The movie ended with a dramatic finale; the protagonist wished their best friend goodbye as they slowly died. As the credits rolled, he saw his own reflection once again. The movie he just watched with the others was... interesting, to say the least. “Setting up for a sequel, huh?” Itzozu thought, his eyes heavy.
He glanced over to the side, pulling apart the blankets slowly so as not to disturb anyone. Slowly, he stepped into the kitchen, glancing at the time “2:50 AM” before entering. The cold tiles of the kitchen floor sent shivers down his spine.
Groggily, he approached a cupboard, gripping the handle before swinging it open, revealing the boring storage of various medicines. After pulling out the syringes and needles that blocked the back, he pulled out a familiar blue packet.
Carefully, he opened the package, revealing two small tablets. The other four had already been used. After a satisfying pop, he placed them on his tongue and swallowed the tablets with a cup of water.
“I don’t suppose you know what you’re doing?” Someone spoke out from behind him. His heart started beating as he was caught off guard. His heart felt like it was going to implode. He slowly turned around. His breaths are getting shallower.
When he turned around, he saw a woman sitting on the countertop. She had silver hair with gold highlights, and her outfit was golden and silver too, screaming out how important she may have been. Her most defining feature was the large, angel-like wings that she wrapped around herself.
Her face had several symbols painted in white. Symbols of X’s and O’s with a strange symbol that he didn’t understand on her left cheek.
“Who the hell are you?” Itzozu questioned, wondering if this was the product of not getting eight hours of sleep every day.
“Me? Very well. I shall answer your inquiry.“ She stated that her voice was soothing and calm. Every word this person spoke felt like it was being said from the very soul. She laid down on the countertop, striking a peculiar pose.
“I am Silvia! The archangel of planet Eden! Not that it matters to you.” Silvia introduced herself to Itzozu. Revealing herself as an angel.
He racked his head. Is an angel visiting him? “This is stupid. I’m going back to bed.” Itzozu bluntly stated before heading out of the kitchen that the medicine was working but not fast enough, and each step he took only made the pain worse.
Not being able to support himself, he stumbled and fell down. Nearly impacting the ground with full force, but was caught in the arms of the angel.
“Shh. I’ve been watching for quite some time.“ She made a shushing gesture, a wide smirk plastered across her face.
“Your journey here has been astonishing. From the fields of Sora to the underbelly of Edessa. You’ve made your place here.“ She giggled as her finger ran up Itzozu’s shoulder. His hands trembled as he had no clue what was going on.
“You wish for more. You wish to etch yourself into the finely woven fabric of the world. You wish to be the needle in the world’s thread. Itzozu. I shall be your guiding light.” She announced, her words still soft and gentle, like Itzozu was being cradled. Her eyes had the shine of the brightest gold. Full of ambition and dreams.
“You, an angel... Want to help me? Just after heaven made me do your dirty work?” Itzozu questioned him, his eyes full of suspicion.
“I suppose that does sound strange... I have no ties with the other angels, hence why I’m here in this realm.” Silvia states that her words seemed to be the truth as she averted her gaze.
“You wish for the best outcome. I can help you there. I have to return. Goodbye Itzozu.” She gave a sombre wave before slamming open the back door. Quickly, Itzozu peered out and saw Silvia fly up into the sky.
He stood in the kitchen for a moment, wracking his head, wondering what had even just happened. He was lost in thought until a slow drip from the tap woke him out of it.
“She was very interesting,” he thought, his face flushed, before falling asleep on the cold kitchen floor. He fell down as if he were knocked out.
11 hours later.
1:50PM
The cold wind blows across Elijah’s face. The open window lets in a frigid breeze. Inviting it to cool down everyone. In the back seats were Itzozu and Miyuki. In the front was Asher, with Elijah at the wheel.
Driving down the highway at the fastest legal speed, they had just come back from the Redyn Mall. The largest mall within Edessa (the only good thing that’s come from Mezoryn) The trunk of the car was packed full of various bags from all the shops inside the mall.
