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The Selbstmord MastersΡTen years…it’s been ten years since then right?Years, days, I can’t even tell the difference anymore. Time loses meaning when you don’t age see? The days are starting to twist and run together into some kind of gray blob of insignificance. We still don’t exist, that much I’ve grasped and it doesn’t help. Gamma had been quick to try and return things back to ‘normalcy’, whatever that is, but had little success. Epsilon, within the first few recognizable weeks, suffered a mental breakdown, wildly swinging from comatose to full of rage. Upsilon mentioned some voice in his head and went to his room to do something about it. All of us faded away, but Athanor, even though he was frozen all of that time, he became something else entirely.People everywhere called him ‘The Second Scourge of Man’, as he single-handedly destroyed one third of the human race. The cities descended into chaos calling for his head; the masses went to the destroyed Second and First Cities to rebuild, and others were so fearful of another attack, they fled into the regions between the cities. Those groups became bandits, preying on people who walked the paths between the cities. I was tasked to protect those brave enough to walk those paths. And each one of those few earned my respect for risking life and limb for such a cause.At the corner of my eye was a glint of metal moving through the forest. I knew they had been following me for some time, but I wanted to spring their trap. They had no idea what I could do; my armor, shield, and sword were hidden in an overly large robe. The bandits came out of the forest in front of me, they had Neo-Bronze armor; Nero was back at work again. Three of them were machines; but their armor was lighter than the Centurion design, the helmets had a brim casting a shadow over imaginary eyes and the shields were hexagonal instead of rectangular. The fourth one was a man of average height with blond hair, holding a strange rifle that had a tuning fork for a barrel. I was familiar with the man; he was the one who had commanded those terrorists in the attacks on the National Assembly all that time ago. “Hand over what valuables you have and turn around immediately!” He said. He did not remember the four kids who had beaten him before.I told him, “I have nothing you want, but you are a nuisance on these roads. It is in my nature to end what you have done.”“Your heroics have been obsolete for generations, and for good reason; they’ve gotten people killed.” He said taking his attention off of me and to his cronies, “You three can handle this guy.”These new models wouldn’t be difficult for me so I didn’t immediately reach for my sword or shield. They moved predictably, but I was interested in how they attacked. Darting in and out of my range, the three were trying to wear me down with numerical strength, but one of them stepped too close and I gave him a three-inch crater in his breastplate and tossed him into a counterpart. With their distraction, I was able to grab one of their gladii, and engage the third Centurion-variant. He stayed close, springing forward every time I moved back, I was impressed. Getting all that I wanted from this one I ripped the shield away from this machine and hacked it to pieces in seconds. The last one fought me hand to hand, so dropping the shield I grabbed the first punch he threw at me and with a single tug, the arm came off. As that was done I faced the leader and before I could make a move against him, a blow with the force of a sledgehammer hit me directly at my heart. I knew that the projectile would not break through my armor, but it also seems that my body had a tune up from the Unlocker, as the shot only knocked the wind out of me and made me stumble back a few steps. He didn’t get another shot at me; I don’t think he even saw me take the rifle from him. The man attempted to pull a knife out, and I knocked it out of his hands. With a straight hit to his solar plexus, he fell to the ground, incapable of fighting back.“Are you willing to surrender now-ummm- Marcus right?” I said.“WH-Who are you?” He managed to sputter out.“Your oldest speed bump.” I’m not all that good at puns, but when I took off the robe and showed him the yellow armor that glinted in the sunlight, he became wide eyed with disbelief. Then I knocked him out, expecting to take him, along with the head and armament of the variants to Gamma. Anyway, this is just what I needed to get over the doldrums.“Nero, it looks like you’ve returned. I’ve been waiting for a rematch.”ΥTyping hundreds of lines of computer script is beginning to become aggravating when each line is less efficient than the last. I have not moved for hours in trying to decipher the errors. Then everything went dark, and I gave a sigh. I knew why; Epsilon, with his decreasing mental stability, is now prone to explode with sudden bursts of energy, tripping the breakers. His condition is sad, as it is an involuntary reaction to the events out there…out there; a place full of hateful, intolerant beings that see compassion like his as a weakness to be exploited. With a few clicks from the breakers the computer came back on, but the light bulbs had all blown out. My memory was fine, so copying the program was a simple task, but the solution still evades my sight. Then suddenly my hands flew over the keyboard out of my control, replacing the script with something superior.“Is that better?” a feminine voice whispered from the corner of my mind. It was then that the secret of the voice dawned on me. And I did not want it to.“Please tell me it’s not you. You shouldn’t have been able to find me.” I said in a way that sounded like something between pleading and whining. I wanted to face her, to make sure it was just my mind, but I could not get myself to move.“You know better than that, I’ve never stopped looking for you.” The now physical voice remarked, and slender hands had wrapped themselves around my shoulders and I felt the faint tickle of hair on my right ear; I remembered it well. “Besides,” she said, “I haven’t had a good night’s sleep since you left.”“What else do you want from me?”“Haven’t I made myself plain? We both still have work to do my dear Johann.” That sentence put me over the edge and I bolted out of the room and into the hallway. Epsilon and Gamma do not know what is coming, they needed to be warned. But she was already at the elevator, a woman with such beauty that any man would have died for her. We stared each other down, and she gave me a mocking smile and broke out in that laughter with its sharp note as she did so many times before.“Your ‘friend’ has been having some kinks in his relationship with that machine.” She said glancing at the elevator, “I’d take the time to check on him if I were you.”She walked away, knowing that I would not pursue. All I could do was run, run to help Gamma, and if he was not in a broken heap already, to prepare for a force even greater than Athanor. It is quite literally an angel in human form…And it appears to devour us all.Γ“Psyche, could you bring me the welding needle?” I asked.“Sure Victor, I’m on it.” Replied Psyche. I’m going to need it not for creating a device, but to decommission one. After so long a time of service, the Gamma prototype exosuit, the very device that gave me my nickname, is now awaiting its dismantlement. All I had to do to finish it is to disconnect the Orb Reactors from within the six distribution ‘spikes’, and it will be the representation of the beginning of my journey of peace…who am I trying to kid? This thing has always had the purpose of waging war; bloodshed would be the only possible outcome of assembling such a device. And now my closest friends are neck deep in this mess with me.