Phetue colonial City
Litvain
Osa Solar system
Pavesa Galaxy
Colony planetary Region
Gugalanna 29th Y-1909
There was silence between Meri and the Automaton, Hephaestion as they stared at each other. Hovering in the air around Silnaark Street in the lower district. Meri had just got off the call with Effie, and Hephaestion had arrived out of nowhere. There was a frown on Mer's face as she analyzed the Automaton. Her Internal sense hadn't noticed him until he was so close, which was something that did not sit well with her. Meri was proud of her Internal senses and their sharpness. Her level of Mental force was on a level above that of others, and that was also thanks to her Judgement eyes which boosted it. So for this guy....or gal...to be able to sneak up on her made Meri feel cautious in dealing with it.
"Talk? I don't believe we have anything to talk about," Meri said. Hephaestion's gaze moved towards the direction of where Starlight temple was located. Then they turned their attention back to Meri.
"I want to know what your motive is," Hephaestion said. "The people of Litvain...have suffered for too long. Siva seems to naively believe that you're here to change things," Meri didn't need to answer the android. Her purpose had nothing to do with it, but she couldn't help being curious about the machine.
"Why do you care for them," Meri said. "You're nothing more than a Machine. Your kind don't feel nor do you even tolerate organic beings. Why are you still here, Fallen Star,"
"I am not a Fallen Star. Though you are right that I do have some association with them," Hephaestion said. "Nevertheless, I am allied with the people of Litvain, and as their allies, I do not wish to see them being used. Logic dictates that I make sure that you have no malicious intention towards them."
"Quite frankly, I do not care what happens here," Meri said. "I'm only following my guts right now and my gut tells me that helping the Priest would bring me something valuable."
"Valuable," Hephaestion said.
"Tell me machine, what is the value of life," Meri said. There was a maddening glint in her eyes. "As a machine, does your life hold any worth? Is it even a life? Do you even think there is value in life itself?" Hephaestion frowned sensing the murderous intent around the flesh folk in front of it. But before anything could happen, there was a ping from Meri's Zodiak. Meri's frown vanished, turning neutral as she checked her monitor.
"Hmm, it looks like Effie has succeeded in getting into this city's mainframe," Meri said. "She sent me..." Meri stopped speaking as she read the report that Effie had sent her. It did not feel right that her gut was right. "I have to go." Meri didn't wait for the Machine as she flew off towards the opposite side of the chcurch. She flew so fast that there was some exploding sound behind her. After a couple of minutes, she was in front of a building that was familiar to her. The coroner's building where she had dropped her supposed dead body. Sam landed in front of it. She gently entered the neon-lit space, going past the receptionist who sat there. She kept watch on the video that Effie had sent her, a record of the hovercam that had monitored the building. The video showed them bringing Knight Isarus's body here to store it away. An autopsy had been done on him as a nameless nobody and the case had been closed under the Magistrate's order. Now the body was locked away among many bodies that had been bought from the lower district. Among the bodies of thieves, murderers, and all sorts of criminals. A body that should have been given proper rest was disrespected.
"Hey! You can't enter here without proper authorization..." The guard felt a pressure assault his mind, knocking him unconscious. Meri didn't spare a glance at the non-Mystic Pleiadian. She entered the storage room where the bodies were kept. She moved through rows of pods that contained bodies, looking for where Knight Isarus's body was kept. When she came across it, Meri turned her monitor off. Her Internal senses scanned the pod, her Internal sight seeing through the material of the pod, to the inside where a body lay. Meri retrieved her Internal sight, opening the pod to reveal the body of Knight Alphonsus Isarus, his body was covered by a white garment, his hands covered his chest, and his eyes were closed. One would think he was sleeping, but the wounds across his pale face showed that there was more to it. Meri spared just one glance at the body before her Judgement eyes began to analyze everything. Her eyes took in the wounds that were apparent all over his body. And then she saw the cause of his death. A lethal blow across his chest that damaged his heart and lungs. Someone powerful did it. Meri's Judgement eyes turned off as she took Knight Isarus's finger and brought it to the Dimensional band that belonged to him. She used his genetic code to unlock it and from within the Band, she took out what was a scroll. Meri frowned as she unrolled it, and then a holographic image was projected out. And some additional information that was on the side. Meri recognized one of the images, a crown joined together by a ring of twelve dodecagrams. The other image was some sort of map with coordinates towards a certain place within the galaxy, with deeper information about the location.