“Haha! You should’ve seen that guy’s face. Made it so worth it!” Miyuki laughed, mocking someone she had met with earlier. Presumably now deceased. Her laughter echoed across the car; it was extremely contagious.
“Please, take your goddamn meds.” Itzozu demanded, holding a couple tablets in his hand.
They both looked at each other for a moment, like a wild west shootout. Itzozu lunges at Miyuki, taking advantage of his height to reach over to Miyuki, attempting to shove the tablets in her mouth. Miyuki shouted with the force of a lion, slapping his hand every time it got too close.
Elijah made a sharp left turn, which made Itzozu slam into his door, putting an end to his assault on Miyuki. She laughed as she knew her victory.
“Nah, I’m fine. I’m fine. I left them at home; guess I gotta wait.” Miyuki smirked, taking in the image of Itzozu being ticked off. For her, it was the utmost joy to know that Itzozu was annoyed; the two of them had been best friends for years at this point.
Silence filled the car as Miyuki looked out of her window. She rested her head on her hands and looked out. The clouds were grey, ready to unleash the vast amount of rain as if Poseidon himself had unleashed his fury.
She looked at all the cars passing by. All the trees and grass around the highway and the endless number of road signs dictating your speed. She sees a sign that displays “TO THE THIRD DISTRICT." . It was a faded green, losing colour to the elements. The sign confirmed they were indeed reaching home.
“... I'm not sure how to say this, but... Something feels strange.” Asher claimed, shifting his pale arm from the armest to his lap. His worries were intensely sickly, and no matter how hard he tried to shake them off, they didn’t budge.
His stomach was a mess of lingering dead and the rumble from being hungry. He could only take a long sigh as he looked through the windows, seeing nothing of interest that could help him forget the fear he had.
“Yeah. Something is wrong.” Itzozu stated, confirming Asher’s fears. Itzozu took a couple of deep breaths before using his clairvoyance. His eye dances between the fiery red and orange, and he scans for what felt like an hour and yet... Nothing.
“Relax; I think we just drank too much. '' Miyuki reassures, not knowing whether it truly was everyone barring Elijah being hungover or not.
Elijah leans closer into the window, his hands gripping the driving wheel harder, like he was going to crush the wheel with the force of an elephant. His eyes furrow deeper as his expressions got colder. “Brace yourselves.” He states this before flicking his mirror above him to look behind him.
Behind the car was a police car. The moment they realised they had been spotted, they flicked their sirens on, blasting the piercing noise into the eardrums of the friends. Elijah calmly pulls out a cigarette and lights it in anticipation of what will happen.
“Here we go,” Elijah calmly told his friends.
“YOU ARE UNDER ARREST BY SECTION 24. PULL OVER NOW.” One of the cops shouted using an amplification; it sent a small wave of terror at the friends, but they resisted, instead using this as a chance to fight back.
The cops were armed with heavy guns; they were so clean that they bounced a beam of light back into them. They carried a few extra magazines and flaunted their weapons. If they made one wrong move, then they would shoot out the tyres, and then... Who knows what would happen?
As the police cars pulled closer to their cars, the cool breeze from the trees slowly swayed, giving a nice relief. The road was filled with potholes, just waiting to claim a victim. Trees scattered both sides of the road, providing shade from the harsh rays of the sun.
The car’s engine roared as Elijah stepped on the gas. His brain is racking with a thousand thoughts. Every possible move he could make. At first, he considered just complying, but their recent activities might come into question.
The sun shone onto Elijah, giving a majestic shine to his blue and gold jacket within this singular moment. He had figured out what to do. He would just step on the gas once more and speed off. Then he would see what happened next.
With a deep breath, Elijah lifts up his revolver. The shiny metal was like looking into a mirror; he could see his own determined face in it. With a puff of his cigarette, he blew smoke into the window of the police vehicle. “Nah.” He laughed, speeding away.
