Chapter 7: Chapter 7. OBS-1D1AN

Ulrich looked ahead again.

“You want to understand real power?” he asked. “Then it’s time you knew where it came from.”

He nodded to himself as though recalling something both ancient and sacred. The ruins of Throst City lay quiet beneath a bruised sky.

Shattered stone. Broken metal. The smell of ash clinging to the wind.

Taigami, Prince, Ivan, and Sky moved slowly through the fractured outskirts—guided by Ulrich Lane, the Warden who had saved their lives. Prince still walked with effort, a hand clutched at his side where the monster had thrown him. Sky’s steps were cautious but steadier now. Ivan, as usual, was bursting with energy—small sparks flaring between his fingertips every few seconds as he tried to mimic Ulrich’s sword techniques with bursts of power.

Ivan, walking just behind them, finally broke the silence.

“Hey… that giant monster,” he said, his voice unusually serious. “Where did it come from?”

Ulrich didn’t turn, but his voice came steady.

“That was the result of a Breach.”

Ivan frowned. “A breach of what?”

Ulrich glanced over his shoulder. “Not what—where.”

Now everyone was listening.

“A Breach,” Ulrich continued, “is a rupture in the boundary between this world and what lies beyond. Think of it like a tear in the sky… or in the soil beneath your feet. When it forms, it leaks more than just energy. It leaks influence—twisting reality, warping living things, even birthing entities from nothing.”

“So… like a portal?” Sky asked quietly.

“Yes and no,” Ulrich said. “A portal connects one place to another. A Breach doesn't just connect—it corrupts. It brings imbalance. Madness. And over time, if left unchecked, it can manifest physical anomalies. Monsters like the one you saw.”

Taigami's eyes widened. “So the monster wasn’t even real?”

Ulrich shook his head. “Oh, it was real. Just... not born of this world.”

They walked in silence for a moment as that sunk in.

“My mission,” Ulrich added, “was to track a reported fluctuation here in Throst City. I was sent to confirm whether it was a breach event—and if so, to contain it.”

Prince scowled. “Well, you were a little late for that.”

Ulrich didn’t respond to the jab.

Sky spoke up softly, “But you closed it, right? When you destroyed the monster?”

“No,” Ulrich said grimly. “I destroyed what came through. But the Breach itself may still exist. Breaches are not so easily sealed.”

Ivan rubbed the back of his neck. “How many of them are there?”

Ulrich paused, then looked over at them all.

“Too many,” he said. “And growing.”

Ulrich’s gaze lingered on the fractured skyline for a long moment.

Then he turned back to the boys, his tone quiet but firm.

“But this isn’t the time for a lecture on Breaches,” he said. “You don’t need to worry about the ‘what’ or the ‘why’ right now.”

His eyes landed briefly on each of them

“What you need to do,” he continued, “is get off this island. Quickly. Reinforcements are already en route. Other Wardens will handle what remains of the Breach.”

Ivan blinked. “There are more like you?”

Ulrich gave a small nod. “Some stronger. Some worse.”

“But right now,” he added, voice steeling, “your mission is survival. That means getting to the port, securing passage, and leaving before the Observation Force arrives.”

Taigami swallowed hard.

They continued walking through the fractured outskirts of Throst City—winding between collapsed walls, crumbling towers, and shattered stone roads scorched black by fire. The city’s chaos now felt distant, like a nightmare slowly fading in the morning light.

Ulrich led them in silence, eyes sharp and ever-watching as the port’s silhouette loomed farther ahead on the horizon.

Prince walked with effort, his shoulder brushing Taigami’s now and then for balance. He had barely said a word since the explosion. Sky and Ivan kept pace behind them, the former quiet and thoughtful, the latter still buzzing with restless curiosity.

Ivan couldn’t hold it in anymore. He bounded over to Ulrich, practically vibrating with excitement. “So you’re really a Warden? Like—an actual Warden? That’s incredible! I’ve only ever heard stories about—"

“You don’t even know what a Warden is,” Prince interrupted, his voice sharp with annoyance as he straightened against the stone wall, wincing slightly.

Ivan turned with a frown. “Of course I do! They’re like... super-powered guards, or soldiers or something.”

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Prince scoffed, brushing dust from his sleeve like it offended him. “‘Or something’? Your ignorance is showing again, country boy.”

Taigami blinked. “Then what exactly is a Warden?”

Instead of answering immediately, Prince lifted his chin, slipping into his lecturing tone like it was second nature. “A Warden is not just some glorified soldier. They’re elite operatives of OBS-1D1AN.”

“Obsidian?” Sky asked, raising his head from where he sat.

Prince shook his head dramatically. “OBS-1D1AN. The Omni-Boundary Security – First Division Intervention Agency Network. The government’s specialized unit built to combat Energy threats.”

“They were created after the First Breach,” he said. “When the government realized conventional weapons were useless against Energy anomalies and the monsters they spawned. OBS-1D1AN was built to fight Energy… with Energy.”

Ivan sat down, his curiosity now completely captured. “So all Wardens are Divergents?”

“Yes,” Prince replied. “But not just any Divergent can become one. It takes brutal training, trials—less than one in a thousand even survive the full process.”

Sky blinked. “That’s insane…”

“And within OBS-1D1AN,” Prince went on, “there are two major factions. The Nyxward and the Umbra Sentinels.”

Taigami leaned in. “What’s the difference?”

Prince’s expression darkened just slightly. “The Nyxward believe in study and containment. They treat Energy like something sacred—something to understand and preserve, not destroy. They’re the shield.”

Ivan tilted his head, suspicious. “And how exactly do you know all this?”

Prince paused for a beat too long. “Because I know it,” he said simply.

Taigami’s brows furrowed. Sky squinted. Ulrich—still silent—tilted his head slightly, casting a glance at Prince from the corner of his eye. Subtle. Suspicious.

