The train roared through the night, gliding along the magnetic platform suspended over the waters of Alria.
In the distance, the first lights of the city ca into view—a Bastion of Light1, or so they said. Also the city where he died, sweet nostalgia.
A land so purified by white teorites and sacred rites that it snuffed out even the faintest trace of dark energy.
And yet, Dante couldn’t sleep.
He sat cross-legged in the middle of the cabin, arms resting on his knees, palms facing upward.
The train swayed with every turn, but he remained still, eyes shut.
His breathing was steady. A red aura flickered faintly around him.
— "Sothing’s off." he thought.
His senses had been on edge ever since they entered Alria’s territory.
He should’ve felt drained, hollowed out. But instead, a pressure was building.
Sothing abnormal. A dissonance in the energy of this so-called bastion of light—and it wasn’t coming from him.
He inhaled deeply, feeling the resistance in the air.
This land was like a cage—dark energy wasn’t welco. But Dante wasn’t trying to force his way in.
He was trying to bend the rules.
To align his own darkness with the surrounding light, to fuse them—like yin and yang.
If he succeeded... maybe then, he could transcend the weakness the light imposed on him.
But it was risky. Very risky.
Above him, on the top bunk, Shigeo was sound asleep. Steady snoring. That sa relaxed face he always had when he slept—totally checked out.
Dante cracked one eye open, glanced up at him, and sighed.
— "How the hell can he sleep through this kind of atmosphere..."
Then it all went to hell.
A shockwave rocked the entire train car. Windows shattered. An orange flash lit the cabin.
Dante jerked upright.
— "Tch...!"
He ran to the window and yanked it open. Smoke was already rising outside.
A thick black column, lit by flas, climbed into the sky behind the train.
An entire car had just exploded—and not just any car.
— "The supervisors’ car...?"
Shigeo jolted awake, eyes still blurry with sleep, panicked.
— "W-What the hell’s going on?! The train—?!"
He shot up too fast and slamd his head into the bunk above.
— "Ow! Shit!"
Dante didn’t answer. He was already pulling his coat over his shoulders, and the scabbard of his sword on his thigh.
The sll of smoke was starting to seep into the cabin. He narrowed his eyes, feeling the heavy presence of dark energy.
— "This wasn’t just an explosion... sothing way worse is behind it. So this wasn’t an accident." he thought.
— "Dante?!" Shigeo stamred.
— "Focus. And get out."
A long, lazy yawn followed. Ginny had just floated into view, a few inches above the ground.
Still in one of her oversized unicorn-print pajamas, hair a complete ss.
— "What now...? Is it breakfast ti already?" she mumbled.
Dante shot her a dark look.
— "Explosion. Back of the train. Dark energy. Really bad."
Ginny blinked, then sat up fast when the sll of burning hit her. Her expression changed.
— "...Oh shit."
Through the thin train walls, voices were already rising. Screams, hurried footsteps.
— "We need to deal with the kids." Dante muttered.
Shigeo nodded, fear written all over his face.
— "You an... protect them ?"
— "Keep them from making things worse."
Ginny grimaced.
— "Great. Guess I’m head babysitter now."
Dante sighed, hand on the door handle.
— "We might need to find out what caused the explosion too. And I doubt it’s the only one that will happen."
He gave one last glance at the other two.
— "We might not be the strongest on this train... but if the others lose it, it’s gonna fall on us. So be ready."
He opened the door—and chaos greeted them.
Students in pajamas, so still half-asleep, were stumbling and shoving down the narrow hallway.
So tried to open windows, others rushed toward the front of the train.
— "MOVE BACK! GET BACK!"
A lone supervisor was screaming, arms out to block the surge, but she was overwheld.
Her face was covered in soot, her wide eyes teetering on the edge of hysteria.
Dante grabbed a student running the wrong way and slamd him against the wall.
— "Where are you going?!"
— "They’re dead back there! Everyone’s dead! The fire—there were... mutants!" the kid sobbed, completely unhinged.
Dante let go without ceremony.
— "Stay here. Don’t move."
He turned his head. Ginny was already hovering above the crowd, arms crossed, clearly annoyed.
— "They’ll trample each other in two minutes. What’s the plan ? We offer them tea ?"
— "Make a barrier," Dante snapped. "Right here, block them off before soone gets crushed."
— "Yeah yeah... bossy as ever."
She twirled her hand lazily. A translucent red energy barrier materialized, halting the panicked students in their tracks.
— "EVERYONE CALM THE FUCKING DOWN!" she shouted.
Silence. Or at least, sothing like it.
Shigeo stumbled out of the cabin, breathless, holding a small gaphone of his own invention, which he switched on quickly.
— "Listen! All students must stay in the upper cars! If you’re in an affected area, back away and make room for the staff! This was an attack! Stay calm!"
A wave of stunned whispers rippled through the crowd. So students began pulling themselves together. Others didn’t.
— "An attack?! What do you an?!" cried a girl, eyes swollen with tears.
— "What was that thing outside?! We saw sothing—it looked like a silhouette! Was it a rift or sothing?!"
— "Where are the adults?!"
— "My sister’s in car B-7! I have to go get her!"
A boy tried to push past, but Dante stepped in his path, unflinching.
— "You’re not going anywhere. If you go, you die. Is that what you want?"
— "I can’t just sit here doing nothing!"
— "And your sister doesn’t want you dead either. If you want to help her, stay alive."
The teen hesitated, then slumped against the wall, hands over his face.
— "Fuck..."
Shigeo watched him silently, then raised the gaphone again :
— "All students from sections A and B—stay in your compartnts! Section C students, stay grouped here. We’re taking a headcount. No solo missions! If you’ve got friends, check that they’re alive and okay!"
A small group of boys huddled together, one of them speaking up :
— "Hey, who put you in charge?! It’s the supervisors who run things, not you!"
Ginny raised an eyebrow, visibly irritated.
— "Really ? We’re arguing chain of command now ? After a fucking train car blew up ?"
— "I’m just saying we should wait for official instructions !"
Dante stepped in, eyes locked on the boy.
— "They’re dead."
Silence.
— "You want to wait for them to crawl back from the ashes to tell you what to do ? You’re not a kid anymore. In ergencies, you move."
The boy swallowed hard.
— "...Okay. Okay."
Dante stepped back.
— "Anyone with light injuries, gather over there." He pointed to a corner of the hallway. "Ginny, can you throw up a barrier around them ?"
— "Tch... yeah."
anwhile, Shigeo made his way toward the neighboring cabins, knocking on every door.
— "Anyone in here?! Open up slowly, stay together!"
Finally, a boy answered, dazed, dragging an injured girl behind him.
— "She’s bleeding... I didn’t know what to do..."
Shigeo took over without hesitation.
— "Put her down here—she’s in shock. You did what you could. Breathe."
He shouted back to Dante :
— "We can’t stay here forever—we need to check the back of the train!"
Dante nodded, gaze still cold.
— "We lock this area down. Then we move. Find out what the hell’s going on."
Shigeo gritted his teeth, nerves on edge.
— "And if it’s an Awakened? Or worse... advanced-level mutants ?"
— "Then we pray our reflexes are faster than theirs."
Bastions of Light
Description :
The last great prosperous cities, protected by white energy and the forces of the WG.
Particularities :
• Centers of propaganda.
• Strict control over movent and resources.
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