I have come to realize that things aren't as black and white as we think. There is so much of the story we haven't discovered yet. So much that we're misunderstanding,

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Kirin exploded from her blanket, gasping for air. If it wasn't for her curtains, she would have been blinded by the morning sun.

Slowing her breaths and feeling the chill on her sweat from the room, she pulled her sheets up to her shoulders then wrapped it around to her back. She began to look around the room and noticed her barricade was spread out on the floor but the door was shut and locked.

She remembered that she left Gale out in her living room. She scrambled to the foot of her bed, nearly falling off as she reached for her jacket.

Kirin couldn't help but feel the cold in her room. She wondered if Epsilon failed to warm up her apartment last night.

She opened the door to find her table far from where she preferred it and the carpet underneath was rippled near the edge. The room was only dimly lit by the curtains giving the room a soft, almost white glow. But amongst the discrepancies, she couldn't find Gale.

Instinctively, she went around the island corner in a hurry but found no one sneaking about. Kirin couldn't help but feel worried, but why should I? She reminded herself. He betrayed me, used me! He's unforgivable.

A thing came from her window, startling her. She grabbed a knife from her knife block, the biggest one she could quickly grab and steadied herself towards the window. The things never came in the same pattern, sometimes there were two and other times just one. Sometimes they sounded close and then far away.

Kirin could feel her heartbeat and ignored the cold in her fingertips and toes, swearing she could see her breath if she focused enough. As she neared the curtains, she collected enough breath to gather her courage and opened the blinds. She saw the culprit and stared at it in its beady black eyes. Its head made quick turns as it observed her.

"A bird?" She said, exhaling as her shoulders dropped back into a relaxing position.

She began to study the bird as it pecked at the glass. She began to stare deeper as the glass began to fog.

"Those who venture closer to the light cast the greatest of shadows." The bird cawed as a cold grasp wrapped around her shoulder.

A shadow formed in the skies outside, casting a large static-like shadow on the building on the other side. The shadow grew denser in a matter of seconds with black birds cawing towards her window, eventually crashing into the glass.

Kirin gasped for air as her eyes widened, her arms throwing the top of her blanket to her legs. The cold instantly clung to her sweat, giving her shivers. She was surprised that she couldn't see her breath.

Though it took her a while, she brought herself to a realization that she was just in a nightmare. But even so she couldn't bring herself to calm down. With a few deep breaths she got out of her bed and grabbed the jacket that was on the floor - just like in the dream. She unlocked her door and hurried out only to find no one.

Again.

Pausing in her steps, she began to look around just outside her door. Everything was the same as her nightmare. The same cold atmosphere and dimly lit room. She waited to see if the bird was at the window but no sound came from it.

Kirin began to creep towards the window but something caught her eye. The knife she picked up from her nightmare stuck into the wooden floor.

The Fissure wasn't as active this morning. Perhaps the Fissure focused itself further down its crevice, this allowed the sunlight to be its natural color.

As its almost white rays reflected off the wet floors of a parking garage, Bor put on his mask after he basked in its light feeling the heat on his skin. He turned around to find Saib and Xion sitting with their backs against the same pillar. He walked by their captive's lifeless body, making sure not to step in the puddles of blood. His boots clack against the smooth pavement, a small splash would happen every now and then as he found an imperfection in the concrete.

"We know where we're going," Bor said, stopping when he got close to them. "There isn't any time to waste."

"Bor," Saib said, his posture changing as he confronted him. "We've been chasing the leader of Korg-Alfrez for days, not to mention the lack of rest but we're also getting sidetracked on our main mission."

"Saib's right," Xion said, standing up. "We can report back at HQ and have them deal with it."

"You two aren't understanding," Bor stepped back towards the corpse. He stopped at the edge of the puddle of blood and crouched down. "This will help our mission exponentially. They will spill any information they have to save their own lives." He turned his head back to stare at them. "That's how they are."

After gathering her things for the mission Kirin crawled out of her window, but before she shut the window Kirin looked back into her apartment one last time. She had a hard time fighting the feeling that this was going to be the last time she set foot in there ever again.

She sighed, her breath visible for just a moment in the cold harsh air. Closing her window, she shut her eyes as the click let her know it was locked. She turned her head and began to run down the metal stairs until she got to the drop off. She kicked the ladder and it screeched its way down where it eventually clanged loudly at the bottom.

