Fifty years ago, scientists attempted the impossible: to make human life eternal. But while searching for a solution, they stumbled upon something even more unbelievable—a gateway to another world. A parallel plane where creatures we once considered mere myths—elves, kitsunes, draconians, nekomatas—lived in relative peace.
They should never have touched it.
Instead of humans invading that world, it was the other way around. Something went terribly, terribly wrong. Reality shattered, and the races from that realm were torn from their home and pulled into ours. The event became known as the Zero Fragment.
For a time, humans tried to welcome them. But fear inevitably turned into hatred. Eventually, coexistence became nothing but a façade—and soon, a new leader emerged.
Nix.
She rose like a deity—the daughter of the then-president—and, in a coup the media still calls a "peaceful transition," took power. Her first act was to banish all non-human races underground. Then, she built Neo, a technological city-state where only the "pure" lived beneath the sunlight.
What seemed like a utopia soon revealed its true face. Nix established a dictatorship, silenced dissenters, burned churches, banned religions, crushed freedoms. And with that… she also took my parents.
Since then, I have waited… for the right moment to strike back.
---
"Boss?" A female voice echoes from the floating screen in front of me.
I was still reclined in the office chair, struggling against the weight on my eyelids. The soft glow of the glass panels surrounding me and the distant sound of the breeze outside almost lulled me into sleep.
"Boss... BOSS!" The voice rises, impatient.
I slowly open my eyes and gaze at the holographic screen hovering above the white marble desk. On the other side, a blonde elf with pointed ears stares at me, cheeks puffed and arms crossed. Her green eyes gleam with mild irritation.
Honestly… she looks adorable like that.
"I'm awake, Aerolin," I murmur, massaging my temples. "You can stop yelling now."
"Hmpf. Awake now, huh?" She rolls her eyes. "I'm starting to suspect you moved the company's headquarters to a country where mixed races are free just so you wouldn't have to attend in-person meetings."
"I wish," I smile, rising from the chair with a slight crack in my back. "But you know, I trust your work. I didn't move the company to escape… I needed to make sure you could live with dignity. And keep receiving your paycheck, of course."
She blushes slightly, turning her gaze away.
"Tsk… even so, you're overdoing it. If this keeps up, I'll end up crossing the ocean just to drag you back myself," she says, trying to maintain a serious tone.
I shrug, approaching the desk. The tablet vibrates with newly arrived documents.
"That's exactly why you're my number-one assistant," I say, signing with a quick gesture. "Everything's there."
"Signatures received," she replies, already shifting back into professional mode. "Now go rest. You've got dark circles under your eyes. And tomorrow there'll be more contracts to review."
"Always so sweet, Aerolin," I murmur with a smile.
The transmission ends with a soft shutting sound.
I stretch, my shoulders cracking lightly, and walk to the glass window that spans the entire wall of my office. The view is absurd. From up here, in my mansion nestled atop the mountain, I can see all of Neo sprawling below—a forest of steel and neon light, pulsing like a digital heart.
It's beautiful. It's cold. And it's controlled by her.
If the Empress didn't exist, maybe this view would bring me some comfort.
"Sirius?" Lyra's voice comes through my communicator, clear, carrying that tone somewhere between seriousness and teasing.
"I found something. Come to my place."
I take a second before responding, eyes half-closed as I stare at the ceiling.
"I hope this time it's not just another cat stuck in a tree, Lyra."
I tap the communicator strapped to my wrist, activating the transmission.
"On my way."
I leave the office behind and head toward the elevator at the end of the hallway. My footsteps echo on the polished metal floor as I crack my neck, releasing the built-up tension. Whenever Lyra calls me with that tone, it only means one thing: trouble ahead. And if it's big enough, the media will paint me as a terrorist again. A hero? Only in barroom speeches.
I step into the elevator and press the button to the lower levels. Cold light bathes the metallic interior as the deep hum of descent fills my ears. The elevator stops. The doors slide open.
Beneath the mansion, the true heart of my home pulses: the bunker.
Funny how the world thinks this mansion on the mountaintop is all about luxury. No one imagines the mountain is hollow. We built it from the top down — house, bunker in the middle, and garage at the bottom. When someone visits, the last thing they see is what actually matters.
I walk down the central corridor of the bunker. As I pass the security scanner, a white light sweeps over my body, materializing a long coat — white like dirty snow — over a charcoal shirt. Reinforced pants, tactical boots, and fingerless combat gloves complete the look. Stylish? Sure. Practical? Always.
"Activate security protocol: Aegis." My voice is firm, almost indifferent.
Immediately, the mansion's windows seal with metal plates. The doors lock. Even the pool area at the top responds. A hidden compartment rises from the ground, and from it emerges a white metal lion — its body elegant and threatening like a living sculpture. Its eyes glow with a cold blue light as it begins to patrol the perimeter.
My iron guardian. Silent. Deadly.
I reach the center of the bunker.
The teleport. A metal ring pulses with soft blue lights, as if it were breathing, awaiting my command.
"Activate teleport function."
From my belt, a small device opens. A dark mask with neon blue lines slides into place over my nose and mouth.
Light erupts from the floor in spirals, swallowing my body. For a moment, everything turns white.
And then... I vanish.
A soft light pulses on the metallic floor as the teleport shuts down. The air here smells of old concrete and static electricity.
