Some hours earlier.
“Satoshi. You have a bind to adhere to.”
“You have disappointed us yet again; do it again, and we will take action." The angels screamed, screaming at the person called “Satoshi.” They stared back, no meaning behind their eyes.
The room was royal and grand. The bright, blue sky above eagerly greets the residents, as do the marbled walls and decor that surround the areas. The meeting room was grand, with a large clock tower. The meeting room had a Greek architecture to it.
All the eyes were looking onto Satoshi, the guilt and the pain all lingering on in an infinite dance between life and death. That was the life Satoshi had—the normal life he gave up so long ago.
“Now leave. Leave from now on. Your heresy and apostasy will not be tolerated any longer. Remember what will happen.” The heavens said in unison, leaving Satoshi a distorted mess, no longer human.
The depths of the heavens grew contorted; their original goal of spreading purity and salvation, long overdue, is now being corrupted from the very inside. Their origin is now cast aside and thrown out, only for a more sinister one to be put in place. To protect their lands from sin and to cast the earth into despair and disarray,
For that was their new goal, their new aspirations. The heavens no longer cared about the future or the present, only holding out hope that they could reclaim their former glory. They basked in the light for too long, and now the light has faded.
2.
“I thought I had a break today, but he couldn’t even do his job right. Guess I gotta do this myself.” Itzozu sighed. Someone was supposed to finish a job today and ended up bailing. Leaving it to him to do it.
He was in a dark alleyway; a thick layer of sludge and dirty water flooded the grounds. Disgusting bags of rubbish were thrown out, discarded, and left to rot within the filthy passage. The alleyway was just barely big enough, squishing his arms together just so he could fit, giving him an impending sense of claustrophobia.
Used needles and shards of glass coated every part of the floor, like it was an addict's daydream. The moonlight shone down on the rotting corpses of rodents; they died trying to survive, just like everyone else. “In this world…It’s give or take.” Itzozu quietly muttered to himself. Each step he takes makes a distinctive splash sound from the sewer water.
Turning the corner, he is met with a beautiful sight, one that felt like paradise compared to the creepy, ugly corridor he found himself inside just moments ago. Within his red-eyed gaze, he reunites with his trusty motorcycle.
The motorcycle was black with neon blue highlights; it was produced within Sora, as indicated by the seal of the country on the underside. The handles had a sturdy feel to them, like Izozu could rip them out with the force of a lion and they would remain. With a single rev of the engine, Itzozu sped off.
As he looked to his left, he could see the vibrant cityscape that was unveiled to him, and he revelled in the fact that so many people live here. Everywhere was teeming with life. The cityscape provided a warm feeling to him, and coupling it with the dark night was a stellar display of emotions.
Dozens of helicopters flew above him, shining the spotlight on him for just a single moment. Blinding him in the process, he lifted his arm up to block the light. Outstretching his arm, the light hits him at a perfect angle, blinding the pilot with his handsome features.
“Huh.” He mutters to himself, taking notice of the endless onslaught of notifications coming from his phone. He reached into his pockets, and with a fancy spin with his fingers, he had placed the phone in his palm.
“SERIAL KILLER FOUND. EVACUATE CENTRE ROAD” was posted by the police on an app known by Itzozu as “The Funny Bird App.” He let out a little air as a big smile creeped up his face as he followed with a sinister laugh.
Gripping onto the handles tighter, he leaned to the right, and the bike swiftly took a hard right. The engine roared furiously as it sped through the pavement, impacting a metal face used to block the alleyway.
His red, shining hair is now dirty from the water dripping above. After some struggle with the fence, the motorcycle eventually came out on top, speeding through the decrepit alleyway.
He zooms back into the highway; the bright contrast between the dark alleyway and lively nightlife was difficult for Itzozu’s photosensitive eyes to adjust. Despite the difficulty he had seeing, he kept pushing on through the highway.
“There you are!” He laughed while seeing a jet-black car with tinted windows speeding down the roads. The car had a secret feeling to it, like they didn’t want people to look through it. The registration plate was the same as the described serial killer.
Grabbing a loaded gun from the compartment of his bike, he peered out of the window and took several shots at the tires. The car started to swerve; the screeching of metal on asphalt sounded like scratched vinyl.
Daringly, the suspect peered out of the window, oblivious to any danger Itzozu posed with his pistol. “You’re with THEM aren’t YOU?!” He shouted, his words louder than any bullet he fired. The suspect was breaking down; tears flooded their ears like a dam had broken.
“If ‘Them’ is the grim reaper, then hell yeah, I am! I mean… You are the target, right?” Itzozu laughed and followed with a rhetorical question.
Despite the dire situation this seemingly innocent person was in, They were a notorious serial killers who were supposed to die a week ago. However, due to the circumstances of the angels above, this job was left to Itzozu.
