“Are you sure Cyrus? There is still time to reconsider,” asked Morgan with a concerned tone. He and Cyrus were both standing in the corner of a large room next to a computer watching as the World Gate was being completed.

“Positive. Only a ‘Degenerate, Sleazy, Psychopathic, Vicious, Homicidal, Bloodthirsty, Inhuman, Lunatic of a Necromancer’ like me can do this.” Cyrus said half-jokingly. He was wearing his combat uniform with a ski mask covering his head. Only his eyes were visible.

“Don’t take what she said to heart. You know she didn’t mean it. Megan was just surprised. It isn’t every day that you find out your best friend is one of the most wanted terrorists in the world. Especially one with a brutal history like yours.”

“Brutal is putting it lightly. Anyway, how is the evac coming along?” Cyrus asked.

Morgan looked down at his computer keeping an eye on the security cameras. “Almost done. Megan and Elliot left a few days ago. The other bases have already been evacuated. Our base is the only one left and the World Gate is almost completed.”

“So what’s the situation like in The Twilight Realm?” Cyrus asked out of curiosity. He knew that they were leaving Earth to go to a different world but even as Vice Commander of Dusk he didn’t know anything about it except the name.

Morgan took a moment to think before saying, “In a word, chaotic. In terms of technology, we are behind Earth but we’ve been making strides since we came to Earth. In Magic, we are far more advanced with about 1 in 4 people able to use Magic. While on Earth there are less than 1,000 1st Tier Mages and only a handful of 2nd Tier Mages including you. If we are talking about war then you’d be surprised by how easily you can start and finish them.”

Cyrus let out a slight chuckle. “Sounds like my kind of place. What’s our situation like in The Twilight Realm?”

“Not good but not bad either. My father is a Duke of the Ashfall Empire and the Ashfall Empire is only ranked 4th in terms of power amongst the 7 nations on the Astria Continent.”

“Not good but not bad.” Cyrus echoed Morgan’s words to describe the situation. “But still, for the Peirce Family to be high ranking Nobles is impressive.”

Morgan grinned, “Not Peirce. Peirce is just the alias we used while operating on Earth. Our actual Family Name is Gray.”

“Anything else I need to know about, Mr. Gray?” Cyrus asked in a sarcastic tone.

“Well, there is one more thing. Once we go to the other side you will officially become a member of the Gray Family. Either as my adopted son or through marriage, your choice.”

Cyrus raised both hands up and said, “Hold up! I’m only 17. My life only just began and you’re already trying to chain me down to some stranger.”

Morgan raised his hand and flicked Cyrus on the forehead. “You’ll be marrying Megan, not some stranger. And the sooner the better. Political Marriages are still a thing and I want her to be happy.”

“If it’s Megan then I have no problem with it. There’s only one issue, she’s real pissed right now.” Cyrus’s shoulders drooped in exaggeration.

Morgan rolled his eyes. “I told you earlier. She’ll get over the whole terrorist thing real quick.”

“She didn’t just find out about the terrorist thing, she also found out about the brothel. She probably won’t be talking to me for at least a month.” Cyrus rubbed his temple with his right hand.

“Maybe two months. How’d she find out?” Morgan asked with a teasing grin.

Cyrus smiled. “Funny story. As I usually do, I was drinking at the bar with the guys across the street before bringing them to the brothel to celebrate having successfully completing another job and surviving. The only problem was I drank too much as I wasn’t feeling anything. Bad choice. The alcohol hit me like a hammer to the head and I knocked out in the lounge with two girls on my arms. The guys had already gone to their own rooms. There was no one to take me home or watch me.

With me being a VIP, the girls couldn’t just leave me unconscious in the alley outback. So they unlocked my phone and texted one of my contacts. Here’s the problem, I only have three names in my contacts saved. Boss, Other Boss, and Only Friend.”

Morgan raised a questioning eyebrow.

“Megan changed it a while ago and I didn’t bother changing it back. Anyway, the girls texted Only Friend thinking a guy would show up to take me home. They were real shocked when Megan showed up with her usual three scary-looking bodyguards. Megan interrogated the girls and they spilled everything.

