Preface

I've always wanted to write a story in the style of Twin Peak and Alan Wake. Granted, my writing abilities is quite inadequate, but I couldn't contain the passion, so... I hope you enjoy this small peak into the world I'm building. There will be romantic, violent and gruesome content. After polishing up the worldbuilding, I will begin writing another sequel or prequel to this one. Happy reading!

Disclaimer: The entire story was 100% written and illustrated by me. There is zero involvement of any forms of generative AI models.

Formatting

A line of text only containing "..." indicates a change of perspective.

Two separator lines indicate a closed change of perspective (in and out.)

0: Prelude

The dazzling light of Sol reflected off the marble floor onto a white chiton. Following the fabric, a woman appeared; she radiated divine energy and a sense of comfort to anyone near her. A pair of red horns and long ears protuding her cranium and long blonde hair, she seemed to be frowning upon, or contemplating on something. In front of her was a balcony commanding the clouds, tint of blue shaded the area.

"My daughter, can a single canva contain the entire Yggdrasil?" She inquired in a resolute tone. Rather than a question, it felt like an order. A younger woman stood up from a seat. She had two razor-sharp fangs and crimson red pupils, puzzled by the woman.

"Mother, a Yggdrasil is the source of all. It must not be enclosed by a mere plane of material."

"Can a depiction of Yggdrasil, be one?"

"But, Mother, may you pardon me, if it were the case, there would be multiple Yggdrasils, though there shall only exist one."

"Shall there?"

...

"The quondam almighty and elusive Sienna kneeled, unwillingly, in front of me. Somehow, I could sense her staring at me furiously even through layers of fabric covering her eyes. 'End it all,' she quietly uttered -- not whispered as her voice quivered with grief. The elven princess that once oversaw an unstoppable force in the Middle Land had her hope extinguished, her gallantry squashed. 'No, your highness, as a royal knight of the Mesa Legion, I took an oath to protect our posterity, including, please pardon me, you,' her head subtly nodded, remaining silent. After a while of stalemate, she broke the silence: 'Just... end it.' I-"

"Stop," an impatient Richard Hellmann waved his hand rapidly, the other hand reaching to his tuxedo suit's pocket for a tissue to wipe off sweat from his bald head.

On the other end of the table sat a disconcerted Yanik Stoner, a novice writer in the publishing company. Middle-aged though he appeared, Yanik was in his twentieth. Being scolded by his boss unfortunately didn't help with his perceived age. In contrast to Hellmann, Yanik's outfit consisted of a mere polo shirt and a pair of jeans.

"This honestly sounds like you smashed every single trope of a fantasy story into one short novel and called it a day. Then what happened in the end? Happy ever after?" The slightly obese manager let out sharp inhales as he said.

His forehead looked like windshields during tempests now, Yanik thought to himself, but his imagination was cut short by the man's poker face.

"I haven't thought about the ending yet. I hope my story is good enough for-"

"The pacing of the plot is inconsistent, and the draft is already far longer than what our target audience are capable of consuming due to their painfully short attention span. I say you end the story right here, and run an AI model over it to streamline the structure. You are dismissed," Hellmann uttered coldy, turning his office chair to face the panoramic vista that was the Manhattan skyline.

Yanik admired the office, the epitome of modernity -- marble linings on the dark oak table at which he was just reprimanded, a wine-red glass vase with dandelions placed on top of a warm floorlight...

"You should really go fix the draft," trains of thought were abruptly cut short by Hellmann.

1: Cafe of Writer's Block

"Hey, Clark. Are you free this afternoon?" As the Manhattan megastructures covered the blue sky above him, Yanik yelled at his phone to drown out the constant noise of the traffic.

"Sure. Need some sparks of creativity?" A lethargic voice mellowed, dripping out of the speakers into his ears.

"Yo, how's life?" The same drowsy voice dragged Yanik away from his sleep. A Lancer Clark sat across the table. Having waited for a few minutes in the cafe, Yanik cautiously took a nap, but still, he overslept.

"Same as it ever was, albeit a slightly better salary now. Pa's staying with meemaw. Her complications have gotten worse."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Clark subconsciously stirred his latte with a silver spoon, the pattern turning into a vortex.

