Chapter Text
“For generations the people have lived this way. A wall protecting them from the horrors outside. Generations ago, the gods punished the sins of humanity. Four among the population were chosen as his angels of the apocalypse. Four people with strong enough magic ability would be chosen to assume the role he set for them at birth, and they would awaken to exterminate those who were sinful. Almost all humanity was wiped out from the first set of horsemen many years ago. After almost 50 years of battle, the horsemen were finally defeated by the saintess of the past. But, little did humanity know that due to the death of the past angels, new ones emerged 100 years later. And the cycle continued until where we are now. “ The teacher spoke with a history book in her hand, and confidently pointed to a timeline on the board.
“Over the course of time, there have been three more cycles of this, and the fifth one will be coming soon. You are especially important as you will be the generation that inherits this responsibility to take care of the horsemen. Although this year will be different. The company T.A.M.I.D., or The Administration of Mediating Immortal Deities, seeks to imprison the horsemen when they emerge and keep them confined so that the cycle will not continue. Supported by the Otori family, (or the imperial family) they have already built the place to hold the horsemen-”
Before she could finish the rest of her lecture, a student raised their hand.
“Yes?”
“How are they able to confine the horsemen? Aren't they, like, super powerful or something?”
“They are extremely powerful, yes, but over the years we have discovered, let's say… rules to their abilities.”
She turned a page in her book and started describing the contents.
“Here it shows each type of horsemen and how to take care of them. Of course each horseman is different based on the person they are, and how much magic ability they have, but that will only be known once the host is known. In order for a person to be a horseman, they need to fit the requirements. One, they have to possess magic ability to a certain extent. This orb that you can see on the page is a type of quartz that is exceptional at storing magical energy. Depending on the frequency of the color and sound that emits from it, it shows how much power a person has. The levels include the lowest wavelength, being purple, and the highest being red. In order for a person to be eligible as a horseman, they need to emit yellow or higher, so yellow, orange, and of course red. The next requirement is the age of the person. Every time a person is chosen as a horseman, they are around your age. We suspect that this is due to the time your powers awaken after puberty. The hormones in your body cause different magical abilities to appear during this time, and therefore the horsemen work the same but we aren't sure yet. Lastly, to determine which horsemen you are dealing with, there is only one way initially to know which of the four they are. Using the ability of the saintess who awakens before the horsemen do, she is able to pour heavenly power into the suspected horsemen. Depending on the part of their body that starts to glow and flare into pain, she is able to know what horseman they are.” She turns the page in her book and prepares to talk once more.
“The four types you all may be familiar with. There are the horsemen of War, Pestilence, Famine, and finally Death. Each has a different risk associated with them, and of course there are different ways to suppress them as well. For the horsemen of War, the part of the body that glows with the power of the saintess, and the sense that the basis of their power is driven from is the ears. With all words that they hear, they are able to radiate thoughts into a person’s mind and drive them to insanity. In order to subdue the horsemen of war, one must cover the ears of them to stop the thoughts entering their head. Your will can override the invasion of your mind, however only five have ever been able to, and we aren’t aware of exactly how to do it.” As she reads off of the page, the picture in the book is inlaid with the symbol of War; a kitsune shown on the next page.
“The next horsemen is the horsemen of Pestilence.” She turned the page and an image of someone in a plague doctor mask, and a giant spider was displayed on the paper.
“The sense related to this one, is the sense of smell. Disease oozes around them, and whoever inhales it becomes afflicted with a deadly disease in most cases. There are times where the disease is specifically chosen by the host, but that is on rare occasions. Usually it is a painful and lethal disease though. The best way to counteract this horsemen is to fully keep your breathing calm, and cover your mouth. Covering the nose of the horsemen is the most ideal situation. Sadly, most diseases won’t have a cure, as every one they create is new.” Looking at the next page just before she was finishing her sentence, within it was a picture of a person with many arms and fangs from its mouth, almost like a vampire.
“Famine is the next, with its sense being its sense of taste. If you encounter the horsemen of death, and it finds a way to taste your blood, then they will gain immeasurable strength, and a drive to eat the rest of you. Any amount of food given to the horseman of Famine increases how aggressive and strong it is. The way to subdue this horseman is by making sure it is always in a starving state, and is unable to consume food. Then they will be a bit more reasonable to deal with.” Before she continued to talk, she paused on the next page and hesitated before she spoke.
