I…

MEI…?

…………

“Would you—not George—the Purple Entity, join MEI and help humanity fight back against the growing threats?” 

“Join…” I whispered. 

Krista’s brows furrowed; she looked at me, as if she was also awaiting an answer.

They are like me—they want to help people. If I joined, I could work with a proper organisation to protect the world more effectively. And I wouldn’t have to shoulder everything alone. I looked at Himiko. Her eyes glistened with determination; she didn’t shift her gaze—even for a moment. I looked at Kaoru. He sat there smiling warmly, like a friend inviting me over.

They have information, resources. And I’d be surrounded by people I could trust. We could stop any disaster before it even happens—before anyone has to die.

Maybe…

I lifted my hands off my lap, placing them on the wooden table.

I opened my mouth,

Then—

DON’T

That familiar voice crashed in, existing in my head in a moment.

Why?

TELL THEM YOU NEED A MOMENT TO THINK.

YOU REMEMBER YOUR DUTIES.

I swallowed.

“Can I… just have a moment to think?”

Himiko nodded, “Sure, take as much time as you need. We’ll wait.”

I stood up and slipped through the door. I left behind my tea—still rippling in the mug.

The door opened behind me. “Everything OK, George?” Krista asked.

“I’m fine; I just need some time alone to think.”

Krista stood at the door and swallowed. “You sure?”

“…Can I just… think for a minute?”

She studied my face. “…Of course.”

The door swung shut slowly. I turned around and continued towards my room.

Tapping my fob on the scanner, I threw the door open hurriedly.

DON’T FORGET YOUR DUTIES,

GEORGE.

The voice echoed in my mind as I paced across the room. Duties… What are my duties? Are you talking about… killing Ultrua’is?

AMONG OTHERS, YES.

You’re so vague. I clenched my fists. Why can’t you just tell me?

The voice didn’t respond.

Typical.

………

I took a step towards the front door.

Wrapped my hand around the handle.

I CAN’T TELL YOU.

I froze.

My fingers loosened around the handle. “...What?"

Silence.

"...You can’t?"

NO.

My brow furrowed. "What do you mean, ‘no'?"

THERE ARE THINGS I SHOULDN’T TELL.

I stared blankly ahead. “Why?"

Another long silence.

WHAT MAKES YOU POWERFUL IS NOT YOUR STRENGTH.

IT IS YOUR ABILITY TO CHOOSE.

YOU CHOSE TO INFILTRATE THE SHIP.

YOU CHOSE TO DESTROY THE ORBITAL SHIPYARD.

YOU CHOSE TO SPARE THE CALENARIANS.

EVERY PATH YOU HAVE WALKED HAS BEEN OF YOUR OWN MAKING.

THAT IS WHY YOUR CHOICES MUST REMAIN YOUR OWN.

I exhaled sharply. Whatever. I stepped away from the door, pacing across the room once again. “Why shouldn’t I join MEI? They want to help people. What’s so important about this duty?”

IF YOU STAY…

YOU WILL SAVE THOSE AROUND YOU.

IF YOU LEAVE…

YOU MAY SAVE WORLDS.

A pause.

IF YOU FULFIL YOUR DUTY…

YOU MAY SAVE EVERYTHING.

I swallowed, then repeated the word in a whisper.

“…Everything?”

“Alright,” I stopped in the centre of my room, “if I fulfil this ‘duty’, I’m able to join later, right?”

UNTIL I NEED YOU AGAIN…

YOU CAN USE YOUR POWER TO YOUR HEART’S DESIRE.

“Fine. I’ll tell them.”

No response.

I breathed a long, heavy sigh before leaving the room and returning to the kitchen.

Krista, Himiko, and Kaoru sat at the table as if they hadn’t moved since I left. Himiko sipped on her tea quietly. Beside her, Kaoru lounged in his chair, staring up at the ceiling, while Krista sat opposite them, her hands shyly folded in her lap. My tea remained in my seat, rippling as the door shut behind me.

Krista turned, but didn’t say a word.

