Prologue : Good Night

It was almost 4 pm, time to go home.

Everyone was putting their things in their bags after the teacher had just left. The first day had been instructive but tiring. Now everyone was gathering to talk about their impressions, to make comments of all kinds.

There were only about twenty students left in class, including Kira Leonhart. Kira Leonhart had no one to talk to. So he stayed in his corner and quietly put his things away. As soon as he was finished, he carried his backpack.

First he went to the window to see the people coming in from above. The students he saw came in chatting and laughing. He looked at them with empty, pensive eyes.

They have the same passions. The same dreams. The same tastes. The same opinions. They laugh together. It's like I'm part of a whole other plane of existence. Not that I'm complaining, but they're all really different from me. No one shares my opinion or my vision of things. And there are people that I hate for no reason, or just because they have an attitude that I don't like. Yeah, I despise people I don't know. It's very arrogant. So I always have to force myself to look nice or to have a conversation with someone, even if it's just a greeting. Sometimes I wish everyone was like me. But I also wonder what society would be like if it were like that.

I really don't like the way I am.

-"H-hey, what are you doing? You look serious... "

Kira had just been taken out of her thinking by a student in her class. Long before looking at the person who had called him, he had thought it was Seisa Alucard. Logically, no one else would have a reason to address him. But it wasn't her. It was a normal student who was sorting out the class and seemed to be worried about Kira who still wasn't coming home when he wasn't doing anything.

-" Ah...You're right. I'm going to go. »

With that, Kira left the classroom and decided to go straight home.

--16h10

Kira had been out of the facility for about ten minutes. He had taken a shortcut home. His home was supposed to be in the 44th district. So it was not far from the Institute, which was nearby in the 43rd.

Eras. It was really a big area. Not only was it large, but it was developed. There was everything available to the inhabitants. There were hospitals, large supermarkets, post offices every square kilometer. Life there was really optimized. And the government made sure that this was the case in most of the regions. However, it was a terrifying country.

It had been ruled with an iron fist by the Empress for decades. No one had the courage to do anything. This woman was a real dictator. She had destroyed the very concept of revolution or rebellion in her country. She had the right of life or death over everyone, and no one had the right to confront her. With the Aeon Genesis on her side, one had to be either crazy or really prepared to try anything. As a result, a lot of people were embittered. But others like Levi Newgate saw what the Empress was doing as a necessary evil. After all, there was peace and development because of her. This woman was so powerful that an entire army could not defeat her. She had won so many wars against the outside world all by herself. The mere mention of her name succeeded in making other nations of the world tremble.

And that was the reason why everyone laughed at Seisa Alucard, who said loud and clear that she would become Empress. Unfortunately for her, she didn't look like anything more than a clown.

[44th District]

--Wednesday, September 17, 1997

--08:40

Kira Leonhart. He lived in a small apartment in the 44th. It was quite secluded, which pleased Kira, a lover of quiet. In his apartment, there was his bedroom, his living room, a kitchenette, the toilet. It was everything. He lived alone in this place. The sun rays entered his house through the windows of his bedroom, living room and toilet.

Now he was sleeping.

-" … "

Truly.

-" ...Mh. "

He began to ruminate something in his sleep.

- "Yeah...That's good, right there... "

He seemed to be dreaming about something.

…

…

…

And finally, he woke up.

-" Darn it. It was the first time since last month that I had an erotic dream... "

Kira Leonhart stood up, with a bit of a headache. He was wearing nothing but an old t-shirt and short pants.

He glanced at his big watch hanging on the wall. He read the time on it.

- "It must be an hour ahead of time. I got up early, I'm telling you! »

Something was bothering him, though.

-« When would I have been an hour early? That means it's really...08:44. »

Kira got up from his bed and rushed into the shower to get ready.

The famous exam was supposed to be today. This examination was to determine whether or not he was eligible for admission to the Institute. It was a selection. Kira seemed strangely calm about it. He showed no stage fright, no impatience, no worries.

Kira Leonhart used to be expeditious in what he did, especially in the morning. Within minutes, he had already brushed his teeth, washed and towel-dry himself.

