Advent of Cataclysm.

"Give her back!"

Kai shouted, mustering his strength against the alien pain that invaded his body he stood on his own and reached out to the flames, both Andrew and Ava were on the ground in states of shock too afraid to make a sound let alone stand.

They had no idea what was happening, the world as they knew it suddenly seemed like the most horrible nightmare with all their nightmares slowly coming to life, but then all of a sudden, the feeling of hopelessness that had made them curl up on the ground ceased, and the flames vanished. 

Looking up, they found Kai standing and staring at a man who was holding his wrist and glaring at him.

He was a tall and well built fellow in a strange uniform resembling that of special forces, he had striking emerald eyes and tall blonde hair caught in a low ponytail resting on his back, with bangs nearly covering his eyes.

"Kai, was it?" He asked, staring at the inky black marks on Kai's face and arms as they slowly flickered, and then disappeared into his skin like water passing through a sponge. "That's enough." He sooke, though it was a passive tone, his voice carried power and authority unlike anything the teen had ever experienced before.

"Is it another one of those monsters?" Ava wondered, already seeking the trusty brick from before, but as soon as her hand rested on it a blade rested on her neck; a tall blue blade made of some kind of energy, humming and pulsing against her skin. 

"Stand up," The woman holding the blade stared down at her, she had black eyes with hair of the same shade, and she was wearing the same uniform that the man confronting Kai was wearing. 

"Hwaaah!" Andrew squealed like a girl when his head was lightly shoved by the barrel of a large cannon-like gun. "What the hell?" He stared at the tall man wearing strange and fitted armour; blue with small white lights following the patterns and running through the metal that made it.

It was like staring at shooting stars trapped on a solid surface.

"What's going on here?" Kai looked around at the two of them and then at the one holding his arm again. The flames had gone, and the creature as well as Susana had gone with it, his anger by then had already hit and spilled over a point he wasn't even aware he had. "If you don't start talking- guh!!" 

"Kai!" Ava shrieked, attempting to run towards him but failing when the woman who was at her side grabbed her hand.

With just a light press of his palm against Kai's stomach the teen was sent flying across the street, it was a clean blast from some strange energy to the gut blowing him through the wall of the house parrallel.

Kai shook, trying to stand after he thought he'd recovered from the shock, but a second later he slumped again, coughing up a mouthful of blood before falling unconscious. 

"Keep quiet, this has nothing to do with you!" The woman holding Ava's hand dragged her back to her side as many times as she tried running to him.

"I thought you said you were gonna kill him," The man with the gun to Andrew's head commented, unveiling his mask and revealing himself. "Shin, isn't that why we came here?" He called again. 

Plain from head to toe, he wore glasses like Andrew did, with short unkept brown hair and hazel eyes; that aside, his mannerisms and attitude seemed generic. 

"I know, that wasn't even me," Shin responded, looking at his hand with his forehead creased and his brows furrowed. "As soon as I reached for my blade, Madarin took control of my hand, I meant to kill him where he stood, Rai," He explained. 

"Why would the wolf save a Vessel, he's been on your ass for two whole weeks about the urgency of killing them." Tami, the black haired woman who held on to Ava's hand raised her brow while a fourth member of their squad; Yui, walked past them towards the house that Kai had been sent flying into. 

Unlike the other three who seemed easily able to fit into any crowd, this woman was dressed in a white uniform variant to Shin and Tami's whle Rai's uniform was black beneath his armoured suit,

She had long pink hair that almost brushed the ground with every step, and her eyes were unnaturally pink.

From her face to her curves, her presence was that of an exotic beauty easily capable of turning heads.

"I intervened, because he opposes Hél." A voice much like the one inside of Kai's head spoke through Shin's mind.

"He opposes Hél?" Shin repeated the words he heard and then looked over to the house as well. "Madarin, what does that mean?" 

"The Vessel has potential, he holds a grudge with The Red One and all his Hosts, a deep hatred not dissimilar to ours, he could become an ally." 

"I thought that the whole deal with them was that they didn't have a choice, what's the point of keeping him alive, he's weak, fragile, he'll just be a hindrance in our fight and a liability." Shin retorted.

