Japan, The Ka'ji Gate. 21:17

  AFTER THE INCIDENT.

  Noble approaches the genkan, taking off his shoes. They fall onto the floor, one

  toppling over.

  He adjusts them, putting them next to eachother perfectly.

  In the pond infront of the household, an old man sits on the edge. He holds a

  cup, drinking from the crystal clear water. They exchange glances, nodding

  to eachother.

  Noble walks up the stairs to the shoji screen, the wooden planks groaning

  from years of usage.

  He stares at the screen, sliding it open.

  The hallway stretches far, multiple paths. The shoji doors show sillhouetes, of women,

  men, children, some sitting down, others talking. The right side of the hallway opens up to a

  inner field, walls of the household surrounding it. Multiple of the clan members

  sparred, others resting or training.

  " Noble. " One of the elders pass him, wearing the traditional Ka'ji attire.

  He stops by the last door, it was larger than the others. The paper on the shoji was replaced entirely with thick, black timber, reinforced with iron bands.

  It bore the crest of the Ka'ji, but jagged, stylized like a blade cutting through a mountain.

  This wasn't a room for politics. It was the den of the clan's vanguard. The Zetsu.

  Noble slides the heavy door open, the wood scraping harshly.

  The air inside is immediately overwhelming. The passive Ether radiating from

  the occupants is so dense it feels like walking into a deep ocean current.

  The room is a massive, austere wooden dojo, scarred with deep cuts and craters

  from centuries of lethal sparring.

  Sitting, leaning, and standing around the room are five individuals.

  They wear traditional black and dark-grey martial hakamas, their forearms wrapped,

  their postures relaxed but lethally primed. These are the monsters of the Ka'ji.

  The absolute peak.

  " You're late, Noble. "

  A man sitting on the veranda edge speaks without looking at him. He is built like a tank,

  polishing a massive, unrefined nodachi with a cloth. His face is heavily scarred,

  a cigarette hanging lazily from his lips.

  " Traffic across the Pacific, Jin. " Noble steps into the room,

  unbothered by the crushing pressure of their Ether.

  A man with black, short hair, wearing the same traditional uniform

  the other Zetsu wear, looks toward Noble, an expecting

  expression.

  Noble sits down in the middle, bowing slowly.

  " I was unable to kill Terra Umbral- "

  A tanto flies past his head, cutting into the shoji screen behind him. He

  glances toward it, Noble turns his head to the floor, his eyes

  wandering the tatami mats as he leans over, " I apologize. "

  " You should. "

  A younger member, no older than 25, walks out from the shoji screen at the end of the room. An annoyed expression

  plastered over his face. His clothing was different, not as formal and traditional but still similar, he wasn't the

  same as the others.

  The head of the Zetsu. Nao 'Eiji' Ka'ji

  He sits on the ground his left leg touching floor and hs right leg pointing upwards. The others

  glancing to him, one of them seemingly annoyed at his posture, " Do not tarnish our

  reputation with such casual practices, Nao- "

  " Don't tell me what to do, old man. "

  The older man's jaw clenches, a vein popping on his temple, but he bites his tongue. The hierarchy in the Zetsu isn't based on age or wisdom.

  It is based purely on who can kill who. And Nao, despite his age, is a monster even among them.

  Nao rests his elbow on his raised knee, his chin resting lazily in his palm. His golden eyes drift toward Noble, cold and apathetic.

  " So. The great Noble let a street-rat with a sword slip through his fingers. " Nao sighs, picking at his fingernails. " You let an R.C.T. lapdog interrupt you, and then you ran away. Tell me,

  Noble, did you leave your spine in America too? "

  " Terra Umbral is buried beneath a collapsing subterranean city, alongside the R.C.T. forces, " Noble replies, his voice steady. He doesn't take the bait. He knows showing anger in front of Nao is a death sentence.

  " But he was merely a loud distraction. "

  The man with the short hair, that threw the tanto, clicks his tongue. " A distraction for what? You expect us to excuse your failure because of a distraction? "

  " Shut up, Ren. " Nao cuts him off without even looking at him. Ren instantly falls silent.

  Nao tilts his head, the Ether in the room becoming denser. The air around

  Noble felt heavy, the floorboards creaking.

  " A distraction for what? " Nao demands, his eyes locked onto Noble.

  Jin, the hulking man on the veranda, stops polishing his nodachi. He takes a long drag from his cigarette, exhaling

  a thick cloud of smoke into the night air. " He's right, Nao. The air shifted twenty minutes ago. You felt it too. It smells like rot. "

  Noble nods slowly. " Washington D.C. Link-Station. "

  Nao's eyes narrow. The lazy, annoyed teenager vanishes, replaced entirely by the Head of the Zetsu.

  The image of a tired boy, his black, long hair swaying in the wind. His eyes dim and dark. He never forgot

  that day.

