"You've been exposed, Klyson. Soon, there are going to be waves of people after you for what you've done."
"What?!"
Seris' tone was dead serious, as always. "A.X.A. is in the know. The public is in the know. Everyone knows that you are responsible for the dozens of innocent deaths in the last few months."
"You mean all of the HP Fractal executions?"
She nodded. "All investigations about an unknown serial killer have halted with your revelation. You are the serial killer."
My heart stopped.
In the corner of my eye, I saw J fleeing the factory with Cynthia and Garren in his arms.
"They got away!" Soho said aloud from down below. Me and Seris descended to ground floor to join her.
"Did you patch up Garren's injuries?" I asked.
Soho nodded. "I did. The bleeding was stopped, and then suddenly that man in black swooped-in and took them away!"
I recalled that J's brain worked like a machine—like a computer. It calculated predictions for scenarios presented, which is why he always targeted the strongest in the room. He must have fled after Seris came through though, noting that her power was incomprehensible and too much for him to handle
I'd be dead right now if she hadn't come through.
"So, what do you mean I've been exposed?" I asked Seris.
"Look at this." She pulled out a phone. The screen showed a clip of a news broadcast that seemed to be going viral on social media. She clicked play.
[ SERIAL KILLER IDENTIFIED ]
"This just in, the anonymous string of murders in the last few months have finally all been connected through a most recent one in Draz Heverson's death—a bartender from the Waving Kitty bar. The killer's name is Klyon Rainer, previously a commander, 'Fifth,' from the Tenfold in A.X.A.'s military. At least 30 murder cases have been identified in his name thus far, but authorities continue to investigate. A.X.A. has issued a Confinement Status in downtown Melysia, where all the murders have been identified to have occurred. Task Force has been deployed to incapacitate the individual. More updates soon."
My mouth hung open.
"Fuck. No way."
"Oh my god." Even Soho was panicked.
"Do you understand why I'm here, Klyson?" Seris asked me. "That Task Force sent-in just now was only A.X.A.'s first wave. Once they find out that they've all been eliminated, reinforcements will come—the second wave."
My heart raced faster than ever.
"And it's not just A.X.A. There's this too." Seris swiped on her phone to show us another news broadcast clip online. It was of a news reporter interviewing a prisoner whose entire body and face was wrapped with bandage. Only their eyes and mouth could be seen. At the bottom was a chilling caption:
[ ORPHANAGE ARSONIST SPEAKS ON MATTER ]
She played the video and a string of discussion followed.
"I'm innocent," the prisoner said. His voice was robotic and monotone, which I deduced was from the electrolarynx attached to his throat.
His vocal cords are damaged?
"What makes you innocent?" The reporter asked. "All those children died in a fire, and you just so happened to have a fire Fractal?"
"I wasn't born with this Fractal. It was activated by the real culprits behind the childrens' deaths. They were there the moment before the fire, the burning. If the orphanage's cameras still worked, you would have seen them."
"So you're saying that it wasn't you who caused the orphanage fire, but these 'culprits' instead?"
"Yes. I swear on the graves of every single one of those children."
The reporter seemed visibly upset and skeptical. She took a glance at the camera, and I could see in her eyes that she wanted the stream to cut. Then, the video ended.
"This is a clip of the news from a while ago," Seris said. "Does the story ring a bell, Klyson?"
'Orphanage'? 'Fire'?
"Is that Dante Hade…?"
Seris nodded. "The one who you failed to kill. Do you wanna know what he's doing now?"
"What is it?"
Seris navigated her phone to show us one more online clip of a news broadcast. "This one is going viral right now. It was live just moments ago."
She played the video, and a news reporter spoke.
[ DANTE HADE: PRISON ESCAPEE ]
"This just in, a prisoner from the Cube—a maximum security prison meant to confine convicts with dangerous Fractals—has escaped in a recent breakout. The escaped prisoner is Dante Hade, convicted of setting arson to Sunnyside Orphanage resulting in the deaths of 52 children. His Fractal is listed as 'Fire Emission,' previously as 'Infrared Heat Emission.' He is 5'9, possesses short brown hair, and is currently wrapped around his body with medical bandage due to burn wounds. If you come across any individual with these qualities, please warn authorities and do not approach. Remain in Confinement Status. More updates soon."
The broadcast began to display security footage of the breakout itself. In the clip, a confinement had burst into flames, spreading debris everywhere. The door immediately blitzed open, spreading a blaze of fire all throughout.
