Number 7

The white haired scientist entered into the inner chamber of his home, followed by the two maids who seemed to lag behind him - ever so respectful in the way they carried themselves.

It was the Day of Awakening.

This man, known as Victor Lichtenburg, had entered into a deeper chamber of his own mansion after retrieving a set of experimental equipment alongside his two personal servants.

"I had my suspicions about whether the people at the laboratory could truly be trusted. And that isn't even to speak of the subjects themselves. I knew... no... to say I knew would be a lie. But I had a feeling that the day would come in which one of my creations rose against me. Which is why, following the reconstruct incident, I took great care to ensure that the remaining runes were always locked deep in a place where only I could access them."

Entering a hidden chamber deep in his own home, Victor opened a series of electronic seals before finally coming upon an enormous room.

And as he entered this room, the strange pattern of the walls seemed to overtake the two maids who stumbled at the sight.

"What... is this?"

Hanging on the wall were thousands of blue orbs.

Each orb seemed to have a series of characters on them which were of a strange language, a single word to each.

And even though the letters could not be read, the first two were always the same - for every single word.

"Haha... Chi, I see that you're quite curious today. Have you forgotten your place?"

"Ah! Forgive me, Master Lichtenburg! I suppose the fact that you told me this was an emergency caused me to let my guard down."

"First, are you blaming me?"

Yet as the woman spoke, the man cut her off with a deadly tone.

"Second, what part of an emergency would allow you to let your guard down?"

As the man thinned his eyes in suspicion, the maid realized that her reasoning was ludicrous.

"I-"

"Enough."

However the man didn't seem to want to hear any more.

Yet even so, there was a single thought which permeated the mind of the woman.

'Was I actually... relieved... that there was an emergency?'

"But... I'm in an exceptionally good mood. Yes... despite the fact that so much has been destroyed... this also means that there is all the more to obtain. Therefore I will tell you."

As he stepped forward into the room, the man hovered his hand near a particular orb on the wall.

And as he hovered his hand close, it seemed to repel away from him as if it were a magnet.

"These runes contain rules. To put it simply, each one contains a power which is defined by the word written. However unfortunately, there is a certain level of compatibility which is required in order to utilize a rune. And for this reason, I have been researching them."

Grabbing hold of one particular rune, the item seemed to vibrate in the hand of Victor as if it were rejecting him.

"Try holding one yourself, Chi."

Passing it over to the girl, she slowly held out her hand as she wrapped it around - however as she did so she realized that there was an insane amount of pressure as if a magnetic field were forcing her away from the orb.

"Do you see? These runes are very picky. It's quite difficult to even move them around, much less actually utilize them. However, I was able to find a way to force... an awakening."

At that moment, Victor stood up, and putting his hand on the wall he began to graze it along the wall of runes, touching each one as they seemed to resist him with great pressure.

Yet as he slid his hand across the wall, rejected immensely by almost all, there was eventually one rune which did not react to him.

As the man found this one, he took it within his hand, holding it as he glanced upon it.

"So this is mine, after all?"

Whispering this with a low tone, the man almost felt disappointed.

However as he held it, he tossed it up and down lightly.

"However, you can see clearly that while it is not rejecting me, neither is it accepting me. You see, when one becomes completely compatible with a rule, they become reawakened, and the power infuses itself into their very being. It took me... numerous tests to discover this."

As he headed over to one particular section of the room, the man came across a lockbox.

Pulling out an electronic key, the man opened the box as it revealed a syringe with a blue liquid inside of it that seemed to brim with power.

"This is... the result of years of experimentation. And in this unstable world, where nothing is guaranteed any longer... the time has now come to risk it all on one final trial."

Grabbing the syringe, the man rolled down his own sleeve before injecting it into himself.

Frowning as he grit his teeth, the man injected the strange liquid into himself - an action which would have appeared to be completely reckless to most.

However, to this man, it was all calculated.

"The risk... is zero. I have spent years researching this awakening serum, perfecting it such that two particular results will occur. The first... that the subject will be in zero danger of death."

Removing the serum from his own body, the man held his hand forwards towards the orb from before.

"And the second..."

