Arc 15 - Victory

A God stands before mere humans. A man turned into a God. He is smiling, looking down on these pathetic species.

“Now, how about start killing me? It will be fun.” Said Nazar with a smile on his face. He is always smiling. Usually, that smile he put on shows how arrogant he is, but this time, his smile showed just how happy he was.

001 and his teammates stood there doing nothing. 625 was still lying on the table.

“I will remove all my powers, too.”

Just like that, the God was now powerless before humans. So, why are they not killing him?

“Hey, 001… no, whoever is controlling his body, 625 said that you technology that can kill me. So, why am I still not dead?”

There was a long silence. No one talked or moved or made any kind of noise. The cafe was next to a road, but the road was not very busy. There were a few cars that moved around and they did not make much of noise either.

“Okay, how about start killing me?”

Nazar is still waiting to get a response from his enemy.

In an unknown location, a big man stands in a control room. He is wearing formal attire. He has black hair and black eyes. There is a scratch on his right cheek.

He stands before the monitors, seeing everything that is happening.

A subordinate of his shouts, “Weapons are still not ready.”

As the man said that, a timer appeared on the screen. It was a countdown from 60 seconds.

59 seconds.

58 seconds.

On the side of the world, Nazar was still waiting for his reply.

And finally, after a long time, the silence was broken. 001’s body spoke.

“We have means of killing you and the first test this morning proved to be a success.” The man behind the screens was boasting but Nazar heard just a plain and emotionless voice of 001.

50 seconds.

The man looked at the timer. He knew it was very close and he would finally have an upper hand on the God among humans.

“Yeah. It proved useful against a clone of mine, who have probably 1% of my power.” Nazar said. “So, I hope this works. I am really bored with life.”

Something felt off to the man in control of Internal Order.

46 seconds.

“Why do you want to die?” 001 let out a voice.

There was a little silence. The silence was broken by Nazar.

“As you know, I have done everything I can in life. I just want it to be over. It gets really boring when you can do anything.” He stopped for a little while. “I mean look at me, I have powers that can even rival that of a demon and angel, according to an angel I know. I don’t know how they can live for thousands of years. I am already bored with life after 19 years. Imagine living for 50 more years? Please, I don't want that.”

Nazar said everything, but the man in an unknown location only caught one thing. Angel. Demon.

(Angel? Demon? What is he talking about?) The chief of Internal Order thought.

“Angel? Demon?”

29 seconds.

“Angels and demons are real.” Said Nazar in a calm tone, like it was something very obvious.

“25 seconds,” a woman shouted in the control room. Of course, Nazar could not hear anyone else’s voice beside that of the man in control of 001.

23 seconds.

The timer was coming down fast. Will this actually work? Can they actually kill a God?

“Nazar, you might want to turn on your powers again. It’s about to get much harder for you.” 001 said this with an expressionless and emotionless face, but Nazar knew that the man in control was actually smiling.

18 seconds.

“Okay. If you insist.” And just like that, his powers reactivated. He was no longer a powerless God.

15 seconds.

Nazar just waited there. The 60 seconds feels like an eternity, not only for Nazar but for the people of Internal Order too.

“Any last words.” 001 said.

Nazar thought for a while.

“I would like to take this moment to thank you for giving me the opportunity to die,” Nazar said this in a tone that indicated he was mocking them.

5 seconds.

4 seconds.

It was getting closer and closer. Will it actually kill him? Or will it just weaken him?

3 seconds.

As the time was decreasing, the man in the control room started to smile. He was very confident.

2 seconds.

Just a little more to the death of a God.

1 second.

“Weapon is ready,” a woman in the control room shouted.

The big burly man was still smiling and said, “Hit it.”

Just as he said that the weapons were activated.

“Eh? I am still alive?” Nazar said. “I am disappointed in your weapons.”

As he said that, he felt something. His clone felt something similar this morning.

And just like that, Nazar started to vanish. And just like that, his atoms started to disintegrate.

He looked at his body and it was vanishing slowly. It looked like his atoms were coming off. His atoms were coming off and his structure was disappearing.

As he was vanishing, he looked outside. He saw his friend who was still standing outside.

She was standing there for less than 5 minutes now. She was using her phone and she was smiling, but suddenly she looked inside.

