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Open your eyes and embrace this new world.
Are they open? Of course they are.
Can you see nothing? But aren’t your eyes open wide? Of course you still can’t see anything– the world around you is still dark. You belong within this world, a world where darkness consumes everyone and the City.
Now, start moving. One leg forward, and then the other forward. Left, right, left, right. There you go, now you are walking within the darkness, at least you can do that. Just keep going.
A light. You can see it too, don’t you?
You know what to do. Farewell, Sinner.
—
Eyes opened to stare at the skies of black, stars that barely glimmered within the darkness that consumed them all. A cold breath escaped his lips, back pressed to the itchy grass and ruined dirt that stained his back, the form of his breath following behind, showing just how cold it was. He blinked twice before slowly picking himself off the ground to sit down instead.
He stared at his hands– half gloves, black, the other half showing his fair skin. He looked down at his clothes– a plain white shirt under a black vest that was both tucked into a black waist belt, the sleeves rolled up to his elbows and black ribbons of fabric similar to his gloves tied loosely around his arms. He wore black pants with the same colored shoes, though his pants had a minor gradient shifting from black to a more blood-like color to the end.
Attached to his vest, there was an ID with the name part scribbled out with scratches, the only two visible parts of the ID being a name of something called LCB – Proj. No Name and a photo of what he supposedly looked like— blond hair that was tied into a small ponytail, glasses that he wasn’t wearing right now, hiding his pale red eyes that held no emotion.
He looked around from where he sat. Nothing but forest trees that towered above him. The moon didn’t give any light, as it hid within the leaves that rustled as the winds blew softly by, and no sound of birds chirping made the area quiet and tense.
Where was he?
—
“How much further until we reach the new guy?”
“I bet he’s already dead!”
“Don’t say that ■■■! He could be still alive… somewhere.”
“■■■■■■ is right. The compass points forward.”
“Into the forest? ■■■■, have you lost your mind or…?”
“His EGO is never wrong.”
“... you’ll be feeding Eos today for this.”
“Forward.”
—
The sound of a horn blared softly from the trees, perking his interest as he scrambled up to his feet. He looked around, eyes darting from one tree to another, the smallest breeze that brushed the leaves inflicting paranoia that it was a creature ready to strike at him.
If a creature did strike at him, there was no way he could protect himself– no weapon, no idea if he could even fight back himself, he was practically powerless to whatever would try to injure him… or worse, kill him.
All he could do was hold his fists up to his face and pray nothing popped out.
The sound of the horn blared even louder, and from the trees, he could see the blaring headlights dashing towards him. He scrambled away to the side as the trees rippled and snapped from the strength of the bus as it crashed through and slowed to where he now stood, shakened by the sudden scare.
The bus was made of a dark copper-like material, with the front part of it looking like the front of a train. There was a logo made of the same material, but it was crossed out with metal sheets that boarded it up. There were windows on the side, but they were more like cell windows– iron bars which were also boarded up by metal sheets, making it barely impossible to see inside the bus. The wheels had spikes forming out, and the wheel itself looked like train wheels with more strength and danger to them.
Doors opened, and he backed up slightly as a figure walked out with ease on their shoulders.
The figure had white hair that reached the back of his neck, his eye shining a pale blue while the other was covered by an eyepatch. His skin was pale, and the outfit he wore bore similar resemblance to what he wore– a plain white shirt under a black vest, with the same black pants and shoes. The only major difference was that he wore a long black coat with an ID hanging on the chest, and around his waist was a silver chain that connected to a compass of some sort.
He said nothing at first, only staring at him with an empty expression. Then, his hand clasped the compass and snapped it open. From where he was, the needle pointed forward— right towards the confused Sinner who stared at him with fear.
“You’re the new Sinner.” He finally spoke up, closing the compass and letting it hang back around his waist. “I am Sand, number 3 of the Sinners who are to accompany you.”
“What?” He muttered back, blinking rapidly.
The person, Sand, however, looked around, seemingly to ignore whatever he just asked. “I’m rather surprised you survived this long out here. I would have expected you to be found by the other Corps.”
Corps?
“Or rather,” He looked back, and for a moment, he swore he saw a glimmer of a charging blue in his eye. “I would expect to find crows feasting on your remains.”
His eyes widened at the idea of such a concept.
From the entrance of the bus, another head popped out from the edge. He had brown hair that fluffed up, and his eyes were filled with concern and a hint of fear. “Sand, the clock is going haywire…”
At that, the Sinner sighed and turned towards the other. “Then let’s get going.” As he made his way back, he looked over his shoulder to the still confused Sinner and narrowed his expression, a shadow overcasting his face. “Would you like your body to become food for the crows?”
