May 19th, 2XXX.

I hope this letter finds you well, Commander Armstrong. We understand how busy you must be at our underground base in Paris, but we thought you'd like to know how things stand around the globe. The east has almost fallen. The west has yet to succumb, yet it's slowly being overwhelmed by the enemy forces. They have established temporary bases in Beijing and Sydney, while expanding their territory on Buenos Aires and Washington. Many of the capitals have fallen, along with their respective governments. This "Plan Z" of yours is our last chance at avoiding a complete and utter catastrophe. We wish you luck, Commander.

"Do you understand the situation now, Commander?"

"Stop your whining Lieutenant Wolfgang, I told you this project would need time, didn't I?"

"It's been three months and you're yet to make any considerable progress Rhea. If we don't do something now, then it'll be too late."

She let out a sigh, turning away from him and looking at the scientist's work through the glass.

"Do you not trust my judgement, Tim?", her melancholic tone making him clutch onto the letter even harder.

"I trust you, I have always trusted you. Even if no one else believed in you, I would still stay by your side. But if this goes on any longer...I'm afraid our swan song would be nothing more than a cygnet's cry."

She smiled slightly, her gaze still focused there.

"Swans, cygnets, bears, lions, dogs, cats...Flowers, forests...They are all gone. But, we're the ones that destroyed them first. This crisis has managed to unite humanity and the few that would live if we came out on top, wouldn't even remember such notions."

"What are you trying to say?"

"Don't be conceited Lieutenant, we're not defending our planet, we're defending humanity. As long as an Adam and Eve manage to survive, then we would still have succeeded."

His agape mouth betrayed his intention to reply, yet no sound came out of it. He knew she was right, there was nothing to save here, war had reduced Earth to a dystopian state. Suddenly, a metal door slid open and a woman wearing a lab coat over her uniform walked over to them and held out a tablet.

"We made a breakthrough a few hours ago, and the chip has finally been stabilised. Only thing that's left is to begin the process to see how the husks will react."

Rhea studied the readings on her own pace, before handing the tablet back to her. Her excitement shown in her wicked smirk.

"Excellent work Hernandez. Notify the rest of the department, we will join you in a moment."

As the researcher left, she turned to the Lieutenant, putting her hands behind her back while doing so.

"Are you curious to see what exactly I've staked humanity's survival on?"

He glanced down at the lab through the glass, noticing the lifeless bodies in giant tubes and the dozens people working either by gathering data on the computers, or by regulating the central intelligence unit.

"Husks? Chips? What's this all about, Frankenstein?"

She narrowed her eyes at his jab, "Ease your worries and follow me to see for yourself."

They slowly made their way down to the main lab, a jungle of high tech equipment and utilities. His eyes again darting between the countless bodies in tubes and the panicked researchers running around. He wanted to ask her more about this, but they stopped in front of the central intelligence unit, before he could get the chance to speak. Unlike the rowdy situation throughout the facility, only a single, composed man stood before the huge screen, his back turned to them. The Commander was the first to speak.

"I heard the 'soul' has finally been stabilised, this was your work, right Dr. Raghavan?"

The man swung his body to face them in an almost elegant manner, the air of calm around him making them feel more at ease.

"Of course, it has been perfected. Only the 'vessels' remain.", his soft tone not matching his intimidating expression, the look of a man who had lived long enough to know the meaning of suffering. He then turned back around and after swiftly typing something, the machine next to them produced a drawer of tiny metal chips.

"From chips and husks, to souls and vessels. What the hell were you thinking Rhea?"

"Be patient, you still haven't seen anything.", her hazel eyes that suited her crimson-short hair telling no lies.

Guided by Dr. Raghavan, they sauntered amongst the chaos, making their way to one of the open tubes. A grey, lifeless human-like body rested inside its fluids. The body had no features at all, as if it was a chrysalis, waiting to be molded into something anew.

"This isn't an actual human body, right?"

"This is what we call a husk, formally a 'vessel'. It's an artificial composition, mimicking that of a human's. All that remains, is for us to imbue the 'soul' into it."

