Chapter Text
Calliope Mori was an immortal being, an Avatar of Death whose primary job was to collect the souls of those who have died and oversee said souls. Because of this, she was granted almost omnipotent abilities, one of which included was the ability for her to see to the future. However, Cali could never expect to be running through a filthy alleyway, clothes torn and body covered with wounds that were refusing to heal.
Calli's weak legs did their best to carry the reaper through the alleyway however, there was no denying that they were threatening to give out at any moment. She could not give up now, for behind her were dark-armored men armed with rifles that had been pursuing her for hours. Locks of her pink hair whipped back and forth from behind her like a majestic mane as the freezing wind blew against her figure, biting on her face like an annoying scrouge of mosquitos and causing her hair to sprawl around her eyes and obscure her vision. And yet she still ran, stumbled, tripping over herself as she brushed off the feelings of fatigue and pain that quickly overwhelmed her, desperate for her and a certain phoenix that she had been carrying to escape the armored men.
Calli winced as a bullet flew past her and graze a bit of her cheek, enough to draw blood. Oh for fuck's sake. Crimson eyes land on a gap on the walls, small enough that the men would not be able to go in with their clunky armor and huge stature, big enough that Calli could just slip through with Kiara.
"Hurry up!" Calli heard a rough voice shout from behind her as she started to slow down, another bullet grazes her arm. They were getting closer. "The bitch is getting away!"
With no choice, Calli opted to try and slip through the gap, it was better than being captured by the men. She came to a sudden stop and swept around to face them.
"Conversus ad umbras!"The trash cans and many debris that littered close to Calli suddenly dissolved into a black mist, growing thick enough that Calli barely could see the men anymore. The last thing she saw before the men were completely out of her view was them stopping in front of the black mist, cursing and shooting at the mist. Calli snickered, it was no ordinary mist, for it was thick enough that it could stop the bullets from reaching her.
Sucks to be them. Calli knew that in a short amount of time, that mist would quickly disappear. With no time to waste, she slowly enters through the gap, going carefully as to not wake up Kiara from her slumber.
Eventually, Calli managed to slip through to the other side. Calli pressed herself against a nearby wall and held her breath, just as she sees the men run past the gap, shouting incoherent words and curses.
Calli was finally safe- for now. Who knew that those armored were dumb as rocks, too concentrated on the pursuit that they didn't notice a simple gap in the walls that was plain in view. I need a place to hide and tend to this shitty bird's wounds.
Just in her luck, Calli noticed a building not too far from her, and from the looks of it, it looked abandoned and ready to topple over with just a simple touch. It wasn't the best place to hide away for a temporary time, but it was a better option than staying out in the open where the men might double back and find them again. She pulled away from the wall and starts to limp towards the abandoned building.
In Calli's arms, Kiara began to squirm and groan, muttering words too quiet that Calli couldn't hear. Perhaps it was another nightmare, Kiara had been getting those lately.
"Please stop moving, shitty bird. I don't want to drop you." Calli pleaded.
There was no reply from the phoenix.
Kiara doesn't move again, seemingly urged back to a calmer dream. Though it scared Calli, it almost felt like she was carrying a corpse rather than a sleeping person.
Calli arrived at the abandoned building eyes turning widen as she comprehends just how tall the building was. The architecture was definitely past it's prime, cracks and crevices appearing everywhere in the walls and columns, and metal rebars sticking out from the dusty concrete. There was debris scattered around the ground floor like fallen Jenga bricks. Natural vegetation grew in and out of the abandoned building, like it was everywhere, on the floor, the walls, wrapped around the columns like snakes, and even on the debris. it was like a concrete jungle. If the looks weren't bad enough, there was just this terrible scent in the air that reeked of piss and vile.
What a great first impression. However, Calli couldn't complain, at least hiding in the building was safer than outside.
Calli climbed up the stairs until she reached the fourth floor. It was in a much 'cleaner' state than the ground floor, thankfully.
