Evon sat quietly in the chamber where the air felt unnaturally still. The blue orb Pulsing softly in his palm was no ordinary light—it was Naia, sealed, yet alive within the shimmering sphere. He could feel her presence—cool, calm, endless like a deep river flowing within the orb's core—but she remained locked in this form, unable to manifest fully until all five seals were gathered.
With careful hands, he placed the orb into his spiritual storage realm, a place existing beyond the physical, the refuge of his soul. This realm was spacious, empty except for his belongings—his weapons laid neatly, food supplies stacked, and relics from his many journeys resting in quiet order. It was a sanctuary, a base where his soul roamed freely but his physical body could not enter.
As Evon's soul form emerged into this spiritual space, he communicated with Naia not through words spoken out loud but by thoughts intertwined directly. His body, left behind in the mortal realm, lay motionless and vulnerable. The connection was fragile; if anything outside threatened his physical form, he would be helpless.
"Naia," he sent through their shared consciousness, "you are safe here. For now, until I find the others."
A gentle warmth radiated back. *"Evon... I feel the weight of this seal, but here with you, it lessens. Do not leave me alone too long."*
"I won't," he assured her. "The others will come soon. And together, we will break these chains."
Her voice was like a whisper of water across smooth stones, soothing yet filled with an aching longing.
The spiritual realm allowed for little beyond this quiet conversation. Time seemed stretched, but in the mortal world, hours passed steadily. Evon returned his soul to his body each time the burden of vulnerability pressed too heavily.
The following morning, as Evon prepared to emerge from the spiritual realm back into his physical body, a sudden news alert caught his attention.
The Tokyo Tower was under attack.
Black forces, corrupted by the earth's impurity and driven by dark purpose, had moved swiftly and without warning.
Massive explosions rocked the iconic structure, flames licking the steel frame, reducing it to a twisted ruin. Emergency cadres scrambled, but the destruction was swift and calculated.
Evon's heart tightened.
Outside, the world was changing fast, and the shadows he hoped to hold at bay had already begun their dance of devastation.
He closed his eyes for a moment.
*"Naia, this is only the beginning."*
She responded softly, *"Then we must be ready, Evon. Together, we will not falter."*
Evon opened his eyes.
The fight for salvation had truly begun.
---
The emergency broadcast echoed through every screen, every device, every communication channel across the globe. The Tokyo Tower—a symbol of Japan's resilience and technological prowess—lay in smoldering ruins. Black smoke billowed into the morning sky, visible from miles away.
Evon watched the live feed from his hotel room in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. The images were stark. What had once been a graceful spire reaching toward the heavens was now twisted metal and scattered debris. Emergency responders moved like ants across the destruction, but their efforts seemed insignificant against the scale of devastation.
The news anchor's voice was steady but strained. "The attack occurred at approximately 6:47 AM local time. Witnesses reported figures in black uniforms surrounding the tower before the explosions began. No group has claimed responsibility, but authorities are investigating connections to the recently emerged Black Force organization."
Evon's jaw tightened. Through his spiritual connection, he felt Naia's presence stir within the blue orb resting in his soul realm.
"Naia," he thought to her, "they're moving faster than expected."
Her voice came back like a gentle current. "I can sense the corruption from here. It's not just destruction they seek. There's something deeper."
"What do you mean?"
"The tower... it was built on an old convergence point. A place where dimensional energy naturally gathers. They're not just causing chaos. They're preparing the ground for something."
Evon stood and moved to the window. The Mongolian landscape stretched endlessly before him, but his mind was elsewhere. He could feel the weight of responsibility pressing down like a physical force.
His communicator buzzed. Commander Jaun's voice came through clearly.
"Evon, you need to see this. We've received intelligence about the Black Force. It's worse than we thought."
Within minutes, Evon was in a secure video conference with the seven National Hunters and key officials from the International Hunter Bureau. Fang Jihai spoke first, his expression grave.
"The attack on Tokyo Tower was surgical. Too precise for random terrorism. Our analysis suggests they have inside knowledge of dimensional convergence points across the globe."
Argus Val'Rane leaned forward from his position in Vienna. "We've identified similar energy signatures at twelve other major landmarks worldwide. The Eiffel Tower, Big Ben, the CN Tower in Toronto. All of them are potential targets."
"They're mapping the planet's energy grid," Evon said quietly.
Imari Laku nodded from her position in Lagos. "The shamanic traditions speak of such things. Ancient pathways that connect all realms. If someone could corrupt or control these points..."
"They could tear reality apart," Lucia Denholtz finished from São Paulo.
The weight of silence fell over the conference. Rosa Leclair from New York broke it first.
"What's our response? We can't guard every landmark simultaneously."
"We don't need to," Evon said. "They're not randomly attacking. There's a pattern. Naia sensed something about convergence points. If we can predict their next target..."
Kael Sova's voice was quiet but clear from the Antarctic station. "I can trace dimensional disturbances through psychic resonance. Give me twelve hours, and I can map their likely targets."