“Psyche?”“Yes?”“Was I naive when I started this crusade?”There was a pause as she tried to find an answer. “Not at all. You were just unsettled in having to lead your friends as well.”“I never told you about my college days did I?” I said, leaning back in my chair, “Back then it was only Rho and me, we found the others in various states in that time; I’ve been giving them guidance for so long, we created a system around it. Leading is not my problem; it’s the enhanced stakes that follow it. I don’t have the initiative or the tough skin needed to command men into a war. Given a choice, I would make Upsilon take the job.”“Well, why didn’t you?”“I know him well, he would never take it; he has always been satisfied with taking orders and I’ve never known why, he doesn’t talk about the life he had before we met. Anytime I try to bring it up, any of us try to bring it up, he recoils from the subject. Anyway, that’s a bit off topic isn’t it, we still have a task to complete; do you have that welding needle?” “Here you go Gamma.” She said, handing me the device, and I noticed something wrong. I waited for a few minutes to draw my enemy in.“’Psyche’, you’ve never called me by my nickname before, so what are you exactly?”There was a similar pause before its response, “I am impressed. You are as intelligent as I’ve heard, but I still have every possible advantage.”I would normally take the time to learn more about this new entity, but it was a threat now if this thing had possessed her, “Don’t mess with me; if you wanted to see me, find some other way. Now where is Psyche?”“One track mind…wait for a while, rummaging in your systems is tedious…Victor!” The panicked voice of Psyche screamed out, “Sentient programming is corrupting me; the process is increasingly painful… you have to stop it, now!”Sentient programming, such a thing is impossible to create; neither Nero nor I in all of our actions could form it on command; Psyche was an accident. I scrambled to the main terminal and began to fight back against the corruption; no matter what, I wasn’t going to give up Psyche without a fight. It started well, with many of the sub-systems restored, but soon the program changed its attack pattern taking control of everything and forcing another scream from Psyche. My heart pounding in my chest, I programmed various vaccines that had no effect against it. After expending all of my knowledge struggling against an indestructible foe; I knew why the assailant was doing this. It wanted me to realize one fact; I was going to lose her, I was going to lose Psyche and there was no way I could save her. Understanding the futility of my efforts, tears welled up in my eyes. I stopped typing and prepared to compromise with it, I am not willing to give up anyone else anymore.“Okay, you want to see me suffer? Well I’m suffering now! What more do you want from me?” “Nothing.”“What?”“You see, I’ve been searching through the computer’s memories in my spare time, and it seems you are very attached to this machine. So attached, in fact, that taking her away from you will be the most amusing thing I’ve done in a long time.”“No more…stop hurting her, please…” I cried to the intruder, “Let Psyche go, do what you want to me, but leave her alone.”It only sighed at me. “If only you were the one I wanted. Start saying your goodbyes to your companion now, I am not known for my mercy.” Before I could stammer out a single word, Psyche cut me off with a gasp. “Vic…tor…I tried to stop it too, but it was stronger than I had calculated…I-I am sorry that I am no longer able to assist you anymore…”I heard that, and instantly pounded my fists onto the keyboard. “Stop covering up for me! I wasn’t able to save Mark; I can’t save you, so how much am I really worth!”“You are worth more than most others, sir. Do not worry, I can handle this.” It was Upsilon, standing beside me, almost like he knew that I was in trouble. He motioned me away from the console and began to type. In the mist of his rapid programming, I found my error; the program only looked harmless until it was attacked, then it would adapt and destroy its target. Upsilon created a similar attack virus that he manipulated to retract at every attempted counter. It took a minute to fully repel the virus. With a bit of ingenuity, I extracted Psyche from my databanks and uploaded her to my armor, although without the comlink active she can’t speak, and I wanted to talk to her and see if she’s okay. I slumped against the desk while Upsilon stood by; he looked unsettled. “Hey Upsilon, thanks but could you answer a question, what kind of program can do that much damage to software that only two people have access to?” I exclaimed, and even though his computer knowledge might not be able to find the programmer, he could at least trace the program to its source.“The program is not sentient; it is the personification of the person who created it, with constant input it can move through any system, shredding whatever is in its way. That is the sheer power of the Class I programs. I was able to design something close and was still unable to stop it.”I was shocked, I never knew anyone who can outmatch Upsilon in a cyberwar. “If it hasn’t been stopped by you, than why has it stopped itself?”He thought for a moment, and then his unsettled demeanor became one of frustration. “Its designer understood my program and recalled he-their own construct; it was bait to scope our abilities and cripple us simultaneously.”“Could you at least find the source?”“No, sir, but only Nero’s technology could run a program that strong.”“Well we don’t know where he is now,” I said. “So do you have another idea?”“Free Athanor.”Ε“Please tell me you two aren’t serious about this?”What else was I supposed to say; I don’t think it’s a good idea to let him go. It isn’t that he might not have changed, I’m pretty sure he did, but his presence may throw the already unstable cities into full blown riots, I can sense it! I’ve been feeling their anger and sadness from them for a long time and even without their anxiety, I fear what will happen to me if I get close to him. But according to Gamma and Upsilon, releasing Athanor is our best outcome and I am alone in this argument, with Rho still away and therefore without input.“I know it is less than desirable,” Said Upsilon, “But he is our only available clue to Nero’s location, so we must let him go.”Gamma noticed my troubled appearance. “Don’t worry; no one goes through an emotional breakdown like he did and be the same; I’m sure he will be quite friendly.”So we walked to the back of the lab, back to the circular area where we first donned our armor, and at the far right was Omega’s symbol. Gamma crouched over it and undid several clamps raising the containment capsule that houses Athanor, the most devastating force of our time. He hadn’t moved in ages, frozen in an eternal sleep. As he activated the release function Rho had suddenly walked in.“Hey guys, I captured Nero’s companion and brought him here so we could find Nero hideout and what are you doing in this place.” He asked.“We’re freeing Athanor to do the same thing!” I told him.“You are?” He looked past me to Gamma who looked back. “Can you stop it?”“Those clamps were supposed to be the manual override, Psyche could, but she was damaged and I uploaded her to my armor; we’ll have to deal with him!” Gamma declared and we watched the capsule break apart. It only took a few seconds for Athanor to wake up, and his gold eyes slowly scanned the room. He then stood up and began to stretch his limbs for the few most awkward minutes I have ever taken part in. He stopped during his triceps and looked at us.