His golden boots scoffed the stone of the rooftop as he marched to the edge of the roof.

His pristine golden cape flapping wildly but obediently in the wind behind him. The wild wind that could blow a lady's skirt up but wouldn't dare mess with his hair.

The air coiled around him slightly, majestically lifting the cape into the air.

The same skintight spandex white and gold suit that bestowed fear into more than just villains. He placed his hands at his core.

Eyes straight at the skyline as he watched the nation— his nation. The nation he'd defended, protected, killed for and revered him.

"It's Nightwalker!!" An ecstatic fan screamed as she spotted him on the roof. She broke out into a full shriek, making people stop and gather.

~Chk-chk. Chk-chk.~

A flurry of flashes from the bypassers' phones erupted like a melody in his ears.

'They love me.'

The thought alone sent blood rushing down south, but too subtle for anyone to notice.

He remained there. Hovering above the like an idol— No. The preferred word was God.

Hearing them call for him with so much love, listening to their hearts drum more and more in their chests with excitement, watching them praise him— it was therapeutic for the Paragon.

But alas, every high comes before a low. His smile faded as he remembered he was late to a meeting.

He reluctantly buckled his knees, tilted his head to the sky and placed his arms firmly by his side.

He waited.

They waited.

The world waited.

~BAM!~

He moved in a flash and rocked the entire building beneath him sending slight tremors to the ground, but hey? He's Nightwalker.

About ten seconds later, he landed before a skyscraper— but not just any, the head branch of the C.A.A in Veltharion.

Located in the heart of the nation. It was the kind of building that owns the skyline.

People don't look at it — they look up at it, like it's judging their tax records.

A towering helix skyscraper, spiraling upward like a double-helix DNA strand — a symbol of awakened evolution.

Three hundred floors. Glass, alloy, and shimmering aethersteel plates that catch sunlight like scales.

The front doors are 20 meters tall, made of transparent reinforced aether-tempered glass, etched with C.A.A's emblem.

No guard. None needed, everyone knew what this building represented and no one was currently stupid enough to attack the continent's stronghold.

He sighed through his nose and marched down and pushed the doors open.

A vast circular space rising ten floors high. Floating holographic displays rotate above the lobby:

Map of Veltharion. Known anomalies. Active missions. Paragon-level threats.

The ceiling is a massive skylight showing the sky — tinted with Aether shielding that shimmers like heat haze.

The whole place hums with quiet authority.

The building was always bustling with activity, men in monochrome suits rising up elevators, some walked right past him without even a nod.

And that was what he hated most about this place. They didn't love him, they didn't revere him like the outside world did, they didn't even hate him— to them, he was merely a coworker.

The thought alone made him clench his jaw and squeeze his fists to stop himself from ripping someone's spine out.

He had to close his eyes and draw another deep breath to stop the dangerous glow he could feel in his eyes.

"Nightwalker!" Someone called out for him. "Right here."

A blond with her hair tied back in a professional ponytail caught up with him, her posture straight, files in hand and her suit secondhand.

He rolled his eyes in subtle yet evident contempt, but said nothing.

She caught up to him. "Wow. How'd you get here so fast? I went to your apartment and you weren't there, even checked your agency."

He finally brought his eyes down to meet hers. His response lacked any and all emotions other than boredom. "I'm a busy man, remember. Also, I can fly."

"Oh, that must come in handy." She fumbled a little with the files in her hand but caught them all.

"Ashley?" Nightwalker asked.

"Yeah?" She raised her eyes to meet his even though he couldn't be bothered enough to look her in the eye.

"What the fuck am I doing here?"

He said with a straight face.

"Uhm." She stuttered. "Well, you're here because of the recent attack on Aetherion Academy an—"

"I fucking know that already!" He snapped. "It's a fucking Veltharion issue, it's my fucking issue. So, why the fuck is C.A.A involved?"

He turned his head to see everyone looking at him. The once animated room had gone dead silent, save for the whispers of suits to their neighbours.

Seeing as his teeth were showing, he calmed himself, turned to Ashley who was practically one word away from bursting out into a muted cry.

'This pathetic fucking bitch.' He swung his hand over her shoulder and walked with her.

The room finally started to move once more but the unsure galnces back at him persisted.

"Ashley," he spoke again with a calmer tone. "Could you please tell me why the C.A.A is involved in this?"

"Kheum." She cleared her throat. "They believe that if a mercenary group can storm an awakened academy then there's nothing they can't and won't do.

So it moved from a national threat to a Continental one."

"And they don't trust me to deal with it on my own." He complained to himself. " I fucking bleed for this nation by myself time and again."

"Here." She handed him the file as they approached the elevator. "This is everything we know about the one we captured."

His eyes darted down to the file and then back to her. "Just tell me what it says."

She nodded. "Uhm... It says his name is Owen Harper. He's completely human. Been in and out of multiple prisons for armed robbery, assault and murder."

"Harsh for human standards but what puts him on an awakened level? And what has he said yet?"

"Nothing." She adjusted slightly as she entered the elevator and pushed the button.

"Nothing puts him on an awakened level, he should be your run-in-the-mill criminal but for some reason he's running around with mercenaries that can stop affinities."

"Alright." He folded his arms. "Get me in a room with him and I'll make him squeal like a pig."

"Unfortunately, I can't do that sir."

His head whipped so fast in her direction she thought it was always there, boring a hole through her. "Why not?"

She shifted slightly away from him. "Until further notice, it's not our jurisdiction, it belongs to the C.A.A"

"HAA!" Nightwalker let out a laugh so long it shook the lift. "Jurisdiction. Alright... who's gonna be in this little meeting anyway."

The doors slid open as they made their way down the corridor towards the meeting room.

As she slightly pushed the door open for him, she said, "All the Paragons will be in attendance."

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