Angel Monarch

Mary didn't wake up until it was time for dinner. Even then, it took half an hour to calm her down.

Eventually, after Lilith threatened to make her fall asleep again, she took hold of herself, and with a newfound tranquility, they entered the dining hall.

Her eyes went by everyone, until it reached the table's end, where Vicky happily fed her brother.

Without thinking, Mary began walking towards the one-year-old, but a small girl quickly jumped in her way.

"If you try bothering them, I will make your eyes disappear!" Said Lydia with a wicked grin.

Mary planned to protest; however, Nick suddenly jumped up and flew away. The scientist's mouth fell open in shock and excitement.

"He… He… He has wings?! Is he an Angel too?… But why are there black feathers, instead of Sera's pristine white?!…"

"Wait! Bran's ability had a close connection to death, which is often depicted as dark or black… He inherited parts of both her parents?!… I need answers! I have to do tests! Why can't I see?!"

As Mary went on a tirade, Lydia used the opportunity to touch her face, changing its structure by making her eyelids stuck closed.

Behind Mary, James sighed with exhaustion, then led her to an empty seat near Henry and Vicky.

It took her a minute to calm down again, but eventually Lydia made the change revert.

Before she could stand up and try to find Nick again, Henry tried changing the subject.

"So Mary. What's your report on Realm Gates?"

She narrowed her eyes suspiciously, but soon a wide smile spread across her face.

"I learned a lot! I also may have found the purpose behind Harold's machine, and what actually happened after its destruction!"

Everyone still at the table grew curious, while Vicky just seemed lost.

"Uh… What were you researching again?… Sorry, Henry handled all the scientific discoveries, so I have no clue what you two were doing this past year."

Vicky tried to hide her sadness and pain, but James's sharp eyes quickly noticed it. He leaned in close and whispered something into Vicky's ear, which brought a small smile to her otherwise depressed face.

Unlike James, Mary wasn't as capable when it came to emotions. She didn't even notice Vicky's sadness, and instead passionately explained the reason for their absence.

"A year ago we embarked on a journey across Europe, visiting forgotten, destroyed places. Malta was also our first destination… Sadly, Harold's research facility yielded no important discoveries…"

Mary could barely breathe as she dumped all her pent up information on everyone listening.

"From there, we ventured into places, which were known as Harold's previous hideouts. Each place gave snippets of information and led us further to the east! Eventually, we found something amazing…"

While Mary talked, James placed a circular object on the dining table, which projected a holo-screen into the air. It showed pictures of some frosted over laboratory.

"In the middle of the Siberian Plains, about 3 or 4 thousand kilometers from here, we found one of Harold's past facilities!"

"Nobody visited it for over a decade or two, but we acquired lots of leftover data! They mostly related to genetical engineering, but we also found information about Realm Gates!"

The circular device displayed new images of an older, less frozen research facility.

"Sadly, the facility hadn't yielded the necessary clues we needed, but it held a database of all the different facilities, which were still operational!"

"It also showed labels of their intended purpose, and so we went to the one related to Realm Gate Research! Luckily, it was near Lucy's outpost in the northern part of Europe!"

The pictures soon changed from the labs of the northern facility to actual schematics and research data.

Vicky could barely recognize the machines displayed, but they all looked familiar in ways she couldn't describe. They also felt incomplete for some reason.

"This facility gave us the necessary breakthrough, but we also found something much more interesting…" Said Mary while pointing at a particular schematic.

This one even Vicky recognized, and she finally understood why the previous machines seemed incomplete… Because they were…

They were all part of a larger, gigantic machine, the exact one Bran overloaded and exploded.

"We found the blueprints for 'The Reality Breaker' as Harold had named it! Sadly, the schematics didn't properly mention its intended purpose, but James and I made some highly likely assumptions using them!"

Mary stayed silent for a moment and prompted James to take over the conversation.

"Our best guess is still the same. Harold wanted to use both Seras' resurrection energy to open Realm Gates to different places. But, something interesting we figured out was the required energy he wanted to use compared to the amount of Gates he could've opened…"

The schematic changed into graphs of energy, time, Gate Opening, etc. Vicky couldn't understand any of it.

"The ratios made little sense! He planned on opening a few dozen Gates, using ten times the amount of energy required! Further investigation into this discrepancy unearthed some old files pertaining to the Realm Gates' property."

