July 24, 4021 08:45 [Manzhouli- Matriarch 04 Sun Rock]

The hairs on Tengri’s neck stood on edge as he watched the shadows envelop the boy’s body. Ink-like liquid coiled around his broken frame, forming a dark mass that exuded a suffocating malice. An air of dread thickened the atmosphere, almost like poison. By now, the other Homunculi had come to their senses, nursing their injuries and gathering behind the instructor. Confusion and terror ran rampant through the crowd as they watched the mass pulsate and grow larger with each passing second. Whoever this boy was, Tengri knew that the danger he posed was far beyond that of a normal Homunculus. He turned to the nearest trainee, yelling, “Call for the Suppression Unit, now! Evacuate all Homunculi and personnel from the building! I’ll hold it off until help arrives. Hurry!”

The Homunculus with sapphire eyes nodded quickly, staring at the compounding darkness. Black tendrils shot out of its collagenic body, writhing as they struggled to take form.

“Go!” Tengri yelled at the girl, snapping her out of her trance. She turned her attention to the frightened group, directing them to the nearest exit, calling out orders, and funneling people out of the arena. She took one last glance at the flailing mass of shadow before leaving, dragging along a protesting Homunculus with emerald eyes. Those two look familiar. Have I seen them somewhere before? Tengri shook his head. No. Must be a coincidence. Better not dwell on that right now. The Hyena brushed off his thoughts, focusing his attention on the issue at hand.

The creature lunged forward, a surging mass of darkness, overflowing with wrath, a guttural scream escaping its gaping maw. Tengri moved swiftly, deftly evading the attacks of the beast. He leapt above the monster as it thrashed about, breaking the ground with its tendrils. The instructor landed on the high-rise of the arena, effortlessly balancing on the scaffolding as he observed the blind beast’s mannerisms. It swept the area in a wide arc using its tendrils, gathering its bearings. A creature in its infancy, perhaps?

He continued to observe the beast’s rampage until, abruptly, it ceased its incessant thrashing. Slowly swiveling its head back and forth, it delicately turned its body, seemingly forgetting about the prior damage it had caused. Tengri raised an eyebrow; the creature’s strange behavior piqued his interest. What is it searching for? He watched as the beast carefully slid its tendrils across the ridges and valleys of the arena, internalizing the topography of the land, acknowledging its surroundings. It seemed to be gaining spatial awareness. Intrigue overrode Tengri’s sense of caution. It’s learning! How quaint! Maybe I should show it to that sexy new researcher. She seems like the type to enjoy this stuff. Tengri grinned, licking his lips. Of course, that’s only if I don’t kill this kid first.

The creature continued to meander, inching its way around the arena until it stood facing the direction of the Hyena. He sensed no malice from the beast, yet a feeling of uneasiness set in, perpetuated by its silence. His muscles contracted as he gathered energy into his legs apprehensively. Two bubbling masses appeared on top of the creature’s head. Cat-like ears popped out of the shifting tumors, twitching every which way, picking up sounds from all around the arena. Two more masses appeared on its face, pure white eyes breaking through the surface of its inky skin. The creature’s pupilless eyes seemed to settle on Tengri. His body twitched, immediately moving as the beast reared its ears back, crouching low to the ground.

An immense pressure surrounded the creature, a suffocating atmosphere of malice filling the arena once more. Tengri’s instincts screamed at him to run away as the muscles in his legs released an enormous amount of energy, propelling him into the air. The pitch-black horror let out a blood-curdling howl as beads of ink erupted from its pores, floating all around the arena. In an instant, the creature morphed into a minuscule orb, shooting through the array of ink beads, beelining towards Tengri. As it emerged from the final bead, it morphed back into its colossal form right below the instructor.

If the Hyena were a sliver slower, the beast would have cleaved him in two. Tengri's head snapped in the direction of the beast, barely evading its attack by the skin of his teeth. He crossed his fingers into the symbol for storm, channeling energy into them.

“Heaven's Descent,” he said, almost in a whisper.

An azure sphere enveloped both Tengri and the creature. Idle clouds in the sky began to congregate in a swirling pattern, saturating the atmosphere with water. Immediately, the collection of vapor began to part, revealing an array of ultramarine orbs overflowing with energy. Tengri looked at the beast with disdain, pointing two fingers to the heavens.

“Repent,” he said, bringing his fingers down.

