"An 'upgrade'? That's what you're calling it?"

Phillip looked over the paper in his hand to address the one-armed brute that sat on his couch, snacking on a chocolate bar.

"It's what Ryoma phrased it as," Siegfried said through the muck before going in for another bite. Phillip peered back down at the paper, annoyed with the current situation, and read through the content once more.

It was simple: Ryoma had given him an offer. Phillip would be relieved of the warehouse duties and be placed inside the main building as a secretary. More specifically, one of Ryoma's personal secretaries.

With 3 months passing by with him being in that god-forsaken place, it would be a nice change of pace. However, Phillip could already point out several critical consequences to this change in scenery.

"Better camera positions, microphone placements, and in a position where Ryoma can and will know any action I take," Phillip murmured out, listing just a few of the possibilities, before looking back at his guest and spoke louder. "This is a glorified trap, not an upgrade."

Siegfried finished his bar in a couple of chomps, folded the wrapper, and crushed it in his hand before stuffing it into his pocket. "Look, it ain't a bad gig, ya know. It pays better, and you get some cool benefits." When Phillip cast a flat look at him, Siegfried just sighed. "Well, you can either take up the offer, or I tell Ryoma all the times you met up with his daughter."

Phillip snorted at the threat. "Go ahead. Maybe he'll convince her to leave me alone."

Ever since Mei and Phillip found each other on that day, they had been eating lunch together, though with less Phillip's consent and more Mei's demand for it. Each meet-up, Mei was hell-bent on tearing down Phillip's wall to learn the answer to her question, to no avail. As the weeks became months, this insistence came with requests for him to join in on the little free time Mei had, thanks to her usually scheduled lifestyle.

Typically, a day in town with a beautiful girl wasn't a bad thing, but Phillip didn't have the time to do so. There was still too much to learn and less time to do so if what Gabriel told him held true. Thus, Phillip apologized and left Mei and her friends to enjoy the time they could have, at Mei's pouts, Yuki's fist-pumps, Mikoto's confusion, and Ayame's stoicism.

"Wait, what?!" Siegfried stared at him, dumbfounded. "For what reason could you possibly have that would make you NOT want a hot girl close to you?!"

"One, I'm still dealing with this place to care about girls right now," Phillip explained, a blank look on his face. "Second, girls tend to be more trouble than they're worth sometimes."

"Ah, this wouldn't have anything to do with a particular pink-haired lesbo, would it?"

Siegfried wasn't precisely wrong with his statement. If there was anyone that tried to make Phillip despise the meet-ups, it was Yuki. Beyond the blizzard-like stares the girl gave him every second of the day, she made several attempts at physical harassment towards him and sexual harassment at Mei. One of these was easier to ward off than the other, and it wasn't the one many would believe to be the case.

"Not just her," Phillip explained before jerking his left thumb to the wall on that side. Siegfried didn't react as heavily as Phillip thought, but there was a slight flinch there.

Kiana had been less in and out these last couple of months, thanks to Phillip taking the time to set her room up with soundproofing seals. However, she still appeared at his door every now and again. "Out of habit" was her excuse, though rarely did she meet his eyes when she stated this.

The two's relationship still leveled off as "neighbors, " but Kiana behaved slightly better than before. Granted, it didn't stop her from complaining about his limited food and "bland" apartment, while her own lacked anything outstanding, to say the least.

Siegfried looked at him with a subdued, yet pointed look. "Look, my dau-" He stopped himself for a brief moment before continuing. "That girl just seems a little lonely. Give her some time, and she'll mellow out, I'm sure."

Phillip narrowed his eyes, catching the sudden stop and start, but sighed before leaning on his door. "I guess." He crossed his arms and gave Siegfried a meaningful glare. "Any info on my other guest?"

Siegfried stood and brushed the crumbs off his pants. "Nada. Without an identity, we'd be hard-pressed to find anything on them, which went out the window when you tossed the body." Siegfried looked at him with a blank look. "Why did you throw the body away? We could have used it to figure who it was."

"Ah, yes. Let me just store the body in the closet, so the janitor finds," Phillip stated sarcastically before shifting to a serious tone. "I don't have an effective means of preserving the body, and the smell would cover the entire complex. How would I have gotten the body to you before the police place my ass behind bars?"

"...Good point."

"Besides, I think your daughter would freak out if she found a body in my room."

