I N V A S I O N

Hunters. Hunters are reality's last defense against the calamities known as Apparitions- beings born of pure chaos that ravage and destroy all. Hunters wield supernatural abilities known as Affinities, powers born from the wielder's soul. These abilities only manifest in a select few. The goal of Ichikanji Academy is to train the youth of the next generation to become the new era of Hunters. Floating in mid-space, Ichikanji is home to various students hoping and dreaming to be the best Hunter…

"...and for the spatial rift to form, certain conditions must be met…" Professor Acrux droned on, pacing below the projector. Slews of children sat bored at their desks, lazily taking notes. However, sitting in the far back, one boy stood against the norm. Wearing the regular Ichikanji uniform with the addition of a black mask, Alphax sat, leaning back in his chair, legs on his desk. His expression was that of sheer disappointment. It was all so below him- it was almost demeaning to seat him in any position but Grand Hunter. But this also provided an advantage. This way, he had more experience with the staff and workers of Ichikanji, letting him gain a stable foothold and eventually become the puppet master of the entirety of the Hunters. 

His grand plan was that of a defined overlord. He would, through tedious complications, make everyone his puppets, bending to his very will. He would become the Grand Hunter, holding dominion over all of reality-

"Yes? Ms. Wasureta?" Alphax stood at attention as Akane's name was called. Akane Wasureta was one of the few students in Ichikanji that Alphax was interested in. She was a height of six feet, and with white hair that ran down to her abdomen, she was a remarkable beauty. She grew up in the Wasureta dynasty, a renowned line of Hunters who made their mark back during the Great Age.

Lowering her hand, Akane began, "Professor Acrux- with all due respect- your explanation was completely incorrect." Alphax snickered under his breath, running his hand through his jet-black hair. It could be interesting. Akane continued, "Rifts are tears in space-time that happen at complete random with no identifiable patterns- and you explained apparitions wrong as well. They do not form as a reaction to anything. They form in response to the convergence of dark matter and antimatter, which theoretically, would be impossible if not for--"

"That's enough." Akane was abruptly cut short by Acruxs' annoyed interruption. He was angered by a child, an eighteen-year-old, proving him wrong. Despite his aggravation, he continued as if nothing happened. Alphax stifled a laugh. It was pitiful. As soon as the corrupt gained power- no matter how angelic they were in their minds- they would instantly fall into anarchy. This display was a perfect reflection of that. Acrux didn't even consider research because, in his mind, he could not be wrong.

The sound of scraping desks and adolescent chatter filled the air as the class dismissed, children filtering out the front door in a scrambled stream. After everyone else had meandered out, Alphax finally rose, arching his back, stretching. Scooping up what little folders he had prepared, he began walking out of the classroom.

"Hey," Alphax stopped. In front of him, Akane stood- almost shyly. Alphax frowned under his mask. He didn't have time for this. "Yeah?" He responded impatiently. Akane blushed, swaying side to side, obviously flustered. "I-uh…well…" Alphax tapped his foot in annoyance. "Go on." She jumped, surprised at his response. Lips quivering, she took a deep breath. "IwaswonderingifyouwantedtogototheIchikanjiballwithme-"

"Speak coherently, please."

Another deep breath. "Okay," Akane said, "I was wondering if you wanted to go to the Ichikanji ball with me…"

Alphax's eyes narrowed. It was all a strange situation. Since Alphax could see everything that had and will happen in all realities, he had at least seen this COULD happen, but it was just puzzling that it did. He regained his facade. "And why would that be?" Akane seemed as if she was on the brink of fainting. This situation was highly uncomfortable for her, but Alphax pushed on. Speaking through bated breaths, Akane said, "Well, because- I, uh…Well- when you- I…" Alphax sighed. "I'll give it to you this way: prove yourself powerful and worthy enough to be at my side, and I'll gladly take your hand." Akane squealed, hopping up and down like a puppy, overjoyed. Done with her nonsense, Alphax left the room.

