{Date: 10/16 - Sunday}
{Time: 6:00 PM}
We made it to the Destiny Museum, a location where all of Destiny Islands' most historic and monumental relics and stories of the past resided. The museum was one of the largest buildings in the plaza, its extravagant golden interior glimmering from its daily care.
Inside, it was like a new world had opened before my very eyes. Shelves were stocked with historical books and chronicles of nearly every event that happened within these islands. Clear, transparent cases were filled with historical relics and statues of the past, each item telling a fragment of a bigger story.
"Hisumi, Orika, welcome to the Destiny Museum! Everything you want to learn about our home is right in this very building. Follow me, I'll show you the section where our dad's history is stored," Adrianna said, her tone tinged with excitement as she hurried forward.
"This place is so huge..." Orika gasped, following alongside me, her eyes wandering around with curiosity.
I looked around, amazed at how much information was just easily accessable to just anyone in the public. "I've only seen such information in the R&D Labs in Judgement. All of this history and knowledge is just public?"
"Of course it is, Agent. Unlike your ex-organization, our leaders aren't corrupt. Besides our leaders are filled with people within our family anyway," Autumn said, following us toward Shiro's section of the museum.
"Mhm! The Moji Family is currently one of the most powerful families in the world right now! And we do a dang good job keeping the peace, just like Daddy would like!" Sakura added, skipping alongside us as she followed.
Ryder hung behind the group, his Unleashed State still active as he scanned around the museum. He felt his phone buzzing, taking it out of his jacket pocket then looked at it. 'Olivia, you never cease to surprise me...your vision is somehow better than mine...'
Ryder looked up from his phone, checking to his right and noticed the group of suspicious people, but something had caught his eye. Amongst the group of people, there was a man with a mask similar to his own.
Olivia kept quiet, her gaze specifically captured on the man with the mask. She grabbed Rain's arm, pulling him closer to her. "Rain.."
Rain grunted as he was yanked toward Olivia, a slightly annoyed expression playing on his face. "Yes, Olive? You know a tap on the shoulder wouldn't hurt..."
Olivia looked at Rain, her usual cool expression present on her face. "I know, but I need you to do something for me."
"What is it?" Rain asked, curious about his sister's request.
Olivia subtly turned toward the group of people looking at a few relics near the Destiny Tribe Area of the museum. "Those people are definitely up to no good. I can sense it in them. If anything bad breaks out, we need to evacuate the people to safety."
Rain glanced at the suspicious group of people, noticing the masked man looking in our direction. His skin crawled slightly, his heart rate slightly increasing. "Alright...should I tell the others?"
"Not right now...we don't want to cause a scene and alert anyone. But when things do break out, you need to use your Silver Tongue to command everyone to safety," Olivia said confidentially, holding onto his sleeve so only he could hear her.
Rain nodded, shuddering slightly as he was finally away from the gaze of the masked figure. "Right..."
We finally made it to Shiro's section of the museum, shelves stacked up with books of his stories and achievements sitting tall along the wall. Large cases held statues of himself and all of his companions who helped shape Destiny Islands into what it is today.
Upon the tables and podiums were smaller cases holding relics of Shiro's time, each one holding their own purpose and story. Some of the cases had replicas of old relics such as Philosopher's Stones and a 3D model of Shiro's Crest of Love.
"And here we are!~ My favorite section of the museum, and home of the greatest era of Destiny Islands!~ Everything you want to know about our family is all here!" Adrianna exclaimed, looking around with awe and nostalgia.
I walked around the area, carefully inspecting each statue and relic with a curious gaze. Orika stuck closely to me, reading the notes each display had and took in all of the information they offered. The two of us wandered around the area together, reading a few books and listening to Adrianna's explanation of each display.
"Over here, we have our recently found relics. We have a cousin that traverses around the islands with his team to find materials for their blacksmithing business, and they happened to find a few of these babies," Adrianna explained, walking toward one case that held a real Philosopher's Stone.