Due to the lack of air in the tyres, the suspect lost control of the mysterious car and crashed into a pole. The engine roared as flames engulfed the vehicle, and quickly, the suspect kicked open the door and ran out.
Their journey to catch the suspect had led them directly into the Mezoryn festival; the suspect disappeared into the crowd like the sun shining on a shadow.
His fiery-coloured eye twitches, and his vision pulsates with every second. His vision split like a chromatic aberration. With each deep breath he took, the twitches twisted into a deep, seething pain. The type of pain that felt like a burning, hot knife stabbed through his eye again and again.
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After a series of shallow breaths, eventually the pain had come to closure. “High concentration of essence located at Mezoryn festival” was painted across his vision. That was the nature of Itzozu’s innate ability; his eyes are able to detect essence, despite the drawbacks of high photosensitivity and frequent migraines.
“Essence Technique, Overlord’s Armour” Itzozu mutters between breaths. Overlord’s Armour is a defensive shield that rapidly reduces essence from within the barrier it makes. This barrier is approximately a metre around him. It defuses deadly attacks into harmless spells. For most people, they would only have one or two essence techniques; however, Itzozu was an exception to that rule, possessing four essence techniques.
"Well, this crowd is... annoying, Itzozu mutters to himself, heading deeper into the crowd, squishing in every direction. He could only keep barging past a horde of pedestrians. “Offence is out of the question here. All these people would also be harmed.” He thought to himself.
After a brief thought, he decided the best way to approach the murderer was to let him attack first and then respond with a counterattack. Giving the murderer a false sense of security to lure him in, just to betray his very senses.
His eye twitched yet again as his eyes darted to his left. Itzozu spotted the murderer lunge at him with a knife; he just barely had enough time to dodge it, seeing the shiny dagger fly past his eye.
Overlord’s shield while an excellent defensive technique. Only applies to essence-based combat; thus, melee attacks will pierce through the shield easily. That was the main downside to the technique.
With the force of a tiger, the murderer slammed his knife into the direction of Itzozu. The knife pierced straight through the shield, making the transparent shield shatter into a deep orange. Shards of the shield flew out, attacking anyone who dared be near it.
As he expected, the murderer attempted to launch another attack with a blade in hand, though this time Itzozu had the upper hand. The murderer approached Itzozu at the speed of light, but he simply looked at him. Confused by the situation, the murderer thought it was a trap.
“AHHH” He shouted in pain as he looked down, blood leaking out of his stomach. Making a small pool of crimson down below, painting the ground as if it were a canvas. Itzozu slowly pulled his axe out of the murderer's stomach. The guts of the person fell out as the axe left the crevice that was once a stomach.
“Faulted at the very last moment; a pity.“ Itzozu shamed the murderer. The trap was the person's hesitation in believing it was a trap. That hesitation is what led Itzozu to capitalise on a massive opportunity. The murderer slowed himself down, and Itzozu, in a flash, stabbed his axe through the stomach.
“...There’s another. Another accomplice with this murderer. I better get him as well.” Itzozu realised this, taking a long sigh while blood dripped out of his axe. Looking around, he finds a nearby puddle and gives the axe a splash, leaving a squeaky, clean, albeit stained red axe.
“Right, now where is he?” He questioned, pondering where his dear friend was. Using the innate ability of his eye. Itzozu was also blessed with the power of clairvoyance, being able to search an undetermined area.
“Ah. So he’s where Elijah is? I could leave it to him. Then again, he has his own thing. I guess I have to do it.” He sighs to himself, speaking aloud.
The people start screaming and running frantically; the dead body on the floor was a horrific sight for the pedestrians, whose sanity was diminished. The crowd started to fight, with people using this as an opportunity to take out their burning hatred.
Itzozu runs towards the guy, taking advantage of all the obstacles on the ground as a way to speed himself up, hopping over barricades and rubbish bins along the way. As he ran faster along the roads, he eventually reached the festival.
The amber lighting of the lanterns above made it feel so peaceful. The sky is deep black; old houses and bright neon signs of market stalls litter the streets. The endless aromas from the food stalls made his stomach growl. “Just for a little moment," Itzozu thought to himself., basking in the tranquilly.
With the twitch of his eye yet again, he uses clairvoyance to scout out the entire city centre. His vision darts between all kinds of people, seeing all the different luscious food from stalls and even as far into the entertainment district, he saw it all at once. Eventually, after he looked through the entertainment district, he saw the last person and headed out.
Itzozu ran at a speed that he thought was impossible, jumping above obstacles and jumping from pillar to pillar like monkey bars. He found a long wire that was sturdy enough to support his weight, and then rode the wire all the way to his final destination.
He catches up to the guy with his red-stained axe outstretched in front of him, holding it in a menacing manner that the accomplice could only think of as threatening.