Lyra is waiting, leaning against one of the pillars, arms crossed. Her white lab coat hangs open over a tight black blouse and a matching skirt that accentuates her curves beneath dark tights. Her shoulder-length brown hair sways slightly with the artificial breeze circulating through the room. She stares at me with that look — the one that says she's been putting up with me longer than she'd like.
I glance back at the still-humming device behind me and mutter:
"Let me use one of my vehicles from the garage? Nah, of course not. Better to stick a giant teleport in my HQ and another in your basement. Way more subtle."
I roll my eyes, then look directly at her.
"What did you find this time?"
She lifts a tablet and activates the screen with a quick gesture.
"You were looking into that trafficking ring... humans and other races, right?"
"Among other things," I reply, taking a slow step forward. The air feels heavier the moment the word trafficking enters the conversation.
"Well," she continues, sliding her finger across the screen, "I found it."
I let out a short snort of laughter.
"Makes me wonder how the Empress's chief medical officer digs up this kind of intel so easily."
Lyra shoots me a quick look over the top of the tablet, like she already knew exactly what I was going to say.
She's more than a doctor — she's Empress Nix's shadow, the only person the tyrant truly trusts. And what Nix doesn't know... is that her shadow also works for me.
"Shhh." Lyra hushes, not even lifting her eyes from the screen. "You summon weapons out of nowhere and hack systems with a glance. I have to walk a tightrope to avoid being discovered. Good thing Nix trusts me more than she trusts her own mother."
"Location. Now." I say, straight to the point.
She swipes one last time.
"Sent."
A floating screen materializes in front of me with a soft hum. Coordinates blink at the center. I recognize the address — an abandoned building in Zone C of the city. Old device factory. Nix ordered it shut down a few months ago. Claimed it was a terrorist activity center.
Of course. It's always terrorism… even when it's just a handful of civilians shouting for freedom.
"It's close." The screen vanishes with a command, dissolving into the air like digital dust.
"Want me to wish you luck?" Lyra asks, wearing an ironic smile.
"I've got everything I need." I turn my back to her and start walking. My footsteps echo against the metal floor, firm, steady.
You know...
Some people dream of being the kind of hero who stands atop buildings, watching everything from above. Sounds poetic, right?
But the truth?
It's cold, dark, and the wind up here is awful.
I kneel at the edge of the rooftop and adjust the view on my visor. The image sharpens with a soft blue glow as the zoom kicks in. The target is right there — a forgotten building slumped in Zone C. Gray, cracked, with that kind of shady lighting that makes everything look worse than it is.
Five guys on the perimeter. Armed. Nervous.
"Five outside," I murmur to myself. "With a bit of luck… they won't even know what hit them."
I stand slowly. The wind catches my long coat, and for a moment I just stand there, a silhouette against the night sky.
Then I jump.
My body dives, boots sliding along the concrete wall as I control the descent. The sound of my coat slicing through the air echoes between the tight alleys. One of the guards turns, confused by the noise.
Too late.
I leap from the shadows and clamp a hand over his mouth. The other hand materializes a knife — black, with blue lines pulsing like the blade has electric blood running through it.
I stab into the neck. Quick. Precise.
The choked scream dies in my palm.
Shhh…
I drag the limp body back into the darkness, hiding it among the rubble. Another one appears, coming from the back of the alley. This one wears a long black cloak — almost ceremonial. When he sees me, his eyes widen and he shouts:
"I-It's Kronos!"
Oh, great.
So much for subtlety.
I let out a quiet sigh, almost disappointed, and let a pistol materialize in my hand. White, with matte black finish and neon-blue accents. Its energy hums between my fingers like it's alive.
"I wanted to sneak in..." I say, twisting my wrist and aiming forward. "But you decided to turn this into a show."
The alley explodes with metallic sounds as more of them pour in. Armed to the teeth. The kind of thugs who think numbers make up for skill.
They have no idea who they're dealing with.
I tighten my grip and give a crooked grin.
"Let's get this over with."
The first shot rips through a skull like it was magnetically pulled. Before the body even hits the ground, I dash forward and kick his chest — the impact launches the corpse into three others. They collapse in a heavy thud, like falling dominoes.
Without hesitation, I spin on my heel and fire at the three still down. Three shots. Three hits. Each impact is dry, precise, surgical.
The rest of the group finally reacts. Their gunfire erupts around me, spitting bullets into the darkness. Muzzle flashes light up the alley like artificial lightning. I smirk.
Nothing like a little nighttime chaos.
I move.
To their eyes, I'm just a blur. A shadow. A ghost wrapped in gunpowder.
I slip between the bullets, my coat flowing like smoke. In the blink of an eye, I vanish — and in the next, I'm behind one of them. The muffled shot is the only warning before his skull erupts into a bloom of flesh and bone.
They spin around, desperate, firing in all directions.
I disappear again.
And reappear beside another one.
I point my pistol where they're still aiming, as if I'm shooting at the same enemy they are.
"Just to be clear… who exactly are we shooting at?" I tease, with a half-smile.
Their eyes widen. That moment of hesitation costs them.
I grip the pistol with both hands, turning sideways — classic stance, steady — and pull the trigger. One shot. Straight to the head. He drops to his knees before falling over, eyes still trying to process what just happened.
There are still a few left.
And I haven't even started sweating yet.