(NARRATION) Within an ancient castle that existed beyond the physical world, above an infinite and endlessly vast Grey Fog, a figure sat upon a lone throne.
‘His’ eyes observed something beyond ordinary sight.
‘He’ tapped a finger against the throne.
Noticing the strange gesture, ‘He’ stopped, deciding not to retain the habits that ‘His’ vessel once had.
With a gesture, the fog rose ever so slightly and circled in front of ‘Him’.
As ‘He’ looked, a scene appeared before him.
A red-haired youth lay dead in bed alongside a woman that was several years older than him.
Both had slit their throats, and blood poured downward as a fireplace slowly died out.
Within a dark room, decay made the small space smell terrible.
The cause of that decay was the dead body of a young girl, nothing remained in the room, only her rotting and defiled corpse.
In a ditch outside the outskirts, a young man was being drowned.
Sunshine revealed the two men forcing his head under the water.
He had previously sacrificed his own safety in order to gain knowledge and while trying to observe the scene so he could escape, he was caught and was now seconds away from death.
‘He’ observed the scene wordlessly and looked to the right.
There, in the distance where no human could witness, the Chaos Sea stirred slightly.
Turning ‘His’ attention to the sight of a young boy’s body being desecrated for all the credits he had, the three looters commented on his luck and stabbed him in the neck twice for good measure.
A small distance away, a boy was taken by a gang, denied proper justice, and framed for stealing.
He failed to save himself and was beaten to death over the course of seventeen minutes and thirty-two seconds.
‘He’ observed all this with a calm and dispassionate expression.
With another gesture, the scene changed to a boy hanging from the ceiling.
He had killed himself because he could not attain anything in life due to his cursed birth and was unable to build the great things he had dreamed of.
His poor soul and passion useless on the battlefield of the outskirts.
“Father of Devils has manifested.
However, Goddess of Origin is hiding within that place.
Troublesome.” ‘His’ voice sounded like a maddening and infinitely cold, unfeeling prayer, constantly shifting from one tone to another.
Shifting through the visions, ‘He’ finally found the perfect subject for ‘His’ plan.
**************************** In a secluded alleyway, footsteps sounded for a moment before turning into sprinting.
A brother and sister began to run frantically.
The boy looked frail but tall, with sunken cheekbones and baggy eyes.
His black hair was messy and short, while his eyes contrasted his frail appearance, holding a powerful and deadly focus.
Across his shoulder was a backpack that could give his sister a new start in life.
Hopefully, it could be used to set up a small account for her and send her on a good path in life.
The priority however was for he to be dropped off at a safe orphanage where she could be adopted and live peacefully with a good family.
Even if the Nightmare Spell made a normal life impossible, he had still hoped and dreamed it might happen.
His life was already over, at seventeen, he could no longer be adopted, so in this last act of living, he could at least ensure that his one and only heart lived on.
His sister was only four years old, she was well fed and wore what most would consider normal clothing.
It was a little stained, but warm enough to keep her from getting cold.
She had beautiful azure eyes that shimmered with innocence, something that was only possible due to the many things he did to protect her, her hair was an ashen black that was clean and well kept as well.
Groaning in pain, he heard heavier and louder footsteps coming toward them.
Seeing that his sister couldn’t run, he picked her up with all his strength and continued.
‘Damn it!’ the boy thought, deeply regretting his choice to fool his captors in order to steal their credits and make a run for it.
He had been found out and wasn’t able to put enough distance between them.
After turning another corner and shielding his sister’s ears from the profanity shouted by the men, he ran toward the open market where people sold all the junk they had.
After finding the predetermined place he had set up beforehand, he waited for a bit and then pulled a string, then he heard a loud commotion from the alley.
‘It worked.’ His trap had worked and bought him enough time.
He put his sister down and opened the small part of the wall he had discovered a week ago.
“Listen to me, Nada… I… I need you to hide here with this.” He barely managed to speak as he placed the heavy bag into her small hands.
“…But where are you going… Brother?” Her childish voice sent piercing arrows through his chest, but he smiled weakly and gently pushed her inside.
“I’m just going to find some Awakened to help me defeat the bad guys… Don’t worry… If I don’t return, then don’t worry… A friend of mine will pick you up and take you where you need to go… Then… then we’ll see each other again.” He lied, It wasn’t a friend, just someone he trusted enough not to kill his sister or steal all the credits.
At worst, he would take the credits and still deliver her safely to the orphanage he had found and made sure was secure.
“…Pwomise?” Barely able to keep his tears from falling, he smiled and nodded.
“Pwomise!” With that, he shut the door and secured it.
