Ten cloaked individuals walked through the dense forest, created by Number 1. One of the cloaked figures touched their ear and said,

"We have arrived at the location. The pathway is completely overgrown with new plant life. It validates the claim that an elf may be present. It would have been a lot faster if someone with spatial abilities could just teleport us inside." The Theronite groaned over communications.

"We have nearly all available spatial users confining Roratha. You're stationed in that location for a reason. Stop whining and check things out. The entire base went dark 30 minutes ago." Seren's voice chastised the other side of the communications.

"Yes, ma'am." The Theronite sighed and focused on the task at hand.

The Theronites' main objective was to wait for the coming of Auranthos' Threnos, but in their downtime, they did their best to prevent potential humanity-ending events before they had time to happen. If the situation reported here were true, this may be one of those situations.

"Of all times, why did they have to make a move now?" One of the other Theronites asked as she moved through the foliage.

"You think this is a coincidence?" Another one asked.

"You think it's not? What else would it be?" She chuckled dismissively.

"Well, the Anomaly is on the move, and we have no idea what he'll do, so…"

"So what, you think he found a secret society of monsters and somehow convinced them to go to war with us?" She giggled.

"Well, when you put it like that. But he's a dragon, right? It might be possible for him to recruit—"

"Quiet! Look." The leader said as he forced his way into the clearing. They looked around but didn't see anything out of the ordinary. Not only was there nothing out of the ordinary, there wasn't too much of anything at all.

"Do you hear that?" One of the Theronites asked. n

"I don't hear anything." Another responded.

"That's the problem…" The leader sighed as he continued to move forward, but now his stride was much more apprehensive and deliberate. Persequions didn't make false reports, so something definitely happened here, but for there to be no signs means they suffered an utter defeat, to the point their attackers had time to tidy things up in the minutes it took them to get here. The leader sighed,

"Keep your eyes open. I don't think they're still here, but be careful. We'll need to completely scour the inside of the base to see if we can make heads or tails of what really happened here." The leader commanded as they inched towards the walls of the ruins.

"Not even a drop of blood to be seen… How?" One of the Theronites asked.

The leader waved his hand in front of a stone, and a 3D interface number pad appeared. He began to press a series of 30 numbers. The ruined walls opened up to reveal a large elevator. The leader turned around and said,

"You five stay out here to scout the area; see if you can find anything. If you see anything, report it immediately. Do not engage! We don't know what we're up against. Make sure to report every 5 minutes." Five of the cloaked Theronites nodded their heads and jumped into the night sky in opposite directions. The rest of them entered the elevator on high alert.

Moments later they were walking the halls of the base, but only the emergency lights were on. Only the sounds of their steps could be heard. The leader stood in place as he gathered his thoughts. He contemplated splitting up the group to cover more ground. However, if these creatures could take out an entire base by themselves, it would be foolish to split up if they were still around.

"We'll make our way to the control room and see if there is some footage that can help us decipher what happened here. Keep a lookout for survivors. Before he could finish his statement, they all heard the sounds of scraping metal, and a male voice humming La Vie En Rose. Someone clad in black, dragging a black scythe dripping with blood, turned the corner to greet the five of them.

They could not see the figure's face as it was clad in a black faceless mask. They all reflectively took a step back, eyeing that large scythe it was dragging. The figure's humming ceased as he spoke,

"I'm afraid you're a little late. They're all dead."

"Where are your helpers?" The leader asked, not letting the creature's words get him worked up.

"Some are in the control room; the others are outside… with your friends." He answered.

"Shit! Report! Hey, do you hear me? Report." The team leader shouted into his communicator.

"Yeah, yeah, reporting in, what's up?" Roisin's voice playfully responded.

"What the hell? Who are you?"

"We're the ones reporting, idiot…"

"Yeah, stupid," Zidane added on.

"Shut up! You're going to give us away!" Roisin chided, clearly still hearable over the commotion.

"Shit, see what you made me do, dumb ass?"

"You already gave us away saying , 'we', stupid. Typical woman, always blaming men for all her problems." Zidane teased.

"Oh, you son of—" The Theronite shut down communications, not wanting to hear any more of that foolishness. The 5 outside were already dead, and now they had to deal with whatever this was.

"You four escape; I'll try to buy you some time—" The leader felt blood splash on his face. He looked on in abject shock and horror as the team member standing near him was split in two. The scythe-wielding monster, now standing next to him with his friend's blood dripping off his scythe. He couldn't follow the movements of the creature or that unwieldy weapon. This was beyond them; only the best among the Theronites would stand a chance, and even then it was dicey.

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"I'll give you a head start. 10…9…" The figure began to count down.

"Run!" The leader commanded as the remaining four took off, heading back towards the elevator. Once there, they found they could no longer use it; their access codes were denied.

"Shit! They have complete control of this place. We have to report this." The leader said.

"Sir, we'll try to stall as long as possible; please find somewhere to make the report." One of the Theronites said.

"Goddammit…" The leader nodded his head and began to continue down the hall. Just as he began to run, he heard the humming of La Vie En Rose once again, soon followed by the sounds of screams.

"Shit, shit, shit… Report… The base is done; it's been completely taken over. No survivors. We won't last long either. We… I don't know what the hell this thing is! I suggest immediate… Ooooh fuck." He stopped in his tracks as he turned a corner, only to see a hallway splattered with blood and viscera. There were deep cuts in the walls, clearly made by a massive weapon. Some of the bodies looked crushed rather than cut. There were limbs and broken bones scattered everywhere. It would be a small miracle if they could identify anyone.

