Thanatos System

Yin excused himself from the Commander.

Gavin soon followed the Commander outside.

"What do you think we should do about Yin?"

Luken looked down and frowned.

He was genuinely worried about his rookie.

"We should not force Yin to tell us what his powers and abilities' origins are. But it is safe to assume that it does take a toll on him, not just during decay activation, but also mentally."

Gavin quickly retorted.

"Yeah, you are right about that. He seems, disturbed. For lack of a better word, anyway."

Luken said as he exhaled a thick emission of smoke.

"I just want to be there for the three of them, Gavin. I do not want to ever be an 'absent' leader who just comes around whenever it is convenient for him. I want to be better than Adam."

He added.

"After what Adam Rosa did, any body could be a better leader then he ever was."

The Serpent Summoner looked up to the sky.

"Do you really think his brain just went snap, causing him to undergo that rampage a few years ago?"

"There has got to be a reason for it, but right now, we should not dwell on that guy. He is a traitor and my sister and the other late member's bloods are on his hands and his alone. I'll drag him back to Niflheim with my teeth if I have to."

Luken clinched his fist.

"This does not need to be said, but I am sure you know we share that feeling, Luken."

Gavin assured him.

"Something has been bothering me about the Operation Phoenix for quite some time now. Ever since we got back, actually…"

The Commander thought long and hard after saying this.

His words had piqued Gavin's interest, who took a seat on the steps below.

"I thought I was the only one who noticed it."

Gavin's green orbs were intense and full of emotions.

"I am sure the others might have caught wind of it, but those Wingless Angels and their fighting patterns and styles. I-I recognized some of the stances they used."

The Commander said.

"I mean normal Angels themselves already have the same physical structure as humans, albeit much taller and bulkier. One would can even mistaken them as a human if not for their wings, but those Wingless Angels and the way that they fought was just unnerving to me."

Gavin said. He asked for a stick of cigarette from Luken, to the latter's surprise, he let him have one and lit it up himself.

"Woah. Since when did you start smoking?"

Luken asked with a surprised expression.

"Don't be stupid, of course I am not going to start huffing up these things. I just like to watch it burn itself away into nothingness." Gavin placed the stick on the ground below. "Why do you think the Slayers with us that time did not point it out? Not even Ignis Silva had to blabber his mouth about how human-like the Wingless Angels are in terms of their style of fighting."

"They are probably asleep. We should head back inside and continue this discussion in the living room, it is getting pretty cold out here."

"I agree."

Both of them went to the living room, sat on a table and continued their discussion.

Gavin brewed some green leaf tea while Luken waited for it and continued talking.

"Judging from how Ignis reacted, and I know this because at first realization of it, I was paying attention to him. Eager to see if he had decoded the same thing as I did as well. And trust me, Gavin, he knew. About a minute after I had realized it, Ignis also realized it as well."

Gavin poured the scalding hot water on a tea cup, the green leaves discoloring the water.

"How many cubes of sugar do you want?"

The Serpent Summoner asked.

"None! You of all people should know that by now, come on, man!"

Luken comically overreacted.

"I know, I know. It is just that every single time I drink tea, I tend to make it a unique brew based on my mood and place."

"That is weird, even for me."

The Commander responded.

"To each his own, I guess."

Gavin finally pulled out the chair and took a seat across from his friend.

"So, what are you trying to imply, Luken? Were we fighting humans back then?"

Gavin asked the question that was hidden deep inside Luken's psyche. He did not want to entertain the thought of that quite possibly being real.

"I honestly do not know. We do not even understand the type of technology that these Angels use. But that still does not answer the fact that those Wingless variations were more 'aware' when it came to fighting, albeit weaker, than the normal Angels."

Luken said worriedly as he sipped his tea.

"Perhaps they have devised some kind of magic of some sort that is able to replicate the bare minimum of a Slayer's fighting stances and capabilities without the affinities?"

Gavin shot a question back at the Commander.

Luken responded by placing his fingers at the temple of his head.

"Things just seem to get more and more complicated I guess."

He said.

"Have a good night's sleep, Luken. I will be retiring in my quarters now, I will stay up and leave for the Grand Castle once more next week or so."

"You're leaving again?"

"Yes, indeed I am. I believe that I should conduct a research without the Emperor nor the High Council finding out. There has to be some kind of reason as to why these Wingless Angels were too human-like. It is far too eerie for my taste." Gavin cleaned up the table from the tea cups and plates. "I heard Yin and Zachary will be deployed soon as well. I might go with them."

"Very well, it is another journey with yours truly and the rookies once again!-"

Luken's enthusiasm was easily shut down by the Serpent Summoner's bluntness.

"No. You are to stay here with Suna and Oliver. The Slayer Tournament is fast approaching, you have to train her, you promised that to her, remember?"

Luken attempted desperately to remember, fidgeting his foot against the ground.

Gavin just sighed.

"The point still stands, you are going to have to train Suna. This is not just for the reputation of the Six Blades, Luken. It is also for her."

"Fine. But you are going to have to promise me that you'll be bringing back some exotic food from the Castle square!"

"Seriously? How old are you?"

With that, Gavin went upstairs to his room.

Luken hanged his Six Blades coat on the rack.

His cerulean orbs fixated on the organization's logo.

"Seraphims, Arch Angels, no matter what one might call them, I will still exterminate these pieces of trash."

He clenched his jaw.

Yin was far too restless to even get a good night's sleep in.

He thought about what might happen next if he were to activate his powers and mistakenly use it on others.

The visions merely brought him nightmares and worry.

"Why has this been happening to me ever since I got the System?"

Yin asked the Creator.

There was no response from the latter.

"If the Creator will not answer or heed my questions, then I will have to learn my powers on my own. I don't need him or the System constantly nagging on me. I am my own person."

Yin affirmed himself with those words.

He even contemplated that it would really be worth it to scale more than the 20th level in his case.

If Thanatos really does end up devouring him whole, then he could at least say he did a good job for humanity, with the limited amount of time he had.

Yin shook his head.

He was conflicted.

The Creator's single sheet of music played on and on inside his head.

"Just what the actual shit does this song have to do with me?!"

Yin exclaimed as tears began to drip from his eyelids.

Every single time the Creator had his fingers on the piano playing the same exact song, a surge of emotions flooded Yin all at the same time.

Grief, agony, pain, sadness, sorrow. All of these condensed into one.

He tried to cover his ears with his pillow.

But this did not work, as the music was not coming into his ears from an external element, rather, it came from his mind. His deep subconscious from within.

Yin was not in control of his body for two whole seconds, even he could feel himself disassociate.

His mouth muttered the words – "Wherever you might be in this wretched plane of existence, I will find you, my love."

Yin Sohaya got up from his bed.

"What's happening to me? That was not me!"

Luken knocked on his door. This caused the music inside his head to stop momentarily.

"Are you alright, Yin?"

The Commander asked.

"Y-Yeah. I'm fine, sir. Sorry about the noise!"

Yin pretended that everything was okay.