Chapter 52: Civil War

  Only one word could describe the scene in front of them, chaos. As they passed through the gate, they saw the damage it had sustained. On the other side, people were running wild. Running aimlessly, fighting each other, death looming beyond every corner.

  As he connected to the network, a flurry of flashing warnings overtook his vision. Overwhelmed, he tried to read through them when they all vanished, leaving a dark hazy figure behind.

  "Dear citizens," it began. "We have finally located the Union's nest hiding in our midst." He couldn't help but focus on the spoken words. "The AITF has already been dispatched to pave the way for our troops. We will finally be able to deal a massive blow to the Union and their unethical human experiments." The Union… The Union? Was he talking about Henosis? Were they linked? "And to you who are trapped in their endless nightmare, do not falter, rise up with pride, we will come to save you, no matter the cost." These words… they felt… inspiring, if he was lost, he might've been roused by them. "But to those who have hidden among us for so long, there will be no mercy. Quiver, tremble in fear as we take back what is ours." He could feel something was wrong, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

  "Slava!" He felt a familiar hand grab his shoulder. "Snap out of it." Blinking a few times, he met Sasha's worried gaze. "Arissa warned me, that man is dangerous, his words are like venomous snakes" He looked down at his hands. They were shaking. Haha, he was actually afraid? Just as if to confirm his thoughts, his eyes scoured the interface. His cortisol levels were spiking.

  He gazed at their surroundings one more time. The surrounding space was distorted, people were passing them by like they weren't there. He saw a crying mother embracing her child, a demented man scratching the gate with his nails. The further he looked, the stranger it got. In the distance, he could see flashing lights colliding with one another, flames flowing like rivers, plants overthrowing shifting buildings with strange creatures running wild inside of them…

  "It's awful," Sasha said through gritted teeth. "How can words cause so much chaos?" They weren't simply words, they were the key that opened up the floodgates to these people's pent-up emotions and resentment. He could feel traces of a domain surrounding them. If he could spread it through a screen, how much more powerful would he be when…

  "Jesus Christ, I swear to God, these guys are giving me a headache." The hazy figure was scrambled, being replaced by someone familiar. "Sorry for the disturbance, I hope that didn't give you guys too much of a headache." He looked like he hadn't slept in weeks, his complexion was horrible.

  "Jack?" Sasha asked. "Wow, do I look that bad?" His translucent figure slightly smiled. "We are having some troubles, as you can see." He looked to the side. "We have to fight enemies on the inside as well as the outside." He gritted his teeth. "The Prophet is gone. We have no information on the outside, most of the others are stuck fighting the 'heroes'. If you didn't have the key, I wouldn't have been able to reach you." So they were blind, the worst position to be in when cornered.

  "They're digging from the outside, making their own entrance. The army is waiting." If he used their bandwidth, he could send what he saw. "What?" Jack's eyes widened, accentuating the bags under his eyes. "I can't leave this alone. I need to send this to the others." He turned around. "Come to the Basilica, we'll talk there." He then disappeared, allowing Slava's eyes to land on the chaos behind it.

  "Can you take us there?" Slava asked, gazing beyond the burning buildings. "It'll be hard, there's too much interference, I don't know how the space will react." He thought so, with so many domains, the space was bound to be restless. "I guess we have no choice then." Right when they were about to leave, the figure materialized before them once more. "Never mind what I said earlier, the kids are in danger." His expression was serious. "I'm sending you their location. I have to reinitialize your connection with the network's GPS." He watched as his suit reacted to the upcoming information.

[Initializing Grid…]

[19T CK Synchronization Complete]

  "There! That should do it." He was about to look away when he frowned. "Please bring them back safely." Slava nodded. "It will be done." The quick Mag and the curious Zach. His gaze grew cold. Who would dare hurt them? "Let's go!" Sasha was startled but soon followed.

  They passed by numerous fights, a few awakened tried to reach them, but when they saw their suits they instantly backed off. The few that tried to get closer were instantly scared off by their domains' strength.

