Chapter 2: Beginnings

AN: So fair warning, if you dont see your OC appear immediately after submitting it, thats because I need to let the story flow and introduce them in the best possible way. Never fear though, they will appear, and wont be brushed off into the sidelines. The story just needs to follow a natural progression.

Also, introducing like a bunch of new people at once is a recipe for disaster.

On a side note, this story will contain a lot of action, but also other things as well. I cant just immediately go to all the action, there has to be buildup, so for those who want more action, dont worry. It will come. And it will be glorious!

It was so far going normal and boring at the offices of the SID, or Special Investigations Divisions. Most were out investigating at the moment, but it seemed to be a slow day as the detectives that have to hold back in case of an emergency situation had nothing to do.

"Attention, Detective?" a girl looking at a computer screen asked.

"What is it, Monitor?" the detective replied.

"We have detected a conflict in the Sanctum. Pulling it on screen now...it seems to be an unknown party, and a young boy who is currently going through his first run through the Sanctum".

"Is it a Normal Zone, a Special Zone, or an Irregular Zone?"

"A Normal Zone. There are a few others in the city, but...some of the readings seem weird. Not dangerous weird, just...a bit strange".

A Normal Zone was a normal Sanctum fight, in an area that mimicked the region they were in, with occasional differences. A Special Zone tended to be more exotic, sometimes appearing randomly, with odd and special features. On occasion, there would be a force in there besides the Marked. And then, there were the Irregular Zones. Irregulars were the oddest of the odd, sometimes defying all rational understanding of the Sanctum itself.

There were also things dubbed Black Zones, however...most people end up either dying, or losing their sanity, in those, so not much is concretely known about them.

"Hmm...seems low priority, but monitor it for now".

"Ouf!" Cyrus grunted as he took cover behind a car. The situation was so no and unexpected, he barely had time to react.

"You really should just stop trying. It will only be more painful for you" the man told him, though his voice held neither mercy nor remorse. That said, it held no bloodlust either, and only a sort of cold aggression. "Its unfortunate for this to be your first, but if it makes you feel better, you should wake up before that other guy if you end up losing consciousness".

Suddenly, several more energy projectiles came form overhead and targeted Cyrus' position. He just barely managed to roll and dodge out of the way, springing to his feet.

"Hmmm...you are quite springy and flexible. Like a rabbit..."

"In what world are rabbits described as springy and flexible?!"

"The original one?"

"I have never heard such a thing!"

Cyrus had to keep running, but he ducked and slid under a car with high elevation between it and the ground, hopped back to his feet almost instantly, and jumped onto the front of another car and then hid behind it. Magical explosions detonated behind him, around him, pretty much everywhere except where he was in that moment.

Gotta give Cyrus some credit, he knew how to run.

Cyrus pushed off against the wall as he then ran some more, using planted trees, phoneline poles, and vehicles as cover. Anything to put inbetween him and his attackers. However, another volley of magical attacks were shot right at him.

"You cant keep running forever!"

"Oh yeah, watch me!"

"Yeah, you cant keep running!"

Cyrus leaped over a wall and then turned a corner, jumping into the next street and taking cover once again as another barrage rained down, trying to hit him.

But what Cyrus saw behind that cover was quite shocking. It appeared to be...one of those cloth ghosts one puts outside when it rains, only...it was not quite cloth, and more glowy. Like a real ghost. But it still looked like that, although its face had a bit more detail and was lifelike.

"Hello, Master Cyrus. My name is Echo, a being born of the power of your Mark".

"My...wait what?"

"Your mark. The thing on your face?"

For a moment Cyrus was confused, but then he remembered seeing a weird symbol on his cheek earlier when he looked at his reflection.

"So wait...your name is Echo?"

"Well, sort of. I am an echo of your soul, manifested to help you. Thus, Echo".

"...can you help me escape or fight?"

"Unfortunately, my abilities are limited. You must fight through your own power, which has been enhanced through the aura of the Sanctum. My abilities mainly revolve around information gathering, processing, and things like that. Although I do possess other capabilities".

Echo half talked like an artificial construct, and half like a person.

"The Sanctum...can you give me a quick rundown then?"