Kirin made sure her bag was tightly slung over her shoulder before she stepped down onto the ladder. The ladder made short screeching sounds every step she took all the way down and with the last bar she turned her body and hopped off.

She looked up to the blue skies, a rare sight to see in Eastern City. She saw her breath rise and dissipate and she felt the sunshine warm her face. Kirin took a deep breath, feeling the cold burn in her lungs before she let it out watching as a larger cloud escaped her lips.

Kirin pulled out her phone as she began to walk, instantly messaging Jaeger to pick her up at the coffee shop around the block. Putting away her phone she begins to rush towards the coffee shop.

There weren't as many cars rushing past on the road at this time. It was either because it was too cold or jobs were too slow to keep their workers. The amount of people on the streets was almost none. There weren't any people in the alley ways getting off on whatever vices they needed. Either way the outside wasn't a place to linger about, especially for pedestrians.

Kirin turned the corner where the coffee shop was in sight. She cupped her hands and put them together to her mouth and exhaled into her palms, warming them ever so slightly. With whatever warmth she had left in her hands she quickly put them in her pockets and hurried to the coffee shop.

Being in the cold reminded her too much of her past. A past amongst killers and thieves, amongst gangsters and backstabbers. The Underground, the city that lay truly on the edge where the Fissure claimed its home, was relentless for those who dared to tread across it. Every turn was an ambush, every sound was an intent to kill. A place for death wishes and false fortune.

She shivered but she couldn't tell if it was because of the cold or because of what she had remembered. Before she realized it she was at the coffee shop. She quickly opened the door and entered. A sudden rush of warm air burned her cheeks that she didn't even realize were cold. An overwhelming whiff of coffee filled her nostrils. At the same time the bell rang just above the door letting Merlin, the owner of the shop, know someone was there.

The man's head perked up from the counter and saw her. "Kirin," he said, putting down the cup he was cleaning. "You weren't scheduled today. Or perhaps someone called out."

"No, actually," Kirin made her way to the bar table to sit in front of him. "I came to tell you that I'm gonna be gone for a long time."

At first Merlin didn't give her a reply, she could tell that made him upset. "I understand that your job is important but it shouldn't be something to risk your life for,"

Kirin paused. There's no way he knows about the mission. She thought. Does he?

"There are other things that you can pursue," he continued. "Perhaps you can reconsider."

"I can't back out on this one, Merlin. The stakes are too high if I stay, or if I leave."

Merlin stood there in silence again, this time he picked up another cup to dry. Before he could say anything else Kirin's phone began to ring. It was Jaeger calling her from outside the coffee shop.

"I'm sorry, Merlin."

Kirin closed her eyes as she turned away from him. She couldn't bring herself to give him one last look as she opened the door.

The ornate doors to the Father's mansion blew open and Bor, along with his two other squadmates, stood at the entrance. Xion and Saib entered the mansion with caution as Bor walked straight down the middle.

No one was there.

Bor scanned the room but couldn't find anything. They could still feel some sort of warmth flow around them. He knelt onto the ground and rubbed his finger on the wooden floor only to find that it was spotless. Standing up, he pointed at the stairs for Xion to investigate and then he pointed at the door to the right side for Saib to investigate. They nodded and Bor began to walk to the door to the left where he decided to investigate.

He opened the door carefully and then he pushed it the rest of the way as he quickly entered the room as if someone was waiting for him but no one was there. Just a room full of empty tables and a lone chair at the other side. But this chair was obviously different from all the rest.

Bor began to walk towards the chair. As he approached it he noticed that there was a lit cigarette in an ashtray, its smoke climbing up and then dissipating. He walked around the chair just in case but as he expected there was no one. He picked up the cigarette from the ashtray and saw that it was barely half burnt. He threw the cigarette at the seat and blasted a steady stream of air at it, making the embers glow bright and eventually the chair caught a small flame.

Not wasting any more time on the small flame, he exited the room with haste. Walking into the entrance hall, he looked back at the front doors wondering where he went, where everyone went. He didn't have time to give the mansion any surveillance. But he knew that there was one more place to go.

Jaeger took some time to park his car in a discrete area, making sure that it would never be found in the brushes - as if the mists of Amber Canal weren't enough. Kirin helped by adding fallen branches onto the car making it more concealed. Jaeger flicked his flip lighter and lit a cigarette that was already in his mouth. With one puff he called to Kirin to get moving. Nearly tripping over one of the branches she put down, she caught herself on a tree.

"We're surprisingly on time today," Jaeger said, walking beside her. "Are you that excited?"