That's Dante…?
I remembered Ian scolding me in the letter about how I allowed him to activate his Fractal. At the time, I didn't fathom just how large of a mistake I'd made. Dante's current power status was a result of my hesitation to finish him off.
To think he went from a Fractal that could warm children, to that.
"If Dante broke out of the Cube that easily, why didn't he just do it when he was initially imprisoned?" Soho asked.
Seris' eyes gleamed at us. "Because he didn't have a reason yet"
She pointed at her phone, at the video about my exposure in particular.
"Dante claimed himself innocent for his crime of the orphanage. He stated that there were other 'culprits.' With the revelation of your news, he's found the 'culprit' who he's been looking for. He's finally gained a motive to escape the Cube."
"Are you saying he's coming after me now that he isn't imprisoned?"
"Yes." Seris nodded. "Even with your capabilities, they aren't enough to withstand someone who could escape the Cube on their own. On Ian's orders, I'm here to protect you from Dante. He will be coming."
"Ian, that fucking coward…" I grumbled under my breath. "He just got up and left us to deal with this mess?!"
"No." Seris began to correct me. "He's gone into hiding now that Heathen is on the verge of being exposed with your revelation. A.X.A. has already made their first move by deploying the Task Force, but now that they're gone, the tension will only grow. Ian's efforts towards anonymity in the last decades have crumbled in an instant, and this insinuates that endgame is on the horizon. Heathen and A.X.A. have already had their initial clash resulting in the deaths of important members—Third, Fourth, and their Task Force. Once that is revealed to the opposition, and with the highly likely exposure of my existence as the 'Sin of Discrimination,' war will surely break out."
Soho was baffled. "We're going to start a civil war!?"
"It has already started."
Seris looked off into the distance, past the wall she broke through into the horizon. The gray clouds have finally passed and the sun began to break through. But the sight was glaring, and the color was hot. It didn't feel like the calm past a storm, but rather, an incoming inferno in the distance.
"He's coming."
Seris' words alarmed me. "Dante?"
"Yes. I can sense his fury from afar. Although, it will take him a day before he returns to downtown Melysia. The Cube is situated at the furthest border of the country."
"What do we do?" I asked.
"I will take care of him. Ian thinks the risk is too high for you to face Dante."
I scoffed. "But he let me out against 70 other HP Fractal users and didn't bat an eye? Why is he so concerned now all of a sudden?"
"Because he needs you to inherit the Null. If you're dead, no one can take up that mantle."
"He was just talking about how I'm replaceable moments ago. I'm not the only Fractless in Melysia."
"But he's realized that you're the only one who could use the Null right now, this instant. He needs someone who can wield the Null now that Heathen is soon to be exposed. There isn't any time left to awaken another Fractless the way you have already."
"Then why doesn't he instill the Null in me before this war with A.X.A. breaks out? Won't it give us an advantage?"
"He thinks that your Fractless potential abilities are more likely to withstand a barrage from A.X.A. than
I immediately knew who she was talking about.
"Enzo."
She nodded. "The Null won't be of use against a Fractless like him. Same with the Overseers, as none of them have ever been confirmed to possess actual Fractals. According to Ian, they withhold capabilities that long outdate Fractals themselves. It's against people like those that the Null is unqualified."
"So then what's the point of the Null if he's not going to use it against the strongest people?" Soho asked.
"The purpose of the Null was never meant to overpower others already in power. Its existence serves as insurance for another world-breaking event like the Filtering—a countermeasure for the re-emergance of the Sin of Wrath. The only other use second to this is for the mass-erasure of Fractals Melysia-wide, a means of preventing Fractal Activation from the root—by ensuring that the repopulation of such capabilities never arise again."
"So the Null isn't really a weapon, is it? It's a tool."
Seris nodded. "Yes. And Ian only wants you using it once Melysia is back to a neutral state, or in the emergency situation that the Sin of Wrath is released once more."
"So we're left to fend for ourselves until A.X.A. backs off," Soho said. "But how likely really is that?"
"Unlikely. Which is why I am here."
Seris began to glow a godly green.
"A war of three against the entire government and military? How are we going to do this?" I asked.
"I will represent your law-breaking power in the government. Whereas to clash their military power, Ian has something ready for you."
Seris pulled out a vial with what seemed to contain blood.
"You will inherit the Sloth Factor."
"Sloth Factor? What is that…?"