"Will do!"

Meanwhile, in that short time, Cyrus' attackers were closing in on him.

"Running wont save you. There is no escape from the Sanctum. Just accept your bad luck...and go down!" the man said, raising a gun and coming from one side while Chiharo flanked Cyrus and came from the other. However, Cyrus was not there.

And then, oddly enough, music started to play. A sort of rythmic, popular beat, much like one that people would hear right before an action scene started.

(Its totally You Say Run from My Hero Academia, because you know, it goes with everything).

But before they could react, the car next to them exploded in fire and smoke.

"Chiharo! What is wrong!"

"Block!"

Chiharo only replied with one word, but the man reacted immediately and raised his arms to defend. Surely enough, a kick was delivered by a young boy...however, the force behind it was just absurd. Although the man managed to stay on his feet, he was blown back several meters and several of his defense enchantments were broken.

Cyrus then hopped several meters back himself, as heavy winds began to pick up inside the Sanctum.

"What...what is this I am sensing all of a sudden?"

"Everyone, report!"

Detective Zura of the SID, or Special Investigation Division, asked this as suddenly half a dozen monitors went off.

"We have detected something unusual!"

"We are detecting a build up of concentrated Ezoterric Particles!"

"A storm is being formed within both the Sanctum and Reality as a response!"

"Minor gravometric distortions confirmed! Concealing now!"

"What...what is the status of those Ezoterric Particles?!"

"They are building...higher and higher...what is going on?!"

Ezoterric Particles, said to be particles that sometimes appear from the appearance of Sanctum. Neither a symbol of power, nor a symbol of rarity, they appear in small amounts around the areas of which Sanctum connects with the real world. However, only a handful ever appear, while what they were detecting was a sheer mass, an unprecidented amount.

One can say that they are like leftovers of the dimensional shift.

"Ezoterric Particles are passed all prepared measuring devices!"

"Damnit! Where are they all coming from!?"

Cyrus suddenly appeared next to the man, and attempted another kick. His power was all in his legs, so it made sense he would use kick attacks. The man blocked, or used magic to shield himself, and sometimes Chiharo blocked...but the force exceeded what they had anticipated. Chiharo, who blocked the latest blow, skidded backwards while grunting.

"Master! He is not normal!"

As Cyrus landed back on the ground, his legs appeared to have taken no damage at all. There was also a glint in his eyes, as the Mark on his cheek glowed brightly. And yet, he was quickly forced to raise a barrier, a magical shield, to stop a powerful ranged magical attack. It had enough force that he had to brace himself and really keep his feet stuck to the ground.

"Tsk. I think we may have miscalculated...this boy is no novice. That is strengthening magic, isn't it?"

"Oh, so you noticed" Cyrus said, a bit impressed as he grunted to maintain the barrier. "It was never this powerful before though, so thats pretty cool".

Yes, Cyrus had magic before The Mark appeared. However, if he used it in front of bullies, he would cause all sorts of trouble and be exposed, so he was forced to put up with being normal around them and being subjected to their cruelty.

Cyrus boosted himself further, pushing off the ground. To the eyes of a normal human with no training, it would probably look like he disappeared in that instant, and appeared right behind the man in charge. His kick made contact with his shoulder. He tried to get the head, but the man re-adjusted himself just in time.

The reason he was able to figure it out was because Strengthening Magic was not as simple as it sounds. As each human was different, each person who used it had to learn to balance it for their own bodies. It was half calculations, half feeling. And Cyrus was able to keep his balance while using it, which was a big clue. First timers would also get dizzy and lose their balance from using it.

Meanwhile, the shifting seemed to get even more intense as strange particles began to appear around the area...and seemed to be swirling around where Cyrus was now. Although his barrier should be breaking, the particles swirling around him were a bit of a concern. Cyrus could not dodge this time, he was not used to barriers enough to move while keeping them at full strength.

"That was a bit of a surprise" the man said, while the origin of the attack, Chiharo, continued to fire the beam. He seemed to have conjured a grounded turret, and was manning it and shooting the intense beam at Cyrus. "But now, its checkmate".