The fourth floor consisted of a single, large corridor. On one side, Calli could see four doors, all beaten and battered and was just hanging off the hinge. Calli assumed that those doors led to a room each. To the other side- opposite to the doors- were giant windows and through it, Calli could see all the houses, all tucked away and quiet for the night. The corridor was blanketed by a thin sheet of moonlight that seeped through the windows, and it gave off this feeling of ethereal beauty that seemed all too peaceful.
This place must have been an old apartment complex. Calli walked towards the closest door and yanked it open. Before her, was just a simple room, and just like the rest of the building, had cracks, cobwebs, and vegetation everywhere. To the far left corner of the room, there was an old mattress, soiled with what vaguely looks like bloodstains.
"Sorry, Kiara," Calli mumbled as she placed Kiara on the mattress. "I know it's against several health code violations but we don't have any choice."
Kiara groaned in response. She was probably still dreaming, but at least she was still alive.
"I'm afraid I have to take a look at your wound, excuse me." Calli lifts up Kiara's shirt, just past the hips, and examined the ugly gash that ran along the length of her stomach. The gash ran deeper than Calli expected, and the amount of blood oozing from it was starting to scare Calli.
"Shit. SHIT!" Calli cursed. "Those fucking bastards, I swear..."
"Ca...Calli?" Came Kiara's weak voice that snapped Calli from her rage. "Wha...What-"
Calli held onto Kiara's hands. "Shhh, please rest, I'll...I-"
"Calli, you're injured too," Kiara interrupted, pointing towards the bullet wound on her legs. "You can't...say much..."
Calli raised Kiara's hand and pressed it against her temple as Kiara went back to sleep. "I know, I know. But I'll be fine, but please Kiara, don't die...please."
I need to treat that wound. Calli looked around for anything to cover and clean the wound, but all she could see were just empty beer bottles and other bits and bobs. ...There's nothing fucking here!
Calli took a deep breath and collapsed to her knees. Anger flashed through her, hot and hungry, so hungry that she was almost willing to storm back to the men and massacre them. But after that, what next? She ad Kiara had nowhere to go, she had no one but Kiara, who laid there, dying, but if she did nothing, Kiara would die and revive back at the compound where they were held. Bitterness filled her throat and she clung to her rage. Calli's body heaved, then tears rolled down her cheeks, lit by the pale moonlight. This was all just frustrating.
Then Calli heard footsteps and the noises of glass breaking right outside the room, and she snapped back to reality. She quickly turned around and summoned her scythe from her great 'pyrotechnics' of miasma and shadows.
"Who's there!?" She demanded, raising her scythe. She stared at the doorway and caught sight of slight movements in the shadows.
Shit, shit, shit! Calli cursed in her thoughts. Just in her luck, one problem after another.
"Woah, Woah, calm down there!" Calli heard a voice from outside, panicked, and probably didn't expect the scythe to appear from out of nowhere.
A teen, probably no more than 15 walked into the room. Despite her youthful look, there was just something about her that felt wise or mature."I've got some supplies you probably need."
"Why should I trust you?!" Calli exclaimed, lowering her scythe. "For all we know, you're probably here to kill us!"
"No no, it's not like that," The girl replied as she waved that notion away. "I'm from next door, well what's left of next door anyways, and heard you say something about a wound." The girl pulled out a small first aid kit from behind her.
Calli glared at her. "...I swear if you take a step closer, I will end your life."
"Please don't, I'm not planning on dying quite yet."
Calli was suspicious of this random girl that came out of nowhere, but there was no way in hell she was going to deny help when she desperately needed it. What choice did she even have? Kiara was bleeding to death and had nowhere to go. She slowly reached for the first aid kit, the girl urging for her to take it. As soon as Calli's hand grasp the kit's handle, she immediately retreated back, bringing the kit with her.
"Well...um," The girl began, leaning against the doorway. "I'll stay here if you need some help, I have some experience when it comes with...this sort of stuff."
Calli opened the kit and sighed in relief as she found the rubbing alcohol and gauze bandages. "I think I'll be good for now."
"Mind telling me what happened? Why you two look like you just went through hell?"
"Because we practically just did," Calli responded as she sets the rubbing alcohol and bandages on the floor. "...We just escaped the ANTIs"
The girl's eyes widened. "Ohohoho shiiiiit...you guys-"
"...Yeah, we're what you humans call 'Mythos'" Calli interrupted. "If you hadn't realized."