“For the next, and last horseman, it is much harder to deal with this one, and is notorious for being the most deadly out of all of them. Granted, its name is the horseman of Death for a reason. For this horseman, the sense that it is associated with is its sight. For anything that it sees, will perish and feel their soul erode away. For beings who are ‘immortal’ in a sense or have heavy divine magic within them like other horsemen, the death sentence won’t work all the time, and will only kill their physical body. Although, much like the others, the best way to stop this is to obviously cover their eyes. And in history, this is the horseman that has caused the most death and pain. As for how to deal with all of these horsemen, this is obviously an oversimplification on how to do this, there is much more to take into consideration. Like the amount of starting magic the host had, how skilled the host was, and how much control the host has of the horseman abilities.”
For the rest of the class, she really only talked about the history of the horseman. Tsukasa didn’t really listen to be honest. After the last couple of weeks being worried about Saki, as her condition has worsened, he hasn't been putting much effort into studies. It doesn’t help that the recent buzz about the time of the horsemen awakening has interrupted… everything basically. Feeling a wave of tiredness, it started to show on his face, alerting the teacher.
“Tsukasa, this is an important lecture, if you wish to sleep through it, then be sure to book a time beforehand.” She loudly hit a chalk against the board, shooting him up from his daze immediately. Usually he would be upset at her direct taunt, but was too tired to really care.
After class eventually ended, he was tasked with cleaning the boards as a punishment for sleeping in class. While Tsukasa stayed to fulfill his punishment after the bell had rung long ago, the teacher approached.
“Is everything alright Tsukasa, you definitely aren’t your usual self. If I understand this right, your family is known for having a high affinity for divine magic, right?”
“Yes, I guess having my family be associated with the main saintess church does that.”
“Is something going on?”
“It's just my sister. She's always been sick and due to the ramped up attention for the saintess to awaken has only burdened the church much more than normal.”
“You’re strong, I think that you being by her side will help her feel that strength to, just make sure to get your brain strong as well, especially in this lecture as it is relevant to current events, and who knows, you may be taking part in the tests and it is always good to be educated in this kinda stuff.” She spoke with a slight smile on her face as she took the brush from his hand, signaling him to leave.
“I got it, thank you for letting me go.”
“Hope she starts feeling better.” As she spoke, Tsukasa had already grabbed his bag, and hurriedly ran out the door. Although he had been feeling down, he still kept up his positive attitude when he got home. He would put on plays for the children that would come to the church, and for Saki as well. At first he only did it to cheer her up, but he has started doing it for others as well. Just seeking the smiles on others’ faces made him love doing what he does. He’s also been getting into magic shows lately, and has gotten fairly good at it. Although there are always chores for the church that he is tasked with, he always makes time for them.
Running out the door, he made his way to the main city’s subways. Towering buildings surrounded him, the whole city seemed so alive despite the devastating conditions that lay outside of the wall. Each passing moment, he felt more and more anxious to see how his sister was doing. As he ran down the streets and sidewalks, loud screens attached to the buildings shouted above him, displaying the news.
“Good Afternoon ladies and gentlemen, I’m your host Toby!”
“And I am Jannet.”
“Welcome back, another day and another moment of time to wait for the awakening of the saintess.”
“Yes Toby, everyone is getting suuuper anxious over when the inevitable will happen. Our scientists have forcested it to be during this generation, but when will it happen?”
“Everyone make sure to keep an eye on your teenagers, as they may be the saintess, or even unfortunate enough to be a horseman!”
“Well according to our research, the awakening of the saintess should be extremely soon, so make sure to keep your eyes peeled everyone, and stay safe! You never know who may be capable of destroying all humanity or not!”
“Now, on to our weather forecast-”
As he ran by, the sounds of the television slowly faded into obscurity as he saw the subway in his line of sight. Approaching it, he was able to see it filled with a variety of people. Some with powers, and most with none. The chance of anyone having abilities is one in a hundred after all. Eventually, he saw the massive church in his sight. It was located near the main castle of the Otori family, but he had never gone there himself. He was always too busy, and they rarely had a need for anyone from the church to meet with them. His parents however have gone many more times than him. The only time that he has ever met anyone of the Otoris was when he was very little, though all he can remember was the little girl he met seemed nice, but loud. He was Tsukasa Tenma, he didn’t need to spend his time with them, he needed to be the best brother that he could possibly be. He had to.
