Two guards waited outside the lab doors. As Levon stepped out, he glanced back at Narad.

“By the way… when I was on the way here, the chair picked up a radio channel. Some weird broadcast. It cut off midway. Do you know where I can hear the rest?”

Narad frowned. “There is no radio in the tunnel. No transmissions at all. You must have hallucinated, under the pressure of the Vitria.”

The answer didn’t sit right, but Levon had no time to press. The guards were waiting.

“This way, please,” said the long-haired one. Her partner, short-haired, stayed silent, eyes sharp.

Levon followed, unease knotting in his chest. The lab had felt strangely like home, familiar in its order. But outside… every step felt like tearing a page from his old life. He thought of the phrase from Earth — starting a new chapter. For him, it was no metaphor. He was erasing everything he’d been.

The guards opened a portal. Levon hesitated, his thoughts circling back to Earth’s deception — the hoarding of genius minds. Should he have told Narad? Or would that have doomed humanity to invasion?

The short-haired guard’s gaze cut through him, as if she knew what he was thinking.

“Portal’s ready,” the long-haired one said, motioning him forward.

Levon stepped through.

But instead of a smooth transition, the portal spat them out violently, hurling their bodies onto hard stone.

They crashed into the middle of a city.

“We’ve been intercepted!” the short-haired guard barked, already on her feet.

“Call backup!”

The other scrambled upright, weaving a small circular portal. “This is Karva — requesting immediate reinforcement at northeast Sancta, I repeat—”

Her voice cut off.

A filament, thin as silk, shimmered in the air. Her head dropped clean from her shoulders, rolling to stop beside Levon.

Levon screamed.

“Shit!” the remaining guard snapped, summoning a gun from nothing. “Show yourself!” Sweat dripped from her brow.

At first, the street looked empty. Then the air itself seemed to bend — heat-haze ripples sharpening into forms, as if three figures had always been there, cloaked from sight. Their outlines solidified: a woman, flanked by two men. One lean and wiry. The other massive, his body radiating menace.

“Oh, she actually managed to call backup,” the woman said lightly, almost amused.

She glanced at the big man. “Handle her.”

He stepped forward, and the guard fired. Bullets sparked against a translucent barrier clinging tight to his skin, flaring with each impact. He didn’t slow.

A heartbeat later, his fist slammed into her chest, tearing through. His arm burst from her back in a spray of blood.

Levon still collapsed from the aggressive portal exit, his mind breaking under the weight of what he had just seen.

“You’re free to go,” the woman said casually, crouching over the fallen guards, stripping them of weapons and tools.

“Bushra, we need to move,” the lean man urged. “Their Vitria’s closing in.”

Bushra stood, loot in hand. She cast Levon a casual glance. “Run while you can.”

With that, she tore open a portal and disappeared with her men.

Levon stayed frozen, trembling in the blood-slick street, unable to comprehend what had just unfolded.

It had only been minutes, though to Levon it felt like hours. He stood frozen, unable to process the horror he’d witnessed. Then the air cracked—portals spiraling open around him. Armed figures poured out, their boots pounding the ground.

“Clear!” one barked.
“Fuck—they killed them,” another cursed.
“Found someone,” a third muttered, grabbing Levon by the shoulder and hauling him upright.

“Bastard!” the furious guard spat, cocking back his fist to strike—only to be stopped mid-swing.

A towering woman had seized his arm. Her grip alone froze him in place. Scars laced her arms and face like battle-maps, her presence commanding.

“Can’t you sense it?” she said coldly. “He barely has any Vitria.”

The guard swallowed, shame creeping in. “S-sorry, Commander Johari.”

The woman released him and turned her gaze on Levon. “Are you the one our comrades were escorting?”

Levon, still in shock, didn’t answer. He was only standing because the guard held him up. His mind buzzed, his body numb.

Johari sighed, placed two fingers gently on his forehead—and instantly, the world steadied. His lungs drew breath again, the panic melted, his mind returned to clarity.

Levon staggered back, pushing the guard away. “What… how?” he muttered, staring at her. “She did the same thing Narad did…”

“Who are you?” he asked at last.

“Commander Johari,” she replied, extending a massive scarred hand. “Leader of the Aegis Force. Nice to meet you.”

Her smile softened the intimidation of her frame. Levon, confused, slowly shook it. “Levon.”

Johari’s smile faded. Her jaw tightened, teeth grinding as something deeper pushed to the surface.

Two comrades. Gone. Just like that. Because the Stormwings want votes, because parliament wants to play politics while the streets bleed. How many mothers will bury children before they act? How long before our city shatters into civil war? We bleed for their safety, and they trade us like tokens in their games. I will not forgive them for this.

Her fingers clenched around Levon’s hand. For a moment, it felt like she might crush it entirely.

