Behind the fire, the stars hid.
A fire so large — so colossally, demonstrably huge — that it managed to split the night sky in two behind its pillar of smog.
Tracing the violent stream of ash and embers appeared a sight that could only be described as a glimpse of hell itself.
The streets were burning. The bodies were crushed.
Every few moments, the ground would shake. Every time, bit by bit, the rubble of the collapsed buildings would reveal another corpse. Another victim.
Every time the ground shook, it could all be traced back to its source.
A large, grotesque figure consisting of pure, writhing black mass marched down the ashen streets — nearly appearing to have dawned a cloak of fire; Its own demonic flesh eternally imprisoned to combusting flames.
The night made it easy to note its glowing red eyes, of which nearly resembled a mosaic of shattered glass, mandibles shaking and shifting as if fawning over its prey.
Despite all this, not once did its gaze waver — overlapping waves of a lust for blood emanating off with its odor of death, peering towards the shadowy, monolithian tower to the northwest.
From within its thousands of eyes, it was clear to see a yearning for something beyond itself. A yearning for something he had no control over.
Something put it on guard, however. The air turned electric.
Only when the strands of hair still attached to the dead began to rise did it strike; A sudden clap of thunder resonating through the air, hastily followed by a sword streaking across the beast's neck.
Peering through the blur and sudden flash of light, it was clear to see it was executed by a human — that of which was being followed by pure lightning.
Interestingly enough, the beast didn't sound out in pain. For a few seconds, it didn't even seem to notice it was attacked in the first place.
Rather, it regenerated.
Its gaze finally left the tower, now focused on combing the shadows for whoever attacked it, thrusting its burning fists forward into the darkness as a reckless form of retaliation.
"Regeneration…" the man spoke, any blood from the beast which managed to touch his dark mantle burning off in an instant.
Swiftly did he jump across the buildings, flying debris from the creature's attacks flinging past him.
Its arm stretched out, wiping across every roof in its reach — a deep, rugged groan echoing out from its body. The man shifted his sword forward, implanting it into the arm and forcing it across its demonic flesh, planting it atop where he rode the limb as it swung.
Before he could even catch his breath, along with the flames its blood seemed to produce, dark tendrils sprang from its wounds, squirming out and reaching toward the man — all in a disgustingly hypnotic rhythm as if trying to lull him into a trance. Not willing to budge, he lifted his blade just as the tendrils wrapped themselves around his legs, quickly threatening to rip him in two.
It was then did his movements become swift — inhumanly fast. With a sudden appearance of bolts tracing behind his blade, he twirled it around and sliced the tendrils in half.
Without hesitation, he jolted up the arm straight towards the beast's head. In the end, all it could see was a blur - a shadowy figure tailed by potent streaks of lightning.
Its entire head jolted off, guts and innards beginning to spew out and fall to the ground. The man stood atop a nearby building, bloody sword in hand as the sound of cackling fire resonated in his ear.
He reached into his pocket, pulling out a small silicon cloth and calmly wiping the vaporizing blood from his blade.
"Fast as ever, Kade," a woman playfully murmured as she approached behind him, voice appearing kind and soft. Her striking azure eyes vigorously glanced around the destroyed town, noting the countless corpses littering the streets before turning back to him, "though it doesn't seem like it was quite enough this time."
He let out a quick sigh, briefly shooting a glance toward the monster — its own blood having combusted into an unquenchable flame upon its death.
As he looked at the beast, a hint of resentment could be seen lingering in his eyes. "There shouldn't be a Terror this close to the Capitol. They're creeping closer."
He spoke with an odd mixture of authority and kindness, a sense of coldness seeping through each subtle inflection in his voice. A tone of maturity, sadness — and just as equally — rage.
The girl shrugged, a smile still stained on her face. "It's disappointing no one survived. My heart goes out to their families."
Kade turned, sheathing his blade as he tossed the cloth into the fire. "What does it matter? They'll be forgotten anyways." Not wasting any time, he gripped his sleeve and pulled out a small rectangular paper from within.
He reached down, gripping a small bundle of burnt wood, gently shaking off any excess charcoal before beginning to write.
"Why are you so heartless~! Though, I suppose you have a point. Regardless, who are you sending a message to?"
"The Commission. They need to be made aware of the situation."
He raised the written message into the air, and as if on cue, a dark raven swooped down and grasped the paper, flying off towards the massive spire to the northwest.
Kade lifted a dark mask tied to his waist, snapping it off of a small metallic hook before dawning it on his face.
He slid his hand across its surface — red swirling stripes decorating the left half, as it clashed with thinner yet longer lines of white in the same position.
It notably left not a single part of his face uncovered, as if he didn't want to be seen. "While they do that..." He began, "We have a job to do ourselves."
His eyes followed the bird until it was out of sight, over the forested hills crossing towards the spire.
From within the sky could be seen endless deserts, colossal stretches of water, endless dry plains and towering mountain walls. And yet, all seemed to pale in comparison when viewing the spire. The tower which pierced the heavens itself.
Flying over the walls of marble and rock, over the vast array of houses and stores, and the bustling populace of the city — only having just awoken to the rising sun, unknown to the very same stacks of smoke that haunted the skies only moments prior.
* * *
"We've received a message from Phantom Kade, sir!" A young soldier exclaimed, giving a subtle bow as he clenched the note in his hand.
The man before him gave a soft glare - an ever-present hint of insight in his eyes, paired with an unnerving glance that seemed to pierce into his soul.
A notable scar struck across the lower half of his face, partially covered up by a thin white beard. His head was bald, wrinkles across his face to show his rather old age, and yet he stood with confidence and strength; even through his thick rhodium armor, you could still point out his chiseled build.
"Very well," he murmured, voice deep and rugged, "What is it?"
The soldier finally stopped bowing, unfurling the note as he read it aloud:
"Terrors have attacked the outer-settlement of Neodera. No survivors. Nerys and I will try and hold them off, and I expect you to take the correct action."
"Is that all?"
The soldier gave a brief nod.
He pondered for a moment, before turning and walking away, a look of determination glued to his face.
"Wait- Sir Vaelis!" The soldier called out, quickly running to his side and bowing once more, "What do you intend on doing?"
He merely shook his head, letting a slight smile out before taking off one of his gloves and continuing to walk. "I intend on thinking. For now, gather the Cadets to the main hall. It's time for their first assignment."
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- | Information I can share thus far | -
For over 300 years, The scourge of unknown demonic beasts, aptly named 'Terrors,' have been appearing worldwide. Since their inception, those willing to fight back kept appearing, though they ultimately failed at achieving any form of resistance. It wasn't until the foundation of the Phantoms — only two years since Terrors first appeared — that humankind managed to resist their endless assault.