"Do it," Fang Jihai ordered. "Evon, we need you back in Beijing immediately. Your connection to the sealed powers might be the key to understanding what they're really after."
As the conference ended, Evon felt Naia's presence grow stronger in his mind.
"There's something I haven't told you," she said softly.
Evon closed his eyes and let his soul drift into the spiritual realm. His physical body remained seated in the hotel chair, vulnerable but necessary for this deeper communication.
In the vast emptiness of his soul world, Naia's orb glowed brighter than usual. Her voice was clearer here, more present.
"The seals that bind us," she began, "they weren't just protective measures. They were also... locks. Preventing something else from awakening."
"What do you mean?"
"When we were sealed here on Earth, our powers were separated not just from us, but from something that feeds on divine energy. The middle realm master you spoke of... he's not the only threat."
Evon felt a chill that had nothing to do with temperature. "What else is out there?"
"The Black Force isn't just corrupted humans. Some of them carry fragments of that feeding entity. When they destroy convergence points, they're not just causing chaos. They're creating... wounds. Places where that entity can reach through."
The implications hit Evon like a physical blow. "So every attack makes it stronger."
"Yes. And if they succeed in corrupting enough points before we can unseal all five of us..."
She didn't need to finish. Evon understood. The race wasn't just about finding his beloved companions. It was about preventing something far worse from breaking through into their reality.
A sudden vibration from his communicator pulled his attention back. Emergency alert. Another attack was underway.
This time, it was the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.
Evon's soul snapped back to his physical body with jarring intensity. He was on his feet immediately, gathering his gear. The Blade of Fate seemed to pulse with urgency at his side.
"Naia, I have to go."
"I know. Be careful, Evon. The corruption they carry... it can affect even you if you're not prepared."
"What should I do?"
"Trust in our bond. The water of life flows through you now, even if I'm still sealed. It will purify what darkness tries to touch you."
Evon nodded and rushed from the room. Within an hour, he was aboard a military transport heading toward the United States. The flight would take precious time, but other Hunters were already responding to the immediate threat.
As the aircraft lifted off, Evon stared out at the landscape below. Somewhere down there, people were living their lives unaware that reality itself was under attack. They trusted the Hunters to protect them, trusted that someone would keep the monsters at bay.
But this felt different. Bigger. More fundamental than anything they'd faced before.
His communicator crackled with updates from the San Francisco scene. Rosa Leclair was on site with a team of A-rank Hunters, but the Black Force attackers weren't behaving like normal terrorists. They fought with impossible coordination, and some of them seemed to absorb damage that should have been lethal.
"Evon," Rosa's voice came through static-filled transmission, "whatever these things are, they're not entirely human anymore. My chrono-arsenal barely slows them down."
"I'm en route," Evon replied. "Can you contain them until I arrive?"
"We're trying, but they're not just attacking the bridge. They're performing some kind of ritual underneath it. The water around the support pillars is turning black."
Evon felt Naia's alarm through their connection. "The water corruption... Evon, you have to stop them before it spreads. If they poison the bay..."
"I understand." He turned to the pilot. "Can this thing go any faster?"
The next several hours felt endless. Updates came in sporadically. The Black Force had been driven back, but not before completing whatever ritual they'd started. A section of San Francisco Bay now showed signs of dimensional instability. Marine life in the area was either dead or fleeing.
When Evon finally arrived, the scene was worse than the reports had indicated. The Golden Gate Bridge still stood, but something fundamental had changed. The water below rippled with unnatural currents, and the air itself felt thick and wrong.
Rosa met him at the command post, her usually confident demeanor shaken.
"They're not human anymore," she said without preamble. "Some kind of fusion between flesh and shadow. And the ritual they performed... it's still active. We can feel it pulling at the dimensional barriers."
Evon looked out at the corrupted water. Through his connection to Naia, he could sense the wound in reality itself. Something was pressing against the barrier between worlds, testing its strength.
"How many more attacks can we withstand before..." he began.
"Before the barriers collapse entirely?" Rosa finished. "Our dimensional analysts estimate maybe six more major convergence points. After that..."
She didn't need to say it. After that, whatever was trying to break through would succeed.
Evon closed his eyes and reached out to Naia. "Can you sense the other seals from here?"
"Faintly. They're scattered across the globe, but the corruption is making it harder to pinpoint them. We need to find them quickly, Evon. Before the Black Force locates them first."
"Why would they want the seals?"
"Because unsealing us might be the only way to close the wounds they're creating. And if they can prevent that..."
The thought hung between them like a blade. If the Black Force could prevent the five goddesses from being fully awakened, then nothing would stop the dimensional barriers from collapsing.
Evon opened his eyes and looked at the assembled Hunters around him. Good people, strong people, but facing a threat beyond anything they'd trained for.
"Rosa, I need a full analysis of every major convergence point on Earth. And I need it yesterday."
She nodded grimly. "Already working on it. But Evon... what if we're too late?"
He looked out at the corrupted bay, where reality itself seemed to be coming undone.
"Then we fight anyway."
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