Fun Fact: Although Tier Five Metas are rare, most of them have made significant impacts on the world throughout history due to how much power they hold within them.
Some notable examples include: A Cryokinetic who permanently caused an eternal winter, a Teleporter who accidentally caused a disaster by teleporting large amounts of toxic gases from Jupiter to Draco States, and a Chronokinetic who trapped the entire Old Pegasus in a time loop that lasted for two years.
~ ~ ~
The Meta Liberty Fighters’ base of operations lay sprawled beside a rundown factory. A thick sheet of ice covered the depowered heating grilles, almost as if it was taking the pleasure of mocking them for finally losing their war of attrition.
Their place was secluded enough, as compared to the street littered with poorly insulated tents that led up to it. The tents were already empty, and a small weight lifted off Felix’s chest. At least the Meta Liberty Fighters had honoured their word.
Felix reached the end of the long spiralling staircase and found himself in a much more dimly lit bunker.
He squinted his eyes, struggling to adjust his vision to the darkness. His surroundings were a monotone, gravel grey, and the whole place resembled an undercroft in need of some serious refurbishing. A blast of warm air hit Felix, and he took the moment to fully bask in its comfort. Dull as the place was, at least they had a nice heating system.
There was a small click, and the device around Felix’s neck stopped humming. He pulled the unlocked collar from his neck.
“Apologies for that.” Isis kept another device that resembled some sort of lighter. “Some of our comrades don’t know who you are.”
She gestured to a small table.
Felix looked around as he pulled out a wooden chair cautiously. Most of the Metas had left, leaving only Aglaia and him alone with the Liberty Fighter’s leader.
“Welcome to our organisation, Mister Pagonis.” The woman poured him a cup of tea. “I can assure you’ll find a good home in this place.”
“I didn’t say I was joining you.”
“Nonsense,” she chuckled. “You didn’t come here because you felt threatened by me. Our cuffs are convenient tools to maintain order, aye. But the shock they deliver will be nothing more than a mild itch to a Tier Five like you.”
Felix’s eyes flitted to the collar still on Aglaia’s neck. So Isis was unaware of Aglaia’s Tier Five status, huh? A small smirk curved his lips, feeling confidence returning to him. This woman was sharp, but she wasn’t omniscient.
“You’re right.” He leaned back against his chair. “I’ve come to see if we can come to an agreement. To convince your organisation to use their abilities and resources for good.”
“Why do you insist on helping those who would leave you at the first sign of trouble?” Isis took a sip from her own cup of tea. “You have been abandoned by your so-called brothers in arms.”
“Have I, really?”
She leaned forward. “Tell me something, Felix. Do you believe in peace for one and all? That so long as we find a compromise, we can find happiness for everyone?”
“No, but I choose to believe that such ideals are man’s guide to a better path. Politics and division are nought but an illusion to distract us from that.”
“As expected from a soldier who has fought countless battles,” Isis replied, leaning against her chair as well. “And yet, despite all your victories, you still do not realise a simple truth. To fight for a dream come true is fleeting, and the reality is that the victor takes it all.”
Felix kept his silence, and the woman took the cue to continue.
“There is no ‘better path’. There is only bloodied victory, and what the condemned winners choose to do with their spoils.” She downed her cup and set it down with a loud metallic thud. “We are all sinners; death awaits us all. But until then, I choose to share my spoils with my kind. Our kind. Why waste time and effort trying to make peace with those who have oppressed us? They’ll use us and dump us, just like the Guardian Council, who refused to fight for you.”
“Perhaps you are right.” Felix swallowed the bitterness in his voice. “But we are living in a calamity, and people need help. Can’t we set aside our differences for the greater good, even for a brief moment? Everyone is suffering, both Meta and Magi. This is no time to be squabbling about which is better.”
“Finally, you ask the right question. I hope you can finally see why I’m doing this.” The chair scraped roughly on the ground as Isis stood up. “There is no better time to unite the world under one flag. If peace and succour are truly what they desire, the Magi should have no qualms about subjecting themselves to our rule. After all, it is the Metas who have the monopoly over Arcani now.”
