Miasma.

Atop the apartment building everyone was inside, a sunglasses-wearing man with long brown hair, a nose ring, and two ear piercings sat against the roof with both legs crossed. The man's signature was maroon and slow; akin to a blaze igniting his soul, sharpening the shape of his lean build.

His head turned; ears facing the roof below him. 'There's someone still awake down there. I can tell from his bulk that it's the boy. Archer Amit. The other Blessed wielding Freedom. I didn't expect he'd be the one. No matter. It will all end… soon.' His lips parted. "Scarlet Miasma."

Ashen, the shades-wearing technique user, clasped the cane in his right hand tight. The man summoned his aura—inserting the signature deep within the staff. The apartment was now filled with red-colored Fate. The technique spread across the enclosed chamber wasn't anything special. It was simply a 'manifestation'.

Ashen dug into his jacket, revealing a bottle of pills and opening up the top. Melatonin.

Every Predestined Power is innately imbued with conditions the user must bypass to activate their technique. In his case, after ingesting a specific substance, the effects are negated by the Fate within him and secreted through the crimson aura surrounding his build.

After the cane is filled with the signature, it will sink through the apartment until reaching the desired room. Only then will the aura extension reshape into a 50-meter wide bubble encompassing the entire chamber. The substance will leak into the area from the string extending from the base cane through smell. Once the target whiffs the desired scent, the technique's silent attack is finished, sending its foes into a peaceful and solitary slumber.

That is 'Scarlet Miasma'.

Inside the apartment, Archer pulled down the scarf hiding his mouth. 'The only way to win is to make the enemy release their technique and kill them. Out of all possible locations, the windows peeking outside are improbable. The most likely are either the staircase and hallway outside this interior's front door or…' The boy looked up. 'the roof!'

Ashen's head tilted. 'I don't know what type of Blessing this runt possesses. I should be wary of a full-blown fight as long as possible,' he thought.

Archer pulled a chair across the floor and placed it behind the couch, quickly moving to stand atop the seat. Just as he was about to smash through the ceiling with a sound wave from his mouth, the boy's strength… dwindled.

Abnormally, all the drive within only his body faded immediately, sending him to fall over from the chair to collapse against the floor. The feeling in everything but his head had all but vanished, replaced by a disturbing static sensation coursing through his veins.

Archer groaned. 'I'm beginning to understand. Only after I sniffed the air while standing up on the chair did I fall over. Something is polluting the air that makes everyone fall asleep the second they smell it. The nose is the most sensitive part of the human body. If those traces littered through the air contain something like melatonin… then—' He slowly shook his head. 'But knowing his ability is useless if I can't make it out of here! There has to be a way—!'

Amit turned to the wall in front of him, quickly glancing at his comrades. Without any other choice, he inhaled sharply; the wall imploding from the inside out. Now all he has to do was crawl over there.

As Archer dragged his torso and legs across the wooden floorboards, the boy tried clearing his head. He was unsuccessful. Something about the unfathomable pain etched into his slumbering limbs prohibited him from moving any further.

Having reached his limit, he stopped before the hole in the wall. Now dangling off the edge, he looked down and gazed at the ground. They weren't all that high up. A fall from this height wouldn't kill a normal person. Archer peeked his head out the hole and looked up at the rooftop, spotting the embers of bloody aura leak off the building's sides.

It was undeniable. Their enemy had perched upon the summit and used the high ground to their advantage, succeeding in incapacitating everyone. Everyone but Archer. The Amit boy was pushed by something. Deep within his heart, an inferno uncontrollably blazed about, ensnaring everything and everyone in its path—the epitome of unwavering.

Imbuing Fate into his fingers, the boy aimed above, shooting the nail from his hand and watching it spiral into the sky.

On the rooftop, Ashen dodged a projectile falling from the clouds—touching the bloody slice on his right cheek. 'I knew I shouldn't underestimate that boy. I can tell from the signature around him… the amount of Fate he possesses at this current moment is less than his sleeping brother some feet away.' He nodded; sharply inhaling. 'I can end him!'

Archer missed. Nevertheless, that was only the first shot. Fingers still pointed above, just as the young man prepared to launch more nails—another signature entered the fray. Ashen and Archer's eyes widened simultaneously.

