Harmony War

Chapter IX - The End of Destiny

July 25th, 741

On a fresh morning, with the birds chirping and the sun shining high in the sky around noon, the doors to a quaint, quiet cafe opened, a lilac-haired woman walking inside and taking her usual seat by the window.

She took in the air around her, and ordered her coffee; the day was sure to proceed as normal, with no changes to the routine that she took great comfort in.

And today was her day to relax. A Sunday, of course.

Her left leg was impatiently and rapidly tapping on the floor unconsciously, excited to have yet another cup of coffee with her new friend.

The doors opened.

He was here.

"Over here, Ray!"

Ray smiled at the woman as he sat down next to her, brushing his already clean brown suit for good measure, staring at her with his green eyes and his short brown hair looking unkempt as usual, stubble clearly visible.

"Good to see you again, Alice."

Their conversation resumed as usual after both had ordered and received their coffee, just like the last ten or so times they were at this cafe on Sunday mornings: sharing stories from each of their lives.

While Alice had to keep a low profile and talk less loudly for obvious reasons, Ray had no trouble divulging his more humorous experiences in an uncontrolled manner.

Frankly, they very much enjoyed each other's company.

"So then, right, my grandma had no trouble keeping the chimeric beast in her house once he'd risen from the Underworld. She just kept offering him kindness, and now, he works for the good guys, working hard every day! All because my mom had the patience of a hundred-year old boulder."

The memory of a corpse laying on thick snow flashed before Ray's eyes, blood forming a puddle underneath it.

He flinched, unable to stop himself.

"Ah, sorry, I didn't mean to talk about hi-"

"Nah, it's okay. It's not about anything you said; don't worry." Ray sipped his coffee, smiling and reassuring her.

"Oh - okay!"

"Your mom and her friends defeated that mad doctor too, right? Alexandra?"

"Hehe, she called herself Alexandria then, but yes."

"Hmm, it all seems a bit out of character to me, you know."

'As if the 'villains' were all framed. Like it was all propaganda. Oh, little missy, how little you truly know.'

"It does? Don't tell me you knew her personally?!"

"Nah, nah, of course not," Ray reassured her before elaborating, resting his right arm against the chair. "I just personally think it was a bit childish of an adult to do what the papers claimed. Maybe the media exaggerates things for effect? While not lying though, of course."

'While completely talking shit out of their ass like it was force fed to them by the state. Really goes to show just how much of a mockery 'superheroes' are, simply agents of Estelle's order whilst claiming to be righteous - all while murdering thousands.'

"This is why you're my friend, Ray: you're interesting," Alice smirked. "I think you're right too. I was never there though, so I can't confirm."

"Also, are you sure that Nero is still loyal to Solaria? After all, did he not side with that Progenitor who plotted with China to form a coalition against a vulnerable Solaria?"