Broker

Chapter 35

Sonya was seated next to Chunhua, the mystical world of the Avalon Theatre glowing around her. She wasn’t interested in the beauty of it all, though, her eyes were fixed on the faces around her. Every single person here. Whether intentional or not, they would play a role in the downfall of humanity. The Mythics and even worse, the so-called Divines, self-proclaimed gods of the Post-Pandora world. Her gaze swept the crowd before fixing on them, seven seats, seven heralds of Otis.

The closest to her on her side of the theatre was a grim-faced man with short black hair and eyes that glowed with amethyst light. His expression was stoic but his eyes were sharp and intelligent. He wore a simple business suit and was leaning back in his seat with his legs crossed, his expression unreadable. This was the An Set she remembered, though she now knew him better as Phan Duong. He could drain an entire metropolitan area of its electrical charge with a breath and unleash it to devastate his surroundings. Any living thing he touched simply dropped dead if he wished it.

Next was a blonde woman wearing a full suit of armor and had a helmet in her lap. If An Set was unflappable, Liberty was made of ice. Her stare was unapologetic in its disdain as she swept her gaze over the other mythics gathered. She sat with her feet planted and her nose wrinkled in disgust. Her powers were as well known as her peers, she could distribute a passive increase in all attributes to those that followed her and the more that received her gift the stronger she became in turn. She was one of the first Divines to form a cult around herself in order to expand her powers.

After her was a tan skinned man with five-o’clock-shadow and a wry smile on his face. He sat in nothing but shorts, a flowery vacation shirt, and sandals. First Wind was as relaxed and easygoing as ever, his disposition eccentric. He flashed a few smiles here and there, pointing out a few people in the crowd of Mythics shamelessly. He waved now and then and even blew a kiss at one woman, drawing a glare from Liberty. First Wind could create a storm with a breath and control the air pressure and temperature around him as easily as one could walk. The collateral damage from his battles was legendary.

Sonya frowned at the face in the middle of the seven, a powerfully built man with a bald head and beady eyes in a dark suit that did not fit his muscular frame. He was frowning at Otis and a vein was slowly throbbing in his impossibly thick throat. Majordomo clenched his fists impatiently in his lap and leaned forward to stare at the back of Otis’ head as if he were looking for an opening. Eventually he relaxed and leaned back in his seat, huffing to himself. Majordomo possessed physical strength on par with Otis and enjoyed a suite of features within his ability comparable to a comic book paragon. Durability, speed, strength, and the ability to fly.

Next to Majordomo was an asian woman with black hair in a green headdress and cheongsam who was leaning on the arm of her chair and looking incredibly bored. Qilin huffed out a breath and muttered something to Majordomo who shook his head. She frowned at him and looked away, twirling her finger in her hair. Qilin possessed many of the abilities of her namesake and could transform into such a monster at will. Her most terrifying ability was the capacity to manipulate chance and probability within a small area around herself making it almost impossible to touch her.

Following Qilin was a long haired man with a dark smile on his face, his hair was off-silver and his skin had turned a ruddy red as a result of his powers. Like Majordomo and An Set he wore a fitted suit with a red tie that matched his skintone. He was rubbing his chin thoughtfully and eyeing the crowd while everyone got settled. Astaroth possessed monstrous physical abilities along with the rare power to summon horrific creatures that he could control. He cared very little about who got caught up in the rampages of his demons and was prone to treating the mindless beasts better than he did his own human subordinates.

Finally, the last was a thin man with glasses and cropped cut brown hair. Craftsman sat stiffly, looking a bit tense despite his position of power. Astaroth leaned toward him and murmured something and a bloodthirsty smile spread across Craftsman’s face. He reached up and adjusted his glasses before saying something in response, eliciting a laugh from Astaroth. Unlike the others who were legendary for the damage they were capable of, Craftsman was what Amos dreamed he could be, a creator of magic tools and weapons that were exclusive to the highest order of Mythics. He owned no company, rather enjoyed the resources the world simply threw at him.