Meanwhile, Himiko looked up. “Have you decided?”

“…Y-yeah,” I mumbled as I slid back into my seat.

The three watched eagerly; Krista tried to steer her gaze away, but I could tell she was waiting to hear my answer.

I tried to word my answer in my head, but the silence was agonising.

So I stopped bothering.

Took a deep breath and—

“I… can’t—not yet.”

Himiko’s expression dropped into disappointment, just barely noticeable. She took a deep breath before responding.

“That’s… fine. And don’t worry, we won’t reveal your identity. We’re not on duty anyway, so the office doesn’t even know we’re here.”

“Wait… so you came… just for yourselves.”

“It’s a little bit selfish, but the reason I’m here is because you saved me back in Rengappon.”

The words stroked my heart, with one word in particular hanging heavy in the air.

Saved.

I… did that?

Then it suddenly hit me who she was.

“You’re that… police officer.”

That was all it took for her face to change completely. It was one of shock and joy, different to the corporate-esque smile she wore before.

“Y-yes… that’s me.” She whispered. “Thank you.”

Those words hit me like a truck.

Thank you.

It’s strange. I saved countless people that day. Their faces all blurred together as buildings collapsed, and monsters were slaughtered. It all became noise. But I remember her. That look of fear. The look that changed into hope the moment she saw me. I must’ve saved many people throughout the whole time I’ve used this power—

But this is the first time I’ve seen the result of my actions.

Someone looked me in the eye.

…and simply said,

Thank you.

She continued speaking, “You’re one of the reasons I joined MEI. You jumped headfirst into danger to save people with power I imagine you don’t even understand.”

“Yeah… don’t understand is an understatement.”

“…At MEI, we’ve been researching the power you use.”

My eyes shot open. “Really? How?”

“It’s called Aethesium,” Kaoru jumped in. “Or at least, that's what we're calling it. We don't actually know what it is.” Kaoru leaned forward. “When you first appeared in Okoppo, then later in Rengappon, we thought you were an isolated phenomenon…

…But no.”

He held up one finger. “Then we found traces of the same substance in the creatures you fought.” A second. “Then it started appearing in wildlife.” A third. “Then people started developing abilities.”

He rested his hand back on the table. “That's when we realised it wasn't just you. It was spreading.”

“Spreading?” My eyes narrowed. “What do you mean?”

“The threats we face seem to get more powerful as Aethesium grows.”

Himiko’s fist tensed on the table.

I looked back at Kaoru. “So… is it literally spreading?”

“We’re not entirely sure yet. The amount of Aethesium in the world does seem to grow, but we’re not entirely sure what it is. Our current theory is that it's connected to the Entities.”

“Us?”

“That’s how we realised you were in Grossaint. The concentration here was much stronger than in the other places you were spotted in.”

“I-is it bad?” I blurted out nervously.

“We don’t know,” Himiko reassured me gently.

“So what actually is this… Aethesium then?”

“Honestly,” Kaoru said, “as much as we’ve learned so far, we don’t know. On a basic level, it’s a substance that mutates living matter.”

“Hey, you mentioned back at the campus something about powers. Do you two have powers?”

Himiko stayed quiet…

Whereas Kaoru—

“It’s amazing! George, wanna hear it?”

“Erm… Sure.”

The young man leaned forward. "The moment someone makes eye contact with me, time doesn't actually stop—it just feels like it does to me. I get four snapshots of what they're about to do.”

"Like... photographs?”

“Kind of, but they appear more like ghostly silhouettes of the action”

“…I think I understand.”

He leaned back in his seat. “The details aren’t important, don’t worry.” Kaoru’s eyes shot open as he jumped straight to his own question. “Hey, how do yours work? Do you always have to switch into that purple form?”

I looked at my hand. “I’m not entirely sure. I can fly super fast, hit super hard, and I…” Don’t have to eat. The thought cut in. I shrugged it off. “I can also shoot blasts as well, although I’ve not really used it often; that’s more to—erm, never mind.”

I froze. Kaoru looked between Himiko and me, eyes wide.

Shit.

