Disclaimer: I own none of the works belonging to the author(s) and game designer(s) employed by Funcom, the makers of the Secret World, neither do I own any of the characters, factions, monsters, and places inside said media, save for those imagined and created by me.

Prologue: The Advent of Doomsday and one (Un)lucky Human.

Somewhere in the Tokyo subway system, near Kaiden.

Unknown date and time...

For millennia and from previous ages, 'It' watched the human race as they advanced from scattered tribes of hunter-gatherers to glittering civilizations with gleaming buildings. 'It' watched and itched as its children inspired such wonder and terror in the sapient minds of that upstart race that they became the stuff of myths and legends. 'It' watched, itched, and seethed with fury as Gaia, its antithesis and brutal rival since creation, watched over that pathetic race like her own children, hindering its own ambitions and interfering with its plans. Now, in bitter irony, the humans are ruining the world with their petty wars and their toxic wastes, weakening Gaia and her precious bees to a point in which 'It' was no longer bound by forces that were only delaying the inevitable death of the human race. All it took was the foolish tinkering of the children of the eight-headed dragon and, alas, 'It' is now free to create a fifth age: one filled with darkness and, most importantly, devoid of the weak humans.

Now it is time for a hostile takeover... on a global scale.

Heralded by large groups of its mutated children, who were previously those of the eight-headed dragon, 'it' burst out of the confined darkness of the subway tunnels and into the surprised throngs of the human sheep. Many screamed as they tried to push their way out of the subway or into the safety of the trains. However, they were too slow and 'It' laughed as its children tore into them, dismembering and eating them in bloody frenzy. A few humans opened fire on its children with pathetic weapons, attempting to score some kills, all in vain. Guards? Soldiers? Officers? 'It' didn't really cared, since they too were fed to the rising darkness.

As its children started to convert the humans who were unlucky enough to get captured, thus making them worthy to exist among them, 'it' took a collective 'breath' and flooded the subway with a sound at a nearly inaudible frequency, a sort of deep, bell-like tone that doesn't seep through ears but rather though the mind. This black signal isn't just a victory cry or a relieved sigh; it is a global call to war. Soon, its children everywhere will gradually launch massive assaults on the human race, initiating that race's eventual fall into oblivion and better yet, there isn't a damnable thing Gaia and her bees can do about it.

The dark days are here...

'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''

Random apartment, somewhere in London, England...

Nearly a week later...

7:32 AM

Opening the apartment door, Harumiya took a deep breath as she stretched her arms, a grocery bag in each hand. Shaking her head rapidly to shake off the fatigue, she walked over to the mini kitchen and set the bags onto the sink counter. Harumiya reached underneath her black and white striped shirt and scratched between her shoulder blades. At that very location was a large, strange circular tattoo she'd received in Taiwan so long ago. Every time she touched it, it tingled as if it has a life of its own. Currently, only she and the tattoo artist who'd drew it on her back know what it is capable of.

Turning on the radio, Harumiya listened to the newscaster as she dug in the fridge for milk, as well as some fruit.

~"...terrorist attack on the headquarters of the multinational Orochi Group. It's been over a week since the first reports of widespread destruction in this now abandoned commercial district of Tokyo."~ the female reporter announced.

Dumping a couple of strawberries and a whole banana into a blender, Harumiya poured a cup of milk onto the mixture, planning to whip up a smoothie (though some pretty confused people kept insisting that it's a milkshake). She turned on the blender for a few minutes until the drink was nice and thick and poured it into a glass. Inserting a straw into the smoothie (yeah, it's a smoothie!), Harumiya took a sip as she turned around. The next thing she saw made her heart skip a beat.

Standing in front of her, just inches from her face, was a large, humanoid being. Hunched over by some sort of creepy crawler from a horror flick, the monster's pale skin was extremely wrinkled and melted, as if it had nearly been burned alive. Two leather straps looped around its huge head, one of which tightly covered its eyes. To add to the thing's grotesque features, its lipless mouth revealed darkened, diseased gums and rows of stained, razor-sharp teeth that were as long and slim as needles. Finally, its meaty hands bore thin fingers tipped with black nails sharp enough to gut and shred her with even a scratch.

