**Group 3 (Damian and Mirage)**
After splitting up, Damian and Mirage were running down a destroyed road. After a while, they reached the city, which was in utter chaos. Most of the buildings were shattered or in pieces, and the streets were filled with potholes and deep gashes.
Damian: "This place is a wreck."
Mirage: "Yeah... Is there even anything left here?"
Damian: "There's only one way to find out... Mirage?"
Mirage: "What's up?"
Damian: "Scout the area."
Without hesitation, Mirage channels his electro into his legs and dashes through the city. A few minutes later, he returns to where Damian was waiting.
Damian: "What'd you find?"
Mirage: "Nothing too interesting, just a kid inside a house nearby."
Damian: "Did the kid look hurt?"
Mirage: "I only saw him from a distance, so I'm not sure, but he didn't seem injured."
Damian: "That's good, but we still need to check if he needs help and get him to a safe place. So, how close is he?"
Hearing Damian's question, Mirage points toward the main street.
Mirage: "Straight down that way, fourth corner, turn right."
With that, the two of them ran toward the house Mirage mentioned. When they arrived, they saw a blinding light pouring out of every opening in the house. Just as they thought to investigate, the light faded.
Damian: "What was that?"
Mirage: "No clue, but it seems interesting."
Damian: "Gotta agree on that, but we need to stay focused. Let's check on the kid."
So, they approached the door and peered inside. There was a boy, as young as our protagonists, if not younger. His skin was cocoa-colored, with red scales scattered across his body. He stood about 1.29 meters tall, and his light brown eyes were sharp, like those of a predatory bird. His clothes were ordinary: a black shirt with a white print and red shorts.
??????: "What's missing? Everything was supposed to be set! Why isn't it working?!"
Seeing the boy engrossed in his task, Damian and Mirage decided to enter the house quietly. Once inside, they saw him staring intensely at a book filled with geometric shapes and symbols, resembling the 12 constellations.
??????: "What did I mess up this time?"
Hearing the boy's complaint, the two glanced at the drawing on the floor and then at the book. They immediately noticed his mistake: he hadn't finished connecting one of the symbols to the circle. Seeing this, Damian instinctively called out to him.
Damian: "Hey, kid, you forgot to connect that part right there."
Startled by the unfamiliar voice, the boy jumped. Instead of turning to face the stranger, he looked at where the mistake was pointed out and fixed it. Then, without glancing at our protagonists, he clapped his hands together and placed them on the circle of symbols. The moment his hands touched it, a glow burst from the symbols, though not bright enough to force Damian and Mirage to look away.
??????: "I don't know who you are, but... thanks. I can't believe I made such a dumb mistake. But... it's a shame I'll have to kill you..."
As the glow faded, a katana handle appeared in the center of the symbol circle. Unlike Mirage's katana, this one was made entirely of concrete, the same material as the house's floor. Seeing his weapon complete, the boy grabbed the handle and pulled, revealing the rest of the katana, also made of concrete but clearly razor-sharp, perhaps even sharper than Mirage's blades. After drawing the katana, the boy swung at Damian's neck, but it didn't work; the blade didn't even scratch Damian's skin.
??????: "How?! This alchemical circle was supposed to create a blade that could cut through steel! So why didn't it cut you?!"
Despite the attempted murder, Damian looked on in awe at what had just happened. Mirage, though in a fighting stance, was also intrigued by the boy's actions. With this curiosity in mind, Damian tried to talk to him.
Damian: "Hey, kid! What's your name?!"
Still in disbelief, the boy tried another slash at Damian, but like the first, it did nothing.
??????: "What are you made of?!"
Seeing that the boy wouldn't answer and kept attacking, Damian furrowed his brow and asked again.
Damian: "Kid! This is the last time I'm asking! What's your name?"
As those words left Damian's mouth, his eye twitched slightly.
??????: "Yosuke, my name is Yosuke."
For some reason, the boy answered without hesitation, as if mesmerized by Damian's words.
Damian: "Yosuke? Cool name. What are you doing here?"
Snapping out of the "trance," Yosuke was stunned that he'd revealed his name to strangers. Impulsively, he tried to attack Damian again.
Damian: "Mira."
Unlike the previous times when Mirage didn't react, upon hearing his name, Mirage swiftly lunged forward, disarmed Yosuke of his katana, and pushed him to the ground.
Mirage: "Yosuke, right? I suggest you answer my friend here, or... things might get ugly."
Hearing the threat, Yosuke nodded quickly. Seeing he wouldn't try anything soon, Mirage got off him and stood beside Damian.
Damian: "Great! Let's get started! Who are you?"
Yosuke looked confused, since they already knew his name.
Yosuke: "I already told you my name."
Damian: "That's not what I meant. I'm asking who you are to this city. I doubt someone who does what you do is just some random kid."
Yosuke: "Got it... If you put it that way... I'm Yosuke, son of one of the founders of this city. Since there's no point hiding it—you've already seen what I can do—I'm also an alchemist."
At the word "alchemist," Damian and Mirage exchanged glances and started whispering.