After running all the way from the school building and down the large hallways of the echoing church chambers, he finally reached the rooms where he and his sister had been staying, approaching hers as he carried a bag alongside him.
Knock Knock- “Saki, you in there? Hellooo!?” He creaked open the door to see her sitting on her bed and gazing out of the window.
“Ah hello Oni-chan!” Her smile beamed with happiness as she saw him, but a hint of tiredness was plastered on her expression.
“How are you feeling… what did the doctor say?”
“He hasn’t come back yet. After checking me up he just left and said he had to make sure of something.”
“Well whatever is hurting you in any way, I, Tsukasa, will be able to face it! As I am the best brother you could hope for!” As he spoke, he grabbed a wooden sword from the toy play set in her room and a blanket as a cape and bowed to her like a knight.
“Hehe, I'm sure you will. But I think that you need to get some rest first sir knight, you look like you are gonna fall over.”
“Ah, I suppose you’re right, you should get some rest too alright.” He started to walk out the door after giving her some treats from his bag. Once he finally cheered her up and left, a wave of exhaustion hit him all at once as he collapsed onto his bed. After getting changed, he leaned onto his side, and drifted into a deep sleep.
—----0—----
Rain started to hit the side of the glass, as the city lights reflected onto the streets. His dreams however weren’t as peaceful. In the dream his head throbbed, and blood filled the room. All he could make out were people surrounding him, with light radiating from their hands. The light moved towards him and grasped at his neck, choking him. But the worst part was the sight of his sister in front of him, being held by the same people. He panicked and reached for her, only to be met with soldiers marching in front of him, and circling him.
The walls started to melt away, and decay, the restraints placed upon him however never decayed. It almost looked like eons were passing, and his restraints were only getting tighter and tighter. Saki was fully covered by the soldiers now pointing their weapons at him. People screamed at him, as his vision started to blur. Closing his eyes however, wouldn’t stop the blurred fire erupting from them. He could see their souls remain full of hate, and the fire suffocated him.
But he didn’t die. Stakes and swords pierced his heart.
But he didn’t die.
He clenched his fists so hard that blood trickled down his wrist, adding to the pool on the floor.
At last he opened his eyes to look at the soldiers. A scream erupted from the crowd behind the soldiers, revealing Saki laying still on the floor. As he yelled, his head beating like a drum, the soldiers around him started to fade away. The chains binding him broke, along with the people holding him down. Energy surged through his body, as the world around him started to fade into a dark void.
He shot up from his dream with sweat streaming from his brow. He felt the pain in his head throbbing just like it had in the dream. But he had other things that he was thinking about. Saki… was she okay? Standing up from his stupor, he approached the room where Saki was staying, hoping that it was just as he left it. But her door was open, and the light was on. People, some that he didn’t know, surrounded her room. It looked like historians and scientists, but he wasn’t sure, nor did he care. He pushed through the people blocking his way to see Saki.
“What's going on!” There he saw his parents around her bed, and she looked… fine?
“Ah Tsukasa!” Saki spoke, with her hand pushing some others out of the way. Her face was plastered with a mix of emotions that she had never seen before. She seemed nervous, scared, and sad somehow.
“Ah, you must be her elder brother, correct? You can call me Dr. Locke, and around me are other experienced historians who are based on the history of the horsemen. This goes for the parents as well, seeing as you are all here, I believe that you should know first before we announce it to the world.
He felt his chest heaving as he waited for the people in front of him to speak. His parents looked calmer than he thought, and he eased his anxiety, even a little bit.
“To get this plainly said, we are sure that she is the next saintess, and therefore will be in charge of looking for the Horsemen that will awaken by the end of this month.” As he kept speaking, Tsukasa didn’t know how to react. The words weren’t getting through to him anymore. He had an awful feeling churning in his stomach, wondering why he felt so awful. Was it because the lives of four people would be sentenced to eternal imprisonment? No.
The look that plastered Saki’s face didn’t help him soothe his troubles either. He knew how guilty she felt, just imagining her sending four people to eternal damnation. All he could do is pat her shoulder, and help her get through this the best that he could.
