—This… shit… everything went to hell.
Those were the words of a tall man in his forties with visible gray hairs. He wore a mask with three spiral patterns and carried a black briefcase.
Next to him were Elara Symphony and Rhys Solstice.
—I can't believe this incident escalated this much, Rhys —said Elara, clearly worried.
—Yeah, it's a shame… even the Court got involved —responded Rhys, sounding tired.
As the strange man turned to the two people sitting in front of him, Mark Lancer and Grettel Morningstar:
—So, tell me, how did it all start? —asked the masked man.
—You're not even gonna introduce yourself? —asked Grettel, deadpan.
—Well, if you insist, my name is Grimmoire, the bearer of secrets.
—No way that's your real name, sounds more like a code name, which suggests you're more important than it seems —thought young Lancer, intrigued.
—Exactly, young Lancer. Just like you thought, this is only a code name, and I'm one of the 5 Faces of the Court.
—And he can also read minds, fantastic —thought Grettel sarcastically.
—Cocacolastic —said Grimmoire, jokingly, as if he read her mind and twisted it on purpose.
After that "curious" exchange, Grimmoire went straight to explaining how the world of Aura works, and then sent both of them to the Transcendent Guardians facilities, specifically the eighth department.
Before heading to their rooms, Mark asked Elara what the 5 Faces were:
—I'm glad you asked, young Lancer —Elara said with a big smile—. The 5 Faces are the highest rank in TG and represent the TG Court. They're like a council that directs the organization globally. Now you can see why things got so messy, and why the fourth of them had to personally come to handle the situation.
—And if you're wondering who they are, well… not much is known about them, just their code names:
1st Face: Obsidian, the watcher of the unseen
2nd Face: Eclipse, the guardian of tomorrow
3rd Face: Aether, the master of secrets
4th Face: Grimmoire, the bearer of secrets
5th Face: Vanguard, the silent stalker
After all this info, both Grettel and Mark went to sleep with a feeling of emptiness.
Meanwhile, in a mysterious place, five shadows could be seen, one giving some kind of report:
—Report of the incident called "The Afternoon of Tears." Deaths: 3 students of around 13 years old, all, and one teacher. Effects: Ascension of 2 individuals and a current crisis in the privacy of the events —said one shadow while reading the report.
—Since you were there, Grimm, can you tell us what happened? —said a female-figured shadow, in a flirty tone, holding what looked like a cigarette.
—Let's see, we're in a critical situation. Even though we have a contract with the media to keep any supernatural matters under control, the same cannot be said about the town. It was only a matter of time before something came to light, and now it has. Nothing has ever caused such a big scandal. This is mainly due to the high level of the Aural Beasts compared to those that usually appear —said Grimmoire, clearly concerned.
—Argh, are you telling me, Grimmoire, that practically the whole globe knows about the incident? How the hell did that even happen? —asked a shadow whose mask had six eyes, particularly angry.
—See, my dear Vanguard, the eighth department just went through the "Life or Death" incident, so they were extremely short on personnel for patrols. Also, they were fulfilling their punishments, and if you ask, no, Mushu Ushu therapy wouldn't help. Even though the mushroom could erase the memory of the main involved, the videos are already online —said Grimmoire.
After the meeting, Grimmoire just read the papers from the report Rhys had given him, knowing tomorrow would be hell.
—Report on Ascensions during the "Afternoon of Tears" incident:
Subject 1: Mark Lancer, youngest son of the Lancer company
Affinity: Karma
Type of Virtue: Humility
Name of Virtue: Solaris, the Devourer of Stars
Note: His level is particularly high for a newly awakened without knowledge. He was able to kill a Divergent Beast Aural with a single attack. His Virtue has a clear activation condition: a voice command. Estimated level with the analyzer is between Aberrant and Zenith, as, even though his Virtue is incredible and possibly the most offensive recorded, his physical capabilities haven't been fully measured, and his Virtue hasn't been tested in a controlled environment.