<—YOU NEED TO WAKE UP NOW>

Lothar jolted, he wiggled around foaming from his mouth.

The doctor cursed and turned around from the sink. He ran to the seizing inmate and called for his nurses.

They just successfully finished inserting the shard. He had done this before on other patients to study the effect it has on them, but no one went into a seizure.

In fact, none showed any signs of change. The Shard needed the runes and the blood of the late kai’shi to activate. Vols had only three runes implanted on his skin and the shard.

It didn’t make sense.

Maybe there’s something different about this one, like Hope said.

.....

Mika entered the obnoxious’ woman’s office with dragging feet.

He was not surprised by the tacky lion sculpture or naked people painting on the wall. He was only surprised she did not have a bearskin rug and a gold monkey.

“Have a seat, agents.” Jasmine pointed at the purple couch. Brianna eyes the psychiatrist’s office with skepticism.

“We really need to start the inspection, Jasmine.” Said Dove.

“Let us have a talk first, agents. Tell me, what do you know of the thralls?”

Brianna frowned at the use of derogatory language from the eloquent woman.

“Fallen not thralls, woman. Have some respect.” Mika snapped.

Brianna shot him a glare that could turn Medusa to stone.

“Excuse this imbecile’s words, Jasmine. He has no filter and does not know any manners.” Mika bit his tongue in anger. The wannabe Jessica Rabbit ran her hand over her smooth, golden hair.

“It’s fine, Brianna—may I call you that?”

Brianna nodded while the woman continued. “Like I said, it’s fine. We all were young and impulsive.”

Brianna smiled and replied,

“Eros’ believers are few, but fearless. The cult has been founded since Eros died by his fallen Soulbounds. After they lost their powers, few have stuck around, but the ones loyal to him had made sure the world remembered his greatness. They were honorable once. Even with their lost powers they took part in the Devastation wars.

They died heroes and have been given their rightful place in the ‘Eye Of The World’ museum. Today, the fallen are nothing more than hermits. The ones who get out of hiding usually lead lives of crime. Why do you ask?”

“I never understood that, you know. Their loyalty is misguided, the relationship of sources and Soulbounds is purely transactional. They give us powers and give it back to them, after we advance it, once we die. In our deaths, they grow. They have always made that clear, so why do those fallen still care about Eros?”

“I don’t know. You should ask them. We really need to go now.” Dove cut in.

“Yes, of course. I won’t let you distract you from your duty. I just have one last question.”

Everyone turned to the woman. She wore a playful smile accented by a mask of makeup.

Mika sniffed the air and recoiled. He stumbled back and tripped over. His ass landed on the ground painfully, but he did not dwell on it.

He instinctively connected his attribute to his eyes and for the first time ever, he got a perfectly clear image.

Blazing, overwhelming rage—one that could bend the heavens and threaten to unravel hells.

The agents turned towards the teenager, each wearing different expressions;

Dove looked appalled at the fact he was on the floor, and Brianna seemed worried.

Jasmine, however, was focused on the bright light that drenched the room In a coat of red.

An alarm boomed, promising the beginning of an apocalypse with its followed echoes of screams. Mika turned in fright towards the door, waiting as the heavy footsteps stopped.

A soggy guard burst in, holding his guts with an arm and dripped blood like he had been thrown into a vampyre’s fantasy.

Mika heard a loud gasp and a scream but did not know if they came from inside or outside the room.

He had been in fights at the academy, and he had seen death. However, he had never seen a man die—

“R-raven....”

—and he died while giving a last warning to a woman who stepped right past his corpse.

Mika snapped his eyes away, not realizing that Brianna was screaming for him to follow.

He dashed right past the guard to the outside mayhem. His heartbeat drowned the sound of the blaring alarm. He ran behind his instructors who seemed more focused on rushing towards the fight than away.

He fought back the instinct to breathe in the smell of blood as it flowed generously.

The screams only seem to get louder as they turned from one hallway to another. Mika hated how enclosed the place was, like a labyrinth that only led towards a naked trap.

His body jolted in place as a chill ran down his spine. He knew what that feeling was; it was a warning. A frighteningly non-subtle bloodlust—and it was the second he got today.