"No need. Have you written anything related to the fantasy genre?" Yanik inquired. Thereupon, Clark stopped stirring his cup.

"Come to think about it... Not really. I've always been writing corporate, business stuff," he thought for a moment, staring at the silver spoon he just put down, some cream still clinging onto the surface.

"I wrote about a tabletop role-playing game with all sorts of creatures before," he rifled through his satchel and grabbed a wrinkled draft out.

"Look. In this game, you are the writer, the game master. Is it germane?"

"Nice. Exactly what I need. Thanks a bunch," Yanik took a look at the manuscript and waved goodbye to his friend.

Master of Moros: Jump into this nostalgic ride into the revived series, now featuring a new mode with "the game master as one of the players!" What adventure would you forge, traveler...

Yanik's condominium wasn't exactly spacious, three small compartments crammed into a concrete cubicle. The living room also serving as a bedroom, a gap above the sofabed as a vent and a window, the place didn't strike him as pleasant, but it was enough to get by. He opened a can of beer, sat down on a dilapidated sofa and inspected the draft of his friend's.

"Be who you want, a game master, a player or both..." he whispered. In his peripheral vision, a manuscript page of Legacy of the Elven Princess lied quietly on the coffee table. His fingers gradually glided over the page as he put down the draft.

Perhaps it was the combination of alcohol and that draft, he suddenly had a vision. Clumsy as he moved, Yanik moved to fetch a piece of paper and pencil.

"It began with a trapped writer afflicted by writer's block..."

His phone rang. "Yanik, it's Clark. I'm wondering-"

"Clark, I have a new take on my novel. I'm coming to your place," he interjected with an overflowing ecstasy.

Being a bit tipsy won't hurt, he thought. After a long descent down the elevator, he started the engine of his good ol' sedan. It was a fierce downpour outside of the underground parking area.

It looked exactly like Hellmann's forehead, he stared at the racing raindrops on the windshield, his vehicle zooming across the barely visible streetlights. Yanik's eyelids began to feel heavier, his mind wandering and plunging into his subconscious. He didn't have time to regret, with one side of the fleeting stars approaching.

Then, it was pitch dark.

...

Sienna was the effigy, the living testament of the indomitable spirit of the elves inhabiting the Middle Land. She was the successor to inherit the formidable nation that kept peace for thousands of millenia.

...

"Yanik," Clark yelled at the top of his lungs, thick raindrops covering his vision. As he approached with quivering legs, he saw a burning car illuminating his face. He dug into the wreck with bare hands despite the suffocating heat. It was empty, the safety belt still fastened.

"So, you are telling me, a horrifying car wreck occurred, but no one was inside?" The police officer wasn't a fan of Clark's testimony, his mouth chewing on something, may be a gum, may be nothing at all.

"Listen, man. I'm going to look into it. That's for sure, but right now it'd be nice to not stand in the rain," after documenting the incident on his clipboard, the officer stepped in his car; then, he drove away, the red tail lights fading away into the heavy rain.

Clark's phone rang. It was from his wife. "Hey, hun. I'll call back soon," he replied, trying to sound as optimistic as possible. The rain soaked into his leather jacket, his hair and the burning wreck.

...

Sienna was the living testament of-

Sienna was a tortured bard. Her childhood itinerate, she-

Sienna was defeated-

Sienna woke up in an unfamiliar room, a cubicle with three compartments. How did I get here? She thought. The elven princess looked around the destitute room, a ballpoint pen and a piece of paper lying on the coffee table that missed a corner. In a flash, memories of a stranger came forth into her mind.

...

[LOG] Site Gamma: New Data Packet
[WRN] Unusual Grv. Wave Reading. Triangulated: MH, US, Earth
[ADV] Smart Assistant: Consider activate YARD.

2: Sleeper Agent Spreadsheet

In a service station's family restaurant sat a girl on a booth seating. The place brightened with an overwhelming yellow light, furniture as well as oranments were covered in red and yellow stripes, interweaving a warm atmosphere. The girl's red long hair flowed from under her cap with a strange logo to her deep blue jacket, her eyes fixed on the phone she held in her left hand.