She gave me the vial. "This is Ian's blood. It has already been altered by
I was stumped in place. "This will give me Ian's Fractal—?!"
"Only for a short temporary time—from the moment of ingestion to the moment of its excretion."
I recalled what Soho had told me about Hugo's Fractal, Imbue. Imbue was the Fractal that collaborated with Ian's to form his Fractal Boxes. By imbuing objects—such as the cameras at the apartment or even people—with Ian's Fractal, they become mediums that withhold the Fractal itself.
"So to 'imbue' mediums with Ian's Fractal, his blood must be inserted?" I asked.
"Yes. In the case of inanimate objects, they become radial points of emission for his Fractal. In the case of animate, living organisms—specifically humans that can speak—they become direct extensions of his Fractal, Control, since mediums like those have the ability to speak and therefore emit commands."
My first encounter ever with Ian was with one of his proxies back at that apartment. It was a man who spoke as Ian, was controlled by Ian, but could also use Ian's Fractal directly. This case must be similar to that, except—
"I won't be controlled by Ian if I ingest this, will I?"
Seris shook her head. "You are marked to never, in any case, be controlled with absolution by his Fractal. He has made that clear himself."
That's somewhat reassuring.
"With the Sloth Factor, you will be able to control Ian's proxy colonies, permitted they are within your radius. Then, you will be able to directly counter any infantries deployed by A.X.A."
It'll be just like when I used to command the Angel Unit Infantry…
The thought brought back memories of the time when I was in control. The only time I ever truly felt in control was when I led my Angels during the Invidan War. With that prompt, I'd suddenly struck a piercing memory about how the battle ended.
Right…
The Sin of Discrimination ended it for us. The mythical anomaly that could handle even an army's artillery was standing right before me. The mystery behind all those events, the sheer enigma of occasion, stood directly in front of me.
After all of this time, I could have my questions answered.
"You were there. You appeared at the end of the Invidan War," I said.
She didn't reply.
"Why?" I asked. "You saved us. We were nearly breached but you arrived at the last possible second. Why?"
Seris locked eye contact with me. "What conclusion have you made on your own?"
"Initially, that you fought for the sake of Melysia's defense, in place of me and my comrades' lackluster performance. But if that were the case, you would have intervened long before we were down to our last breath." I made myself stern. "What was your…? No. What was Heathen's true motive behind your interference with the Invidan War?"
Seris looked back off into the distance. "That isn't for me to answer."
"Why?"
She began to hover into the air, floating towards the hole she'd made in the wall. "Fulfill the responsibilities Ian has given you first, then, he should be more than willing to satisfy your curiosity."
Soho stepped forward. "Where are you going, Seris?"
"To confront the incoming inferno, before he can arrive and cause destruction in the city."
"North?" I asked, knowing that was the direction of the Cube.
"Along the frontier."
In a green flash of light, she was suddenly gone. Even after having witnessed it so many times, I could never tell if she'd teleport in the instant, or burst forwards with incomprehensible speed.
"A day until Dante arrives, and Seris will confront him. But how long until A.X.A. makes their first move against us?" Soho looked worried.
"I don't know, but we need to leave this place immediately. They already know we're here."
"But then where?"
I thought about what could benefit us most in a cornered situation like this. If Seris' assumption was right—that Enzo's infantry would be deployed to get me now that Overseer Azrael's task force was gone—then I had to be ready to counter with a large number of my own. I looked down at the small vial Seris had given me, containing an ounce of Ian's blood.
The Sloth Factor… With this, I'll be able to control Ian's proxy colonies?
"She said that thing would last as long as it remains in your body. So basically, until you piss."
I rolled my eye at Soho. "I understood that already. The question is—where are Ian's proxy colonies located? Do you know?"
She shook her head. "All I know is that there's a bunch of them scattered around downtown Melysia."
I recalled that he hid one in a random apartment—a place perfect to withhold a large number of people.
"We should look for a street or block that contains a lot of apartments. He might have another proxy colony in one."
"Condos and hotels too?" Soho asked.
"Those are too public, and too mainstream. Suspicious activity would easily be detected. But an apartment in downtown is just seen as a home for people in the middle-lower class. No one would bat an eye for odd behavior there."
"Then let's go. Before A.X.A. catches us by surprise, we should have a proxy colony ready at your disposal."
My heart rate shot up. My insides swirled in an enticing mix of both fear and excitement. Worried, yet thrilled by the idea of using a Fractal for the very first time.
War was on the horizon.