Magic is an oddity. I am still determining when it started, how it started, or who started it. All I know is that for a long time, I loved it. I loved the effects it showed, the various uses for it, and the many elemental attacks about it. I loved it all.
I would spend my early childhood days imagining what my magic attack would be like—the likes of Naruto, Dragon Ball, One Piece, and so on. I would imagine it all and simply live out my heart's desire. Even when I grew up, I never let go of my fascination with magic.
Even in death.
[Congratulations on being picked. What is your power?] A booming voice echoed before me. I don’t see their face or body but their voice is loud regardless. [Speak before I lose my patience.]
What happened to me? Where am I? Although I want to know, the voice sounded urgent and I do not want to waste its time. “Umm… magic?”
The voice didn’t reply immediately. I was worried that my wish was too much for the voice. Of course it was, I wasted my one chance and just opted for the desire to wield magic like an idiot. I can’t believe I just did that now I will likely go to hell and suffer for all eternity.
[Granted.] The voice said, surprising me. Did it say that? [The power was been conditioned and a body has been given. Goodbye and good luck.]
Before I could say anything, my vision started giving way, and fell into a deep sleep.
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“GAH!!! Hah… hah…” I gasped out on the street. My mind was cloudy and hazy and my body aching. My eyes wandered the scenery and my mind was already formulating on where the hell am I.
I shakily got up from the street I was in. What the hell is wrong with my body? Why do I feel so weak right now? Focus, you don’t need that in your head right now but a place to rest.
Better than some grimy filthy street with bright lights shining down at me. I slowly walked, using the wall for support against my weak body. Every breath I took was heavy and taxing, my feet felt like cinder blocks and my head was dizzy.
“I swear, if that man did something to me, I’m gonna-” My words stopped as the clouds above rumbled loudly. “What the fuck, man? I just got here and you're gonna do me like that?”
It did just that. Rain started pouring down on me and it hurt too. “What the hell? Acid rain? Fuck kinda place is this?”
Now add in the annoying acid rain, pretty sure they were stinging my eyes, nose, and mouth, and I’m just one shot away from being dead.
Just keep moving, already. Don’t stay in one spot. And so I did. With the rain battering on my weary body, my entire being felt like it was filled with cement and walking was taking a lot more energy than I thought.
Eventually, I made it out to the streets of this damn place. And I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw where I was at. Brightly lit neon signs hanging about, large skyscrapers with logos I’m unfamiliar with, and people lying about in the streets.
My eyes wandered for any form of shelter and found something under an overpass. With the last of my strength, I hobbled over towards the place under the heavy and damaging rain. Good thing it was night, meant no cars near me to run me over.
Anyway, I finally got to dry land. No one was nearby and my clothes were starting to get heavy. But I didn’t want to be cold right now, so I huddled down near a pillar with frosted breath and tried to get some sleep.
“Damn it, what the fuck is this? Some fire would be nice.” I muttered angrily, already my body giving out. My arms were tired, my legs felt heavy and my body was slightly shivering from the damp clothes I was forced to wear to maintain some warmth.
All my senses and warnings my body was telling me was to get warm and rest. But it's shutting down, my eyelids felt heavier with each second, and couldn’t keep them up right now.
Dejectedly, I lay down in my soaked clothes on the dirty ground. My breath was bated and I was hoping for a release of this pain and stress going on, this felt all too disgusting and familiar to me.
“Dad… is this how you felt?” Those were my last words before I lost consciousness.
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I love magic. Magic can do anything. You can attack, you can defend, you can support. It’s always magic that makes it magical, pun intending. No matter the show or display, I would watch all kinds of magic from shows and comics and make up some of my own. Even the anime ones as well.
And the reason why I love magic is my dad.
Was my dad. I lost him about a year ago and still can’t cope with his loss.
My mom left as soon as I was born, as told by my family, and my dad had to work three jobs to keep us warm and fed. And despite it all, he would make time for me.
It wasn’t until a birthday party that I discovered the realm of magic when I saw the infamous rabbit trick. From then on, I would be obsessed with magic and would tell my dad about all kinds of it.
I know he doesn’t listen to most of it but I can tell that he was very happy on the subject. So much so that he bought us a television with discs about various shows that featured magic.
Those days, when there was no food or electricity in my small home, magic was the only comfort I had. When Dad wasn’t home, when my stomach growled for food when the storm threatened to take down the house.