The other shook his head in a panic.
“Then get on.” That was all he needed as he scrambled over and shuffled onto the bus steps.
—
As the door closed behind the two, the confused Sinner looked around at the interior of the bus; it was warm, both in atmosphere and in lighting. There were booths where a few more sat at, and they all stared at him either with a bored expression or a curious look. The tables that sat with the booths had a plain white tablecloth over them, but it was very obvious they hadn’t been cleaned in a long time— the bloodstains and dirt splattered on the fabric sent shivers down his spine.
Sand coughed, making sure the others had his full attention. “He’s alive. The compass proves so otherwise.”
From the closest booth of the two, a Sinner with dreadlocks and similarly dressed in the same uniform as the others propped himself up on the seat with his knees, leaning forward on the top part of the seat with a smile. “So you are alive! Dang, guess that’s a bet lost.” As he said that, he turned around to the other Sinner sitting across from him.
The Sinner in question had blond hair styled into a jellyfish-like cut, with two long strands resting on his shoulders. He wore the same uniform, but just like him, he had no jacket on. Unlike him, however, he wore a pure white vest with gold linings and black gloves. The Sinner rolled his eyes and scoffed. “Of course he wasn’t dead. Why do you always assume a Sinner is dead?”
“What did I say about bets?” Sand questioned, raising his brow at the two.
“Bets are not allowed.” The two responded, with the dreadlock Sinner slumping back into his seat with a roll of his eyes.
Meanwhile, a Sinner with the same white hair as Sand stood up from his seat at the booth, walking over to the two and stopping in front of him. “It’s nice to meet you, even if the matter doesn’t match it.”
“Uh..” The confused Sinner choked out. “Y–yeah. Same, I guess?”
The Sinner laughed, shaking his head. “Perhaps introductions are in order!” He looked over to Sand, who only nodded in response with no emotion. “In that case– my name is Branzy, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”
The Sinner with blond hair straightens up from his seat, only waving at him. “Daniel. Number 5 of the Sinners.”
The Sinner with dreadlocks poked his head up from the booth seat again, extending his hand out with vigor. “Jay! Number 4 of the Sinners and much better than Daniel!”
As he went to shake his hand, a swift dagger flew past Jay’s head, barely skimming past his own cheek as he jumped back, the thunk of the blade stabbing into the wall. Sand’s eye narrowed towards Daniel, who’s hand was outstretched from the blade he threw meticulously at the former. “He started it.”
“Enough.” Sand ordered, shutting down any sort of argument the other was ready to start. With a sigh, Daniel shot up from his seat and made the walk of shame over to the blade, ripping it out from the wall with a huff. He then walked over to Sand, who’s hand was outstretched, and slammed the dagger into his hand, making no direct eye contact with him.
As Jay shook the new Sinner’s hand, another arose from the booth where Branzy came from, patting Daniel’s shoulder as the other walked past him and placed himself into a separate booth that wasn’t where he was before, staring out ahead.
The Sinner with brown hair was one that he recognized as the one who poked his head out the bus entrance. From where the lighting was, he could get a better look at him; brown hair that was fluffed up, dark navy eyes that held no more fear but rather uncertainty, and who wore the same uniform as everyone else, with his coat reaching to his knees. In his hands, he held what seemed to be a pocket watch, the outer casing of it scratched up and the cover rusted beyond recognition.
“The name’s Rek, number 6 of the Sinners.” He spoke, smiling slightly. “Sorry about the others, you’ll get used to them.”
Will I really, he thought to himself.
“What’s your name?” Rek asked.
He felt his mouth go dry. “I uh… uh, it’s uh…” He gulped. “I don’t remember…?”
Rek only hummed, his eyes trailing to where his ID was. His brows furrowed. “Uh— Sand? There is no name we can go off of.” He stared at the Sinner with more uncertainty.
“No name?” Jay grinned from where he propped himself. “He’s like the rest of us! What makes him so special?”
From the back, Daniel called out, “As in, there is NO NAME on his ID, Jay!”
Branzy reached over to his ID, eyes narrowing. “Scratched out.” He looked up at him. “Either you didn’t want people to know who you were, or you just really hated your name.”
The forgotten Sinner, however, felt panic roll over him. “Eh?! But– but I don’t remember! Why can’t I remember my name!” He looked at each Sinner. “You all can! But why can’t I!”