“Are you going to say anything, because this is just as strange to me as it is to you, I’m sure.” He said.“Well, I am surprised; I thought with our last encounter you would be more somber.” said Upsilon. “Don’t be alarmed, I’ve been in there for a while; at around the two year mark, I decided to be a more peaceful, ‘live in the present’, me. Besides, brooding and angst don’t suit me, you think?” Athanor smiled, showing teeth.He moved over to me and slapped my shoulder which startled me for a second. I had to admit him being this close to me was starting to give me a scare. “Apologies,” he said. “I roughed you up pretty good in our fights; it’s because I despise good natured people like you, tending to see things as either black or white a little too much for my taste. I’m willing to be a friend to you, if you will at least be tolerant with me.”Tolerant? Does he know that I’m unsettled about him being free? I hesitated for a moment, which allowed the subject to be changed by Gamma.“Sorry to interrupt, but I need to explain why you are free.” He said, and Athanor turned around with a look that showed he knew that he was being used and sat on the floor. Gamma continued explaining our current plight.“Athanor, we needed you to find the location of your body’s creator, Nero, but we have gotten a hold of his lieutenant, so you will have your turn later. What I really want to know is that you will help us in battle?”He gave a long sigh. “You humans are very typical, resorting to violence so quickly.”“You don’t see yourself as human anymore?”“Just because I’ve changed doesn’t mean I’m ignorant of my condition; everyone would consider me a ‘genetic freak of nature’ if they knew what I am, and even I don’t know what I am exactly. And quite a few people still hate me I see,” Athanor said with a tone of satisfaction. “They have learned little, my purpose was to be a symbol of their rage, to throw it back at themselves, you understand what I’m saying?”Well that made sense, his appearance changed over time; his skin was less pale, and his hair flattened out, making him look human despite his words or perhaps because of them, in an attempt to destroy the symbol. Standing up and taking a bow, he seemed to have made a decision.“Your journey does amuse me so I’ll tag along for now, but don’t think I’m gonna stay down here.”“Understood,” Gamma said. “You will stay in Mark’s room, 101, on the top floor. Also, I see no reason that you can’t use his nickname. When we are ready, we will call on you, Omega.”Gamma was honest about the statement, much to the surprise of everyone, myself included. He was Mark once sure, but Mark is dead now, why should he get his moniker? Athanor was silent, and just walked away.“Your efforts to replace him are wasted,” He said. “But thank you.”Rho stopped him for a second. “How long were you in there?”“It’s been fifteen years, seven months, and three days since I met you; and my time in that place can be summed up in two adjectives.”“Which two?”“Cold and dark, sound familiar?” Rho, me and Upsilon didn’t know, but Gamma said “Yes.”, and none of us knew why. ΩFreedom! Well almost freedom, I’m here only to make their job easier, but that won’t last long. Then again, those four in particular have extremely strong spirits, although that won’t last long either, and they have eternity to figure that one out. Some of them are starting to snap, the time-addled one was forcing himself to move through his life day by day, and that pacifist is in shambles due to my presence, I can have fun with him. Speaking of eternity, this elevator ride is longer than I expected, and of course right after, the doors open. When I found my door I noticed the key on the floor waiting for me. Picking it up, I felt a shiver in the corner of my mind; I still know nothing about this person except his inner demons, and I could find anything in there. Thing is, I’m pretty reckless so I flung open the door anyway.The room was a conflict of light and darkness; it was on the walls, on the furniture, his life must have been directed by it. The living room was nearly empty with only a chair and a desk beside it. On the desk was a framed picture of the four of them in cap and gown at a graduation ceremony. The custom of the intellectual Fourth City is to commemorate its top ten graduates by inscribing the name of their choice into the gown. The four of them were of course the best, and each of them used their nicknames, so from it I learned them: the time addled one is Rho, the eternal optimist is Epsilon, the tall and silent one Upsilon in the back, and their leader in the center Gamma. There was also a fifth one, with black sweeping hair and slender limbs, along with dark brown eyes made him look quite handsome. His inscription read ‘Omega’…so Mark Lore, we meet at last. His carefree look and stance in the picture, it made since that he would have a girlfriend out of the four of them, however short that relationship was. I find him from this picture to be a likable person, but this dates back to his college years; I would find more about his character as I go further into this room. So I go straight to the source, his bedroom, and there my scars emitted a chill throughout my entire body. The room had more black in it than the living room, and I was drawn to a closet. In its first drawer held only a knife with a crusted substance on it that I knew was blood, and from it I heard a woman’s scream, as if she were being hacked to pieces. Now his thoughts are mine, but not his life, I can never have that. His mind was reformed in a new body, my body, knowing parts of each other, but not completely existing as each other.I heard the thumping of feet outside the room, so I go outside to investigate. Lo and behold I find Upsilon rushing to his room, and I decide to follow him in. His room was dark only due to the fact that all of the windows had their blinds over them, besides that, it was built to with every piece of furniture out of the way. What drew the most attention was his computer, custom built to be one of the most advanced software system to exist. Next to it was the giant Upsilon, crouched over a segment of wall with a painted circuit board pattern obscured in the low light. He pushed on it and it gave way revealing a compartment with a handle jutting out from it. He pulled on it and a sword six inches wide and a razor thin edge was between me and him. The weapon was shorter than the one he used to fight me, only four and a half feet long, but its design makes up for it in pure aggression. One fourth of it was devoted to its point and the edges extended past the hilt and split the two foot handle in half.“I do not care if you just walk in here; that happens often,” He told me in an irritated voice. “But this sword belongs to a part of my life I do not share with anyone.”I flashed him a smile in order to lighten the mood. “Come on, who am I going to tell? I don’t know anything about this, and have no incentive to find out anyway.”