Chapter 171

Droplets of water fell from the ceiling and landed on the floor of a dark cavern that consisted of various narrow hallways. In the center of the cavern stood a large man pressing his hands and feet onto the floor, armored plates and metallic bands wrapped around his fingers and ankles as he knuckle-walked closer to the only source of light in the cavern which came from the crack in the ceiling.

His breathing sounded ragged beneath the iron mask he wore, covering half of his face. When he heard the other two voices continuing their discussions, he scooted closer to them to mark his return.

"I've chosen a few individuals to be my potential vessel. My transformation needs someone with a strong spirit and determination to handle its power." The Chaos sat on a chair crossing his fingers as he watched his two subordinates standing in the shadows.

"Well we can't keep them waiting can we? I don't think they're going to be that patient. We must act fast for your sake. This is why I don't believe in relying on others but it seems we've got no other choice in the matter." A voice added, it sounded quivery but also boisterous and extremely knowledgeable in his field.

Getting up from his seat, The Chaos arched his fingers. "You're right about that. I deployed a whole group. The samurai I made a deal with was rather unforgiving towards his foes, but it seems he and his entire team didn't live up to their name." Flickering his eyes to the source of light, Chaos fell silent and then continued where he left off.

"Their foes defeated them instead. Despite the help of my powers things took a turn. Mind you the ones we should be 'worried' about here consist of ordinary humans and an angel. This collapse of the samurai's group was the least expected."

The large bulky man scurried over to Chaos, knuckle-walking on the floor. "Humans teaming up with an angel? That sounds blasphemous. How are they forming an alliance when they come from two completely different planes of existence? The last time that happened was centuries ago."

"Should we be afraid? Who is this angel? Maybe there's something I can find in here which will be proven useful for our situation here..." Flipping through the pages of his book, the entity in the hood scrambled to find the answer to their questions.

Chaos cracked every finger of his. "There's no need to be afraid. It's all under control. I've got a plan that they will surely agree to."

"And how is this plan going to convince them to agree to your demands? Given the support you've provided their enemies with, I don't think you're going to be off their blacklist anytime soon." The man in the iron mask snickered. "But then again, the Ruler of the Paradox has his ways. All of which have been successful with a few consequences on the other side."

"If we put them at the hands of another orbitual event than they'll have no other choice but to agree to it. A time limit is set for a reason. Dragging it along the dust isn't going to bring us anywhere."

"Now I'm curious to know what you have in store for them. It sounds intriguing."

"To my consensus I suppose reminding them of their own urgency should do it."

The entity whose identity was concealed by the hood he was wearing spoke up again. "That's a brilliant way of forging our plan! People absolutely dislike being reminded of the duration they have accustomed themselves to. They'll have to face us regardless but we'll be in the lead because we're the ones in control!"

"It seems they'll be getting some strings attached. We're dealing with a cluster of them. A whole lot of them can't go unnoticed." Snarling, the man knuckle-walking across the space clenched his jaw several times.

"Oh they don't dare to... My list of potential hosts consists of two friends of the angel. He's been on edge lately and I don't blame him for that. It must be hard for him to accept the fact that they just happen to possess the qualities that I'm looking for in a vessel. He's only making things worse for himself by refusing to let go."

Both the masked bulky man and the entity in the hood faced Chaos and watched the beading eye of his in the dark flicker like a candle.

"It appears you've set him up. That must be very painful indeed..."

"Oh I can't help but feel a sense of pity whenever I mention the potential that his two friends have in front of him. The look in his eyes is very despairing, I'm surprised this angel has formed such close connections with humans."

"But how is that even possible? None of this is answering my question."

Chaos knew the man with the iron mask and plates around his limbs was eager to hear more about this discovery. "He's the founder of a shrine in the Hasu Mountains. The locals seek guidance from him. Let's just say, he's their daily psychologist."

A low laugh sounded from the iron mask. "He must give very good advice then, if only he could use that quality of his to help himself get through the upcoming loss he's going to have to endure."

"The shrine has been dormant ever since he's gone on these adventures with the friends he happened to meet during his time on Earth. Those same friends that banded together to stop our allies in Rome. It's shocking that they managed to stop them but it's not going to instill any concerns that I might have. The transformation will still continue and there's no stopping it from happening. It's inevitable. The universe works in my favor because I'm the one who watches over its laws and order." Chaos faced his two subordinates and narrowed his beading eye that also indicated that the very same warning applied to them if they ever tried to counter this transformation of his, which they were very well aware of.

"Those who try to challenge you on this have a very unfortunate way of thinking." Another raspy voice sounded from the iron mask.

"Well you'd be surprised, people like that do exist."

"Fairly a shame... I'd just accept the spare I've been given and move on with my life... It's not an issue if it has nothing to do with me and I stand by that." The entity in the hood peered down at the book in his hand, eager to flip it open again.

Chaos sat down on his chair again. Biting off his nails while thinking about his intentions and agenda. He reached out and grabbed a few items on the round table in front of him. "As I've mentioned before, everything's all under control." He said in a low voice, anticipating the execution of his plan.

~~~

The night was glittering with stars just like last time. It reminded Douma of his meeting with Shinobu on the rooftop of her house. He smiled reminiscing that moment.

But there was something he had to do and his heart ached at the thought of the repercussion. He had to tell her about Chaos' plan. There's no hiding it from her anymore and there never should've been though informing her early would've also caused distrust among them which he wanted to avoid at all costs.

Douma vowed to tell her upfront. It doesn't matter if she gets mad at him as long as she's informed about it and takes precaution until Chaos is defeated. Her fumes will only last for a while. Shinobu will appreciate it by then.

Snowflakes began descending from the sky. Winter had arrived.

As the angel sat on the rooftop of one of the apartments in the city of Tokyo, emerging from the dark was an albino bat holding a letter. It approached Douma who glanced to his side and saw the animal flying towards him.

The bat hovered there with a grin, watching Douma take the letter from it. This was a unique delivery service and given how strange it was, Douma also went along with the caution that dawned on him.

When Douma started reading the letter, the bat snickered and flew away into the dark of the night.

His fingers twitched when he realized who sent him the letter. Douma stared at the letter for a while, pondering about his next course of action. There wasn't much time left, it sounded like there was but the movements and preparations take up a portion of the duration for a situation where the lives of others were on the line.

To: The Angel Subzero of Tokyo

Every 35,000 years the planets of Astrotopia appear vividly in the sky, aligned in a row. I believe the Clockworks Pillars is the best location for us to settle things. You've only got a few months to prepare yourself. Mark your calendars from now.

- Chaos

Of course, the details were vague, Chaos left it that way on purpose. A phenomenon was happening in Astrotopia and it occurs a few months from now. Douma narrowed his iridescent orbs at the thought of the journey and encounters to reach the Clockworks Pillars. It wasn't going to be easy and sitting around isn't going to put an end to this.

A meeting at Clockworks Pillars... The location doesn't scare me but I know your tricks. Douma stood up and gazed at the entire city.

He was going to defeat Chaos and save his friends. Nobody should ever be subjected to a life of fear and prejudice. Not now, not ever. There will be no transformation and Chaos shouldn't try to sneak his way out of this ordeal. For that would be an act of dishonor towards himself and things would end sooner than he realized.