Around the time the Ghost Vanguard attacked Thors' Branch Campus, a similar crisis emerged in the neighboring city-state of Crossbell. Although the streets of the city had long since settled into the steady rhythm of post-independence life, Lloyd Bannings knew better than to believe peace had truly taken hold. The Special Support Section had faced too many hidden threats over the years, and now, a new one had begun to fester beneath the surface. And after recovering the Gnosis from the druggie that had run away from both Lloyd and Rixia, it led them to believe that a remnant of the D.G. Cult was still around the city.
They had seemingly called themselves the Children of Shadows, a splinter group that had managed to evade the purges following the fall of their parent organization and had lurked in the shadows following the events of both the Azure-Zero project and the Great Twilight. Over the past few days, however, reports of missing people and strange, erratic behavior among certain citizens had drawn the SSS's attention. And tonight, those leads brought them to the ruins of an old cult facility deep in the Crossbell wilderness.
Lloyd, Elie, Noel, and Rixia moved through the overgrown path leading to the decrepit building. The entrance had been left ajar, as if daring them to enter. Inside, the stench of decay mixed with something acrid, something foul, and something… wrong.
Tio's voice crackled over Lloyd's earpiece. "I'm detecting faint orbal energy readings inside. Be careful—there could still be active defenses."
"Understood," Lloyd murmured, motioning for the team to advance.
As they moved through the corridors, their orbal lamps illuminated signs of past horrors—rusted restraints, shattered glass vials, faded bloodstains. This place had once been a breeding ground for the cult's twisted experiments and it brought back unpleasant memories for the four of them. But something was different now. Recent footprints marred the dust-covered floor, and the hum of machinery echoed from deeper within.
Reaching a locked chamber, Noel quickly hacked into the terminal, bypassing its outdated security. The doors hissed open, and with a lurch it revealed a dimly lit room filled with containment tubes. Inside each one floated unconscious individuals, their skin pale, their veins glowing an eerie blue. It look like they had been held here for a long time, possibly around three to four years.
Both Noel and Rixia were horrified to say the least.
Rixia tensed. "This is…"
Noel covered her mouth, her voice trembling. "They've been… experimented on."
Elie wanted to go forward and check on them, and see if they at least had a pulse but Lloyd stopped her and told her to look. He recognized the signs—these people had been exposed to Gnosis, but not the same strain the cult had used before. This one was modified, but its effects are unknown. It wasn't the same strain they had dealt with when they had faced down against Joachim four years ago in the Sun Fort.
Suddenly, one of the monitors flickered to life, displaying a hooded figure. A distorted voice echoed through the speakers, the cruelty and malice clearly evident in his voice.
"So… the SSS has finally come knocking. How wonderful is that?"
Lloyd clenched his fists. "Who are you?"
The figure chuckled. "Just a child of the darkness, seeking to finish what was started detective." The screen flickered, and suddenly, alarms blared throughout the facility. The containment tubes began to hiss as their locks disengaged and they were opened.
"Damn, they're waking up!" Noel shouted, readying her weapon.
The first victim's eyes snapped open—then turned blood-red. With an unnatural shriek, they lunged.
The facility erupted into chaos as the test subjects turned into frenzied berserkers, their bodies twisting unnaturally under the effects of the tainted Gnosis.
Lloyd sprang into action, using his tonfas to parry a wild strike before countering with a precise blow to the pressure points. "Don't kill them if you can avoid it! They're victims, not enemies!"
Elie fired tranquilizer rounds, aiming to disable rather than harm. Noel used suppressive fire to herd the frenzied subjects away from Rixia, who wove through their ranks with fluid precision, striking pressure points to knock them unconscious.
Despite their training, it was a harrowing battle. The afflicted moved with unnatural speed and resilience, their attacks growing more erratic with each passing second.
"We need to shut this place down!" Elie called out.
Lloyd's eyes darted to the central control panel. If they could disable the systems and release an emergency sedative, they might be able to contain the outbreak.
"Cover me!" he shouted, breaking into a sprint.
Noel provided suppressive fire while Rixia leapt between the berserkers, clearing a path. Lloyd reached the console and slammed his hand against the override switch. The facility groaned as red lights shifted to blue, and a mist filled the chamber. One by one, the afflicted collapsed, their bodies finally at rest.
A silence fell over the room, broken only by the sound of the SSS catching their breath.
With the immediate threat neutralized, the team secured the facility, restraining the unconscious victims for medical evacuation. As they surveyed the damage, Rixia pointed to a data terminal still active in the corner.
Elie quickly accessed the logs, her expression darkening with each line she read. "This strain of Gnosis… it's different. More potent, more unpredictable."
Noel frowned. "Are they trying to recreate the cult's old experiments?"
Lloyd shook his head, eyes scanning the data. "No… they're trying to perfect them." His gaze hardened. "And this was just a test run."
Before they could process the implications, the distorted voice from before returned.
"You may have stopped this experiment, but the Children of Shadows will not be undone so easily. Soon, the veil will fall, and all of Crossbell will see the truth that lies beyond."
Then, the screen flickered out.
Lloyd exchanged looks with his team. Whatever this was, it wasn't over. Not by a long shot.