And as he held out his hand, the rune seemed to fly towards him, as if it had a will of its own.

"Is that without question... a rune will choose the one who has been awakened."

----

In that instant, Chi and Shay found themselves thrown back as if an explosion of power had occurred.

Their bodies became heavy as a flood of energy seemed to rush into the room, carried by wind which had no natural origin.

It was supernatural.

The energy seemed to collide upon the very man who stood in the center of that room, unwavering as the orbs that were hung on the walls began to tremble, clattering and banging against the walls as if trying to escape the man.

"Even if it does not appear to be powerful in the slightest... even if it seems to be an ability which holds no real use... the power which one gains from a rule is not dependent on the ability itself."

With a grand smile, the man's grin seemed to deepen with every passing moment as he held out his arms in grand fashion, as if absorbing the power that continuously flooded into him.

"But rather... of the user's capability to conform themselves to the concept that they have embodied."

It was as he said this that the man held up a finger, and with the snap of this finger, all of the orbs upon the walls around him were ripped from the walls, each and every one of them colliding towards the man as they spun around him like planets around a star.

And then, holding his hand forward, the man closed his eyes as they all sped towards the palm of his hand - before disappearing.

The man nodded in a satisfied manner as he tested his newfound powers, chuckling slightly as he headed towards the exit.

And as he stepped forwards, the two maids found themselves rushing to stand up, however the sheer magnitude of the man who stood before them was enough to halt their progress.

'It's so... heavy.'

With terror in her thoughts, the levelheaded maid known as Chi couldn't bring herself to think straight as she looked upon the back of that man.

'It's as if he is some sort of... higher being.'

And as he glanced back at the two, the man eyeballed the girl with a confident smirk.

Within this smirk, he carried an aura of arrogance, a flurry of superiority, and even a shred of pity.

'It's as if he has risen... above humanity itself.'

And this was the thought that Chi had as the man spoke to her.

"Come, you two. Perhaps if you serve me well, I will entrust you with power of your own."

----

Spread out before them was a wasteland.

Everything was destroyed.

It was not just this mansion, but as they exited it and entered the City which surrounded them, the three immediately understood the very state of the world.

"As I thought... everything is gone."

Victor spoke these words, yet despite their sorrowful nature - he spoke them with a smile that he could not hope to suppress.

"What have you done, Seven?"

And as he gazed upon the world with his golden eyes, the man seemed to boil with excitement.

"Perhaps... he thought that I would become powerless in such a world... a world without technology... a world without science... a world without progress."

As he muttered these things, Chi and Shay merely watched the man from behind as they all stepped forth into that wasteland.

"Well... he will realize his mistake soon enough."

"Master... what are we going to do?"

As she wielded an energy rifle which she had been given, Chi looked to Victor with concern, unsure of anything.

However the man merely chuckled to himself, not so much as glancing back at the girl.

"Well, I suppose the first step would be to try and confirm whether everything has been destroyed. Are we truly the only ones left on this planet? I highly doubt that. And there is a certain ally of mine that I feel would provide useful in this world... therefore we will make finding her our first priority."

Standing on top of a piece of rubble, the man took a glance around him, gazing upon the vast City below.

And as he did so, his eyes fell upon a large military base which seated itself right next to a grand port - filled with military warships of all kinds.

"We head to find the Naval Division Commander - Yelena Slausenricht."

----

"What is this?"

It was the day of awakening - in a particular military base within the large Port City of Schlieden.

A woman with long black hair that seemed to drape down to her knees awoke at the head of a table, her head plunged into a meal which was rotten and putrid.

The wineglass by her side had been spilled, and the stain which it created was dried, the tablecloth which was underneath her worn out.

Spitting out the decomposing food as she thinned her eyes with spite, the woman quickly gazed around as she took an undignified stance, her face covered in the mess.

The woman fixed the hat on her head as she immediately tried to wipe the disgusting slop from herself.

The hat was nothing less than a military cap - one which had a symbol in its center with a thorned rose that wrapped around a sword, a sickle, a spear, and an anchor.

This particular cap was that of the Navy of the Forgestarian Empire.

"Did you all not hear me?"

