BEYOND 3A: BloodRed and ScaleBlack

The Fifty-Sixth Feather: The Hole

While that was happening, far far away from the action and the chaos, Alex Lewis was trying to fight his insomnia and sleep on his desk full of paperwork again and Tony was playing the same usual guitar riffs he's always played, although poorly, due to not having any restful slumber either. All seemed to be well and orderly until Sam kicked the door off of its hinges with panic and exhaustion in her expression. Tony muttered: "There goes another door."

Sam: "Alex! Alex! You're not going to... Damn it, he's fake-sleeping again! WAKE UP!"

She then hurriedly slapped him upside the head with the might of a warrior, waking him up instantly. "H-huh, wah? Wusshappenin?"

Sam: "Alex! Alex!"

Alex: "W-what?! What is it?!"

Sam: "You're not going to fucking believe what just happened!"

Tony: "What? Did you catch another Verbero?"

Sam: "Shut up and look at this livestream! Some astronomical shit just happened in Texas!"

Alex: "What? Let me see..."

Once she passed her phone to him, the two men watched a replay of a livestream taking place in Texas, moments before it was wiped out. They saw the black heart, the horrifying screech, and the colossal, golden, flowery explosion for a split second before the feed was cut off.

Tony commented: "What the fuck...? This is Canada all over again..."

Alex: "...Tony, ready the barrel, we're moving out ASAP to investigate. And call Lestrade."

Tony: "...Yes, sir."

Meanwhile, somewhere even farther than that, at Archimedes' castle, Iron Will was at the gymnasium as usual, getting his workout done, when one of his colleagues, Man Eater, came in. She grabbed his attention: "Iron Will, the boss wants to have a word with you."

Will: "You make it sound like I got into school troubles. What does he want?"

M.Eater: "If you read the news every once in a while, maybe you wouldn't be out of the loop."

Will: "What? Did someone drop a nuclear bomb or something?"

M.Eater: "In Texas."

Will: "...Huh."

M.Eater: "But we don't know if it's a nuke or not. The boss will tell you what you're supposed to do about that."

After he wiped himself clean and sprayed himself with deodorant, he went to Archimedes' fancy room where he saw him constructing a ship in a bottle. He greeted him: "Good morning, sir."

Archimedes responded to him without averting his attention from his work: "Ah, Will, I hope I did not interrupt anything."

Will: "No, it's alright. I heard that something happened in Texas."

Archimedes: "Yes, a black heart appeared. To be truthful with you, I have never expected one to manifest itself in my lifetime."

Will: "A black heart? What's the significance of that? It seems like a rare occurrence."

Archimedes: "Indeed. A black heart only occurs during a perfect synergy between two Hylic Beyonders. It is a rare event due to a handful of factors. For one, the Beyonders in question need to be so in tune with one another that not a thought of one can differ from the other's. Like one soul and one mind in two bodies. I have been to all corners of the earth and seen many things and people you would not believe exist and yet, I have never heard of a case like this, let alone seen it."

Will: "Okay, uhh... What does it do?"

Archimedes: "It depends. The one thing to note is that it is usually a combination of their abilities amplified by ten to the power of six, if my memory does not deceive me."

Will: "I see. What do you want to do about it?"

Archimedes: "I want you to accompany officer Wakamol and investigate the hole."

Will: "Hole? What hole?"

Archimedes: "It is what is left of Texas, see for yourself."

Uncertain of the situation at hand, Will tried to summon a door with his ring, but found himself unable to. Archimedes advised him: "Create a door just outside of the state's perimeter."

And upon doing as he recommended, he stepped through to the other side and was met with a seemingly bottomless hole that stretched far beyond the horizon to cover most of the state. Will couldn't do anything other than say: "Holy shit." and step back inside. Archimedes said: "That, my friend, is what I want you and Wakamol to look into."

Will: "Look into? What's there to look into?! That's a giant fucking hole!"

Archimedes: "Every hole has its secrets. The biggest giveaway is how we cannot manifest doors over it. It is clear that whoever performed such a spectacular feat of power has done more than simply give the planet a massive cavity."

Will: "I see, and I'm guessing it's not just curiosity that made you send us?"

Archimedes: "Of course. I wish to harvest that power or, at least, claim affiliation with it."

Will: "Yeah, that'll give M.I.S.S.I.O.N quite the scare. Now you've got me invested in this as well. When should we do this?"

Archimedes: "Whenever you are ready, but preferably quickly. It will be over for us if that cursed organisation unravels the mystery before we do."

Fifty-Sixth Feather:

Plucked