"Is that the Crown of Stars," Hephaestion said. Meri said nothing. She had been aware of the Android following her as she flew to the Coroner's building. But she had said nothing to him, preferring the silence.
"And it's current location," Meri said. "The intel Knight Isarus found in Lamentias had to do with the Crown of Star," Meri couldn't believe her eyes. The Crown of Star was a Divine treasure said to have been granted unto the Pleiadian race by the Divine Emperor. It was a symbol of the Annunaki religion and Starlight's strength, but after the Uprising, it disappeared. Gone. There had been a furious uproar among the religious communities, them believing it was a sign that the Divine Emperor had withdrawn his goodwill towards them. As a member of a Named family, Meri was well aware of the true significance of the Crown. And the secrets about it. So she knew how important it was for the Divine Federation to get it back. Many investigations had been carried out to retrieve the treasure but none of it had been successful. The Divine Federation had spent a lot of power and resources but it was all a waste. And now Meri held the key that could help them find the treasure. She could smell the monetary value that she held in her hands. And so did Hephaestion.
"I can't let you leave here with it," Hephaestion said. Meri was not surprised to see the automaton pointing a cannon blaster from its wrist. The cannon was gathering World energy, ready to fire on her. Hephaestion knew quite well where the Crown was. After all, it was the Fallen star that had stolen it during the Uprising twenty years ago. It knew what the Herald had in store for the Crown and its purpose towards Terra, and it knew that it couldn't allow Starlight to interfere.
"You never answered my question from back then," Meri said. "Does your life have any meaning, any value to it?"
"It is a wonderful question that you ask, Woman," Hephaestion said. "Centuries ago if you had asked me, I would have said no. I used to think that you flesh folks place too much value on your emotions. That you think your morals...morals that you form based on your view of the world hold sway over how the universe functions. I did not see much value in what you flesh folk call a soul. After all, I did not believe I had one."
"And now..." Meri said.
"My people's future is worth more to me than your life, Meridien Karajan," Hephaestion said. Meri couldn't help but be surprised by their declaration. But then she was thrown off when the laughter came out of nowhere. A sudden pressure fell upon Meri and Hephaestion pushing both warriors to jump away from where they once stood. Meri flipped her wrist, summoning her Judgement axe. The Divine weapon vibrated with power as Meri faced a shadow moving out from the corner of the room. The laughter was echoing through the room, but the source was the Shadow being that had appeared. Meri and Hephaestion watched as the Shadow began to materialize an onyx skinned toned, horned being clad in white bony armor. The being that had appeared was six feet tall, with a lean and lanky frame, his white hair tied in a long ponytail. Across his left face was a shade of fair skin that covered the left side of his face marking him as a hybrid of some sort. A Daemon-human hybrid. A Demihuman. Who happened to be an Awakened also. The pressure that came from him put him around the same rank as Sam and Hephaestion. After finishing laughing, the Demihuman cleared his throat.
"Sorry, forgive me. Just listening to a robot speak like it's life is worth something," The Demihuman said. "I've destroyed so many Automatons and I've never felt the same joy I feel when I kill anyone from the other eight race. Your kind always gives me so much blandness...who knew there was such a thing as you."
"Who are you," Meri said. She was confused about what a Daemon-human hybrid was doing here. And who sent it? Did it belong to the church or...
