Beast Surge

1 MONTH LATER

"Hey Zero!"

I looked around the halls until my gaze landed on my new partner.

"Woah, hey Kyle. Just get back from a mission?"

"Yeah. There was a family of Harpies attacking a nearby village. Those bastards are resilient."

His clothes were ripped in some areas with dried blood caked to his armor. It was hard to tell what was his and what wasn't.

So, yeah. I ended up joining the Imperial Army. Now that I'm in a slight position of power I can infiltrate and figure out just what the Empire has planned.

"Yeah. They can be tricky once they start flying. Who else did the Commander send?"

"Just me, Maddy, and Robin. The rest of the troops were either patrolling or already departed."

"Where are they?"

Kyle looked back at the entrance gate. He scanned for a second before turning back to me.

"I don't know. They must have broken off or had something else to take care of. It's not like we ALL need to report how the job went. I'm enough on my own."

A solid footstep from down the hall distracted us and drew our attention.

It was Reaper. He wasn't wearing his armor, but regular clothes instead. He walked with urgency. He looked in our direction and hesitated for a moment.

"Zero, follow me. The Commander needs to see us. It's important."

"I'll go too. I need to report the details of the Harpy mission." Kyle joined in.

"Ok. Then let's go."

Reaper was the one to knock. It was only once when the Commander responded to enter.

The room was the size of a house. It had a huge round table placed in the middle with maps and paperwork. The walls were lined with war memorabilia from previous battles the Empire had fought. There was a window on the back wall from one corner to the other. The Commander stood at it, looking down at all of the buildings filling the inside of the perimeter walls.

"Sit."

We made our way to the seats around the table and sat. The Commander was stayed at the window for a few more moments before turning around to face us.

His body was well built and his face chiseled. He had a scar that went over his left eye socket. An injury from the last war where he lost his eye.

"Kyle, I know you've just finished a quest but since you're here, I'm putting you with these two. I received a letter from an unknown sender earlier today. At first I thought it was just rubbish, but then it started to come together. The reason all the troops are out right now is because a huge Beast Surge has occurred."

"A Beast Surge?! Sir, one of those hasn't been recorded in well over fifty years. The last one almost destroyed an entire country." Kyle looked nervous.

"You are correct. This one seems to be even more dangerous than the one before. The beast count just reached one hundred thousand, and is steadily growing.

"THAT MANY!?"

"However, we are prepared. We have ten X Platinums and five hundred A Platinums being sent from different countries. You three are the only ones available right now. I need you to find the source of the Surge and report it back to me. It will be dangerous, but it must be done."