~Scroll of the Dead~

8:00 pm

Shin was now at the store’s entrance, letting out a breath – he quickly unlocked the door to pick up his jacket from the counter. Hopefully, it hadn’t gone anywhere since the shop was closed throughout the day. He soon noticed the red-colored short-sleeved clothing on the counter and picked it up with a sigh of relief.

“Ah I thought I lost ya.” he exhaled as he turned around and began walking to the entrance, passing by a familiar figure who was filling his bag with snacks “Goodnight random shoplifter!”

“Oh, Goodnight brat.” he greeted back.

Shin smiled as he left the store and was about to close it before a thought struck him, He took a glance back at the figure who kept on loading up his bag.

“GET BACK HERE THIEF!” he yelled at the cloaked man

“Tch.” The figure hissed slid through the window from the back, and burst at full speed before making Shin follow pursuit.

Though this wasn’t an obstacle as Shin knew this entire area at the back of his head, he took a shortcut through the side and got on a scooter belonging to his neighbor, and began speeding up.

‘This brat!’ the man hissed as he increased his speed and left the boy behind.

“Hehe,” Shin chuckled as he knew where the man was heading and turned left into a corner.

…

‘Hmm.’ the man slowed down as he realized the boy was nowhere to be found.

He paused and took off his hood once more revealing a dark-haired man, probably in his twenties, with blue eyes as clear as the ocean.

“Who the hell was that guy” he sat down in an alleyway as he began unwrapping one of the snacks he stole.

The food meal was about to enter his mouth when a wheel collided with his jaw. Shin had finally caught up with to location of the vehicle.

‘My guess was on point’ Shin stared as he jumped off the scooter and landed on the ground

‘Jeez, can’t I catch a break?’ the black-haired guy let out a sweatdrop

“It’s not free… pretty boy” Shin growled as he stood up from the ground

“I’m flattered,” the guy said cleaning the dust off his face “But I haven’t eaten in a few days, can’t you spare me one”

“Sorry I can’t ya freeloader” Shin cracked his knuckles as a smirk grew on his face

“All this trouble just for a fruit bar, sharing is caring you know” he shook his shoulders coyly

“Like hell it is, I’m not running a dine n’ dash”

The cloaked guy chuckled as he dropped the snack back in the bag before turning. The atmosphere became menacing as a dark blue aura filled the air – causing Shin to sweat heavily.

“Is that my problem?” he disappeared all of a sudden

‘What the’ Shin’s eyes widened in shock ‘Where’d he go?’

“Fuck off” The cloaked man reappeared behind the boy and landed a kick to his side causing him to crash into a nearby wall.

‘Was that overkill?’ the dark-haired guy tilted his head at the dust surrounding the destroyed wall ‘Not like it was meant to be serious’. Turning back – he began walking away, before tilting his head to avoid a wooden plank thrown from the debris.

“Take a break would ya!” he raised his arm to block a kick from the boy who seemed to have taken some minor injuries ‘I’m guessing he used the wood as a shield’

The cloaked guy turned his head to find an angrier Shin ‘So he can use his brain.’

He then raised his other arm to land another successful hit on the boy ‘Let’s see you block this one!’

“GAHK!” Shin coughed up blood as the blow sent him flying toward a building.

“Don’t take it personally kid.” he began walking away as soon as he affirmed his victory in the short brawl ‘now which one to start from-’

He was cut off once more as he felt a grip on his leg “Persistent now are we?” the arm belonging to a beat-up Shin with visible bruises.

“I…can’t…” Shin tried to force out words from his mouth

“…”

“I can’t let you take that” Shin tried to force out “Mom wouldn’t let me hear the end of it”

‘Tch’ The cloaked man hissed in annoyance at the boy’s persistence ‘Mortals are the most annoying’

Shin tried to support himself as he stood up “You’re always welcome for a meal at my house”

The young adult looked back in confusion ‘What is he waffling about?’

“Heck I’d even give you my plate if it settles things but please’ he placed his head on the ground in a Dogeza stance “This is what they need to survive, have a heart”

‘This boy, he’s too naïve’ The cloaked man’s lips twitched at the display ‘It makes me want to pummel him to the ground even more but…’

He kept on staring at him with a look of cringe. ‘…forget it’ he shook his head at the boy who kept his head on the ground before speaking up

“Stand the hell up!” he demanded “Don’t ever show such weakness to your opponent, it makes them belittle you and you’ll remain a punching bag for the rest of your worthless mortal days”

“Eh, what?” Shin looked confusingly

“I meant-”

-BOOM

An explosion occurred interrupting the cloaked man’s speech

The cloaked man’s eyes opened in shock as he felt an eerie presence miles away “Found ya”

He stretched out his arm and as a wave insignia glowed

The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

[Bermuda: Warp]

He was gone in an instant – leaving a more confused Shin in the alleyway.