Speaking out with power, the woman stood up, hands trembling as she gritted her teeth which were filled with the disgusting rot.

Surrounding her were numerous soldiers - all of whom had fallen to the ground in a strange slumber, and were just now slowly waking themselves up.

"What do you all think you're doing laying there when I'm in such a state?"

The woman spoke in a sly tone, yet her chilling words seemed to awaken even the men who were fast asleep.

Jolting upwards, each and every person present - all of which were dressed in the military garb of soldiers - seemed to rush to attention as if it had been drilled into their very beings.

Of course - it was.

"Madama Admiral... I apologize greatly for my own incompetence... to allow such a situation to come about, I have absolutely no excuses."

Standing up as he straightened his back was a man who wore glasses, stepping forward with a calculating expression as his eyes scanned the room surrounding him.

"But without question, something strange has happened. Do you not think it would be best to investigate the situation? It is likely that this is some sort of attack by the Stronvardians or the Vorathians."

The woman seemed to curl her lips with displeasure as the man made this statement, however with a light 'tch', she seemed to wave her hand as she continued to wipe the rotting food from her face.

"I suppose you're right, James. Everyone. Prepare to head outside."

Standing up, the woman finished picking the food from her hair as she stood forth with grandeur.

"And if it truly is the case that we are under attack... then I will make it my personal mission to eliminate the enemy from the face of this planet."

----

A communications room was filled to the brim with soldiers who desperately attempted to make calls and access data.

However the state of this room was in complete chaos.

"The power has been completely shut off!"

"What about the backup generators!?"

"Those have been completely fried as well!"

"HAH!? How can a generator be fried!? What does that even mean!?"

"I don't know!!! It's as if all electronic equipment has suddenly stopped working! First we all fall asleep, and now we wake up in this unknown scenario! I don't know what's what anymore!?"

"What will we tell the Admiral when she arrives!?"

"I... I don't know!"

It was absolute madness.

These men and women, dressed in the uniforms of the Forgestarian Navy, were currently desperately working without any results as they struggled to find the reason for the wipe of power and data.

However, there was no way they could possibly uncover the reason.

"Shit... shit shit shit!!! We can't contact any of the regiments! It looks like this is some sort of Electronic warfare! Did the Stronvardians progress this far!? There's no way the Vorathians could be capable of something like this. Unless..."

"Enough speculation! We need to get everything up and running. NOW!"

"But how do we do that without electricity!?"

"I don't know!!! Is there any way to connect to the surrounding properties!?"

"We've already sent people out to find that out, but none of them returned! It must be the entire grid!"

"With every passing second our enemies might be preparing an attack, and we have no way to know what they're doing! The missile defense systems are down as well! If a nuclear missile was sent to this City then we would be decimated in moments!"

"How... how could such a thing be possible!?"

Shock and fear spread throughout the control room as one by one, each person posed more and more dangerous hypotheses as to what could possibly be occurring.

"So what you're telling me is... that while we've been wasting our resources on whatever project the Research and Development Commander has been working on... that our enemies have been finding ways to make nuclear weapons feasible again?"

The voice of a man entering the room silenced the entire group as they all stood at attention immediately, saluting with quivering expressions as a group entered the place.

The man who spoke had buzzed black hair and glasses, and he strode in front of a woman whose sharp eyes seemed to slice up each and every person within that room.

"Vice Admiral, Sir..."

The one who seemed to be the head of this control room looked to the man with a gulp, timidly accepting that their panic had been overheard by the executives who stormed in.

"But that is no more than speculation. The fact is that electronic equipment has been rendered unusable, and communication to all other regiments of the Navy have ceased. If we cannot give orders from headquarters here, then without question our regiments will fall into chaos in the case that attacks are made. It doesn't have to be nuclear, however the fact that the missile defense system is down is... extremely dangerous."

Thinning his eyes as he pushed up his glasses, the man quickly took control of the room as the men and women looked to him with apprehension.

"Yet even this is only secondary on our list of problems. For in war, even more so than nuclear weapons, there is one weapon which is more dangerous than any other that has been taken from us."

And as the man spoke with dread in his tone, his words shook the people present to their very cores.

"Information."