So when I woke up in Megan’s bed, the first thing that came to mind was ‘Is it too late to pretend I died in my sleep?’ She hasn’t really spoken to me since except to call me a number of choice words when she found out I was also a terrorist.”

“Good luck with that,” Morgan said while patting Cyrus’s shoulder. It was then that the security alarms went off. Morgan and Cyrus turned their attention to the security cameras. Several APC’s had entered the area.

Almost as if on cue, a soldier dressed similarly to Cyrus approached them and saluted them. “Commander Morgan, preparations are complete and we only need you to activate the World Gate.”

Morgan waved the soldier off and looked at Cyrus. “Remember to follow the plan Cyrus. We can’t let them follow us back.”

“I know. Use all the Undead I have set up to stall the WDF until the recruits all make it through the portal. At which point I activate the bomb and go through the gate. The bomb will go off five seconds after activating and will reduce the place to rubble, effectively erasing all evidence of the World Gate. Anyone unlucky enough to be near the base will probably be killed. One problem though, why are we sending people one at a time?”

“We didn’t have the proper materials to make the World Gate. If we send more than one person at a time then the World Gate will collapse.” Morgan clapped Cyrus on the back and walked over to the World Gate. Concentrating his Magic Power onto his finger he wrote several things directly onto the frame of the World Gate. Seconds after Morgan pulled his hand away the World Gate came to life and opened a pitch-black portal making it impossible to see to the other side.

Taking one last glance at Cyrus, Morgan went through the World Gate followed by the recruits one by one.

Cyrus focused his attention on the security cameras and watched as the WDF began to set up just outside of his striking range. Their APC’s unloaded hundreds of soldiers who got to work setting up a perimeter around the entire base.

Cyrus could only watch helplessly as they established themselves in just a couple of minutes. With only a quarter of the personnel through the World Gate, Cyrus decided to meet the WDF head-on.

Sitting on a chair in front of the monitor, Cyrus closed his eyes and cast [Sensory Link]. This spell would let him see through the eyes of any of his Undead within range. Using this spell he connected with an Undead Skeletal Warrior hidden in the nearby trees behind the WDF.

He watched them closely from behind and moved around some of the Undead Skeletal Mages he had buried in the forest previously. He moved them around as silently as possible. When they were in position he opened his eyes and looked at the security cameras.

A team of soldiers had set up explosives on the door and were about to breach the base.

Cyrus watched them as they detonated the explosive and went inside the building.

Using [Sensory Link] again, Cyrus connected to an Undead Skeletal Mage inside the base near the breach. He moved nearby Undead and attacked the soldiers. His Skeletal Warriors took the lead with a large shield and Skeletal Mages shooting their Magic from the back.

Three soldiers died before they were forced back out of the entrance. Having stopped their advance, Cyrus recalled his Undead to hide deeper in the hallway away from the entrance.

Disconnecting from the Skeletal Mage, Cyrus focused his attention back onto the cameras. Several teams of soldiers got in position near the entrance. It looked like the next wave of soldiers was going to be harder to fend off.

As the next team of soldiers entered the building, Cyrus once again moved his Undead to confront them. Only this time the WDF had sent in a team of Mages. Having already been prepared they made quick work of the Undead.

It as then that Cyrus heard several explosions ring out from outside the base. Looking through all the cameras it looked like the WDF had decided to breach all the walls to the base and began pouring into the building like water.

Cyrus moved all the remaining Undead in the building to counter the WDF. Magic could be heard being shot back and forth. Dozens of Undead were quickly destroyed but just as many people were killed.

As the WDF gradually became more and more focused on the battle on the inside, Cyrus gave the command to the Undead outside to launch their surprise attack. Terrified screaming could be heard from the reserves as they tried to desperately defend themselves.

Within a couple of minutes, half the reserves were killed. The survivors had to move back to the base and join the main force to defend themselves against the incoming Undead.

Even with all the loses the soldiers continued to fight with everything they had. The fear of certain death if they failed in their mission today pushed them further. They moved as quickly as they could.

Seeing all the chaos unfold brought a smile to Cyrus’s face. He turned his attention to the few people that still needed to go through the gate. “Move a bit faster boys, they’re about to breach this room too!”