Her smile vanished. Her smile replaced by a mouth that looked like it was shouting something.

Her lips were trembling. Her eyes were teary.

Nazar’s disintegration took less than 30 seconds.

In this 30 seconds, she noticed what was happening. Her smile vanished and she was about to cry. She ran towards the cafe.

She was about 5 meters away from the door, but it felt like she was miles away.

She ran and ran and ran. After running for a few seconds, she finally reached the door.

She started to move her mouth but Nazar could not hear her.

She reached her hand to handle but missed it. Without hesitation, she did it again and this time her hand reached the handle.

She opened the door and her sound finally reached Nazar.

“..zar”

She seemed to have shouted his name.

Nazar was about 2 meters away from the door. He was 2 meters away from the only friend he has known. He was 2 meters away from the person he spent the most time with. He was 2 meters away from the person he has the most.

“Nazaaarr!” Emily shouted again.

But just like that, the God before them vanished. And just like that, she lost her only friend.

She knew that her friend was smiling, even at the last moment. She just did not know why.

“Nazaaaarrrr!”

She shouted this over and over again.

She then looked up at her brother, who was just standing there. Earlier, he did not show any emotions or expressions but now he was grinning.

As soon as she saw her brother, he vanished into thin air too.

The people back in control room started celebrating. This was their victory.

“Yes, it worked.” The man in control of 001 shouted.

They were all cheering, while someone else was crying in the world.

Emily just fell to the floor. She saw her only friend being torn apart atom by atom.

She just sat there helpless. Thinking how this all happened. Wasn’t he supposed to be extremely powerful?

While a God was dying, no one else noticed it.

“Hey, Nazar. You are not dead are you?” She muttered.

She was trembling. She knew something was off because of the last thing he told her.

The reason she noticed earlier was that Nazar had sent her telepathic message earlier.

(“Goodbye, Emily. I finally get to see what the afterlife is like.”)

She thought back to what was in the message. He had also projected his face in the message and he was actually smiling.

She just sat there crying. She just sat there alone.

In an unknown location, 001 finally regains control of his body. He saw everything that happened but could not do anything against it. It is true that he wanted Nazar out of the picture, but he did not want them to do it in front of his sister.

While everyone else was celebrating, he just sat there thinking about what happened.

(She saw me...) He thought.

While he was thinking, he was in his room and his boss was still in the control room.

Each member of the Internal Order has a device with them that allows them to communicate safely with other members of their team. These devices are equipped with ANT (Anti-Nazar Tech). The device is as small as a pen and can be easily carried around. If you want to communicate with someone, you can just hit a green button on the device and a hologram will appear. That hologram allowed you to communicate in many different ways.

While 001 was sitting down on his bed, the device started to vibrate. He picked it up and it was his boss.

“Good job, 001.” His boss said. He seemed extremely happy from the face on the screen.

“... I didn’t do anything.”

“I know. And I am sorry for what I did. But it was necessary.”

There was a little pause in between them.

“So, did he really die?”

His boss hesitated to answer. He is usually very secretive and he is usually very scary, but right now, he is the happiest man alive.

“Meet me in my office and we will talk about how we achieved this victory.”

As soon as he said that, the call was cut off.

As he the call ended, 001 left his room.

The room was located on the 12th floor of the main building. The top floor of the main building was a massive office of the main boss. Not many people have seen his face and very few even know his name.

The whole building is 15 storeys tall. The 14th floor is a massive meeting room that is used for mission briefings and other meetings. 13th floor of the building is a massive control room that controls all the activities of the hidden city and its soldiers. 12th floor and below are all used by superhumans.

Right next to the main building there is another building. That is another house for the superhumans. The building has 12 floors and each floor contains at least 20 different superhumans.

The main boss wants to keep them close, just in case.

001 left his room. His room was at the start of the massive hallway. The colour of the door was white. There was a number written on it, in gold. The number is the same as the superhuman’s codenames.

The hallway has rooms to both sides. On the left side, it has all the odd numbers and on the right side, it has all the even numbers. Each door is opposite to another.

Once 001 leaves his room, he sees 002’s room. Next to his room is 003. There are only 20 rooms on each floor.

