'Life and death are the start and end to one's fateful journey... But what happens when the spirit yearns for both, yet can give up on none.'

PA!

Immediately the ethereal mystical voice faded away with its conclusive statement, Elias felt his sense of self explode into a cacophony of chaotic imbalance, while a sudden rush of unknown origin quietly flowed through his body.

His vision swiftly blurred, before being instantaneously overtaken by an ever-present mirage of swirling blackened lights existing in all points of space.

These swirling blackened light forms which had previously only existed to Elias in the form of subtle glimpses now encompassed his entire vision, replacing his original form of sight while tainting his ability to see.

Everything around him lost its original vibrant form and was now replaced by swirling mists of lights which varied in both intensity and quantity.

His outstretched hands, the brown-backed book he was previously holding, the dim gas lamp placed at his side to grant him lighting, the table below him cast from high-quality mahogany, the chair in front of him that was meant to be his study support as well as,

The empty space in the air that was supposed to house unseen particles of floating dust.

Everything around him had been encased by this unnatural phenomenon, as if their real physical forms had been forcefully stripped away, revealing their true makeup as spiraling curtains of black hues.

This eerily mysterious scene caused Elias to visibly shudder, as his overloaded brain couldn't properly process what it was witnessing.

At this moment his eyes could only see black, as if black was all that existed in the world.

Elias lost his balance and tumbled over from the extreme pain, his mind inflicted by a piercing headache while he struggled to regain his vision.

At this point he had even lost the will to speak, as well as the basic strength to think.

The young man struggled on the cold floor like a man spiraling into lunacy, his desperate attempts to close his eyes and forget what he had seen proving to be totally ineffective.

No matter how hard he tried these swirling mirages caused him to be unable to shut his eyes, drawing his attention and ensuring he continued to keep his eyes fixed on them like a piece of iron drawn to a fine magnet.

He briefly heard a voice anxiously calling his name from somewhere both near and far, but couldn't quite pinpoint where it was, as his entire sense of self had been enveloped by maddening pain.

Bright crimson blood slowly trickled out through the side of his monochromatic eyes, with Elias experiencing enough pain that he wished he could suddenly go blind.

At least then he would no longer have to see,

At least then there would be no more pain,

...and at least he would be able to maintain his sanity!

It felt like he was drawing closer and closer to the bridge between madness and rationality, while being one small push away from falling over the edge.

His head ached from the pain, his heart wrenched from the anxiety and his teeth clenched from the fear.

The current Elias could be said to be a shadow of his former self, with the previously calm and composed teenager being totally replaced by the image of a spiraling madman.

He was close to losing his thoughts and rationality and felt himself being only a step away from falling over the edge.

And that was when he the young man decided that he had endured enough.

Elias clenched his fists tightly to the point that it bled, before lunging towards the direction of his table in one fell swoop.

If one saw Elias right now, one would be able to detect an obvious hint of madness and firm resolve hidden within his pain-afflicted eyes, a look which made him no less similar to the inmates trapped in mental asylums.

Even while his vision was totally blanketed by the swirling ever-present images, Elias still remembered the position of his table and attempted to pick up one of the blackened forms of light in the disproportionate shape of a long quill.

Elias could feel the physical touch of the quill in his hands, but couldn't make out its actual form as it was blanketed by the spirals just like everything else in the room.

Fighting through the maddening pain, Elias gritted his teeth, before swiftly raising his hands and lunging the sharp end of the quill towards the position of his right eye.

It seemed like Elias was already at his wit's end, and had decided to make the logical trade of his eyes for his sanity!

To Elias, being blind in both eyes was a much better fate than ending up a madman!

As his hands lunged the quill towards his bloodshot eyes with desperate resolve, a shout akin to a bellowing roar echoed in Elias's mind, temporarily overshadowing the pain and pulling him out of the abyss.

Its contents were hard for Elias to make out, but he felt like he had heard the person desperately calling his name, which caused his hands to slightly pause.

PA!

Elias once again heard a snapping sound, but this time it appeared to signify the shutting down of his mind and body.

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His thoughts suddenly turned sluggish, as he felt his head fall onto the table while his consciousness slowly ebbed away with time.

At this point while Elias was at his most vulnerable, sleep came, and it came with its embrace of comfort to wash the pain away.

As his vision darkened, Elias seemed to catch a glimpse of a fairly slender hand being gently placed onto his forehead, filling him with a tender and safe feeling while the subtle scent of blooming flowers overtook his senses, finally putting him to sleep.

A long and distant sigh seemed to appear from a faraway place, a sigh which contained the heavy feelings of both longing and worry...

...

In a small town settlement that existed right in the middle of the Ash Highlands that separated the city of Lowe from its sister state, Daubernon, the night sky hung in still silence, lacking the gleam of stars and making the town seem dull and bleak.

The streets of the small town were oddly vacant, as if none of its inhabitants dared stay out late due to some unseen fear looming over their hearts.

Snow-like ash fell from the sky onto the shabby town, covering each of the poorly maintained houses in pale grey films.

In one of the commonly seen housing structures within this poorly maintained town, the only semblance of sound echoed out from a closed door, piercing the silence of the night with screams filled with pain and horror.

"Ahhhhh!!!"

A man with seemingly unimpressive looks was tied to a chair in the center of a dimly lit room, his shouts echoing as his face was gripped with pain.

The soft light of a wooden torch gently fell onto his face, illuminating his silhouette covered with deep, red blood splatters with multiple nails drilled into various parts of his body.

He seemed to be in deep pain, but also had a mocking look on his face as he addressed his aggressor with a tone filled with resentment.