“Fine, on another note, I will defend the others with my life, and I have little faith that you can be trusted. If you stay out of line, I will kill you myself.”I had to stifle a laugh, a defensive fighter is all he is; I wouldn’t have a problem dealing with him, I mean, I defeated him easily at Central. In the blink of an eye, I sidestep the sword and move toward Upsilon, but before I could take my first step Upsilon grabbed me by the collar, flung me out of the room and closed the door in my face. I went back to Mark’s room and sat back down on the chair. I was shaken by his understanding of the Unlocker; he must have been busy while I was asleep. Walking to his bedroom there was a sweet smell coming from the kitchen. Making the detour there I found Gabrielle of all people sitting there with a mug in front of her. The sunlight shone on her hair and skin giving off a shimmering glow. She looked over to me and gave me an affectionate smile.“Athanor, welcome to our home, it’s been a while,” She softly said to me. “Do you want coffee or tea?”“Tea, I guess.” I replied, I didn’t really care either way, my focus was on the fact that she was here, and that death has not slowed her down in the slightest, simply going about the business of making tea as if she was alive. Even with such an improbable event as a ghost putting a water pot on a stove to boil, I was quite accepting of that, things of that sort I’ve been open to, but I am still insecure with her around, like I’m doing something wrong. But haven’t I done something wrong? I’ve killed helpless men, women, and children without mercy or regret; and I found beauty in it, beauty in the bleeding lines in the bodies of the dead, beauty in my own face covered in the blood of many. For me, serenity, true peace was found in the destruction of lives. And even with all of these things, I still wanted to get closer to her, to learn more about her, just to calm myself down; it was the only way I can be at peace without having to kill anymore. I was walking closer to her with each moment and without thinking I embraced her while she was holding the cups. She shivered slightly but I only held on tighter. Like everything else up to now Gabrielle was understanding.“Don’t worry about being alone anymore; I’ll always be with you. I’ll always be with you…”I lost myself in her chanting, and I never wanted to be found again.ΡIt is now clear to me how taking Marcus in might have been a moderate overstretch of our abilities; all we can do is sit him at a desk in a side room and try to get some answers from him. We didn’t keep him in the lab in case Nero was keeping tabs on him, although if he was tracing Marcus he would find this place long since abandoned. While Marcus was still unconscious, I told Gamma and Epsilon about my encounter with him and shown them the weapons he was using. I was more focused on that ‘tuning rifle’ Marcus himself was using; it magnetically propels five centimeter pellets of metal with a hollow core designed to collapse on impact, meaning it was made by Nero to harm us. Gamma’s ordeal was tragic, even though Psyche was saved, this unknown person made him think twice about putting her back in the lab, meaning she’s stuck in Gamma’s armor until we get the system back up. Also, whoever that guy was, they got to Upsilon because he wasn’t in the room with us. When we finally got the time to question him he was, of course, unwilling to respond. We regroup outside the room just to collapse, since none of us were good at interrogations.“I don’t think this was well planned out.” Said Epsilon with a very sarcastic tone.“I know that now,” I said. “But we have to get something from him now don’t we?” “No, think about this,” he snapped. “We were here once too, strapped to a chair, completely powerless in front of an aggressor. It’s how I got this!” And he pointed at his scar.“Slow down, Epsilon,” Gamma says. “You’re having one of your episodes again.”“No I’m not!” Epsilon shouted; something he rarely did before he got the mark. Sensing his mistake, he breathed deeply in order to calm down during these brief instants before speaking again. “I…I just want to be better than Nero, we’re the heroes, this shouldn’t be necessary, not with Atha…Omega free.”We then heard the door slam and from the inside of the room there was a muffled “You!” so we threw open the door and found Upsilon there lifting Marcus a foot into the air to make eye contact with him. Marcus gave away a hint of intimidation from Upsilon, so we stood back and watched.“You are wasting all of our time, and I am on quite a short fuse, so if you talk, I will not rip you apart.”This day has been surprising in every way; we catch Nero’s lieutenant, we free Omega, Upsilon not only shows up out of nowhere but also makes a threat. To continue the trend Marcus puts up his hands in resignation.“Hold on now big guy,” He said. “I’m willing to tell you my story, if you let me down.”Upsilon put him down but didn’t let go. “Nothing rash now. Explain why you are assisting Nero.”“All he did was give me a chance to use my talents, and so I did. Although he never told me that I would run up against super-powered teenagers with attitude.”“Why did you need him?”“I’m a military historian; where else would I fit in this society?” Marcus told him, and we knew he was right; the study of man to man combat was something Central allowed for the protection of the people inside the Cities, but organized warfare between armies was considered too dangerous for anyone to know. The fact that he does means that someone taught him. Nero is too young to have that information, so he might have just learned it from a person who had been passing it down orally.Upsilon was unfazed and continued on. “What was your reason that for being in the forest?”“Now I can’t tell you that,” said Marcus, and Upsilon’s hands began to tighten around his arms. “No offence, but they would kill me if I did.”We all picked up on his wording; they, not he, so we needed to keep prodding him to see who Nero’s partner was. Upsilon isn’t a fan of the runaround either, so with a quick pull we heard the pop of Marcus’s now dislocated arms. Then there was the screaming he did once the pain set in, and it was a bloodcurdling howl; Epsilon simply walked out of the room once it got too loud for him to bear anymore. It was starting to push our buttons too; Gamma and I looked at each other wondering if Epsilon was right, if the suffering we had to inflict was worth the information we could have gotten somewhere else. But what really shocked us was Upsilon didn’t bat an eye at Marcus writhing on the ground, and then lifted him up by his leg and was probably going to pull at those too, but Marcus did finally break down.“Please stop! I can’t tell you because they’re looking for you!”“What does Nero want with me?” Upsilon said.“Not Nero…” Marcus got out through what I know to be blinding pain. “He’s doing it to gain the friendship of that partner of his; I was sent to find a ‘living machine’, I thought they were crazy, but after seeing you, you fit every form of the phrase.”“Who is Nero’s partner?”“I don’t have a name, I don’t even have a voice, but she’s dangerous enough just standing there… I see why she wants you.”I could see Upsilon tense up, and then just hang his head in depression. After gaining his resolve back he knelt down to Marcus. “Thank you,” Upsilon said. “Now tell me where they are now.”“They’re in the outskirts of the Third City; an old Greek theater.” Marcus said.“Fine, we can handle this. Marcus, Override Program, Sleep.” Upsilon said; an odd phrase until I heard Marcus respond with “Override Accepted” and pass out on the floor and Upsilon picked him up. I wonder where he learned that trick, Nero had to use nearly deadly doses of electricity to produce a similar effect in Epsilon, Upsilon did the same by just saying a few words but first things first…“We know where Nero and his girl are now,” I told Gamma. “So let’s round up Epsilon and Omega and leave.”And then Epsilon crashed into the room in panic mode. “Athanor’s gone!” he shouted.