Sonya pulled her eyes from them, committing their faces once more to memory. They were the worst of the worst, the agents who manipulated the world and created the crisis that would lead to the end. Her eyes turned back to Otis, All at his order.

“My brothers and sisters, as you may have heard, the Divines and I have taken a great stride towards the future stability of our precious world,” Otis said to the crowd, “A mythic dungeon has fallen to us and the rewards have proven more than worth the cost of life and limb.”

There was a round of applause, even Chunhua clapped, Sonya forced herself to participate if only to keep up appearances in this memory. Otis held out his hand and a goblet appeared in it. Sonya froze, Oh, she felt a chill run up her spine, It was this summit. 

“This is the Grail of Divine Right, given to us as a reward for completing the Mythic Dungeon!” Otis lauded, “A cup from which our future shall pour out. One sip from this chalice can awaken the divinity in anyone! But that Divinity must be fed if it is to grow,” He said, holding up a finger, “Worship and Adoration are it’s price, those who drink from it will gain strength from those who adore them, much like someone we know,” He glanced back at Liberty who brushed her hair back flippantly.

“This cup will be our course to establish the proper natural order in this world,” He announced, “With it, the chosen among us will truly become Gods, worshiped and praised so that we will have the power to render our enemies to dust. The humans will finally serve a purpose in this fight.”

A silence washed over the crowd. Next to her, Chunhua clenched her fists, “Is he insane?” She murmured.

You have no idea, Sonya thought with goosebumps running down her skin. She reached out and took Chunhua’s hand.

“They’re people not cattle,” Chunhua hissed, and she wasn’t alone in her misgivings. There were many present who seemed uncomfortable with Otis’ words.

This was just the start of the division between the Heroes. It would only get worse from here. Sonya thought as she watched Otis’ face. There was a smugness there that she hadn’t seen the first time she’d been in this seat. The division was his plan all along, fucking monster.

She set her teeth and continued to scan the room, she didn’t need to listen to Otis extol the virtue of using unawakened as a fuel source for their powers. That was when she spotted a woman sitting in the crowd nearest the throne of the seven. Her eyes were a startling amethyst color and she wore the robes of the Amethyst Order. She narrowed her eyes, while her new powers didn’t seem to work in this dream state, she wondered if her original abilities worked.

<Feng Hyunh, Awakened>

She froze, As in, Phan Duong’s fiance? She examined the woman more closely, she had a critical eye on everything around her and her expression was calm and even a little smug. Now and then she glanced towards An Set and mouthed something. Sonya glanced at An Set who nodded a bit vacantly. Her expression hardened, So that’s how it is. Noted. She turned away from the woman and searched the room, Is there anything else I can pick up on while I’m here? This won’t last forever.

“Sonya?” She heard Chunhua call to her, it seemed distant.

Not yet, more information, I need more!

“Sonya?” Chunhua called.

Sonya’s eyes flicked through the crowd, Someone has to stand out, some- She spotted an effeminate man sitting near the edge of the crowd, a tablet in his hand. He was writing something on the tablet and kept glancing up at Otis with a mixed look of reverence and fear. Who?

<Colin Matthews, Unawakened>

An unawakened, here? Otis would never allow that, wait, Colin Matthews… his lawyer? Sonya blanched, she had never met the man in person and had only heard the stories later through Chunhua. This was the skilled attorney that had helped Otis get away with nearly everything he’d done as a hero up until the day he’d declared himself leader of the Divines and put himself above the law. Chunhua had said before that Otis basically kept him around like an amusing pet. A smile crept across Sonya’s face, I wonder if they’ve made contact yet.

“Sonya!” Chunhua nearly shouted, grabbing her shoulder and giving her a shake.

Sonya blinked and whipped her head towards her wife, “Huh?”

