Thousands of soldiers in the desolate areas of Vespera were readying for battle.
The Executive Officer, a person in rank just under the Captain in the military, overlooked the warm up of the soldiers.
Executive Officers were chosen only by appointment of the interest of the Captain.
Cause Captains are usually second to none.
The Executive Officer of Vespera, Alex Lar, a husky young man, with black hair and brown eyes, with a well built figure, sighed as he looked at the soldiers.
But deep down, he was aware of the division that was going on in the Defense Headquarters of the country and the tension between the defense and executive council against Esther.
As much as this tension was concealed from the public and Esther was doing what she could to save face for the defense ministry and Vesperan government at large, deep down even the soldiers were skeptical.
Cause they really wondered if they had any chance against a world power like Hypatia.
"Vespera's army will do whatever it takes to protect itself, I swear— Captain Esther."
Alex read from the news, but hissed as he knew this was all just damage control.
Then his attention shifted when he heard some soldiers talking instead of training.
"If I was so poor but made a bet that Hypatia would win, I'd get a lot of money!" one soldier said laughing with another.
Alex's eyes flared up and he went to them, his aura suffocating them.
"Where is your patriotism? Is this how you fulfill your oath of service? With jokes?" Alex asked, his aura thickening.
They remained silent and Alex pointed for them to continue their training.
Alex slapped his forehead and hissed, "if the next generation is hopeless, then we're doomed."
Alex said sitting on a tree stub and spat on the floor.
"But what if we give them a reason for hope?"
An all too familiar voice said to Alex, the bearer of the voice having immense mana power that caught the attention of the other mana users.
It was Captain Esther.
Upon seeing her, hundreds of the soldiers sent pulses of mana into the air and chanted her name.
"Captain Esther! Captain Esther!"
Alex took in a deep breath and relaxed, since Esther the Captain had arrived.
She turned back and Alex nodded at her, and she nodded back.
"Warriors of Vespera!" Esther yelled and the soldiers, men and women of all ages, cheered Esther.
"I have been captain for six years now and this is the first time that my tenure is experiencing war. I am sorry for failing you," Esther said while bowing down.
"No need to be sorry!" One soldier yelled.
"We're right behind. Hypatia goes down!" One female soldier yelled, which caused an uproar of celebration from the other soldiers.
Esther raised up her head and smiled, as she looked up, the soldier that said that had her head gone.
"Enemy contact!" One Vesperan soldier yelled.
Esther's heart sank, "it can't be! There was still five hours left."
Helicopters were flying over head and dropping tanks of smoke.
Vesperan soldiers blasted the helicopters with mana, but it barely did any damage.
Esther gnashed her teeth and jumped high into the air and with a single swing, sliced the helicopters one by one.
The soldiers were frozen at first from the ambush, but upon seeing Esther's power, they combined their power and sent barrages of blasts into the sky.
"How could they have went against their own terms!" Alex said as Esther landed.
Esther hissed and smacked her lips, "not sure," she said while catching a missile and sending it back on a second's notice.
Alex just widened his eyes.
"Clearly something isn't right. Lead the army while I see what I can about these attackers."
---
Defense Headquarters, in the capital city of Hypatia.
Executive Officer Arianna, folded her arms clad in a black leather, hissed as she awaited Hypatia's captain.
Arianna was in the board room, with other members of the defense council from ministers to militants.
And one guest that pissed her in particular: Shinto, sage of speed, C.E.O and leader of Flashpoint.
"If your captain think they're too big to entertain my presence, I have no point of being here." He said leaning back in his chair.
All the old men and women had so much disdain for him cause they knew that if they touched him, other world powers will come after them.
"You captain invited me here, but from the looks of your greedy eyes, you want a discount to take down Vespera." Shinto said, silencing the room.
Arianna broke out with a cough, "we think your price is too high for simply aiding our soldiers."
Shinto looked at her deadpan.
Then he began cackling before the whole defense council.