"Not often do we get single customers," a waiter wearing checkered apron appraoched, carefully placing down a steaming burger, a bag of fries and a full glass of coke.

"No, indeed... you don't," the girl replied, looking out of the window. A man could be seen smoking beside his SUV. A faint red glowed as he inhaled.

"Are you a veteran?" The waiter asked. The girl put away her device, staring at her.

"Your posture reminds me of my husband. Looking at your right arm not moving an inch. He was in the secret service during Obama's tenure."

"Not a veteran, but yeah, I'm in reserve," the girl's hollow voice responded. She seemed tormented by her memory, her eyes glancing somewhere behind the wall.

Joanna Campi was no ordinary citizen. Her duty during her time at the marine force reconnaissance had saved countless lives, but instead of benediction, paranoia and trauma haunted her. Due to mental issues and subsequent degradation in her performance, she was placed in reserve. A few days ago, she was recruited by the Static Anomalous Resolution Office(SARO) for her recon background, but there wasn't much to do aside from clerical duties and drills. The burger was stellar, she thought to herself, licking away the mustard on her lips.

"Yard critters, gamma requires data refinement," a deep voice came out of her phone.

"Copy that, Hare acknowledged," Campi whispered, swiftly standing up and walking out of the store.

"Wow, she ate all that," the waiter exclaimed at the remaining packagings.

"Wearing a full set of merch already, huh," a familiar voice approached Campi's shoulder as her footsteps covered the moist asphalt ground.

"Lee? Oh, did you get sent to reserve too?" Campi asked. Her passion couldn't be contained, seeping into her voice and gesture. Campi opened her arms wide, her face adorned with irrepressible happiness. The voice's origin, an athletic man with an overgrown buzzcut, embraced her hug. He caressed her hair, laying his eyes on her cap.

"Yeah. Not too much's going on so the squad's frozen. You got the same job?"

"I've started to think they only recruit recons for field works," her muffled voice made Lee's chest vibrate subtly.

"So, your codename must be hamster."

"Right, and yours is, ugh."

"Hare, bland name."

"Ha, the feeling's mutual."

[LOG] Yard Activation Complete
[LOG] Retrieve Gamma Packet
[LOG] Refinedment Progress: 0%

...

"Just in. Tensions across Neo Alaska and Canada is at all time high. Experts warn of possible 'Mutually Assured Destruction' and a few minutes added toward the doomsday clock..." a reporter's voice mixed with occasional static muffled through a sleek television.

An exhausted Clark had collapsed on a tattered sofa, his wife sitting besides him, ambivalent with her feelings.

"So, that was your old friend. I'm sorry to hear that."

He didn't respond. Something occupied his mind. After some time, he said.

"Yanik, or, um, Stoner, was that 'weird and quiet kid' no one wanted to approach nor socialize with," he took a deep breath, sinking into the sofa slightly.

"Since I was in many ways a lot like him, we naturally befriended each other. 'got along pretty well. One day he didn't go to school. 'went to his house. The whole thing was burning down."

"But then a really heavy rain came like a deus ex machina. He and his father survived."

"Years later we met again at the firm. He had become a writer, same as me," Clark let out an audible sigh, wondering if it had been the writing that led to his friend's possible demise.

"...The world should not underestimate Washington's ability to circumvent the destruction of the US in case of an all out nuclear war. We sincerely and with a heavy heart, hope the Kremlin would reconsider its atrocious reign over Neo Alaska. If it must be done, then we will fight till the end-" she turned off the TV.

"Bae, you should get some sleep."

3: Non-deterministic Fantasy Inference

...

Maybe it's a lucid dream. I'm probably in a coma, Yanik thought to himself. He was staring at the strange face in the mirror, a blonde hair, a pair of what appears to be goat horns and weirdly pointy ears. The writer obvious knew to whom the face belonged, but it made zero sense. He'd been trapped in this facsimile of his apartment for... how long again? Doesn't matter anymore.

Something knocked the door. This has become too realistic for a dream, he thought. Slowly and gently, he approached the entrance. The door having been opened, a giant person in a set of knight armor was revealed. Behind the knight seemed like a hallway stretched indefinitely, converging to a single point.

