The announcement

"Attention all nexus citizens, please evacuate to you're nearest military shelter or remain in your homes. A large horde has been spotted. This is not a drill."

"I repeat, please evacu-"

The voice cutoff abruptly as a tall woman in her mid twenties threw a remote at the tv with no regard for the damage it would cause. Her face contorted into one of passive anger after hearing the monotonous voice say the emergency message so early in the morning.

"They couldn't wait to attack until after I've at least had my breakfast..and what has the fifth division been doing they should have been more than capable to prevent a horde large enough to trip the proximity alarms from getting close.." She said aloud while pondering how this could have happened.

A horde of this many abyss creatures shouldn't be able to get past the military troops that are out in the wasteland daily, yet somehow they are now close enough to threaten the safety of those behind the walls. Expecting a phone call what she received instead was a short emergency message on her communicater.

Ding!

"Tatiana, commander of the second division report to military command immediately. "

After reading the short message she sighed, "it's going to be a busy day...no matter I was running low on credits after the bar yesterday anyway! This is a good opportunity to get paid!"

Grabbing her war hammer with ease she began to rush out the door with vigor and urgency, her hammer was daunting as it looked too heavy and cumbersome to wield for most but for her it was as light as a feather thanks to the runes that had been inscribed on the handle.

All five division commanders had been rudely woken up to similar messages and announcements, some reacted with nonchalant attitudes others were either livid at the prospect of the second divisions failure or worried that they may suffer the same fate. The latter had a good reason to be worried....If this horde made it through a whole division over night then there must be at least a great abyss creatures present or worse.

The abyss creatures posses little intelligence compared to humans at least in the lesser stages which is why fighting them off is akin to fighting off an animal because they can't use battle arts or aura's like most acsended. Making the battles seem more like a training bout rather than an intense death match, however that all changes when a more terrifying abyss creature enters the field, they can be classified and identified as such.

Lesser Purity

Threat level: 2

Advice: one acsended is all that is needed.

Normal Purity

Threat level:4 1/2

Advice: Caution fight with a group of five or more if not ascended. If acsended, two or more will suffice.

Great Purity

Threat level: 7

Advice: If mundane do not approach. If acsended, a battle group of ten or more is highly recommended.

Greater purity

Threat level: 9

Advice: Evacuate all areas. At least two divisions of ascended needed for a battle group of sixty.

Supreme purity

Threat level: unknown

Advice: Run. Do not fight.

No one has seen the final evolution of the abyss creatures but the stories about them strike fear into all warriors. They had been the reason all of China had been wiped out in just a couple short years however after that they just vanished, no one knows where they went and despite the militaries effort to track them it was no use. So now everyone prays they are gone for good or at the very least sticking to themselves.

The apartment echoed with the two dings that indicated the emergency message had been received by both officers present, looking down ranika's heart sank. 'This has got to be a joke..' I thought while reading its contents, however gwenavere's shout all but confirmed it wasn't.

"Son of a bitch! Ranika with me now!" Rushing to the door clad in her naval blue uniform that was still stained with blotches of red all over she moved with a sense of urgency and panic. Standing up I threw on my black and gold uniform with reckless abandon, without caring if I appeared professional not bothering to straighten the cuffs on my sleeves or straighten out the gold threaded rope that was affixed to my shoulder.

"So...how bad do you think it really is gwen?" I asked tentatively while we were rushing to the command building.

"I don't know the full situation and I won't know until we discuss the situation with the other commanders...but if it's enough to warrant an emergency message than the fifth division must have fallen." She said solemnly. Her sullen expression was more than enough to let me know she was hurting at the thought of the lost lives beyond the walls. As the officer in charge of all divisions their lives rest heavily on her shoulders so losing a whole division must've shaken her.

We didn't say much more while running the the building the housed the strongest force in nexus, we had reached it with astonishing speed. Bursting through the front doors the sight of the dull lobby was familiar however the panicked mob situated inside wasn't. Citizens and soldiers were running around and screaming at each other hoping to get answers for the emergency broadcast from each other.

Not wanting to waste time trying to walk our way through the mob and risk getting surrounded by the frantic people gwen released her pressure to its utmost extent, the crackling air spread throughout the whole lobby exerting a small pressure on every person there. The clamoring and panicked shouts suddenly ceased and was instead replaced by an eerie silence that was full of fear and confusion.

After sufficiently stopping everyone else from moving we approached the elevator it's still dented doors straining to open, after they did we stepped inside and gwen pressed the button for the 25th floor while simultaneously realeasing her aura. Anxiously waiting for the elevator to reach our desired floor I snuck a glance at gwen.

The commander looked more focused than I had ever seen, her brown eyes and blonde hair that usually had a playful air about them had changed to make her seem more authoritative, while also appearing scared, but more than that there was a sense of disappointment. Her sharp facial features didn't show a hint of emotion on them though, all that could be seen was the face of someone marching to their own grave.