Holding his hand forward, the man looked back to the woman behind him for confirmation.

"Admiral Slausenricht. The situation outside the base here is completely unknown. I understand well your frustrations with our units, however without question the best course of action would be to focus all efforts on gauging the situation. Are we in agreement here?"

The man asked this question, speaking above his position without hesitation due to the grave situation which the group had found themselves in.

"That is correct. I'll allow you to take the lead for now."

And with thinned eyes, the woman responded quietly, yet her words were enough to pierce the hearts of every person there - for within her tone there was a hidden message that every person present heard loud and clear.

'I will deal with the enemies first... and with my subordinates later.'

"Thank you, Admiral. Now then... you say that the scouts which were sent out never returned? How long has it been since they left?"

"Not too long, just about 30 minutes. They might be returning at any moment, however we can't assume that, given that communications have ceased."

As the Control Room Head replied to the Vice Admiral, the man went silent in thought for a few moments as he seemed to be formulating a plan.

"Without question, we know that we are under attack. Even more concerning is that it is the Naval HQ which is under attack. Which would imply that the enemy is attempting to stunt naval forces in particular. And if I had to hazard a guess from this... it would be that they are trying to gather as many ships as possible in the time that the communications are down to launch an all out offensive from sea."

Thinning his eyes as he made his decision, the man's expression became sterner by the minute.

"If we don't act in such a situation, then our ships will be picked off without a fight. However it is entirely likely that the enemy has anticipated this, and the possibility that we have already been surrounded by enemies is high. Yet even more concerning than any of this... is the fact that every single person present fell asleep."

As the man said this, each person seemed to understand well the danger that he spoke of.

Each person had mysteriously fallen asleep, as if some sort of magical spell had been cast upon them.

This was by far more concerning than even the technology they had being rendered unusable.

"If the enemy poses the capability to put people to sleep on a mass scale... then without question, we have no chance at victory."

And as the Vice Admiral made this declaration, despair seeped into the hearts of every person present.

"However... as dangerous as it may be... there are far too many holes. Therefore I can say with certainty that this is not something that they have the capability of repeating."

Yet just as soon as the soldiers had hung their heads in defeat, the words of hope filled their ears.

"What do you mean by that, Vice Admiral?"

Looking at the man with a dim light in his eyes, the Control Room Head spoke up.

"Think about it logically. If we had the capability of attacking with such a powerful ability, would we not have killed our enemies and destroyed their Town before they could awaken?"

His tone lowering, the man spoke with darkness in his voice.

"If this was truly an enemy attack using some sort of biological weapon… would we not have already been slaughtered?"

And as he said this, each and every person present came to the same realization.

'That's right.'

'If the enemy had the capability of putting us to sleep... then wouldn't they have stormed the village and destroyed us before we could wake and threaten them?'

'Why then... did they not do so?'

"Why did they not slaughter us then? Do not be so foolish as to assume that the Stronvardian dogs would have even a shred of mercy upon us. The fact of the matter is, that they COULDN'T."

Swiping his arm forth with grandeur, the man smirked as he spoke his next words, inspiring morale into the troops around him.

"I do not understand why or how such a situation has come about. However the fact that we remain awake at this time can only mean one thing. That the enemy cannot, has not, will not, put us to sleep again. And we will use this to our advantage."

Stepping forward, the man proceeded through the room as all eyes turned to focus on him.

"We will take caution to ensure that we do not step out into ambush, but we have a single goal right now. To retrieve the ships stationed outside of this base, and use them in order to stop whatever attacks may or may not be occurring throughout this nation. Is this understood?"

As the man asked this question, each and every soldier present in that room saluted with fervor, shouting out in a combination of fear and respect for this man.

"Yes Sir!"

"Very well. Admiral... I believe you can take things from here."

At this, the woman slid forward, slithering through the room as she gazed about it, her eyes falling upon each and every soldier as if they were her prey.

And with a quiet voice, her words grazed the ears of the soldiers, tickling them in a chilling yet soothing manner.

"As you said, Vice Admiral. Move forward, dogs. If we are unable to protect even our own ships... then I suppose there will be no purpose for this unit to exist in the first place."

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