The gun part was unnecessary.” Asher interjected, while Elijah burst out laughing. “Look ELIJAH!” Asher shouted, punching him on the shoulder. The force Asher hit him with took him by surprise; his gaze shifted to the front, and he was caught with another surprise.
Further up ahead was a police barricade. A thick spike trap lay across the highway. The sirens flashed between red and blue, straining Elijah’s eyes. The trees on each side of the highway came to an abrupt stop, instead showcasing beautiful rolling fields of green.
Police trucks lined the barricade.
They couldn’t stop now; they were going too fast down the highway. Instead, Elijah only increased the speed of the car. The mechanical parts of the engine were set into full gear, ready to fight their way through the onslaught.
Glancing over at the dashboard, the clock hit 2 p.m. The time was right, and just as he was about to do something cool, “Liminal Space could make this easier.” Itzozu interjected, ruining Elijah’s moment.
“Nah. I hate that. I’ll only use it if I need to." Elijah replies back; his words had a harsh tone at the end, as if he were hiding something, but Itzozu respected what he said.
Faster and faster, the car kept going as both the friends and the police anticipated the assault. Elijah, Itzozu, and Asher all took a deep breath until they started to feel a frigid breeze hit them, followed by the harsh impact of the wind.
“...Miyuki just jumped out of the window.” Itzozu sighed. Moving his arm up and then proceeding to facepalm. Everyone could hear the terrifying laughter of the blue-haired gremlin coupling with screams of pure pain.
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“We may as well follow.” Elijah complied with Miyuki’s antics. Taking off his blue jacket and replacing it with a bulletproof vest with a purple shirt. He held his revolver up and jumped out of the car. The rest of the friends followed suit.
They jumped out of the car while it was still driving, like a scene ripped straight out of an action movie. The car hurled towards the barricade, destroying a truck in the process. The destruction caused a massive fire to break out, spreading to every corner of the highway and catching fire to the surrounding trees.
The bright embers of the fire burned quickly, and smoke filled the car as the entire highway was lit with the high contrast colours of red, yellow, and orange. Miyuki took advantage of this chaos, using her blade to stab into a police officer's neck.
Asher arrived to witness her second sword stab another. Her laugh was sadistic, echoing throughout the battlefield. As blood splattered over her face. Turning into a disgusting spectacle of blood and psychosis. She jumped onto the trunk of a police car, kicking an officer in the face and knocking them out.
Elijah rests his weapon on the head of the police officer. "Bang,” He said while he pressed the trigger. The blood splattered all over his clothes as the head of the officer fell to the floor, splattering with a pool of blood.
“Essence Technique, Overlord’s Armour,” Itzozu loudly chanted. With his axe in hand, he cleaved his way through the horde of officers. Behind him was Asher, who backed him up with a barrage of ice arrows.
After some time had passed, the officers had a fast, complete wipeout. The friends were coated from head to toe in crimson. It stained every article of clothing they were wearing. With a sigh, they returned to the wrecked car.
“Now that I think of it, This was not a good idea.” Elijah sighs while removing his vest and taking off his once blue jacket, now stained red.
“Ugh, I hate blood!” she shouts out in anger, with blood coating every part of her clothes. Her grey metal armour is now stained ink, and the bright red is now even brighter.
As they sit down on the car, they stain the seats with blood, covering the car with even more of the putrid crimson.
Elijah twists the ignition. Listening to the car’s rumbles. To his and everyone else's surprise, the totaled car had managed to come back to life. The engine roared as the dashboard lights flicked on. With the foot on the pedal, he speeds off.
They swerved away from the police barricade, destroying the fences as he went, and then continued driving down the highway.
“So, we are coated in blood, we have weapons also coated in blood, we have a wrecked car, and to top it off, we are even being manhunted by the Edessan government!” Asher shouted, realising the severity of the situation.
