The four Conscripts slowly read their rewards in satisfaction for completing the main objective and the optional goals.

Before Xander read any further, he walked toward his little brother with a concerned expression. It fell away quickly once Xander saw Nick up and about.

When Xander saw the monstrosity knock Nick down with that horizontal swipe, something in him bellowed in rage. He poured that emotion into his strikes when he smashed the Junior Acolyte’s bulbous head.

It was a rather vigorous feeling that Xander never thought he had in him. But it felt right when he let it out. As he stepped in front of his brother, Xander gave a playfully shove on Nick’s arm, causing the younger man to wince.

“You alright?”

“Didn’t have to touch that area. But, yeah, I’m alright, kuya.”

Xander lifted his brother’s sleeve to check on the darkening area of his skin. The bruise was already turning purple, and Xander was surprised that Nick didn’t seem to have a fracture.

“You need to get that checked. Then, buy a stim at HNH, or else that’ll hurt like a bitch once the adrenaline runs out.”

“I think it’s already running out.” Nick groaned under his breath as he hovered a hand over his bruise. “Damn, I should have been faster.”

“It’s surprising you managed to come out of that.” Xander scratched his chin as he looked closer at the wound. “I was sure that looked worse when I saw you get hit.”

Nick smirked as he puffed his chest.

“Resilience, son! It hardens my skin in response to physical trauma.”

Xander snorted as he rolled his eyes.

“Was that the booster you got when Harby assessed you?”

“Yep, I think it suits me.”

The older brother shook his head as he walked away.

“Try not to get hit again, please?”

Xander smirked as he heard his younger brother scoff at his remark. Assured the younger man was fine, he looked, brought up his ONIM, and read his rewards.

Rescue Mission: Sunny Side Apartments

Threat level: Moderate

Rewards: 5 Nexus Merits, 150 Lumina Shards (Rewards may vary)

Objectives

- Rescue civilians (Completed) - Eliminate all Cultists (Completed) (Optional) - Slay all Malformed Voidlings (Completed) (Optional) - Eliminate the Junior Acolyte (Completed) (Optional) Mission accomplished! +15 Nexus Merits, +300 Lumina Shards Skills Rank Up: 'General Fighting (Low) >>> (Intermediate)' Superlunary Matter: 19 mL of 'Ichor' absorbed.

The Conscript skimmed over most of it to read the final screen and pumped his fist.

I have more Ichor now. A bit less than the Senior Acolyte, damaged as it was.

That was fine.

Xander glanced at his companions, who he was sure received their own. Xander felt better knowing that Omninexus compensated them for their efforts and the young man was sure that their bullets did more during the fight than he did.

I still get the final blow bonus, though.

Xander managed to catch a warm feeling in his chest that seemed to call out to the golden thread of superlunary matter that emerged from the Junior Acolyte’s corpse. He wondered how exactly his soul—his Anima—functions to act like some sort of magnet.

Does it have something to do with powerful emotions?

Xander filed that line of questioning for later as he went back to read everything else.

My fighting skill proficiency ranked up—or is it leveled up? I feel more comfortable in my body, and I’m somewhat used to holding a hammer now.

Xander held up the weapon before him.

There has to be a better weapon, or maybe an upgrade. An attachment?

Xander rubbed his goatee in thought before dismissing his screens. He looked to his teammates and saw them looming over the corpse. Xander stepped up beside them to look at their kill. Anna kneeled and started poking at it with her slugger.

“It’s even more disgusting up close.” Anna frowned when the barrel of her handgun pressed on the purplish flesh, making a sickening squelch. “No way I want any of its bits on me.”

Xander grunted as he lightly kicked the corpse at its side.

“Yeah, it’s not fun.”

Now that their emotions had cooled, the realization that they had just fought such a monstrous creature and battled through hallways of crazed humans and alien beasts finally dawned on the four humans.

Finishing the mission elicited more relief than celebration, and the Conscripts wanted to get out as soon as possible.

It felt dirty and grim within these walls.

As they exited into the halls—passing by the corpses of their foes—the Conscripts looked around in mild disbelief. Nick, in particular, began to look nauseous at the cold eyes of the cultists.

“Fuck. We did this?”