As a Theronite, he was told he was the best that humanity had to offer, and that statement was correct. However, he had never experienced any real hardships in the field. This was the only but fatal flaw for these new-age Theronites; none of them were truly battle-tested. His state of panic was cut short when he felt an arm wrap around his shoulder.

"What has you so pressed?" The masked figure from earlier turned to face the man, who was now petrified beyond imagining.

He prided himself on his senses, but he had not felt the presence of this creature this entire time. If it wasn't for the sounds of his humming and the scraping of his weapon, they all could have died without knowing what happened to them.

"Ah, I see. This is a bit of a mess. Yeah, Number 2 really had a field day over here, huh? He's a bit of a battle junkie." The masked creature laughed.

"Why are you doing this?" The man said.

"What do you mean?"

"The humming, the head start. Even now talking to me. Why are you toying with me? Let me have my dignity and just kill me." The man shouted furiously.

"The humming? That was her favorite song. I used to tease, telling her that it made her seem like an old woman." He chuckled.

"The head start. Well, I'm bored." He slapped the man on the back with a dark laugh.

"I thought you Persequions liked playing games. After all, you've been playing games with my life for my entire existence." The Mask Creature grumbled.

"What do you… ah… Zachary Zym…" The Theronite said weakly.

"Please, it's The Anomaly, or Lord Cefketa. Did you finish your report?" He asked.

"Everything we've been talking about is being recorded and broadcasted." The man said,

"I know… I asked if you were done." The Anomaly asked, not concerned about what he was doing. He had gotten all the information he needed from this trip; now he felt no need to be so cautious.

"Yes, I'm done."

"Fantastic… I'm waiting for a response. Don't make me wait too long." Zac wasn't speaking to the Theronite, but to whoever was hearing his report. The Theronite's head flew from his shoulders before he could fully process what was happening. After the man had been dealt with, the intercom in the hideout called out his name.

"Lord Cefketa, we have a communication coming in, and they wish to talk to you directly.

"Is that right? What a quick response. Then tell them I'm on my way." He responded and then turned his attention elsewhere.

"Sage, Trigger… How are things on your end?" He asked,

"Things have been handled rather smoothly," Sage responded while standing over a dead Theronite, their face stuck at the moment of their death, with their hands scraping at their neck as if begging for air.

"T-things are fine. It's done." Trigger responded apprehensively.

"What about you, Puppy?" The Anomaly asked Veystral.

"Veystral, and I've wrapped up here as well." Veristral groaned as a clawed hand gripped the throat of a Theronite.

"Alright, head to the control room." The Anomaly sighed, taking his time walking back to the control room. He began to hum La Vie En Rose once again. Zac wasn't in any rush; they wanted to talk to him; they could wait; he just wanted to take in this moment.

This moment was both cathartic and humiliating for him. In the past month, he had grown more powerful than he could have imagined, and his power was still growing. Those Theronites he had just killed were stronger than the ones that had caused all this, and he could do next to nothing to them, before his Awakening.

Now he could toy with them like they were nothing. His humming became labored as he gripped the necklace left to him by Dr. Varma. After a very long, very slow half-hour walk, he finally made his way back to the control room. The door opened to the sounds of Sage,

"What is Sensei doing? Did he get hurt fighting those Theronites?"

"You think so little of me, Sage?" Zack chuckled as he walked through the door.

"You never know what kind of abilities these Theronites can have. Anything could happen." Sage sighed.

"You're right, that's why you kill them before they know what's going on… Do the rest of you understand that?" Zac said as he looked over at the Numbers who were standing at attention in the back of the control room,

"Yes, sir!" They all responded.

They all had respect for Zac before, but after witnessing what he and his team just did, they all knew that even though they were all nearly twice his age, there were still a great many things they could learn from him. Zac looked over at Number 3 and said,

"You said someone wanted to talk to me? Are they still waiting?" The Dwarven male walked past Zac towards the large screen. His fingers rattled across the 3D interface, and moments later Seren's face was on screen. She looked at those present and sighed as she stared at Zac.

"You really managed to find them and convince them to help you? Incredible… really, Zac."

"Only my friends can use that name; it's Lord Cefketa, or The Anomaly."

"My apologies, Lord Cefketa," Seren said with a respectful nod.

"You speak as if you know where these guys come from," Zac said motioning toward The Numbers of Veridahn behind him.

"Where else would this combination of monsters come from… if not Firmatha Sanguar?" She smiled.

"How do you know about our existence? How do you…" Number 5 became visibly agitated. They were sure that their existence was well hidden from the Persequions, as they never tried to make a move on them in all these centuries. However, before he could get an answer, Zac raised his hand, causing him to stop speaking.

"What is it that you want?" Zac asked.

"To have a conversation… in private, if possible," Seren responded.

Zac stared at the woman before frowning and then motioned his head at the others.

"Get out. Mythara, you stay." He commanded.

"But Sensei…" Sage tried to dissuade him.

"Get out, now." Zac looked at Sage, who balked at his serious expression. She didn't understand why he wanted Trigger to stay, but there was no point in arguing. She sighed, nodding as she guided the other out of the room.

"Why do you need me to stay?" Trigger asked.

"You should learn everything possible about this world. It's going to be yours soon." Zac responded.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Trigger asked but received no response from Zac.

"Speak…" Zack turned his head toward the woman.

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