Levon yanked his hand away, heart skipping. The motion snapped her back. She blinked, exhaled. “I’m sorry. Lost in my thoughts.”

Before Levon could respond, three portals bloomed behind her. From the center stepped a shorter, leaner woman with sharp features, spectacles glinting, and skin as dark and luminous as Johari’s.

“Took your time, sister,” Johari said.

“Had to present our case to parliament.” The woman’s tone was clipped, efficient.

“And?” Johari pressed.

“They want more evidence,” she muttered, striding toward Levon. Her eyes narrowed. “Is this the murderer?”

“No,” Johari answered firmly. “This is Levon. New arrival. Unfortunately, he witnessed the attack.”

The woman’s focus sharpened. She closed the gap, almost frantic. “Then you saw it? A cloaked figure? Black robe, orb in hand?”

Levon blinked. “A… what?”

“Answer me!” she snapped. “Did you see the figure?”

Something in Levon snapped. His voice rose, bitter and cutting. “I barely saw anything! One second I’m spat out of a portal, the next a head rolls beside me. Sorry I didn’t notice your grim reaper posing for a portrait!”

Her eyes hardened. “This isn’t a joke. People die when he appears. Entire squads vanish. Entire streets. When the figure is sighted, it means something terrible is coming.”

Levon scoffed, though unease crept in. “Sounds like you’ve got bigger problems than me. Sorry if I didn’t stop to take notes while people were being slaughtered.”

Her nostrils flared. “Your sarcasm won’t help you. If you saw him, you’d remember. Burned into your mind.”

“Lady,” Levon muttered, voice sharp, “I just watched someone’s head land next to me. Trust me, my brain’s full for the day.”

Johari stepped between them, placing a calming hand on each of their shoulders. “Enough. Levon, this is my twin sister, Nahari. She’s the brain of the Aegis Force—Xacodia’s brightest detective.”

Levon blinked. “Twin sister? Really?” His gaze darted between them. “I mean—you don’t share much except the shiny dark skin.”

Nahari’s eyes narrowed to slits. “Are you eyeing me?”

“No,” Levon said dryly, “just trying to figure out how two people so different could come from the same mother. You look like you’d audit someone’s taxes mid-battle, she looks like she’d crush a tank.”

For the first time since the ambush, Johari chuckled. “Not wrong.”

“Whatever,” Nahari muttered, turning away with a huff. “I brought two nurses from Curatia. At least they can check on him.”

Two white-clad figures approached. One lifted his hand, gently pressing Levon’s head. The other’s pupils vanished entirely, leaving her eyes blank white.

“What the hell—?!” Levon recoiled.

“Don’t move,” the first nurse said calmly. “She’s assessing your Vitria.”

Moments later, the woman’s pupils returned. “He’s fine. No damage.”

“Physically sound too,” the first nurse confirmed, stepping back.

Levon shook his head, exasperated. “What is going on here?”

Johari stepped forward again. “Where were you headed?”

“The… academy?” Levon said, unsure.

“Good. I’ll take you.”

She turned to her sister. “We’ll talk later.”

Nahari adjusted her spectacles. Then, softer, “Levon.”

He looked back.

“Welcome to Xacodia. I’m sorry it began this way. Things will get better. We’ll meet again.” She even smiled faintly.

Levon hesitated. “…Thanks. I’ll see you around, I guess.”

“Come on,” Johari said, suddenly playful, giving him a shove into the swirling portal.

Levon stumbled out the other side, blinking at the massive gates before him. “What the—?”

“The Academy,” Johari said, knocking firmly. After a moment, the gates creaked open.

“They’ll send mentors for you. You’ll be escorted inside.”

“Thanks,” Levon muttered. Then, before she left: “Why did Nahari ask me about some cloaked figure instead of the ones who killed your comrades?”

Johari’s expression darkened. She paused. “We know who did it. They’ll pay. But the Stormwings’ negligence makes these attacks more frequent. Don’t worry about it now. The Academy will teach you what you need to survive. Focus on your Vitria.”

Beyond the gates, a figure appeared, walking toward them. he was a tall man in a white radiant mantle, his presence commanding even at a distance.

Johari’s posture eased when she saw him. “There. Gustav.” Her voice carried relief, almost trust. “He’s one of the good ones. You’ll be in safe hands.”

Levon glanced at her. “Mentor?”

Johari nodded. “And a friend.”

She opened her own portal. “This is where I leave you. Take care of yourself, Levon.”

“Johari,” Levon called after her.

She stopped, glancing back.

“I’m sorry about your friends. I hope you find whoever did it—and give them hell. If there’s anything I can do, tell me.”

Johari smiled faintly. “Then master your Vitria. You have potential—I can feel it.”

Levon saluted. “Thanks, Commander.”

She nodded once, and vanished.