The Abyss,

There’s no light here…

Silas stood on the edge of the Abyss, teetering the border between life and death. He was alive alright, just not in the traditional sense. His body was dead, the only thing that was alive was his soul. The body in this case was a mere puppet for the soul to pilot. He gazed out towards the spire off in the distance and stepped back onto solid ground.

“The living often envy the dead, yet when have the dead ever envied the living?” He asked.

”Well, envy isn’t really a good term for it. Seeing as my sister brought me back much too early. She just couldn’t wait to raise my corpse, could she?” Silas groaned.

James walked towards the spire, one of the rings orbiting it flew off towards him. He smiled and watched as it approached him at blinding speed. The ring hovered over him and slowly began to charge the energy required to open a portal. James waited for until the ring had finished charging before he quickly dodged to the side, narrowly avoiding a massive chain knife which had just exited the portal. The chain quickly retreated back through the portal leaving a crater in its wake. The ring proceeded to fly back towards the spire as Jame’s followed after it.

He considered this attempt on his life to be a major failure. Did these people not know what he was capable of? Of course, they knew what he was capable of, yet they still attempted to kill him anyway. James chuckled at the thought of death as he entered the spire and began climbing up the stairs. Well it was lass of a climb and more of a sprint as he reached the entrance to the foyer in mere seconds. James stopped to catch his breath before entering the room which was full of hundreds of mismatched chairs and tables. The fireplace in the western corner of the room was empty. He entered the foyer and cleared his throat so as to dispel the silence which hung over the room like fog.

The moment James had cleared his throat and old man poked his head up from one of the tables. He got up and walked towards James, his silver beard dragging along the floor behind him.

”What kind of practical joke is this, we all thought you were dead!” Aliyas yelled.

”Dead? You thought I was dead, as in permanently dead? Well of course you did, you senile bastard.” James remarked.

”Well last time I checked, removing one’s own immortality does that to you. So how then are you standing here before me?” Aliyas retorted.

”Desperation, did my sister not go to you for answers, or have you been sitting here doing nothing?” James inquired.

Aliyas nodded and walked back towards one of the tables and sat down, James followed after him and did likewise. Silas put his left hand on the table and began absentmindedly tapping his fingers.

”I would have told Ceres about this but knowing him I’d only get empty promises. He still hasn’t broken his oath, he still won’t intervene, even if his own people are at risk.” James declared.

”At risk of what exactly?” Aliyas asked.

”Extinction, there are threats building at our borders, I take it that you are aware of this?” James stated.

“Yes, but what threats are you referring to exactly?” Aliyas inquired.

”Man, my former colleagues to be precise.” James answered.

“Well then, given the circumstances, it’s not our battle to fight.” Aliyas declared.

”Not your fight? Not your fight? Since when was this not your fight! We must stand together if we are to survive!” James yelled.

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”My boy, I’m afraid you just don’t get it. For if these men are invading because of you, then it falls to you to deal with them. They were your colleagues, were they not? As such, they pose no risk to the rest of us.” Aliyas answered.

Aliyas groaned, walked out of the room, and ascended further up the spire. James sprinted down the stairs and went outside. That was one thing cleared from his list, now all he had to do was warn his sister. The rest of them could easily fend for themselves, especially Josephine. James smiled and made a counterclockwise motion with his left hand which opened a portal in front of him. He could clearly see the sidewalk in front of Luxcious’s house in front of him. James stepped through the portal and onto the streets of Wales which were bathed in the orange light of the setting sun.

He walked towards the door and rhythmically knocked on it. Within seconds Luxcious opened the door and silently let James inside. Luxcious walked into the library as James sat down in the living room, right next to the emerald, green fireplace. After a few minutes Luxcious returned from the library and sat down next to James.

”I didn’t expect to see you so soon.” Luxcious gasped.

”Well you know how my sister is, she didn’t want to be alone for too long now did she?” Silas chuckled.

”That is true, though both of us know why you came back.” Luxcious replied.

”I know, I can hardly believe it either. Not even in a million years would I have expected an invasion from someone like them, not at all. They’ll tear themselves to shreds in no time if we get lucky enough.” James stated.

Luxcious nodded as James got up and walked upstairs. He quietly turned the doorknob and slowly opened the door. Once it there was enough space between the door and the wall, James slid through and into Luxcious’s office. The moment Silas entered he was pinned to the floor by his sister who was eagerly waiting for him.

”Hello again Beth, how have you been?” Silas mused.

Bethyinine did not answer and just stared at her brother. James could see her tail swaying rapidly above him. For as dangerous as Bethyinine was, she could be rather wholesome when she wasn’t out hunting down pieces of humanity. James smiled as his gaze focused on his sister’s tail swaying above him. He could see her beginning to smile and his vision went dark for a moment.

”What exactly shall I do with you today?” Bethyinine asked herself.

She looked at her brother and thought about how long he would be unconscious for. The answer to that question was simple, as long as she wanted him to be. Bethyinine smiled and pressed the end of her tail to James’s face, covering his mouth and nose. She hadn’t done something like this in a while, not since James was last alive. It took her a little while before she finally understood what to do. The last time she had ever used anesthetics on someone was when Josephine used to visit her. Now she would be using it on James, making sure that he could never wake up for a good seven or eight hours.

The last thing James could have sensed before falling prey to his sister’s anesthesia was heat, heat and darkness. He smiled and let it claim him as his mind began to fall further and further down into itself. It had been a while since she had killed him, now she would enjoy herself for a little while. If James wanted to open his eyes, he couldn’t, and even if he could then he would find out that there was nothing wrong with his surroundings.

For him to be murdered by his sister was a relief. She would always bring him back once she was satisfied. Hours later James regained consciousness and awoke on his sister’s island. She had shifted her form to that of a kitsune so as to stave off the cold which the night brought. He smiled and laid his head on her chest before going to sleep. In the morning he would tell her what he was planning. Once dawn came, Bethyinine woke up and dove into the sea, James waited for her to return.

”They’re coming.” James whispered as his sister rose from the sea.

”Who? Who is coming?” Bethyinine asked.

”The Bureau, they’re coming! There’s a crack in our wall, they’re coming!” James blurted.

Bethyinine looked at her brother and pounced on top him, intent on calming him down. She tried to press the end of her tail against his face, but James swatted it away. He looked at her, rage building in his eyes, and thrusted her off of him with his right hand. Bethyinine tumbled along the sand and fell into the ocean. By the time she had gotten back onto land, James was gone. Her brother had left to go and face down something that he couldn’t possibly kill by himself. She looked at the hole in the middle of her island, at least he had taken the sword with him.

James stood on the edge of the Abyss yet again, gazing out towards the infinite horizon which lay before him. He saw something out there, a light in the darkness, it stared at him. James stared back as the light slowly grew brighter and brighter. He drew his sword in anticipation for what was to come. Across the endless chasm a man in a pristine lab coat stared through the glass of a cruiser. He could just barely make out a single man against the endless darkness.

”Gentlemen” The director bellowed.

”It seems Virgil has given himself over to the enemy. Let him be an example for all those who stand against mankind.” He continued.

The director gazed out into the horizon towards the eclipse.

”There’s no light here…” he muttered to himself as the cruiser slowly approached the Abyss.