001 walked halfway through the hallway. After Room #9 and Room #10, there are two elevators. One elevator to the left and the other to the right side of the hallway.

001 takes the elevator to the left.

As he hits the button, the door of the elevator opens.

“001, Identity confirmed.” Said the voice on the monitor. It was an advanced AI, that they used for many different tasks. The voice of the AI was that of a female. The voice matched the assistant of the main boss. As the AI said that, 001’s picture appeared on a little monitor in the elevator.

Upon entering, there is a different kind of sensors that are used to identify the person who is using it. It is used to determine who uses it and to identify intruders, which should be unlikely.

“Door closing,” the AI announced.

The AI is used for security and hospitality. It is also used to keep track of all activities that are going on in the city. It also contains all the data of the Internal Order.

Inside the elevator, there are a few small screens. One of them constantly displays news stories from across the planet. Another monitor shows the details of the user. The details include their codenames, hair colour, eye colour, blood type, powers and abilities, height and weight.

Another monitor does not display anything. It can be used by the person who is using the elevator, or it will provide the details of another user if there is more than 1 person using the elevator.

“Your destination, 001?” The AI asked.

“15th level,” 001 replied.

“As you wish,” the AI said.

After about 5 seconds, the door opened.

“Door opening,” the AI announced.

As the door opened, he walked out into the hallway.

The door of the main office was not very far from the elevator.

As he approaches the door after a few seconds, the door opened automatically.

As soon as the door opened, the place looked like it was the throne room.

Around the room were many different artefacts and paintings. Painting of a demon and angel.

Painting of an eagle. Painting of a king… No, a painting of the man in the chair with a crown on his head. This painting was much bigger than any other paintings.

The room had many windows. If this was in the middle of the city, then it would have had an amazing office view but in here, it is pointless in this underground city.

At the far end of this massive office, was a massive desk and big comfortable chair. In the chair, a tall man was sitting. He had black hair and black eyes. He had a scratch on his right cheek. He always wore smart clothes, which consisted of black trousers, a black blazer, black shoes, black tie and white shirt. Today he was wearing the same attire, but his tie was loose, and his top was not fully buttoned.

“Welcome, 001,” said the man in the chair. He seemed very happy.

As he said that, 001 got closer to the desk. Once he got closer, he just stood there with both of his hand tied behind his back.

“Sir, sorry to ask this out of nowhere, but did he really die?” 001 asked.

There was a little pause for a while.

“It’s a fate worse than death.”

“I don’t think I understand, sir.” 001 said in a confused tone.

“You see, our weapons did not kill him. He will never go to the ‘afterlife’. What we did was, disintegrate him atom by atom. His atoms are scattered around in that place. And I don’t think he can recreate himself from this state. Sure, he is powerful but not that powerful. He will never live, and he will certainly not die.” The main in the chair said happily. “This is his punishment and it will last for an eternity.”

“…I see.” 001 pause for a little while and then continued. “But what if he actually recreates himself?”

“Then we will keep doing this to him for the rest of his life.”

There was silence for a short while.

“The test went well.”

“Test?” 001 asked with a confused expression on his face.

“The test we conducted on you today. The device which allows us to take control of your body and your powers. 625 helped create it. His intellect sure is great.”

There was another awkward silence for a short while. But it was soon broken by 001.

“Sir, I know it is an unreasonable request, but can I get a day off? To meet my sister?” As 001 said that, he was looking down.

“Hmm… Of course, you can. Today’s victory is mostly thanks to you.” The man in the chair was rather happier than usual.

As he said that, 001 teleported out.

And in London, he reappeared out of thin air in front of his sister.

She was still sitting down on the floor and crying.

001 appeared about a meter away from her.

He walked slowly towards her.

Her cries got louder and louder. And deep down, 001 blamed it on himself.

He walked slowly towards her and after a little while, he reached his destination.

Once he reached Emily, he just stood behind her. Thinking about what to do.

(What should I do? Should I leave her here…? No, I cannot do that again. I think… I think I should tell her what really happened to him.)

He reached his hand and placed it on her shoulder.

There was no response from Emily.

After a few seconds, 001 said, “Emily…”

As he said that, Emily’s eyes widened with surprise.

