I'm just helping you confront what you were soon going to encounter anyways. Better to deal with that matter now than later.
Ian's words rung all throughout my head.
Third of the Upper Four, Sav.
Even hours later, I still couldn't believe it.
Goodluck, Klyson.
"Klyson."
I stared off into the distance, my mind blank like a slate.
"Klyson!"
I turned my head. Soho was on my bed trying to catch my attention.
"Are you okay? Are you thinking about the new stuff you learned about the Null?"
I shook my head. "It's more than that. The target…"
"That 'Third from the Upper Four'? Sav, was it?"
I nodded. "A previous colleague of mine from A.X.A."
Soho was quickly hit with realization. "Oh…"
"Remember that Operation Zenith thing I was telling you about, Soho?"
"Yeah, the one meant for finding Seris, right?"
I joined her side by the bed. "Well, even after my departure, apparently it's still been ongoing. And the hundreds of deaths at Cyber City last night only gave them even more leads towards Heathen. Sav's division in particular has been closing-in on us, according to Ian. If I don't stop him now, the whole organization could be exposed."
I recalled what would happen had A.X.A. found out about Heathen—what the Sin of Wrath would do, to all of us.
"We can't let it happen. Heathen needs to stay disclosed."
"That matter's always been a fact. Heathen is meant to stay in the shadows." Soho sat up and leaned on me. "I'll support you with this, Klyson. Like I always have, I'll be by your side for your execution."
I looked her in the eye. "This is going to be the last one."
"Then let's ride like we always do. Do our usual thing."
I faced her seriously. "I have to warn you, Soho. This execution won't be like the others. It'll be the most difficult one by far."
She nodded. "I know, I know. Gateway is one of those Golden Fractals, right? No better way than to be outlined with an HP Fractal from birth."
I realized that throughout my time in A.X.A., I'd always been surrounded by HP Fractals. But it wasn't like they could so easily be executed by someone like me. They were a part of the highest caliber of power in all of Melysia—the military.
"This won't be an easy ride like the rest of them have been. Sav's Gateway has the highest potential over any Fractal currently active in Melysia. Gateway is the HP Fractal."
"Gimme a quick rundown on it, will you? I need to know what I'm dealing with," Soho said.
"Gateway gives Sav the ability to create tiny, invisible, wormholes in either space or time that can transfer subjects of his choosing. The sizing of these subjects range anywhere from a dust particle to an entire human, including himself."
Soho's jaw dropped. "So he can teleport himself basically?"
"Yeah. He could even teleport us if he wanted to."
"Anywhere?!"
I shook my head. "His limit is a radius of 10 kilometers from where he stands."
"How does he do it? How does he create the wormholes?"
I imitated the hand motion I'd seen Sav do before. "He uses his hand and does this twisting motion, as if he were twisting off a lightbulb. His right hand is more dominant with the Fractal than his left though. He can transfer larger subjects like humans using his right hand, but is limited to smaller objects when using his left. Another thing to note: you can physically feel when he's forming one close to you. Even though they're invisible, his wormholes have a slight gravitational pull. So if you ever feel yourself suddenly leaning in one direction without intention, it's probably one of his wormholes."
"What about the 'time' thing? You said he can create wormholes in either space or time."
I pondered for a moment, realizing I'd never seen Sav use his wormholes for time transportation. I've only ever witnessed his manipulation of space.
"I know he can transport his subjects either back or forth in time a maximum of 9.87 seconds. Although, to be honest with you, I've never seen him use it before. So I'm not exactly sure if it's initiated the same way as his wormholes for teleportation."
"That's troubling. I guess we'll figure it out in the moment."
I made sure to reassure her. "I'll make sense of it before he can even get it off. Don't worry."
But then, I'd walked into a brick wall—a hard truth of realization. Sav worked in a division, and his numbers were tracked directly by Overseer Azrael and Overseer Michael. He was one of the highest-regarded individuals in A.X.A.'s military. His death would not go unnoticed.
"How are we going to take him out without getting exposed?" Soho asked, as if on the same train of thought as I was.
"That may be the hardest part about this whole thing, especially since we have history."
She eyed me up and down. "But are you sure he'd recognize you? It's been months, you rock an eyepatch, and you're noticeably more toned than I remember when first meeting you. You might look like an entirely new person to him."
"I hope that's the case."
"You said he works in a division, right? What are the odds that other people are with him at all times?"
"Highly likely." I was struck with worry, realizing who his supporting members may be.
"Any idea on who they could be?" Soho asked.
Back then, when I first joined Operation Zenith, my division contained Kyra, Cynthia, and Garren, while Sav's division consisted of himself, Celeste and Emanuel. But now Kyra and Emanuel were dead, and Garren was bed-ridden. After my leave, that left only Cynthia and Celeste to keep Sav company.
"Shit…" I grabbed my head. It pierced at the thought of the possibility in being confronted by all of them, together. I wished wholeheartedly that I would not be recognized, and that the whole ordeal could be dealt with in an instant.
"What?"
"There's a chance that there'll be two others that I know of in his division."
"And they are?"
"Cynthia and Celeste. Cynthia has this unremarkable defensive HP Fractal, 'Harden.' It lets her harden her body to a state that can withstand even a tank bullet at full speed. To make matters worse, she has the ability to transfer that state over to other people upon physical contact. She can make anyone, including herself, indestructible."
"What the fuck…?"
"Then there's Celeste. He's actually Fourth of the Upper Four, just a rank lower than Sav. His HP Fractal, 'Trajectory,' allows him to visualize the vectors of any item he chooses to move himself. The most common example I've seen him use is throwing things. With something even as tiny as a shard of glass, he can target things and hit them with pinpoint accuracy since he can see its vectors. Being in his presence is like getting caught in a sniper's sight."
"Holy shit…" Soho was rendered speechless. "You used to work with these people?"
I nodded.
"How the hell did you keep up?"
"I didn't. My Fractless potential hadn't been awakened yet at the time. I was as useless as you could imagine. My friends died around me and I couldn't do anything about it."
"Is this what you've always struggled to open up about from your past?"
"Yeah… Mainly because my regrets from that time were too heavy for me to bear. But it's different now." I felt my shoulders lighten. "I know that I now have the ability to avoid outcomes like those. I now have the strength to do something myself. I'm done letting that part of the past burden my movement forward."
Her face brightened. "That's good. I'm really proud, Klyson."
"I have no choice but to move forward, Soho. Even if they were once friends of mine, the tides have changed. I can't return to that old life. I have to be the one to inherit the Null otherwise it'll fall into the wrong hands and Melysia will crumble. I don't want that to happen."
"I know. I wouldn't want that either. That's why we have to push through with Heathen's goal all the way through. There's no stopping."
I accepted that fate. As long as Soho was by my side for it, as long as I wasn't coasting in solitude, then I could go through with the responsibility Ian had set for me. But before getting my hands on the Null, I had just one more hurdle to get through.
There was one last target for Heathen's Fractless executioner.