The Council, The Union

"Quick! Get in!" Dmitri frantically waved at Lev and Hellspawn after driving straight through the tail part of the Starlight Streamer. He immediately pushed 'close' on the platform and it slowly went up, causing Lev and Hellspawn unneeded urgency. They were already exhausted since the armor they donned weighed as much as they did. Then again, it's not like Dmitri could just casually wait for them. The Ashen Assembly are right on their tail after all. And if Dmitri were to close the platform a little too late, then it would be a walk in the park for the Ashen Assembly to catch up to them, no sweat.

The greater the risk, the better the reward.

Lev and Hellspawn grunted as they took a mad leap and flopped on the edge of the platform just before it closed. At that instant, all of them were thrown to the farthest side of Starlight Streamer as it accelerated. It was an automatic response that Dmitri inputted before he started closing the platform.

"Is everyone all right?" Dmitri asked, extending his hand for Lev and Hellspawn. Both of them obliged and took it, standing up as they go.

"Yeah, all good. We almost didn't make it in time though." Lev was still out of breath, but the most thrilling part of the escape was over. There was nothing to mull about and needlessly blaming Dmitri wouldn't do any good.

"It was all a calculated risk. Good job, Dmitri." Hellspawn said, removing his armor, revealing a red-haired man who was at least the same age as Lev. Some parts of his body burst in flames, but they were harmless, more of an accessory to the Pyro-sync Class humans. Of course, they could heat up if they wanted to. Hellspawn has full control over his Class though, so there was no need to worry for spontaneous combustion and such.

"Yeah, we're not yet in the clear. Right now we have to get out of here, go through a wormhole and jump on another wormhole before the Ashen Assembly catches up to us. If we can't do that, then we're screwed." Dmitri continued.

"Why are you guys running from the Ashen Assembly? And also, you look familiar... wait... " Helena let out a gasp before she took a couple of steps backwards. Her mind didn't work as fast as she intended to but she could tell that Hellspawn was familiar. When she realized who he was, her gaze then shifted to Lev and Titania. Of course, how could she not recognize them? They were the ones who caused a commotion back at Main Earth. She just watched the news this morning.

"Wait... I thought you were... I thought all of you were... " She muttered, hyperventilating.

"Relax, if we wanted to kill you, then we'd have done it before you could even join us. Besides, do we look like criminals to you?" Lev tried to reason out with her and at the same time help her regain her composure. He wasn't good at it.

"So... the number one criminal, and the two immigrants... how about you Dmitri, what's your crime?" She asked. "Are you a murderer? Or maybe a con artist?"

"He had always been a con artist. That much is a given." Hellspawn teased, letting out a laugh. "I'm kidding."

"Aside from being the owner of the Ionari Company, I don't think I've committed any crimes." Dmitri pointed out. He didn't really have the luxury to digest what Helena was saying since he was too focused in driving the Starlight Streamer.

"And we just entered another wormhole." Dmitri announced, rejoining everyone. "First of all, let me explain once again what our group really are."

Bloop!

Once again, the surroundings were filled with dreadful silence as the Starlight Streamer entered a wormhole. In the wormhole, sound and light didn't exist so white noise, and even the faintest of light wouldn't be seen outside. They will know if they already got out of the wormhole since the surroundings will be illuminated by a myriad of stars and planets and galaxies once again. For now, there was nothing they could do but wait.

Helena fidgeted from where she stood as she awaited Dmitri's explanation. She had always been confident in meeting people and she was actually a good judge of character. When she first met the group, she could tell that they were nothing short of good people. And yet, when she found out their real identity... well, it was actually the exact opposite. In her mind, she wondered why she wanted to join them in the first place. Was it because of impulse? Their stories were quite believable after all.

"We haven't reached this part of the conversation yet since you joined us... but... I'm guessing you've heard of the unknown universe, right?"

"You mean, the unknown gaseous space outside the known universe? Yes, everybody's heard that since kindergarten." Helena continued.

"The unknown universe... it's a mysterious place. But, it's not as mysterious." Dmitri continued. Lev and Titania couldn't understand a word he said so they intently listened while Hellspawn just nodded along since he already knew all about it.

"If you've read the history books, then you would know that there were actually two factions before the Council took ahold of the Main Earth and all of the known universe. These two groups are the Union and the Council. While the Union planned to reform the government that overlooked the universe, the Union wanted to keep it as it is. Of course, they both have different agendas, that much is self-explanatory. While the Council wanted only one government, the Union wanted the rulership to remain as it was per tradition. Why? Because throughout the years, that kind of government has worked. And although it resulted in quite a few wars and no one is actually in control, it preserved humanity, it made civilizations more diverse, and it helped with the balance of the universe."

"But the Council got rid of the Union for good... or so they thought." Hellspawn then chimed in on the conversation. "Now, here's the bomb drop, Lev. Your grandparents? They were the head of the Union."