But Brianna and Dove were running right towards it.

He opened his mouth to tell them to stop and turn back, to wait for reinforcement, but the ringing in his ears told him they would not hear him over the loud alarm.

He never considered himself a coward. He was strong and brave and never backed away from a fight against Nikolas and his friends.

But the screams. Those were the scream of men dying, not ones that were cheering for a fistfight.

He was only sixteen. Never kissed a girl, never saw a live Hell Hunt or got the chance to make his father proud.

He shouldn’t die today because of the agents’ stupidity. He was an intern, they would understand.

And that’s how he convinced himself to turn back and run the other way.

Brianna ordered him around like her dog and Dove never bothered to even look at him more than necessary.

They would not bat an eye if he died, he reasoned.

I don’t care. I don’t care. I want to live. I don’t care.

He ran and ran until grey melted into black then back to grey. He jumped, ducked and blasted through the opened doors. Bodies of guards littered the ground and not one of them looked happy to be dead. He always took a detour when the corpses crowded the hallways.

He took a last turn and halted, coming face to face with a man who used to be a man.

Mika lost his breath for a second as the thing turned its head around, ever so slowly, and ran a bone-sharp claw along its cheek. Delight painted its hollow cheeks with a smile that lacked lips.

Its hunched back rippled like a wave. It shook its head in pleasure, and its elongated tongue passed through its pointed teeth.

Its neck cracked first, then its body as it turned itself to face him. Bones were unnaturally bending to adapt to its new position, like a rusty, old machine.

Mika involuntarily let out a whimper and wondered why he didn’t get a warning.

Mika took a few steps back, making sure not to make too much noise, and avoided looking at its eyes or the arm protruding from its mouth.

The arm fell to the ground and its eyes twitched.

Without warning, he turned away and dashed. Its heels clicked on the ground as it followed him, like a heavy metronome.

He dared to glimpse back and saw its bones elongate with each step it took. Its steps were getting bigger and its reach longer.

He screamed on top of his lungs and pushed all the specs he had to their full capability. He kept his attribute on and did not shy away from begging the sources to show pity and give him powers to fight the death that tailed him.

Dear immortal eye of a world unseen,

His feet touched the stairs before they went from under him. His jaw hit the ground painfully as a bone-creaking hand wrapped itself around his ankle. He desperately grabbed the floor with his nails, fighting the vice like grip.

“NO!”

His nails broke, and blood tainted the ground. Mika was only aware of its rancid saliva drenching his back.

Of your eternal blight, I call thee. Please give me your sight, your guide, and help me in my plight—

The thing flung him around and jumped. Its face stopped a half an inch in front of his. They made eye contact for a second before the hunger in its eyes made him wet his pants.

—PLEASE HELP ME

He let out one last yell before he raised his knee to strike. Its leg cracked again, and a bone protruded from its thigh, stopping the attack and making Mika’s knee rattle.

He shouted in pain and turned his head, too afraid to look the thing in the eyes.

Please, please, please!

It did not like that. Its long fingers took hold of his face and forcefully turned it. He tried to move, but its nails dug into his skin.

Oh sources, help me. HELP

He whimpered but held its gaze with fury and pain. He saw his death reflected in its rotten teeth and before he felt it, a bloodcurdling roar startled them both.

A long board of metal struck the thing’s head. It wasn’t strong enough to get the monster off him, but it dropped its hand.

Mika immediately crawled away and was thankful it didn’t pay him attention anymore.

When he turned to look at the scene, he saw a thin and elongated sword coming out of the thing’s heart. It gurgled as blood and spittle dribbled on the floor.

Mika’s heart stilled when it made eye contact with him and smiled before it fell.

“A-are you okay?” The painful voice snapped him out of his shock. He looked up to see a patched up, patchwork scarecrow with the body of a giant and a mouth scarred beyond recognition.

He flinched back at the monstrous-looking man, but realized he was only offering a hand.

Mika took it with a shaking one and was surprised when he couldn’t get up. His legs felt too weak.

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The man grunted and pulled him up, cursing all the way. He towered over him by a lot.

