“Mick spit it out, what did he see?!” I began to lose my patience but tried to keep calm, she closed her eyes and let go of her mouth “Children… Hundreds per container… I don’t… how… Cain said… they were all a couple months old… inside these glass cylinders full of some… blue slimy liquid… He’s been looking into it this whole time… I don’t know anything else… ” she suddenly grabbed my shirt from the collar “Is it as bad as it sounds?... Are they?... Again?...” her eyes spelled fear as she stared at mine. I shove away her arm from my shirt and stood up but stayed there momentarily staring at her expression for any signs of what I hoped to be a lie, “Where is Cain?” she sat back on a stool behind her and sank her head down into her hands “He stayed in contact with that man, I don’t know what he’s been having Cain do now but he’s been going to the old shelter. You might find him there…”. I turned around and walked out of the door (“Bastards…Uh…”) I ignored the two men outside and stomped over to the bike but just stood there for a couple seconds then turned to the wall and punched it with all my strength, not even a dent was made as I had no control over my mana anymore so I simply ended up with a busted wrist and blood all over the wall “Children… they… aren’t just reusing surviving Cerberii… they’re…Uh..” I fell to my knees as I heaved out my stomach onto the ground. I lay there breathing heavily as I stared down into my own belch as every fibre of my being shook (“M..Master…”) Ember’s voice whispered in my mind, “I’m…fine…I need to stop this…They’re…doing it all over again…nobody will accept it…I sure damn won’t…” I forced myself up and held onto the wall (“MASTER BEHIND YOU”) Wayne practically screamed in my mind and I turned to see what he detected only to receive a kick in my back and lose my balance. I fell sideways hitting my head on the wall and down onto the puddle “You deserve much worse filthy dog…Hiq…” the three men that were sat at the bar were now standing over me as I tried to stand up, a low hissing sound along with a frantic screech resounded in my mind. I rose to my knees and was pulled up by two of them, they held me from my arms as the third closed in and began slugging me in the gut “Government hound…how does it feel…to be on this side of the boot?” he grabbed my head and shoved it down as he kicked upward nailing me in the face with his knee.

He stopped momentarily as he observed his doing, the commotion brought out the other residents of the pub along with Mick who shouted at her bouncers “The hell you two waiting for!? Stop them before h!...” they wouldn’t have made it no matter how quickly they ran. A loud hiss began to emit from me accompanied by a teeth grinding growl, the two behind me let go and backed away as my skin began to crack and morph “Mortal Filth…You will pay for that dearly!” a serpents voice spoke with my mouth as I felt Ember taking over. My skin turned into clear white scales as my black eye shifted and became the exact same as the other, I felt Ember’s rage swelling up inside me as our consciousness collided and merged. I stomped down my right foot as a loud screech escaped my impossibly gaping mouth while two sets of fangs grew within, the sound was powerful enough to send each man to their knees and the stomp cracked the ground beneath me. “Burn” embers began to form around me as suddenly a pillar of fire engulfed me completely for a moment, the blast sent two of the men flying into a wall while the other rushed to take cover behind a truck. The pillar of flame disappeared right after completely disintegrating my coat, some of my shirt and pants as well as everything else around me since for a couple feet was nothing more than ash. I glanced at the man that hid behind the truck and walked over to it “You can’t hide…”, I stepped around the truck and glared down at the terrified old drunk. I stood over him momentarily then lashed out with my right hand as flames engulfed it forming a sort of blade, I aimed for his neck as with lightning speed I lunged down. I stopped millimetres from his skin which was enough to burn him a fair bit “N…o….” I backed away from the man and held my forehead with my left hand as my consciousness fought Ember’s rage from continuing. “No…enough…” I took a couple deep breaths as my skin and eye returned to normal along with the shrinking fangs “Never… Do that again… Ember… ” I glanced between the frantic backing away of the one in front of me, the unconscious one to the wall to my left and the one rushing for the exit.

