Ch 1

*Jada

"Contrary to popular belief, not all demon swo… excuse me, demon weapons have in fact a meister."

Jada clenched her fists as she listened to Lord Death's voice in the scrying mirror. She and her twin brother Jadan were students at Death's Weapon Academy, but they had failed to find a meister for the third year in a row.

Jada was a genius, but she was also stubborn and proud. She refused to accept that she and her brother were destined to be alone. She believed that there was someone out there who could resonate with their souls and unlock their true potential. She had spent countless hours researching ancient texts and forbidden spells, looking for a way to find their meister.

"While uncommon, a demon weapon can get a non-combat-oriented job. In fact, the bakery on 8th Styx is run by a retired demon weapon, Jessica. Terrible what happened to her partner."

Jada felt a surge of anger and frustration. She didn't want to end up like Jessica, working in a bakery and mourning her lost partner. She wanted to be a hero, fighting alongside her brother and their meister.

"Well, I hope this covered your many concerns, and Mr. Jadan."

Jada bit her lip to stop herself from shouting. This was not fair. This was not right. They deserved better.

*Jadan

"Thank you for your time, Lord Death."

As the scrying mirror call clicked off, I took a deep breath and looked at my twin Jada. As students of Death's Weapon Academy, everyone was guaranteed one call with Lord Death himself yearly. I wrapped my arms around my shaking sister and gave her a squeeze, waiting for her to calm down. I was always a little less emotional than my sister. She was a genius, so it only made sense that her big brain was extra emotional.

As the shaking slowly turned into controlled breathing, I unconsciously followed the pattern. Breathe in, hold for seven seconds, and breathe out for seven seconds. As our heartbeats slowly started to sync, Jada switched from being in my arms to being on my right arm.

I looked down at the smooth white gauntlet and smiled. My twin Jada was a genius and she said she knew we had a meister. Lord Death was big and he sounded smart, but even though his brain was probably bigger than my body, he was not a genius like Jada. If my twin said we had a meister, then we had one. Lord Death wasn't perfect; if he was, the witches wouldn't have almost killed us all.

I made my way out of the academy and congratulated the other students who found their meister on my way out. Jada still hadn't said anything, so I gave her time; she didn't like it when I interrupted her thinking.

"One pass to 12th Styx please."

I handed over $5 and smiled as I took a seat on the train. See, each ticket was $5 a person and I only had to pay $5 because Jada was a weapon and not a person. I mean, she was still a person, so when she was a weapon I wasn't allowed to have her stuff. But instead of having to pay $10 we only had to pay $5. And Jada figured that out as soon as she saw the price board.

So when we were listening to Lord Death explain how we didn't have a meister, I wasn't worried because I knew he was wrong. She tried to explain it to me once about pacts made to gods and that's how demon weapons - not swords; Jada said that was desi... rude; she said it was rude to say demon swords - because I wasn't a sword; I was a gauntlet which was a weapon.

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"12th styx please exit for 12 Styx's."

I stared at the train speaker and started to think about how Lord Death, who was so great, had said demon sword instead of weapons. He corrected himself but if he was so great why wou...

"Jadan this is our stop, you promised you would remember this time."

I grabbed my bag with our stuff in it and scrambled out the train door to the train stop right on the edge of the city.

"Sorry Jada, I was busy thinking."

I walked towards Death's forest and started to think about dinner today; Jada bought a chicken for celebrating another year.

"That's okay, and don't worry about what Lord Death said earlier; I have a plan. When we get home I'll make some chicken stew and tomorrow we'll find out where our meister is."

I walked slightly faster with a smile on my face; I walked into Death's forest. Hopefully, a monster would attack on the way, I was starving.

*Jada

We make our way through the dense foliage of Death's Swamp, holding back the branches for each other as we go. It's been two weeks since we set foot in this humid hellhole, where mosquitoes feast on our blood.

Today is our 15th birthday, and we still haven't found a suitable meister. It's been a year since Lord Death practically told us to quit.

Some demon weapons would probably give up if the great and powerful Lord Death said so. But not us.

We've studied the ancient texts from the pyramid his son cleared. We've read sacred books from all over our shattered world. And they all point to one thing: The gods were bored. They created plants, then herbivores, then carnivores, then monsters, then demons, then witches, then humans. And then they stopped.

The gods felt threatened. They had gone too far. So they took the humans and split them into two making the whole broken and lesser for it.

Now at the bottom of the food chain, the humans were dying out. So we made a deal with the demons, who were tired of being preyed on by the witches. We don't know what the price was, but now demon weapons - humans who can turn into weapons - can always find their other half, their meister. And together, they can slowly tap into what was once our birthright the power that even the gods feared.

"Jada, slow down."

"Do you want to miss our chance, Jadan?" I turn around and face my twin brother with a scowl and hands on hips. He's not slow, he's lazy. The last person who called him slow probably still needs a straw to eat.

"…but"

I raise an eyebrow and stare at my slightly more masculine mirror image. We're different genders, but we look almost identical.

"What was that?"

"Nothing."

"Hmph. That's what I thought. Now hurry up, we should be close." I check the map again and quicken my pace as I see the clearing ahead. This is it. The Witch of Twilight's hut. A shifting area that moves based on the sun's angle during dusk. It takes a week to calculate its location and then you have 48 hours before it moves again. I feel a surge of adrenaline as I approach. A flash of light quickly engulfs me as my brother disappears and sleek black gauntlet now covers my arm.I walk up to the hut and slam my hand on the door.

"Knock." Crack

"Knock." Boom.

The door shatters into splinters and flies into the house. As we enter, we see a bleeding witch on the floor. She was probably heading to the door to check what breached her wards…Too bad she got hit by the full force of our attack.

"I'll only say this once: if you want to stay alive, you'll make the portal."

As we switch places with a flash of light, he stands there with a cruel smile on his face as he grabs the witch and slams her against the wall. Holding her up so her feet are dangling, his grip around her neck starts to tighten.

As my weapon form starts to heat up and turn red, I can almost taste the witch as she begins to burn. It's a strange sensation that feels like almost putting food in your mouth.

"Wait, wait, ow, ow. I'll do it, stop! You didn't even give me a chance to answer,Owowowow!"…

A week later

"A portal following your red string. I did what you wanted, now please leave." Crack. I look at Jadan with disbelief as he puts the witch's soul in his mouth. I glare at him as he shrugs.

"We were going to kill her anyway."

"Whatever. Don't swallow it, Jadan. Put it in its own jar and label it properly. It's been in your mouth. We don't know if witch souls will be available on the other side."

"We smell like burnt witch and blood. Let's clean up, and dress up nice, and go say hi to our meister," I say, pinching his cheeks that are bulging like a hamster with a seed.

Ignoring his spitting sound and his scribbling on the jar, I stare at the portal with hesitation. It's a one-way trip for two and…

"Jada, I always knew you were right."

Looking at Jadan who's also staring at the portal, a smirk crosses my face."Exactly. Now hurry up and shower. We have to make a good first impression."

Yeah, we're going to be the best thing that ever happened to them.