Siegfried looked shocked and pointed at him with a finger, ready to refute Phillip's revelation. However, he seemed to realize the futility of the matter as he relaxed a minute later. "Alright, yeah, she's mine. Guess you caught that hiccup of mine, huh?"

"Well, that and your freak out a few weeks ago when I said we were rooming together."

Siegfried look perplexed at this. "I don't remember telling you she was my daughter then."

"No, but when a perv like yourself tries telling me I should stop her from doing that and lectures me on proper etiquette, it threw up a couple of red flags."

"Again, good point." Siegfried pulled his phone from his left pocket and looked at the time. "Well, I should hit the road. Ryoma's gonna throw a hissy fit if I don't get back on time." He returned the phone and walked towards the window, only to stop right in front of it. "One piece of advice," Siegfried spun to Phillip, holding a gun in his hand.

The gun was an oddity. The frame was black but had three white accessories to it. Two were on top; one long piece in the middle of the muzzle that had two wings spread out on either side and the other bulkier one where the hammer would be. The final one on the bottom was the biggest and longest of the three, and seemed like a trigger guard, with a black piece wrapping up to the hammer piece and back down on the other side. It had a white grip, and glowing orange highlights covered the edges and in the middle of the muzzle. A hole was seen in the middle of the muzzle before the black revolver cylinder, with a gem-like object floating in the middle.

Siegfried spoke, voice dead serious. "Harm her, and you won't see the sun the next morning."

Phillip rose an eyebrow at this but countered. "If I hear anything from her that suggests you hurt her, I'll make you wish I tore off your other arm."

Siegfried gave a broad smile, eyes continuing to glare before he turned around. He holstered the gun, opened the window, and ducked through it. Hanging on the window for just a second, he dropped. Phillip moved to the window and watched the man walk down the sidewalk, not a care in the world if he was seen or not.

"Dumbass," Phillip muttered before shutting the window with a slight slam. He walked back to the couch, propped his feet on his table, and leaned back as he sent out a telepathic message to his clones.

The response had been the same as before: nothing. Other than finding that hidden catalog of known Honkai creatures in August, little headway has been made in the last couple of months on understanding this type of enemy. While being able to name and determine the methods to eliminate these threats was good, he still needed to know the limits of these creatures.

For this reason, he had two teams working in different places: one in the field in search of these creatures and the other in the library for any already determined counters humanity has developed. So far, none of the creatures, outside of corrupted animals, appeared near the city, and the library had been a complete bust for his requirements, outside of the two powers in play. He was running out of options.

"I say you take the offer."

Phillip simply grumbled at this. He didn't want to put himself under any more monitoring. Still, Ryoma was more than likely to have information that the library didn't, considering the company's backers. With the company database on lockdown, thanks to the security features noticing his last attempt to access it, the offer was an excellent attempt to get more info undetected.

I'll need to plan first. No telling what type of security Ryoma has for himself, considering what kind of shit he gives out. The most advanced ones, I'm sure.

"Well, you've got the time. It is the weekend, after all."

Phillip smirked at this. Fair enough. Might take a trip around the world, get a feel for another continent's situation.

"How about we leave that for next semester? A couple more events will occur soon, and I'm sure it will be fine."

Next semester will be next year. I'm not waiting that long, Phillip stated directly, already impatient from the lack of intel. A groan echoed in his mind.

"Follow me on this one."

Phillip sighed. Fine, but I'm getting that travel day at some point. Alright?

"Never said I would deny it."

With a nod, Phillip aimed for his room – something he could actually say now – to get some sleep of the night.

The Next Day.

"Aren't you gonna do anything?"

Why would I? The clones are the ones that are handling the important stuff, and Ryoma hadn't called at the butt-crack of dawn to force me into overtime.

"So, your plan for the day is to sleep through it?"

Phillip was lying on his right side, head in the center of the marshmallow-soft pillow and covered with cozy, warm blankets. He didn't want to leave the comfort, and he had no reason to do so. Thus, he decided today would be his lazy day.

"It's almost 11:00!"

Then I'll get up at 12:00.

"You said the same thing at 10:00!"

Look, if you want, we can have a mental spar. Other than that, I ain't moving.

There was a reverberant sigh before Gabriel spoke again. "Okay, how about this? Three important people are in the city right now. If you get up now, you can still meet them at my scheduled point."

...Can I get a description?

"A mom and two kids."

Gonna need to be a bit more specific.

"One of the kids had hair drills, and that's where I'm stopping. Will you go?"