Felix pursed his lips. Just like two thousand years ago…
“Nature has already fought the final war for us and decreed us winners.” The leader stretched her hand towards him. “There will be no need for any more wars when there is only one side left. Join us, my dear boy. Return to your brothers, and fight by our side as our knight of peace. As their beacon of light.”
Light…
“It doesn’t take a telepath to see that you’re intending to use me as a powerhouse for the Meta Liberty Fighters.” Felix downed his cup as well. “I wonder what else you plan to use me for.”
“I see you still do not trust me, Pagonis. No matter, I understand that trust is earned.” Isis said. “Very well, I shall give you mine first.”
Red flashed in her eyes, and the long wooden table turned into a sleek, metallic-looking counter.
“My ability, like yours, has the potential to be one of the most devastating powers in the world. I believe the proper term—”
The red glow vanished, and the counter reverted to its original form.
“—Would be ‘Reality warping’. Some might even call it an inferior form of Transformation Magic,” she said. “Unfortunately, I am a mere Tier Three Meta, and my power’s area of effect is largely limited. Any change I make will also not be maintained for too long without conscious effort.”
“It’s a great party trick, but it has no real power.” Isis shrugged. “Unlike yours.”
Felix nodded slowly. “My ability is—”
“I know what you can do, Felix Pagonis. The question is, what will you do for us?”
There was a pregnant pause in the air before Felix broke the silence.
“Alright then, two conditions. First, I want her—” He pointed to Aglaia. “—To be safe at all times. And the second condition—”
“I don’t like sharing my quarters with strangers.”
~ ~ ~
This is all my fault.
Gaius clenched his fists in frustration, looking over the winding road that led up to the headquarters.
If I’d been stronger, they wouldn’t have to go through all this pain.
The energy within him throbbed in response to his spiralling emotions, as if goading him to let it loose. He yawned instead, realising how tired he was from going two days without sleep. Not like he could fall asleep, anyway.
Images of his friends lying dead all around him tormented him every time he closed his eyes. Again and again, he would wake up with a jolt, only to find himself surrounded by people who were suffering much more than him.
Light ran through his body, filling him with energy once more. He had work to do. He needed to make up for his mistakes. Gaius looked back at the refugee camp one last time. Parthena was still sitting cross-legged on the floor with a blank look in her eyes.
I owe it to her. I owe it to everyone counting on me.
Gaius looked at the wand in his hands again and closed his eyes. He sucked in a deep breath, focusing on the mental image of the closest neighbourhood. Time to be a proper hero.
Thankfully, he didn’t have to wait long for the first signs of commotion just after he crossed the portal.
“Help! Oh gods… Somebody help!”
Gaius remained perched on a narrow ledge, watching silently as a terrified woman fled from another one of those ugly Abominations. He narrowed his eyes in suspicion. The woman was running too slowly. The screams didn’t seem real.
Something wasn’t right.
The woman looked back as she turned into a corner, almost as though she was waiting for the bear-like Abomination to catch up to her. A slight smirk broke on her face as she changed directions abruptly, heading for what looked like a rundown school.
Gaius leapt from the ledge, channelling a generous amount of Arcani into his feet to keep him weightless for as long as he could. He landed on a nearby roof just as the woman threw open the school gates before ducking into a corner.
What the hell is she doing?!
Sure enough, screams ensued as the Abomination broke into the school compound, roaring at the small crowd of children scurrying all over the place. A few brave men and women rushed out to draw the monster’s ire, using their Meta powers and makeshift weapons to distract it. The woman, however, simply slipped into the shadows.
Gaius shifted to go after her for a closer look, but something else caught his attention.
A young boy had tripped over his feet and crashed hard to the ground, landing right below Gaius. He curled up and began sobbing quietly. Gaius inhaled sharply, preparing to jump down to help him—
“Oi, there’s one here. Get him too.”
A small group of masked people emerged from the shadows and seized the boy’s limbs roughly. He wailed immediately, kicking and struggling against his captors.
“Gah. Squirmy little shit, aren’t you?” a woman growled before knocking the boy out with a blow to the head. “Hold on, isn’t he the village head’s son?”
A blonde man tilted the boy’s head to get a closer look. “Hey, it is! Hell yeah, we hit the jackpot! Suckers think they’ll be safe together. Fools! That old man’s gotta have a fortune to pay for his son’s ransom. We’re going to be rich, people!”