I looked at the stone, my eyes slightly widening as I recognized the stone from a secret file within the Judgement database. "Wait, isn't that..."
"Lotus's Philosopher's Stone. It was found in Heavenly Bay within a destroyed city. Authorities let us know that this was highly sought after by the Lost Syndicates, but with us protecting the city, we've kept this baby locked down," Adrianna hummed, gently patting the case.
"Ahh, I didn't know you all were going to be here today," A woman's gentle voice rang out, her tone sweet and melodic.
I turned around, noticing a beautiful older woman walking toward us with a clipboard in her arms. She had luxurious brown hair tied in a low ponytail that rested over her shoulder, soft caramel eyes, and a mature figure that caught the eyes of a few males.
"Ahh, Ms. Habilee!~ You work today?" Adrianna asked, walking toward Habilee excitedly and stood in front of her with a bright smile.
Habilee watched as Adrianna approached her, a warm smile curling on her lips. "Mhm, I do work today. I'm just keeping maintenance on the museum relics today, and I'm just about done with my work."
"Ms. Habilee!~" Sakura called out, rushing over toward Habilee and hopped in front of her. "It's been so long since you came to visit!~ When are you coming back to the sharehouse?"
Habilee chuckled softly at Sakura's bubbling excitement, gently rubbing her hair with care. "I'll be visiting soon, maybe around Thanksgiving. I do have a lot of work I have to finish taken I am now a leading Historian and Archeologist."
"Aww, I wish you could visit more," Sakura said, feigning a disappointed expression.
Habilee smiled at her, gently running her fingers through her hair. She looked around at the rest of us, happy to see that we were all hanging out together. "So what brings you all here today?"
"We were just showing our new friends Hisumi and Orika around. They are staying here in Destiny Central for a couple months for some training and to spend the holidays here," Adrianna said, turning toward me and Orika.
I waved at Habilee, giving her a courteous smile. "Hi, my name's Hisumi. It's nice to meet you."
"And I'm Orika..!" Orika introduced, bowing toward her politely.
"It's nice to meet you two as well, and I hope you two enjoy your stay here," Habilee hummed, her gentle smile warm enough to embrace our hearts.
As we all continued to linger around for a bit longer with Habilee, following her as she taught us more about each relic and where they originated, the masked figure and his group had entered the section as well, noticing we were all with Habilee.
"Now, these are the show stealers, The Iridescent Soul and Feleti's Core. The Iridescent Soul represents us, the Destiny Women of Shiro's life, and you have Feleti's Core, a gem that contains the very essence of Shiro's cousin, Feleti," Habilee explained, glancing at me and Orika to see if we were keeping up.
"Seems risky leaving such relics in public. I understand they are historical, but what if someone slips past security to steal such items?" I asked, glancing at Habilee with a concerned gaze.
"That is true, and I'll admit, we've had people try to steal a few relics whether it be for money or used for leverage, but with New Karma protecting the city, we don't really have to worry much," Habilee said, then turned toward the cases.
"Plus they are reinforced using Alchemy, no normal person can open it without breaking the alchemic seal," Habilee said, reaching to try to open the case, but a symbol shimmered into view in front of the casing.
"Alchemy, huh? Must be some high level alchemy for a defense system like that," I said, impressed by the level of defense the museum had with its valuables.
"Hey, that chick with the pink hair looks familiar," One of the hooded guys said, watching us from a distance.
"That weakling from the alleyway in Shibuya four or five years ago..? Tch, she's still alive? Surprising...oh and hey, apparently that chick with her is Hisumi Nomura. Pandora said Hisumi's a woman now, unbelievable," Another replied, crossing his arms and leaned against a pillar as he watched us.
The masked man adjusted his mask slightly, his green eyes glowing behind his mask as he let out a soft, thoughtful hum. "So these cases are protected by alchemy huh..? Getting when we need will be pretty impossible. Hopefully my level of alchemy will be enough."
Olivia watched the group from a distance, keeping Rain close to her while giving tips to Ryder of there every move. "I don't know what they are planning, but they are here for a reason... probably after Lotus's Philosopher's Stone again.."