—----0—----
A couple of days passed after the announcement. The people were panicking as predicted, and some were even excited. Although it was more organized than he expected, people would queue up in front of the church to be checked by Saki. He was sure that they were only those who fit the requirements. If you were above a certain age, or if you didn’t have enough magic, you could get a bracelet that exempted you. But if you did meet the requirements, you had to be checked through the church.
Even with all of those limitations, it was still hundreds of people everyday between ages 16 and 18. He usually ran around the church to help carry broken or used crystals in the boxes, or he helped give people bracelets which were cleared by Saki. If he was tired, he knew that she must have been exhausted.
The first horseman was found. She was a member of the royal family… Emu Otori. Horseman of Famine. When he watched her get checked up, her mouth flared with blood, and she heaved in pain. Saki watched in torment as she watched the priests wrap chains of golden light around her. They did hesitate at first, but eventually, she was carried away. When he saw her helplessly drag her feet, he felt so afraid. But he just assumed it was the fact that he'd just seen one of the horsemen.
It took a while to find the second one. The horseman of War was found while Tsukasa was working at the school. He heard that it was a young man with purple hair. He watched as the news displayed his face, with his ears covered with restraints.
“Can you believe it everybody, the next horseman has been confirmed! It is really happening, and soon the other two will hopefully be found before anything apocalyptic can happen.”
“Yes, it is very important that you get regis-”
Once again, he felt his stomach drop. Although he felt stressed, he didn’t stop helping Saki. Sadly it was at the expense of his education.
Shortly after War, Pestilence was found. She was a short girl with long green hair. She looked so disheveled and seemed to have come from the slums. She was given a gas mask that framed her solemn eyes. She looked so hopeless…
It was only a week until the awakening of them all, but Death had not been found. On the internet and news networks, people started to panic. Tsukasa had been drained from all the work he'd been doing for the church as of late, but he finally had time to go to one of his classes, and was told to go by Saki herself. She was upset at the fact he was skipping them for her sake.
—----0—----
As he walked to his classroom, he could almost feel their gazes at him. It made sense though, he had hardly been to school. Being related to the saintess probably didn’t help either. Not that he minded. He'd usually been the center of attention most of the time, back with his usual personality. Though he had changed a bit. Quiet. Cold. He thought he was just tired, but he knew that was just an excuse. He was scared.
The class started as normal, with the teacher giving him a couple of glances. At some point, the door opened and out came some of the priests from the church. Some talked to the teacher, while others stood and seemed to stare at him. Was his sister okay? He felt stress growing in his throat.
“Tsukasa, have you been checked for magic yet? You don’t have a bracelet yet.”
“Oh. No, I haven’t had the time to get checked.” It was partially true, although he just didn’t want to put Saki through any more stress than needed. But he did need to get cleared.
“Alright you can check him here then so I can continue my class.” She seemed a bit annoyed. Probably because this wasn’t the first time they interrupted her class.
They started to walk towards him and placed one of the crystal balls in front of. He was all too familiar with them as it was now commonplace at the church. As he stared at the ball, he reached out his hand to touch its surface. But, he hesitated for a moment, before finally touching it.
It started to shake, before settling on a blood red color. He pulled his hand back, as the ball just continued to get brighter and brighter.
What?
Before he could fully comprehend the fear that pulsed though his head, he felt hands grab his shoulders. He looked up at the priests who had grabbed him. He could tell there were swirled emotions in their eyes. They pulled him aggressively and led him out of the classroom. The eyes of others plastered on him now more than ever.
They brought him out of the building and into a bus with other kids inside of it. He sat in the back, knowing exactly where he was going. Off back to the church. He was treated like the others in the bus, but they seemed more scared of him than the others.
Was red that uncommon…?
Outside of the window he watched as people went on their normal day, buildings moving past, and billboards flashing with unease. He felt that every moment he spent in that bus, the more he felt like throwing up. Not from motion sickness however. It was an emotion that he felt had been growing since Saki awakened. She did just tell him to go to class, but here he was going right back.
Sorry I couldn’t listen huh… What a brother I am…
Coming to a stop, the bus parked in front of the church that he’d seen hundreds of times. They were lined up and checked for magic once again at the door. Once again, his glowed a bright red that pushed a reaction out of the priests. They placed a red marker on his shirt and pushed him forward with the rest. He saw Saki checking up on the beginning of his group. She looked… exhausted.
