A giant warship travelled through the void above the 78th floor. Metal gleamed silver on it's surface and light filtered through it's glass surface, shaped like a dome over the head of an eel like metal body.
Each compartment of the eel seemed to hum with an electric pulse, alive with the motion of a thousand working hands, mechanical and biological and some neither. Man and machine worked in tandem, exchanging vast amounts of information and at the head of the eel, in the control centre, sat a beautiful female.
Her face was a mix of perfect features, coming together to form something that anyone would undoubtedly consider beautiful. Her eyes were a glorious and gleaming silver, as was her hair and her eyes were sharp like a sword. She had a cute nose and a sharp chin, and her attire consisted of a baggy jacket and shorts, accompanied at the foot by a pair of sneakers.
Behind her stood an entire entourage of followers, her personal generals. She was none other than the supreme commander of Jahad's army; the killer whale of the tower; the strongest of the king's blood and the princess in possession of the strongest of the 13 months, the Golden November - Arie Adori Jahad.
Her biting eyes stared right ahead, outside of the dome. There, debris and metal floated around, the result of a battle. Wounds opened into large warships and thousands of people dead therein.
In front her rested a set of cards.
They were tarot cards. Six of them in total.
Two of them were the Lovers. One was a Magician. One was a Devil. Another was Judgement. And the final card was the Justice.
This was the result of a whole litany of battles, each on a different floor; with different groups and at the head of which stood a leader with the strangest abilities.
Suffice to say, the First division had cut down all of them; and after they did, they all left behind a single card. More often than not, she did not even need to move. The only occasion she did, was on the Lovers and on Justice.
Apparently, this was some age old civilization coming back to modern times; old gods arising anew - like the mechanoids or the ancients or the primal elements she used to hear so much stories of when she was little. But history had no business being in the present. She knew that. And she would not allow such wisps of history to embed themselves back into the world order and disrupt the balance so painstakingly maintained across centuries of war and peace.
They were troublesome to deal with, but she did not think of them as anything beyond that.
Now.. however.
"Is what you said true?" Her voice rang clear in the hall. Everyone else was silent.
"True as can be." Another voice chimed. It was heavy, yet childlike all the same; a truly strange voice. And out stepped a tall man; though he was dwarfed by almost every other general in the room.
His skin was a pale white and his crimson red eyes gleamed in the light. He wore a grey suit and held an innocent smile on his face.
It did not stop there.
Another man stepped forward. The same pale white skin, the same baleful red eyes, and the same suit. The only difference being that he was an entire head taller.
Another one stepped forth. The same skin, the same eyes and the same suit. The difference lay in that he was fatter than the other two. Another one. Same in all respects except he walked with a limp. Another clone with the exception of his crazed, unfocused eyes. Another one with a broken arm. Another with a cybernetic leg.
A total of 11 people stepped forward.
Instantly and in complete synchronization; they all bowed their heads to the supreme commander of the Jahad forces and spoke in that eerie, ageless voice.
"We greet the supreme commander of the Army. We are Samuel Helmons."
"Curious manner of speech." Adori spoke. The surroundings instantly chilled as if cold steel was slicing the air itself apart. Everyone felt as if a blade was pressed onto their necks. "What proof do you have that you're not one of those freaks that hold the Lovers card?"
Samuel, the one standing at the forefront smiled. "Of course, there's no concrete way for us to prove that fact to you. But we will say this. Everything is not as it seems." His eyes gleamed with intent. "Think of it. If it truly was an ancient god rising from history, what chances would there be that it awakened right at this moment? When two irregulars enter the tower, when the tower is at the verge of war, when Jahad's rule is once again threatened by the heresy of the inhabitants and the people at FUG?
"Does the timing not seem a bit too convenient for you?"
Adori turned in his chair, her silver eyes looking at them. Then, she smiled and chuckled.
"Is that so." She said.
"Indeed." Samuel replied. "The Lovers, the Devil, the Justice, the Strength, the Fool... all of them come from a single source. It is as they say. They are the servant of the same individual, worshippers of the same being. But does anything stop a being from worshipping oneself? What god is greater than oneself? What purpose is greater than self empowerment? Power is a game. And no game is nobler than the act of establishing power over another. And isn't that what they are doing? Each of them, every last one is a being one and the same." He motioned to the others. "Like each of us."
"And who would be the source?" Adori asked.
"If I told you, would you believe me?" He chuckled. "I find that fact hard to believe princess. Do forgive me." The generals at the back held their breaths as their backs became laced with sweat. The audacity. They had never seen someone be so disrespectful to the princess. Not even a family head could be like so, except for Arie Hon himself.
"The world is holding is breath. Whether it breaths or dies holding on, depends on your decisions."
"And what decision would you prefer?" Adori turned fully in her chair, smiling.
The generals felt stranger and stranger. The princess was at times, wilful - and at no point had that wilfulness resulted in easier times for them. But this? This was plain weird. She was asking another person for their opinion?
Regardless, no one spoke. They knew better than to try.
"Does it matter what I prefer?"
"Isn't that why you're here?" Adori shot back. "Trying your luck? I have a feeling I know you."
Samuel chuckled. All of them did. "I assure you princess. We haven't met. But maybe you've heard of me before."
"I thought so as well." Adori spun around and stood from the chair. She walked over to the cards and picked one up.
"So? What's your answer?" She asked without turning back.
"It should be obvious enough." Samuel shrugged. "The Silent Leviathan. Winston Heath."
"And where would he be?"
"He'll be getting off the hell train. At the last station." He laughed. "Everything is in place. I have someone on the Hell Train. An insider, if you will. He'll be great help when we conduct our business."
"You mean us assault a regular while he's on the hell train? And you think he'll lie on his back and watch us kill him?" Adori shook her head. "If the situation is as you say, it'll be a tough game to do so."
"That won't be an issue." He said. "Everything is falling into place. Everything is perfect."
Adori turned around and looked him dead in the eye.
"You should be thankful of your identity." She chuckled. "If not for that-" She flipped the card in her hand. It was the Lovers. Then, the card vanished.
Instantly, every Samuel's head slipped from their shoulders. All except the one at the front.
"You'd be dead on the floor.
"I am aware." He laughed.
Adori turned around again. Then, she called out to her generals.
"Set a new course." She said. "We're heading to the 44th floor. To the last station."
...
A/N: Cheers.