"Huh, shoulda figured..." The girl said, rubbing the back of her head sheepishly. "With that scythe and...stuff."
"We managed to escape one of their compounds," Calli began, gesturing towards Kiara. "My...friend here, tried to burn the whole place down. Something exploded and the shrapnel struck her and left a nasty gash."
The girl tilts her head forward to get a better look and winced as soon as she saw how bad the wound looked. "Shit man, that looks like it'll need more than alcohol and bandages."
"You think?"
"The wound, it's pretty deep. Might need to stitch it up, bandages won't simply do the trick."
Calli clicked her tongue. She should have known, too much blood was coming out making it obvious it was deep. "Well, can you stitch the wound then?" She asked the girl, she had no patience left, Kiara would probably die if she stayed patient.
However, the girl shook her head and Calli was more than tempted to walk over and wring her neck.
"But I do know some people who can." The girl said, and those words were probably the most hopeful thing Calli had ever heard in her undead life.
The girl pulled out a card from her coat, one that looked like it was folded in many times. Calli assumed that years of staying in a pocket didn't do many wonders to it, it just looked old...and a bit yellowish. Although faded, the words 'Cover Corps' could still be read, written on the card in black along with an address Calli was unfamiliar with.
"Cover Corps?" Calli took the card the girl offered her and kept turning it around to see what was special about it. "What the fuck is this 'Cover Corps'?"
"It's a group and not just any group," The girl replied. "It's a revolutionary group that's trying to liberate the oppression of Mythoses"
Calli scoffed. "People are fighting against the ANTIs? Please, that's gotta be the worst idea ever."
The girl gave a small chuckle and made her way towards Calli. The latter heard the movement from behind her and quickly swept around. Her hand was already grasping the handle of her scythe, and if the girl were to do anything to them, one slash of her scythe would suffice. However, in contradiction to Calli's fears, the girl smiled and motioned towards the empty spot beside her.
"May I?"
Calli frowned. "What?"
"May I help you?" The girl repeated.
The reaper hesitated. The first human she'd interacted with ever since her and Kiara's escape from the compound and they were willing to help a Mythos. It was all too suspicious.
However, there was a small part of Calli that told her, that maybe the girl really did want to help Calli and Kiara and was a normal person with a shred of decency that was rare amongst the shitstorm the world had become. Perhaps, for once Calli admitted must have been overreacting, it had been a long day.
With one last glare at the girl, Calli shifted aside to give space. The girl took her place beside Calli and was careful to give a bit of space between them.
It was still fucking awkward though.
The girl couched, breaking the awkward tension. "We should take care of the wound on her stomach so we don't risk any infections," The girl pulled out a clean rag from her coat. "Do you have any experience with this sort of thing?"
"Not...really," Calli mumbled. "In my line of work, saving lives isn't really..." Her eyes darted towards her scythe. The girl immediately understood what she meant and didn't question any further.
"How much do you know?"
"Well, all I know is to clean the wound first, then bandage it," Calli replied, grabbing the bottle of alcohol. "Is that what we're going to do."
The girl shook her head. "We need to do something first before we do that." The girl reached over and pressed the clean rag against the wound on Kiara's stomach.
Kiara groaned in response. Calli looked on in worry and gripped onto the girl's hand. "What are you doing?" The former asked, a threat in her voice.
"I'm just applying pressure on the wound, it helps the blood's clotting factors to do its work." The girl replied.
Calli stared at the girl as if she didn't believe what she had said. She let go of her hand but still kept a watching eye on her, just in case she didn't anything...rash. The girl sighed in relief and continued pressing the rag onto Kiara's wound.
There was just an uncomfortable tension in the room as the girl tended to Kiara's wound. Calli towered over the girl like a silent guardian, watching and waiting with her hand just close enough to her scythe that if the girl were to do anything to Kiara, she could quickly grab it and kill her. The girl felt overwhelming pressure from behind her, she decided to just ignore it and concentrate on the injured girl before her.
Several moments pass by like a blur as the girl lifted the rag and threw it to the ground. "Hey, could you grab the bottle of alcohol and clean the wound?"
