Sirens blared through the chaos of the city, as armored vehicles swerved past corners and made their way towards a group of boarish creatures. The tusked figures of flesh and stone were flipping cars with their multitude of tusks, and chasing the survivors who feebly attempted to escape. One woman sent out a scream before being launched forward with a slam from behind. There was a short snap as she made contact with the ground once more, before her body went stiff.

Both military and police rapidly fired towards the creatures, but the undead forms charged on, with barely any faltered movement. Arrows pierced through tanks and armored cars from afar, with precision rivalling trained snipers. With the blood running out from the newly made exit, the active units could only assume the worst for their allies stationed inside.

The pack of three rotting stone creatures rumbled before charging towards the surviving unit. The unit retreated behind their vehicles, panic consuming their faces. They have witnessed these creatures flip cars before, but had no choice but to flee behind them, as they couldn’t outrun the boars.

“Don’t you worry, we’ll take care of this!” A feminine voice broadcasted from above.

The unit looked up to see a figure running down clear, Emissioned, platforms from above. They were able to make out a blonde haired woman with pointed ears and garbed in thinned armor plates. With a raise of her hand, multi-layered barriers protected each person while flames erupted out towards the boars. There was no precision or control with the fire, just a large wave of searing flames that blanketed the boars and the streets behind them. Fury erupted from the creatures as they continued their charge once more.

“You’re some hardy hogs, huh?” The Elf teased. “Alex, Juni, could you handle the rest please?”

Leaping from a nearby building, a pitch black lupine and a silver haired girl ran on the same Emissioned platforms, with the wolf jumping down straight onto the backs of one of the creatures.

The moment Alex made contact with the boar, he bared his fangs in a satisfied smile. He could tell immediately that these were undead, and his claws began to swirl with a red energy akin to magma. These were the moments he was grateful for being reborn as a Greater Hellhound, as they were blessed with an innate Absolution that combated undead. One that specifically turned their hardy skin to paper before his claws and fangs.

The back of the undead boar was ripped open like a Christmas present, with chunks of flesh being thrown out in a frenzy. The familiar sound of ripped flesh brought him back to his last two years. Strangely enough, he found combating these undead soothing. A simpler more straightforward time where all he had to worry about was felling the undead who attempted to pass him.

Alex leaped to another creature, while the silver haired girl from above clenched her hand towards the fallen boar. Conveyance and Entropy spread from her grasp, wriggling the collapsed beast back to their feet. The onlookers were horrified, but their gazes turned more into confusion as their past enemy crashed head first into the final boar.

As the slaughter ensued behind her, Bella stopped through her Emissions towards the injured unit. Some had broken bones while others were just exhausted. Willing the ambient magic towards her, she took a deep breath before singing a gentle melody. The calming song verberated a golden light from her voice, taking all the soldiers who listened back to a calming time in their lives. Open wounds cleaned and stitched themselves up, broken bones grew back stronger, and the fatigue of the night was lifted from the regiment.

“Rest my children.” Bella smiled. “Me and my companions will take care of the rest.”

A soldier who once had a gaping wound on their side looked in awe at the glowing Elf. Her barriers and armor made Bella akin to a goddess of the battlefield in his eyes. He never expected to survive this battle, let alone come out unscaved. She truly was their savior.

“Who are you?” A female soldier called out dryly, still stunned in disbelief.

Bella looked over and gave a gentle smile, akin to a teacher looking down at her children. “My name is Bella.” She declared, slowly moving an arm outwards, motioning towards the lupine figure and the silver haired girl.

“And we are Exodus.”

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“What the hell is that!?” Dylan cried, pointing at the three giant figures. Each was constructed with purple light and had four gauntleted arms.

His brother sat in the passenger’s seat in a meditative state, twitching his eyebrow at Dylan’s declaration. He didn’t respond for a minute, still focusing on amassing as much ambient magic as possible, but did give off a gentle smile.

“It seems there are some other Heroes participating in helping the city, and quite a few of them.” Leoric informed. “Just keep driving through the city back home. I have an idea.”

The ambient magic that Leoric absorbed was ejected upwards towards the sky. Clouds began to form on the clear night and spread like ink blots. The undead humanoids noticed the amassing magic, aiming their enhanced arrows at the driving car. They shot out with ballistic speed, but slowed down tremendously after passing through the glowing bubble around the car. Losing almost all of its momentum, the arrow fell to the ground harmlessly.