There was a lot of clutter in his room. It took him a while to find his uniform.

Even today, he didn't take the time to do his hair or anything else. He just rushed to the Institute, which was in the 44th floor. It wasn't particularly far. But being late, Kira wanted to get there as quickly as possible.

He was running on the sidewalk. There were a lot of people on the way. So he had to dodge and run at the same time. The vehicles were also making a lot of noise, which irritated him.

- "I hate the crowd..."

It was one of the many things he hated in this world.

Then Kira arrived at a fork in the road. To the north, it was the long road to the Institute. The Institute was actually to the west, taking Kira's front as a landmark. But that road ran north and then west.

On the left, there was a street that made it look like a shortcut. Considering the long road as the AB and BC sides of a right-angled triangle, the street in question must have been the hypotenuse AC. He would therefore save more time by taking the AC segment to cover the required distance.

-" So math is useful for something... Let's go! "

Kira decided to take the so-called shortcut and walked down the street.

--09:12

Kira had been running since earlier. He was already starting to run out of breath. So he stopped for a while to take a breather. He must have been half a kilometer away from the Institute. So it wasn't much further.

-" I'm late...I hope they won't be too strict. "

Kira continued to move forward. Then he realized there was a problem.

-" It looks like...a warehouse. "

Just opposite was a large platform protected by a metal grid. There seemed to be no other way around here. The only way forward was to go straight ahead. Kira had never seen anything like this in the 44th. But he was running out of time. It would take him almost forty minutes to get back to the main road. He would automatically miss the test.

-" There's no turning back. The door of this warehouse seems to be open, and so does the gate. There should logically be a door on the other side. I should be able to get through without any problem. "

Kira moved forward, and entered the warehouse. As soon as he crossed the gate, a strange wind blew through the place. It was also strangely cold. The warehouse was a large building with a V-shaped roof. Kira crossed the threshold of the big door.

All of a sudden, Kira started sniffing. As if he wanted to identify a smell he had smelled when he entered.

-" … "

It was dark.

You could hardly see where you were stepping.

Then after we took a step forward, Kira realized something.

-"I stepped on something soft. It's not the ground. A bag, maybe. "

A bag, maybe. »

Kira opened the door further to see ahead, knowing that the sun's rays would enter the gloomy warehouse.

So the green-haired boy took a look at what he had stepped on.

-" ...It's... "

He thought he didn't get a good look at what was in front of him. But in fact, there was no mistake possible. It was obvious that this was it.

-« A body...human? »

Kira had remained strangely calm. But he was trembling, proof that he was panicking. He couldn't stop staring at that body. It was the body of a woman. Her eyes were wide open, and you could see insects lying on it. Part of the body was also missing. More importantly, the blood was clotted. Secondly, the body did not smell strong enough.

There was another strange element. This body must have been there for a while. But it wasn't rotting. At least, it didn't seem to be rotting fast enough.

- "What the... "

Kira was disgusted.

Suddenly, a thud made him jump. It was the door behind him that closed abruptly.

-" ...Huh... "

It was weird. No wind strong enough had passed. And Kira hadn't perceived the presence of anyone outside.

Another phenomenon caught her attention.

Lights began to come on all along the warehouse.

- "Lights..."

It was then that Kira realized that there was not just one dead body. There were nearly a hundred of them in the same state in that place. And straight ahead was one person. From where he was, Kira couldn't see his face. He could only see his silhouette. At his height, he must have been an adult.

-" You are one of the greatest criminals Arcadia has ever known. He said, "By far.

-" What are you talking about?"

-" You are the one who assassinated the Minister of Health and the Minister of Justice last month. "

-" What?"

Time seemed to stop for Kira for a second.

[These two ministers died in mysterious conditions last month. We still don't know how they died. What is this guy talking about?]

-" You are the criminal, [Zeta]. "

-" That's not my name. "

-" Of course it is, Zeta. That's your name. "continued the mysterious individual, totally calm.

-" Stop this. "

-" Ghahahahahaha! What are you going to do, Zeta?"