Calli nodded and immediately heeded the girl's instructions, grabbing the bottle of alcohol and cotton balls in the first aid kit. She poured a bit of alcohol on the cotton ball and let it soak through. Gently, she dabbed the soaked cotton ball against the wound.
Calli heard Kiara wince from the pain and flinched. "Oh shit, sorry...Kiara" Her apology fell on deaf ears. She continued rubbing the cotton ball over the wound, cleaning out the blood and dirt surrounding it.
"Good job," The girl said as she reached over towards Calli and grabbed the bandages in front of the reaper. "After that, get another cotton ball and dab the wound carefully so we can dry it."
"What are you going to do?" Calli asked as she immediately did what the girl instructed.
"I'm going to bandage the wound, it'll slow down the bleeding enough that you can get to Cover Corps without her dying on the way." The girl replied. "Mind lifting her a bit?"
"Oh yeah, Cover Corps, do you think they will actually help us?"
"Ms. Reaper, trust me on this, they are literally the only ones in this entire world that are willing to help Mythoses." The girl replied. "They take in anyone and help them hide from the ANTI's"
"Yes, you've told me that but is it actually working? This liberating of Mythoses."
"Yes! It is, you and your friend can go over there and see for yourself, I'll even help you go to them."
Calli paused, finding it hard to speak all of a sudden. She couldn't find the correct words to convey her thanks to the girl.
"I...um- thank you." Calli finally spoke, turning away.
The girl smiled. "No problem, it isn't much but it's the least I can do," The girl replied. "Also, could you...actually lift up her friend here so it's easier to bandage her."
"Huh?" Calli looked at the girl confused.
"Lift her up please, so I can wrap the bandage around her stomach." The girl repeated, holding up the roll of bandages for Calli to see.
Calli's eyes brightened in realization. "Oh yeah! Sorry." Calli lifted up Kiara slowly, careful to not wake her from her slumber. The girl gave a small smile as thanks and started to wrap the bandage around Kiara's stomach straight away.
Calli sat beside the girl silently. Watching, waiting. It was clear to Calli that the girl was very much used to this and was put through this situation many times before. Nimble fingers finely wrapping with the bandages, and when the girl finished and admired her handiwork, Calli noticed that the bandages were wrapped neatly around Kiara's stomach.
And suddenly, Calli found herself thankful that the girl came along and practically saved them from their plight. However, among these thoughts, she also found it hard to understand that this girl, human or not, was willing to help her and Kiara- two misfits who were hunted down by the government- knowing that doing so would risk her life.
For once in this cesspit of a city, Calli was filled with hope.
2 Years Later
Night had fallen. The afternoon sky had finally given way, and now all you could see above you was just a blank canopy of inky darkness that stretched out for infinity over your heads. There was no cloud in sight, so you could perfectly see that adorning the darkness were millions of stars, its empyrean glow that gleamed and sparkled with a dazzling light weaving through the shadows. The full moon hung lazily at the top of the world, its hazy light aiding the stars to light the darkness.
Beneath the peaceful setting of the night sky, stood a bustling metropolis. Buildings of jumbled shapes filled most of the city, and then there were the rows of skyscrapers that stretched from above, windows alight from within. But they were not tall enough to reach the star-studded sky. The cityscape was unsurprisingly urban, There was no vegetation in sight, just streets and walkways of concrete, lit by curtains of light that came from the buzzing street lights. At this time around, the city was at a buzz tonight, the streets would be crowded with thousands of people. It was a weekend and like what most people do, many had set out to drink, dance, laugh, and most importantly, to party hard as a way to celebrate the day.
However, few chose to remain out of the parties and drinking, preferring the tranquil lull of a quiet night, going through Youtube, or reading a good book or two. Among these quiet few was Liria, who really preferred to be sleeping at that time of the night, but the noises and commotion from the streets below had prevented her from doing so.
