Malric's boots struck the metallic platform as the airship docked at an isolated black-stone fortress rising from the crater of an extinct volcano. This was Sector Zero Base, hidden from society—operating beyond politics, beyond laws. Only the elite were allowed here. The monsters who hunted monsters.
A voice buzzed in his earpiece.
> "Welcome to hell's lobby, rookie. Try not to melt."
The door slid open, revealing a high-tech command hall lit by orange floodlights and sizzling energy conduits. Waiting for him were five figures—each already radiating danger.
A towering figure with fire crawling up his arms stepped forward. His black skin cracked like lava rock, and glowing magma lines pulsed across his chest. His eyes burned like twin furnaces.
> "New guy?" he said with a grin.
"I'm CoreFlare. You can call me that or don't call me at all. Doesn't matter—I'll hear you screaming either way."
His flames surged for dramatic flair before cooling down. Malric didn't flinch. CoreFlare grinned wider.
> "He's got some spine. Good."
A much smaller figure leaned against a support pillar, twirling a bloodstained glove between two fingers. Pale eyes, messy red hair, and a lazy smirk told Malric this one was trouble.
> "You don't scream like a first-timer. Either you're too cocky or you're used to pain," he said. "I'm Redlock. Try not to bleed near me… unless you wanna nap on the floor."
The next one didn't speak. She appeared—a shimmering blur zigzagging past Malric, then reappearing behind him.
> "Name's Echo Dash. Don't blink."
Her voice was low but clear, and her eyes sparkled with a thrill-seeker's glee. Malric noticed faint circular glyphs forming around her hands before disappearing again.
Then a calm voice echoed telepathically into Malric's mind.
> "I am Mindshift," said the floating figure, whose entire body gently rippled like mist molded into human form. "And I can already feel the structure of your thoughts, Malric. You think like a strategist. That's rare."
Malric shuddered slightly. Not from fear, but instinct. He hated having his mind read.
> "Stay outta my head," he growled.
Mindshift merely smiled.
> "Only as far as you can keep your thoughts quiet."
Last came a girl no older than sixteen, adjusting her visor while scribbling physics equations in the air using hard-light holograms. She approached Malric and tapped his arm with a gloved finger. His entire body suddenly felt twice as heavy.
> "Don't worry," she said. "It's temporary. I'm Inertia. Mass Drift user. Just making sure you don't fall over yourself when it gets real."
Malric stumbled forward as the gravity surge stopped.
> "Cute," he said, shaking out his limbs. "Are we going to keep flirting or is there a mission?"
CoreFlare clapped once, the sound booming across the hall like a cannon blast.
> "I like this one."