No one answered.

Xander glanced at the still bodies as they left the tarnished floor. He was disgusted, but not as much as that night in the Marco. He wasn’t sure if he was becoming desensitized to it but realized it hadn’t been a full day since the world was upended with the arrival of the Harbingers.

I should be feeling absolutely horrified with fighting and killing humans. Crazy as they are, I would never have thought I was capable of this.

Xander fell deep into thought as he analyzed his actions. His lips pressed together tightly as he searched for a reason for his detachment from these cultists. At times, Xander felt they weren’t even human.

Is it the Omninexus? Or…

Xander wondered if there was something in the genetic booster he took. He minutely felt his mind sharpening, but was there some other change he didn’t notice? Maybe it was something as mundane as providing clarity to the situation.

There wasn’t time to grieve the victims when more could join them every minute without intervention. Making people more rational would immensely help people cope.

Still, as Xander glanced at his brother, he realized that the trembling younger man needed more mental care.

It’s not perfect. You can’t just remove emotions from people without being invasive.

He shook his head as he buried those thoughts for later.

Eventually, the beleaguered humans would adjust to the environment. Still, at this moment, the pungent coppery smell in the air and the humidity caused them to gag or grimace.

The rain crashing hard onto the building added to the gloomy atmosphere as thundered boomed outside. Xander rubbed and was glad he stayed clean for the most part with the help of his Second Skin, but even then, he felt like he had passed through a filthy bog.

“I’m taking a shower when I get home.”

Anne, Ben, and Nick all mumbled in agreement as they went down the stairs. Anna’s tired voice echoed through the vertical space while her eyes read through her ONIM screen.

“Still have that investigation mission. I don’t know about any of you, but I think we should get this out of the way before we go back.”

Xander scratched his cheek as he turned toward his partner.

“Shouldn’t we cash in first?”

“The nearest Harby is pretty far away,” Anna stated as she waved her hand. “Besides, I think we won’t be as tired by then.”

“But do we have to go out into the rain?” Nick moaned in displeasure.

The rain had peaked at this moment. Xander contemplated whether it was beneficial to go to the park in such weather.

The Philippines had a tropical climate and was no stranger to typhoons—the two seasons being dry and hot and humid and wet.

“Going out in this rain would give us plenty of cover.” Xander spoke as he rubbed his chin. “Without a sound muffler, we can naturally use the weather to dampen our noise.”

Anna was quite receptive to the plan, while the other two men on the team were not as enthusiastic. For Nick, it was more the emotional exhaustion from having just fought in a life or death battle, while Ben was simply worried they were biting off more than they could chew.

“It’s a low threat mission, and I’m not interested in doing the optional objectives. There aren’t any awakened among these runaway cultists that we know of, so it isn’t worth it, in my opinion.” Xander reassured any of their lingering doubts. “We investigate the cultists’ whereabouts before bouncing out of there.”

“But the rain.” Nick drawled with a slumped posture.

“You need a shower anyway, NIck. You stink.”

“Hey!”

The group chuckled, the tension from the apartment building easing a little. Once they planted their feet on the milky-white tiles of the first floor, Xander immediately caught sight of Jose and his team—the two injured not present. The apartment landlord had a confused expression as he approached the rescue team.

“What happened up there?” Jose asked, scratching his head. “I just got a notification those crazies and whatever that Junior Acolyte thing is, are dead.”

Xander adopted an apologetic expression as he met the man.

“We were exploring the floors for more civilians to rescue when we were ambushed by the monsters and a bunch of cultists.” the young man sighed as he massaged the back of his neck. “We managed to get out of it alright and defeated them.”

“You four killed them all?” Jose rapidly blinked as he eyed them in disbelief.

“Barely, we funneled them into an apartment and took them out one by one.”

Jose pressed his lips together for a moment before slowly nodding.

“Well, good on you, my friends didn’t receive the full reward, but I just wanted my building back, so thanks.” Jose offered his hand, which Xander shook. “Kito and Ali were sent to the hospital. I’d like not to have anyone else hurt.”

“No problem, Jose. Glad to have helped.” Xander politely smiled. “We have to go now, we have another mission to do.”

“Out in the rain?”

“Unfortunately.”