A moment of silence passed over the two before Phillip shifted the blanket and rolled onto his other side to sit up and put his feet on the floor. Wasting little time, he shrugged off his sleepwear and got dressed in his standard outfit, leaving his jacket off for today.

These people better be actually important.

"That will be up to you. Now, once you're good, I'll direct you the point."

A couple of blocks down from the complex.

Alright then, who am I looking for?

Phillip discreetly scanned the surrounding people, looking for the vague description Gabriel had told him earlier. However, with the little info that he had, Phillip found several families that had the qualities listed, but Gabriel pulled him away with a negative response. Phillip was growing more and more impatient and was tempted to return to his apartment right now.

"We're getting closer to the interception point. Just have a little more patience."

Phillip rolled his eyes at this but continued his walk, passing by unremarkable people in the towering city. His eyes skyward, he found himself entranced by the white clouds plastered on the light blue sky while sunlight made the skyscrapers around him sparkle and glisten. He kept looking for a few minutes and would have continued if Gabriel hadn't spoken.

"There we go."

Phillip brought his eyes down to street-level a little too late as a girl slammed into his front. He wasn't affected in the slightest, so he simply stopped the girl from falling back by placing his right hand on her left shoulder and applying a little pressure. She regained her footing, allowing Phillip's first glance at her.

She was young, anywhere from 12 to 13 in age, and short, coming up to his shoulders. The black of her hair waved in a gentle breeze, revealing indigo on the underside. Her light purple eyes stared at him in shock as she pressed a curled hand over her heart, covered by a white button-up shirt with a detached collar to reveal. For the rest of her outfit, she wore a purple corset, a black-and-light-purple striped skirt that ended just above knee-length, and white stockings that led down to black Mary Janes.

She seemed to open her mouth to say something, only for her face to contort to fear and a yell to escape her maw instead.

"Bronya Onee-chan!"

Phillip tilted his head to the side to avoid the knife hand aimed at the back of his neck. His hand left the girl's shoulder and grabbed the hand to pull the person over his shoulder. They slammed into the sidewalk with a heavy thud, and Phillip pressed his left foot onto their shoulder to pin them, allowed him to evaluate his attacker.

It was another girl, one with grey hair tied into two drill-like ponytails, one on either side of her head. Her grey eyes glared at him in rage as her petite form struggled to remove his foot. Her outfit was comprised of a white-and-brown striped button-up shirt with collar attached and light brown cuffs just above her elbows, a dark brown corset, and a soft brown skirt. Her brown socks had yellow cuffs and went together with her clay red shoes.

"Please, wait!" The other girl cried but fell on deaf ears. The struggle of the other girls ceased, but she kept on glaring daggers at him.

Then Phillip heard a click from behind him, and the muzzle of a gun was placed on the back of his head. "I suggest you let my daughter go."

Phillip didn't react immediately, not feeling threatened by the gun, as he knew he moved fast enough to dodge the shot, even now. However, he released the girl after a second before turning to the person who was behind him.

It was a blonde woman, 2 inches taller than him, and violet eyes burning with rage. She wore a green jacket with red lining along the edge of her collar and a right flap that crossed over the left. It had gold buttons to keep it closed and two brown belts around her waist, making sure the coat was tight enough to show off her hourglass figure. Her right leg was exposed, all the way down to the brown boots she wore, while her left was completely covered.

She kept her gun on him. "Give me one good reason I shouldn't kill you here and now."

Phillip rose a brow at this and opened his mouth, only to be stopped by the black-haired girl from before.

"Matushka, it was my fault. I collided with him when I was walking, and he stopped me from falling. It really wasn't his fault."

All eyes turned to her, causing her face to glow crimson before tilting her head away in shyness. The woman turned her attention back to him for only a moment before addressing the other girl.

"Bronya, are you sure you heard Seele yelp in pain?"

Bronya nodded, now off the ground and standing beside the other girl. "Da, Matushka. That is why I moved to intercept this person."

The woman let out a sigh, lowered her weapon, and sent an apologetic look at Phillip. "Excuse my daughters. The girls are rather protective of each other."

Phillip looked at the girls to study their features before looking back at the woman. "You seem to have a lot of genes in the family."

"Hm?" she said, confused, before realizing the conclusion he drew. "Oh, no, no. They aren't mine biologically. I run an orphanage, and the female orphans are who I call my 'daughters.'"