Then he took out a bag identical to the real one that he had prepared beforehand.
Then he sprinted with all the might he could muster.
As he reached the end of the alleyway, he pretended to look around in fear and saw the two men arrive and spot him, feigning terror, he ran forward.
Running toward the trash site, he tripped on purpose, just to give the two men a bit more time to catch up.
He knew from the beginning that he wouldn’t make it… so he decided to face the challenge like a real man.
After slowing down enough, he sprinted again.
As he heard the men’s footsteps grow closer, he reached the edge of the garbage disposal area and, with all his strength, threw the bag into the incinerator.
The fake bag flew through the air and vanished into the roaring maw of the furnace, and soon, Flames swallowed it whole.
For a heartbeat there was silence, but then the two men reached him, their faces filled with rage and murder.
They shouted the most profane slurs the boy had ever heard.
The closest one grabbed him by the collar and slammed his fis tinto he boys stomach, hard enough to knock the air from his lungs.
The other drove a fist into his face, making blood fly through the air.
“You think we’re fools?” one of them said, dragging him upright before he could fall to the floor.
“You think you can steal from us and walk away?
You dirty little shit faced faggot!” The boy tried to speak a word of defiance, but a fist smashed into his face once more, then again, followed by a relentless beating he was all too familiar with.
Falling to the ground, he managed a brief moment to breathe and sighed in relief.
‘They didn’t find her.’ His first attacker dragged him along and grabbed a metal pipe from the ground.
Letting him go, he swung it against the boy’s shoulder, throwing him aside.
“You think a finicky, wretched little rat like you can make it in life, you disgusting little Cunt.
The fact that you did this shows how detestable you are!” the pipe wielder spat, striking his kneecap.
“You think i like this!
Huh!
You think i like wasting my time!” ‘Then why the… the smile.’ As the boy observed the man smiling, he was again struck by the pipe.
Finally, he broke and couldn’t hold in a scream.
Just as he did, the second man kicked him in the head with a merciless strike.
“Where’s the money, you little thief?
Your mother was at least a useful slut, hell, maybe that sister of yours would’ve been worth something when she got older, at least she could get fucked and give us a good time.” The assault paused for a moment as the pipe wielder crouched to look at the boy’s face.
“Where’s that crybaby you always protected, huh?
Did you leave her behind?
I wouldn’t be surprised, you son of a hore!” With that, he furiously beat the boy’s stomach with the pipe.
Another scream tore from his throat as the beating continued and a searing pain spread across his entire body, making his brain ring more and more.
He didn’t scream for long, the air left him in ragged gasps, and the strength in his limbs faded.
But he stayed conscious as long as he could, his eyes blazing with the same stubborn focus he’d worn when he ran with his sister in his arms.
He thought of Nada behind the hidden wall, clutching the real bag.
He thought of the orphanage.
He thought of her bright eyes, still unbroken.
He thought of a kinder world.
He thought of a loving family that would embrace her with joy and smile when they saw her.
He thought of her working a good job and smiling with her coworkers.
‘…If only…
if only i could’ve helped you more…
i’m so sorry…’ A pipe struck his knee, and it snapped like a twig.
The sickening feeling of bone breaking sent another wave of agony through him, and it was pain that he had known for far longer than he should have.
They dragged him upright again, forcing him to face them.
The second man pulled a shank from his pocket and stabbed him in the side, shallow at first, as if testing the blade, then deeper.
“Where’s the rest?” The boy smiled through broken teeth, blood bubbling at his lips.
“Gone.” The pipe came down on his shoulder, and something tore inside him.
Seven minutes and fifteen seconds passed like an eternity, and by the end he could no longer move his arms.
His skin, once pale as a ghost, was now purple and bloodied.
Yet, despite all the pain, he refused to beg.
Finally bored, one of the men grabbed his hair and forced his head back.
The other drove the shank into his neck, the boy’s body slackened, and the light quickly faded from his eyes.
And the Flame within him waned… … And after a moment it flickered out of existence.
They let him fall onto the now bloodied ground, laughing, already arguing over who would tell what happened to the boss.
And with the rat dead they took their leave.
Above the endless Grey Fog, the figure on the throne watched without blinking.
‘He’ observed the boy’s last breath leaving him, the faint warmth fading from his ruined body, ‘He’ observed the stubborn spark of purpose that had refused to die until the very end.
Not caring in the slightest for the boy or his pain, ‘He’ turned his attention elsewhere.
Now ‘He’ observed a school bus driving down the road.
With a thought, ‘He’ sent the last raving.
(NATHANIEL) “SAMMY!