When the monster growled, Harumiya choked as the stench of spoiled meat and rotten eggs invaded her nasal passages. Choking back the urge to vomit in the monster's face, thus risking its wrath, Harumiya paused as she recalled a dream she'd had three weeks ago. It involved another Asian woman facing down a similar beast, According to the dream, the Asian somehow caused intricate patterns of light to appear on her skin, allowing her to blast the monster away with a surge of fire that destroyed half of her apartment. When the monster returned with a vengeance, the woman finished it off with the slash of a fire-covered katana.

Needless to say, Harumiya knew what she had to do.

Concentrating, Harumiya continued to face the monster as she calmly drank her smoothie (Stop calling it a milkshake!), attempting the same feat as the Asian in her dream. She imagined herself becoming wreathed in flames moments before unleashing hell upon the monster. The monster tilted its head in confusion, wondering why the hell is its snack smiling at it instead of being horrified like the others. A drop of sweat fell down her forehead as she tensed visibly.

Unfortunately nothing happened, as either her usual periods of misfortune has come back full force or she didn't actually have any powers to begin with.

Taking a deep breath, Harumiya concentrated again, this time straining much harder. Amid her grunts and growls, the monster yawned and scratched its rear end. It then glanced at one of its wrists, only to remember that it didn't have a watch. Facepalming itself for its absentmindedness, the monster continued to watched as Harumiya strained herself. Indeed, Harumiya was straining pretty hard. In fact, she felt something building up inside her, forming in the pit of her stomach. It was growing... and growing.. and-.

*PHOOOOT!*

Gasp in shock and embarrassment, Harumiya cursed her luck as she blushed heavily. It was one thing for nothing to happen on the first try but to accidentally break wind on the next try...

Licking its mouth with a large, purple tongue, the monster took a step forward. Making an audible *gulp*, Harumiya whimpered in fear as she backed away. Unfortunately, as the monster continued to keep in pace with her steps, Harumiya froze in terror when she bumped into the sink counter behind her. Realizing that its prey was now cornered, the monster rose straight up on its hind legs, its claws posed for a fatal slice.

"I'm sick of always... dying," Harumiya whimpered, tears flowing down her cheeks.

However, the monster have no pity and the last thing Harumiya did was to give a loud *eep* moments before the monster shredded her, splashing her blood onto the walls of the mini kitchen.

'''''''''''''''''''

Same apartment room

20 minutes later...

Amid a puddle of drying blood and torn clothing laid the gnawed bones of a very unfortunate young woman of Japanese descent. The monster who'd ate her was nowhere in sight, though noises coming from the direction of the TV meant that it wasn't gone yet. Suddenly, a strange smoke rose from the bones as the teeth marks on the surfaces rapidly disappeared. Soon, new tissue and organs formed into existence as the body was eventually restored to normal. Opening her eyes, Harumiya looked around until her eyes fell upon her unclothed form. With a small *eep*, she quickly covered herself, cursing her string of bad luck.

"That stupid tattoo could as least restore my clothes too," she grumbled. Sitting up, she reached into a drawer and pulled out an apron. Standing up, Harumiya put on the apron and stretched, still feeling the pain of being killed. At that moment, she was aware that her TV was on and something was giving off a demonic laugh. Taking a frying pan off the stove, Harumiya stealthy crept out of the kitchen and into the living room.

Sitting on the couch was none other than the monster who'd killed her. Approaching the monster from behind, Harumiya narrowed her eyes in confusion when it laughed again, obviously enjoying itself with watching something on TV. Taking one look at what it was watching, Harumiya became really annoyed that the monster have the audacity to watch one of her favorite shows, specifically one about her favorite Mexican comedian.

