therefore, once we insert the Null, you won't have those capabilities anymore."
"But, without those abilities, how would I be able to keep up with people who have Fractals anymore?"
"By erasing their Fractal entirely using the Null, reducing them to the same state as you are in—Fractless."
I grabbed my head. "But that's not right…"
"It is, Klyson. Remember, us humans were never supposed to wield Fractals in the first place. These powers are a privilege we were never granted, yet stole for ourselves anyways. And you know who are the ones responsible for making that initial mistake?"
"Who?"
"A.X.A., the Overseers. They are not who you think they are."
"But how? I know that they were the ones who granted everyone Fractals, but how did they gain the ability to do that in first place if they're powers from the God Realm?"
"You listened in history class, right? You learned about how there was a period of time when MONA was still alive—when the Moon used to reside in the sky."
I nodded. "That was more than a century ago."
"And so were the Overseers. They've been alive ever since MONA was, granted it was a gift from Her of immortality. And it was MONA that granted them the original resource that gave birth to Fractals—Mynerium—which originated from the God Realm."
"Mynerium?" I'd never heard of that in my life.
"Mynerium was given to them as a gift before MONA's passing as a means of resource for energy or material for construction. But the Overseers at A.X.A. overstepped their boundaries, using it to meddle with human DNA. The abominable result was a Fractal."
My mind was taken aback. All those things I learned in history class, long ago when I was still in school, rushed through my head all at once. After learning of the truths behind Melysia until now, and taking into consideration the amount of hidden motives going on in the shadows of A.X.A., suddenly everything I'd learned in school sounded made-up.
Just like Kyra had told me that one night on the plane, A.X.A. lied about some things in the textbooks that described Melysia's history, including the information about the first people with Fractals.
"The first people to be documented with Fractals were… the Seven Sins. Weren't you one of the Seven Sins?"
"The Sin of Sloth," she nodded. "A.X.A. gave me this power."
"But why? And, how are you alive? I thought all of the Seven Sins already died before the Filtering."
"Five of them did. I lived-on and created Heathen through the midst of it all."
"Five…? Two stayed alive, meaning you and someone else…?"
"The Sin of Wrath. He, or she, is still alive."
He or she?
"If there's one thing the textbooks got right, it's that the Filtering was absolute chaos and catastrophe. And if you know a thing or two about Wrath's capabilities, you'd know that they had the potential to cause all of that, alone."
"What are you insinuating?"
"The Filtering didn't come and go naturally. It was caused by A.X.A., using the Sin of Wrath as a means of destruction to jumpstart it in the first place."
"So why would they hide that the Sin of Wrath is still alive? Or even you for a matter of fact?"
"They don't know that I'm still alive," Ian sighed. "As for the Sin of Wrath, do you really think the Melysians would trust A.X.A. as their government if they found out that they were the ones who caused the Filtering? The Sin of Wrath is a hidden weapon—a nuke. It isn't the Fractals in the millions that make Melysia a threat to the rest of the world. It's the Sin of Wrath, alone, that makes up the country's power. Let me ask you, Klyson, why does the world fear us?"
I recalled political facts I thought were correct. "They fear us because of the Filtering. They're scared of getting associated thinking that the same could happen to their own country, as if we're a bad omen."
"You're correct. They're scared of the Filtering. But who caused the Filtering?"
A.X.A.? No…
"The Sin of Wrath?"
She nodded. "The world doesn't even know it, but their fear lies in that single cursed Sin."
"You said 'he, or she.' Do you not know the Sin of Wrath's gender? Did you never meet them?"
"I did, countless times. But they were two different people over the course of my encounters. What makes the Sin of Wrath so dangerous is that it is a soul, not a person. Somehow, A.X.A. had found a way to transfer the soul of the original Sin of Wrath from body to body, vessel to vessel. They'd enabled a manual immortality. That's why I'm not sure what their gender is currently. It depends on the vessel."
"That's fucking insane. Are you kidding me?"
"I am not. I witnessed the start of it all. I was there since the very beginning. It's why I've remained in hiding—why Heathen is so discreet. Otherwise, we'd be torn apart by the Sin of Wrath if A.X.A. found out what I'd been planning." Ian stared me in the eye. "Do you get it now, Klyson? Our reality is constantly at the verge of collapsing with these Fractals present. This is why I developed the Null."
For once, Ian didn't sound so insane anymore. Not after learning about what Chrono wanted to do, and what A.X.A. had already done. To my absolute surprise, Heathen sounded tame compared to the rest of them. So I'd officially made my decision.
"I'll take the Null. I'll use it, even if it costs me my Fractless ability."
"You've finally adhered to your calling. Took you long enough."
"Why didn't you just tell me all of this to begin with? Why not just spill the truth from the start?"
"Klyson, you came directly from A.X.A. Either you wouldn't have believed anything, or it would have been all too much to take in after the changes you'd been undergoing. I had to prepare you both physically, and mentally, before you could learn about the truth."
"Hence, all the HP Fractal executions…?"
She nodded. "Your initial morals would not let you strip away everyone's Fractals using the Null. But I'm sure that by now, you've learned upfront about the dangers and threats."
He's manipulated me, all the way until now, shaping me into agreeing with using the Null.
I knew that wholeheartedly, yet I couldn't help but abide. Heathen's goal was the only one that made sense to me by now. I would not trust A.X.A. ever again after realizing how dark they truly were, and Chrono was overly ambitious. Why not remain in trust with the card I'd been dealt, and had already taken?
Heathen was my calling.
"Give me the Null. Put it in me."
"One more."
"One more what?"
"One more execution. Prove to me you're worth giving the Null to, because this is nearly a decade's worth of work going into a single person. I won't let you waste it. So prove to me you're the one meant to use it."
One more execution? I've already done dozens. This will be nothing.
"Who will it be? And what is their HP Fractal?"
Ian smirked.
"Third of the Upper Four, Sav. His Fractal is Gateway."