Advent

His legs were crossed, and so were his arms behind his head. He laid down, slowly snoozing off in bed. But a sudden march of legs came across the containment hall, passing by his room. He was awakened.

"It's the weird imbecile."

"Ian?" Midas raised his head.

"Yes, and Gian-Luca too. They're probably coming back from their experiment," Venus said.

Midas sighed. "Alright, I'm going back to sleep." He closed his eyes.

"Wait-" Venus suddenly raised attention. "I've never seen that imbecile before."

"Hm?" Midas sat up. "Who?"

"He's blonde, and has blue eyes. He looks weak," Venus said.

Midas immediately came running up from behind, peaking through the door's window. Seeing the new sight, his impatience took over. "Just open the door idiot!" He yelled, sliding it open.

Looking down the hall, Ian and Gian-Luca entered their usual rooms, while the blonde new look was led further down the hall by an Overseer. "That's Overseer Jophiel," Midas quietly said. "He's in charge of Ian and Gian-Luca, but who's that?" He asked, observing that the unnamed person wore the same experimentee suit as they did.

"A new subject?" Venus said.

Midas felt the slightest doubt. "But that's weird, every Overseer only works with two subjects. Why would Jophiel have three?"

"Raphael had one."

Midas paused. "Yeah but…" He hesitated, "Why a new subject now of all times?"

Venus had no answer.

The two continued to watch as the new subject was entered into his containment room by Overseer Jophiel, who now began to head back down the hall. They retreated their heads back into their rooms, closing the door but leaving a sliver open.

Overseer Jophiel then stopped by Ian and Gian-Luca's room, knocking on their door. The door opened.

"Hey Gian-Luca," Jophiel peaked into the room. Ian was passed out in bed. "Relay my message onto him will you?"

Gian-Luca nodded.

"You'll formally meet him tomorrow, but a new subject will be joining our experiments starting tomorrow. His name's Abel Vaso. Make sure he feels he belongs at A.X.A., okay?"

"Okay," Gian-Luca said.

"Great," and Jophiel proceeded down the hall, eventually out of sight.

Due to the sliver left open, Midas and Venus were able to hear a faint bit of what was exchanged.

"Tomorrow… New subject… Abel Vaso… A.X.A…" were among the words heard.

"So he is a new subject after all," Venus told.

Midas, seeing now that Overseer Jophiel was gone from the containment hall, walked out and made his way towards Abel's room. Venus called out to him, "Midas?" but was ignored.

Upon approaching Abel's room door, Midas felt a surge of curiosity and excitement rush through him. It was a feeling he hadn't felt ever since... the Reed Incident. He thought back on the three month prior event, reminiscing in the gory sights of what felt like a fever dream. The amount of knowledge he'd gained, the insight on the capabilities that A.X.A. harbored, the dark business that went on behind everyone's backs, he indulged in it all. That event was nothing but a feeding ground for Midas and his thirst for information, for knowledge. Now, he felt himself hunger once again, this time concerning the mystery behind the new subject that stood right behind the door.

He knocked.

The door opened, revealing a blonde blue-eyed male the same height as Midas.

"Hey?" He said. "Uhh, I don't think I've met you before."

"You haven't. I'm also another subject, just down the hall," Midas pointed towards his room. "You're new here?" It was a question Midas hadn't asked in a while, a feeling of both new and old mixed into the premise. Something he'd asked the five other subjects that came after him, but seeing as it had been nearly two years since then, the feeling was now somewhat nostalgic.

"Yeah I arrived…" Abel pondered. He then let out an awkward laugh, "Actually I don't seem to remember when I arrived," he smiled.

Weird.

"And you're gonna be working under Overseer Jophiel?"

"Yeah, my first experiment's gonna be tomorrow. I haven't been informed yet of what ability I'll be developing."

"Well good luck with that," Midas smiled. "I just wanted to introduce myself," he stuck out his hand. Abel returned the gesture, and shook his hand.

Cold. His hands were cold. The air was cold too, Midas just noticed this. He stepped back.

"The name's Midas," he said. "And yours?"

"Abel Vaso."

"Abel," Midas repeated. "I'll see you around Abel," he began walking off.

"Oh uh excuse me," Abel called out. Midas turned around.

"If you may, what's your last name? I like to refer to people under their surnames, it's a habit I'm trying to build."

"Genhova," Midas said. "Born and raised in the Pactolus District."

"Oh!.." Abel said, not actually recognizing the place. He then realized he didn't even recognize his own birthplace nor upbringing.

"Thank you Mr. Genhova."

"No problem Abel, good luck on your first experiment tomorrow," Midas leaned over, "Don't expect things to be too easy." He then walked off. The door closed behind him, and Midas returned to his room.

"So?" Venus was waiting.

"Abel Vaso, he's a subject like us."

"Under Jophiel?"

"Yes," Midas sat on his bed. "His ability is to be determined tomorrow."

"Pft," Venus laid on his bed. "Whatever that imbecile gets won't compare to mine anyways."

Midas looked over. Venus was sticking his arms up, hands towards the ceiling, clenching his palms in a synchronous motion. What usually would've been released, a blast of energy, didn't due to the inhibiting qualities the room had. Specific microwaves rendered certain neural paths in their brains from relaying signals, preventing the usage of their abilities from within. This went for nearly every room and hallway within the facility.

"If only," he said. "If only I could just…" Venus clenched his hands again.

Midas knew what he was referring to. "If we could use our abilities anywhere other than just the testing chambers, you would've died to my hands by now."

Venus looked over with complete disgust. "By an imbecile like you?" He scoffed. "I could kill any subject here in an instant. My ability completely overshadows everyone's."

Midas rolled his eyes.

"You think I'm joking, but just wait until I bury your head into the ground. Maybe then you'll realize how much more powerful I am than you, than anyone, even the Overseers." Venus was fuming.

Midas sighed, and closed his eyes. "Yeah, yeah."

He then began to doze off, completely tuning out the fury of desperate superiority that came from Venus.

He fell into a slumber.