“Let’s just say.. We’re painters, and on the way to a client’s house, we crashed, and it caused all the paint we had to spill.” Itzozu wracked his brain for an excuse.
“That would only work if that client wanted their house to be a fucking red room. Plus, we have no one to back us up.” Asher rejected the idea, knowing how unbelievable it could be.
There was a brief moment of silence as they all realised just how much they'd dug their own graves. Everyone glances at Miyuki; her insane nature could be to blame for how far they’ve gone.
“You’re forgetting that we have bloodied weapons too. I'm not sure if we can convince the police that these are for painting.” Elijah replied, breaking the awkward silence.
“This is difficult.” Itzozu sighed.
Miyuki sat watching through the window, the once bright blue sky now a beautiful mix of orange, purple, and yellow. She basked in the light of the sunset, her mind dancing between the sunset and her friends. She focused back into the conversation but was just met with heavy bantering.
“That’s what I’m saying. Let’s blame Itzozu’s hair.” Elijah stated, trying to talk in a serious voice.
“Because it’s red? Very funny. So how are we going to explain the car?” Itzozu brushed off the sad attempt at comedy and followed with his own question.
“...I got it. We crashed into a ditch while carrying a bunch of hair dye, and it exploded!” Elijah burst out laughing as he finished his unbelievable excuse.
Elijah and Itzozu were both caught in a laughing mess, with even Asher letting out a few giggles. Their laughter echoed throughout the car and was a true testament to the friendship they all had.
Miyuki takes a shallow gasp as she looks at the monitor on the left side of her stomach. “Warning. Essence levels are concentrated. Medication required.” combined with several loud beeps.
Every human has an essence storage and a capacity; usually, the body produces within the capacity, but there exists a rare condition where essence levels grow past the level. Thus resulting in a condition known as “Essence Poisoning”
Miyuki clutched her head; her breath became shallow, and her heartbeat got faster as she started to hyperventilate. Her head was in intense pain, like her neurons were dancing between life and death.
“I don’t feel good,” she muttered again and again, a cold sweat dripping from her back as she violently coughed.
Jumping straight into action, Itzozu reaches into his pocket and pulls out a singular syringe. Delicately, he injects it into Miyuki, slowly filling the syringe with a mysterious, shining blue liquid.
This liquid was bubbling like it was carbonated. It shone unnaturally bright. This was essence in its true form, a chaotic and unstable substance.
Slowly, Itzozu grabs Miyuki’s arm away from her head and says, “It’s okay.” He whispered in an attempt to calm her down. Her shaking came to a gradual stop, and the pain subsided. He checked her essence levels, and once it was confirmed they were normal, he took a sigh of relief.
“This is why you take your meds, dumbass." Itzozu sighed while catching his breath, wiping the sweat that dripped from his forehead. He opted to rest his head on the chair’s headrest.
“I feel freakin’ awful,” Miyuki shouted out, the sheer volume in her voice being a clear sign that her pain had subsided. Her breathing returned to normal, along with her sour attitude.
After the intense, stress-inducing moment, Thankfully, they arrived back home.
The sunset gave off a warm mix of colours that fell down onto their house. The walkway to the front door was made from stone. Lined up meticulously, surrounding it was a thick, overgrown layer of grass.
The house was made from brick and wood, providing an effective but cheap way of providing shelter from the elements. Apart from the giant hole in the roof that seemed to grow bigger day by day,.
Aside from the questionable state of the roof, their house boasted both an attic and a basement. The basement was in a perpetual state of freezing cold, and the same could be said for the attic. It had become their prime place to dump all their unnecessary items, becoming cluttered with junk.
They all sighed in unison as they stepped out of the car. The air was freezing, so they quickly rushed to the door, their shoes making a loud thud as they impacted the stones below. With the unlocking of the door, they return to their home.
The air felt stale, as if it were warning them that something was going to happen. Asher gripped Elijah’s jacket, his slender fingers not daring to release their grasp. Elijah looked confused but chose not to care.
