Micheal had lived an ordinary life for a long time. Going to school, playing hockey, and other normal things. But that portion of his life is not the focus of our story. We begin with the sword and Micheal’s introduction to it. On that fateful Saturday afternoon, a stranger approached him from an alley. He typically avoided people who came out of alleys, especially if they were wearing cloaks. This time, his instincts told him to do otherwise. The man was desperate. He had a sword, a magnificently beautiful sword. Its sheath had several intricate carvings and a singular gemstone near the sword’s guard. He took the sword from the man to cease his incessant pleas. However, this came with an unexpected consequence. As soon as he had it in his hands, he had an utterly irresistible urge to draw the blade. In the face of such a feeling, he could do nothing but give in to it. He unsheathed the magnificent blade and stared at it for a little while. It was far more intricate than the sheath and had a soft silver shimmer.
As he stared, a different urge formed, even stronger than the first, and again, he gave in. He slowly drew the blade’s tip across his palm, mesmerized as the shimmering metal cut him. Quickly, the blade liquified on contact with his blood and almost instantly entered his circulatory system. He looked up, eyes flitting about, trying to find the stranger that had given him this horrible gift. All he could find was a note, which he stuffed in his pocket. He continued his day as he would any other, pretending nothing had happened and forgetting the whole ordeal for a short time.
** Present Day **
Micheal awoke around three-thirty A.M., late for him but absurdly early for most others. He had to leave this place, as the stranger's note had warned him that he would be hunted down for having the sword, as many desired it for themselves. Micheal grabbed his backpack and hastily left the alley.
He had been moving from town to town, sleeping in alleys and other shady places where nobody would notice him. Along with writing about the hunters, the stranger had written that moving too quickly would reveal his destination, giving the hunters knowledge of where to find him. Attempting to heed the advice, Micheal tried to pace himself but moved too quickly. The stranger’s note cautioned that most of those who seek the sword came from other worlds. He hadn’t been found by one of these “otherworlders” yet and hoped he never would. He heeded the stranger’s strange warnings now, fearing what might come for him.
Micheal pondered what else might be after the blade while he walked to the nearest subway station, which fortunately wasn't too far from the alley he had slept in. He glanced at his watch, revealing it to be four-thirty A.M., meaning his train would leave soon. He was nearly at the entrance when he saw a flicker of light out of the corner of his eye. A tiny object fell onto the sidewalk in front of an alley and opened into a sizable blue ring. He watched the blue ring, wondering what would come from it until a shadow flew out.
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The shadow quickly disappeared into the alley, and Micheal immediately knew it was one of the things that the stranger’s note had warned about. He panicked and sprinted through the entrance, getting held up for a second by the ticket taker, and sprinting onto the train. The train doors slid shut just after he had made it in. He sighed in relief, believing he was safe inside the train. But as it began to move, he saw it again. The shadowy thing he'd seen before was crawling outside the train windows. Micheal thought he was the only one who noticed, as none of the others on the train acknowledged its presence. It was wriggling across the windows like some sort of dark worm with legs. The thing spit a small device onto one of the windows, and a similar one materialized before his eyes. It fell to the ground, opening a blue ring on the floor. Through it, he could see the outside of the train. He immediately recognized the ring and moved to the other side of the train car. He took a new seat, away from the blue ring, hoping that whatever came through wouldn’t notice him. The shadowy thing crawled out of it. It seemed to ooze black slime as dark as itself. It slithered up the wall and along the ceiling, leaving a mess with every step that disappeared almost as soon as it appeared. It seemed disoriented, moving awkwardly. He tracked its movements across the roof as it slowly wandered toward him. He tensed, gripping the hilt of his sword in anticipation.
Still, no one noticed the horrifying creature. Even those that had been walked all over didn’t seem to feel a thing.
The shadow blob fell onto the floor and slinked towards him, barely lifting itself from the ground. The black globby mess lifted its head and stared into his soul with its now-revealed deep purple eyes.
Micheal got up again, to the annoyance of many passengers. He began fiddling with the train door, attempting to get it open. The shadow thing took a step back before opening its mouth wide. Now that it was in decent lighting, he could clearly see the vaguely pill-shaped, shadowy, oozing mess of a creature as it started making a gagging sound and appeared to be trying to spit something out. A sectioned cylindrical metal object with four claws in each orthogonal position was making its way out of the thing’s mouth. It continued to gag, and its mouth continued widening until it spat out a whole man, pale as a ghost. His left arm was the sectioned metal object, and he appeared to have a cybernetic eye.
The odd man stood up and hissed at him, showing fangs and a tongue like a USB cable. The scuttling shadow turned around and slinked to the back of the train, disappearing into the darkness. As soon as he saw the opportunity, the strange man shot his left arm toward Micheal. He dodged the man’s cybernetic claws, and they lodged into the back of the train car. He stared at the pale figure, realizing his backpack had been snagged by the cyborg’s claws. The train was momentarily intangible to Micheal and the cyborg. A cloud of mist appeared around him as the train continued through a trackless field. He heard a hiss as the shadowy thing clambered onto the man’s leg, disappearing into it before he jumped up in a puff of smoke. A bat with a cybernetic wing came out of the smoke, flying into the early morning sky. He glanced around, quickly taking in his surroundings. He had no idea where he could be, and the mysterious fog obscured most of the area. He looked toward where the train had gone, wondering if he could or should follow it before deciding to stay where he was.