**************************************
The Utopia Realm, Courthouse, Time: 12:00 AM
**************************************
Above the sky, through the realm of Gaia, stood the Palace of Royal. This is where everyone lives, standing above everyone and atop the food chain—the royals. Their actions could be questionable as they have the right to do anything they want.
They have taken a lot of things from their old land of Gaia: riches, armies, and people. It feels like they just moved into the lawless city intentionally.
"Go faster, you bitch!" A man wearing luxurious clothing was whipping a giant ogre girl as he sat on top of her.
In the Courthouse, the Messengers of The Beyond were having a meeting.
This time it wasn't about politics or any royals stepping out of line or showing sympathy; it was about a certain group that had been causing them trouble.
"This. Is. Bullshit!"
A hand slammed down the table with the man sitting on the left side. "These bloody kids have been tearing through two of our energy incomes, and we need to stay calm and raise our security as best we can?!"
The brown-skinned man seemed to have a long jet-black lock bob cut with golden braces tying the hair. He was wearing a cargo sleeveless shirt with pants meant for fishing. His body was filled with tattoos of sea life creatures, most of them being orcas.
"I know that you're angry, Coara, but you need to understand that we can't just go after The Lucky Inquisitors without being intervened by other parties," a calm feminine voice stated, sitting at the furthest right side of the table.
She had pale skin, red eyes, and long black spiky hair partially tied up in a small high bun with a golden circular Chinese barrette.
She wore a white dress shirt with a red tie clasped with a golden tie clip under a black single-breasted lapel suit with two golden buttons and the imprint of a golden dragon on the left side.
Over her suit and shoulders, she wore a long red coat with white fur on the bottom, on the sleeves, and on the collar.
"She's right, you know," a skeletal man stated, sitting on the left side. "It seems The ArchSentinels reported that these Lucky Inquisitors defeated two of our organizations. We might just get crushed and followed after by the rest of the ArchSentinels if we aren't careful."
He seemed to still have a string of hair left, but his head was still a skeleton. He was wearing jet-black armor with a glowing neon green underneath all the armor. It was like it was breathing as well.
His yellow pupils glared at Coara, who could only flip him off.
"This might be troublesome for us," a robotic voice stated. The fleshy mess of blobs with multiple faces started, their mouths seemed to glow in blue every time they talked.
The blob had multiple people's faces. It didn't seem like they were moved at all. The fleshy skin and mechanical amalgamation of parts attaching it seemed to be what made it still alive.
The tattooed sea warlock Coara slams his fist on the table again. "I still say we hit those punks with everything we've got! Crush them before they become a real problem, Ren"
The elegant woman in red, Ren, shakes her head. "Think it through. We attack them directly, we risk drawing reprisal from the ArchSentinels for unprovoked aggression. Plus there are...other interested parties to consider."
She exchanges a subtle but loaded look with the skeletal figure, Lord Mortem. His glowing green eyes narrow in understanding.
"Indeed, we must move cautiously," Mortem rasps. "Our shadow allies in Solune have use for this chaotic little band. We would be unwise to overplay our hand."
The blob of mismatched flesh and machinery burbles in agreement, its distorted chorus of voices echoing Mortem. "Yes, patience...foresight...let them come to us..." Its many mouths contort into unnerving smiles.
Coara scowls, still unsatisfied. "You all may have the luxury of playing the long game from your cozy castles," he spits. "But my ports and ships are vulnerable! We need action now!"
He slams a palm down, unleashing a shockwave that makes the table shudder. Ren's eyes flash red in warning.
"Mind yourself, sea dog..." Ren says softly. "We are all people of action here. But to prevail against such foes, we must be cunning action." Her tone brokers no argument.
Coara settles back with a grumble, arms crossed. Mortem's bones creak softly as he inclines his head. "Wisely put, my lady. Now then, let us strategize our more subtle riposte..."
The Messengers resume their clandestine planning, ready to meet their unruly opponents' next move. Until The Head finally spoke...
"Enough."
Everyone hushed in silence as they turned to the person they knew very well as their leader.
The chair turned around, revealing a man with spiky overgrown crimson hair, wearing a lab coat with a scratched-out red symbol.
His muscular body was filled with scars, covered up with a simple crimson dress shirt. He wore a necklace with a yellow vial inside his collar, and glasses rested in his shirt pocket.
"As much as I want to track down and kill The Lucky Inquisitors, we need to be cautious." The man stretched and fixed his posture. "We cannot afford to lose any more districts."
Coara was about to argue before realizing that he was his superior and decided to shut it. "Fine, I will play the long game, Abel."
"Does anyone have any objections?" Abel asked with no one raising a hand. "Good. Prepare to raise the security of your district; we cannot let this incident happen again."
Everyone nodded as The Blob disappeared into thin air, leaving a trail of blue smoke, while everyone else left through the entrance of the courthouse, leaving only Ren and Abel in the room.
"Abel, you saw the news, didn't you?" Ren asked, her voice softening as both of them were alone with each other.
"Yes, I heard of it," Abel stated. He let out a sigh. The news about Morgan's death had spread in the realm like wildfire. People were disgusted that a mere mortal was opposing them.
"Sugar. He's the only one who would do that," Ren stood up as Abel transported both of them into their room.
"I know," Abel's voice was pained a little. His brother was still out there, finding any way to destroy Twilight.
Ren places a sympathetic hand on Abel's shoulder as he wrestles with the bitter truth of his brother's destructive path.
"Seeing the lengths Sugar is going to must pain you deeply," Ren says gently. "He was not always this way. There may still be hope of saving him, difficult as that seems now."
Abel sighs, a bone-deep weariness in his eyes as he gazes out at the perpetual violet skies. "Perhaps. Though he severed ties with us long ago. The brother I knew died when..."
He trails off. That horrific night Sugar massacred everyone in his wake still haunts them both. The night their family shattered. He could still hear the last thing Sugar muttered to him before he went missing.
"If you were truly my brother, then nail my coffin and set it to the sea so that my body would be found by her one day..."
"In any case, he leaves me no choice but to oppose him," Abel continues heavily. "As much as I wish this burden did not fall on me, as a brother sworn to protect his family, I cannot let him tear the world apart."
Ren takes his hand, intricate crimson markings glinting along her fingers. "You do not carry this load alone, my sky. We shall weather this storm as we have all others - together."
Abel squeezes her hand gratefully. For a moment, sadness and resolve give way to affection as he gazes at his steadfast queen.
But duty inevitably reasserts itself, the looming threat still swirling beyond their windows. With a bracing breath, Abel squares his shoulders, facing the chaos his lost kin has unleashed upon this twilit land.
"Come then. We have preparations to make." Abel was determined to do this something: Help the brother he had lost.
**********************************************