“I see. Thank you, po.”

The two teams of Conscripts all bid each other farewell as they went their separate ways.

Before they exited the building entrance, Anna sauntered over beside Xander before whispering.

“Pretty smooth, not mentioning we swiped their mission from them.”

Xander shrugged at the young woman.

“He didn’t need to know that. Plus, I was betting he wasn’t all that interested in the reward since it's his building at risk.”

Anna let out a chuckle under her breath.

The four Conscripts soon stepped outside into the storm and felt the raindrops kissing their skin. Everyone smiled and was relieved from the cool water cleaning the grime and blood on them. Xander was a bit irked that his Second Skin was preventing the rain from drenching him, but he soon felt the transparent armor unwrap from parts of his skin.

“Huh, that’s nice.”

After a moment of standing out in the rain and relaxing their tense muscle, the group soon returned to the pickup before heading to their next destination. A soaked Ben turned to his passengers while he started the vehicle.

“McMillan Park, right?”

Xander nodded from the backseat—adjusting himself take advantage of the comfortable seat.

“Yeah, you have the mission?”

“Send it to me.”

“Sure.”

Xander opened up his ONIM mission sub-menu and opened up the scouting mission.

Scouting Mission: McMillan Park

A team of Tier I's and local authorities have dealt with a group of cultists and one of two Thralls leading them. The survivors have fled the area and outside the range of the Harbingers detection and have disappeared somewhere within McMillan Park. Investigate the area and find the cultists' whereabouts.

Threat level: Low

Rewards: 2 Nexus Merits, 50 Lumina Shards (Rewards may vary)

Objectives

- Locate the surviving cultists - Eliminate the surviving cultists (Optional) • Missions • Scouting Mission: McMillan Park

Send to [ Conscript Ben Baltazar ] ?

The young man reread the mission objectives before mentally confirming his choice. A second later raised a thumbs-up before driving.

If Puerto Heights was at the center, their travel initially took them west for a few kilometers to reach Sunny Side. They were traveling back east and past their home barangay to the popular park.

The ride to McMillan Park was quiet as everyone took the chance to rest their eyes from the adrenaline rush they experienced in Sunny Side. Xander looked to his left and saw Nick slumped in his seat with his mouth open as he quickly fell into a nap.

Xander smirked at his little brother before looking out into the window.

Rio de Oro had a greyness cast over it, and the tepid tropical downpour desaturated its usual vibrant colors. Xander spotted cars, motorcycles, jeepneys, and service vehicles moving quickly on the highway.

Xander frowned slightly as not a day ago would have related what he saw to the usual hustle and bustle of the metropolis he called home. Now, there was an undercurrent of some inevitable disaster approaching like a tsunami spotted far into the horizon, slowly rolling toward the coastal city.

The scenery transitioned into an expansive woodland surrounded by a metal fence. McMillan Park was situated between a street market and administrative buildings for the local barangay. It received its name from a generous Canadian philanthropist who donated massive amounts of money and supplies to the victims of the terrorist attack that befell the city three years ago.

The deserted entrance of the woodland park was usually filled with young students who like to frequent the area for lunch and leisure.

The four left their car parked on the side of the road and into the rain once again. They walked tensely until the open entrance was before them.

Past the entrance were beautiful acacias, mahoganies, and molaves. A gravel path snaked throughout the park past various verdant bushes and grass.

Though, the hard-pouring rain and someone hostile within these woods soured the moods of the four Conscripts. Nick sneered as he ran his hand through his damp, short hair.

“I used to love going here with my friends. Everything about this sucks now.” He spoke loudly to cut through the noise of the heavy rainfall.

Xander went over to place a hand on his little brother’s shoulder.

“Hopefully, we can make this place safe again soon.”

Nick pursed his lips together as the group continued to walk through the park.

“I hope so, kuya.”

The four Tier I’s eventually stopped by at a small park cafe near the entrance and took cover from the rain. Xander motioned for everyone to come close.

“Alright, this scouting mission will be a long one.” Xander sighed heavily. “We’re outside the range of a nearby Harbinger, so our [Maps] are useless for finding any signs of life.”

Anna grimaced under the hood of her jacket.

“Urgh, how are we supposed to find anything in this rain?”

