1 Welcome to the Abyss Agency

[Abyss Agency Head Quarters-11:00 am]

Maddison Harada

I see a woman's silhouette standing in front of a burning house. She had long red hair and wore a frilly blue dress. It was none other than my mother, Kiyoko Harada. "Maddison, take care of your sister," she gave me a sad smile and then vanished through the flames. "Mom!" I called her, "Kill the witches, children!". I turned around and saw an angry mob coming for me. I noticed Olivia was nowhere to be found. "Olivia!" I called out to my sister. "Please help me!" I cried out. The mob was still chasing after me throwing names and insults. It felt like I was going through circles. Someone, please end this nightmare. "Maddie?" I heard a familiar voice call out, "Oli?" I called out. "Olivia!" I called out in desperation.

"There she is! Kill them!" the angry mob went close. "Burn the witches!" Why are they doing this? What did we ever do to them?! One of them threw a torch just as it was about to hit me.

"Maddison Harada, wake up!" I bolted right up my back, drenched in sweat. I gasped for air Olivia patted my back as comfort. "Maddie?" Olivia looked at me with worry "Another nightmare?" I nodded. "Come here. It's all in the past now" Oli gave me a tight hug. "Alright, it's time for you to get ready. I'll see you at the Restaurant for breakfast. Olivia Harada, my twin sister though we don't exactly look alike since she has white hair with blue streaks at the bottom while I have red hair and orange streaks. We're both 15 years old. Olivia was gifted with Ice abilities, while I had fire manipulation. We were taken in by our leader Ginji Murakami, the head of the Abyss agency. Japan City Z is the place where the first gifted people were born. Not many humans know about it, so we are always cautious when we use our powers around humans. The history of our abilities is still a mystery. No one knows where they come from, but everyone suspects the Imperial family. Of course, with the gifted people multiplying, curses then started appearing. Those creatures feed off people's negative emotions. An elite team of talented people formed a community together and planned to expel the curses in the world. The queen dowager was the first to receive a gift called [Divine Healing]. I heard she revealed her powers during her coronation the whole country was shocked. It was also during a plague that broke out. She healed every single one that was affected by the epidemic. She was a goddess, a savior to humanity.

~

[Cafetiria-11:30 am]

After my morning routine, I head to the cafeteria for breakfast. I saw Kaguya sipping coffee while reading a folder and Oli sitting down, munching her cereal. "Morning," I greeted. Both of them looked up and greeted me with a smile. "Oli, you forgot to bring this," I handed the folder to her. She took it sheepily and gave a small thank you. Olivia can be forgetful sometimes. "You forgot to bring the file for your mission?" Kaguya snickered. Olivia glared in return. Kaguya Murakami was one of the people that got adopted by Ginji. She is also his right-hand woman, and her gift [Mimic] can copy another person's abilities.

Age 19, and her code name is "Copy Cat" She's one of the S rankers in the Agency. "Any news on the Empire Agency?" Olivia asked. Kaguya stopped reading and opened another folder. "There is a curse lurking around the houses in the subdivision area. The empire agency ran out of time to investigate and gave the mission to us," Kaguya spoke. The city has three agencies working together. Firstly the Empire Agency manages the northern parts of the city. They work during the mornings. The emperor Miyamura Hikaru created the Agency and handed it over to Sir Tora Takahashi, the current head of the Agency. Next up, we have the Abyss Agency. We manage the city's southern parts and work in the afternoon and at night.

Lastly, the most mysterious Agency the Twilight Agency. They have yet to set a specific schedule when it comes to working. I don't know much about them, but their aura is intimidating. The leader is one of the imperial family members, and the empress dowager backs them. Most members are nobles, and one of them is the famous Grand Duchess Fujihara Shizuka, a 17-year-old girl who's very well known for her beauty and kindness. Everyone hopes she will become an empress or a queen. Unfortunately, the emperor already has an empress and is currently 3 months pregnant, but people still hope she will become queen. I can't imagine what the empress is thinking right now.

The main building is located in the city's eastern part, while the other is in the western region. Most people idolize the Twilight Agency because they are related to the Imperial family. "Well, I better get ready now. See you guys later," Kaguya waved goodbye. "I'm going to meditate now. I'll see you in the main hall" Oli gave me a small hug that I gladly returned and went off to her room. After breakfast, I walked around the garden and saw Miya ahead. "Miya!" I called out to him. He was reading one of the history books and looked intensely focused. Miyazaki Akihito, age 17 years old, and the left-hand man of Ginji, one of the Agency's S rankers.

