"You may leave." The Chancellor said as he leaned back on the cozy chair. The Investigators simply nodded and then disappeared without a word.
The Chancellor placed his head on his palm under his chin, his thoughts mysterious. After a long pause, he pressed a concealed button under the table. The door opened slightly, allowing the butler to stride in with the grace of a seasoned diplomat.
"You called, sir." The butler made a deep bow, his body twisted in a 90 degrees fashion.
"Schedule an appointment with Locke Anderson for tomorrow." The Chancellor sighed while using his hands to massage his temples.
"Yes Lord. If I may, is something bothering you, my Lord?"
"Anderson is dead." The butler didn't react to the news, his thoughts, mysterious. "It's been a long time since I visited him and I hate to be the bearer of bad news. " He replied with a wary smile.
"My condolences to Mr Anderson." The butler gave another light bow.
"That's all."
The butler retreated through the door, closing it on his way out. The Chancellor laid back, his chin placed on his palm once more. He picked up his phone and dialed a number.
........
In a medical room, Dom laid on the only sterile bed in this small room, with a nasogastric tube attached to his face. The heart monitor placed beside him would beep at a steady pace, but once in a while, it would go haywire before returning back to normal.
The door gently opened and a man walked in. He wore a suit, without a tie and the neck was unbuttoned. His raven black hair glistening from the light above and his lean muscles pressed tightly against the suit. His light brown skin contrasted with the suit, which bore the bold name 'Mr. Aziel' on the chest pocket.
He stood over Dom's unconscious body, his gaze piercing and his thoughts, unreadable.
......
In a city reduced to rubble and ruin, a colossal Black Gate loomed in its heart—an abyss of uncertainty, swallowing all who dared approach. Its sides and back were guarded by a imposing translucent force field, with various Awakened stationed at the only exit/entrance.
The smell of iron, blood, sweat filled that area, accompanied with the smell of death and rotten flesh. This battle had been going on for close to a week without a moment of rest, so there wasn't even time to move the dead bodies away. The soldiers stepped on their brothers dead bodies as the fought the never ending horde of beasts.
"This is the last horde!" An Awakened, who seemed to be the Captain, shouted as he jammed a spear, made of flame, Into a humanoid fish beast.
With a war cry, the soldiers pushed forward without fear and with readiness to give up their lives for the sake of humanity.
Whether due to the tough ongoing battle or due to the desperation that had spread throughout the whole battalion, no one seemed to notice the elephant in the room.
A huge white elephant that easily covered 39 ft, calming walked through the city. As if its feet didn't touch the ground, no sounds were made as it easily maneuvered through the demolished building, not even it's shadow could be seen.
The huge elephant easily passed through the force field and entered the Black Gate, leaving the bloody battle behind.
The war raged on.
....
In a room styled with different shades of pink, three teenagers were relaxing in the small but cozy room.
"These classes are getting boring. When are the exciting events gonna start?" Nat sighed dramatically, as she laid on the bed, her hair covering most of the bed.
"It has just been lectures after lectures. Awakened don't need that. We need to slay some beasts!"
Atlas sighed and dropped the book in his hands. He glanced over at the restless teenage girl, unimpressed
"Keep thinking like that and you might as well just die on your first battle."
"Why don't we spar and see who dies first?" She smirked, taunting the teenage boy. "By the way, where are my two punching bags?"
"My calls aren't going through and apparently, no one has seen them. This is getting worrisome." Aurelia replied as she tapped her phone, worry reflecting in her eyes.
"Ahh, don't worry about them. There are very few freshmen that could actually cause them both any harm." She smiled as she praised her 'punching bags'.
"I hope so." She replied and went back to swiping through her phone.
....
Beyond the chaos of the world, in a grand estate lined with rare flora, an opulent white mansion stood. Its entrance was framed by two elegantly curved staircases.
In one of the room, built like a dojo, a man was seated quietly, in a lotus position. His hair was black, with little patches of white and his face was filled with various scars, with a significant scar covering his entire neck.
His eyes were closed. He seemed to be meditating as his chest rose and fell, along with his breathing rhythm. There was a soft knock that aroused him from his meditation.
"Come in" He said as he kept the flow of his meditation.
A woman dressed in a suit walked in with a hologram in her hands. Her hair was tied, adding to her professionalism.
"Sir, Anderson's heart monitor has stopped transmitting. He might have taken it off."
Without disrupting his flow, he replied
"That brat! How many times must I have to warn him!" The man exclamed. His eyes were wide open and he sounded angry, yet he didn't break his meditation.
"We'll be leaving tomorrow and this time, I'll forcefully attach it to his brain!"
This was definitely not the first time Anderson had decided to go off grid. He would do it occasionally, to have a moment away from his responsibilities and the father just couldn't find it in his heart to be heartless, but with him attending West Kendall University, he had to be heartless for his son's good.
West Kendall University was a dangerous place, where the weak were trampled on by the strong. By no means was his own son weak, but he possibly couldn't be the strongest person in the university.
If not for the the school's policy, he would have also installed an actual tracker, rather than a tracker that could only display it's last location when the heart transmitter stopped working.
The woman bowed down and left room, leaving the old man alone. He traced his hand along his hair.
'Please be safe.' He sighed, before heading into the shower.