Chronos, the most powerful organization in the world, had shared an enduring bond with the Arks family since forever. According to what was known from the history, Reuben Arks, who was the family's founder was also one of Chronos's key members. He had opened the gate which led the organization to the field of politics. Despite not publicly being involved with Chronos, it was obvious that Reuben's vision of a potential gold-mine had him remain a great supporter in almost every aspects. However, in his time, Chronos still hadn't had much influence on the world's economy, which resulted in Reuben's efforts being considered as failures. Fortunately, giving up wasn't one of the Arks's traits, and Reuben was too arrogant to admit his lost anyway, he had never stopped reminding his descendants their responsibilities with Chronos, for they had to continue his legacy on the path to claim their possession to the world. So the more time passed and the greater Chronos itself enlarged its hold on the government of various countries and their money, the deeper their connection got. The Arks family inevitably became an irreplaceable part, no different from the blood flowing through every veins in this holy empire's body.

The family members played diverse roles in order to make way for Chronos to achieve its goals. There was a time Alexander Arks was nothing but a puppet, always obediently followed the organization's commands. But under the dynasty of Killian Arks, their name was to be feared and be destined with submissions from all. The family's impact on Chronos had grown to its nearly fullest extent thanked to his superior leadership. Nevertheless, Killian's most significant accomplishment must be the creation of the Arks Ryuukenjutsu. This vigorous killing technique included only a few moves at first. After being passed on to the next generations, it was developed into thirty six moves. Each one of them was appropriate for each dissimilar situation and enemy's fighting style.

The Arks RyuuKenjutsu was only bestowed on those who carried its name and possessed enough strength to master it. But the moment it marked it appearance in this world, it had officially put a curse on all of the family's outstanding children. One way or another, bloodshed was impossible to avoid when a throne was forged and was kept. For this reason, Chronos definitely wouldn't miss the opportunity to arm themselves with an incredible living weapon. When Killian died, the Elders quickly launched a special training programs for the one that would become the technique's new successor. As the thirst for power of the Elders were hardly ever quenched, so did their insecurity every time they thought of what to come when a war for the right to rule broke out. And they carried on investing on the projects which were established to give birth to biological slaughtering machines. The subject could be of any kinds, whether humans or animals. If they hadn't been able to make one, they would have found one. Chronos's men searched every places they assumed their future members would appear : in alleys, orphanages, illegal arenas, ... They picked up homeless children and teenagers, put them in a isolated facility then started their training. That was how most assassins were created. The bests of them would be selected to go to a special school run by Chronos so that they could have both their fighting skills and social skills completed, preparing themselves to be a number, or a Time Guardian, as they now called.

Klaussius Arks, the previous head of the Arks, had again regained their golden days when he not only made it to the top of his family but the Time Guardians as well. It seemed like forever since the Arks had last witnessed such excellence from anyone in the house. Before him, his predecessors were just small politicians or erasers. Chronos hadn't found the right time to take out the Arks but couldn't afford to let them get their hands on the business anymore. In the meantime, making the Arks lay low and giving them nominal positions in the organization were their most beneficial options. Klaussius Arks was a bolt from the blue. Within a couple of years, he had managed to be Chronos's right hand when it came to dealing with the troublesome and stubborn statements. Christ, klaussius's sword was no less sharp than its owner's mind. Its blade cut through whatever kinds of enemies standing at its end without fail. However, Klaussius was not only gifted with the ability of delivering deaths, but also, a charming aura . He was the definition of a lady's man, a king whose subordinates would entrust their lives and honor. He defended his people with unwavering loyalty and they did the same.

Because of that, not a words were spoken untill one day, the sun of Klaussius's glorious era met its horizon. The battle with taoists had been out of imagination. Such a brutal and bloody it was that even those elites of the Time guardians, including their captain, could stand a chance with the god of death. Klaussius had prepared himself days and nights for the upcoming confrontation, but so did his foes. The patriarch was truly an unyielding warrior despite his extravagant idea. After having gone head to head with such a force, no matter how much stamina one could have, he was dawned to be beaten if the fight was still on. Almost all of the taoists had perished, only a few kids and elders who had fled even before the bloodshed started managed to escape. Hence, there shall be no noteworthy threats in the near future. Chronos had won in exchange for plenty of its men's sacrifices. Now, its defense had been weakened greatly and the need to found candidates to fill the void was urgent. A new sun to carry on shedding lights upon the lives of those who survived.