Liria had wanted to sleep on the bed she had bought from a nearby store that sold second-handed furniture at a rather cheap price, bought using a month's worth of savings and thievery. It may have been old and the mattress had faint traces of stains, but she couldn't deny the fact that it was quite comfortable, more comfortable than a slab of concrete that she was used to sleeping on anyway. It was the first time she had owned a bed for as long as she could remember, and was quite glad that she didn't have to sleep on the ground anymore.
It would have been better if I got myself an apartment, but this abandoned building is good enough. Liria laid on the bed, bored out of her mind from reading the same book- A Tale of Two Cities- over and over again, looking at the cracked ceiling as she mulled over several thoughts.
Liria had called this abandoned apartment complex home for 5 years now. For the first three years, she had stationed herself in a room on the fourth floor and had moved to the building's rooftop bar after wanting a bit of a view of the whole city. The rooftop bar was much more cleaner and 'intact' than the rest of the building, and the chairs and tables that were scattered around before were pretty easy to throw away. She managed to clean up the rest of the place too, filled it with things of her liking- old posters of her favorite shows, random books she bought from a dollar store or stole, bits and bobs like that. Her most favorite was the PC, monitor, and keyboard that a nice old man had given her, and had managed to get work after several months of tampering with components- and getting the next-door rich guy's WIFI password. Now she mainly used it to study, get her mind out from the pain of boredom.
It wasn't like she had many friends to play video games with any way or the time to do so too.
Liria looked at her phone- an old, outdated version that she had owned for quite some time now- to wait for a special call that she had been expecting. A few minutes passed and nothing came up, only a few notifications that occasionally popped up to remind Liria to return to a game she had given up on playing.
Liria thought it was probably time to have a part-time job, it was a much more efficient way to earn money than doing odd jobs for people. A few days ago, she found a poster advertising a local company was having a shortage of employees and was needing more- no experience needed. She had applied for it, and after the interview, was told that they were to give her a call- if she was accepted of course.
Some time had passed by and Liria was beginning to lose hope. With a sigh, Liria slipped out of her bed and put on her worn out, blue hoodie. Seeing it was an hour until midnight, Liria thought it was time to power down the generator that powered all the electronics in her hideaway and head to sleep.
She headed over towards the generator, tucked away and hidden in a corner outside the bar, and flicked the switch off. Immediately, the gentle hum of the generator quietened down and the area was engulfed in darkness- save a tiny flicker of light from the oil lamp she left on top of a barrel nearby her bed.
Ah fuck, it's late. Liria thought as she staggered back inside the bar as she felt her eyelids becoming heavy as lead.
Liria retreated to her bed and quickly tossed herself on top of it. As her head hits the pillow, an exhausted feeling unexpectedly overcame her, like an ocean's wave crashing down in a forceful movement against a shore. People were still partying below, laughter, cheerful banter and the familiar beats of EDM music pulsated in the night. The noise was blaring and distracting, but Liria brushed it off as her mind distorted into a null void, that feeling as if it was lulling her to enter the infinite dimension of unconsciousness and dreams. She hadn't realized she'd been tired the entire day, the anxiety of waiting for the call had distracted her mind from such a simple thing.
As Liria let her consciousness ebb away into nothingness, letting that feeling take her to the empty void know as sleep, she saw a white flash in the corner of her eyes, coming out from behind a row of buildings nearby.
Liria lifted her head up and stared at the direction the flash came from.
"Wha-".
Liria was interrupted by a deafening noise like extended thunder that reverberated over the partying city. Liria immediately got out of bed, looked up, and witnessed as a fist of orange flames and smoke punched it's way up into the atmosphere. The gigantic flames flattened then spread to form a mushroom shape. Liria continued to watch, as the flames were twisting, writhing, and changing from one shape to another; once a huge ball of orange flames in the sky, not nothing but a huge fog of darkness that covered the part of the city where the flames appeared with smog.
The ground began to shake vigorously. Liria found it hard to keep herself balanced and stay on her feet as the building shook and trembled beneath her. From below, Liria could hear the people screaming, panicking, and dazed in a confused state as they tried to understand what just happened.
It wasn't every day that a random explosion just showed up in the middle of Tokyo. Something was definitely up.
"Holy shit, what the fuck is going on!" Liria waited for the shaking to stop and when it did, she quickly stumbled her way through the darkness towards a portable radio she kept on top of her desk near her bed.