“The police are here.” Itzozu whispers to everyone. Quickly, they all rush into the house and slowly shut the front door, hoping that they weren’t noticed.
Elijah pulled out his revolver, spinning the barrel as it shone brightly. Asher was ready to chant his spells. “Overlord’s armour,” Itzozu muttered, activating his technique.
Silence filled the house. It was intense and suffocating. They waited, their hands shaking as if they were ready for action at any moment. Miyuki peaked through the window, pulling apart the blinds.
The sound of a gunshot was heard, followed by the sound of shattering glass. Miyuki fell down, hiding under the window. “Did you get shot?!” Itzozu shouted out, worried about Miyuki.
She held her sword up; in the middle of the blade was a massive bullet hole, ripping through the metal. She wept, knowing her favourite sword was destroyed. “You have bigger issues to worry about right now!” Itzozu told her off, knocking some sense into her. “Alright, alright,” she sighed.
Time continued to tick while the friends remained still. The ear-piercing sound of an explosion was followed by a powerful shockwave. Several crashes of wood and brick slammed onto the floor above.
Itzozu’s eye twitched from fiery red to a bright orange as he activated his clairvoyance; through using it, he spotted four police trucks and seven cars. Each truck was decked in a menacing pitch black. The people coming out of the van had “Enforcer” written on them. To them, it felt like the whole world was after them.
It was time to take up arms.
Swinging the front door open, Elijah peaked out, and with a revolver in his hand, he engaged in a shootout with the police, managing to land a few lucky hits into the bodies of the officers.
However, every time an officer fell, another came to take their place.
As night fell onto the house, the streetlights illuminated a fluorescent light, combining together to make it extremely difficult to hit even a single shot. After a not-so-successful encounter, Elijah quickly slammed the door shut.
He slid his back against the cold door, taking in the little amounts of frigid air that blew through a gap. He held his gun to his head, looking into his own reflection. “We have to leave.” Elijah sighed.
“L-leave?” Asher questioned, not truly grasping what was happening.
“The police and SWAT are at our door. What good will fighting do? They’ll keep sending more until goddamn dead.” Elijah broke the news, taking a long sigh while he looked through the door window, trying not to be seen.
Itzozu muttered something under his breath. It wasn’t heard by any of the friends, but as Elijah looked out of the window, He saw several chains dart out of the stone and stab straight
through a dozen officers at once. Becoming a blood splatter like fireworks.
He grinned, showing off to everyone his strength. With Itzozu now trying, maybe the friends could hold off the seemingly endless onslaught of officers.
“Drop it.” One of the officers stated on the radio that they all looked inquisitive and gulped as they pressed a massive red button.
The friends were caught completely off guard as they heard the sound of a large object falling. What happened next was a huge explosion. Obliterating the entire second floor and sending a shockwave that impacted everyone, throwing them into the wall. Shrapnel flew out from every direction, cutting Elijah across the cheek.
The ruins of the house were absolute; the beautiful home they once resided in is now reduced to nothing but a few wooden pillars. Unable to handle the stress, the pillars collapsed, making the last remnants of the roof fall into pieces. Large piles of dust as it impacted.
The air was grey and filled with an intense layer of dust that made it hard to breathe. The friends could barely see. They covered their mouths and darted for the exit. “Shit. Where are the officers?” Elijah thought, carefully moving away.
He felt the air slice as his body instinctively moved out of the way. In the corner of his eye, he spotted a large metallic blade slicing down. The metal clanged as it slammed against the ground.
Quickly, he sprinted away, dodging and weaving through the many ruined items. Using Liminal Space to quickly evade this mysterious person’s blade. Each time he fell out of Liminal Space, he only got more tired.
As the blade was about to connect with his skull, making an execution that was worthy of French nobles. The weapon was stopped dead in its tracks by another blade. Though it had a giant crater in the middle, the blades sparked as they scraped together.