Phillip let out an "oh" at this, now understanding the situation laid before him. He turned back to the girls and looked down at them. Seele looked down sheepishly at his gaze while Bronya never flinched, completely stoic. Phillip would have called her a robot had he not seen a flash of anger and a challenger's spirit beneath her gray eyes.

"The shorter one seems a little violent if you ask me." His comment made Bronya increase the intensity of her glare.

"That's enough, Bronya." Only at the woman's voice did the girl drop her glare, settling on the other girl at her side as a gentle gaze instead. The woman moved to Phillip's left side as she watched Bronya scan over Seele, intent on finding any injuries, before the mother spoke to Philip again. "It comes from her background. I'll spare you the details, but she wasn't in a good place earlier this year. Right now, Seele is her anchor."

Phillip simply nodded once at this before spinning on his heels. "I'll leave you three alone, then. See ya."

"If you could spare the time," Phillip turned back around at the woman's request, who pulled out a folded sheet of paper from her bosom. "This is our first time in this city, and we happen to be lost." Unfolding the paper revealed a map, with several X's placed about it. The woman gave a reward-winning smile as she placed the map in his hands.

"Could you help me find a place so that we can meet up with an old friend of mine?"

Some time later.

Well, that was interesting.

Phillip had pointed the woman and her children to the place they needed, and they departed, with Phillip returning to his apartment. However, once they were out of sight, he slipped into an alley and made a clone to follow after them. It wasn't out of maliciousness or suspicion. Instead, it was out of curiosity.

A curiosity of why their location was the central building of ME Corp.

Phillip had a feeling they were connected to Anti-Entropy, which meant their friend would be Ryoma. This gave him a unique chance to gather intel on Anti-Entropy and enter ME Corp's database simultaneously. His clone knew this and set out almost immediately at its creation.

Now Phillip was in front of the apartment complex and was ready to return to his comfy haven. Gabriel had stayed silent throughout the trek back, but Phillip wasn't complaining. It meant the angel allowed his laziness for now.

He had gotten to the stairs and placed his hand on the rail to begin his ascent, only to notice a familiar face come down towards him.

"Hey, Kiana."

The girl met his eyes; confusion etched in hers. "Why are you coming back now? You weren't gone all that long."

Phillip shrugged at this. "Had a quick errand to attend to. Nothing much, so I'm going to my room."

She tilted her head at this, even more confused. "But you got nothing to do there. What are you gonna do, sleep?"

"Yep."

"...Seriously?"

Phillip rose an eye at the deadpan tone. "What's it to you? I like sleeping." She continued to make a flat face at him, which he shrugged off. He then began stepping up the stairs, weaving past the girl who parked herself in the middle. He made it up a couple of steps past her before he felt a hand clasped his right wrist when it swung back. Turning back to address the action, he found himself being pulled back down the stairs and outside.

The incredible strength surprised him as the girl pulled him, something her frame failed to represent. However, the surprise faded quickly, and he wasn't going out against his will. He channeled chakra to his feet to plant himself to the ground but stopped when Gabriel spoke.

"It's just one day outside and with a friend this time. Are you really going to deny the young lady's request?"

It's not a request, it's a demand, and I'm not interested.

"Come on. She must have something fun to do if she's this insistent. So, follow her lead this one time."

Phillip was ready to respond but, with words failing him this time, simply sighed and allowed Kiana to drag him back into the lively city.

On the other side of the city

"An arcade?"

Phillip looked around the place Kiana dragged him to. Kids ran across the blue carpet, weaving through the machines to find their favorites, while adults sat down at tables to watch theirs in amusement. Employees walked past, some carrying trays of food and drink, going about their business as they weaved through the machines.

In terms of games, there was plenty of variety. There were enough shooting games, fighting games, racing games, quiz games, and even a VR play set stationed off to the far right. The one game that confused him was a quiz game with this weird yellow, bunny-like mascot that had sharp teeth that bit you if you answered wrong, from what he heard when they passed it. It was popular with the kids, though, so he decided not to judge.

Kiana looked immensely proud of herself. "Yep! I found this place a month ago, and I've been coming here ever since. Thank me whenever you feel like it."

"... Does that have anything to do with you asking me to handle your rent last month does it?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," she said, refusing to make eye contact. "Now, are you ready to have the most fun in your entire life?"

Phillip narrowed his eyes at the change of subject, but dropped it. Right now, he was tired and just seeing the amount of energy those around him had made him even more tired. Thus, his answer was simple.