Himiko smiled. “…the red one?”

“Uh…” Dammit, what do I do? Do I lie? No, there’s no point, I’ve gone too far. Although, I could… redirect, give them a different name. To… Thomas? No, that’s the same name. Tobi? Tobias?

It was already too late; my hesitation had already answered for me. The two stared at me. A single bead of sweat rolled down my forehead.

Himiko placed her hand on her chin. She looked deeply at the wood, eyes narrow. Does she know something?

Then she leaned forward.

“Tom O’Clerigh?”

My heart sank. I don’t know Tom’s last name, but… do they already know him?

She leaned back into her seat. “In a refugee shelter, a survivor named Tom O’Clerigh went missing. He lost a leg, so it didn’t make sense for him to go far.”

I was frozen solid, listening intently.

She continued. “That’s not all; the red entity was also seen in the shelter. You were about to say his name, Tom, weren’t you?”

I didn’t respond.

“Therefore, Tom O’Clerigh and the red entity are one and the same, am I right?”

I was frozen solid. How did she figure all that out? Who is this woman?

I let out a long sigh. “I don’t actually know who that is.”

Himiko raised a brow.

“I only met the red entity when we were fighting the Hive. I knew there was another—“

“How come?” Himiko jumped in.

“I…” No. I can’t tell them about God. “I just… heard about him. But I’ve never met him in his human form, so I actually don’t know.”

The two remained quiet as they took in the new found information. Himiko looked down at the table again, deep in thought.

Then she looked up, face stiffened, “How many entities do you know?”

“Just the red one… why?”

Himiko and Kaoru looked at each other.

Have they met more? God talked about Ultrua’is but I’ve never heard of or seen any more other than Tom.

Himiko leaned forward, thinking for a moment before she opened her mouth. “We came face to face with a blue one a while ago.”

“I’ve never seen a blue one before.”

“Green? Yellow? Orange?”

“N-no… honestly, I’ve only seen a red one.”

“Interesting,” Himiko murmured, her face unreadable.

The two began to talk to each other in Nepponese; I darted my head between them, unable to follow.

“What are you talking about? Are there more?”

The two’s heads shot towards me.

Himiko cleared her throat. “We captured an alien general.”

“A calenerian?”

“A what?” Kaoru asked.

“Oh… erm, that’s what they’re called.”

“How the hell do you know that?”

“I… I went to their planet. To destroy their orbital shipyard.”

Kaoru snorted. “…Wow. Erm, what was it like?”

Himiko looked at me, brows furrowed slightly.

I closed my eyes, visualising the planet in my mind.

“It wasn’t much different to Earth except it was dying. There were massive patches of desert, drained of all its life to fuel the people. But the planet was also covered in cities full of…”

I struggled to finish my sentence.. “…families… children…”

The veteran.

“They weren’t… Monsters.”

As I opened my eyes, Himiko and Kaoru looked at each other, then back at me, their expressions downcast.

Himiko exhaled softly. “The general said something about an advent.”

Advent.

The word echoed once in my head. It reminded me of something God said: “THEY FEAR YOU.… THEY FEAR WHAT YOU ARE”. The Calenarians invaded Earth because… of us.

Could the advent be—

Agony.

A white-hot spike drove through my skull.

I staggered, catching myself on the edge of the table.

My vision blurred; with all my strength, I tried to concentrate. “What… are you talking about?”

“Everything OK?” Kaoru asked.

“George?” Krista placed a hand on my shoulder. “What’s wrong?”

“No—what did the general say?”

Himiko exchanged a glance with Kaoru. “…are you sure?”

The pain slowly receded, leaving a dull throb behind my eyes. I forced myself upright. “Yes,” I muttered through gritted teeth. “I’m fine... continue.”

Himiko held my gaze.

“Sure.”

She took a slow breath.

“It was right after the invasion ended.”

The interrogation room smelled of disinfectant and stale sweat left behind by countless criminals before him. Cold-white fluorescent lights buzzed overhead, washing the grey concrete walls in a sterile glow. Thick black cables snaked across the walls and ceiling, disappearing into a steel terminal positioned opposite the prisoner.