I may have a slight crush on him. His gift [Celestial Guardian] is the ability to control the stars. I once saw him create small stars on his palm. It was charming. His code name is king's puppet." Hm? Maddie, what are you doing here?" he asked. "U-Uhm, I was just taking a walk!" I replied. I can't help but get so flustered around him. "Oh, I see, then carry on" Ah was that just it? I wanted a long conversation. "Do you want something from me?" He asked, "Uhm, no...I" I don't know how to start. What was I expecting? Miya sighed. "Is it about your powers?" he asked. "Yeah! I mean, yeah, I want to rank up. Do you have any tips?"

I asked. "Practice creating stronger spells. You should meditate with your sister Olivia" Miya spoke sternly. What hurts is that Miya loves my sister Olivia more than me. I'm already aware of his feelings, but I can't help but hope maybe I can earn his attention. "I already do that sometimes, but I can't seem to concentrate," I replied. One of the things that made me struggle to rank up is because of my past trauma. I get flashbacks of my mother's death whenever I use my gift. She was set on fire in front of my eyes. My sister also has a weakness. She meditates to control her unstable mana core. Other than that, she is a good fighter. "Maddie, I don't know what you've been through, but you need to let it go," He patted me on the shoulder, then stood up, preparing to leave. "Where are you going?" I asked curiously. "I'm going to help your sister with her mana core" with that, he left without saying goodbye. I know that he gives my sister special treatment because of her weak state everyone does. It just aches my heart that he only thinks of me as his little sister.

[Main Hall- 11:50 am]

I found Olivia sitting beside Kamiko. "Hi Miko, where's Liam?" I asked. "He went back to his room.", Miko replied with a pissed tone. Kamiko Murakami, Ginji's adopted daughter, and Kaguya's stepsister. Age 9 years old, she is also blind, which is shocking because she is also our skilled assassin. And, of course, she is an S-ranked. Her gift, "Fox Aura." helps her kill the curses. It lets users see its target's weak points and has fox-like movements. Code name kitsune "Where are the others?" I asked. Olivia shrugged and patted the seat beside her. I went and sat beside her and waited for any news to come.

Hiroji Toress

"Hiro, wake up" I woke up to a familiar voice calling me. I opened my eyes and looked around, adjusting my eyesight. "Hey, bro" I looked up and saw Liam grinning at me. I checked the time and bolted right up. I only have 11 minutes to get ready. I hurriedly dressed up and went outside with Liam. "Gee, man, you slept like a log. Were you that tired?" Liam chuckled. Liam Greyson, my roommate, age 18 years old, is a D ranker like me, and his gift, "Trickster," is the ability to manipulate someone's mind and read the person's deepest darkest secret. He has a playful attitude making others dislike him, but I don't mind it. His code name is Joker. "How are things with Miko?" I asked. Liam shrugged and put both of his hands inside his pockets "same old partner stuff," He replied. We went inside the building and were greeted by Zak's angry face. "You guys are late," Zak said. Miko went up to Liam and gave him the folders for work. All of us had partners, and what's worse was Zak was my partner. He's always disappointed in me and would never fail to scold me on every mission. "Sorry, Zak," I apologized, hoping to ease his anger. He glared at me and went outside. "Come on, Hiro, today's mission is to catch a curse lingering around the subdivision houses," Kaguya excitedly said and grabbed my hand, dragging me outside with her. I felt like someone was glaring behind me. I looked back and saw her partner Kaito glaring daggers at me. If looks could kill, I would be six feet under by now. Kaito Watanabe, Kaguya's partner in crime, age 17 years old. Like me, he's also a D ranker, but he will level up because his orange tie is turning red. His gift, "Boreas' descendant," is the ability to manipulate wind. Liam once read his mind by accident and found out he had feelings for Kaguya, but no one was shocked about it. The only one who didn't know about it was Kaguya herself since she was always busy with work doesn't care about anything other than work. "See ya, Hiro!" Liam waved, and I waved back with a smile.

[Southern Hospital City Z- 1:20 pm]

"What are we doing here?" I asked, "We were tasked to interview a little girl named Amelia Stones. Anahita Itoh arranged the meeting with her partner Itsuki Hayashi from the empire agency," Kaguya replied, "The family was attacked by the same curse written in every field case," she continued. We went inside and were greeted by a pitiful scene. I assume the little girl crying was Amelia. The man who was currently holding her had black hair and grey eyes. "Excuse me, sir?" Kaguya started, "Crawford," The man said. Both Kaguya and he shook hands. "And you must be little Amelia," Kaguya greeted her with a gentle smile, "Sir Crawford, are you a relative of hers?" Kaito asked. Sir Crawford nodded in reply. "We are here to interview her about the..." Kaito said, not wanting to continue the sentence, "I see, so you're the Abyss agency" Sir Crawford patted Amelia's head and pushed her lightly toward us. "Don't worry, Amelia, we are just going to ask some questions," Kaguya assured her with a big smile. "You guys go question her. Hiro and I will stay and guard outside." Zak said. Kaguya nodded in reply, took the girl by her hands, and went to a private room.