It was at this moment that the wall to the far left of the room exploded inwards followed by the wall directly in front of Cyrus.

Cyrus pulled out his pistol from his holster and fired at the WDF while simultaneously giving orders to the undead in the room to intercept them. Several soldiers died as the bullets from Cyrus’s pistol all hit their mark. Cyrus continued to fire until all his ammunition had been used up.

He looked back at the World Gate and saw only a couple of people were left. Cyrus was making his way to the gate when the wall next to him blew up and threw him against the two recruits who were about to go through the gate.

Cyrus stood up and looked at the soldier who had just blown a new hole into the wall. A soldier with arms thicker than Cyrus’s thigh strode in. It looked like he had directly smashed the wall with his bare hands than with any explosives. He charged at Cyrus like a raging bull.

Cyrus dodged to the side and while attempting to trip the man. Using that split second as the man regained his balance, Cyrus brought his knife down onto the man's neck with all his strength.

The knife didn't even break his skin when it broke.

“Shit!” was the only thing Cyrus was able to say as the man punched Cyrus, launching him into the wall away from the World Gate. Cyrus felt his consciousness beginning to fade. He reached into his pocket and pressed the detonator for the bomb. The last two recruits had already long gone into the gate.

In the background, the last thing Cyrus heard was the man screaming, “BOMB! ACTIVATE AEGIS!”

--------------------

Cyrus awoke with a start. He was surprised because he didn’t expect to ever wake up again. The room he was in was pitch black. His four limbs were chained tightly to the wall spread eagle while naked.

“I guess that plan went out the window.” Cyrus tried to use Magic only to find out that he couldn’t. All his Magic Power felt like it was being sucked away. With nothing else to do Cyrus closed his eyes and waited in the darkness.

Not long later, in the pitch-black room, a door opened revealing a man wearing pure black clothes. “Good morning Cyrus, how do you feel?” he said in a monotone voice.

“Pretty rested. Could use a bit of breakfast. So what do you say we get out of here, go to the cafeteria and load up on some donuts?” Cyrus said jokingly to the man.

The man looked at Cyrus and turned back around. “No. 34 take him to the interrogation room.” He said to someone waiting outside the door in his monotone voice.

No. 34 who was outside the door walked in and pressed a few buttons on the wall. With a clicking sound, the chains holding the cuffs on Cyrus’s limbs to the wall detached, dropping Cyrus on to the floor.

He tried to pick himself up but the cuffs were too heavy for him to move. No. 34 turned around and snapped his fingers. Cyrus started to float following behind him. 

No. 34 brought Cyrus to a new room and laid him spread eagle. All around the room Cyrus could see various torture instruments. Cyrus already knew what was in store for him.

Shortly after the man in black walked into the room. “I have a few more interrogations to do today so let's do this quickly.”

“Yes Doctor A. Everything is all set, you can begin at any time,” said No. 34.

Doctor A looked at Cyrus. “ We will begin by asking you basic questions. Is your name Cyrus?”

“No. It’s Re-” Cyrus didn’t finish the sentence when heard the sound of a bell go off followed by a sharp pain in his abdomen. “Son of a-”

Doctor A grabbed Cyrus’s jaw with one hand and said “Answer me truthfully or else,” in his usual monotone voice.

“Fine, fine. I’ll do my best to answer your questions.” Once again the bell rang followed by sharp pain.

“Cooperate and you won’t suffer as much.”

“How do I know you're telling the truth?” Cyrus didn’t believe him.

“That bell rings as long as anyone inside this room says a lie. I don’t want to torture you,” The bell rang. “Do you believe me now?”

“No, but ask away. What do you want to know?”

“Are you Cyrus the Necromancer?”

“Yes.”

“Are you really 17 years old?”

“Correct.”

“Why do you look like an old man?”

“Death Type Magic has some pretty nasty side effects for any living being. The common ones being the loss of vitality and mental damage. You can mitigate these side effects by using live sacrifices when casting Death Type Magic. Or alternatively, you can use magic to become a Lich and not worry about the side effects at all. I didn’t want to be a Lich and I have a friend who would probably get really mad if they found out I was using sacrifices to cast my Magic.” said Cyrus in a sad tone.

