Prologue

The quiet night of the Arizonian desert was all that was seen for miles. The sound of a 4 wheel truck passing on through the endless night was all that was visibly moving.

“Sigh… We really did it huh? It’s not just the FBI now, but COBRA as well.”

“It’s all Boss’ fault. He should’ve told us what our mission is. Now look at us! We’re stuck between the government and our boss’ orders. We don’t even know what this kid is for!”

“mmph!”

2 underlings were casually strolling in the pitch darkness of the night, yet they weren’t alone. Their mission was to kidnap a certain boy, but they had no idea what the higher ups were going to do to him because of the lack of information.

“Maybe he’s a scapegoat like the rest?”

“That again?! Man, and I thought that plan was foiled when our chief’s ally fell.”

“Besides, shouldn’t we be worrying over more pressing matters right now? We’re up against the White House! This is the President’s assistant’s son we’re kidnapping!”

“You’re right… I just hope we can make it out alive.”

After the short conversation, the 2 began to ponder about their life decisions and the truck became quiet. Devoid of any noise, including the boy whose wailing has more or less stopped. Perhaps he was tired.

“Alright, we’re here.”

The truck slowed down near their destination at an area in the Grand Canyon. He got off of the vehicle to slowly walk while counting his steps. When he had reached 9, he stopped walking and instead reached out to his pocket to retrieve a device similar to a digital clock.

He turned the weird machine on and inserted 0911 into its screen before placing it on a rock.

Seconds later, the sound of gears was heard from below, and a secret passageway revealed itself to the 2 underlings. After confirming the door was finished opening, he gave a signal to indicate it was safe to enter, and the trucks then moved in on his command.

“Man, I will never get bored of this.”

Inside of the secret passageway, the driver found a parking spot to stop the truck and proceed with the mission.

“Mmph! Mmph!”

“Oh shut up.”

The young boy had no way of fighting back with his arms tied around his back, his vision concealed with blindfolds, and a rope in his mouth keeping him from talking.

The boy was annoying to deal with, but his boss was even more annoying.

The 2 of them went on to go to a room with a special warning sign on it

Authorized personnel only

When the door closed behind them they turned on the lights and finally set the boy down.

“Sheesh, you sure are annoying. Don’t spit on me when I remove your covers now.”

“Patu–”

“Hey what did I say?! Now you’re really getting on my nerves.”

“You dare do this to me?! Do you have any idea who I am?! Mom isn’t going to let this go easily!”

“Of course we know who you are, you blithering idiot! That’s why we kidnapped you in the first place, Alex!”

He especially put a heavy emphasis on the boy’s name. Showing between the two who has the power to control over the other.

While the two of them were bickering like small children, footsteps were approaching from a dark part of the room. As soon as the 2 underling notices who it was, they soon steady their backs and salute to the man.

“At your service, Boss–!”

The man who towered over every other person in the room was looking down on everyone. His sharp eyes like those of a hawk was enough to make tigers run for their lives.

“Drag him into the altar.”

“Roger!”

His orders were clear and precise. It was filled with such an intimidating aura that no one would ever dare to challenge.

“Hey, back off! You’re gonna pay for this!”

His anger was futile. No shouting nor whining will get him anywhere.

All of them went over towards a door, with the Boss placing his palm onto the light blue screen illuminating his stern face.

The screen then became green, and a secret door was revealed yet again.

“Follow me.”

Like usual, they did not question him. They were like his toys, obey his command or face the wrath of an unknown power.

As they all entered the mysterious and dark room, the 2 underlings were frozen stiff. Their nervousness couldn’t get any worse. The inside of the room was filled with weird transcripts and mantras painted in dark red. Foreign characters that seemed like scribbles to those who are untrained in the language.

A man in the center of the room stood alone. He wore a coat to hide his face and body, shadows casting down on his face made it impossible to see what was beneath it.

“Aaah, you are back… Lazarus… I see you have our final piece.”

“A 17 year old Libra Zodiac, just like you wanted.”

“Perfect… Now get him in the circle…”

The underling then threw down the young boy on the ominous circle where he still wailed and screamed.

“Hey, that hurts!”

“Be quiet.”

“(Bind)”

What the shaman said was like alien words. It spoke in a language not of their own and the boy didn’t know what was going to happen next.

“Urgh! What the hell?! Why is it so hard to move…!”

He kept struggling and struggling but to no avail.

The giant man named Lazarus went over to the boy and placed a mechanical chip into his forehead.

“*pant* *pant* for some reason I feel really tired now…”

“(Soul extraction)”

A bell reverberated in the dark room. Its source was the chip on the boy’s head, as soon the desperate sounds of screaming in agony filled the chamber all at once. He wailed, and trembled. But the spells were too powerful to fight back against.

There was nothing he could do.

Mana density increasing…

Soul extraction process : 95%

Soul extraction process : 96%

Soul extraction process : 97%

Accessing paths in 10 seconds…

“WAHAHAHA!! WHAHAHA!! YES!! IT’S WORKING!!”

Lazarus, who had been mostly stoned face was now bursting with joyful emotions over his success.

“Finally… after years of patience. WE GET TO GO BACK TO OUR WORLD!!”

And the shaman soon joined Lazarus to celebrate this great victory together.

Soul extraction process : 99%

Soul extraction process : 100%

Soul extraction complete.

Opening the paths…

The young boy’s eyes soon black out. He completely fainted and fell to his back. The world around as he knew it was gone. He had left this world.

“Hey us.. Boss, sorry to ruin your mood but it looks like he’s dead–”

His line was interrupted shortly by a dagger through his chest.

“Krgh…! Wha–... What happened…?”

“You were truly a fine worker of mine. Now rest, no witness shall remain.”

The body of the underling collapsed within seconds. He did not miss the heart.

“Wait wait wait wait we can talk through this…!”

“No witness shall remain”

He turned his focus towards the other underling who did everything in his power to calm his boss down. However unfortunate it is, his power was stripped away from him completely, and their boss no longer cared.

“GYAAAAAAAAAAA—!”

Their blood curdling scream roared as loud as their throats could produce.

Lazarus places his palm over the underling’s head to retrieve some life force for himself.

“Aaaaaah… Much better…”

“As brutal as ever I see, Lazarus. Now then, let’s move on to chanting the spell we worked hard for.”

Both of them prepared themselves to chant a spell worth waiting years for.

What were words being said out loud by those two sounds like gibberish to any other. Only they knew what the meaning of those foreign words were.

As their recital stopped, a portal opened nearby. White beams of light on the other side, neither of them could see what was beyond, but they both knew what lay ahead. It was their life long goal afterall.

“Let’s go.”

“Yes, Lazarus.”

They went on to march inside the white portal of void, and disappeared from the earth’s surface. Never to be seen, ever again.

However, there was a certain occurrence happening.

Something neither here nor there. Something not on the earth. Somewhere not in the deep emptiness of space either. It was truly nowhere.

But from within that nothingness, was a voice.

“W-where the hell am I?”

It was the voice of the young boy, Alex.