She slowly turned her head back. And saw her brother standing behind her.

“J-Jake…?” Her lips were trembling. She could not even speak properly.

“He… is not really dead.”

001 said this to comfort his sister.

As Emily heard that, she stopped crying and asked, “What…?”

“Let’s talk.”

001 said that and helped his sister sit on the table. Emily sat down on the same chair Jake was sitting on and Jake sat opposite her.

When she sat down, she kept staring at the same place where Nazar disappeared to. Her hands were resting on the table.

“First of all, I am sorry. For everything.” 001 sounded apologetic. “But that’s not why I am here today.” There was a little pause. “I talked to my boss and he said that Nazar is not really dead.”

Emily’s expressions did not change. She did not look away from Nazar’s place of death. It only happened a few minutes ago.

“They… we used a disintegration ray that removes him atom by atom. If he is as powerful as people say he is, then he should have no problem to recreate himself.” 001 at this point did not know what he was saying was true or not, but he wanted to give his little sister a little bit of hope.

Emily just lets out a small laugh. A laugh that cannot be really heard by anyone.

“What’s… the difference?”

001 did not have an answer. He knew that if Nazar was not as powerful as he thought, then this is worse than death.

“I am saying he has a chance to come back to you.”

Emily was still looking at that exact spot. She laughed a little at her brother’s stupid comment but a few seconds later, she went back to sobbing.

“What… What >sobsob< family?”

When she talked this time, she looked away from that spot and looked at her brother, Jake AKA 001.

001 is easily the most powerful telepath on the face of the planet after Nazar, but he cannot help his sister now.

They both sat there in silence. The silence lasted for a minute without anyone saying anything.

After a minute, Emily looked away from the spot where Nazar had died and looked at her brother.

“What happened to you?”

001 was surprised to hear that. He thought she would not have noticed him earlier.

“What… what do you mean?”

Emily’s expressions did not change at all. Her eyes were teary, and lips were trembling. She has been like this for a while now.

“Why… were you >sob< grinning when… he died?”

No answer came from 001. He had no idea why he was grinning. He was supposed to be under the control of the AI, but at the last second, he regained control. He could not stop himself from smiling.

“And who are… you are working for?”

There was a little awkward silence again. 001 was probably thinking about how to answer her question.

The silence was finally broken by 001. “I…” He said that but paused. He bit his lip and took a deep breath. He continued after a little while. “I did not run away.”

Emily looked up in surprise. Her teary eyes widened, and her lips stopped trembling.

“W-what?”

“About 10 years ago, there was an organisation that chose some people to be part of their experimentation. I was one of those candidates.”

FLASHBACK:

London – September 2009:

Jake just finished his primary school this July and this is his first day at his new school. He is now in high school.

On the first day of high school, he was supposed to attend an assembly at 8:45.

He is late.

“Oh man, I am late on my first day,” Jake muttered to himself. “Why was the bus late today of all days?”

He kept looking at his watch and it was 8:30 AM. He had 15 minutes and it should take him 5 more minutes to get to his new school, but the bus is barely moving.

The bus was very packed with many students from his new school and from other schools. He kept looking out the front window to see what’s taking them so long.

He failed many times to look outside. However, after a minute, someone got off the bus and he finally had the chance to look outside. He saw a stream of cars in front of the bus.

“>Sigh<… And here I thought I will always be on time.” He muttered again.

He was getting tired of waiting in one spot and he missed his chance to get off the bus and walk the rest of the way to his school. He needs to wait for the next stop.

While he was being restless, he heard some people talking to themselves.

“Are you guys aware of the new rumours?” A boy in a similar uniform asked. The logo of the school was very similar to Jake’s, but the design of the tie was much different, and the boys seemed much older.

“…No…” Another boy answered the question.

“Apparently some government people take younger students away.” The boy who asked the question said.

“What does that even mean?” Another boy chuckled and asked.

“Man, I don’t know all the details as none of the news sources are publishing it, but someone I know, who works for a newspaper told me this. Apparently, they are not allowed to publish it.”

All four of the boys laughed.

“Man, that’s bullshit.”

“Yeah, who even believes that?”

“Man, come one. I thought it will be a scary rumour.”