"I'm going back home."

"What?!" Kiana's scream alerted the entire place, but the people quickly returned to their routines when they realized it was directed at Phillip. "Why?!" He opened his mouth to respond but was stopped when Gabriel's icy tone stopped him.

"Phillip Thomas Stuyvesant, keep your mouth shut." With the tiniest of winces, Phillip did so when Gabriel spoke his full name, allowing Gabriel to continue. "She brought you here to help you. I understand you didn't agree to it, but leaving her now is simply going to create you enemies, not allies. So, for now, simmer your anti-social tendencies and play."

Why am I being treated like a kid?

"Because you're acting like one."

Phillip tilted his head forward and pressed his right hand to his face, index finger and thumb on either side of his brow. After a few minutes, he looked back up at the pouting face of Kiana, knowing he was going to have to play along for now.

"I'll play a few games."

Kiana visibly brightened at this and dragged him to the closest game, which was a vs. shooting game.

Phillip put in the correct currency and picked up the plastic pistol on the left side while Kiana stood ready on the right side. "So, what's the goal?"

"Zombie shooting!" She said this with a wide grin. "The one who kills the most wins. Right now, I'm 3rd on the leader board. Once I'm better at the game, I'll be the best!" Phillip watched her press a button to display the board. Sure enough, she was number three of the ten names displayed, just beneath two people called "Eins" and "Otto."

"Now, it starts easy but gets really hard right after," Kiana explained, her smile changing to a cocky smirk with her game pistol pointed at the screen. "Don't worry if you get left behind. You're fighting one of the best, after all." With this, she pulled the trigger, starting the game immediately.

A few minutes later

"Cool. Now, what were you saying before?" Phillip said coolly, placing his gun back into the holder before looking over to Kiana. Kiana herself was stuck staring at the screen with wide eyes and an open mouth as her high score dropped a level. Now, stationed at the top, was Phillip's score, completely overshadowing the former highest.

Phillip watched amusedly as Kiana started to stutter at the impossibility of the situation before she began to mutter to herself. Egged on by the sudden change in behavior, Phillip walked closer to her and leaned in, ear turned towards her to hear her muttering.

"Sorry, Kiana, but you're gonna need to speak up if you want something."

"I want a rematch!"

Phillip pulled back at the girl's outburst, his calm face hiding the satisfaction of getting a rise out of the girl, and placed his hands behind his head. "I'd rather play the others, honestly. There are hundreds of games here. There's probably one where you're good, and I'm bad."

This seemed to light something in the girl as she dropped the idea of the shooting game and began dragging him to the racing game next. Phillip sat in the mediocre seat of the second player's side, while Kiana took the first player's seat. After a couple of seconds spent on customization, the two began the race on a brand-new track.

It was completely one-sided. While Kiana stayed in second for the entire race, Phillip stayed way too far in front to be touched. Even with the items set out to tip the scales, he pulled just the right thing at the right time. She tried to call him out on cheating, which he denied, and played another race on a track she already did, ranked third under the same names as before.

Once again, Phillip stayed in the lead the entire time. Kiana seemed put off about the matter, but that didn't stop her from demanding another rematch. However, Phillip pulled himself off after that, forcing Kiana to follow him as he walked down the lane made between arcade machines.

As he walked, Phillip decided to confirm something. Hey, Gabriel. You didn't happen to affect my luck at all, did you?

"..."

Phillip wasn't interested in Gabriel's silence and called again, slightly agitated. Gab?

"... Sorry, I left you two to your date. How's it going, by the way?"

First, not a date, Phillip stated, not interested in the angel's matchmaking. Second, you sort of told me what I wanted to know with that.

"Good. Anyway, I'm going to get back to what I'm doing. Have fun on your date."

Not a date, Phillip repeated exhaustedly as he felt the being leave. He was almost set to excuse him from Kiana's roaming when she grabbed him by the wrist once more and dragged him to another game.

He simply groaned at this. God, give me the strength to get through and let me be done soon.

As the time flew past, Phillip found himself at the top of almost every game in the arcade. Kiana was growing more and more desperate that to prove to herself, more than anything, that he was a beatable opponent. He watched her rapidly looking over the place, trying hard to find a game they hadn't played yet, a smile stuck on his face.