A flashback of last night ran through her head. The sudden wave of emotion made it hard for her to joke this time but she forced it out anyway. "Couldn't wait!" She said with her gaze on the ground. Jaeger took another drag of his cigarette. His smoke almost mixed in with the mist, becoming one or so it seemed.

Kirin looked up at him, finding out that he's been staring at her. She quickly looked down again.

"We should hurry," his steps became quicker as he passed her. "We shouldn't keep our reputation of being late."

Kirin couldn't help but look at his back, he gave her a feeling of safety for some reason she couldn't understand.

She caught up to Jaeger as they approached the edge of The Fissure where the end of the Amber Canal was a waterfall. A large group of people at the designated location. There was silent chatter between all of them, mostly voicing their concerns about the mission and what could go wrong. When Kirin and Jaeger showed up the conversations disappeared with the mists that passed.

The two looked around as the eyes fell on them, but they didn't stay on them for long. Soon after they looked past them, making Kirin and Jaeger turn their heads to see who was behind them. It was Marx. Somehow he was behind them without them noticing. Kirin saw the uneasy expression Jaeger had on his face which she shared.

"It's as if you've all seen a ghost," Marx said with his arms out. "I'm not dead am I?" his arms patting his body to make sure he wasn't transparent.

It wasn't long until everyone went back to what they were doing. Marx stopped beside Jaeger and sighed.

"It's a shame really," he said, shaking his head and inspecting Jaeger's cigarette then pulling out one of his own.

Jaeger raised a brow as if to ask him what he meant.

"I mean, all these people." Marx continued. "This is just so dangerous."

"What do you mean?" Jaeger glared at him. "What do you know?"

"I'm just a simple crewman is all," his tone was obviously sarcastic.

Before Jaeger could talk to him any further, a gust of wind blew past them and Exolas appeared from the clearing of the mists. His sudden appearance silenced everyone, causing them to shuffle in their stance.

"Follow me." He said as the mists swirl around him.

Exolas turned and began to walk. Kirin and Jaeger looked at each other and began to follow the hesitant crowd. Orix and his group of lackeys followed after Orix gave them a nod. The rest of the group began to follow as if Orix and his group of lackeys would become a shield for what's to come at them... if it did.

Kirin began to notice that the path they were taking was slowly inclining, the cliff face now clear to them as they descended further down the Fissure. The path was no longer than two people. Definitely low profile especially with the never ending mists swirling about.

Over time the sound of the waterfall became faint and the sounds of the Fissure became more prominent. It was as if they were walking above a storm. The mists dissipated before it reached further into the Fissure where its smoke writhed like a slithering animal.

The path began to grow thinner the farther they went down. A man almost slipped off, taking part of the path off and into the Fissure. Kirin looked down and tried to listen carefully but she couldn't hear the rock hit the bottom. Another rock from above fell, Kirin looked up and she could barely see any blue from the sky before it got engulfed by the smoke every now and again, eventually only the yellow light the Fissure emitted was the only light source they had which was still bright.

Exodus stopped at an entrance of a cave where he rested his arm on what seemed like a lever. Everyone began to investigate the ground which they all came to the conclusion that it was just dirt and rock. He gestured everyone to step further into the cave and eventually snapped as he saw them hesitantly shuffling their way in. He yanked the lever down and the ground beneath them began to descend with a short sudden drop and then gradually lowering itself. Everyone began to mumble to themselves again.

Bunker lights were hung on the support beams that held the lift together. Every now and then they would flicker and they also had some that were broken or dead. Kirin looked up and could no longer see a ceiling of rock, just walls of rock that shimmered like embers in a dying flame. Every now and then there would be small entrance holes on either side of the shaft making it clear to Kirin that this was a mining shaft but for what, she didn't know. The lift shaft went on deeper in the cavern, making her realize that the Fissure was larger than she'd imagined. If it was this deep going down... how far is it across?

"Steady yourself, kiddo," Jaeger said as the lift began to slow, breaking her imagination of the Fissure. "We don't know what we're up against down here."

Kirin nodded her head and balled her fists. An entrance began to appear as the lift slowly came to a halt. People moved about in the lingering smoke, carrying boxes to and from one side to the other. A giant build of a man many heads taller than Jaeger, which she stood just at his shoulder, was carrying boxes all by himself. Chains dangled from his wrists where metal bounds wrapped around them. A muzzle was put where his mouth was, connected to a collar around his neck that glowed blue, a Brukkas that was contained surprisingly. Several of them too with the same shackles and collar.