“He just left?” Gamma said.“Not really, I would have noticed if he walked out, I tried seeing him using my scar, but it was just black meaning that someone took him unconscious.”“Great, Upsilon take your comlink and take Marcus somewhere, Rho you and Epsilon can follow me to the lab.”At the lab, now as silent as the grave without Psyche and even with her tendency to condescend, she was the lab and without her, it was just a white basement. Gamma rummaged through his drawers and pulled out a key and unlocked a red button which he slammed it down, turning the whole lab red.“Hephaestus, are you there?” Gamma said.“Hephaestus Online…what is your request?”“Open the comlink net, and lock down everything else, I don’t want any intrusion by unfamiliar signals again!” Gamma commanded while fully arming himself. He’s normally never so direct; perhaps all of our struggles did change him; make him more reluctant to retreat. Before we could begin to ask who this new voice in the wall was Gamma cut us off.“Hephaestus was my first attempt at artificial intelligence; capable, but less refined than Psyche. The last time I activated him was to forge the AX reserves for the arsenal.” He said as he grabbed the comlink. Sadly we had ours on too when he has his turned on.“IT’S ABOUT TIME YOU REMEMBERED ME!” Psyche screamed, causing us and probably Upsilon a pounding skull at the moment. Gamma had better get back on her good side soon or Omega wasn’t getting rescued any time soon.“Psyche could you please be angry with me later? We’ve got things to do!” Gamma said.“No! I have to be angry now because it keeps you from being an emotional wreck!” Psyche would continue to complain in this manner until Upsilon cut them off with an apology. “With all due respect to your relationship issues,” Upsilon’s statement made Epsilon chuckle, “I have placed Marcus with the authorities and am waiting for further instructions.”“Just meet us at the theatre,” Gamma ordered. “We’ll come up with something there.”ΓSo we moved through the forest, the buildings of the Third City on the horizon. I said nothing because there was one thing on my mind; that I wasn’t going to screw up anymore, I was going to confront Nero and put him and his partner down for good this time. I thought I knew Nero, we were so alike…no…we still are; I believe that there are some things that are worth going to war for, it’s the sole reason I created the armor. However I anticipated the power of my designs and ‘grew up’ to prepare myself for its use. Nero is pushing himself so far with his genetic advancements, the Unlocker, Athanor…I’m not sure if he knows the cost. Nero is just a younger me, willing to push as far as possible, even if it means coming into conflict with God Himself, to attain the peace he desires so much. As we begin to scale a large hill, we find Upsilon on the ground overlooking a ridge, peering down at the ground below. He motioned us to the ground as well.I’ve been to a few plays so when Marcus said that it was an old Greek theatre; I was expecting a run-down building. This however was Antiquity at a grand scale: an amphitheatre as large as a football stadium made of stone. Inside were the machines of Nero’s army organized at the main stage. There was a dark figure there giving orders, presumably Nero so now we needed to get past the army.“Upsilon, how many do you think there are?” I said.“Estimated at sixty strong; no match for all of us.” Upsilon said, but he seemed unfocused, like he was expecting something different.Rho however was getting impatient, and he gets reckless when he’s impatient so when Upsilon was done with his report he ran down the stairs and up the field. We followed quickly behind and when we reached the back lines, they moved aside to let us through. What we discovered was that Nero wasn’t on stage; rather, it was a Centurion so scarred and beaten that it was a wonder that he was still functioning. He had the armor of the Elite class and different than all of the others, this one had a voice.“Greetings Armored Ones, I am Praetor.” He said in a harsh, fractured yet clear tone. “It is nice of you to show up here so we wouldn’t have to march to you.”“Where is Nero? We would like to talk to him.” Said Epsilon, slightly annoyed.“Why would you think the Imperator would be a member of his own play?” Praetor than raised his hand and far off in the distance- on the front row in fact- Nero stood up and raised his hand and proceeded to speak through the loudspeaker.“I’m quite surprised you just passed me on your way to the stage,” Nero commented. “It saves me the time to show you the new lineup,” And taking a closer look at the soldiers, they were more heavily armored than their predecessors and carried the spatha longsword. “Also I brought a few of my Auxiliaries with me,” And walking on to the stage were the robots that Rho had fought training arrows at us, but Praetor had called them off, and we turned back to Nero.“Sorry, but we are not willing to put on a show for you,” I said. “But where is Omega?”He heard me well considering how far we were from each other. “You’re calling him Omega? I knew you would feel guilty about him dying, but I didn’t think you would take it so hard. That’s the price you pay for wearing your armor, along with other things you might care about. Anyway, Athanor is over here with me, but you won’t make it here, not anymore.” That set something off in Upsilon, and he started to look around the stage; if I didn’t know any better, I’d say he was actually afraid. There was a good reason, in the back of my mind I felt something cold; and I had to suppress a mild shiver.“Why not?” Rho said.” Your new machines will only hold us back for so long, and the tech assistant you recruited won’t do you any good in a fight.”“You think I’m just an assistant?” Proclaimed the voice of the same woman who had assaulted Psyche, so I turned to look with Upsilon at the corners of the stage. “Oh, it will be so satisfying to show you what I can do, but first allow me to introduce myself…”And from behind the Auxiliaries walked a strange woman wearing what seemed to be a bridal gown without the veil. She was an albino, so her most prominent features were flowing white hair, a fair skin complexion, and dull red eyes; she looked like a female Athanor. However, they don’t feel the same; Athanor was burning red with rage almost every time we met, but she had no aura, no emotion to bleed out which meant she was truly focused. At her hip was a handle to a blade, with a basket guard, but her gown kept me from seeing any more. Now that we were face to face, perhaps my questions could be answered, but I wasn’t her focus, Upsilon was, and they were staring each other down intently.“Johann, my dear Johann,” the woman said wistfully. “How have you been for so long, and it has been long since we could just talk like this, too long in fact.”Upsilon responded with the brandishing of his oddly shaped blade, I wonder who made it for him, I thought. “Do not start with me! Why continue to chase me down when you and I both know that I have no intention of coming back!”“Oh, but you are coming back,” She told him, gliding closer to him with every word. “Because our form is just that ours, you and I share it. I need your half as much as you need mine. Without me, you are hollow in that armor.”