Infinity: Rising of the Soul Weavers

*Skillet - Hero *

All of Kayla's simulations ended up in Earth's destruction, and everyone's death. There was absolutely nothing she could do. No matter what she tried or how many times she did, everyone ended up dying...

Deactivating her skill: Thought Acceleration, she had an expression that was full of despair, as evident by her hollow eyes and shaking body.

"Maybe the only option is escape? Maybe there is truly no way of fighting back? If that's the case, then I have to get The Raven's Guards out of here… Also, I can't forget Liz and the mayor who are in the Demon Realm…" she finally decided. "Yes, I just have to take the important people out. But... Gaia, I'm sorry..." 

Although she was extremely hesitant as she spoke, she was aware of the many lives being extinguished every second under the Star Twenty angel, which made her believe more in her decision to escape; no matter what, she could not let Raven's precious people die!

Thinking back to how everyone who was left here was aware of the consequences, Kayla felt slightly better about leaving them behind and her determination grew stronger.

"Yes, I told them to leave in the first place, but they chose to stay…" Kayla thought to herself, trying her best to disregard her rampant emotions. "I have to make my move now!"

Just as she was about to summon The Raven's Guards, Kayla noticed a flash of light at the edge of her field of vision.

In an instant, that flash crossed the skies and exploded right in the strongest angel's face, sending it crashing against the ground.

The Star Twenty angel was sent crashing against the ground!!!

Everyone took a breath of cold air as they watched in surprise. Only after a few seconds did the Terran Army understand what had happened and start cheering.

Looking in the air, Kayla felt her body fall to the ground involuntarily as a sense of relief filled her. 

Although she was unsure of what had just happened, she knew that this was someone on their side. Otherwise, they would not have attacked that angel. 

"Ah… an uncertainty that had a favourable effect, I can't believe it…" Kayla muttered slowly while rubbing her eyes. "Is that what a miracle is…?"

Looking at the source of the light strike, everyone could easily spot a human figure standing on thin air, like a work of fiction. Suddenly, the soldiers' gaze was filled with reverence and awe.

The figure was wearing a heavy white armour that seemed to be made of pure light. A beautiful heavenly-looking golden cape was draped at its back like a majestic hero.

'A paladin sent from the heavens! Is it the real angel?' the soldiers thought while watching. 

The battlefield was extremely quiet all of a sudden. Forget about hearing a needle drop, even the sound of the faintest breath could be heard.

Looking farther up ahead, everyone watched this heroic figure getting closer and closer. Inside the white armour, a human boy had a complicated expression on his face. He didn't express joy or happiness from being able to blast the Star Twenty angel, but he looked rather sad.

As he got in range for everyone to see clearly, some people started recognizing him.

His bright golden hair, chestnut brown eyes, and light white skin made it easy for those who were familiar with him to remember him.

"Joey Banck?" A soldier shouted in question.

"Joey, the soccer player?" Another asked.

"Yes, he was a famous player in the highschool league!"

"I remember him too!"

"I used to watch his games against that Draven boy from the other highschool!"

"Yes, me too!"

"But how did he end up this strong?"

"What sort of training did he undergo?"

...

"Joey?" Watching the familiar figure descending slowly from the sky and landing beside her to support her, Kayla's eyes were wide and she didn't know how to react.

This person was none other than Raven's friend who used to play soccer with her, back when she was Draven. 

Additionally, he is a Soul Weaver who used to serve as Raven's guard and close friend, during their childhood, when they were still living at the Royal Palace on planet Erembourc, the planet of the Soul Weavers.

*Sigh*

"Sorry for being this late, many people have died, huh…" Joey sighed, his expression was that of regret and sorrow.

He could see the corpses around the dusty grounds and the blood rivers running across the deviated surfaces. Additionally, he was even more certain that most of the bodies had disintegrated during the fight and nothing was left to prove their existence.

"How come you're like this?" Kayla ignored his comment and asked. She could not help it. "How did you get this strong? What rank are you at right now?" 

"I've barely reached the rank of Star Eighteen," Joey said

"Star Eighteen…" Kayla looked him up and down. Truly, a miracle! But how did it happen? She knew that Joey had been practicing hard since the last time they met, but how could he break through Gaia's limits? What method did he use?

Seeing her expression, Joey knew that she had a lot of questions and uncertainties, but he knew that he didn't have time to explain at the moment.

"It's a little bit complicated, but if you're wondering about me reaching a rank that's higher than that of the planet, then it's easy," he said with a calm smile. "I went to the moon! In outer space, there is no barrier to preserve life, which means that all types of energy are available.

"I simply absorbed what I could while strengthening my own skills using my own methods… and that's how this happened."

"Didn't the angels attack you there?" She asked in confusion. Why would the angel ignore him?

"Hm, some did approach me, but I killed them," he smiled. "After all, their strength is not too much for me. And it's not like I've just started practicing two days ago… I've been there for at least a month now."

"A month?" Kayla widened her eyes once more. "What methods did you use? Can we replicate them?"

"Unfortunately, no," Joey answered, shaking his head. "Well, you already know that I am not a Human; I am a Soul Weaver. Do you remember what I mentioned about our race before?"

"The Soul Weavers are divided into thirteen clans, each of which specializes in their own special skills and techniques.

"For example, the Shadow, or Royal clan, is Raven's clan; they are best at Shadow and Mana Manipulation.

"The Azure Phoenix clan is the Queen, Raven's mother's clan; they are best known for having the secrets of the mythical Azure Phoenix. 

"They are proficient at manipulating a special type of azure phoenix fire. And some of them are even able to use this fire to force their soul on being reborn, thus gaining some sort of immortality.

"With that being said, my own clan is known as the Guardian clan, because we have been the guardians of the Royal family of the Shadow clan since the time of our ancestors.

"Our clan is best known for the possession of the most unique ability; the unique system!"

"Wait, I've heard of this before," Kayla suddenly remembered a previous talk between Joey and Raven. "What type of system do you have?"

"Well, the system is quite unique for every individual, but mine is called the Hero System, hehe…" Joey chuckled awkwardly. "It used to call itself the Warrior System, but as of recently, it underwent an upgrade, and here we are."

"The Hero System, a system that can upgrade itself… granting unique and strong powers to its bearer…" Kayla's eyes were burning with passion as she stared at Joey.

Could it be that there's something else in this universe that is similar to herself? Can she speak with the so-called Hero System?

She wanted to try, but she knew that now wasn't exactly the best timing. Shaking her head, she focused on the surroundings again and her expression got serious.

"In any case, let's forget about that," she decisively said. "You're two ranks below it, can you defeat it?"

"Uhm, if it was a normal Star Twenty ranked, then probably not. But it's merely a puppet-like existence with no spirituality whatsoever," Joey said while observing the angel stand up slowly and look at himself with hollow eyes. "It's not my match!"

Saying that, he grinned and disappeared in a flash. The moment he reappeared, he was in the sky, with his hands high above his head.

Out of thin air, a white radiant sun materialized. Everyone looked in awe, suddenly remembering that their Commanding General had once caused such a spectacle to appear just before killing an S ranked monster!

However, everyone also realized that this wasn't the same scene, something was definitely different.

Before getting enough time to think about it, the small white sun started twisting between Joey's hands like a rebellious snake!