Interlude One (A National Headache) Part 1

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*TAP* *TAP* *TAP*

The small sound of high heels hitting concrete echoed as a lone woman slowly walked among the cold and desolate buildings around her. She cut a striking figure amidst the plain buildings; her snow-white hair combined with the ornate dress she was wearing couldn't help but seem at odds with the surroundings. Several armed people, both men and women, followed her. They held a variety of weapons; one carried a short dagger, while another wielded a lance nearly twice as large as her own body. They were all dressed in black suits, with an official look that contrasted entirely with their medieval weaponry. The group walked in orderly step behind the cold-looking, white-haired woman, making it clear she was the leader.

The woman looked up at the sky with a strange smile. What met her eyes was the blood-red tear that seemed to permeate everything in a sinister light. Ignoring the slight chirping of those following her, she continued forward.

The group drew a few curious glances from the rough-looking temporary buildings around them, but most looked away after satisfying their curiosity about who was passing by. A few more interested individuals waved to the group, but other than that, the armed group didn't seem to cause too much commotion.

Gradually, the group became quiet as the scenery around them began to change. A series of quickly erected tents, barracks, and other military installations took form. The woman's smile faded as she motioned for the group to continue forward. In front of them was a gate with a warning sign:
"Restricted Access Area, Authorized Personnel Only. Trespassers will be detained."

As they continued forward, a cute-looking girl with brown hair stepped out from the group following the women, she was wearing a suit which wholly didn't befit her appearance, on her waist hung a twin set of daggers, gently tapping white-haired woman in front of her on the shoulder, trying to get her attention as she spoke, her voice heavily stained with indignation.

[Unknown Brown-haired girl]: "Selene, what the hell are those army brats doing around our rift? Didn't we just finish analyzing it? How did they even set all this up so fa—"

An armored truck sped by the group, cutting off the girl's long-winded rant with a loud screech as it braked in front of the gate, allowing its occupants, well-armed and steely-eyed soldiers, to lock eyes with the group. At first, the soldiers tried to stare down the group as if to intimidate them, but meeting the eyes of the white-haired woman (Selene), they quickly diverted their attention away from her cold gaze, making themselves busy inspecting their own weapons. This awkward state of things only lasted for a few moments as the gate slowly opened for the armored truck to slip through. A few sighs escaped from behind Selene. Slowly, the brown-haired girl began to speak again, but before she could, she was cut off by a cold sentence from in front of her.

[Selene]: "I know what you're going to say. Hold your tongue for now. That goes for the rest of you as well. Hold your heads high. I will not let anyone trample over us, whether it's the army or those overly eager politicians. Ares guild will crush them all."

Despite her confident words, Selene only half-believed what she said. Recently, clashes between the large warden guilds and their associated offices against the national military of the Albion Federation had escalated. As much as she hated to admit it, she wasn't sure if the name of Ares would still be enough. As she walked towards the gate, her eyes fixed with a cold glare, she prepared herself for the inevitable bureaucratic nightmare that would follow from her confronting the army here. But she had to do it. Despite knowing this, she couldn't help reflecting on the past of the wardens, of the era when they were hailed as saviors rather than troublesome middlemen by the nations of the world.

When the rifts first started opening up nearly ninety years ago,they brought with them a new form of strange energy,and that energy brought with it a great change to the world. In every nation people both rejoiced and despaired. Some called it the coming of god, while others thought the blood-red skies heralded the end of the world. Heh, Perhaps it did. Along with the strange phenomenon came powers; all around the world, people suddenly began to awaken, gaining abilities, strength, and the ability to interact with those strange tears in space. At the beginning, only a few people were able to awaken, around a hundred in the first year. But each one of these people was exceptionally gifted.

At first a lone refuge in a strange land, then the leader of a nation, then a legendary hero, these first few blessed people would have gone down in history. These Awakeners were in some places worshiped and in others feared. But they, much like the rifts that had gifted their abilities, were considered strange everywhere. The common people at that time had no ability to defend themselves against these people, and while it is taught now that they were heroes, that was not the case at all. For they were, regardless of their newfound strength, still human. Only now, they had been made predators in a world filled with prey.

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