I then glanced over at the pub’s entrance and at the observers “Mick if Cain come’s around tell him to contact me, you know Ma’s number” I turned to the fallen bike and heaved it upright, I took out the key from my pocket although having to tear it open due to the damaged zip and sat down starting the vehicle right after. I turned the throttle and drove out of the underground into the street, I immediately turned and began driving down the path I came from and only increasing my speed when I left the city. “Matt…Ember blames herself….” Saya spoke in her current form, I sighed (“Ember I understand why you did it, but never take action again without me telling you to. You almost went too far, those people have been forgotten by society for their physical traits or age, they have every right to be angry and they thought in their hate and stupor that I was with the government. Now what I want to know…what the hell was that?”) I began remembering the feeling of my very skin shifting as Ember’s consciousness temporarily merged with my own. “Both of them seem more able to focus their power by using your body as a medium” Saya began to explain “I suspect Wayne can do the same but entering that form in your current state drained most of your remaining mana, it’s going to take more time for all three of you to learn to control it before you can really use it. Matt you need to rest, I can sense your weariness and with your current mana flow you’re not doing anything else. It’s a good thing you’re not inju…Matt….” I sensed surprise in her voice so I slowed down and stopped to the side of the road. “What is it? Wha…Oh….” I stared down at my hand which earlier was busted and bleeding, “My injuries…Saya…what is this?” my injury was gone including the beating I took earlier “I’m…not sure, it could be because your body changed due to Ember? Or it might just be your body now…I don’t know!” I felt her frustration and tapped at the goggles “Calm down, we’ll figure things out. First I really need rest…and new clothes…” I looked down at the tatters I was still wearing albeit strangely not feeling any cold, “We’ll head back to Ma’s place and rest, I want to shut them down but I ain’t doing that in my current state”.

I turned the throttle right after pulling down the goggles and drove ahead, my emotions were mixed but I remained as collected as possible and logic screamed over my anger and frustration so I decided to follow reason. I drove at full speed until the signs of my home town came into view, I slowed down slightly in case I needed to evade rubble or a wreckage although still keeping up a fair speed. I drove without incidents back to the town Ma’s place was at, I drove up to the gate and stopped to get off and open it. After getting the bike in I opened the garage with the second key chained to the first and drove the bike inside, I closed the garage shutter behind me and walked over to the door taking into the main building. I silently went through the door to not wake anybody up, checking the time on my Iris which surprisingly survived the flames it was five in the morning and I thought they’d both be asleep. “Matt? We heard you ar…What happened?” Risa stood up from the staircase and stared at my tattered clothes, I glanced at her worried expression and the bags under her eyes “I’m fine, a lot happened and I need to rest. I’ll go clean myself up and sleep, you should get some sleep yourself”. She looked down at the ground and nodded so I walked away into the bathroom, I went over to the sink and stared into the mirror, I stared deep into the monstrous eyes that stared back at me in disbelief. (“Guess I have to look the part…”) I stepped away and tore off the burned clothes then inspected my whole body but no wounds, burn marks or injuries were present so I stepped under the shower and turned it on. I stood there under the cold running water as I went through everything I now knew (“The Cerberii program has been re-instated, I suspect all the scientists that survived the lab massacre are still working on it. I don’t know how many but some other Cerberii except me survived as well and are still being experimented on, now I also know that they plan on making more Cerberii but the question is… where did they get all those children? If that many went missing…No…Mick said there were multiple shipments and if each held the same amount…there is no way the current population can provide that many…They’re all heading to Humus Academy, are they experimenting with the students there too?...”) I clenched my fists as I restrained myself from anger.

