"THE corpses are not our agents inspector," pagbabalita sa akin ni Agent Razor na isang class A agent. He served the Metropolitan Investigatory Agency for two years already but he's now focused on the top secret case of the invincible Nether City.

Kaaalis lang ni Fallen Angel. As expected from her, hindi niya ginalaw ang mga agents ko. Sa halip, ang mga pinatay lang niya ay ang mga sakop na reapers ng Dark Family, ang kalaban ng White Family, na nandoon din sa crime scene kanina at nagpapanggap na mga pulis.

"The White Family is being low profile these past few months. I wonder what they're up to, Inspector." Agent Razor sat beside me before handing me a cup of coffee.

"Thanks. Ilang buwan na silang tahimik at ngayon, bigla-bigla silang kumikulos. I wonder what's on their mind at parang may pinaghahandaan sila," saad ko habang nakatanaw sa SOCO na nag-i-imbistiga sa crime scene.

Yumimura is a government leech. Walang nagtangkang magsampa sa kaniya ng kaso kahit may mga matibay silang ibedensya laban dito dahil sa kapit nito sa Dark Family ng Nether City at ng mga tiwaling opisyal ng gobyerno. Subalit mukhang may pakay sa kaniya ang White Family, ang tanging pamilya na may kakayahang sumalungat sa Dark Family.

Nasa kilalang White Family kasi ang tanyag na grupo na Phoenix – the most wanted group of United Nations Organization, FBI, and CIA. Ngunit mas kinatatakutan ang leader ng Phoenix na si Fallen Angel o mas kilala bilang Underworld Goddess.

At mukhang may nabangga si Yumimura sa White Family. Or is it a provocation to shake the equally powerful Dark Family?

It's a big threat – the White Family. Lumitaw ang samahang ito ilang siglo na rin ang nakararaan, hindi lang sa mga taga-Pilipinas kun'di pati na sa buong mundo. Kasangga ng White Family ang Russia at North Korea. Gan'yan katibay ang kaalyansa nito kaya malakas ang loob ng mga ito na balewalain ang gobyerno. Pero dahil kay Fallen Angel, ang kanang kamay ni Seiryo, napapanatili ang kontrol ng White Family – hindi tulad ng Dark Family.

Si Fallen Angel ang batas kapag sumapit na ang gabi kaya hindi kami masyadong pokus sa paghuli sa kanila. Mas madalas kasi ay mas nakakatulong sila sa'min. Alam naman namin na hindi pagtulong sa gobyerno ang nais ng White Family, talagang may plano sila laban sa Dark Family.

Alam ng gobyerno ang tungkol sa Nether City na nasa ilalim lamang ng Metropolitan. Pero wala nang kakayahan ang gobyerno na pasukin 'yon. Sa katunayan ay may isang doktrinang nilagdaan ang pangulo ng Pilipinas at ang mga leader ng dalawang pamilya.

Respetadong mandirigma si Fallen Angel, isang anghel na makasalanan. Tanyag bilang may pusong bato na hindi kilal naa ang salitang 'makatao.'

NAALIMPANGUTAN ako dahil sa ingay ng mga sandata nila. Abala ang mga reaper o mga miyembro ng White Family sa paghahanda para sa misyon namin ngayon. Mga kalansing ng mga sandata, sigaw ng pagsasanay, at mga pag-uusap na animo'y sabik na sabik sila dahil ito ang unang pagkakataong lumaban sila.

Ang pag-atake sa buong angkan ng mga Loong o mas kilala bilang Dark Family, ang siyang misyon namin ngayong gabi. Nasa gawing kaliwa ko ang mga kasamahan ko sa Phoenix, with their known masks on their faces and weapons within their grasp. Kanya-kanya sila ng ginagawa. May naghaharutan, may natutulog, may nakikinig sa musika, at may nag-te-text.

Naghanda na rin ako. Nagbihis ako ng itim na uniporme ng Phoenix na hapit sa katawan kaya mapapansin ang aking mga kurba. Itinali ko rin ang maalon-alon kong buhok na kulay rosas. Tinakpan ko na ang aking mukha ng itim na tela na tanging pares ng mga mata ko lang ang makikita. Inilagay ko na sa aking likod nang pa-ekis ang Enraiha na nasa unang anyo nito.

Sa paglabas ko ay nag-bow ang lahat ng aking dinadaanan pero parang wala lang akong nakikita at nagpatuloy lang ako sa paglalakad. Nasa likuran ko naman nakasunod ang mga miyembro ng Phoenix. Walang hindi namangha sa mga taong nadaraanan namin.

Huminto kami sa harap ni Seiryo at nagbigay galang. Tinapik lang niya ako sa balikat bago kami dinaanan upang magsalita sa harap ng mga reaper ng White Family.

"Ngayon ang eksaktong petsa ng pangyayaring ayaw nang balikan ng ating mga isipan. Ang araw na pinagtaksilan tayo na naging dahilan kung bakit muntikan nang maubos ang angkan ng mga Shiranui!"

Shiranui Clan, ang frontier ng White Family na isa sa mga lider ng Nether City. Mula rin ako sa angkang ito bilang direktang apo ni Seiryo.

Sa pagbanggit nito ng trahedya dalawang taon na ang nakararaan ay nakita ko ang sabay-sabay na pagtalim ng mga mata ng mga reaper sa paligid. Ramdam ko ang matitinding hinagpis at galit ng mga ito.