Mika looked up at the tired eyes and saw another kind of death in them. He opened his mouth and closed it repeatedly as his brain failed to comprehend his situation.

He was not dead.

The man patted his shoulder and grabbed his hand like his mother used to when he was a kid. He did not look at Mika much, just kept his eyes on his surroundings.

Mika wanted to yank his hand away, but felt comfort in the stranger’s firm grip.

The man seemed to know the place, because his eyes never strayed away from one direction unless a sudden sound came out.

At some point, he stopped and adjusted the huge metal board he was holding. Mika saw a few vials of boosters in his pocket and noted the scrubs he was wearing.

If he didn’t know where he was, he would assume the man was a patient in an asylum.

The man stopped in front of one door; it looked like all the others if he ignored the rust and blood covering it.

The man looked at him and frowned.

“I’m s-sorry, you’ll h-have to see s-some gruesome things i-inside. You can close y-your eyes if you want.” Mika blinked at him and was surprised by the genuineness if his offer.

“I think we’re already past that, stranger. I saw enough today to scar me for life.”

The man nodded and opened the door.

A mountain of corpses lay inside, decorated by the stench of garbage and feces.

Mika’s eyes wandered around the broken bodies and twisted faces. A gut wrenching pain he did not know he could feel twisted his soul. Those monsters looked awfully like the one who chased him.

Mika’s hand squeezed the stranger, and he tilted his head away.

He loved blood. It satiated the needs and urges that plague his existence. He did not like slaughter, however. It gave blood a foul taste he was not aware of, after seeing where it actually came from.

They slowed down when they neared an enormous tube that looked like a portal to the abyss’ abyss.

The man halted and looked down. He frowned but kept his breathing steady before putting the board on the ground. And for the first time, Mika saw straps attached to it.

It looked like a makeshift sled with a seatbelt, he realized.

The man looked at his X-watch and muttered something before a sturdy helmet and pads suddenly appeared.

“H-how high is your c-constitution?” His voice grated on the metal walls and choked at the end.

Mika heard a thousand cries in that sentence.

“17. Pretty good, eh?” He smiled with little thought. It didn’t hold up well.

The man tried to stretch his lips thin, humoring Mika, but eventually failed. Mike saw the smile in his eyes, however.

“Not enough. H-here.” The man shoved the helmet over Mika’s head and strapped the padding on his knees and elbows.

Mika looked back at the tube, then at the man, eyes wide.

“What about you?”

The man shrugged and held up the sled, putting it on the edge of the tube. He pointed at it. Mika sat and let himself get strapped. The belt tightened around his legs and arms, paralyzing his movements.

He looked down at the complete blackness and swallowed.

“How far down is that?”

The man shrugged again and hopped behind him. The board was big enough to fit three adults. He wrapped his arms around Mika and put his weight forward. Mika did the same, and they rushed down.

.....

32 minutes ago,

Gus snapped out of his thoughts as the sirens blared. It took him a minute to register the alarm and remember protocol.

He disregarded that and turned around, bursting into the room.

Vols was standing up on the operation bed, fully awake, with eyes fully empty.

He shivered involuntarily, then glanced at the panicked nurses and uncaring doctor.

Stevenson was shoving his stuff inside a big bag while he mumbled orders to his men.

“Carl, go to the monitoring room on the right, at the end of this block. Give me visuals. Jackson, you go on the right. If either of you takes over fifteen minutes to respond, I’ll assume you’re dead.” Gus was surprised by the man’s fast thinking.

He looked at the bursting bag and almost scoffed.

Not smart thinking. He knew.

Gus only cared about getting Vols out and fulfilling his end of the deal. He turned to the doctor who just acknowledged his presence.

“Good. You will protect me, guard.” Stevenson never learned his name. Gus guarded the doctor’s room every day for the past ten years. The doctor never asked for his name.

“Copy that, sir.” In his nervous blunder, he saluted.

He coughed and put his head down, glad no one commented.

He eyed the inmate who was not so subtly observing him.

The nurses were out of the door by then and rushing out.

They waited ten minutes in complete silence until a watch rang. Stevenson cursed and turned to grab his bag.

“They got past the first outpost! Three more until they get to us. I told that Soulbound bitch! Let’s go, NOW.”