Filing into the hallway, Alphax headed to his next class, keeping his head low and acting casual. It was noisy- the kids smelled of B.O. and unwiped defecate. As he came to a fork in the hall, Alphax stopped. He smiled. He had been waiting for this moment. Something he had been waiting for was about to happen-

A resounding explosion occurred in the west hall wing. Immediately, the hall entered a state of panic. That was quick, Alphax thought, snickering. Of course, he had known this would happen, but he sometimes enjoyed the thrill. This would forever change the course of reality. An invasion was imminent.

Over the intercom, principal Getsuga's voice rang out. "All hunters within sectors 1-5, we need your assistance- we have company!!" Almost on cue, the moment after he said this, THEY appeared. 

Crawling out of the smoke of the explosion, insectoid warriors of steel emerged. They sounded similar to crickets, just robotic. They didn't seem intelligent, their marble-like eyes actually looked rather dim- but to the average student, these were staggeringly terrifying. 

It seemed to take the Apparitions a moment to gauge exactly where they were, but as they did, siren-like cries escaped their maws, an ear-piercing noise. The students, once paralyzed with fear, finally steeled themselves, charging forth, the Apparitions doing the same. 

Alphax simply stayed back, leaning against a wall, watching the fight go down. This was sector three- and only a fraction of it- so there were probably droves more to take care of-

An insectoid screech yelled out from behind Alphax. Turning immediately, he saw an Apparition, fangs and claws bared in the midst of a midair pounce. He smiled. This was one unlucky bug-

A wave of heat washed over Alphax, followed by the tortured screams of the Apparition as it writhed on the ground. Standing above the insect, skirt billowing in the heat of her flames, was Akane. Damnit! Alphax thought. I was gonna have a cool moment! Sheathing her flaming katana, Akane rushed up to Alphax, tears in her eyes, She flopped forward, attempting to embrace him, but Alphax swiftly dodged the advance, Akane falling to the ground. She looked up to him, sobbing.

"I-I thoughtyouweregonnadieandiwassosadsoitridetohelpandnowyou'reangryyyyyyyyyy!!!" She said at speeds Alphax couldn't hope to understand. He sighed, and began walking down the hall toward sector four. "Come." He said. "This is the perfect opportunity for you to prove you're worthy of my acknowledgement." Akane's face lit up, and she nodded, before getting up and hurrying toward Alphax.

The road ahead was flooded with Apparitions, an unending swarm. Aplahx wasn't particularly worried- he knew these things couldn't kill him- he was worried that Akane would end up killing herself. She had thrown herself at every single Apparition she laid eyes on, and proceeded to viciously eviscerate it. He almost felt bad for them. 

Akane's Affinity: Undying Ember, allowed her to produce limitless amounts of flame that she could freely manipulate. The terrifying aspect of this ability was not only the fact that there was no limit to their heat- but the fact that they could incinerate abstract concepts. As she was now, she could burn away time (Which is pretty straightforward, allowing her attacks to travel at incomprehensible speeds) as well as probability, making it impossible for her to miss. Though she rarely used those last two, she was still one of the top five students at Ichikanji.

Stepping cautiously over the slews of burning Apparitions, Alphax continued to advance, Akane close behind. The gate leading to Sector 4 was close ahead, and soon, its full looming form towered far above their heads. Alphax looked over to Akane, who stared forth valiantly. In a way, he admired her boldness, but it was simply twisted stupidity. Alphax sighed. "You got the identification card?" Since Akane was a member of one of the Noble Families, she had access to all chambers within Ichikanji through a device called an identification card. 

Akane rummaged in her pocket, before pulling out a golden key card. Swiftly, she swiped it through the metal identification module to the side of the door. There was a high-pitched beeping noise, followed by a large bellow as the doors parted. 

