Chapter 1
Plummeting from the sky, Shiro screamed as he fell onto the desert below with a loud splat. Surprisingly, he wasn't hurt. Dazed from the fall, he stumbled to his feet on the sandy ground. Looking down, he was clothed in something different, but reaching into his mind to recall his past was fuzzy as if nothing was there. All he could recall was a bright light until...
Rubbing his temples, Shiro looked at his own body, as if it didn't belong to him. His arms were thick and full, his forearm bulging with veins, his biceps hidden behind a navy blue jacket, folded just perfectly to show off his massive forearms. Shiro looks confused, sensing that he didn't have this kind of muscularity before. Nor was he dressed like that, with white pants with golden streaks and dull green combat boots.
Before Shiro can create a coherent theory, a voice calls to him in a stern tone. "Please follow us, sir."
Shiro looks up at a figure in formal attire, and a mask over her face, obscuring all of his features, making her face totally–
"My name is Agent Darkness. I am an agent of the Soulwatch. You are a podling with traces of soul energy inside. Please follow us and do not resist."
Shiro, confused, raised his hands in surrender, and tried to back away.
"You can trust me. I am not here to hurt you." Agent Darkness assured, raising her hands to show that she is unarmed.
Shiro calms himself a little, and whispers. "What's going on..?"
Agent Darkness replied calmly, "All will be explained in due time. Just follow me so we can get you to somewhere safe."
Shiro sighs and complies, following Agent Darkness. He directs Shiro across the desert, taking the two of them towards a small town. It seems to be deserted though, Shiro noted. The huts were empty and desolated.
Agent Darkness points to a black SUV, where other men dressed in the same formal attire as Agent Darkness stood outside of.
One of the agents opened the door and gestured for Shiro to step into the car.
The car rides off with Agent Darkness as shotgun, and the two other agents next to Shiro and one as a driver.
Shiro tried to look out the window but only saw complete darkness. Shiro rubs his eyes, staring out, but his vision is obscured even deeper before even the men around him disappear into the darkness. Shiro was certain that his eyes were open, but nothing could be seen.
Shiro started to panic, thrashing around trying to flail away from the surrounding agents, who quickly pinned him into the car seat. Shiro tried fighting back but was no match for the strength of the guards, who kept him still enough.
"Calm down. This is merely a safety precaution to protect the location of our headquarters. It will wear off once we reach the headquarters" Agent Darkness said from the shotgun seat.
Shiro calmed himself a little. Taking a deep breath, he assured himself that they might be close.
Soon, the rolling vehicle came to a stop after what seemed like an hour, though Shiro was not sure. The door was opened by the agent to his left and gestured for him to exit the SUV.
Agent Darkness gestures for Shiro to follow him, guiding him through a labyrinth of hallways, and board rooms, gesturing for him to enter a room.
Shiro enters the room, which looks suspiciously like an interrogation chamber. With a large mirror, Shiro was sure that it was a double-sided mirror. Agent Darkness leaves the room, as a woman walks into the room.
She had on thin-frame glasses and long locks of blond hair. Dressed in the same attire as Agent Darkness, she had a scar across her left cheek. Shiro squirmed uncomfortably, intimidated by the sheer presence of her.
"Greetings. I am the Director of Soulwatch. I understand you are confused about all that is happening. Please sit so we may properly converse." She ended her speech with a slight smile, hiding her hostility.
Shiro cautiously took a seat, and the director sat across from him.
"Well. You are a podling. That's simply a term for other people like you. Falling from the sky into the world. Podlings often have more traces of soul energy in their bodies, hence our caution around you. We're simply unsure of your potential," the Director paused, glancing at Shiro for his reaction.
Shiro nodded as she continued. "We don't know much about the origin of podlings, but we know it has something to do with the Soulbreak event."
Shiro gave a confused look, as the Director continued. "As expected, you wouldn't know about the Soulbreak event. Neither do we. All we know is it happened roughly 200 years ago. The exact details are unknown but we know it has the largest release of soul energy we've ever heard, and that may cause some disturbance to space and time, causing certain memories beyond the Soulbreak to be lost, hence why you might have amnesia at the moment."
They are going to kill you.
"What?" Shiro said confusedly. The director mistook that as his confusion at the newly provided information and restated herself. "Yes. Other podlings such as you have shown results of amnesia, and sometimes, a complete lack of awareness. Let me assure you, you will be fine after our treatment."
They are going to kill you. Run.
Shiro was confused. A voice came from within, but he was certain that wasn't himself.
If you want to live, do as I say.
Shiro frozed, and the director noticed. "What's wrong?" she asked, turning around with a stern look on her face. Shiro tried to look the director in the eyes, slowly raising his head to face her, before jerking his body back and running off.
Good. Now turn left at the first corner you see.
Dashing along the hallways, colliding against other agents as the Director calls from behind him "Catch him!" Shiro sees the turn coming and pivots into the other hallway.
