Earth, Star City, on the day of the storm…
It's a cool evening after the heavy downpour and the city is quiet. A small car pulls into the parking area of an apartment complex. It stops and a young man steps out—he looks to be around 25 years of age, dark-skinned, tall and fit, with a slight stubble on his chin.
Reaching into the car behind him, he brings out a nylon bag with a pagoda and chips drawn on it and a laptop bag. After closing his car door, he stares at his watch, sighs, and heads up the stairs into the house.
"Chi-boy! Hope you're hungry for some Chinese, I got dinner!" he shouts as he gets in.
Not getting a response, he sighs and says to himself, "I did come home late. Maybe he got bored and went to Will's place. I saw his parents today, so I guess he's back in town."
Sighing again, he walks to the kitchen, drops the bag on the counter, grabs a bottle of water and drinks. He stands there for a couple seconds in thought, then heads towards his room.
***
The hills, by the dead tree…
Just as Rakun steps through and the spatial portal closes, a figure lands on the ground directly before the tree. It radiates an intense aura that's close to Rakun's in power but seems to lack in quality.
"I missed him, but just barely," the figure says to itself. It scans the area, seeing the unconscious Jake on the ground. It freezes for a second, then begins approaching as it withdraws its aura. Soon it's standing over Jake, looking at him with curiosity. "He didn't die after being exposed to such power?" it mumbles. "And what's this? His body has a hint of berserk energy in it keeping him alive? Interesting."
At that moment, four more silhouettes appear. They stand in a neat straight line and don't say a word, as if waiting for the first figure to speak first. They too radiate powerful auras which they quickly withdraw after arriving.
"Take him," the figure says, pointing to the unconscious Jake. "Find his family and give them a good excuse. Find me who he was with." It points at the two bikes. "Clean here up as well. When we get back, send a summoning message to the other families—we need to meet." After saying this, the figure vanishes.
***
Back at the apartment…
Looking at his watch, the young man frowns slightly. "It's getting really late and this boy is not back," he mumbles to himself.
Getting up from the dining table, he carries the now empty food takeaway container as he heads towards the kitchen.
After disposing of the dishes, he takes out his cell phone and dials a number, putting it down on the kitchen counter on loudspeaker mode as he pours himself a glass of milk.
After a few moments, a monotone voice says the number he called is out of reach. His frown deepens, but he dials another number. After a few ringing noises, a voice sounds from the phone: "Hey uncle OB, good evening! What a surprise." It's Will.
"Will, how many times have I told you not to call me 'uncle'? I'm not that old," the young man says, chuckling. "Also my name is Obinna, or you can just call me Obi for short. No need for the initials," he jests.
"Don't blame me for calling you 'uncle'—I learned that from Chike. Besides, you have to admit you are getting old. Also OB sounds way cooler," Will says over the phone.
"Ok, ok, I accept," Obi laughs. "I see you're back in town. How was the little vacation?" he asks.
"It was really fun! I went to a lot of places and made a couple of new friends. I even started learning martial arts," Will's excited voice sounds back through the phone.
"Sounds nice. You must be telling Chi-boy a lot of stories right now. Could you tell him it's getting late and his number isn't connecting?" Obi says.
"Chike? Oh, he isn't here," Will says, sounding confused. "Wait, he isn't home?" he adds worriedly.
"No, he isn't. I thought he was at your place, but turns out he isn't," Obi says, frowning. "Any idea where he might be?" he asks Will.
"No idea. Maybe he went skating at the rink or something," Will says, though he doesn't sound sure.
"No problem, Will. I have to go now," Obi says as he puts down the still-full glass of milk. Cutting the call, he immediately goes into his room, grabs a coat and his car keys from the counter, and rushes out of the house. He gets into the car, starts it, and zooms off.
***
In Will's house…
He just got off the phone with Obi and has a frown on his face.
"Where could he be?" he mumbles to himself. "Did Jake do anything stupid?" he says as his eyes fill with panic. He immediately gets up and bolts out of his room and out of the house while shouting, "Mom! Dad! I'll be right back!" He grabs a bike parked in the garage and zooms off.
***
Unknown Location...
In a dimly lit room, a familiar figure stands over a young unconscious boy who lies on the large bed before it. There's a curious light in the figure's eyes as it stares at the boy—who happens to be Jake. By now he's cleaned up and wearing new clothes, his head wrapped in a bandage. Beside the bed hangs a green glowing talisman that sends soft waves of green light toward him.
A door opens and a man steps in. He stands respectfully behind the figure and says nothing.
"Speak," the figure says.
"We have done as you said. We cleaned up the scene, found a good excuse for the disappearance of the kid, and made sure the family hears about it. But we still don't really know who was with him—we will find out by tomorrow morning," the man says respectfully.
"Good. Have you sent out the summoning message?" the figure asks.
"Yes," the man says respectfully.
"Send someone over to buy the land where that tree stands. Buy the whole hill if you have to. I want to know when anything happens—anything at all," the figure says.
"Yes, Matriarch," the man says respectfully.
"You can leave," the figure says.
"Thank you, Matriarch," the man says as he immediately leaves.
The figure walks closer to the bed and into the light. The figure is a tall, old-looking woman. She has a head full of silver flowing hair and bright blue eyes that glow with interest as she stares at the boy before her. She stands with her back straight even though she seems old, and unconsciously radiates a fierce aura.
"Wake up soon, young one. We have a lot to discuss," she says to the unconscious Jake. She then walks away chuckling.
***
Unknown Location...
Inside a Japanese-styled pagoda, in a secluded room, sits an elderly-looking man. He sits quietly on a futon with his eyes closed as incense fills the room, a cup of hot tea in front of him. Suddenly, a fierce aura radiates from him—it feels like a thousand tsunamis rising and crashing, like the god of the ocean is venting his anger. The tea in front of him starts floating out of the cup and floats around him like rings around a planet. He immediately withdraws the aura by holding a strange rock as a smile appears on his face. He redirects the tea back into the cup as he picks it up and brings it to his lips.
After taking a sip, he says, "Come in."
Now we can see that just outside his room, through the paper windows, we see the silhouette of someone.
After hearing the order, the silhouette slides the door open and comes in. It's a man dressed in all-black tight robes and a mask. He kneels before the old man with his head down, seeming to shiver and sweat.
After taking another sip of tea and smiling, the old man says, "Speak, little one." He seems to be in a good mood.
"Ancestor, this letter came in through the secret mail, and it was addressed to you," the man says in a shaky voice as he lifts a red envelope with a tree that has blades for branches drawn on it with two hands.
Intrigued, the old man drops the cup and takes the letter. After looking at it for a while, he dismisses the poor man, who immediately leaves. Opening the letter, he reads the content and his expression becomes serious as he stares at the wax seal at the end.
"It's been decades since our last meeting, but it must be serious if even she sent out a summoning letter," he says to himself as he drops the letter and picks up the cup again. "I must prepare," he mumbles.
All around the world, similar scenes happen as the greatest powers of the mortal realm prepare to gather for a meeting.