There was a pause. Smoke billowed out of the pitch-black hallway behind the gate. It was pure darkness. Alphax could feel Akane shivering in fear, clutching his arm. He REALLY wanted her to leave. In the obscured hall, there was a screech. Metallic. Alphax stepped back. The noise intensified, repeating- until a claw reached out from the void, scraping against the metal of the hall. A second claw- then a head. A head that could only be described as an amalgamation. Two leathery golden wings exploded outward from its back, banishing the darkness around it with its grandeur. It snarled in agitation. 

Akane swallowed. Alphax didn't really understand why, though. He KNEW Akane was leagues above this creature, but yet its size and appearance still staggered her. Alphax stepped back calmly. "This is your final test: prove yourself." He said. "Defeat it." Nodding with deep conviction, Akane shot forward, unsheathing her sword, engulfed in blue flame. The Beast roared, swinging its golden claw at its attacker. Weaving out of the way, Akane slid on the ground, swinging her katana- and cleaving off the Beast's left front leg in a display of exploding blue embers.

Black oil gushed from the wound as the Beast screeched in terror. Akane didn't let up. Vaulting into the air, Akane spun counterclockwise, before bringing her blade down in a resounding pierce, spearing through its spine. The beast bucked and roared, trying to knock her off- but she stood her ground, driving the blade deeper.until the beast's eyes rolled into the back of his head, and its movement completely stopped. 

It didn't fall to the ground like an organic animal would, it simply stopped, like a machine being turned off. Akane hopped off of the beast's back nonchalantly. She seemed to have lost her previous feat of the beast- which was reasonable, as she had utterly destroyed it…for now.

Alphax knew what was going to happen. Not even just intuition- he had known what would happen from his birth. He knew all that would happen in all realities, start to finish. So he knew that the beast would sputter back to life. And he knew that it would cut through Akane, defeating her.

Blood splattered across the ground, staining the shining white marble floors. Akane coughed up blood, enraged as she tride feeble to crawl back toward the Beast. Alphax sighed, annoyed. He gave Akane a dismissive wave as he began to walk toward the snarling Beast. "Just stay there." She made an attempt to protest, but slipped into unconsciousness. Alphax cracked his knuckles, locking eyes with the monster. "Guess I should take care of you, huh?" 

The beast roared in response.

Alphax laughed, extending his arm, and gesturing for the beast to approach. Goaded, the beast charged forward, swiping its claw-

And instantly, its claw burst into a mess of oil and metal, leaving a stump where it had been.

The beast stopped, its eyes going blank white- before it turned tail, scampering away. Alphax chuckled. "Passive Zones." He said. "One of the many abilities granted to me through my Affinity. The way it works," He said, now walking calmly toward the terrified Apparition, "is that I constantly have a 'Zone' around me- about a sphere of half a foot. If anything that I perceive as a threat - or just don't perceive as an ally- passes through it, tendrils of invisible energy mercilessly tear through it until-" He kicked what little remained of the beast's claw. "Well, you know." He smiled. "One thing I forgot to tell you, however, is that the zone…" He stopped in place. "Can be expanded." 

In an explosion of sparks, metal and oil, the beast was torn atom from atom into a mere puddle.

Alphax smiled, the beast's remains falling in a metallic downpour. His smile soon turned into a laugh- then a cackle. Louder and louder as he outstretched his arms. "This!!" He yelled. "IS TRUE POWER!!!"

"Did I get it?!" Akane asked, exasperated as she suddenly regained consciousness, jumping to her feet. Her excited expression quickly dropped, however, as she saw Alphax sitting on top of the remains of the beast, sipping a cup of tea. "Not quite." He responded, throwing the cup aside and hopping down. Akane cursed under her breath, clearing the hair out of her eyes. 

Alphax pointed toward the now opened gate from which the beast had emerged. "We aren't done just yet." He said, crossing the threshold to Sector 4. "Come now, Akane." Akane furrowed her brow in determination, and followed Alphax into the dead-black hallway.