Ten more minutes passed and the hidden archers stopped any kind of shooting. Leoric thanked whoever joined this fight as he was unable to go on the offensive at the moment, considering all the focus he needed to create a cloud spreading through the entire city. Luckily though, he was able to finish, and began to activate the magic above. With a gentle drumming on his leg, snow began to fall rapidly.

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“Snow?” Aera questioned, looking up from her battle for a moment.

In front of her were five humanoid figures sculpted with rotten flesh and stone. Each held obsidian weapons: two with spears, two with a sword and shield, and one with a bow and arrow. At her feet was one of the boars, and behind her was a car containing the Mitchelle’s. A minor barrier was covering the car, but the green hue was already faltering. This was the worst case scenario, as Aera’s greatest weakness was defending: be it a place or a group of people.

An undead with the sword and shield and the two spear bearers charged in formation towards Aera, Restoration enhancing their blades. The blade slashed downwards with two spears jabbing towards Aera from both sides.

Grasping the incoming spears, Aera sent Entropy into her hands before snapping off the spear heads. Pivoting her front foot, she sent another Entropied kick towards the shield of the undead in front of her, knocking off the direction of the sword with the knockback. As the shield turned to rubble, Aera fixed her stance before launching a palm strike at the head. Following Leoric’s instructions, Entropy and Restoration flooded the two gemstones in the head, before shattering and collapsing the center undead. His explanation verified that he was aware of the aptitudes, but it wasn’t the time or place to care about that.

Aera’s eyes widened at both the incoming arrow and the sweeping of the broken spears. Normally it would be easy to dodge, but the car containing the Mitchelle’s was right behind her, and given what she’s seen of these enemies, that arrow against most people is a lethal shot.

Strengthening her body, she caught the incoming arrow while taking two blows to the sides. The arrowhead slid through her palms before coming to a halt in her hands. Blood flowed steadily from the deep cuts, causing Aera to grit her teeth. Clenching her fists, she sent both of them towards the heads of the spear bearers, shattering their gems instantly.

The particles of their magic gemstones joined the snowfall before vanishing completely. Aera began to heal her palms before she noticed something peculiar: the wounds on her hands were gone. It was puzzling, she hadn't used Restoration to heal her hands yet, but only to strengthen her blows, but the deep cuts were already completely gone, with no signs of their existence.

A painful scream and the light sound of sizzling came from the archer and shield bearing undead, as the snow began to move on its own towards the two. As each snowflake brushed against flesh and stone, their bodies grew slightly more fragile. Snow began to arch towards Aera as well, but each one felt like a gentle hug, removing her exhaustion and strengthening her body.

With the undead distracted, she sprinted forward and sent a roundhouse kick through both of their heads. Along with her own strengthening, their heads flew off like tissue paper and their bodies collapsed to the ground. Swiping the intact gems, she dashed back to the slightly barricaded vehicle.

“Keep driving towards the mountains.” Aera instructed, hopping into the back seat of the car.

Will gave a sudden nod before shifting the car in drive and flooring the gas pedal. He was worried about the incoming snow, but it seemed to swerve around the car on its own. In fact, it seemed to avoid every vehicle that they passed.

“What exactly is this snow?” Will probed.

Aera looked out the window, seeing the golems she once sparred with just weeks ago, yet much taller. “I can’t say for certain.” Aera disclosed. “But it is very powerful magic.” She wondered which Heroes were present currently, and if any could pull this off. Lily’s emission specialized in those giants and she didn’t know enough about Leoric to determine if that was his creation.

The car continued to speed past the deserted streets as they left the residential areas and into the city. The boar creatures were surprisingly gunned down by standard firearms, and the humanoid undead had the endurance of normal zombies. The snow pressured into the enemies and gently caressed the people combating them. Even the few survivors were healed and filled with enough energy to keep running.

The car slammed to a screeching halt as Will saw a familiar sight: Dylan’s car. Like a beacon of light in the pitch black sea, Will and the others leaped out and ran towards the vehicle. Likewise, Dylan and Leoric got out of the car and began making their way over. Leoric kept his eyes shut as he walked over and gave Kelly a reassuring hug.

Curious, Aera delicately stretched her will outwards and examined Leoric. Like an endless vacuum, ambient magic swirled into his body and extended upwards towards the clouds. It was a possible theory earlier, but now, Aera was certain.