The doctor's explanation confused Tim even more.

"These husks are the so called 'vessels' and those chips are the 'souls', I get it. But what are we trying to achieve here?"

Rhea flashed him an almost proud look, standing before Dr. Raghavan who was in the process of carefully placing the chip into that body.

"In order for us humans to fight off the foreign invaders, we upgraded our air defence systems, we matched their weaponry by redeveloping modern melee weapons, but we lost every battle we fought. Their mech and soldiers flattening ours..."

Her speech caught the attention of almost everyone there, as people started crowding them while she continued talking.

"Humanity finally banded together and created this very organization, the Global Defence Force, only a few years ago, yet we kept on losing. This is because we lack morale, we lack eccentricity. We have been constantly unable to catch the enemy off guard. Those damn Iliads have been mocking us since the very first day of this war. We lack the names to boost our soldier's morale and instil that sense of primitive fear into those fools. So, in order to teach those aliens the cruelty of war, the true nature of humanity, we put all our efforts into this final project. Plan Z."

The lab had gone silent. Dr. Raghavan had finished the process of imbuing the husk with the 'soul', twitching as if it was about to combust at any moment. Despite that gruesome display, she turned to face it and continued speaking.

"Those chips contain all the known data about a certain 'character', fictional or historical, it doesn't matter. By recreating the very essence of their 'soul', running myriads of simulations to precisely estimate their appearance and personality as accurately as possible, our final trump card, we entrust this war to them."

Just as Rhea finished her speech and the crowd was about to go into an uproar, the husk had finally begun its metamorphosis. Growing much larger and more muscular, jet black hair resting on its shoulders, it took the form of a man of ancient times. His eyes snapped open, grabbing onto the side of the open tube to help him sit straight, glaring at the unsuspecting crowd around him.

"I present to you, Agent #001, the legendary warrior of the three kingdoms, Lu Bu.", announced Raghavan, as Tim's eyes widened in disbelief. Lu Bu got up and out of his pod, his wet and commanding footsteps echoing across the facility as he towered over the Commander.

"Are you the one I'm supposed to follow orders from?", his deep and hostile tone sending shivers down their spines. However, Rhea stood tall and extended her hand towards him.

"That's right, I'm your Commander, a General like you. I'm sure you're confused, but don't worry, you have but one goal-"

She was cut short by him simply narrowing his eyes, his bloodlust making her take an unconscious step back.

"A General you might be, but are you a warrior? I bow to no-one weaker than I."

She sighed and put her hand away.

"I have faced foes far more powerful than you can imagine, and yet here I stand. If that doesn't make me a warrior, then what does?"

"Standing over their dead bodies."

Her breath hitched in her throat, his unflinching glare demanded no response. He placed his enormous hand on his head, his expression shifting to one of inner turmoil.

"I remember everything. I know who I am, who I was and who I want to be. But, foreign thoughts and memories plague my mind, is this your doing?"

She nodded reluctantly, and yet her eyes betrayed a sense of excitement.

"Correct, you're almost two thousand years in the future. We tweaked your mind a bit so you grasped the most important details, making sure you were available for battle immediately."

She waved her hand to some of the soldiers behind her, bringing him a set of chrome-steel armour. No-one else even dared to interrupt their stand-off as he donned a jet black one-piece garment, putting his futuristic armour over it.

"Any questions?"

"No, I understand what I'm supposed to do.", four of the soldiers then also brought him a giant halberd. Lu Bu's smirk widened at the sight, before he effortlessly took hold of it. "Sky piercer, you have been reborn as well. We shall once again split the heavens and send our enemies to hell."

"You mustn't forget that you now fight for the whole of humanity, whether you like it or not. You're part of this organisation and I'm your Commander, so-", she was abruptly silenced by the thunderous crash of his halberd striking the ground, fracturing the earth beneath it.

"I have no equal, if you want to order me around, then prove yourself in battle. Until then, don't hold me back."

She glared at him, before turning to Tim.

"Lieutenant Wolfgang, take your unit and lead him outside. Your objective is to clear the area so we can finally push forward to the surface and finally get out of here."