"Is that the best you can do you little bitch? Come on why not try to torture me more? I won't tell you a single thing even if I have to give up my life!"

The man continued to yell and shout into the shadows beyond the reach of the light, but received no response to his provocations, as the room remained eerily silent.

The man however continued gazing forward, as if directing his words to a figure hiding in the backdrop of the room.

Seeing that he got no immediate response the man threw his head back while laughing maniacally, causing fresh bouts of blood to seep out of his wounds.

"Hahaha... Have you suddenly grown tired? Have you given up hope of extricating information from me? No that won't do, we've only been going at it for six hours, surely you can last longer.

"Come on try a little bit harder so I can see your weakened and defeated face before the time of my death!"

The man continued to laugh like an overwhelmed lunatic, causing the atmosphere in the room to become much more gloomy.

Lanterns went out in the houses surrounding the building, as if it’s inhabitants were trying to pretend like they hadn't noticed what was happening.

Even with the painful shouts and eerie laughter, not a single person tried to approach the building to investigate the situation. It was as if they had all collectively decided not to get involved!

The man's laughter continued to ring out for a few seconds, before a small rusted nail flew out from the darkness and swiftly penetrated his right eye, causing a rain of tissue and blood to spill out.

"Ahhhh!!!..."

The man once again shouted in pain, as his eyes continued to leak out fresh crimson blood.

A figure calmly emerged from the shadows, donning a pale green nun's attire symbolic of the clergyman of the Church of Grace.

If Elias was here at this moment he would have been able to instantly recognize this haunting figure, as the person's appearance was vastly similar to his church-ordained guardian, Sister Marie.

No it wasn't right to say it was similar to Sister Marie, because it was her!

This Reverend Sister emerged from the shadows like an omen of misfortune, her previously soft and gentle face now replaced with a cold and indifferent look.

"Noisy... Why must you be so noisy?."

Her tone was icy cold and without emotion, as she walked towards the pain-afflicted man with a small pouch of rusty nails tied to her waist and a black polished box in hand.

She stopped a few steps away from the man's aggrieved face, before twirling her hands in a drilling motion which caused most of the nails to burrow deeper into the man's body.

"Ahhh... You b*tch! It hurts godd*mmit, it fucking hurts!"

The man continued to shout as the nails dug deeper into his body, causing his skin to pale and covering him in fresh bouts of blood.

Sister Marie aggressively yanked the man's head backward, her eyes fixed on him as she twirled three nails in between her fingers.

"All of this will end if you just tell me what it is I want to know. I do not understand why you are being so tight-lipped about this. Aren't you supposed to be thinking about yourself first in this situation?"

The man's eyes which were previously filled with pain slowly relaxed, as if his maddening shouts had been nothing but an act. He calmly met Sister Marie's gaze, before once again bursting out in laughter.

"Hahaha... You really have no idea what you are getting yourself into, you naive little nun. I have never seen anyone actively pursue death for so long in my entire life as much as you do!

"I am tempted to actually give you the answer you seek so you can embrace the pitiful end you are looking for, but I know that if I do, I won't be able to escape 'their' wrath. Dying to you is a much better end than facing punishment from them!"

Sister Marie's eyes narrowed for the first time during her exchange with the man. She could feel the innate fear coming from the man when he made mention to 'them.'

She wondered who 'they' could be to make such a madman feel such instinctual fear and horror.

Sister Marie gazed at the man's mocking face for a few moments in silence, before bending down and unlocking the cover of the black polished box.

"Gregory, are you aware of the incident relating to the Black Ground Beatles from three years ago?"

'Why is this mad woman suddenly asking me such a question? Did she suddenly lose her mind?' The man named Gregory didn't understand where she was going with her question, but decided to entertain her since there wasn't any harm in doing so.

"The Black Ground Beatles? Do you mean the ones that were suddenly ordered to be contained by the Churches and Royal Families three years ago? Those same insects?"

Sister Marie calmly nodded her head after Gregory spoke, undoing the locks on the black polished box while she answered his questions.

"Yes, those same Beatles. You see prior to three years ago, the Black Ground Beatles were regular Mutated Beasts which were just a bit stronger than regular insects. Granted they were carnivores and liked to feast on flesh and blood, but it wasn't to the point where the various institutions would have been wary of them."

She opened the first layer of the black box, before revealing a small rune etched into white clear paper below. She then bit on her middle index finger, allowing a bit of her blood to trace over the rune while still talking to the confused man.

"They were also a great source of iron and protein, making them a very good staple in markets in multiple regions. That all changed three years ago though.

"It was revealed that three years ago, these mildly dangerous insects had undergone a genetic mutation, causing their diet to extend from flesh and blood to feasting on the spirit body. This caused the various Kings and Popes to react quite swiftly, as they were very popular within the mundane markets"

She finished tracing the rune on the white paper, causing another hidden lock to snap open and a tray to slot out from underneath.

She then reached out for the tray, pulling it out and revealing its contents to the light, which instantly caused the man's face to be overcome by pure horror for the first time.

"I was part of a team responsible for apprehending all of these little guys, and back then, due to my naively innocent nature, I came across five babies from a nest which I then took back to care for myself."

She then drew a prayer gesture across her chest, as if asking for forgiveness from the Benevolent Mother for the sin she had committed.

"These bugs had their designation changed afterwards, and had since been referred to as..."

Sister Marie paused, before looking at Gregory's fearful expression with playful eyes,

"Oddity - 1005 - V,

"The Soul Feasting Beatles."