Rek shrugged. “Not sure. The only reason we know our names is because we have the ID’s to prove otherwise.” He looked at Sand. “Any idea?”
The blue-eyed Sinner didn’t look fazed in the slightest. “Unless we find out what his Corp was, then it will remain a mystery.” He stared at the clock in Rek’s hand. “Is it still haywire?”
“Not much.”
“Hand it over to him.” Sand nodded over to him.
Rek nodded, looking back to the nameless Sinner and holding out the clock for him to take. With hesitation, he grabbed the clock and held it in his hands with such delicacy in case he accidentally broke it. The clock itself wasn’t too out of the ordinary— it looked like a regular pocket watch, albeit rusted and full of scratches. The clock itself had a large crack going across it, and the hands didn’t move in the slightest, telling him that it was, indeed, broken.
“What is this?” He asked.
“A pocket watch to others.” Rek explained. “But to you, it is an EGO. Basically, it’s like… a source to your ability.”
“EGO?” He tilted his head.
Branzy pointed to Sand. “Take Sand’s compass. It’s his source of EGO, and it helps him guide us.” At that, Sand held out his compass and stared at the needle.
Rek held up a rabbit’s foot that hung from his belt. “Same with me. My EGO makes me a little faster and gives me luck when I need it, unlike Branzy’s.” He looked towards Jay. “His EGO makes him able to hear danger before it occurs.”
The Sinner looked at Branzy. “And yours?”
“Just luck.” He replied, holding a silver playing card in between his fingers.
“Oh.”
Jay then pointed to Daniel. “He can navigate through anything and everything, even without a map or any clues.” As he said that, Daniel held up a contraption before letting his hand fall back onto the booth table. “He also helps navigate and is kind of our designated driver of Eos.”
“Who’s Eos?” The Sinner asked.
“The bus.” Daniel called out.
“What?”
“Enough chatter.” Sand held up his hand. “Daniel, quit sulking over there and come here. We need to set a new route.” Daniel groaned, picking himself up and sluggishly walking over, snatching the compass out of Sand’s hand and heading over to the front of the bus. As the nameless Sinner flipped the clock to the back, he stared at the scratches. They were definitely from damage overtime, the rust slowly corroding towards the center.
He squinted. “Skip…”
“Hm?” Sand looked over.
“It says ‘Skip’ here.” He responded, his thumb pressing against the faint name scratched along the edge.
Branzy looked over, squinting. “Mm, it’s barely visible, but it is there.” He looked up at the Sinner. “Maybe that’s your name.”
“Weird name.” Jay teased, making Rek glare at him to shut him up.
The Sinner scrunched his nose. “But, I don’t know what this is? Why would it have my name here?”
Branzy responded, “EGO’s close certain memories in return for its power. That’s how it works for us— our EGO’s can only work so long as we agree to a silent deal of having a locked memory.” He gestured between the Sinner and the clock. “Perhaps you have made a deal with this EGO and that is what was locked away.”
“So, his name is Skip now?” Jay asked, a smile on his lips. “I’m so making fun of you for that.”
All Skip could really do is stare at the clock before stuffing it into the pocket of his pants. “I guess Skip will have to do it for now.”
Sand hummed, walking over to Daniel. “Where’s the next route to?”
“Give me a second old geezer, I’m still working on it.” Daniel snapped back, his focus on the panel. Skip, curiosity getting the better of him, walked over and peeked to see the blond Sinner calculating numbers and coordinates with one hand onto the panel, the other hands holding Sand’s compass, the needle jittering as it pointed forward.
“We’re the same age—”
Daniel repeatedly shushed him, eyes furrowed. It was a long silence till the ding on the panel echoed, to which he then leaned back onto the chair. “There, the next route is set.” He looked over to see Sand and Skip standing above him, to which he waved his hand and handed the compass back. “Shoo shoo, the bus is ready to go.”
Sand rested a hand on Skip’s shoulder, gesturing for the other Sinner to sit somewhere. The other hesitantly moved away from the front, sitting in the first empty booth he would find on the bus. From where he sat, he could see Jay with his feet propped on the table, and Branzy and Rek making some sort of small talk that Skip couldn’t listen in.
The low sound of the horn bellowed deeply as Sand walked over to where Skip was and sat across from him, his attention more focused on the front as he only sat to the edge. From where Skip could see barely to the front, he saw Daniel leaning into the chair, his eyes focused to the front rather than what was behind him.
The bus jostled, and soon Skip could feel the slow moving of it leaving the forested area. From within his pocket, he felt the clock go warm.