Images showed the files, but Vicky couldn't read the quickly scrolling words. She only managed to read the date on them… 5 ATA…

James took a deep breath and glanced at her girlfriend, who was eager to continue.

"Despite my lifelong research on Gates, Harold was significantly superior at it! Early into the Apocalypse, he noticed the difference between Gates. Some stayed open longer than others, and he didn't understand why, so he measured their inner energy…"

The pictures showed different Gates with an energy graph next to it. Each Gate to various Realms had unique energies, yet those leading to the same destination used equal energy for opening!

"Each Realm has a specific energy requirement for a Gate to open. However, there's something more intriguing... As you know, a Gate in reality is two Gates opening in both Realms, connected by an invisible path, which means both Gates require energy to open!…"

"Guess Earth's energy requirement!"

Everyone around the table glanced at one another, then they all collectively shrugged.

The image transitioned to a European map highlighting numerous Gate Openings in the past two years.

"I don't know, but judging by the large amount of Gates, I would say it requires little energy." Said Henry, then watched as Mary's already large smile twisted into a wide grin.

"That's what any sane person would assume; however, it's entirely false!"

The image changed, showing another Realm Gate, but its destination was unusual… Earth…

More surprising than the image was the adjacent graph. It clearly showed that the Gate's inner energy was dozens of times larger than any other Gates'.

"Fascinating, isn't it? Even Harold didn't know the exact reason for this energy requirement! His best guess was that around Earth some sort of barrier kept Gate Openings restricted…"

"This would explain why the Gates only let through monsters below Cataclysm Class, and regular beings below Transcended Rank!"

Mary became silent for a moment, and using the opportunity, Lilith asked, "What is the source of the energy that opens the Realm Gates, and who opens them? Madness? Also, who made the barrier around our planet?"

James reached over and turned off the device, while Mary grinned at Lilith.

"Amazing questions, but no true answers! The barrier's appearance is unclear. It was here longer than modern humanity, but it's impossible to measure it!… As for the Realm Gates…"

She became silent again, seemingly deep in thought. Eventually, her eyes widened and the usual wicked smile appeared.

"They have little to do with Madness! The Realm Gates are a natural phenomenon, but the barrier around our planet stopped their appearance for a long time…"

"Only at the height of the Last War, when the energy on the planet's surface reached high enough levels, did the barrier crack, letting the Realm Gates appear again!"

Most of the faces reflected deep curiosity, while Vicky fought with sleep. Out of everyone, only Henry caught Mary's words.

"Did you say 'again'?! You mean, this isn't the first time when Realm Gates appeared in human history?"

James and Mary shared a knowing glance, and they both sighed with deep exhaustion.

"Yes, this isn't the first time… Thousands of years ago, Realm Gates opened all over the planet, letting creatures through. These weren't monsters though, just a bunch of powerful beings, whom the early humans worshipped as gods, creating lots of dumb religions!"

Before Mary could've launched into a religious critique, potentially offending Lilith and Lydia, James intervened.

"We have to speak with Professor Collins about these old religions, since he knows much more about history. But as far as we could tell, someone locked away all these different beings long before humanity's modernization…"

"Huh? Locked away? Can someone do that? Who?"

Asked Vicky, strangely enough. After hearing about the old religions, her interest got piqued.

"The barrier's maker, most likely. Harold only guessed these, so we aren't sure… However, he had clear evidence about the existence of these beings…"

The silence felt like a living being, as everyone hung onto James's every word.

"After searching for years, the mad scientist found them… More than a dozen Realms. Each Realm has one Gate leading to Earth, but all the Gates are currently locked…"

They all breathed a collective sigh of relief, but the worry in James's and Mary's eyes hadn't lessened… They still hadn't told everything…

"For now, they are locked, but eventually they will open… The energy from Bran's sacrifice damaged the planet's barrier even more, and these cracks let more Gates appear throughout the world! We also think the locks on those Gates were partially destroyed!"

Everyone's eyes widened from shock and fear, but soon their resolve and experience took over.

"Well, that explains why the Gate Openings around Europe increased drastically… Do you have an idea when will those locks fail?"

Asked Henry, but unsurprisingly, the two scientists shook their heads.

With a tired sigh, Henry stood up from his seat, and Vicky immediately followed suit.

"For now, don't think on this too much… Tomorrow everyone else will arrive, and after the celebrations we can hold a proper meeting, discussing these issues… Anyway, we're off to bed…"

As the regal couple walked towards the door, they waved back and said a half-hearted 'goodnight'.