“Leoric, is this an Emission Domain?” Aera proposed.

The Ice Elf turned his head, with his eyes still firmly closed, and gave a quick nod. Aera felt an overwhelming feeling close in on herself. An Emission Domain that expanded through the entire city that was also controlled to such precision. Let alone the concurrent casting of at least three aptitudes, this was a feat she’d never witnessed in either world she’d inhabited.

“I’m glad you’re all safe.” Leoric praised. “Thank you again for keeping my family safe, Aera.”

“It was the least I could do.” Aera noted. “Now, what do you suggest we do next?”

Leoric turned his head back towards the mountain him and Dylan were once one, before pointing and looking back at the rest. “I’ll take you all to safety. Since we’re all together, I can send you all there while still focusing on the snow.”

“Wait, you’re staying!?” Gabby cried out, grabbing onto her son’s shirt. “It isn’t safe here, we can all go hide together.”

Leoric looked down and placed a hand on his mother’s shoulder. “I’m sorry, but I need to.”

“But,” her voice came out dry as she fought back tears. “We just got you back. I don’t want to lose you again.”

Leoric’s chest tightened as he faced out towards the desolated city. Even now, he moved snow to help the civilians and hinder the strange undead creatures. He could leave now, but it wouldn’t sit right with him. Plus, the whole situation wasn’t adding up, and something about the Heroes he noticed in his domain calling themselves Exodus was entirely strange. Alex and Rhys being amongst their ranks at least supported his theory that they were from the government base, but that began to sprout fury from within.

“I promise, you won’t lose me again. I need to handle some things after however, so I don’t know if it’ll be immediate. But I’ll definitely be back before Christmas.” Leoric promised, pulling his mother in for a complete hug.

She trembled in his arms before wiping away her tears and giving a firm nod. Leoric smiled and looked towards everyone else. His family members looked in disbelief after saying he would leave again, while Aera gave him a nod of respect.

“I’ll be teleporting you all in a moment, but I’d like you all to do me a favor if I’m not back three days before Christmas.” Leoric explained.

Relaying his request, the five listened intently, with Aera getting the most shocked by it. The thought of his hypothesis being correct filled her with fury, so she immediately accepted his request. Everyone gave him a nod, before he asked them all to huddle together.

“It’s been a long night, please go get some well deserved rest.” With a gentle smile, Conveyance magic swirled around the group willingly, as they were transported alongside the cars to the mountain outlook Leoric and Dylan looked past earlier that night.

“Now, it's time to go pay these Heroes a little visit.”

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A dragon of flesh and stone bellowed angrily, releasing a miasmic breath riddled with Entropy. A giant purple golem took the front of the attack, cracking and disintegrating without any chance of Restoration or Reconfiguration.

The other two golems attempted to hold down the dragon’s wings, but the creature actually pulled forward and allowed them to be ripped from its back. With another roar, the decayed wings began to grow back from their empty spot, and the pair that was ripped away turned into more entropic miasma.

A whip of the tail and swipe of the claws shattered the other two giants, and Lily looked on in irritation. Just like a video game, there was a boss fight. And they seemed to have found the one for this invasion. She wanted to create them once more, but her head began to ache, signifying her need for a break. A blonde Elf, wearing the same uniform she was, walked over and patted her shoulder.

“Don’t worry, you did great!” Bella admired. “Why don’t we let Philly take care of the rest? He hasn’t had a chance to shine yet.”

Lily tapped her finger in frustration, before taking a step back to allow another person to pass. In an Exodus uniform, a man with caramel skin and short, curled, black hair stepped out, removing the avian mask they had attached. Appearing in his early thirties, he leered out with fiery red eyes in frustration. Placing a staff on the ground, he ran from the building they were standing up, and released his Transmutation.

A form of brilliant flame dove down towards the undead dragon, spreading outwards to reveal brilliant crimson and golden wings. The avian form took complete shape as a set of talons rended the dragon’s back.

The claws laced with Restoration injured the avatar of decay, releasing another burst of miasma from the body. The phoenix seemed unaffected, thanks to the tandem effort of the snowfall and its own remarkable Restoration ability, and maneuvered back around to face the front.

