For most of the world, the sky over Cardella, the City of Heroes, was calm as ever.
But deep beneath that calm, an alarm pulsed in the HQ of one of the strongest, most ancient organizations in the world – Pantheon.
A silent alarm in warnings that resonated directly through the Head of Pantheon’s R&D Division.
And he was already moving, his white robes swishing with every hurried step.
His boots struck sharp taps against the polished marble floor as he walked down the corridor while gold-trimmed pillars streaking past him.
Mana lamps bathed everything in a warm glow, but it did nothing to settle the frantic beat in his chest.
The mechanical sentries lining the hallway tracked him with faint amber eyes as he passed.
The double doors at the end of the corridor rose like a wall of carved moonstone with two colossal golem guardians flanking it.
The moment they sensed him approaching, their internal gears shifted, and the massive gates parted.
As he stepped into the office beyond, the tension in his spine doubled instantly.
Calling it an office was almost an insult.
It was a sanctum carved from marble so white it bordered on luminescent, with gold filigree curling like vines along the ceiling and floor.
The far wall was a single continuous pane of enchanted glass overlooking the city.
And at the far end, behind a desk that seemed too simple for the power it commands, sat a woman.
Black hair that bled into red at the tips cascaded over her shoulders, posture relaxed in a primordial calm that hung around her like a mantle with an ageless stillness that made the entire room feel smaller.
Her chair was turned away, facing the cityscape far below.
The man inhaled deeply, steeling himself before-
"Lady Strelitzia!" he called, voice carrying farther than he expected as he pressed a hand over his heart and bowed.
The chair turned slowly.
And red slit pupils met his with an ancient, unblinking, and impossibly calm gaze.
And the next moment, descended that pressure.
An instinctive, primordial command that bypassed thought and went straight to soul.
His knees nearly buckled. Cold sweat ran between his shoulder blades as if someone pressed a blade of ice to his spine.
"M-My Lady," he managed, voice cracking despite his best effort, "... there has been a probable containment breach."
"I know."
Her voice was soft, almost gentle, yet it rolled through the chamber like distant thunder.
"Chimera B-41."
"Y-Yes..." He bowed deeper. "The tracker on the subject stopped responding after a massive power surge."
"It evolved."
She said it like announcing a change in the weather.
"I felt the birth of a dragon."
The man swallowed hard. "Then- "
She cut him off with a fluid wave of her fingers.
"A specialized team was already en route to extract Chimera X-97," she said, turning back toward the view. "Add B-41 to their objectives."
"At once." He bowed again, and quickly turned to leave before his heart gave out.
He was nearly past the threshold when her voice threaded through the air again.
"And, Elion..."
He froze mid-step.
"I know you’re new." Her tone remained calm. "But do not trouble me with every minor hiccup."
He nearly tripped over his own feet as he turned and bowed. "Y-Yes, Lady Strelitzia. My apologies."
Elion slipped out quickly, and the doors sealed shut behind him with a soft echo while his soul itself exhaled in relief.
But her orders carried a ripple that went past Cardella, past the Great Forest and the frozen peaks beyond, even past the Demon Continent, and a multitude of nations before finally landing on four warships, encircling the island from each cardinal direction.
Their weaponry opon their deck resembled cannons only in shape; the muzzles were carved with spell-circuits and runes, each one capable of firing rangeed magic faster than anything on the planet.
And atop the vessel stationed to the south, in its command center, encased in a dome of reinforced mana glass and Adamantite, stood the captain.
Captain Thane Aurelian, a Tier 5 veteran whose white hair did nothing to soften glint in his eyes as he stood with his hands clasped behind his back.
Draped in a white coat studded with medals of past glories, his gaze stayed locked on the island.
At the mass of forested danger, where the Pantheon let loose their little experimental weapon.
It’s been three hours since they lost readings from Chimera B-41’s tracker.
Three hours of nothing but still trees and the sound of the ocean.
And every man and woman in the room felt the weight of that silence.
Every slight tremor of the ship made someone flinch.
"Captain Aurelian... new orders have arrived." Came a voice from behind.
He turned.
And there she was.
Encased in a glass pod, a young woman hovered cross-legged within.
Her body was suspended in mid-air as dozens of ribbons inscribed with luminous runes spiraled around her like rotating planetary rings.
Each ribbon carried a stream of commands, spell-matrices, and mana-thread connections linking her mind to every engine, every weapon, every scanner, every gate aboard the ship.
She wasn’t just the core of the command center.
She was the ship.
"What are they?" the captain asked, voice rough as gravel.
"Orders from the HQ," she replied, her voice strangely serene for someone whose mind was effectively fused to an entire vessel. "We are to hold position and await Team Laps."
The captain raised an eyebrow. "Those brats? Why?"
"They were deployed nearby to extract Chimera X-97. ETA six hours. They will dock with us before entering the containment zone. Their additional objective: secure and extract B-41."
A single dry, humourless, and entirely fake laugh escaped the captain.
"And what do we do in the meantime?" he said. "Stand here... dick in hand?"
The girl didn’t even twitch.
"We are to stand by," she replied simply. "And ensure the Chimera does not leave the island."
He let out a long exhale, part smirk, part frustration.
"You know, Nymira... sometimes I think we’re basically glorified security guards."
The runes continued circling around her, lighting her face with drifting pale light.
"That is an accurate assessment," she said calmly. "Though I would not phrase it that way."
The captain snorted.
Outside the window, the wind howled over the sea.
And the island waited.