Monarch 2: Connections

Prologue

Rule Number 2: Sever all connections. Connections lead only to complacency

Three years ago, the world was at war. Two sides deeply rooted in their ideals. But those ideals were only a cover for the true intention of the war. Battle hungry spirits had possessed a huge number of the inhabitants of the earth. These humans who had spirits inside them were called 'Enhanced'.

Generally, Enhanced humans were only set apart by their higher-than-average strength, speed, endurance, and tolerance for pain. This, combined with a natural draw to combat, made them excellent soldiers. And they were happy to fight. In fact, they wanted it.

But while most Enhanced were normal (relatively speaking), there were a handful who had a strong connection to the spirits inside them. This usually happens when a traumatic and dangerous event puts the human in mortal danger before their powers as Enhanced awaken naturally. When this happens, the spirit inside the human surges its energy through the human's body to protect its host. Afterwards, the remnants of the energy begin coursing through the human's body. Soon, the human body begins absorbing this energy from the earth, where it originally forms, as if it's as essential as oxygen.

After some time, the attribute of the spirit inside the enhanced human begins to surface. With some practice, the human can take the energy flowing through them and manifest it in the form of the spirit's attribute. Enhanced with fire spirits, can control fire. Those with ice spirits can control ice, and so on.

But there's one kind of Enhanced human whose mere presence in the world had a tremendous effect.

Those who now study Enhanced humans and the spirits inside them call this single kind of Enhanced "The Mediator".

Three years ago, this Mediator was coming to the age where their powers were naturally awakening just like any other Enhanced human. But instead of giving the human enhanced abilities; it, instead, had some kind of effect on the spirits dwelling in other enhanced humans. This effect caused the spirits who wanted nothing but combat to change for the better. They became peaceful. If the spirits had not developed a strong bond with the human they possessed, they simply went dormant inside the human, allowing the human to regain control of their inhibitions. If the enhanced human had a familiar bond with the spirit, the spirit would continue to allow the human to use their powers, provided it aligned with the spirit's beliefs.

But another side effect comes from an Enhanced human becoming attuned to the spirit's attribute. They also become attuned to the spirit themselves. This can have various effects on the human's personality... Both positive and negative.

Prologue

"Haruna!" Katsuki Suzaku shouted from the stands of Fujisawa High School's soccer stadium. At the same time, a soccer ball was flying towards the home team's goal.

"Ha!" Just in the nick of time, Katsuki's childhood friend, Haruna Shozaki, dove to catch the incoming ball. Causing a cheer to roar from the home side of the stadium. "Rekka!" Haruna quickly rolled to her feet and ran to the end of the goal box. Just as she reached the end, she threw the ball in the air and forward. Doing that allowed her to take a few extra steps to get set up. "HIYA!" Haruna planted her left foot and swung her right foot hard. Connecting perfectly with the ball as it fell. Haruna sent the ball flying towards the opposite goal. The score was tied with only 10 seconds left on the game clock.

"That's my girl!" Tsukasa Shozaki, Haruna's mother, shouted proudly. She was sitting with Katsuki in the stands.

"Give it your all, Rekka!" Jace Williams, Rekka's adoptive father, shouted after Tsukasa while waving his fist above him. Sitting next to Jace was Kazuyuki Williams, Jace's adoptive son. He wasn't cheering, and his face was neutral. But his face was flushed as he waved a small flag.