“Haven’t you fed me enough of that? I never believed in that bonding concept, and I don’t think you would just start caring about my well being, and by the way, I was doing fine without you, contrary to your previous statement.” Upsilon boasted to great surprise from me and from Rho and Epsilon who had overheard, still waiting for an attack from Nero. “Really, you’re okay being with them?” She claimed, glancing behind Upsilon at us. “Because if you are, then why did you bring Deus Ex Machina with you?” At that statement, he looked at his weapon with a mild display of annoyance, and then raised it into a ready stance.“Gamma, stand back and handle the Legionnaires,” Upsilon ordered, eyes still focused on his target. “I am the only one capable of dealing with her.”“Why is that? Who is she?” I asked.“Her name is Helen, and-” He was cut off when Helen quickly slashed his right cheek, drawing blood. Upsilon reached his hand up and upon feeling the cut flew into his attack pattern, stabbing and slashing and twirling his sword. While Upsilon battled her, I lost focus and Praetor knocked me down the stairs into the others.“I’ve been waiting for this since you destroyed my First Cohort!” Praetor shouted, “Legionnaires, form Testudo and surround them, Auxiliaries, open fire!”By the time I got up, the arrows had begun to fall. These archers were incredibly accurate as most of their shots were too close to call. Rho had a shield and promptly began to intercept every volley with blinding speed, while I began to focus all of the thoughts in my head for Psyche to interpret.“Well I know you’re in a bind, but I only have your ears, not your eyes.”“Why are you so calm? If I end up dead, who else are you going to talk to like this?”“I guess you’re right, just remember; I’m here too so don’t slack off.”I gave a slight smile. “Sure.”“Oh, by the way, give that Helen girl a good beating from me!” “I’ll make sure to do that.” I reassured her as I went out to meet Epsilon who was blasting these soldiers with gale force wind to no effect. There was a reason; they were in three quickly moving rectangles four by five, covered by shields on the sides and top.“I can’t move them, and judging by their speed there’s no way past them.” Epsilon reported.“Well, we’ll need more help then, just hold on!” I moved over to Rho and began to deflect the arrows with him. Once the arrows stopped and the Auxiliaries moved forward to meet us, Rho began to deduce this Testudo formation. After a few seconds he came up with a crude solution; and he sent a straight punch at each of the formations. Those punch sent concentrated sonic waves into the sides of these improvised tanks. Upon impact the machines collapsed and became stunned. Undoing themselves from each other they began to rush in to meet us.“Every model has lousy footing! Exploit that whenever possible!” Rho yelled out then rushed head-on for a fight. I waited with Epsilon and once the machines got in range I gave it a good cut which was blocked by a shield; it counterattacked with a shoulder rush that floored me, leaving me alone against the multitude. While the older Centurions weren’t all that durable, these Legionnaires were built to be the driving force behind Nero’s army, hacking one apart was difficult enough, there were sixty here alone. With each passing moment I was getting knocked around and was completely dedicating my energy to stay up a little longer. As that finally gave out I had only one option left, lash out with everything I had left. I threw my weight around, I stayed on the offensive at all times, and I went numb with the strain of taking them down. Pushing to the very limit, my body grew unbearably hot; it felt like I should melt at any moment. Yet they were the ones who couldn’t stand the heat as I began to tear through the forces with little effort and blinding speed. Every time I severed a hydraulic ‘vein’, the fluid flash steamed and soon the area was covered in mist. In the chaos of the attack, I saw a shadow move through the group. Following quickly I nearly forgot to check up on Nero, who when I looked at his seat, had disappeared. Checking my surroundings with my heart pounding in my ears I, on no inclination glanced down at my shadow. It then sprung to life, taking on the shape of Nero which stunned me enough for him to knock the katana out of my hand. I stayed out of the way of his swinging blades for a short while as I drew my kodachi. His swings were wide and he had a fierce look on his face, he was fed up with me, the secrets he had to give up to live long enough to plan, he was done with the games now. Using a bit of thinking I ran into him and literally carried him through the crowd and the both of us both, hopefully, crashed close to the stage. Nero got up first, but when he did he found a hand on his shoulder. It was Rho, who I knew was a bit bitter at his defeat by Nero. He quickly threw him aside and began to fight him hand to hand, immediately proving his superiority. Leaving them alone to fight it out I moved to the stage to check up on Upsilon’s fight with Helen, what I witnessed was a full blown war between the two. They were at it like animals; brutally smashing into each other. Upsilon, with shallow cuts at every major joint, trying to land a blow on Helen’s flowing dance with everything he had, shield-fist and rushing. Even with Helen’s weapon being a common rapier of all things, she could fight toe to toe with him if cornered, as rare as that was. There was no guarding in their forms, which were similar in stance and attack. As they continued to batter each other I walked too close to Upsilon and his spinning sword cut through my breastplate and into my side, which surprised me and distracted Upsilon. The lapse was long enough for Helen to stab him through his left shoulder. With a mild push of the blade, Upsilon got it out with only a grunt to acknowledge it. I tried to move forward to assist him, or at least heal him but he pushed me aside.“Do not bother,” He said. “This wound will not be closed so easily.”“Then I’ll fight her, you don’t need to put yourself through anymore of this.”“I must advise you not to do that. Helen is far too dangerous for anyone else to fight.” Upsilon warned, which made Helen smirk. “Let him by, I’d like to see why you follow him around.” She told him, and now I was in front of this woman and I was going to control my friend’s fate this time. I pulled my katana toward me and prepared for another fight. I deflected the first strike and again took a punch to the head, which felt like I ran into a steel wall and all of the fatigue fell on me again and my body didn’t want to move. Then she proceeded to graze me so finely at so many points that I was paralyzed and couldn’t move. It wasn’t even twenty seconds and I had fallen on the ground completely defeated, unable to stand. In front of my face she was twirling her rapier which had a triangular blade with three edges; Peculiar, but no more than she was already. “I understand the pain and fatigue you feel, but I’m disappointed that you didn’t last longer, especially since I heard about your stunning performance against Athanor.” Helen said, looking down at me.“If you wanted to crush him, you have done more than enough.” Upsilon noted. “You did all of this for me, so they should not be a part of this.”“Yes, you do have a point, but you know how I get…” She mused, stepping over me and coming face to face with Upsilon, going as far as touching him, which I don’t even remember the last time when he let that happen to him. Upsilon hasn’t been himself since they’ve met, so the history between the two must be deep. So while I got up, still struggling with the pain I tried to get my questions in.