~"Just for the record, I'm not big, I'm fluffy," Gabriel Iglesias was saying. "There's five levels of fatness, fluffy is one of the levels. There's big, healthy, husky, fluffy, and DAMN!"~

The monster chortled loudly at the joke, slapping its knees. Though it was also her favorite joke, Harumiya wasn't feeling it today and she simply rolled her eyes at the monster's antics as she inched closer to it, just as it laughed again at another joke. Closing her eyes, Harumiya raised the pan higher as she closed with the monster by another foot after foot after foot...

*BONG!*

After the monster have stopped in mid-laughter, Harumiya opened her eyes, expecting it to be lying on the floor unconscious. However, her heart sank when she found it rubbing its head, a bump forming on the surface. Dropping the pan, Harumiya gave a loud *gulp* as the monster turned its head toward her. It then gritted its teeth as it gave a savage snarl, already readying itself for a pounce.

Tears flowing down her face, Harumiya gave a small fearful whimper as she backed away. "You may go ahead and watch the television," she squeaked, giving a nervous chuckle. "I'd just go in the back room and-"

Before she could take another step, the monster leaped at her, knocking her onto the floor. Hitting the floor hard, Harumiya screamed as the monster ripped and tore through her apron and skin, eventually reached her abdominal cavity . Harumiya screamed louder as the monster tore loose her intestines and organs, slinging them across the room. In vain she tried to slap the monster off of her, only to anger it further. With a loud roar, the monster reached into her body and, clamping its teeth around her heart, yanked it free. The sudden loss of the organ caused her blood pressure to drop steeply and she found her world becoming darker... again. Before she finally died, Harumiya caught a glimpse of the monster chewing her heart up before swallowing it in one big gulp.

''''''''''''''''''''''''

Same apartment room

20 minutes later...

Fully regenerated and in one piece, Harumiya finally opened her eyes, feeling a dull stomach and chest pain. Fatigued, she looked around until her eyes fell on the frying pan she'd dropped earlier. Grabbing the frying pan, Harumiya stood up, only to hear a soft growling behind her. Slowly turning around, Harumiya saw that the monster have been waiting for her to come back to life. Already, it was preparing another leap.

"*Sob* Oh, not again," she whined as the monster launched itself at her. Fortunately for her, it ended her life by decapitation.

'''''''''''''''''''''''''

Same apartment room

20 minutes later...

Fully regenerated and healed for the umpteenth time, Harumiya groggily woke up, now experiencing stomach, chest, and neck pain. With a weary sigh, Harumiya moved her right hand, pausing when she felt the hard, iron handle of the frying pan. Renewed with vigor, Harumiya gingerly stood back up, expecting the monster to be waiting for her. Soon enough, she heard the familiar growling and turned to face the source. Now sick of dying repeatedly, Harumiya decided that, this time, she must win.

"Come on, you disgusting bastard," she growled as the monster crouched again for yet another pounce. "I'm sick of playing games. It's time to end this."

With a roar, the monster leaped at her, just as predicted. With a loud scream, Harumiya swinged her frying pan in a wide arc, surprising herself when the weapon connected.

"BONG!"

The monster was stunned when it found itself knocked senseless by the pan. However, the momentum of its leap caused it to slam into Harumiya before rolling into one of the living room's walls. Getting back up, Harumiya gingerly check for broken ribs with her free hand. Finding none, she got into a combat stance as the monster got back up, running its claws through places where there were some missing teeth. Nothing could've prepared Harumiya for what came next.

Immediately, the monster flew into a frothing rage, swinging its claws everywhere as if to rip up the entire place. Furniture were shredded, hanging pictures were sliced up, even a window was shattered by a stray claw.

With a small *eep*, Harumiya held out the frying pan life a useless shield as the monster attacked it viciously, trying to get to her. Its demonic roars added to the cacophony of nails being drawn against cast iron, as well as her panicked squeals. Her neighbors in the rooms surrounding her own were beating on the walls from their end, irritated about the uproar she was causing. Realizing that the landlord could be on his way to her room, Harumiya decided that she must end this fight pronto. Gambling on a very risky move, Harumiya quickly moved to the side, expecting the monster's claws to catch her. However, the move caused the monster to lose its balance, causing it to stumbled. However, not giving it the chance to regain its balance, Harumiya whacked it with the pan, causing it to back up.