Rain leaned back against the wall, feeling goosebumps crawling along his arms, the air feeling slightly more tense than usual. "I feel like we should act now before they get any ideas...Better safe than sorry..."
"In a scenario like this one, we can't do anything rash. There are too many civilians around and causing a panic is not the solution. Besides the moment they try to break the seal, the alarms will go off," Olivia said, turning her gaze toward Ryder to check on him.
Ryder acted natural as if the group of people weren't there, walking around with Desiree, Autumn, and Sakura around the section and talking amongst themselves. He occasionally checked his phone, making sure to read every tip from Olivia carefully.
Habilee continued showing us around, leading us to another area where her books were stored. Once we left from the casings of Lotus's Philosopher's Stone, the masked figure and his lackeys made their move, walking toward the casing.
"Hmph, alright...we've avoided most suspicion. Keep watch while I break the seal," The masked figure said, putting on his alchemy glove and surrounded his hand with Spirit Energy.
Autumn noticed the masked man reaching for the case, scoffing softly at his audacity. "Hey, no touching!"
'Autumn..! You idiot!' Olivia thought, grunting softly in surprise that Autumn would approach the three.
"Autumn—" Rain began, getting off the wall quickly to stop her.
One of the masked figure's lackeys let out a soft sigh, crossing his arms. "Boss, we have one approaching."
The masked figure placed his hand on the case, his eyes glowing behind his mask. "Stop her then...we are already here. Let the noise begin.."
"Hey, I said don't touch that!" Autumn yelled out, grabbing everyone's attention due to her loud tone.
"Back off, little girl unless you want to get hurt," The other lackey said, shoving Autumn back roughly.
Autumn lost her footing, grunting as she fell hard on her butt. She hissed in pain, her tailbone slightly stinging from the hard impact. She slowly stood up, cursing under her breath.
"Hey! Don't you put your hands on my sister!" Sakura yelled out, rushing toward the lackey with fiery speed.
The lackey smirked at Sakura, dodging her first strike then landed a powerful blow to her stomach with his knee, causing her to groan loudly in pain. Sakura stumbled backwards, clutching her stomach, but the lackey didn't let her regroup as he kicked her away into a bookshelf, a pile of books tumbling upon her.
Autumn's eyes widened slightly as she couldn't believe that Sakura was handled so quickly by just a lackey. She turned toward the man before her, taking a step backwards.
"We aren't just your ordinary Syndicate Member...Our faction of the Lost Syndicates is captained by an Officer of Judgement. We know about you New Karma members, that's why we are here. And it's—"
Before his final word could come out his mouth, I struck the man with a Quick Attack, sending his body flying across the room. Light blue lightning crackled around my body. "You three...will not leave out of here with anything.."
The masked man halted in his tracks, sensing my power level and narrowed his eyes to look at me. 'Hm...so this is Hisumi Nomura. Pandora told us to be weary of someone like her.'
"It's been five years, Hisumi...We haven't forgotten when you killed Genji. You dared to kill your own men and expect to walk free? I don't know how you survived Morata's attack, but I will be the one to put an end to you for good!" The masked figure's lackey declared, pointing his katana at me.
I stared at the man, feeling Cerebral's hand on my shoulder, her cold chuckle a tempting whisper in my ear. "I killed him because he was hurting someone that had nothing to do with our failure. It was justified, no matter how you frame it..."
The lackey glared at me, gripping his katana tightly. "Enough talk! If we want that relic now, we will just have to kill you first!"
{Spread Your Wings and Fly!}
{Opponent: Lost Syndicates - B Rank Threat}
{Battlefield: Destiny Plaza - Museum}
"Alright, things are heating up," Rain said, stepping forward and awakened his energy, his tongue emitting silver energy. "All Civilians, evacuate immediately! Run!"
Due to his command and influence, his words reached the ears of the civilians, causing them all to evacuate the museum. Rain grunted softly as his voice began to feel a bit strained, Olivia held him up and shielded him from the incoming dangers.