Even when I grew up, when I graduated, when I got my first job, when I got my first heartbreak, magic was there.
An old friend that’s waiting to comfort me. Even when my Dad died.
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I blinked rapidly, wondering why it was still so dark. And was the sun red here? No, I was somewhere else instead. My body doesn’t feel as heavy but still tired.
“Where am I?” As I got up, that was when I realized that I was stuck inside a room. “Fuck.”
I luckily still had the clothes on my back, still wet and sticky, and examined the room more closely. The lights gave a harsh red glow, illuminating the room with its color. The floor was cold and dirty, specks of grime littered about making my toes curl. No one else is with me but the smell of copper and iron made me question what would happen if I didn’t wake up.
My only hope was the metal door by the end of the hallway. I didn’t know if anyone was nearby so I crawled there, making no sound.
I don’t know if I was supposed to be awake until the door opened and out came what I could describe in one word.
“Monster…” I breathed out, frozen with fear at the sight. He turned to me, red lights coming from his head and metal protruding everywhere in his body.
“Awake, huh? Preem.” He walked towards me and I didn’t notice until the wall was behind me. “Gonna make some preem mods to you.”
“Wh-what?” That was when his metallic hand grabbed my head and started pulling it. “Ouch! Fucking! Ow, what are you doing?”
He didn’t reply and just pulled on my hand and I unwillingly went with him. Whatever that hand was hurts and has a vice grip on my head. Its metal claws digging ever deeper into my cranium, enough to make me bleed I think with blood dripping to my orifices.
I was dragged into a compound of sorts, with all kinds of machinery standing around. I didn’t get an answer of where I was considering I was being dragged by the hair by some crazy cyborg. What the fuck did I do to deserve this?
A conversation made me look towards more people like the crazy cyborg. Red optics with sharp cybernetics sticking out on various parts of their body. I also noticed their rocker outfit with their leather jackets and tones of tattoos on their bodies.
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They all had the same motif of red and some kind of spider-machine.
I didn’t move as the guy threw me across the room toward the harsh floor. Hurts like hell as I groaned there. “Ouch…”
As I got up right, I saw that I was surrounded by of the red-eyes cyborg near me. Their eyes, red and unmoving all stared at me but I didn’t move a muscle from my position. “Who- who are you? Why am I here?”
A group near me snickered, as though I made a joke.
“Poor Gonk doesn’t know.”
“Probably came from the trash heap.”
“Even trash wouldn’t accept him. Got no chrome.”
“We can’t have that.”
“No.”
“How’s our stock?”
“Preem.”
“Preem.”
“Think there’s something worth salvaging?”
“HAH! Fuck if I know! Just grabbed his gonk ass outside.”
“Fuck kinda gonk doesn’t know us?”
“An outsider, that’s what.”
“Like Nomads?”
A group of laughter resounded around me, a full belly laugh that carried a malicious tone. I gotta get out of here, away from these freaks.
“Looks like he figured it out. Shame, real shame.”
“What do you mean?” I fearfully asked. A grin wide enough to split his skull as he walked towards me. “No, step back. Get away! Don’t go near me!”
I crawled towards another group, with their eyes lights almost blinding me before he kicked me on my back and the force made me land near the other guy. That kick would break my spine with how much pain I’m in.
“Ah!” I couldn’t get a word out, pain was flowing through me, and not have enough adrenaline to numb it. The guy, with a single large eye, swooped and grabbed my neck with one hand and effortlessly lifted me higher than him. I just simply stared at his eyes and fear and dread filled my body. His grin was almost toothy as I saw metal teeth on his mouth.
“Let's chip you in.” The words don’t make sense to me but the way he said it had shivers in my spine. “But first…”
He cocked his other arm back and launched a full fist on my stomach. Pretty sure I puked blood and spit, some getting on the cyclops fucker.
He did not like that.
“Grr… tender this fucker!”
He dropped me to the floor uncaringly and walked backward. A couple of his friends walked at me, some flashing a knife and bat.
“Sorry choom. At least your chrome will look nice.”
Then they started beating on me. Assaulting on my body, every inch of it was riddled with pain. All the while, they laughed at me and joked about my body. I couldn’t hear what they were saying since all I felt and heard was pain.
Why is this happening to me? What kind of cruel joke is this? What did I do to deserve this?
I just closed my eyes and wished it all to be over. To just kill me and be done with it. I don’t know where I am and I’m getting bullied over nothing! What the fuck do I do?!