She frantically flicked through multiple channels in the radio, hoping to find one that was audible. Sadly, all that came out was static. Liria frowned, continuing to switch through the channels. More static.
Liria clicked her tongue, she was turning impatient. With a cry, she slammed her hand on top of the radio, expecting it to just suddenly work. Luck was on Liria's side because fortunately, it worked.
There was still some static from the radio, but Liria could just barely hear comprehensible words.
"Explosion at Shibuya...revolutionary...ANTIs have...-patched." The radio turned back to static, and no words could be heard anymore.
Liria stared at the radio in disbelief. From what Liria gathered, there was yet another attempt at liberating hundreds of imprisoned Mythoses at a massive ANTI compound located in the middle of Shibuya- and she had a pretty good guess who was doing so.
Liria didn't want to miss this. Whoever was attacking the compound right now, they were having a successful attempt at doing so. Liria snapped back to reality, back to the screaming and flames, and hurried over to the fire escape beside the building- the only entranceway and exit to the hideaway ever since Liria sealed the door that led to the rest of the building.
Liria quickly ran down the fire escape, almost tripping on her way to the ground. Seeing that there was no time to release the ladders at the end, she hopped down and landed on a nearby mattress with a heap. She cringed as she felt the pain of ground shock run through her ankles.
Liria picked herself up with a huff and began to stumble towards the direction where she saw the explosion. She picked up the pace and started to run as the pain in her ankle left, against a current of people running towards the opposite direction she was heading. The noises were much louder in the ground, a crescendo of discord compiled from the panicked screams, deafening sirens of ambulances and police cars, and that pulsating EDM song Liria heard earlier that carried the beat.
Liria looked around her surroundings as she ran. People were abandoning their cars and opting to travel on foot seeing as the street was completely blocked with more cars, policemen ushering people to safety, and a helicopter whizzed pass above. She was surprised that she hadn't seen a single ANTI squad amongst what she saw.
They're probably there anyway, they're fucking quick at responding. Liria mused.
Liria heard another explosion amidst the chaos, and the ground shook again. The girl continued to run, almost tripping on her feet as the tremors threw off her sense of equilibrium. She carefully traversed through the ocean of people, slipping through any spaces she could pass through.
A third explosion hit and it was much louder, Liria assumed that she would arrive at her destination. As Liria continued on, she spotted a couple of buildings reduced into debris from the explosion, a roaring blaze slowly overtaking them. Her eyes widened in horror as she noticed a few arms stick out from the rubble.
The architecture of the buildings in the area had always been weak, Liria had heard some of the older residents mention how the Government didn't bother on funding the restoration of the buildings in the area. Instead, they opted to spend all of it on the support and creation of the ANTIs, a decision that many residents thought was a bad idea.
An unlucky few hadn't gotten out in time when the buildings collapsed from the force of the explosion, they were crushed and their bodies were left in the dust.
Liria looked away and kept moving forwards, there was no time to mourn about people she never knew.
There was more debris in the streets and collapsed buildings as Liria moved further, and along with it were more bodies. She knew she was getting closer to the epicenter of the first explosion. Then the gunfire started. Deafening, and made Liria's ears ring from each shot fired. Amongst the burst of gunfire were voices, cursing, screaming, yelling. Liria could not hear what they were saying over the gunshots, but just from how frantic their screaming had become, Liria could guess something was wrong.
The smell in the air had hit and Liria almost doubled back from the horrible stench. The bitter wind- it carried the acrid scent of gunpowder and blood and it swept across the area and immediately overwhelmed Liria's nose, felt like her nose was set aflame. The ground was slick with blood, too much blood. Liria crouched and began moving at a slower pace, without careful footwork she would definitely slip on the blood.
A battle. A real battle was happening in the streets of Shibuya.
Adrenaline coursed through Liria's body like a carp in a river and she felt her heart begin to beat faster. She smiled- as she always does whenever the rush hits her. She couldn't never tell if this adrenaline rush stemmed from fear or excitement.
She spotted a plume of smoke rising nearby and immediately headed towards it. More gunshots rang through the air, louder than before. The stench of gunpowder is stronger.
