n

n

n

nToby Reaper, the hitman. In another universe, in another time, he was an agent identified by the number 47. But here, he was an agent without a number and without an identity.

nA tool- No, an avatar that was an extension of John Smith’s will. The replica of the one that he played as once upon a time in a different Earth and installed with a personality matrix that reflected that person as well as abilities suited for his role.

n12:55 AM, PST. Sunday, November 24, 2024.

nFive minutes before his employer’s scheduled stream.

nToby made his way through the attached hotel at Walt World, wearing a pilfered janitor outfit. Pushing a gray plastic trolley with a bucket of soap and a mop hanging from it, the hitman adjusted a cap on his head and glanced around.

nThe lobby was empty. Although the theme park was active, the majority of guests had retired for the day, with only a skeleton crew manning the hotel.

nToby pushed the trolley across the main lobby and towards the staff elevator.

nSweeping white arches, glittering marble floors, and golden chandeliers. Memorabilia of a famous mouse character and other animal characters lining the walls. A golden fountain in the center of the floor, bubbling with water even at that hour.

nAt the front desk, a sleepy middle-aged man stifled a yawn as he fiddled with his phone, trying to stay awake. When he noticed Toby, he gave a half-hearted wave.

nToby smiled back and raised his hand as well before crossing the rest of the distance to the elevator. Rummaging around his pockets, he pulled out a keycard and held it up to the scanner panel.

nA soft *beep* echoed and then the elevator doors opened.

nToby pushed the trolley inside and then pressed the top floor where his charges were sleeping.

nPlay Local Forecast – Elevator

nElevator music came on. A calm and vibrant tune.

nAs it did, he went over the mission details.

nVIPs: Kai Jin and Tsuki Jin, his employer’s friend and that man’s daughter.

nPrimary objective: Protection detail and surveillance.

nSecondary objective: Search for signs of his employer’s wife and youngest daughter if possible.

nSimple enough. His employer had provided additional tools that went beyond his usual inventory as well, enhancing his capabilities further.

nSuch as his senses.

nAs the elevator passed each floor, Toby managed to construct a mental map as well as a roster of the assigned guests, cross-referencing it with the list he acquired on his way in.

nAs he arrived on the top floor, the hitman pulled out his phone and sent a text to his employer.

nNo hostiles. Arrived at VIP. Beginning surveillance.

nSilence. And then a message in response, but not from the phone.

n*Good to hear. But keep an eye out. Use lethal force as necessary. I’ll be busy in a few minutes, so report to Bai if something comes up unless it involves Yue or Omega.*

nToby nodded.

n*Don’t get discovered.*

nThe presence vanished, leaving Toby alone again. He put his phone back into his pocket and pushed the trolley forward again, carefully scanning the surroundings.

nAs he did…

nHe noticed them.

nA silent group moving along in a similar manner to him. Three men, acting as janitors and currently convening in the supply closet on the top floor.

nToby shook his head and muttered, “Amateurs.” He pushed his trolley along to the supply closet and then opened it.

nSilence, followed by a tense atmosphere.

nTwo men were reaching underneath a trolley, grabbing an nondescript box. The other was in the process of putting on gloves.

nSeemingly innocuous… But the box held a pair of pistols and silencers while the gloves were the sort used by professionals.

nLike him.

nToby smiled and nodded his head. “Long night guys?”

nThe men looked at each other. One of them looked back at Toby and slowly nodded. “Yes. It’s been… quite the night.”

nToby pushed his trolley all the way into the supply closet and then closed the door behind him, locking it. “Then I suppose I should wish you pleasant dreams.”

n“What are you- grk!”

n“Who sent-!?”

nIn an instant, two of the men were downed. And then there was one. A man with an average face that could be seen anywhere… but a trained body that revealed his true job.

nThe man grabbed the box, wrenching it open to retrieve the gun. But before he could, Toby crossed the gap and grabbed the man’s neck.

n“Grk… Bastard…!”

nToby tightened his grip. “Your organization and purpose. State them.”

n“Like… hell…!”

nThe man pursed his lips and then spat at Toby.

nThe hitman blinked and then he nodded. “Understood. Then you are unnecessary.”

n“W-Wait-“

nA snap, and then the man’s body went limp.