Xander pondered and stared at nothing for a moment before resigning himself.

“I can’t think of anything. Maybe we should have asked if there was some sort of scanner at HNH. We’re just going to have to scour the place top to bottom.”

Everyone groaned at the prospect. Thankfully, space was a premium in the city, and the park was a new addition to the landscape at only 8 acres. Ben wrinkled his nose as he checked over his gun.

“Let’s get going then. We’ll circle the park and keep moving toward the center.”

At that, the four Conscripts began their search for the whereabouts of the cultists. Xander wondered as the minutes passed through rain, grass, and trees if the cultists were even in the park.

We’ll still get rewarded either way.

The Tier I’s used the cover of the rain to make themselves more stealthy. Though it worked both ways, they had to strain themselves to pierce through the light mist.

Twenty minutes passed as they headed closer and closer to the center. The downpour even began to lighten as they finally found their quarry. Xander managed to spot something sprawled on the grassy ground and motioned his companions to lay low.

“What is it?” Anna spoke lowly while the rain continued to pour. Xander pointed toward what he saw.

“I think I see a body.”

“I can barely see it. But, yeah, that’s probably a body.”

“Should go check?” Nick asked.

Xander hesitated for a moment before motioning everyone to follow him. The four kept low to the ground as they walked. Eventually, they finally reached their target and confirmed the apparent corpse.

Everyone recoiled at the horrid condition of the dead human on the ground.

The sickly-looking corpse had his bones bent in unnatural angles while his clothes and flesh were shredded in a ghoulish manner. Contrary to what they expected, they did not see the usual manic glee on the supposed cultist’s face but twisted agony and horror. The rain was washing the corpse's blood and masked the pungent smell of death.

“Bloody hell.” Xander shook his head as he attempted to push down his lunch. “What the hell happened to him.”

Anna walked toward the corpse and gave it a light kick. She scowled as she backed away before answering.

“No idea. Maybe a voidling? That’s all I could think of.”

“His left arm is missing,” Nick spoke before he retched. “Yawa.”

Xander went forward and knelt. But, as his brother saw, the cadaver’s left arm from the elbow was missing. Moreover, the young man saw that it was separated somewhat surgically. Xander carefully checked the soaked pockets but was unable to find anything useful. Unable to glean anything else, he sighed.

“Let’s move on,” Xander spoke as he stood up. “Something probably ate the arm before leaving. I’m not sure, though.”

“You think whatever ate it is still here?” Anna asked as the group continued their route.

“I hope.”

“You hope?”

Xander felt unnerved. Something was in the park, and a different kind of dread came along with it.

The Cult of the Damned’s signal elicited an existential horror that came with coming into contact with inevitable darkness.

What Xander and the rest felt at this moment was a hint of malice, malevolence, and…

Elegance? No, it feels… Theatrical… Strange.

It was too vague for him to make a concrete guess. The aura was faint like an echo.

The team neared the center as they kept on circling the park. The rain continued to lessen in intensity when they found the next corpse.

“It’s the same wounds,” Xander spoke as he looked over the body of a teenager. “But it’s the right arm that’s missing this time.”

“What the hell…” Anna cursed under her breath. Her older brother moved closer and made his observation.

“Same clean-cut, too.”

The situation was becoming creepier with this development. Xander grimaced as the look of horror on the young teenager’s face brought forth rage at whatever caused his death.

The four continued before finally reaching the park's center and discovering what they could only describe as a slaughter.

A mangled assortment of bodies was laid around a white marble fountain with an angel's statue carrying a vase where the water would have poured out.

The once clear water was stained in crimson as whatever killed them propped up five corpses around the statue. Another seven were arranged in a circle on the ground around the fountain.

The clouds above slowly began to clear, and the rain quieted down.

Nick expelled his lunch onto to gravel pathway while the rest looked away from the vile display.

“Fuck!” Xander cursed loudly as he glanced at the dead bodies of the cultists. “This isn’t some beast. Whatever it is, it’s intelligent and sadistic.”

Anna looked at Xander with teary eyes as she covered her mouth with her hand.

“Damn it. Let’s get out of here. We found the fuckers, but shit, no one deserves that kind of death.”