Doctor A remained silent waiting for the bell to ring. “Very well. Next question, when were you born?”

“Don’t know. I chose a date and made it my birthday.”

“Were you knowingly working with people from other worlds?”

“Of course.”

“Do you know from what world they came from?”

“No.” the bell rang once again followed by more pain.

“Answer honestly. Once again, do you know what world they came from?”

“Yes.”

“What world?”

“Ain’t saying.” Cyrus had a strong sense of loyalty. He refused to give out any information that would work against Megan or her family.

“No. 34 get me my tools.” A hint of joy flashed in Doctor A’s eyes. “Now Cyrus, answer me before I’m forced to use my imagination to make you talk. I would hate to torture you.” The bell rang.

--------------------

1 Year Later…

Doctor A was standing in front of a desk giving his report to the Chief of the Interrogation Department. “Prisoner 132 has not given us any useful information. Not even the name of the world in which he was helping. I have exhausted every possible means to get him to talk. His health is rapidly declining and will be lucky to survive until the end of the week. Healing Magic isn’t working on him anymore and seems to be having the opposite effects. After the next round of questioning, I want permission to dispose of him.”

The Chief looked at Doctor A trying to decide on what to do with Prisoner 132. After a few minutes, he let out a heavy sigh. “I guess it can’t be helped. I’ll inform the higher-ups. Prisoners 141 through 160 are set to be disposed of tomorrow. Go ahead and send Prisoner 132 as well.”

“Thank you.” Doctor A excused himself and went to where all the prisoners were being held. Cries of pain could constantly be heard. Doctor A had never felt pity for any of the people.

All the people being held captive in the facility were terrible people. The only thing that had stopped them from being killed was the information they held. The worst criminal they had gotten yet had been responsible for the deaths of over 80,000 people.

Doctor A stopped in front of a cell and went inside. Leaning against the wall was a limbless man. His ears and nose were missing, eyes gouged out, and many pieces of skin were missing all over the place.

Doctor A looked at him and said “Good news, I just need you to confirm a few things and I will send you away from here.”

“Great but before that can you answer a few of my questions? I feel we have a connection after spending so many nights together.” Cyrus said in a raspy voice.

“We’ll see. What do you want to know?” Doctor A said in his usual tone.

“How did I end up captured. I was sure the bomb should have killed everyone in the base.” It was the one question that had been bugging Cyrus for a while now.

Doctor A briefly went silent before speaking. “With the exception of you and 7 others, the explosion killed all 532 personnel in or near the base. 400 of which were 1st Tier Mages and two 2nd Tier Mages. It was fortunate that Captain Yates was able to activate the Aegis in time or all you would have died.”

“Guess I’m ready to die now. What more do you want to ask before I go?”

“Is true that you are solely responsible for the deaths of 80,000 people?”

“No. I think it’s close to 100,000 if not more.”

“Do you feel any remorse for any of the lives you have taken?”

“Never have and I never will.” Cyrus never felt bad for killing someone, he is a Necromancer after all. The more dead on the battlefield, the more soldiers he would have.

“That’s all I needed to confirm. I think it’s only fair to tell you why I paid extra care with you. My wife, 4 children, and the rest of my family were caught in the crossfire of one of your skirmishes. They blew up an entire apartment complex on Thanksgiving Day because they thought you were hiding there.” Doctor A said in a sad voice.

“We both know I’m not going to apologize for that. I had already left the city by the time that happened.”

“Nonetheless, it was you they were after.” Doctor A turned around and left the cell. Waiting outside was No. 34.

“I have the poison right here.” No. 34 showed Doctor A the syringe. “It will kill him slowly and painfully over the course of 12 hours.”

Doctor A nodded his head and said, “Cut off his tongue, feed it to him, and seal his mouth closed after injecting him with the poison.”

“Why?” No. 34 was confused. If he did that then Cyrus would die much faster than with the poison.

“After spending a year with him I feel a bit closer to him so I want to help him end it a bit sooner.” Doctor A said.

Cyrus could only helplessly lay on his back as No. 34 carried out his orders. As he began choking on his blood, his vision began to blur. The world around seemed to be getting farther and farther away.