(click to enlarge)
STORYLINE: Forbidden Zone border. 1 pm.
For one brief moment, the Ruler of the Night believed he had won. The boy, Jihoon, was finally his fledgling. MasterGin's centuries-long plot was completely dismantled. Order had claimed the board.
"Cancel the ceremony," he said, savoring the words.
The robotic lioness’s heavy titanium tail stopped its rhythmic swaying. Its synthetic optic lenses suddenly whirred, expanding into wide, black rings.
"But, my King, the nobles from all around the world are already arriving."
The Ruler paid the beast no mind. He activated an archived hologram on his wrist display. Lucien Ginerva, the man the world knew as MasterGin, was draped across his shoulder in a candid nightclub shot. Clad in a plunging gold chainmail dress that clung to his pale frame like liquid metal, Lucien looked breathtaking, scandalous, and entirely in his element. His head was thrown back in a wicked, limelight-stealing laugh. "I am sorry, my dearest friend,” the Ruler murmured to the projection. "Your machinations were impressive. But Order will always claim the board.” He pressed a gloved finger to his lips, then traced the glowing contour of Lucien's cheek with a tenderness he showed no living creature. "Our game will continue another thousand years."
He leaned back against the alley wall, lost in thought.
Suddenly the air changed, as if a cloud passed over the sun. The temperature plummeted ten degrees in a single heartbeat. Automated streetlights along the avenue flickered to life.
The lioness froze. Its metal ears rose. It's retinal HUDs flickered across its optical sensors as it looked toward the sky.
"WARNING. Photonic Decay Detected."
The sun sat squarely overhead, but the light turned a sickly, bruised gray.
“Cause?” The Ruler scanned the horizon.
"Solar output remains at one hundred percent," the lioness stated, its voice carrying an unsettling micro-second of latency. "Surface illumination in this sector has dropped to twelve percent. Cause undefined."
Shadows stretched across the concrete like spilled ink, swallowing the midday glare. His ocular implants auto-compensated, cranking brightness to maximum, but the rising dark simply absorbed the artificial light.
A sharp ping rattled his audio receiver.
"Priority Alert," the AI interrupted from the wrist display. The hologram shifted into a tactical map. A heavy strike hovercopter had just crossed into Korean airspace.
The Ruler zoomed in on the optic feed. The heavily armed UN gunship swept low over the coast. Emblazoned across the black hull were the stark white letters UN beneath the logo of the black widow spider.
Maximilian. His arch enemy.
The Ruler tapped his console, routing a direct, encrypted frequency straight to the White House. A veto from the US in the UN could scuttle any resolution. A single vote from Washington would force Maximilian to retreat.
The line rang. Busy signal.
He redialed immediately, overriding security protocols.
A synthesized voice chimed in his ear. "We're sorry. The number you have reached is no longer in service."
The Ruler froze, his hand hovering above the glowing interface. The line disconnected. He didn’t ask the AI for an explanation. He already knew. This was Lucien’s fault. The idiot had insulted the leader of the free world. His half-hearted apology had lead to their undoing.
High above, the sunlight faded further. A bitter chill swept across the alleyway.
He removed his glove and exposed his bare hand to the sky. He felt no burning. No blistering heat. The daylight had lost its teeth. Soon, the creatures of the night would discover the truth.
Chaos was winning.
The screen of his wrist device glitched, resolving into the static logo of Monstrum, a sigil designed by Lucien himself.
The Ruler stared at the emblem of the serpent swallowing the sun. For the first time in a thousand years, he felt something cold move through his chest. He had greatly underestimated Lucian.
"Your orders, my King?"
The Ruler bolted toward the hovercar, clearing the armored door in a single leap.
"Get Lucien on the line now! Mobilize every division! Seal the northern gates!" he roared into his comms, slamming the throttle to maximum. "And delay the cancellation of the ceremony. Tell no one. We need all the incoming nobility for the war."
The engine screamed to life, tearing out of the alley and plunging into the dimming streets of the Forbidden Zone.
At noon, the world was drowning in shadow. The serpent had swallowed the sun. The Age of Apophis had arrived.
The screen of his wrist device glitched, resolving into the static logo of Monstrum, a sigil designed by Lucien himself.
The Ruler stared at the emblem of the serpent swallowing the sun. For the first time in a thousand years, he felt something cold move through his chest. He had greatly underestimated Lucian.
"Your orders, my King?"
The Ruler bolted toward the hovercar, clearing the armored door in a single leap.
"Get Lucien on the line now! Mobilize every division! Seal the northern gates!" he roared into his comms, slamming the throttle to maximum. "And delay the cancellation of the ceremony. Tell no one. We need all the incoming nobility for the war."
The engine screamed to life, tearing out of the alley and plunging into the dimming streets of the Forbidden Zone.
At noon, the world was drowning in shadow. The serpent had swallowed the sun. The Age of Apophis had arrived.
On him, MasterGin:
Outfit: MASON - SINTETIC BODY - LARAX [mesh](CyberFair)
Boots: ANTAYA - Boots "Mora" LaraX[mesh](CyberFair)
Tattoo: ARANA - Sci Arms -Arms Example 2K [BOM]
Nails: AsteroidBox - Simple Nails - LaraX[mesh]
Collar: Cruel Sulfur Gorget, Legacy M [mesh]
Hair: bonbon - tame hair, naturals [mesh]
Eyes: S0NG - Vampy, Old Ice Eye [BOM]
Skin: Skin Arcana - Maverick, FAIR [BOM]
Skin: Pink Fuel - [PF] <Porcelain> Boi/Athletic [BOM]
Head: LeLUTKA - CAMDEN 4.0 [mesh]
Body: Maitreya - Mesh Body LaraX [mesh]
Body mod: Maitreya - Mesh Body - LaraX FlatChest Add-on [mesh]
Body mod: Maitreya - Mesh Body - LaraX FlatChest Add-on [mesh]
Pose: piXit - Sensual - Secret Couple Pose
On him, The Ruler:
Top: Bartimeu - B-120 Cyber Shirt [ATHLETIC] [mesh](CyberFair)
Skin, face: VOGLIA - "THOROS" FANTASY Skin (EvoX) (tinted)[BOM](CyberFair)
Pants: Bartimeu - B-53 Pants L/A [mesh](CyberFair)
Eyes: SHIMM - CYBER XV BONUS [BOM](CyberFair)
Hair: NO.MATCH - NO_COLOURS male [mesh]
Claws: L'Emporio&PL - Oblio Vampire Claws male [mesh]
Head: LeLUTKA - CAMDEN 4.0 [mesh]
Body: TheShops - [BODY] Athletic Meshbody (Legacy)(m) (1.7.1) [mesh]
Setting:
Set: Bersav - Chrome Noir // Top Build Piece [PBR][mesh](CyberFair)
Trees: Little Branch - LB_CyberBloom{Animated}*P[mesh](CyberFair)