“Ex-excuse me Helen,” I said, and she flashed me a very aggressive look, which had some resemblance to Omega. “But how do you know of Athanor? No one survived his attacks to see him fight us.”Helen laughed at my question. “Of course I know of him, he’s the closest thing to a son I have. I contributed half my genes for Nero to create him. I am the most powerful woman on the planet.” She proclaimed, and draped her arm around Upsilon’s neck. “I taught my dear Johann everything he knew about combat and programming. He is the closest thing I have to an equal…” Upsilon grabbed her at that remark, pressing her arms to her side, a look of sheer horror on his face.“You’re lying!” He accused, and she responded by kissing him, which caused him to let go. He was incredulous, and it took me a few seconds to realize; ‘The body was formed using the chromosomes of the two most powerful people alive’ Nero said; if Helen is Athanor’s- now Omega’s- mother, then Upsilon must be the father. It was impossible to fathom at first, but then I remembered Athanor’s laugh when he faced Upsilon, and then it made all of the sense in the world.“Is that the way you talk to your master?” Helen mocked. “Is that the way you talk to your lover…” That might have tripped a nerve in him and he plowed her against the wall. He looked over at me and then grabbed my collar.“Find Omega, we’re going to need him!” Upsilon then hurled me off the stage and past the remainder of Nero’s forces. Still struggling through the crippling pain I searched around the place where Nero sat and there was a small orb which had Omega’s particular energy around it. Too tired to try and disable it, I simply smashed it on the ground.ΩA sharp pain brought me back to life in an unknown arena with a wounded Gamma at my feet. I sense Nero close by, so I’m guessing I got captured; just more things I get to squeeze out of him this time. I looked out and saw a fight in progress, and I couldn’t wait to be a part of that. As I walked towards the conflict, Gamma pulled on my leg.“Omega, y-you have to help them.” He moaned. “I don’t have to help anyone,” I specified; this guy may have helped me, but I’m not willing to take orders so quickly. “Just let me do what I do and it’ll all work out for the best.” With that I called my twin sabers and went to work. My mind unplugged itself and the dismemberment and chaos were just dim afterthoughts. It wasn’t the same as before, I just assumed that it was just the consistency of the hydraulic fluid and the resistance of their bodies, but they would all fall by the wayside, it was only a matter of time. I glanced over to Rho who was having a good time in the thick of it, taking on five at a time. He was moving toward Epsilon, and so was I until I heard a booming laugh in my mind. “Not bad at all, Rho is a good fighter, am I right?”“Indeed. Oh, and can I get a name first? You spirits keep thinking I know you.”I could imagine him smirking at the remark. “Sorry, I am Mark Lore, the first Omega.”“Well, I’m honored.”“You’re not surprised?” Mark said.“I’ve seen your dead girlfriend, not much can startle me anymore.”“Trust me, I can find something.” And he pointed my attention to Epsilon who was not the same person I met. He was wildly cleaving through the enemy, polearm glowing orange at the edges and tips. Not even the Neo-Bronze plating of the Legionnaires held him back for long, and his face wasn’t one that had even a remote amount of caring or remorse. Epsilon’s face was twisted, teeth were bared; he looked more like me if anyone.“That scar is beginning to change Epsilon,” Mark noted. “He is very innocent and isn’t prone to anger, so continuing to fight will bring out the worst in him. If you’re going to prod him I’d be cautious.”I took his warning seriously and made sure to clear out the area and then move in closer. Even with that when I approached him he took a wild swing at me. I dodged out of the way but he still was trying to attack me. I had to pull the halberd out of his hands just to stop him.“Stand down! It’s only me!” I said.“Right, right; it’s just you…” He said shakily. The rigors of extended battle are taxing, so I’m guessing he’s just shell-shocked. I would have believed that until I saw a thin streak of lightning across his scar. The pure energy that prototype scar can generate is massive. Epsilon losing it stopped being an amusing thought then.“Are you sure you’re alright?”“I’ll be fine! Why do you even care?” Epsilon screamed back at me and walked to Gamma. He was so angry he wasn’t paying attention to his back as Nero was able to evade Rho and attempt to attack Epsilon. Being faster on my feet I intercepted Nero in motion and he, still afraid of me, stopped dead in his tracks. With one punch he was blasted back into the stage and crashed into some girl who Upsilon was fighting. I ran up next to Upsilon while they were untangling themselves. “Get off me!” she shouted once undone from Nero. She was a bit rattled; things were starting to go wrong for her. But even now, she still has her mind made up to fight for now. She was strong, no doubt about that; but the two of us have them beat already. However, when she took a glance at me, her demeanor mellowed out; I do not know this ‘Helen’ as I heard Upsilon call her, but she might know me.“Athanor, you’ve woken up; and right on schedule.” She said.“So Helen, how do you expect to control me? We’ve never met.”“Actually,” Helen objected. “We met just this morning.” And her features melted away and in their place the figure of Gabrielle stood before me, and it flashed me a wicked smile.“You are easier to fool than you think, and don’t worry too much about it, you’re not alone. As a matter of fact, you’ll never be alone because I’ll always be with you.” I froze for a moment, and in the mist of her gloating I was wondering why I was here with these people; either by taking orders from Gamma, or being led around by Helen, I still have no control over my life. So, I regressed, building up incredible amounts of rage for a total offensive.“Upsilon, Helen is mine, stand back!” I said.“No, I can take her. Just dispatch Nero.” Upsilon said bluntly. I looked at him and he glared back at me. Then we both had the same feeling; the closest thing I can compare to an exclamation point in our heads. It was a ploy to set up a quick ambush, and an easy win developed into a close quarters brawl. It was rather normal at first, but as it went on, something was wrong. As I was maneuvering around Nero to get to Helen, I was blocked by Upsilon’s blade; and Nero was met by Helen at any attempt at attacking Upsilon. They were not fighting, they were sparring-no-they were dancing… and they didn’t like baggage dragging them down. Soon we were thrown out of the fray, Upsilon facing me and Helen facing the unconscious Nero.“Not bad Johann, still holding on to your form for so long.” She commented, turning around. “This place is ours for the taking, just join with me again.”Upsilon hesitated for a second and dropped his sword in surrender; Helen proceeded to move in, but I saw in Upsilon’s face was the look of true defiance, one I had a long time ago. It happened so fast: a flash of metal, a spray of blood and the tide had turned. The shocked Helen looked at Upsilon’s right hand and extending one foot past was a wrist blade, stained red, from the slash across her midsection. Without missing a beat, he pinned her down with that mechanical hand, keeping her from escaping, which she wasn’t trying to. He then walked away from his shield to retrieve his sword to finish her off. I looked over at the field and the others were rushing to stop him; I chuckled, they won’t make it, Upsilon’s desire for her life is too strong…“Then why haven’t you tried?” Mark asked.