"Huh?" Tyson blinked his eyes. "Where am I?" He found himself in a white, empty room with no walls. "Am I on the astral plane again?" "Hey, lad!" He heard a voice ringing in his head. "Jacob? What's going on!?" "Calm down, lad; you're in your subconscious." Tyson's head felt foggy as he began to piece out what he remembered last. Jacob points his sniper at Tyson as Harold's purple Anima hands emerge from his back. "I need you three to die." A vein popped on his head. "You two attacked us!" He cursed. He recalled being shot by Jacob and Harold, who took out Lex and Kaz. "Sorry, lad, it was so we could proceed with unlocking' your second ayer... It's buried deep within your subconscious." "Yeah, quit whining already!" Harold's voice echoed in his head this time around. "We made sure not to hurt your kids too badly." "That's reassuring..." Tyson said it in a sarcastic tone. "Plus, how are we able to communicate?" "It's thanks to Kisha." "Kisha?" "

UNKNOWN LOCATION A woman wearing a brown cloak stood in front of a shabby building, sitting in the middle of a deserted village. She was attracted by the faint noise of movements from within the household. With her sword strapped around her waist, she made her way inside. What welcomed her was the unpleasant sight of two dead bodies—a man and a woman. "What are you doing in a place like this?" She said this to a boy who stood atop the bodies. "You shouldn't be holding something like that, boy." She pointed at the knife he was holding. Seeing that it was covered with blood, it didn't take much for her to realise that the boy standing in front of her had just killed those two people. "Are they your parents?" The boy shakes his head. He was hesitant to speak up at first until he saw the radiant smile on the woman's face. There was no malice on sight; he felt like he could trust her. "They kidnapped me." "I see. Well then, let's get this off of you." She crept

Old Dojo in Born Town Ernie was lying on the floor with his back leant against the wall. He had just finished making a roll and was ready to take a puff. He hits a blunt and says, "Well, we've been waiting for hours, bro. Are you sure Dimitri is going to show up?" He handed the blunt to Enrique, who was sitting besides him. "He told me he had some errands to run and would be back soon." "I'm tired of sitting around and doing nothing!" Vladimir exclaims. "Why did you even interrupt my training?" "Chill, big man." "Don't tell me to chill, little man." "Calm down, Vladimir. Ernie was just trying to help." Maggie scolds. "Yeah, you didn't have to mean about it, Sir Vladimir." "Sorry..." "It's okay, Vladimir, bro." "Vladimir bro?" The former district commander tilted his head, unaware of the creaking sound of the door opening behind him. "He's here!" Ernie's face lightened. A man walked into the dojo; he was wearing a black kung-fu uniform and had a belt s

Inside Tyson's mindscape, the ex-assassin was concentrating on conjuring a doorway that'd lead him out. "Why is nothing happening?" His desperation increases as time passes. He had communicated with the Sloth Constellar earlier and couldn't help but get the feeling that something bad was happening. Although he trusts his friends will be in good hands, he is still very worried. "Tyson..." "Huh? Kisha! Is that you!?" "I... Finally... Reached... You..." "Where have you been? I can't seem to get out; what do I do?" "Not... Much... Time... To... Get... Out... Break..." He listened carefully to the voice that echoed in his head. "Break..." "Kisha? Break what!? Hey, Kisha!" "Argh!" Tyson slammed his fist to the ground in a fit of rage; that was his only chance to find out how to escape his subconscious. He grew even more restless and was too deep in his thoughts to notice a crack on the blank white floor beneath him. "Huh?" He looked down at the spot he h

Lex gasped for air, his muscles burning with exertion. Despite the added layer of defence, he couldn't match the assassin's strength. Lex observed Riley, his figure obscured by the swirling miasma, as he gleefully tore through Lex's illusions. "Laughable! Worried about your trinkets, yet you're utterly feeble... Your demise will be exquisite." With a lick of his lips, Riley charged at Lex. "Tck. Arc!" Lex's blade swiped through empty air as Riley's miasmic form eluded it effortlessly. Riley stood before Lex, a wicked grin plastered across his face. "Attempted that already, have you not? In this state, I can evade all your feeble strikes." "I've discerned something about your miasma," Lex stated, tightening his grip on his blade, engulfed by the swirling mist. "Pierce!" Anima surged forth, piercing through Riley's incorporeal form. "Ha! Is that all?" Riley sneered, but Lex remained composed. "While you phase, I'm untouchable. But, likewise, you can't reach me." Riley's exp