Indeed, the intensity was increasing, escalating. But Cyrus...Cyrus refused to give up without a fight!

"Not...yet!"

And then, the collection of Ezoterric Particles flowed into Cyrus. Meanwhile, a girl seemed to appear suddenly, sitting on the car next to Cyrus, but no one else seemed to notice her. She also seemed...familiar...and really, really cute...

"Well now, this is interesting..."

"You...where did...who are you?!" Cyrus said, as he was struggling with all that was happening.

"You can see me? How is that...I see. Its because you are special. Or maybe, its because you are not special. Maybe its because your both, or neither. But now I understand why the Sanctum chose you more. But, this is not the time...use the power that shatters the sky and the limits of this world, born of your will..."

And with that, she seemed to disappear...and Cyrus had trouble remembering what exactly happened in the first place. But in the back of his head, her last words echoed...

"Storm Blaze!"

Burning lightning...or perhaps, electrified fire...shot out from Cyrus' hands. It would be hard to quantify it as either or, as it seemed to be both and neither. It was fire, and it was lightning, at the same time. Whatever it was, the Storm Blaze shot out from his hands and sweeped the entire area in front of him. The man was just barely able to block and defense himself, while Chiharo was forced to dodge and lost the turret. But then, it seemed that small parts of it shot out and chased them, trying to go around their defenses and cover to get at them. They both managed to escape some of it, but was hit by other parts.

But soon after it was cast, it dissipated. Cyrus was also a bit out of breath from using it.

"What was...did I just use those lights or whatever..."

"No. The Ezoterric Particles had nothing to do with the spell. It seems that you drew them in yourself, to strengthen yourself. That said, they did help you handle that spell. Spells tend to take a lot out of someone far more then they usually would when first cast. In truth, that was not some ultimate ability despite how you feel, but rather just something of the intermediate level. It was still good though, and caught them off guard".

Echo relayed that information.

"What now then?"

"Those two have taken serious injuries, more then they were anticipating. Due to the surprise, and because they also know that those particles had nothing to due with the spell due to superior experience, they have decided to fall back".

"Wait wait...I thought you couldn't retreat?"

"Retreating is usually bad yes. Sometimes, there could be...punishments...losses for the loser...more then just losing normally. But they have been doing this awhile, and earned some good will from Sanctum".

"That...that was not what I asked. Based on what he said, I was concerned it was impossible to retreat".

"It depends. The Sanctum is not a fixed place, or really a place at all depending on how you define 'place'. Sometimes its possible, sometimes it isnt. Sometimes, other solutions are present. Other times, other problems are present. And occasionally, it may even want you to do something".

"Wait, what?"

"Its complicated. Let alone words, the ideas and theory itself to explain it doesn't really exist yet. Anyways, the good news is...you won! Which means rewards!"

As Echo said that, suddenly the entire area around them seemed to...melt? Dissolve? Fade into something else? It was something like that, and Cyrus found himself standing on the sidewalk. He was some distance away from where he had been standing when he first entered, but it was the same street. When he looked to turn to where he had been standing before, there was a crowd of people now. He was not sure how much time had passed though. Was it seconds? Minutes?

Everything seemed complicated to Cyrus. Still, he took a deep breath, and decided to push on.

At least until he turned around and saw Echo floating out in the open, in the middle of the air.

"I wonder though, you think that man did business with Whitehall, or just did business with them?"

"Why are you...quickly!"

Cyrus grabbed Echo and stuffed him inside his jacket before anyone saw him.

"You cant go around outside with other people around! If they see you, it would be dangerous!"

"Sorry...I forgot. Anyways, still curious though..."

"About...what did you say? Whitehall? What is that?"

"Hold on, you don't know? But you should know. Unless, that was never...or a partition...or..."

"I dont really know many people from the magical community, and even fewer who I have interest in ever meeting".

"Well that sounds personal. Well, I do think I know though. I am an Echo of your soul, although...parts of your mind seem clouded. Guarded. Trauma perhaps? I wonder..."

"Echo...please shut up about that".

For a moment, Cyrus' voice seemed to get very serious and very angry. Not a hot anger either, not yet, but rather a bitter cold anger born from something deeply personal.