  " Kensho. " He grits his teeth, tightening his grip on the tatami mat, " So the freak finally

  made his move... How many? "

  " 108. "

  [-/-]

  1:30 HOURS UNTIL THE INCIDENT.

  Washington D.C. Link-Station. 20:01

  Darkness washes over the plaza. Students look up to the last glimpse of the

  sky, the blue now covered by a purple.

  Silence follows as people begin to register the gravity of their situation. The

  banging on the large pillar of Blight stops. Calls are cut abruptly as the

  connection on people's phones disappeared.

  All contact with the outside world was severed.

  Chaos erupts.

  On the tracks , the 20:01 Express from New York isn’t stopping. The driver’s emergency brakes

  are sparks and screams of metal, but the train cannot slow fast enough.

  The driver stares at the dark wall, and instead of screaming, or running, he accepts it. His

  lids close shut, sound washing out. All he hears is the noise of a beach at hawaii.

  What follows is a loud thud.

  The train hits the dome, but there was no explosion. Not even the sound of crumpling steel.

  The front of the locomotive simply dissolves. The Blight Curtain ripples like the surface of a pond, and the train—

  all ten cars of it, packed with commuters, tourists, and families—slides into the dome.

  As the metal passes through the barrier, it transforms. The sleek silver plating turns into grey,

  calcified bone. The windows become rows of unblinking eyes.

  The passengers’ screams are muffled as the very air inside the cars turns into a thick,

  purple sludge.

  The train isn't a vehicle anymore. It’s a hundred-ton centipede of rot, derailing and plowing into

  the station platform at eighty miles per hour.

  Kensho looks down at the students under him. One moment they are a frantic blur of screaming

  limbs, the next, they are nothing more than red paint smeared across the glass ceiling.

  His expression doesn't change, the dim eyes of apathy unbothered by the sight.

  The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  " May the great cleansing begin. "

  He lifts his arms, closing his eyes.

  From the walls behind Kensho, creatures extrude out, disgustingly deformed.

  " Blightborns. " A student says, his voice shaky. He is frozen, incapable of doing anything

  as one of the creatures, a large bird-like creature with a beak the size of a person, charges

  at them. The creature's eyes are small and beady, unsettling. Its legs are bent in wrong ways,

  the 20 foot tall bird running unnaturally.

  Behind it, another creature, a heap of legs and eyes, a large mouth on the front.

  At least one hundred of these creatures began to charge or fly towards the plaza.

  And so began the dark hour.

  [-/-]

  1:25 HOURS UNTIL THE INCIDENT.

  Polly hyperventilates next to a tree, clutching her silver badge tightly. The frantic shouts from the

  other side, now blood-curdling screams.

  Hiro stares at the wall.

  He can't see past it, but he knows what is going on on the other side.

  " Whatever is going on out there, we can't just stay here. " Denis says.

  Polly looks up at him, " We're.. Going to.. Die.. " She sobs, each word coming

  out forced, like a cough.

  Denis stares at Polly's sobbing face, an empathetic look on his face, " Look, it's

  scary i know, we're in a situation where we have absolutely no idea

  about what's going on. So yeah, i understand why you're so scared. But

  look at me, Polly. "

  Her teary, orange eyes are covered by her blonde hair, her face buried

  in her arms.

  " Look at me Polly, seriously. "

  Polly rubs away her tears on the back of her hand and looks to her side. Denis sits next her, looking

  over to her, " We're not gonna die. "

  " B-But- "

  " We're not, going to die. " He states once more, pausing for a moment, " I mean, i'm pretty scared

  too right now, and i'm not sure about what'll come next. But i'm sure, very sure, we're not going

  to die here. Because we're stronger than that, right? " His stern expression he usually has is

  overlayed by an understanding one. His wings rest behind him peacefully, pressed up onto the

  tree.

  Polly stares at him for a few seconds, registering his words. The feeling of fear, the inevitability,

  it fades. She nods hesitantly, " M-Mhm... "

  Denis stands up, reaching his hand out, " Well then, lets go make a plan. "

  She looks up to his reached out hand, taking it, " A-Alright! "

  They stand up, looking over to Hiro.

  Hiro is standing there, staring at the barrier of blight. The screams on the other side

  start being cut short, now muffled.

  He can't do anything. He's unable to save them.

  " We need to go find more students, i have a plan. " Denis grabs Hiro's shoulder.

  Hiro turns, staring at Denis for a moment. He turns to polly thereafter, " I... I think we'd

  be safer if you were with us, Hiro... "

  " Alright.. " He says, walking off toward the forest. Denis follows him right after,

  Polly scrambling to stay close to the two.

  The forest is eerily quiet, the blowing of wind and chirping of birds now deafening

  silence.