“What the f-”

~Scroll of the Dead~

8:59 pm

Theseus bore a huge smile on his face.

Throughout his life, was nothing more than stress and tiresome quests. At a point, he wanted to retire lest he’d suffer a mental breakdown.

But he had a goal, a goal he’d accomplish no matter what. Even if it meant he’d go to the ends of the earth to do so.

‘I finally found it!’ the man said as he leaped from building to building ‘The mana signatures keep on increasing.’

“It meant leaving my food supply behind.” he frowned “and I’m sure that kid must have packed it all up and left.”

Theseus kept on moving as a smile formed once again ‘Not like it matters, I’ll be leaving here before I even know it.’

He came to a halt as he arrived at a lake, and there he saw his target

[Singularity, Rank: Creature]

A large bird-like being the size of a small building with the claws of a lion sprouting its wings. It bore ruby-red eyes and had an ear-piercing roar. This creature bore many names in the books of old.

But it’s the most common name…

Theseus smirked as he was relieved that his week-old quest had come to its conclusion, he was now face to face with the [Demon of the Sky, Griffin]

“Yo, how’s it been?” Theseus greeted finally grabbing his attention “…so mean of you to run off like that!”

The beast made a screeching sound, causing the earth to shake. Theseus quickly took a defensive stance as he blocked the excess mana pouring out of the Griffin. Soon after he took a look at the surrounding area to find the trees leveled to the ground

“I missed you too.” Theseus teasingly replied as he drew out his sword, a gladius with a navy blue handle. “You have no idea how happy you made me by appearing.”

The beast growled before disappearing which wasn’t a surprise to Theseus as he swung his weapon to the right – blocking an attack from the Griffin’s talon. The Griffin leaped a few feet back before charging towards him again and throwing his talons at the man who simply countered its attacks.

‘It doesn’t seem to be going all out.’ Theseus thought in dismay, Griffins were known for prioritizing their pride over instinct. But this one seemed smart, unlike his fellow species, almost like it was being cautious of Theseus’.

The cloaked man was caught off guard as the beast flew away to a nearby building to try and escape him.

“Don’t take this personally.”

The Griffon turned to find Theseus running on the building walls, though it was more of leaping.

Theseus looked the beast dead in the eye before continuing “I made up my mind to finish this damn side quest.”

The beast stared in shock, it tried to change directions but was met with a kick to the face from Theseus sending it back to the lake. As the beast tried to recover, it felt a pair of boots landing on its neck causing it to screech in agony before falling unconscious.

“Sheesh, PETA’s gonna have a field day with this one.” Theseus stared at the Griffon in disbelief before getting off the neck of the Demon of the Sky. He now cracked his neck in relief as he was relieved of his task “Now to start my search for a medium...”

“Oi Freeloader!”

Theseus was cut off by the familiar-sounding voice of the boy who had chased him around town for a fruit bar. He turned to the side and saw Shin getting off the scooter he ‘borrowed’. His eyebrows twitched in annoyance ‘Not this guy again.’

“How did you get here so quickly?” Shin asked as he began approaching Theseus

Theseus turned away as he crouched down to examine the beast “None of your business.”

There was a silence between the two for a moment before Shin also began observing the monster

“What are you doing.” Theseus asked in annoyance

“This is some crazy CGI...” Shin replied awestruck

“Dumbass, you’re touching it!” Theseus barked at the boy

“Learn to take a joke will ya?” he shot back “Besides how am I supposed to talk about whatever eyesore this is meant to be?”

‘I can’t let him know about the singularity’ The cloaked man took another glance at the knocked-out beast

“Uh” Theseus thought deeply for an excuse before answering “It’s a chicken”

The boy tilted his head in confusion “A chicken?”

“Yeah” he nodded “You won’t believe this but a chicken fell from the sky, I’m from the hunter association sent to contain this SCP”

“Eh? That’s pretty awesome- MY ASS! AT LEAST COME UP WITH A MORE BELIEVABLE LIE THAN THAT, THEY DON’T EVEN MATCH!” Shin yelled in anger at the failed excuse

The boy was cut off all of a sudden by the screeching of the Griffin who had woken up

‘He recovered again?’ Theseus’ eyes widened in shock ‘Could they always recover like this?’

