Advent of Cataclysm.

Far East above the Pacific Ocean, high in the outer atmosphere, closer to the reaches of space than it is to any other mass of land on earth. 

Cloud: The floating Nation.

Shin stood on the highest snow-covered rocky peak of his shielded home staring off into the clouds of ash and smoke beyond their borders, at his side sitting was Tami, and next to her were Yui and Rai.

It was not uncommon for the four members of this squad to disappear from their duties, but after the first gate of Hél opened up in the heart of South City a month before they had not reported to usual duties once.

On this particular day they had chosen to accompany Shin while he conversed with his ally, Madarin the Great Wolf which watched over their home, treating it as his realm and deterring any would-be attacker from Hél before they even had the idea. 

"I wish I could do more than just sit here and watch, y'know?" Shin tucked his hands in his pockets, releasing a long sigh and watching his breath race away on the winds. "The world has been in chaos for a month, nearly three billion have died already and that number rises with every passing day, demons are everywhere, gates are everywhere..." 

"A new one pops up every day," Rai added, tapping away at a holographic keyboard on his arm with a monitor before him. "AORAI thinks that the speed of the gates' appearances has increased in a stedy linear pattern, but predicts that there will be an exponential event soon." He made mention of his robotic companion which usually sat on his wrist as a watch, but hugged his back currenty to provide warmth; a sentient robot:

Advanced Organic Robotic Artificial Interface, AORAI for short, a system of his own creation. 

"Indeed, my calculations show a pattern not dissimilar to that of natural events, Earthquakes, Volcanoes, Massive storms, they all exhibit linear growth before unleashing explosive power, random as they are, the Gates are exhibiting the same behaviour as natural phenomenon, i am 95% sure that there will be a calamity soon." 

The bag on Rai's back spoke in the voice of a woman while a mechanical tentacle arose from it, waving before him and drawing diagrams of what it was trying to say on the screen he was using.

"There isn't anything natural about the gates though," Yui looked across Tami at the diagram, hugging herself and pulling the cap on her head further down to protect her from the cold that the rest seemed unbothered by as they wore casual clothes while she was dressed for winter. 

"They are natural." Tami sighed. "Demons, hell, angels, heaven, these would be considered unnatural to us humans, but you have to remember that there was once a time when they were all that existed, the world simply forgot because humanity has a hard time holding on to its history." She explained, catching her hair when a sudden gust vlew it out in front of her. 

"I want to go back to the surface-" 

"Absolutely not," Rai opposed Shin as soon as he spoke. "The Council nearly ate us alive because we went to investigate and kill that kid a month ago, and not only did you end up sparing him, but someone ratted us out and we got suspended because of it!" He stared up at his blonde friend. 

"Indefinitely," Yui added. "We don't know if we'll ever get our practices back, it doesn't feel wotrh it at all, we should have killed the Vessel, you should have listened to me, nothing good will come of him." 

"He has no place amongst the living, he should die so the Red One doesn't reach him," Tami added. 

"He's still alive, isn't he?" Shin asked, looking at the three of them with a raised brow and a small smirk. "Not only has he been surviving, but he has been doing so wonderfully, Madarin said he opposed Hél, he can be made into an ally, that much is obvious, we just need to let the apocalypse ripen him some more. 

"We?" Rai raised the obvious. "What do you mean by WE?" He stood shaking his index at Shin. "You convinced us to go with you on a mission to kill one of the potentially most dangerous entities on the planet in its infancy to prevent a catastrophe, and then you played with it and let it go like some kind of stray!" 

"I know," Shin sat after a few seconds of silence and looked at his friend, resting his hand on his shoulder. "It's because you couldn't see what I did." 

"You think he's like you, that he has some great purpose as some kind of hero, Shin, but I warn you, thinking of him like that is how we will end yo dead-" 

"I don't think the kid is like me at all." Shin shook his head with a huff of disbelief." I think he's misguided, and yea, he is definitely bad news, Rai, but when did we start killing kids again?" 

"Huh?" Rai shuddered when the question was thrown at him. 

"My sister died when she was his age, remember?" Shin stared ahead, taking a deep breath and releasing it in a cloud of slow flames causing the ground before him to grow smooth. "Oshin; when Shinra possessed her she begged me to kill her, the Counsil ordered me to kill her... I had to fight my older sister to the death..." 

"What's your point?" Yui asked. "Lord Shinra is one of Hél's top generals, if he had gotten free the world would have ended much sooner, your sister died a hero-" 

"She just died, there was nothing heroic about her sacrifice, don't sit there and try to lie to me like that, Yui." Shin clenched his jaws and fists, growling. "Oshin was a pure spirit, she wanted nothing more than to live; to enjou life in every flavour it offered her... but that day she was so incredibly sad, that look in her eyes, Kai had that same expression." 

"What are you talking about?" 

"The boy desparately wants to live, Yui, and it isn't even for himself." Shin looked across everyone at her, "He wants to live for that girl, you heard him, and I felt it with every punch he threw; the woman in the fore was all he had, and that girl... Ava, is now all he has, he would fight the entire world if it meant keeping her alive." 

"Have you thought of the possibility that the Red One could use her as a bargaining chip?" Tami suggested. 

"Kai knows better," Shin shook his head. "If the Red One possesses his body, he will disappear, he'd be a fool to trust in the devil's promise, so the only option for him is to run and take her with him; to hide." 

"I left a familiar with him the last time we met, he's been in a few minor fights already and has gotten considerably strong, he can handle himself so long as a named demon doesn't show up, what worries me more than demons are the people near him. "Aside from Ava and that boy, Andrew who's parents failed to make the evacuation, the people who gather around him are untrustworthy.

"I didn't realise you've been watching him this closely, Shin," Tami folded her arms with a worried expression. "Life on the surface is extreme and fleeting, if you care so much then why didn't you just recruit him like you said?" 

"The Council would kill him the moment they knew who Kai Mora was in relation to the apocalypse, the same goes for the other two in hiding, it's better for them if they stay on the ground, up here is a death sentence." Shin explained. "If the council discovers him and takes action, I will as well." 

"You'll take action?" Tami huffed. "What does that even mean, are you saying that if the Founcil attacks Kai Mora you will stand up in his defence?" She asked incredulously, but found her jaw hitting the floor when Shin hummed in affirmation. 

"Shin, tha's crazy, even by your standards; insane!" Rai stood, cancelling his task and turning fully to meet his friend. "This is your home, your people, he is an outsider, it's treason to even utter those words!" 

"I know what I'm saying Rai," Shin stood facing him as well. "That's why i already put in my letter of resignation, the world is on the brink of total collapse, something as trivial as loyalty to a country is what will get you killed. There are no more borders, no more grey lines, it's either one side or the next." 

"So you are choosing his side?" Yui hugged her knees to herself and huffed. "Really?" 

"Yeah," Shin admitted. "Madarin thinks Kai is being followed by another of Hél's enemies, The nameless Shadow of the Apocalypse, that is an ally, as long as Kai is followed by the shadow, I will choose his side." 

"Alert," AORAI spoke up, raising a small blinking red indicator. "Kai Mora is in the midst of an unprecedented natural disaster." 

"Is that anything new?" Rai asked. 

"Indeed, there is a kinetic buildup unlike any recorded before, a magnitude 12 earthquake is tearing the entire East Continent apart and creating fissures, the land is sinking."