It’s the same no matter what! Getting bullied, ridiculed, forgotten, unknown! I wanted to get away from it all! I wanted to forget all of them!
Fuck this shit! I want to do something! I want to be better! I want to be a better man! I’ve had enough of this shit! I hate this! I hate this feeling! I hate it all!
I want power! I! WANT! POWER!
Black. That was all I saw. Did someone actually kick me in the eyes that I lost vision? I expected the pain to continue but it stopped.
Do you desire it? Yearn for it? Huh? Who is this? Is this a trick? Have I finally lost it? Host has not lost any mental deterioration, however the situation will likely change in about 13 seconds.
Why? What for? Because that will be the time when you will be forced to endure tremendous torture that will last 15 months, 20 weeks, 9 days, 11 hours, and 8 seconds.
Oh fuck! What the fuck do I do? Who are you? All questions will be answered but until you escape, survival is the most prevalent objective. Hence why it is imperative that you answer now.
Do you desire it? Yearn for it? Will for it? Power that has been given will be used and the path you once tread will no longer be available. Everything that will happen will now begin from the moment you make your choice. What is your answer?
Power that will be used? My path will no longer be available? What kind of cultist shit are you saying?
Power, dear host. You desire power. The power to change. The power to move. The power to become better. That is your wish and I am here to question it. Now last chance, do you wish for power?
I get power? All my life I’ve wanted power, to become another person, to become a better person. I wanted power, to change my shitty luck and improve myself. I wanted power to defend myself against them all and to be strong to defend others.
So yes, I want power.
…Then it is so. You have decided to walk another path, one filled with blood and bones, of misery and destruction, of betrayal and love, of metal and fire. You will encounter all manner of enemies and will struggle at times. You will meet friends that will die with, and for you. You will encounter deceit and trickery of all kinds.
But know this, dear host. No matter what you choose, or the lives you’ve taken, or the ones you saved.
I, Elpis, will stand by you and be with you, till death do us part.
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Maelstromers are known for a couple of things, all heinous in every aspect of the word. More machines than man, this gang prefers metal than skin as their whole identity and are violent to a fault. Bordering on cyberpsychosis, they want nothing more than to add more cyberware to their body as much as possible.
Everyone steers clear of them because they might kidnap you and turn you into one of them. That’s how they keep their numbers up, no matter how many are dead.
A small group of them thought it would be a good idea to kidnap someone and just add cyberware on them, uncaring of what might happen to the person. Normal people are the best as their fear stricken face would bring glee to any of them, fear and hatred were drugs that they were heavily dependent on. Regular drugs too.
Even more so when it's someone with no cyberware. Monks were always fun to mess around, constantly preaching the disastrous effects of cyberware. They couldn’t wait to get their hands on one.
And the greatest present came to them. Some teen sleeping near their hideout was the perfect specimen to try out their new chrome on someone.
At first, they argued on what the best kind of cyberware they should implant on the kid. Young too so only the best of the best for them. Some hand modification, a new face plate, three hearts, five legs, maybe even a modded Mr. Stud.
Then, like meat on a stick, they have to tenderize him. That was always fun and a good way to release some pent-up stress. Shame he was gonna be chromed out, a few would like him as something else.
They all cackle with glee towards the whimpering kid, no less than 15 years old. Sadism was very high on all gang members, no one was spared.
Indeed, no one would be spared.
Just as they had finished beating up the kid, one guy decided to intensify by bringing out the biggest fucking hammer on you’d never see.
“Damn, choombah. Where’d you klep that? Animals?” One of them with 5 red optics called out.
“Exactly. Got ourselves a little argument but can’t beat what you can’t see.” The wielder, showing off his Gorilla Arms, grinned. “Threw my knife at the bitch’s face and punched her till her blood sprayed me. Got myself a preem souvenir.”
“Preem. Remind me to go with you next time. See if I can klep something to myself.”
“Sure. But now, I wanna hear bones break.” He gripped the hammer tightly, Gorilla Arms opening to exhume more strength to lift the hammer easily. He lifted the weapon high above himself with his own red optics glinting evilly. “SCREAM!”
The giant weapon crashed down on the beaten teen, enough force to maybe kill him but no one cared. Death to them was nothing, others suffering is music to their ears, and chrome was the one true answer to everything.
This is one of the most violent gangs in Night City. This is one of the many cyberpsychos imbedded in their ranks. This is one of the most hated people anywhere else.
This is Maelstrom.
“Huh?”