A bullet whizzed past Liria from behind and missed her by an inch, and struck a concrete barrier in front of her. She heard someone shout something from behind her, Liria couldn't be bothered trying to comprehend the words. Thinking quickly she jumped over the concrete barrier and hid behind it, just as another bullet flew past.
"Get out from there and put your hands behind your back!" Liria heard the assailant shout. She heard the familiar click of a gun reloading and decided not to take her chances and follow the assailant's demands.
"Why don't you fuck off man, you're probably going to shoot me!" Liria retorted, urging to take a peek of the assailant and looked out from the barrier's side.
The assailant was a giant of a man, with a massive frame that could easily tower over you. He was heavily armored- helmet and everything- wearing the most advanced body armor the modern age could design. What got Liria's attention was the symbol on the man's bullet-proof tactical vest, she felt dread as she realized what that symbol was.
It was the symbol used by the ANTIs.
There was definitely no way she was getting out from her spot, ANTIs were never good at reasoning and she knew that as soon as she would get out, the man would just shoot her- no words exchanged, no bargaining.
Another gunshot. "I said, get out from behind there or I'll fucking shoot you!" The man demanded once more.
"Holy fuck man, you're literally shooting at me, why the fuck would I get out from-" Liria froze, she couldn't get any more words from her mouth. Behind the man, a dark fog began to form, a swirling, cascading darkness that seemed to be...alive.
"W-wha..?" The man swept around and almost dropped his gun at the sight of the fog. "S-Shit! it's fucking here!"
He began shooting frantically at the fog, hitting anything he could. However, the bullets just flew through the fog and struck whatever was behind it. The man cursed, and clumsily reloaded another found into his gun.
Liria watched in disbelief and confusion as the fog began to shift- twisting and turning from its ethereal form, and shaping itself into a more humanoid being. The man finished reloading and aimed his gun at the fog once more, only to find himself fixed in the spot with a frozen state of fear.
The fog formed itself into a young lady, wearing a black, worn-out cloak and veil, who appeared to be in her mid-20s, with shimmering crimson eyes, and lustrous, vibrant pink hair that flowed and brushed her pale skin. There was a strong scent of chrysanthemums that lingered in the air, replacing the stench of blood and gunpowder.
Holy fuck the woman was beautiful, the man probably thought.
Too bad she was the enemy, and she was there to kill him.
Shadows gathered themselves onto the woman's open hands, swirling, shifting; It began to form itself into a shape, and in the end, it solidified itself into a massive scythe.
"Ah, fuck, FUCK!" The man tried to will himself to shoot but realized he could no longer operate his body and remained frozen as the lady raised her scythe.
"Rest." The woman uttered.
The lady cleaved the man's head off with one clean, quick swipe of her scythe. The head toppled to the floor with a sickening thud and rolled towards the concrete barrier, facial expression frozen in a silent scream.
Liria gasped and stumbled away from her hiding spot. She immediately froze, the woman must have definitely heard her. She heard a clanking noise and she looked up. The woman stood right in front of Liria, she easily towered over her, like a silent guardian. Her crimson eyes were locked onto Liria's own eyes, piercing, and cold.
Those eyes felt rather familiar, Liria swore she saw them before. It wasn't just the eyes too, as Liria took her time to scan the woman, something about the woman just felt oddly familiar. The question was, had she ever met this woman before? And if she did and forgot, it was a rather implausible theory, as what was there to forget about the woman? The crimson eyes, the pink hair, she could be the only one out there to have those characteristics.
The look on the woman's face betrayed to hide that she too, was processing the same thoughts and feelings as Liria was going through. However, she quickly brushed that feeling off and raised her scythe, preparing to cleave Liria's head off like what she had done to the man.
Liria felt that rush of adrenaline course through her body again, and this time for sure, she knew it was through fear.
"Who are you?" The woman demanded, scowling. "Are you a part of the ANTIs too?"
Liria gulped, this woman was goddamn terrifying.
「Next time」
"Have we met before?"
"Calli, stop! That's her-!"
"Oh god, how did I get here?"
"Welcome, we've been expecting you."