I felt useless, weak, unprepared and everything felt out of control but worst of all I felt horrible for dragging Wayne and Ember back into this as they both had went through enough themselves as spirits during the first project. I also felt horrible for dragging Saya and Risa into this world’s problems, I wanted to protect the innocents of other world’s civilizations like Risa and Alexius’s but if this project went through then nobody would be safe and humanity’s population could do nothing but watch. With my current power there was no way I could take on two Cerberii let alone a squad, I thought about it over and over but If I couldn’t fight them with the intent of killing them then there was absolutely no way I could fight them to safely disarm them. For a moment I began to regret abandoning the powers of Chaos “No…That thing’s power wouldn’t have helped anybody…If I didn’t abandon it…there’s no telling what I could have done…” the memories of what I did to the 7 knights flooded back in, their cries of despair as I slowly drove them insane with images in their mind and physical torture “Never again…”. I finished taking a shower and then remembered I didn’t take any replacement clothes inside with me “Shit…” I felt exhausted and I wasn’t thinking straight, I stared down at the tatters on the floor before turning to Saya who was still in her physical form as a pair of goggles on the sink “Saya is there any way you can create clothes, I didn’t bring anything to change into and I don’t think Ma’s will fit me”. “With the mana you have left? I can create a single pair…but…I’m not sure what standards you humans use for clothing…” her form shifted into a green floating orb of light that circled me, I sighed “Anything will do, just make it dark and resistant”. I dried myself with some towers and then waited as mana exited my body and condensed into detailed textures, every second that passed the further my expression changed.

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Risa’s POV

I wake up in the room the giant woman assigned to me, walk out of the room and knocked on his door only to receive no answer. I go down to eat whatever food our host prepared then spend the rest of the day practicing my swordplay outside, at night I’d sit idle in the kitchen waiting for him to get back only to freeze before talking to him as he climbs the steps with a dark look on his face. This went on for days and I didn’t know what to do, this morning I just sat there staring down at the food blankly when suddenly “You want to help him don’t you?” the woman called Abbey stepped away from cleaning the plates and sat down adjacent of me. She laid back on the chair and rested her legs on the table then sighed “He’s not going to ask you to help you know, that’s how that kid is. He thinks he can carry the world on his shoulders, you can’t even stop him nor slow him down and you damn sure aren’t going to change his mind. Trust me I’ve tried but he’s always tried to be the hero, always looking for the path with least causalities but never showing mercy to those without” Abbey tinkered with some tools and a strange looking object in her hands as she spoke, I stared down at my open palms “Then what should I do?...I’m tired of just sitting here…doing nothing day by day…Does he…even stand a chance? I heard of your military…your warriors…machines enhanced with magic while being controlled by a single person…I sense the power within him…he’s changed…weaker...he’s not the demon that ravaged our tyrants anymore…how far will he get before he’s killed?”. She chuckled “So you do care about him huh?” her words caught me by surprise and I turned to look at her as my face turned warmer “N…no..I…” she gave me a knowing grin so I didn’t respond and looked back down at my now clenched fists, “It’s not that he’s too full of pride or too cocky, he knows that he’s not strong enough but it’s because he really cares about others that he won’t drag anybody into his fight” she stood up and laid a hand on my shoulder “Let’s go”. I glanced up “Where?” she smiled “You wanna help that dense bastard right? Then you’re just gonna have to force it into his thick head that he needs your help. I’m also curious at what the hell he’s been up to, he spends the whole damn day th…” suddenly a sound rang through the house as if a bell was being rang but slightly distorted.

“Wonder if that’s him, doesn’t he have the key to the garage?” Abbey walked off to the front entrance and I followed her due to curiosity, she peaked through a hole in the surprisingly armoured door “Wilson?” she unlocked the door and opened it. “What the hell you doing around here Cain?” outside stood a skinny dark skinned man wearing multiple different kinds of cloaks, hoods and scarves that if it wasn’t for his hands not having gloves you couldn’t tell what he was. The man dropped the hood “Looking for the runt, he around? Mick said he’s been looking for me” they were very well hidden but if you looked close enough you could have noticed the assortment of knives and weapons all over his clothes “We were just heading out to were he’s currently at, follow along if it’s important” Abbey looked back and gestured for me to follow her out so I did, the man sighed and as I walked over to Abbey’s vehicle I saw him slamming on his vehicle’s side (“What a strange starting mechanism…”). I entered the vehicle they called a truck and began pondering on what I got myself into (“What am I supposed to say? He has every right to say no… I can’t be seen infringing any of the laws here… I probably shouldn’t even be outside in public… ”) the vehicle’s engine began to hum and we began to move with the smaller rusty vehicle following closely behind us, “Thinking about how you’re gonna convince him?” Abbey spoke while keeping an eye on the front view “Don’t think about why you should help him but how, what can you do that he can’t? For example what magic do you have under your sleeve?” her statement confused me and I raised my sleeve to see if she put anything there without me noticing which in turn made her chuckle “No no girl, I mean what magic can you use, from what I gather he’s going for infiltration right? Well what can you do to…” her statement was cut short as I raised my cloaking magic and disappeared from her perspective “What in the seven hells!?” the vehicle suddenly turned multiple times while making a screeching sound as Abbey regained control. I lowered my magic “S..Sorry…” I was surprised and slightly terrified myself at what had just happened, “It’s alright…seems like you understood though… next time I’d like a warning before you know… you go invisible…” she laid her head back and sighed.