Tim was still very unsure about this, but he didn't dare to complain, nodding hesitantly. As they all left, having to follow Lu Bu who had taken this first lead, a haughty laugh escaped Rhea's lips. "He really is something else. With him under our command, it's about time we took that first step. A first step that'd turn the tides of this war.".

"Have patience Commander. This is only but the beginning of a new era. Legends of old will be born anew and crush those Iliads. But first, we need to see results.", Raghavan added.

"I'm confident they'll return victorious. Leaving this cave of a base will serve as good foundation for future operations. So, since the formula's been perfected, let's focus on mass-production. They say God laughs when we make plans, but I always get the last laugh." and with that, Rhea and the rest of the research department got back to work. Meanwhile, as Tim led them outside, Lu Bu's heavy steps reverberated through the ground, making the Lieutenant and the other soldiers uneasy about the fragile state of the corridors.

The catacomb doors groaned open, a blast of acrid wind rushing in. The light was not sunlight but a sickly, smog-drenched orange, casting broken shadows of jagged ruins across the ashen ground. Craters pocked the earth, black scars where fire had rained from alien skies. The skeletal remains of towers loomed like monuments to forgotten gods, their glass-and-steel spires shattered into gnarled fangs. Overhead, a shadow streaked, a sleek, alien craft buzzing like a hornet, its thrusters screaming as it vanished into the haze. Beneath it, a sound - scratching, scuttling - grew louder. Lu Bu grasped the handle of his halberd tightly, taking on a fighting stance as he prepared himself.

"They are coming."

The soldiers behind him all got into position, some equipped with contemporary guns, others with modern melee weapons, their blades illuminating a neon light. They also wore the same chrome-clad armour over their GDF uniforms, Dr. Raghavan mentioned that it negated highly condensed beams of energy, lasers. Tim tried approaching Lu Bu to stand next to him, but was stopped by his lowered halberd, forcing him to take an obedient step back. 

The Lieutenant raised his hand in the air, everyone was prepared to attack at the mere sight of the enemy. Alas, that was not the case. A silver beast led the enemy's troops, walking on all its four mechanical arms before stopping at a safe distance from them. A green-haired man marched ahead of it, his pointy ears and violet eyes making it clear that he was not human. 

"How unusual, some earthlings have come out to play.", his arrogant laugh caused Lu Bu's grasp to tighten around his halberd. The man who seemed to be an army official of the Iliad race, was draped in silver armour of foreign material, suiting his pale skin. The armour covered every single part of his body except his face and neck, its lean form making it easy to move around in.

"I thought you came here in search of a battle, but it appears you crawled out of your cave to die. It's insulting to face us with a single brigade. Perhaps, you chose quality over quantity?", his gaze focused on Lu Bu, while his mouth crept into a wry smile. 

The human soldiers and even Lieutenant Wolfgang fell into an intimidated silence. But not Lu Bu. He arrogantly raised and tilted his head to the side, taking a daring step forward, closing the distance between the two men to only a few meters.

"I knew you were different, we feel the same fervour for battle, I can tell by the way you look at me. You thought of cutting me in half the moment you laid your eyes on me, didn't you?", he laughed haughtily once more, before he was given an elegant blade. Its long reach and short handle made for an unusual sword, yet the moment he took hold of it, it came to life. Now radiating a strong yellowish light, he pointed it towards Lu Bu. "I, Lyxern, shall indulge you. Let our duel dictate the result of this battle, I swear it on my authority as this squadron's leader. It's not like you have a chance otherwise."

Lu Bu took another step forward, a whisper could be heard behind him. "Can't you see he is provoking you on purpose? Lyxern is a very well known name amongst the GDF. He is not only that squadron's leader, but one of the Iliad emperor's sons. I wasn't expecting someone of his calibre to be over here...that means our base's position has been compromised.", Tim cursed under his breath, his warning completely ignored, as Lu Bu was now face to face with the Iliad prince. 

"Gods, demons, aliens, royals...They all bleed.". He then pushed the prince with a single hand, but with enough force to make him fall over, signalling the start of this duel.