"Your highness, words cannot express how grateful I am to have finally found you," the knight bowed to Yanik, following him into the condo. After a while of conversing, the knight cleared his throat.

"If you may pardon my ignorance, your highness, I am not sure if I'm following," he sounded perplexed by the manuscript laid in front of him.

"How many times do I have to tell you to just call me Yanik? Anyway, I wrote these things -- you and me and everything else are here because of them. If what I've written interacts with this dream, then it should work again."

"Your highness, it's your palace, remember? The Manhattan Empire of your father's. May the Anemo god be with him," his tone shifted from confusion to genuine concern.

"The... Manhattan Empire?" Yanik uttered, syllable by syllable. His head tilting to the side, he could feel the horns obstructing his bangs. The knight noded firmly.

"You know what. We still have time before I eventually wake up, hopefully. Maybe you should tell me about this place more."

...

"Ugh, it's freezing out here," Campi grumbled. In pitch dark, her face was illuminated by a terminal attached on a garbage-can-looking metallic machinery in the middle of an onion farm.

"You know there's a way to get both of us warm?" Lee grinned, leaning on the side of their work van that had a giant "SARO" slapped on the side, blue text and white background.

"Sure, sure, wait," focused on her task, Campi brushed him off, but she later realized what he was implying, sharply turning her head to him as she blushed.

"Just kidding. They probably have surveillance built in the van."

She had no sooner shaken her head slightly in disapproval than a chime sounded from the terminal.

"Got it. It's pretty close," she sent the packet to the "House", then, subsequently shutting the terminal down before heading back inside the van.

The vehicle scudded across the midnight highway as streetlights converged into streams. Campi slumped on the front-passenger seat, warm light pulsing through windows. She let out a loud yawn, unable to mask her tiredness.

"I'm agog to know what we are chasing at. The terminal was as obscure as it could be," she said, looking at Lee through the rear-view mirror.

"You know they run a tight ship. In no way would Owl reveal anything to us. Now this... transient, ephemeral, whatever we are going after, is starting to feel like a cult ritual with a due respect."

"Yeah, look," she pointed toward a blob of grey in the distance. Upon approaching, it started to take shape and finally became a broken down car. Police lines were erected, surrounding it.

"So, what's next?" Lee grunted as they carried a capsule-shaped apparatus out of the trunk.

"Phew, now, we run this," Campi wiped sweat off her forehead. With a few keystrokes, the machine came to life. One end of it popped open, unveiling a throbbing round plate that extended to the length of an arm. With each pulse, the area looked more and more distorted.

"Are you seeing what I'm seeing?" She inquired, her voice filled with a sense of urgency and uncertainty.

In front of her was an equally puzzled Lee- no, as Lee-ey as he appeared, it was a mere imposter. She felt an urge to confront the stranger, even with violence. She attempted to suppress the thought, but now it transformed into something else - a crave for him. She wanted to suck his life away, and feast upon his blood. It was a primordial desire that couldn't be quenched. She licked her lips, feeling her teeth razor-sharp, as if they were the fangs of wolves.

In the wake of a calm crystal chime from the machine, the plate retracted and the cap closed, making a whistling sound. The world returned normal again. A stunned Campi sat on the ground, hands on her forehead.

"Joanna, are you alright? You looked like you- Never mind," Clark sat beside her, cuddling Campi from the side.

"I'm fine. I just need to collect myself a bit," her quivering voice said otherwise. An abrupt phone call cut short their personal time, though.

"Em, sorry to interrupt, but you are going on a trip, together," the same mysterious voice again.

"Owl, so we do have twenty-four seven surveillance. What's that trip? Fill us in," Lee inquired.

"Indeed, we can't risk any chance. If Hare were to- Oh about the trip, you two are going to Little Peter, Neo Alaska. Rest assured. We've got our hands on fabricated civilian records in their server. Bye for now," the call concluded.

"Hey, what did you say about- ugh."

"So, we are going to an almost active warzone?" Campi turned her head.

"Seems like it," Lee felt her firm grip on his hand.

4: Tourist Hotspot Stampede

"I still think it is far too reckless to attempt synchronization on Hare. If the priestess fails to deploy, we can expect a fiasco that's nasty to clean up."