From everyone else's perspective it was especially weird, they could not see, nor could they hear the voice of Madarin, it was like watching a schizophrenic patient speaking to themself and responding to whatever voices they were hearing. 

"Keep him for now, teach him how to survive; A vessel against the Red One may prove to be better than a dead one," The wolf retorted matter-of-factly, leaving the man no choice as he could already feel the backlash of his few seconds of possession. 

"He wants us to keep him," Shin looked at his friends. Rai sighed and raised his gun, holding up his hand as the whole weapon tucked into itself and retracted into his sleeve while the rest of his armour did the same under his clothes, ending by turning into a watch on his left hand. 

"That sounds like a recipe for disaster," Tami pressed a fingerprint crest on her sword and the blade fizzed out of sight leaving just the handle which she easily stuck in a small band around her waist where several other similar-looking mechanisms were stored. 

"Here," Yui came and dropped an unconscious Kai on the ground before them, and before his body could even ragdoll, Ava slid to him and cupped his cheek hugging his head to herself and staring up at them. 

"I don't know what you want with him, or who you are, but I won't let you-" 

"They are from the Cloud Nation; the Country in the sky." Andrew cleared his throat kneeling next to her and Kai, taking a chilli snack from his backpack and sticking one of them in Kai's mouth.

"Right?" He looked at Rai. "I knew they existed but to see them with my own eyes is pretty cool, even considering the situation; they have technology hundreds of years ahead of us." 

"Very few people know about us," Rai stared at Andrew, seeing Kai wake with a cough while the teen adjusted his glasses and stared at him. "What relation do you have with the Cloud?"

"I was born there," Andrew admitted and the four looming over them raised their eyes and glanced at each other. 

"What just happened?" Kai sat up, holding his stomach and wincing while Ava wiped the blood off his chin with her sleeve.

"Hey, listen, my friend thinks you're useful alive, but I am convinced that you're better off dead," Shin loomed once more staring at Kai who defiantly glared back up at him. "What do you have to say about that, Kai?" He asked. 

"How am I supposed to answer something like that?" 

"Crazy bastard." Ava sneered at the man, even knowing she was of no help here, she still showed a respectable amount of defiance. 

"You don't seem at all fazed that you were just in the presence of demons and Hél's gate, do you?" Tami seemed amused after she asked. "Not to mention, you just saw two people die, who do you think the crazy ones here are?" She asked. "I still vote we kill him, and this one too." 

"I don't like her face," Tami scoffed. 

"Under who's authority, what are you even doing here?" Andrew attempted to get up again but was stopped by Rai behind him. 

"Here's the deal," Shin shook his head.

"Forget about everything and everyone else, Kai, you should know by now that the devil wants your soul and body to possess, I think you should die so your soul leaves your body and renders it useless, it's the sensible thing to do," He stared at him lacking the slightest hint of empathy for his situation. 

"However, a rather powerful entity seems to think that you could be of use, and I generally listen to him since he's easily one of the most powerful beings alive," He rested his hand on Kai's shoulder. "If you can prove to me that you're worth keeping alive, I'll spare you."

"Why would I ever-" 

"It's either you take the deal, or we kill you right there, right now," Yui retorted before kai could fire off his rebuttal "There's no other way I leave here with you breathing, the Red One is not an enemy I fuck with." 

"That pretty much sums up all you need to know right now, so speak, Kai, what is your answer?" Shin asked. "Will you fight for your chance to live, or die and be done with it?"

"Kai." Ava grabbed his hand, "This could be some kind of trick-" 

"I promise, if I am pleased with his performance I will leave him alone, that goes for you and that one." He gestured to Andrew as well. 

"Kick his ass, Kai," Ava went serious so quickly that her face seemed to change entirely. 

"What's the point?" Kai asked, slouching forward. "Susana..."

"The girl next to you is the point, if you die then we have no choice but to make her disappear along with you, him too," Rai pointed at Andrew again. 

"They have nothing to do with me, they're nobodies-"

"The fuck they are; these two were willing to die for you just a moment ago, I say that qualifies them both to be somebodies, don't you?" Shin chuckled, standing and walking to the middle of the road. "Make up your mind already, kid," He gestured seeing the teen stand up and walk out before him after glancing at Ava and then looking at Andrew. 

"Fight or die?" 

"I'll fight."