  A utopia… how laughable. They were even taking out old relics to fight. Weapons that hadn't seen the light of day since the golden age of exosuits began. After Awakened appeared, ballistic weapons became essentially useless. They could control the nature of this world, stop thermonuclear reactions, kill people with a single thought, what would bullets even do? With exosuits mimicking them, the world became the playground for their fight. That's how the state regained control, and why people feared them so much. Guns might've been accessible to most, but the suits weren't. They were heavily restricted and regulated, ironically paving the way for the West's greatest era of prosperity. What was the saying again? It's when people are confronted by a common enemy that they stand the strongest.

  "Boom!" Hearing the sudden explosion, both of them stopped dead in their tracks. Right in front of them, in an empty square, in front of the Awakening Development Institute, stood two familiar figures partially covered in partial blue and grey exosuits.

  They were surrounded by black-purple exosuits. Although they were cornered, their astounding synergy allowed them to keep up. Seeing Serena tremble out of the corner of his eye, he moved to grab her arm. When she turned around, he shook his head. He wanted to see just how far they could go. Reluctantly, calming herself, Serena tore her hand away from his grasp.

  Zach was surrounded by a metallic luster, ominous spikes floating around him, emitting a peculiar light. The spikes morphed and twisted following the eight figures surrounding them, leaving trails of lightning in their wake. Through them, Mag traveled, striking their opponents' openings with her three unique swords.

  Two of them were already dead, the other corpses looked young and defenseless, their lifeless faces still frozen in fear. Oddly enough, they were covered in third-degree burns and fist-sized holes. Ah… his understanding gaze lingered back and forth between the fighting duo. He could imagine their expressions, anger, and resentment. Betrayal could bring out the worst of emotions.

  Shaking his head, he focussed on the fight. Mag seemed to have a specific use for each of her weapons. Constantly linked to her by a thread of lightning, they were like a part of her, she would throw and recall them at will without any difficulty. Two short swords and a great sword, each intricately crafted. Using the short swords as anchors, she moved around, throwing them to change her position through the lightning. The great sword looked to have by far the most power behind it, as every time she swung it, the air vibrated, and anything that came into contact with it was instantly vaporized. Like that, she cycled through her weapons, leaving no openings, her movements nearly unpredictable.

  Zach on the other hand looked more passive. He never moved from the spot he was standing in, his hands doing all the work. Although he didn't seem to be able to control his opponents' suits, everything else looked to be within his grasp. He would materialize objects out of thin air either to defend, attack or counter while at the same time dissipating his surroundings into a strange mist that enriched his surroundings' shine.

  Together they looked unstoppable. The cloud surrounding Zach looked almost like a storm, and the objects he created seemed attached to Mag, giving her extra anchors to move to. To the naked eye, she looked to be vanishing from one spot to appear at another, but he could see her body shift into the sparks of light, following their route to their new destination where she would regain her form.

  Their opponents weren't simple, either. They would move through space as if they were ghosts, precisely evading fatal blows and countering with surprising efficiency. They would use their large wrist blades to cut through most objects or use them to deflect them, teleporting them to another location.

  Their fighting style reminded him of the one he experienced while fighting that empty husk they called Godspeed. Their suits were also part of the S series, but he couldn't identify the model, they looked light like Alpha models, yet their firepower could be comparable to Betas. They weren't Gammas, they lacked strength in their 'artificial domain'. So what were they?

  "This is your last warning, stand down, or we will be required to…" The man who spoke didn't get to finish his words, as a great sword pierced his chest. "Don't get distracted, this is a fight, not a walk in the park." She took her sword out, splitting the person in half. For a second, it was like time had stopped, then something in one of the soldiers seemed to snap as he screamed, rushing forward. "I can't… you… You killed him! You killed my friend! My…" Before he could reach them, his suit constricted around him. One instant he was there and the next he wasn't. Space had twisted around him, swallowing him whole.

  "The emotional suppressors are running out. Engage Protocol: Kamikaze." A woman stepped forward, taking the lead. Her demeanor changed, and the others' followed. The glow of their suits became not necessarily brighter but denser, almost heavy. A purple glow vibrated across their suits' surface, seemingly eating away at what was inside. Despite that, their movements became sharper and more coordinated. Mag and Zach lost their edge. Not that they weren't fast enough, they just had a hard time predicting their movements.