Chunhua smiled at her, “Love, time’s up,” She said and reached out to cup Sonya’s face with a soft hand.

“What?” Sonya blurted.

“Time to wake up.”

–

Beyol stepped out of the back door of the hotel, pulling his hood over his head. He’d spent enough time hiding out and researching the state of things in the city from the safety of the room. Now it was time for a bit of legwork. He shoved his hands into the pocket of his hoodie and popped his fingers, glancing around beneath the brim of his cap. The crime rate in this city is weird, why is it so low? The internet told me nothing except that the gangs were behaving strangely. You’d think the cops would say something.

He walked the length of the alley, staying attentive of his surroundings as he considered what he’d managed to learn besides the oddities concerning New York’s criminals. Sonya Chernovna has a penchant for going to night clubs and makes an effort to make connections with everyone she meets. She likes handshakes a great deal meaning it should be easy to get within physical contact with her if I can get close enough. Her attendant, maid, bodyguard? Whatever the hell she is, she has superhuman strength and rarely leaves Sonya’s side, otherwise she sticks to standard armed bodyguards for her protection.

He scratched his neck, The maid shouldn’t be a problem and the guards are just chattel. But-

He paused and lowered his hand, a frown crossing his face as four men stepped out into the alley in front of him. His fingers tensed in his hoodie, his sharpened thumb cutting a divot in his wrist. “Can I help you?” He grunted.

“Yeah!” One of the men said, stepping forward with a bat slung over his shoulder, “You can come quietly so you can talk to the king.”

King?

“I’m afraid you have me at a disadvantage,” Beyol said, glancing to his left as four more men stepped up behind him. “What king are you referring to?”

“The King of New York’s underworld, ya idiot,” The man with a bat growled, swinging it once and pointing it at Beyold, “You think you can roll into this city and kill whoever the fuck you want and get away with it? A fucking cabbie? That’s low. The guy had kids.”

Beyol narrowed his eyes, How did they know? Was there something I missed? More importantly, there’s a King of the Underworld? Interesting. Maybe I can get some information from these guys. A blade formed in his hand inside his hoodie, No point in talking anymore.

“Hey! Say something assha-” The knife left Beyols hand in a flash, the next moment it was embedded between the bat wielding man’s eyes. The corpse fell to the ground before the others could even react. He whipped his hands out of his hoodie and two more knives took shape while the knife he’d thrown turned back into liquid and rushed towards him in the air. The men only hesitated for a moment before letting out a roar and charging him. Flames erupted from one man’s hands, electricity from another, a third grew claws.

All awakened? Who is this King guy? Beyol thought as he dove between a fiery punch and a swipe of iron claws. He slid and threw the knives he created into their backs before snatching the third out of the air over his head and hopping onto the back of the electricity user, ramming the blade into his throat. He hopped off in time for the other four to engage, his hand moving in what looked like slow motion as blades seemed to materialize in the air around him. The knives launched as if propelled of their own will and riddled two more of his attackers.

The last two had completely different reactions, one had defended himself from the attack by turning his skin to stone. The other had immediately turned to run. Beyol scowled at the runner and threw a knife into his back as the stone man realized what had happened. He was on him in an instant, pushing him to the concrete below and grabbing him by the shirt. He noted the white queen chess piece pin on his lapel. Beyol frowned and glanced at the other bodies, Uniforms?

He looked back down at the last survivor, “Tell me what I want to know and I’ll make it quick,” He snarled, creating an ice pick out of his liquid metal blood.

The stone man just grinned at him, “You are so fucked buddy,” He laughed, “If we don’t get you, the higher ups will, we have a Goddess on our side.”

“King? Goddess? What the hell are you talking about?” Beyol snarled.

“I ain’t saying shit to you,” The stone man shot back.

Beyol tilted his head, “Oh? You think so?” He said and pulled him to his feet, looking him dead in the eyes, “Let’s go somewhere private, shall we?”