"Naghintay tayo at nagkubli sa dilim sa loob ng sampung taon at ngayon na ang araw ng paniningil!" sigaw ni Seiryu bago tumalikod. Hudyat na rin ito ng pag-alis namin subalit nagsalita ako.

Nakatingin lamang ako sa likuran ng lider ng White Family hanggang sa nawala na ito sa kadiliman. Matanda man ang pinuno ng White Family ay mababakas pa rin sa hangin na nakapaligid rito kung gaano ito kadelikado. Idagdag pa ang mga mata niya na tila nanggaling na ito sa impyerno. "Hunt them down. Kill them all. Feed from their fears," nakakapanindig-balahibong pahayag ko na ikinangisi ng lahat.

"Tenzegen!"

Sa pag-agaw ng dilim sa liwanag ng paligid ay isang sigaw ng pagkakaisa na uhaw sa paghihiganti ang namumukod tangi sa araw na 'yon.

I will make sure that the sun that always sets at the Loong's grand mansion will surely set in hell today.

Handa na ang lahat. Nasa labas na kami ng headquarters at sabay-sabay na naglaho ang lahat sa kadiliman. Pero bago umalis ay napatitig ako sa araw na papalubog na at biglang bumaha ang ala-ala ng kahapon

Paris, France

Thick curtains covered the entire glass wall window, preventing the city lights from providing light inside our private room. Every nook and cranny of this room scream "luxury" - from the diamond chandelier to the fiber tiled floor. But I, a child of the Shiranui Household, did not care. Silence engulfed me and my companion as we were focused on ending the game immediately.

I am with my older brother, Yue Shiranui. He's a year older than me and we're currently playing chess in our private room like we always do before lunchtime—also known as the most awaited part of the day. We would eat together with our parents, who always made it possible to spend their afternoon with us. We are from a Japanese lineage, but we somehow know how to speak Filipino and English.

"Time check?" I asked him as I moved the queen of red pieces. Yes, red pieces. I refused to use black nor white. Red perfectly suits my taste.

"Excited, huh? Quarter to noon, Lulu," Yue replied as he sipped his tea.

"You looked like Dad when you do that, Yue."

"I will be like Dad someday, Lulu."

I answered him with a shrug as I pretended I am not slightly offended. He just reminded me where I stand in this prestigious household.

What he said is true. When Yue was born, everything around him is a must in preparation to be our next clan head, while I live in his shadow. My brother is a polymath. He is good at everything, so he effortlessly got the attention of the family, while I am the nobody of the Shiranui Clan.

I am not like my mother, who could kill hundreds of people for one night. Nor my father, who could bring down an entire army with his strategy. I just preferred the solitude of the darkness.

I cannot do anything. But hide in the silence and mask my presence with utter pretension.

"When the time comes that you will sit on the throne, I will be by your side as a pawn." I grasped his little hand, silently swearing to protect him.

A pair of identical eyes twinkled as he held my hand back. "I will look forward to that future then, Lulu," he said dreamily.

We continued the game like any other games when the butler of our family suddenly came rushing in. We turned to him in unison with faces full of wonder.

"Young master, young lady! Follow me." He is still catching his breath as he guided us to stand up and led us to the door. Without further questions, we let him lead the way for us.

The butler is about to open the huge door when a gunshot triggered my brother's ability to remain calm. Instead of opening the door, our butler raised his silencer gun defensively. He pushed me and my brother away from the door while staying on alert.

On instinct, I grasped Yue's hand again — too afraid to lose him amidst this chaos.

"Young master, young lady, to the bunker, now!"

The bunker, a place in the house which is the same as the bunker located at the White House of America. It is a room designed to be safe from any nuclear weapons to protect the White Family's Shiranui Clan.

I grabbed my brother's hands that were trembling with fear to run. We headed to the room's chimney, which has not been used since Christmas eve. For all I know, there is a secret passage here towards my brother's room where the bunker's passage is hidden.

Ever wonder why it is in the room of my brother? Simple, his life is more important than mine. But I hold no grudges against my brother, what I hate is my unnecessary existence.

We are practically running and crawling like there's no tomorrow when my brother suddenly stopped dead from his tracks.

"Yue, let's go!" I grabbed his right hand again, but he just slapped my right hand off.

"Go first, Lulu!" His frail body might be trembling but his voice isn't — as if he already got a resolve on his own.

"Yada! Yue, come with me !" I stomped my right foot on the floor. A habit of mine that I only do if I wanted something badly.

I know Yue has something stupid in his mind again. We reached his room as gunshots echoed around the manor. Screams of despair echoed like an alarm. I do not know why but I remained calm, unlike my brother.

Two small hands lifted the table, and there lies the passage to the bunker. Yue entered the passcode as he let me in first. "Go, Lulu!"

A loud thug interrupted us, someone is trying to infiltrate our room!

"Yue! Hurry!" I reached my small hands to him. But what he responded is the sight I dreaded to see, yet I somehow saw coming. He never reached for my hand. Instead, he looked at me with those glassy pair of eyes.

"I love you, little sis," he painfully said with a nostalgic smile.

Before I could react, he closed the bunker already. I am too astounded to freak out, to cry, and to move. The bunker is designed not to be soundproof, so I heard the conversation I wish I never heard.

He lied that he's the only one in the room. He lied to protect me.

Then I heard a gunshot, a gunshot that turned my fate upside down.