"...sorry. Anyways, Whitehall is one of many known magical organizations in this region. They are half business, half syndicate, and half community..."

Cyrus didn't even bother to point out Echo used half three times.

"They develop specialized beings known as Artificial Battle Familiars. They appear as children, Elementry School Age, though usually on the older side of around fifth graders..."

"Wait, why is that?"

"Several reasons. Growing to full scale would require more energy and biomass and resources, when they can develop them with the same level of power and ability as the younger ones. There was also some concerns that the growth and hormones might interfere with development. And also, they dont take up as much room. At least, those are the ones I know of. I don't know everything after all. Anyways, Whitehall is somewhere between dangerous and unpredictable, with occasional bouts of helpfulness".

"I...see..."

"I suppose they are wary, given the recent activity by The Imperial, not to mention rumors of The Institute floating about. Then there are The Primal Pack, Genetech, The Wonderlanders, of course the SID as..."

"Hold it!" Cyrus said, as he quickly rushed away from the site of where the battle just occured. He quickly found a small side alley to sneak into, to give him cover. "Okay! I dont feel like dealing with an info dump, so please, short summaries of all of those things you just mentioned".

"But, the details might be..."

"Short. Summaries".

"Fine...well, The Instutute is rumored to do horrific experiments on Orphans, and some believe a few of them at least are Marked. Some weird stuff for sure. Genetech is a company with a public face, but they secretly are also a magic group. They have been adapting Spellcraft to make their stuff. The Primal Pack are a gang that is made of Primal Magic users, led by the Primal Six. THe Wonderlanders use code names based off the story Alice in Wonderland, and is led by someone known as Heartqueen. And the Imperial is a group outside the city known for...well, taking stuff over. You can pretty much get the idea with the name".

"I see...yeah, that sounds way too much to explain it all right now".

"But its my hard collected intel!"

"You were litterally born minutes ago! How is it hard collected?!"

"Ah...well...in spirit!"

"Like I would believe that! Anyways, for now, just stay out of sight. I need to go back to the office and report all the deliveries are done".

"Is now the time to worry about work?!"

"Of course! Its my source of income!"

And with that, Cyrus started to make his way back.

"Do we know who caused the issue? What about our monitoring system?"

"Analysts that have arrived still dont know anything, Detective. Just a rush of Ezoterric Particles. Could this be that new group centered near Razden Academy? Or The Imperial? Maybe someone new?"

"Not sure yet. The Imperial side has not shown any odd movements lately. Movements, but nothing we are not used to. As for Fashionne...not sure about them either. What about the battle itself?"

"The reaction of Ezoterric particles disrupted our monitoring system. We were unable to continue monitoring battle specifics. We are also having trouble identifying both parties".

"I see...I will go out myself then. Keep me in the loop on anything and everything".

"Understood, sir!"

"And there" Cyrus said, as he finished taking off his uniform. He had managed to stuff Echo in his bag, who seemed to have fallen asleep. "I suppose I should be happy that I managed not to ruin it at all. And that the fight occured after my last delivery. Now, my uniform should be clean by now".

"Yosh! I have returned!" a familiar voice declared, as Shion entered the locker room with her uniform and underwear bundled under her arms.

Cyrus was so confused, he didn't even feel a little embarrassment he normally would. Well, they were also pretty much friends by now anyways, and this was close to being regular. Still...

"Shi-chan...why were your clothes off before you entered the locker room?"

"Ah? Well, they kind of got messy, so once I was in the employee only area I couldn't wait to get all the way to the locker room. Well, I might have started the outer layer when I first entered the building".

"Messy?"

"Yeah, some weirdo attacked me" Shion mentioned, before throwing something at Cyrus. Cyrus instinctively caught it, and when he saw what it was...

"Uwah?!" he shouted as he dropped them. "Why would you throw those at me?! And what was that smell?!"

Although Cyrus said something dangerous if said to other girls, Shion was far too tomboy to care.

"I ended up falling into a puddle. A freak storm appeared today you know?"

A storm that Cyrus caused, but decided not to reveal that fact.