Gaius snarled audibly, drawing the kidnappers’ attention to himself. He had heard enough.
“What the— Who the fuck are you?” one of them exclaimed as Gaius leapt down, landing in front of them.
Three arrow tips jutted out of the large holes in the kidnapper’s knuckles.
A familiar fuzzy sensation rushed up Gaius’s spine again, although he did not resist it this time. Orange tendrils burst from his body as he felt his strength multiply by severalfold. He opened his mouth to yell at them, but a paralysing roar burst out instead. Gaius heaved, struggling to bring his voice back under control.
“You’re done.”
He lunged at the closest person without warning, catching a spear tip thrust in his face. It transformed into a shield immediately. Gaius lost his grip, but the energy whips from his body wrapped around the shield instead.
Huh… Not bad.
A strangled scream tore from the woman’s mouth as Gaius snapped the shield in half. The shield transformed back into a mangled arm, and the woman sank to her knees in pain.
Gaius crouched instinctively as a cone of fire engulfed his body, accompanied by what felt like a burst of lightning. Mocking laughter cackled around him.
“Enough!”
The tendrils swirling around his body turned into spikes of energy, exploding out of his body in short, powerful bursts. The fire and lightning stopped. The laughter stopped. And then an arrow whizzed towards Gaius—
It stopped dead in its tracks, caught in the swirling mess of energy appendages.
“You little shit…” Gaius fixed his glowing eyes on the last man, who had practically wet himself in fear by now.
The blonde man raised his hands as if to surrender, but the energy tendrils seized him by the neck anyway. With a frustrated roar, Gaius tossed him at the Abomination, which promptly crushed the man with a single stomp.
Energised magic burst from Gaius’s face without hesitation, blasting cleanly through the monster’s head before it could react. The ground shuddered as the now-headless Abomination kneeled over, turning into another one of those B’javiar Tear Crystals. There was a moment of silence as the villagers stared at Gaius in both awe and slight fear.
And then the sound of children crying broke it.
A mass of children streamed out of the school towards the handful of adults, crying about the ‘bad people who tried to take them away’ and how terrified they were.
“Thank you, good sir.” An old man approached Gaius, who had just reverted to his regular, not-so-threatening human form. “I know not why you are here, but I promise we will do our very best to repay you for your help.”
“Save it. It is only information I seek.” Gaius’s voice had returned to its regular human quality as well, although it sounded a lot harsher than it usually was. “Is this a regular occurrence? What can you tell me about those kidnappers?”
“Is that all you seek?” the old man asked incredulously. “You must be sent by the Heavens. Very well, I will tell you what I know about these people.”
Gaius listened intently.
“I know not their name or where they come from. All I know is that they are led by a Tier Four Telekinetic called Brutus Spiros. There were rumours that they were gaol inmates who were set loose after the gaol security system failed when the crisis first broke out. They have been snatching wandering children from the streets and demanding ransom from their parents.”
Bastards…
“We’re just a poor village; we don’t have much to give.” The old man shook his head. “But they take whatever they can, and in small amounts, too. They add ‘interest rates’ to their demands, making it impossible to fully pay the ransom.”
“Any idea where the children are held?”
“The children are kept captive in various bases until the ransom is fully paid,” the man replied. “We have launched several rescue missions, but those people are simply too skilled and powerful for us to handle.”
He gestured regretfully at the five, maybe six adults soothing the children.
“We are only low-level Metas; none of us is even above Tier Three. And without magic, the Magi here have only technomagick tools to use as weapons,” the old man said regretfully. “As such, we banded together in an attempt to keep the rest of our children safe. But I didn’t expect those criminals to lure a whole monster here just to scatter our attention and take all our children. They’re getting bolder by the day.”
“Or more desperate,” Gaius muttered. “Those cowards probably aren’t strong enough to take on bigger targets, so they settle for the defenceless like you people. Worry not, elder. I will take care of them and get your children back.”
“Thank you, young one. But may I ask, what are you doing all this for? We… We truly have nothing to give you in return.”
Gaius looked away to hide the orange glow flashing in his eyes.
“To be a hero who destroys the sinful.”209Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcFLzvgfBqd
