Reaper: Hades

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"It is not in the stars to hold our destiny but in ourselves." -William Shakespeare

When the night has been too lonely And the road has been too long, And you think that love is only For the lucky and the strong, Just remember in the winter Far beneath the bitter snows Lies the seed that with the sun's love In the spring becomes the rose.

-The Rose

Bette Midler

All my life I have tried to pluck a thistle and plant a flower wherever the flower would grow in thought and mind. Abraham Lincoln

He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a monster. And when you gaze long into an abyss the abyss also gazes into you.

Friedrich Nietzche

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God is a comedian, playing to an audience too afraid to laugh. Voltaire

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Prologue

MODD Rillotian Headquarters

Location: Classified

The door was tightly sealed as it should have been. Thick, heavy titanium plates had been applied with the strongest materials anyone could find on the world of Mortaelis. Optical scanners, palm readers, blood samplers and even voice recognition devices had been installed into the security of this one door alone. On top of that were the four elite of SWORD who stood guard with their Seal Blades constantly at the ready. Over the enormous door were three concentric circles of engraved, glowing runes. Interposed over the three circles was a stylised emblem of a padlock with a large 'X' for a keyhole.

A Level i Lock Seal, the highest Lock Seal available.

Despite all this security, Balthazar Palmers was still nervous. The tall, lithe jackal gave his pass to the SWORD soldiers who were under orders to only let those with proper authorisation to pass. That the head of Experimental Intelligence Troop or ExIT needed special permission to have 'proper authorisation' spoke volumes. Behind him, six of his seven commanders; the Elemental Lords of ExIT were likewise screened. One could never be too careful especially with the Unsealed increasing their attacks.

Balthazar wrung his paws nervously, crinkling his suit slightly in his nervousness. The approving grunt of one of the SWORD elite didn't give him any relief. A loud hiss erupted from the door, ominous mist seeping out from the room beyond. With an agonising slowness, the doors peeled apart.

"Huh..." grunted Valentine Burns. "All this fuss for that thing?" The Elemental Lord of Fire strode past Balthazar. "It's just a little, damn -"

The air suddenly sizzled and crackled. Burns gasped and clutched his chest, the hulking avian staggering back in agony. Arcane runes appeared all over his form, taking the shape of three concentric circles and the symbol of his Seal. Balthazar the only one who could step into the confines of the dark chamber, grabbed Burns' shoulder and pulled him back beyond the door.

"What the fuck!?" Burns shouted, his beak twisted into a snarl. His bright, yellow eyes were levelled at the sole pedestal standing in an otherwise bleak, black chamber.

"You didn't listen to the briefing, did you?" Sierra Seasinger said, hobbling forward with her cane leading her. She didn't pass through the threshold into the chamber. "No one bound to a Seal or Brand may get near that thing."

"Then how the hell are we meant to transport it to the Graveyard Complex?" barked Burns, his eyes flaring. There was no love lost between the Elemental Lords of Fire and Water.

"That's why it's in this container," answered Rocky Groundwater, tapping the door with a knuckle. She popped her jaw, green eyes watching the floating object in front of them. "That's... That's not suspended by some anti-gravity field, is it?"

"No," answered Balthazar grimly. "It is suspended by its own power."

Gale Winthrop, the Elemental Lord of Wind, took a step back, his eyes narrowed upon the blade. "What is it...? Truly, what is it?"

"We don't know." Balthazar turned to his lieutenants gravely. "All we know is that it's old. Older than even the relics we've recovered from the Graveyard of Doors. It is older than anything on Mortaelis. But we do know its name." He turned back around, black eyes watching the seemingly plain metal sword hovering in the air in front of them.

"The blade... Realmbreaker."