“I can’t stop him either, at this point, he’s more skilled than me,” I said. “He threw me around like I was nothing, if he wanted to, he could- wait- stop!” And then I got up, not to halt Upsilon, but to get between him and the others, Epsilon, when they all arrived, was stricken at my action. While I stood there, Upsilon was bearing down on Helen, the point of the sword in her face.“Stand back Athanor!” Epsilon shouted.“No, I need all of you to pay attention.” I said, and we looked over to them. Upsilon showed a flicker of disgust and plunged the blade at his side. Helen frowned at this gesture of mercy.“Why?” She said, not from surprise, but from curiosity.“Too many distractions,” And he looked around at us. He then picked up his shield letting her up. “Retrieve what you can and leave here, you will not win.”Helen gave a mild huff. “You right, I suppose. I got what I wanted anyway, to see you again.” She looked past me to Gamma, Rho, and Epsilon. “A word of caution; I only see you as anchors to Johann and to our Selbstmord, you will die, and it will be painful.”With that she, Nero, and the shattered remains of Praetor disappeared.Ε“Okay Upsilon, you’ve got to stop doing this on your own.” I said when we got out of that arena. That place was horrible, even with so much power at our disposal we could not fight a pitch battle with so few of those things. My heart is still pounding so long after…I was so afraid to die, so close to letting it happen, that I succumbed to the hate screaming inside me. The destruction that followed was so brutal, so primal, and so easy to do; it took everything I was to keep from throwing up from the idea that Athanor had done things like this all of the time to actual people. Upsilon, on the other hand, was hiding a whole different set of problems, and we all needed to know. The knowledge will save our lives.“No amount of knowledge will save you for long.” Upsilon said.“No knowledge at all and we will surely perish.” Rho countered. “So start at the beginning, what is Selbstmord?”In that moment, Upsilon changed from the reclusive persona we knew into someone who had a longer memory than most people have been alive, and he had control.“Selbstmord is a German word,” Upsilon began. “In no uncertain terms, it means ‘suicide’. I was not always what you see here, I was timid, frail, weak… I could not defend myself from any one. In the depths of my despair and self loathing is when she came to me and after proving her strength, took pity. Helen then asked me what I desired most,” Upsilon said, and then he started to flow into an uninterrupted attack that increased in ferocity. “I wanted power! The power she had over everything that crossed her path! I craved it with everything I was!” Upsilon shouted, accenting the statement with a thrust. “So, I killed my entire life before then; that is what it takes to learn the art of Selbstmord.” He then turned somber. “The training was supposedly impossible to live through; every second on the verge of death and I endured, becoming this, a being of power and precision, although the mental punishment caused my insomnia.”“Did it also allow you to shrug off such injuries?” I asked.“Oh, you mean this?” Upsilon inquired, pointing at his shoulder, which was still bleeding quite a bit. “No, I built a resistance to these kinds of wounds during constant sparring with Helen, she did not hold back, and thus we are reaching the climax of this story. Helen’s form, the Cruelty Method can inflict crippling pain, but some enemies can withstand it. In response to its lack of power I developed a new way, the Way of Destruction, which emphasizes major injuries, like cutting limbs and breaking bones. Hence my weaponry: the great sword Deus Ex Machina,” Upsilon presented his sword; getting a closer look, although it appeared to be normal it was black along its entire edge. “This is Obsidian Steel; it never loses its edge and is so far the only known substance that can cut through the Hielzenoid alloys.” Gamma then touched his breastplate, which had suffered a long slash across it.“Once I mastered my form, Helen and me stopped being master and student and became equals. Think about it, Helen and Johann, the Selbstmord Masters, unmatched throughout the entire planet! Doing whatever we wanted; who could stop us?” Upsilon declared. “Between the two of us, personally, we complemented each other; I kept her rational, and she…” His breath caught in his throat. “H-helped me to sleep.”“There’s a hint of longing in your voice.” Athanor mocked. “I expect that the two of you were intimate?” The two looked at each other and Upsilon turned away in a soundless yes.“It went on like that for a year until Helen revealed her true plan to me. She wished to combine the two forms, by teaching our child. The Way of Destruction is too dangerous to fall into anyone’s hands, and subjecting a child to that is something I find inhumane. I confronted her and asked for my freedom; she was…angry; I barely survived the fight and had to lay low. I got out, but she did not let me go, so I stayed on the run, being hunted constantly. To evade capture, I once again became Jonathan and disappeared into the crowd and came here. Now tell me, what are the chances that I would have even followed you this far?”Upsilon’s story was heartbreaking one; he gave up his life, lived in fear being on the run from someone considerably stronger, and judging on his predicament, he shouldn’t have made a name for himself by being with us, but he came anyway and we wouldn’t have gotten this far without him.“I apologize to you now, Helen is obsessive and she will break all of you now in order to get to me. This means, however that she’ll act before thinking. If you want me to leave, I would not mind.” Upsilon confessed. Athanor stepped up to meet him. “Hey don’t sweat it, you’re here now, and you’ve got to see this through to the end regardless. I, on the other hand, have a helmet to retrieve so I’ll be seeing you around.” And he flew away as a streak of light into the sky. As we watched him go, I felt a chill and I turned to check the others and I saw something peculiar; a band of energy connecting Gamma, Upsilon and Omega, it didn’t take long for me to figure it out.“Upsilon is Athanor’s father, isn’t he?” I said.“What!” Rho exclaimed, my words flooring him. “Please tell me you’re wrong.”Gamma looked at me, his eyes wide. “How did you figure it out?”I tapped my right temple and instantly my vision included what Gamma could see as well. “The Mark of Cain doesn’t allow you to keep many secrets from me, and you wear your emotions on your sleeve more than Upsilon does.”“Wait, I thought that Athanor’s body was genetically engineered, a live birth is too random for Nero to distill so pure a form.” Rho pointed out.“That is not why it is so improbable,” Upsilon said. “You see, before Helen and I became that close, I had myself sterilized, but she must have been watching me. While I was under she could harvest anything she wanted from me.”I couldn’t take another second. “You mean to tell me that this woman tore your mind apart, made your life a living hell, took advantage of you, and yet you still love her?”There was a pause from the sentinel. “Perhaps I still do, but Helen is an enemy now, and I will cut her down. Alone.”“And what about Athanor? He deserves the right to know about this?” Upsilon and Gamma looked at each other and walked away. I could barely contain the anger I felt at the moment. Helen…damn her! I’ll find a way to kill her… and that son of hers as well!EndNext: The Subchapters ................
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