It seemed that her periods of good fortune have replaced those of misfortune, though God knows how long they would last.

As the monster stumbled backward toward the broken window, Harumiya launched herself at it, unleashing a series of hits.

*BONG!* *BONG!* *BONG!*

Despite getting hammered by Harumiya's attacks, the monster was getting even more pissed. Ducking under a swing, it striked, impaling Harumiya onto its claws. Coughing up a glob of blood, Harumiya grunted when the monster threw her across the room. Hitting the wall with a sickening *crunch*, Harumiya slumped over as she bled to death. As the monster slowly approached her, Harumiya managed to look up for a moment before finally dying, her mouth dropping open as her head flopped back down lifelessly.

As the monster slowly and warily closed with Harumiya's body, a bee flew into the living room through the broken window. When the bee buzzed around the monster's head, it growled in annoyance as it tried to swat it away. Deftly dodging the monster's futile attacks, the bee flew over to Harumiya and landed on her forehead. When the monster took another step, the bee lifted off and, without warning, flew into Harumiya's mouth. Soon enough, smoke was rising from her now healing chest wound as she began to stir.

"Who are you people?" she mumbling dreamily as if sleep-talking. "Hey, what are you two talking about and what's with the bees? Hey wait, don't leave, I want a jar of honey, please."

Realizing its prey was alive again, albeit much more quicker than normal, the monster readied itself to attack Harumiya again just as soon as she opened her eyes. Already, they were stirring underneath the lids. Licking its chops hungrily, the monster crouched lower, obviously loving this regenerating snack. There is no way it would ever go hungry again.

Suddenly, Harumiya's eyes opened up. Seeing the move, the monster was just beginning to leap when the unexpected happened: twin beams of a strange, bluish energy spewed out of Harumiya's eyes. Immediately, the monster was pushed into the opposite wall by the beams, when it collapsed onto the floor after leaving a huge dent in the sheetrock.

Gradually, unknown forces levitated Harumiya into the air and after a buildup of energy, she unleashed it skyward, the beams ripping through the rooms above her and surprising their occupants. As the forces settled her onto her feet, Harumiya's head jerked up when she heard a loud howl of rage. Having been unexpectedly knocked senseless twice, the monster have had enough. Now, it was bent on killing the girl however many times it would take until she was permanently dead. Breathing fast as the shrieking monster closed the remaining meters, Harumiya held out her hands in defense when it finally leapt at her. Suddenly, a huge blast of energy erupted from her hands, slamming into the monster head on. This time: however, the monster was knocked into an adjacent wall, tearing through it as it flew over the nearby street into the morning air, surprising the few who were still around. The monster rolled into an alley until its unconscious, smoking form stopped into a sitting position, right next to a sitting, homeless midget. Wearing a mix-match assortment of clothing, including an orange helmet and a pair of circular lens shades, the midget looked the monster up and down before chuckling derisively.

"They sure know how to fry 'em big these days, right mate?" he asked with a North London accent, turning to a hand puppet on his left hand, The puppet in question was dressed like a king, complete with a scepter and a felt cloth crown.

"That's right, mate," the puppet 'said' with a faux voice. "In fact, the bees are really buzzing today and in greater numbers too. It must be one heck of a storm that's coming."

"Oh, that's reminds me: it's time to talk to the good people of London. Can't keep 'em waiting."

Getting up, the midget dusted off his clothes and, taking one last look at the monster, made his way toward Earlwic Park.

Collapsing onto her knees and even more fatigued, Harumiya covered herself with a loose curtain and slowly fell asleep. Though someone was knocking on the door, perhaps the landlord, Harumiya was too tired to even move an inch. By the time the door was kicked down and a squad of soldiers decked in red, white and black body armor entered, training their weapons here and there, she was fast asleep.