Restore the Third Eye

Gasp!

Chamuel's chest heaved with oxygen as he inhaled his first breath of air. His eyes recalibrated themselves by rolling its irises towards the front, seeing as they'd just been newly developed. White lights initially enveloped his sights, and he suddenly felt compelled to look around. But just before turning his neck to observe his surroundings—

"DON'T!" A deep voice yelled. Chamuel froze in his tracks.

A silhouette head shot over Chamuel's face, observing his own as the lights glared behind him.

"Don't move your head a single inch. Every component inside your head is extremely fragile right now."

The man that spoke was none other than—"Michael?" Chamuel asked.

The man grunted in response. "Mhm?"

"Did you revive me using a Trinity Gem?"

"Mhm."

"Why?"

Michael sighed. "You know why, don't you?"

"Because of my All-Knowing Eyes."

"Exactly," Michael leaned back. "Don't percieve it any other way. I would've left you dead if it weren't for your All-Knowing-Vision. Praise your talent." He crossed his arms. "And with that in mind, remember this; you're only alive because you're useful to me. Fall short of meeting my standards, and I'll send you right back into the ground."

Chamuel eyed him. "How generous of you to even give me a chance. Unlike those unfortunate ones…"

Michael raised an eyebrow. "Unfortunate ones?"

"You know exactly who I'm talking about. Have you already forgotten about my All-Knowing-Vision? I can read you like a book."

"Hmph." Michael turned his back on Chamuel. "Jophiel was already dead when I came across him, and Ariel, I killed."

"I don't see the reasoning."

"Of course you don't Chamuel. It's because your ideals aligned with hers too. You all followed A.X.A.'s old democratic system. But I'm taking over now, and I'm throwing that away. No one will be left to interfere with my rewritten system. Although you were part of that old system, you hold a valuable asset to my future goals. I'm sparing you for that sole reason."

"Were there any other casualties?" Chamuel asked.

"Read my mind and find out for yourself, intruder."

"Gabriel. He was a communications genius. Why'd you kill him too?"

Michael recalled the moment. He'd re-entered the communications office, encountering the absent-minded Gabriel who sat on the floor; his pupils, clouded. With enough confirmation, the Overseer stomped his face in, splashing the wall with red.

"He was blind. What good could he do without any sight? Useless."

"Interesting." Chamuel was shocked to visualize the event through Michael's mind. "And Raphael? How did he end up with Reed Regardius?"

"Dead too. His body was completely disproportioned, and his limbs were twisted."

"But he has the Watch of Talitem, shouldn't that all have been healed and reversed?"

"The watch wasn't on his wrist, or on his body at all. It was missing. I found him laying on top of his reporter, Matthew. The kid was dead too. But turns out, he made things a whole lot worse before dying out."

"Worse? What do you mean?"

Michael scrunched his eyebrows. "The kid betrayed us, and leaked information to the public. Everything regarding the most recent batch of subjects and their abilities."

"What!?" Chamuel was surprised. He recognized the reporter as Matthew, and always knew him as a loyal companion to Raphael. "But why would he do that?"

"To alert the surface world about the incoming danger in those subjects..."

"Subjects? Did they escape?"

"Yes… All seven of them!" Michael turned around and punched a hole in the wall.

The news brought Chamuel to think. He tried to recall the moment before he died; "See you, Chamuel," Venus had said. What came next was an instantaneous jolt of pain, followed by darkness.

"How brutal…" Chamuel muttered to himself. "And you, Midas... that brain of yours has grown tremendously,..."

"Hm?" Michael turned around.

"I'm speaking to myself."

Michael clicked his tongue. "You better not disappoint me, Chamuel."

"I won't. What's our current objective anyways?"

"Don't play dumb with me. We have to retrieve those escapees as soon as possible. If the Cardinal Nexus gets their hands on them then they can trace it back to A.X.A., and at that point, our endgame would be unattainable."

"Haven't we already been exposed entirely by Raphael's reporter?"

"No, we're lucky. The kid seemed to be in a rush, so he only released the documents regarding the subject's abilities. Nothing more."

"Not even their identities?" Chamuel questioned.

"No. Not their names, nor their genders, nor their physical descriptions. Just their number, their abilities, and our name; A.X.A."

"How convenient. If only he'd gone further and even mentioned at least one of the Overseer's names, then we'd no longer be anonymous."

Michael nodded. "Which is why we're still somewhat safe. The only known piece of information is the name A.X.A., and a detail-lacking description of our nature. To the public eye, our existence is merely a myth."

Chamuel sighed of relief.

Silence followed, and in this momentary time, Chamuel was suddenly sparked with curiosity.

"Is Azrael still alive?"

"Don't underestimate him." Michael fumed.

"So that's a yes."

Michael crossed his arms. No reply.

"Well then that brings me to ask… are us three the only ones remaining to lead A.X.A. from now on?"

"Four."

"Four?" Chamuel counted in his head. Everyone else was dead, so it brought him confusion.

"Yes. Uriel will soon join us again."

The name brought memories to Chamuel. "Uriel? Really now? We haven't heard from him in ages."

"I communicated with him recently. He'll be working with us in the shadows for now until things die down over there. When he's ready, he said he'll come meet us in person."

"Die down? Is he busy right now?"

"Yes. The Cardinal Nexus has had their hands full with the news of the 'A.X.A. escapees'." Michael then leaned in close to Chamuel's face. "And just so you know, it isn't recent news."

"What do you mean?" Chamuel furrowed.

Michael exhaled on his face. "The escape was a month ago."

"Huh???" Chamuel's eyes grew. "You only revived me a month later!?"

"I've been developing the new system on my own in the past month, and it was only recently that I realized you're a crucial piece to my plan. But that's besides the point. What matters now is that we act as soon as possible." Michael gritted his teeth. "Those kids are being troublesome and have already created a name and reputation for themselves."

"A name and reputation?" Chamuel asked.

"Yes… The Seven Sins."