"We have no choice. They gave us a guideline; hence, we followed the tenet. I feel bad for the lovers."

"Knew this from the start. It was never about containing anomalies, was it?"

"In a sense, it is. This is for the greater good of humanity."

"The destruction of nuclear armaments will not save the world. One day, you'll remember what I just told you."

"If a deity doesn't know it is one, is it a deity?"

"You know this better than anyone else. What happened? You didn't even bother notifying us," an ear-piercing scolding of an irate lady came out of Campi's phone.

"Mom, it's just field research. I've stepped away from that line of work."

"Just stay safe out there," her mom's sigh marked the end of the conversation.

"So, is my fiancée, relative of a... petroleum magnate ready?" A vigorous Lee smirked at her. The terminal was filled to the brim by travelers. People were rejoinced by the convivial Christmas atmosphere.

"You like flying?"

"Nah, I just enjoy the airline meals."

"Ugh," she frowned as he beamed with mischief.

...

Clark's breakfast was interrupted by a few brisk knocks on the front door. From the peephole emerged a distressed police officer. It was the same guy from the day before yesterday, he thought. His forehead was enlarged by the fish eye effect, making the wrinkles oddly detailed. Clark opened the door.

"Thank God, it's Clark, isn't it? I went to the wrong house and was met with a snob. Well, I've been troubled by this case, but my colleague picked up signals from our sentry cam. Look what we've found," he showed a video clip on his phone, his chubby fingers wrapped around the frame. In the video, a woman and man was carrying a cylindrical object around. The woman made a strange pose and collapsed onto the ground.

"They don't look the police or feds. Who are they-"

"Sorrow, uh, 'SARO' or something like that. It's a tiny branch of the CIA apparently, according to their website that takes forever to load."

"What are they doing there?"

"No clue. Probably wasting tax money. I tried to file for access clearance but there was zero info on these agents, hell, all got rejected."

"So I guess that-"

"But, heh, don't underestimate this former detective. I managed to find a receipt from the Clean Government Conduct website and it is missing names, transportation to N-fucking-A. Now, if it were anyone other than the CIA, there would be indicators."

"Neo Alaska? They are from CIA, right? That's a suicide mission."

"Mhm, well, there you go, boy. I'll see you when we crack the case. In the meantime, see if you want to snoop around."

The officer left, leaving Clark at the entrance contemplating. After some time, he left his wife a message: "Sorry, duty calls, will be back from Neo Alaska after sorting some things out. ILY".

...

An insomniac Yanik curled his body on a sofa. Strangely, he hadn't felt an ounce of hunger or thirst. He hadn't noticed his apparel until now -- crop top and shorts, oddly modern. Perhaps it was because, for whatever reason, the plot had been twisted to add in elements of the current time. The wall clock was frozen at 10:30, when he lost consciousness, probably.

A story like this, arrogant elves, invincible vampires, evil wizards, really wouldn't sell much, he thought. The thunderous snore of the knight accompanied him on his odyssey through his mind.

...

"Excellent. The scenery here is stunning. The critters shall frolic," Owl's voice muffled through a transponder.

After a serpentine route from the airport, they were now walking in the middle of a snowy forest, everything covered in a coat of snow crystals. Though the vista was indeed picturesque, a tiny shade of uncertainty tainted this place.

"It's worse than last time out in the wild. I feel like a popsicle," Lee quivered.

"You aren't going to put on your ushanka?" Campi asked. Her legs surrounded by piles of snow.

"Nah, I look stupid in them. What's your plan for tonight?"

"Well, we'll return to base tomorrow, so I guess we can stay at a hotel."

"Yes, my lady!"

Their trail came to an end at a device similar to the one at the farm. Same procedure, Campi thought to herself, swiftly opening a transmission protocol. Lee waited behind her, arms crossed.

> syslnk init
[LOG] Site Revelation: Bootstrapping Synchronization
[LOG] Connecting to Site Gamma... Success
[WRN] Trajectory Est.: 48m21s before deployment

"Weird, I've never seen this 'Trajectory' message before," Campi frowned.

"Guess we have to stay till whatever happens."

"I can't wait to get out of here."