  Mag would move to her dagger, but by that time, her target would've already moved on. It was like a game of cat and mouse until Mag flinched, looking back at her partner, who was now more than a hundred meters away. Seeing something flash behind him, she screamed, but it was too late. When he turned his head, his opponent's blade was already grazing his neck, but oddly enough it stayed there, unmoving. And that's when Zach's eyes moved just in time to see golden chains snap his enemy's neck.

  As the body slumped to the ground, Slava's glowing white figure was revealed. Standing among the remaining two assailants standing next to Zach. Seeing this, Zach's knees faltered. "Disengage." To the leading woman's words, they spread out, their bodies hazily blending into their surroundings. However, before they could completely vanish, a threatening voice echoed through the now devastated square.

  "You dare?" Anger radiated through it like the prelude to a storm. Then with the snap of someone's fingers, they all vanished. Sasha materialized behind Mag, walking through the air, descending invisible stairs. She was holding the previously talking woman by the neck. "Tell me, why are you here, chasing kids?" She struggled to break free, her hands desperately grasping Sasha's arm. "Oh, sorry, I forgot." She released her grip. The woman's body stiffened up, paralyzed in the air. "Now answer me." Sasha snapped her fingers again, forcing the woman's suit to reveal her face. Her brown eyes were as sharp as knives, staring daggers at Sasha. "Isn't it convenient? Your suit's core bends to my will." Hearing this, Slava squinted his eyes.

  "I won't say anything to monsters like you." She struggled to speak. He'd already guessed her affiliation. Emotional suppressors, unidentifiable exosuits, Godspeed-like combat style. "Wise words from someone who hunts children," Serena said, a mocking smile forming on her face as she got closer. All of a sudden, the woman started to laugh.

  "How ironic, why wouldn't you look around?" When her eyes landed back on Sasha, she spat in her face. "Look around and tell me I'm wrong." She did have a point there, from their perspective, they were truly monsters. Excluding the missing six, everyone who was dead had died at their hands. Sasha stared at her coldly, the spit dissipating from her face, she swiped her hand through the air.

  "We could've done it the easy way, but you decided to do it the hard way." Six familiar figures appeared out of thin air behind her. "Your friends have been falling for a while now, they've already reached terminal velocity. I temporarily suspended them, but if I hear something I don't like coming from your mouth, I'll let them go one… by… one." As her words ended, one of the figures splattered onto the ground. "Oh, and don't worry, the suit didn't protect him. I made sure of that."

  Meeting her cold gaze, the woman tried to speak, but no sound came out. Her expression froze and blood dripped down from the corners of her mouth. Soon, a chain burst out from her forehead, letting a dense liquid flow from her skull. Sasha was stunned, she looked speechless. The woman's body slumped onto the ground while the others followed, crashing with a loud sound. Meeting her stunned gaze, Slava spoke.

  "They're Godspeed's Shadows, they were trained for this kind of interrogation. Any information we might've gotten from them would've either been erroneous or misleading." Every one of the heroes had a designated unit, which they led personally. He thought that Godspeed's unit had been disbanded after his death, but what he saw today proved otherwise. They were a unit specialized in reconnaissance. It was the reason why the S series was often called 'Scout'.

  Sasha was about to retort when she suddenly turned around. Someone had grabbed onto her hand. Mag was staring at her blankly when their gazes met, she averted hers and that's when it fell on the dead children. What came next happened in an instant. Hunching over, her suit automatically moved to cover her mouth as she fell to her knees, Sasha moving to support her.

  "I… I killed them…" Her eyes watered as she looked back at Sasha. "I killed my students." She cried out, letting Sasha embrace her. Seeing this, Slava moved, putting his hand on Zach's shoulder. Although he couldn't see his expression, he could feel him shaking. How cruel this world was. He looked up towards the domineering Basilica. He could see it smoking from here.