“Gah! My eardrums!” Shin cried out as he covered his ears

The beast flapped its wings before flying away from the scene.

‘Dammit’ The boy groaned in agony for a while before fully recovering.

‘What the hell was that?’ he questioned “Hey freeloader!” he turned towards Theseus who was immobilized, both body and mind.

“He’s frozen?” Shin leaned forward as he examined the cloaked man, he raised his hand and began smacking Theseus on the head repeatedly “Oi, freeloader… wake the hell-”

“DON’T EVER DO WHAT YOU JUST DID AGAIN YOU BRAT!” Theseus recovered before punching the lights out of Shin, causing him to fly a few meters back

“GAHK” Shin yelled as he landed on his back.

“Tch” Theseus let out a hiss as he flicked his wrist ‘Can’t believe that oversized turkey got me’ He turned his head towards Shin who stood up feeling his head for any injuries ‘But then again, how did he resist Griffin’s hypnosis effect, mortals shouldn’t be capable of such a feat’

Theseus fixated his eyes on the young boy ‘Anti mana particles? He could be useful in this quest, but…’

“Gah” Shin groaned as he finally stood up “Don’t go punching a kid in the jaw like that”

“My bad” Theseus looked down on him for a second “Hey brat”

“Eh? That ain’t my name freeloader” Shin snapped back

“Don’t care but” he stroked his chin “What do you think about gods?”

Shin froze at the question as he swallowed his spit back. This was the first time someone outside his family or friends had asked him such a question, so he responded “Gods huh?”

Theseus nodded “Heaven, hell, demons, spirits. What’s your opinion on them?”

Shin closed his eyes as he thought deeply “They don’t exist”

“They do” Theseus retorted causing Shin to stare back at him

“No, they don’t, there’s no proof-”

Theseus interrupted the boy’s statement “You mortals keep asking for proof of existence, but have you ever asked why they’d take guys like you seriously?”

“What do you mean?” Shin cocked an eyebrow

Theseus sighed “Forget it”

“And mortals?” Shin recalled the statement Theseus once made “It makes it sound as if you’re some sort of divine being”

“I’ll leave that to your imagination” the cloaked man waved as he began walking away. Shin stood there watching him leave for a moment before he turned back to the boy

“The hell are you doing”

“Hmm?” Shin tilted his head

“Tch” Theseus hissed before grabbing Shin’s arm and dragging him along “Don’t forget this is your mess as well”

“Me? What did I even do?” Shin asked innocently

“Existing” Theseus shot a glare at the boy

“That’s way too much for a kid who just distracted you!” Shin commented

“Oh, so you do know what you did!”

~Scroll of the Dead~

9:04 pm

Hana Matsumoto stepped out of the Tokita residence to dispose of the trash. Although the parents of the household advised her not to since she was their guest, she felt a strong sense of responsibility to clean up while her friend cleaned the dishes.

“Oi, Fuyu-chan” she called the name of her friend “You’re out of garbage bags”

“Wait really? Ah, well I guess I’d better head out” Fuyu peeped out the window as she asked in shock, she was about the same age as Hana but had dark blue eyes along with long dark green hair with some freckles on her face.

“Nah I’ll do it” Hana chuckled

“No it’s fine” Fuyu let out a sweatdrop

“Listen, if you’re worried about me getting kidnapped then stop it” Hana jerked her arm back “Cuz my punches are like a pistol”

“Well uh…”

She felt an arm on her shoulder as she looked back at Hana’s grinning face

“I’ll make it back before you can say my name” Hana laughed “And no it’s not Heisenberg”

Fuyu sighed before a pout formed on her face “Fine, but you better”

“Yeah yeah I know” Hana assured her friend before running off to her mom’s shop as it was probably the only market she could access by that time of the night

…

Hana ran as fast as she could in her green nightshirt and trousers. It wasn’t exactly her first sleepover at a friend’s house but she was happy to escape her older brother’s melodrama. She planned on staying for a while at least till he went back to whatever his kind does that’s none of her concern.

As she was running, she approached by Itsuki shrine. Hana had recalled shrines being demolished as a result of ‘Street violence’ at night, it sounded too cheesy but who was she to look into the matter? She came to a halt as she changed her direction and approached the gate to offer a small prayer.

One to her father, that he’ll keep on watching them from above,

And one to her brother.

“Please come back…”

Unbeknownst to her, a bright blue-colored light flashed from the windows of the temple through the curtains.