“And the Umbra?” Sky asked.

“The Umbra Sentinels are the sword,” Prince said. “To them, Energy anomalies are infections to be purged. They don’t ask questions. They don’t hesitate.”

Sky frowned. “That sounds like a dangerous divide.”

“It is,” Prince said. “There’s been tension between the factions for years. I’ve heard rumors saying that some of their Council meetings nearly ended in open conflict.”

Everyone turned to look at Ulrich, who had been listening silently the entire time. His posture was the same—rigid, alert—but something in his jaw had tightened.

Taigami stepped forward. “So… which one are you?”

For a moment, no one spoke. The air felt heavier somehow. Even the wind quieted.

Ulrich didn’t answer.

Not yet.

Instead, footsteps crunched over the gravel near the entrance of the outpost.

The boys turned to see a figure approaching—a man covered in soot and bandages, limping slightly but alive.

It was the merchant. The one Prince and Taigami had saved during the chaos.

He held up both hands in a gesture of peace, his voice hoarse. “I—uh… I wanted to say thank you. For saving my life back there.”

Prince narrowed his eyes.

The merchant cleared his throat awkwardly, glancing at the others. “And… I’m sorry. For how I treated your group before. All of you. I was wrong.”

He took another step forward.

“If you’ll allow it… I’d like to travel with you for a while. Until it’s safer. I—I can help however I can.”

The merchant had barely taken two steps forward when Prince snapped.

“You—!” Prince’s voice was raw, loud. He struggled upright, ignoring the pain in his side. “If you hadn’t been there, screaming under those damn rocks, I could’ve gone back! I could’ve taken the money we spent months gathering! We could’ve bought a ship and left this cursed island—left this mess your kind created!”

His voice echoed across the shattered stones, the weight of weeks—months—behind every syllable.

The merchant stopped in place, shame sinking into his features. He slowly reached into the folds of his torn tunic and pulled out a small, tightly tied brown bag.

“I know,” he said quietly. “I know what I’ve done. But… maybe this can help.”

He held the bag out to Prince with both hands. “These are my savings. I’ve been putting them aside for years. It should be enough to rent a small ship—at least to get off the island.”

The boys froze.

Prince blinked, his mouth slightly open. Taigami stepped closer, watching the merchant’s hands. Ivan leaned over, whispering, “Is he serious…?”

Sky took the pouch with trembling fingers, weighing it in his palm. Then he crouched beside a flat rock and opened the bag. Gold glinted in the fading light.

After a moment, he nodded slowly. “It’s enough… for five.”

The group fell quiet.

Then Prince exhaled—long and low. He didn’t look at the merchant again, but the heat in his glare softened just a little.

Ulrich, who had been silent the whole time, turned toward the edge of the outpost and spoke without looking back.

“We should move,” he said. “The Observation Force will be combing this zone soon. It’s not good to be around when they arrive.”

“Observation Force?” Taigami echoed.

“They're the post-incident inspection team,” Ulrich explained. “Sent to assess Energy-related catastrophes. And erase anything they deem... excessive.”

Ivan tilted his head. “Erase?”

Sky stood quickly and nodded toward the merchant. “Thank you. For this. It's enough for the four of us... and you.”

The merchant looked stunned. “You’d really let me come with you?”

“You tried to make it right,” Sky said simply.

As they walked through the scorched city roads toward the port, Ivan kept peppering the merchant with rapid-fire questions: “What’s the ship like? Do we get hammocks? Will we see sea monsters? How big is the ocean?”

The man chuckled awkwardly. “You ask more than a merchant’s ledger.”

But Taigami wasn’t laughing.

He walked beside Ulrich now, his steps quiet but deliberate.

His thoughts drifted—haunted by memories that returned without mercy.

Ulrich, glowing with raw force, his blade cutting through the monster’s massive body like it was made of air.

The masked man, towering over him with sword in hand, ready to end his life.

The ghost, ripping Gobomi from their home while his father screamed Taigami’s name through the darkness.

And me…? I just stood there. Always standing there. Always watching.

Powerless.

Taigami's fists clenched at his sides. He couldn’t meet Ulrich’s gaze, but he didn’t need to.

“Ulrich,” he asked, his voice low but resolute, “how… how do I become strong?”

Ulrich slowed, just a step.

“How do I become like you?” Taigami pressed. “Someone who can protect others. Someone who can fight back.”

There was a silence.

Not heavy. Not cruel. Just… deliberate.

Ulrich glanced down at the boy beside him—not with pity, but with something deeper.

Conviction.

“You want to become like me?” he said quietly. “You can do more than that.”

He looked ahead, his voice now deeper, calmer. “You can become stronger.”

The others had stopped walking. Even the merchant had gone quiet, sensing the weight in Ulrich’s voice.

“To wield power… real power,” Ulrich said, “is not just about force. It’s not about glowing swords or cutting monsters in half.”

He paused. Then turned fully to face Taigami, his expression more serious than ever.

“It’s about the burden you choose to carry. The kind that leaves scars deeper than any blade.”

He gestured toward the sky.

“Great strength is not a gift. It’s a responsibility. One that demands sacrifice. It can protect the people you love—or destroy everything if you lose your way.”

Ulrich’s gaze sharpened.

“Those who chase power for its own sake are doomed to be consumed by it. But those who earn it… by standing for something greater…”

He drew his sword slightly from its sheath. A faint glow flickered across its edge.

“…They change the world.”

Taigami stood motionless. The fire in his chest—once small and flickering—now burned just a little brighter.

“Let me tell you the story of how it all began—when the sky cracked open, and fire fell upon the world.”

And with that, he began to speak—of old clans and a burning age…

Of the one they called Speedfire.