As one might expect from a heavy weapon, the force would indeed be enough to kill anyone. Anymore would be turned to paste. The hammer that should have sprayed the entire room with blood and guts was stopped by the teens hand.
The teen that took 3 beatings from Maelstrom members, all fully chromed from head to toe, was standing upright with his hand holding the hammer with no problem at all.
“Fucking what…”
“No way…”
Those were the kinds of statements murmuring near him. What they thought a sniveling and scared teenager suddenly became more.
And that was not all. Metal creaking was heard, harshly and painfully as one might hear when crunching metal. The teens hand was actually gripping the hammers edge with cracks forming there, going further and further the more he gripped.
Then, he moved. Way too fast for them to notice but to also feel it happen.
One moment, he gripped the hammer. The next, a loud crash rang out behind them. Their minds couldn’t register of what had happened, only to numbingly look towards the wall and find one of their own caved in with a sizable dent on his chest. Blood was pooling from his mouth and he wasn’t responding quickly.
In just one punch, the teen had effectively killed one of theirs.
“You bastard!” They all pulled their guns, hand cannons and rifles aimed at the teen that struck one of them. “Shoot!”
They fired. Bullets shot out with fire trailing behind them. A fast moving projectile all heading towards their target to turn them into mulch or a corpse. They didn’t care for crossfire, their chrome being dense enough to shrug off any low caliber bullets.
The guns kept firing and firing, emptying mags of ammo at the kid, who had a white bubble surrounding him. They didn’t know what kind of cyberware does that but he’s dead, they’ll find out and sell it to the highest bidder. Corpo would pay them millions, even billions of eddies just to have this kind of technology.
And as the last bullet fired, they looked at their handiwork and expected the teen to be riddled with holes and die of blood loss or lack of organs. But to their surprise, nothing harmed him. The bubble protected him from the impromptu firing squad like it was nothing.
To make matters worse, their bullets that should have hit him were now caught in the bubble. His eyes glowed the same color of his bubble, his arms that were crossed are now posed to extend quickly and the bullets all aimed outwards.
“Oh shit.” One of them said before the hailstorm commenced.
The bullets stuck to the teens shield suddenly exploded outward, like an explosion of bullets and had struck every gangoon near him. The flash of red and multiple pings and ricochets echoed out in the small warehouse of their base.
The teen observed his handiwork, bodies of Maelstroms littered near him along with a mysterious white liquid that oozed out of them. He almost gagged at the sight and smell but kept it in, his breath ragged and his ears ringing. He wanted to pass out again but not right now.
He had to get out of here right now. The teen picked himself up and stepped on one of the guns used to fire at him. He observed it closely before picking it up and inspected it.
It was reminiscent of a Desert Eagle he saw as a kid. Nodding to himself, he checked the magazine of the pistol and found it still had plenty of bullets left. He had no idea how guns worked or how to use them but if he could aim and shoot then that was all he needed.
He moved away from the bloodbath and walked to a direction he hoped would lead him to his exit. This place was like a maze with how much stuff got in his way as he tried to find a path here.
Just as he found the exit, a sudden horrible feeling made him jump back. A heavy shot resounded to where he last stood. A gangoon cocked back his shotgun, the big shotgun sprayed with red and had the Maelstrom markings all over it.
“Fucking thought you can get away?! Thought you can flatline my chooms?! I dunno what kind of cyberware your carrying but you are dead, you hear me ganic?!” He cussed out, shooting another round of the shotgun towards where the teen is. The round broke apart the cover he had and used the slow rack of the gun to his advantage. He gripped the pistol tightly and fired rounds at the ganger. Multiple pings sounded off, showing no damage to the borged out member. “Gonna take a lot more firepower to punch through this chrome!”
He fired again, slowly walking closer to the teen. Rage and fury guided his actions, wanting nothing more than to put a round at the gonks head, to payback against his fellow members. No one cared if they died but an attack on them is an attack on the gang.
He cocked back on the last round, and decided to simply flatline him. He didn’t care for the gun since it was low caliber anyway and couldn’t penetrate their subdermal armor. His grin filled with malicious intent and fury at the thought of ending the teen with his Carnage.
“GOTCHA!” He aimed directly at where the teen was hiding with his gun aimed at him.
Only to see the teen’s gun with some sort of orb at the end of the barrel. He pondered on what it was before he heard the teen speak.
“Chew on this!”
Then he saw nothing but white and felt nothing.
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