A little bit over an hour had passed and the site Matthew decided to use as a training ground came into view, Abbey raised her arm outside her window to signal the car behind us and began to slow down until we came to a stop. I exited the truck slowly with eyes open wide as I took in the scenery “The hell?...” Abbey also stared at the area, blood both dry and fresh could be seen at multiple spots on the ground, rubble and walls as one single figure stood amidst the destruction and red. Matthew was sitting in meditation with a warped form, white scales had replaced his skin while a fiery blaze lashed out from his body at the surroundings, he wore a long grey coat that looked like it could reach his feet, a button up red shirt underneath it and grey jeans along with blood red pointy shoes. He raised the wide black hat that sat on his head and stood up, his goggles had also changed and now had red lenses through which you couldn’t see his eyes and had lost the band that kept it to his face instead now having two white earpieces. Abbey tried to contain herself “You…still look…ridiculous…BAHAHAHAA…” but in the end gave in to laughter, Matthew on the other hand smiled “Saya refuses to change them, I’ve become accustomed to it. What are you two doing here anyway and whose that?” he turned to look at the cloaked man. Abbey stepped out of the vehicle “That’s Cain, said he came to find you since you’ve been asking for him” Matthew nodded and walked over to the man who was still inside the roofless vehicle, “The grand commandant of the new resistance, it’s funny how things change isn’t it?” the man took off his hood and stared at Matthew with a surprised expression “How the hell do you know that?” Matthew chuckled “The E.A has a powerful spy network and a lot of resources, I’ve been looking all over for you but in the end I only need three things to be confirmed”. Cain stepped out of the car “Why the hell should I tell you anything? You’re one of those beasts too, hell you look more of a beast than they do” he opened his arms wide pointing out Matthew’s appearance, Matthew sighed “Do you want the Cerberii war to happen again? You know the government is divided about the project and if things continue war is sure to occur”. Cain took a step back “Tch…” he spat at the ground “Fine, what do you want to know?” Matthew nodded and smiled “First, who is your financial backer? He’s given us a run for our money trying to identify him. Second where are they getting all these test subjects? Third do you know the location of each surviving Cerberus?”.