Upon arriving on the 25th floor and stepping out I followed the commander into a meeting hall that screamed of authority and pride. The large table that could easily seat twenty or more was carved from old oak not the synthetic wood you'd see elsewhere, and the chairs surrounding it were a direct match to the carved design while being covered in an opulent red colored leather. On the surface of the table was the militaries symbol carved in such detail I was confused as to how someone could even posses enough skill and dexterity to carve it into genuine wood.

Looking around the room the walls seemed barren but had a few notable items hanging from the walls, such as papers that had been framed commending previous officers of nexus. Next to those framed works of appreciation were detailed paintings of the brutal wars of old going as far back to a time when there were human on human conflicts, seeing those paintings always gave me a sense of awe. It always seemed easy to forget that their was once a time that resources were so abundant that wars had been fought for them. Bringing my wandering gaze to the table I saw three intimidating people that seemed to exude authority, each with their own striking features and fearsome aura's.

The first one I saw was a familiar face that gave me a sense of relief, sitting there with disregard of her large war hammer resting heavily on the chair behind her, was tatiana. The tall fearsome looking woman was just staring down at her communicater not exactly paying much attention to the people seated around her, that is until we walked in.

"Hey princess you made it! I was kinda worried that the commander may have killed you for real yesterday!" She said while looking at me with a playful smile her blue eyes not even showing anything that could be considered worry or panic.

"She almost did to be honest.." I replied while returning her smile.

"So the infamous scout leader has been forced to finally attend one of these meetings, I never thought I'd see the day." Said a man with a smug expression on his charming face.

"Hello third division commander gram, I see you've been well?" I said, while gauging the man with a look of disdain.

It's not that I hated the third division commander, he just always rubbed me the wrong way all because of his appearance that gave off the impression of a person who wasnt to be trusted, which wasnt a good look for someone i was supposed to trust with my life in battle. With his brown hair that fell just past his eyes in thin waves as if attempting to shroud them from view and a lanky body structure which was a vivid difference from his charming face, it was all just to off putting.

"I don't think we are here to exchange pleasantries you two, right commander gwen?" Said a young man with a light tone, he was seated towards the rear of the long table, his gaze focused on gwen but his hand was rubbing the other as if to sooth a recent injury.

"You are correct erith." Gwen replied with a stern tone, while walking forward to take a seat on the single chair placed at the front end of the table. Following her example I walked over and took the seat to her immediate right, it was an odd scene. All the current commanders of the military were in the same room yet the only three that seemed friendly with each other where all seated towards the front, giving off an impression that we weren't a cohesive force but more of a ragtag group of mercenaries.

Letting my gaze wander it seemed to fall on erith, the first division commander seemed to be unchanged from the last time I saw him the only outward difference was the bandage on his hand that he kept rubbing, seemingly hoping to soothe whatever pain was there. He was a man of considerable status even before joining the military of nexus he was a member of the upper echelon and got to live a very favorable life that would make others green with envy, while also being the son of a prominent politician he truly never wanted for anything.

'So why did you even join erith..it doesn't make sense.' I pondered, unable to comprehend a rational reason as to why a person of such high status would risk their life against the hordes rather than continuing their life of luxury and ease. Shaking my head as if to remove the unnecessary thoughts a changed the direction of my gaze to gwen when I noticed her begin to speak.

"Lola, begin playing the recorded footage from the front of the wall on the western side where the fifth division was stationed." Gwen stated, then appearing from nowhere a woman walked forward, her glasses reflecting the lights from above began to fiddle with a tablet held in her hands.

Immediately after a holographic screen sprang to life at the center of the table, clearly depicting the darkness that was outside the wall. After a few brief moments a flash of light that looked similar to a bonfire bloomed brightly in the distance followed by strands of electricity that seemed very similar to gwen's aura, each envolping the strange creatures that seemed to be born from the endless night. Their skin and fur absorbed whatever light passed by them almost like they were darkness itself refusing to be touched by the light that gave countless other beings hope, without a warning a sound was produced from the holographic screen.

Boom!

A resounding boom followed by a sharp crack flowed through my ears while watching the two devastating attacks from the acsended collide with the fearsome creatures. Holding my hands together with anxious anticipation for what would come next I let out an audible gasp. There on a battlefield that was devoid of any light I saw something that would make anyone in the military tremble, moving towards the acsended was a creature that looked taller than a two story home its features barely discernable from the distance other than its massive size.

Immediately after appearing the flashes of light ceased and what came next made me shake with anticipation and fear, the creature turned and looked toward the wall, it's scarlet red eyes shining through the veil of black with an intelligence that could be seen even through the camera. Then the footage ended...

"It's a great abyss creature..." I muttered out, before looking at commander gwen with fear evident on my scarred face.