"You did good...rest your voice now," Olivia said softly, holding him closely.
"Hey, Toma! Get your ass up, we've got a target to kill!" The man called out toward his partner, looking behind himself to check on Toma.
Toma grunted softly, holding his cheek and shook his head, recovering from the powerful blow he had received. "Yeah, I hear you, Daigo...just give me a second."
Daigo scoffed at his partner, turning back toward me only to immediately be met with a Quick Attack straight to his face. Staggered, I began delivering a series of lightning fast strikes upon his body, each electrifying strike stunning him consecutively.
Before I could land my final strike, Toma rushed forward, picking up a chair and swinging it at me. I swiftly dodged his attack, stepping backwards quickly then my body flickered, my presence vanishing at near invisible speeds.
'What the..?! She's so fast..! I can't even sense her!' Toma thought, his eyes darting around to try to keep up with me.
Ryder tried to keep track of me, but my speed was beyond what he experienced from me yesterday. "She's moving even faster than before, even in a space like this..."
Olivia watched the fight, amazed at my speed first hand. Even she couldn't keep up, even with her being more spatially aware than her siblings. 'I can't keep up...Just what is this speed..?'
"Passing Shadow Garden, Cerebral Fields: Inazuma!" I chanted, forming the hand seal, "Lightning" and a powerful howl reverberated around the entire room, sparks of lightning crackling around powerfully.
A portion of my Death Energy escaped my body, appearing next to me and manifesting into the Golden Hound, Inazuma. She ran alongside me quickly, each step she took causing powerful bolts of lightning to shoot out everywhere.
Genesis fell back, casting a barrier around our allies to protect them from the Cerebral Hounds. "Careful Hisumi, Cerebral and her Hounds still aren't 100% on our side even when tamed!"
"I know, but she and her Hounds have no choice but to cooperate! Inazuma, Lightning Wolf Fist!" I commanded, rushing toward Daigo and Toma.
Inazuma howled as she pounced forward as I lunged toward the two, our synchronized strike causing a roaring thunder to boom upon impact. A flash of lightning shined before everyone's eyes, a destructive blow sending both Daigo and Toma flying out of the room.
I landed on the groundm gracefully, standing up straight then turned to look at the masked figure. "Those two are gone...it's all of us against you now."
The masked man chuckled softly at my calm confidence, clapping his hands slowly and walked away from the casing. "You defeated two low ranking pawns of Judgement and the Lost Syndicates, I suppose you want flowers..?"
I scoffed at his sarcasm, crossing my arms and stared at him. As I got a good look at him, I noticed his mask was similar to Ryder's, the design of a violet rose glowing on the entire left side of his mask. My body shuddered as I felt Spirit Energy radiating from his body, my mind swirling with questions.
"I suppose you sensed it? Yes, I do possess Spirit Energy, and it's thanks to Shiro's Mask of the Romantic," The man chuckled softly, his spiritually demonic energy flowing around his body.
Adrianna and Ryder both grew more serious once they realized that the mask the man possessed was their father's. Ryder stepped forward, taking hold of his Mask of The Ace in his hand, the beautiful blue and gold designs on its right side glowing in response to his anger.
"I've already killed one other person like you who stole what belonged to us...for you to show up here to steal something else. Make this your last stop," Ryder said, his tone low and serious, his eyes glowing brightly with determination and resolve.
The masked man chuckled, crossing his arms and faced Ryder. "Ryder Dawn...The Ace of Sanctuary Agency. I was hoping to run into you...now I can kill you and take those masks back."
"Not on our watch, imbécil!" Adrianna called out, stepping forward and took her fingerless gloves out of her back pocket. "You come into this sacred place and hurt my hermanas? You won't make it out of here alive..."
The masked man watched as Adrianna stepped forward, an intrigued expression playing on his face. 'Hmm...Adrianna La Rosa, the Golden Star. She's got quite the reputation, now I get to see why her name is even known in New America...'
~{To Be Continued}~