And for the first time in Chronos's hundreds years of existence, they had a female captain.

Chronos valued people's talent. Women or men had never been something worth being disputed. Nonetheless, Number one prioritized a superior combat ability, which a woman's body couldn't meet. Even the Time guardians' number two at the moment, Viviane Blaine, whose physical condition had been enhanced by the same experiment performed on their former captain couldn't beat Klaussius in a fair fight. Since he was gone, she was temporarily in charge of the unit and hold power of a captain. However, this position was actually saved for another individual, who the elders order to take in the instant they heard a word of.

Sephiria Arks, the only daughter of Klaussius Arks and Viviane Blaine.

Being given birth by the most outstanding members, Sephiria satisfied all qualities. Her body had had another surgery to boost her genetic healing ability passed on by her parents, making it reach its peak of 100% and no case of counter productive. This news had shaken the entire organization. No one had ever caught any inappropriate moments between Klaussius and Viviane before. They're both flawless when it came to appearance. Their mind complimented each other, which could be easily noticed through countless missions they pulled off. Despite those foundations, rumors being made, they kept their professional masks perfectly, swaggering through storms after storms, as expected of the highest in position to lead an elite assassin unit.

It was not until Sephiria turned six that she got to know about Chronos's existence, two years after her father's dead. Viviane decided it was high time Sephiria learned self-defense and participated in Chronos's special educational system. The sooner Sephiria was prepared, the less dangers could do her harm. Viviane's works had consumed a large amount of her time so she was predictably away from her daughter. This fact was the main reason why she let Sephiria appear as a top choice for her father's throne in front of the elders. If she could convince them that Sephiria was the fullest of potential, Viviane could also ensure her daughter safety. It was a long-term benefit which her and Klaussius had planned on from the day of their angel's arrival.

Although Sephiria was an energetic and curious one, swordsmanship didn't spark much interest in her then. Her own uncle took on the responsibility to teach her and his son since he was the second strongest to Klaussius in the house. Her cousin quickly made progress while Sephiria could not even hold the sword right. Those lessons ended with the same outcome every day. Frustration and dispiritedness to swordsmanship bottled up in the little girl's mind and she was beginning to slack off. Her determination to avoid training was so immovable that Viviane herself failed to knock it out. On the contrary, Sephiria always got top scores without breaking a sweat in other subjects at school. Teachers exceptionally favored her to the extent that every mistakes could be easily overlooked no matter how serious they were. Fortunately, Sephiria didn't take advantage of their fondness, or at least not usually.

Sephiria was on good term with both boys and girls in her class. However, she seemed to be a closer with boys. Sephiria's boldness and health when it came to discovering the world, playing tag, was simply in another league comparing to other girls. She especially enjoyed interacting with animals too, something that boys at her age would join with all their enthusiasm.

This was also the trait which essentially decide the person she became in her later days as a captain.

Her deskmate back then was a boy named Ricky Roberta. He was 0,2 feet taller than her and liked calling Sephiria junior, despite her non stop threats to hit him next time he did that. They both shared keenness on other living beings around them. They would look into any places in their school yard in hope of coming across some exotic species. However, the campus soon became boring with no stones left unturned, so Ricky, considering himself the captain, initiated the idea of going outside.

Sephiria at first didn't approve it. She stubbornly stood her ground until one day, while playing hide and seek, Sephiria saw a cute, fluffy dog walking by through the school gate's iron bars. She called after him, and he turned around. But they were separated by the gate and her arms were too short to reach him. After a few minutes of hesitation, the dog made up his mind and continued on his way. Although Sephiria might not be good with sword, she had had enough trainings to be able to jump over the gate. Unlucky for her, the school bell rang signaling her break had ended, leaving her no choice but to return to class.

Inevitably, that event had strongly stirred up her curiosity. The temptation from Ricky's idea was getting more unbearable by seconds. At last, she gave in and asked him whether he had come up with a way out. She could swear his eyes was flashed with smugness the moment he heard her question. He revealed that he intended to climb over the gate with a rope. He would hold on to it and use his feet to push himself up with a bar being his fulcrum. He needed her to get to the other side first, then acting as his anchor to keep the rope in place. Gym class was the time when everyone were allowed to take physical activities they liked, so the two friends agreed to choose it to be their own adventures time.

