“Furor arma ministrat.

Rage supplies arms.”

- Virgil

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As I came face to face with the beast clad in metal and flesh, I could see and feel its maw clenching against my shoulder. I could tell it was about to rip the entire thing off with just one flick of its neck, and in that singular moment of agonizing pain and exploding adrenaline, I raised the hand that still held the drawn blade and plunged it deep into the hound’s chest.

By luck alone the core was struck and the scout fell limp to the ground, dragging me along with him.

I collapsed on top of it, its maw still held onto my shoulder with a death grip, refusing to let go even after it had been de-anchored from this reality. It took a few moments, but eventually it disintegrated away like the others had done, and I was able to look down at my shoulder, or what remained of it.

Minced meat and muscle, blood spurting out like a broken water fountain. I could almost see the bone beneath, and it was certain I could no longer move my left arm unless I wanted the last strands of muscle tissue that sustained it in place snap and let go of the damn thing.

The pain was slowly subsiding, as color was drained from my world.

The blood was flowing too fast, and without being able to move comfortably, bandaging or applying pressure wasn’t an option. How many had I taken care of? Three? Maybe four…. Considering the immense amount of luck it took not to get eaten alive when I was sleeping, dying from blood loss does seem like the most peaceful option.

I collapsed again, this time on my back as I stared at the familiar ceiling of my home. For a few moments it seemed as if time had stopped, and my memories came upon me. Memories of the few good moments I spent with my father and mother, eventually transitioning to my father drinking, to mother running away, to me being left all alone in this house in the middle of nowhere.

They all passed me by like a speeding train as I started to lose feeling on my hands and feet. I knew the end was approaching, and as I noticed life leaving my body, I turned to my side and took a final look towards the open gardens just beyond my reach.

Slowly but surely, I pushed myself towards the edge of the open hallway.

If I was to die, at the very least I’d rather have my final moments in the peaceful nature that I was so used to. With no lack of pain, I pushed and dragged my exhausted body until I fell over the edge of the hallway, leaving a clear trace of blood behind me as I finally reached the pond where I first met that raven.

Oh, what a beautiful sight it was. With the unnatural lighting of the purple sky, the pond had taken a most captivating view, one that put me at ease, even if only a little.

As I finally allowed my tired body to rest, my final moments were shared with that same raven that had probably heard me coming outside.

It flapped its wings and glided over me until it reached my side. The bird tilted its head and croaked.

I smiled. At least I wasn’t alone.

Then I closed my eyes and everything went dark.

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Oddly enough, I found myself waking up once more. Maybe I had passed out and now I was having a delusion? No, I was certain I was dying, what with my minced shoulder and all.

As I came to consciousness, I noticed that the sky above remained purple. Surely it was just a bad joke, a reflection of what I had seen last before my death was following me into my afterlife as well? I had to commend God’s sense of humor, at least.

“...pion?...” A faint voice called for something, my ears were still waking, and my body was regaining their senses one tiny detail at a time.

“Cham….on…” The voice repeated.

My vision cleared, and slowly did my hearing follow. There was no pain in my body, at least not where it should. Instead of my shoulder crying for me to end my misery, my head felt like it was splitting open, but after a few seconds I fully snapped into reality and noticed the odd figure standing right on top of a low branch from one of the trees that populated the garden.

It was the raven, no. It was similar to the raven I knew, but it was…different. Odd. Like it didn’t belong in its form, oddly enough.

“Champion, you’re finally awake!” The raven spoke in a most human voice, the voice of a young girl, for some reason.

“....Maybe I am having death hallucinations after all…” I muttered, my throat felt dry and coarse, and as I tried to sit up my body felt stiff, like I was having a cramp but in every single inch of my body.

“Oh, you really did die, but I brought you back! You’re my champion, after all.” The raven replied, flapping its wings and gliding over to me, sitting on top of my chest and looking straight into my eyes.

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“...I don’t believe ravens are supposed to talk like that.”

Then again, who was I to question the impossible when I just had to kill four flesh-machines that were part of an ancient race of inter dimensional destructors?

“Not regular ones, but I’m an Echo. I’m sure you know what an Echo is, I’ve already looked inside that noggin’ of yours after all!” The raven replied before pecking my forehead very lightly, it didn’t hurt, but my body still felt stiff enough to make it uncomfortable.

“Aren’t Echoes supposed to look for Disfavored? I’m not really a good option, in that case.”

Even though it was hard to be aware of, knowing that this hallucination was crazy enough to draw from my memories, knowledge and habits of talking to animals, then it actually started to feel real.

“Disfavored…Right, your people call them that…You do appear to have the qualifications, I have been watching you for a long time, Katakura Akira.”

The raven looked me in the eyes with a glare that could’ve pierced directly into my soul, but then again, this was an Echo, so it may have already done that. Though the process through which Disfavored are chosen was never revealed in accordance to the wishes of these entities from beyond that seemed to offer us a helping hand, hearing that it had been stalking me felt…Weird.

“Echoes search for their champions for a long time. Each and every one of them is carefully selected after a period of investigation. In your case, it took me a few years to make up my mind.”

The raven flapped again and now stood at the side of my face, pecking at my long hair as I took in all this information. Years huh? Then it would’ve been there when father…I couldn’t help but understand that, although unfortunate, mentally scarred people weren’t the best option to be gifted incredible powers. At least not those that would use them for their self-satisfaction.