  " Blight naturally requires a core to manifest from. " Denis says, " And

  according to Catalyst High's book on Blight... It builds up in the middle of the formation.

  And especially in larger things, such as this.. Dome, i assume they call it a ``Curtain`` "

  He rubs his temple, " But my memory on the textbook is hazy right now, i'm not sure on

  why. "

  Hiro starts walking faster, not entirely listening to Denis. He takes a look around, trying to locate

  the middle based off where they were going. " Middle, right? "

  " Yes, but, the thing is- "

  " I don't want to hear it. " Hiro's voice cuts through Denis's words like a razor. He turns, his eyes

  dialated.

  " If we destroy the 'Core', this whole thing goes to shit, right? " Hiro states, his voice shaky yet

  serious. " Listen, Hiro. Those people out there are dying because of the thing we're walking

  towards, and i don't care if you want to save them, i can't let you get killed- "

  " You don't care? " Hiro repeats.

  " You know what i meant,- " Denis replies, " Yeah, i know what you meant. You're talking

  about textbooks while our classmates are being torn to shreds by blightborns right

  outside of this fucking 'curtain'. What you meant is that you think we should hide?"

  " What, no? " He shakes his head, picking up the pace to catch up to him.

  " Good. Then lets go. " Hiro turns his head, continuing his stride. " Hiro! You're going to

  get yourself killed-! "

  Snap.

  The three quickly turn toward the sound.

  A face sticks out of the shade, it looks human, vaguely, but it's wrong. The mouth is

  smiling but it isn't moving. The eyes are closed but it doesn't have any lashes. The

  ears are absent, yet there are holes on the sides of its head.

  " H e l p . . ! " It mimics.

  Polly yelps. Denis stares.

  And Hiro starts walking toward it.

  " HIRO! "

  From the shade, the body comes out. An elongated neck connected to what

  looks like a pale meatball, its limbs similar to a spider.

  " Blightborn. " He says.

  One of the legs lift, shooting toward Hiro.

  Hiro sprints forward, the leg driving into the ground where

  he stood. He jumps up, an arm forming under him. The palm

  of the eartern arm carries him toward the large creature's head.

  He jumps off the hand of his summoned limb, his leg cocked back.

  The creature's mouth opens, the humanoid mouth now uncannily

  wide.

  Hiro swings his leg forwards, hitting the creature square in its nose.

  The head swings backward, slamming onto the spine of the creature. The entire

  creature recoiling.

  Hiro kicks off its neck as he falls, landing infront of the blightborn.

  The creature recovers quickly, it's head swinging back into place. A limb shoots

  out toward Hiro again, and he can't react this time.

  The limb stops moving instantly, `` ..POLLY! ``

  Hiro spins to look for Polly, his entire body spinning to the side.

  But in Hiro's peripheral vision, Denis passes him right as he turns. His gaze locks

  onto Denis, his wings violently flapping as he accelerates. " Damn it Hiro! "

  A loud thud comes from the creature as Denis now slams his head direclty into

  its torso. His flight giving him enough momentum to send the creature

  skidding backwards a meter.

  Polly lets go of the stasis, dropping to the ground on her knees. Her nose bleeds violently

  and her vision starts to blur.

  Hiro runs toward Polly, his anger now panic. " POLLY, YOU COULD'VE.. "

  " She could've died. "

  Hiro stares at Polly, blood dripping onto the green grass, turning it a dark visceral red.

  " You.. "

  He turns. Denis is talking but Hiro doesn't hear it anymore. His hand reflexively snaps forward.

  Thud. Denis is hit directly in the face.

  Hiro jumps onto him, grabbing his collar and violently slamming him into the ground, " YOU

  FUCKING TOLD HER TO DO THAT, JUST TO PROVE I WAS IN THE WRONG?"

  " YOU'RE EVIL, MAN, YOU'RE A FUCKING EVIL PUSSY, YOU'D RATHER LET HER DIE

  THAN BE THE ONE WHO DIDN'T TAKE THE FIRST STEP. "

  Denis stares up at Hiro, his eye bruised, but he seemed apathetic to this act.

  " You have to face reality, Hiro. "

  Hiro stares at Denis, his face a parallel. His eyes were wide, pupils contracted. His

  mouth gritting, pure anger.

  A tear drops down onto the floor next to Denis's face.

  " You're angry at me, instead of helping her. "

  Polly stares up at the creature as it approaches the two on the ground, " G-GUYS! "

  But they aren't there to listen. Both are in their own debate.

  She gets up, her body about to collapse. She runs over, pushing them to the side.

  " YOU'RE CRAZY! YOU'RE FUCKING- "

  Hiro rolls over, hitting the ground. " Pol- "

  -CHG!

  The limb pokes out of her stomach, grazing denis's face.

  Her vision blurs further. The last of her blood pooling on denis's chest.