Talen was undoubtedly unconscious in the chair to the couch's left. But, if that were true, how was the Unconquerable's emerald aura uncontrollably blazing around him? Archer's monotone pupils brightened upon reflecting on his sibling.

'What? Is he awake—?' He aimed his finger at Talen. 'He can take care of everything from here! I just need to—' A blackened silhouette manifested behind him. Long dark strands flowing with the wind, it leaned closer, lips hovering beside the young man's ear.

"Abandon them. Take care of everything… without anyone," it said.

Archer turned around—the silhouette was gone. 'What the hell was that just now? Does the enemy have another ability I'm not seeing?' He shook his head. 'No, that can't be it. Normal Predestined Powers encompass a single technique—'

An unbeatable heaviness weighed down his eyes. The drowsy sensation paralyzing his body contained so much pressure he had no other choice but to slowly begin closing his eyes. Archer's soul, still emboldened by an inferno of courage, summoned its final embers to unhinge his jaw and discard his scarf.

A scream burst through the ceiling, flying through the uppermost levels before smashing through the rooftop from below. Ashen jumped back and stared at the hole cornering him against the verge.

'A brazen child. If I hadn't jumped back just then, that scream… would've killed me. How intriguing. So this runt possesses the necessary resolve to slaughter another without hesitation?' He chuckled. "Archer Amit!" He yelled down the hole.

Locked on the apartment floor, the boy looked up, spotting Ashen's silhouette peak down the hole.

"You've done well so far, boy! However, this world is not fitting for children like you. I'll give you a single opportunity to leave this place. Nothing more, nothing less! If you want to go home, this is your last chance—"

The blind man on the rooftop was inexplicably punched; Ashen's shattered shades fell from his face. The Fate-user glimpsed the perpetrator's face, surprised to see it was none other than Valentina Amit—purple eyes gleaming.

"W-what? How…?" Ashen weakly asked.

Eros smirked. "Who knows? I won't tell you. Babe—

Valentina's barrage of punches assaulted his build, imprinting holes from her knuckles into his chest and skull. Then, she jumped back, soles scraping against the half-destroyed platform only briefly before her head raised and finger pointed.

"Banishment."

The holes embedded into his figure began spinning–eventually twirling so fast they broke the space barrier and finally opened its masters' command: banish. Miniature portals replacing his injuries formed all over his body, replacing the human sense of pain with an abnormal torturous experience. Ashen opened his blind orange eyes and held his face, feeling it twist in on itself as it was inhaled by the gate exposed d on his cheek.

Eros sighed. He slid his arm around Valentina's waist and pulled her closer, opening his mouth. "Innermost Annihilation," he said.

Ashen's body instantly contorted from within, leaking blood and gore from the external cracks spread across his skin. Every bone broken, Eros looked down at his victim, now a messy ball of blood and bones on the roof. Nevertheless, the fight was over. Victory… was theirs.

Back inside the apartment, the feeling in Archer's limbs returned gradually, granting him enough strength to stand up on his own and run over to Talen in the chair. He lifted his brother from the seat, worriedly staring at his face. Right on time, the Unconquerable's eyes flickered open, revealing the dark-green coloration marked into his pupils. He smiled.

"Good job. You did it, right? Defeat the enemy?" The man asked.

Archer sighed, shakily inhaling. "I didn't. Mom and Dad did it for me." His lip started quivering. "I know everyone's safe now but… I don't know what's wrong with me." A tear fell from the corner of his eye, staining his older brother's cheek, and leaving him with widened eyes. "I feel so useless."

Talen held his brother's shoulder. "These are only your first steps. Feeling that way is expected. Don't be discouraged." He stood from the chair, looking back at his sibling. "I'll be learning under the old man. I wish to know more about the Unconquerable and the secrets within. And while I educate myself thoroughly, I'll be teaching you, as well. How's that sound?"

Archer grinned widely. "Awesome. It sounds… awesome."

Trivia: Ashen Divene was born on February 23rd, 1985. He was 5'4" or 1.62m. He wore a white button-up that covered his chest. Predestined Powers are powers of the soul, and so, they assume a specific form when awakened by Markings. The technique, 'Scarlet Miasma', is a manifestation of Ashen's reliance on the rest of the five senses he was luckily born with. That's why he was given the power to manipulate scents. In this case, I made the Predestined Power before the character.