Dreadwolf, Lord of Runes

The beastling and her pursuers left an easy trail for the boy to follow. Even if he couldn't simply follow the sounds of shouting and clattering trashcans, he could still track the path of destruction left behind.

They weren’t the only ones inhabiting these back alleys. But these narrow corridors in the ass-end of Riftshade were essentially the slums of the slums, and people kept to themselves here—especially when it concerned three large, well-fed, middle-aged thugs.

Since the slums held next to no Mystics or Cybers, a force like that was one to be reckoned with.

As for the boy himself, no one seemed to notice him. The shadows weaved around him, becoming a moving blot in the corner of your eye that disappeared the moment you looked straight at it.

As he walked casually, unseen by the people barely subsisting in these alleys, he picked up conversations from the surrounding dregs.

"Did you see the beastling girl being chased by the Walton brothers?" a raspy voice whispered. The other figure spat on the ground, disgust evident in his tone. "Yeah, so what? Who cares about some beastling? If it wasn't for their kind, we wouldn’t be in this mess.”

The first form shifted uncomfortably before answering, “Is that her fault, though? She’s just a little girl…”

“Well, go do something about it if you care so much,” the second snorted, and they both fell silent, neither making a move.

As he walked past, the boy shook his head and chuckled. ‘The beastling invasion happened nearly 90 years ago now, and it ended ten years after that,’ he thought, remembering what he knew of Earth's history.

‘That means the WDD has had 80 years to get its shit together. You can hardly blame it on the beastlings at this point,’ he continued, while thinking of the World Defence Directorate, or WDD, which was the rather xenophobic governmental entity that effectively ruled the world.

'Besides, Earth wasn't even doing so well before the beastlings came,' the boy continued with a sneer, letting his thoughts wander as he easily kept pace with the thugs he was following. 'The beastlings came just in time to interrupt the ideology wars between Mystics and Cybers. If anything, their arrival finally brought those two factions to the table.'

A hundred years ago, in 2050, the existence of Mystics came to light. These people were able to use a kind of natural energy to enhance their bodies and ascend beyond the capabilities of other humans.

It should come as no surprise that the average Joe became concerned that these superhumans might squish them like fleshy tomatoes, despite the fact these Mystics had lived peacefully among them for many years.

So tensions rose, and some Mystics did in fact believe they deserved to rule the world. So it didn't take long for non-Mystics to decide they needed a way to keep up.

Thus, the Cybers—cybernetically enhanced humans—were born. And it didn't take long for Cybers and imperialist Mystics to start a violent rivalry that even forced the peaceful Mystic factions to become involved. This lead to the start of the ideology wars in 2052, and lasted until the start of the beastling invasion in 2060.

That was when the WDD came to power. A place they still hold even now, 80 years after the invasion ended, claiming that an invasion could happen again at any time.

'Not that that's entirely unfair,' the boy shrugged inwardly. 'It's true that rifts have kept appearing, even after the original beastling rift closed. But none that were as big as that first one. Nor have any of them lasted a full ten years.'

The beastling invasion started when a massive spatial rift opened just outside of Tokyo. Technologically inferior, but with massive numbers and many of their own Mystics, they proved an overwhelming force.

After recovering from the dual shock of encountering extra-terrestrials and finding out Mystics weren't an exclusively human thing, Earth was forced to defend itself.

In the ten years that followed, the beastlings raided Earth for captives, technology, and resources while the Cybers and Mystics of Earth, united by the WDD, fought back desperately.

It only ended when the beastling rift closed ten years later, cutting the remaining invaders off from any reinforcements. The remaining beastlings were either killed, imprisoned, or scattered across the globe.

'And when it was all over, they founded this beautiful cesspool of a city,' the boy laughed sarcastically, shaking his head while he continued his leisurely chase. 'Built on the ruins of Tokyo and named Riftshade, it was presented like a symbol of victory over the invaders.'

'Like that meant something,' he scoffed. 'They simply tried to distract the people from realizing that the WDD knew nothing besides war.'

Suddenly, he sighed and looked up at the sky, barely visible from the dark alley he stood in, 'Perhaps that's not fair of me. They did try for a little while. Everyone was tired of fighting and started rebuilding efforts in the spirit of peace between Cybers and Mystics.'

He shook his head and scoffed, 'But as soon as it became clear that rifts would keep appearing, they essentially left the people to their own devices while they focused on protecting against future invasions. At any cost.'

Non-governmental organizations started filling the gaps left by the WDD, crime rates rose across the world, slums grew.

In essence, Earth was in a constant state of war, and the common people suffered because of it.

After ruminating on the world's current state, he suddenly had a thought, 'You know what, after I take my revenge and kill Father, I'll need a new goal. Perhaps I can work to take over the WDD and turn this garbage pile of a world into something worth protecting again. Incidentally, real power and influence are also the only way to become truly free.'

Even as dreams of the future flickered through his mind, the boy kept his eyes on the beastling girl who moved through the dark alleys with speed and grace. Even from a distance, he could see the determination, grit, and hatred etched on her face.

"Regardless, a beastling just so happens to be perfect for me right now," the boy muttered as he watched her move. "Father ordered me to get myself a personal underling, loyal only to me, but I have no doubt he intends to ensure that whoever I get will serve him in the end."

A sly smile of satisfaction appeared on the boy’s face. "But he’ll find that a lot harder to do with a beastling… I can’t wait to see his face when he realizes he can’t sway this one with promises of powerful cybernetics. After all, human cybernetics don’t work with a beastling’s brain chemistry."

Suddenly, without stopping his leisurely chase, the boy's sword struck out, and cleaved the head clean of a nearby dreg, who had no way of noticing the boy's shadowy cloaked form was walking behind him.

In doing so, he drenched the girl this dreg was about to rape in blood.

He may not consider himself a vigilante, but there were some things he wouldn't tolerate. Certainly not in his field of view. His expression didn't change, however. Nor did this stride. The life of a random rapist dreg simply didn't mean anything to him.

Even his thoughts continued unhindered, 'I really got lucky when I found this catling. Rather than some random dreg I would need to keep at arm's length so that it wouldn't cost me too much when the inevitable betrayal came, I might actually be able to trust this girl.'

When he was ready to pick any random orphan, he ran into this beastling girl and her mother being captured by thugs the day before.

It was a lucky find, since beastlings were rare in Riftshade. Most lived in the large camps set up by the government across the wasteland or were already part of some other criminal network.

They were particularly popular in brothels, male or female, which was likely what these thugs had in store for the girl—and definitely what they had already done to her mother.

As soon as he realized what he stumbled upon, the boy threw out his old plan and made a better one—to turn Father’s little game against him. Instead of getting a convenient spy to keep an eye on his son, he provided the boy with the opportunity to acquire an actually loyal follower.

‘If I play this right, she’ll be the first person I can put my trust in since mother died…’ he thought to himself. A dark glint passed through his eyes.

Finally, their chase seemed to come to a head when the beastling girl lost the thugs chasing her at a four-way intersection. “Where the hell did she go?!” the smart one growled at his two dumber brothers.

The boy approached the trio of thugs and looked up at a particular window, lips curled into a satisfied grin. They may not know where she went, but he did.

'Time to end this,' the boy thought, his eyes gleaming.