nToby stepped back and carefully arranged the bodies together, hiding them in the corner of the supply closet behind the trolleys.

nAfterwards, he pulled out his phone and made a call.

n“…Who’s this?” Bai’s gruff voice answered.

n“Tiger. This is Mister Smith’s agent, Toby. I’m calling for a status report.”

n“Mister Smith’s- Ah. Got it. That guy mentioned something about that just before going live. What’s the situation then? Find a sign of Madam Yue or Omega?”

n“Negative. However, I have detected and neutralized hostiles that appear to be seeking Mister Jin and his daughter.”

n“Hah? Really now…” The sound of papers rifling on the other line echoed before Bai said, “Hm… Seems like the Rothschild family might be wanting their heiress back then.” He yawned and said, “Keep an eye on him then. Boss would get pissed off if something happened to those guys, so just do what you need to do.”

n“Understood. Then I will report back in-“

nA formless ripple. One that raised the hairs on the back of Toby’s neck.

nHe froze and slowly turned towards the source of it.

n“Oi. You still there?”

nToby stepped back and unlocked the door, slowly retreating from the room. As he did, he said, “Tiger. I request back up. From you personally, if possible.”

n“What? Don’t tell me Boss made a defective shadow servant that can’t handle some mere mortals.”

nStaring into the supply room, specifically at the lifeless bodies being raised back into the air, Toby quietly said, “Men, I can handle. The living dead… may prove troublesome.”

n“Living de-“

nThe line suddenly cut out.

nToby frowned and then tried to contact his employer. But the call didn’t connect either. And then he resorted on the fallback that they established earlier in the case of emergencies, but…

n“It would appear that an unexpected variable has emerged.”

nInterference from a supernatural force. Some paranormal energy emanating from nearby and reanimating the corpses of the men that Toby had just slain… and also slowly seeping into the atmosphere.

nIt wasn’t tangible. Ordinary humans wouldn’t detect it. Not only that, but it seemed to be distorting the air as well, giving everything a dream-like feel and cutting off reality.

nThe reanimated corpses stepped forward, adopting martial arts stances.

nToby narrowed his eyes.

n—–AI|IA—–

n5:59 PM JST.

nBai’s apartment. Standing at his desk, he shouted, “Oi! Oi! Toby or whatever your name is! What do you mean living dead?”

nNo response.

nBai narrowed his eyes and then released a bit of his powers to force the connection through, but when he tried, lightning suddenly sparked through the phone, turning it into ashes.

nAt the same time, a terrifying aura flooded the apartment.

nOne that wasn’t terrifying like John’s that was simply so far beyond him. But one that Bai was intimately familiar with… and one any cultivator from the Three Realms would recognize.

n“…Heavenly Tribulation? No, this much…”

nIt wasn’t just Heavenly Tribulation. There was an ancient will behind it as well, one that seemed timeless. No, as old as time.

n“Tch. That snake was right about it then. Boss wasn’t thorough enough.”

nA formless power spread throughout the room. Not divine, not godly, not demonic… Primordial. Something that was natural and yet filled with ill-intent.

nAnd the moment that power descended, a figure emerged. A familiar one too.

nBai shifted his stance, causing white lightning to erupt around his body and his hair to lengthen, reaching his back. As he did, he carefully observed the figure.

nIt was transparent, as if a sketched out copy or a faded image. But even so, it was clear.

nA ‘John Smith’, but younger. The same one that had beaten Bai to a pulp and then tossed him in that gilded cage for the past few eons.

n“Dammit, Boss. You should have-“

nWhatever Bai was going to say was cut off as the phantom John crossed the distance with a sword in either hand.

n—–AI|IA—–

n1:00 AM, PST. One of the two bedrooms in the private suite that Kai reserved for the group. The one with Tsuki and Omega.

nKai’s daughter had long fallen asleep, tucked in beneath a princess themed quilt.

nBut Omega was still awake. Lying on top of her own bed, one with a Galaxy Wars quilt, Omega stared at the tablet she had borrowed from Tsuki. To make sure she didn’t wake anyone, Omega had also borrowed Tsuki’s headphones. Using those, she scrolled through Tsuki’s UTube subscription feed.

nThe latest video was a karaoke stream of Hana, the girl that Tsuki called her older sister. The one before that was that young woman that her father spent so much effort on while ignoring Omega’s mother and herself.