-" Asshole... Tell me what this means! "

-" These are YOUR victims, Zeta. "

- "You've got to be kidding me...".

Suddenly, Kira heard noises outside.

It was the sound of helicopters approaching and surrounding the area. Large numbers of armed men had also been mobilized in the area, and there were all kinds of police vehicles. The army was also moving towards the warehouse. Kira had no idea what was going on.

-" What's going on out there?"

-" You are a criminal. You should know that. "

- "I don't understand what the... "

Kira didn't finish her sentence.

- "Zeta! Get out of there! Surrender without resistance! »

Someone said, with a megaphone.

- "What in the hell... ? "

Kira was completely lost. Why was it like that? Accused of murder? Asked to surrender? A mere high school student who was about to take his exam in a few minutes ?

-" You should get out. "Says the man Kira was talking to.

-" … "

Kira Leonhart left the building. In front of him were hundreds of armed men. Helicopters. Police cars. There was the sound of sirens. And right in front of Kira was a woman. She had long blood-red hair and a military uniform. She was looking down on Kira with a cold expression. She had her two hands on top of each other, on a stick. Her presence was overwhelming. Kira couldn't even look her in the face.

-" So it's you, Zeta. "She says, in a voice both graceful and cold.

-" I don't know who you mean. "Kira replied instinctively.

- "No harm will come to you. You will simply be judged for your crimes. Depending on my judgment, it will be the death penalty or life in prison. "Said the redheaded woman, with a reassuring smile.

-" To hell with it...I didn't do anything. "

-" … "

This woman had a noble aura, yet so dark. So Kira dared to ask her a question.

-" Who are you? "

-" [The Empress, Kôgyoku]. Nice to meet you, dear [Nova]. »

-" The Empress in person? I don't understand anything of what you are all talking about! What's going on here?"

- "It just so happens that we've arrested you. You are responsible for the murders of three ministers last month. You are also responsible for the theft and disappearance of several secret documents from the Bookstore. You are also responsible for the attack two weeks ago in the 23th district. Understand that your misdeeds cannot go unpunished. "

-" … "

-« You should turn yourself in. You can't run away, you know that. "Said the Empress, with a comforting smile.

-" … "

Kira was calm. He didn't say anything and didn't think about anything. No matter how much he thought, none of it made sense. He was certain he was innocent. So he thought of a possibility.

-« What are you going to do? »

-« I'm going to have to kill you right here. »

[I see. I have no chance to run away. I feel that even if I was moving at the speed of sound, she would catch me without any effort. In addition, there are police officers in the whole area. Vehicles in large numbers, and helicopters. Everything was normal yesterday and this morning. I didn't do anything, though. In other words, it was my destiny. So the path ends here. For the first time in my life, I know what fear is. It is strange.]

-" So, do you decide to let it happen? "asked the Empress as she drew her sword from its sheath.

-" ...Make it quick. "

[Why is it coming back to me? That girl who wanted to be Empress... Huh. She's got a long way to go.]

Kira had closed his eyes and got down on her knees. He seemed ready to accept death, no matter how unjust it was. It was impossible for him to do anything. The area was watched, and the Empress was right in front of him.

The Empress looked at him tenderly, although she was aiming her sword at his neck.

No one could see his face except Kira. It was astonishing. There was a bit of sadness in her eyes. But she smiled, and there was no hesitation in her mind.

Suddenly it started to rain. The sky had been darkening for a few minutes already.

The Empress' sword became bright. And at last she dealt the fatal blow to Kira.

The sword of light had stuck in Kira's chest. He knelt and did not move. He wasn't breathing. It was as if the Sword of Light hadn't hurt him and just stayed in his chest.

-" You no longer belong to the world of the living. And your soul will never rest. So long, Zeta. "Said the Empress coldly as she looked at Kira.

�

Kira was killed by the Empress today, Wednesday, September 17, 1997. It had been reported on television that the criminal, nicknamed Zeta, was arrested and executed. The government was very happy with this state of affairs. Its true objective was still undetermined, of course, but the "danger" that it represented had vanished.