Then he took in a deep breath, "you take or leave my offer. Just know that you have the power but you will not be able to capture Vespera. Not cause they're weak, but cause they've got luck."
The council members chuckled, some murmuring.
Shinto only rolled his eyes and shrugged.
"And how is that?" Asked one minister.
Shinto began to recall of his encounter with Weber, a person able to use power that makes 3D horror movies come to life.
Or the capabilities of how Foresight used just one prediction to stop war from coming to Vespera and it worked for six years.
And as Shinto was a successful business tycoon in the military space globally thanks to Flashpoint, he was not one to expose secrets of one country to the other.
Shinto stretched out his arms and interwove his fingers, "let's just say our world is full of crazy things. Some crazier than others. And Vespera is one of them—"
A sudden opening of the door interrupted Shinto and caused him and the others to look at the door.
At the door was seven foot tall Malthus, with black hair and eyes, clad in baggy black jeans and a jacket, all of which were black.
"Captain of Hypatia, I see age is making you slow?" Shinto asked with a smirk, which made everyone in the room gasp.
But Malthus only smirked, "I see your speed is dulling your senses, cause they can't keep up?" She shot back while taking his seat.
Shinto chuckled, then Malthus cleared his throat and smiled, "leader of Flashpoint, I think your price can be more reasonable?"
Shinto nodded while shrugging, "if that's done, it means less help. Less help means you'll never get Vespera," he said, which made Malthus frown.
Shinto continued, "Obviously, you want that country cause even your country's government, without doubt, knows that Vespera captured will be a step toward to breaking the prophecy of never ending wars."
The Executive Officer Arianna stiffened, then folded her arms, "you see, Hypatia is obviously the chosen country by the higher beings to take over the world to stop all this endless madness."
Malthus nodded affirmatively, "indeed. If we were left to conquer all nations without bloodshed, then this will be settled. But no one will agree so we fight. And Hypatia is getting closer to that goal."
Shinto smiled while shrugging, "do what you want. But don't think you can devalue or just 'get rid of me,'" he said while leaning forward, "oh, that's right, if you could do such, you would have done so, ever since Flashpoint started rising since I was young."
Malthus hissed and signed Shinto's contract, causing Shinto to grin as they wired the money for Flashpoint's services.
Shinto stood up and grinned and looked down at the council, "good bye now, I wish you well in your endeavors, people of Hypatia."
All the council members were scowling but couldn't say a thing. But Malthus only smirked and crossed his arms while leaning back in his chair.
Malthus stood up and turned on a hologram after tapping a button on his desk.
"With Flashpoint on our side, plus our military might, Hypatia need not stress much over Vespera. So, let us celebrate this victory in advance."
Malthus said, but everyone looked at him deadpan.
He frowned, then blinked and he released his mana power for a split second and everyone in the room was fine, but a mountain miles received a large impact to it.
When the council members saw they the gasped and began clapping and Malthus smirked while nodding.
"Now, the next country to take will be..." Malthus trailed off while looking at countries Hypatia had taken.
Dozens out of hundreds of countries was in their possession, some enslaved, others completely rid wiped out.
"It has to be useful, even if not now..."
Then his eyes fell on Fantasia, "they're easy cause Celestia is attacking and they don't have a Captain so we'll just seize Fantasia first."
Malthus said while ringing a bell and a lady brought him tea, then one council member.
"When did it get so late? I thought the attack on Vespera was given like an hour ago?" He said and everyone noticed that the room was more dark than before.
As if it was evening.
But their wrist watches said noon.
"You will not touch Fantasia."
Malthus looked at the council members with a grimace, "who is going against my orders?"
The council started denying and murmuring and Malthus gnashed his teeth.
"Touch Fantasia and I cannot guarantee you won't prefer hell opposed to what I will do to you."
Malthus looked at the door and a man with chains wrapped around his arms, with gray bandages wrapped around his mouth and nose said, his cloak grey as well.