“...I feel like my entire body is having a cramp…Is that normal?” I asked, trying and failing to sit up.

“Most certainly. Depending on how long it takes to revive a dead candidate, the damage sustained by the body is increasingly difficult to heal. In your case…Three days worth of rotting will take a little to get used to. Though I tried my best, we are not equipped to heal wounds that have been dealt before your death.”

The raven pointed out, jumping over to my shoulder and gesturing with one of its legs. It was healed, there was no bone or ruptured tissue in sight, which was good to know. I nodded and looked up at the sky, I would need some time to get my body moving again, so I had some questions to ask.

“Does that mean you can’t cure illnesses?” Though I had already made peace with my fated end…I couldn’t help but ask, just in case.

“...There have been cases in which diseases have been cured, but to attain the necessary materials…I’m afraid your initial strength will not be enough. I know of your genetic situation, and the medicine required is…Let’s say hard to obtain at the moment.”

“I see….” Well, there was some hope, as fickle as it was. “What should I call you? I’ve heard disfavored call their echo special names and such, but I’m not great at giving nicknames.”

“That would be up to you, champion. I would not mind a simple name, as long as you don’t call me an AI, that would be an insult to my people, you know?”

So they were not artificial intelligence? There goes half of the public research the nation had been doing on them, I guess. With a grin on my face, I took a moment to slowly breathe and command my body to move, finally being able to sit in place. My hair had grown longer, now it reached almost to my waist, and my nails were also a little uncomfortable. My body felt like it wasn’t mine for a few moments, before I spoke and that faint pain within my chest welcomed me home again.

“Just call me Akira. And I’ll call you Raven.” I proposed. The nickname was way too simple, but it belonged to something I liked. To my only friend. To the one that stood with me when I died.

“You could’ve chosen a better name, but I will accept this deal, Akira.” Raven nodded her tiny head and a message appeared before me.

Congratulations, Champion!

You have been chosen as a protector of humanity. Your Echo has been renamed to: Raven

Armaments are now accessible!

Signature Equipment is now accessible!

Champion Rank is now visible!

“And with that, you are now officially a Champion, Akira. Congratulations on your new title.” Raven spoke, a faint tease in her voice.

“Thanks…Now, what should we do? You said it’s been three days and no one has closed the breach yet, at this rate-” Raven interrupted me.

“It has already started to become a dungeon. Soon, we will be trapped inside with worse enemies to face. I would suggest grabbing your sword and packing some food. We will be here for a while.”

“Well, shit…” I muttered, grunting as I stood back up to my feet, noticing the tracks of hounds patrolling the area. “More scouts came by?”

“I did take three days to resurrect you for a reason. I took care of the ones that got close, but I don’t have the energy to do that anymore, the directive to resurrect you was already accomplished, now your survival is entirely up to you.” Raven clarified, flying up to sit on my shoulder.

“You mean up to us, right?” I clarified, Raven looked at me and nodded.

“We are a team after all. Now, let’s get you some clean clothes and some food. I’m sure you’ll be dying to eat anything after three days of being not-alive.” Raven pecked at the side of my head before flying away into the bedroom.

“Are the puns going to become a regular thing with you?” I asked, a little grin on my face.

“Maybe. I do need my own source of entertainment after all.” Raven replied as I entered the room after her, starting to look for a clean change of clothes.

“I hope you can do better than text-generating AI, at least.” I teased, causing Raven to peck my head again. “Alright, alright…Now, clothes.”

“Clothes.” Raven replied, this time imitating the speech of a real raven repeating some else’s words.

“That…Is quite amazing but incredibly disturbing.” I commented on the very uncomfortable feeling it gave me just now.

“Disturbing.” Raven teased again, causing a shiver to run down my spine. “Alright, I’ll stop. Now get changed quickly, I will keep an eye out for any scouts, try not to get killed again, I have a very limited pool of resources to bring you back.”

“Yes, sir.” I replied as Raven flew outside. “Wait…Did she mean she can bring me back multiple times?” The concept of death was something quite familiar to Disfavored, but I never knew they could die multiple times without issue.

Well, there was the fact that depending on the damage sustained your body would be pretty fucked, so if I was having trouble just moving around with a minced shoulder from a regular scout, then I couldn’t bear to imagine the pain and torment someone facing the far more monstruous creatures the Nox had to offer.

“...Clothes, backpack, food and weapons.”

I muttered to myself, going over what I needed as I changed into another outfit. Tank top, jacket, pants and boots. It was what I used to wear when I actually went outside to take walks in the wilderness. No more need to run in sandals meant being a little faster on my feet since I wouldn’t need to put nearly as much attention to what I stepped on when I explored outside.

If there had been no Disfavored here in three days, then it means Sendai didn’t have any to send here, or that this wasn’t the only breach around the city. Either way, it would be up to me to try and rush to the core before it evolved into a dungeon.

The difference between me now and the me that died? Well, I already had a taste of death, and it wasn’t so bad after all. In addition, I was now a Disfavored. A Champion. Someone that was supposed to give their life to protect humanity.

And as much as I wanted to deny the fact that being chosen was the dream of any kid at a certain point, a very small flame of ambition started to fire up inside my chest. Knowing there was a possible cure to my disease algo gave me some hope…Hope that, maybe, just maybe, I wouldn’t need to make peace with the end just yet.

After all, not being afraid of it does not mean I wanted it to happen.

Not yet.