Ok. See the two agents in front of that door? Take them out.
"What?" Shiro saw the two agents. They were burly and much bigger than Shiro. They had a sheer muscular mass that froze Shiro in his tracks.
Fight them off.
"How I.." Shiro stumbled back against the two goliaths that stood there.
Close your eyes. Feel the pulsing of your heart, and transmit that energy to your fists. Then punch them.
"What..?" Shiro stammered, glancing back at more agents closing in on him.
Trust me! Close your eyes, feel your soul, and channel that energy.
Shiro reluctantly closed his eyes. He felt his heartbeat, as the world slowed around him. His mind searched for his own soul within him. Relaxing his body, he felt a light emanating from his chest, pulsing to the same rhythm of his heart. Shiro called it in his mind, whispering to it to move. Shiro noticed the tingling feeling on his arms, where the light had spread.
Now, run up to the agents and punch them.
Shiro opened his eyes, his body coursing with determination and grit, and he charged the two agents, catching them off guard as he slammed his fist into one of their bodies.
A sudden flash of light exploded on contact, blasting away the two agents, and leaving the door open.
"What was that" Shiro stammered, asking.
That was a basic application of Soul Energy. A technique people call "Flash." I'll explain more later. Open the door. You will see a small totem of a being with 4 arms and 4 swords on it. Touch it.
"Al..alright." Shiro pulled open the doors, and lo and behold, there was a small statue of the same being the voice described. He trembled as a tinge of new energy singed his skin. He wanted to turn and run, but he steeled his will as he forced himself to take step after step toward the statue.
Reaching out his hand, heat swarmed onto his stretched hand. As if there was a fire in front of him, he felt sweat fall from his forehead, as agents stretched in the background. The Director was behind him, yelling at him to stop, but Shiro couldn't hear it.
Entranced, Shiro took a final step towards the statue, touching as it erupted in flames, and the last thing Shiro saw was the ceiling before everything faded to black.
"Well, well, well," Shiro said as he stood up. At least the thing piloting him. Shiro was no longer there, and in his place, a parasite, a pestilence of hatred.
"Kaoran." The Director growled as she backed slowly away.
"You thought you could seal me away forever, could you? Eventually, a podling will be gullible enough to fall for this." Kaoran snarled, with a cocky attitude, as if he knew his own superiority over the rest of the world. His mouth twisted into a nasty reminiscence of a smile, with the darkness and cruelty brought in the same light as war.
"Leave the boy alone." The Director tried reasoning with him.
But he only grinned. They both knew the nature of Kaoran. He was a god of war, sealed away because of his danger to the world. The sheer calamity his presence brings, and the evil of his nature, the destructive power, the Director was desperate to bring Kaoran back into control. She dreaded the day that someone would free Kaoran because of their humanitarian ways of dealing with the threat.
The Director drew a sword from thin air, taking a stance. Kaoran charged her, as the two clashed in unbridled ferocity, but the Director, even with the aid of a weapon, was outmatched. Kaoran was simply too fast, dashing around at blinking speeds and swatting away the Director's attacks nigh-effortlessly. Kaoran lands a devastating kick on the Director, slamming her against the wall.
Coughing out blood, the Director leaned on the sword to raise herself off the ground, as Kaoran let out a sneer. His eyes gleamed with murder and death. He was teeming with the rage and sadism of an arrogant god. Preparing to finish her off, Kaoran raised his fist, pulling his arm back, as the aura around him changed. The Director looked at Kaoran, but the air started to singe her eyes. A static shock ripples through the air as Kaoran readies his punch, with a smirk. He knew he won.
Out of the blue, a black blade pierced Kaoran from behind, stabbing through his chest. Unfazed, Kaoran turned to find Agent Darkness. "Interesting," Kaoran stated with his usual arrogance, "Your Soul Energy…."
Kaoran looks at his chest. The blade felt cold, as it seeps Kaoran's soul energy away. Kaoran looks at Agent Darkness with disgust.
"Parasite."
Kaoran dashes towards Agent Darkness, as the agent creates a field around them, trying to trap Kaoran inside. Kaoran throws a punch at Darkness, blowing the agent away as Darkness struggles to hold her ground against the God of War.
Agent Darkness creates two more blades and throws them at Kaoran. He simply swatted them away, as he dashed in front of Darkness again.
The Director swung her sword from behind him. Kaoran turned suddenly and caught the blade in his bare hands, blood starting to ooze from his hands. The God of War raised his foot and slammed it into the Director's chest, sending her flying away.
"No!" Darkness cried as Kaoran mustered his energy, and in a burst of soul energy, flashed in front of the Director, and drove his fist through the abdomen. More agents start to pour into the room, trying to recapture the now loose God of War. Kaoran simply smirked and fled the scene in another burst of soul energy, blasting off with fierce flames.
Shiro awoke later, finding himself in the middle of the city, the voice still ringing in his ears, and a nasty smell on his shirt.
"Where the hell am I?"