"Tell me about it."

...(48,000 feet above ground)

A black fog pierced through the sky as if it was a malicious specter. The B-2 bomber crews had a clear goal -- drop the ordnance and return to base. As it zoomed across the stratosphere, a capsule-shaped device pulsed with red LEDs rested in the bomb bay.

5: Deus ex Machina Must Save the Day

"He's broadcasting the speech now. There won't be any extraction after this."

"We did what we could've done. As for the rest, may it yield fruitful outcome."

"'Fruitful', you have a sense of dark humor."

...

Arrived at the Neo Alaska International Airport, Clark found himself in a pandemonium, people shouting and running, babies and children crying out loud and securities standing in line to keep everything under control.

"You have to be vetted to exit the immigration-"

"You say this with a straight face? Look at what's happening," a furious old man pointed at a display. Following the direction, Clark picked up some lines in the TV past noises.

"In response to the Kremlin... a new statement... Here is the full speech of the president..."

"Does this have to be done? Your senseless encroachment... You still have time... M.A.D is a thing of the past... This is not a warning. This is our final statement."

What's he rambling about? Our nuclear reserve mostly got deactivated during the last cyberwar, Clark contemplated as he pushed through the crowd over the dispersed police line. The agents had a high chance to have went to... huh, they should be near the airport since there was no additional transaction.

After some persuasion to convince the TSA to prioritize him, he was jogging out in the woods, following footprints that seemed to belong to a dozen of people; as he tracked the trail, loud yelling could be heard in the distance.

He saw the man and woman from the camera feed, now wearing leather jackets and thick clothes surrounded by what appeared to be riot police.

"Step away from the object, now," one of them yelled, all pointing their ballistic weapons at them. Suddenly, a blunt object hit Clark from behind, and everything blacked out.

...(19000 feet above ground)

"Shit, I'm seeing a-"

"Send FLASH now."

Through the windscreen, numerous rockets lifted off from distant locations, like saints ascending to Heaven, their thrusters blinding the sunlight as if it was a supernova in the dead of the night.

"Message sent. We are at final commit."

"Commit acknowledged. Pickle," The co-pilot primed a crimson red button.

"Acknowledged, Pickle."

A capsule was ejected from the bomber bay. It was about the size of a fridge. Matte black coating gave it a modern techy feel. Freefalling, its cap popped open, an opaque plate with abstruse runes thrusted back and forth.

[LOG] Injecting Instruction Encoder: Hare, Priestess
[LOG] Inducing Ground-to-Air E.G.W.A. Transmission
[WRN] Synchronized Grids. **EGRESS EGRESS EGRESS**

...

One of the police knocked a stranger out, his nose bleeding the snow pink. Lee gently stepped aside, hands in the air.

"Woman, you too- Chyort! Look at that!" Like startled animals, the police officers scrambled away, dropping their weapon. Campi and Lee turned around and saw colossal smoke trails erected from the horizon to the sky, attached on the top were bright stars dimming the sun. They heard the wailing of spirits, oddly resonating as the reapers entered Heaven.

...

"Your highness, I must go now," Yanik was woken up by the knight, kneeling before him.

"I shall not interfere with the will of Anemo," he kissed Yanik's hand. Then, he vanished faster than the blink of an eye.

"You," no sooner did he whisper than the door was ripped open by a sudden gust. Yanik was thrown out of his apartment into freefalling down the atmosphere. Somehow, he had an epiphany, a distant voice telling him to cleanse the world of its evil. He felt the energy of the demons in the sky, underground, in the sea. They were malevolent and thus, must be destroyed. He focused his mind, his eyes closed.

Hundreds of miles away, the intercontinental ballistic missiles imploded one by one from the inside, rendered into a puff of smoke and metal husk. Submarine operators, silo maintainers around the world would find themselves panicking as all the atomic weapon fractured into pieces.

His head felt wobbly. He fell, and fell, and fell.

6: Demi-demon Vampire & War-crime Princess

"Oh my, the rockets exploded, Joanna-" Lee's solace shifted into dread as he turned his head.