“Death has caught up... Or some other cringey phrase, I haven’t thought.” He laughs to himself, shrugging his shoulders, before lunging at the guy, pouring all his strength and faith into the handle. As the axe swung, blood gushed out of the accomplice, pouring out like a tap.
“Sigh. Can you just give up? It would make this whole thing easier.” He questioned, pointing at the large wound the accomplice now has. Unfortunately for Itzozu, adrenaline kicked in like a power surge.
“N-NO! GET AWAY! YOU DON’T KNOW ANYTHING.” The accomplice stammers out, tears flooding out of his eyes. Begging and pleading with Itzozu to spare him, but he wouldn’t listen.
“Gonna explain?” Itzozu asked while cocking his head.
“SECTARIS, they put a bounty on me. It ruined my entire fucking life.”
“Sectaris?" Well, that’s something. Sorry but I still gotta do this. You’re a serial killer after all." Itzozu gave a sombre smile, not sure how to feel.
The accomplice and Itzozu engage in a series of blows, although it was obvious the power gap between them was simply too large. The accomplice mutters something under their breath, and a giant barrage of ice bullets appeared all but to be absorbed by the shield.
Slowly, he takes each step with an axe in hand. Time felt like it slowed for the accomplice. All he could do was await his very death. “Bye bye,” Itzozu told the person for the last time before taking a clean swing at the person’s throat.
The axe swiftly and cleanly chopped through their neck, killing them instantly. Their body went limp and fell to the floor. Itzozu looked at the mess—the blood, the ice, and the body. After a moment of pondering, he began to work again.
He dipped his finger into the blood, the lukewarm liquid on his fingertips, and then, like a paintbrush, he used the ground like a canvas to paint a summoning ritual. Then he messily draws a circle accompanied by a pentagram, and then he grabs the lifeless body.
The summoning circle turned into a portal to another place, feeling the extreme heat of it swelter up, leaving a hazy air above. Quickly, he jumped down the circle with the body in hand.
Itzozu was met with a long, twisting staircase; the sky was an intense red, resembling an eternally lit flame; the staircase was made from bone and skulls; it was so high up that he couldn’t see the ground; there were an infinite number of souls trapped within the dimension.
Large pillars of smoke made its way up as Itzozu made his way down, the staircase a gross abomination. Each step Itzozu takes makes the disgusting sound of bones rattling. Carefully, he continued down.
The depths of this hell were ever-growing.
Eventually, after a long time of walking, he eventually reached the ground. Massive buildings in ruin, screams of agony coming from every direction, and smoke filling the surface, clouding the burning sky.
He met with three other people standing on a pedestal. They were pure light, with gold surrounding them like a gravitational field. They had large, outstretched wings. The angels all look down at him, their eyes darting straight towards him.
“Hope you're happy.” Itzozu snarled as he threw the body across the skull-lined floor. The body made a squelch as it impacted the floor.
Our deal is one without compromise; you uphold your part for your life. King of Sin, you are tied with chains. Disobey us once more, and we will not be forgiving.” The angels whispered in unison, their voices cutting through his ears like a knife.
“...I- I understand.” He sighed. Averting his gaze to the ground. His words became sadder, and the tone lowered.
“Have you forgotten your promise? Itzozu, Leave.” The angels whispered again, their voice now harsh in tone, commanding him to leave immediately. He obliged, walking back up the staircase.
When he arrived back home, he was met with the warm atmosphere of his abode. He peered from the door but was met with silence. Intrigued, he slowly closed the door, making sure the door clicked quietly.
Silence fills the air.
Itzozu slowly opens the door.
What he saw was not what he expected. He saw Miyuki, Asher, and Elijah all asleep on the couch. Pillows and blankets scattered over the floor, the TV blaring a random movie. Miyuki was heavily snoring, along with Elijah.
Quietly, he headed upstairs, setting down a red, shiny pentagram necklace onto his wooden countertop. The wood was old, with marks and scratches all over. Despite the terrible condition, it was a keepsake for Itzozu.
He looks at himself in the mirror.
“Itzozu, huh.” He mutters, reaching out for his reflection. He only saw himself: red messy hair, red eyes, and the cactus green jacket combined with a beige shirt. His eyes furrow; it’s not what he saw. He could only see a reflection of his previous self.
Without giving a warning, his door was kicked open, the hinges creaked as the old door slammed against the wall. Interrupting Itzozu’s monologue. “What’re you doing?? We’re watching a goddamn movie!” The familiar blue-feisty woman shouted.
“You were asleep!” Itzozu tried to save himself, but was caught right in Miyuki’s palm.
“I was faking it. I wanted to see if you would even care. Huh. I guess you don’t.” Miyuki shouted while turning her back to Itzozu, just to add salt to the wound. Itzozu let out a little chuckle as he approached Miyuki, giving her a small pat on the head, much to her disarray.
“Yeah. This life ain’t too bad.” He thought to himself as he headed downstairs to watch the movie with Miyuki.