Infinity: Rising of the Soul Weavers

*BEAUZ & JVNA - Crazy [NCS Release] *

"So please, Gaia, don\'t be selfish and ask me to abandon Earth, my home… don\'t ask me to abandon you." As she finished, Raven was already pressing the tiny fairy\'s body against her chest in a warm hug.

"U- \'\' Gaia could not even speak as she tried to dismiss her tears but to no avail. She knew that Raven was well aware of the danger, yet she wanted to stay with her, even if it meant her death.

\'Is she dumb?\' Gaia thought between sobs. \'Yes sure, Maya may be able to remember her past and time with Raven, thus stopping the invasion temporarily. But what about the rest of the Seraphim? 

\'There would be three left!

\'Those three Seraphim would most likely not hesitate to kill Maya together with everyone else!\'

Gaia could not predict the future, but this much was rather obvious!! 

How was she being selfish? She was simply trying to get her first ever friend to safety… how could she not?

Even though she had tried to kill Raven during their first encounter, they quickly became friends soon after!

Was she truly selfish because she wanted her to live a happy life?

Gaia hugged Raven back, her tiny body trembling in emotions under the latter\'s touch. 

She didn\'t want her to stay, she absolutely didn\'t want her to die with her!

However, the fact that Raven sounded so sincere and stern left her no room for negotiations… After all, only Kayla or Raven were able to activate or deactivate the Teleportation Gates!

But at the same time… just the fact that during her billions of years of life… just the fact that a single soul -a single young girl- was willing to stay with her until the end…

It meant the world to Gaia who only knew loneliness before! 

She has never had something so precious like a friend, nor has she ever experienced precious feelings such as the love, care, and warm sympathy that accompany friendship…

She was scared of death, but most importantly… she was scared to die alone…

But here, Raven -her first friend- had offered to stay with her until the end… 

Gaia could not possibly describe the warmth she was feeling no matter how hard she tried! But she knew that now she was happy...

Even though death was just around the corner, she was feeling great, knowing that her friend was taking care of her!

…

"Ms. O\'Bannon!" A voice suddenly called out, knocking Gaia and Raven out of their respective trances.

Abbadon seemed upset about it but he did not do anything since his mistress quickly adapted a professional demeanor. He just simply got closer to her as if to ward away the new presence.

"General Kai," Raven said with a polite smile. "I believe it\'s my first time meeting you, it\'s quite the pleasure."

General Kai. He was the Korean EDA Division General and the person in command of its important decisions… or so it should be.

However, up until now, the Deputy Generals were the ones making decisions on Earth while the Generals were taking on missions under the Supreme Galactic Alliance\'s command. 

That also applied for the entirety of the EDA divisions around the globe. This was done long ago to ensure the safety of the planet…

But that of course was just lies. If Raven was to describe them, the Supreme Galactic Alliance was nothing but an agency for bullies to have fun torturing weaker creatures.

Even though Earth had been under attack previously, during the Portal Incident, the Supreme Galactic Alliance did absolutely nothing.

Scott had mentioned how he had requested help, yet not even their own Generals were allowed to go back and assist in the matter. If they did, it would have been considered going against orders and thus rendering Earthlings as pathetic traitors.

Even now, with the coming invasion it would have been natural to receive help from the Alliance, yet this is not happening, obviously.

If it wasn\'t for the General of the Canadian EDA Division, also known as the Global Commander General, Elaina Arkan, holding a somewhat decent position in the Supreme Galactic Alliance, not even their own Generals would have had a chance to defend their planet against this large-scale invasion.

And now, some of these Generals have reached Earth!

Raven had received news about General Kai arriving just a few days ago. However, only now did she have the time to meet him.

"The pleasure is all mine, Ms. O\'Bannon." General Kai was quite the gentleman and it showed. "If it wasn\'t for you, Earth would have had no way of hearing about the invasion, let alone preparing a counter plan in order to defend everyone, and instead of an invasion, it would have been a very simple, yet quite ugly, massacre. 

"I\'m very thankful for everything that you\'ve done and for giving us a warning in time! I look forward to defending my home together with you!"

Hearing that, Raven smiled and nodded without uttering a word. She hadn\'t expected an esteemed General of the EDA to give her this much gratitude since at the end of the day, she was still just a sixteen year old little girl. 

\'It seems that Scott\'s recommendation has reached far, huh?\' Raven mused. It was Scott that had informed the Commander General after all.

But even so, Raven suspected that General Kai was naturally kind and understanding.

Raven could certainly feel the power flowing through the General, and if it was someone else, they would have probably had dirty thoughts regarding someone as young as her, especially that she seemed weak and defenseless, even though she was in her armour.

"Ms. O\'Bannon," General Kai continued with a smile. "Please allow me to give you this humble artifact as a sign of my gratitude. Please consider it as a gift or a rather small compensation for everything that you\'ve done so far.

"I apologize as it\'s nothing special in particular; just a mere R-Grade artifact, but I hope my gesture is not impolite."

Saying that, General Kai extended his hand, offering a beautiful golden bracelet that was glowing with runes, flowing with energy.

Raven widened her eyes in surprise. This was her first time seeing something like this.

\'Hm, interesting…\' Kayla\'s voice was calm and collected. \'Take a look at this!\'

Suddenly, a transparent system screen was generated in Raven\'s vision.

[Viewing data on the appraised artifact…

[Using the updated system...

[Name: Universal Shielding Bracelet 

[Grade: R-Grade

[Description: A universal protective artifact that is able to withstand attacks up to Star-5 level of strength. 

[Maximum time of activation: 1 hour

[Cool down: 5 hours.]