Gus hurriedly grabbed Vols, slipping the needles inside the latter’s pants and helped him up.

Stevenson led the march towards the exit room, which gave an easy pass towards the second floor beneath them.

They rushed down, Vols mostly putting his weight on Gus’ shoulder and stopped when they came in front if a door.

Stevenson was busy fumbling out his keys when Vols suddenly straightened and stabbed a needle into his neck.

Stevenson immediately collapsed, not breathing a sound of protest. Gus stood agape at the sight. Only regulars were that affected by the boosters. Weak Soulbounds might faint, but it will take a high dose for that to happen.

“How did you know he was a regular?” He breathed out.

Vols turned sharply towards Gus as if he had forgotten he was there.

“Once t-they first started injecting me b-boosters, they kept me-messing up the doses it needed to put me out. O-one time, I was barely conscious, I he-heard him whispering as he c-carved my skin. He repeated the words We will grow strong. I do it because no one ever helped me over and over again. He said something about how he was helping the kids, always about the fucking kids. It was a guess, one that p-payed out well.”

Gus slowly nodded and glanced at the scars around the man’s mouth. He turned his head away.

“Something is happening out there. We’re really lucky the alarm happened, made this easier to pull off. I’m glad you don’t have to stick a needle in me as well.”

Vols slowly nodded in response, eyes glued to the doctor’s body.

“Here. The things you ordered were too big, so I bought an old generation X-watch from a pawnshop. It got an unsubscribed version of the inventory v1.0, so don’t except security.”

Vols frowned “What?”

Gus sighed and took out the watch. He strapped it in the inmate’s boney wrist and showed him how to navigate it.

It took a minute, but the man looked astounded as he studied it.

“S-so it’s a program that’s also magic. Inv-inventory, you said. Everyone has those?’’

“Soulbounds, yeah. Regulars who can afford the subscription. Since this is free, it means it is not locked to a person’s soul, so anybody can take whatever’s inside. Each tier has its own perks.”

“How much c-can you fit in here?” He nodded at the watch.

“Yours? The board took almost all the space. The highest sub tier can fit a boat.”

Vols’ eyes were wide before they turned sharply up towards the sudden bone-chilling scream.

Gus was getting worried, too. Was Leon still shitting?

“I have to go. My people need me. And Vols,”

The man blinked and waited. “This was really expensive. I don’t know why you need it, but I can guess. I tapped into my son’s college funds.”

“I- I give you my word, Gus. I will p-pay back my debt.”

Gus wore a grave expression “And if you don’t, I’ll turn myself in and squeak like a pig. Three months, that’s all you have.”

Vols nodded.

“I will go now. You don’t have to knock me out. I can just say you slipped away in the chaos.”

“O-one last thing.” Gus turned around and frowned.

Vols pointed at his sword “You can grab one fro-from some dead guard. Can y-you give me this?”

Gus did not like the fact that some guards might be dead. But he couldn’t ignore the screams anymore. He needed it for safety, however, but remembered seeing a few more batons in the doctor’s place.

Maybe he wants to kill me.

He shook his head. Vols was barely standing straight and supporting his weight on the wall.

Gus nodded and threw the baton at him. Vols looked at it for a few seconds before unlocking it. A sword snapped, and he looked at it in awe.

“Took Leon ten minutes to get this opened—WHAT ARE—

Gus jumped, throwing his body at the doctor, but he was too late.

Vols had already grabbed the man and put the sword to his neck.

“Drop him, Vols! If you kill him, this ends here! I won’t cover—

“I- I won’t kill.” The whisper scratched Gus’ eardrums, and the world stilled and waited for his next move.

Gus' body stilled in horror. Time passed slowly as he felt his heart drop. It happened too fast for his mind to register, and one awful thought repeated like a broken recorder inside Gus’ head.

Dear sources, what have I done?

His eyes wandered over the inmate’s placid visage as he held the doctor’s tongue.

He felt a crawling sensation all over his body.

“Why?” He whispered.

Vols did not look up. He shoved the tongue inside his pocket and replied with a broken voice.

“A tongue for a tongue.”

.....