I swear, if you try to steal a Twizz again, I’ll put laxatives in all your food!” Unbothered by the… well, pretty severe threat, he didn’t stop and managed to grab a Twizz.
With a satisfied smile, Sammy leaned back in his seat.
Then he opened his eyes and put a hand over his ear “Didn’t catch that.
What’d you say?
Don’t be shy now, no need to whisper.” “Oh, get closer then.” Sammy gave me a suspicious look but leaned in anyway.
I took a deep breath and screamed into his ear.
Reeling from the sound, he hit his head against the glass, in the front seats, the professor yelled at us to stop screaming or he’d change our seats.
“Sorry…” the four of us said.
Once the professor looked away, Amy looked at me with a pout.
“Y’know, I don’t think it was a good idea to sit with you.” Taking a Twizz from the bag and giving Sammy a look, he decided to finish his and leave me alone, with that secured i handed the candy to Amy.
“You think I’ll be satisfied with a single Twizz?” Frowning, I took the energy bar from my pocket and handed it to her.
“There you go, gold digger.” Amy took the bar and smiled happily, ignoring my snide comment.
‘With that personality, she’ll definitely make all the guys unhappy’ I lampooned, taking two Twizzlers and tossing the empty bag into the trash bag I’d set up earlier in my backpack.
Once I took a bite, my eyes widened.
“Ouch…” My tooth ached slightly, and I rubbed my upper lip.
“When did that happen?” Licking my tooth, I chewed on the other side of my jaw.
After finishing the Twizzlers, I looked around and saw that, for the first time, no one was on their phone.
Instead, they were all staring at me.
Chills ran down my spine.
“Hey… am I seeing things, or am I suddenly really popular?” I turned to Amy, hoping she wasn’t looking at me like that too.
Amy was known for blending into environments really well, but… I was sure she couldn’t just become downright invisible.
Standing up, I looked around again, fully seeing everyone staring at me.
‘Why isn’t the driver watching the road?!’ Focusing on that for a moment, I shook my head and realized Amy wasn’t the only one missing.
Sammy, Liam, Steven, Martin, and Damian were gone too.
I probably wouldn’t have noticed if anyone else disappeared, since I didn’t care enough to remember their faces.
“Aah… alright… so is this… well, not to sound cliché, but is this a prank?” Of course, I already knew there was no way anyone could pull off a prank like this.
In a chilling moment that scared me more than any horror movie Amy forced me to watch, everyone stood up.
‘Oh shit, oh shit, shit, shit, shit… I swear, if anyone puts on a monocle, I’m just gonna… fuck, what can I even do?’ “Lord of Mysteries King of Space-Time Beacon of Destiny Embodiment of Sefirah Castle Dominator of the Spirit World.” When I heard those words, another wave of dread washed over me, because this time, I actually remembered what was said.
It wasn’t whispered, which helped, what didn’t help was that everyone on the bus said it in perfect unison.
Blinking once, I suddenly found myself in very a familliar dome-shaped structure.
It looked ancient, and outside was an endless, thick grey fog.
Barely able to move, I turned my head just enough to see the throne behind me.
My eyes landed on the figure seated there.
A sliky and strange yellow-and-black robe flowed slightly, as if there were a light wind in the ancient structure, trying to see a face i gazed upward slightly, only to be blocked by a small cloud of fog that obscured it and everything else about its features.
Finding the courage to speak, I cleared my throat.
“Uhhh… hello… so… are you Mr.
Fool, or the other… super good guy?” The figure didn’t respond, instead it raised a hand, and three items took shape from its body: A translucent mask bearing a symbol I knew belonged to the Fool, a crystal monocle that instantly filled me with dread, and a pair of starry eyeballs that made my thoughts drift away.
“Be useful.” With that said, the three items stirred and rushed toward me.
Unable to react, they passed through my clothes and flesh, disappearing into me.
‘Damn it… is this… no, it’s the three Uniquenesses of the Lord of the Mysteries pathways!
This is definitely CW.
But why wouldn’t he just say he’s Klein and use his deceive ability to trick me?
Am I really not worth the trouble?’ The moment I thought that, the figure vanished into the fog, and Sefirah Castle held only me.
‘Is that it…?
Nah, of course not.’ And to my misfortune, I was right, in the next moment, the ground gave way beneath me, and I fell into the endless fog.
___________________________ Author’s note: So what did you think of this chapter?
I think the first part was well done, at least the emotion behind it.
Give me your thoughts, also next chapter is gonna be on Wednesday.
I don’t know if i’ll be able to release two but maybe, just in case look out for Sunday, i might be able to make another chapter by then.
Anyway have a good day everyone!