He didn't know when it occurred, but Phillip grew more comfortable and at ease with the experience than he believed. Though, he doubted it was the reason most people would think, like environment or stress. Instead, Kiana herself seemed to have pulled him back down to earth for the moment. Between her hyper-competitiveness and never-give-up attitude, she gave him something familiar to latch onto.

Now, however, was late, and he no longer desired to stay around to amuse the girl. Thus, he decided to alert her of his choice. He stood up from the metal chair he sat upon and walked over to her, smile reverting to a frown.

"Kiana," she looked back at him when he spoke, an odd mix of competition and curiosity welling up in her eyes. "I need to leave. I have work tomorrow."

She stammered for a second, her eyes jumping from place to place to find anything to stop him from leaving before slumping over in defeat. She pulled herself together enough to respond. "Fine, but I'm gonna beat you in one of these games! Just you watch!"

"Right, right," Phillip stated dismissively, a smile on his face from the bravado Kiana used at the end of her say-so. "See ya tomorrow." And, with that, he started walking away from her, only to stop when he heard a loud growl reminiscent of the groans of a wild beast.

Phillip turned back towards Kiana, whose embarrassment showed by the luminescent, crimson blush that drowned her face. Deciding he would join her for one last thing, he let out an invitation.

"Want something to eat?"

At a restaurant closer to the complex

Phillip sipped his can of soda as he stoically watched Kiana down plate after plate of food, with no foreseeable end to the feast she ordered. He could almost see his paycheck disappear as she consumed another chicken dish. He didn't stop her, though, as he had a feeling that she had an appetite similar to Goku or Naruto. Probably closer to Naruto.

Phillip placed the empty can on the glass table between the two as Kiana finished off one final plate, patting and rubbing her overly bulging belly. He had long since finished his meal, the white plate off to the side, and looked over the stacks of dishes to see Kiana.

"Hope you had your fill; cause I'm not doing this again." Kiana stuck her tongue out at him before standing from the metal chairs to stretch out her arms, her stomach returning to its normal flat state somehow, with Phillip following her lead, and began walking towards the door of the small restaurant they chose. Phillip stopped to pay the bill, 34,000 yen in total, before heading out with Kiana.

Once Phillip was outside, He and Kiana turned left and started down the gray sidewalk back to their apartment. The day was gone, leaving the night to shade the city with dark blues. The street lamps penetrated the coloring, keeping the lower half bright enough to traverse the place. Cars passed by at dizzying speeds while the populace kept their steady pace as they moved around for their destinations.

It was during their walk, Phillip with his hands stuffed in his pocket and Kiana walking the edge of the curb with her hands out, that Phillip asked something. "Why did you take me out here? You could have done all this by yourself and avoid the embarrassment."

Kiana pulled herself back onto the sidewalk and looked at him, refusing to stop her stride. "I dunno. Just felt like it." Phillip rose a brow at this, something she noticed, and blew a raspberry at him. "Sorry if I decided not to let you rot in your room all day. Geez, a little thanks would be nice."

"You dragged me across half the city to take me to an arcade without my acknowledgment or consent. I'm pretty sure most people wouldn't thank you for that."

"Fine!" she cried, anger now marring her face. "I'll just let you sit and die in your room next time!" She then stormed past him, heavy stomps and arms stretched out behind her as she did so, but didn't get very far, though, as Phillip grabbed her right wrist with his left hand. She looked back as she tried to pull her arm free but stopped when she noticed something.

Phillip smiled gently at her, relaxing his grasp ever so slightly. "Thank you, Kiana. I appreciate it."

Kiana stood for a second, slightly wide-eyed, before regaining her senses and pulling her hand away. She didn't storm away, though, and said, "you're welcome," in response. From there, the two continued their walk back together, with Kiana staying on the sidewalk the rest of the way.

In his apartment,

Phillip slumped down onto his couch, his right covering his face as he went over that day's events. "God, what am I doing?"

"It's how you actually relax. Not tensed up, faux sleeping in a bed, waiting for one wrong event to transpire."

There is a good reason for doing that.

"But it isn't truly relaxing. You ease your mind but disregard your body and spirit. Thus, despite your unwillingness, you still went along with Kiana's actions. Because every part demanded you to relax."

Not yet, Phillip replied, trying to pull the memories of the clones he made recently. I need to figure out this universe. I-

"Relax," Gabriel's word dispersed the memories from Phillip's mind, though he couldn't find the power to rebuke it. "The information will be there later and will remain until your death. For now, go to sleep and, tomorrow, we can plan out the coming days."