A thinner figure walked out from behind him, half its size, skittish and weary of every muscle fiber that moves within its body. It held a clipboard and a feather pen. Though hooded Kirin could tell it was a Slph, a race that exclusively works for rich companies and well known households. A Silph is highly intelligent and easily recognizable by the long tips of their ears that usually stretches a few inches beyond their heads.

The group began to move from the lift and into the smoke where many of these figures, and humans, were scattering about with boxes in tow. Rock formed the ceiling of the cavern where large lights hung, dimly lit underneath due to the smoke. Stalagmites stuck up from the ground, some connecting to their counterparts on the ceiling creating pillars of varying sizes.

Working people shot a glance at them, some grunting as they passed. The tinkering of metal, whether it be tools or scrap, echoed lightly off the walls. Sounds of tools and labor mixed in with the natural ambiance of the cave.

"This is just one big slave operation," Kirin said, her eyes locking on to anything that made a sound. "How did they even get this many?"

"I don't know," Jaeger replied. "And I don't wanna find out either,"

"This isn't a zoo," Exolas shouted. "Move along." Though his words were short they held command that no one thought of disobeying, not even Oryx.

As they walked further into the cavern a large opening began to present itself. A dock began to become visible and longer as they got close. Tethered to it was a barge, its width was enough to compare to a carrier ship but it looked rusted to the bone. Behind it was a star shaped silver monolith and at the center of it were silver rings rotating in opposite directions in front of a bright blue light. A barely visible force presented itself in waves, seeming to push on the barge as it sat still on its gravitational wave.

Brukkas' loaded the barge with boxes bigger than a car. It seemed that a Slph always accompanied one with their board and feather, showing their statistical superiority. Stacks of large boxes were placed down inside the barge by cranes but soon they stopped as they began to get full.

"You all were wondering what the mission was," Exolas said as he blasted air beneath him to thrust himself onto the barge. "It's escorting cargo!"

Bor walked past the cabin that gave in to overgrowth and inspected it for clues but the tracks that were left behind were a day old. His track was growing cold but he knew he was getting close. Saib and Xion came back to Bor with the same results he concluded. Bor looked at the river. Sparkling lights floated around in the water carelessly. He watched the flow of the water and began to follow it along the river bank until he eventually reached the waterfall where it roared down into the Fissure.

"They're down there," said Bor, his eyes scanning anything he could see that was out of the ordinary. He stepped further to see if he could see anything better, breaking a piece of the edge off, sending it down and disappearing into the depths of the Fissure.

Saib had enough of Bor's leadership. He felt him slip after the Ministry banished him from their ranks. For what? Saib couldn't figure it out but he's starting to scratch the surface.

"You're going too far," he shouted. Xion's hands rushed up, sparking to life with fire ready to stop them from fighting but nothing happened, there was just silence between them. Bor didn't even turn around. "We're done following you!" Saib said, as he tore off his mask. His teeth were gritted, his eyes narrowed at Bor.

"He's right, Bor," Xion said, her arms lowered to her side and her flames extinguished. "We can't carelessly follow your orders anymore. You're too overzealous."

"I know what I must do," Bor said, with a determined tone. "I don't need you two to slow me down."

Before Saib or Xion could try to convince him not to pursue Bor jumped from the ledge and he plunged himself into the Fissure. The smoke engulfed Bor, wrapping and swirling around him. He began to swirl his arm and the smoke began to spiral an opening almost a hundred feet down but no matter how hard his arms circled the smoke did not clear enough for him to see a surface. He began squinting after he fell for what felt like several minutes. Just how far down does this fissure go, he asked himself.

A large shadow began to form as he fell deeper. The swirling smoke began to show a clearing, it wasn't wide enough to show him what the surface was. He began to push out with air blasting away from him, causing an opposite reaction as his body began to slow down. The large blasts of air drained him tremendously, the Starchanum he could feel leaving his body like the warmth of his body getting sucked out.

Bor knew that spending this much of his Arcanum could cause him to go unconscious so he let up on the strong stream of air and waited until he was a few feet from the ground. He crossed his arms around his chest creating an X and when the time was right he swung them out like duel swords and a giant amount of air burst below him acting like a cushion as he used the remainder of the momentum to roll. Besides the random rock roughing his shoulder to his back, the landing went well. He stood and brushed off the dirt from his robe and felt the chill settle on his bones.