Zero hated the smell of nicotine, but he held himself back from complaining. It'd been weeks since he tossed the last boy into his void space, and he wondered if that act was going to bite him in the ass later on. "Is he going to survive? There's been a lot of failed experiments on your part," Number 9 and a member of the Order spoke, almost boring holes into his head. He knew of her past time; he knew of what she did that he wouldn't touch even with a ten-foot pole."Have I ever been wrong? He's going to return. When? I don't know, and I don't think anybody does. Time flows twice the speed there, so that it might take a while. Remember that brat we tossed in a few years back? How she screamed and fought like a raging bull? Wonder what happened to her." Zero smiled, all teeth. His pristine white suit gleamed in the dim lighting of the city's topmost restaurant, Skyfall. The traffic was regulated so thoroughly in those areas that technology of any kind was banned within proximity of

A trip down memory lane hurt sometimes, but it was extra torturous for Zero that rainy day when the clouds raged against the sky and the forces of heaven clashed. I should have been stronger.But he wasn't, and that was the whole point. The Order was becoming more powerful, and soon, he'd be just a pawn in their game and then fodder. To be used and discarded like a piece that's outlived its usefulness. He didn't want to go down that route, but it seemed his only plausible path.Will you forgive me, Crystal?But of course, she wasn't there to hear him. He was learning that The Order had known about how she was faring hurt Zero more than he'd like to admit. Usually, he was the perfect soldier, never questioning, never doubting. But now, he was at a crossroads, and he didn't know who to tell about it without being considered a traitor.Traitors to The Order faced death in the most brutal forms, and Zero wasn't idiotic enough to throw his life away just because. He was more intelligent t

"Clear all my schedule, Sarah." Fred tugged at the hem of his sleeves, his eyes gaining a steely look. "For how long, sir? And, you called me by my name." Sarah sounded positively shellshocked, but Fred wasn't in the mood for such buffoonery. "Yes, it's your name, is it not?. Clear it for the next year. I have a job to do." Sarah looked taken aback at first, but she maintained her composure, which he was grateful for."Okay, sir. May I come with you?" Fred wasn't sure what to reply to that. Sarah had been with him for over seven years, and she was the best assistant he'd ever had. It wouldn't be a stretch to say that she made everything easier on him. But he couldn't bring her where he was going unless she could manage independently. He was going to miss her, though, but he'd survive."Can you hold your own in a fight?" He asked to mess with her."Yes, sir, I've been practicing for years. And I'm a black belt in aikido, karate, taekwondo, and others." Fred wondered if she was pullin

"Run, you fucking dimwit!" Raven screamed at a young boy who stood in the line of fire as a rain of lightning and firestorm fell from the sky with a vengeance, breaking the first line of defence."Hold the line!" She screamed. As commander of the Tenth Battalion, she was the disposable one, the one the empire used to gauge the strength of the enemy. "Fucking cowards, the lot of them." She was seeing red, and the people under her charge dying did nothing to better her mood."Whatever you do, don't play the hero." She was practically telling them to desert, but she didn't care. They were just cannon fodder, and if they continued, their sacrifices would mean nothing."It's our duty to fight to the death." The captain she handpicked for his straight-laced ways, Nakamura, butted heads with her once more. The Tenth Battalion echoed his sentiments, hitting their spears on the ground in unison and screaming in a booming voice, "WE ARE THE TENTH BATTALION; WE WILL NEVER FALL NOR SLUMBER. AS L

There were different kinds of people in the world, and Khalifa was an observer. That was his job, and he never interfered. The first time he noticed his ability, he was younger than most. He saw that the world was changing. The scale was tipping to a dangerous side. Magic reigned predominantly, and people with little to no mana like him were relegated to living in the lower strata of the city. But things were going on behind the scenes that could make a person's skin crawl. First, there were bio-weapons made specifically immune to magic, and they were sold on the black market. And mana-enhanced weapons somehow made their way to the underbelly of the city. The country knew of the happenings in Selene, but they couldn't do anything about it because the City of Selene was a superpower on its own. It was the home of some powerful, shady characters. They had money to throw at problems, and some threw around platinum like it was nothing. Others were reserved for special occasions. The wor