In front of him stood a Campi adorned with an ominous smile, her pupils blood red, fangs protruding her mouth. Her vision was as sharp as that of an eagle. Soldiers rushing to their location in winter camouflage, instead of an erstwhile bloodthirst, her mind was imbued with a need to protect Lee at all cost, but she was frail, her body slumped into the snowy ground.

The soldiers started firing at them, but the bullet trails transformed from silhouettes into particles; then, they froze in midair. Time seemed to have slowed to a halt. She wasn't alone, though. She turned to face the approaching person, a woman with a pair of horns and abnormally long ears.

"Who are you?"

"I, ugh, I'll tell you once the coast it clear," Yanik closed his eyes.

Power emerged from deep within; Campi sprinted across the snowy ground, fracturing the bullets with her body. Time resumed again.

"Don't stop. Suppress them!" A man yelled. She couldn't contain herself anymore, her thoughts morphed into fogs. She zapped across the battlefield, the soldiers' bodies twisted into a pretzel shape. Their faces appeared to be yelling, but their lungs were burning with fires of hell. Then, their bones turned into pieces, ejecting out of their armors like cacti. The man that was yelling at her appeared to be unharmed.

"Just a regular mission. Will call back soon, Sasha." He repeated the words like a broken record player before his jaw dislocated and cheeks started to bleed internally as his yelling increased, his eyes popping out of the sockets. He rigidly opened his arms as if he were embracing someone. His subordinates crawled toward him, bone fragments slicing through his body before he collapsed, mouth still moving, hands clinging into the ground to hug the void.

"Jesus fucking Christ, here I thought I've seen everything. This is the most fucked up thing I've ever seen in my entire life."

"Quiet for a sec'. May God bless their souls."

"What... is this?" A clear-headed Campi vomited as she witnessed the carnage in front of her. The ground had been painted deep red by organic matter. Lee was knocked out, unconscious.

"No time for distraction. They keep coming," Yanik exclaimed.

From the sky descended a transport helicopter, infantrymen wearing heavy armors never seen before, dropped onto the ground from about fourty meters high up. Their bodies covered in intricate mechanisms, vents and shields adorning each corner of the sturdy pieces. The weapons they equip look like sniper rifles, with a large exhaust and interface attached at the side.

Inspired by Cataphract Armor MK II

"Please don't fire at us," Yanik prayed, preparing for the worst.

A loud bang echoed across the forest, the soldiers fired at their location, boiling all the snow in the perimeter, leaving behind a trail of magma. Lee's body rolled for a few times to the side, repulsed by the blast. That same rage appeared in Campi's mind again. Her instinct took over her as Yanik kneeled onto the ground, visibly in pain.

She soared into the sky with a leap, her fingers piercing through the helo's fuselage. She yearned for revenge, for someone to repay for hurting her loved one. As she descended back onto the ground, the pilots in the cockpit broke the windscreen with their bleeding hands, and fell into the air.

"Singh," one of the soldiers broke the formation, rushing toward their bodies as she burst into tears, her voice quivering. The rest of them were met with a berserk Campi, as her aura modified them, enhanced them and bestowed them with her benediction. They took off the helmets, laughing hysterically. Gradually, they felt Campi's blessing in their hearts, shooting at each other to break the armor, open their chests and steal the grace. Gunfires, armor plates and meat debris flew into the sky like confetti as they chanted unintelligible words.

"Meet me at the mall. Meet me at the mall. Meet me at the mall," the pilot smiled at the soldier as he hugged her so tight, the tech armors broke into pieces.

"Sure, when? Sure, when? Sure, when?" Their face melting together, they embraced each other in an eternal romantic date in their mind. Then, their body began to rearrange and deform into one, a biomass merging with the rest of the dead bodies, before exploding into a red mist. Unable to let go of the delicacies, Campi voraciously feasted the fresh blood of the amalgamation of bodies, sating her hunger as her fangs pierced deep into into the blob of bleeding meat.

"Wake up," the elven princess tried to pull her away from the insanity.

"Shit, shit, shit," The mysterious voice puked.

"The price of-"

"I don't need philosophical shit right now."

"Alright. I'll signal Owl to retrieve them. At the same time, prepare documents for trial at International court. There are already footages of this circulating online. They'll know it was us."