Xander was in disbelief as he forced himself to come closer. As with the two bodies they found, every corpse had different parts of their bodies neatly removed apart from the horrendous wounds on their shredded flesh.

“Why is it taking pieces from different people. I don’t get it.” Xander shook his head, the drops of water flowing easily down his invisible armor.

The four backed away from the massacred bodies arranged like some artistic display. It didn’t take long before the familiar chime of a mission accomplished echoed in their minds.

Scouting Mission: McMillan Park

Threat level: Low

Rewards: 2 Nexus Merits, 50 Lumina Shards (Rewards may vary)

Objectives

- Locate the surviving cultists (Completed) - Eliminate the surviving cultists (Optional) Mission accomplished! +2 Nexus Merits, +50 Lumina Shards

Xander dismissed his ONIM screen and gazed intently over the slaughtered humans before him. Xander fell into thought at what kind of depraved creature would butcher with such quiet evil.

The aura of despair and enmity echoed strongest at this fountain, like some focal point to expand its horrible presence. Xander looked at each body, and felt an intense emotion of anger. The young man clenched his fists before turning toward the pale faces of his teammates.

“We should bring them down. Cultists they may be, but no one shouldn’t be left in such a humiliating manner.”

His three companions slowly needed before they followed him in untangling the corpses out of the fountain. The Conscripts didn’t bother with burial, opting to lay them under a tree and shut their eyes.

Once they extracted the last body from the fountain, the air of death cleared somewhat, allowing the humans to breathe more easily.

Xander, Anna, Ben, and Nick were all solemn as they took in the silence. The smell of wet grass and leaves permeated the air, and the once dark and stormy clouds parted to allow rays of afternoon sunlight.

Despite a group of corpses a few meters away, Xander took a moment to appreciate the orange glow washing over the park and the tranquility that sliced through the tense atmosphere.

A few minutes of silence later. Their smartphones began to vibrate intensely in their pockets with a familiar ringtone.

Everyone pulled out their phones and looked at the emergency warning usually sent by the government to warn about approaching hurricanes or earthquakes.

Xander felt sardonic that their leaders took this long to inform them of the worldwide apocalypse before becoming confused as he read the message.

[ Attention! An event will be taking place in a few minutes. Do not panic. Listen to your ONIM Aides for further information. A presidential address is scheduled at 5:00 this afternoon. ]

Xander felt unsettled at what this was about before turning inward.

Aide?

[ Greeting, Conscript Xander. Please do not be alarmed at upcoming development. ]

Get on with it. What’s happening, is the invasion here?

[ No. A planetary shield is being deployed in order to buy your civilization more time. ]

A planetary shield? That’s amazing!

Xander exclaimed in surprise. He began to grow excited as he looked up into the sky.

What are we talking about? An energy shield.

[ … ]

Aide?

Xander was about to ask why his assistant was being silent when he heard Anna curse loudly from beside him.

“The fuck!?”

Xander turned to look at her and his companions, who all had horrified and shocked faces.

Xander felt hesitant, and he slowly faced the sky before becoming slack-jawed at the sight forming before him.

“What. The. Hell?”

Xander, Anna, their families, friends, and the entire world were made to bear witness as their once blue sky was slowly being covered in an expanding membrane.

Xander observed the silhouettes of enormous blood vessels as the world slowly darkened. The light from the sun pierced through the massive translucent planetary bioshield like a flashlight through one’s palm.

A reddish-orange glow washed over the planet as everyone slowly began to panic.

Up above in the cold darkness of space, the cloaked form of the Chief Executor turned to her colleagues as the planet below was slowly being enveloped in a protective membrane made from a type of rapidly regenerating fungus with a short lifespan—ideal for emergencies. Her powerful and sharp voice sliced through the void and into the minds of the other beings before her.

"Are we ready, Guileful Flower?"

"We can begin contacting this world's leaders for the conference, Chief Executor." The assistant respectfully bowed. "Members of the United Nations as well as the leaders of each nation and a number of military figures.

Chief Executor Inexorable Blade silently nodded before floating toward a Harbinger that accompanied them. The matriarchal being stared intently at the massive eye.

"Let us begin then. Begin the First Contact Assembly."