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The Path of Nothingness

The higher world has its denizens comprised of the four elements: Life, Death, Space, and Time. The Four Nations who exemplified these Elements lived opposite one another, all dedicated to their particular element. War-torn for years, an outside threat, the Beasts, caused them to come together, but it was too late. Internal strife and differences caused too many differences and they couldn't mount a proper defense. The nonsensical monstrosities overran several of the settlements of those living in the higher world, leaving nothing but death and destruction in their wake, forcing those remaining to dig into the last remaining city and defend it as best they can. Years later, a new group of young soldiers seeks to defend their home, and one of them, a young man named Wesley, carries a power never before seen. The Soldiers don't know what to make of him, but his unique abilities give him an edge over the Beasts in a way that they've not seen before. With his and his allies' power growing from the unnatural effects his unique gifts carry, can he be the one to pave the way for humanity to return?

BrainFrog · Fantasy
Not enough ratings
63 Chs

Even the Best-Laid Plans

The plan itself was rather simple and innocuous. It was their usual setup, but it had in a few caveats for John if the man was going to come and join them. The main reason why Wes wanted to have everyone aware of what they needed to do was so that they could all help out together on helping to ensure that John knew what to do.

Jay and Mr. Woodhead would take the lead, with Evie and Theodore in the middle of their group, allowing Sasha and Wes to bring up the rear. THat would allow them to be able to see everyone in case something were to happen. If John were with them, he'd stick up front with Jay, and Mr. Woodhead would cover one of their sides, depending on which needed it. The plan itself was simple, but that made the best plans.

"And again, I'm only going to say this about a hundred more times. We're only there to get information. If we come across a Beast or anyone from the Government, we back off. We let them do their job. We're just there to try and do something first in the event that they're dragging their feet for whatever reason," Wes spoke, looking at the others. "Are we all good on that?"

There was a chorus of assenting words from the other four. That Beast they'd fought against earlier this morning had dealt not only with two full teams, but also a trained Soldier and they'd still nearly gotten their heads smashed in. If it hadn't been for Vice showing up when she did, they probably wouldn't be here now.

She was a Tier Three- it was like night and day in comparison, but if what Dr. Tenor had said was true, that meant that it was enitrely possible for Wesley to get that amount of power over time just by using his Devour Energy to take others' Framework. If Teno'rs hypothesis was correct, that meant he could eventually get himself up to a Tier Three level as well. Hell, it could get him all the way to Tier Four if he pushed hard enough.

It seemed like Theodore was reading his mind then, as the blonde-haired young man coughed once, pushing his glasses up. "That will go... double for you. Devour Energy... or not... do not try anything stupid." The straight-forward nature of his words caught Wes a little off-guard and he couldn't help but to smirk slightly in response. "You are... the most prone... to do this."

"He's right, y'know," Jay spoke up, earning a half-glare from his brother. "Look, I'm just saying, dude. Do you not remember what we were talking about at lunch? You'e the guy that runs off ahead without knowing what he's getting into. That's just kinda who you are, bro. It's not a problem unless you let it be one. On this little outing of ours? It's a problem," Jay finished, and Wes exhaled slowly with a long, low sigh.

"Yeah, yeah. I hear you both. I know. I'll make sure that I don't just go run off when something weird pops up. Besides, I'll be in the back with Sasha. If I try anything she's liable to just beat my ass anyway," he spoke, grinning at the brown haired girl.

She smirked in response, leaning forward. "Damn right. Don't you forget it, either." Her gaze moved from Wes down to the fire, and then back up over to where Andrew's camp was. "We got incoming. Looks like it's John," she murmured quietly, an annoyed grunt following the woman's words.

Evie hopped up, setting a hand over her eyes as if she were looking far out at sea. "Yep! That's him!" she called, before bouncing in place. "Oh man. This is gonna be so much fun!" Per usual, Evie was in good spirits, which was nice, as it helped the rest of them to feel a little better about this whole thing as she burned off the excess of what seemed to be unlimited reserves of energy as she lifted a hand, waving wildly at the approaching John.

"Looks like you made it," Wes spoke as he too, stood up and turned to face the Tier Two as he approached. John nodded at him, before glancing at the others and giving a similar nod of greeting to them as well. "You came right at the nick of time. We were about to head out without you," he spoke, not really letting on whether or not he was kidding.

"You said an hour after the sun set. I gave you one hour. If I knew you were ready to leave sooner, I wouldn't have taken as long," he spoke, the man dressed in the same attire as the rest of them- the snugly fitting black fabric covering their arms and legs. "This stuff is going to make it hard for us to keep track of one another while we're out there."

"That's why we're going to move as a unit. It's too dark right now to just let everyone do their own thing if we don't have a way to stay in contact. So for this, we'll stick in tight quarters. You'll be up front with Jay. If you've got any questions about what we're doing, then let me know," Wes spoke, watching the other.

At that, John shook his head. Even if he did have questions, it didn't seem like he was going to voice them at all. "I got it. We're just going for recon, right? We're not planning to be starting any fights with the Beasts, right?" John asked.

"You got it, dude. But c'mon, before it gets too much later. Besides, we got basic in the morning- we can't be out too late or we're going to be totally passing out during it," Jay spoke, and the others nodded as well, beginning to get up and get their things together before finally heading out of their encampment.

They were heading to where they'd gone last time- to the ruins of the city that was nearest to the Wall. That was where they'd run into the Beast and if there was an issue with the Wall, that's where they'd find it. "We just need to act nonchalant. If any of the soldiers in charge see us, then we'll need to-" Wes had begun speaking to the others, trying to give them some information on what to do, when a sudden clearing of the throat caught their attention.

"Well, well, well. What brings the five- no pardon me, six of you out on such a charming evening?" The voice belonged to Gustave, the older fellow watching them with a smile upon his face, but there was a very real aura of command coming from him. "Not sneaking out, I hope?"