Cain sighed and laid back into the car seat “Our backs are the Russians and General Decker, they’re both against the project and have been trying to convince the rest of their continent while General Decker is working to convince the rest of the American military. As for the children…We don’t exactly know but they have been popping out from the labs, we have our suspicions that it may include cloning technology” he looked Matthew straight in the eye momentarily but quickly looked away “The Cerberii have been all moved to the Academy, the General has confirmed this personally. Matt they haven’t made any more yet, if we can take them out…” Matthew suddenly grabbed Cain’s neck and lifted him a couple feet off the ground “You will not touch them, you will not do anything further. Leave things to me, gather your forces and prepare to invade the Academy” He then turned to Abbey “Ma I’ll need you to get back in contact with your old platoon, we’ll need all the help we can get” he let go of Cain and turned away. Cain held onto his neck and gasped for breath “Bastard…what do you plan to do?...” Matthew stopped and glanced back “I’m a killer Cain, I’m going to clean up the survivors we left behind like any good assassin would” Cain stared at his back in confusion “Kill? The Cerberii? The government? You kn…” Matthew cut him off “Everyone and anyone who has a hand in the Cerberus project, I will try to turn the three surviving Cerberii to our side but if I cannot…humanity doesn’t need any more monsters” Cain began to laugh “Monsters? They have thousands of those freaks being born every day in those labs!”. Matthew began walking towards the bike “Monsters aren’t born, monsters are made through blood and sweat. In the next couple days I will hit all the labs one by one, they will be disoriented and busy. You should go prepare, war is coming”, I wasn’t about to be left behind again “What are you doing?” I had gotten out of the truck and sat behind him on the bike as he looked back at me “I’m coming with you” I said it plainly while trying not to look away from his demonic eyes. He looked ahead “You sure? What is to come might not go well with you, it will be bloody” I leaned forward and held onto his waste “I don’t care, I’m done feeling useless and standing around” he chuckled “Suit yourself” he glanced at Abbey and nodded which she returned with her own nod. He started the bike and drove towards the direction Abbey’s house was at, something told me that it wasn’t our destination though.

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Matthew’s POV, Five days ago

This was something I was used to doing, even before I would prepare myself before a mission but now things were a bit different. Firstly I had nobody limiting what I could do and nobody watching my vital statistics, secondly there was nobody to clean up the blood and there was no machines attached to my head. I stood there in the middle of the ruined town with Ember’s power effecting my body, I called this serpent’s skin just for future reference. I wielded Wayne on both hands which I had done since day two of my training when I discovered one of his powers still could take effect but in a different way, I stood there aiming both pistols at a large pile of rubble as I charged up the attack while at the same time Saya trained my body to use mana more efficiently which just like meditation weakened me. After a couple moments of waiting I pulled both triggers simultaneously and right after two blasts of pure mana shot forth into the rubble sending every rock sky high or turned to dust, I rushed forward underneath the rainfall of stone as everything crashed around me. If I couldn’t evade it I’d destroy it by shooting it, if It was too large to outright destroy I would shoot it multiple times to break it and evade the scattered pieces but if I couldn’t do either…well…I’d bleed then heal. The healing factor was what impressed and intrigued me the most with my new body, the pain was still there although with my past I could quickly numb it out but most wounds healed fairly quickly. I was going to test if limbs would also regrow but then Ember brought up the point that It might not and if it doesn’t…I kind of need all my limbs right where they are. Rubble fell down as I evaded multiple smaller rocks while shooting down larger ones, a fist sized rock hit my shoulder as it came down and the pain made me lose my balance disabling me from dodging the next larger rock that hit my back. I rolled out of the way and then leaped further to be out of the rainfall, this all happened within seconds as for anybody watching. I staggered as I walked over to a large rectangular stone and sat down, I felt mana condensing around my injuries repairing bones and even snapping them back to place where needed. “Are you sure this is a good training regimen?...” Saya sighed “It’s like you enjoy pain”, I laid back on the stone to look up at the sky “I’ve had worse, just focus on regenerating my mana Miss.Designer” Saya practically screeched every time I called her that.

The wind began to pick so I scouted the horizon, the sky was darkening and storm clouds began to close in on the ruins (“What is it master?”) Wayne sensed my distress “A storm…something’s not right with it…” I continued my training albeit the darkening sky until clouds had completely engulfed it. I stood in the open with my new injuries healing as rain poured over me, I looked up at the sky again “Matt? What’s wrong?” Saya now also sensed it as a surprising amount of fear welled up inside me “This feeling… I’ve felt it before…”. The only light within the ruins were the occasional lightning strikes from the sky, I walked around glancing at the smallest change in the shadows as dread, fear and anger. I shut off Ember’s snakeskin making my form return to what I now considered my normal one, I stood dead still “Saya, Ember, Wayne…Don’t….React…” a cold breeze flowed around me as the rain suddenly stopped. A chill went down my spine right when…”Greetings…Human…If that is what you even call yourself anymore…”.