In the VIP Lounge, the "Royal Void" hand was still shimmering in the air. Vela leaned in, her heightened senses ignoring the gasps of the crowd to catch the terrified whisper meant for the Dealer.
"Valkhyre is moving. Skull wants the perimeter clear... clear it now."
Vela's eyes widened. She barely had time to swallow her chip before she hissed to the team, "yo guys I heard something that....., before she could finish.
Canisters rolled across the plush carpet, spewing a thick, cloying purple mist. Elias's silver eyes flashed. "Contacts! Ten o'clock! They're wearing—" He coughed, his knees buckling as the gas hit his system.
"Vela!" Sloane screamed, her voice muffled as she tried to cover her face with her medic's sleeve. "If we die... because of your high score... I am healing you... just so I can kill you again!"
Mikasa tried to draw her blade, but the air felt like lead. Renji slumped against a pillar, his last thought a groan about his hair getting ruined by the chemicals. One by one, the 10th Division hit the floor. The last thing they saw was the green-eyed lenses of the Enforcers closing in.
Jaxen and kaelen where knocked out again, when they work up they found,Beside them, the rest of the 10th were groggily waking up on a velvet carpet.
Across from them, sitting in a high-backed chair carved from solid gold, was a man in a dark blue trench coat. He leaned back, a long, expensive cigar clamped between his teeth. He looked like an Emperor of the shadows.
"Relax, kids," the man said, exhaling a thick, perfectly circular cloud of smoke. "You're in the presence of Gold. And I don't like blood on my carpet unless I'm the one who spilled it.", "wait I already said that line, whatever".
He tossed a scorched, shimmering object onto the desk. The Golden Vest of Valerius Flare.
"This vest belongs to Valerius..." Kaelen whispered, his voice cracking. "You beat them?"
"Me? No," Gold chuckled, his solid gold teeth glinting.
"Skull dismantled them. I just brought this from one of my clients, don't ask skull probably sold it to him.
But Skull is getting sloppy. He's bringing too much heat to my city with his Valkari trafficking and that glowing Serum. He's disrupting the economy."
Gold leaned forward. "Here's the deal. You 'evict' Skull from the Underground. You do it, and I'll show you the secret way back to the surface and give you a sample of the serum Just stay out of my city forever."
The 10th Division stared at him, then at each other.
"Wait, so we're like... mercenaries now?" Renji asked, rubbing his neck. "Does this mean I get a uniform upgrade? Blue really isn't my color, but I could make it work if the tailoring is right."
"Is the serum sample really free?" Vela asked, already looking around for more snacks. "And can I get a refund on those chips I lost in the gas? The house technically cheated."
Sloane lashed out at gold first take of this stuff of our neck , hands and legs, this place stinks Also, your cigar is a health hazard."
"I'm a medic, not a hitman," Nyx added, though she has already broken free from the cuff and chains.
"But if Skull is the one who hurt the 1st Division, that means he's strong , now I really wanna fight him.
Mikasa remained silent, her eyes calculating. Elias looked at Cipher, who was already deep in thought,
"The deal is sound," Cipher said, his voice flat. "He's giving us the exact coordinates. If we refuse, we die in this room or rot in the dark. Tactically, it's a 4% rate considering he defeated the strongest teams ( agris prime) of the xenocides,
"We are not the agris prime, 4% is better than 0 so we have to take this chance or else more people will die" .
Elias said, looking at Gold. "We'll do it. We take down Skull."
Gold grinned, the smoke swirling around his head like a crown. "Good choice. Don't let the door hit you on the way to your destiny".
Beyond the reach of the Underground, beyond the sky, and beyond the very fabric of the known universe, there existed a realm that had been forgotten before creation even began. It was a place of shifting colors and impossible geometry.
In the center of this void sat Orlox, the Alien King. He was a being of terrifying scale, his presence warping the space around him.
A MYSTERIOUS being which threatened creation known as Gratus drifted toward him. "What is it you seek in that fragile world, Orlox?"
"Peace," Orlox responded, his voice sounding like a thousand grinding stones. "I wish for peace to reign. I want to eliminate the rot of evil from the universe, . But to bring order to chaos, I require absolute power."
"And so you kill?" Gratus asked.
"I kill those who threaten the peace I want to bring ".
Orlox replied coldly." But I need power and so I must wipe this place out. But these being orlox is taking about,
They cannot be scaled by normal means. Their power is so vast they had to be separated from creation.
"Is your path the right one?" Gratus whispered.
Orlox turned his massive head. "I do not care for 'ways. "Cause My way is absolute."
Gratus smirked. "And do you not have enough power already?"
Orlox went silent for a moment, his eyes darkening. "I once fought a human once , they are called Walkers—the strongest beings I have ever encountered. Specifically, the one they called, the one called Paul Walker. In our battle.
he beat me so severely I could not even regenerate.
If I had not been transported back to my home world for recovery, I would have died. I spent an eternity fearing there was still a being that could do that to me again... that is why I wiped them out after he died."
Gratus let out a soft, knowing hum. He knew what Orlox did not—that the bloodline of the Walkers was not as dead as the King believed. He knew how this war would truly end.
"Very well," Gratus said, stepping aside to reveal a tear in the fabric of reality. "Pass through, King of Dust. Let us see if the world survives your peace."
Orlox stepped into the light, his eyes fixed on the distant blue speck of the world below, unaware of the beings that lurk in it.