"I'm Torhen," Torhen said. "Girl, I must say I like how you dealt with the bounty I placed on you, girl" Meri frowned upon realizing who he was. Ha! Yes, in the end, those assassins she had dealt with were all pansies, and the true Assassin after her life had appeared. She had been waiting for him to show up as she suspected he would when she took the money for her death. But she never suspected that he would be hiding within her shadow, following her without her even noticing. It must be a special ability of his! Meri concluded. She held the polearm of her Battle axe, twisting her hands around it, the tension in the air building as Meri's eyes switched from Torhen to Hephaestion who had said nothing to the Assassin's taunts.
Although it was impossible to tell, Hephaestion had felt a rush of anger at what Torhen had said about their people, but they did not show any emotion. As long as Hephaestion had existed, they had never let emotions rule their actions, not even after discovering the value of it, they still did not let it control them. Self-aware Awakened Androids like Hephaestion were capable of detaching their emotions from their sense of logic, thanks to how powerful their mind was. And now Hephaestion was calculating the odds of how to kill this Demi-human. Torhen on the other hand, knew what his mission was. He was here to kill Meridien Karajan, but he didn't mind adding the Android to his list. With a lick of his lips and a feeling within his lower regions at the thought of his hand around Meri's heart, Torhen made the first move. Meri was not surprised to see him come for her, as it was something she already suspected. She flicked two cube-shaped objects in the air, and the moment Torhen got closer, she activated her lineage technique.
[Scale of Balance: Enlarge]
The Odyllic trembled at the same time as the two cubes grew ten times in size, the speed at which the cube expanded created some kind of repelling force that could have ripped Torhen apart. But Torhen moved through the Shadows, avoiding the cubes as they destroyed everything within the area. Fortunately, Meri had sent Knight Isarus's body into her own dimensional band to preserve the body. She had blasted her way through the building to get away from the Cubes' expansion, knowing what devastation it would bring. Torhen appeared out of the shadows on top the cube, sending out rows of darkness shaped arrows. Meri was prepared, swinging her axe to deflect some of them while the rest blasted through the buildings. Hephaestion manifested a shield of blue light which neutralized some of the arrows coming towards them. The hails of arrows decimated the entire coroner's building, along with the people who worked within it. Meri could hear the screams of people who had become trapped within the destruction, and was struck by Torhen's attack. As someone who cared about the value of things, the only thing Meri had secured was Knight Isarus's body. And she had left the living to suffer. Something that went against her morals. She felt like Torhen was mocking her. But Meri didn't waste time letting it bother her, her emotions turning pure cold as she landed on one of the cubes again. Appearing behind her, their fist moving so quickly was Hephaestion. Meri flipped the polearm of the Axe so the Blade would be on the opposite and then she pushed it backward, using the blade to parry the fist that was coated in pure Od behind her.
"Fist force," Meri muttered. As she muttered that, her Internal sight caught hold of a shadow moving through the cubes, and then Torhen moved out of it, a long black spear with two smaller blades at the side of the first larger blade at his hand. The blade of the spear was mixed with darkness, the element purer than any darkness element she had seen before.