“Yeah, you guys might be right.” The first boy said. He seemed to be happy at first, but his happiness was removed in the next few seconds. It felt like he wanted to believe the story and was scared.

Listening to the conversation, Jake could not help but laugh. He did not laugh out loud, but he felt like he was going to burst into laughter.

(Seriously? Man, people believe everything these days.) Jake thought.

The bus was moving but due to the traffic, it was slower than a turtle.

Jake snapped back into reality and saw that time is running out for him.

He just stood there restlessly for the rest of the ride. He finally reached his destination and he was 15 minutes late.

“I need to wake up early,” Jake muttered again.

Once he reached the school gate, there were older students who were standing outside. They were not going in, so he had no idea what he needed to do.

The school was 3 storey building. It had a small garden in front of it. The garden had many kinds of flowers and trees in it. From the front, it did not look like a school, it looked like a mansion. There was a carpark next to the ‘garden’. The garden reached out around the whole school too. And the school had many different entrances.

In the stream of the crowd, Jake saw a massive door, but it was closed. And he stood there confused. Until he saw someone else who looked like she was the same age as him. She was a few centimetres in front of him. She entered after him, but as he was standing cluelessly, she managed to get in front of him.

“Excuse me,” said Jake. Due to the noise around, it sounded like a shout.

The girl was right next to him, but it looked like she did not notice him.

“Excuse me,” Jake said this while putting his index finger on her shoulder.

She gasped and looked back. She was the same height as him. She had black eyes and silky hair. The hair reached her shoulders.

“Y-yes?” She said. But she seemed to be scared. Going to a new school can be sometimes scary.

“Sorry.” Jake apologised for her scaring her. “Are you in Year 7?”

“Y-yes.”

Jake was delighted to hear that. “D-do you know what to do if you are late?”

The girl gave a puzzled expression. Then after a few seconds, she moved her head from right to left. She meant ‘No’.

She just walked away and vanished into the crowd.

And once more Jake stood there confused.

He was standing there and looking around.

(Where are the teachers?) Jake thought.

He clicked his tongue and said, “Tch. Damn it.”

He stood there in the crowded place again. Looking around in confusion. As he was looking around, someone tapped him on his shoulder.

He gasped and looked back.

Behind him was a boy who had black eyes and black hair. He was taller than Jake and he seemed to be much older than him.

“Are you in year 7?”

“Y-yes,” Jake replied.

“Follow me. I will show you where you need to go.”

As he said that, the older boy walked away, and Jake followed closely.

“O-okay” Jake replied. “T-thanks.”

The older boy looked back and smiled.

“Don’t worry, I had the same problem when I started.” He paused for a little while. “You will get used to the school in no time.”

As he said that, he found an entrance that was still open. There was a teacher standing at the entrance.

The entrances all looked the same. Beside the ‘garden’ and the carpark, the entrances had big wooden doors. The doors seemed old fashioned, but they were just decorations. The door was made of steel.

“You are late, Year 7.” Said the teacher at the entrance. The teacher seemed like she was in her early 30s. She had long blonde hair that reached her waist and had blue eyes. She was very tall and was wearing smart clothes.

“S-sorry.” Jake apologised, and he was starting to get even more nervous.

“Ah, he was just lost.” The boy also replied to the teacher with a cheerful expression.

“Okay. You can go in, then.” The teacher replied with a smile on her face.

Both walked inside.

As soon as they enter, Jake’s eyes and mouth widened. His fear turned into awe.

The inside of the building looked so different. As soon as they entered the school, there was a massive hallway.

What made Jake feel so much better about the hallway was not its size and how it was very clean but the walls had many different posters and pieces of art on it. These were the exceptional art made by the students of the school.

He walked in the massive hallway looking from right to left and from left to right. He looked at the art on the walls, looked at pictures of past students. Pictures of amazing things done by the school. Pictures of students on a trip.

The boy who helped get here looked back and saw how Jake was looking around in excitement.

“Pretty cool, right?” Said the older boy.

Jake finally noticed that he is following someone.

“Y-yeah.”

“I will take you to the assembly, it will finish soon but it’s okay.”

“Okay,” Jake said. “And thank you.”

The boy just looked back and smiled.

As Jake and the older boy were walking towards the assembly, which is located at the end of the hallway.