—-

That day was also a day for exploration. The weather was lovely with gentle breeze and clear, blue sky. Sephiria and Ricky were walking on a strange street, snacks in their hands. They got here by taxi. They told the driver to take them to where had the best marshmallow, which had him in stitches during their entire ride. He didn't even receive his money, telling them to see it as a thank for such happy time. But he truly had completed his mission. The marshmallow here tasted heavenly.

" Do you think that we shouldn't have gone this far ?" Ricky questioned his friend.

" Don't worry. We will get back in time. It only takes us 10 minutes to drive here. We still have money and our gym class is far from ended, not to mention our break following right after." Sephiria assured him with a confident voice.

" Ok, if you say so, junior." Ricky replied in a teasing tone.

" What did you just call me ?" An irritated Sephiria immediately snapped back.

" Look who is angry now ? It's junior, junior junior." Sang Ricky cheerfully, his tongue sticking out at her.

" Run, Ricky. " Of course, no seconds was wasted as Ricky tried his best to be as fast as he could to escape a certain hurricane coming his way carrying all punches and kicks. They were chasing each other down the pavement, having a whale of a time, spending their energy on screaming and laughing so hard that no attention was paid to two bags of snack being dropped somewhere on the way. For a moment they would stop to catch their breath, but shortly after that Sephiria's anger would took over her and poor Ricky would have to rely on his legs again. Both were so drowned in happiness that the realization of changes in scenery came in too late.

When they finally agreed to put off this chase, they're standing in front of an abandoned storage, people were no longer in sight. Wild grass covered the place like an devastated carpet. The ground was so dusty that even the plants growing on it were dyed in gray. It seemed that nobody had set their feet on the place since forever. This storage was located at the end of the street, isolating itself from other lively buildings crowded with people up where the two kids just left. Thick layers of dust created by every steps they made was giving Ricky a hard time to breath normally. He kept coughing and sneezing as they tiptoeing around the place to check on it. Despite its creepy outlook, their curiosity to discover what lying behind those doors had got the better of them. Caution was put aside as their hands reached out to touch the lock. It was beyond rusty. However, to children's strength limit, it remained indestructible. After several attempts, all they achieved was exhaustion and their time's running out. Both tiredly sat down on the ground, glancing up at the lock in powerlessness. Ricky was the first to voice his thought.

" We can't linger here any longer. Mr. Eusford will find out about our absence and as far as i know, he will not waste a second calling our families. The last thing i want to see is my mom waiting for me with a pile of homework in her hands and thousands of criticism on her mind." Ricky urged his friend whose eyes still filled with resolve.

" No, he won't. I am the best student in his class. There is no likelihood that he will cause trouble to " The future of Geometry "". Sephiria proudly affirmed. She didn't want to give up now. The metal thing appeared so obsolete. Maybe if she tried to use more force, she could break it or the chains which was hanging through. Not very far on the Ricky's left side was a crowbar. Looking at it, Sephiria just wished she had been more hard-working on her sword training. If she had, they would probably have managed to enter the place by this instant.

" That's only apply to your case, junior. He doesn't mind crushing other students' images in their parents' eyes and he is going to consider it a pleasure to do the same to me too." Responded Ricky with clearly boredom over Sephiria's boast. His arms already felt weary because of their previous non-stopping "workout."

" But …"

" But since we are going back now, I suggest you stand up and brush off the dust on your skirt." Finishing the girl's sentence, Ricky walked away from his seat immediately, leaving no room for argument. He understood his partner to well to start a debate with her. Inwardly, Sephiria was objected to his choice. Nonetheless, her judgment approved his decision. The fact that had a devilish reputation was nothing new. Consequently, she ended up distancing herself from the storage, much to her dismay.

And it was at that moment, from inside the facility's cracking walls came threatening snarls.

Louder,

clearer,

closer till suddenly the door violently burst opened, too fast for both of the kids to have a chance to turn their heads to see what happened.

A pair of bloodshot eyes pierced right into them.