The instant the word was uttered, the malignant shadow was torn to shreds. Beams of cerulean energy rained down upon the pitiful beast, ripping into the mass of darkness as it wailed in despair, eviscerating its flesh. Soon, the ink dissipated into nothing and only the body of the boy remained. Tengri sighed. There goes all my Shakti for the day. What a pain. I should have just made Jin clean up this mess. Oh well. The Hyena mused as he dove to catch the boy before he fell to the ground, stopping short as a golden net propelled through the air, snatching the boy’s unconscious body away. A grapple attached to the net reeled the boy back to the ground where the Suppression Unit had gathered alongside a furious-looking Jin. Each soldier was ironclad in pure black Sanitation Gear, an insignia with the head of a crow emblazoned on their left shoulder. Helmets and gas masks with red lenses protected their heads. Multiple members held stun batons and a few held Virya shotguns. Tengri landed on the ground lightly, grimacing as he was confronted by his business partner.

“What the fuck is going on, Tengri? Why did you evacuate the entire arena? Do you have any idea what you’re doing? You’re driving away all our customers! How are we supposed to operate a business with zero clientele?!” Jin yelled, practically foaming at the mouth.

Tengri scratched his head nonchalantly. “Dunno what you’re so worried about. Kǔ Shén pays us more than enough already.”

Jin pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. “No, he pays you more than enough to train the defects. He pays me jack shit!” he said through clenched teeth. “I need these customers, so you better give me a good reason as to why you had our entire building shut down,” he finished, pointing at the tired-looking instructor.

Tengri directed Jin’s attention to the boy in the golden net. “That kid transformed into some kind of monster. I couldn’t take him down and keep the other defects safe at the same time,” he explained.

Jin turned to Tengri raising an eyebrow. “You couldn’t do both?” He glanced over at the boy again. “The fuck is this kid’s Trait?”

Tengri shrugged. “I couldn’t tell you. I have no clue. Whatever it is, it has a mind of its own.”

“Does Kǔ Shén know about this kid?”

“He must, considering he was the one who approved the transfer for each of the defects.”

Jin’s expression turned sour. “This kid looks like a troublemaker. He could cause us a lot of problems in the future. Should we just kill him? We can tell Kǔ Shén that he lost control and that we had no other choice but to put him down,” he suggested.

Tengri pondered for a moment, weighing the outcomes. “It would be a pain if he continued to cause issues. Why not? One missing defect isn’t going to raise any concerns.”

Jin grinned at the thought of slaughtering the nuisance. “Sound good to me!”

He moved towards the Suppression Unit, eyeing the boy eagerly. A soldier stepped in front of him, extending an arm out to halt him. He had a Subjugator strapped to his back, the rectangular sword’s hilt extending past his shoulder.

“He’s in our custody now, sir. Thank you for alerting us as soon as the issue arose. And thank you to Sir Tengri for holding him back until we arrived,” the soldier stated.

Tengri accepted the thanks, indulging the soldier with a bow.

“Are you sure the net will hold him? I know your tech is supposed to be good, but he could wake up and turn into that monster again,” Jin questioned the soldier, feigning concern.

“Not to worry, sir. Our R&D team developed the net with reinforced Virya, so the Other should be kept at bay as long as it’s present,” the soldier answered.

Other? Tengri moved to where Jin and the soldier were standing, addressing the soldier.

“Fine, but you should see to it that the kid’s wounds are healed. He has some broken r—” As Tengri stepped forward, the soldier’s left arm reached for the hilt of his sword, gripping it tightly.

Jin’s eyes flared in anger. Tengri extended an arm in front of him, dissuading any rash decisions.

“So that’s how it’s going to be? I’m guessing you Crows will be taking him for your little science experiments then? Oh, I’m sure the Vultures in R&D will have a heyday with the data you extract from him. Is Kǔ Shén behind this?” Jin accused.

The Crow remained silent, still gripping the hilt of the Subjugator.

Tengri waved him off, figuring another course of action would be better. “Look, I don’t care what happens to this kid. I’ve got more than enough defects to deal with. But—” He raised a finger. “If he survives your experiments, bring him to me. I’ve taken an interest in his future…” he trailed off, staring at the boy.

The Crow followed his gaze, stopping at the boy. “No injuries,” he muttered, turning back to Tengri.

Jin looked to Tengri for an explanation, but the instructor continued to stare.

“Well, if that’s all you wanted to say, then I think we can handle it from here. No need to take up any more of your time. I know you two Hyenas have more important things to do,” the Crow said.

Jin scoffed, shooting the soldier a look of disgust before turning to leave, followed by Tengri.

As they reached the exit, Jin glanced at Tengri. His face had contorted into a devilish expression, lips twisted in a fervent smile as a feverish excitement took hold of him.

He chuckled to himself. “Oh, this is very interesting, hehehe.”

Jin rolled his eyes, proceeding through the exit.

As he passed through the exit, Tengri took one last glance at the Crow holding the Subjugator. A sudden realization dawned upon him, causing his smile to twist even further. What a sweet surprise!

He whispered to himself, giddily, “We’re going to have lots of fun with you and your friend, aren’t we, Cecil?”