In the capital of Ignis, capital of the Sol Continent, several men and women stood behind the towering wall surrounding the city—an architectural marvel of stone and metal standing at an impressive 30 meters, shimmering with a silvery hue.
"It's that time year again,"
a middle-aged man announced lazily to the crowd gathered around.
He stood atop a boulder, high enough to catch everyone's attention, his gaze drifting drowsily across the group.
Like the rest, he was adorned in a tight modern hunter's attire, but unlike them, his was patterned in black camouflage, with two black Desert Eagles strapped to either side of his waist.
"HEY, who put you in charge?"
a retort came from the crowd—a woman clad in fiery red camouflage, her hunter's uniform tailored to fit her perfect figure.
She marched over to him, her gaze burning with anger as she looked up.
"What's wrong?"
"Who is that lunatic?"
"Is she new or something?"
"Yeah, man. The new recruit."
"The mayor's daughter?"
"No wonder she's got guts."
"..."
"..."
Hushed murmurs rippled through the crowd as they watched.
Some crossed their arms while others leaned in like they were watching a play.
All eager to see the drama play out.
"Sigh..."
The middle-aged man leaped down, his lazy posture vanishing.
With a simple shift in stance, he became someone entirely different—radiating authority.
Yet the woman didn't flinch; her gaze remained defiant, even as he stood a head taller than her.
She was the daughter of the mayor—thia being her first time joining the hunting expedition.
Because of her position, she believed she would be in charge. Yet, another stood in her stead.
"Who let this rookie in?"
the man asked, his gaze shifting back to the crowd.
Everyone went quiet, deliberately avoiding eye contact.
No one wanted to speak, they didn't know her anyway.
Not personally any way.
"Is he ignoring me?"
She muttered, her ears reddening at the tips in embarrassment.
"How dare a 'Shade' look down on me!"
She stepped forward, trying to recover a bit of her dignity.
It was bad someone treated her with indifferent but for a Shade, it stung more.
"Hey! Look at me when I'm talking to you, you worthless Shade!"
she snapped, visible steam puffing from her ears.
"Do you know who—"
"Of course. Miss Calmara..."
he interrupted, turning to her.
His face stopped just inches from hers.
He knew her, he just couldn't fathom why she was here, a spoilt rich girl wasn't needed on the battlefield.
Caught off guard, she stumbled back—over thin air—landing hard on her butt.
Pttt!
Someone in the crowd let out a laugh.
"Hahahahaha!!"
And like a chorus, the others joined in, laughing at her humiliation.
"How dare you!"
she roared, her face flushed with fury and embarrassment.
"I'll show them..."
Tears shimmered at the corners of her eyes.
"I'm a contractor of a wraith... they'll see."
Her pupils blazed crimson, and the air around her growing hotter.
She wanted to prove her worth, show she wasn't only a rich pretty face.
"Your flames consume all..." she began to chant.
The laughter halting instantly, smiles replaced by unease and fear.
She was hailed as a genius, while they were just common folk. Whatever was instore, it wasn't something they believed they could handle.
"...Heed my call, oh wraith of cinders—
Chika!" she finished, her body erupting in flames
A pressure descended upon most of them as they were not all equal in strength.
Even though they were all Avatars, there was a clear hierarchy at play.
"This is why I hate you Avatars. Always resorting to violence..."
The middle-aged man sighed, reverting to his tired posture.
"Master Cal—"
someone began, but before they could finish, he vanished in a blur—reappearing behind the girl.
With a single jab to her neck, he knocked her out before she could summon her spirit.
"As expected of Master Callen,"
they all murmured, impressed by his quick reaction.
Callen was just a Shade—a being without a spirit contract in a world where spirits were commonplace.
Having a spirit marked you as human—perfect, as it should be.
But lacking one made you incomplete.
Some went as far as to call Shades disabled, anomalies, or even rejects of god.
And yet, here he was— the only so-called Shade among Avatars, his black attire a symbol of his lack of elemental ties.
Yet he led them.
"Luke, let her ride with you..."
Callen said, turning to the man who had called out to him.
Luke, a man clad in the same fiery red hunter's attire as her.
"Yes, Commander," he saluted, moving to take the unconscious lady.
Callen jumped back onto the boulder.
"This nonsense has delayed us," he yawned lazily.
"We have to get moving now..." He took a rectangular, flat box from his jacket pocket—the device resembling a smartphone, but on it were readings of seismic activities.
"Sigh..." His brows creased.
"It's waking. We have to leave now... You know the drill—keep them away from the city." He jumped down.
The crowd saluted him.
Quickly, they dispersed, grouping according to the color of their uniforms:
Camouflage fiery red
Camouflage earth brown
Camouflage snow white
Camouflage sea blue
And those with the fewest numbers—five in forest green—each joined a group, the medics for each team.
The commander led the team, riding on a black military motorbike, the five jeeps following behind.
They marched into the forest, a clear path laid out before them—evidence this wasn't their first rodeo.
Arriving at a junction for a two-path road, Callen gestured for them to part: three taking the left while two took the right.
He on the other hand ventured into the forest with no clear road to tread on.
_____
Several miles ahead, a large grass field almost the size of two football parks stood.
Creatures grazed blissfully on it—from the iron-horned rhinoceros to the chameleon zebras—they grazed, oblivious to the danger below.
Rmmble!!
The earth shook ever so slightly, their heads raised in perfect sync, ears twitching, listening for a predator.
Yet the predators who hid in the grass also raised their heads, nostrils flaring, eyes darting around in search of the cause of the unease they are felt.
Thrrruuum!!
The earth quaked once more, more louder, more vigorously.
As if something had stirred from within—which it did.
Frightened, they fled, but only for a few meters from their current position, still curious about what it might be.
A few were not that curious, long gone from the field, the dumber of the bunch still around.
GRRRRUMMBBLLEE!!!
Again, the earth trembled—cracks appearing on the ground they stood on.
Like a tear on a paper.
The fissures grew into gullies, swallowing the surrounding flora and funa alike, each transition sending waves of energy throughout the field.
Dust rising.
At this point, the creatures had begun to flee, watching as some of their comrades fell into the gullies.
The earth shifted, rising and falling like the waves of the sea—and from within those waves, rose a head.