They walked past many different types of classrooms. From the glass doors, Jake saw many different type classrooms. He saw computer classes, science classes, design classes and so many more.

As he was walking and looking through the glass, he saw one room that did not look like a class. It looked like an office. In front of the office were two muscular men standing. They were wearing black trousers, black shoes, a black blazer, black tie, white shirt and black sunglasses. They held their hands on their stomach and did not move at all.

Once he passes the door, Jake looked through. He could not see much because of the two men standing before it but he saw another person who sitting and was wearing similar clothing. However, he was not muscular. In fact, he was just an old man, who seemed he was in his 60s. Jake could not see his face because his back was to the door, but he could see his white hair.

Opposite the old man was the principle of the school. She was talking to the old man.

Jake did not pay attention at all. So, he just moved on. However, it did raise his suspicion. Why would someone important visit this school? Or why would an ordinary person have bodyguards?

“Ah, here it is.” Said the older boy.

They were walking for two minutes and after this very long trip, they arrived at their destination.

“Thanks,” Jake said as he entered the first door of the assembly hall.

Once he walked through the first door, there were teachers standing and chatting. Once he entered, they stopped talking and looked at him.

“Late on your first day, eh?” Said a teacher who was wearing sports clothes.

“S-sorry.” Jake responded.

“Don’t worry. Go in.”

The teacher smiled and let him in.

Once he walked in, the whole hall was packed with students of the same age. There were hundreds of them. In front of the students, there stood a teacher who talks to them about how great the school is and how they will help them achieve their full potential.

Jake sat down at the last row because the rest of the hall was packed.

He just sat there, listening to the boring speech of the teacher.

After a few minutes, he was ready to fall asleep but fortunately, the assembly ended.

“Phew. That was long.” Jake muttered.

After that Jake went to his first class after the assembly and met with his new classmate. The whole point of the first day was to get used to school and new classmates.

The whole assembly and meeting with classmates took no longer than an hour. After that, they were free to leave the school for today.

As soon as the introductions were over, Jake left the school and walked towards.

(That was so pointless.) Jake thought. (I didn't even get to make any friends today.)

As he was walking towards the bus stop, he saw the two bodyguards and the old man get in a black car with black windows. They got on and left the place.

Jake ignored it. Everyone can have a black car with black windows, so it was no big deal.

However, seeing the bodyguards, he seemed a little nervous.

He just went home.

As he went inside his home, his sister was back from her school too.

“How was your first day?” Emily asked in a bored tone.

“>Sigh<... it was so pointless.” He paused for a little while. “What about you?”

“Same. Boring and pointless.” When she was saying that, she seemed a little irritated.

Jake seemed to notice that and asked, “What’s wrong?”

“What do you mean?”

“You seem rather angry. Did something happen?”

“No. Nothing happened.”

“Then w…?”

His question was cut short.

“It’s just there is this guy, who I despise the most.”

“Huh? Why?” Jake seemed a little surprised. He always thought his sister was very kind and to see her talk about someone like this was unusual.

“He is extremely smart, which is cool and all. But...” she paused for a little while. “I don’t know, his very existence annoys me. He does not talk to anyone, he does not smile, he does not even talk to teachers. When they ask him a question, he just writes it down on a piece of paper. And it breaks, he just sits in one place and when someone talks to him, he just ignores them.”

“Well, maybe he seems a little weird by not talking to anyone, but I don’t really see what’s wrong with him.”

“I don’t know either, but it annoys.”

“Anyway, how do you know he is smart?” Jake asked.

“Well, he gets 100% on all his tests and knows the answer to any kind of question a teacher asks him.”

Jake did not say anything after that.

After a little conversation with his sister, he went upstairs. He changed his school uniform.

After changing his uniform, he went and sat down at his computer. He turned it on. The screen was still loading, he looked around and nothing seemed out of ordinary.

Once the computer was usable, he would usually click on an icon in the desktop and start playing his usual games. However, before clicking the game icon, the internet browser opened by itself.

As soon as it opened, it was redirected to a site Jake did not know existed. It was not a web address, instead, it was an IP address.

As soon as the page loaded, the entire webpage was black.

However, there was something written in white.

“Hello, Jake.”