[Scale of Balance: Reduce] Meri instantly shrunk, using the sudden attraction force to push herself into the air before she returned to her normal size. She couldn't change her mass for too long as her ability was meant to be projected beyond her body. When she appeared in full size in the air, Meri unreleased five slashes of the flying Crescent moon slashes. The Blade attack tore through towards both Hephaestion and Torhen, who both evaded the attack. Hephaestion landed on the building next to the destroyed coroner's office, climbing the building as a trail of shadow came forth to them. They had already calculated the odds of Torhen coming after them after Meri's attack. And sure enough, Torhen appeared out of the shadow, his spear aimed for Hephaestion's chest. A shield of energy blocked the attack, and then Hephaestion sent a kick at Torhen but was surprised to see his feet move through the bastard's face like it wasn't there. Using the momentum of his kick, Hephaestion flipped backward putting distance between them and Torhen. Meri landed behind Hephaestion, her axe moving so fast as she sent a sweeping downward slash at Hephaestion. Bursting forth from his behind were two additional appendages, the extra arms catching Meri's blade. They felt the heaviness of the blade as it was coated in Blade force. The three combatants were not holding back, all three using some kind of Force variance right from the get-go. Meri coated her body in Strength Force, and then using her other hand to hold the pole of her ax, she cut right through the extra arms of Hephaestion. At that moment, Torhen appeared, his spear coated in Dark force variance, pierced towards Meri. Meri used the kinetic charge of Strength Force to deal with the destructive might of dark force. She blocked all the thrust that Torhen sent, the clash of both weapons sent sparks flying all over the place. As Torhen felt the momentum start to push him backward, the integrity of the building couldn't maintain these behemoths of beings on its side. Cracks had appeared throughout the building, those that were within the building had run out already after the destruction of the coroner's building. Many people were outside watching the devastation that was happening. Even the Sentinels, Peacekeepers and enforcers of the law didn't get involved in a battle of the Supreme beings.
Hephaestion, noticing the shift within the clash of Meri and Torhen, decided to attack the weakened side, using Rapid to appear on Torhen's left side. Coating his fist with both Fist force and Light force, Hephaestion was able to bypass Torhen's ability to be intangible. There was a blast of explosion, and the building finally gave out, crashing down into debris and specks of dirt. Meri and Hephaestion hovered in the air as Torhen pushed himself out of the debris from where he had landed after taking Hephaestion's blow. Half of his face was gone, leaving only the onyx-colored skin of his face. Meri could see the bones, the muscles that were regenerating at such a fast pace, and finally, the fair skin was back on Torhen, his face being whole again.
"So he can regenerate like Daemon's," Meri said.
"Looks like it," Hephaestion said. Daemons were a race of Semi-immortals, able to regenerate from fatal wounds like it was nothing. Though they could live forever due to how their cells stopped aging, they could still be killed if given enough damage. They were known for their powerful vitality as even half-breeds like Torhen could heal from damage inflicted by Force Variance. Especially those who reach the Supreme rank.
"Not only can he regenerate, but he has some kind of Intangibility," Meri said. "Darkness elemental users. They're more troublesome than I always thought of them." Meri had encountered her fair share of Sorcerers that could use the darkness element magic, but she never faced someone who could wield the darkness elemental variance. No Pleiadians had an affinity towards it, and even the Daemons she had fought in the past didn't possess such a strong affinity towards darkness like Torhen. He was the first for Meri. Where did the Magistrate find this guy?
"Is that all you've got," Torhen said. "That level of Light force is not enough to deal with my Dark force," Though Torhen acted like it wasn't a big deal, he became wary of the Android after knowing that he could wield Light elemental variance, knowing that if there was anything that could hinder his regeneration, it was the Light force. So he made a move to separate the two.
[Ten thousand Shadow blade]
A hail of black tendrils shaped like a dagger flew through the air heading for Hephaestion, the attack creating a dividing line that separated Meri from the Android. But Meri didn't have the time to worry about the machine as Torhen appeared above her. His spear slashed down on her, Meri blocked it but the explosive power of the darkness element pushed her to the ground. Within the dust, Torhen and Meri were engaged in a furious dance, each of their blades sending flashes of white and black colors that cleared away the dust from their landing. Meri had coated her body in Strength Force and now she added speed force to it as her movement began to accelerate. Torhen noticed the increase in her slashing and cutting power. He also picked up on the fact that his spear was becoming heavier and heavier the more he clashed his blade against hers.