"In the name of Hypatia, who let you in here!" Arianna yelled.
The man tilted his head at her without answering.
Then the room temperature dropped and the man cleared his throat, "you will see how soon."
"I do not sense Hypatian power from you and our country has only mana users, unlike some that are mixed with both mana and non mana users." Malthus remarked.
The cloaked man took a step forward, and all the defense council members pointed their arms at him, their mana ready to be fired.
"You say I shouldn't go after Fantasia. Why is that? Why the heck are you?"
The temperature dropped to zero and vibrations could be felt everywhere in the room, which made everyone's heart race.
"I am the Abyss. Guardian of Fantasia. Wraith Keeper." Weber said, which caused all the council members to fire him at once once.
Weber's eyes became gray and he jumped, then turned intangible and under the floor they were on.
The blast took off that corner of the building.
Malthus's eyes widened and he yelled, "no one do anything! I alone handle this!"
He must be using speed, Malthus thought.
When he turned, Weber was folding his arms in another corner, "if you blast this corner, it'll collapse. You'll survive as mana users, but it'll be a disgrace for Hypatia to be without its HQ."
Malthus rushed towards Weber and from Weber's fighting experience, he know he was not going to be fast enough to be intangible.
So he let all his power loose and his hair turned grey and his eyes shone bright and Malthus saw people in sorrow for a second.
Malthus froze for a moment, which was enough for Andrej to appear with Gabrielle and Weber increased their power by touching them with his Grasp.
The wraiths aura burned and they seemed human, and they held Malthus, but he was stronger than anyone they had fought with alongside Weber.
Malthus broke free and tossed them aside, and they vanished alongside Weber.
Malthus squinted his eyes.
Then he had an ominous feeling as if something was looking at him.
And he was right.
Weber was upside at one corner which was darker than it was supposed to be and they stared at each other for a few seconds.
"Send everyone out of the building Arianna," Malthus said.
"Abyss? How can a person be something as abstract as that?" Malthus asked, but Weber only screamed, of which was of a higher pitch than normal.
All the windows shook and this made Malthus shake for a second.
When he looked Weber was gone.
Then the ground opened and black flames that engulfed Malthus consumed his whole body.
"Someone! Arianna!—" Malthus screamed but he only screamed as the flames consumed him and everything around him.
The last thing he saw was Weber with the aura of the Abyss in the color of dark grey. And Weber stared with a stoned face as no one heard Malthus' screams.
"What... Is this!" Malthus said as his last words.
It felt like years had passed. Years of silence and it was just burns and torture without words.
"Abyssal Flames." Weber said and Malthus lost sight of anything, and he lost his consciousness.
"Malthus!" The voice of Arianna was heard.
"Hypatia's Captain!" An old man yelled.
Malthus sat up, drenched in sweat, his whole body sweaty, his whole self shaking involuntarily and tears rolling down his eyes.
Arianna and the doctors were shocked at the sight.
Arianna sat down next to him and noticed his temperature was high, but his clothes and whole self was intact.
The doctor looked at Arianna and asked, "what happened?"
She kept checking the Captain temperature and his arms, "I-I don't know!" She stammered, "after we all left the building like he wanted us to, we saw for a split second the building turn to black flames for a second."
The doctor's eye brows went up, "we thought Malthus had won, but we had a bad feeling cause Malthus doesn't have any ability that can bring black flames." Arianna stated.
When we came, "we met him unconscious, soaked in sweat but no physical injury, which we all found damning and the intruder was gone."
The doctor began imagining the scene in his mind, "mana users cannot have such power, regardless of how strong."
The doctor noted, then Malthus fell back to sleep, his body still shaking without control.
"What can? Cause the enemy was not a mana user." Arianna said, a frown creeping up her face as she looked at Malthus.
"Only an Enigma can do this. A Great Enigma."
Arianna looked at the doctor and asked, "what does that mean?"
The doctor crossed his arms and looked out, "seek his mercy or Hypatia will be gone."