The room had been built to interrogate humans.

Today, it held something else.

The alien general sat motionless behind the steel table. Exhaustion had hollowed its fluorescent eyes. Its turquoise skin looked dull beneath the harsh lights, and the breathing apparatus fixed around its neck hissed quietly with every strained breath. It stared into the glass that divided the two rooms.

BB hovered between the interrogators and the prisoner, just behind the glass. Bundles of cables ran from the little machine into the walls and then into the terminal behind it, translating the General's guttural croaks into lines of text that scrolled across the screen.

Kaoru folded his arms. "Poor BB... he looks like a lab rat.”

Aiko nudged him. "Your sweet baby's fine. I'm sure he's thrilled to be involved in humanity's greatest scientific breakthrough.”

Himiko smiled faintly. "Is that right, BB?”

The little machine let out an enthusiastic beep.

The General slowly turned its head.

It croaked. Words began appearing across the terminal.

Kaoru leaned over to read them.

"What... is... that... disgusting slug…?"

He coughed awkwardly. “...Battle Bot, actually.”

Mrs Isamu pressed the microphone. "Why did you invade Earth?”

The General stared at the terminal for several long seconds before answering.

"The vessels.”

Mrs Isamu frowned. "The Purple, Red... and Blue entities?”

The General reacted. It let out a tired, almost disbelieving laugh.

"All of them.”

Silence settled over the room.

Kaoru blinked. "...All of them?”

The General's breathing apparatus hissed.

“Red. Purple. Blue. Green. Yellow. Orange. Every. Single. One.”

Himiko felt her stomach tighten. "...How many are there?”

The General closed its eyes.

“Hundreds. Thousands. Millions. Who can be sure?.”

Mrs Isamu remained unmoved. "What are these vessels?”

The General answered immediately.

“Harbingers… Executioners.”

Kaoru forced out a nervous laugh. "You're making them sound like the apocalypse.”

The General slowly turned to face him. Its fluorescent eyes were completely empty.

"They are.”

Kaoru's smile disappeared. Even BB fell silent.

No. That’s wrong. Himiko knew this was wrong. An apocalypse wouldn’t have saved her that day.

Mrs Isamu leaned closer to the microphone. "Then why invade Earth?”

The General looked at her as though she had asked why stars shone.

"To survive.”

"Survive what?”

Another hiss escaped its breathing apparatus.

“The Watcher’s Advent.”

Nobody spoke.

Himiko finally broke the silence. "...The Advent?”

The General's gaze drifted somewhere far beyond the interrogation room. Far beyond Earth.

“If the… Watcher wills it…”

Its voice became almost a whisper.

"Worlds fall silent.”

Watcher. Advent. None of the words meant anything. Every answer only gave birth to more questions.

Mrs Isamu's expression hardened.

"Who is the Watcher?”

The General froze. For the first time, there was genuine fear on its face. Its pupils trembled. Its breathing quickened.

Several seconds passed before it answered.

"We do not speak its name. ”

BB emitted a nervous beep. Nobody acknowledged it.

Mrs Isamu continued. "You mentioned a saviour.”

The General lowered its head.

“The one who defied the Watcher.”

Its voice softened.

“The one who gave us hope.”

Mrs Isamu exchanged a brief glance with Himiko. Hope? For the empire that had slaughtered countless innocent lives?

The General slowly raised its head.

"You do not understand.”

Its voice shook.

"Your people believe yourselves to be the victims.”

Its eyes settled on Aiko.

“Women."

Then Nozomi.

“Children."

Then Himiko.

"Entire worlds.”

Finally…

It looked through the observation glass. As though it were staring far beyond everyone in the room.

"All will fall beneath the vessels.”

The words hung in the air as the room fell silent. Even Mrs Isamu lost the words to speak.

Humanity had stepped into a war far more complex than they ever realised.

As Himiko finished retelling the story, the pain in my head receded. I didn’t even know what to think.

I just sat there…

In silence.