nRemembering that sent a pang of anger and ache through Omega’s heart and she quickly swiped through the list. As she did, she eventually stopped on a video of a silver-haired young woman.

n“Alfi Titor’s debut stream…?”

nTitor… That was the alias that her father used to run that company and project. Alfi Titor…?

nOmega narrowed her eyes.

nDid her father pick up another woman? Was it another self-proclaimed member of his family?

nA morbid curiosity.

nOmega reached out and tapped the video, ready to judge and prepare more words to throw at her father when they headed back to that ‘Japan’ tomorrow evening.

nThe stream played a video and some music, but Omega skipped it all to the middle, wanting to see the young woman speak and act.

n*Papa… Ah. You all know him as John Titor. He’s the one who made me and protected me all this time, so I care about him the most. After that is Beta, my cute and really smart younger sister.*

nOmega froze and then played the video back to listen to the voice. And then one more time just to be sure. And on the third, she was certain. “…Big sister Alpha? And… Big sister Beta?”

nThey were there. No, they were helping their father with his project. Helping him with those young women.

nThat…

nOmega felt a pang through her heart. Anger… No. It wasn’t anger. Just…

n“…Why them, Dad?”

nThe video kept playing, showing Alpha fumbling about as ‘Alfi.’

nIt was ridiculous. Her cold and aloof eldest sister was acting so carefree and foolish.

nRidiculous.

nBut…

n“…Why not me?”

nOmega’s mother had told her that Alpha and Beta had gone with John. But they had hidden away without his permission. Gone against his orders.

nEven so, they were there with him. Instead of being upset, their father was letting them have fun and act so carefree.

nAnd in the meantime, she had been left behind with her mother to handle everything on their own.

nShe had to deal with those Eternal Emperors who thought they could act with impunity.

nShe had to take care of her mother and maintain those manners so as to not lose face and show weakness.

nShe had to be strong… and she was strong. The strongest out of all of John’s daughters.

nBut…

nOmega grit her teeth and closed her eyes, refusing to let her tears drop.

nAnd then an ad started playing in the middle of the video, interrupting Alpha’s voice.

nOmega opened her eyes and reached out to skip it. But then she stopped when she saw a familiar sight.

n“W-What?”

nA dark room with glowing white orbs and twinkling emerald stars.

nIt was different. The room wasn’t the same, but the display…

nOmega pulled the tablet closer, carefully looking at the twinkling stars.

nTo a mortal, it would seem to just be shining lights. And even if they slowed the video down, it would just look like an indiscernible but pretty pattern.

nBut Omega recognized it.

nThe divine script of the Three Realms. A message that was surely meant for just her and her mother.

nYue, Omega. Please come home.

nOmega blinked, wanting to play the video back to double check. To make sure she just wasn’t seeing what she wanted to see. But the ad couldn’t rewind.

n“Stupid device…!” Omega whispered, cursing it under her breath. But since she couldn’t do anything, she focused on the video instead.

nA familiar ring. One that her mother gave to her father.

nAnd then her father appeared on the screen, playing a musical instrument that left musical notes that seemed to linger in the air. A song filled with countless sentiments and emotions.

nBut more importantly was her father’s expressions throughout the video.

nWorry. Fear. Concern.

nAnd then his voice at the end, soft and almost pleading. Telling them to come home.

nThe ad ended, showing the date for a performance as well as various times.

nBut Omega didn’t pay much attention to that. Instead…

n“…Does…”

nShe remembered that facial expression. The almost desperate and worried gaze in his eyes.

nOmega slowly sat up and stared at the tablet. “…Does father not know where we are…?”

nOmega knew her father. While he got in ridiculous situations, he had never shown that expression, those emotions. And her father was the strongest. Stronger than even Omega’s mother, who had mastered an uncountable number of paths and techniques.

nThere should be nothing capable of making him like that. And there shouldn’t be anything preventing him from detecting Omega or her mother when they weren’t going out of their way to hide their powers…

nOmega frowned and went back to the home page like Tsuki showed her. And when she did, she saw a video with a picture of her father. And the title of that video…

nFor Yue

nSeeing that, Omega’s frown deepened. Tapping on the video, she muttered, “You had better explain yourself, Father… None of this makes sense to me.”

n_________

n