Damian: "Well, well, well~ An alchemist? I don't remember putting them on the list we gave to D.E. Do you?"
Mirage: "Nope... But the same thing happened with Kalev's abilities. None of us added them to this world, yet they showed up out of nowhere..."
Damian: "That means one thing..."
Mirage: "What?"
Damian: "That jerk D.E added these things on his own."
Mirage: "Makes sense."
Damian: "As exciting as it is to wonder what else he snuck in, we've gotta focus on the mission."
With that, they turned back to Yosuke, who was waiting for a response.
Damian: "An alchemist, huh? Interesting, but that's not important right now. As the son of one of the founders, you must've seen how this whole war started, right?"
Yosuke's expression grew confused again at Damian's question, but it quickly settled into a serious one.
Yosuke: "Before I answer that... Can I ask something?"
Damian: "Sure, spit it out."
Yosuke: "Who are you guys?"
Noting the seriousness in Yosuke's voice, Damian and Mirage responded with equal gravity.
Mirage: "I'm Mirage..."
Damian: "And I'm Damian. We're both Marines, sent here to figure out and stop the war happening on this island."
The moment Yosuke hears they're Marines, his eyes fill with tears.
Yosuke: "Then he did it! He sent the message!"
Damian: "What are you talking about?"
Yosuke: "My dad! He's the one who called you Marines!"
Seeing Yosuke's emotion, the two protagonists were utterly confused.
Damian: "Hold on, kid! Take a breath! I'm not following!"
Realizing his words weren't making sense, Yosuke takes a deep breath and tries again.
**Yosuke's Version**
Yosuke: "Okay... I'm calm. So, what do you want to know?"
Damian: "Who started the war?"
Yosuke: "First off... 'War' is the wrong word for what happened."
Mirage: "Why's that?"
Yosuke: "Because this isn't a war. The two 'sides' in this war... They're not really enemies. Both the Skypians and the Tritons are just pretending to be in conflict."
Damian: "Why do you say that? Why would they fake it?"
Yosuke's serious expression briefly gives way to melancholy as he recalls the events.
Yosuke: "I say that because... They teamed up to kill my dad... And the reason they're putting on this act is because my dad warned that you Marines were coming, so they didn't have time to escape."
Damian/Mirage: "Damn, man/Sorry for your loss."
Yosuke: "Forget it, let's move on."
Damian: "If that's what you want... Then why did they want to kill your dad?"
Yosuke: "I don't know... One day they were best friends, and the next, they killed him."
Mirage: "That's weird... You don't have any guesses about why?"
Racking his brain, Yosuke comes up with an idea.
Yosuke: "I don't know if this answers your question, but a while back, my dad told me that if something went really wrong, I should go to his lab in the city hall at the center of town."
Damian: "Interesting... Do you know how to get there?"
Yosuke: "Yeah."
Damian: "Then we've got a destination. But first, I've got another question."
Yosuke: "What?"
Damian: "Why were you trying to make a blade that can cut through iron?"
At that question, Yosuke's eyes burned with rage and sorrow.
Yosuke: "To kill a bastard! But it looks like the alchemy book my dad left was wrong, since it didn't even scratch your skin."
Damian: "A bastard? What'd he do?"
Yosuke: "He killed my mom!"
Damian: "My condolences..."
*'Another dead mom plot? D.E's got no creativity, huh?'*
After hearing this, Damian felt a bit awkward and thoughtful, but he quickly shook it off when an idea struck him.
Damian: "I've got an idea, Yosuke!"
Yosuke: "What now?"
Damian: "Make a deal with me!"
Yosuke was floored by Damian's words.
Yosuke: "What?"
Damian: "You heard me! Make a deal with me!"
Yosuke: "What?!"
Noticing Yosuke's state, Damian turns to Mirage.
Damian: "Mira, you think he's got hearing problems?"
Mirage: "I don't think that's it, Dami."
Damian: "Then what is it?"
Mirage: "*sigh* Probably because you're doing that thing again."
Damian: "Doing what?"
Mirage: "You throw out a big proposal like that and don't explain anything... It's just like when you said we had to join the Marines..."
Damian: "And I already apologized for that!"
Turning back to Yosuke, Damian repeats the proposal.
Damian: "Listen up, Yosuke."
Opening his arms dramatically, Damian began to speak, and as he did, a faint glow appeared behind him.
Damian: "Fame! Power! Riches! And Dreams! That's what I promise if you join me."
Hearing those words, Yosuke wanted to believe them but remained skeptical.
Yosuke: "How am I supposed to trust you?"
Damian: "I could give you a ton of reasons to trust me, but... I know words don't carry much weight. So, I'll set a condition for our deal..."
Yosuke: "What's the condition?"
Damian: "We'll get revenge on the guy who killed your mom, and you'll be the one to land the final blow. What do you say?"
After finishing, Damian raises his hand, waiting for Yosuke to shake it, which doesn't take long.
Yosuke: "Deal, and don't forget, I'm the one who's gonna kill that bastard!"
Damian: "Don't worry about that. Now that we've settled this, let's head to your dad's lab."
**To be Continued**