Behind him a new bus had pulled though, though it seemed that less and less people were something through compared to the first weeks.
“They are getting more desperate…”
He whispered to himself before he was pushed toward the front. There were three people in front of him now before he got to see Saki. She used her holy gift and it flowed through the person in front, showing that he was clear. The girl in front of him was next. Saki looked up and noticed him. She seemed shocked for a moment and a bit sad. All he could do was rub his neck and smile at her, to try to calm her down as much as possible.
After the girl in front was checked, hearing a sigh of relief leave her, he was next.
“Sorry, I didn’t go to class… Kinda got ushered here, I am just too necessary the church can’t keep me away!” He boasted his old boisterous facade to lighten the mood.
“Heh, yeah I guess it was a bit harder without you.” She smiled slightly, contagiously forming on his face.
He stood and closed his eyes as her hand reached to touch his forehead. Warmth moved and swam through his head, circulating slowly moving towards the rest of his body. But once it reached his eyes, he felt a sharp pain strangle his neck, preventing him from breathing for a moment. He shot open his eyes, his vision blurred. Tears trickled down his face as he heard himself heaving. He touched his face and looked at the floor, blood dripping on his shoes. Shaking, he glanced up at Saki, who now had her hands over her mouth, tears also welling up in her eyes as she stared down at him.
“N- no…” She pleaded quietly, as she realized what had just happened. She had just condemned her brother to eternal imprisonment. He closed his eyes to clear them of the tears of blood obstructing his vision, before looking around once again. The priests around him cautiously approached him, with divine chains in their hands.
He was surrounded before he looked at Saki once again. She then rushed over to him, hugging him.
“Don’t please… leave him alone!”
“Saki…” The priests froze for a moment, before getting closer.
“You understand, if we don’t capture him now, everyone’s lives will be in danger.”
“I don’t care!” She grabbed him tighter, her hands clenching and grasping at his back. Tears swelled in his eyes again as he looked at the expressions of the crowd. They were terrified. His mother and father looked almost just as terrified as the crowd. The only one who did not look at him with destain was Saki. He couldn’t bear to kill her. If he was a horseman, then it was the only way.
He pushed her away gently, before giving her a smile.
“It's alright Saki, don’t worry about me, you have enough on your plate to worry about. This is- for the best…” Though he tried to smile, the tears running down his face, and his shaking hands had given him away. He hated the look she gave him.
She looked so broken… why did it have to be me…
His thoughts were broken by hands aggressively grabbing at his arms. He felt his body start to burn in agony as the chains touched his skin. The one that wrapped around his neck was especially painful. They tightened it to an alarming degree, even though he wasn’t resisting. He then heard yelling from in front of him, and it caused him to glance up. Saki was being held back by a priest, too aggressively for his liking.
“Don’t hurt her!” He yelled, almost screaming his throat raw. The priest was alarmed at the sound of his voice, as he immediately shot an angered gaze at him. As he made eye contact with Tsukasa however, the priest then fell over.
“What the-!” Another person had run over to the fallen man. He looked at his face before yelling, “Cover his eyes right now! Or you will die!”
What?!
Before Tsukasa could even process the fallen man, his forehead was grabbed and his eyes were covered by a metal object. As it was pushed against the bridge of his nose, a sharp pain pierced his temples. He screamed in pain for a moment before another sharp prick shot through the back of his neck. A wave of soreness washed over him as his struggle to move became inhibited. Grogginess took over his body, as he felt himself go limp.
He couldn’t see, but he could feel his legs clumsily moving where the people holding him wanted him to go. He could tell that there were many people around him, gawking and taking pictures just off of the sounds. He could hear Deacons’ weapons being pointed at him, and people freaking out. Being pushed into a large car of some sort, he was pinned to the wall of what he could assume was a van, his head banged against the wall almost knocking him out entirely. He felt blood trickling down his neck before a person yelled once again.
“What are you doing? Don’t kill the dang kid!” The voice sounded… fuzzy. His head throbbed again and again. He could hear his heart beating now, as it drowned out the voices of the people scrambling around him. Before he could even feel the pain in his head register, he had blacked out.