In a head on collision, the avian form vanished as it became a living flame once more. Like water, it covered every surface of the creature before igniting into a completely gold colored flame. The creature bellowed once more, but no miasma left in its breath or wounds. It howled in pain before losing the semblance of life it contained. Leaving no traces behind, the flame floated back up to the building before reverting back to human form.

“Excellent work, Philly!” Bella praised. “But I thought I asked you to put on more of a show, this is our debut after all.”

Phil glared before grabbing his staff and mask once more. The avian mask had no decorations beside five obsidian beads located across the top like a crown. He felt the energy they gave off before placing the mask back on his face. Moving past the six other figures on the rooftop, he took a seat on one of the dges before looking out.

Even if they saved the day, the city itself was in shambles. Torn roads, collapsed buildings, and plenty of corpses. The once falling snow made by the Emission domain saved plenty of lives alongside him and his group’s intervention, but the casualties would still be great.

“Well!” Bella clapped her hands together. “It seems like our mission is a success! The sun’s rising, the sky’s clearing up, and we saved a lot of people.”

The blonde Elf looked around to see that none of her team seemed to be as excited as her. Markos probably, but he always had a wicked grin plastered on his face. The new recruits, Alex and Rhys, looked completely exhausted, and the other three weren’t even paying attention. Her eyebrow twitched before giving off an awkward cough.

“As the captain, I’m going to go address the press. I hope you all rest up and stay out of trouble while I’m gone.” Bella discussed, before creating platforms out of Emission magic and jumping away.

Rhys held his head in agony as he looked down at the ruined city. Even with the extra help from the bead, he didn’t even have the ability to create a toothpick, let alone a weapon. Everyone else looked way better off, especially the phoenix guy and their captain. Those two were active the entire fight, but didn’t even break a sweat. He glanced over at Alex, the only other person he really knew, before looking back down.

Rhys was finally out of base, which felt amazing, but he prayed that he wouldn’t only be sent out for missions. Sure, he knew Alex, but he really wanted to see someone from before he got sent here, he was a violet member after all. Heck, he’d been craving to see anyone else besides these people for the last few days that he even began seeing Leoric walking down one of the ruined streets.

“Le… Leoric?” Rhys muttered, grabbing everyone’s attention.

Alex looked down with him to confirm that they really were seeing the Ice Elf going through the ruined streets. It didn’t take long for him to notice them back, before giving a wave and vanishing from his spot.

Teleporting to the top of the building, Leoric walked over to the blonde and the lupine with a smile. Everyone else stood up and took a defensive position, but Alex, Rhys, and even Phil stood still.

“It’s good to see you two again. You’ve both seemed to have improved quite a bit.” Leoric smiled.

The two looked up and smirked. “Yeah, that training’s been hell but it's been working.” Alex remarked.

“Good to see you again.” Rhys added, delighted to see another familiar face.

“Excuse me.” Lily interjected, taking a step towards the newcomer. “Who might you be?”

Leoric turned around to see almost all the members of the Exodus team. Beside the woman who approached, he saw a young silver haired girl in her teens raising a sickle in his direction. There was a man with messy brown hair wielding two chakrams giving him a sinister look, and a masked man with no weapons drawn, just looking up curiously.

“Apologies, my name is Leoric, another Hero who was in the city before all this happened. Who might you all be?” Leoric inquired, well aware of who all these people were.

During the combats, they said each other’s names quite a few times. The one who created the golems was Lillith, but usually called Lily by everyone else besides Phil. Juniper, or Juni, was the silver haired teen holding the sickle, but primarily a necromancer. The crazy eyed man with the chakrams was Markos, and the most mysterious of them all was Phillipe, or Phil. In future, they should probably use codenames, since they have no idea who’s watching.

They responded with their names before Phil piped up.

“That Emission Domain was yours correct?” He speculated, fiery eyes still widened behind the mask in curiosity.

“That’s correct.” Leoric disclosed. “I hope it proved beneficial, it was very taxing to do.”

“It was.” Lilith spat. “Which you should be grateful for. You wasted so much of the ambient magic.”

“Sorry, but Emission domains take a lot of ambient magic to form. I hope you understand.” Leoric explained. “Now, would you all mind answering a question of my own?”

“Depends, what’s the question?” Lilith interrogated.

Leoric’s expression went cold as he twitched his fingers and tapped the side of his pocket. A little ambient magic swirled by his hand before his will was removed from it. He took a deep breath and looked directly at Phil.

“You knew this attack was going to happen, didn’t you?”