"Ah, I see..." he said as Shion hopped over the bench in the middle and picked them up. That was when the two looked at each other...

"Eh?"

"Huh?"

Cyrus saw the Mark on Shion's chest, right below the neck. And Shion saw Cyrus' Mark, right below his left eye on his cheek.

"When did..."

"Well, you would have seen it sooner if you had manned up and touched my chest, but you didn't even look!"

Cyrus' face went red, when he finally realized his situation.

"Sh-Shi-chan! Before someone comes in...we should..."

"Nonesense! YOu are way too timid! Be more confident in your body, Cy-kun!" she said, looking over it. "Its a very good one for sure. Yep yep!"

"...that would be totally misinterpretted if anyone but you said that..."

"Heyo, everyone!"

That was when someone else walked in, and saw both Cyrus and Shion, but then continued like nothing was wrong...although, he entered the same way Shion did for some reason. There was also some red on it...

"...what happened?"

"A delivery to a butcher. Unfortunately...it was not a good one and things got messy..."

"Breakup?"

"Worse. His daughter sent a message saying she got engaged to a boyfriend..."

"Oh...over protective father stuff..."

"Yeah..."

The two of them looked at each other, and then back at Kazuka.

""Liar"".

"Wha?!"

"Did you really forget a few hours ago Kazuka?" Cyrus mentioned, pointing to his own mark. Just like the one on his right hand. That he showed to them earlier, back when they all thought Shion was responsible.

"Wait, didn't Rebeca have one too..."

And then, red alerts went through their minds. Unlike Cyrus, who had some prior experience with magic (though neither of the other two knew that), and Shion and Kazuka who were...well, them...Rebeca was more of the innocent, bookish, shy type of girl. So if she didn't...

"Yes! Don't worry, I am here!" Rebeca said, shouting that as she came in. Unlike the previous two, she was actually still wearing her uniform, though it was clearly a mess.

One might question if any of them could even remotely be considered normal...

"Are you okay?"

"Ahh...so it did happen to the rest of you after all?" she said, as she started to shyly change out of her uniform. The other three just nodded.

"Yeah. Some biker guy came up to me once that whole weird Sanctum thing formed, and then was all "roar roar". I mean, it was my first fight like that, but he was...super weak..."

"Heh. Some weird pervert with grabby hands. Like, weird to the max. It was nice to thrash around someone like that".

"I got targeted by...some old man and a kid? The kid was apparently a weapon, not a person though".

The three of them ended up sharing, and then looked at Rebeca.

"I ended up fighting some weirdo in a white coat who went on about nonsense or such".

"A scientist?"

"Sounds like a mad scientist".

"Mad scientist with magic?"

The four of them were taking it well, but this was not their first stressful situation. Each one of them was an orphan who had lost their parents or guardians at some point, and endured great hardship. They were already independent and capable.

Also, their place of employment taught them a lot of self defense techniques and martial arts. And provided them with tazers.

"So, how about we go home, then go to use the baths? I want to get dressed in normal clothes!"

"Yes yes..." Cyrus said, as they got dressed in their school uniforms and then headed home.

"Ahhhhhh...this is good..."

"These baths truly are the best".

"And its far better together!"

"R-right!"

The four had finally gone home, and then went to the baths immediately after.

"Everyone feeling better now?" Cyrus asked, as Kazuka came over and started to wash his back as they sat down on the side. Now, one might be questioning, why are they having a conversation in the bath? Why not wait till they have it at home? Or more importantly, why they all stuck together?

Well, that would be because they live together of course. However, the dorm they were staying at did not have its own baths. Toilet? Check. Closets? Check. Washing and drying machines? Check.

There was one on school campus, which was near their dorms, but...well, they all had their reasons.

That said, they were also trying to conserve money, so it was not some fancy bath either. At least not that night. Instead, it was one where even if they sat all the way down with their knees tucked into their chests, half their body would still be above the water. A shallow pool for children to use that was very cheap.

"That said, based on what that one guy said when I fought him, they were supposed to activate whenever two marked entered within one hundred feet of each other for the first time, or randomly even sometimes, or when they were close enough and showed hostility to each other. So, why haven't we been pulled in yet?"