  Hiro stares at Polly's impaled form with wide, traumatized eyes. Her head slowly

  turns up to stare at him.

  But she knows it's too late, and she has to say it.

  " H-Hiro.. " Her voice groans.

  " I.. I-I'm happy we were friends. "

  " Until the end..! Right..? "

  Hiro stares at a life he couldn't save. He stares at a lonely girl that understood him even if she never

  truly could convey it with words.

  He stares at a bloodied corpse, the hero, Hiro.

  Denis lays under the corpse, the creature's limb pulling out from Polly's back.

  His entire attire is bloodied by her corpse. He holds her near, staring up at the sky. He wants to cry, he

  really does. But for some reason nothing comes out.

  Hiro stands up. His arms shake, his eyes crazed. His gaze turns toward the creature.

  " I.. WILL.. FUCKING, KILL YOU! "

  His ether began to change.

  A hand forms from the ground next to the creature, followed by another, and another. They grabbed

  onto eachother, turning into one large hand. It grabs the creature.

  He lifts his hand, tightening his grip. His eyes began to become bloodshot due to the excess use of Ether

  during a burst of adrenaline.

  The creature begins to crush in the massive limb's palm. Finally exploding out into

  pieces.

  He yells, he yells and yells. But it doesn't change. She's still dead, and he still hasn't saved him.

  " GO.. BACK! I WANT TO GO BACK. BACK, BACK BACK! I want to go BACK, NOW. "

  " Please.. Let me go back.. " He sobs, falling onto his knees. He crawls toward Polly's corpse,

  his vision blurred by the tears swelling up in his eyes. " I'm so sorry... " He sobs, " I was so

  fucking stupid.. I wasn't thinking.. Please.. I want.. "

  [-/-]

  1:10 HOURS UNTIL THE INCIDENT.

  Kensho stands in his creation. A dome that holds the teachers and students. And a dome

  inside the dome that contains the remaining students that already registered and

  went to the forest.

  He drops down from the glass ceiling, falling onto the grotesque heap of bones that

  used to be a train. A piece of metal sticks out from the side, he uses it as a platform, kicking off of

  it onto the collapsed station.

  He walks toward the exit, going down the stairway. At the bottom, the plaza has gone from a

  crowded event to a warzone.

  People fight for their lives, most students have their uniforms ripped apart or are soaked

  in the blood of their classmates.

  The ground is covered in atleast a dozen corpses, spread out. And according to his vision, "

  200 Catalysts... "

  " 200 Apes. " He says, walking over the body of a female student, wearing the Catalyst High

  uniform, their badge cut in half, and a large wound covering their entire chest, their breasts

  ripped apart and their face mangled.

  A student runs past him, breathless and limping.

  They fall to the ground, " Please.. Help me- " A blightborn charges forward, stomping on their

  head as they layed, their head turning into a mist.

  " 199. "

  His gaze wanders to the far edge of the dome, hundreds of meters away. The presence

  of something unexpected.

  Because, outside of the dome, was..

  A crack forms on the Dome's side. Then thereafter, a hole emerges. Blight

  explodes outwards and sprays onto the ground, the silhoutte of a woman,

  half beaten, covered in purple and green fluids.

  " Returned from the dead, have you now? "

  He takes out his bostaff. But Etty has already begun moving. She accelerates forward, but no

  longer simply wind. Something else is propelling her.

  Kensho's eyes go wide. He blocks with Gale, the bostaff held firmly.

  Etty's foot slams onto the bostaff, a clash. The impact shakes the entire dome, creating

  shockwaves that cut through the ground and ripped it apart.

  Her hair was no longer silver. It was black. The long, beautiful strands now wild.

  " Embracing your roots, huh, Catalyst? The wild look suits you, shows your

  VILE nature. "

  Black wind formed from at her legs, shooting out like a jet of wind. Her body drives

  forward, almost like a bullet. Kensho flies backwards, skidding on the ground.

  Etty lands, instantly walking right as she touched the ground. Wind blows from around

  her, her hair flowing in the created wind. The black wind around her pushes against

  Kensho.

  'A catalyst, after facing a near-death exprience, can go through a phenomena called a Second-Awakening.'

  'Etty has gone through this phenomena.'

  Gale wrings out of Kensho's hand, a black wind bursting from it, flying into her grasp.

  `` What is she DOING? Once a catalyst touches a Blight-Infused Object.. ``

  Blight seeps into her arm, veins blackening. Her entire hand turns a dark shade, but she endures

  the pain.

  `` ... ``

  " By the way, Kenny. To answer your question... "

  She puts on a smile, even through the excruciating pain. To prove even the worst of the worst

  can't extinguish the flame of her soul. An act of symbolism.

  " Even the most tainted soul can tell truth after healing. "

  [-/-]

  The candle's flame turns black.

  1:00 HOUR UNTIL THE INCIDENT.