But-

"You still have plenty of time before the destiny of this world begins. You can prepare yourself, absolutely, but don't wear yourself down before you reach the finish line. Alright?"

Phillip sighed at this, not seeing a reason to try to battle Gabriel at this point. Alright. Could you-

"One dreamless sleep, coming up."

Phillip smiled at this before feeling the effects of Gabriel's influence. His eyes drooped slowly before completely closing, his body fell onto his left side, and his consciousness slipped into the darkness of slumber.

Close by.

~Come in, Serpent. Confirm your position~

A person, a carbon copy of Phillip's stalker, made no movement to answer their caller, crackling from static. They were, instead, intent on glaring down at a room of the building across from the roof he stood upon. While others would assume they were simply staring at the window, they never knew what went on behind the mask.

They could see that room in its entirety. Serpent knew the focus of interest was laying down on the couch, lost in the endless void of sleep if the brainwaves were to be trusted. However, the body wasn't the reason why Serpent was here. No, it was something much more paradoxical. Zeroing in on the boy, what they saw changed until they found the thing they wanted.

Waves of Energy exuded from the boy before cycling back to him. It was as if the energy was attracted to the boy and only the boy. The Serpent was interested in this energy and desired to test its capacity, but they needed the boy. Thus, they needed to stage a kidnapping eventually.

With this thought process finished, they answered their caller. "Gray Serpent here. Positioned next to target. I'll will extract the boy and head to the meeting zone."

~As you will. Command, out~

The radio cut off, a low static humming through the stale air. Gray Serpent knelt and pointed their arm to the room, pushing their wrist forward. The plan was to break into the apartment, restrain the boy and flee with him in tow toward the northern side of the city where the extraction zone would be. Once there, World Serpent would have a new, if not indispensable, resource at their disposal.

Unfortunately, plans don't always work as intended. Something Gray Serpent realized when an orange ray pierced their shoulder joint, disabling the equipment store in their arms and rendering it all useless. Gray Serpent looked behind to address his attacker.

Siegfried stood there, one of the pistols of Shamash in his hand and ready to fire at any time. "Leave the kid alone."

The man was a secondary objective, to increase the power of World Serpent agents. However, with only one arm and no reinforcements available, Gray Serpent realized the entire operation was a bust at the moment. Thus, they made a call to Command.

"Command, this unit has been compromised. Begin erasing memory banks." With that out of the way. Gray Serpent rushed towards Siegfried, only to be gunned down after the first few steps.

Siegfried walked over to the corpse and fired a couple more times into it. Once he was done, he rolled it onto its back and looked it over, searching for any possible items they were carrying. Finding none, he let out a sigh and walked over to the edge to look at Phillip's room.

"Don't relax too much, kid. I need you to look after Kiana for me."

With that, he walked back over to the corpse, picked it up by heaving it onto his shoulders, and moved to take the stairs back down. He stopped for a second before point his hand behind him and fired the pistol just above the apartment complex. A drone exploded from the shot, and Siegfried continued on his way.

?

"Well, Seigfried, that was simply rude."

Otto sat in his chair, leaning into his right hand, as he watched his monitors. The objective was to find this boy World Serpent grew interested in and determine his substance. It wasn't too hard to find him, though the World Serpent agent kept their distance. All they had to do was to find a similar element in their movement path.

After a while, Otto grew less and less interested in the boy as time moved on. The boy lacked anything substantial, making Otto believe that World Serpent simply lacked in membership if they resulted in looking for unremarkable males. However, seeing Siegfried work to defend the boy re-sparked the interest in Otto.

Otto pressed his free hand's index finger into the end of his chair's arm, causing a blue light to blip into existence at the place he touched.

"Amber, I'm going to send a descriptive image to you. Look for any records containing this boy."

"Yes, sir," the woman's voice said, loud and clear, from somewhere on the chair. He removed the finger from the light, causing it to fade, before pulling himself up from the chair. Otto stared at the screens in front of him, each holding aerial photo shots of the boy. Some were from him walking around the place alone, while others showed him with the company.

"What are you hiding that garners the attention of these groups, boy?"

Alright, that's a wrap.

I might need to push for a time jump soon. I'm running out of ideas for pre-3rd Impact event. Hopefully, I get faster at writing so I can get the chapters out quicker.

Anyway, leave a review if ya want, and I'll see you next chapter.