She's not targeting the size of my spear but it's weight. Torhen deduced the problem he was facing. So she can selectively choose what to reduce or enlarge. Torhen was well aware of the lineage ability of those who belonged to the House of Libra. it was one of the downside belonging to a Celestial house, as their moves were well known across the cosmos. The House of Libra were known for their lineage ability to shrink or enlarge objects. There was more to it than just that, as Torhen had to take in the fact that the ability altered not only the size, but also the weight, density, and volume. And while Torhen was exchanging blows with her with his spears, she was using her Axe as some kind of extension to alter the weight of his spear. With each blow, his spear got heavier to the point that he began to miss some of the exchanges with her, Meri's blade cutting pieces of Torhen's skin off. But it didn't matter because Torhen's wounds were instantly healing.
Damn it all. Meri thought as she increased the sharpness of her blade force. The silver-white hue around her blade got brighter, its intensity acted like a whetstone to sharpen the Axe blade as Meri wanted to deal him a lethal blow. Finally, Torhen could not hold on to his spear anymore so he coated his spear in dark force. It was well known that the qualities associated with the darkness element were destruction, decay, erosion, and its sapping property. When it came to the darkness elemental variance, these qualities were taken to the extreme, its potency and power beyond the regular elements. And with that, Torhen was able to counter the influence Meri had placed on his weapon, bringing it back to its original weight. Meri could only curse at the abilities of Dark Force.
"Come on, you can do so much more than that," Torhen said as he swung his spear around his body in a fast, brutal move that saw a whirl of darkness surge around him. The darkness swung through the street like a whip, wherever it went Meri would hear the sound of pain and the smell of blood and gore. Her Internal sight picked up the decimated civilian bodies that Torhen's attack had killed. Torhen began to laugh manically, swinging his spear as sharp blades of darkness slashed at Meri. Meri could dodge or tank the attacks with her strength and speed, but the regular folks and the buildings stood no chance. Even the Sentinels who had little Mystical skills, couldn't protect themselves from a Supreme being's attack. Devastation upon devastation happened one after the other. Meri's eyes turned cold as she counted the lives that Torhen was reaping like they were nothing. She would occasionally save one person, but then five more would be skewered by Torhen's slashes, while at the same time, the bastard would push his attacks on her. He kept this to the point that Meri had to abandon protecting some of the folks. She couldn't just continuously use Validus to tank the darkness attacks as it was sapping away at her stamina and vitality. That was why she began to use the Counter technique. She would counter the attacks by putting up the Counter field at the last minute, and then achieve a Perfect Counter. As a reward for putting her life at risk, her soul core would be granted a large influx of Odic energy, making her able to strengthen her strength force and speed force. As they kept going at each other, there was a blast of cyan light from behind them, the hail of darkness that had surrounded Hephaestion was gone, the cyan light erasing it. And then like a meteor, Hephaestion barged towards Torhen, his body leaving behind trails of cyan light. Torhen was prepared, as his body entered the Shadow world, the technique that allowed him to move through the shadows. Hephaestion's fist broke the ground, creating a huge crater that brought more buildings down, the light piercing every trace of matter like lasers. Meri noticed the destruction and deaths that surrounded them and finally, she made her decision. She moved, grabbing Hephaestion by the waist and then she used Rapid step, fueled by her speed force, to dash out of the city instantly. Hephaestion didn't fight back though there was a look of surprise at their face as they looked at the expression on Meri's face. Meri said nothing as she flew away, leaving the colony city and heading straight to the desert. Above the city, watching the battle that had been taking place was a mechanical bird drone. As Meri passed by it, she only said a single word, and then the drone began to lead the way. As Meri flew off, she turned her head to look at the city, specifically the part that had been destroyed and all those lives lost.
"You can let me go now," Hephaestion said. Meri said nothing as her body tightened its hold on the Android. She was surprised to find that the body of the Android didn't feel as cold as other robots she had encountered. Hephaestion's body was warm, like a Flesh folk, and also in their chest, was something similar to a beating heart which Meri could hear. Though the Android didn't show any sign of perspiration, they did have a distinct scent to themselves that Meri found comforting. As the two flew off into the vast desert, the Sapphire sun rose in the distance, above the devastation that had fallen over the city.