“Can’t let you do that, can I?” Miyuki laughed, her eyes narrowing, while a menacing grin creeped up her face.
“Ah, so you’re the serpent. I’m impressed.” The mysterious person says, the dust starts to clear and the person becomes visible. Although they wore a strange mask, their next most defining feature was what had to be hundreds of scars across their hands. Their hair was a deep purple.
Elijah took a deep breath as he regained his footing. Looking around, he sees nothing but the ruins of his home and this strange person after them. “That would’ve ended me, had I not dodged,” he thought.
“This person could be an agent. They got past his barrier, so they can’t be using techniques.” Elijah was in deep thought. He quickly put together the idea that this may be another agent, potentially a silver bullet.
Miyuki returns to the fight after managing to hold off the person’s sword. She jumped from the roof and, with immense speed, slammed down her sword. She was slicing anything that got caught in her path.
Her sword ripped through the foundation of the house and got firmly wedged in between the stones. Like a hero in an action game, she was forced to pull her sword out of the stone. Quickly, she mustered up all her strength, and in the heat of the moment, she ripped it out of the stone. Clutching it in her hand as she swung in the air.
As they looked around, they all quickly realised the strange person had vanished. Miyuki punched a wooden strut that was still standing. “Goddamn it!” she shouted, the strut now falling to the ground with a loud thud.
Elijah kept a close eye on what was going on, suspicious of whether it’s truly over or if they wanted them to be caught off guard. He took a sigh, lowering his gun. Itzozu scratches his head at what just happened. While Asher just stood there, dumbfounded,.
“Huh.” Itzozu mutters, picking up a strange badge and giving it a small twirl around. He realised that this was a police badge. “Wait,” he thought, seeing the small edge of the badge. Itzozu gave it a quick tug, and it came off, revealing itself to be a sticker. The real badge said "Edesa," but unfortunately, most of it was scratched and beyond intelligible.
“It seems like these guys weren’t police." Itzozu revealed the strange news to his friends. Waving the pealed badge in the air.
“Are you fuckin’ joking?” Miyuki grabbed the badge, inspecting any corner of it before coming to the same realisation. “All of THAT for this?!” she stamped her foot into the ground. Creating a small pile of dust upon impact.
3.
A few hours later.
It was late, past midnight.
The dark sky contrasted with the fiery embers cast by Itzozu. The friends had lost their home and were now undefended from the elements. They all took a long sigh at the dire situation they were in.
They huddled over their broken table with a campfire in the centre, despite how sad it was. It was also strangely sentimental for them. They all looked at each other with only sorrow and guilt in their eyes. The thick atmosphere that fell on them made it hard to talk.
“What now?” Asher sighed.
“We’re wanted, broke, and the cherry on top? We have no home.” Itzozu hit his hand on the table. Small slithers of rage slipped through.
As they sat around the fire, waiting and watching the small embers of smoke fade away into the atmosphere, Miyuki watches the smoke rise, and something clicks in her head.
She remembers the dream she had a week ago.
“I had a dream a few nights ago. Something about Orion? Something told me in my dream about infinity, salvation, and if you reach it, you become god.” Miyuki recalls the dream to her friends.
“That's just a fairytale.” Asher sighed, not knowing there was any hope.
"Well, any better idea?” Miyuki snapped back.
They sat in silence; the tension was building as they were pulling straws.
“Playing god sounds fun.” Elijah joked, trying to lighten the mood. Unfortunately, his joke also fell silent.
“Could the strings attached be cut if I were to reach Orion?” Itzozu thought to himself, contemplating what would happen.
“Hell yeah, count me in.” Itzozu joined in.
Quickly, they all jump back into their totaled car, now on a journey to Orion and ready to reset reality to their liking. They were full of ambition and honour. They would live in glory.
As they looked out of the window, they spotted the sign they hoped to see. They watch as the sign changes from “TO MEZORYN” to “WELCOME TO EDESA, THE CAPITAL." Their goal is now set.