It was Shion who asked the big question.

"Isn't it obvious? Kazuka mentioned, giving a thumbs up at the other three. "We are all way too close of friends!"

"We did all survive the Teiko Incident together. Plus, we live together, work together, bathe together...we are more like siblings at this point".

"Y-yeah!"

"Come on Rebeca! Have more confidence!"

"You two Cyrus!"

"I still dont see why we couldn't have this conversation at home".

"Because its too important to leave for later. And we couldn't leave the baths till later..." Kazuka mentioned, looking over at Rebeca. Indeed, the true purpose of this group bath, besides washing off the sweat and blood they might have gotten on them, was to also help Rebeca. By sitting in relaxing warm water with friends like usual and conversing, they hoped to reduce the shock of fighting. Although Rebeca knew how to defend herself, this was an unusual situation and she was probably the most sensitive of them all.

Well, Cyrus might have her beat on occasion, but that was besides the point.

"...I will be fine everyone, thanks".

"No chance. Tonight everyone, T shirts and movie slumber party in the main room, and we binge some epic movies".

"Not too epic Kazuka" Cyrus mentioned to him. "We do actually need to get to sleep".

"Fine..."

"Anyways, why didn't we get pulled in?"

"Well, hold on. I think Kazuka might be right. We are all practically siblings to each other right?"

The others nodded. They were all sharing a bath despite being opposite genders, though they did that with showers every time they worked also.

"Well, if sometimes they get triggered by hostility, maybe Anti-hostility negates it?"

"So, in other words, the system or whatever prevents close friends and family from being forced to fight each other?"

"Its a theory. Anyone have a better one?"

"Well, we all didn't have these Marks yesterday right? And once we actually got pulled into the Sanctum, we all got a random bit of information about it right?"

Cyrus technically got his in the form of Echo, who was still asleep. It seemed he did that most of the time unless he was needed, or wanted to wake up himself to do stuff.

"So, maybe it has something to do with the fact we all got Marked at the same time?"

"That does make sense...think about it. What are the odds all four of us got marked on the same day?"

"As an accident or coincidence? Very low. Deliberately? High".

Cyrus confirmed the odds they all suspected.

"I wonder why it was us?"

"Echo mentioned the Sanctum was weird, and maybe alive. Or at least intelligent".

"And it seemed that others were looking out in the surroundings. Like, it was not just a mirror world".

"So in other words, there might be other things in there? That sounds...dangerous".

"Well, hold on!" Kazuka said as he stood up, and then pointed to Cyrus. Cyrus looked puzzled. "You said that one old man took a kid in with him right?"

"Y-yeah? But I think he was like, some sort of living weapon. Echo mentioned that he was probably made by a group called Whitehall".

"Still! Then maybe it is possible for us to go in as a group, not to fight each other, but to fight alongside each other!"

"I mean, we are all Marked...I suppose it could work?"

"Magic though...how awesome! Now we all have it, right Cyrus?"

"It means its a bigger secret to keep though. And I wont abandon my sword lessons either! I shall become a powerful magic swordsman! Or swordswoman! For I am all the all tough, all powerful Shion!"

"I wonder if I should try and impliment a weapon as well...Cyrus will probably be a kicking and castor type, right?"

"Wh-what?! How do you..."

"Because its totally you".

"...it does fit you..."

"I can see it!"

And so, they discussed things like that. And since Rebeca was feeling better, it appeared to be a success. So once they finally left the baths, dressing in casual clothes such as T shirts and shorts, they began to walk home. With the serious stuff done, they ended up detouring and started talking about their favorite movies, anime, manga, and so on. They were so carefree, at least that was the opinion of the people watching them.

"Any sign of contact?"

"So far, no contact has been made between the four of them, and any known faction. Additionally, no contact with targets Jaeger Haizen or Evangeline Martins. Just more new players in town".

"Very well...we dont need rogue variables like them around. Eliminate them".

"Understood".

AN: And so the story progresses! Why did they all get the Mark at the same time? Who are these groups to take note of? Who are those people? I guess you will have to stay tuned for more!

And remember, insanity is like cuteness! Its justice! XD