"Sons of bitches..."

...

"Just in. Following today's event akin to the Cuban Missile Crisis 'gone wrong', Neo Alaska's special force members were discovered brutally murdered by foregin influences. More to that later. Multiple global superpowers around the world have reported mild to severe loss in their nuclear armaments, though the validity of their claim is unknown. Scientists have been striving to come up with an explanation. We can expect regional instabilities in the coming years, but the looming dread of an all-out nuclear war has mostly evanesced."

...

"Sir, our allies are reporting a total loss in their nuclear reserve, same for the states."

"That's good, isn't it? Any time the pattern is created, it will collapse into null state."

...(a few weeks later)

"Sir, we've failed to reproduce the same EGWA instruction encoding as the inter-revelation gamma station."

"It's been almost a month. Pause the research and shift it to something else."

"By the way, sir, Gamma subjects are in stable condition, but our attempt to harness their power has not been successful."

"Then just monitor them."

"But, sir."

"It's better we leave deities unchained, for they have not yet realized their potential."

"Yes, sir. In other news, affected entities have also begun to exhibit positive effect for amnesia. They should forget most things related to the Revelation incident."

7: The Elven Princess' Legacy of Yanik Stoner

(Two Months Later)

"Mom, Lee and I are finally engaged. His family gave the greenlight," Campi talked on her phone. Lee was preparing sandwiches on a granite kitchen counter. Morning light shined on his fine face, his flawless jawline.

"That's nice. Lee's really one of his kind. I'm glad," Campi's mother said, happiness coming out of her husky voice.

She smiled at him as Lee leaned sideway to hear the conversation. He put aside the ingredients, embracing her. She felt her fangs slightly piercing through his shirt, with his muscular arms touching her slightly arched back.

"So, now we are both officially fired?" Lee asked. She wasn't wearing a cap so he stared at the center of her head.

"Yeah, they said I was too 'unstable', whatever that meant, but I guess that's for the best..." she said, feeling the his body gradually warming her face, her chest and her arms.

"Mhm, I heard CIA officers were getting tried in the International court for SARO, but the good thing is-"

"Don't jinx it," she replied playfully.

"M'lady, how does it feel to not be there out in the cold?"

"As long as you are around me- uh, I can't believe I'm grossing myself out."

...

"Good day, as usual," Yanik walked into his cubicle in the firm. Clark rised over the divider, revealing his forehead.

"How's it holding up, huh, princess?" Clark laughed, sipping on his coffee in a paper cup. Yanik rolled his eyes.

"Same thing. Agents come to my house every day though. They seem to trust me," he sinked into his office chair.

"You know, it's stupid to disappear without a trace. I almost didn't recognize you at the airport."

"The airport? Oh, yea. Wasn't there a pretty bad insurgency that-"

"Insurgency? The world almost ended that day, seriously."

"Oh, right. I think so..." Yanik tried to sort out the inconsistencies of narratives in his mind.

"Yanik, come here," as usual, an emotionless Hellmann interrupted his thought train.

"Look. You wrote two drafts, vanished, and then came back after getting a cosmetic surgery abroad. Get your shit together," he murmured as Yanik handed him the third draft.

"Let me take a look at this," Hellmann's forehead began to sweat excessively again, Yanik thought.

"The quondam almighty and elusive Sienna kneeled, unwillingly, in front of me. Somehow, I could sense her staring at me furiously even through layers of fabric covering her eyes..."

<EOF>

Yanik Stoner's Legacy of the Elven Princess - END

"The autopsy and bio-analysis of the affected cavaders at Little Peter might be the next step toward deciphering America's scheme, Comrade. Our advanced gravitational wave technology combined with this, oh, we are moving fast."

"Mao Zhao, tone down the enthusiasm. We are not sure what we are dealing with anymore. Honestly, I miss the days of ICBMs. Now everything falls apart when you try to induce fast fission."

"Well that means we won't have meltdown at power plants anytime soon. I'm just excited at the progress. That's all. It's certain we are going to approach this with extreme caution."

"Yeah, I've seen the footage. Don't remind me of it. Fortunately, our intel suggests America is mostly bluffing. They can't fully utilize them, yet."